Student Support and Transition Through a Buddy Programme to Foster Social Integration

The University of Pretoria (UP) began offering formal academic student support in 2011 when the first faculty student advisor (FSA) was appointed. Although many more FSAs were subsequently appointed, assistance to all the students in need of support remained insufficient. However, financial assistance through the collaboration grant received from the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2018 made it possible to explore new areas of support. The UP was able to pilot four innovations due to the availability of additional funds. These included generic workshops across faculties; the creation of a hub in the library, which served as a common contact point for students requiring assistance; the appointment of peer advisors; and a Buddy Programme for first-year students. This article explains the Buddy Programme as perceived by the senior students who mentored the first-year students. The mentors are known as “big buddies”. Our work on this programme is based on Tinto’s (1975) ideas about social integration. The Buddy Programme was introduced to assist first-year students in their transition from school to university life. This paper highlights the challenges that first-year students faced and it explains how the concepts could become institutionalised once university activities have been normalised in the post-pandemic future.

The Pretoria Bone Collection: A 21st Century Skeletal Collection in South Africa

The Pretoria Bone Collection (PBC) began in 1942 with the opening of a medical school at the University of Pretoria (UP) in Pretoria, South Africa, where this skeletal collection is housed in the Department of Anatomy. The purpose of this paper is to provide information on the national legislation associated with obtaining, curating and researching skeletal remains in South Africa, the demographic composition of the PBC, and the inclusion of a portion of these remains into a digital repository known as Bakeng se Afrika (BsA). The PBC comprises 873 complete skeletons, 344 complete postcrania without crania, and 308 complete crania without postcrania. Skeletal contents are reflective of the population statistics of South Africa, with a smaller proportion of White (32%) than Black (65%) South Africans. Unlike the population profile, males in the PBC are greater in number (75.5%) than females (24.5%), which may be explained by the number of migrant labourers traveling into a large city such as Pretoria. From this sample, crania (206), maxillae (141), mandibulae (408), femora (137), and radii (134), as well as several other skeletal elements were micro-XCT scanned and are available on the BsA server. A researcher needs to submit an online application to the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria for access to these collections.

Analysis of the Early Entrepreneurship Rate and the generation of jobs

The article analyzes the Early Entrepreneurship Rate (TEA) and the generation of jobs. The results show in the first instance that undertaking in the province of Tungurahua is very complicated. The EAP of the province is 313,018 between men and women; of these, a quarter are employed in more than 42,500 companies, which is why there has been growth in new companies at the provincial level. Finally, the equation is applied where the constant is employment and established companies and these explain the TEA; therefore, the p value of the variables is less than the significance level, that is, the alternative hypothesis is verified, being that the Early Entrepreneurship Rate (TEA) does generate jobs. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, TEA, Employment, Entrepreneurship rate, employment indicators. References [1]A. Kritiko, «Emprendedores y su impacto en el empleo y el crecimiento económico,» DIW Berlin, University of Potsdam, and IZA, Germany, 2019. [2]J. Amorós and N. Bosma, «Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2013 Global Report,» GEM, 2018. [3]A. Zoltan, «How Is Entrepreneurship Good for Economic Growth?,» 2016. [4]A. Van Stel, «Análisis empírico del espíritu empresarial y el crecimiento económico,» Libro, 2016. [5]D. Ricardo, «Emprender en la nueva era,» Emprendedores LATAM, 2017. [6]J. Ugoani, «Desarrollo Del Emprendimiento Y Generación De Empleo En Nigeria: Un Estudio De La Dirección Nacional De Empleo,» Independent Journal of Management & Production, 2015. [7]E. Bassey, «Impacto del desarrollo empresarial en la creación de empleo en el estado de Cross River: un caso de la Dirección Nacional de Empleo,» International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences,2018. [8]A. Waidi, «Evaluación del desarrollo de habilidades empresariales en la estrategia de generación de empleo en instituciones terciarias en el estado de Lagos,» Economic Insights – Trends and Challenges, Febrero 2021. [9]T. Trang, «Emprendimiento, autoempleo y creación de empleo en Vietnam,» Agricultural Economics and Management-Master's Programme, 2019. [10]M. Hoppe, «The Entrepreneurship Concept: A Short Introduction,» School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University, vol. VI, 2016. [11]G. Gintare and G. Lukas, «Investigación de identificación del concepto de emprendimiento: el aspecto teórico,» International Journal of Economics and Financial, Mayo 2016. [12]M. Kruger, «Entrepreneurship Theory And Creativity,» University of Pretoria etd, 2014. [13]Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, «Marco Conceptual del GEM,» Informe 2017 GEM, 2017. [14]OIT, «Empleo,» México Cómo Vamos, 2015.

Indigenising positive psychology in the ‘Handbook of Quality of Life in African Societies’

This book review highlights the main themes of the Handbook of Quality of Life in African Societies (as edited by Prof Irma Eloff from the University of Pretoria), focusing on meaning and language, culture (and positive culture), and social responsibility. The interrelatedness of all five parts of the book (from a macro, meso and micro perspective) are discussed with specific mention of Ubuntu and its relevance in investigating the phenomenon of quality-of-life. The review emphasises the need for exploratory and indigenous research in communities where social association is of immense importance and to contextualise quality-of-life from this perspective. This book is recommended for scholars who wishes to utilise indigenous methodologies and to deeper understand the diverse influences and social impact on the quality-of-life of individuals south of the Sub-Saharan Africa.

