Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf): Open Journal Systems
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The Influence of Reasonableness in Determining Delictual or Tort Liability for Emotional Distress or Mental Harm in American and French Law
No full textAmerican and French law, like South African law recognises claims for emotional or mental harm. Emotional, mental, or psychological harm was only recognised by the courts in the 1800's and even though the mind and body in a sense is considered as a unit, these types of claims are not on par with claims for physical bodily injury. In fact, these types of claims can be regarded as sui generis but within the broader ambit of delictual or tort liability. Finding delictual or tort liability for emotional, mental or psychological harm has been problematic not only in South Africa but also in the United States of America and France. Even though there are fundamental differences in the law between these jurisdictions, the broader questions the courts face is whether a claimant is entitled to claim, the amount of damages that should be awarded and how to limit liability with these types of claims. Limiting liability for emotional or mental harm is generally the main policy concern but the courts have found ways of using the elements or concepts such as reasonable foreseeability of harm to limit the claims. American, French, and South African law recognise claims for emotional, mental or psychological harm by primary and secondary victims. Thus emotional, mental, or psychological harm caused directly or indirectly is compensable. In American and French law, the concept of reasonableness plays an important role, whether it be implicit or explicit, in determining delictual or tort liability for emotional or mental harm. In a sense also, reasonableness plays an overarching role in determing the liability. In a previous contribution, the influence of reasonableness in determining delictual or tort liability for psychiatric or psychological harm in English and South African law was discussed. In this contribution, the focus is on the influence of reasonableness in determining delictual or tort liability for emotional or mental harm in American and French law
Female cricket pace bowling: kinematic and anthropometric relationships with ball release speed
Get PDFBackground: Despite an increase in the professionalism and participation of female cricket, the coaching of female pace bowling is still reliant on male-derived knowledge.
Objectives: To investigate the association between key male-derived kinematic and anthropometric parameters and ball release speed (BRS) in female pace bowlers.
Methods: Eleven female pace bowlers participated in this study. BRS, and four anthropometric and five kinematic parameters were determined. Stepwise linear regression and Pearson Product Moment correlations were used to identify anthropometric and kinematic parameters linked to BRS.
Results: The best predictor of BRS explaining 89% of the observed variance was the bowling shoulder angle at ball release. The best anthropometric predictor of BRS was height explaining 53% of the observed variance. Other parameters correlated with BRS included: run-up speed (r = 0.75, p = 0.013) and arm length (r = 0.61, p = 0.046). When height was controlled for, the front knee angle at front foot contact was also correlated to BRS (r = 0.68, p = 0.044). No relationship was found between trunk flexion and BRS.
Conclusion: Faster BRS were characterised by faster run-up speeds, straighter front knees, and delayed arm circumduction similar to male pace bowlers. The lack of relationship between trunk flexion and BRS may highlight female pace bowlers adopting a bowling technique where BRS is contributed to by trunk rotation as well as trunk flexion. This knowledge is likely to be useful in the talent identification and coaching of female pace bowlers
THE NATURE OF RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET
No full textThe question of whether a right to Internet access exists often centres around whether it “should” be a right and not whether it “could” be a right. Although some proponents of Internet-access-as-a-right might hold lofty and praiseworthy ideals, something does not become a right simply by being proclaimed as a right. That would be a superficial and hollow perception of the nature of rights. The admirable desire to grant a “rights” status to access to the Internet is as seductive as it is problematic. The Internet is a medium that enables the exercise of other rights but access to the Internet is not a right in itself. Moreover, the Internet as a medium is not intrinsic to being human. To proclaim access to the Internet as a right therefore unthoughtfully diminishes the very nature of rights. The proposition is perilous, given the context of South Africa’s struggle to ensure rights for all who live here, and it cheapens those rights that have been won
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! AN ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL GROUNDS FOR REQUIRING ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION TO BE PROVIDED CLOSE TO THE EVICTION SITE
