Leading physicists and engineers from South Africa and around the world will converge on Wits University next week to workshop one of the biggest challenges all scientists face this century: How to deal with big data output?
More than 100 researchers in fields such as physics, astronomy, geosciences, anthropology, photonics, applied mathematics, electrical engineering and information technology - as well as graduate students and representatives from industry - will attend the 2014 High-performance Signal and Data Processing workshop hosted by the Wits School of Physics.
Workshop details:
Date: Monday to Friday (27 - 31 January 2014)
Venue: Wits Professional Development HUB, 92 Empire Road, Braamfontein
Keynote speakers include:
Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, Deputy Director-General (Human Capital and Knowledge Systems) at the Department of Science and Technology (DST);
Dr Daniel Adams, Chief Director: Emerging Areas and Infrastructure, Department of Science and Technology (DST);
Professor Justin Jonas, MeerKAT Associate Director of Science and Engineering;
Dr Peter Jenni, one of the ‘founding fathers’ and former spokesperson of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012;
Emeritus Professor Jean Cleymans, from the University of Cape Town and Chairman of the SA-CERN consortium;
The workshop is jointly funded by SKA Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand and is hosted in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, the National Research Foundation/iThemba Labs, Stellenbosch University and SA-CERN.
Workshop Co-chair, Professor Bruce Mellado from the High Energy Physics Group (HEP) in the School of Physics at Wits University, says it has become a necessity for scientists in many fields to master the techniques of high-throughput signal and data processing.
“Science is becoming more complex and detailed. The amount of data now available and used to describe an object is growing very fast. This does not only apply to big sciences like CERN - where the SA-CERN team works – and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, but to most modern sciences. It is now of strategic importance for the development and advancement of scientific research in South Africa that we develop our own electronics and computing architecture designs – to develop and build our own, affordable, supercomputers,” Mellado says.
One of the key drivers in this development is the synergy between sciences. Mellado, also a member of the SA-CERN team, says CERN has a strong background in signal and data processing and has been dealing with these big data questions for the past 20 years. “Synergy between the SA-CERN community and other science communities, in particular the SKA, is essential to establish a strong base in signal and data processing in South Africa. SA-CERN is already assisting the SKA to liaise in areas of interest where CERN is leading innovation,” Mellado adds.
The workshop is themed Challenges in Astro- and Particle Physics and Radio Astronomy Instrumentation, but the development of high-throughput computers, also known as supercomputers, will also have a revolutionary impact on data processing in all fields of science, such as medical sciences, palaeosciences and engineering.
“Engineering underpins much of the instrumentation being assembled by our colleagues in science, and we are very pleased with the range of engineering topics that we have assembled for the workshop,” notes co-chair, Professor Michael Inggs, University of Cape Town. “We are confident that the exposure of the technology from the particle physics and radio astronomy projects at one venue will inspire collaboration.”
The workshop includes plenary sessions for in-depth presentations and knowledge sharing between delegates will be in lecture format, as well as a classroom environment for hands-on hardware training. General overviews and in-depth presentations will be given.
The future of the LLB degree
- By Wits University
There is a real possibility that the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree could be extended by another year to address current concerns about the competence of law graduates.
Legal practitioners and industry bodies have in the past raised the ire of law teachers by openly calling for a reform of law degrees stating that law graduates lacked the basic skills required to function in the work place.
Discussions at the 2014 Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa (SLTSA) conference, in a plenary session chaired by Professor Vinodh Jaichand, Head of the Wits Law School, suggest that academia and industry are nearing consensus that steps need to be taken to improve the competencies of law graduates and that the current four-year LLB degree could become a five-year degree in the near future.
During a panel discussion debating the future of the LLB degree, Professor Jonathan Campbell, Dean of Law at Rhodes University, told colleagues that an extra year could result in an academically enhanced legal education which will provide better preparation for practice.
Campbell argued that the four-year LLB programme is not sufficient time to provide for a rigorous academic programme. He said the emphasis is currently placed on getting through the considerable amount of law courses, but this is at the expense of other elements of the programme, in particular non-law courses that exposes students to the South African context and give them the practical skills to practise law in this country.
An extension “will promote epistemological access and answer many of the current concerns about the quality the LLB,” said Campbell.
He however cautioned that this could result in fewer graduates meeting the requirements of such an academic programme. Already, 75% of LLB students nationally do not complete in the minimum period of four years of study, he said.
Campbell reasoned that it is better to have “fewer well equipped law graduates than large numbers of ill-prepared graduates entering the market every year to the detriment of the graduates, the legal profession and civil society served by that profession; and ultimately the administration of justice.”
Facts speak for themselves
Nic Swart, CEO of the Law Society of South Africa and Director of Legal Education and Development (L.E.A.D), said the assessment test administered to candidate attorneys in the first week of admission at L.E.A.D, a professional law school,) indicate that university graduates lack reading, writing and numeracy skills. The Society has been consistent in raising challenges faced by law firms around graduate preparedness.
Referring to past misunderstandings, the collegial Swart said the Society had no intention of prescribing curriculum to universities, however, both stakeholders “need to look beyond our time”, he said. He called for all stakeholders to work together to improve the quality of law graduated.
External pressure on academia
According to Professor Geo Quinot from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa is not the only country to face pressure from stakeholders.
Citing Australia as an example, Quinot said it was external drivers that created the momentum for reform to the undergraduate law curriculum leading to these changes that might have been too radical (for academia) to contemplate.
“While legal education is under pressure from multiple angles, these pressure points can also be leveraged to achieve pedagogical advantages. It is primary up to academia to reflect, reassess and redesign the LLB in light of what the constitution demands of us in producing legal graduates that will help shape and transform the South African society,” said Quinot.
