MESMEG / Department of Mining and Environmental Geology / Literature indicated that several mineralogical identification studies have been carried out on clays but few have focused on the characterisation of geophagic materials from South Africa. Large quantities of earth materials are consumed daily in Mashau Village, however, their mineral content and geochemical compositions had not been determined. Moreover, though the consumption of geophagic materials is very common in the village, the associated health implications had not been addressed. Thus, the main aim of the research was to mineralogically and geochemically characterise geophagic materials commonly ingested in Mashau Village and infer on possible health implications that could result from their consumption. Questionnaires were administered to geophagists in the study area with the aim of generating data on the prevalence of geophagia and the motivations for the practice. Geophagic soils and their parent rocks (for determination of provenance) were sampled and analysed for mineralogical and geochemical content. Geophagic soil samples were subjected to the following physicochemical analyses: colour, particle size distribution, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and electrical conductivity (EC). An x-ray diffractometer (XRD) was used for mineralogical analysis while major oxides and trace elements abundances were determined using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), respectively. Furthermore, provenance of the geophagic materials was determined using data obtained from mineralogical and geochemical analysis. Inferred health implications were based on the physico-chemical, mineralogical and geochemical data obtained. Outcomes of the questionnaire survey revealed craving to be the motivation for geophagia in Mashau Village. Although the practice seemed to be prevalent in females of certain ages, it was certainly not limited to gender, age, educational level or socio-economic status. Out of the 20 geophagic samples, 3 samples were brown, 2 had a strong brown colour and another 2 had a light olive brown colour. Other soil colours were less common, as each colour was only observed in one sample. The sand fraction dominated the samples; the clay content was low, giving the samples a sandy clay loamy texture. The pH of the soil ranged from being slightly acidic (5.4) to being slightly alkaline. The CEC values were very high ranging from 17 t0 109 meq/100 g. vii The EC values were also high (ranging from 11.2 to 245 μS/cm) indicating a high amount of soluble salts. Mineralogical analysis of geophagic soils identified quartz, microcline, plagioclase, hornblende, dolomite, muscovite, kaolinite, smectite, talc, anatase, hematite, ilmenite, chlorite and epidote with quartz and kaolinite being the dominant minerals. Actinolite, augite, chlorite, epidote, forsterite, magnetite, muscovite, plagioclase, quartz, sepiolite and microcline were the minerals identified in rock samples. Geochemical analysis for major oxides content (SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, P2O5 and Cr2O3) indicated that both geophagic soils and parent rocks were mainly composed of silica and alumina. Trace elements geochemistry showed a depletion of LREEs and an enrichment of HREEs in geophagic soils. The results also revealed that the REEs were enriched in the bulk fraction than in the clay fraction. Relative to the Upper Continental Crust (UCC) compositions, the concentrations of trace elements in geophagic soils were generally low. Provenance determination results showed that geophagic soils in Mashau were derived from basalts and sandstones. Majority of the samples were formed as a result of intense weathering while some were as a result of intermediate weathering. The negative health implications of the studied materials could include perforation of the colon, damage of the dental enamel and anaemia. However, geophagic materials could also be a good source of mineral nutrients and beneficial for reduction of nausea during pregnancy. / NRF

Malnutrition is one of the serious childhood problems that affect children under five (5) years of age, and is common in developing countries Botswana included. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of mothers of children diagnosed with malnutrition in Botswana, specifically at Sekgoma Memorial Hospital, Serowe. The said hospital is a district hospital which renders services to Serowe community and the surrounding villages, as such; participants in this study were from Serowe and other surrounding villages like Mabou, Tshimoyapula, Mmashoro and Mogorosi. Applied research was used as a type of research because it is associated with the researcher’s motivation to assist in solving a particular problem facing a particular community. Collective case study was used as a research design. The researcher explored the perceptions of mothers regarding child malnutrition; through the use of semi-structured interviews. Twelve (12) mothers of children with malnutrition were interviewed using systematic random sampling method and subsequently data was analysed according to Creswell’s model. Literature study was done and the following aspects were discussed: Child malnutrition in developing countries; child malnutrition in Botswana; description of child malnutrition; causes of child malnutrition; symptoms of child malnutrition; treatment of child malnutrition; prevention of child malnutrition; psychosocial implications of child malnutrition on the patient, family and community and social work intervention (therapy and prevention). Literature was also compared with research findings when analysing data. The study revealed that mothers had limited knowledge on malnutrition as a condition, the signs and symptoms thereof; causes; prevention and treatment of child malnutrition. This lack of knowledge made mothers to have wrong perceptions about child malnutrition. It was revealed that mothers did not perceive malnutrition as a serious problem that can result in admission for treatment in a hospital, they expected a different diagnosis. They perceive malnutrition as a secondary diagnosis. The majority of mothers had a Setswana diagnosis for their children’s condition. Mothers perceived the signs and symptoms of malnutrition as those of Thibamo, Phogwana (fontanel), or Ntsana. They interpret malnutrition as a Setswana ailment that can be treated traditionally. Factors that were identified to be contributing to malnutrition among children at Sekgoma Memorial Hospital in Serowe were found to be; lack of knowledge about malnutrition, wrong perceptions of malnutrition by mothers, illiteracy and unemployment, and cultural factors like taking a child to a traditional healer instead of a medical health facility. The study shows that mothers’ social functioning is disrupted by their children’s illness and hospitalization and thus a need for support from the hospital multi-disciplinary team, especially the social worker who is a trained counselor. The social worker should provide ongoing supportive counseling during the process of the child’s illness. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

