26 research outputs found
An appraisal of the development of Seventh-Day Adventist mission in South Africa : a missiological evaluation.
Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1996.July 1997 marks the 110th anniversary of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church's existence in South Africa. During this time the
denomination has augmented both organizationally and numerically. Notwithstanding the expansion in these dimensions though, a thorough
perusal of the denomination's history and present modus-operandi makes it clear that all is not as it should be within the denomination. In an attempt to discover the fundamental causes for the malaise that exists within the denomination, chapter one begins by succinctly tracing the growth of apocalyptic and millennial thinking. Beginning from the Maccabean era it reveals not only the numerous transformations that took place in millennial discernment throughout the subsequent centuries, but also demonstrates how these oscillations prepared the "soil" which allowed the emergence of the Millerite Movement - the immediate forerunners of the SDA church. Chapter two unveils the emergent movement in America initially opposed to to the formation of any formal organizations and hesitant to commission any missionaries to foreign lands. This period was destined however to also be an era of maturation. In the wake of the doctrinal consolidation that eventually took place, came not only an evolvement of missionary consciousness but also the successful development of a unique tri-lateral missiological approach that the denomination would employ' with great success on the world's mission fields.In July 1887 the first SDA missionaries stepped onto South African shores. Chapter three reveals this emergent church greatly stirred by the organizational, institutional and missiological developments experienced by the church in America, looking set to rapidly emulate both the missionary paradigm and numerous accomplishments of its mother church. Chapter four discloses however, how this once dynamic, intrepid, missionary-minded church very quickly became bogged down in a quagmire of difficulties. Many of these occurrences and other serious issues that followed in the ensuing years of the twentieth century were indisputably detrimental to the church, seriously affecting both its missionary expansion and its development in this country. As the denomination in South Africa stands on the brink of the twenty first century there is no question, that unless some drastic measures are taken, that it could very soon find itself under the sword of Damocles. This impending crisis is augmented not only by its almost total lack of involvement in crucial social issues, conspicuous inconsistencies present in its organizational structure, and its manoeuvre from a once dynamic evangelistically orientated movement to an institutionalized organization, but also by the fact that indispensable facets of its missionary strategy are at the present moment no longer in evidence in its continued operations. There is no question that the denomination is faced not only with a missiological identity crisis but also with the very sobering question whether it is indeed fulfilling the missionary mandate it ironically still preaches and still so strongly believes in
The Afrikaanse Konferensie (1968-1974) and its significance for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in South Africa.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.In 1968 a group of Afrikaans believers protested that the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in South Africa had remained foreign to their experience.
They maintained that American leaders had dominated the Church. They also
asserted that their cultural, linguistic and literary needs had not been
adequately catered to, and that the work of evangelization in the Afrikaans speaking
areas had been sadly neglected.
Some headway had been made by the Church in the years prior to 1968 with
translations, firstly, into Dutch and later also into Afrikaans. Advancement
had also been made by evangelists into the Afrikaans-speaking areas of the
Transvaal and the Orange Free-State. The history of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in this country, however, corroborates many of the grievances
enumerated by the dissatisfied Afrikaans believers. The predominance of
English in the administrative work of the Church and at its educational
institutions had always been a thorny issue, resulting in continuous friction
between the Church leaders and the Dutch and Afrikaans-speaking members.
Problems had also arisen with regard to the use of Afrikaans at the publishing
house of the Church. Positions of leadership in almost every department of the
Church had been filled by non-South Africans. As a result, by the late 1960s,
tensions in the Church had reached a boiling point.
At the end of 1968, at a special business session of the Transvaal Conference,
the objections of the Afrikaans believers met with very strong resistance. No
opportunity was granted to them to air their frustrations and grievances and,
as a result, a number of delegates left this meeting in protest before it had
been officially closed. This unilateral action resulted in the establishment
of an organization called Die Afrikaanse Konferensie van Sewendedag
Adventiste. This new conference was, however, considered to be schismatic and
was never acknowledged by the established Church.
From the outset, the Afrikaanse Konferensie set out to cater to the needs of
Afrikaans-speaking people in very forceful fashion. Many people felt that this
new conference had a legitimate cause and its membership grew very rapidly.
It initiated a welfare society, opened up several geriatric centres, its own
printing press and a correspondence Bible school. It also held, throughout the
ensuing years, numerous evangelistic campaigns. By the middle of 1973,
however, the opposition and incessant pressure applied by the established
Church and the severe problems that had emerged from within the ranks of the
Afrikaanse Konferensie, swiftly contributed to its demise, with most of its
members eventually rejoining the established Church.