The session discussing the future of the LLB degree, also focussed on the standardisation of courses across universities, students’ competence in African languages, the interdisciplinary courses offered and law courses for non-law.
The 2014 SLTSA was hosted by the Wits School of Law from 13 to 15 January 2014. For more on the conference programme and topics discussed, click here.
Verdict reached in case against students who disrupted concert at Wits
- By Wits University
Statement from the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, today announced that a verdict has been reached in a case which saw 11 students charged for the disruption of a concert by musician Yossi Reshef on its campus last year.
Ten students have been found guilty of misconduct for disrupting or inciting others to disrupt the piano recital. They have been excluded from the University for a period of one year. The sentence is suspended provided that the students are not found guilty of any other form of misconduct for a period of two years. These students will not be allowed to hold any office in any student governance structure for a period of one year. In addition, they will each have to perform 80 hours of community service, as determined by the University.
One of these students has further been found guilty of not obeying a lawful instruction issued by a University employee, and will be required to perform an additional 50 hours of community service for this offence.
The verdict was handed to the University by an independent advocate today, Friday, 17 January 2014. The Senior Counsel was appointed in terms of the University’s Rules for Student Discipline to act in lieu of a Student Discipline Committee, to chair the disciplinary hearing, to carry out all of its functions and to exercise all its powers in line with the University’s policies, procedures and processes.
Wits is renowned for encouraging freedom of expression, dialogue and debate on often diverse and conflicting views confronting society, provided that it does not exceed the limitations explicated in our Constitution. The University provides a platform for different constituencies to express their views and opinions through considered debate and intellectual engagement in the spirit of tolerance, respect and openness.
The diversity of people, programmes and ideas at Wits leads to the richness and robustness of the institution. This is indeed one of the greatest qualities of excellent higher education institutions, and one which Wits cherishes.
Professor Adam Habib Vice-Chancellor and Principal University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
AfricaArray in the media
- By Wits University
Earth Explorer, a rich source of news, expertise and applied knowledge for resource explorers and earth scientists, has featured a lengthy article on the AfricaArray programme, co-founded by Wits, which enables students in Africa and America to develop their field experience and share valuable knowledge about the geosciences.
The field school takes between 20 and 25 students from Africa and the US each year. Included are fourth-year Wits students, for whom field school work is compulsory.
According to the article, the students are introduced to five different geophysical techniques, software, geology and safety.
Students are introduced to five different geophysical techniques, software, geology and safety. They use forward modelling software and cost estimates to design a survey and work flow. - See more at: http://www.earthexplorer.com/2013/At_home_in_the_field.asp#sthash.Z3kqh76Z.dpuf
the AfricaArray program is enabling students in Africa and America to develop their field experience and share valuable knowledge about the geosciences. - See more at: http://www.earthexplorer.com/2013/At_home_in_the_field.asp#sthash.Z3kqh76Z.dpuf
Med students excel
- By Wits University
Wits students towered head and shoulders above the rest in the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa examination held in October 2013.
Students from the School of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences excelled in the examination, contributing 75 specialists and 13 sub-specialists to the health care pool in the country. In some sub-specialities Wits was the only contributor nationwide. A total of 210 candidates completed the specialist examination nationwide, while 21 candidates completed the sub-specialists examination nationwide.
This makes Wits the largest producer of specialists and sub-specialists in South Africa with 80% of Wits students passing the Fellowship of the College of Physicians clinical examinations, in comparison with the national average pass rate of 50%.
“This could not have happened without the commitment of highly skilled lectures who rise above the challenges they face in clinical service delivery,” says Professor Mkhululi Lukhele, Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at Wits.
In the specialists category 14 Wits candidates were successful in the internal medicine (specialist physician) examination; five passed as general surgeon specialists; seven as radiology specialists; 15 as ophthalmology specialists; five as orthopaedic surgery specialists; 11 as paediatric specialists; two in the radiation oncology speciality; two as neurology specialists; six in obstetrics and gynaecology as speciality; one as a dermatology specialist; and eight as emergency medicine specialists. A Wits student was also the only one who passed as a cardiothoracic surgery specialist.
Thirteen Wits candidates made the cut in the sub-specialist category: three passed with 100% pass rate as nephrology sub-specialists; three as cardiology sub-specialists; one as a vascular surgeon sub-specialist; one as a gastroenterology surgery sub-specialist; one as a trauma surgery sub-specialist; one as a pulmonology sub-specialist; one in critical care in paediatrics; and two in geriatrics.
Wits was the only institution who had candidates completing the vascular surgery, gastroenterology surgery, trauma surgery, pulmonology, critical care in paediatrics and geriatrics sub-speciality examinations.
The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa is the custodian of the quality of medical care in South Africa and is unique in the world in that it embraces 28 constituent Colleges representing all the disciplines of medicine and dentistry.
How lightning affects the body
- By Wits University
In the self-proclaimed lightning capital of the world, Johannesburg, Wits researchers are conducting experiments to understand how the human body reacts to a lightning strike. In an article published on the National Geographic website, Wits scientists explain how they are trying to unravel the mysterious impact of lightning on the body.
The Centre for Health Policy (CHP) at Wits University has appointed Professor John Eyles, an eminent international research scientist, as the new Chair for Health Policy and Systems Research.
This is one of 60 new chairs allocated within the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF), and one of three new chairs awarded to Wits.
The purpose of the SARChI programme is to bring international experts to South Africa for an initial five-year term to conduct research in areas deemed important for the challenges facing the country. It is one of three granted in health systems research.
The research portfolio associated with this chair will focus on universal access (also referred to as universal coverage) to quality care for all South Africans. This is necessary to strengthen the public health system’s ability to use resources effectively and efficiently, while increasing the production of skilled health workers.
