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Welcome to the NWU Repository, the open access Institutional Repository of the North-West University (NWU-IR). This is a digital archive that collects, preserves and distributes research material created by members of NWU. The aim of the NWU-IR is to increase the visibility, availability and impact of the research output of the North-West University through Open Access, search engine indexing and harvesting by several initiatives.

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'N ondersoek na die behoefte aan 'n gekombineerde ienssentrum-kleuterskool
(North-West University (Potchefstroom), 1998) Knepscheld, E; Strydom, H
A study of the feasibility to combine of a care centre and a nursery school The research was undertaken in order to research the feasibility of a combined care centre and a nursery school through scientific and social studies to ascertain how practical and feasible this practice would be. The first objective was to study the needs and characteristics of the aged and pre-schoolers. The second objective was to study the needs that the elderly and the pre-schoolers have in common. The third objective was to study the feasibility of implementing a combined care centre and nursery school after having determined the opinions of both the elderly and pre-schoolers, while the last objective was to study the way in which this could be implemented an practice. This study revealed that many senior citizens see themselves as a burden to society. This negative self-image arises because of a lack of daily activities in which the aged feel needed and because of the community's unwillingness to get involved with the elderly. This study shows that this problem can be resolved by combining a care centre for the elderly and a nursery school. Both senior citizens and toddlers seem in favour of such a solution. The advantages are that the elderly can ask an extra income, feel useful, participate in the community and have more self-esteem. The toddlers, on the other hand, will profit by the individual attention they will be getting. The study also reveals that a board consisting of both full-time and part time employees with a social worker as the head could run such an nstitution. The social worker will guarantee the optimal function of all the members of this organization. The necessary funding will consist of government grants and financial support.
The contribution of propionic acid to some physiological effects of dietary fibre
(North-West University (Potchefstroom), 1989) Venter, Christina Susanna; Vorster, HH Cummings, J H
Increased intake of dietary fibre (DF) is associated with several beneficial effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and possibly also on haemostasis. Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain these effect: Dietary fibre influences the secretion, digestion, absorption, and fermentation functions, as well as the morphologic structure of the gastrointestinal tract, and the transit ti me of food through the gut. This may lead to changes in blood nutrient dynamics and endocrine responses, which may influence cellular substrate availability and hormonal regulation of enzyme activities, with resultant changes in metabolism. Recently, questions have arisen about the physiological importance of short chain fatty acid metabolites of certain plant fibres. Some investigators have speculated that the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have metabolic effects that may explain some of the physiologic responses attributed to dietary fibre. To test the hypothesis ti at propionate, one of the SCFAs derived from the fermentation of DF and a-amylase resistant starch, contributes to the well-known effects of DF on carbohydrates and lipid metabolism (increased insulin sensitivity and decreased serum cholesterol), the diet of healthy human volunteers was supplemented with sodium propionate. The effect of dietary propionate on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, as observed from changes in glucose tolerance, insulin response and serum lipid profiles after seven weeks, were compared with the known effects of fermentable DF on these variables. The study of the effects of propionate on metabolism in human subjects was, of necessity, confined to measurements of metabolites in blood. The literature survey indicated that the metabolism of the liver may be modified by propionate. Consequently, the contribution of propionate to the effects of DF on metabolism was investigated in animal models. The long- term effects of the soluble dietary fibre concentrate konjac-glucomannan (K-GM) and of sodium propionate on serum and liver lipids, glucose tolerance, serum insulin response and sensitivity, liver glycogen content, and plasma fibrinogen were compared in baboo s (Papio ursinus) fed a semi-synthetic Western diet (SSW-diet). The Zucker "fatly" rat was further used as an insulin resistant, hyperfibrinogenaemic model to compare the therapeutic effects of K-GM and sodium propionate; 1gainst a background SSW-diet. Resistant starch and ol11e r types of starch which escape digestion in the small intestine may quantitatively be more important as substrates for fermentation and propionate production than DF. The acute (short-term) effects or maize porridge with suspected varying amounts or digestible starch on blood glucose and serum insulin response in healthy volunteers were investigated to determine the physiological importance of resistant l starch. The results of the various studies, which aro~ discussed in detail in each separately presented study, and in chapter 9, show, inter alia, that: Supplementation of a Westernized diet with K-GM as well as propionate lower fasting circulating free fatty acid (FFA) levels significantly. This observation has far-reaching implications. It is known that high serum concentrations of FFA are associated with insensitivity to insulin and inhibition of cellular glucose uptake (' Randle effect'), increased plasma fibrinogen levels and also with atherosclerosis. Lower plasma fibrinogen concentrations were observed in experimental animals fed K-GM- or propionate-supplemented SSW-diets. Both supplements resulted in lower fasting serum insulin levels, as well as smaller glucose increments during glucose tolerance tests. These observations may indicate improved insulin sensitivity. An increase in insulin sensitivity may further explain the consistently higher percentage high-density lipoprotein cholesterol observed with both supplements in all the studies. In the animal models supplementation of a Westernised diet