House of traditional leaders: Role, problems and future

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Some new directions in infinite-combinatorial topology

We give a light introduction to selection principles in topology, a young subfield of infinite-combinatorial topology. Emphasis is put on the modern approach to the problems it deals with. Recent results are described, and open problems are stated. Some results which do not appear elsewhere are also included, with proofs.Comment: Small update

Metabolic markers as possible diagnostic tools to distinguish between Gram positive and Gram negative septicaemia in baboons

Septicemia is a disease with high mortality and morbidity. Most patients die within 48 h after infection because directed treatment can only start after the bacterium is identified as gram positive or gram negative. This may take up to 72 h. Early identification of the causative pathogen can therefore decrease the high mortality rate following infection. The aim was to identify possible metabolic markers of gram positive and gram negative septicemia in appropriately infected baboons. Ten baboons,anaesthetised with ketamine hydrochloride and pentobarbitone for 24 h, were used in this pilot study. Blood and urine samples were collected at various intervals during the 24 h. Four baboons were inoculated with S. pyogenes H305 and four with E. coli O111:B4. Two baboons served as controls. Acyl carnitine, amino acids, organic acids, very long chain fatty acids, glucose, pyruvate and lactate were measured in blood plasma and in urine using standardised methods. No metabolic markers could distinguish between gram positive and gram negative septicemia. α-Amino-adipic acid, citramalic acid and xanthurenic acid, produced only by bacteria, show promise. Alanine and glycine increased significantly over 24 h and can be used as diagnostic markers and perhaps as markers of disease progression. In conclusion, (in PDF file it is conclusively) metabolites can be used to diagnose septicemia and possibly its progression, but not to distinguish between gram positive and gramnegative septicemia.Keywords: Septicaemia, baboon, Gram negative, Gram positive, metabolic marke

Five Years On: What has changed in assurance of learning?

Education policies measuring quality in teaching and learning processes and associated discussions have escalated over recent years (Krause, Barrie & Scott, 2012). In Australia, under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, higher-education providers are responsible to ensure that “Assessment tasks for the course of study and its units provide opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement of the expected student learning outcomes for the course of study” (HESF, 2011:Standard 5.1). This standard aligns with the model of assurance of learning first proposed in the OLT Strategic Priority Project: Hunters and Gatherers: Strategies for Curriculum Mapping and Data Collection for Assurance of Learning (Lawson, Taylor et al, 2014). The empirical basis for the model was a national study of university practices across business schools. Notably, the main challenges for implementation were associated with staff engagement and workload issues; as well as scalability and sustainability of practice. Although mapping of learning outcomes across degrees was reported as common practice, some 60% of respondent institutions had not collected any specific learning outcome data yet. The OLT Extension Project: Gathering valid data for quality enhancement: assessing, reviewing, benchmarking & closing the loop for assurance of learning in regional universities (Lawson, Scheepers et al, 2015) builds on the earlier ‘Hunters’ findings. The 2015 project investigates supporting assurance of learning by engaging academics and senior faculty managers in valid data collection for quality enhancement. This presentation focuses on a follow up survey on current AOL practice in Australian Universities, targeting Business Schools, and draws on the original project data to enable between project comparisons. Interview data will be analysed using NVIVO to map current trends and good practice, identify ongoing challenges, and compare current practices with the 2010 findings. Key themes will be explored in the session along with the discussion of recommendations for meeting current quality measurement challenges

Synthesis of triprenylated toluquinone and toluhydroquinone metabolites from a marine-derived Penicillium fungus

Two triprenylated toluquinone and toluhydroquinone marine fungal metabolites, 5-methyl-2-[(2′E,6′E)-3′,7′,11′-trimethyl-2′,6′,10′-dodecatrienyl]-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,4-dione and 5-methyl-2-[(2′E,6′E)-3,7,11-trimethyl-2′,6′,10′-dodecatrienyl]-1,4-benzenediol, were synthesized in four and five steps, respectively, from 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone. The synthesis extends the applicability of the oxidative ether cleavage of hydroquinone dimethyl ethers with argentic oxide under acidic conditions to include the oxidative demethylation of polyprenylated-1,4-dimethoxy-toluhydroquinones with a quantitative survival of the oxidation- and acid-sensitive polyprenyl side chain. Graphical abstract: Marine fungal metabolites 1 and 2 were synthesized from 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone in four and five steps, respectively. [For graphic image see full-text version

The combinatorics of the Baer-Specker group

Denote the integers by Z and the positive integers by N. The groups Z^k (k a natural number) are discrete, and the classification up to isomorphism of their (topological) subgroups is trivial. But already for the countably infinite power Z^N of Z, the situation is different. Here the product topology is nontrivial, and the subgroups of Z^N make a rich source of examples of non-isomorphic topological groups. Z^N is the Baer-Specker group. We study subgroups of the Baer-Specker group which possess group theoretic properties analogous to properties introduced by Menger (1924), Hurewicz (1925), Rothberger (1938), and Scheepers (1996). The studied properties were introduced independently by Ko\v{c}inac and Okunev. We obtain purely combinatorial characterizations of these properties, and combine them with other techniques to solve several questions of Babinkostova, Ko\v{c}inac, and Scheepers.Comment: To appear in IJ

