scholarly journals THE DEAD TEACHING THE LIVING – BODY WORLDS

Obiter ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Slabbert ◽  
Bonnie Venter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The Body ◽  
Chess Player ◽  
Dead Body ◽  
Living Body ◽  
Body Worlds ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Full Body

The Body Worlds exhibition takes the visitor through a journey of more than 200 specimens. These various skinless full body plastinates are posed in different positions to display how the human body works; they vary from the chess player with his brain split open to display the brain “in action”, the runner with his muscles falling off the bones to display the working of the muscles in athletics and the controversial pregnant woman with her womb cut open to show her eight month old foetus. Von Hagens the creator of Body Worlds believes his exhibition is educational – educating the masses. Since the first exhibition of Body Worlds there has been rigorous debate on whether the display is a violation of human dignity or not. This aspect is discussed in the article. In conclusion the process regarding donating a complete dead body in South Africa is highlighted and the question is answered whether a South African citizen could legally donate his or her body to a Body Worlds display.

Integrative taxonomic methods reveal an incorrect synonymisation of the South African Pseudonereis podocirra (Schmarda) as the widespread Pseudonereis variegata (Grube) from Chile

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyothi Kara ◽  
Angus H. H. Macdonald ◽  
Carol A. Simon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Species Delimitation ◽  
Haplotype Network ◽  
The Body ◽  
General Description ◽  
The South ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
The Status

The nereidid Pseudonereis variegata (Grube, 1866) described from Chile includes 14 synonymised species from 10 type localities with a discontinuous distribution, but no taxonomic or molecular studies have investigated the status of this species outside Chile. Two synonymised species, Mastigonereis podocirra Schmarda, 1861 and Nereis (Nereilepas) stimpsonis Grube, 1866, were described from South Africa and investigated here using morphological examination. MtCOI species delimitation analyses and morphology were used to determine the status of P. variegata in South Africa. Morphological examination revealed that museum and freshly collected specimens from South Africa that conform to the general description of P. variegata are similar to M. podocirra and N. stimpsonis with respect to the consistent absence of homogomph spinigers in the inferior neuropodial fascicle, expanded notopodial ligules and the subterminal attachment of dorsal cirri in posterior parapodia. The synonymy of M. podocirra and N. stimpsonis as P. variegata are rejected and P. podocirra, comb. nov. is reinstated. Morphologically, Pseudonereis podocirra differed from specimens from Chile with regard to the numbers of paragnaths, the absence of homogomph spinigers and changes in parapodial morphology along the body. Independence of these species was further supported by genetic distances, automatic barcode gap discovery and multi-rate Poisson tree process species delimitation analyses of 77 mtCOI sequences. Haplotype network revealed no genetic structuring within the South African populations. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F0B1A5AF-9CE9-4A43-ACCF-17117E1C2F21

scholarly journals 'Hidden messages' emerging from Afrocentric management perspectives

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Van den Heuvel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
South African ◽  
The Body ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Local Management ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
Corporate Values ◽  
Management Discourse ◽  
Research Findings

Purpose: This paper aims to examine how 'African management' discourse has emerged in South Africa. Altogether, it has stimulated debates - sometimes in controversial ways - on 'taboo issues', e.g. relating to 'cultural diversity' and 'ethnicity'. The stimulation of such debates within organisations is probably a more valuable contribution than a static, essentialised 'African identity' that it proclaims. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper draws on a qualitative research project conducted in South Africa in 2003-2004. Its relevance lies in gaining in-depth insights into ('non-western') local management discourse. It seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on political and cultural contexts in which South African organizations operate, and how they impact on local management perspectives, and vice versa. Findings: The research findings make clear how and under what circumstances 'African management' discourse has come about in South Africa, and how it could be interpreted. Implications: 'African management' advocates allegedly attempt to revise dominant management thinking and promote 'humane-ness' and participatory decision-making in South African organisations, in search of a contextualised management approach. Amongst others, it has produced new meanings of 'Africanness' and has opened up space for 'hidden messages', resentments and aspirations to become openly articulated. This throws another light on phenomena such as cultural diversity and ethnicity that usually tend to be 'neutralised'. This may turn out to be far healthier for blooming organisational cultures in South Africa than relentlessly hammering on prescribed 'corporate values'. Originality/Value: This paper informs the reader in detail about the emergence and evolvement of 'African management' discourse in South Africa. It is a unique attempt to develop an interpretative viewpoint on this intriguing phenomenon that offers a potentially valuable contribution in reading cultural and ethnic identities within organisations.

