Incorporating Africanness into the legal curricula: The case for criminal and procedural law

Criminal and procedural law has recently come under scrutiny and been criticised as being the ‘white-man’s law’. The claim is that this academic discipline of law, as conceptualised and studied thus far, has remained too Eurocentric and lego-centric, incorporating only Western legal concepts and not embodying African values and cultures. Criminal and procedural law studies are described as Western concepts created from the viewpoint of a dominant Western culture which does not take sufficient cognisance of other cultural traditions and therefore lacks certain elements of legitimacy. There has been increasing pressure on these subjects to Africanise the law and to make it relevant to the greater South African population. Combining indigenous legal concepts and general legal theory, this article examines the current situation and endeavours to develop methods to account for the effect of African law on criminal and procedural law. The article concludes that recognition should be given to the Africanisation (or South Africanisation) of law. Law students need to be better equipped to understand the manifold pluralities within and between legal systems in order to produce lawyers and judges who are “thoroughly grounded in the cultural milieu of the society in which the courts are based”

Developing Legal Terminology in African Languages as Aid to the Court Interpreter: A South African Perspective*

The need for unambiguous communication in the theoretical and applied fields of human activity, such as the legal profession, is constantly increasing. Terminologists and subject specialists are focused on the provision of unambiguous source- and target-language terms for well-defined concepts. In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary to determine the precise meanings of terms which enable users to comprehend and use them in a universally accepted manner. Legal language is one of the most difficult languages for special purposes since only legal experts versed in the special vocabulary can communicate successfully — laypeople tend to struggle comprehending the language of law, sometimes called legalese. This study deals with legal language, the bridging of communication problems in a legal setting by especially court interpreters, and difficulties these legal linguists may experience in this endeavour. Some word-forming principles are discussed and examples are given of typical multilingual coinages in the legal profession. Various matters relating to terminology usage in a multilingual society receive attention. Some of the principles of the standardisation, harmonisation and the internationalisation of the terminology of the legal profession are discussed. The research also addresses the work of the Centre for Legal Terminology in African Languages (CLTAL) and of other relevant terminology projects, e.g. that of the Centre for Political and Related Terminology in Southern Africa (CEPTSA).Keywords: criminal law, criminal procedural law, conceptualisation, court interpreter, court interpreting, harmonisation, internationalisation, harvesting processes, law of evidence, standardisation, terminography, terminolog

Geothermal characterization of the coastal aquifer near Ravenna (Italy)

The coastal aquifer near Ravenna (Italy) contains a large volume of groundwater (2,5x109 m3) whose quality has been compromised by sea-water intrusion. Today, the phreatic groundwater is mostly brackish with some lenses of freshwater floating on top of more saline water. This water, although impossible to use as drink-water or for irrigation, is still important to guarantee the health of wetland habitats and especially of the roman historical and coastal pine forests of Ravenna. With the objective of defining the flow pattern within the aquifer and the exchange between surface and ground water, we characterized the temperature distribution in the shallow subsurface by means of a dense network of piezometers. At the same time we had the opportunity to characterize the phreatic aquifer from the geothermal point of view, so that it could eventually be considered for use as a "low enthalpy" heat source. Heat pumps are able to extract heat during the winter and dissipate it during the summer. The temperature of the groundwater in the top layer of the aquifer (surficial zone) is sensitive to the changes in atmospheric temperature throughout the year whereas the temperature of the deeper groundwater follows the geothermal gradient (geothermal zone). One of the scopes of the project is to discover at what depth is located the geothermal zone, so that the aquifer has a constant temperature throughout the year. A constant temperature is needed for storage of heat at low enthalpy. The thickness of the surficial zone and the temperature at the top of the geothermal zone are essentially related to land use, distance from the sea, sediment type, and amount of interaction between surface and groundwater. A knowledge of these factors allows to better exploit the geothermal potential of the aquifer when choosing the optimal placement of the heat pumps

