scholarly journals Fully Automatic Treatment Planning for External-Beam Radiation Therapy of Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer: A Tool for Low-Resource Clinics

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Kelly Kisling ◽  
Lifei Zhang ◽  
Hannah Simonds ◽  
Nazia Fakie ◽  
Jinzhong Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Treatment Planning ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ct Scans ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
Fully Automatic ◽  
Automatic Treatment

Purpose The purpose of this study was to validate a fully automatic treatment planning system for conventional radiotherapy of cervical cancer. This system was developed to mitigate staff shortages in low-resource clinics. Methods In collaboration with hospitals in South Africa and the United States, we have developed the Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA), which includes algorithms for automating every step of planning: delineating the body contour, detecting the marked isocenter, designing the treatment-beam apertures, and optimizing the beam weights to minimize dose heterogeneity. First, we validated the RPA retrospectively on 150 planning computed tomography (CT) scans. We then tested it remotely on 14 planning CT scans at two South African hospitals. Finally, automatically planned treatment beams were clinically deployed at our institution. Results The automatically and manually delineated body contours agreed well (median mean surface distance, 0.6 mm; range, 0.4 to 1.9 mm). The automatically and manually detected marked isocenters agreed well (mean difference, 1.1 mm; range, 0.1 to 2.9 mm). In validating the automatically designed beam apertures, two physicians, one from our institution and one from a South African partner institution, rated 91% and 88% of plans acceptable for treatment, respectively. The use of automatically optimized beam weights reduced the maximum dose significantly (median, −1.9%; P < .001). Of the 14 plans from South Africa, 100% were rated clinically acceptable. Automatically planned treatment beams have been used for 24 patients with cervical cancer by physicians at our institution, with edits as needed, and its use is ongoing. Conclusion We found that fully automatic treatment planning is effective for cervical cancer radiotherapy and may provide a reliable option for low-resource clinics. Prospective studies are ongoing in the United States and are planned with partner clinics.

Information Systems and Technology in South Africa

2005 ◽  
pp. 1497-1502
Author(s):  
Anesh Maniraj Singh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Informal Activity ◽  
Formal Economy ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
First World ◽  
South African Cities

South Africa, like most of its African neighbors, has a dual economy that sees formal and informal trading taking place side by side. Walking down many of the main streets of South African cities, one can immediately see the informal traders conducting their trade on the doorsteps of established retailers. Many of the formal traders complain about the informal activity and its impact on their businesses. However, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship that ensures their peaceful coexistence. For many foreigners, there is the perception that South Africa is a jungle with lions and tigers running around the streets and wind-up telephones as a means of communication. This is, however, far from the reality. Technology in the formal economy is almost as good as and sometimes better than it is in the United States and other first-world countries. Cellular telephone technology is one generation ahead of the United States. However, like the economy, a technology divide exists, where some parts of the population have access to technology, while others do not. This article will examine the trends in technology, outlining the use of technology in South African industry. The digital divide will also be discussed, looking at the problems and how the State in partnership with the private sector can bridge the gap.

scholarly journals Testing the inescapable network of mutuality: Albert Luthuli, Martin Luther King Jr and the challenges of post-liberation South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan A. Boesak
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
The United States ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Faith Commitment ◽  
The World ◽  
Ethical Stance ◽  
Martin Luther King

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, 50 years ago on 04 April 1968, has been recalled in the United States with memorial services, conferences, public discussions and books. In contrast, the commemoration in 2017 of the death of Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli, 50 years ago on December 1967, passed almost unremarked. That is to our detriment. Yet, these two Christian fighters for freedom, in different contexts, did not only have much in common, but they also left remarkably similar and equally inspiring legacies for South Africa, the United States and the world in the ways they lived their lives in complete faith commitment to ideals and ways of struggle that may guide us in the ongoing struggles to make the world a more just, peacable and humane place. For South African reflections on our ethical stance in the fierce, continuing struggles for justice, dignity and the authenticity of our democracy, I propose that these two leaders should be considered in tandem. We should learn from both. This article engages Martin Luther King Jr’s belief in the ‘inescapable network of mutuality’, applies it to the struggle for freedom in South Africa and explores the ways in which South Africans can embrace these ethical ideals in facing the challenges of post-liberation.

American Opposition to South African Apartheid

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Hostetter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
African American ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
The United States ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Apartheid Regime

American activists who challenged South African apartheid during the Cold War era extended their opposition to racial discrimination in the United States into world politics. US antiapartheid organizations worked in solidarity with forces struggling against the racist regime in South Africa and played a significant role in the global antiapartheid movement. More than four decades of organizing preceded the legislative showdown of 1986, when a bipartisan coalition in Congress overrode President Ronald Reagan’s veto, to enact economic sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. Adoption of sanctions by the United States, along with transnational solidarity with the resistance to apartheid by South Africans, helped prompt the apartheid regime to relinquish power and allow the democratic elections that brought Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress to power in 1994. Drawing on the tactics, strategies and moral authority of the civil rights movement, antiapartheid campaigners mobilized public opinion while increasing African American influence in the formulation of US foreign policy. Long-lasting organizations such as the American Committee on Africa and TransAfrica called for boycotts and divestment while lobbying for economic sanctions. Utilizing tactics such as rallies, demonstrations, and nonviolent civil disobedience actions, antiapartheid activists made their voices heard on college campuses, corporate boardrooms, municipal and state governments, as well as the halls of Congress. Cultural expressions of criticism and resistance served to reinforce public sentiment against apartheid. Novels, plays, movies, and music provided a way for Americans to connect to the struggles of those suffering under apartheid. By extending the moral logic of the movement for African American civil rights, American anti-apartheid activists created a multicultural coalition that brought about institutional and governmental divestment from apartheid, prompted Congress to impose economic sanctions on South Africa, and increased the influence of African Americans regarding issues of race and American foreign policy.

