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Muslim personal law (MPL) has been a controversial issue in South Africa. Proponents of it becoming legalized in South Africa, say that women would be handed benefits which they do not have because their marriages lack legal recognition. Women lack support from theological bodies which are largely male dominated. These bodies have been accused of adopting a conservative view of Islam and of wanting to maintain the patriarchal status quo. It can be argued that such views are culturally and structurally violent, as they lead to direct violence, as women are denied important resources such as divorce which could be legally ratified in a court where MPL is recognized. Religious leaders who are against MPL, are in a state of ‘hysteresis’ as Bourdieu would say. Theological bodies, on the other hand, state that MPL cannot be intertwined with secular laws that are contrary to Shariah (Islamic law). They criticize the clergy who were in favor of MPL becoming legalized. My doctoral research focused on religious leaders’ views of domestic violence experienced by Muslim women. Using a qualitative research methodology, their views were obtained, using in-depth interviews. Thereafter, their opinions were organized in the form of themes. One of the core themes that emerged from the data, was Muslim religious leaders’ views on MPL. In conjunction with the literature, it was found that there are religious leaders against the legalization of MPL and those who favor MPL becoming legalized.

In this paper I discuss the difficulties I faced in getting access to respondents in a qualitative study on the opinions of Muslim religious leaders on domestic violence experienced by Muslim married women. This in turn highlighted the need for me to reflect carefully on my own assumptions about my insider status and take into account how prospective participants identify me as a researcher. For the study on which I am reflecting, I chose an interpretive research paradigm which falls under the umbrella of qualitative research. This research paradigm was necessary as it places emphasis on context and nuanced meanings and was intended to allow me to interrogate the way religious leaders dealt with domestic violence and the rationale behind their approaches. Using this approach allowed me to explore some of the structural constraints that came to the fore via anecdotal research. This paper presents the challenges I faced and how I looked to overcome them and includes a detailed discussion of why the qualitative research approach was the most appropriate for this study, how I selected the participants, and how I experienced the interview process. Importantly, it speaks to reflexivity. In May of 2017, I set out to conduct in-depth semi-structured interviews within the Gauteng region using purposive and snowball sampling. Trying to access participants proved to be difficult and it became clear that a mistrust exists between the academy and some theological organizations. Insider/outsider phenomena, which were envisaged at the proposal stage, proved to be important.

In this paper I discuss the difficulties I faced in getting access to respondents in a qualitative study on the opinions of Muslim religious leaders on domestic violence experienced by Muslim married women. This in turn highlighted the need for me to reflect carefully on my own assumptions about my insider status and take into account how prospective participants identify me as a researcher. For the study on which I am reflecting, I chose an interpretive research paradigm which falls under the umbrella of qualitative research. This research paradigm was necessary as it places emphasis on context and nuanced meanings and was intended to allow me to interrogate the way religious leaders dealt with domestic violence and the rationale behind their approaches. Using this approach allowed me to explore some of the structural constraints that came to the fore via anecdotal research. This paper presents the challenges I faced and how I looked to overcome them and includes a detailed discussion of why the qualitative research approach was the most appropriate for this study, how I selected the participants, and how I experienced the interview process. Importantly, it speaks to reflexivity. In May of 2017, I set out to conduct in-depth semi-structured interviews within the Gauteng region using purposive and snowball sampling. Trying to access participants proved to be difficult and it became clear that a mistrust exists between the academy and some theological organizations. Insider/outsider phenomena, which were envisaged at the proposal stage, proved to be important.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are complex diseases determined by various environmental risk factors and genetic susceptibility, and NOS3 and PON1 are considered one of the susceptible genes for CVD. Our study aims to evaluate the association of NOS3 rs1799983 and PON1 rs662 variants with CVD. A case-control study was conducted among equal number (252) of cases and controls in the Pakistani population to investigate the significance of NOS3 (rs1799983) and PON1 (rs662) variants in causing CVD risk. Genotyping was performed using Tetra-ARMS PCR to evaluate the genotype-phenotype correlation. For meta-analysis, the case-control studies of NOS3 rs1799983 and PON1 (rs662) variants and CVD were included by searching various databases according to PRISMA guideline. Eligible data were extracted and pooled and were analyzed using Review Manager version 5.4 based on four different genetic models. Our case-control study showed that both NOS3 rs1799983 (OR = 2.39, p = < 0.0001, AIC value = 710.50) and PON1 rs662 (OR = 7.30, p = < 0.0001, AIC value = 680.10) variants significantly increase the risk of CVD under recessive genetic contrast model. The meta-analysis of NOS3 rs1799983 showed association with CVD under all four genetic model's understudy, however, no heterogeneity was found under recessive model only. Meta-analysis for PON1 rs662 showed association with homozygous genetic contrast model only, whereas heterogeneity was observed under all the genetic model's understudy. We found NOS3 rs1799983 was associated with the increased risk of CVD under four genetic contrast models, while PON1 rs662 polymorphisms associated with homozygous genetic contrast model in different populations only. These results can be utilized to identify individuals at high risk of CVDs and for disease management.

