scholarly journals Establishment of “The South African Bioinformatics Student Council” and Activity Highlights

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. e903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice Nancy Rafael ◽  
Jon Ambler ◽  
Antoinette Niehaus ◽  
James Ross ◽  
Ozlem Tastan Bishop
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Computational Biology ◽  
South African ◽  
International Society ◽  
Short Description ◽  
The South ◽  
Student Council ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Set Up

The South African Bioinformatics Student Council (SASBiSC) in bioinformatics has been set up to increase the visibility of bioinformatics as well as to filter information to students within the field regarding job, funding and workshop opportunities as they arise. This is a short description of the process of setting up a national Student Council for Bioinformatics in South Africa, affiliating to the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB). We also report two examples of activities that were carried out over the last two years that are: 1) participation in the SciFest Africa; and 2) the organisation of the first Bioinformatics Student Symposium.  We hope that our experience and methods for the creation of SASBiSC and of collaborative communities can be useful to others who might want to do the same.

scholarly journals Rapid and Successful Implementation of a COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Programme—The South African Experience

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2050
Author(s):  
Tanya Nadia Glatt ◽  
Caroline Hilton ◽  
Cynthia Nyoni ◽  
Avril Swarts ◽  
Ronel Swanevelder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
South Africans ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Antibody Titres ◽  
Investigational Therapies ◽  
Set Up

Background: COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been considered internationally as a treatment option for COVID-19. CCP refers to plasma collected from donors who have recovered from and made antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. To date, convalescent plasma has not been collected in South Africa. As other investigational therapies and vaccination were not widely accessible, there was an urgent need to implement a CCP manufacture programme to service South Africans. Methods: The South African National Blood Service and the Western Cape Blood Service implemented a CCP programme that included CCP collection, processing, testing and storage. CCP units were tested for SARS-CoV-2 Spike ELISA and neutralising antibodies and routine blood transfusion parameters. CCP units from previously pregnant females were tested for anti-HLA and anti-HNA antibodies. Results: A total of 987 CCP units were collected from 243 donors, with a median of three donations per donor. Half of the CCP units had neutralising antibody titres of >1:160. One CCP unit was positive on the TPHA serology. All CCP units tested for anti-HLA antibodies were positive. Conclusion: Within three months of the first COVID-19 diagnosis in South Africa, a fully operational CCP programme was set up across South Africa. The infrastructure and skills implemented will likely benefit South Africans in this and future pandemics.

scholarly journals The relationship between prophetic preaching and performing the gift of prophecy in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben J. De Klerk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Short Description ◽  
African Society ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Prophetic Preaching ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Relationship

The goal of this article is to investigate the relationship between the liturgy of the worship service, where prophetic preaching is delivered, and the liturgy of life, where the gift of prophecy must be put into practice. In what way could the ‘prophets’ be equipped to become practitioners of the gift of prophecy? A short description is given of what is understood by prophetic preaching and the gift of prophecy in an effort to determine the relationship between these concepts. In a brief summary, burning questions in church life and in the South African society are addressed: in church life, the questions of extreme conservatism and extreme liberalism are scrutinised and in the South African society, corruption and inequality are investigated. In conclusion, a few guidelines are given for putting the gift of prophecy into practice in the liturgy of life.

Coaching in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Segwaba ◽  
Desiree Vardhan ◽  
Patrick Duffy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
South African Government ◽  
Current Position ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Social Vision ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Creation

The South African government and the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) have committed to the creation of an active and winning nation through sport. As part of the national sports plan, coaching has been identified as a key element in the success of the South African sports system. In this context, SASCOC commissioned the development of the South African Coaching Framework, which was formally launched in 2011. The development and launch of the Framework has been accompanied by the gathering of research and scoping data to inform the processes of planning, implementation and impact evaluation. This article describes the current position of coaching in South Africa and the key issues being addressed through the South African Coaching Framework. The challenges that remain to be faced in maximising the contribution of sport coaching to the sporting and social vision of the nation are also identifed.

THE UNITARY, DEMOCRATIC STATE AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST APARTHEID IN PALESTINE–ISRAEL

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr Rumy Hasan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
State Solution ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Code ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Liberation Struggle ◽  
Fundamental Proposition

This paper utilises a comparison between Apartheid South Africa and Israel to argue that Israel, from its inception, has been an apartheid state, albeit different in form to the South African variety. The fundamental proposition is that only the dismantling of the Zionist legal code, the constitution and discriminatory state structures will ensure the end of apartheid in Palestine–Israel. The sine qua nonfor this is the creation of a single, unitary, democratic state. Accordingly, the goal of the Palestinian liberation struggle should decisively shift away from the 'two-state solution' in favour of a 'one-state solution'. To this end, six theses are presented.

The Rand and the Monetary Systems of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland

1978 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis d'A. Collings
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
National Currency ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Tender ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
Monetary Systems ◽  
The Creation

Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland are among very few countries which, in recent times, have for an extended period and without formal agreement used another national currency as their domestic circulating medium and legal tender. After many years of being de facto part of a larger monetary area using the South African currency, in 1972 the three smaller countries jointly initiated negotiations with Pretoria which led to the creation of an officially recognised Rand Monetary Area in December 1974. Thereafter they chose different arrangemènts which span the spectrum between continued integration with and separation from the monetary system of South Africa. The experiences of these countries, while of interest in themselves, may also be relevant to other governments with dependent currency systems which face similar options.

