2. Academic Wits University Research Outputs (All submissions)
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Item A biostatistical support system in health sciences is this sustainable in a resourcerestricted environmentLibhaber, Elena ; Chirwa, Tobias ; Kramer, BeverleyBackground: Training in biostatistics is important for strengthening capacity in health research. This is particularly true for Africa, where research output in the health sciences has been low. Training initiatives for the continent are therefore essential. The aim of the present study was to analyse the quality and financial sustainability of the expanded biostatistical support system at a South African health sciences institution between 2013 and 2017. Methods: A cross-sectional investigation of the initiatives created between the years 2013 and 2017 in the University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences Research Office was undertaken. An assessment of the one-on-one consultations carried out by postgraduate students and staff, financial costs of the support system and the number of postgraduate student graduations were analysed. Results: The number of statistical consultations increased over the period examined. The consultations were highly recommended by the postgraduate students and staff (consulters). A clear rise in the number of Masters and PhD student graduates and an increase in research units were observed from 2013 to 2017, although these cannot be solely associated with the biostatistical support system. The finances for maintaining the support system are cost effective as the number of graduates increases. The total cost to the Research Office is US$ 225 per graduate per annum. Conclusions: The expansion of the biostatistical support system has indirectly contributed to an increased number of graduates and research publication units in the institution. While the current finances support the system, any increases in enrolments or growth in diversification of biostatistical requirements may place a strain on the financial sustainability. This service is of value to developed and developing countries.Item ABBV744 as a potential inhibitor of SARSCoV2 main protease enzyme against COVID19(Nature Research) Zeynab Fakhar; Shama Khan; Afrah Alkhuriji; Suliman Y. AlOmar; Aijaz AhmadA new pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) has spread worldwide and become pandemic with thousands new deaths and infected cases globally. To address coronavirus disease (COVID‑19), currently no effective drug or vaccine is available. This necessity motivated us to explore potential lead compounds by considering drug repurposing approach targeting main protease (Mpro) enzyme of SARS‑CoV‑2. This enzyme considered to be an attractive drug target as it contributes significantly in mediating viral replication and transcription. Herein, comprehensive computational investigations were performed to identify potential inhibitors of SARS‑CoV‑2 Mpro enzyme. The structure‑based pharmacophore modeling was developed based on the co‑crystallized structure of the enzyme with its biological active inhibitor. The generated hypotheses were applied for virtual screening based PhaseScore. Docking based virtual screening workflow was used to generate hit compounds using HTVS, SP and XP based Glide GScore. The pharmacological and physicochemical properties of the selected lead compounds were characterized using ADMET. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to explore the binding affinities of the considered lead compounds. Binding energies revealed that compound ABBV‑744 binds to the Mpro with strong affinity (ΔGbind −45.43 kcal/mol), and the complex is more stable in comparison with other protein–ligand complexes. Our study classified three best compounds which could be considered as promising inhibitors against main protease SARS‑CoV‑2 virusItem Aberrant apoptotic response of colorectal cancer cells to novel nucleoside analogues.(Public Library of Science., 2015-09-21) Harmse, L.; Dahan-Farkas, N.; Panayides, J.L.; Van Otterlo, W.; Penny, C.Despite the increased understanding of colorectal cancer and the introduction of targeted drug therapy, the metastatic phase of the disease remains refractory to treatment. Since the deregulation of normal apoptosis contributes to the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, novel nucleoside analogues were synthesized here and evaluated for their ability to induce apoptosis and cause cell death in two colorectal adeno-carcinoma cell lines, Caco-2 and HT-29. Three novel nucleoside analogues assessed here showed cytotoxic activity, as measured by the MTT assay against both cell lines: the IC50 values ranged between 3 and 37 μM, with Caco-2 cells being more sensitive than HT-29 cells. Compared to camptothecin, the positive control, the nucleoside analogues were significantly less toxic to normal unstimulated leukocytes (p>0.05). Moreover, the nucleosides were able to induce apoptosis as measured by an increase in caspase 8 and caspase 3 activity above that of the control. This was additionally supported by data derived from Annexin V-FITC assays. Despite marginal changes to the mitochondrial membrane potential, all three nucleosides caused a significant increase in cytosolic cytochrome c (p>0.05), with a corresponding decrease in mitochondrial cytochrome c. Morphological analysis of both cell lines showed the rapid appearance of vacuoles following exposure to two of the nucleosides, while a third caused cellular detachment, delayed cytoplasmic vacuolisation and nuclear abnormalities. Preliminary investigations, using the autophagic indicator monodansylcadaverine and chloroquine as positive control, showed that two of the nucleosides induced the formation of autophagic vacuoles. In summary, the novel nucleoside analogues showed selective cytotoxicity towards both cancer cell lines and are effective initiators of an unusual apoptotic