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<p>The aim of this thesis has been to investigate and analyze the tyranny of the Deinomenids (491 – 466 BC), a family who controlled several Greek colonies located on the island of Sicily. Modern classical scholarship has often ignored the history and contributions this family has made to the Greek world or has taken a limited view of the family.</p> <p>I intend to present a comprehensive account of the Deinomenids and to demonstrate how this family, which has received little attention, played a major role in the Greek world. I will look into several aspects regarding their tyranny that have often been overlooked, including the ways in which they invented claims about themselves and manipulated their identities in order to elevate their status as rulers in Sicily. In addition to this, I will use the Deinomenids as a case study to illustrate the tension felt between the mainland and the Greek colonies in Sicily, as well as demonstrating how the West influenced and informed many of the advancements seen on the mainland in later generations.</p> <p>The first section of this thesis will investigate Greek tyranny and Greek colonization in the West. This will provide the backdrop of my study of the Deinomenids. The next section will present a catalogue of the historical, literary, and archaeological evidence that survives regarding the family. The third section will focus on the various methods that the family used to secure their powerbase in Sicily. This included using poetry, coinage, buildings, and religious cults. The last section will look at the aftermath of the Deinomenid tyranny and the long-lasting impact their rule had on Sicily and the mainland of Greece.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>By the early fourth century Rome was more than a thousand years old and the historical <em>caput mundi</em> was, accordingly, steeped in long established traditions. It was these historical traditions and memories that served as paradigms for understanding present circumstances. One such paradigm was the relationship between Rome and her emperors. Traditionally, monarchical power was the antithesis of the Roman Republican model, yet Augustus uniquely altered this model and established a new acceptable paradigm wherein the emperor was the <em>princeps civitatis</em> and the patron to all Romans. This imperial patronage was characterized primarily by the commissioning of public buildings in the <em>Urbs</em> and the maintenance of Rome’s cults and traditions. Therefore, Rome was inextricably intertwined with the legitimacy, success (or failure), and longevity of an emperor’s reign. Throughout the third century, however, Rome was plagued by manifold crises and the paradigmatic relationship between Rome and her rulers began to break down, such that some scholars have suggested that from 293 CE and the establishment of the tetrarchy Rome became increasingly manifest wherever the emperors were, with the city itself becoming nothing more than a peripheral concern. The former line of argumentation, however, is often advanced with the belief that Rome’s diminishing importance was uninterrupted and invariable, often disregarding the evidence within the city itself and focusing on monumental evidence outside of Rome and across the empire. This thesis, then, by examining the evidence within the city of Rome and that pertaining to it, demonstrates that between 293 and 324 CE Rome’s marginalization was anything but consistent and that the city, with all its symbolic and actual power, was integral to Maxentius’ and Constantine’s legitimation policies. Moreover, this thesis also elucidates how Rome functioned in imperial thought for each regime, with old paradigms becoming malleable to accommodate new imperial policy.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This paper is concerned with the use of mutiny narratives in historical texts as a microcosm of the historians’ goal of the work as a whole. This study is built upon the recent trend in scholarship, where a particular feature of a text has been studied to provide an analysis on the author or the underlying purpose of his work. Mutinies and, more specifically, mutiny narrative patterns have not been studied to a great extent for this type of analysis. However, based upon their tradition delineation and explanation of events and their ubiquitous speeches, mutiny narratives are capable of providing a new avenue for this type of analysis. The first chapter will look at the mutiny of Scipio Africanus’ troops at Sucro in 206 B.C.E. as presented by the historians Polybius and Livy. Both attempted to organize their works upon particular moral and didactic lines, the results of which are clearly expressed in their construct of the mutiny. This intentional framework is also present in the poet Lucan’s historical epic the <em>Bellum Civile</em>, who shaped the mutiny of Caesar’s troops in 47 B.C.E. in order to express his own belief in the inherent cataclysm and paradox of civil war. Finally these same themes of chaos and contradiction are also present in my third chapter and its analysis of five mutinies found in Tacitus, two in 14 C.E. and three in 69 C.E. under Galba, Otho and Vocula. Tacitus deliberately engineered the earlier mutinies in order to create both thematic and linguistic echoes to the later seditions in order to prove that the same problems that caused the later civil war were present under the earliest emperors.