Browsing by Author "Botha, Jan"

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    Aspects of the rhetoric of South African New Testament scholarship anno 1992
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 1993) Botha, Jan
    Towards the end of the era of fixation on text immanent approaches, (such as structuralism, reading the New Testament as literature, etcetera) which characterized South African New Testament scholarship during the 70’s and 80’s, more and more voices could be heard complaining that-because of these approaches-New Testament scholarship has become irrelevant within the political, ecclesiastical and even theological, contexts of South Africa. In 1992 two collections of essays, dealing respectively with the ethics and the theology of (almost) all the books in the New Testament, were published. Most of the prominent New Testament scholars in the country contributed to these collections of essays. Both were written shortly after the fundamental process of change in South Africa swung into motion at the beginning of 1990. Thus one could expect to find the reaction of South African New Testament scholarship to these events in these two collections. In this article aspects of the rhetoric of these collections of essays are analysed. In particular the question is asked: do these essays witness the development of a ‘grammar’ in terms of which South African New Testament scholarship can argue in a socially and theologically relevant manner within the changing South African context.
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    The bible in South African public discourse - with special reference to the right to protest
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 1996) Botha, Jan
    The Bible is one of the most significant bases for values-persuasion and the shaping of the ethos of the South African population.  This significant influence of the Bible is potentially a serious stumbling block for social transformation and the advancement of a human rights culture in South Africa.  In order to state the aim of this paper, a specific event in the not so distant history of South Africa will be recounted.
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    Centres and institutes as academic organisational units
    (AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2016) Botha, Jan
    Introduction: A complex network of factors arise when academic organisational units are established or existing units are changed. These factors include academic values, convictions about the academic standards of disciplines or professional programmes, ideals and sentiments for the future and particular approaches of disciplines and/or professions. Then it becomes significant how power is used in staff appointments and in the allocation of resources, as the custodian of academic reputation plus individual and institutional development processes. In many universities traditions and customs determine how such issues are considered, debated and decided or are transformed into institutional policies and rules.
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    The development of a device for the investigation of dorsiflexion range of the ankle with a capacity to measure pathology, recovery and pharmacological benefit
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005-12) Botha, Jan; Dobson, R. T.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.
    Various ways exist whereby balance abilities of the individual can be assessed. However, most of these are subjective methods. This thesis strives to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new device, the Dorsiflexometer that can be used to objectively assess one’s balance abilities. The Dorsiflexometer was constructed and mathematically modelled using appropriate simplifying assumptions. After its construction, the Dorsiflexometer was tested using two experimental set-ups to obtain raw data. Both these set-ups consisted of the two tiltable platforms equipped with three load cells each, the bridge amplifiers and the personal computer (PC). The only difference in the two experimental set-ups is in the type of test that was performed as well as the bridge amplifiers used. Numerous parameters, such as the radius of movement and the Lyapunov number can be extracted from the raw data. A computer program was written to analyse the raw data and present the results in a user-friendly manner. A new parameter, the Sway Index, was used to obtain a single balance value for the tested individual. This parameter proved useful in quantifying balance. An advanced patent search was carried out before the device was constructed. This was necessary to provisionally patent the device – official application number: 2003/6702.
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    Improvement-oriented evaluation of undergraduate science programmes and the quality of student learning
    (AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2009) Botha, Jan
    The quality of student learning is considered by many as a key area in the study of higher education as student learning gain seems to be one of higher education’s critical contributions to society. In this chapter insights gained from the internal evaluation of 17 undergraduate programmes in the sciences conducted by Stellenbosch University during 2007 and 2008 are reported and analysed with a view to the possible impact of these programmes on the enhancement of the quality of student learning. For the purposes of the analysis those improvement plans related to the achievement of student-centred learning and teaching are considered to have the best potential to have an impact on the quality of student learning. The authentic improvement plans devised by lecturers and students in the sciences give an indication of the shift towards student-centred learning and teaching which is gradually taking place. An important conclusion is that the evaluation of formative undergraduate programmes can be an effective instrument to improve student learning, particularly because such evaluations consider the academic activities from the students’ perspective, namely the programme, and not the individual modules of different disciplines offered by different departments.
