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Missio politica in missio Dei: integrating politics into God’s eternal mission
No full textThe understanding of the missio Dei from the point of view of the International Missionary Conference in Willingen has rightly broadened the missiological horizon and promoted new approaches to God’s mission in the world. This conference abandoned the ecclesiological approach to mission and focused attention on God as the foundation or source of mission. Inherently, this new perspective opened the door for other human institutions, such as politics, to be seen as critical participants together with the churches in the missio Dei. Apart from the writings of Saayman and Reimer, not much scholarly work is carried out to further develop the framework of the missio politica as an important tool to enable an analysis of politics in accordance with total salvation as the ultimate goal of the missio Dei. Relying upon literary analysis, this contribution orients itself on such exclusive important works as a basis on which missio politica is strengthened as a missiological framework that examines politics in relation to the ultimate goal of the missio Dei
Untangled metamorphosis: a Silk Makery and Community Square for Leonardville, Namibia
No full textDissertation (M.Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2022Small communities find themselves tangled in their established routines, with socio-economic challenges in harsh, arid landscapes The research question asks how the mundane metamorphological cycles of a small community can construct an appropriate architectural language weaved as a makers square for cultural reconciliation in Leonardville, Namibia In reaction to desired lines on an open site between two historical parts of the settlement, the proposed design reacts as container to create new routines as an economic activator The proposed design includes a silk makery for the Kalahari Wild Silk Company supported by attachment, concealment and revelation as new routines for a community Precedents and explorations of the community, social and organism cycles were analysed in Leonardville establish an architectural metamorphosis The proposed design illustrates how mundane routines of organism and socio economics can establish an appropriate architectural language, to weave together rural communities
Misrepresenting occurrences and personalities in Ghana, 1979-1983: a comment on Frank Gerit's incorrect and misleading claims
No full textFrank Gerits’s article contains several misrepresentations and false claims about events and personalities in Ghana during the turbulent years of 1979 through 1983. The most serious of these are his treatments of Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings and Dr. Kwesi Botchwey. Gerits ignores Rawlings’s own explanations for his actions and misrepresents Botchwey’s arguments in two essays. The important lessons for economic policy formulation and governance in the Third World to be learned from the painful experiences Ghanaians went through in those years are distorted by Gerits’s attempting to craft an interpretive perspective he calls “anticolonial capitalism” or “anticolonial liberation.” My comment clarifies.Publisher's versio
The capabilities of male migrant miners in preventing and managing HIV: a Lesotho case study
No full textThesis (Ph.D.(Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022Previous research has shown multiple HIV programmes at the mines and in Lesotho. However, despite the availability of these HIV programmes, Lesotho migrant miners who work in South Africa's mines are still plagued by HIV and are amongst the worst-hit groups. Evidence in the literature suggests fragmentation and ineffectiveness in HIV prevention and management strategies for Lesotho migrant miners. Other literature suggests that the ineffectiveness of the HIV prevention and management strategies results from irrelevant theoretical approaches that do not consider aspects of development in HIV prevention and management. This study used a qualitative approach, underpinned by the capabilities approach framework, to explore the capabilities of Lesotho male migrant miners working in the Free State mines in South Africa in preventing and managing HIV. The Capabilities Approach (CA) is a social justice theory founded by Economist-philosopher Amartya Sen in the 1980s. Fifty returning Lesotho migrant miners (those visiting home) who work in the Free State Province, South Africa and were either HIV positive or negative participated in the study. Data were collected in July 2021 on the streets of Maseru, Lesotho. Structured interviews with open-ended questions using purposive, snowballing and street outreach methods were used. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and translated into English and thematic analysis was used as the method of data analysis. The study concluded that structural factors like the culture at the mines that accept commercial sex often lead to the miners losing control over their daily lives, constricting their capability to prevent HIV. Other structural factors like policies, healthcare quality and the miners' circular migration patterns have characteristics that either expand or constrict the miners' capabilities to prevent and manage HIV. The miners had adequate personal conversion factors and abundant social conversion factors. However, these conversion factors operate amid many social constraints, making the cultivation of capabilities to prevent and manage HIV difficult. The miners' environmental conversion factors were inadequate, particularly those related to accessing ARVs in the mines, denying them some basic freedoms and entitlements. Finally, the miners engage in functionings that either expand or constrict their capabilities to prevent and manage HIV. For those who are HIV positive, functionings like being stigmatised and enduring the side-effects of ARVs, negatively affects their psychological, physical and social wellbeing