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis has two primary aims: 1) to add weight to the minority opinion that Xenophon is not naively pro-Spartan and that while he appreciates and admires certain facets of the Spartan socio-political system, he recognises and criticises its inherent flaws, and 2) to show that Xenophon is consistent and even-handed in his treatment of Spartans throughout his works with no significant alteration over the period of his literary output. The focus is on those works in which Spartans figure most prominently: the Anabasis, Hellenica, and Respublica Lacedaemoniorum; the Agesilaus and Cyropaedia are dealt with insofar as they complement and illuminate matters under discussion.</p> <p>The first two chapters show that very little is known with certainty about Xenophon's life and the chronology of the relevant works. I argue that this lack of factual evidence has opened the way for scholars to make inaccurate and misleading speculations in support of the traditional view that Xenophon is uncritically pro-Spartan. In the next two chapters various Spartan leaders in the Anabasis and Hellenica are examined with respect to the qualities which Xenophon believed a good leader should possess. It is concluded that Xenophon shows no obvious bias toward Spartans in either work; praise and criticism are apportioned as due. The fifth chapter considers the Respublica Lacedaemoniorum with emphasis on those aspects of the Spartan lifestyle which bear most directly on the way Spartan leaders function. The standard view of the work as encomiastic is challenged and its purpose is reassessed. I argue that Xenophon simply presents an analysis of those Spartan laws and institutions which he believed allowed Sparta to rise to pre-eminence in the Greek world. A comparison with what he says elsewhere shows that he did not necessarily consider these laws to be ideal or worthy of imitation. A short conclusion draws attention to the consistency in Xenophon's attitude to Sparta in the works considered.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden bisher publizierte Daten über LIE-CT des Myokards in Form einer Metaanalyse systematisch ausgewertet. Das primäre Ziel der Metaanalyse war, bisherige Erkenntnisse über die Treffsicherheit der LIE-CT in Bezug auf infarzierte Myokardabschnitte quantitativ zusammenzufassen. Nach Entfernung der Duplikate ergab die Suche in den vier Datenbanken insgesamt 914 unterschiedliche Treffer. Letztlich wurden 12 Studien eingeschlossen (336 Patienten; 268 männlich, 68 weiblich; das mittlere Alter der Patienten variierte zwischen 55 und 67,7 Jahren). Die AUC (area under the curve) der SROC-Kurve (summary receiver operating characteristic curve) als Maß für die Treffsicherheit der LIE-CT für infarzierte Segmente beträgt 0,95 (95 % CI: 0,93 - 0,97). Die gepoolte Sensitivität der LIE-CT beträgt 0,81 (95 % CI: 0,75 - 0,87) und eine gepoolte Spezifität von 0,97 (95 % CI: 0,95 - 0,98). Fünf der eingeschlossenen 12 Studien (mit insgesamt 126 Patienten) haben zusätzlich den transmuralen Charakter der Myokardnarben ausgewertet. In Bezug auf transmurale infarzierte Myokardsegmente beträgt die AUC 0,94 (95 % CI: 0,91 - 0,95). Die gepoolte Sensitivität der LIE-CT für transmurale Infarkte beträgt 0,81 (95 % CI: 0,74 -0 ,86) und die gepoolte Spezifität 0,96 (95 % CI: 0,93 - 0,98). Das diagnostische Odds Ratio der gepoolten Daten war 146 (95 % CI: 65 - 331). I2 beträgt 97,95 % (95 % CI: 94 - 99 %), vereinbar mit einer hohen Heterogenität. Die Ergebnisse des Deeks-Tests (als Maß für die Publikationsbias) waren nicht statistisch signifikant (p = 0,08 beziehungsweise p = 0,84). Zu den Limitationen der Arbeit gehören die Verwendung anderer bildgebender Verfahren als Referenzstandard, die Heterogenität der eingeschlossenen Studien, den Einschluss sowohl von Patienten mit subakuten als auch mit alten Myokardinfarkten und die geringe Anzahl von Studien, die Angaben zum transmuralen Charakter der Infarkte machen. Insgesamt sprechen die Ergebnisse dafür, dass die LIE-CT eine relativ hohe Sensitivität und eine sehr hohe Spezifität für Myokardinfarkte hat. Die Sensitivität ist niedriger als die Referenzmethode LGE-MRT, während die hohe Spezifität darauf hindeutet, dass beide Methoden zumindest in dieser Hinsicht ähnlich gut sind. Anhand