Nuclear Receptor Rev-erb Alpha (Nr1d1) Functions in Concert with Nr2e3 to Regulate Transcriptional Networks in the Retina

The majority of diseases in the retina are caused by genetic mutations affecting the development and function of photoreceptor cells. The transcriptional networks directing these processes are regulated by genes such as nuclear hormone receptors. The nuclear hormone receptor gene Rev-erb alpha/Nr1d1 has been widely studied for its role in the circadian cycle and cell metabolism, however its role in the retina is unknown. In order to understand the role of Rev-erb alpha/Nr1d1 in the retina, we evaluated the effects of loss of Nr1d1 to the developing retina and its co-regulation with the photoreceptor-specific nuclear receptor gene Nr2e3 in the developing and mature retina. Knock-down of Nr1d1 expression in the developing retina results in pan-retinal spotting and reduced retinal function by electroretinogram. Our studies show that NR1D1 protein is co-expressed with NR2E3 in the outer neuroblastic layer of the developing mouse retina. In the adult retina, NR1D1 is expressed in the ganglion cell layer and is co-expressed with NR2E3 in the outer nuclear layer, within rods and cones. Several genes co-targeted by NR2E3 and NR1D1 were identified that include: Nr2c1, Recoverin, Rgr, Rarres2, Pde8a, and Nupr1. We examined the cyclic expression of Nr1d1 and Nr2e3 over a twenty-four hour period and observed that both nuclear receptors cycle in a similar manner. Taken together, these studies reveal a novel role for Nr1d1, in conjunction with its cofactor Nr2e3, in regulating transcriptional networks critical for photoreceptor development and function

Electrical and Mechanical Ventricular Activation During Left Bundle Branch Block and Resynchronization

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) aims to treat selected heart failure patients suffering from conduction abnormalities with left bundle branch block (LBBB) as the culprit disease. LBBB remained largely underinvestigated until it became apparent that the amount of response to CRT was heterogeneous and that the therapy and underlying pathology were thus incompletely understood. In this review, current knowledge concerning activation in LBBB and during biventricular pacing will be explored and applied to current CRT practice, highlighting novel ways to better measure and treat the electrical substrate

Under-vaccinated groups in Europe and their beliefs, attitudes and reasons for non-vaccination; two systematic reviews

BackgroundDespite effective national immunisation programmes in Europe, some groups remain incompletely or un-vaccinated ('under-vaccinated'), with underserved minorities and certain religious/ideological groups repeatedly being involved in outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases (VPD). Gaining insight into factors regarding acceptance of vaccination of 'under-vaccinated groups' (UVGs) might give opportunities to communicate with them in a trusty and reliable manner that respects their belief system and that, maybe, increase vaccination uptake. We aimed to identify and describe UVGs in Europe and to describe beliefs, attitudes and reasons for non-vaccination in the identified UVGs.MethodsWe defined a UVG as a group of persons who share the same beliefs and/or live in socially close-knit communities in Europe and who have/had historically low vaccination coverage and/or experienced outbreaks of VPDs since 1950. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases using specific search term combinations. For the first systematic review, studies that described a group in Europe with an outbreak or low vaccination coverage for a VPD were selected and for the second systematic review, studies that described possible factors that are associated with non-vaccination in these groups were selected.ResultsWe selected 48 articles out of 606 and 13 articles out of 406 from the first and second search, respectively. Five UVGs were identified in the literature: Orthodox Protestant communities, Anthroposophists, Roma, Irish Travellers, and Orthodox Jewish communities. The main reported factors regarding vaccination were perceived non-severity of traditional "childhood" diseases, fear of vaccine side-effects, and need for more information about for example risk of vaccination.ConclusionsWithin each UVG identified, there are a variety of health beliefs and objections to vaccination. In addition, similar factors are shared by several of these groups. Communication strategies regarding these similar factors such as educating people about the risks associated with being vaccinated versus not being vaccinated, addressing their concerns, and countering vaccination myths present among members of a specific UVG through a trusted source, can establish a reliable relationship with these groups and increase their vaccination uptake. Furthermore, other interventions such as improving access to health care could certainly increase vaccination uptake in Roma and Irish travellers

