The stories our generation of South Africans are telling and the stories we are living, do not add up – we need new stories, according to Ms Lovelyn Nwadeyi, keynote speaker at the Faculty of Theology's Fourth Annual Youth Day lecture on Friday 17 May 2019.

This year the Faculty partnered with the Transformation Office at SU with involvement from the broader campus. Learners from Kayamandi High School also attended the morning.

The title of Lovelyn's speech was Born Free's and Democracy – Freedom and Responsibility. She began her speech by estimating the power of stories, quoting Prof Emmanuel Katongole: “Stories not only shape how we view reality but also how we respond to life and indeed the very sort of persons we become."

Although she rejects the term “Born Free's" because she experiences these words as tools for silencing and diminishing the genuine grievances of young people and particularly young South Africans of colour, it is the first generation for whom a practice of democracy is normal. Nothing was meant to stand in the way of this generation's right to vote and exercise their political preferences.

According to her we need to be a lot more active in choosing what kinds of stories our 'bodies will be invested in', as Professor Katongole suggests. We need stories that challenge the dominant narratives that shape our current reality.

She ended her speech with a wish for her generation: a good dose of revolutionary madness, intellectual clarity and a strong sense of sacrifice, love and commitment to create the future we want to see today.

Students at the Faculty responded in the light of the recent elections and shared their stories and views on voting and why voting was a challenge for them.

According to Prof Anita Cloete, youth work lecturer at the Faculty of Theology, the main objective of the Annual Youth Day lecture is to focus on youth related issues by reflecting on youth agency or lack thereof in the past and today in the socio-economic, political and religious spheres of society. “We are confident that this lecture creates a platform for robust dialogue about matters that affect young people and give them an opportunity to participate in a creative manner", because indeed, their stories - our #StoriesMatter.

Four researchers from Stellenbosch University (SU) will compete as finalists at the annual National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)/South32 Awards.  The winners will be announced on Thursday, 27 June at a gala event in Gauteng.

Regarded as South Africa's 'Science Oscars', the NSTF/South32 Awards recognise, celebrate and reward excellence and outstanding contributions to science, engineering and technology (SET) and innovation by SET-related professionals and organisations in the country. Among the competitors are experienced scientists, engineers, innovators, science communicators, engineering capacity builders, organisational managers and leaders, as well as data and research managers.

According to the organisers, it is an extraordinary honour to be a finalist given the quality of the nominations received every year, the fierce competition that nominees face and growing interest from the SET community over the years.

The SU finalists (with department or environment) and the categories in which they have been nominated are as follows:

TW Kambule-NSTF Award: Researcher through research and its outputs (by an individual up to 15 years as a researcher, predominantly in South Africa):

• Prof Novel Njweipi Chegou (Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics)
  

TW Kambule-NSTF Award: Emerging Researcher through research and its outputs (by an individual up to six years in research, predominantly in South Africa):

• Dr Wynand J Goosen (Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics/Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research)
  

Data for Research Award: for advancing the availability, management and use of data for research (by an individual or an organisation):

• The Central Analytical Facility Team with Prof Anton du Plessis as team leader

Innovation Award: Corporate Organisation for innovations and their research and/or development (by a team or an individual over the last five to ten years):

• The Solar Thermal Energy Research Group (STERG) with Prof Sybrand Johannes van der Spuy as team leader.

Herbst van der Merwe is this year's recipient of the HORTGRO Science/Daan Strydom Award for the best final year student in Horticultural Science at Stellenbosch University (SU). The announcement was made at the HORTGRO Science Technical Symposium, which was held in Somerset West last week.

Van der Merwe obtained his BSc Agric degree in Plant and Soil Sciences cum laude in 2018. He majored in Soil Science and Horticulture.

His brother, CP, received the same award in 2016.

Dr Lynn Hoffman, chair of the Department of Horticultural Science, describes Van der Merwe as an exceptional student who approaches his studies with passion and with an eye for detail.

Van der Merwe is currently working towards an MSc degree in Soil Science, under supervision of Dr Eduard Hoffman of the Department of Soil Science in the SU Faculty of AgriSciences. He is investigating the influence that continuous drip irrigation has on the growth of citrus trees. More specifically, he will study water distribution in the soil after an orchard has been drip irrigated for eight to twelve hours a day. He will also investigate how citrus trees' roots grow and spread underground under such circumstances.

“Most studies in this regard have been done on agronomic crops such as wheat and tomatoes," he explains.

In addition to his academic interests, Van der Merwe is a keen middle distance athlete. He was a resident of Huis Marais during his undergraduate years. He matriculated in 2014 at Piketberg High, where he was also head boy and Dux learner. He is a former learner of Eendekuil Primary in the Swartland.

• ​Photo: Herbst van der Merwe received the HORTGRO Science/Daan Strydom Prize as the best student in horticultural science from Stephen Rabe, chair of the HORTGRO Science Advisory Committee. Photo: Carme Naude/HORTGRO

Prof Guy Midgley, a leading expert in the field of biodiversity and global change science at Stellenbosch University, has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.

The award is granted in recognition of a researcher's entire achievements to date and to academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.

The award is valued at €60 000 and supports a stay of up to one year in Germany to enable the researcher to cooperate on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues. Prof Midgley's main host will be Prof Steven Higgins, an ecologist at Bayreuth University, while he will also work with specialists at the University of Frankfurt and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center (SBiK-F) in Frankfurt.

Prof Midgley says this is an incredible opportunity to spend focused research time at several world-leading institutions in Europe: “I will primarily work on novel species and ecosystem modelling methods with Prof Higgins, who has been a long term collaborator. Over the past four years we have been involved in a joint effort between Germany and South Africa to build and expand a network of sites in South Africa where both the ecosystem as a whole, and its individual component species, are being monitored with respect to productivity, carbon uptake and water loss.

“The data obtained will allow us to test theories about links between biodiversity and ecosystem function and the future resilience of these ecosystems under climate change. This will be the first time that this methodology will be used in such a way," he explains.

So far the work has been funded by the SPACES program of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in Germany, and the National Research Foundation's Global Change Grand Challenge program in South Africa. SPACES is the acronym for “Science Partnerships for the Assessment of Complex Earth System Processes" and involves close collaboration with the South African Earth Observation Network (SAEON).

He says the research award also opens up new opportunities for future postgraduate students to engage in this and related research programs, to link with international colleagues and benefit from a broader range of expertise.

Prof Midgley is in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University - http://www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/science/botany-zoology/Pages/default.aspx.

Photo credit: Stefan Els

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the full article here.

