A quantitative study on the culture of violence amongst learners in South African schools

The focus of this thesis falls on school violence. The research addresses the possibility that a culture of violence exists amongst some South African school-going youth. The researcher identified the attitudes and behaviour of learners towards violence as indicators of the culture of these learners. The research specifically focused on the pro-violence attitudes and violent behaviour of learners. The definition of ‘culture’ which was employed suggests the link between a person’s attitude, behaviour and culture. Information was gathered through literature and empirical research. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire with closed-ended questions and a well-tested tool, namely the Attitudes towards Violence Scale. The results of the empirical research were analyzed with the SPSS Windows data editor computer program. Conclusions and recommendations regarding school violence were made. In addition, a programme to curb such violence was proposed. Some suggestions for further research into this subject were also advanced.Criminology and Security ScienceM.A. (Criminology

Fully developed forced convection heat transfer and pressure drop in a smooth tube in the transitional flow regime

Extensive work has been done on characterising convective heat transfer and pressure drop in smooth tubes in the laminar and turbulent flow regimes. However, little work was completed in the transitional flow regime. In all previous transitional studies, experiments that were conducted between the laminar and turbulent flow regimes were with mixed convection in the laminar flow regime and not in the forced convection flow regime. The secondary flow that occurs during mixed convection should most probably influence the characteristics in the transitional flow regime. It can therefore be expected that the transitional flow characteristics of forced convection and mixed convection will be different. However, the transitional characteristics of forced convection flow have not yet been determined. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the heat transfer and pressure drop transitional characteristics specifically in the forced convection flow regime. Furthermore, to focus on determining these factors for a circular, horizontal smooth tube for fully developed flow. The characteristics were determined in an experimental set-up through which flow occurred through a test section consisting of a horizontal and circular smooth tube. The test-section inside diameter was 4.04 mm, and the tube length was 8.4 m. Water was used as the test fluid and was circulated through the test section which was heated at a constant heat flux. A calming section with a square edge inlet was upstream of the test section. Temperatures at the tube inlet, outlet and outer surface of the test section were measured with a total of 58 thermocouples. Two pressure taps was also installed on the test section and was connected to a pressure transducer for pressure drop measurements. Experiments were conducted mainly on the last part of the test section where fully developed flow occurred. Experiments were conducted between Reynolds numbers of 1 000 to 10 000, Prandtl numbers of 3 to 8, and Rayleigh numbers of 330 and 11 000 (heat fluxes of 0.89 kW/m2 to 3.26 kW/m2). It was found that the heat transfer transitional range coincided with the friction factor transition range with a Reynolds number range of 2 484 to 2 849. Forced convection results in the laminar regime was achieved and compared well to literature. The results were mapped on published flow regime maps. This was inconclusive as the published flow regime maps have been specifically developed for fixed parameters that did not match the parameters of this study.Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2017.Mechanical and Aeronautical EngineeringMEngUnrestricte

Baseline patient profiling and three-year outcome data after metabolic surgery at a South African centre of excellence

The bariatric team at Waterfall City Hospital in Gauteng has performed 820 metabolic surgeries under the guidance of an extended team, and with comprehensive recordkeeping. Baseline profiling on more than 50 variables afforded insight into patients undergoing surgery. The available outcome data over three years were comparable with those in the documented literature. The attempted weight loss period prior to agreeing to surgery was 16–18 years. Weight loss in the overall cohort was 29% at three years, with a two-year outcome as follows: diabetes mellitus remission of 81.6% in males and 83.1% in females, full and part-hypertension resolution of 84.8% in males and 74.6% in females, hyperlipidaemia on no treatment of 76.8% in males and 72.1% in females, and sleep apnoea of 75.5% in males and 76.8% in females. Separating out the diabetic group indicated a diabetes mellitus remission of 73.9% in males and 75.1% in females at one year. Improvement in the components of metabolic syndrome was demonstrated in the total cohort. There was an worse profile and higher risk in the male patients. Similarly, higher risk was recorded in the biliopancreatic diversion-duodenal switch cohort, and there was a higher percentage of elected diabetic patients. A wide range of revision surgery was performed, with a higher complication rate (20%) experienced compared to that recorded with the primary surgeries. The morbidity data were separated into medical and surgical morbidity. Major medical morbidity was documented at 5.6% and surgical morbidity at 3.9%. Surgical morbidity in the first 250 cases was reported to be 6% vs. 2.7% in the last 570 cases. Mortality for the cohort was noted to be 0.1%.Keywords: bariatric surgery, outcome data, profiling, South Afric