No full textThis article explores the notion of “location” in respect of the State’s housing duty, especially in respect of emergency housing. Throughout, the term “location orders” are used to describe orders in which the State is required to provide emergency housing at or near a specific location. It is important to determine the legal justification for such orders, to ensure legal certainty. To answer this question, this article first sets out the facts of the most recent case in which such an order was made (Commando v Woodstock Hub (Pty) Ltd. Secondly, it considers the legal framework applicable to the question. Thirdly, the paper considers the history of location orders in our Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence and how they came about. Thereafter, it explores the court’s justifications for such orders. It considers under what circumstances courts are likely to grant such orders. This is applied to the Commando decision, to determine whether the decision was in line with the current approach. Final remarks are provided in the conclusion
COVID-19 and common mental disorders among university students in South Africa
No full textCOVID-19 has had far-reaching economic, social and health consequences, with vulnerable groups disproportionally affected. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, concern was expressed about university students’ mental health, with global data suggesting students are more vulnerable than the general population to mental disorders. Yet, it is unclear what the pandemic’s impact has been on the mental health of students in South Africa. We examined the impact of COVID-19 on first-year students at two universities in South Africa by analysing changes in the prevalence and age-of-onset of three common mental disorders (namely major depressive episode, generalised anxiety disorder, and suicidal ideation) before and during the pandemic, and comparing these to changes between 2015 and 2017. Our analysis of cross-sectional survey data collected in 2015, 2017 and 2020 shows no clear or consistent pattern of increases in prevalence of common mental disorders following the start of the pandemic. Lifetime prevalence rates of common mental disorders among students have been steadily increasing since 2015, and where increases before and during COVID-19 were observed, they are not consistently larger than increases between 2015 and 2020. No significant changes were observed in the 12-month prevalence of common mental disorders before and during COVID-19, except for an increase in prevalence of depression at one institution, and a decrease in suicidal ideation at the other. Findings suggest that in the context of ongoing adversity and disruptions on South African university campuses in recent years, COVID-19 may be just one more stressor local students face and that its impact on student mental health may not have been as marked in South Africa compared to other regions.Significance:
This study is the first to explore COVID-19’s impact on university students’ mental health in South Africa, using data collected before and during the pandemic.
High rates of psychopathology confirm the need for sustainable campus-based interventions to support student well-being.
Rates of mental disorders among students have been increasing since 2015, and increases observed in 2020 were no larger than those observed in prior years.
In the context of disruptions on university campuses in recent years, COVID-19 is just one more stressor for students, and its impact may not have been as marked in South Africa compared to other regions
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has arrived. Comments on Moll (S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(1/2), Art. #12916)
No full textThis Commentary is a response to Moll (S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(1/2), Art. #12916) who refutes the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its impact. As this Commentary demonstrates, there is a case to be made that the 4IR constitutes a revolution and that the limitation at the level of pure technology can be refuted as a revolution is based on its wider impact. While the 4IR can be classified as an evolution of the Third Industrial Revolution, its scale, scope and complexity denote a revolution of its own
Forward osmosis treatment of thermal evaporator brine stream
No full textForward osmosis technology was evaluated for treating evaporator brine stream from a petrochemical industry at bench scale using ammonium bicarbonate as a draw solution. Calcium carbonate scaling that forms from the interaction between the calcium ions in the feed solution and carbonate ions from the draw solution (reverse salt diffusion) leads to the reduction in water flux and water recoveries achievable (feed TDS concentration of ~60 000 mg‧L−1, calcium ~545 mg‧L−1 and draw solution (ammonium bicarbonate) concentration of ~240 000 mg‧L−1). Fouling can be prevented by softening the feedwater before it is treated in forward osmosis. Without calcium and magnesium, permeate fluxes and water recoveries of up to 6 L‧m−2‧h−1 and 60%, respectively, could be achieved. It was also observed in this study that the concentration of the calcium ions in the feed does have an impact on the formation of the calcium carbonate scale, implying that some hardness can be tolerated in the feed to the forward osmosis process. It can, therefore, be concluded that without some hardness removal, ammonium bicarbonate draw solution is not suitable for treating concentrated brine streams (e.g., evaporator brine) that contain a high concentration of calcium ions. FO technology using ammonium bicarbonate as a draw solution can be considered an alternative technology to treat concentrated brine streams from inland industries, provided some pre-treatment to remove scaling precursors such as calcium is incorporated in the flow scheme