with K-GM as well as propionate lowered liver glycogen stores. The lower glycogen stores were associated with higher blood glucose levels in t11e animals fed propiona1e. These observations indicate that in addition to the documented effect of propionate on gluconeogenesis, propionate also stimulates glycogenolysis and glucose utilization in the fasting state. It seems as if lipolysis (mobilization of FFA) is inhibited at the same time. However, the raised blood glucose levels were not observed in humans. Liver cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower in baboons and Zucker rats fed the propionate and K-GM-supplemented SSW-diets than in animals fed the unsupplemented SSW-diet. This observation is supported by results reported in the literature, indicating inhibition of HMG-Co/\ reductase, a rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. Changes in the ratios of serum: liver cholesterol indicated that, in combination with inhibition of cholesterol synthesis, a shift in cholesterol from liver to serum occurred. Calculations to quantify tile contributim1 of propionate to the biochemical effects of DF in the various models, clearly revealed that the magnitude varies in different models because of species-differences and probably also as a result of an interaction with other specific effects of the DF in a particular model. The conclusion was reached that propionate contributes substantiall:1 to the ability of DF to increase insulin sensitivity and decrease liver cholesterol, circulating FFA and plasma fibrinogen concentrations. Hyperfibrinogenaemia, hype cholesterolemia, raised FFA levels and glucose- intolerance are risk factors for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. ·The results of this investigation reveal basic information on the mechanism of action of DF and also on the physiological importance of propionate, derived from bacterial fermentation of DF. A recommendation is made that subjects at risk for the development of degenerative Western diseases should increase their intake or fermentable dietary carbohydrate (substrates for propionate).
‘n Strategie om spiritualiteit by Pentekostalistiese pastore wat aan depressie ly te versterk: ‘n Pastorale studie
(North-West University (South Africa), 2026) Du Preez, Andreas; Nel, M; Du Plessis, A.L
This pastoral study aimed to develop a strategy to strengthen the spirituality of Pentecostal pastors who suffer from depression. The focus was on pastors from the three Afrikaans classical Pentecostal churches, namely the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM), the Full Gospel Church of God in Southern Africa (FGC), and the Pentecostal Protestant Church (PPC). Two common denominators were examined, namely spirituality as the primary focal point and depression. Furthermore, the study sought, through the modulation of a holistic, strategic-theoretical support programme, to develop a pastoral model that enables pastoral intervention by strengthening the spirituality of classical Pentecostal pastors who experience depression. Richard Osmer's pastoral model was used as the basic point of departure for this pastoral study. Osmer (2008) identified four tasks, namely the descriptive-empirical task, the interpretive task, the normative task, and the pragmatic task. It was decided not to use the term "task(s)" in the application of his model, but rather the term "moment(s)". The term "moment" indicates a progressive action leading towards a dynamic conclusion. Chapter 2 focused on the descriptive-empirical moment and addressed the question, "What is happening here?" This moment aimed to conduct a literature study, as well as to incorporate contributions from empirical data obtained. With regard to the literature review, attention was given to hermeneutical reflections, as the study adopts a Pentecostal point of departure. An in-depth analysis of the occurrence and management of depression within contemporary classical Pentecostal churches was undertaken, together with a discussion of selected studies from the South African context, with due consideration of studies from the Reformed tradition. Chapter 3 focused on the interpretive moment. The guiding question here was, "Why did this happen?" The study sought to determine what the auxiliary disciplines-psychology, sociology, anthropology, and communication studies-can contribute to the preliminary modulation of a pastoral model for guiding classical Pentecostal pastors who suffer from depression, within the dynamic process of strengthening their spirituality. Chapter 4 focused on the normative moment. The central question in this chapter was, "What ought to happen?" A grammatical-historical exegesis, together with a pneumatic insight, was employed to achieve the normative objectives from a basic theoretical perspective. It was acknowledged that depression is not a clinical term found in the Bible, although its symptoms are consistently present in biblical texts. With regard to the Old Testament, it was indicated that despair is repeatedly addressed within the context of hope. The study centred on Wisdom Literature by exegetically engaging passages from Job 3 and Job 42, Jeremiah 3, as well as Psalm 22. Character analyses of Job, Jeremiah, and David were also examined in light of the aims of this study. With regard to the New Testament, it was indicated that the Luke-Acts narrative is essential for the practical modulation of a strategy for classical Pentecostal pastors, as their theological framework must be understood as a supernatural engagement in every facet of life. The exegesis placed emphasis on Jesus' self-esteem and self-efficacy in Luke 4:1-12 and Luke 22:39-42. Chapter 5 addressed the question, "How should one act?" as part of the pragmatic moment. Drawing interactively on the preceding chapters, a pastoral guidance programme was compiled that recognises specific presuppositions which a pastoral counsellor may take into account when assisting pastors from classical Pentecostal churches who suffer from depression. The proposed model consists of four processes that take Osmer's pastoral model into account and is grounded in both Scripture and scientific theory. By making use of the descriptive-empirical, interpretive, normative, and pragmatic moments, the research sought to demonstrate that the spirituality of pastors from classical Pentecostal churches who suffer from depression can indeed be strengthened. Finally, it was shown that by acknowledging the distinctive and unique lived experiences of these pastors, a pastoral model can be developed that may be meaningfully applied within pastoral care.
