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Thesis (MDev.) --Univesity of Limpopo, 2006 / The education sector in South Africa is in a process of transformation and learners attend schools of choice. Currently, educational statutes prohibit discrimination in any form in schools. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act no 108 of 1996) gives everyone the right to basic education without being discriminated against by the management of any school. The South African Schools (Act No 84 of 1996) that ensures equal education for all learners further advances this basic right. This has therefore encouraged parents to enroll children in schools of their choice. Racial integration is a way of life that promotes multiculturalism and diversity of the entire society and schools in particular. An exploration study was conducted with the aim of exploring to what extent integration has been realised among learners in selected multiracial public schools in the Limpopo Province. The snowball sampling method in the form of interviews was used in this study. Teachers and learners participated in this interview process. The observation method was also used in data collection. The study was motivated by the researcher’s observation of conflicts among learners from different racial backgrounds attending multiracial schools. These conflicts have been constantly reported in the media. In most cases, such conflicts are racially motivated and schools experience problems in handling and managing such conflicts. The results of this study show that most learners who participated in the interview process are positive towards integration. They indicated that they learn more about cultural diversity. However, some white learners still have a problem of integrating with black learners. Parents, who are not willing to accept change in this country, at times fail to motivate their children to accept and understand other racial groups. Most white learners leave such schools to attend Afrikaansonly or private whites-only schools in order to avoid being racially integrated into v multiracial public schools. During data collection, it was revealed that the problem in some schools is compounded by lack of tolerance among members of the teaching staff who come from different racial and cultural backgrounds. This study recommended among others, that more workshops on cultural diversity should be conducted on a continuous basis to assist both teachers and learners to understand and accept one another better. Furthermore, schools should develop integration programmes that will motivate everyone to understand different racial groups. Through these programmes it is hoped that schools will be assisted to overcome their differences and conflicts will be minimized. All racial groups will be united and transformation in the education sector will be promoted. White learners leaving multiracial schools will be motivated and encouraged to understand different racial groups who live in this democratic country. / Not listed

Significant interpersonal offenses have considerable consequences for the victim, and these sequelae can be both negative and positive. Spiritual transformation and forgiveness are two processes that may follow a significant interpersonal offense. Spiritual transformation, which includes both spiritual gain and spiritual decline, is an important experience for many individuals following a highly stressful event. Likewise, forgiveness is one way that individuals may cope with the negative effects of being the victim of an interpersonal offense. Both spiritual transformation and forgiveness are related to physical and mental health. Given the prevalence of interpersonal offenses, the mental health link, and the personal importance of religion and spirituality to many individuals, it is imperative to understand these processes. However, the extant literature offers very little about the relationship between spiritual transformation and forgiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of forgiveness in experiencing spiritual transformation following significant interpersonal offenses. Participants were 146 individuals that had been "significantly wronged" by another person. Participants provided information on demographic variables, religious and spiritual importance, event-related distress, forgiveness, and spiritual transformation. Descriptive data are presented as well as correlates of spiritual transformation. Results showed that spiritual growth was positively related to religious and spiritual importance but not forgiveness variables. Event-related distress and avoidance, one component of unforgiveness, were positively related to spiritual decline. Regression analyses revealed that forgiveness did not uniquely account for a significant amount of the variance in spiritual growth after controlling for demographic variables, religious and spiritual importance, and event-related distress. Rather, religious and spiritual importance accounted for a significant amount of variance in spiritual growth. Forgiveness uniquely predicted spiritual decline after accounting for demographic variables, religious and spiritual importance, and event-related distress. This study suggests a complex relationship between spiritual transformation and forgiveness. Results are discussed within the context of implications for clinicians and researchers alike.

No description available.

PhD / None.