Eyles is world-renowned in the field of health systems and policy research, and will strengthen the field in South Africa as the Department of Health embarks on a major health systems reform program to boost the country’s health outcomes which fall below international targets in some areas.
He has published widely in the field with over 170 publications, and has supervised 30 PhD students. Some of his papers have become standards for citation, especially in qualitative methods, health care resource allocation and public involvement in health care decision-making. His particular areas of expertise include population health status and need; access and equity in health care; health care financing; human resources; governance and stakeholder participation; and the development of decision support tools to enable the transfer of research to practice.
Eyles is co-supervising the PhD of a staff member at the CHP, and is involved in various collaborations within the Wits School of Public Health to mentor and build research and writing capacity. He has worked with the School for over six years, during which time he has brought new insights to understanding the South African health system and its challenges. He has demonstrated enthusiastic commitment to supporting and building capacity of researchers at the CHP and within the School.
Also based at McMaster University in Canada, Eyles had a Research Chair there for six years before becoming Director of the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health, a research institute focusing on health and the environment. He has worked extensively internationally, developing research and practice partnerships across disciplines and sectors. These networks will strengthen the CHP’s connections with other universities working in the field.
“I am delighted that Professor Eyles has accepted this position, as his involvement will make a vital contribution to the major reform being carried out by the South African government, and to the goals of working towards a more equitable and socially just health system,” said the CHP’s Director, Dr Jane Goudge.
“His spirit of collegiality and his strong mentorship skills will be a huge asset to both the CHP and the School as a whole, and we welcome him to South Africa,” said Dr Goudge.
Eyles took up the position since the beginning of January and will spend six months a year with the CHP.
Sediba children’s book honoured
- By Wits University
Professor Lee Berger from the Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute and his co-author, Marc Aronson, have been crowned winners of the Middle Grades Science Book section of the 2014 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books competition.
The competition by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, celebrates outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults.
Their winning book, titled: The Skull in the Rock: How a scientist, a boy and Google Earth opened a new window on human origins, tells the story of how Berger’s nine-year-old son, Matthew, discovered a fossil that led to the discovery of a new species, Australopithecus sediba.
Statement from the University of the Witwatersrand
In line with its strategic objectives, and the country’s requirements for high-level skills, Wits University is moving towards being a more research intensive institution, with a higher proportion of postgraduate students. As a result, and with the agreement of the Department of Higher Education and Training, the number of places available for first-time first-year applications was not increased from 2013 and has been kept constant at 5 500. The current total number of undergraduate students at Wits is approximately 21 000 and the total number of postgraduate students is approximately 10 000.
In relation to this, Wits would like to comment on the country-wide issue of the increased demand for university places that is unlikely to be met by the current absorptive capacity of the public higher education system. It is certain that there will be many disappointed applicants who are turned away, even though, at first sight, their NSC results had prompted hope of entry. The University would like to clarify the various factors contributing to this situation, so that disappointment is not compounded with misunderstanding. These factors include positive developments in the basic education sector, as well as insights into how universities are responding to the increased pressure on available places. Wits’ experience in this regard is bound to be similar to that of most other universities.
In 2012/13, Wits received 34 000 first-time first-year applications. In 2013/14, this number increased significantly to 46 000. At the same time, the improved matric pass rate, as well as an increase in the number of distinctions in subjects such as mathematics, has meant that many more applicants have met the minimum requirements for university entrance.
Wits is able to accommodate 5 500 first-time first-year students in 2014. The substantial increase in the number of applications, coupled with a higher number of matriculants meeting minimum requirements, has resulted in increased competition for available places. An unfortunate consequence is that many applications have been unsuccessful.
While selection procedures may differ among universities, the final matric results are used as one of the key selection indicators for admission into the majority of Wits’ programmes and final offers are based on these results. Offers are also subject to the University having sufficient available places. Preference is thus given to top achieving students.
In order to manage the number of places available for each programme, once firm offers are made to applicants, there is a deadline by which these offers need to be accepted. In some cases, applicants received firm offers but failed to accept the offer within the required period of time. All offers are communicated via SMS, email and post, and the acceptance time period is clearly stipulated.
Wits understands the concern of unsuccessful applicants and their families, and urges them to consider alternatives, such as FETs and private institutions. Applicants with lower-level aggregates might also consider rewriting subjects such as mathematics, science and English through centres recommended by the Department of Basic Education.
Wits commends the Department of Higher Education for taking action to address the challenges facing the sector and the country at large by establishing two new universities, and expects that in due course this will relieve some of the pressure on the remaining institutions while increasing access to higher education. At the same time, it is incumbent on the education sector to work together to create opportunities for other types of post-schooling education and avoid a reliance on universities as the only form of post-schooling provision. Our economy requires the fully diverse range of skills that is provided by an appropriately diversified tertiary sector.
Recipients of Equality Scholarships announced
- By Wits University
The Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, and Wits University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adam Habib, today announced the names of the 10 matriculants who have been awarded Wits Equality Scholarships.
The Scholarships have been created to assist talented learners from marginalised communities to access quality higher education and are awarded to the top 10 learners from Quintile 1 and 2 schools who choose to attend Wits. They are worth about R100 000 per annum for the duration of the recipients’ undergraduate degrees, provided that they continue to excel.
“This initiative is aimed at ensuring we see the social migration of previously disadvantaged learners into the upper echelons of the economy as educated leaders of industry and society in general. This particular programme will go a long way to helping create the truly equal society envisioned by the late President Nelson Mandela, and in this way is a fitting tribute to his legacy,” said Motshekga.