One of the most remarkable public health successes of the last decade in southern Africa has been the reduction in the number of babies born with HIV. This was achieved through the provision of antiretroviral therapy to pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV. For example, the number of new HIV infections in children in South Africa has come down from a peak of 70 000 in 2003 to 13 000 in 2017.

Nevertheless, worldwide there are still an estimated 14.8 million children under the age of 15 who were born HIV uninfected but have been exposed to their mother's HIV during pregnancy.

The largest number of HIV-exposed but uninfected children – 3.2 million – are in South Africa.

A staggering 30% of pregnant women in South Africa have HIV. Their infants are exposed to both HIV and antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy and breastfeeding. HIV-exposed but uninfected children don't have HIV, so what's the big deal?

It is a big deal because HIV-uninfected children born to mothers with HIV are prone to infections that are more severe, are at almost two times greater risk of dying before their first birthday, and are more likely to be born prematurely than children born to mothers without HIV.

In our recent study we set out to try and quantify the contribution of deaths in HIV-exposed but uninfected infants to the overall infant mortality rates in Botswana and South Africa.

What we found was that because children born to mothers with HIV make up almost 1 in every 4 infants in Botswana and South Africa, and because they die more often than children born to mothers without HIV – even when they are HIV-uninfected themselves – this contributed to a higher infant mortality rate in both countries.

The risks

Even when they're not HIV infected, children born to women with HIV experience a complex package of detrimental exposures.

For example, HIV-exposed but uninfected infants are still more often born preterm or of low birth weight. This increases their risk for complications and death early in life.

They are also exposed to more infectious pathogens in the home such as tuberculosis.

There are other problems too. Breastfeeding has enormous nutritional and immunological benefits, but has often been avoided in infants born to women with HIV. Maternal access to antiretrovirals has made it safer but sustained breastfeeding is still low. One study in South Africa showed that, irrespective of HIV-status, women stopped breastfeeding their babies on average when the infants were eight weeks old.

On top of this, HIV-exposed infants more often have mothers who are unwell or who have died. And HIV-affected households experience challenging socioeconomic circumstances that can make children more vulnerable. These exposures in the first 1000 days of life can be detrimental to early childhood development and have life-long consequences.

In addition, infants born to women with HIV are subject to factors during pregnancy that unexposed infants aren't. These include exposure to HIV particles, that may make their immune systems develop differently. And these infants are exposed to at least three antiretroviral drugs given to the mother during pregnancy.

What the research found

To estimate the contribution of deaths in HIV-exposed but uninfected infants to the overall infant mortality rates we used previously published research comparing the mortality risk in HIV-exposed uninfected infants to risk of mortality in unexposed infants, as well as United Nations estimates of infant mortality in Botswana and South Africa.

In Botswana, HIV exposed uninfected infants accounted for 26% of the infant population but 42% of all infant deaths. Similarly, in South Africa HIV exposed uninfected infants accounted for 23% of the infant population but 38% of all infant deaths.

Putting this into actual numbers, this extra mortality in HIV exposed uninfected infants increased the overall HIV-uninfected infant mortality rate in both Botswana and South Africa from around 30 deaths per 1000 infants to 35 deaths per 1000 in the year 2013.

Botswana and South Africa have adopted the World Health Organisation's recommendation to provide lifelong antiretrovirals to all pregnant and breastfeeding women with HIV. But there's a lack of research comparing the mortality of HIV-exposed to unexposed infants under these new guidelines. Our calculations are therefore based on the year 2013, the most recent year before policy shifts in both countries. There is emerging evidence though of a persisting increase in mortality in HIV-exposed infants even with maternal antiretroviral therapy.

What next

With 1 in every 4 children in Botswana and South Africa being HIV and ARV-exposed, robust systems need to be put in place to monitor the long-term safety of these exposures during pregnancy. Countries need to invest in research to understand why HIV-exposed children still have an increased risk of dying. And countries need to ensure that routine child health interventions, such as immunisations and promotion of optimal durations of breastfeeding, are uniformly reaching HIV-exposed children.

Most critically, countries like South Africa and Botswana with high HIV infection rates need to find responsible, transparent and accurate ways of sharing what is known and being done about the risks of HIV-exposure with HIV-affected families and involve them in finding solutions.

About the authors

Amy Slogrove – Senior lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health, Stellenbosch University

Kathleen M. Powis – Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Mary-Ann Davies – Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Research, University of Cape Town

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay​

Henri Wirth, well-known art and book restorer, passed away on 1 June 2019. Henri became a legend in his lifetime. Through his excellent work some of South Africa's most important cultural heritage has been preserved for generations to come. He has rescued works by artists such as Pierneef, Thomas Baines, Hugo Naudé and Maggie Laubser, which now form part of SU's art collection, from total ruin and destruction.

Henri was born in Fulda, East Germany in 1941 and received training in the art of bookbinding and restoration in West Germany. In 1964 he emigrated to South Africa to take up a position as book restorer at the Carnegie Library of SU. He retired in 2009.

Henri was generally acknowledged for being a craftsman of the highest order and enjoyed worldwide acclaim. At the time of his appointment the intention was that he would mainly concentrate on fine book binding. After his appointment, however, he also applied himself to the restoration of a variety of other library material such as maps, documents, manuscripts, graphic works and paintings. It included valuable antiquarian maps, of which the oldest dates back to 1672.

Some of his most important work included the restoration of all Maggie Laubser's paintings, which were bequeathed to SU upon her death. Some of the paintings were discovered in her garage in Strand and were so damaged that they could hardly be handled. Other important work was the restoration of the 168 aquarelles in the Solomon Ceasar Malan collection.

Other work of Henri's included further developing the technique of “conservation framing" for the conservation of works of art and original maps, and designing the Pro Bene Merito medal, which is awarded for exceptional service to SU. Two television programmes were made, and numerous newspaper and journal articles were published about his work.

In 1996 he received the medal of honour from the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns for his outstanding work. The award was considered a fitting tribute to someone who had made an immeasurable contribution to the conservation of irreplaceable South African cultural heritage in the preceding decades.

Twice, Henri was the recipient of a bursary of the Kaapse Drie Eeue Stigting, which enabled him to undergo further training, in the restoration of books and documents, in Europe.

“There is one way only, and that is the correct way", were Henri's words, and that attitude ran like a golden thread through his 45 uninterrupted years of service at the University. As a result of this, the University Library and the SU campus became a much more beautiful place. His legacy will live on for a long time.

Gamification or the application of game elements such as points, badges, leader boards and levels in online learning activities can motivate students to be more engaged with their work and ultimately help them to be successful in their studies.

This is according to Dr Samantha Adams a lecturer in the Department of Industrial Psychology at Stellenbosch University (SU). She recently obtained her doctorate in Industrial Psychology at SU.

