​The 11 of May 2015 saw the formal launch of the book on "Evaluation Management in South Africa and Africa", which was held at the Bellville Park Campus. The keynote speaker for the evening was Prof Zenda Ofir who talked about the important contribution that evaluation can make to enhance change and development, and the importance of "Evaluation Management in South Africa and Africa" has in capturing and promoting evaluation practise on the continent.

The event was attended by  Academics (US, UCT, UWC), Government (DPME, DPSA, Western Cape Provincial Government, and City of Cape Town), Private Sector M & E Consultants ( Southern Hemisphere, Khulisa Consulting, Genesis Analytics, SEAD, PDG, Otherwise and People and Performance) and African Sun Media (Publishers).

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​The SPL of Stellenbosch University, in co-operation with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), the Centre for Constitutional Rights and the European Academy (EURAC), in Bolzano, Italy, will host an international conference on strengthening constitutional democracy. The conference will run from 19-21 August and invitations are currently open. Should you be interested in attending, please contact Ms Natalie Seifert at natalie.seifert@spl.sun.ac.za. We look forward to seeing you at this innovative conference.

​The SGGF is proud to announce the establishment of Social Labs in both Saldanha and Hessequa. Provincial Treasury has indicated their support for a period of three years to these labs. Additionally the respective municipalities has also committed their support to these labs. A social lab is a virtual or real space within which there is a community which is represented by an authoritative body. This body consults with the SGGF to facilitate innovative learning governance within that space.

​The Professionalisation of the Human Settlements Sector refers to the acquisition of relevant skills and knowledge, both for personal development and for career advancement of Human Settlements officials.

Professional Development of the sector encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities ranging from undergraduate and post graduate degrees to credit bearing short learning programmes also known as continued professional development programmes and informal learning opportunities situated in practice.

The Department of Human Settlements and Stellenbosch University's  School of Public Leadership are working on a partnership that is aimed at launching an Executive Leadership and Management programme in Sustainable Human Settlements Development.  Read more…

Not being able to successfully defend their Varsity Hockey title is a big disappointment for the players of the Steinhoff Maties Women's Hockey team, but coach Jenny King is already looking forward to the future.

Maties lost in the semi-final of the Varsity Hockey tournament to Kovsies and finished fourth overall in this year's tournament. 

"The team hates loosing, but I am not particularly disappointed in the semi-final result as the team played top hockey. The Kovsies are a far more experienced and better team than us, so a great performance on the night sets us in good stead for our USSA preparations. We have also identified areas we need to improve in order to match their strengths and this we will do over the next 50 days," said King.

According to King the big difference between the two teams – Maties and Kovsies – was experience. "Kovsies are at the end of a five-year cycle and the experience of their players showed. Maties was a relatively inexperienced side (hence inconsistent performances) – we had eight first years. We will have to work at sustaining top performances over eight matches," said King.

The second weekend of Varsity Hockey was a rollercoaster ride of performances from Maties. "The team's performances were inconsistent with regards to level of play and focus, and we will have to address this during the league matches ahead. However the team played their best hockey when under pressure to perform and the tournament has given us a good idea of where we lie nationally with regards to University Sport."

The next big challenge for Maties will be the national students tournament where they are also the defending champions. The tournament will be held in Pietermaritzburg from 29 June to 3 July 2015.

• UJ beat Kovsies 3-0 to be crowned Varsity Hockey champions.
  

The continent celebrates Africa Day on Monday 25 May and Stellenbosch University is joining in the festivities.

The Postgraduate and International Office (PGIO) will commemorate the day celebrating this year's theme "Opening the Doors of learning & culture from Cape to Cairo". Staff and students are invited to show their pride for Africa expressing themselves through music and poetry at an open mic session. The lunch hour event will be held in front of the Wilcocks Building. Maties are encouraged to dress up for the theme and write congratulatory messages which they can leave under a tree outside the PGIO.

Africa Day celebrates the day when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the African Union (AU), was formed in 1963.