“Quintile 1 and 2 schools are classified as no fee schools and are situated in the most disadvantaged communities in the country. Often learners from these schools struggle to access bursaries that cover all aspects of university life, and find it difficult to succeed and complete their higher education qualifications due to social and financial issues. The financial struggles of previously disadvantaged students who perhaps go to class and go to bed on an empty stomach are a real concern. The Wits Equality Scholarships take these challenges into account,” said Motshekga.
“One of the biggest problems facing our country is inequality, because it polarises society and destroys hope. What tends to happen in the higher education system is that learners from the poorest parts of the country are unable to access the top universities. That’s clearly unacceptable. If you are talented, you should be entitled to study at the best institutions,” said the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, Professor Adam Habib.
“The Wits Equality Scholarships, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, are the University’s small contribution towards helping eradicate inequality. We already have the VC’s Scholarships, but these are awarded to the top 10 learners across the board and tend to go to people from private or Model C schools. The Equality Scholarships are for learners from Quintile 1 and 2 schools only. Our aim is for these students to go on to get jobs and put back into their communities of origin, creating a ripple effect of hope,” said Habib.
Wits University has awarded Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships to the 10 most outstanding matriculants from all schools who have chosen to do their undergraduate degrees at the University.
The Scholarships are valued at approximately R50 000 each and are renewable for each year of the first undergraduate degree provided that academic performance is of a high standard.
The recipients of the 2014 Wits Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships are:
1. Yusuf Mohamed, Maritzburg College, Pietermaritzburg (Bachelor of Science)
2. Zamir Essay, Orient Islamic School, Durban (Bachelor of Science)
3. Azraa Alli, Star College, Durban (B Medicine and B Surgery)
4. Ahmed Raja, Southlands Secondary School, Durban (B Medicine and B Surgery)
5. Sobantu Nyalunga, Ephes Mamkeli Secondary School, Johannesburg (Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Chemical))
6. Shannon Rabinowitz, King David High School, Johannesburg (Bachelor of Science)
7. Sailesh Kondiah, Greenbury Secondary School, Durban (Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Mechanical))
8. Knowledge Dzumba, Thengwe Secondary School, Limpopo (Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Electrical))
9. Ricky Smith, King David High School, Johannesburg (Bachelor of Science)
10. Nabeela Baba, Lenasia Muslim School, Johannesburg (B Medicine and B Surgery)
Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Habib, said the recipients had all shown exceptional academic ability. “These learners are the crème de la crème of the matric class of 2014, and we will be proudly welcoming them to the University and encouraging their academic progress over the next few years.”
The VC’s Scholarships are in addition to the newly announced Equality Scholarships, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, which will be awarded to the top 10 matriculants from schools in Quintiles 1 and 2.
Wits annually administers about R500 million in financial aid and scholarships on behalf of the National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme, corporates, private donors and other institutions. According to Habib, over half of Wits’ students receive bursaries or financial aid in one form or another.
Media resource: Education experts
- By Wits University
There is always a demand for academics, analysts and commentators to share their views on the matriculation results when it is released annually. The final set of matric results are due to be released on Tuesday, 7 January 2014.
As a resource for journalists, Wits Communications has compiled the following list of experts from the Wits School of Education who can comment in their respective areas of expertise in relation to the matriculation results. We trust that this will be a handy resource for all education reporters.
GENERAL:
Professor Ruksana Osman, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities: 27 82 457 0626 Dr Lee Rusznyak, Wits School of Education: 27 82 832 6830
MATHEMATICS:
Professor Jill Adler, Wits School of Education: 27 11 717 3413
SCIENCE:
Professor Marissa Rollnick, Wits School of Education: 27 82 374 5528
LANGUAGES:
Professor Leketi Makalela, Wits School of Education: 27 72 665 4298
LIFE ORIENTATION:
Dr Rene Ferguson, Wits School of Education: 27 84 565 2440
SA readies for big data storm
- By Erna van Wyk
South Africa is being hit by the “data tsunami” and the way in which the country positions itself in terms of big data infrastructure and policies, as well as hardware and software development, will determine our research capacity this century.
This is according to Dr Daniel Adams, Chief Director: Emerging Areas and Infrastructure, Department of Science and Technology (DST), who addressed the 2014 High-performance Signal and Data Processing workshop hosted by the School of Physics at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week.
For the first time, representatives from two of the biggest science projects in the world – the Square Kilometre Array and the SA-CERN consortium, working on the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland – came together to share their knowledge and skills, and to discuss the challenges these projects present in dealing with big data.
“Data processing technologies should keep up with data production technologies,” said Professor John Carter, Head of the Wits School of Physics. His colleague and workshop Co-chair, Professor Bruce Mellado from the School’s High Energy Physics Group (HEP), said it had become a necessity for scientists in many fields to master the techniques of high-throughput signal and data processing.
“Science is becoming more complex and detailed. The amount of data now available and used to describe an object is growing very fast. It is now of strategic importance for the development and advancement of scientific research in South Africa that we develop our own electronics and computing architecture designs – to develop and build our own, affordable, supercomputers,” Mellado said.
Dr Peter Jenni, one of the “founding fathers” and former spokesperson for the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012, said: “We have built up an excellent collaboration with South African scientists and in particular with Wits. There is a common interest in the data produced in large radio astronomy facilities like the SKA, so it is exciting to share technical knowledge and challenges. It is also exciting from a science point of view, because the SKA and the Large Hadron Collider are both looking at the very fundamental questions in physics and there is synergy and motivation coming from the science itself.”
Professor Justin Jonas, Associate Director of Science and Engineering (SKA South Africa), said big data was trending because of the applications from the development of hardware and software technologies that could be used in completely different areas of science and consumer electronics.
“It vindicates the South African government’s policy of supporting fundamental science like astronomy and particle physics because these sciences do drive technology as well. It is not just to get pure science results out but when you are actually doing these experiments you have to use the very bleeding edge technologies that are available to you.