Highlighting the potential of educational gaming for supporting and enhancing authentic learning experiences, Adams says the aim of her research was to design an educational gamification platform to increase student engagement in learning activities.

“The findings of my study suggest that game elements combined with thoughtfully designed learning activities can encourage and facilitate student engagement in that they participate in and complete the tasks set out.

Adams adds that when students are engaged, there's a better chance of them being successful.

Her study looked at the different dimensions of engagement that would contribute to engagement created through the participation in educational activities. These dimensions include students' behavioural engagement (do they attend class and engage with activities on the University's learning management system), emotional engagement (do students value what they are doing; is the course work a valuable exercise) and cognitive engagement (do students think about what they are learning; do they project into the future how they will use the information that they're gaining in the classroom).

As part of her study, Adams took elements of games such as points, badges, leader boards, levels and competition to design a gamified platform on SU's learning management system SUNLearn. Two Industrial Psychology modules and the associated online learning activities provided the content of this gamified platform.

Adams also conducted focus group interviews with students to find out more about their views and experiences of completing assignments on the gamified platform. She also used a questionnaire to evaluate and measure their behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement at the start and the end of the semester.

Gaming platform

Adams says the online tasks students were used to do were built into the gaming platform as levels or challenges that they needed to complete in order to move to the next level. All of this was aligned with the chapters or themes they were covering in class.

“It was still the same work but structured in a more engaging way. Students were incentivised when they completed a task.

“Points, badges, leader boards, levels and competition were used to get students more engaged with the course work and motivated to complete assignments and to collaborate more with each other through group work."

According to Adams, the most effective application of game levels resulted when they created structure in the layout of the gamified platform and facilitated a linear progression through the content. Focused goals at each level encouraged engagement with the content at each level.

Adams says the online content and activities on the gamified platform provided students with an opportunity to do additional practice of the work they were already covering in class and to improve on their learning.

“My study showed that educational gamification influences students' emotional, behavioural and cognitive engagement through the perceived motivational or rewarding influences of the game elements, relevance of the activities and enjoyment of the experience.

“When these factors are absent or cause frustration or anxiety, they are likely to have a negative influence on both emotional and behavioural engagement."

Adams says if students perceived the activities as helpful, relevant or meaningful for their own learning they were more likely to continuously participate and progress to the next level once the goal was achieved.

“The findings suggested that students were more motivated or likely to put effort into a task if its relevance to their studies was clear. Moreover, if the use of the learning material provides an opportunity for the student to apply the content it may lead to more meaningful interaction with the content."

Adams mentions that students who enjoyed the subject and the game described their experience of the gaming platform as “creative", “fun", “appealing" and “interesting". Their engagement also increased dramatically.

“These positive reactions speak to the motivational affordance and drive created by the structure (levels), activities (quests or challenges), incentives (points or grades) and competitive elements (leader boards). These game elements also evoked excitement, created anticipation for what was coming next and influenced positive behaviours such as continued participation in the activities."

Adams cautioned that the level of engagement was lower among students who didn't enjoy the subject and that the gamification of the content did little to improve engagement.

“If they didn't like the subject, if they didn't like the content then there was nothing that the gamification of their learning activities could do to improve their engagement."

Design principles

Adams also developed design principles that could guide other lecturers in different fields who would want to use game elements as part of their teaching. These include, among others, providing focused goals that establish and convey the purpose of the learning activities; providing challenging tasks that convey meaning and relevance; providing rapid feedback regarding progress; creating opportunities for social interaction through competition or collaboration; and creating an environment that inspires curiosity and novelty and allows for creative thinking and authentic problem solving.

Adams says these principles should be considered when applying gamification and if applied in the correct way, could get students more engaged.

She adds that in addition to focusing on the learning outcomes they want to achieve and how gamification can contribute to this, lecturers should also identify and consider the needs of students and their expectations of a specific module.

“In the design and implementation of gamified technologies, it is important to consider things like the context of students, the size of the group, programme structure and whether a module is compulsory or not."

Adams says the gamified platform that she developed shouldn't be seen as a one-size-fits-all. “The findings of my study are not generalizable, but rather transferable."  

She emphasises that gamification is just one tool that can be used for student engagement and should primarily be for learning and not entertainment.

• Main photo: Students completing an online test. (Credit: Wikimedia)
  
• Photo 1: Dr Samantha Adams at her graduation ceremony. Photographer: Stefan Els

​FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Dr Samantha Adams

Department of Industrial Psychology

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 9542

Cell: 0836686527

Email: adamss@sun.ac.za

                  ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 4921

Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

​Stellenbosch University has taken a significant step in becoming the continental leader on climate change.  Based on its stellar research performance and formidable research capacity it has recently been invited to represent Africa in the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) who held their inaugural executive meeting in Beijing, China, recently (May 28 and 29).

The Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) was formed earlier this year in Davos, Switzerland – during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum - with the goal of collaborating on promoting measures to support the United Nations conventions on climate change and Sustainable Development Goals. The founding alliance partners are: Australian National University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Cambridge; Imperial College London; London School of Economics and Political Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Tokyo, and Tsinghua University. The additional four members invited to be part of GAUC is Stellenbosch University, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Indian Institute of Science, and Sciences Po – these 12 Universities will now form GAUC.

Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, described SU's participation in this leading Alliance of research-intensive universities on climate as an affirmation of the university's standing among the global research fraternity. He says it holds exciting opportunities of expansion of the current research activities and teaching capacity at SU “realising our vision of becoming Africa's leading research intensive university where we advance knowledge in service of society".

Prof Hester Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Strategy and Internationalisation, who represented Stellenbosch University at the inaugural meeting of GAUC, says Stellenbosch University is endowed with the knowledge and expertise across a multitude of disciplines and SU's work on Climate and Sustainability, as well as its Campus Green Initiatives will be a major asset to the Alliance.

The mission of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate is to advance climate change solutions through research, education, and public outreach, and to partner with industry, non-profit and government organizations to promote rapid implementation from local to global scales. GAUC will pursue this mission by promoting exchange and cooperation among member universities and providing leadership of global higher education efforts addressing climate change.

Through joint research GAUC will encourage and strengthen bilateral or multilateral cooperative research among members on key scientific, technological and economic policy issues related to climate change so as to promote scientific awareness, technological innovation and policy development accordingly. GAUC will encourage research on climate change solutions that address global sustainable development goals and reduce impacts on the world's most vulnerable populations.

 A key component of the Alliance's mission is talent cultivation: GAUC will encourage and strengthen the cooperation between the members of the Alliance to cultivate various talents in the field of climate change, and organize and carry out joint learning projects, student exchanges, course sharing, joint programs, innovation and entrepreneurship, and other related endeavours.