der vorliegenden Daten kann die LIE-CT nicht als Ersatz für die LGE-MRT empfohlen werden, wenn die Myokardvitalität die primäre diagnostische Fragestellung ist. Dagegen könnte die LIE-CT eine sinnvolle Erweiterung des CT-Protokolls bei Patienten sein, bei denen im Rahmen der CT-Koronarangiographie hochgradige Stenosen oder Verschlüsse gefunden werden.:Abkürzungsverzeichnis 1 Einleitung 1.1 Pathophysiologie und Epidemiologie der Myokardischämie 1.2 Therapie des chronischen Koronarsyndroms 1.3 Myokardvitalität und bildgebende Diagnostik 1.3.1 Echokardiographie 1.3.2 Einzelphotonen-Emissionscomputertomographie (SPECT) 1.3.3 Positronenemissionstomographie (PET) 1.3.4 Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT) 1.3.5 Computertomographie (CT) 1.4 Fragestellung 2 Material und Methoden 2.1 Studiensuche und -selektion 2.2 Ethikvotum 2.3 Datenextraktion 2.4 Statistische Auswertung 2.4.1 Heterogenität 2.4.2 Publikationsbias 2.4.3 Methodische Qualität 3 Ergebnisse 3.1 Literaturrecherche 3.2 Eingeschlossene Studien 3.2.1 Studiendesign und Patientenzahlen 3.2.2 akute vs. chronische Infarkte 3.2.3 Referenzstandard 3.2.4 CT-Untersuchungstechnik 3.2.5 Heterogenität der Studien 3.3 Publikationsbias 3.4 Methodische Qualität 4 Diskussion 4.1 LIE-CT in der Metaanalyse und in den eingeschlossenen Einzelstudien 4.2 Transmuralität der Infarktareale 4.3 Strahlenbelastung 4.4 LIE-CT und LGE-MRT 4.5 LIE-CT und andere Verfahren zur Beurteilung der Myokardvitalität 4.5.1 SPECT 4.5.2 PET 4.5.3 Dobutamin-Stressechokardiographie (DSE) 4.6 LIE-CT bei nicht-ischämischen Fragestellungen 4.7 Methodische Qualität 4.8 Limitationen 4.9 Optimierungspotential der LIE-CT und Ausblick Zusammenfassung Summary Tabellenverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Literaturverzeichnis / We performed a meta-analysis of published data on late iodine enhancement computed tomography (LIE-CT) in patients with myocardial infarction. The aim of the meta-analysis was to evaluate the accuracy of LIE-CT in detecting infarcted myocardial segments. After removal of duplicates the initial search of the four databases identified 914 potentially matching articles. After further selection based on article titles, abstracts and then full texts, 12 studies were finally included in the meta-analysis (336 patients; 268 male, 68 female; median patient age between 55 und 67.7 years). The AUC (area under the curve) of the SROC curve (summary receiver operating characteristic curve) as a measure of the accuracy of LIE CT for infarcted segments is 0.95 (95 % CI: 0.93 - 0.97). The pooled sensitivity of LIE-CT was 0.81 (95 % CI: 0.75 - 0.87) and the pooled specificity was 0,97 (95 % CI: 0.95 - 0.98). Five of the 12 included studies also have evaluated the performance of LIE-CT for differentiating between transmural and non-transmural infarctions. In this case the AUC was 0.94 (95 % CI: 0.91 - 0.95). The pooled sensitivity of LIE-CT for transmural Infarctions was 0.81 (95 % CI: 0.74 - 0.86) and the pooled specificity 0.96 (95 % CI: 0.93 - 0.98). The diagnostic odds ratio of the pooled data was 146 (95 % CI: 65 - 331). I2 was 97.95 % (95 % CI: 94 - 99 %), consistent with high heterogeneity. The results of the Deek`s test, which served as a measure for publication bias were not statistically significant (p = 0.08 and p = 0.84, respectively). Among the limitations of the current study are the use of other imaging modalities as a reference standard, the heterogeneity of included studies, the inclusion of both subacute and chronic infarct cases and the low number of studies which have evaluated the transmurality of the infarctions. The results of this meta-analysis confirm that LIE-CT has a relatively high sensitivity and a very high specificity for myocardial infarctions. The sensitivity is lower compared to the reference standard LGE-MRI, while the high specificity shows that both methods are comparable at least in this regard. Based on the data summarized in this meta-analysis, LIE-CT cannot be recommended as a replacement for LGE-MRI when evaluating myocardial viability is the main purpose of the imaging examination. LIE-CT can be a helpful addition to cardiac CT exam protocols, when a high-grade stenosis or occlusion is found on coronary CT angiography.:Abkürzungsverzeichnis 1 Einleitung 1.1 Pathophysiologie und Epidemiologie der Myokardischämie 1.2 Therapie des chronischen Koronarsyndroms 1.3 Myokardvitalität und bildgebende Diagnostik 1.3.1 Echokardiographie 1.3.2 Einzelphotonen-Emissionscomputertomographie (SPECT) 1.3.3 Positronenemissionstomographie (PET) 1.3.4 Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT) 1.3.5 Computertomographie (CT) 1.4 Fragestellung 2 Material und Methoden 2.1 Studiensuche und -selektion 2.2 Ethikvotum 2.3 Datenextraktion 2.4 Statistische Auswertung 2.4.1 Heterogenität 2.4.2 Publikationsbias 2.4.3 Methodische Qualität 3 Ergebnisse 3.1 Literaturrecherche 