Exploring the textured textual world of James 1:1-27 - A multidimensional, embodied rhetorical reading
(North-West University (South Africa), 2026) de Beer, Sanrie
This thesis presents an integrated, embodied rhetorical reinterpretation of the Two Ways motif in James 1:1-27. Previous scholarship has frequently characterised the Two Ways as a static moral binary or rigid ethical dualism, often separating ethical exhortation from the text's theological depth, rhetorical strategy, and embodied dimensions. In contrast to these reductionist perspectives, the present study proposes a multimodal hermeneutic that synthesises socio rhetorical analysis, embodied cognition, carnal hermeneutics, and chiastic typology. By shifting the focus from dualism to duality, the thesis advances an anti-dualistic and anti-mechanistic perspective on human nature. The interpretative framework is developed and implemented through three interrelated stages. The first stage, structural-rhetorical analysis, examines James 1:1-27 as a cohesive, formative textual unit, identifying chiastic patterns and tracing shifts across syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels. The second stage, an embodied-cognitive analysis, investigates metaphor, rhetography, marginality, intertextual memory, community dynamics, and embodied chiasmus, focusing on how meaning emerges through sensory imagery, affective engagement, and social context. The third stage, theological-ethical analysis, offers a synthetic examination of sacred authority, ideological critique, and the formation of ethical agency. Collectively, these stages demonstrate that meaning in James arises from the interaction of rhetorical structure, embodied cognition, social influence, and the sacred, rather than from any single interpretative approach. The analysis shows that the Two Ways is not a schematic choice between opposing moral paths but a dynamic, relational, and embodied framework for ethical development. Elements such as trials, desire, speech, action, and care for the vulnerable are rhetorically and structurally integrated to foster practical wisdom and moral discernment over time. Interpreting chiastic structures as generative of meaning rather than merely decorative, the study underscores the ethical significance of James's multi-effect, hourglass, and exclusionary patterns, which emphasise transformation, reversal, and moral tension. These rhetorical forms engage readers in a continuous process of discernment and practice, presenting the Two Ways not as abstract oppositions, such as hearing versus doing or faith versus action, but as lived orientations shaped through bodily discipline, intentional speech, perseverance, restraint, and communal care. This study contributes original scholarship by developing and applying an embodied-rhetorical hermeneutic that reconceptualises the Two Ways motif in James 1:1-27 as a dynamic process of ethical formation rather than a fixed moral dualism. By presenting the Two Ways motif as a lived moral landscape characterised by relational movement and ongoing formation, this thesis advances James' scholarship. It demonstrates the broader interpretative potential of an embodied rhetorical hermeneutic for early Christian texts. This approach resists simplistic dualisms while maintaining the ethical urgency of James's exhortation.
