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'n Gevallestudie van hoe twee beheerliggame deur die desentralisasieproses van die nuwe Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet Nr. 84 van 1996 beinvloed word.
(University of the Western Cape, 2008) Arendse, Stephen James; Kalaway
Die onderwys word gedurig gekonfronteer met veranderinge. Desentraliseerde onderwys of selfbestuur van skole is 'n belangrike intemasionale ontwikkeling. 'n Afwenteling van gesag vind vanaf 'n hoer onderwys beheerliggaam na plaaslike bestuur of skoolvlak plaas. Die studie stel vera I ondersoek in hoe beheerliggame deur die nuwe Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet Nr. 84 van 1996 beinvloed word en die rol van ouer betrokkenheid. Aile betrokkenisse moes 'n demokratiese aktiewe rol speel by die besluitnemings proses in skole. Die doel van gedesentraliseerde opvoedkundige bestuur is om ouer betrokkenheid in die besluitneming in skole te bevorder. Die fokus van die studie was om ondersoek in te stel na probleme en die funksionering wat beheerliggame ervaar. Die studie het bevind dat die aard van die funksies en skoolbeheer word hoofsaaklik bepaal deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet Nr. 84 van 1996. Die navorsing is gedoen van twee skole wat in verskillende sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede fungeer. Daar was onderhoude gevoer met die lede op die twee beheerliggame. Die teenwoordigheid van ouers in skool vergaderings van middel sosio- ekonomiese skole is byna honderd persent. Die teenwoordigheid van ouers in skool vergaderings van laer sosio - ekonomiese agtergronde was baie swak. Die studie bevind ook dat ouers van middel sosioekonomiese agtergronde dee I neem in aile besluite of beleide wat by die skool geformuleer word, wat in lyn moet wees met WKOD se beleidsdokumente. Ouers in lae sosio-ekonomiese omgewing was baie passief as dit by besluite kom wat die skool raak. Die studie het bevind dat aile ouers nog nie volmag het om aile besluite rakende die skool te kan deur voer nie.Sekere besluite word nog steeds deur die Departement van Onderwys gemaak, ongeag wat die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet Nr. 84: 1996 se riglyne voorskryf. Sommige ouers weet nog steeds nie wat hulle pligte is ten opsigte van skoolbestuur nie. Skoolbeheerliggame in sekere skole is meestal betrokke by fondsinsameling en handhawing van dissipline. Ouers speel nie oor die algemeen 'n aktiewe rol by die samestelling van die kurrikulum en aspekte van skool bestuur nie. Tydens die instelling van die nuwe beheerliggame was beheerliggame alreeds gekonfontreer met swak infrastrukture, 'n tekort aan hulpbronne, opleiding ontbreek, swak kommunikasie en swak bestuur van beheerliggame deur sekere ouers.
A comparative study of analogue and digital impression techniques for maxillary edentulous ridges
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Putuma-Gqalangile, Yonela Zintle; Maart, Ronel; Haffajee, Ridhwaan; Ahmed, Rukshana
Background Digital dentistry has been widely used in dentistry mainly for single-unit crowns. With ongoing technological advancements, digital dentistry is expanding and is gradually being integrated into conventional clinical workflows. Limited evidence or clinical studies exist to support the use of digital impressions for edentulous ridges.
“Underkingdom”, enslavement simulation, and the normalization of human trafficking and scam compound culture in southeast Asia
(Routledge, 2026) Lazarus, Suleman
This paper argues that Scam Center Simulator: UnderKingdom trivializes victim harm and dehumanizes trafficked persons. It normalizes offender identity within a documented and ongoing crisis. I examine these design features against Southeast Asia’s scam compound phenomenon. I adopt a viewpoint approach. The primary source is the developer’s public representation of game mechanics on Steam. This is supplemented by firsthand observation of available gameplay material. This constitutes a structural analysis of design intent, not a study of individual player outcomes. Theoretical analysis draws on Bandura’s moral disengagement theory and Sykes and Matza’s neutralization techniques. Evidence from the scam compound and online fraud literature anchors the argument throughout. The game’s design architecture reproduces the cognitive and moral architecture of scam compound operations. Its mechanics are directly mapped onto documented compound practices. Crucially, the simulator literalizes the emic offender argot “the game,” documented in the criminological literature. This renders a criminal self-concept as a commercially distributed entertainment product. This is the first critical examination of this game as a cultural artifact. I identify the literalization of offender argot as a structurally novel contribution to harm. My analysis has implications for trafficking research, media literacy, and platform regulation in Southeast Asia.