3.2 Eingeschlossene Studien 3.2.1 Studiendesign und Patientenzahlen 3.2.2 akute vs. chronische Infarkte 3.2.3 Referenzstandard 3.2.4 CT-Untersuchungstechnik 3.2.5 Heterogenität der Studien 3.3 Publikationsbias 3.4 Methodische Qualität 4 Diskussion 4.1 LIE-CT in der Metaanalyse und in den eingeschlossenen Einzelstudien 4.2 Transmuralität der Infarktareale 4.3 Strahlenbelastung 4.4 LIE-CT und LGE-MRT 4.5 LIE-CT und andere Verfahren zur Beurteilung der Myokardvitalität 4.5.1 SPECT 4.5.2 PET 4.5.3 Dobutamin-Stressechokardiographie (DSE) 4.6 LIE-CT bei nicht-ischämischen Fragestellungen 4.7 Methodische Qualität 4.8 Limitationen 4.9 Optimierungspotential der LIE-CT und Ausblick Zusammenfassung Summary Tabellenverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Literaturverzeichnis

The key issue in recent debates of Christian apologetics is whether there is any common ground of data and criteria between believers and unbelievers. Two main schools are divided on this issue, namely: evidential and presuppositional apologetics. The evidential apologists claim that a common ground exists, and that objective proofs of theism are possible from this common ground. In contrast, the presuppositional apologists argue that there is no common ground; and they maintain that theoretical arguments (including apologetic ones) are unavoidably prejudiced by religious presuppositions. In this study, both sides are claimed to have their own flaws. The former apologetics has the flaw that its epistemic foundation (i.e., “classical foundationalism”) is fatally defective; and it is criticised by the reformational philosophical tradition, as well as secular contemporary (postmodern) epistemology. In contrast, the latter apologetics has the flaw that when the existence of common ground is entirely denied, the problems of circular reasoning (hence, relativism) and total communication breakdown are unavoidable. In order to clarify and deepen the issue, the tradition of reformational philosophy, which is represented by Kuyper, Dooyeweerd and Van Til is first examined; and it is shown that all three scholars struggle with the tension between antithesis and common ground; and they attempt their own solution. Secondly, the contemporary anti-foundationalist epistemology is examined; and it is shown that the same tension exists between “radical” and “moderate” postmodern (anti-foundationalist) epistemologies; and their debate is on-going – without any satisfactory conclusion. As a solution, it is suggested that the notion of common ground should be distinguished by the ontological and epistemological dimensions. From the epistemological standpoint, all knowledge is prejudiced; and no objective conclusion (on the issue of e.g., theism) can be arrived at by so-called “neutral” rational arguments. However, from the ontological standpoint, it is undeniable that all kinds of knowledge are made possible by certain universal (transcendental) conditions, which constitute the ontic common ground. In this distinction, the confusion is caused by the false assumption that the ontic common ground is meant to function as an epistemic neutral criterion. In contrast, this study argues that the ontic common ground functions only as the condition for the possibility of legitimate knowledge (including apologetic arguments). As a result, this study claims that traditional apologetics, based on objective theistic proofs should be abandoned, and that (radical) presuppositional apologetics needs to be modified. Therefore, as an alternative approach, a new “integral apologetics” is proposed – on the basis of Dooyeweerd’s modal theory of reality. This approach emphasizes the need to utilize different types of knowledge, which together could strengthen the apologetic persuasion towards Christian theism, and take into consideration of the whole context of apologetic dialogue. / PhD (International Trade), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The key issue in recent debates of Christian apologetics is whether there is any common ground of data and criteria between believers and unbelievers. Two main schools are divided on this issue, namely: evidential and presuppositional apologetics. The evidential apologists claim that a common ground exists, and that objective proofs of theism are possible from this common ground. In contrast, the presuppositional apologists argue that there is no common ground; and they maintain that theoretical arguments (including apologetic ones) are unavoidably prejudiced by religious presuppositions. In this study, both sides are claimed to have their own flaws. The former apologetics has the flaw that its epistemic foundation (i.e., “classical foundationalism”) is fatally defective; and it is criticised by the reformational philosophical tradition, as well as secular contemporary (postmodern) epistemology. In contrast, the latter apologetics has the flaw