scholarly journals Is It Time For a Coherent Political Question Doctrine in South Africa? Lessons from the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mtendeweka Mhango
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Status ◽  
The Political ◽  
Early Application ◽  
Comparative Examination ◽  
Political Question ◽  
Insight Into

This article describes the development and current status of the political question doctrine theme in South African jurisprudence. It does this through a comparative discussion of the application of this doctrine in the United States. The purpose of this comparative examination is twofold: the first is to gain insight into the origins, trends and early application of the political question doctrine. The second is to gain insight into the challenges and best practices in relation to the application of the political question doctrine elsewhere. The paper argues that while the political question doctrine theme exists in South African jurisprudence, this has not matured into a clear and transparent doctrine. It calls for the development of a clear doctrine for South Africa and offers some recommendations.

scholarly journals The Cinema of Manie van Rensburg (Part 1)

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin P. Botha
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
New York ◽  
South African ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Film Festival ◽  
African Film ◽  
First Time

INTRODUCTIONThe name, Manie van Rensburg, is virtually unknown in Europe and the United States of America. Recently, some of his work was screened at a South African film festival in Amsterdam at the Kriterion cinema and I had the honour to present a lecture there on 7 October 1995 regarding Van Rensburg and his presence in the cinema. His film work was also highlighted in a small retrospective during October 1996 at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. IT WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME a Van Rensburg film was screened outside the borders of South Africa. During the 1980s Van Rensburg received an International Film Festival of New York award for his historical TV drama series, Heroes, and a Merit Award from the London Film Festival was given to him for his filmed play, The Native who Caused all the Trouble. His mammoth production, The Fourth...

LOOKING FOR STEREOTYPICAL PORTRAYALS OF GRANDMOTHERS IN SOUTH AFRICAN MULTILINGUAL PICTUREBOOKS

Mousaion ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-127
Author(s):  
Maritha Snyman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Similar Nature

Picturebooks are vehicles of knowledge and socialisation for children. In portraying grandmothers in children’s picturebooks, existing stereotypes are often enforced (Crawford and Bhattacharya 2014). This article set out to determine how, and if, the portrayal of grandmothers in a sample of multilingual picturebooks in South Africa is stereotyped and how possible stereotyping relates to South Africa’s cultural diversity. Ten books were selected that have been translated into more than four of South Africa’s 11 official languages.By using quantitative coding these texts were deconstructed by looking for stereotypical representations of grandmothers and the relationships that exist between the portrayal of cultural groups and stereotypes. The findings indicated that stereotypical portrayals of South African grandmothers do not follow the patterns uncovered in studies of a similar nature in the United States (US) andthe United Kingdom (UK). South African grandmothers are stereotyped because of their goodness – their attitude of a positive servitude. In providing possible reasons for this deviation from the findings of similar studies elsewhere, the complex intricacies of politics and publishing activities in South Africa’s are briefly discussed.

Conflict Resolution in Southern Africa: Why Namibia is not Another Zimbabwe

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
David F. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
South African ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Germany ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The U.S

Despite continued American insistence that a negotiating impasse had not been reached, by the final months of 1982 it seemed clear that internationally-recognized independence for Namibia would not soon be achieved. While Washington claimed that negotiations between South Africa, Angola, and the Southwest African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) (with the U.S. as mediator) remain meaningful, there appears to have been a decisive move away from settlement. The latest round of negotiations, spearheaded by the United States as the leading element of the Western Contact Group (the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, and Canada), has attempted to move South African-controlled Namibia to independence on the basis of Security Council Resolution 435 of September 1978.

Africa as a Market for South African Goods

1974 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Guelke
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Latin America ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Manufactured Goods

Much recent analysis of South Africa's outward-looking policy towards independent Africa has asserted that the implications of this are primarily economic in character: ‘South Africa is thrusting out into Africa for a number of reasons. She needs markets for her manufactured goods. She wants to export capital.’1 Indeed, many observers carry the argument further, and suggest that she is seeking an economic and political role in Africa analogous to that of the United States in Latin America. In the words of Sean Gervasi:

Southern African Air Transport After Apartheid

1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon H. Pirie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Air Transport ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Similar Action ◽  
Black African ◽  
The 1960S

Aviation in Southern Africa was subject throughout the 1980s to increasingly intense political pressures. As ever, the cause was protests about apartheid. The severe blow that black African countries dealt to South African Airways (S.A.A.), the Republic's state-owned national airline, in the 1960s by withdrawing overflying rights was magnified by similar action from a wider spectrum of non-African governments. In the mid-1980s, Australia and the United States of America, for example, revoked S.A.A.'s landing rights, and forbad airlines registered in their countries from flying to South Africa. Other carriers, such as Air Canada, closed their offices and then terminated representation in South Africa.

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