Admiralty law in South Africa: section 6 of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act - an analysis, comparison and case law examination

Under South African Admiralty law the Courts are to apply two different systems of law depending upon whether the matter could have been heard under the old jurisdiction held by the Colonial Courts of Admiralty as at 1890. If the matter does involve this old jurisdiction then English law as it was in 1983 must be applied by the Courts to the matter. If the matter involves a new jurisdiction, which was unknown in the old courts, then Roman-Dutch law must be applied to the matter. These dual systems of admiralty have resulted in interesting judicial application, with certain judges correctly applying the statute, while others have ignored or chosen not to follow its directives. This paper investigates how admiralty law has developed in South Africa resulting in the dual system and analyses the mechanism established through legislation. The application through case law of the section is analyzed to discover how the section has been utilized by the South African courts. Thereafter a comparison is made of other jurisdictions with a similar admiralty source to discover how they have resolved the juxtaposition of admiralty law with domestic law. Suggestions for legislative reform are suggested and debated

Frugivory in central European birds I: diet selection and foraging

Fakultative Frugivorie ist eine weit verbreitete Ernährungsweise innerhalb der mitteleuropäischen Avifauna. Da hierüber bisher nur wenige quantitative Untersuchungen aus dem Freiland vorliegen, war es Ziel dieser Studie, die frugivoren Vogelarten der mitteleuropäischen Avifauna zu bestimmen sowie deren Früchtenahrung und Nahrungserwerb quantitativ zu untersuchen. Die Daten wurden zwischen dem 1. Juni 1997 und dem 31. Dezember 1999 mittels standardisierter Beobachtungen an 480 fruchttragenden Pflanzen aus 38 Arten erhoben. Beobachtungsgebiet waren unterschiedliche Biotoptypen im nordhessischen Bergland. Zusätzlich erfolgten Kartierungen des Vogelbestandes und des Fruchtbehangs auf ausgewählten Probeflächen. Im Rahmen der Untersuchungen konnten 36 Vogelarten ermittelt werden, die fleischige Früchte fraßen; 34 Pflanzenarten mit fleischigen Früchten wurden von Vögeln als Nahrungspflanzen genutzt. Im Rahmen von Zufallsbeobachtungen wurden die fleischigen Früchte von 9 weiteren Pflanzenarten als Vogelnahrung identifiziert. Unter den Früchte fressenden Vögeln erwiesen sich allerdings acht Arten als Samenprädatoren, die sich vornehmlich vom Samen in der Frucht ernährten und sechs weitere Arten als überwiegende Fruchtfleischprädatoren, die lediglich das Fruchtfleisch abpickten ohne den Samen zu verschlucken. Als quantitativ bedeutsamste Frugivoren erwiesen sich Amsel, Mönchsgrasmücke, Wacholderdrossel, Singdrossel, Rotkehlchen, Misteldrossel, Gartengrasmücke und Star. Lediglich zwei dieser Arten, Amsel und Rotkehlchen, traten während aller vier Jahreszeiten als Früchtefresser in Erscheinung. Über den ganzen Beobachtungszeitraum betrachtet, überlappte sich das Früchtenahrungsspektrum der Rabenvögel, des Stars und der Misteldrossel sehr stark. Als typische Nahrungsfrucht dieser Arten konnte die Wildkirsche gelten. Amsel und Rotdrossel ernährten sich überdurchschnittlich stark von Früchten des Eingriffligen Weißdorns, Mönchs-, Garten- und Klappergrasmücke von Schwarzen Holunderbeeren. Alle frugivoren Arten erwarben ihre Früchtenahrung vorrangig im Sitzen. Flugmanöver nahmen lediglich beim Rotkehlchen einen größeren Anteil ein (28,84 % aller Beobachtungen). Die Dauer eines Fressaufenthaltes in der Nahrungspflanze war interspezifisch variabel und reichte von durchschnittlich 30 Sekunden beim Hausrotschwanz bis hin zu durchschnittlich 184 Sekunden bei der Misteldrossel. Die Aufenthaltsdauer wurde wesentlich von der Struktur der Nahrungspflanze bestimmt. Fünf diesbezüglich untersuchte Vogelarten verweilten in sehr dichten Gehölzen länger als in deckungsarmen. Bei drei dieser Arten war der Unterschied statistisch signifikant. Während eines Aufenthaltes in der Nahrungspflanze nahmen die frugivoren Arten durchschnittlich zwischen 0,07 g (Trauerschnäpper) und 1,3 g (Ringeltaube) Fruchtfleisch auf. Dieser Wert ist höchst signifikant mit der durchschnittlichen Körpermasse einer Vogelart korreliert, d. h. schwere Arten nahmen pro Fressaufenthalt mehr Fruchtfleisch auf. Relativ zur Körpermasse einer Vogelart war dieser Wert aber bei leichten Vogelarten höchst signifikant größer als bei schweren, d. h. leichte Arten nahmen pro Fressaufenthalt einen höheren prozentualen Anteil (bezogen auf ihr Körpergewicht) an Fruchtfleisch auf. Mönchsgrasmücken und Gartengrasmücken erreichten die maximalen Werte und nahmen je Fressaufenthalt durchschnittlich 2,5 % ihres Körpergewichts an Fruchtfleisch auf. Deutliche interspezifische Unterschiede zeigten sich