Teaching and inculcating (decolonised) legal skills in the LLB curriculum at the University of Pretoria?

‘Legal Skills’ was taught as a standalone first-year module in the LLB curriculum at the University of Pretoria from 1998 to 2012. In the 2013 curriculum, the teaching and inculcation of legal skills were integrated into a first-year “Jurisprudence” module. The 2015/6 student protests at the University of Pretoria led to the creation of three ‘transformation work streams’, one of which was tasked with curriculum transformation. The activities of the curriculum transformation work stream led to the adoption by the Senate of a Curriculum Transformation Framework Document (CTFD). All faculties have been asked to reconsider and fundamentally reshape their curricula with reference to the CTFD. This reflection-on-the-curriculum process at the Faculty of Law has arguably been dominated by an over-emphasis on the place and sequencing of modules instead of an overhaul of the content of law modules and the approach with which teaching should take place. There has also been a concerted push from some quarters in the Faculty to reintroduce a standalone Legal Skills module, rationalised by an argument along the lines of ‘legal skills cannot be transformed’ (never mind ‘decolonised’). In this article we will consider what it could mean to ask for the decolonising of the teaching and inculcation of legal skills in an LLB curriculum.

The Department of Construction Economics, University of Pretoria, South Africa

The aim of this article is to discuss construction project management, including project formation and characteristics. Due to the project's several phases and levels, it's critical that all project participants, especially the project manager, have the necessary skills and expertise to ensure that the product or service delivered achieves standards. Project management expertise refers to the capacity to schedule a project. As a result, project management is the process of executing a project leveraging expertise, knowledge, methodologies, and techniques in order to meet the interests of all parties concerned. a procedure for performing administrative functions such as planning, initiating, and executing. Where it performs efficiently in each of these project elements, effectively and successfully using sufficient resources to achieve the project's goals. A project's features include time, results, phases of various operations, activity intensity, and basic project parameters. In order to strike the optimal compromise of project costs, work performance, and execution time, a construction project requires planning, scheduling, and oversight. In order to achieve the system's goals, system components in the form of elements or subsystems are coupled in a series to form a system of functions and efficacy.

You can run, but you can’t hide - A bitemark analysis

All names and places have been changed to protect innocent victims in this case report. A young woman was returning home after work when she was accosted by a man wielding a knife. She was dragged into a nearby bush where the suspect attempted to rape her. She put up a substantial fight and was able to flee the scene. She went directly to the nearest police station to report the case. She was asked by the police to accompany them in the hope that she might recognise the suspect at the local taxi rank, which was near the scene of the crime. She did in fact recognise the suspect who was duly arrested. He denied any knowledge of the crime for which he was being apprehended. The victim informed the police that she had remembered biting the suspect on his right shoulder during the attack and ensuing struggle. The suspect was asked to roll up his right sleeve where a possible bitemark wound was observed. The suspect was taken into custody for further investigations. Fortunately, the police officer in charge of the case had attended a lecture on bitemarks given by the second author some weeks before the incident and was therefore well-versed in the protocol for the collection of evidence in a bitemark case. The officer arranged that photographs and impressions of the possible bitemark were taken for forensic analysis. Unfortunately, swobs of the bitemark were not conducted, therefore DNA and ABO blood group antigen analysis could not be performed. Impressions of the victim’s dentition were also taken from which plaster models were constructed. All dental materials used in this case were mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and were within their expiry dates. This evidence was submitted to the forensic odontology unit at the University of Pretoria for examination and comparative analysis

Oral hygiene habits and status of orthodontic patients attending the University of Pretoria, Oral and Dental Hospital

Most orthodontic patients struggle to maintain good oral hygiene during treatment. To determine oral hygiene habits and status of patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment at University of Pretoria, Oral and Dental Hospital. A cross-sectional descriptive study. A modified, validated, self-administered questionnaire was used, and clinical examinations were conducted using Orthodontic Plaque Index, Gingival index, and Bleeding index. The questionnaire sought to determine knowledge and practice patterns. Data analysis included frequencies and correlations using chi-square test, with a significance of p<0.05.Fifty patients participated with 34(68%) being female with ages from 10 to 28 and a mean of 18,5. Seventy percent avoided sticky foodstuff, 74% used mouthwash, 56% flossed daily and 84% brushed twice daily. However, 82% consumed sugar containing drinks. Clinical exam revealed an Orthodontic Plaque Index mean of 2.6, Gingival Index mean of 0.1 while the Bleeding Index was 13.3 and 90% had normal gingiva. There was a significant difference in Gingival Index score between patients at age category 10-19 and 18-24 (p< 0.05). This study revealed a satisfactory oral hygiene status among patients at the institution with the majority of patients maintaining good oral hygiene practices. However, 82% consumed sugar sweetened beverages.

Editorial

In July 2019, the University of Pretoria, in association with Wits, UFS, Rhodes, UKZN, UWC, Stellenbosch University and UCT, its partners inthe Mellon programme titled ‘Unsettling paradigms: The decolonial turn in the Humanities curriculum at universities in South Africa’,hosted a conference on the theme ‘The decolonial turn and the humanities: Prospects, practice and interventions’. A number of papers were subsequently reworked as articles and submitted for peer review with a view to their publication in this second issue of the first volume of the Journal of Decolonisng Disciplines (JDD). The six articles selected for publication speak to some of the broad themes of the conference, butwhat binds them together is their shared focus on pedagogy, practice and interventions—some of the core issues underlying the quest for the decolonisation of the humanities curriculum.