A phenomenological enquiry into gay male domestic abuse victims’ experience of engaging with psychotherapy

Domestic abuse (DA) can have a severe impact on one’s mental health and well-being and has been shown to be at least as prevalent within LGBT relationships as heterosexual relationships. However, heteronormative narratives around same-sex DA mean that victims are less likely to name their experience as DA, and less likely to seek professional support, such as psychotherapy. Gay men can face specific help-seeking challenges and there is a seeming absence of qualitative in-depth research into gay men’s experiences of engagement with psychotherapy. In this context, this research project used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to reflexively explore how five gay male victims of DA made sense of their experience of therapeutic engagement, thereby voicing their unique needs and circumstances. The impact of participants’ relationships with themselves (Self-with-Self) and others (Self-with-Other) on their sense-making of the abuse emerged as key themes, culminating in often-long journeys to a turning point whereby they knew that something in their abusive relationship had to change. Once in therapy, the therapeutic relationship had reparative potential as it both helped participants to make sense of their abusive experiences and gave them a different relational experience, thus enhancing the potential to break repetitive patterns of abuse. Recommendation for wider society (the macro) down to individual therapists (the micro) were made, in the hope that more gay male victims of DA access and engage with support services such as psychotherapy, thereby not hiding and suffering in silence, and that DA support services and mental health professionals such as therapists are able to respond to them more appropriately and effectively from a more informed position

An investigation into factors which have an impact on access to and utilisation of the genetic and endoscopic surveillance clinic offered to high-risk members of known Lynch families

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-302).The Genetic and Endoscopic Surveillance Clinic provides predictive testing and life-saving colorectal cancer screening services to individuals with Lynch syndrome in the Western and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. The risk of colorectal cancer is reduced by 50% and mortality is decreased by 65% with regular colonoscopic screening; however, the attendance rate at the clinic has been declining over several years. Concerns exist for those individuals undergoing screening at levels below the desired recommendations. It was thus opportune for a formal evaluation of both the surveillance and predictive testing programmes to be conducted to determine factors affecting the access, utilisation and satisfaction with the service, from the perspective of the service users

Comparison of theoretical to experimental load bearing resistance of com-posite slabs

Abstract: Reinforced concrete structures can be strengthened by externally bonding steel plates to the con-crete surface in tension creating a composite structural element. This paper compare the theoretically calculated flexural resistance of composite structural slabs to the experimentally tested results. The test results of full scale experimental composite slabs are presented, loaded by either a point load at mid span or point loads at third spans mimicking a uniformly distributed load. The following variations in the in the composite slabs are considered: (1) number of bonded steel plates (2) width of the bonded steel plates (3) thickness of the bonded steel plate

Characteristics of domestic homicide perpetrated by persons with severe mental illness - a forensic psychiatry observation population-based study

Background: Domestic homicide (killing of a person aged 16 or older by a family member or a current or former partner) accounts for 50% - 70% of homicides perpetrated by offenders with mental illness. Despite these statistics, surprisingly little is currently known about the characteristics of domestic homicides perpetrated by those with severe mental illness. To the best of our knowledge, domestic homicide in the context of severe mental illness has not been researched in South Africa. Objective: To investigate domestic homicides by offenders with severe mental illness referred to the Forensic Mental Health Service at Valkenberg Hospital for forensic psychiatric observation. Methods: A five-year retrospective folder review was conducted to obtain data on the characteristics of offenders and victims, as well as the circumstances surrounding the homicide. Results: The majority of the offenders in our sample were young (mean age of 31), single, unemployed males who were known to mental health care services. Substance use disorders and non-adherence to medication were common. Psychotic disorders were the most prevalent diagnoses. The majority of victims were male and a significant minority of the domestic homicides were parricides (28.6%). The incident took place at the victim's residence or the victim and perpetrator's shared residence in most cases. Stabbing was the most common method used. Almost half of the perpetrators were psychotic when the incident took place and 60% of these were first episode psychoses. In spite of the high prevalence of substance use disorders (66.7%), only 23.8% of the sample reported that they were intoxicated when they committed the offence. Conclusions: The majority of our sample was known to mental health care services. This implies that there were potential missed opportunities to prevent these lethal assaults. Our research identified treatment adherence, comorbid substance use disorders and aggressive treatment of first episode psychosis as a possible focus of future interventions in order to prevent domestic homicides due to mental illness

