Magister Legum - LLM / This research aimed to undertake an investigation into the question of whether after divorce, in the matrilineal customary law marriage in Malawi, women's rights are severely violated. The study showed causes of divorce, how proceedings are done, how issues of property are handled, how the issue of custody of children and maintenance are also handled. All this was weighed against the constitutional provisions and international law. / South Africa

No Abstract is provided. / Thesis (DD (New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

The preimplantation stages of mammalian development are dedicated to the differentiation of two extraembryonic epithelia, the trophectoderm (TE) and the primitive endoderm (PrE), and their segregation from the pluripotent embryonic lineage, the epiblast. The TE and PrE are responsible for implantation into the uterus and for producing the tissues that will support and pattern the epiblast as it develops into the foetus. PrE and epiblast are formed in a two step process that involves random cell fate specification, mediated by fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling, and cell sorting through several mechanisms. In the present work I have addressed aspects of both steps of this process. Chimaera assays showed that epiblast precursors transplanted onto a recipient embryo rarely differentiate into PrE, while PrE precursors are able to switch their identity and become epiblast. Transient stimulation or inhibition of the FGF4-ERK pathway in the chimaeras can modify the behaviour of these cells and restore the plasticity of epiblast precursors. This work shows that epiblast precursors are refractory to differentiation signals, thus ensuring the preservation of the embryonic lineage. I have also found that atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKC) is a marker of PrE cells and that pharmacological inhibition of aPKC impairs the segregation of PrE and epiblast precursors. Furthermore, it affects the survival of PrE cells and can alter the subcellular localisation of the PrE transcription factor GATA4. These data indicate aPKC plays a central role for the sorting of the PrE and epiblast populations and links cell position within the embryo to PrE maturation and survival. Lastly, I have found that aPKC can directly phosphorylate GATA4 in vitro. Knockdown of GATA4 affects cell position within the embryo, whereas aPKC knockdown reduces the number of GATA4-positive cells. These results indicate GATA4 plays an important role in cell sorting during preimplantation development and suggest phosphorylation by aPKC could determine its presence in the nuclei of PrE cells. My work, in the light of the current knowledge, supports a model where the earliest cell fate decisions during mammalian development depend on cellular interactions and not on inherited cell fate determinants. This robust mode of development underlies the plasticity of the preimplantation embryo and ensures the formation of the first mammalian cell lineages, critical for any further progression in mammalian development.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate what can be discovered from Luke-Acts about early Christian baptism, recognising that the environment in which Luke's tradition developed was both Jewish and Gentile. The thesis begins with a brief survey of the Jewish practice of ritual washings. The ideas and practices which encouraged the formal rite of John the Baptist and the early church are identified and evaluated. The second chapter focuses attention on Acts 2:37-3:21. Baptism is defined in this passage (Ac. 2:38) in the context of the proclamation by Peter (Ac. 2:14-36) and the life of the community, which includes koinonia (Ac. 2:42-47), the performance of a miracle (Ac. 3:1-1 0), and a further proclamation (Ac. 3:12-26). Using the methods of redaktiongeschichte and narratological analyses, the literary unity of Luke-Acts will be shown in the light of the elements of baptism. In the third chapter the different accounts of baptism recorded in Luke-Acts will be analysed and compared in order to determine how the church tradition which Luke represents understood baptism, and what was the significance of the rite and the practice of baptism in the early church. Finally, in order to emphasise the importance in the Greek world of the ideas and example of the moral philosophers, the meaning of terms related to baptism, such as akouo, metanoeo and pisteuo, is examined in the light of both Jewish and Greek concepts. The community life of the baptised expressed also practices and ideas which appear to owe more to the Greek world than the Jewish. These concepts include parrhesia, koinonia, and the way in which Christianity is described by its members and outsiders- Christianoi, hairesis, hodos. Finally the setting of the Christian meetings in the Gentile context is discussed. The conclusion indicated by the evidence is that Christianity was organised in a form which was scarcely distinguishable from a school under a kathegetes. Baptism initiated the believer into a relationship with a teacher. It was the nature of the teacher as well as the content of the teaching which gave to Christianity its uniqueness.