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This research uses the case study of Colombia and more specifically the peace negotiations between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) to identify the influence that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) can have on a peacemaking process and what its humanitarian implications are.  By linking the humanitarian and peacemaking fields, the main objective of this research is to assess the extent to which IHL has influenced the peace negotiations with the FARC-EP. To conduct this study, desk research and interviews were conducted in order to find out all the subtle elements that were not documented in the literature.  The final aim of this research is to highlight how humanitarian obligations under IHL have become increasingly relevant in peacemaking processes and conflict resolution strategies, particularly in non-international armed conflicts. As found out through this case study on Colombia, IHL can help establishing trust through humanitarian confidence building measures reducing humanitarian crises caused by war. Finally, IHL can strengthen accountability and reparations during and after the peace process and provide a legal framework for consolidating peace agreements.

Consummation was the one term about which Kenneth Burke wasn't particularly long-winded - odd considering his claim that it was the apex of his theory of form. Perhaps Burke never explained exactly what consummation was because he himself was never clear on the subject, as he told John Woodcock in an interview toward the end of his career. Burke began conceptualizing his theory of form early on - in his 20s - and published it in his first critical book, Counter-Statement, in 1931. At that time, Burke's theory of form had already taken one evolutionary step - from self-expression, with the focus on the artist, to communication, with the focus on the psychology of the reader. Communication was to Burke an "arousing and fulfilling of desires." However, by the 60s, Burke introduced us to a new term which he only used a handful of times in his entire corpus: consummation. This paper attempts to define consummation by exploring Burke's theory of form and looking to his correspondences with friends and scholars. It offers two answers: first, consummation is the act of a reader responding to a writer in critical conversation; second, consummation is the ultimate cathartic achievement. Both play an important civic role. Using current science regarding the gut in connection with emotional purgation, this paper treats seriously Burke's essay "The Thinking of the Body (Comments on the Imagery of Catharsis in Literature)" and his ideas regarding the "Demonic Trinity": micturition, defecation, and parturition, explaining Burkean catharsis as it differs from, deepens, and extends Aristotelian catharsis. What can we learn from what Burke meant by consummation? That the symbolic world is much more significant to our survival than we may realize. As the world of scientific motion advanced rapidly during Burke's lifetime, he began to lose hope that symbolic action could keep up with it. We can see how important poetry and the symbolic motive was for him; he seemed to think it was a matter of life and death. This paper explores what it meant for Burke to seek a consummated life, and the implications that held for him and for us. In the end, the paper posits the importance of catharsis to society in terms of war and peace.

This paper investigates Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 from the perspective of the hermeneutical implications of their historical context appropriated into a modern contextual understanding and possible application. To do this, four prominent historical theories (relating the ban to procreation, idolatry, against nature/the order of creation, and Canaanite practices) of the origin of the verses, and the ban therein, are chosen to be analysed. The analysis will be based on a theoretical framework which is modelled to present a theory of how historical knowledge and its derived hermeneutical implications enables a dynamically equivalent cultural appropriation. The investigation poses two questions – (1) what are the hermeneutical implications, and (2) what might a dynamically equivalent cultural appropriation into a modern context look like? In answering these question, it is found that when understanding the historical context as giving clues to the cultural world of the author and first reader(s), the four theories produce different results, but in none of them is it said to be either impossible or always possible to apply the ban. Further, even the group of people that are concerned by the ban differs. There is also a note of warning given, as these theories and others on the matter are very hard, if not impossible, to choose between, and therefore one has to motivate quite well why one selects one over the other in creating an interpretation and appropriation, since such a choice might, but should not, be more based on preference than on facts. Questions are in this paper sometimes posed but not answered, which runs in line with the overarching goal to rather draw some lines of interpretation than to hold an interpretation to be certain, while still exemplifying a transparent and theoretically well founded way to appropriate these verses. / Denna uppsats undersöker Leviticus 18:22 och 20:13 med fokus på den historiska kontextens hermeneutiska implikationer approprierade till en modern förståelse och eventuell applikation av verserna. För att göra detta kommer fyra vanligt förekommande historiska teorier till varför verserna med deras förbud finns (teorier som relaterar förbudet till fortplantning, avgudadyrkan, en handling mot naturen/skapelsens ordning, och kananeiska sedvänjor) analyseras. Analysen tar sin grund i ett teoretiskt ramverk som utformas för att visa hur en historisk kontext och dess hermeneutiska implikationer möjliggör en dynamiskt ekvivalent kulturell appropriering. Uppsatsen ställer två frågor: (1) Vilka är de hermeneutiska implikationerna, och (2) hur skulle en dynamiskt ekvivalent kulturell appropriering till en modern kontext kunna se ut? Dessa frågor besvaras utifrån ett perspektiv på den historiska kontexten som bidragande till att förstå författarens (eller författarnas) och de första läsarnas kulturella värld, och de fyra teorierna producerar ganska olika resultat. Det kan dock sägas att i inget av fallen blir slutsatsen att förbudet inte går att använda, eller att det alltid kan användas. Vidare framgår det att till och med vilka som berörs av förbudet skiftar beroende på anledningen till att förbudet finns. Ett varningens finger lyfts också för att påpeka att det är svårt, om inte omöjligt, att välja en av dessa teorier (eller de många andra som finns) som bättre. Därför måste sådana val, vilka sedan ligger till grund för tolkningar och tillämpningar, vara väl motiverade. Det finns annars en risk att sådana val kan ske mer baserat på preferens än fakta. Vidare ställs det frågor som inte alltid besvaras, vilket ligger i linje med viljan att snarare påvisa några tolkningsramar än att se en tolkning som korrekt, samtidigt som ett teoretiskt välgrundat och genomskinligt sätt att appropriera dessa verser exemplifieras.