Arabidopsis has emerged as an important model system for molecular plant biology. The extensive resources available for Arabidopsis make it an attractive system to study the molecular mechanisms involved in early seed development. During the early stages of seed development Arabidopsis endosperm is syncytial and proliferates rapidly through repeated rounds of mitosis without cytokinesis. This stage of endosperm development is both important in determining final seed size and is a model for studying various aspects of cellular and molecular biology, such as the cell cycle and genomic imprinting. However, the small size of Arabidopsis seed, the syncytial nature of the proliferative endosperm, and the surrounding maternal tissues make high throughput molecular analysis of the early endosperm technically difficult. To get around this we used laser capture microdissection to enable transcript analysis of the early proliferative endosperm of Arabidopsis at 4 days after pollination (DAP). Microarray results identified several thousand genes with endosperm expression, including many that were endosperm preferred. A number of genes were validated by relative quantification PCR and were consistent with the findings of the microarray. Meta analysis of the endosperm transcriptome revealed a developmental program dominated by mitosis and under the influence of several phytohormones, predominated by cytokinin signaling. The list of endosperm-preferred genes included all characterised imprinted genes in Arabidopsis. Imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon by which genes are expressed predominantly from either their paternal or their maternal allele and very few imprinted genes have been identified in plants. The mono-allelic expression of the characterised imprinted genes appears to be limited to the endosperm where they provide important regulatory controls for seed development via direct effects on endosperm development. Genes from the endosperm-preferred list were screened for mono-allelic expression using sequence polymorphisms between the Colombia and Landsberg erecta ecotypes. We generated PCR products that spanned the polymorphisms of 67 genes from template obtained by laser capture of endosperm tissue from hybrid seed. Sequence analysis revealed three genes which gave strong allelic bias toward the maternal allele (At2g32460, At1g55550 and At2g21420) and one biased for the paternal allele (At1g47840). In summary, laser capture microdissection has enabled high-resolution transcript analysis of the proliferative stage of Arabidopsis endosperm development. The data generated provides a useful resource providing novel insight into early seed development, facilitating both identification of endosperm expressed and novel imprinted genes.

Yoga, an ancient philosophy and practice undertaken as a path towards self-realisation, was originally written for men, by men living in the East. However, a large and growing number of people in the West now practice some form of yoga, with more than 80% of practitioners being women. Since the 1980s, there has been a ‘feminisation’ of yoga in the West, as female teachers and practitioners tailor its practice to meet the specific needs of women. The practice of yoga has also changed to meet the needs of the modern Western practitioner more generally, such that the primary reasons for practicing yoga are to improve physical well-being and to cope with stress. Nonetheless, for some practitioners, yoga continues to offer philosophical and spiritual direction. The aim of this thesis is to critically examine mid-aged women’s experiences of Iyengar yoga. Focusing on a select group of 35 women living in New South Wales, Australia, the study ultimately seeks to determine whether a process of self-transformation arises from their yoga practice. Bourdieu’s concept of habitus provides a very useful context for describing the study participants’ shared disposition and values. The women’s demographic characteristics, for example, help explain why they were attracted to and maintained a regular yoga practice. An aspect of their habitus is also distinctly feminine, incorporating values of connectedness and holism. The women’s experiences were examined to consider why they were practicing yoga. In an exploration of the processes that emerged from the women’s experiences of Iyengar yoga, a paradox arose concerning the nature of ‘the Self’ that is depicted by yoga philosophy, and ‘the self’ that is portrayed in modern societies. To examine how ideals from the West and the East have come together in the modern practice of yoga, the women’s experiences are compared here with Giddens’ ‘reflexive project of the self’ (a process of self-actualisation) and the broader principles of classical yoga (a process of self-realisation). Western practices, like Giddens’ project, emphasise processes of ‘becoming’: a means to perpetually progress and improve oneself. Eastern practices, however, give priority to states of ‘being’, via the cultivation of awareness to attain experiences of constancy and stillness within. The women’s stories and experiences are integral to understanding the processes of self-transformation that arise from their yoga practice. Their experiences demonstrate that although initially reasons for practicing yoga identify primarily with Giddens’ reflexive project (‘becoming’), through the practice of yoga their experiences become embodied (����being����). The thesis explores the evolving interplay between ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ that ensues from experiences of Iyengar yoga, and explains how and why these processes of self-transformation impact on the lives of the women interviewed. / PhD Doctorate

The project was informed by non-rational modes of perception which explored the matrix of dream, imagination, my body and the viewer. The material from this matrix was brought together and translated into artworks through the use of every day materials, techniques and procedures. The resulting artwork offered an experience in the form of an installation which included projected images, aural landscapes, tactile surfaces and spatial constructions.

Frankfurt (Main), Universiẗat, Diss., 2004.

Zugl.: Lüneburg, Univ., Magisterarbeit, 2006