States in the Global South have consistently invested in large-scale, vanity infrastructure projects, which are often not used by the majority of their residents. Using a mixed-method and comparative approach with findings from Greater Maputo, Mozambique, and the Gauteng City-Region exposes how internationally-supported and expensive transport projects do not meet the needs of lower-income urban residents, and meanwhile, widespread, everyday modes of commuting such as trains, paratransit, and pathways for walking deteriorate. State-led development thus often generates an infrastructural landscape characterised by “ruin” and “indifference.” These choices are anachronistic, steeped in a desire for a modernist-inspired future and in establishing narratives of control. In the cases of Gauteng and Maputo, whether or not the infrastructure is “successfully” implemented, these choices have resulted in a distancing of the state from the majority of urban residents.

There is growing evidence of marital violence experienced by women in the Muslim community in South Africa. While women may have recourse to divorce in a violent marital relationship, structural and cultural barriers prevent them from dealing effectively with abuse. It would seem that women receive little help from religious organisations and other structures in dealing with marital violence. Androcentric applications of Islamic law by Muslim religious leaders limit women's access to suitable options for dealing with marital violence and obtaining a divorce. Against this background, Islamic feminist theory provides a challenge to patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an and draws attention to social issues such as stigma, normalisation, and acceptance of violence which results in women occupying subordinate positions in Muslim society, hence becoming victims of not only direct violence but also cultural and structural violence. Using concepts of direct, structural and cultural violence as analytical instruments, this article highlights the ways in which Muslim women, who experience marital violence, are limited by metaphorical prisons created by structural and cultural norms produced by Muslim religious leaders who ascribe to patriarchal interpretations of Islam.

Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) is one of the major viral infections causing substantial economic loss to the global poultry industry. The disease is characterized by a sudden onset of mortality (2–30%) and high morbidity (60–70%). IBH is caused by a number of serotypes of fowl adenovirus with substantially low levels of serotype cross protection. Thus far, there is no effective and safe vaccine commercially available in the North America for the control of IBH in chickens. Poly[di(sodium carboxylatoethylphenoxy)]phosphazene (PCEP) is a high molecular weight, biodegradable water soluble polymer that has been well characterized as a safe and effective adjuvant for a number of experimental veterinary vaccines. Similarly, host defence peptides, including β-defensins, have also been shown to exhibit strong adjuvant potential. In this study, we evaluated the adjuvant activity of PCEP and avian beta defensin (ABD) in a vaccine formulation containing inactivated fowl adenovirus (FAdV) serotype 8b administered in ovo. Our data showed that a combination of PCEP and inactivated virus is capable of inducing a robust and long lasting antibody response. Moreover, significant enhancement of IFN-γ, IFN-α, IL-12(p40) and IL-6 gene expression under the influence of PCEP suggests that as an in ovo adjuvant PCEP has the ability to activate a substantial balanced immune response in chickens. To our knowledge, these are the first studies in which PCEP and ABD have been characterized as adjuvants for the development of an in ovo poultry vaccine. It is expected that these preliminary studies will be helpful in the development of safer and more effective in ovo vaccine against IBH and other infectious diseases affecting chickens.