The tax system in South Africa makes provision for every South African citizen to contribute to a greater or lesser extent to funding the National Health Insurance (NHI), either through VAT or PAYE. However, as a result of the high unemployment rate, a large gap exists between tax and non-tax contributors. The question can now be asked whether it is fair that just a small percentage of taxpayers are responsible for the total funding of the NHI. Furthermore, it could be asked whether the taxpayer is aware of the additional tax burden the NHI will impose on him/her. The purpose of this research was to investigate three countries, namely, Brazil, Spain and Germany, where some form of NHI is in operation, in order to find a possible appropriate funding model for South Africa's NHI and, ultimately, to make conclusions and recommendations based on the outcomes. It was subsequently found that, although the taxpayer should be more heavily taxed in order to fund the NHI, there are a few other possibilities for distributing the tax burden more evenly. However, the impact of the proposed adjustment to increase VAT could have a negative impact on the non-taxpayer and might contribute to greater poverty in South Africa. / MCom (South African and International Taxation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The tax system in South Africa makes provision for every South African citizen to contribute to a greater or lesser extent to funding the National Health Insurance (NHI), either through VAT or PAYE. However, as a result of the high unemployment rate, a large gap exists between tax and non-tax contributors. The question can now be asked whether it is fair that just a small percentage of taxpayers are responsible for the total funding of the NHI. Furthermore, it could be asked whether the taxpayer is aware of the additional tax burden the NHI will impose on him/her. The purpose of this research was to investigate three countries, namely, Brazil, Spain and Germany, where some form of NHI is in operation, in order to find a possible appropriate funding model for South Africa's NHI and, ultimately, to make conclusions and recommendations based on the outcomes. It was subsequently found that, although the taxpayer should be more heavily taxed in order to fund the NHI, there are a few other possibilities for distributing the tax burden more evenly. However, the impact of the proposed adjustment to increase VAT could have a negative impact on the non-taxpayer and might contribute to greater poverty in South Africa. / MCom (South African and International Taxation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study focused on learners’ assessment practices in overcrowded classes in Kamwenge District, Uganda. Apart from a literature review, an empirical investigation based on qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data by the researcher at 4 primary schools in Kamwenge district so as to find answers to the research questions. The empirical findings elicited that all teachers agreed that assessment was useful to them and had a clear idea of what classroom assessment was all about. An interpretive paradigm made it possible for the researcher to gain an in-depth understanding of learners’ assessment practices within their school contexts. There was a mismatch between what teachers said they do and what they practiced and this follows that the majority of teachers may have the theoretical knowledge of methods and tools used to assess learners but fail to translate it to classroom practice. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Educational Management)

There are numerous problems associated with the teaching of Euclidean geometry at secondary schools today. Students do not see the necessity of proving results which have been obtained intuitively. They do not comprehend that the validity of a deduction is independent of the 'truth' of the initial assumptions. They do not realise that they cannot reason from diagrams, because these may be misleading or inaccurate. Most importantly, they do not understand that Euclidean geometry is a particular interpretation of physical space and that there are alternative, equally valid interpretations. A possible means of addressing the above problems is tbe introduction of nonEuclidean geometry at school level. It is imperative to identify those students who have the pre-requisite knowledge and skills. A number of interesting teaching strategies, such as debates, discussions, investigations, and oral and written presentations, can be used to introduce and develop the content matter. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics)