Ecodomy - Life in its fullness

This book provides a coherent and conceptual portrayal of aspects of the theological research theme, entitled Ecodomy (literally meaning to ‘build a house’). In its figurative meaning the term Ecodomy addresses the theme, ‘life in its fullness’. This fullness of life entails a polarity which is inherently part of life, namely its brokenness and its wholeness. From various theological disciplines, namely Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies, Systematic Theology, Church History and Practical Theology, both the brokenness and wholeness are addressed theologically. Every chapter focuses on a specific theological discipline, while the combination of theological disciplines, addresses the brokenness and wholeness of life as coherent concept. One pole does not exclude the other. Brokenness is visible in current or recent very relevant societal challenges, such as racism and xenophobia, apartheid, foreignness and exclusivism, leadership crises and violence. In contrast, wholeness is embedded in themes such as the African concept of ubuntu, a life of faith and wisdom, reconciling leadership, or transforming space and community. Ultimately, a Greek term ἀναίδεια (persistence) is connected to the meaning of Ecodomy and ‘life in its fullness’. Several methodologies have been used in the different contributions of the book. Every theological discipline applies a different methodology for the purpose of exposing a specific topic or research theme. In general, the contributions in this book follow a combination of a literature study with the further application of diachronic and synchronic exegetical methods. In addition, single contributions follow an own hermeneutical approach. Not one single contribution, but a combination of different theological disciplines, which form the concepts of brokenness and wholeness (life in its fullness), which expose the polarity of life, are included in this book. In its exposed interdisciplinary interwovenness, the book provides a tapestry of how different theological disciplines are combined into a single theme and how they contribute together by means of theological analyses and attempted building blocks to build the broken ‘houses’ of societal structures or human life. The book contributes to selected aspects of broken life in society and the healing experiences of human life. Several themes touch on recent and relevant challenges which have contributed to the brokenness of life. Not only in South Africa, but globally these are currently relevant themes. They include realities of racism and xenophobia, apartheid, foreignness and exclusivism, leadership crises and violence. With the focus on wholeness, specific attention is given to the African concept of ubuntu, a life of faith and wisdom, reconciling leadership, and transforming space and society. A Greek term ἀναίδεια (insolence as ‘in keeping on asking’ – Lk 11:8) illuminates the theme of Ecodomy from the perspective of a parable. The target audience of the book is academic scholars and theologians, who specialise in the different fields of Theology, the Humanities and other Social Sciences. Furthermore, the book is also accessible to scholars of other academic disciplines outside these disciplines. The book contains original research and contributions have not been plagiarised from publications elsewhere

A synthesis of three decades of socio-ecological change in False Bay, South Africa: setting the scene for multidisciplinary research and management

Over the past three decades, marine resource management has shifted conceptually from top-down sectoral approaches towards the more systems-oriented multi-stakeholder frameworks of integrated coastal management and ecosystem-based conservation. However, the successful implementation of such frameworks is commonly hindered by a lack of cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer, especially between natural and social sciences. This review represents a holistic synthesis of three decades of change in the oceanography, biology and human dimension of False Bay, South Africa. The productivity of marine life in this bay and its close vicinity to the steadily growing metropolis of Cape Town have led to its socio-economic significance throughout history. Considerable research has highlighted shifts driven by climate change, human population growth, serial overfishing, and coastal development. Upwelling-inducing winds have increased in the region, leading to cooling and likely to nutrient enrichment of the bay. Subsequently the distributions of key components of the marine ecosystem have shifted eastward, including kelp, rock lobsters, seabirds, pelagic fish, and several alien invasive species. Increasing sea level and exposure to storm surges contribute to coastal erosion of the sandy shorelines in the bay, causing losses in coastal infrastructure and posing risk to coastal developments. Since the 1980s, the human population of Cape Town has doubled, and with it pollution has amplified. Overfishing has led to drastic declines in the catches of numerous commercially and recreationally targeted fish, and illegal fishing is widespread. The tourism value of the bay contributes substantially to the country’s economy, and whale watching, shark-cage diving and water sports have become important sources of revenue. Compliance with fisheries and environmental regulations would benefit from a systems-oriented approach whereby coastal systems are managed holistically, embracing both social and ecological goals. In this context, we synthesize knowledge and provide recommendations for multidisciplinary research and monitoring to achieve a better balance between developmental and environmental agendas.https://www.elementascience.orgam2020Mammal Research Institut

Tracking the evolution of the disaster management cycle: A general system theory approach

Officials and scholars have used the disaster management cycle for the past 30 years to explain and manage impacts. Although very little understanding and agreement exist in terms of where the concept originated it is the purpose of this article to address the origins of the disaster management cycle. To achieve this, general system theory concepts of isomorphisms, equifinality, open systems and feedback arrangements were applied to linear disaster phase research (which emerged in the 1920s) and disaster management cycles. This was done in order to determine whether they are related concepts with procedures such as emergency, relief, recovery and rehabilitation

Reconsidering disaster resilience: a nonlinear systems paradigm in agricultural communities in Southern Africa