La detection, le suivi de cible et la reconnaissance de primitives visuelles constituent des problèmes fondamentaux de la vision robotique. Ces problématiques sont réputés difficiles et sources de défis. Malgré les progrès en puissance de calcul des machines, le gain en résolution et en fréquence des capteurs, l’état-de-l’art de la vision robotique peine à atteindre des performances en coût d’énergie et en robustesse qu’offre la vision biologique. L’apparition des nouveaux capteurs, appelés "rétines de silicium” tel que le DVS (Dynamic Vision Sensor) et l’ATIS (Asynchronous Time-based Imaging Sensor) reproduisant certaines fonctionnalités des rétines biologiques, ouvre la voie à de nouveaux paradigmes pour décrire et modéliser la perception visuelle, ainsi que pour traiter l’information visuelle qui en résulte. Les tâches de suivi et de reconnaissance de formes requièrent toujours la caractérisation et la mise en correspondance de primitives visuelles. La détection de ces dernières et leur description nécessitent des approches fondamentalement différentes de celles employées en vision robotique traditionnelle. Cette thèse développe et formalise de nouvelles méthodes de détection et de caractérisation de primitives spatio-temporel des signaux acquis par les rétines de silicium (plus communément appelés capteurs “event-based”). Une structure théorique pour les tâches de détection, de suivi, de reconnaissance et de classification de primitives est proposée. Elle est ensuite validée par des données issues de ces capteurs “event-based”,ainsi que par des bases données standard du domaine de la reconnaissance de formes, convertit au préalable à un format compatible avec la representation “événement”. Les résultats présentés dans cette thèse démontrent les potentiels et l’efficacité des systèmes "event-based”. Ce travail fournit une analyse approfondie de différentes méthodes de reconnaissance de forme et de classification “event-based". Cette thèse propose ensuite deux solutions basées sur les primitives. Deux mécanismes d’apprentissage, un purement événementiel et un autre, itératif, sont développés puis évalués pour leur capacité de classification et de robustesse. Les résultats démontrent la validité de la classification “event-based” et souligne l’importance de la dynamique de la scène dans les tâches primordiales de définitions des primitives et de leur détection et caractétisation. / One of the fundamental tasks underlying much of computer vision is the detection, tracking and recognition of visual features. It is an inherently difficult and challenging problem, and despite the advances in computational power, pixel resolution, and frame rates, even the state-of-the-art methods fall far short of the robustness, reliability and energy consumption of biological vision systems. Silicon retinas, such as the Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS) and Asynchronous Time-based Imaging Sensor (ATIS), attempt to replicate some of the benefits of biological retinas and provide a vastly different paradigm in which to sense and process the visual world. Tasks such as tracking and object recognition still require the identification and matching of local visual features, but the detection, extraction and recognition of features requires a fundamentally different approach, and the methods that are commonly applied to conventional imaging are not directly applicable. This thesis explores methods to detect features in the spatio-temporal information from event-based vision sensors. The nature of features in such data is explored, and methods to determine and detect features are demonstrated. A framework for detecting, tracking, recognising and classifying features is developed and validated using real-world data and event-based variations of existing computer vision datasets and benchmarks. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate the potential and efficacy of event-based systems. This work provides an in-depth analysis of different event-based methods for object recognition and classification and introduces two feature-based methods. Two learning systems, one event-based and the other iterative, were used to explore the nature and classification ability of these methods. The results demonstrate the viability of event-based classification and the importance and role of motion in event-based feature detection.

The Uitkomst Complex is located within the Great Escarpment area close to the town of Badplaas, approximately 300 km due east of Pretoria, in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. This complex is believed to represent a layered conduit system related to the 2.06 Ga Bushveld Complex. The succession from the bottom up comprises the Basal Gabbro- (BGAB), Lower Harzburgite- (LHZBG) and Chromitiferous Harzburgite (PCR) Units, collectively referred to as the Basal Units, followed by the Main Harzburgite- (MHZBG), Upper Pyroxenite-(PXT) and Gabbronorite (GN) Units, collectively referred to as the Main Units. The Basal Unit is largely hosted by the Malmani Dolomite Formation, in the Pretoria Group of the Transvaal Supergroup sediments. The Lower Harzburgite Unit contains numerous calc-silicate xenoliths derived from the Malmani Dolomite. The Basal Units host the economically important nickel-bearing sulphide and chromite deposits exploited by the Nkomati Mine. An area of extensive localized talc-chlorite alteration is found in the area delineated for large scale open cast mining. This phenomenon has bearing on the nature and distribution of the sulphide minerals in the