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Student Number : 0416521T - MSc(Med) dissertation - School of Pathology - Faculty of Health Sciences / Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) encompasses a range of conditions induced by prenatal alcohol exposure. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most severe of these conditions. FAS is characterised by discriminating facial features along with growth deficiencies and central nervous system abnormalities. FASD is a growing concern in South Africa, particularly in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces. In the Northern Cape, astounding prevalence rates of 122 and 73.8 per 1000 school entry children have been established for the towns of De Aar and Upington respectively. Studies involving twin concordance research and animal models have indicated that there is a genetic influence contributing towards FAS susceptibility in individuals. FAS is considered a complex disease whereby both genetic and environmental factors interact in disease pathogenesis. For this reason a case-control study involving the investigation of appropriate candidate genes was conducted. The neuronal migration pathway in the developing brain is targeted by prenatal alcohol exposure. The astrotactin (ASTN) and reelin (RELN) genes were selected for investigation based on their fundamental role in neuronal migration. A FAS case-control study involving 45 cases and 112 controls was conducted on the Northern Cape Coloured population. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including missense and non-coding variants were selected within ASTN and four missense SNPs were selected within RELN. The study aimed to determine the genotype and allele frequencies of the variants within the case and control groups and to assess whether any association between the gene variants and the predisposition to FAS existed. Statistical analyses indicated a significant genotypic association (P= 0.049) between RELN’s rs607755 marker; the C/T genotype was more likely to be found amongst controls thus inferring a possible protective effect against FAS. A logistic regression model supported the above association by indicating the C/T genotype as being independently significant (P= 0.026). The most limiting factor of this study was the small sample size and consequent lack of power to detect genes with minor effects. It would therefore be suggested that the study be repeated once a larger sample size has been established. A larger sample size would increase the chances of detecting true associations between genes of minor effect and FAS, thus minimising false-positive associations from arising.

Knowing which candidate is the perfect fit for your workplace is not as easy as it seems. Recruitment assessments are becoming more and more complex as organisations evolve and require more flexibility. A qualitative content analysis has been carried out with the aim of investigating which perception and experience recruiters in a decision-making role have during new employment and explore if the recruiter considers aspects in order to create a well-functioning workgroup. A total of seven in-depth interviews were conducted. The distribution consisted of four men and three women between the ages of 45 years to 57 years. Four of the participants worked in the public sector and three worked in the private sector. Twelve categories were identified; Formal frameworks for the recruitment process to take into account, The right formal competence of the candidate is important, Influence of work and knowledge tests, Right personality for the job is important, The impact of similarity-attraction effect, Important that day form does not affect decisions, Objective assessment is important, Other people's input and coherence in decisions is important, Important to create the right group dynamics, The gut feeling is important, Clicking is not necessary and Weighting between personality and formal competence. Finally, it can be stated that participants were keen that the recruitment decision result in the right person being in the right place both with regards to tasks as well as the workgroup. / Att kunna avgöra vilken kandidat som passar bäst in på en arbetsplats är ingen självklarhet. Bedömningarna kring rekrytering blir mer och mer komplicerade i takt med att organisationer utvecklas och kräver mer flexibilitet. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys har gjorts med syfte att undersöka vilka uppfattningar och erfarenheter rekryterare i beslutsfattande roll har vid rekrytering, samt undersöka hur rekryteraren beaktar aspekter i samband med rekrytering för att skapa en välfungerande arbetsgrupp. Totalt har sju djupintervjuer med beslutsfattare vid rekryteringsbeslut utförts. Fördelningen av deltagare utgjordes av fyra män och tre kvinnor mellan åldrarna 45 år till 57 år. Fyra deltagare arbetade inom offentlig sektor och tre deltagare inom privat sektor. Genom analysen identifierades tolv kategorier; Formella ramar för rekryteringsprocessen att ta hänsyn till, Rätt formell kompetens hos kandidaten är viktigt, Test och arbetsprov påverkar, Rätt personlighet för jobbet är viktigt, Likhetseffekten påverkar, Viktigt att dagsform inte påverkar beslut, Objektiv bedömning är viktigt, Andras input och samstämmighet i beslut är viktigt, Viktigt att skapa rätt gruppdynamik, Magkänslan är viktig, Att klicka är inte nödvändigt och Väga mellan personlighet och formell kompetens. Slutligen kan det konstateras att deltagarna är måna om att rekryteringsbeslutet utmynnar i att rätt person är på rätt plats både med avseende på arbetsuppgifter och arbetsgruppen.

