Magister Artium - MA / The novel Philida by André P, Brink is classified in the genre of slave novel. The novel tells the story of a slave woman, Philida, who lodged a complaint with the Slave Protector because she and her children were about to be sold to a new master. In this study I will look at how the author, Brink, uses different narrative strategies to give an authentic voice to Philida. Amongst these strategies are the unique voice of the character Philida, multiple narrators, language use and the creative use of historical and archival sources. The study will focus on the characterization of Philida and the depiction of aspects of slavery. It will also explore the voices of other characters such as Frans Brink, Cornelis Brink and Ouma Nella. The theoretical basis of the study is informed by aspects of narratology, postcolonialism and feminism.

Die doel van hierdie studie is om ondersoek in te stel na aspekte van die erotiek in enkele romans van André P. Brink. Die studie bestaan uit twee afsonderlike dele: genoem 'teorie' en 'praktyk'. In die teoretiese deel sal daar eerstens kortliks gekyk word na 'n definiering van enkele kernbegrippe - onder andere 'seksualiteit', 'erotiek' en 'pornografie'. Daar word nie gepoog om algemeen-geldende definisies te formuleer nie, maar eerder definisies wat nuttig is vir die doel van hierdie studie. Daarna sal ondersoek ingestel word na Brink self se teoretiese formulerings met betrekking tot die erotiek. In die tweede deel sal gekonsentreer word op die erotiek in die praktyk van Brink se romans. Eerstens sal die keuse van romans verduidelik word en dan sal daar oorgegaan word tot 'n bespreking van drie romans: Die ambassadeur (1963), Kennis van die Aand (1973) en 'n Oomblik in die wind (1975). Ten slotte sal die gevolgtrekkings van die studie kortliks saamgevat word (Introduction, p. 1)

This study investigates some of the narrative strategies used by two novels, namely Lijken op Liefde (1997) by the Surinam born author Astrid H. Roemer and Duiwelskloof (1998) by the South African André P. Brink, in their exploration of and dialogue with traumatic pasts. Both texts are written within so-called postcolonial time frames, delve into the personal and collective past and attempt to provide a corrective on knowledges that used to be deemed not useful, unimportant or have been forgotten by official historiography. The theoretical base of the study is an eclectic mixture of both postcolonial and postmodern theories, throwing light on the strategies employed by these novels in order to understand, problematise and creatively exploit the past. / Hierdie studie kyk na sommige van die narratiewe strategieë binne twee romans, naamlik Lijken op Liefde (1997) deur die Surinaams-gebore outeur Astrid H. Roemer en Duiwelskloof (1998) deur die Suid-Afrikaner André P. Brink, in hulle ondersoek na en dialoog met die traumatiese verlede. Beide tekste is geskryf binne sogenaamde postkoloniale tydvakke, delf in die persoonlike en kollektiewe verlede, en verskaf ’n korrektief op die dinge wat as onbruikbaar of onbelangrik beskou is, of vergete geraak het binne die offisiële historiografie. Die teoretiese basis van die studie is ’n eklektiese mengsel van beide postkoloniale en postmoderne teorieë wat lig werp op die strategieë wat hierdie tekste gebruik om die verlede te verstaan, te problematiseer en kreatief te ontgin.

M. Litt. et Phil. (Afrikaans) / The frame-story (Ger. Rahmenerzahlung, Fr. conte à cadre, Dutch kaderverhaal, Afr. raamvertelling) can be defined as an outer story or narration that frames one or more stories or narrations. According to Wellek and Warren "(t)he frame-story enclosing other stories is, historically, a bridge between anecdote and novel" (1978: 221). Two main types of frame-story are differentiated. The first type is an outer story framing a single story or narration (Afr. Geraamde enkelvertelling), while the second type is a fragmented outer story framing a construction of several seperate (usually autonomous) tales or narrations (Afr. sikliese raamvertelling). These narrations or tales are usually punctuated by fragments of the frame. Sometimes fictitious documents such as a diary, an old manuscript, a chronicle, or a newspaper report are used by the narrator in the frame or outer story. These "documents" form the basis of the story that he or she is going to tell, and at the same time they serve as a device to authenticate this story. The function of the frame can vary. It can serve as a mount or generator for the inner story or stories; it can be a component deriving its meaning from the inner story; or it can be a component with its own plot. The narrative structures and the way in which elements are arranged determine the interdependence between the frame and the inner story or stories. There is a differentiation of styles as well as a time distinction between the frame and inner story or stories. Nevertheless certain actions and events that take place in the frame are often reflected in the inner story or stories, and one plot sometimes parallels the other so that they underline one another.