response, demonstrating their potential to serve as structural scaffolds for more potent analogues.Item Academic mobility and the experiences of foreign staff at South African higher education institutions(Stellenbosch University, 2019) Sehoole, C.; Adeyemo, K.S.; Ojo, E.This article analyses the patterns of international academic mobility in higher education with particular focus on academic staff. Using the ‘pull and push factors’ as a conceptual framework, it argues that the patterns of international academic staff mobility follow the pattern of international cross-border migrants. These are driven mainly by the pull factors which include quest for better opportunities in life including education. The article uses three sources of data namely documentary analysis, statistical data from the Department of Education’s Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS), and data from questionnaires that were distributed to international academic staff at the three South African universities; namely, the University of Pretoria, University of South Africa, and University of the Witwatersrand.  For the international academic staff working in South Africa, it was demonstrated that they have both positive and negative experiences. The negative experiences seem to be related to the major nation building project to overcome racism and xenophobia. The principles of non-racialism and, non-discrimination need to be promoted in order to build an inclusive and socially coherent societyItem The access paradox.(2004) Janks, HilaryBecause English is a dominant world language, access to English provides students with ‘linguistic capital’. Bourdieu’s theory of the linguistic market (1991) has important consequences for the teaching of a powerful language such as English. English teachers, who take issues of language, power and identity seriously, confront the following irresolvable contradiction. If you provide more people with access to the dominant variety of the dominant language, you contribute to perpetuating and increasing its dominance. If, on the other hand, you deny students access, you perpetuate their marginalisation in a society that continues to recognise this language as a mark of distinction. You also deny them access to the extensive resources available in that language; resources which have developed as a consequence of the language's dominance. This contradiction is what Lodge (1997) calls the ‘access paradox’. This paper explores ways of working inside the contradiction by examining language in education policy in South Africa as well as classroom materials and classroom practices. It shows the importance of counterbalancing access with an understanding of linguistic hegemony, diversity as a productive resource, and the way in which ‘design’ can be enriched by linguistic and cultural hybridity.Item Accessing the State: Everyday Practices and Politics in the South(Journal of Asian and African Studies, 2011) Benit Gbaffou, ClaireThis special issue explores everyday practices and politics of accessing the state and state resources from a southern perspective. The collection of papers documents low-income residents’ everyday relationships with the state, through the study of actual practices of interaction with a range of state representatives at the local level (councilors and officials, at various levels of local government). Formal and informal, legal and illegal, confrontational and cooperative, we analyze the multiple tactics of engagement with the state by low-income residents to understand the extent to which they allow access to state resources and to degrees of state recognition, even in contexts of mass poverty, informality and scarce public resources. The modes of interaction with the state also embody and frame low-income residents’ representations of the state, of their expectations, and of their own citizenship. This special issue thus critically draws together a wide-ranging and important debate on governance, and the relationships it constructs between state and civil society. The main question we thus raise in this special issue is how the dynamics of governance reform, with attempted development or deepening of both decentralization and participation, affect everyday practices to access the state and the resulting politics that shape state-society relations in southern contexts. Collectively, the articles in the special issue reflect on the ways in which low-income citizens access to the state challenges existing theories of the state and democracy. Stemming from a research programme entitled ‘The Voices of the Poor in Urban Governance: Participation, Mobilisation and Politics in South African Cities’, this special issue focuses on South African cities primarily but not exclusively. Although the contexts examined have their own specificities, we argue that they provide an interesting and critical context in which to work through the debate from a Southern perspective. South African societies are specific in the huge expectations residents have in the post-apartheid state, and in the ways that ideals continue to be framed in modernist terms, as emblematized by policies of mass public housing delivery and effort towards mass access to urban services. The state, even if it is not so powerful, remains at the core of representations and expectations especially of lower income residents (Borges 2006) – mass urban protests which continue to rise in South African cities today show the disappointment of these expectations rather than a disregard, ignorance or avoidance of the State (Bénit-Gbaffou 2008, Alexander 2010). Attempts to address the gaps between expectation and public delivery have taken the form of major local government restructuring in a post-apartheid context, relying extensively on principles of good governance (decentralization, democratization as well as new public management principles). However, these expectations and experiences of confrontation of civil society with the state co-exist with everyday practices of negotiation, seeking of favours, and clientelism, which also shape residents’ access to resources, and more broadly their representations of the state and the construction of their urban citizenship (Oldfield and Stokke 2004). The South African case is thus particularly relevant to study the interaction between the modern state and good governance ideals, and practices of ‘political society’.Item The activities of hospital nursing unit managers and quality of patient care in South African hospitals: a paradox?