bei der Nutzung verschiedener Mikrohabitate innerhalb der Nahrungspflanze. Während die Rabenvögel, Misteldrosseln und Wacholderdrosseln eher den oberen, äußeren Bereich eines Gehölzes nutzten, hielten sich Rotkehlchen verstärkt im unteren, inneren Teil auf. Amsel, Rotdrossel, Singdrossel, Gartengrasmücke und Mönchsgrasmücke nutzten beim Nahrungserwerb überwiegend den inneren Bereich der Nahrungspflanze. Es wird diskutiert, inwiefern die Ergebnisse allgemeine Muster repräsentieren oder eine lokale Besonderheit darstellen. Ein Vergleich der erhobenen Daten mit Daten aus den 1980er Jahren, die in Südengland gewonnen wurden, weist Unterschiede in der Artenzusammensetzung der Früchtenahrung auf, die auf unterschiedlichen botanischen Ausstattungen der Untersuchungsgebiete beruhen dürften. Die Rangfolge der Beliebtheit von Früchten, welche in beiden Gebieten wachsen, stimmt jedoch weitgehend überein. Ebenso ist das frugivore Artenrepertoire fast identisch.Facultative frugivory is a common mode of nutrition in central European birds. Despite of this fact, quantitative studies about this subject are barely undertaken. It was the aim of this study to collect quantitative data about central European avian frugivores, their nutrition and their foraging behaviour. Data were collected by watching fruiting plants between 01.06.1997 and 31.12.1999. During this time 480 fruiting plants out of 38 plant species have been observed with standardised methods. The observations were undertaken in the northern part of the federal state of Hesse. Additional bird and fruit censuses were performed in different habitat types. Thirty-six bird species ate fleshy fruits and 34 plant species offered these birds fleshy fruits as nutrition. During coincidental observations, the fleshy fruits of 9 additional plant species could be identified as bird food. Eight of the bird species were seed predators, six other species were mainly pulp predators. Blackbird (Turdus merula), Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), Robin (Erithacus rubecula), Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) and Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) were the avian frugivores with the largest quantitative impact. Only two of them, Blackbird and Robin, were observed to eat fruit during all four seasons. The diet of the Corvids, the Starling and the Mistle Thrush showed a strong overlap. The fruits of the Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) can be categorised as typical fruits for these species. Blackbird and Redwing ate frequently Haws (Crataegus monogyna), Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca ate especially fruits of the Black Elder (Sambucus nigra). All of the frugivorous bird species foraged mainly from a perch. Only robins foraged by performing flying manoeuvres to a larger proportion (28.8 % of all observations). The duration of a feeding visit varied interspecificly. The minimum of the mean duration was 30 seconds in the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), the maximum reached 184 seconds in the Mistle Thrush. The duration of feeding visits was obviously influenced by the plant structure. All of five investigated bird species stayed longer in dense woody plants than in light ones. In three of these species, the difference was statistically significant. During a single feeding visit, the average mass of pulp eaten varied between 0.07 g in the Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) and 1.3 g in the Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus). The mean value of pulp taken during one feeding visit was highly correlated to the mean body mass of a bird species. If the body mass of the bird species was taken into account, lighter birds took more pulp per gram body mass than heavier species during a feeding visit. Blackcap and Garden Warbler showed the highest values with a mean mass of fruit pulp of 2.5 % of their own body mass. Avian frugivores foraged in interspecifically different microhabitats. While Corvids, Mistle Thrushes and Fieldfares mainly used the higher, outer parts of woody plants, Robins foraged mainly in the inner, lower parts. Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Redwings, Blackcaps, Garden Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats used the inner part of the feeding plants with priority. It is discussed, whether the results of this work represent common patterns of frugivory in central Europe. For this aim, the results of this work were compared with those of a work which was performed from 1980 to 1985 in England. The comparison shows differences of certain nutrition plants in some bird species. This was partly caused by different plant species assemblages in the two areas. Nevertheless, rank of preference of fruits, which can be found in both areas, is very similar. The two frugivorous bird communities corresponded very well