GAUC aims to promote campus action by implementing green and carbon-neutral initiatives, share experiences and best practices, and promote the carbon-neutral transformation of the university in its management, operations and finances.

The Alliance will furthermore focus on public engagement by providing leadership to the global higher education community, promoting active participation in efforts to address climate change through research, education, and public service, working together with industry, civil society and related organizations. GAUC aims to enhance public awareness and strive to build consensus for the transformation to a global and local carbon-neutral society.

In the broader societal context GAUC will promote rapid implementation of technological and policy solutions that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce the negative impacts of climate change on society.

Tsinghua University, the current host of GAUC, ranked no 1 among universities in China and renowned for the leading work of its Institute on Climate Change, is currently entering into a bi-lateral agreement with Stellenbosch University that will pave the way for more extensive co-operation between the two institutions.

Prof De Villiers expressed his deepest appreciation to Dr Tsakani Ngomane, Deputy Director-General: Climate Change and Sustainable Development, and Council member of SU, who played a cardinal role in supporting SU's admittance to GAUC based on SU's research record and capabilities.

Caption:

Prof Hester Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategy and Internationalisation represented SU at the inaugural executive meeting of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) in Beijing. 

Prospective Matie students only have until 30 June 2019 to get their applications in to study at Stellenbosch University (SU). 30 June is also the deadline for applying for accommodation in SU's residences.

Stellenbosch University is often rated as one of the top three universities in South Africa according to various international university rankings. The University also has one of the highest first-year throughput rates in South Africa with more than 85% of our students annually going on their second year of studies.

“We are very excited about the number and quality of applications for 2019, proving that SU is a first choice university. We are, however, still concerned about the more than 8000 applications that are incomplete and as a result cannot be considered," says Dr. Celeste Nel, Director: Centre for Admission and Residence Placement.

“Prospective students are requested to get their applications in rather sooner than later to give themselves some space and time to complete the application that includes uploading the necessary documents and to make changes if necessary."

Nel states that the general reasons for an incomplete application may be that the student did not upload all the necessary documents. Full details are available at www.maties.com. The general application documents include:
- Proof of payment (R100 non-refundable application fee) 
- Signed contract 
- Final grade 11 results (currently in final school year) or National Senior Certificate (NSC) (completed final school year)

It is also important to note that all students applying for a programme in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Faculty of Law need to write the National Benchmarking Tests (NBTs) by end of June at the latest. These NBT results will be used for selection purposes.

Financial assistance
Applicants can also start to apply for financial assistance. Here the deadline is 31 August 2019. The University manages more than 19 000 under and postgraduate bursaries and loans on behalf of companies, individuals and institutions.

Help and assistance during application

Applications can be done online at www.maties.com.

Prospective students are invited to contact our professional and friendly consultants either by calling 021 808 9111, emailing info@sun.ac.za or doing a live chat at www.maties.com (click on the Let's Talk feature).

​​​Every weekend Super Rugby fans and pundits alike vent their frustration as yet another illegal and dangerous cleanout of players at a ruck goes unpunished. And it seems that this will continue if statistics from last year are anything to go by.

“Our study on the sanctioning of illegal and dangerous cleanouts during the 2018 Super Rugby competition showed that referees didn't penalise as many of these as they should have," says Dr Wilbur Kraak from the Department of Sport Science at Stellenbosch University. He conducted the research with colleagues from the same department as well as the Department of Health at the University of Bath in England. The findings of their study were published recently in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Using the video editing tool Nacsport Basic plus, Kraak and his fellow researchers coded and analysed video recordings of 120 round robin matches during the competition to determine the rate at which illegal and dangerous ruck cleanouts were penalised by referees. They also enlisted the help of an international referee and rugby injury specialist. The Western Province Rugby Union video analysis department supplied the video recordings.

Kraak says that to their knowledge, this was the first time that the non-sanctioning of dangerous illegal cleanouts at the ruck by on-field referees during a game has been investigated. The ruck is a phase of play where one or more players from each team remain on their feet and are in physical contact close around the ball on the ground.

Illegal ruck cleanouts

The researchers found that there were 22 281 ruck clean outs during the 2018 Super Rugby competition at an average of 186 cleanouts per game.

“Our study revealed that 2 111 (9%) of these cleanouts were deemed illegal according to the 2018 World Rugby (WR) Laws of the Game at an average of 18 per match. Referees did not penalise 1 953 (93%) of the illegal ruck cleanouts at an average of 16 per game."

Kraak adds that of the total illegal ruck cleanouts not sanctioned by referees, 1 087 (57%) were considered dangerous at an average of 10 per match.

He points out that the majority of illegal ruck clean outs not penalised by referees were for “not supporting own body weight" (624 or 32%), followed by “side entry" (318 or 16%), “shoulder charge" (317 or 16%) and “contact above the shoulder" (247 or 13%).

“The attacking team were not penalised when 'not supporting own body weight' (599 or 96%) and 'side entry' (303 or 95%) compared to the defending team for 'cleaning a player not involved in ruck' (12 or 27%) and 'joining the ruck from an offside position' (22 or 12%).

“The illegal ruck clean outs not penalised for the defending team were 'cleaning a player not involved in ruck' (12 or 27%), followed by 'joining the ruck from an offside position' (9 or 12%).

Referees did not penalise the attacking team for 95% (1037 of 1087) of the dangerous illegal ruck clean outs and the majority of the dangerous illegal cleanouts not penalised were 'shoulder charge,' 'neck roll,' and 'contact above the shoulder'."

Kraak says their findings should be a concern for rugby referee stakeholders from an error rate perspective.

“A greater concern for rugby safety and rugby referee stakeholders should be that 1087 of the non-sanctioned ruck cleanouts were deemed dangerous, which could pose an injury risk to the players involved in the ruck area.

“Given that more or less 10% of all injuries during a game are associated with the ruck, this is something that needs to be addressed."

Kraak says referees can minimize the risk of players getting injured by focusing on “shoulder charge," “neck roll," and “contact above the shoulder," given the high proportion of these infringements that are deemed dangerous.

“Surveillance of legal and illegal (dangerous and not dangerous) ruck cleanouts and the sanctions imposed by referees will help identify whether the referees are actually enforcing the laws according to the WR law book."

Ruck drills

Kraak and his fellow researchers also have some advice for coaches. ​“Because the ruck is a dynamic situation, coaches should not coach the ruck clean out in isolation because this limits the decision-making ability of the players. 

“Ruck drills should include the initial tackle, fight for dominance by the ball carrier, placement of the ball, and clearing techniques in the same drill because this will assist players with adjustment and decision-making based on the situation."