scholarly journals The disorderly body: considerations of The Book of Numbers, 19 and ritual impurity after contact with a corpse

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 197-205
Author(s):  
Sandra Junker
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Human Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Dead Body ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Living Body ◽  
The People ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Living Creature

This article deals with the idea of ritual bodily impurity after coming into contact with a corpse in the Hebrew Bible. The evanescence and impermanence of the human body testifies to the mortality of the human being. In that way, the human body symbolizes both life and death at the same time; both conditions are perceivable in it. In Judaism, the dead body is considered as ritually impure. Although, in this context it might be better to substitute the term ‘ritually damaged’ for ‘ritually impure’: ritual impurity does not refer to hygienic or moral impurity, but rather to an incapability of exercising—and living—religion. Ritual purity is considered as a prerequisite for the execution of ritual acts and obligations. The dead body depends on a sphere which causes the greatest uncertainty because it is not accessible for the living. According to Mary Douglas’s concepts, the dead body is considered ritually impure because it does not answer to the imagined order anymore, or rather because it cannot take part in this order anymore. This is impurity imagined as a kind of contagious illness, which is carried by the body. This article deals with the ritual of the red heifer in Numbers 19. Here we find the description of the preparation of a fluid that is to help clear the ritual impurity out of a living body after it has come into contact with a corpse. For the preparation of this fluid a living creature – a faultless red heifer – must be killed. According to the description, the people who are involved in the preparation of the fluid will be ritually impure until the end of the day. The ritual impurity acquired after coming into contact with a corpse continues as long as the ritual of the Red Heifer remains unexecuted, but at least for seven days. 

scholarly journals A review of four decades of research in organisational career psychology by academia in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dries Schreuder ◽  
Melinde Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Career Guidance ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Career Interventions ◽  
Career Psychology ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Career Research

Orientation: Career research in organisations has increased in importance since the 1970s, which heralded new directions for organisational career research and practice both globally and nationally. Research purpose: The study critically reviewed trends in organisational career psychology research in South Africa from 1970 to 2011 in terms of global and present national challenges that require empirical investigation in the contemporary South African world of work context.Motivation for the study: The increasingly complex contexts, in which people have been pursuing their careers since the catalytic 1970s, demand the continuous generation and development of knowledge for the benefit of the discipline and practice of careers.Research design, approach and method: A broad systematic review was carried out to analyse documented academia research (N = 110) on careers from 1970 to 2011, which was published in six accredited South African scientific journals.Main findings: Much of the research addressed issues pertaining to career theory and concepts, the world of work and career assessment and technology. Career development, professional issues and organisational career interventions in the multi-cultural South African context appear to be under-researched.Practical/managerial implications: The insight derived from the findings can be employed by academia and researchers, in this field, to plan future research initiatives that will contribute to the profession and practice of career guidance and counselling in the contemporary workplace.Contribution/value-add: The findings provide preliminary insight that adds to the body of knowledge concerned with career studies in the South African organisational context.