“It is excellent that we have now got together, between CERN and SKA, and together we will be able to push these technologies that much harder. These technologies have generic usage in other areas such as genome sequencing, in health sciences and others,” Jonas said.
Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, DST Deputy Director-General: Human Capital and Knowledge Systems said that science grows at the boundaries between different disciplines and sciences. “By bringing together these different disciplines and different institutional and technological platforms you are beginning to act on the understanding that we need to leverage investments we are making in South African science against each other as much as possible. We cannot pursue the development of any particular technology without leveraging investments in related technologies,” he said. Listen to the audio clips and .
The workshop, themed: Challenges in Astro- and Particle Physics and Radio Astronomy Instrumentation, also consisted of more than 100 researchers in fields such as physics, astronomy, geosciences, anthropology, photonics, applied mathematics, electrical engineering and information technology – as well as graduate students and representatives from industry.
Highlighting the importance of big data workshops, research and development, Dr Daniel Adams (DST Chief Director: Emerging Areas and Infrastructure) said research infrastructure was central in the ecosystem for knowledge generation and investing in South Africa’s cyber infrastructure was one of the key areas that needed to develop.
“It is important for us to be players in the big science projects. To have the infrastructure to manage and process the data but also to have the skills because the big data problem is not just about the infrastructure but also about the people who can manage the data,” Adams added. .
The workshop was jointly funded by SKA Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand and hosted in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, the National Research Foundation/iThemba Labs, Stellenbosch University and SA-CERN.
Prof. Hofman on soft drink tax
- By Wits University
Professor Karen Hofman, from the Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Unit in the School of Public Health, commented on research being conducted on whether a tax on soft drinks would be likely to reduce obesity and similar lifestyle diseases. “We are one of the top 10 nations in the world when it comes to drinking sodas and fruit juices with added sugar,” said Hofman. Read the articles below.
Success for Targeting Talent programme
- By Wits University
Almost 200 learners from marginalised backgrounds have passed matric with remarkable results after participating in Wits University’s Targeting Talent programme which takes promising individuals and exposes them to university level content and resources, such as computer labs, in order to motivate them and help them bridge the gap between school and university.
Out of 171 learners from 35 schools, 166 (97%) passed matric with Admission to a Bachelor’s Degree, two passed with Admission to Higher Certificate and three passed with Admission to Diploma. There were 600 distinctions.
Eighty-five percent of the learners come from under-resourced, rural areas. “They haven’t seen a computer lab or their labs are non-functional,” says Project Manager of the Student Equity and Talent Management Unit, Zena Richards.
This was the seventh year of the Targeting Talent programme at Wits. Learners begin the programme in Grade 10 and take part in three sessions annually, including two maths and science supplementation sessions, covering content areas that schools don’t teach or don’t teach sufficiently, and one two-week session which takes place at the University.
“The two-week enrichment programme takes place during the June/July holidays and exposes the learners to a whole range of activities, including computer science, forensic science, molecular literacy, language, maths, social research, life skills, sports, music appreciation and hip-hop,” says Richards.
“The type of input is around getting them to think and analyse, and to transcend those metacognitive skills to their school subjects. The June/July contact session is also important as a simulation of what university life will be like. They are taught by university lecturers, they sit in lecture halls, and they use our computer labs and student residences.”
Wits initiated the programme in an attempt to identify talented learners from marginalised communities that were not part of the University’s traditional feeder school base.
The learners are selected based on their academic performance at school (they must get a minimum of 60% in maths, science, English and life sciences). They also have to complete a biographical questionnaire and write an essay.
“These kids are just such amazing individuals. They demonstrate high levels of motivation, perseverance, a willingness to try different things, and a persistence to achieve which is often very uncommon to observe in adolescence. These attributes are key markers of success and important to succeeding at university as well,” says Richards.
For more information on the Targeting Talent programme, click here.
Glaciers were in Britain 400 years ago
- By Wits University
Research co-authored by a scientist from Wits University has shown that Britain was home to small glaciers within the last few centuries – around 11 000 years later than previously thought.
Professor Jasper Knight of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies and his colleagues established that small glaciers almost certainly existed in the Cairngorm mountain range in Scotland as recently as the 18th century, contrary to the long held belief that Britain’s last glaciers melted around the 9th millennium BC.
Scientists had speculated that glaciers may have formed in the Highlands around the time of the “Little Ice Age” – a period of cooling roughly defined as taking place between the 16th and 19th centuries – but hard evidence has so far proved elusive.
Knight and lead author, Dr Stephan Harrison from the University of Exeter, including colleagues from Plymouth University, the University of Aberystwyth and the Idaho National Laboratory, used a numerical glacier-climate model to simulate Little Ice Age climate in the Cairngorms, allowing them to calculate how much cooler and snowier the winter weather must have been to cause glaciers to form.
Their models show that small glaciers would have been created in the corries – steep-sided hollows found in the Scottish mountains – by a cooling of air temperatures by 1.5°C and precipitation increasing by 10 percent. This is consistent with conditions that existed during the Little Ice Age.
Harrison said: “Our findings show that the Cairngorm mountains were probably home to a number of small glaciers during the last few hundred years – around 11 000 years later than previous evidence has suggested. It may be that such glaciers also existed in the Scottish Highlands and elsewhere during other cold periods after the main ice sheets had disappeared.”
Knight said: “We know that the Little Ice Age was a period of cold and wet climate in Europe, but now we have good evidence to suggest that Scottish mountains were significantly affected at this time. This confirms how sensitive mountain environments are to even relatively small changes in climate.”
The discovery is backed up by a parallel study by Dr Martin Kirkbride at the University of Dundee who used a technique called cosmogenic dating to show that a small glacier in a Cairngorm corrie piled up granite boulders to form ridges within the last few centuries.