Muslim religious leaders are commonly accused of adopting a conservative interpretation of Islam that guides the way in which they counsel married women on their rights to divorce and how they should address violence in the marital context. They have also been viewed as favouring male-dominant positions, protecting abusive husbands and adopting a reconciliation-at-all-cost approach. Scholars generally argue that women lack representation because the religious bodies which deal with domestic violence are made up predominantly of men. Despite this, and various accusations levelled at religious leaders, their voices are largely absent in academic studies. This thesis sought to interrogate Muslim religious leaders’ views of why domestic violence occurs in the Muslim South African community, why Muslim married women might experience it, what the drivers are, and how the problem could be addressed.The integration of both feminist and family theories was relevant for this study because while patriarchy is important to assess, experience of structural issues as raised by some family theorists is equally crucial. Beyond these frameworks, the use of Bourdieu became important, particularly insofar as habitus and various intersecting fields could be illuminated. The intersecting fields in this study are Islam, family, patriarchy and the economy. These fields influence the amount of resources or capital women have at their disposal. When families place their status ahead of society and command women to respect their husbands unconditionally, they are undermining women’s rights to recourse and emancipation, thus promoting cultural dominance of one group over another.Methodologically, a qualitative research paradigm was chosen as it places emphasis on context and nuanced meanings. This paradigm allowed me to carefully explore the way in which religious leaders think about domestic violence and the rationale behind their approaches. In May 2017, I set out to conduct in-depth semistructure d interviews within the Gauteng region, using purposive and snowball sampling. The insider-outsider phenomena which I was alerted to at the proposal stage of my doctorate, debilitated the fieldwork for a while as religious leaders showed a level of distrust towards me. Despite these difficulties, I managed to conduct in-depth interviews with 13 participants, which were analysed utilising thematic analyses.The findings show that religious leaders represent a complex grouping—there is tension in their narratives between ‘conservative thinking’ and ‘more progressive approaches’. While the y do provide emotional and economic support and show a favourable attitude towards counselling, some of them are against the implementation of Muslim Personal Law which is ironic, given that they favour women using the protective structures of the state, such as the police. They revealed that they struggle with patriarchal practices, because while they were in favour of women religious leaders becoming vi involved, they were against them having a say in awarding women a divorce via the judicial process. In certain senses, while they suggest that they want to eradicate structural, cultural and direct violence, their refusal to transcend their conservative pro-patriarchal thinking results in their engendering a problematic environment that might persist in fostering cultural and structural violence that sustains, rather than ends, violence against married women.

knowledge so that different materials can be adapted for varying purposes. For example, materials used in engineering design and processes. With unique properties of every material, there is need to determine the properties and characterise materials based on their properties, where their electrical properties is dependent on the dielectric properties of the materials.In this thesis, a method used in determining the electrical properties of materials using the group delay information is investigated. A gap-coupled coaxial resonator that operates in an over-coupled state is designed and used in obtaining the dielectric properties of sample materials.Electromagnetic and circuit simulation tools (HFSS and ADS) are used to better understand and develop the concepts used in this study. Simple lumped elements and distributed elements are used in ADS to model coupled resonators so as to arrive at a set of equations to characterise the coupled resonator when it is empty and filled with a dielectric sample. With HFSS, a model of gap-coupled coaxial resonator is designed and analysed. Where the gap provides the capacitance required for coupling electromagnetic field into the resonator. Different known values of dielectric constant are tested and evaluated using the set of equations obtained. The results from the simulations are used to arrive at certain design parameters for fabricating the resonator. With the physical resonator, Teflon is tested to determine its electrical properties. The results from both the simulation and the fabricated resonator show dielectric constant and loss tangent values obtained to be within the known limits of Teflon.