Incorporating Africanness into the legal curricula: The case for criminal and procedural law

Criminal and procedural law has recently come under scrutiny and been criticised as being the ‘white-man’s law’. The claim is that this academic discipline of law, as conceptualised and studied thus far, has remained too Eurocentric and lego-centric, incorporating only Western legal concepts and not embodying African values and cultures. Criminal and procedural law studies are described as Western concepts created from the viewpoint of a dominant Western culture which does not take sufficient cognisance of other cultural traditions and therefore lacks certain elements of legitimacy. There has been increasing pressure on these subjects to Africanise the law and to make it relevant to the greater South African population. Combining indigenous legal concepts and general legal theory, this article examines the current situation and endeavours to develop methods to account for the effect of African law on criminal and procedural law. The article concludes that recognition should be given to the Africanisation (or South Africanisation) of law. Law students need to be better equipped to understand the manifold pluralities within and between legal systems in order to produce lawyers and judges who are “thoroughly grounded in the cultural milieu of the society in which the courts are based”.<sup>1</sup>Straf-en prosesreg het onlangs onder die soeklig gekom en is as synde die ‘Witman se wet’ gekritiseer. Die bewering is dat hierdie akademiese regsdissipline, soos tot dusver gekonseptualiseer en bestudeer, te Eurosentries en lego-sentries gebly het wat slegs Westerse regsbegrippe inkorporeer en nie Afrika-waardes en -kulture nie. Straf-en prosesregstudies word beskryf as Westerse konsepte wat uit die oogpunt van ’n dominante Westerse kultuur geskep is wat nie voldoende kennis van ander kulturele tradisies neem nie en dus sekere elemente van legitimiteit ontbreek. Daar is toenemende druk op hierdie vakke om die wet te Afrikaniseer en om dit meer relevant tot die groter Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking te maak. Deur inheemse regskonsepte en die algemene regsteorie te kombineer, ondersoek hierdie studie die huidige situasie en strewe daarna om metodes te ontwikkel wat om die effek van Afrika gewoontereg op die straf- en prosesreg te verantwoord. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat erkenning aan die Afrikanisering (of Suid-Afrikanisering) van die wet gegee moet word. Regstudente moet beter toegerus word om die veelvuldige pluraliteite binne asook tussen verskillende regstelsels te verstaan, ten einde regspraktisyne en regters te produseer wat “deeglik gegrond is in die kulturele milieu van die gemeenskap waarin die howe gebaseer is”.<sup>2</sup>The article is in English

Seasonal variation in natural recharge of coastal aquifers

Many coastal zones around the world have irregular precipitation throughout the year. This results in discontinuous natural recharge of coastal aquifers, which affects the size of freshwater lenses present in sandy deposits. Temperature data for the period 1960–1990 from LocClim (local climate estimator) and those obtained from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) SRES A1b scenario for 2070–2100, have been used to calculate the potential evapotranspiration with the Thornthwaite method. Potential recharge (difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration) was defined at 12 locations: Ameland (The Netherlands), Auckland and Wellington (New Zealand); Hong Kong (China); Ravenna (Italy), Mekong (Vietnam), Mumbai (India), New Jersey (USA), Nile Delta (Egypt), Kobe and Tokyo (Japan), and Singapore. The influence of variable/discontinuous recharge on the size of freshwater lenses was simulated with the SEAWAT model. The discrepancy between models with continuous and with discontinuous recharge is relatively small in areas where the total annual recharge is low (258–616 mm/year); but in places with Monsoon-dominated climate (e.g. Mumbai, with recharge up to 1,686 mm/year), the difference in freshwater-lens thickness between the discontinuous and the continuous model is larger (up to 5 m) and thus important to consider in numerical models that estimate freshwater availability