At the time of the disintegration of the Afrikaanse Konferensie, the leaders
of the Church resolved to strengthen the evangelistic work directed at
Afrikaans-speaking people. They also determined to have more literature
produced in Afrikaans, and to strongly promote the use of Afrikaans at the
publishing house and at the Church's educational institutions. These
resolutions, however, proved ineffectual , and in the years that followed, the
work of the Church showed no improvement in its approach to the Afrikaans speaking
people.
Twenty-five years have passed since the demise of the Afrikaanse Konferensie
and the Church finds itself, because of both, external and internal factors,
in a position that could be considered decidedly worse than at the time of the
formation of the Afrikaanse Konferensie in 1968. As from 1995, after a protest
march by students on the campus of Helderberg College, instruction in
Afrikaans was no longer provided at a tertiary level. The production of
Afrikaans books and the translation of reading material into Afrikaans is
almost non-existent. As a result, voices of dissent are once again being heard
that the Afrikaans work is being neglected. This predicament in the Church can
neither be ignored nor circumvented and the only way for the Church is to deal
with the crisis in the utmost sincerity without allowing itself to succumb to
it.
The source of the problem appears to lie primarily in Seventh-day Adventist
ecclesiology where a gulf exists between its interpretation of unity, and its
understanding of mission in a multicultural context. Authentic church unity
cannot consist only of an outer dimension whereby unity and mission are
cosmetically combined. It involves a deeper internal dimension, where the
striving for unity becomes a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, while the
mission of the church simultaneously embodies the obligations to cater to the
cultural and linguistic needs of all of Christ's people. It is this essential
synthesis that has yet to take place in the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
where both these facets are to be fostered as complementary aspects of its
total vocation. It is this fusion of unity and mission which will open the way
for the Church to complete its mission, unhindered either by the polarizing
and divisive effect of religious and cultural diversity, or by any misguided
attempts to impose uniformity.
In their quest for positive resolutions for the challenges facing the Church,
its leaders must ask what it means to be "church" in the social context in
which it finds itself, what precisely is its mission in the pluralistic,
multicultural situation in which it is located and how essential is the Church
to God's mission in this country?
Judging from the nature of the dilemma that the Seventh-day Adventist Church
in South Africa still faces today, it appears that these are questions that
have not been satisfactorily answered. After assessing both the past and
present modes of the Church's operation it becomes essential for the Church
leaders to do some critical rethinking about certain facets of its existing
ecclesiology and its missionary strategies. It is just as important to
systematically abandon the organizational structures that no longer fit the
purpose and mission of the Church and to realign them with new paradigms that
will effectively cater to the spiritual, cultural and linguistic needs of all
the peoples of this country
The ChoCO-W prospective observational global study: Does COVID-19 increase gangrenous cholecystitis?
Isolation of osteogenic progenitors from human amniotic fluid using a single step culture protocol
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stem cells isolated from amniotic fluid are known to be able to differentiate into different cells types, being thus considered as a potential tool for cellular therapy of different human diseases. In the present study, we report a novel single step protocol for the osteoblastic differentiation of human amniotic fluid cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The described protocol is able to provide osteoblastic cells producing nodules of calcium mineralization within 18 days from withdrawal of amniotic fluid samples. These cells display a complete expression of osteogenic markers (COL1, ONC, OPN, OCN, OPG, BSP, Runx2) within 30 days from withdrawal. In order to test the ability of these cells to proliferate on surfaces commonly used in oral osteointegrated implantology, we carried out cultures onto different test disks, namely smooth copper, machined titanium and Sandblasted and Acid Etching titanium (SLA titanium). Electron microscopy analysis evidenced the best cell growth on this latter surface.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The described protocol provides an efficient and time-saving tool for the production of osteogenic cells from amniotic fluid that in the future could be used in oral osteointegrated implantology.</p
Diversity and ethics in trauma and acute care surgery teams: results from an international survey
Background Investigating the context of trauma and acute care surgery, the article aims at understanding the factors that can enhance some ethical aspects, namely the importance of patient consent, the perceptiveness of the ethical role of the trauma leader, and the perceived importance of ethics as an educational subject. Methods The article employs an international questionnaire promoted by the World Society of Emergency Surgery. Results Through the analysis of 402 fully filled questionnaires by surgeons from 72 different countries, the three main ethical topics are investigated through the lens of gender, membership of an academic or non-academic institution, an official trauma team, and a diverse group. In general terms, results highlight greater attention paid by surgeons belonging to academic institutions, official trauma teams, and diverse groups. Conclusions Our results underline that some organizational factors (e.g., the fact that the team belongs to a university context or is more diverse) might lead to the development of a higher sensibility on ethical matters. Embracing cultural diversity forces trauma teams to deal with different mindsets. Organizations should, therefore, consider those elements in defining their organizational procedures. Level of evidence Trauma and acute care teams work under tremendous pressure and complex circumstances, with their members needing to make ethical decisions quickly. The international survey allowed to shed light on how team assembly decisions might represent an opportunity to coordinate team member actions and increase performance