Chromitiferous Harzburgite and to a lesser extent the Lower Harzburgite Units. The Basal Unit is comprised of both near pristine areas of mafic minerals and areas of extensive secondary replacement minerals. Of the olivine minerals, only fosterite of magmatic origin is found, the fosterite suffered hydrothermal alteration resulting in replacement of it by serpentine and secondary magnetite. Three different types of diopside are found, the first is a primary magamatic phase, the second is a hybrid “transitional” phase and the third, a skarn phase. Hydrothermal alteration of the matrix diopside led to the formation of actinolite-tremolite pseudomorphs. This secondary tremolite is intergrown with the nickeliferous sulphide grains. Chromite grains are rimmed or replaced by secondary magnetite. Pyrrhotite grains is also rimmed or replaced by secondary magnetite. Talc and chlorite is concentrated in the highly altered rocks, dominating the PCR unit. Primary plagioclase and calcite do not appear to have suffered alteration to the same extent as the other precursor mafic magmatic and hydrothermal minerals. It is suggested that the PCR was the first unit to be emplaced near the contact of the dolomite and shale host rock. The more primitive mafic mineral composition and presence of chromitite attest to this interpretation. The LHZBG and MHZBG units may have been emplaced simultaneously, the LHZBG below and the MHZBG above. Interaction and partial assimilation of the dolomitic country rock led to a disruption of the primary mafic mineralogy, resulting in the preferential formation of diopside at the expense of orthopyroxene and plagioclase. Addition of country rock sulphur resulted in sulphur saturation of the magma and resulted in the observed mineralization. The downward stoping of the LHZBG magma, in a more “passive” pulse-like manner led to the formation of the calc-silicate xenolith lower third of this unit. It is proposed that the interaction with, and assimilation of the dolomitic host rock by the intruding ultramafic magmas of the Basal Units are responsible, firstly, for the segregation of the nickeliferous sulphides from the magma, and secondly for the formation of a carbonate-rich deuteric fluid that affected the primary magmatic mineralogy of the Basal Unit rocks. The fluids released during the assimilation and recrystallization of the dolomites also led to the serpentinization of the xenoliths themselves and probably the surrounding hybrid and mafic- ultramafic host rocks. The CO2-rich fluids migrated up and outward, while the H2O-rich fluids remained confined to the area around the xenoliths and LHZBG unit. The H2O-rich fluid is thought to be responsible for the retrograde metamorphism of the precursor magmatic and metamorphic minerals in the Lower Harzburgite Unit. The formation of an exoscarn within the dolomitic country rocks and a selvage of endoskarn on the contact form an effective solidification front that prevented further contamination of the magma. It is also suggested that these solidification fronts constrained the lateral extent of the conduit. The CO2-enriched deutric fluid was able to migrate up to the PCR unit. Here the fluid was not removed as effectively as in the underlying parts of the developing conduit. This resulted in higher CO2-partial pressures in the PCR unit, and the stabilization of talccarbonate assemblages that extensively replaced the precursor magmatic mineralogy. Intrusion of the magma into the shales, which may have been more susceptible to assimilation and greater stoping, led to a broadening in the lateral extent of the Complex, in the Main units above the trough-like feature occupied by the Basal Units. Late-stage, hydrous dominated fluid migration is inferred to have been constrained to the central part of the conduit. This is demonstrated by the dominance of chlorite in the central part of the Uitkomst Complex in the study area. The Uitkomst Complex was further deformed by later intrusions of dolerite dykes. Weathering of the escarpment led to exposure of the conduit as a valley and oxidation of the surficial exposed rocks. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Geology / unrestricted

Les processus internes et externes qui ont formé et structuré la croûte de la planète Mars au début de son histoire sont actuellement mal connus. Le canyon de Valles Marineris représente la plus grande coupe naturelle à la surface de Mars, où affleure la croûte moyenne et supérieure. L'étude de cette région clé a été abordée minéralogiquement et morphologiquement à partir de données hyperspectrales CRISM, et des images à haute résolution HiRISE de la mission MRO (NASA, 2006). La base du canyon est constituée de roches massives, fracturées, à fort albédo, riches en pyroxènes pauvres en calcium, pénétrées par des dikes verticaux riches en olivine. Ces roches sont interprétées comme des affleurements de croûte primitive, préservée et exposée dans son contexte originel. Les plateaux bordant le canyon sont couverts d’une formation de 100m d’épaisseur d’argiles ferromagnésiennes, recouvertes d’argiles alumineuses. Cette formation géologique visible sur plus de 106km2 traduit un niveau d’altération de la croûte sous un climat humide. Enfin, les dépôts stratifiés centraux de la région de Capri Chasma, d'épaisseur plurikilométrique, sont riches en sulfates monohydratés et polyhydratés, corrélés à des groupes de strates distincts. Ces sédiments se sont déposés durant l’Hespérien et ont ensuite été érodés par des processus fluviatiles. Ces résultats permettent de reconstituer la