Euclid quick data release (q1): xxv. Hunting for luminous z > 6 galaxies in the euclid deep fields – forecasts and the first bright detections
(EDP Sciences, 2026) Allen, Natalie; Oesch, Pascal A; Karagiannis, Dionysios
The evolution of the rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity function (UV LF) is a powerful probe of early star formation and galaxy stellar mass build-up. At z > 6, its bright end (MUV < −21) remains poorly constrained due to small survey volumes of existing near-infrared (NIR) space-based imaging surveys. The Euclid Deep Fields (EDFs) will cover 53 deg2 with NIR coverage down to a magnitude of 26.5 AB, providing a factor of 100 increase in area compared to previous space-based surveys. They thus offer an unprecedented opportunity to select bright z > 6 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and definitively constrain the bright end of the UV LF. With its NIR coverage extending to ∼2 μm, Euclid has the power to detect galaxies out to z ∼ 13. Here, we present a forecast for the number densities of z > 6 galaxies that Euclid is expected to observe in the final EDF dataset. Using synthetic photometry from spectral energy distribution (SED) templates of z = 5–15 galaxies, z = 1–4 interlopers, and Milky Way M-, L-, and T-type dwarfs, we investigate optimal selection methodologies for high-z LBGs in the EDF datasets. We find that a combination of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) cuts with SED fitting (over optical to MIR bands) yields the highest fidelity sample, recovering more than 76% of the input synthetic z > 6 LBGs, while limiting low-z contamination to less than 10%. This contamination does not include effects from instrumental artefacts, which will impact the first Euclid data releases. Auxiliary data prove critical: optical coverage from the Hyper Suprime Camera and Vera C. Rubin Observatory will distinguish genuine Lyman breaks from contaminant features, while Spitzer Space Telescope/IRAC data are vital for recovering z > 10 sources. Based on empirical double power-law LF models, we expect more than 100 000 LBGs at z = 6–12 and more than 100 sources as far back as z > 12 in the final Euclid data release. In contrast, the steeper Schechter LF models predict no detections of z > 12 LBGs. In this work, we also present two ultra-luminous (MUV < −23.5) candidates selected from the Q1 EDF-N dataset (Euclid Quick Data Release). If their redshifts are reliable, their magnitudes suggest a DPL UV LF model at z > 9. This highlights the power of Euclid in constraining the bright end of the UV LF in the early Universe and in identifying the most luminous sources that are valuable for further follow-up observations.
A critical analysis of the capital gains tax implications on the disposal of cryptocurrencies: an evaluation of possible lessons for South Africa from Hong Kong
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Sithole, Makungu Duncan; Moosa, Fareed
Cryptocurrencies are internet-based digital currencies or digital representations of value that are not issued by a central bank. They are traded, transferred, and stored electronically, whether by natural or juristic persons, as a means for payment, investment, and other forms of utility, and it exists wholly in the virtual realm. In the South African context, cryptocurrencies are, presently, treated as neither official South African tender, nor are they, as yet widely used as a medium of payment or exchange. Similarly, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) does not yet consider cryptocurrencies as ‘currency’ for income tax and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes. Instead, SARS regards cryptocurrencies as valuable property of an intangible nature. Conversely, the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department does recognize cryptocurrencies and classify them into three categories, being payment tokens, security tokens, and utility tokens. Payment tokens are used as payment for goods and services. Security tokens provide the owner with interests in a business, such as debt or rights to a share in the profits in that business. Utility tokens give access to specialized products and services, which the company is working on, and thus, the taxation of cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong depends on the type and use of each token. This study shows that, while SARS levies tax on cryptocurrency using the legislative framework provided by the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (ITA), in Hong Kong, Capital Gains Tax are not levied on the disposal of any cryptocurrency. The study examines the legal position in South Africa and Hong Kong as to the treatment of cryptocurrencies for purposes of taxation with a view to hypothesizing that SARS ought to adopt an approach akin to that followed by the Hong Kong Tax Authority. The study provides concrete recommendations for the development and enhancement of tax policy in South Africa so far as it concerns cryptocurrency treatment.