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer : comprehension of a cancer risk in conjuction with a genetic risk

Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-71).The purpose of this study was to explore the level of understanding of the predictive test result and subsequent impact of testing for a predisposition to HNPCC. Using a qualitative research design, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten individuals (all mutationpositive and asymptomatic for CRC) subsequent to the disclosure of their predictive test result. The use of personal interviews could construct rich descriptions of the circumstances faced by these individuals, following their predictive testing for HNPCC

Petal-shaped clustering for the capacitated vehicle routing problem

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, February 2018In this research report, k-medoid (petal-shaped) clustering is modelled and evaluated for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). To determine routes, an existing metaheuristic, termed the Ruin and Recreate method, is applied to each generated cluster. Results are benchmarked to that of a well-known clustering method, k-means clustering. The performance of the methods is measured in terms of travel cost and distance travelled, which are well-known metrics for Vehicle Routing Problems (VRPs). The results show that k-medoid outperforms the benchmark method for most instances of the test datasets, although the CVRP without any predefined clusters still provide solutions that are closer to optimal. Clustering remains a reliable distribution management tool and reduces processing requirements of large scale CVRPs.MT 201

Influence of unidirectional CFRP plate pull-off strength bonded to concrete by means of epoxy and a combination of epoxy and mechanical anchors

Abstract: The flexural capacity of reinforced concrete structural elements can be increased by epoxy bonding external reinforcement in the form of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer (UD-CFRP) plate/s to the tension surface, thus creating a composite element. Dedonding of the UD-CFRP plate from the concrete surface is the most common failure mode. This experimental study investigates if additional mechanical anchorage to the epoxy bonded UD-CFRP plate will have a combining effect. Single shear pull off tests was conducted for the following three bonding mechanisms (1) UD-CFRP plate epoxy bonded to a concrete block; (2) UD-CFRP plate mechanically bonded to a concrete block; (3) UD-CFRP plate epoxy and mechanically bonded to a concrete block. The experimentally determined pull-off forces is also compared to the theoretically calculated forces

Effect of externally bonded steel plates on the bearing capacity of compo-site slabs

Abstract: Reinforced concrete structures can be strengthened by externally bonding steel plates to the con-crete surface in tension creating a composite structural element. This paper compare the increase in the load bearing resistance of un-strengthened reinforced concrete slabs (control slabs) to composite slabs strengthened by means of externally epoxy bonded steel plates. Test results of full scale experimental control and composite slabs are presented which are loaded by either a point load at mid span or point loads at third spans mimicking a uniformly distributed load. The following variations in the composite slaps are considered: (1) number of bonded steel plates (2) width of the bonded steel plates (3) thickness of the bonded steel plates

Sekere aspekte van die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie

My vak, naamlik Staathuishoudkunde, se oorspronklike benaming was „politieke ekonomie”

The study of tetanus intoxication and its treatment

I. The object of these experiments was primarily to find the influence of the central nervous system on the development of tetanus rigidity and to locate which centres take part in the pathogenesis of the characteristic symptoms.II. The place of injection had no effect on the distribution of the stiffness. Extensor stiffness resulted whether the injection was made in flexor or extensor muscles.III. The position of the limbs before the development of the stiffness was also without influence.IV. Experiments of hemi -sections of the cord showed that the supra -spinal centres have an influence on the development of rigidity. The extensor stiffness of local tetanus is less marked on the operated side when injections are made in both hind legs.V. One of the centres which give to the spinal cord the permanent innervation which is necessary for the development of the normal degree of extensor rigidity is the cerebellum. After an extirpation of this centre, extensor rigidity will develop, also on the homo- lateral side, but the degree of rigidity is less than on the non - operated side when bilateral injections are given into the hind legs.VI. Destruction of the cerebral cortex produced no effect upon the manifestation of tetanus intoxication.VII. Uni-lateral destruction of the corpus striatum preceding injections of tetanus toxin in both hind legs resulted in flexor rigidity instead of the normal extensor rigidity. This was on both sides, but was more marked on the homolateral one.VIII. These facts suggest that the corpus striatum has also in normal life an influence on the distribution of tonus.IX. In treatment of tetanus the method to be preferred is to combine intra-thecal injections of anti-toxin with washing out of the sub-arachnoidal space