succession d’événements suivants : I) formation de la croûte primitive témoin d’un océan magmatique primitif, II) recouvrement de cette croûte primitive par un empilement volcanique, III) Altération de surface à grand échelle, IV) Ouverture du canyon de Valles Marineris, V) dépôts et érosion de niveaux stratifiés riches en sulfates. / Valles Marineris is a unique vertical section through the uppermost kilometers of the martian crust; its location, east of Tharsis bulge, and its water-related history suggest a great diversity of rock types in this area. High resolution morphologic (HiRISE) and mineralogic (CRISM) data from the MRO mission (NASA, 2006) available over the area were investigated. A typical succession of horizontal units of distinct morphologies and mineralogies was observed in the Eastern part of Valles Marineris, including basaltic lavas, phyllosilicate-rich boulders and a LCP (Low-Calcium Pyroxene)-rich basement. This basement, interpreted as being a uniquely preserved outcrop of pristine Noachian crust, is intruded by olivine-rich dikes, which are valuable witnesses of early magmatic and tectonic processes. A thin light-toned formation, enriched in Fe/Mg smectites at its base, and Al-phyllosilicates at its top, is draping the Noachian plateaus around the canyons. This widespread unit could have formed by alteration under a wet climate, and is akin to pedogenesis. Finally, kilometer-thick layered deposits that are filling most of the canyons were analyzed in the area of Capri Chasma, at the outlet of Valles Marineris. These Hesperian-aged deposits are enriched in monyhydrated and polyhydrated sulfates and appear to have been eroded by younger fluvial processes. Both spectral types are associated with different units of distinct morphologies, at different elevations. All these observations were combined to propose the following succession of events: I- Formation of the pristine crust by crystallization in a magma ocean, II- Piling of lava flows on the top of this crust and dike activity, III- Widespread surficial alteration, IV- Opening of Valles Marineris, V- deposition and erosion of the sulfate-rich layered deposits.

This study is designed to investigate patterns of lithic technological variability in relation to settlement strategies that were employed by late prehistoric inhabitants of central and southern regions of interior British Columbia. The research contributes to current archaeological method through an experimental program of stone tool manufacture, and also to current understanding of Interior Plateau prehistory, through a multiregiohal analysis of technological variability. The first stage of the study involves conducting a controlled experiment, to determine the degree to which lithic debitage can be used to predict stages of chipped stone tool manufacture, and to devise an efficient means of classifying debitage into general reduction stages. The experiment is unique in providing control over the precise sequential removal of flakes, and also in examining quantitative variability in debitage that have been produced as the by-products of the manufacture of several tools and cores. The result of the experimental program is the formulation of a debitage classification that classifies flakes into early, middle or late reduction stages, and also into bifacial and bipolar reduction types. The archaeological analyses in the second major stage of the research use the debitage reduction stage classification and the occurrence of various lithic tools to examine the nature of interassemblage variability across the 38 sites from four regions of the Interior Plateau. A total of 14,541 flakes, 164 cores and 861 tools from the Eagle Lake, Mouth of the Chilcotin, Lillooet and Hat Creek regions are analyzed, using multivariate and bivariate quantitative methods. Three hypotheses relevant to lithic technology and hunter- gatherer archaeology are evaluated in this stage of the study. The analyses first employ the experimental debitage classification to obtain interpretable patterns of inter-assemblage similarities and differences. Multivariate analysis shows that several kinds of sites defined on the basis of features can be grouped by their predominance of early/core reduction, middle/wide ranging reduction, and late/ maintenance reduction debitage. The first formal hypothesis tested is that obsidian and chert raw materials should evidence patterns of conservation and economizing behavior by virtue of their geological scarcity in relation to vitreous basalt raw material. A series of chi-square tests demonstrates that debitage frequencies by reduction stage are proportionately equal for these three raw materials in all but the Mouth of the Chilcotin region. In all regions, except Lillooet where tool sample sizes are too small for reliable testing, tool sizes and scar counts show no significant difference attributable to raw materials. A slight trend is noted for chert tools to be larger and simpler than vitreous basalt or obsidian tools. A set of bivariate graphs demonstrates that while lithic raw materials may be reduced in highly similar manners, one raw material may have served to replace another. The second hypothesis, that tool curation and maintenance strongly affects assemblage composition, is first tested by examining tool assemblage measures that have been suggested by recent lithic technological models. Assemblages are highly variable with respect to the numbers of tools left at sites in relation to the intensity of tool maintenance that occurred at sites. The third hypothesis