South African Clinical Psychology, Employment (In)Equity and the “Brain Drain”

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony L. Pillay ◽  
Anne L. Kramers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Brain Drain ◽  
Clinical Psychology ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Psychology Training ◽  
Clinical Psychology Training ◽  
The Brain

The current study investigated race, gender and the “brain drain” in the Midlands Hospital (Pietermaritzburg) intern clinical psychology training programme. During the 20-year period between 1981 and 2000 a total of 128 interns were accepted into the programme. Almost three-quarters of the interns were White, and the majority of the sample was unskilled in the predominant language spoken in the region. Approximately 60% of the interns trained were female. No significant increase in the intake of Black interns was observed during the post-apartheid period (i.e.1994 to 2000). However, a significant increase in female interns was noted during that period. At the time of writing this article, almost one-quarter of the interns were working outside South Africa, the majority in Europe. Considering the findings, it is imperative that the profession re-examines its goals in post-apartheid South Africa, and makes concerted efforts to develop the mechanism to attain these. In addition, the profession and government need to take very seriously the “brain drain” problem and jointly develop acceptable ways of alleviating it.

scholarly journals Exploring Perceptions of Bitcoin Adoption: The South African Virtual Community Perspective

10.28945/4080 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiden J Walton ◽  
Kevin A. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
The Body ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Transactions Costs ◽  
Barriers To Adoption ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
Sub Saharan

Aim/Purpose: This paper explored the factors (enablers and barriers) that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, a Sub-Saharan country with the high potential for Bitcoin adoption. Background: In recent years, Bitcoin has seen a rapid growth as a virtual cryptocurrency throughout the world. Bitcoin is a protocol which allows value to be exchanged over the internet without a central bank or intermediary. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are technological tools that arguably can contribute to reducing transactions costs. This paper explored the factors that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, a Sub-Saharan country with the high potential for Bitcoin adoption, as little is known about the factors that affect Bitcoin adoption and the barriers to adoption. Methodology: A quantitative questionnaire was distributed to South African virtual communities where Bitcoin is a topic of interest, and 237 quantitative responses were received, along with 212 open-ended comments. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge in information systems by providing insights into factors that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa. It raises awareness of incentives and barriers to Bitcoin adoption at a time when financial literacy is a crucial issue both in South Africa and worldwide. Findings: The results indicate that perceived benefit, attitude towards Bitcoin, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control directly affected the participants’ intentions to use Bitcoin. Perceived benefit, usefulness, ease of use, and trust-related risk were found to indirectly affect intention to use Bitcoin. Further, it emerges that the barriers to Bitcoin adoption in South Africa consist of the complex nature of Bitcoin and its high degree of volatility. Recommendations for Practitioners: Bitcoin can contribute to reducing transactions costs, but factors that affect adoption and the barriers to adoption should be taken into consideration. These findings can inform systems and software developers to develop applications that make managing Bitcoin keys and transacting using Bitcoin less complex and more intuitive for end users. Recommendation for Researchers: Bitcoin adoption in South Africa is a topic that has not been previously researched. Researchers could research similarities or differences in the various constructs that were used in this research model. Impact on Society: South African Bitcoin users consider it as a universal currency that makes cross-border payments cheaper. A large number of refugees and workers in South Africa make regular payments across borders. Bitcoin could reduce the costs of these transfers. Future Research: Future research could explore Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) adoption in other developing countries. Researchers could look at factors that influence cryptocurrency adoption in general. The factors affecting adoption of other cryptocurrencies can be compared to the results of this study, and similarities and differences can thus be identified.

scholarly journals The Croonian Lecture. On the irritability of nerves

1832 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 33-35
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Annular Ligament ◽  
Living Body ◽  
First Case ◽  
Middle Aged Person ◽  
Aged Person ◽  
Healthy State ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Real State ◽  
Different Parts

Its object is principally to investigate the opinion hitherto entertained, that the nerves may be considered as chords that have no power of contraction within themselves, but only serve as a medium by means of which the influence of the brain may be communicated to the muscles, and the impressions made upon the different parts of the body may be conveyed to the brain. After pointing out the extreme difficulty of such an inquiry, owing to the few opportunities that offer for investigating the real state of the nerves in the living body, Mr. Home intimates that he resolved to avail himself of every opportunity that might offer of any operation in surgery performed upon nerves, either in a healthy state, or under the influence of disease, in order to elucidate this intricate point, without neglecting certain experiments he thought he could devise upon animal bodies, before they are wholly deprived of life. The first case, which explains some circumstances respecting the actions of the nerves when under the influence of disease, was that of a middle-aged person, who, having hurt his thumb by a fall, experienced long after an occasional swelling and convulsions in that part, attended with spasms, which at times extended in the direct course of the trunks of the radial nerve up to the head, the patient being at times afflicted with absolute insensibility. In order to put a stop to the progress of tips irritation, which seemed to constitute the disease, it was proposed to divide the nerve as it passes from under the annular ligament of the wrist. This operation was accordingly performed, but not altogether with the desired success, owing probably to the wound not healing by the first intention.