Date: 25 May

Time: 13:00 

The continent celebrates Africa Day on Monday 25 May and Stellenbosch University is joining in the festivities.

The Postgraduate and International Office (PGIO) will commemorate the day celebrating this year's theme "Opening the Doors of learning & culture from Cape to Cairo". Staff and students are invited to show their pride for Africa expressing themselves through music and poetry at an open mic session. The lunch hour event will be held in front of the Wilcocks Building. Maties are encouraged to dress up for the theme and write congratulatory messages which they can leave under a tree outside the PGIO.

Africa Day celebrates the day when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the African Union (AU), was formed in 1963.

Date: 25 May

Time: 13:00 

​A group of MBA students from Belmont University's Massey Graduate School of Business in the United States, is currently on a study tour at USB.

The group of 23 students are accompanied by Dr Kyle Huggins, assistant professor of marketing and AMBA director at the business school. This is his second time at USB.

In the photo:

Seated:  Brian Wiese; Prof André Roux (lecturer at USB); Samantha Walbrugh-Parsadh (Head: International Affairs, USB); Prof Kyle Huggins (AMBA Programme Director, Belmont University);  Christie Huggins;  Johan Burger (Academic host international programmes, USB) and Charmaine Kapp (Manager: International Administration/Incoming groups USB).

Second row: Kayla Boyce; Julianna Smith; Lindsay Huff; Hannah Abelson; Jane McNamee and Meghna Raj.

Third row: Lindsay Thomas; Lindsey Major; Alexandra Martin; Margaret Arnold; Lauren Johnson; Clayton Waller and Laura van Doren.

Fourth row: Marcus Bankston; Brian Wolf; Taylor Campbell; Pelham Finney and Grace Gerwin.

Back row: Matthew Lister; Joseph Brigandi; Ike Huests and Mitchell Stoffer.

A new and quite unique beetle species found in Noordhoek near Cape Town has been named after Stellenbosch University (SU) entomologist Dr James Pryke.

He collected Capelatus prykei in dense vegetation in local wetlands in 2006 while he was doing research for his PhD on arthropod conservation.

"I certainly didn't expect to have it name after me. I am very happy about that - it is quite an honour," said Dr Pryke, who lectures in landscape ecology, conservation management and meta-population dynamics in the SU Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology.

He was informed about the honour a month ago by aquatic biologist Dr David Bilton of Plymouth University in the UK, who led the new species identification process. The news was published in the journal Systematic Entomology.

Although it carries his name, Dr Pryke was not the first to discover the beetle. Samples were already collected on the Cape Flats in 1954 and were kept in the Natural History Museum in London. All of those wetlands were drained for housing and then built up already in the 1960s.

After Dr Pryke's specimens were sent to Dr Bilton for identification, the London samples were delved up again as part of endeavours to find out what they were. Dr Pryke's samples were thoroughly investigated and found to be in fact a new species.

The beetle is between 8 mm to 10 mm in size. Its feet, wing cases, genitalia and size are so unique that it was put it into a category of its own, and therefore placed in its own genus. Its nearest relations are to be found around the Mediterranean and in New Guinea, according to a press statement from Plymouth University.

Dr Bilton's team used a combination of morphological (or structural) and molecular data to study the beetle. It was established as a highly distinctive, and apparently endangered member of the world fauna.

According to Dr Bilton, the beetle is a real evolutionary relic, which only seems to have survived in a very small area close to Cape Town. This is probably because this region has had a relatively stable climate over the last few million years.

"Today Capelatus is extremely rare though, and in fact we know of only know of this one population, fortunately located inside Table Mountain National Park," said Dr Bilton.

Dr Bilton and some of Dr Pryke's students have so far searched all over the Cape Peninsula and parts of the West Coast and southern coastline in vain for any other populations. "They have yet to find a second population," says Dr Pryke.