Kirkbride said: “Our laboratory dating indicates that the moraines were formed within the last couple of thousand years, which shows that a Scottish glacier existed more recently than we had previously thought.
“The climate of the last few millennia was at its most severe between 1650 and 1790. There are some anecdotal reports from that time of snow covering some of the mountain tops year-round. What we have now is the scientific evidence that there was indeed a glacier.”
Kirkbride teamed up with Dr Jez Everest at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, and the Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis Facility at the Scottish Universities Environmental Reactor Centre in East Kilbride, to carry out the research.
The dating technique estimates the time since quartz crystals in granite boulders were exposed at the Earth’s surface, based on measuring the concentration of beryllium-10 isotopes which form when the rock surface is bombarded by cosmic rays from deep space.
Both studies are published in the latest issue of the journal The Holocene.
It is day five of the 10 day orientation programme for first years students enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.
The 1 200 students have elected to pursue some of the most challenging academic programmes in the University and the unusually long O-Week programme for the Faculty is to ensure that the new cohort is ready for what lies ahead in class.
In the past our orientation programme used to be two days and only served to introduce students to the Schools in the Faculty and then it was off to the social activities for the rest of the week. This served little value in preparing the student for university, says Professor Aletta Zietsman-Thomas, Head of the Engineering Support and Academic Development Programme.
This year the O-Week programme for EBE is designed to give students the right landing into University.
The first three days have focused on topics dealing with managing the transition from high school to university, settling into Wits (campus tour to various lecture venues), understanding student structures and the Faculty, and psycho-social issues, among others.
To ensure that EBE students adjust to the academic demands of university, the pre-university classes for the class of 2014 began on Thursday, 30 January and will continue to Friday, 7 February 2014. The special programme is a joint effort of EBE and the Fcaulty of Science.
Zietsman-Thomas explains the reason for the special programme: “We are looking at the baseline of skills. Everyone says high school learners don’t have the essential maths and science concepts and we are concentrating on those this week to see if this is really true. Do they really come to us with so little knowledge from school?”
“The week focuses on transitional courses, we want to ensure that they are stable and that we know more about them,” says Zietsman-Thomas.
The students are being taught mathematics, physics, chemistry and mechanics.
Tests are being conducted at various stages to assess the understanding of students.
“We are not evaluating them for marks but what we do every morning is – we give them two questions based on the lecture from the day before in order to give ourselves a picture of who is where.”
Mitchell Struwig is one of the newcomers and wants to build a career in aeronautical engineering. Coming from East London where he matriculated from Merrifield College, Struwig says the pre-classes are a good idea.
“They basically kick-start you so you know what to expect when lectures start on 10 February. It was a bit of a shock this morning, the maths lecture was very fast and we covered a lot of work in a short time. Otherwise I am very excited and engineering is going to be my thing,” he says.
The responses to this week’s activities depend on whom you ask. Some are adapting well and others are realising the gaps in their knowledge.
Twins Kashann and Justine Wright, registered for electrical engineering degrees, say they are coping well. “The standards in Brescia House in Bryanston were very high and there have only been a few surprises,” says Justine.
Those who find that they are struggling during this period receive academic support from the Faculty.
The Academic Development Unit in EBE provides additional tutorials throughout the year to support students at risk.
“The tutorials are not a repeat of what is taught in class,” continues Zietsman-Thomas.
“Schools tell us where students are battling and we focus on those problem areas during the tutorials using our expert knowledge in unlocking problems.”
Zietsman-Thomas speaks has great enthusiasm when she speaks about the programme and its role in improving the successes of students.
In 2013 physics had a 70% pass rate in first year compared to 42% in 2007. In mathematics the lowest pass rate is 62%, she says.
The EBE activities are unusual for O-Week but it is important to get the foundation right. One of the factors which contribute towards the low graduation numbers and drop-out rate of students in university is the knowledge gap.
Zietsman-Thomas assures the students that they will not miss out on any of the fun activities hosted by the Student Representative Council and the Student Development and Leadership Unit.
The academic programme ends early enough to fit in the partying and the much anticipated O-Week social activities.
Glass-ionomer teeth not inferior
- By Wits University
New findings by researchers from the SYSTEM Initiative based in Wits University’s Department of Community Dentistry/Faculty of Health Sciences indicate that there is no evidence that high viscosity glass-ionomers are inferior to silver amalgams.
This has challenged the supremacy of silver amalgams in dentistry and the widely held belief that these amalgams make better and more lasting tooth fillings than high viscosity glass-ionomers.
The research was conducted by Dr Steffen Mickenautsch and Professor Veerasamy Yengopal, both from the Systematic Review initiative for Evidence-based Minimum Intervention in Dentistry (SYSTEM Initiative) in the Wits Faculty of Health.
Experts have for decades spoken out against dentists’ choice to use of glass-ionomers instead of silver amalgam or composite resin materials for load bearing posterior tooth restorations. But their believes have been based on clinical evidence that, when closely examined, holds little scientific weight.
In an effort to appraise the current clinical evidence regarding the merits of placing glass-ionomers as tooth restorations, the SYSTEM Initiative has conducted a systematic review of randomised control trials and a meta-epidemiological study.
The systematic review included a literature search in 17 global and regional databases, as well as databases for open access journals and ‘grey’ literature. Besides searching the global databases PubMed/Medline and the Cochrane Library, the additional regional English databases searched comprised of the scientific dental literature from Africa, Europe, India and North America, whilst regional non-English databases comprised of the dental literature from China and Latin-speaking American countries.