Disasters continue to have a dramatic impact on lives, livelihoods and environments communities depend on. In response to these losses, the global community has developed various theories, assessment methodologies and policies aimed at reducing global losses. A contemporary outcome of these interventions is to build the disaster resilience. However, despite the disaster resilience-building endeavours espoused by policies, theories and methodologies, very little progress is being made in reducing disaster losses. This paper argues that a possible reason behind the limitations of current resilience-building policies and methodologies could be that most of these policies are based a mechanistic scientific paradigm that places an emphasis on system components that are perceived to build resilience and not the function of systems as a whole. This often leads to resilience-building initiatives that are based on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. This paper argues for the use of a complex adaptive systems approach to building resilience. This approach argues that contextual factors within different social systems will have a nonlinear affect on disaster resilience-building efforts. Therefore, it is crucial to move away from ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches to more flexible approaches to building resilience. These hypotheses are tested by means of a correlation statistical analysis of agricultural communities in Southern Africa. Results of this analysis indicate that unique resilience profiles are evident in almost all of the communities studied. This indicates that resilience is not the same for everybody, and that resilience-building endeavours should be flexible enough to be adapted for different context

Ecodomy - Life in its fullness

This book provides a coherent and conceptual portrayal of aspects of the theological research theme, entitled Ecodomy (literally meaning to ‘build a house’). In its figurative meaning the term Ecodomy addresses the theme, ‘life in its fullness’. This fullness of life entails a polarity which is inherently part of life, namely its brokenness and its wholeness. From various theological disciplines, namely Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies, Systematic Theology, Church History and Practical Theology, both the brokenness and wholeness are addressed theologically. Every chapter focuses on a specific theological discipline, while the combination of theological disciplines, addresses the brokenness and wholeness of life as coherent concept. One pole does not exclude the other. Brokenness is visible in current or recent very relevant societal challenges, such as racism and xenophobia, apartheid, foreignness and exclusivism, leadership crises and violence. In contrast, wholeness is embedded in themes such as the African concept of ubuntu, a life of faith and wisdom, reconciling leadership, or transforming space and community. Ultimately, a Greek term ἀναίδεια (persistence) is connected to the meaning of Ecodomy and ‘life in its fullness’. Several methodologies have been used in the different contributions of the book. Every theological discipline applies a different methodology for the purpose of exposing a specific topic or research theme. In general, the contributions in this book follow a combination of a literature study with the further application of diachronic and synchronic exegetical methods. In addition, single contributions follow an own hermeneutical approach. Not one single contribution, but a combination of different theological disciplines, which form the concepts of brokenness and wholeness (life in its fullness), which expose the polarity of life, are included in this book. In its exposed interdisciplinary interwovenness, the book provides a tapestry of how different theological disciplines are combined into a single theme and how they contribute together by means of theological analyses and attempted building blocks to build the broken ‘houses’ of societal structures or human life. The book contributes to selected aspects of broken life in society and the healing experiences of human life. Several themes touch on recent and relevant challenges which have contributed to the brokenness of life. Not only in South Africa, but globally these are currently relevant themes. They include realities of racism and xenophobia, apartheid, foreignness and exclusivism, leadership crises and violence. With the focus on wholeness, specific attention is given to the African concept of ubuntu, a life of faith and wisdom, reconciling leadership, and transforming space and society. A Greek term ἀναίδεια (insolence as ‘in keeping on asking’ – Lk 11:8) illuminates the theme of Ecodomy from the perspective of a parable. The target audience of the book is academic scholars and theologians, who specialise in the different fields of Theology, the Humanities and other Social Sciences. Furthermore, the book is also accessible to scholars of other academic disciplines outside these disciplines. The book contains original research and contributions have not been plagiarised from publications elsewhere

Early Bactericidal Activity and Pharmacokinetics of PA-824 in Smear-Positive Tuberculosis Patients▿ †

PA-824 is a novel nitroimidazo-oxazine being evaluated for its potential to improve tuberculosis (TB) therapy. This randomized study evaluated safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and extended early bactericidal activity of PA-824 in drug-sensitive, sputum smear-positive, adult pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Fifteen patients per cohort received 1 of 4 doses of oral PA-824: 200, 600, 1,000, or 1,200 mg per day for 14 days. Eight subjects received once daily standard antituberculosis treatment as positive control. The primary efficacy endpoint was the mean rate of change in log CFU of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum incubated on agar plates from serial overnight sputum collections, expressed as log10 CFU/day/ml (± standard deviation [SD]). The drug demonstrated increases that were dose linear but less than dose proportional in serum concentrations in doses from 200 to 1,000 mg daily. Dosing of 1,200 mg gave no additional exposure compared to 1,000 mg daily. The mean daily CFU fall under standard treatment was 0.148 (±0.055), consistent with that found in previous studies. The mean daily fall under PA-824 was 0.098 (±0.072) and was equivalent for all four dosages. PA-824 appeared safe and well tolerated; the incidence of adverse events potentially related to PA-824 appeared dose related. We conclude that PA-824 demonstrated bactericidal activity over the dose range of 200 to 1,200 mg daily over 14 days. Because maximum efficacy was unexpectedly achieved at the lowest dosage tested, the activity of lower dosages should now be explored