Agreement on endoscopic ultrasonography-guided tissue specimens: Comparing a 20-G fine-needle biopsy to a 25-G fine-needle aspiration needle among academic and non-academic pathologists

Background and Aim: A recently carried out randomized controlled trial showed the benefit of a novel 20-G fine-needle biopsy (FNB) over a 25-G fine-needle aspiration (FNA) needle. The current study evaluated the reproducibility of these findings among expert academic and non-academic pathologists. Methods: This study was a side-study of the ASPRO (ASpiration versus PROcore) study. Five centers retrieved 74 (59%) consecutive FNB and 51 (41%) FNA samples from the ASPRO study according to randomization; 64 (51%) pancreatic and 61 (49%) lymph node specimens. Samples were re-reviewed by five expert academic and five non-academic pathologists and rated in terms of sample quality and diagnosis. Ratings were compared between needles, expert academic and

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

Gambling in the Bophuthatswana Sun: Sun City and the political economy of a Bantustan casino:1965-1994

Thesis presented in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of MA at the University of the Witwatersrand, 2017This thesis examines the role of the Sun City casino within the context of apartheid homeland policy. The casino was established in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana in 1979, following the abolition of gambling in South Africa, with introduction of the 1965 Gambling Act. This study is motivated by two research questions: (1) the political and economic effects of the casino’s operation in Bophuthatswana; and (2) Sun City’s promotion of Bophuthatswana’s status as an independent state from South Africa. The research for this project was obtained through archival and manuscript materials, oral interviews as well as newspapers archives. The thesis is divided into five chapters which track the trajectory of Sun City’s development. The development and construction of Sun City are explored with regards to the financial contributions by the Bophuthatswana and South African governments. Secondly, the role that the governments of Bophuthatswana and South Africa played in the development of the casino and the political impact thereof. Further, the employment at the casino is investigated, regarding the economic promises made to the both the governments by Southern Sun. The area surrounding Sun City had a high unemployment rate and the resort was promoted as means to curtail this problem. The attractions Sun City offered such as burlesque shows and prostitution are discussed, with specific reference to the casino as a place of racial integration and conspicuous consumption. The sanctions and boycotts are explored regarding the cohort of international sporting and musical entertainers hosted at Sun City and the shifts in the boycott following 1990. Lastly, the fall of bantustan policy is outlined, for the reincorporation of bantustan territories into South Africa highlighted questions of gambling legality. This thesis concludes that Sun City brought exposure and infrastructure to Bophuthatswana, but most of the motivations employed to build the casino, such as high taxation, increased employment and the development of a heritage for the ‘Tswana’ people never materialised. The Sun City casino scheme aimed to further enrich individuals such as Kerzner and Mangope and the marketed benefits were not realised for the Bophuthatswana citizens.XL201

SLOPE 2 Project Final Report (sponsors only)