The Systematic Entomology study suggests that as an isolated species, Capelatus prykei is particularly under threat. As such, immediate action should be taken by conservation agencies. The beetle will most probably be classified as critically endangered – the most threated state for an extant species.

For the full press statement from Plymouth University, visit: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/new-species-of-diving-beetle-living-in-isolation-in-africa

Photograph caption

Newbeetle.jpg
Capelatus prykei. Photo credit: David Bilton/Plymouth University

Noordhoekwetlands.jpg
Wetland area in which the beetle was found. Photo: James Pryke

DrJamesPryke.jpg
Dr James Pryke. Photo: Paul Grant

Media enquiries:

Dr James Pryke
Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology
Stellenbosch University

021 808 9222
jpryke@sun.ac.za

Mr Alan Williams
Press and PR Officer
Plymouth University
+44 1752 588004
alan.williams@plymouth.ac.uk

​​Prof Piet Naudé, director of USB, recently received a visit from Prof Stephen Murdoch, associate dean: International at the IESEG Business School in France.

With them is Samantha Walbrugh-Parsadh, head: USB International Affairs. 

Walbrugh-Parsadh said: "Last year a group of our MBA students went to IESEG for their international study module and this year a group from IESEG will come to USB for theirs.

"This was also an opportunity to discuss a joint research project between USB and IESEG, where Dr Heidi Raubenheimer (head: PhD Programme) will go to IESEG in September this year for research."

IESEG is an international partner business school of USB. With our international partners, USB cooperate on academic programmes, conduct joint research projects and run exchange student programmes at USB.

It is one of the top Business Schools in France, ranked 7th in France and 21st in the Financial Times Masters in Management 2014 ranking.

Established in 1964 in Lille, the school has a second campus in Paris at La Défense, European biggest business hub. The School has a total of more than 3800 students on both campuses.

​​The Centre for Corporate Governance in Africa at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) has released the results of its new Ethics and Compliance Risk Survey 2014. This illustrates the link between the prevalence of corruption with conflict in countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"Corruption remains one of the major obstacles to Africa's rise," comments Daniel Malan, director of the Centre and PhD candidate. "This is seen as a serious threat to the improved economic and political landscape in Africa."

While it is generally easier and cheaper to do business in South Africa than in the rest of the SADC region, bribery and corruption are perceived to be especially prevalent in the granting of South African government contracts and procurement tenders.

The survey covers ethical and compliance risks faced by South African JSE-listed companies with operations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It was supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Siemens, and Commerzbank.

Read more here http://www.usb.ac.za/news-events/news/188 or access the full report here: www.governance.usb.ac.za

​​The Centre for Corporate Governance in Africa at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) has released the results of its new Ethics and Compliance Risk Survey 2014. This illustrates the link between the prevalence of corruption with conflict in countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"Corruption remains one of the major obstacles to Africa's rise," comments Daniel Malan, director of the Centre and PhD candidate. "This is seen as a serious threat to the improved economic and political landscape in Africa."

While it is generally easier and cheaper to do business in South Africa than in the rest of the SADC region, bribery and corruption are perceived to be especially prevalent in the granting of South African government contracts and procurement tenders.

The survey covers ethical and compliance risks faced by South African JSE-listed companies with operations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It was supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Siemens, and Commerzbank.

Read more here http://www.usb.ac.za/news-events/news/188 or access the full report here: www.governance.usb.ac.za

Staff, students and members of the Stellenbosch community are invited to the removal of a commemorative plaque honouring H F Verwoerd from the Accounting and Statistics building on the Stellenbosch University campus on 27 May 2015 at 17:00. The event can also be followed via live streaming over the internet at www.sun.ac.za/streaming.

The event follows an announcement by Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, in April that the plaque would be removed and provisionally kept in the University Archives. “This gives us the opportunity to talk about symbols on campus, as an institution of learning and critical debate rightly should,” Prof De Villiers said.