In total, 38 trials were accepted as evidence, comprising the investigation of more than 10 000 placed tooth restorations. The outcome shows that new generation, high viscosity glass-ionomers cannot be regarded as inferior to amalgam, since no overall statistically significant difference was found in the clinical failure rate between load bearing high viscosity glass-ionomers and amalgam restorations after follow-up periods ranging from one to six years.
Mickenautsch says: “The results of SYSTEM’s meta-epidemiological study show that statements concerning glass-ionomers’ inferiority to amalgam and other types of materials are based on incorrect statistical comparison methods. Such methods include the still common naïve-indirect comparison of restoration failure rates from uncontrolled clinical longitudinal studies.”
“Simply put, the traditional argument against the use of glass-ionomers in modern dentistry is based on the wrong assumption that results from unrelated clinical trials with differing clinical settings and patient groups can be directly compared to one another. Instead, statements concerning the merits of clinical interventions should rest on the direct comparison of competing treatment options via randomised control trials.”
High viscosity glass-ionomer restorations do not require provision of macro-retention by high-speed drilling, thus they offer the dental profession a more patient friendly approach for placing tooth restorations. Placing glass-ionomer restorations also reduces the likelihood of a repeated restoration cycle, because repair of failed restorations does not require the removal of remaining filling material from the tooth cavity.
The new findings suggest that placing high viscosity glass-ionomer restorations may offer an alternative to placing restorations with silver amalgam in load bearing posterior cavities of permanent teeth.
Jane Goodall at Wits
- By Wits University
Dr Jane Goodall, world renowned chimpanzee expert and UN Messenger of Peace, will deliver a public lecture at Wits University on the topic: "The Life and Times of Dr Jane Goodall – in celebration of her 80th year"
Date: Friday, 7 February 2014
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: Great Hall, Braamfontein Campus East, Wits University
The lecture is free but attendees are invited to make a donation of R150 per person to the Jane Goodall Institute South Africa (JGISA). To make a donation online, visit http://www.janegoodall.co.za/h2h-donations.htm.
The JGISA will also be selling their new, limited edition, fundraising Relate bracelets at the lecture. The bracelets jointly celebrate the birthdays of Goodall, who will be turning 80 on 3 April; Thabu, the JGISA’s youngest chimp, who will be turning one; and Joao, the JGISA’s oldest chimp, who is an estimated 70 years old! The bracelets will be on sale for R40.
About Dr Jane Goodall
Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, is a world-renowned British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her extensive research into the behaviour of chimpanzees, which started in Tanzania in the 1960s and continues today, fundamentally altered scientific thinking about the relationship between humans and other mammals.
In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues her research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is recognised for its innovative, community-centred conservation and development programmes. Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, an environmental and humanitarian youth programme, connects thousands of youth globally who make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment.
Her honours include the French Legion of Honour, the Medal of Tanzania, and Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize. In 2002, Goodall was appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace and in 2004 was named a Dame of the British Empire.
A new thought-provoking and politically poignant performance will soon come to life on the Wits Theatre stage, where it will be performed in South Africa for the first time.
Can words kill? Hate Radio revisits the most horrific chapter in Rwandan history and is the reconstruction of a Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) genocide radio show.
The critically acclaimed theatre production, brought to the stage by the International Institute of Political Murder, is touring South Africa and Mozambique and will be performed at the Wits Theatre for four nights from 13 to 16 February 2014.
The play engages with the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Within a tour hosted by the Goethe-Institut and Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, in collaboration with Drama for Life (DFL) at Wits, Hate Radio will be presented for the first time to audiences in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Maputo.
Based on extensive research and interviews with about 50 contemporary witnesses of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, the script for Hate Radio is primarily based upon excerpts of real transmissions made by the popular Rwandan radio station RTLM, which has gone down in history as one of the most cynical propaganda instruments deployed during the Rwandan genocide.
A panel discussion hosted by DFL on 14 February 2014 at the Wits Amphitheatre will raise questions concerning the present-day relevance and forms of appearance of racist violence, and its representability in art.
Embroidering on DFL’s commitment to social transformation and changing the face of education, the panel discussion will form an important dialogue between the arts, the media and legal experts around the topic of media power in violent times.
The panellists include Dr Charles Mironko who researched the Rwandan genocide and the RTLM radio station during 1994; humanitarian and international law lecturer, Dr Mispa Roux, from the University of Johannesburg; Canadian journalist David Smith from Okapi Radio who has worked in politically conflicted regions in Africa; DFL scholar and human rights activist, Théogenè Niwenshuti, from Rwanda; the Hate Radio representative, Jens Dietrich; and one of the actors.
“Through education, arts development, activism and therapy, DFL targets issues around sexual health, gender and gender equality, sexual violence, human rights and social justice. As Africa’s leader in an interdisciplinary approach to applied drama, DFL already has a close ethical and technical connection to Hate Radio,” says Gudrun Kramer, DFL Media and Communications Officer.
“Although DFL is based in South Africa, the work is being spread throughout the African continent by practitioners and former DFL scholars who in some cases come from a background of hardship and human injustice themselves. Therefore, DFL was naturally willing to contribute to the staging of Hate Radio at Wits.”
Hate Radio will be opening at the Wits Theatre on 13 February 2014 at 19:30, while the panel discussion takes place on 14 February 2014 at the Wits Amphitheatre at 15:30. Entrance to both these events is free. To attend the shows from 14 to 16 February 2014, please book at www.webtickets.co.za.
The pictures of the naked woman under a bed of leaves shock you.
Buried to hush up the horrendous crime that took place, her naked body lies under rubble, her ankles tied with a man’s belt and her pants pulled down. It is a silent testimony to the crime of force she had to endure before she was silenced forever.