Frugivory in central European birds II: the role of fruit availability on the spatial and temporal habitat utilization of frugivorous bird species

Auf der Basis standardisierter Vogel- und Früchtezählungen wird in dieser Untersuchung der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern Korrelationen zwischen dem räumlich-zeitlichen Auftreten frugivorer Vögel und fleischiger Früchte bestehen. Die Kartierungen wurden im nordhessischen Bergland zwischen dem 01.06.1997 und dem 31.12.1999 zwei- bis dreimal pro Monat durchgeführt. Von März bis Juli waren im Untersuchungsgebiet keine oder nur sehr wenige fleischige Früchte vorhanden. Im August stieg die Zahl reifer Früchte sprunghaft an, und im September/ Oktober wurde der Maximalwert der Gesamtfruchtmasse und auch der Anzahl fruchtender Pflanzenarten erreicht. Auf drei je 50 ha großen Untersuchungsflächen erwies sich eine halboffenen Heckenfläche mit großem Abstand als qualitativ und quantitativ fruchtreichste Fläche (maximal über 9000 kg fleischige Früchte pro 100 ha und 19 gleichzeitig fruchtende Pflanzenarten). Weniger Früchte waren in einer Flussauenlandschaft mit schmalem Auwaldrest, am wenigsten in einem Mischwald zu finden. Den größten Arten- und Individuenreichtum an frugivoren Vögeln wies die Heckenfläche auf, gefolgt von der Auen- und der Waldfläche. Allgemein war die Artenzahl im Spätfrühling und Sommer am höchsten (maximal 14 auf der Heckenfläche), im Winter am niedrigsten (minimal 2 auf der Waldfläche). Hinsichtlich der Individuenzahlen waren ebenfalls typische jahreszeitliche Raumnutzungsmuster erkennbar: Im Sommer beherbergten alle Flächen etwa gleich viele Individuen frugivorer Vögel. Während aber auf der fruchtreichen Heckenfläche die Individuenzahlen ab dem Spätsommer stark zunahmen und im Herbst ein Maximum erreichten (maximal über 700 Vögel pro 100 ha im November 1997), sanken die Zahlen auf der fruchtarmen Waldfläche während des Herbstes kontinuierlich ab. Auf der Auenfläche war ein ähnliches Muster wie auf der Heckenfläche erkennbar, jedoch in stark abgeschwächter Form. Nicht-frugivore Vögel zeigten keine derartige Bevorzugung der Heckenfläche im Herbst. Kleinräumige Analysen der Habitatwahl häufiger frugivorer Vogelarten zeigten, dass diese Arten Orte (100 m x 100 m große Rasterfelder, die auf die Untersuchungsflächen projiziert wurden) bevorzugten, an denen präferierte Früchte vorkamen. So war das Vorkommen der Gartengrasmücke (Sylvia borin) im Spätsommer und Herbst höchst signifikant mit dem Vorkommen von Holunderfrüchten (Sambucus nigra) korreliert. Ebenso kamen Mönchsgrasmücken (Sylvia atricapilla) im Herbst höchst signifikant häufiger an Orten mit Holunderfrüchten vor. Amsel (Turdus merula) und Rotdrossel (Turdus iliacus) bevorzugten im Herbst höchst signifikant Orte mit Weißdornfrüchten (Crataegus monogyna). Amseln bevorzugten im Winter höchst signifikant Orte mit Hagebutten (Früchten von Rosa spec.). Allerdings konnte gezeigt werden, dass die genannten