Tradisionele Leiers: Erkenning en die Pad Vorentoe

There has for many years been legal recognition of Traditional Leaders in South African laws, such as the Black Administration Act 38 of 1927 and regulations and proclamations issued in terms of other legislation. Recently legal recognition was confirmed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996.  Additional recognition of Traditional Leaders and the institution of Traditional Leadership is found in the various provincial legislation providing for Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders and the establishment and functioning of the National Council of Traditional Leaders.  Yet the institution of Traditional Leadership has over the past few years given rise to much controversy. There are those who argue that the institution is outdated and others who regard Traditional Leaders as custodians of customary values and the only leaders who are truly responsible for the well being of communities historically and religiously entrusted to them.  Traditional leaders fulfil a variety of functions in rural society, including that of presiding officer in customary courts, mediator of disputes, advisor in agricultural and family matters, guardian of young, old, infirm and abandoned. They perform legislative, executive and judicial functions according to the wish of the majority of the members of the tribe.  It became apparent, that de facto Traditional Authorities are the only existing form of local government in rural areas in South Africa. It seems unlikely that, in the foreseeable future, it will be financially, politically or practically possible to replace this form of rural government with a comprehensive and sustainable alternative.  The future role of Traditional Leadership in the development process is significant in that in addition to the recognition afforded by the Constitution and other legislation, the development law, unfolding in modern day South Africa under a new development paradigm, distinctly provides for Traditional Leaders to play a significant role in rural development and development planning at local government level in rural areas.  The role and function of the Traditional Leaders of South Africa in the rural development process unfolds as the Integrated planning process comes into operation as envisaged in section 10 of the Local Government Transition Act 209 of 1993 read with the .principles contained in the Development Facilitation Act 67 of 1995.  The development principles and the regulations prescribing the process of formulating land development objectives, provides for an inclusive process in which all role players and stakeholders are to be involved. In practice this means that communities, community organizations and institutions, as concerned role players in civil society, are also the concerned and key role players in the development planning and development process at local level. No plan and development strategy will therefore meet the prescribed legal requirements of acceptable development planning standards, if the rural communities and their leaders are not directly and actively involved.  Much of the confusion and conflict between Traditional Leadership and Customary Law Councilors on the one hand and elected Local Government Councilors on the other, arose as a result of a misunderstanding of the valuable support role which Traditional Leaders can play in the development process. The difference in the nature and scope of the tasks of elected and traditional community leaders provide a rich multi-facet basis on which a successful local governance system can be developed within the context of the current constitutional-legal framework in South Africa.  In many other countries in Africa it was only realized after repeated failures of rural development experiments, that Traditional Leaders and Traditional Authorities constitute a most valuable asset in the rural development process.      &nbsp

Listening to limericks: a pupillometry investigation of perceivers’ expectancy

What features of a poem make it captivating, and which cognitive mechanisms are sensitive to these features? We addressed these questions experimentally by measuring pupillary responses of 40 participants who listened to a series of Limericks. The Limericks ended with either a semantic, syntactic, rhyme or metric violation. Compared to a control condition without violations, only the rhyme violation condition induced a reliable pupillary response. An anomaly-rating study on the same stimuli showed that all violations were reliably detectable relative to the control condition, but the anomaly induced by rhyme violations was perceived as most severe. Together, our data suggest that rhyme violations in Limericks may induce an emotional response beyond mere anomaly detection

House of Traditional Leaders: Role, Problems and Future

A national House of Traditional Leaders and provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders have been established in terms of Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993.  The role of Traditional leaders at provincial and national level in the National House of Traditional Leaders and the Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders has not yet been clearly defined in South Africa. The National and Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders experience various problems that hamper their functioning.  The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significant role of the National House of Traditional Leaders and the Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders as Constitutional institutions at national and provincial levels and to make proposals regarding their future role and functioning. It can be expected of Constitutional institutions to function properly and effectively.  That is, however, not the case with the National House and the various provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders. In the rural areas are the poorest of the poor.  This is a result not only of the former apartheid policy but also of a lack of interest by former governments to invest in rural areas.  Attention and investment were focused mostly on the development of urban areas.  People in rural areas had no voice.  It should be ensured that their comments on legislation are for example taken seriously and are not discarded as a mere formality. The 1996 Constitution gives them this voice, but for the intended institutions to function properly, they must be effective. In this article a brief overview of the recognition of traditional institutions in the 1993 and 1996 Constitutions is given, whereafter the National House and Provinical Houses of Traditional Leaders are discussed with regard to their composition, role and the problems they experience in order to make recommendations with regard to their problems and future role.  &nbsp