This report details the results from Phase 2 of the SLOPE research project undertaken by the Stratigraphy Group of the Earth and Ocean Sciences Department of the University of Liverpool. Slope Phase 2 was an outcrop-based study that lasted for 3 years and was conducted in the exceptionally well exposed Permian deepwater reservoir analogue deposits of the Karoo basin, South Africa. The project team involved 2 full-time Post-Doctoral researchers (Rufus Brunt and Claudio Di Celma), a PhD student (Willem van der Merwe) and several graduate research assistants, supervised by David Hodgson and Stephen Flint. PhD students Carlos Oliveira, Jorge Figueiredo and Amandine Prélat also assisted in the field, alongside their own research. The purpose of the research was to develop predictive models for the sub-seismic scale architecture, net:gross distribution and connectivity of submarine slope deposits, within a hierarchical structure that could be applied to subsurface datasets. The starting point was that in many deepwater plays, 3-D seismic allows good imaging of the larger scale channel complexes, external levees and overall systems but not adequate description of lithologies and connectivity. In other plays such as the ultra-deep Gulf of Mexico and sub-basalt Atlantic margin, seismic quality is inadequate for good definition of larger geometries, requiring more reliance on well data and 3-D architectural scenarios derived from outcrop analogues. This project built on aspects of Phase 1 and focuses on the slope channel/interchannel successions in the Laingsburg depocentre. A unique aspect of the Laingsburg study area is the potential to trace and document different slope channel and marginal architectural elements within a single stratigraphic unit downslope, from bypass-dominated upper slope to depositional lower slope/basin floor positions (Fig 1.1.3). The analysis has been based on detailed sedimentology coupled with the interpretation of key surfaces and stacking patterns in order to understand the spatial/temporal variability in geometry, architecture and connectivity in slope channel complexes and between these and the deposits lateral to them. A hierarchical approach has been adopted through the study. A database has been developed for shale types, bed lengths and connectivity of sands, channel dimensions and trends in thickness, facies and net:gross, both locally and semi-regionally. The 3-D architecture of a high net:gross and a low net:gross slope channel complex set have been captured in PETREL static reservoir models. Full analysis of the Vischkuil Formation, the deepwater initiation unit, has been a major aim of Phase 2 because it provides a powerful outcrop analogue to similar debrite/MTC complex initiation phases recognized in West Africa and other subsurface examples. We have analysed the down-slope translation of the MTDs into turbidites, to capture their runout distances. Our current understanding of the Vischkuil system is detailed in this report but sponsors will also receive an electronic copy of the PhD thesis of Willem van der Merwe in approximately 1 year’s time (Dec 2008). Deliverables 1) A facies scheme and a hierarchical classification of the building blocks of reservoir and non-reservoir deposits in interpreted high to low gradient, mid to base of slope settings. Detailed examples are given of different styles of channel, channel complex and complex set and associated inner and outer levee, overbank and distributive frontal lobe deposits from different positions along and across the slope profile. 2) Capture of specific architectural changes within selected stratigraphic intervals traceable for 30 km plus downslope. 3) A high resolution sequence stratigraphic framework for the deepwater systems. 4) A quantitative database of geometries and architecture, within the hierarchical scheme and sequence stratigraphy. 5) Detailed study of the early muddy basin floor, emplacement of early debrites and associated deformation deposits. Capturing the effect of these mass transport deposits on the architecture of overlying sands in Fan A. 6) PETREL model of a high net:gross channel complex

SLOPE Phase 2: sponsors’ second field workshop, Laingsburg Karoo, South Africa

Outcrops of the Permian ecca Group in the southwestern Karoo basin are outstandingly well exposed and easily accessible. Present day erosion allows viewing of laterally continuous (tens of kilometres) outcrops in the Tanqua and Laingsburg depocentres. Key objectives of this report are: -Discussion of seismically resolvable surfaces, geometries and volumes and uncertainties in estimating facies, net:gross and reservoir quality from seismic alone; -Assesment of the role of depositional topography (related to mass-transport deposits) compared to active growth of topography during episodic deformation of the seabed; -Differentiation of lower slope from basin floor settings and characterisation of lower and middle slope channel-overbank complexes; -development of criteria to recognise and assess bypass processes in slope settings and implications for down-dip sand supply; -Examination of different types of channel, channel complex, and channel complex set, related to different profile positions. Discussion on the relative amounts of lateral spill vs bypass vs in-channel aggradation and the implications for axis to margin to overbank sand connectivity; -Recognition of facies and facies associations, based on depositional processes, vertical succession and geometry, using outcrop, core and wireline logs; -Appreciation of the strong stratigraphic control on distribution of reservoir permeability extremes and their capture in reservoir models; -Discussion of approaches to building reservoir models of deep-water systems

The role of monitoring and evaluation in six South African reading programmes

In this article we focus on six reading programmes and ask: Do these programmes work insofar as they improve the reading ability of programme participants? We apply programme evaluation methods and content to these programmes to answer this question. Specifically, we use an approach that identifies the following five different levels of evaluation, namely: programme need; programme theory; programme process and implementation; programme outcome and impact; and programme cost and efficiency. We then add appropriate evaluation questions and research designs applicable to each level. We conclude by providing suggestions to reading programme staff on how to improve monitoring (data collection) in order to strengthen the evaluability of their reading programmes