Under the over infrastructure for the spectacle of the everyday

Research report submitted to the school of architecture and planning in fulfillment of the requirements of the Masters of architecture (PROF) 2016"Thresholds are often the most dynamic places in ecosystems. The cusp, both spatially and temporally, is the zone of maximum activity, exchange, hybridization and instability." (Kullmann, 2012) Threshold spaces, previously abandoned or unoccupied, have been infiltrated by various communities - the homeless occupy the undersides of bridges, traders fill pavements and foreign and rural migrants live in derelict buildings. People have created, through their bodies, areas of communication, encounter, and areas of commoning, through which the public 'square' or 'park' in Johannesburg can be reimagined, neither as public space nor as non-place, but rather as common space. It is here that architecture can engage with both the city and its user, space and experience. It is within public space, that architecture can both enhance and celebrate the spectacle everyday. This project investigates all of these aspects within the city of Johannesburg and more specifically along the threshold of the M1 Underpass (Henry Nxumalo Street), focusing on the Newtown Precinct. Programmatically a promenade and market is used to experience this spectacle.MT 201

Process intensification for the iron-catalysed slurry-phase Fischer-Tropsch Reactor System

Includes bibliographical references.A set of operating conditions was identified with the potential to enable improved slurryphase reactor productivity for hydrocarbon production using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Compared to the most relevant prior art publication, this requires operation at higher gas velocity, higher catalyst concentration and at higher temperature and/or pressure. The closest prior art proposal was published by Van der Laan et al. (1999) and a target was set to improve the reactor productivity by at least 50 %, relative to this reference, while also ensuring stable catalyst performance. Prediction of gas holdup in the reactor is essential to determine the reactor productivity and previous correlations used to predict gas holdup are potentially unreliable for extrapolation to the new proposed conditions. A new approach is adapted, from previous theoretical approaches, to provide a more fundamental and reliable basis for gas holdup prediction. Referred to as the ¡®adapted two-phase theory¡¯ it predicts the gas holdup at any slurry solids concentration using data from a representative solids-free liquid. This approach is shown to provide accurate predictions for paraffinic liquids using data covering a wide range of solids concentrations. Two laboratory reactor experiments were performed, at 260 and 270 ¢ªC, to characterise the selected catalyst performance at conditions relevant to the newly proposed operating regime. An achievable reactor performance was calculated corresponding to the catalyst performance from the experiment at 270 ¢ªC and using the new approach to predict gas holdup. Compared to the proposal by Van der Laan et al. (1999), a reactor with a given diameter is able to produce almost double the amount of product (94 % more with a lower slurry bed height). This is achievable by using higher catalyst concentrations and, most importantly, using a higher operating temperature. The undesirable methane selectivity, at or below 4 %, is still acceptable when operating at 270 ¢ªC. In spite of the higher reactor productivity with increasing temperature, the optimum operating temperature, in the range from 250 to 270 ¢ªC, may depend on the selectivity to the desired hydrocarbon products. The scope for further potential reactor productivity improvement is described. More work is needed to accurately quantify the selected iron catalyst selectivity performance, in the proposed temperature range, but the hydrocarbon selectivity was found to be insensitive to other operating conditions (i.e. pressure and gas composition). It is now possible to better quantify the reactor productivity in the trade-offs which are made with the selectivity performance and the overall plant design configuration which requires recycle of carbon dioxide to the methane reformers to adjust feed gas H2/CO ratio for natural gas applications. The carbon dioxide selectivity for the selected catalyst at the conditions tested was found to be too high for gas-to-liquid (GTL) applications using a natural gas feed

Assessment of procedural parameters recorded following spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section at three academic hospitals in Gauteng

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in the branch of Anaesthesiology Johannesburg, 2014Currently spinal anaesthesia is widely considered as the safest technique for caesarean section because the increased risk of failed intubation and aspiration associated with pregnant patients is avoided. In South Africa the latest confidential enquiry into maternal mortality for the triennium 2008 – 2010 showed that the maternal mortality rate due to anaesthesia is approximately 5 per 100 000 live births, and the majority (79%) occurred under spinal anaesthesia. This represents a high rate of maternal mortality due to anaesthesia, and particularly spinal anaesthesia, when compared to developed countries. Good anaesthetic records are vital in understanding why the maternal mortality rate due to anaesthesia is so high, and the parameters that are recorded following spinal anaesthesia has not been investigated in South Africa. The primary objectives of this study were to describe the demographics, essential procedural parameters, additional procedural parameters and the clinical parameters recorded following spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section. The secondary objectives of this study were to compare whether surgery being performed during the week or over the weekend, surgery being performed during the day or during the night, surgery being routine or an emergency or the category of anaesthetist influenced the parameters recorded. The research design used in this study was that of a retrospective, contextual, descriptive study. The study population was the anaesthetic records completed following spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section in the maternity theatres of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital. Consecutive convenience sampling was used to select 300 anaesthetic records to be enrolled into the study. Anaesthetic records at each hospital were reviewed from 30 June 2013 backwards until the required sample size for each hospital was reached. Records were enrolled into the study proportionally to the average number of caesarean sections performed at each hospital per month. The majority of records were completed during the week and during the night, most of these anaesthetic records were for emergency surgeries and most were completed by registrars. The study revealed that demographic data and identifying parameters were recorded thoroughly. Eight of the twelve essential procedural parameters were recorded adequately. From the twelve additional procedural parameters identified from the records only two were recorded adequately and from the five clinical parameters reviewed four were recorded acceptably. Records were found to be more comprehensive when completed during the week, when completed during the night, when completed for emergency surgery and when completed by a registrar