(2015) Armstrong, S J; Rispel, L C; Penn-Kekana, LBackground: Improving the quality of health care is central to the proposed health care reforms in South Africa. Nursing unit managers play a key role in coordinating patient care activities and in ensuring quality care in hospitals. Objective: This paper examines whether the activities of nursing unit managers facilitate the provision of quality patient care in South African hospitals. Methods: During 2011, a cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in nine randomly selected hospitals (six public, three private) in two South African provinces. In each hospital, one of each of the medical, surgical, paediatric, and maternity units was selected (n 36). Following informed consent, each unit manager was observed for a period of 2 hours on the survey day and the activities recorded on a minute-by-minute basis. The activities were entered into Microsoft Excel, coded into categories, and analysed according to the time spent on activities in each category. The observation data were complemented by semi-structured interviews with the unit managers who were asked to recall their activities on the day preceding the interview. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis. Results: The study found that nursing unit managers spent 25.8% of their time on direct patient care, 16% on hospital administration, 14% on patient administration, 3.6% on education, 13.4% on support and communication, 3.9% on managing stock and equipment, 11.5% on staff management, and 11.8% on miscellaneous activities. There were also numerous interruptions and distractions. The semi-structured interviews revealed concordance between unit managers’ recall of the time spent on patient care, but a marked inflation of their perceived time spent on hospital administration. Conclusion: The creation of an enabling practice environment, supportive executive management, and continuing professional development are needed to enable nursing managers to lead the provision of consistent and high-quality patient care.Item Addressing curriculum decolonisation and education for sustainable development through epistemically diverse curricula.(2018) Padayachee, K.; Matimolane, N.; Ganas, L.Transformation in Higher Education has been an ongoing concern in post-apartheid South Africa, especially in light of universities’ expected contribution to economic and socio-political transformation. In particular, curriculum transformation has proved challenging, as evidenced in actions and calls by students in recent years for decolonisation of the curriculum. This study, which formed part of an institutional response to the challenge of curriculum transformation and decolonisation, initially sought to examine perceptions of the term “decolonisation” amongst a group of early career lecturers at a leading university in South Africa. Highlighted in the outcomes of the study was the centrality of personal and contextual relevance in notions of decolonised curricula, the impact of curriculum conversations on lecturers’ well-being, and the broader implications of responsive and relevant curricula for institutional and societal well-being. In this respect, the findings of the study illustrated the similarities of curriculum decolonisation approaches and the concept of education for sustainable development which is underpinned by the goal of global well-being and the common good. Also highlighted was the need for greater balance between Mode 1 (theoretical) and Mode 2 (contextually relevant) knowledge in curricula, leading us to posit that both curriculum decolonisation and education for sustainable development are equally necessary for institutional and broader societal reform and well-being, and that both imperatives may potentially be achieved by focusing on the principles of epistemically diverse curriculaItem Adjudicating affirmative action within a normative framework of substantive equality and the Employment Equity Act – an opportunity missed?(Juta and Co, 2015) Albertyn, CatherineThe development of a constitutionally informed legal standard to test employment equity plans and affirmative action measures will always be troubled in a country that has seen racial classification serve as the basis for oppression and subordination, and now seeks to use it in achieving a ‘non-racial’ democracy. Contestation over how to secure redress, restitution and substantive equality are inevitable. The Barnard judgment demonstrates a common commitment to restitution and transformation, and, indeed, a common outcome. However, between that commitment and the outcome lie important differences in philosophical and legal approaches to equality, to s 9 of the Constitution and s 6 of the Act (and the relationship between them), to the standard of justification for positive measures and to the need for courts to engage substantively with crucial issues in our democracy. In this case-note, after setting out the case history and judgments in some detail, I explore the contrasting ideas of equality that underpin the different approaches to positive measures and discuss which is best suited to our constitutional project. I then suggest how this normative framework can inform the adjudication of employment equity plans and affirmative action measures under the Employment Equity Act. No single judgment in Barnard achieves this.Item The administration of justice(Juta, 2003) Klaaren, Jonathan; Marcus, Gilbert; Davis, DennisOverview and analysis of the year's legal developments in the field of administration of justice. Includes references to legislation, cases and journal articles.Item The administration of justice(Juta, 2002) Klaaren, Jonathan; Marcus, Gilbert; Davis, DennisThe Immorality Amendment Act 2 criminalized prostitution in 1998. It did so by the insertion of s 20(1)(aA) into the principal Act, which it renamed the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957.Item Advancing professional teaching in South Africa: Lessons learnt from policy frameworks that have regulated teachers' work.