Various Afrikaans novels published since the late 1980s have been described as “magical realism”. In this dissertation the possibility is explored whether this magical realism is a uniquely Afrikaans mode or if it can be seen as merely an imitation of a South American mode. The term “magical realism”, the background and function of magical realism and the literary connotations associated with the mode are discussed. Comparisons are made between magical realism and its function in the literature of Latin America and West Africa. The Afrikaans novels are compared to texts from Latin America andWest Africa, focussing on the aim and function of magical realism in these Afrikaans novels in order to determine the likelihood of the existence of a “unique” variation of magical realism in Afrikaans. The influence of traditional Afrikaans folktales and oral narratives is explored against the backdrop of magical realism. The study also concentrates on the role of magical realistic texts in exploring the past in a postcolonial situation. The study aims to make a contribution to the approach to a growing body of texts in Afrikaans that are associated with magical realism. The study also examines the possible role played by magical realistic texts in forming identity within the context of a fast changing social and political order in South Africa. / Prof. Willie Burger

This study focuses on the relation between the picareque genre and the way in which guilt is processed in literature. André Brink’s Inteendeel (On the contrary) was used in this examination and also, for a wider perspective than merely the South African situation, Arthur Japin’s De zwarte met het witte hart (The two hearts of Aquasi Boachi). The possibilities offerd by the picaresque in order to investigate the manifestation of guilt in literary texts were explored with the theories of, inter alia, Wicks, Ricoeur and Todorov. Tracing the origins of the picaresque reveals that this type of text exhibits specific characteristics, e.g. an unethical attitude that is usually imposed on the individual by a society in crisis – “guilt” and a confessional tone are therefore intrinsically part of the picaresque. Using Wicks’s modal-generic approach, the two novels are examined with the purpose of determining their degree of “picaresqueness” to test the validity of the hypothesis, i.e. that the more a text displays picaresque characteristics, the more the issue of guilt would be a central theme to that text. In the two novels relevant to this study, colonial guilt is the main form of guilt examined. / Prof. W. Burger

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / An increasing number of measurements reveal the presence of a low-energy enhancement in the gamma-ray strength function (GSF). The GSF, which is the ability of nuclei to absorb or emit rays, provides insight into the statistical properties of atomic nuclei. For this project the GSF was studied for 74Ge which was populated in the reaction 74Ge(p,p')74Ge* at a beam energy of 18 MeV. The data were collected with the STARS-LIBERACE array at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Silicon detector telescopes were used for particle identi cation and rays in coincidence were detected with 5 clover-type high-purity germanium detectors. Through the analysis particle- - coincidence events were constructed. These events, together with well-known energy levels, were used to identify primary rays from the quasicontinuum. Primary rays from a broad excitation energy region, which decay to six 2+ states could be identi ed. These states and the associated primary rays are used to measure the GSF for 74Ge with the Ratio Method [1], which entails taking ratios of e ciency-corrected primary -ray intensities from the quasicontinuum. Results from the analysis of the data and focus on the existence of the low-energy enhancement in 74Ge will be discussed. The results are further discussed in the context of other work done on 74Ge using the ( , ') [2], (3He,3He') [3] and ( , ') [4] reactions.

The characteristics of the subcritical, critical and supercritical flows at the rectangular free overfall were studied experimentally to obtain a relation between the brink depth and the flow rate. A series of experiments were conducted in a tilting flume with wide range of flow rate and two bed roughness in order to find the relationship between the brink depth, normal depth, channel bed slope and bed roughnesses. An equation was proposed to calculate the flow rate if only the brink depth, roughness, and channel bed slope are known. An alternate iterative solution was offered to calculate discharges if the brink depth and uniform flow depth are known.

In recent years, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been applied to estimate in many areas of hydrology and hydraulic engineering. In this thesis, multilayered feedforward backpropagation algorithm was used to establish for the prediction of unit discharge q (m3/s/m) in a rectangular free overfall. Researchers&rsquo / experimental data were used to train and validate the network with high reliability. First, an appropriate ANN model has been established by considering determination of hidden layer and node numbers related to training function and training epoch number. Then by applying sensitivity analysis, parameters involved in and their effectiveness relatively has been determined in the phenomenon. In the scope of the thesis, there are two case studies. In the first case study, ANN models reliability has been investigated according to the training data clustered and the results are given by comparing to regression analysis. In the second case, ANN models&rsquo / ability in establishing relations with different data clusters is investigated and effectiveness of ANN is scrutinized.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references and abstracts.