The availability ofresearch journals in South African academic medicallibraries

Biomedical researchers depend on the journals of science as a primary source of information. The spiralling cost of journals threatens the ability of libraries to provide their users' information needs. In this study the availability of a representative sample of journals used by South African biomedical researchers was determined at each of the seven medical faculty libraries. The application of a standardised document delivery test is described and the results are interpreted in terms of: (i) the capability index, which includes material obtainable through inter-library loans; and (ii) an availability index, or measure of the probability that a user will find an item without delay in hislher own library. The current status of availability of biomedical journals was found to be high at all the libraries; indeed, the scores compare favourably with results obtained at academic libraries overseas. There is, however, real concern that the financial crisis in tertiary education will cause the situation to deteriorate. Repetition of this test is recommended to monitor the (probably declining) level of journal availability. The information would support efforts to rationalise and subsequently strengthen academic medical libraries' collective holdings as a strategic national resource

Re-partnering as a Contingency Deduction in Claims for Loss of Support Comparing South African and Australian Law

In a claim for loss of support by the spouse of the deceased breadwinner, the claim will be influenced by the probable remarriage of the surviving spouse. In light of the recent extension of the traditional concept of family and ‘husband and wife’, the wider term ‘re-partnering’ is suggested, instead of remarriage. If the widow has already entered into a new relationship during the course of the trial, it is taken into account as a proven fact and not as a contingency, according to the theory on compensating advantages. The right to a claim for loss of support is not automatically lost due to the re-partnering. The income and life expectancy of the new partner will be taken into account in calculating the extent of the claim. In three Australian jurisdictions, the Northern Territories, Victoria and Queensland, the legislature has promulgated legislation forbidding the use of remarriage as a contingency deduction in a claim for loss of support, irrespective of whether the re-partnering is a reality or just a probability. In general it can be stated that South African courts tend to over-emphasize the influence of probable re-partnering by a widow. In contrast to this, the manner in which re-partnering as a contingency is handled in Australian case law can be recommended as realistic and appropriate. In the recent decision in De Sales v 1 Ingrilli, the High Court of Australia held that in cases where remarriage has not yet occurred, it should only be taken into consideration as part of the ‘standard’ adjustment (general contingency adjustment) for uncertain future events, and could no longer be applied as a specific contingency, which tends to be higher than the mentioned general contingency adjustment. The court determined that the general contingency adjustment, which incorporated the remarriage of the widow, should only be five percent.    &nbsp

Index to pass database evaluation: making the connection

Different evaluation methods where discussed, using SciFinder and Scopus databases as examples. The ideal indexing method would be to index for a specific audience.Paper presented at the ASAIB Conference, National Library, Pretoria, 10 May 2012.cp201

Distinguishing Between Private Law and Social-Security Law in Deducting Social Grants from Claims for Loss of Support

This article attempts to highlight the potential danger in applying private-law principles to social-security law in deciding whether or not social grants should be deducted from awards for damages. Typically, this issue comes to the fore where a damage-causing event, such as death, sets into motion a system that provides for the payment of social benefits, damages or both. In social-security law, the receipt of more than one social benefit is called "double dipping", whereas in private law the problem of double compensation is addressed by applying the collateral-source rule. In some instances the applicable legislation clearly prescribes the deduction or not of the social benefit, but unfortunately our legislation is not always clear on this issue and this can best be illustrated by two recent conflicting decisions in Makhuvela (SGHC) and Timis (SCA). In Makhuvela the court held that a foster-care grant should be disregarded in calculating the award for damages, inter alia because the child will never have a claim to the grant. In Timis the SCA distinguished the facts from Makhuvela and held that the child-support grants received by the mother after the father's death are directly linked to the death of the father and should therefore be deducted from her claim for loss of support. It is submitted that although the outcome of the Timis decision is correct, the court should have incorporated the means test into the process of deciding if the grant should be deducted from the compensation. A two-phase approach is suggested: first determine if the receipt of the grant is directly linked to the death of the breadwinner, and secondly determine how the grant and the subsequent settlement paid by a wrongdoer will affect the circumstances of a particular individual or family. The objectives in social-security law differ from the objectives in the law of damages and therefore the principles applied in cases of double dipping cannot be equated with those applied in cases of collateral benefits.    &nbsp

Information Literacy: a US perspective

Paper presented at the American Day, Research Commons, Merensky Library, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 22 July 2011

A Report to an academy

Presentation to the Carnegie Research Academy, held at Mont Fleur, Stellenbosch portraying a journey from before attending a similar academy, to after completing an internship of three months in the USA .Paper presented at the Carnegie Research Academy, Mont Fleur, Stellenbosch, 10 October 2011.Carnegie Institute of New Yorkcp201

Research support: a US experience

Paper presented at the American Day, Research Commons, Merensky Library, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 22 July 2011