(2018) Rusznyak, L.; Kimathi, F.Teaching and teacher education in South Africa have emerged from a highly fragmented past. Teachers from diverse backgrounds, experiences and qualifications find themselves working together in schools where they do not necessarily have access to a common language of practice, nor a shared understanding of professional teaching practices. To address these challenges, the South African Council of Educators (SACE) has developed a set of professional teaching standards for use in the South African context. This is not the first time a policy framework has tried to articulate and direct teachers’ work. This paper analyses four other frameworks that have been used to regulate, monitor and evaluate the work of South African teachers over the past two decades. These other frameworks are The Roles of the Educator and Their Associated Competences, the SACE Code of Professional Ethics, the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) and the Basic Competences of a Beginner Teacher. Our analysis shows how these frameworks present teaching in ways that constrain teacher professionalism in some ways. They address some aspects of professional teaching while ignoring others. In particular, none of them adequately acknowledge the relations between knowledge, skills, judgement and the ethical orientations that underpin professional teaching. The ways in which previous frameworks have constrained teacher professionalism has important implications for SACE if its set of professional teaching standards is to more successfully enhance teacher professionalism in the South African context.Item Affordances for learning linear functions: A comparative study of two textbooks from South Africa and Germany.(Publisher: AOSIS (pty) Ltd, 2018-09) Mellor, K; Clark, R; Essien, ATextbook content has the ability to influence mathematical learning. This study compares how linear functions are presented in two textbooks, one of South African and the other of German origin. These two textbooks are used in different language-based streams in a school in Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative content analysis on how the topic of linear functions is presented in these two textbooks was done. The interplay between procedural and conceptual knowledge, the integration of the multiple representations of functions, and the links created to other mathematical content areas and the real world were considered. It was found that the German textbook included a higher percentage of content that promoted the development of conceptual knowledge. This was especially due to the level of cognitive demand of tasks included in the analysed textbook chapters. Also, while the South African textbook presented a wider range of opportunities to interact with the different representations of functions, the German textbook, on the other hand, included more links to the real world. Both textbooks linked 'functions' to other mathematical content areas, although the German textbook included a wider range of linked topics. It was concluded that learners from the two streams are thus exposed to different affordances to learn mathematics by their textbooks.Item Africanity and Orality in the Films/Videos of Women Filmmakers of the African Diaspora(Deep Focus: A Film Quarterly, 1998) Ebrahim, HaseenahIn this essay, I consider the role of African cultural heritage and of oral tradition in selected films/videos by women filmmakers of the African Diaspora. for practical purposes, I limit the scope of my analysis to the works of a handful of filmmakers in the United States and the Caribbean: Julie Dash (USA), Euzhan Palcy (Martinique/France), Zeinabu irene Davis (USA), and Gloria Rolando (Cuba).Item Afrocuban religions in Sara Gomez's one way or another and Gloria Ronaldo's Oggun(The Western Journal of Black Studies, 1998) Ebrahim, HaseenahThis paper explores the depiction of Afrocuban religions in two films - Sara Gomez's One way or another(1974/1977) and Gloria Rolando's Oggun: Forever present(1991).A (Western) feminist's analysis of Gomez's One way or another characterizes Abakua and Santeria as "voodoo" - not only collapsing three different Afro-Carribean religious traditions, but also reflecting Marxistbiases that exclude (ironically) a recognition that Gomez's depictions of Abakua and Santeria reflect a gendered perspective.Rolando's Oggun reflects a recent trend in Cuban cinema to celebrate Afrocuban religious practices.Oggun's stunning visuals, compelling song and dance sequences, and fascinating mythology provoke a desire to understand the role and impact of this remarkable religious tradition in Cuban society.Item Against all odds: The role of ‘community cultural wealth’ in overcoming challenges as a black African woman(Unisa, 2014) Nkambule, ThabisileAcademic challenges for students from ‘previously disadvantaged backgrounds’ do not necessarily begin at university, but start during their school years, as was the case for the author. This article is in three parts. Firstly, the author presents a brief narration of the challenges faced before she went to university, which influenced her undergraduate progress. Secondly, the author describes the key challenges she experienced as an