Arten auch im Frühling, wenn keine Früchte vorhanden sind, dieselben Stellen bevorzugen wie zur Zeit der Fruchtreife. Auf der Grundlage dieser Ergebnisse wird vermutet, dass Früchte nur einen von mehreren bestimmenden Faktoren für die Habitatwahl frugivorer Vögel darstellen. Allerdings könnten Früchte bei winterlichen Bedingungen mit Frost und Schneebedeckung für einige Arten zum wichtigsten Faktor bei der Habitatwahl werden.To study correlation between the presence of fleshy fruits and frugivorous birds, standardised mappings of fruits and birds were performed on three areas (hedges, flood plane, forest; 50 ha each) in northern Hesse. The mappings were performed between 01.06.1997 and 31.12.1999 two to three times during a month. Between March and July fleshy fruits were extremely rare. The number of fruiting species and the total fruit mass increased in August and reached maximum values in September and October. Fruits were most abundant and diverse on the area with hedges (up to ca. 9000 kg total fruit mass per 100 ha and 19 synchronously fruiting species). Less fruits could be found in the flood plane area and least on the forest area. The hedges area was also the richest in frugivorous bird species and bird individuals, followed by the flood plane and the forest. On all areas, bird diversity was highest in late spring and summer (up to 14 species on the hedges area), lowest in winter (up to 2 species in the forest area). Concerning the number of bird individuals, typical patterns of habitat use could be found: In summer, the bird numbers were similar on all three areas. During the late summer and the autumn the numbers drastically rose on the hedges area, but sank on the forest area. On the flood plane, the phenological pattern was similar to the one on the hedges area, but total bird numbers were much lower. Non-frugivorous birds did not show a preference for the hedges area in autumn. An analysis of the habitat use of some of the most abundant frugivorous birds on a smaller level showed that these birds preferred places (100 m x 100 m squares), where preferred fruits were present. The Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) and the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) significantly preferred places with ripe elder (Sambucus nigra) fruits. Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and Redwings (Turdus iliacus) preferred places with hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) fruits in autumn. Blackbirds preferred places with fruits of Rosa species in winter. However, it could also be shown that these bird species often prefer the same places in spring, when no fruits are ripe. Based on these results, it is suggested that fruits are one parameter for the habitat use of frugivorous birds in autumn and winter but not the only important parameter. Fruits may be the most important parameter in habitat use during times when the ground is frozen and/or snow covered during the winter