The researchers encourage coaches to invite referees to attend and officiate contact training sessions and drills according to rugby's current laws as this will provide clarity to both players and coaches with input from the referees.

​Kraak says referees, players, coaches and other rugby stakeholders will benefit from their study. “The findings of our study can lead to the development and implementation of further injury prevention strategies to make the game safer for all the role-players involved."

• SOURCE: Kraak, WJ et al 2019. Sanctioning of Illegal and Dangerous Ruck Cleanouts During the 2018 Super Rugby Competition. Frontiers in Psychology, Vol 10.

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Dr Wilbur Kraak

Department of Sport Science

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Stellenbosch University

Cell: 0835910321

Tel: 021 808 2379

E-mail: kjw@sun.ac.za / rugbyresearch@sun.ac.za

       ISSUED BY

​Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 4921

E-mail: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

A genetic catalogue of the insect pests found on wild and cultivated olive tree species in South Africa is being compiled by a small team of geneticists in the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University (SU) and their South African and overseas collaborators. The team has completed their efforts on olive flies and wasps, and now also hope to extend their work to olive lace bugs and flea beetles.

The work is being led by Dr Barbara van Asch of the Department of Genetics in the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University. It is linked to research projects she was involved in at the University of Porto in Portugal, before moving to South Africa and Stellenbosch University in 2015.

“Knowing which insect species there are, and how to definitively identify one from another is of value to both the agricultural and environmental sectors," says Dr van Asch. “It helps the industry keep tabs on the introduction of potentially harmful or invasive species into local orchards."

To identify insect species purely on specific visual cues generally requires great skill and the dedication of a specialised taxonomist. In recent years, this process has been made easier thanks to molecular and genetic research tools which allow researchers to distinguish between different species based on each one's definitive DNA barcodes.

“We no longer need to wait until a suspect insect reaches adulthood before making a positive identification but can already do so using the DNA contained in its eggs or larvae," she explains. “This is noteworthy, as it means that control measures for a particular area could be put into place if need be sooner rather than later."

Commercial olive farming in South Africa started in 1925 with the establishment of the first orchard in the Paarl region.

According to Dr van Asch, South African commercial olive farmers have so far been lucky because their trees do not suffer the same level of insect infestation as that experienced in olive producing areas of the Mediterranean and California.

Wild and cultivated olives often harbour and often share a diversity of insects, which is particularly rich in the Western Cape compared to all other world regions. Some are considered agricultural pests, such as the olive fruit fly. In South Africa, wild olives tend to have higher infestation rates of seed wasps, parasitoids and olive fruit fly species than cultivated olives.

Dr van Asch hopes to receive further funding from industry or funding agencies to be able to extend the work being done in her laboratory to other olive tree pest species of importance, such as olive lace bugs and flea beetles. These species also cause damage to cultivated olives but have been poorly studied as an agricultural pest.

Wasps associated with olives

Her team recently published journal articles highlighting their efforts.

An MSc student in the SU Department of Genetics, Chante Powell, was the lead author of a paper published in Genome on the ten types of wasp species known to be found around wild and cultivated olive trees in the Western and Eastern Cape. It is the first comprehensive study of olive wasp species in the region since the advent of molecular studies.

The paper not only contains extreme close-up photographs (taken at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town) of the four species of Braconidae and six species of Chalcidoidea, but also their detailed DNA barcodes and information about how the species relate to each other.

The work was done in collaboration with researchers from the University of Palermo and University of Naples in Italy, the Iziko South African Museum and the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa.

For the purposes of her study, Powell picked more than 83 000 olive fruits off wild and cultivated trees in 16 regions of the Western Cape and one in the Eastern Cape. She then waited for the larvae to hatch and the wasps to reach adulthood to be able to identify and barcode each species.

She found that wild olives seem to suffer more from seed infestation and parasitism by for example Eupelmus spermophilus and Utetes africanus wasps than cultivated olives.

“This is probably because the insects have co-evolved with the wild olive over a long time in this region before the recent arrival of the cultivated olive," she explains.

Some wasp species develop inside the seeds themselves (and are called seed wasps), while others lay their eggs within the olive fruit. Other wasps are so-called hyperparasitoids, in that they lay their eggs within the developing larvae of other wasp species.

“We are not yet sure which wasps are parasitoid, hyperparasitoids or seed wasps," explains Dr van Asch. “Further research is needed in this regard."

The study of the wasps associated with olive trees is of value, as it might serve as a way to control the infestation of olive fruit flies that can be a pest."

​Studies on olive fruit flies

The Stellenbosch University research group of Dr van Asch also collaborated with Dr Luis Teixeira da Costa of the Oslo University Hospital in Norway, lead author of a genetic study in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules about the African olive fruit fly (Bactrocera biguttula). This olive fly is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. It does not attack cultivated olives but rather develops in the fruits of wild olive species.

The paper compares the genetics of the African olive fruit fly with that of a widespread sister species, Bactrocera oleae. This agricultural pest attacks both cultivated and wild olives. The two species of olive fruit flies were found to share a common ancestor more than 10 million years ago.

For media enquiries (please do not publish):

Dr Barbara van Asch
Department of Genetics, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University
bva@sun.ac.za
+ 27 21 808 5888

References:

Powell, C. et al (2018). Barcoding of parasitoid wasps (Braconidae and Chalcidoidea) associated with wild and cultivated olives in the Western Cape of South Africa, Genome 62(3):183-199. doi: 10.1139/gen-2018-0068.

Teixeira da Costa, L. et al (2019). The complete mitochondrial genome of Bactrocera biguttula (Bezzi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and phylogenetic relationships with other Dacini, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 126:130-140. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.12.186.

• Main photo: Researcher Dr Barbara van Asch of the Department of Genetics at Stellenbosch University, with one of her postgraduate students, Chante Powell, who is conducting studies on olive pests. Photo: Supplied 
  
• ​Photo 1: Eupelmus spermophilus, a known olive seed wasp. Photographer: Chante Powell

​

“I'm hoping that the Ubuntu Dialogues programme will ignite a different conversation, where people can think outside of the box about the ideas of Ubuntu. I hope the students and young scholars will start to go outside themselves, go into their uncomfortable zone and create something new. I would like to see students start having serious debates in order to build something new. We also hope that this three-year project will create a book that gives a different perspective of what Ubuntu is in the everyday."

This is the vision of the newly-appointed Programme Manager of the Ubuntu Dialogues project, Dr Mosa Phadi, who took up her new position at the beginning of June.

Earlier this year, Stellenbosch University (SU) made history with Michigan State University (MSU) when the two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that agreed to foster international cooperation in education, research and community engagement at both universities.