undergraduate in particular courses and in a postgraduate education course. Thirdly, she focuses on the challenges she encountered during her first work experience as a black African PhD student and tutor on an education campus. In particular, the author focuses on key challenging incidents and how she approached and engaged with them to enable a successful journey through university as a student and young academic staff member. In the form of a first-person narration, the qualitative research method of ‘testimony’ is used to reflect critically on her academic and professional journeys as a black African woman in the post-apartheid era. Testimony was chosen because it provides an epistemic lens to support an analytical inquiry into experiences and intellectual understanding of self and community.Item Age-incidence and prevalence of HIV among intact and circumcised men: an analysis of PHIA surveys in Southern Africa(2022-10-05) Michel GarenneThe study investigates the statistical relationship between male circumcision and HIV prevalence in Africa, in the context of the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) campaigns in place since 2008. Data from the Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) surveys conducted in African countries in 2017-2018 were utilized. Six countries with high HIV prevalence, low traditional circumcision and large VMMC programs were selected: Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe. The statistical analysis investigated the relative risk (RR) of HIV prevalence by circumcision status (circumcised vs intact) among men age 20-59, and the age-incidence of HIV in the two groups among men age 20-49, defined as the linear-logistic slope of the relationship between prevalence and age. Results show that the standardized RR was not different from 1 at older ages (50-59): RR = 0.923, 95% CI = 0.769-1.108, P = 0.390. Furthermore, the age-incidence was at least as high or higher among the circumcised groups than among the intact groups. The standardized RR was lower than 1 at younger ages, and this could be explained by selection biases. HIV prevalence at age 40-59 (27.3%) was also the same in the four groups of circumcision status (intact, traditional, medical, unknown). Results matched earlier observations made in South Africa that circumcised and intact men had similar levels of HIV infection. The study questions the current strategy of large scale VMMC campaigns to control the HIV epidemic. These campaigns also raise a number of ethical issuesItem Aiton Court: Relocating Conservation between Poverty and Modern Idealism(International committee for documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the modern movement, 2013-01) le Roux, Hannah; Hart, Brendan; Mayat, YasminAiton Court, in Johannesburg, is a case study in how heritage and economics clash in economically constrained cities. This iconic and formally innovative Modern apartment block from 1937 is located in an area where the income levels of tenants are now very low. Although the building is protected by legislation, the viability of its restoration is being further tested by a rent boycott. The article covers the building’s history, and questions how to approach its conservation differently, given the strong demand for housing at a cost level that would be excluded by purely market–led gentrification. We propose that locating conservation strategies in relation to the building’s history and to other subsidies aimed at the public good may provide other routes to preserving Aiton Court.Item All-cause mortality of hospitalised patients with suspected COVID-19 in Sierra Leone: a prospective cohort study(2023-02-05) Olivia Farrant; Mamadu Baldeh; Joseph Baio Kamara; Emma Bailey; Stephen Sevalie; Gibrilla Deen; James Baligeh Walter Russell; Daniel Youkee; Andy JM Leather; Justine Davies; Sulaiman LakohObjectives To study the mortality of patients with COVID-19 in Sierra Leone, to explore the factors associated with mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic and to highlight the complexities of treating patients with a novel epidemic disease in a fragile health system. Study design A prospective single-centre cohort study. Data were extracted from paper medical records and transferred onto an electronic database. Specific indicators were compared between survivors and non-survivors, using descriptive statistics in Stata V.17. Study setting The infectious diseases unit (IDU) at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone Participants Participants were all patients admitted to the IDU between March and July 2020. Aims of study The primary outcome of the study was to examine the all-cause mortality of hospitalised patients with suspected COVID-19 in Sierra Leone and the secondary outcome measures were to examine factors associated with mortality in patients positive for COVID-19. Results 261 participants were included in the study. Overall, 41.3% of those admitted to the IDU died, compared with prepandemic in-hospital mortality of 23.8%. Factors contributing to the higher mortality were COVID-19 infection (aOR 5.61, 95% CI 1.19 to 26.30, p=0.02) and hypertension (aOR 9.30, 95% CI 1.18 to 73.27, p=0.03) Conclusions This study explores the multiple factors underpinning a doubling in facility mortality rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone . It provides an insight into the realities of providing front-line healthcare during a pandemic in a fragile health system.Item Alterations to existing House(ELLE, 2009) Le Roux, HannahThis tiny project added a small, largely indeterminate space to my house. It faces the garden and resolves the difficulty of a house with an existing kitchen on the north. The L shaped sliding doors and windows can be opened in different configurations, and along with the mobile, folding table, allow for winter/summer, indoor/outdoor, public/private variations of eating or just working in this stoep.