The name of the building was changed from the HF Verwoerd building to the Accounting and Statistics building (Rekeningkunde- en Statistiek-gebou) more than a decade ago. The name of the B J Voster building was changed to the Arts and Social Sciences building around the same time.   

Dr Wilhelm Verwoerd will join the campus and town community for the removal of the plaque. He is the grandson of former South African Prime Minister, Hendrik French Verwoerd who was regarded as the main architect of apartheid. Dr Verwoerd and his grandfather are both alumni of Stellenbosch University.

The removal of the plaque forms part of the assessment of all visual elements and symbols on campus, among which the names of buildings, to determine obstacles in the path of unity that should be removed or contextualised. A committee consisting of staff and students has been working on identifying controversial names, artefacts and symbols, as well as on a plan on how to deal with these objects.

The plaque will be temporarily replaced with the South African flag, as a symbol of unity, and the declaration. All attendees will also have the opportunity to add their names to the declaration on a large canvas with the South African flag.

In April, the University said in a statement, that it has worked hard over the last few years to create student-friendly living and working spaces, such as the refurbishment of faculty buildings to create a more welcoming atmosphere.

However, based on a longstanding awareness that visual elements and symbols are a reminder of a hurtful history and therefore create an unwelcoming environment, the University has begun a process to make the physical environment acceptable to a diverse group of Matie students and staff members.

In addition, linked to a campus renewal project and tying in with a renewed effort to improve the welcoming campus culture, the University in 2013 embarked on a journey of reviewing the names of buildings and venues, and historical features such as portrait paintings and busts – including contextualising certain visual representations such as plaques and properly documenting artefacts and other objects from bygone days. This process includes changing controversial names of buildings. The most recent change was the renaming of the DF Malan Memorial Centre to the Coetzenburg Centre in 2014.

In line with the University’s vision to be future-focused, a part of the on-going project will be dedicated to adding new symbols and cultural objects that reflect an inclusive campus community.

Prof Nico Koopman, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, has been appointed as acting Vice-Rector: Community Interaction and Personnel. He and Prof Mohammad Karaan, who served as acting Vice-Rector since May 2014, will work together for a month to ensure a smooth transition.

Prof Karaan will return to the Faculty of AgriSciences, but has received study leave from the University.

Prof Hendrik Bosman, Professor in Old Testament, will serve as the acting Dean of the Faculty of Theology.

"I would like to express my appreciation to Prof Karaan for his contribution," Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, said. "For the last five years, he was also a member of the National Planning Commission, which made his contributions invaluable." 

Of Prof Koopman, Prof De Villiers said: "He has shown exceptional expertise as Dean. At Theology, he was very successful in the creation of a transformed environment in terms of diversity. I look forward to be working with him as a member of the management team for the foreseeable future."

Photographs: Prof Nico Koopman, prof Mohammad Karaan and prof Hendrik Bosman.

​​Do you think the GMO debate is over and done with and that we're equipped to address food insecurity and hunger in the developing world? Or should we remain forever vigilant against those unintended consequences when scientists artificially manipulate genetic material? The next Science Café Stellenbosch will feature Prof Johan Burger, a geneticist and chair of the Department of Genetics at SU. He is an enthusiastic supporter of genetic engineering technologies and asks whether the GMO debate, 30 years later, has lost its impetus?  Be there and add your perspective to the conversation.

The conversation will be moderated by Prof Pieter Swart from the Department of Biochemistry t SU.

Date: Wednesday 17 June 2015

Time: 18:30 for 19:00

Venue: Café Art, Blom Street, Stellenbosch (next to the P.J. Olivier Art Centre)

Science Café Stellenbosch is an initiative of SU's Faculty of Science to promote the public discussion of topical science matters. Entrance is free but space is limited, so please make sure you get there early. Café Art will be selling drinks and curry and mince for the evening. 

For more information, contact sciencecafé@sun.ac.za

Follow the conversation at @scicafe_SU or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ScienceCafeStellenbosch

​​This article also appears in the Faculty's annual publication. Click here to read full story.