Surplus People and Expendable Children: The Structure of Apartheid and the Mortality Crisis in South Africa

1987 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. De Gregori ◽  
William Darity
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Child Mortality ◽  
Black Population ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
The South ◽  
Paradigm Case ◽  
Infant And Child Mortality ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Surplus Population

South Africa's apartheid scheme is considered as a paradigm case for the creation and maltreatment of a putatively surplus population. Both active and passive policies are identified that are utilized to contain the numbers of the black population of the nation. Of particular significance is a strategy of neglect that has led to exceptionally high infant and child mortality rates in the “homelands.” In addition, the South African authorities’ efforts to destabilize neighboring regimes in Angola and Mozambique has had similarly adverse repercussions on mortality rates there.

Sexual Harassment: The South African Perspective

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 229-251
Author(s):  
Sandra Govender
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
South African ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
The South ◽  
Positive Duty ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Law

Sexual harassment is not a new phenomenon in South Africa but until recently nothing significant was done to address it. The problem is currently being addressed through legislation aimed at prevention and eradication. Sexual harassment in the employment environment is an area of great concern. With the advent of new legislation a positive duty has been placed on employers to take steps to combat the problem. Cases have already been brought before the South African courts in terms of the new legislation and the courts have shown no hesitation in implementing the law. Recent decisions have spelt victory for victims of sexual harassment whilst sending out a clear message to perpetrators and employers. The approach adopted by the courts is a laudable one. The scene has been set in South Africa for the eradication of sexual harassment. The last step is the creation of a culture of non-victimisation. Employers have a crucial role to play as far as their employees are concerned. New legislation does address this issue but awareness is necessary to enable individuals to exercise their rights without fear of victimisation. This is of paramount importance if the various pieces of legislation are to achieve their objectives.

The Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society and the South African Natives' Land Act of 1913

1979 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Willan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Executive Committee ◽  
South African Government ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Political Opinion ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Base Of Support ◽  
Degree Of Isolation

This article seeks to explain how and why the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society (A.P.S.) came to support the South African Natives' Land Act of 1913 when African political opinion in South Africa opposed it. The reasons for the Society's position are sought in its predisposition in favour of segregatory policies, but also in several other political considerations including, it is suggested, its need to retain the support of the imperial government in the interests of its campaign against the British South Africa Company. The A.P.S.'s attitude emerged in its handling of the South African Native National Congress's deputation to England in 1914, and in its dispute with one of the deputation's members – Sol Plaatje – who remained in the country until 1917. The dispute intensified with the publication of Plaatje's Native Life in South Africa, whilst the direction of the A.P.S.'s policy of support for the South African government came to be challenged from within by two of Plaatje's supporters on the A.P.S.'s Executive Committee. Eventually, relations between the A.P.S. and the S.A.N.N.C, were broken off completely, and Plaatje's two supporters were voted off the Society's Executive Committee. Opposition to the Society's position over the Natives' Land Act continued to be expressed, however, in a committee set up to carry on Plaatje's campaign after his return to South Africa. One of the effects of this, and of the Society's activities generally in relation to the Natives' Land Act, was to emphasize its degree of isolation from currents of opinion that might have provided a new base of support at a time when it particularly needed this.

scholarly journals ARENDT’S THEORY OF JUDGMENT FOR A POSTAPARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara Furniss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Court Order ◽  
The South ◽  
Real Possibility ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Three Rivers ◽  
Sense Of Justice

In this essay I will attempt to examine the ways in which judgment as described by Arendt, could have be applied to the decision of the court in Three Rivers Ratepayers Association v Northern Metropolitan in order to reach a more just decision than the court a quo. The court a quo ordered the eviction of a group of homeless individuals from land owned by the applicants. The evicted group was destitute and the court order made no mention of assisting them in finding alternative accommodation. From this situation, I will infer that an application of Arendt’s theory of judgment may lead to a space where homelessness, poverty or class disempowerment can be addressed, ultimately resulting in a new sense of justice in postapartheid South Africa. I will apply Arendt’s theory alongside the theories of Boyd White exemplified in his reference to ‘tensions’, Dugard’s disillusion with the formalism within the South African judiciary and Klare’s notion of ‘transformative constitutionalism’. These four theorists will collectively demonstrate how the decision in the court in the Three Rivers case failed to employ a more careful process of judgment thus neglecting an important opportunity to encourage the development of judgment as an art where the creation of justice is a real possibility.

Political Consumerism in the South African and British Anti-Apartheid Movements

2018 ◽  
pp. 46-66
Author(s):  
Johan Nicolaas Wilhelm de Jager
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Local Resistance ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
The South ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Apartheid Regime

This chapter provides a historical perspective on how political consumerism was applied within the South African and British anti-apartheid movements, specifically addressing the role that consumer boycott campaigns played in undermining the apartheid regime. The chapter will first discuss the rise of boycott campaigns in apartheid South Africa and how one of these campaigns eventually spread to Britain and assisted in the creation of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement. The chapter will then discuss how increasingly violent state suppression in South Africa resulted in the rise of alternative forms of local resistance and how it galvanised the outside world to expand their use of the boycott tactic. Finally, the chapter will focus on the resurgence of local resistance in South Africa and how both local and international consumer boycott campaigns assisted in the fall of apartheid.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document