that when the existence of common ground is entirely denied, the problems of circular reasoning (hence, relativism) and total communication breakdown are unavoidable. In order to clarify and deepen the issue, the tradition of reformational philosophy, which is represented by Kuyper, Dooyeweerd and Van Til is first examined; and it is shown that all three scholars struggle with the tension between antithesis and common ground; and they attempt their own solution. Secondly, the contemporary anti-foundationalist epistemology is examined; and it is shown that the same tension exists between “radical” and “moderate” postmodern (anti-foundationalist) epistemologies; and their debate is on-going – without any satisfactory conclusion. As a solution, it is suggested that the notion of common ground should be distinguished by the ontological and epistemological dimensions. From the epistemological standpoint, all knowledge is prejudiced; and no objective conclusion (on the issue of e.g., theism) can be arrived at by so-called “neutral” rational arguments. However, from the ontological standpoint, it is undeniable that all kinds of knowledge are made possible by certain universal (transcendental) conditions, which constitute the ontic common ground. In this distinction, the confusion is caused by the false assumption that the ontic common ground is meant to function as an epistemic neutral criterion. In contrast, this study argues that the ontic common ground functions only as the condition for the possibility of legitimate knowledge (including apologetic arguments). As a result, this study claims that traditional apologetics, based on objective theistic proofs should be abandoned, and that (radical) presuppositional apologetics needs to be modified. Therefore, as an alternative approach, a new “integral apologetics” is proposed – on the basis of Dooyeweerd’s modal theory of reality. This approach emphasizes the need to utilize different types of knowledge, which together could strengthen the apologetic persuasion towards Christian theism, and take into consideration of the whole context of apologetic dialogue. / PhD (International Trade), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Plant Pathology / Karen A. Garrett / Late blight of potato, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is a pernicious disease of potatoes worldwide. This disease causes yield losses as a result of foliar and tuber damage. Many models exist to predict late blight risk for control purposes with-in season but rely upon fine-scale weather data collected in hourly, or finer, increments. This is a major constraint when working with disease prediction models for areas of the world where hourly weather data is not available or is unreliable. Weather or climate summary datasets are often available as monthly summaries. These provide a partial solution to this problem with global data at large time-steps (e.g., monthly). Difficulties arise when attempting to use these forms of data in small temporal scale models. My first objective was to develop new approaches for application of disease forecast models to coarser resolution weather data sets. I created metamodels based on daily and monthly weather values which adapt an existing potato late blight model for use with these coarser forms of data using generalized additive models. The daily and monthly weather metamodels have R-squared values of 0.62 and 0.78 respectively. These new models were used to map global late blight risk under current and climate change scenarios resistant and susceptible varieties. Changes in global disease risk for locations where wild potato species are indigenous, and disease risk for countries where chronic malnutrition is a problem were evaluated. Under the climate change scenario selected for use, A1B, future global late blight severity decreases. The risk patterns do not show major changes, areas of high risk remain high relative to areas of low risk with rather slight increases or decreases relative to previous years. Areas of higher wild potato species richness experience slightly increased blight risk, while areas of lower species richness experience a slight decline in risk.

Published Article / Worldwide, uterine cervical cancer is one of the most frequently occurring cancers in women, with more than 80% of these cases occurring in developing countries. The South African screening policy and screening program, implemented in 2001, attempt to reduce this incidence of cervical cancer in South Africa. It is essential to treat these women with the best modalities available. This retrospective study focused specifically on the curative potential of radiotherapy administered to patients at the Oncology Department, Bloemfontein, since a new modality of high dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy was implemented in 1994. Late radiation complications were also investigated.