Investigation into depressurisation of highwalls at Mogalakwena Mine, Limpopo Province, South Africa
No full textAs the magnitude of open pit mines like Mogalakwena Mine, gets bigger and deeper, the assessment and management water in the pits and particularly in the high walls is becomingly increasingly important for water and rock engineers. For over the years, Mogalakwena mine in its older pits has been employing a general mine dewatering method. The popular method involves pumping from vertical wells to reduce groundwater levels and groundwater inflows to the pits. The newer pits use sump pumping programs that target the removal of groundwater collected at the bottom of the pit using mobile pumps in sumps. Groundwater on the slopes also results in low calculations for Factor of Safety (FoS), increasing the number of geotechnical high-risk zones. This means fewer mining areas to excess ore. Loss of mining due to loss of excess is not good for any profitable mine operation because valuable ore will be left behind. The need for depressurisation is then considered to improve slope stability performance and increase Factor of Safety. The most applied method of dewatering in open pit mines is usually by drilling vertical boreholes outside the pit and pumping out the groundwater. This technique for Mogalakwena have been investigated to be ineffective for the mine because of the low permeability of the hanging walls rock mass made up of Norites. This hinders efficient and successful pumping using the classic dewatering techniques. Dewatering programs aim to achieve lower levels of the groundwater table in the mining area, ideally to be below the level of the working pit floor. The current water control taking place in the mine is operational dewatering, which pumps out groundwater seepage and rainfall water that collects at the bottom of the pits in sumps. This water is then pumped out from the sump. In a fractured aquifer setting such as that in Mogalakwena another method such as depressurisation to manage saturated slopes is needed. The dissertation through a hydrogeological and geotechnical analysis of the hydrogeological setting shows a mixed low to moderate hydraulic conductivity (K) system of low storage and moderate precipitation (mean annual precipitation of approximately 700 mm). Very low K occurs in the strong rock mass Hanging Wall (HW) and Foot Wall (FW) slopes and moderate to high K occurs in the Platreef and shear zone generating seepages and discrete inflows into the open-pits. No relevant recharge locations have been identified from nearby aquifers and groundwater inflows during pit development will occur along strikes within the Platreef and along potentially permeable regional structures. The drainable porosity of all rock units are low and the groundwater system has assumed the low overall storativity. Thus, showing that significant reduction in water levels and inflows could be achieved through slope depressurisation and draining of the slopes and not classic dewatering from vertical wells. The need for a slope depressurisation program for Mogalakwena mine highwalls was established through the investigation outlined in this dissertation. The need and timing was determined by applying the Slope Depressurisation Action Trigger Response Questionnaire (SDATRQ). While the timing of a slope depressurisation program requires further investigation and therefore the timing was not fully determined by SDATRQ. The relationship between dewatering and slope depressurisation was established to be incompatible for Mogalakwena Mine, dewatering the slopes did not depressurise the pore pressures on the highwalls. This was established also through the Read and Stacey (2009) dewatering and depressurisation broad categorization. Although the dissertation largely focuses on the depressurisation of highwalls of Mogalakwena Mine, it is important to note that the topic of highwall depressurisation is an important discussion point at several open pit mines in the world. The development and further testing use of the Slope Depressurisation Action Trigger Response Questionnaire can prove to be of value to other open pit mines, experiencing the build-up of pore pressure behind the highwalls and mining advancing deeper. The dissertation demonstrated through an investigation of Mogalakwena Mine highwalls that the need for a slope depressurisation program can be determined by using SDATRQ. Hence proving the dissertation statement to be true and further investigation on the timing needs to be completed
Between skin and vine: a viticulture college at the old tannery on the outskirts of Wellington
No full textDissertation (M.Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2022The aesthetic of disorder and sensuality of the wilderness has been lost to society for a long time; just one of the underlying effects caused by urbanisation and suburbia. Contemporary dwellers often feel the need to escape their artificial environment to recharge through a direct connection with their inner self and the divine that is only perceivable in nature. The region of the Val du Charon is known not only for its rich viticulture heritage but also for its picturesque landscapes. Instead of continuing to practice viticulture as another way in which nature has been dominated, recent trends in winemaking aim to recast agricultural cultivation as a mediator between people and nature, thereby opening the way for new (and more nuanced) relationships between dwellers and nature. Traditionally, viticulture depends on the domestication of nature, but the move toward ‘ethical wine’ and ‘biodynamic viticulture’ envisions a more reciprocal future. The proposed viticulture school aims to teach this new sensibility to the South African winemakers of the future; an ‘academic reconnection’ between cultivators and nature, serving as a catalyst for new kinds of caring relationships between the wine-drinking public, vineyards, and the