It is time to define an organizational model for the prevention and management of infections along the surgical pathway: a worldwide cross-sectional survey
Background The objectives of the study were to investigate the organizational characteristics of acute care facilities worldwide in preventing and managing infections in surgery; assess participants' perception regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, antibiotic prescribing practices, and source control; describe awareness about the global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and IPC measures; and determine the role of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic on said awareness. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted contacting 1432 health care workers (HCWs) belonging to a mailing list provided by the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. The self-administered questionnaire was developed by a multidisciplinary team. The survey was open from May 22, 2021, and June 22, 2021. Three reminders were sent, after 7, 14, and 21 days. Results Three hundred four respondents from 72 countries returned a questionnaire, with an overall response rate of 21.2%. Respectively, 90.4% and 68.8% of participants stated their hospital had a multidisciplinary IPC team or a multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship team. Local protocols for antimicrobial therapy of surgical infections and protocols for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis were present in 76.6% and 90.8% of hospitals, respectively. In 23.4% and 24.0% of hospitals no surveillance systems for surgical site infections and no monitoring systems of used antimicrobials were implemented. Patient and family involvement in IPC management was considered to be slightly or not important in their hospital by the majority of respondents (65.1%). Awareness of the global burden of AMR among HCWs was considered very important or important by 54.6% of participants. The COVID-19 pandemic was considered by 80.3% of respondents as a very important or important factor in raising HCWs awareness of the IPC programs in their hospital. Based on the survey results, the authors developed 15 statements for several questions regarding the prevention and management of infections in surgery. The statements may be the starting point for designing future evidence-based recommendations. Conclusion Adequacy of prevention and management of infections in acute care facilities depends on HCWs behaviours and on the organizational characteristics of acute health care facilities to support best practices and promote behavioural change. Patient involvement in the implementation of IPC is still little considered. A debate on how operationalising a fundamental change to IPC, from being solely the HCWs responsibility to one that involves a collaborative relationship between HCWs and patients, should be opened
It is time to define an organizational model for the prevention and management of infections along the surgical pathway : a worldwide cross-sectional survey
Background The objectives of the study were to investigate the organizational characteristics of acute care facilities worldwide in preventing and managing infections in surgery; assess participants' perception regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, antibiotic prescribing practices, and source control; describe awareness about the global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and IPC measures; and determine the role of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic on said awareness. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted contacting 1432 health care workers (HCWs) belonging to a mailing list provided by the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. The self-administered questionnaire was developed by a multidisciplinary team. The survey was open from May 22, 2021, and June 22, 2021. Three reminders were sent, after 7, 14, and 21 days. Results Three hundred four respondents from 72 countries returned a questionnaire, with an overall response rate of 21.2%. Respectively, 90.4% and 68.8% of participants stated their hospital had a multidisciplinary IPC team or a multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship team. Local protocols for antimicrobial therapy of surgical infections and protocols for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis were present in 76.6% and 90.8% of hospitals, respectively. In 23.4% and 24.0% of hospitals no surveillance systems for surgical site infections and no monitoring systems of used antimicrobials were implemented. Patient and family involvement in IPC management was considered to be slightly or not important in their hospital by the majority of respondents (65.1%). Awareness of the global burden of AMR among HCWs was considered very important or important by 54.6% of participants. The COVID-19 pandemic was considered by 80.3% of respondents as a very important or important factor in raising HCWs awareness of the IPC programs in their hospital. Based on the survey results, the authors developed 15 statements for several questions regarding the prevention and management of infections in surgery. The statements may be the starting point for designing future evidence-based recommendations. Conclusion Adequacy of prevention and management of infections in acute care facilities depends on HCWs behaviours and on the organizational characteristics of acute health care facilities to support best practices and promote behavioural change. Patient involvement in the implementation of IPC is still little considered. A debate on how operationalising a fundamental change to IPC, from being solely the HCWs responsibility to one that involves a collaborative relationship between HCWs and patients, should be opened.Peer reviewe
Correction to: Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members
Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey, a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic.
Methods: A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine.
Results: 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis.
Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years