The agreement stemmed from a request by the two universities for Mellon Foundation support to deepen an existing initiative, the Ubuntu Dialogues project, over a three-year period; to develop replicable frameworks for university museums in Africa and elsewhere; and to collaborate in producing dynamic sites for the co-creation and dissemination of knowledge and practice through local and international dialogues.

Dr Phadi was appointed to help achieve the vision of both SU and MSU over the next three years. Her role will be to frame what the Ubuntu Dialogues project will look like, conceptualise it and then try to operationalise it.

“The aim is to move away from the conventional ideas of what Ubuntu is and try to actually rethink in a more radical form of what Ubuntu is. We would like to integrate it into different discussions, especially at this time and look at how has it worked, what are the contradictions and how do we think about it in this era, twenty five years after democracy. We also want to look at Ubuntu in a global context, because of our partnership with Michigan State University," says Dr Phadi.

There are two main phases within the framework of the Ubuntu Dialogues project. The first is the graduate fellowship. The fellowship invites both Stellenbosch and Michigan State University students to apply, where they will participate in digital dialogues. Ten students will be selected every year from both universities for the fellowship and will participate in an internship programme in the USA and in South Africa.

The second phase is a seminar programme, which will have about eight seminars between SU and MSU. Young scholars and heritage professionals will have to apply by sending in their abstracts to motivate how their work fits into the Ubuntu Dialogue framework. It will be interdisciplinary, so anyone from any faculty can apply for the programme. Stellenbosch scholars and heritage professionals from partner institutions will present their work at MSU and MSU students will present their work at SU over the three years.

“It's an opportunity for young scholars from both universities to partake in the fellowship. We want young scholars to gain exposure to presenting at international levels and engage with others who don't necessarily have the same ideas from where they come from," says Dr Phadi

Dr Phadi completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Johannesburg and her PhD research looked at what it means to be black in a post-apartheid South Africa. Before being appointed at SU she was working at the Public Affairs Research Institute in Johannesburg, where she specifically did research on topics on rethinking local government, the role of the institution and the politics behind it.

She hopes to leverage her previous research experience and drive the Ubuntu Dialogues project into an opportunity to rethink and come up with new ideas regarding Ubuntu. 

Photo by Stefan Els.

​The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) at Stellenbosch University (SU) recently celebrated its 25-year partnership with the community of Bishop Lavis with a Community Partnership Day.

The event, held at the Bishop Lavis Library, showcased some of the successful and mutually beneficial initiatives the FMHS and the Bishop Lavis community have collaborated on. It also provided an opportunity for reflection on, and appreciation of these partnerships.

Dr Leslie van Rooi, Senior Director for Social Impact and Transformation at SU, said that the university has been involved on a number of levels in the Bishop Lavis community for the past 25 years. “It is clear that these partnerships have grown. The purpose of today is to gain a better understanding of the relationships – how they formed and played out – and to reflect on how we can solidify and build on these partnerships.

“We are about to enter into a new phase, and today is an opportunity to take stock and see how we can expand and improve the partnership between SU and the broader Bishop Lavis community," Van Rooi said.

“The Bishop Lavis Rehabilitation Centre was developed 25 years ago with the aim of providing comprehensive healthcare to the local community, while at the same time providing our students with an opportunity to be of service on a primary care level," said Prof Susan Hanekom, head of the FMHS Division of Physiotherapy.

“The rehab centre is unique on the African continent, as it is a student-driven primary care facility," said Hanekom. The services offered there include health promotion, treatment of impairments, comprehensive rehabilitation, full community integration of clients with disabilities, and empowering the community.

Representatives from a number of organisation attended the event, including the City of Cape Town, city councillors, the Bishop Lavis Development Forum, the Bishop Lavis Action Committee, the local rehabilitation centre and day hospital and the University of the Western Cape.

Sue Statham and Liesbet Koornhof, with FMHS Divisions of Physiotherapy and Human Nutrition respectively, have been involved in the rehabilitation centre since the inception of the partnership, and gave an overview of how the FMHS established the primary healthcare training platform in Bishop Lavis.

“We were breaking new ground," said Statham. “It had never been done before and the whole project depended on partnerships between the university, the community, and the Department of Health."

In his talk, Dr Martin Heine of the FMHS Division of Physiotherapy, presented an ambitious new plan to expand the university's involvement in the Bishop Lavis community. As part of the City of Cape Town's Urban Renewal Programme, which will see upgrades the centre, SU plans to enlarge the current student learning platform to involve not just interdisciplinary, but interfaculty teams of students that can apply their learning there for the betterment of the community.

SU staff and students also paid tribute to community volunteers who help out at the rehabilitation centre. These volunteers, many of whom have disabilities and were patients there once, assist at the centre without any compensation.

Other community projects, such as the Bishop Lavis Day Hospital's Community Oriented Primary Care project, and the Words Open Worlds (WOW) projects, were also presented on the day. 

​Dr Steve Kroon from the Computer Science Division at Stellenbosch University (SU) is one of four machine-learning specialists worldwide who have been selected to participate in the inaugural 2019 Depth First Learning (DFL) Fellowship.

Depth First Learning is an initiative, sponsored by Jane Street, to develop lesson plans to master significant research papers in machine learning while running a study group on the required material. These papers depend on fundamental concepts in mathematics, statistics and information theory, and fellows should understand the fundamentals in order to plan a curriculum.

With the support of a grant of $4000 USD, Dr Kroon will be coordinating a group for the paper “Variational Inference with Normalizing Flows" by Danilo Rezende and Shakir Mohamed.

After completing a PhD in Mathematical Statistics at SU, Dr Kroon joined the Computer Science Division as a lecturer in 2008. His research focuses on statistical learning theory, as well as Bayesian methods, search and adversarial search, decision-making and planning under uncertainty, and machine learning. He also holds a Diploma in Actuarial Techniques and is a member of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research.

Four student-athletes from Maties Sport will represent Team SA at the World Student Games in Italy in July.

Gardeo Isaacs and Breyton Poole (Maties Athletics), Craig Walters (Maties Football) and Hein Kritzinger (Maties Rugby Sevens) will compete in Naples from 3-14 July.

Walters' selection is a historic moment for Maties Sport as it is the first time ever a footballer from Maties has made the team.

Walters described his inclusion in the football team as the opportunity of a lifetime. “It means the world to me and I will cherish every single second."

“I want to leave Italy knowing that I had left everything on the field for my team. I want to make my family, community and Stellenbosch University proud. I represent not only myself, but my entire community. I wish to make the starting 11 for every game in the tournament and to help the team make the knockout stages."

Poole said that he is honoured by his selection.