natural landscape. The Old Tannery, abandoned since November 1999 has started to show the potential to illustrate architecturally these new kinds of relationships. Firstly, the decaying structure has created opportunities for nature to regain its foothold in unexpected ways, consequently contributing to a new type of beauty. Through adaptive reuse and by focusing on scripting the relationships between the different buildings in the ensemble the goal is to, sustainably and appropriately, find new relational assemblages. This thesis proposed the adaptive reuse of the existing framework of the Old Tannery as a viticulture college. The architectural approach will be influenced by three main considerations: first, the spatial organisation of the ensemble through the use of a promenade; second, the adaptation of the existing built ‘skin’ in line with the heritage prescriptions of the Burra Charter; third, the ‘rewilding’ of the site and the wine-making process. Ultimately, the goal is to architecturally interpret the principles ensconced in ‘ethical wine’ and ‘biodynamic viticulture’ in order to recast the old industrial complex, to question the way human cultivation used to imply the domestication of nature and to open the way for establishing new existential thresholds between dwellers and the vine
Investigating the role of viroplasm formation and calcium levels on the production of prostaglandin E₂ during rotavirus infection
No full textThesis (Ph.D.(Microbiology))--University of the Free State, 2022Both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that levels of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), an immunomodulatory eicosanoid, are increased during rotavirus (RV) infection. Although it has been shown that inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) (PGE₂ biomes) has adverse effects on viral yield, the mechanism of PGE₂ induction during replication remains unknown. Viroplasms are viral factories that consist of several viral proteins, in particular NSP2 and NSP5, and cellular lipid droplets. Lipid droplets (LDs), with their high content of neutral lipids and the proximity of PGE₂ biosynthetic enzymes, are well known sites for PGE₂ biosynthesis. In addition, during replication, RV has been shown to increase the total lipid content of infected cells, while modulating specific lipid classes during infection. Inhibitors that prevent the formations of LDs severely limit the amount of viroplasms formed and subsequently decrease viral progeny production. Another viral protein critical for viral replication is the enterotoxin, NSP4. NSP4, contains a viroporin domain that selectively conducts calcium (Ca²⁺) from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cytosol, increasing free intracellular Ca²⁺. Intracellular Ca²⁺ levels are crucial for the activation and function of cytoplasmic phospholipase A₂, the rate-limiting enzyme in PGE₂ biosynthesis. Both LDs and phospholipase A₂ are also essential for PGE₂ biosynthesis. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to determine when and by which mechanism(s) RV induces/amplifies the production of prostaglandin E₂. During early infection, RV attaches to several cellular receptors and enters the cells by either clathrin-dependent or -independent endocytosis. Other viruses such as bovine ephemeral fever virus haven been shown to require the activation COX-2-mediated PGE₂/EP receptor signalling for enhanced clathrin-mediated endocytosis. To determine if PGE₂ exerts its proviral effects during internalisation we supplemented MA104 cells with γ-linolenic acid (GLA), a precursor of arachidonic acid. Infection of supplemented cells with RV SA11 led to increased production of PGE₂ as monitored by ELISA. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that PGE₂ co-localises with the viroplasm-forming proteins, NSP5 and NSP2. Due to the known association of viroplasms as well as PGE₂ with lipid droplets, our results indicate a possible role for viroplasms in the production of RV-induced PGE₂. Replication kinetics showed that inhibitors, targeting the biosynthesis of PGE₂, had negative effects on RV yield, especially during the early stages of infection. Using flow cytometry and PGE₂ addback experiments, we show that PGE₂ enhances the attachment and internalisation of rotavirus in MA104 cells, indicating a possible role for PGE₂ during clathrin-mediated RV entry. Due to the well-known association between viroplasms and LDs, and the fact that LDs are production centres for the PGE₂, we next explored the possible role if any, of viroplasm components in the induction of PGE₂ production during RV infection. Transfection of HEK293 cells with plasmids, encoding the ORFs for NSP2 and NSP5 or both NSP2 and NSP5, showed that neither protein on their own, nor the formation of viroplasm-like structures was able to induce PGE₂ production. A MA104 cell line, stably expressing NSP5, was used to generate and characterize several SA11-based rescued rotaviruses (rSA11_aNSP5 and rSA11_aNSP5) with mutations in the α-helix within the C-terminal of NSP5. We demonstrate that a rSA11 with replaced hydrophobic amino acids in the C-terminal appeared to from less viroplasms compared to rSA11. This led to reduced replication of both rSA11_aNSP5 and rSA11_pNSP5, confirming the pivotal role of the α-helix within the C-terminal during RV replication. These mutations also affected the production of PGE₂ in HEK293 infected cells, although this is more likely due to decreased viral replication. Furthermore, we investigated how the introduced mutations affect NSP5 co-sedimentation with LD-associated protein, perilipin 2, and showed that the NSP5 mutations decreasing the hydrophobicity or abolishment of the α-helix changed the sedimentation profile. Our results indicate that individual viroplasm components or the formation of VLS do not induce PGE₂ in transfected cells, but that mutations in the C-terminal of NSP5 decrease PGE₂, most probably due to decreased replication. After