Revisiting Grey Street: The Grey Street Writers Trail in the Context of Urban Regeneration

This paper emerges from joint research by scholars in South Africa and Germany on a literary trail devised in 2006 by the research project KwaZulu-Natal Literary Tourism. This urban trail, set in a historically Indian-occupied area of Durban, highlights writers who lived in and wrote about it. Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the Grey Street Writers’ Trail in 2015, the literary trail was the focus of an MA dissertation by Bettina Pahlen on the relationship between the literature trail and ongoing urban renewal activity in the quarter.The research suggests that the Grey Street Writers trail represents a narrative of what trail designers, guides and authors consider meaningful about a place. Participant's engagement with this trail narrative shows its potential to change the perception of the area under regeneration. Informed by the work of Michel de Certeau (walking the city), Hubert Zapf (literature as cultural ecology), Throgmorton (storytelling in urban planning) and Edward Relph (placemaking, sense of place), this paper investigates factors limiting the trail’s contribution to urban regeneration in the Casbah. The questions asked by this paper is first, how the literary trail draws on and is impacted by experiences of urban renewal, and secondly, how the influence of the literary trail narrative on trail participants is limited by design and modified during implementation

Armis et litteris: The military equipment of early Roman Palestine, in light of the archaeological and historical sources

To date, no systematic study o f the military equipment from the celebrated conflict sites of the Bella Jiudaica has been offered. Based on a large assemblage of military equipment that originated from over 70 sites throughout Palestine a typological database of the equipment was formed, the majority of which is hitherto unpublished. The arid conditions of the eastern sectors of Palestine have contributed to an excellent preservation of equipment made of perishable materials. Additionally, rare discoveries like the panoply of a Roman legionary enabled us to illustrate the images o f the Roman soldiers and their opponents in the Early Roman east. But this study draws beyond the narrow typological approach. The militaria of Roman Palestine is examined against its contextual background. This corpus enriches the archaeology of conflict, as the analysis of the material yielded indications for the tactics and types of weapons employ ed, among which are remnants of unique siege tools. The exploration of the spatial distribution of the militaria provided new data concerning the course of battles and revealed the identity of the participating forces and provides a platform for critical discussion about the credibility of historical sources. By reviewing the wider historical and social contexts through the spectacles of military equipment we obtain now a tool which extends and improves our understanding of the big picture, namely how the interrelations between the struggling societies were mediated and moulded by social, political and economic conditions and practices. Militaria appears to be a useful indicator for the status of warriors within their military society and in the eyes of the civil society which is manifested in the rabbinic literature. It further sheds light upon production and technological aspects, which appear to echo the complex Romano-Jewish interrelations and the resistance o f the oppressed side tothe cultural Romanisation process

On the Connection between Temperature and Volatility in Ideal Agent Systems

Models for spin systems known from statistical physics are applied by analogy in econometrics in the form of agent-based models. Researchers suggest that the state variable temperature $T$ corresponds to volatility $\sigma$ in capital market theory problems. To the best of our knowledge, this has not yet been theoretically derived, for example, for an ideal agent system. In the present paper, we derive the exact algebraic relation between $T$ and $\sigma$ for an ideal agent system and discuss implications and limitations.Comment: Theoretical Contributio

‘When in Rome…?’: Literary tourism in Rome from a South African perspective.

The post-NRF phase of KZN Literary Tourism in South Africa has seen the development of a number of literary trails throughout the province, funded by area-based municipalities and the National Arts Council of the country. Those supported by the local municipalities also include a community guide training component which strengthens considerably the community outreach component of the project. To date seven literary trails have been compiled and printed: two on stand-alone authors who are both linked to exiting tourist sites in KZN, with the rest being smaller area-based (writer) trails. A literary trail in essence, ‘links’ sites together and is inevitably a construct: in effect, a strung together narrative linking places sequentially in an environment which may in fact have had a far less seamless coexistence with the writer. This paper moves from a discussion of literary tourism, to the concept of literary tourism sites and projects in the KZN province in South Africa, to a discussion of the literary trail in Rome, Italy. It does this however, by presenting an insider view on ‘experiencing of the trail’ by a South African tourist

An investigation of servant leadership within Rhodes University sports clubs

This research investigates the level of servant leadership within Rhodes University sport clubs. The goals of this research are to assess the perception the club members have of their chairperson and to key identify areas of development. The sport clubs at Rhodes University are partially run by chairpersons who are voted into the position by his or her peers of a sports club. The chairpersons work alongside Rhodes University employees who are a part of the Sports Administration team to oversee the running, scheduling and finances of the club. The sports clubs are representative of Rhodes University and it is the chairperson’s responsibility to ensure the club is lead and run effectively. Robert Greenleaf coined the term servant leader in the 1970s (Greenleaf, 1997). The servant leader is a leader who is driven by his or her followers, as leadership involves a leader serving his or her followers first and foremost (Greenleaf, 1977). The leader takes on a role that is supportive and contributes to their personal as well as their professional achievements (Smith, Montagno and Kuzmenko, 2004). A questionnaire consisting of 27 questions was drafted, of which were four demographic questions. A 5-point Likert Scale was used in order for the participants to respond to the questions. The questionnaire was drawn from a number of questionnaires available in literature on leadership and adapted to suit Rhodes University sports clubs. The questionnaire was distributed personally by the researcher, as well as through an online questionnaire. There were a total of 153 candidates who participated in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The majority of the respondents had the perceptions that their chairperson displayed characteristics of a servant leader. Majority of the participants were in agreement of the questions asked in the questionnaire, which focused on many servant leadership qualities. The results will be handed over to the Head of Sports Administration in order for them to get an idea of their leaders’ characteristics and areas where they can improve upon