“I am excited about competing against the best student-athletes in the world. It is a major honour to represent this team and Maties."

Kritzinger agreed that it is an incredible honour and opportunity to represent his country.

“I am very excited and optimistic about the tournament."

SA senior 400m champion Gardeo Isaacs wants to give his all and enjoy the opportunity.

“I would also like to achieve a qualifying time so that I can go to the World Championships in Doha. As for any athlete, competing at the Olympic Games is my big goal."

Maties Sport Chief Director Ilhaam Groenewald will also travel to Italy and said she, along with the Maties Sport family, will be supporting the student-athletes all the way. 

Maties speedster Gardeo Isaacs (20) is not only the reigning South African 400m champion, but also a member of the team that will represent South Africa at the World Student Games in Italy in July.

The second-year BCom Management Accounting student at Stellenbosch University gives credit to the Maties Sport High Performance (HP) programme for his growth as an athlete over the past two years. 

Since joining Maties Athletics Gardeo has benefitted from the extensive support Maties High Performance student-athletes receive from the HP Unit.  

“Two components of the programme have helped me a lot. The strength and conditioning coaching has made me a better runner, because training is so much more than just running on the track. The sessions with psychologist Eugene Oppelt have also helped me immensely, especially with races away from home," says Gardeo.

The 2019 season has been a great one for Gardeo thus far. He performed well at the Varsity Athletics events and was crowned USSA champion before winning the big title: South African 400m champion with a personal best time of 45.39 seconds.

“I really wanted to win the SA Senior title and getting the title in a personal best time was a massive bonus."

Gardeo represented Team SA at the World Relay Championships in May where South Africa finished 6^th. Next up is the World Student Games in Italy.

“I just want to give it my all and enjoy the opportunity. I would also like to achieve a qualifying time so that I can go to the World Championships in Doha. As for any athlete, competing at the Olympic Games is my big goal."

Gardeo grew up in Parow and has been in love with athletics since his days in primary school. “I actually started out as a high jumper, but soon lost interest. Of all the track events the 400m stood out for me. I tried it and it really got a hold of me."

Even before joining Maties, Gardeo trained at Coetzenburg under the watchful eye of his coach Heinrich Fortuin.

“When the opportunity came to come and study at Stellenbosch University, I was so happy. I ran some good times and was offered an opportunity. I did not hesitate. I love the atmosphere here in Stellenbosch and the setup is great."

​The Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University will introduce a new BEng degree in Data Engineering from February 2020. This degree will be a new specialisation stream in our existing undergraduate degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the BEng(E&E). The purpose of this new specialisation in Data Engineering is to prepare our students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution where the world of work has fundamentally changed and there is a deluge of data that needs to be structured, modelled and analysed to enable data-led organisations to discover the underlying knowledge and make well-informed decisions. 

This initiative supports the soon to be established School for Data Science and Computational Thinking at Stellenbosch University. “The School will work across all our faculties in an interdisciplinary way and will span the entire academic project, from under- and postgraduate training to research and specialist consultation. The Faculty of Engineering will play a key role in the new School because it has always been future focused with cutting-edge research," SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Wim de Villiers said.

Data Engineers are responsible for the discovery of trends in data sets and the development of algorithms to help make raw data more useful. This requires a significant set of technical skills, including a deep knowledge of database design and multiple programming languages. Data engineers are often responsible for building algorithms to give easier access to structured and unstructured data, but this requires an understanding of an organisation's objectives in using large datasets. Data Engineersneed excellent communication skills to interface with various stakeholders inside and outside the organization in order to understand what business leaders want to gain from Big Data and also to present their findings in a manner that can be easily understood by the audience.

Data Engineering encompasses all tasks required to make data available for analytics, knowledge discovery and decision-making processes. The main task of the Data Engineer is to develop and maintain an organisation's data pipeline systems, and to implement algorithms to transform data into a useful format for analysis. The tasks of a data engineer include the collection of data, storing data, data synchronization, data transformation, data cleansing, data governance, and the development of data models. 

From the first year of study, the Data Engineering specialisation is built on the solid foundation of Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. The specialisation also introduces new undergraduate modules in Data Engineering that cover topics such as Big Data Platforms, Probabilistic Graphical Models for Machine Learning and Fundamentals of Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Students will develop the engineering skills to create mathematical, physical and statistical models of real-world systems, including data systems. Upon obtaining the qualification, Stellenbosch University's new Data Engineers will be able to integrate these knowledge areas to critically analyse complex systems in order to engineer innovative solutions to real-world problems to effect fundamental societal impact. This will be demonstrated by students successfully completing a capstone project related to Data Engineering in their final year of study.

The introduction of the new specialisation adds to the Engineering Faculty's introduction of Data Science into all of our existing BEng programmes, whereby all of the BEng graduates will be exposed to the development of data analytics and expert systems. The existing programmes and specialisations will have a limited exposure, but the new specialisation in Data Engineering will go into depth into the mathematical and statistical fundamentals of data science. 

Prospective students interested in pursuing a career in Data Engineering are encouraged to apply before 30 June 2019 to be considered for admission into the BEng (Electrical and Electronic) Data Engineering specialisation in 2020. Late applications will be considered, but their admission will be subject to availability of places. To apply, visit www.sun.ac.za and select "Students" and then "Prospective students". This website also gives further information such as the admission requirements. Prospective students can contact Mr August Engelbrecht (august@sun.ac.za, tel 021 808 3947) for more information about this programme. Industry partners can contact the Dean, Prof Wikus van Niekerk (wikus@sun.ac.za, 082 256 4131) for more information.

​Research, especially social-scientific studies, should be about the promotion of social justice and human dignity.

This was one of the key messages of Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Research Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation at Stellenbosch University (SU), on Wednesday (12 June). She delivered the third Stellenbosch Forum Lecture of 2019 at the SU Museum. The title of her talk was Making the Invisible Visible: Rethinking Reflexivity in Research.

The Stellenbosch Forum lecture series provides regular opportunities to staff and students at SU, as well as interested people from the public, to learn more about the relevant, world-class research that is being done at SU.

In her speech, Gobodo-Madikizela said that “if our research is relevant, if we argue that we're doing socially-conscious research then we ought to think of the question of social justice."

“The starting point of our research is to love and care first. If you love other people and care for other people deeply enough as fellow human beings, then this is a building block for building solidarity with the other. And when we build solidarity with the other, we are able to uphold the principles of social justice."

Gobodo-Madikizela added that scholars shouldn't take away the dignity of the people they're doing their research on.

She said researchers need to take seriously the issue of reflexivity in their work.

“When we talk about reflexivity, we are talking about what the researcher brings into the research, what they bring to their analysis and how the research affects them."