tested is that a set of site occupation purposes can be reliably predicted on the basis of debitage reduction stages and a functional tool classification. Using multiple discriminant analysis, house-pit sites are accurately predicted at an 80% rate, and lithic scatters without features are accurately predicted at a rate of 60%. Lithic scatters with housepits achieve 86% correct classification; lithic scatters with cachepits are correctly classified at a rate of 75%; and lithic scatters with fire-cracked rock are accurately predicted 80% of the time. The results of this analysis are further strengthened by removing an ambiguous assemblage from consideration. The most significant findings of the multiregional analyses are those of definite tool cuiration patterns as evidenced in the raw material analysis, and the occupation span inferences of the tool maintenance analysis. Overall, it has been demonstrated that an experimentally obtained stage classification of debitage enables the derivation of behavioral inferences that could not be currently obtained by other means. In its multiregional perspective, this study has shown that processes of lithic assemblage formation are largely independent of regional provenience and more dependent on settlement purpose. Overall, the greatest determinant of assemblage variability is inferred to be site occupation span. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

This thesis in Church History examines the changing attitudes of Protestants toward Church History. The primary evidence surveyed is statements within major Protestant confessions, as well as the views of selected Reformers. By focusing on how Protestant confessions either quote the church fathers, or affirm the ancient creeds of the Church, the thesis presents a general overview of how Protestants have related to Church History. This thesis takes advantage of many recent studies on the use of church fathers by the reformers, and new critical study of creeds and confessions. A study of selected reformers and Protestant confessions demonstrates that an important part of the Reformation program was the claim to continuity with the early church, as opposed to the perceived innovations of Rome. A brief survey of reformation attitudes towards history also shows that appeals to church history were largely determined by the historical and polemical context of the times. Calvin and Bucer, for instance, make stronger or weaker appeals to church history depending in which polemical context they found themselves. As a result of the hardening of confessional lines, a more critical attitude towards church history developed, especially in Anabaptism and English Puritanism. Whereas the reformers and most Protestant confessions claim continuity with the “ancient church,” the Puritans claimed continuity with the “apostolic” church. This is ironic because the Puritans wanted to reform the English church according to the model of the “best reformed churches,” whose confessions affirm the ancient creeds. Thus, this thesis provides further evidence for the claims of other scholars who have argued that there are two main view of church history within Protestantism: one that stresses continuity with the church in history, and one which stresses interpretation of the Bible free from any historical considerations. As Stephen R. Holmes has suggested, one party sought to “reform” the church while the other party sought to “re-found” the church. If Protestants have developed an anti-historical attitude, it has been partly in response to polemical circumstances. A way out of current Protestant provincialism, particularly in American fundamentalism, may be found in studying the reformers' original, more positive, attitude towards church history. / Dissertation (MA (Church History))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Church History and Church Policy / MA / unrestricted

An n-dimensional integral quadratic form over Z is a polynomial of the form f = f(x1, … ,xn) =∑_(1≤i,j ≤n)▒a_ij x_i x_j, where a_ij=a_ji in Z. An integral quadratic form is called positive definite if f(α_1, …,α_n) > 0 whenever (0, … , 0) ≠(α_1, …,α_n) in Z^n. A positive definite integral quadratic form is said to be almost (primitively) universal if it (primitively) represents all but at most finitely many positive integers. In general, almost primitive universality is a stronger property than almost universality. Main results of this study are: every primitively universal form non-trivially represents zero over every ring Z_p of p-adic integers, and every almost universal form in five or more variables is almost primitively universal. With use of these results and improving a result of G. Pall from 1946, we then provide criteria to determine whether a given integral quadratic lattice over a ring Z_p of p-adic integers is Z_p-universal or primitively Z_p-universal. The criteria are stated explicitly in terms of a Jordan splitting of the lattice. As an application of the local criteria, we complete the determination of the universal positive definite classically integral quaternary quadratic forms that are almost primitively universal, which was initiated in work of N. Budarina in 2010. Finally, with the use of these local results, we identify 28 positive definite classically integral primitively universal quaternary quadratic forms which were not known previously, introducing a conjecture obtained by a numerical approach, which could possibly be the primitive counterpart to the Fifteen Theorem proved by J.H. Conway and W.A. Schneeberger in 1993.