Contemporary liberal democracies highlight representation as a fundamental aspect of their functioning. However, the representation of different education levels in the Netherlands, as in other Western democracies, is lacking. This research focuses on the underrepresentation of citizens without higher education degrees in the Dutch Parliament and investigates the role of the candidate selection process of political parties in perpetuating this issue. By examining different candidate selection procedures, and the formal and informal norms that influence the assessment of candidates, this study sheds light on the factors contributing to the underrepresentation of this group. This is done through in-depth interviews with people involved in the creation of the candidate lists in Dutch political parties, complemented by an analysis of party documents. The results highlight the impact of the candidate selection process on the representation of citizens without higher education. Formal norms, such as requirements for party membership and the favourable treatment of incumbents, negatively influence the inclusion of individuals without higher education. Similarly, informal norms surrounding the emphasis on political experience and the absence of education level in diversity policies, disadvantage candidates lacking higher education. Nevertheless, there are aspects working in their favour, such as accessible training courses and the growing recognition of the value of lived experiences in certain parties. The study concludes that the candidate selection process influences the underrepresentation of citizens without higher education in Dutch politics overall negatively, however, other influences from the demand side or general trends in society pose a large influence on their underrepresentation as well.

Congenital hypotrichosis in cattle is commonly referred to as "rat-tail" syndrome and is characterized by a dilution of black coat color and morphological changes to the hair shaft and tail switch. Two loci are involved in the inheritance of the rat-tail phenotype, the "extension locus" (MC1R) and an unknown locus. In order to express the rat-tail phenotype the animal must inherit at least one black allele at MC1R and be heterozygous at the unknown locus. The rat-tail locus was previously mapped to an 8.7 cM region of Bos Taurus autosome (BTA) 5. Pmel17 is known to be involved in the expression of pigmentation and maps to the same region of BTA5 as the rat-tail locus. Cattle from a population segregating for the rat-tail syndrome were sequenced at Pmel17 in order to identify putative causative mutations. Two mutations were detected, a three base pair (bp) deletion in exon 1 at codon 18 removing a leucine residue, and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at codon 612 resulting in an amino acid substitution (A?E). The 3-bp deletion in exon 1 of Pmel17 is in 100% concordance with the rat-tail phenotype in this research population and may be causative of the rat-tail phenotype.

This study argued that the purpose of social studies education is intimately connected with civic engagement. The function of civic engagement shifts in accordance with the political roles a teacher plays in the classroom (Westhaimer & Kahne, 2004). The literature review defined the possible parameters of these political roles. The research then explored how secondary social science and elementary teacher candidates, if at all, planned to address the political issue of civic engagement in education and their self-awareness as political actors. This research study aimed to expand the available body of research on this topic by exploring the perceptions of social studies teacher candidates concerning their roles in promoting civic engagement. This study conducted a survey of social science and elementary teacher candidates to qualitatively measure these perceptions. The study found that teacher candidates possessed entrenched conceptions of good citizenry but fail to connect social studies’ primary purpose of civic engagement with the promotion of good citizenry. The study also indicated teacher candidates lack sufficient civic engagement conceptual understanding and corresponding pedagogy to adequately perform their political roles as democratic gatekeepers. Consequently, the study’s educational implications were that social studies teachers’ and teacher candidates’ awareness of civic engagement in the social studies classroom is necessary to facilitate an effective, ethical, and objective education. Additionally, more attention must be given in teacher candidate education to address the political reality of the social science education profession.

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