Ben Marais (1909-1999): The influences on and heritage of a South African Prophet during two periods of transformation

University of Pretoria / Dissertation / Department of Church History and Church Policy / Advised by Prof J W HofmeyrThis thesis in Church History presents a biographic study on the life of Ben Marais against the political and ecclesiastic background of South Africa of the 20th century. The significance of Ben Marais’ life is approached through his correspondence with the secretaries of the World Council of Churches during the 1960s and 1970s. The letters, pertaining to the World Council of Churches financial and moral support for the organisations fighting against Apartheid, reflect on Ben Marais’ involvement with the World Council and his particular concerns. Through a study on the life of Ben Marais insight can be gained into the thinking of the leadership of the NG Kerk. The study presents Ben Marais as a prophet who challenged the then popular tendencies in the NG Kerk theology on policy justification and on the relation between religion and nationalism. The central question in this study asks, what led an ordinary man, of humble background, to the insights he reflected, and guided him through times of transparent opposition to maintain his belief in what was right and just? What was the essence of his theology and understanding of the South African problem? To what extent could the church leaders of the present, and the future learn from his example and life, in terms of the tribulations faced, different schools of thought, and sentiments, both nationalistic and spiritual? The study then wishes to test the following hypothesis: Ben Marais can be considered as one of the steadfast and humble prophets of the church in Southern Africa during the 20th century, who serves as an example of Christian Brotherhood, regardless of the perplexities, for present and future generations on relations between the affairs of faith, state and society. The thesis presents a broader introduction on Church Historiography. Ben Marais’ own historiographical reflection is considered. The approaches to history are summarised as background to the periodisation model adopted by the study. The study wishes to work with a thematic model set against a chronological framework. Sensitivity to geographical concerns is also expressed. Afrikaner Nationalism is not seen in isolation, but in relation to African, English and Indian Nationalism

An Investigation of measures of perfomance in a complex system

Includes bibliographical references

Secondary dyslipidaemia

No Abstract

Vertical air profiling in False Bay

Marine surface layer micrometeorology mainly constitutes vertical turbulent fluxes of parameters such as momentum, heat, water vapour and aerosols. These turbulent fluxes have been tested in the laboratory and can be applied to the atmospheric changes over the ocean, where wind speed, the air-sea temperature difference (ASTD) and humidity play a major role. Due to the difficulty of actually measuring these changes directly, equations were derived that describe the micrometeorology in terms of actual meteorological observations. The theory of micrometeorology in turn provided the accepted calculations to predict vertical profiles for wind speed, air temperature and humidity. Nevertheless, using micrometeorology theory to predict atmospheric conditions over the ocean proves to be more difficult than over land. This is mainly due to the complex nature of the oceanic environment and its interaction with the atmosphere directly above it. The primary objective of this work was therefore to investigate the potential of deploying a Helikite in order to characterise the lower atmosphere in False Bay. Focus was placed on the methods to correctly measure air profiles over the ocean up to a maximum height of 200 m. A description of the system set-up, data acquisition, deployment parameters and data analysis are discussed. The second objective was to evaluate the micrometeorology theory used in a micrometeorological model for the marine surface layer with False Bay data. This was achieved by using experimental data to run the model. The model output was then compared to the experimental profile measured as part of objective one. The micrometeorological model it aimed to assess is based on the standard bulk meteorological observations of wind speed, temperature, humidity and the turbulent fluxes of momentum, heat and water vapour. Analysis of the various environmental parameters showed a complex oceanographic and atmospheric system. The air profiles recorded for this study were recorded in an area where smaller scale local effects were dominant, which could explain some of the discrepancies encountered when attempting to reproduce the measured profiles using micrometeorology bulk parameterisations. The four profiles described in this thesis were grouped with two profile days showing a good comparison between the predicted and measured profiles. Results also indicated that micrometeorology theory perform better when using the ‘bucket’ Sea Surface Temperature (SST) at 0.5 m below the surface

Distal sensory polyneuropathy in South Africans infected with human immunodeficiency virus : a cross-sectional analysis of a community cohort

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-107).Introduction: Distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP), the most common neurological complication of HIV infection, is related to either HIV or antiretroviral therapy (ART). Dideoxynucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors such as stavudine are widely used in resource-poor countries and often associated with neuropathy. The prevalence of DSP in developed countries range from 21% to 63%; little data is available from Africa. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of DSP in a South African community clinic-based population and to investigate associated risk factors. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, DSP status was determined in 598 HIV-infected adults using validated tools (Brief Peripheral Neuropathy Screen and a modified version of the Total Neuropathy Score) to categorize subjects. Symptomatic DSP required the presence of at least two neuropathic signs together with at least one symptom. Asymptomatic DSP required the presence of two neuropathic signs. Clinical, anthropometric, quality of life and laboratory evaluations were prospectively performed. Information about CD4 counts, antiretroviral therapy (ART) and questionnaires regarding previous tuberculosis (TB) and alcohol exposure was retrospectively collected Results: Approximately half (49%) of the study population were diagnosed with DSP (30% symptomatic DSP). In the ART-naïve group 37% had evidence of neuropathy (23% symptomatic) compared to 63% of the ART-exposed subjects (39% symptomatic). Overall, subjects with DSP were older (p<0.001) and had lower CD4 counts (p<0.001) compared to those without neuropathy. Previously treated TB infection (p<0.001) and ART use (p<0.001) showed strong associations with DSP. In multivariate analyses the odds (95% confidence interval) of developing DSP was independently associated with ART use (OR 1.7, 1.0-2.9), age (per 10 year increments) (OR 1.7, 1.4-2.2) and previously treated TB infection (OR 2.0, 1.3-3.0). Although stavudine significantly associated with DSP, the duration of exposure was similar irrespective of neuropathy status. Pain or paresthesia was reported by 69% of those with symptomatic DSP and rated as at least moderate to severe. ART-exposed subjects had a tendency towards lower pain scores compared to ART-naïves (p=0.032). Conclusions: DSP is a clinically significant problem in urban HIV-infected Africans. The findings of this study raise the possibility that with avoidance of stavudine-containing regimens in older subjects, especially those with a history of previously treated TB infection, the prevalence of DSP may be reduced