The pictures are some of the poignant artworks displayed as part of a new exhibition entitled Queer and Trans Art-iculations: Collaborative Art for Social Change by the two well-known visual activists Zanele Muholi (Mo(u)rning) and Gabrielle Le Roux (Proudly African & Transgender and Proudly Trans in Turkey). The exhibition opened at the Wits Art Museum on Wednesday, 29 January 2014.
The interactive, socially relevant exhibition stressing the plight of homosexual and gender non-conforming people who are discriminated against, victimised, penalised and criminalised, is brought to the public sphere by the Wits Art Museum, in partnership with the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies and Inkanyiso.
The project exhibition is a prelude to the official launch of the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies later in February 2014, and is also the first exhibition at the Wits Art Museum for the year.
The opening address was delivered by Pregs Govender, South African Human Rights Commission Deputy Chair.
“As I walked through the gallery and looked around, I saw that this is a celebration of freedom, of the right to live and love who we want in a time when across this continent, and in our country, those who love each other, are being prosecuted by the law. It is important to remember that no-one can undermine those rights,” said Govender.
The exhibition is not all depressing and morbid. Smiling, happy photographs of people of all walks of life, living a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and ally (LGBTQIA) lifestyle, are also displayed, driving home the message that we are all equal, no matter where we come from, or how we choose to live our lives.
A wall where visitors can write their thoughts has drawn attention of a few brutally honest tales, providing a space for victims and supporters to give expression to their deepest thoughts.
“This event fits into the kind of activism in which we would like to situate our Centre. This exhibition teaches us that such spaces are often spaces of real, profound suffering and even peril. As long as that is the case, questions of categories and power, are questions we should all be concerned with and are in fact issues we should all feel strongly about,” said Prof. Melissa Steyn, Director of the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies.
Queer and Trans Art-iculations: Collaborative Art for Social Change ends on 30 March 2014.
Professor Lee Berger, Research Professor in Human Evolution from the Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute and project leader of the Rising Star Expedition, has made a call for early career scientists to sign up for a unique workshop to study and describe the recently discovered fossil early hominin material for a series of high impact publications.
Berger says: “It is intended that the Rising Star Workshop 2014 be held at Wits University in Johannesburg from early May until the first week of June 2014. We are seeking early career scientists with data and skill sets applicable to the study of any part of the anatomy of early hominins. Participants must be willing to share these data and skills in a collaborative workshop designed to study, describe and publish these important hominin fossils.”
The intent of the workshop is to give a unique opportunity to early career scientists to participate in the primary description of African early hominin material, says Berger.
Late last year, in just 21 days, the Rising Star Expedition has recovered more than 1 000 specimen from a cave about two kilometres from the Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
“The site is now the richest early hominin site in southern Africa. It is a treasure trove of fossils and we have only scratched the surface. We will be working here for decades to come,” says Berger.
Application information:
The applicants must be able to attend the entirety of the workshop. Successful applicants will have all travel and accommodation costs covered, be given access to existing comparative fossils, modern material and all data sets and receive mentoring throughout the process from senior established scientists.
Output will include authorship on at least one high impact paper as well as continued collaboration and authorship on future research to which he/she contributes.
Interested applicants should submit their CV’s, a brief summary of their skills or data sets that would be applicable to such a project (not to exceed 1 500 words), and provide three letters of support from established scientists in the field.
Selection will be done by a senior panel of scientists and associates of the University of the Witwatersrand. The number of participants will be contingent upon available funding. Successful applicants will be informed on an ad-hoc basis of the success of their application at any time up and to the commencement of the workshop. Successful applicants will also qualify for formal associate status of the Centre of Excellence for Palaeosciences and Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits.
Wits scientists in National Geographic
- By Wits University
Professors Stefan Grab and Jasper Knight from the Wits School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies have been featured in National Geographic for their research, published in the journal Geomorphology, which explains how lightning is one of the major forces that shape mountains.
According to the article, Grab and Knight have given a jolt to conventional notions about the forces that shape mountains by presenting evidence that lightning - rather than ice or heat - is the main force shattering rocks on summits of the Drakensberg Mountains.
Africa.com recently released its list of the best universities in South Africa. Africa.com is the fastest growing Africa-related website that showcases carefully selected news, information and travel about all 54 countries on the continent, and is playing a key role in shaping how the world sees Africa.
Wits Equality Scholarships
- By Wits University
The Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, Professor Adam Habib, announced the launch of the Wits Equality Scholarships last night.
The Equality Scholarships, worth about R100,000 each, will be awarded to the top 10 matriculants from Quintile 1 and 2 schools who choose to attend Wits University. The Scholarships cover all tuition and residence fees, textbooks, food and a cost of living allowance. The students who qualify for these scholarships will be supported for the duration of their undergraduate degree, provided that they continue to excel.
“The Wits Equality Scholarships in partnership with the Department of Basic Education have been developed to enable talented learners from disadvantaged communities to access quality higher education. This is one example of how government is partnering with higher education and other stakeholders to improve the lives of future generations, who in turn will help us to tackle the challenges of the 21st Century. The Wits Equality Scholarships are indeed one of the stepping stones that will help to transform the lives of our talented learners, whom we hope will become active citizens in our vibrant democracy,” says Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga.
“The Scholarships aim to create hope in society, and in so doing, to create meaningful transformation and change in South Africa,” says Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Habib.
Wits already administers about R500 million in financial aid and scholarships annually on behalf of the National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme, corporates, private donors and other institutions. “Over half of Wits’ students receive bursaries or financial aid in one form or another,” says Habib.
This programme will supplement the current Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships, awarded to the 10 best learners from all schools, and will enhance Wits’ current suite of equity programmes which includes the Targeting Talent programme, the Bale Scholarship programme for young women, the Go to University to Succeed (GUTS) outreach campaign and the Leadership, Education and Development Programme (LEAD).