According to Gobodo-Madikizela, researchers must be aware of the fact that they bring their own histories to their work. “We are bringing our whiteness, our blackness to our research. We need to be aware of how these issues play out in research."

She said it is important for researchers to ask how they're implicated in the work they do, what the consequences of their work are for research participants, whether their research promotes the dignity of the participants and what their role as witnesses, i.e. their responsibility is.

Gobodo-Madikizela added that since researchers influence the world, they need to rethink what they mean by ethics and reflexivity.

• Main photo courtesy of Pixabay.
• Photo 1: Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela delivers the Stellenbosch Forum lecture.

We cannot afford to continue to ignore the unfinished business of healing our nation and dealing with the frozen trauma.

This was one of the viewpoints of Prof Christo Thesnaar from the Department of Practical Theology and Missiology in the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University (SU) on Wednesday (12 Jun 2019). He delivered his inaugural lecture on the topic Divine discomfort: A relational encounter with multi-generational and multi-layered trauma.

Thesnaar said South Africa is reaping the fruits of frozen and multi-generational and multi-layered trauma that has started to erupt in the country. He added that we have failed to deal with the trauma of the past.

“Domestic and intimate partner violence, violent crime, substance dependency, xenophobia, etc., all bear witness to a frozen trauma that has started to erupt. Persistent poverty, inequality and unemployment are clear indicators that we have neglected to attend to our frozen trauma."

“In the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of the political settlement in South Africa, we have seen an increase in anger, violence and vengeance on all levels of our society regarding basic service delivery, poverty, education, economic freedom, and so forth.

“It is safe to say that for the most part of the 25 years, the state of the trauma in our country has been mainly suppressed by the transition process, the first democratic election, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process and the many political promises."

According to Thesnaar, the lack of implementation of the TRC recommendations by government, civil society and religious groupings and the failure to facilitate the past trauma have contributed to the eruption of the trauma.

“The failure to address socio-economic settlement in terms of economic justice, land reform, housing and employment, to name a few, has specifically contributed to the frozen trauma and the subsequent eruption thereof."

Thesnaar added that even though we went through a transformation (political change and new Constitution) and healing process (facilitated by the TRC) 25 years ago, there was no guarantee that it would be sufficient to deal with the decades of frozen trauma.

He said the lack of urgency by all role players to transform South Africa has increased divisions between rich and poor, different race groups, and leadership and the people.

“Poverty in the midst of opulence is inclined to wound a person, family, community and even a nation more than one can imagine. In this regard, unequal societies such as ours tend to generate more rage and outrage that turn inwards as well as to those intimate to the one that is traumatised."

Thesnaar said as a society we will need to embrace the values of ubuntu and mutual recognition to deal with the multi-generational and multi-layered trauma.

• Main photo: A squatter camp in South Africa. (Credit: Wikimedia)
• Photo 1: Profs Reggie Nel, Dean of SU's Faculty of Theology, Christo Thesnaar and Stan du Plessis, SU's Chief Operating Officer at the inaugural lecture. Photographer: Anton Jordaan

An exciting new procedure that can drastically improve the lives of leg amputees was recently performed for the first time in South Africa.

A Stellenbosch University (SU) professor, collaborating with the Institute for Orthopaedics and Rheumatology (IOR) at Mediclinic Winelands, the prosthetist Eugene Rossouw, and Associate Professor Munjed al Muderis of the Osseointegration Group of Australia, performed South Africa's first osseointegration prosthesis implant on 5 November 2018.

The procedure was originally developed in Australia by Al Muderis, and involves the surgical implantation of the Osseointegration Group of Australia Osseointegration Prosthetic Limb (OGAP-OPL).

“The OGAP-OPL is a revolutionary new type of prosthesis that does away with traditional suction sockets by directly attaching an amputee's prosthetic limb to the skeleton. This affords amputees some unique advantages and can drastically transform their quality of life," says Prof Nando Ferreira from SU's Division of Orthopaedics in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), who was the lead surgeon on the procedure.

Amputees frequently suffer problems with traditional suction sockets, such as skin irritation, poor fit due to sweating and volume changes of the stump throughout the day, discomfort while sitting, and the time it takes to attach and remove a prosthesis.

These socket-related problems are eliminated with an osseointegration prosthesis because the prosthetic limb is directly attached to the skeleton. Recipients also have better proprioception (perception of the body's position and movement) and can feel the surface they are walking on, allowing them to walk with more confidence.

The osseointegration prosthesis also restores the normal anatomical alignment of the thighbone (femur) (see image insert), which significantly reduces common gait deviations in above-knee amputees.

However, the procedure is not without complications. Infection around the implant and fractures of the remaining bone are the most significant complications following osseointegration. “Candidates are carefully screened for suitability and currently only individuals suffering severe socket problems that significantly interfere with work and daily life, are considered for this procedure," says Ferreira.

The recipient of South Africa's first osseointegration prosthesis implant is a 28 year old woman who suffered a traumatic above knee amputation in 2009. Since then she has struggled with her socket prosthesis, which severely interferes with her occupation and activities of daily life. (The patient has chosen to remain anonymous.)

“The unique design, materials and manufacturing process of the OGAP-OPL allows bone to grow into the surface of the implant and therefore 'integration' of the prosthesis into the skeleton. A specifically designed abutment then passes through a surgically created opening in the leg stump to create an attachment point for the external prosthetic limb components," explains Ferreira.

Al Muderis is the Australian surgeon who pioneered osseointegration and developed the OGAP-OPL prosthesis, the surgical technique, and the rehabilitation protocol over the last decade. To date, approximately 750 surgeries have been performed, mostly in Australia.

“Professor Al Muderis' enthusiasm for changing the lives of amputees is evident in this tireless work and willingness to train other surgeons in his technique," says Ferreira, who travelled to Sydney, Australia, along with husband and wife team, Eugene (prosthetist) and Fransien (physiotherapist) Rossouw, to undergo training in the surgical procedure, prosthetic fitment and rehabilitation directly from Al Muderis. This team is currently the only group certified to use the OGAP-OPL prosthesis in South Africa.

For the surgery, Ferreira was assisted by Dr Gerhard Pienaar, an orthopaedic surgeon from IOR and Mediclinic Winelands, and Al Muderis, who travelled from Australia to assist with, and supervise the surgery. The patient is progressing well, and her first prosthesis fitment was done two weeks after the surgery. She has commenced with a 12 weeks rehabilitation protocol that involves progressive weight bearing while using two crutches for six weeks, followed by another six weeks of assisted mobilisation using one crutch.

The team plans to offer the procedure to more patients, both in the public and private health sectors, and hopes to see it become a well-accepted option for amputees in South Africa.