US President Barack Obama said that increasing income inequality is the "defining challenge of our time". Although he was addressing an American audience at the time, inequality is a global issue, and one that is particularly pressing in South Africa. In 2011 the World Bank ranked South Africa as the world's most unequal country in terms of income disparity with a GINI coefficient of 65 (0 indicates total equality while 100 indicates complete inequality).

"South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world. Although our gross national income falls within the range of middle-income countries, it is not a good indication of income distribution, as the country experiences extremes in terms of poverty and wealth," said Prof Lilian Dudley, who heads the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS)'s Centre for Health Systems and Services Research and Development (CHSSRD).

The income disparities caused and maintained by the former apartheid system follow mainly racial lines. Although apartheid was abolished in 1994 and South Africa is now enjoying its 20th year of democracy, data shows that the income gap between rich and poor has actually increased over the last two decades.

The inequalities in South Africa's socio-economic landscape are amplified by the skewed distribution of health resources in the country, with a disproportionately high concentration of resources in the private sector and metropolitan regions, explained Prof Ronelle Burger from Stellenbosch University's Department of Economics.

South Africa's health system is polarised with around 16% of the population covered by medical insurance and using private health care almost exclusively, while the uninsured 84% mostly rely on public facilities.

In 2010 there were 6 775 medical practitioners working in the private sector (around one doctor per 1 200 population), and 11 309 in the public sector (around one doctor per 3 700 population). For medical specialists the numbers were even worse with 5 410 working in the private sector in 2010 (one specialist per 1 500 population) compared to only 4 442 being employed in the public sector (one specialist per 9 500 population).

The unequal division of health resources is not limited to medical staff and can be seen throughout the whole health system, from the amount of beds available to the availability of medication and equipment.

"The allocation of resources in the two systems also determines the value that is placed on a life. A prime example is the different resuscitation rules in public and private hospitals. Babies born at 26 weeks in a public hospital will not be resuscitated because the lack of resources makes it difficult to keep the baby alive, whereas in a private hospital, babies are often resuscitated at 26 weeks," said Burger.

"There will always be some inequality, but the polarisation between the two systems is extreme with very little on offer for the so called middle market," said Burger. Compounding the health problem for South Africa's poor is that in addition to low levels of resources, the burden of disease and disability is also much greater among lower socio-economic groups.

"At present, South Africa represents a classic example of the inverse care law;  the lowest socio-economic groups bear the largest burden of ill health but have the lowest level of health service utilisation and derive the least benefits from service use," Akazili, Ataguba and McIntyre wrote in a 2011 article published in the International Journal for Equity in Health.

"South Africa's leading burden of disease is dominated by diseases related to poverty," said Dudley. "TB and HIV are the biggest causes of ill health and death in adults, while diarrhoeal disease and pneumonia are the leading causes of ill health and death in children. And these diseases are all highly preventable and related to poverty."

At the same time the country is also experiencing an increase in non-communicable diseases, or so-called diseases of lifestyle such as diabetes and hypertension, which are also disproportionately affecting poorer populations, according to Akazili et al.

Read more…

Photo: Prof Lilian Dudley 

The AIA offers you the unique opportunity to benefit from an ATLAS.ti community by either being a Member, qualifying as a Trainer or Senior Trainer.

AIA is a virtual support network for qualitative researchers using ATLAS.ti and for Masters and Doctoral students who utilise ATLAS.ti for literature reviews or analysis of qualitative data.  This network consists of Members (those who simply want to access the resources and training the AIA has to offer) and Trainers (those who have completed the Advanced ATLAS.ti training course run through the ADA, would like to advocate the use of ATLAS.ti on the continent, support other researchers and in the long-term become trainers) and Senior Trainers.

You may contact mrust@sun.ac.za for more information if you would like to become a Member, Trainer or Senior Trainer. 

​The African Institute for ATLAS.ti (AIA) was launched on the 24 January 2014 during the closing ceremony of the African Doctoral Academy’s Summer School in Research Methods. 