Efficiency in the provision of production specifications for the South African construction industry

In most developed countries production specifications are based on national standardised specification systems, such as the National Building Specification or NBS (Great Britain), the National Specification System or NATSPEC (Australia), Master Specification Systems or MasterSpec (United States of America and Canada), General Materials and Workmanship Specifications or AMA (Sweden), and the National Standard Building Specification or STABU (the Netherlands). Standard specifications are primarily designed to shorten descriptions in the texts of new projects, whether in respect of descriptions on architectural or engineering drawings and technical specifications or descriptions in bills of quantities, schedules of rates, etcetera. In some countries the development of computerised specification systems has reached the point that these systems are supplanting the traditional word processing method. These systems are also providing links or interfaces to other information systems of the construction sector, such as design, products and cost information systems, etcetera.The South African construction industry, however, lags behind these countries that have been involved in the development of construction information systems or processes over the years. A call is therefore made to improve the efficiency of providing production specifications, as inadequate project information has been identified as one of the major causes of inefficiency in the building process

Subtotal capsulectomy for idiopathic chondrolysis of the hip : a clinical, radiological and histological study

Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this study will be to review the outcome of a subtotal capsulectomy of the hip for idiopathic chondrolysis. Idiopathic chondrolysis of the hip is a very rare condition. It is characterized by cartilage necrosis of the hip joint not associated with trauma, SUFE, infections or other demonstrable causes. It was first described in 1971 by Jones from the Princess Alice Orthopaedic Hospital in Cape Town. It occurs mainly in adolescent girls. The outcome in South Africa has been reported as a progressive downhill course resulting in a painful, stiff hip. The aetiology of the disease remains unknown. Theories suggested are mechanical (decreased movement with loss of synovial nutrition; increased joint pressure) and an auto-immune response in genetically predisposed individuals. The differential diagnosis includes atrophic-type tuberculosis of the hip. Suggested treatment ranges from NSAIDs and range of motion exercises alone to early aggressive surgical treatment. Our experience with continuous passive motion (CPM) and NSAID treatment have been disappointing

Doubts raised on the validity of construction and payment guarantees

It has become common practice in the building industry for contractors to provide employers with a construction guarantee. These guarantees, which are defined as being on call or on demand, usually provide that a certificate issued by the agent or the principal agent will provide conclusive proof that the employer is entitled to call in the guarantee (Fenster, 1998). In a number of recent decisions, such a conclusive proof provision has been the subject of judicial scrutiny, and there is now an ever-increasing doubt as to the validity of these guarantees. The Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) 1991 suite of contracts was the first in South Africa to introduce the concept of construction and payment guarantees that provided the requisite cover available on call from approved financial institutions. In the process the construction guarantee replaced the performance guarantee (surety) that prevailed in addition to the retention fund in construction contracts. Various standard forms, which embodied the terms and conditions of the guarantees, were prepared for this purpose by the JBCC. These terms and conditions had been negotiated by the JBCC with the legal/ technical committees of the banking and insurance institutions and were fully approved by them. However, for some time now concerns have been raised regarding the difficulties experienced in getting all banks and/or their property finance divisions to comply with the JBCC guarantees. Because the construction and payment guarantees are so closely linked to the terms and conditions of the JBCC principal and nominated/selected subcontract agreements, changes made to the pro forma guarantees or agreements, which disturb the risk of the guarantor, could very well render the guarantee null and void. This article will report the interpretation of construction and payment guarantees as held in recent court decisions, the findings of an investigation conducted on perceived problems being experienced by the South African construction industry with regard to these guarantees, and will present what is considered to be best practice to ensuring the continued effective use thereof

The appropriateness of the localised uniform conditioning technique for high-nugget Birimian-style gold deposits

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Engineering to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, 2017The localized uniform conditioning (LUC) technique converts conventional Uniform Conditioning (UC) grade-tonnage curves into single grade values attached to each smallest mining unit (SMU). This is achieved by ranking the SMUs within a panel in increasing order of their grade based on the local grade patterns predicted by direct kriging of the SMUs. However, the quality of this localization process will depend heavily on the validity of the predicted grade patterns. A study was undertaken to determine how valid the predicted grade patterns of a typical Birimian-style gold deposit (with high nugget effect and strong short-range variability) might be expected to be. The direct SMU kriging rankings (based on sparse data) were compared with the grade control model ranking (based on close-spaced data and the best available estimate of the deposit). The results showed a satisfactory correlation and relationship between these rankings. It was concluded that the application of the LUC technique is still useful and appropriate for this style of deposit.XL201