scholarly journals The Dead Body as a 'Lieu De Mémoire'. The Body-Object and the Living Body in Caitlin Doughty’s Nonfiction

Linguaculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Cristina-Mihaela Botîlcă
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
First Century ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Dead Body ◽  
Personal Memory ◽  
Living Body ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Twenty First Century

Between Pierre Nora’s lieux de mémoire and Paul Ricoeur’s body-object there appears to be a relation of community and personal memory. Before death, the human body holds three meanings: material, symbolic, and functional, but post-mortem the body also becomes a place where both community and individual can update their relationship with death and mortality. In the twenty-first century, secularization of death practices inevitably leads to a secular view of the body. In Cailin Doughty’s nonfiction, the body seems to stand at the crossroad between spirituality and secularization, so between the meaning of the body and the body as a lieu. This paper will discuss how Nora’s and Ricoeur’s interpretations of memory and body apply to Doughty’s representation of the dead body within a death denying twenty-first century Western society.

scholarly journals Ability within disability: Reflective memories shared with Dr Kasturi Varley

2022 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kogielam K. Archary ◽  
Christina Landman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The Body ◽  
Energy Agency ◽  
Community History ◽  
Shared Experiences ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
European Experience ◽  
Shed Light

In a post-apartheid South Africa, the value of reflective memories and their impact on community history gives credibility to their relationship with personal struggles such as disability, be it physical or political. Shaped by South African Indian heritage, an isolated individualised case of a second-generation descendant’s ability–disability experience is researched and narrated in this article. The respondent, Dr Kasturi Varley is a woman of the South African Indian community, who was born almost 101 years after the first shipload of Indian indentured labourers arrived in the then Colony of Natal. Her memories shed light on a unique Indo-African-European experience. Her indentured paternal grandfather arrived in the African continent in August 1900. Her reflective memories and shared experiences of various episodes of the ability–disability paradigm add to the body of knowledge of the Indian indentured labour system that already exists and partially fills up the prevalent gaps in the research on this topic. Her story is unique in that she worked wheelchair-bound at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria and subsequently settled in the United Kingdom. This study applied a qualitative research methodology.Contribution: This article provides insight on reflective memories within the domain of social memory and contributes to an understanding of the historiography of the descendants of Indian indentured labourers in South Africa. In 2020, this community commemorated the 160th anniversary of the arrival of the labourers to the Colony of Natal.

scholarly journals Brain in a Vat or Body in a World: Brainbound Versus Enactive View of Experience

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Thompson ◽  
Diego Cosmelli
Keyword(s):  
Thought Experiment ◽  
The Body ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Living Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Neuronal Processes ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain In A Vat ◽  
Embodied Agent

We argue that the minimal biological requirements for consciousness include a living body, not just neuronal processes in the skull. Our argument proceeds by reconsidering the brain-in-a-vat thought experiment. Careful examination of this thought experiment indicates that the null hypothesis is that any adequately functional “vat” would be a surrogate body, that is, that the so-called vat would be no vat at all, but rather an embodied agent in the world. Thus, what the thought experiment actually shows is that the brain and body are so deeply entangled, structurally and dynamically, that they are explanatorily inseparable. Such entanglement implies that we cannot understand consciousness by considering only the activity of neurons apart from the body, and hence we have good explanatory grounds for supposing that the minimal realizing system forconsciousness includes the body and not just the brain. In this way, we put the brain-in-a-vat thought experiment to a new use, one that supports the “enactive” view that consciousness is a life-regulation process of the wholeorganism interacting with its environment.

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