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    Institutional research in higher education in South Africa : Looking Ahead
    (SUN PRESS, 2016) Webber, Karen; Muller, Nicole; Botha, Jan
    The fact that the Southern African Association (SAAIR) is nearing its 25th year, is evidence that Institutional Research (IR) has built a strong presence in South African higher education. Unfortunately, this is not yet evident in other countries in the region. The professional practice that has become known as “institutional research” is, of course, much older than the Association that was established by IR practitioners. Similarly, IR encompasses much more in South and Southern Africa than the activities of the Association. IR continues to widen its areas of influence and support, and IR practitioners are called upon to assist in a myriad of decision-support tasks that will help to make higher education in South Africa and the region only stronger. IR practitioners are valued for their analytic and technical skills and their higher education practices and processes. They are also valued because of their ability to place the issues within the context of the specific institution, cognisant of unique student, staff, or historical and cultural issues that must be considered. As we reflect on the formation and current status of IR in South Africa as evidenced in this book, it is notable that the SAAIR was established in 1994, the year in which the first democratic elections in the country took place. South African society, including the higher education system, changed significantly in the first two decades of democracy. Despite these changes, the student protests in South Africa that erupted in 2015 and that continue in 2016, can be attributed to the students’ experience and their belief that much more remains to be done: huge inequalities remain in the system and in institutions, the demand for study opportunities outpaces the available opportunities, student fees have become unaffordable for most students, and at a deeper level, the curriculum and the ethos of higher education institutions still predominantly reflect Western values, traditions and practices. The transformation agenda that was inaugurated in 1994 remains unfinished. The story of IR in South Africa is closely intertwined with the transformation agenda, both in terms of the gains of the past twenty years, and also of the many changes that lie ahead.
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    Institutional research in South African higher education: Framing the contexts and practices
    (SUN PRESS, 2016) Botha, Jan; Muller, Nicole; Webber, Karen
    Universities are among the oldest social organisations in the world. Few would doubt that universities are crucially important social organisations. The public and private good of universities is generally recognised (and widely debated, cf. Singh 2001). The broad range of purposes ascribed to universities and society’s expectations of the value added by universities add up to form an intriguing phenomenon which is the object of research in a range of academic disciplines and professional practices.
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    The rationale, challenges and benefits of joint degrees as a new form of doctoral education
    (SUN MeDIA, 2016) Fourie-Malherbe, Magda; Botha, Jan; Stevens, Dorothy
    INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of international joint doctoral degrees where two (or more) higher education institutions across national borders assume joint responsibility for the offering, examination and award of a doctoral qualification, is a relatively recent trend in higher education worldwide. Little research has been done on this form of doctoral education, and virtually none in South Africa where universities started exploring the offering of joint degrees about 10 years ago. For the purpose of this chapter we examined this new form of doctoral education at Stellenbosch University in South Africa – a medium-sized research-intensive university with approximately 35% postgraduate students. Our investigation was guided by the following research question: What is the rationale for engaging in joint doctorates and what are the challenges and benefits associated with this new form of doctoral education as experienced at Stellenbosch University?
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    Reading Romans 13 : aspects of the ethics of interpretation in a controversial text
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1991-12) Botha, Jan; Lategan, B. C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is an attempt to develop and illustrate an ethos of responsible interpretation for Romans 13: 1-7 within the broader context of an 'ethics of historical reading' and an 'ethics of public responsibility' in New Testament scholarship. It is argued that an ethos of responsible interpretation of the New Testament 'compels' the interpreter to take reading seriously. This implies that the implications of the liguisticality, literariness and rhetoricity of the text, as well as the social phenomena of the world created by the text, 'must' be honoured and studied with all possible methodological sophistication and rigour. This has to be done since it forms the means through which the 'otherness' of the text is manifested. Such a study has to precede any inferences about the possible relation between the literature of the New Testament and text-extrinsic matters such as God, society, history or the self.
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    The Synergy between the SAAIR Conference Events and South African Higher Education Policy Initiatives during 1994-2015
    (SUN PRESS, 2016) Botha, Jan
    Introduction: The focus areas of Institutional Research (IR) practitioners in South Africa and an analysis of the synergy between these focus areas and the major higher education policy developments during the first two decades of the democratic dispensation in South Africa are the concerns of this chapter. To what extent did these policy developments determine the priorities of IR practitioners, or, to what extent did the results of the work of IR practitioners provide the evidence on which these policies were based? Or, is this a complex, dynamic relationship and that plays out in both directions at different times and in different contexts? Despite various voices arguing for multiple new roles for IR, for example, Swing (2009), and Calderon and Webber (2015), Saupe’s (1981) and Dressel’s (1981) classic definition that IR is conducted to support institutional management, and by implication, to provide evidence on which (policy) decisions can be based, remains a valid expression of what institutional leaders and policy makers expect from IR. On the other hand, the extent to which higher education policy makers actually base their decisions on the information provided by IR practitioners, is not easy to demonstrate definitively with empirical evidence. Therefore no assertions will be made in this chapter regarding any possible causal link between higher education policy developments and the work of IR practitioners, and consequently the softer term “synergy” was chosen to characterise the aim of the study.