Dr Lauren Wildschut, who has been accredited as an ATLAS.ti master trainer, will head the AIA. “We are experiencing a remarkable growth in interest in the value the AIA can add to the quality of qualitative research output. The AIA will be a mechanism through which the interests and needs of AIA members can be met,” Dr Wildschut commented.

ATLAS.ti is a powerful qualitative data analysis software package. It enables users to process vast amounts of data, to code original data sources, to keep track of interrelations and to visualise their importance. ​

Mr Jako Volschenk, a lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), outlined the positive impact ATLAS.ti has had on the quality and rigour of qualitative data analysis in MBA theses. Mr Volschenk completed both the introductory as well as advanced ATLAS.ti courses with the ADA in 2013. Surprisingly, the purchase of ATLAS.ti licences by USB students is now surpassing the purchase of SPSS licences.

Dr Susanne Friese from ATLAS.ti in Berlin and the author of the book “Qualitative Data Analysis with ATLAS.ti,” outlined upcoming plans for courses, the accreditation of trainers, webinars and an online ATLAS.ti journal which would be a joint venture by the AIA and ATLAS.ti, Berlin.

On the picture: Dr Susanne Friese (front middle) with the participants of the Advanced ATLAS.ti course.

The next introductory ATLAS.ti course is scheduled for 30 June – 4 July 2014. For more information, you may contact Melinda Rust: mrust@sun.ac.za, tel. 0218083394

​One of first newly accredited ATLAS.ti trainers, Bronwyne Coetzee, recently offered ATLAS.ti training to staff members of Creative Consulting Development Works. Bronwyne's journey with ATLAS.ti started by doing the Introductory and Advanced ATLAS.ti courses offered by the African Doctoral Academy. She then proceeded and succeeded with the rigorous trainer accreditation process. 

Bronwyne is currently a PhD student at the department of Psychology (Stellenbosch University), and has offered a number of training opportunities to fellow and junior students within her department.

Interested parties can contact Bronwyne at bronwynecoetzee@gmail.com

The newly established East African ATLAS.ti Center will start training students at Makerere University and other universities in Uganda very soon. This exciting announcement made by Dr. Justus Twesigye from the Department of Social Work, Makerere University.

Dr Twesigye experienced significant infrastructural constraints that prevented training interested researchers, students and academic staff. “Although the head of the department, the dean and colleagues at Makerere University expressed a need for ATLAS.ti training, we were not able to find a suitable computer laboratory in the School of Social Sciences. While we could access a computer laboratory in the College of Computer Science at Makerere University, the leadership there was not able to purchase an institutional ATLAS.ti license,” Dr Twesigye explains.

To circumvent these infrastructural constraints, he assembled a team of 5 colleagues, of which four had participated in ATLAS.ti training offered by Dr Lauren Wildschut of the African Institute for ATLAS.ti (AIA) at Stellenbosch University and Dr Susanne Friese of ATLAS.ti, Berlin. They are: Elizabeth Nansubuga, who did the Introductory as well as the Advanced ATLAS.ti courses, John Mushomi and Ambrose Ruyooka who did the Introductory course and Grace Ssekakubo, who is presently learning to use ATLAS.ti. Dr Twesigye completed the Introductory as well the Advanced ATLAS.ti courses in January 2015 at the US.

Dr. Ssekakubo and Dr Twesigye hold doctorate degrees from Wits University and Stellenbosch University respectively and the rest of the team is finalising their doctorate degrees.

Mr Ruyooka and Dr Ssekakubo are Principal and Deputy Principal of Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology, which is a public institution of higher learning.  The institute is willing to house the East African ATLAS.ti Center, has the required computers and will be buying an institutional ATLAS.ti software license soon. There is ample training space at the Institute. 

“I have much hope that this incentive will meet the huge need for ATLAS.ti in Uganda,” an excited Dr Twesigye reported from Makerere University.