The Integral Jan Smuts.

Integral Theory as developed by Ken Wilber and other contemporary Integral scholars acknowledge many antecedent foundational influences, and proto-Integral thinkers. Curiously, the philosopher-statesman Jan Smuts’ theory of Holism is seldom acknowledged, although it has significantly contributed, albeit often implicitly, to the development of Integral Theory. This paper and presentation has two central aims: To point out that Smuts can be counted amongst one of the great Integral thinkers of the 20th Century; that Smuts’ notion of Holism had a significant influence on the development of Integral Theory. This paper and presentation will provide a brief outline of Smuts’ theory of Holism as developed in his book Holism and Evolution and other philosophical essays

Challenges for rural school leaders in a developing context: A case study on leadership practices of effective rural principals

School leaders in all settings require suitable integration of leadership knowledge and skills to respond effectively to the many challenges that beset them in their daily work. However, it is argued that the rural context creates additional and distinctive challenges for school leaders, as rural schools have unique challenges and traits that differentiate them markedly from those in urban areas. To help understand how rural leaders in rural schools deal with the challenges and complexity in their work five schools were selected for the study. A qualitative research paradigm was selected. The selection process involved a purposive sample. Three of the five principals on whom the case studies were based were in their first year and the other two, were in their third and fourth year as a permanent teaching principal, respectively. Principals were interviewed using semi-structured, in-depth interviews.It was found that the desirability of principals acquiring a rural lens as a strategy for enhancing leadership has important implications for their initial preparation and also for their ongoing professional training. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.82.3.233

Incompatible Knots in Harm Reduction: A Philosophical Analysis

Human Sciences Research Council Press

Construction project management through building contracts, a South African perspective

This article reviews construction project manage-ment and building contracts in South Africa. It introduces general information and findings on the topic, forming part of a broader in-depth study, which proves difficult to encapsulate in one single article. The novice might perceive contract management, project management, and construction management to be the same concept. To clarify these concepts, the evolution of construction contracts and project management was studied to identify possible similarities between these concepts. This article commences with a brief history prior to a schematic analysis of the general characteristics of construction contracts and project manage-ment. It investigates the application of these concepts within South Africa and compares the general structure of the main contracts used within South Africa. This general investigation clearly shows that the standard conditions of contracts used in South Africa have similar structures to the main construction project management knowledge areas recognised by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The article also reviews the four general conditions of contracts endorsed by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in South Africa and investigates the general clauses and themes of these contracts. The Construction Contract should consider all the Project Life-Cycle (PLC) stages. The Construction Contract should further be regarded as the Project Implementation Plan (PIP), on which the control procedures during construction are based. With the understanding of the evolution of the two streams (contracts and management), their relevance, goal, dependencies and responsibilities may be understood better. This may enhance the professional manner in which the management of the entire Project Life-Cycle (PLC) is implemented and approached

Is the school a playground for politics?

Abstract: South African public schools’ capacity to govern themselves is an enduring concern of academic inquiry within the social sciences. Yet, the framing of this concern into an imagery where the state’s political agenda is directly related to its ability to draw upon, influence and withdraw the self-governing capacities of communities in relation to public school governance is more recent

Performance of a simple remote video-based eye tracker with GPU acceleration

Eye tracking is a well-established tool that is often utilised in research. There are currently many different types of eye trackers available, but they are either expensive, or provide a relatively low sampling frequency. The eye tracker presented in this paper was developed in an effort to address the lack of low-cost high-speed eye trackers. It utilises the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) in an attempt to parallelise aspects of the process to localize feature points in eye images to attain higher sampling frequencies. Moreover, the proposed implementation allows for the system to be used on a variety of different GPUs. The developed solution is capable of sampling at frequencies of 200 Hz and higher, while allowing for head movements within an area of 10×6×10 cm and an average accuracy of one degree of visual angle. The entire system can be built for less than 700 euros, and will run on a mid-range laptop

X-ray computed tomography of a titanium aerospace investment casting

AbstractThis case study demonstrates the type of non-destructive analysis possible using X-ray micro computed tomography (microCT) for a titanium aerospace investment casting of 225 mm in its longest axis. The advantages of the method are highlighted while the limitations are also discussed. Recently the method has become more accessible and affordable due to multi-user service facilities and the analysis has become simpler due to software and hardware improvements. This case study demonstrates a typical analysis including defect detection, wall thickness and part to CAD comparison, which can be done in less than 4 h, while simpler results are possible in under 1 h. This will be particularly useful for industries requiring quick but detailed non-destructive analysis

How school role players perceive distributed school governance?

Abstract: Amendments to the South African Schools Act –SASA, (Act 84 of 1996), have changed public school governance. These changes have had a domino effect on how public schools function today. School Governing Bodies (SGB) as the major role-players in public school governance have experienced its effect. In this article we explore the perceptions of school role-players involved in school governance in Gauteng (a province in South Africa)

Is the school a playground for politics?

Abstract: South African public schools’ capacity to govern themselves is an enduring concern of academic inquiry within the social sciences. Yet, the framing of this concern into an imagery where the state’s political agenda is directly related to its ability to draw upon, influence and withdraw the self-governing capacities of communities in relation to public school governance is more recent