showing that viroplasms mainly indirectly induce the production of PGE₂, we switched our focus to the role of Calcium (Ca²⁺) as it is essential for several cellular signalling and physiological processes, including the activation of cytoplasmic phospholipase A₂ (cPLA₂). This enzyme plays a role in lipid droplet (LD) biogenesis and is the rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) biosynthesis. During rotavirus (RV) replication, NSP4 modulates the levels of cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ (cyto[Ca²⁺]) by a viroporin domain, which selectively conducts Ca²⁺ from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stores to the cytoplasm. This modulation of cyto[Ca²⁺] is crucial for several viral process, including entry and assembly. We, therefore, investigated the role of the viroporin domain of NSP4 in the induction of PGE₂ production during RV infection. We show that RV infection of HEK293 cells increases the activity of cPLA₂, and that the chelation of cyto[Ca²⁺] decreases the activity of cPLA₂, leading to decreases in viral progeny and RNA yield. Mutations within the viroporin domain, which decreases the conductively of Ca²⁺, decreased the activity of cPLA₂ and subsequently affected PGE₂ levels as well as viral progeny and RNA yield. Our results indicate that the viroporin domain of NSP4 plays a role in the induction of PGE₂ production by increasing the activity of cPLA₂ in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. Taken together, the data shows that PGE₂ is most likely induced in a NSP4-cyto[Ca²⁺]-cPLA₂-dependent manner enhancing RV internalisation. This enhanced internalisation increases viral yield, which could contribute indirectly to PGE₂ production by increasing the numbers of LDs and thus sites of PGE₂ production
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of community treatment supporters administering multidrug-resistant tuberculosis injections: a cross-sectional study in rural Eswatini
No full textBackground: This study assessed knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of lay community treatment supporters (CTSs) delegated with directly observed treatment (DOT) supervision and administration of intramuscular multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) injections in the Shiselweni region in Eswatini.
Methodology: A cross-sectional survey among a purposive sample of 82 CTSs providing DOT and administering injections to MDR-TB patients was conducted in May 2017. Observations in the patients’ homes were undertaken to verify CTSs’ self-reported community-based MDR-TB management practices.
Results: Out of 82 respondents, 78 (95.1%) were female and half (n = 41; 50.0%) had primary education or lower. Over one-tenth (n = 12; 14.6%) had not attended a MDR-TB training workshop, but were administering injections. The overall KAP scores were satisfactory. Good self-reported community-based MDR-TB practices were largely verified through observation. However, substantial proportions of respondents incorrectly defined MDR-TB, were unaware of the treatment regimen, stigmatised patients, and underreported needlestick injuries. There was no statistically significant association between duration administering intramuscular injections, MDR-TB training, knowledge and attitudes, and good community-based MDR-TB management practices.
Conclusions: The gaps in the current KAP of CTSs in this setting raise questions about the timing, adequacy, design and content of community-based MDR-TB management training. Nonetheless, with appropriate training, lay CTSs in this region can be an option to complement an overstretched professional health workforce in providing DOT and MDR-TB injections at community level
(De)colonising outcomes of community participation – a South African ethnography of ‘ethics in practice’
No full textTheoretically, community participation decolonises research ethics in settings where a ‘coloniality of power’ persists. We used ethnographic methods to document our experiences of ‘ethics in practice’, and interrogate the (de)colonising outcomes, of community participation in voluntary informed assent and consent (VIAC) procedures with 16–17-year-old Black South African youth and parents. Community participation decolonised by: (1) disrupting and problematising the power dynamics of written VIAC procedures and (2) minimally shifting power to youth and parents. However, community participation sometimes reinforced existing power hierarchies. In postcolonial qualitative research settings, community participation has potential to, but will not necessarily, decolonise ethics in practice.Publisher's versio
Perceived social support, aggression, age and repeat offending as predictors of coping amongst male maximum-security offenders
No full textDissertation(M.Soc.Sc.(Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2022This dissertation consists of five chapters.
introduces and orientates the reader to coping amongst incarcerated maximum-security offenders and emphasises the study’s problem statement, rationale/background, research aim, research questions, ethical considerations, and clarification of numerous concepts. Lastly, the value of the study is discussed.
provides the reader with an extensive literature review of coping amongst male maximum-security offenders and its related topics.
provides the reader with an outline of the study’s research methodology used to meet the research aim and answer the research questions. The research approach, research design, sampling procedure and data collection procedures will be discussed in this chapter. There will further be a discussion on the measuring instruments, data analysis procedures and ethical considerations of the study.
presents all the study’s research findings.
Lastly, encompasses a summary of the study’s findings. The value and contribution of the study will also be discussed, and chapter five will conclude with the limitations and recommendations for future research studies