Comparative study of Reformed and Pentecostal hermeneutical understandings of the miracle imperatives in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9
(North-West University(South Africa), 2026) Akpan, Aniedi
This was a comparative study of Reformed and Pentecostal hermeneutical understandings of the miracle imperatives in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9. Its overarching aim was to develop a hermeneutic key that could demonstrate the strengths and help reduce the weaknesses of Reformed and Pentecostal hermeneutical approaches to the miracle imperatives in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9. The key was also anticipated as one of the possible means of fostering cooperation between the Reformed and Pentecostal traditions, contrary to the often-dichotomous or antagonistic conception of them. To achieve this main aim, the study focused on the following objectives: to study the meaning and role of "miracle" in the New Testament; to study the history of interpretation of New Testament miracle stories within Reformed and Pentecostal traditions; to study the natures of Reformed and Pentecostal hermeneutics; to examine the meaning of Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-8 and Luke 10:1-9 from a Reformed exegetical perspective; to examine the understandings of the miracle imperatives in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9 by contemporary Reformed and Pentecostal interpreters; and to develop the hermeneutic key. The methodology for achieving these objectives encompassed a critical engagement with literature in the aforementioned areas; exegetical analyses of Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9, adapting Du Toit's (2009a:120-148) Reformed approach; and an empirical investigation of sampled Reformed and Pentecostal interpretations of the passages. Chapter 2 explored the meaning of the concept "miracle" in the New Testament, investigating philosophical, etymological and socio-historical, and biblical-literary viewpoints. It concluded that while all the perspectives are useful in their unique ways, the first two have serious deficiencies that would detract from the biblical notion of "miracle". Philosophy was seen to be largely entrapped in arguments against the possibility of "miracle" or at least that excise religious significance from it. Etymological inquiry emphasises the external character of wonderment at the expense of the concept's religious or even theological significance. The study therefore recommended a biblical-literary approach that simultaneously articulates the various shades of meaning of the NT quadruplet terms-σημεῖα, τέρατα, δυνάμεις, and έργα-as used by Jesus in the Gospels. The chapter also outlined the role of "miracle" in the NT to include revealing Jesus as the promised Messiah of Israel, signalling the dawning of the kingdom of God, and serving apologetic and theological purposes. Chapter 3 investigated the history of interpretation of NT miracle stories within Reformed and Pentecostal traditions. It reviewed the various conceptions of NT miracles by the Reformation leaders. Luther posited that miracles were not a means of revelation of the divinity of Christ, whereas Calvin held that they issued from Christ's inherent power and testified to his divinity. Zwingli anchored his conceptualisation of miracles on Christ's work of redemption. Overall, they tended toward cessationism. Among contemporary Reformed theologians, NT miracle stories are conceived to fulfil Christological and soteriological roles and validate the divinity of Christ. Miracles are granted today as Christological "signs" and "redemptive analogies" and as a means of resolving human existential needs. From the Pentecostal perspective, the study suggested that Pentecostalism has from its origins been open to miracles, especially anchoring its disposition on Mark 16:17-18. Its forebears taught a range of ideas, including that physical healing was the birthright of Christians, that God always wants to heal the sick, and that healing is part of Christ's redemptive work. Contemporary researchers opine that NT miracle stories function missiologically and soteriologically, and that healing is integral to the salvific work of Christ. Chapter 4 investigated the natures of Reformed and Pentecostal hermeneutics. It noted that Reformed hermeneutics emphasises the authority of the Scripture as God's inspired word and filters the meaning (or meanings) of a biblical passage through the overarching redemptive message of the Bible. It identified the principles of Reformed hermeneutics to include acknowledgement of the historical and literary contexts of Scripture, careful investigation of the grammar of the passage, and analogy of Scripture. Pentecostal hermeneutics was described as an experience-, narrative-, and praxis-oriented approach to Bible reading in which the Holy Spirit plays an active role. Its principles were identified as: narrative, intertextual and Christological reading of the Bible, openness to a supernatural-experiential intervention, and negotiating meaning within the triadic framework of Spirit, text, and community. Chapter 5 focused on the exegeses of Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-8 and Luke 10:1-9. The analyses emphasised a literal interpretation of the passages in general and the miracle imperatives in particular. It combined synchronic and diachronic tools as necessary, and also interpreted the various parts of the passages in relation to one another. It synthesised the lessons from the three passages into applications for today. These included that the church should cultivate disciples who are wholly committed to following Jesus, no matter the cost, as well as engage both clergy and laity to authoritatively preach God's good news and perform miracles among those in need. The socio-historical significance of exorcism in GMark and GMatthew formed a basis for the church to be challenged to authoritatively confront social ills, confident of ultimate victory. Chapter 6 analysed sixty (60) sampling units that were drawn into six (6) sample groups. It used ATLAS.ti 24 to identify and code twelve (12) pre-determined themes that were prominent or implied in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9. These included: kingdom, authority, disciple, demon, exorcism, leprosy, preach, dead, heal, miracle, mission, and "we". The study generated 434 theme-codes from 397 quotations, classified them as "strong" or "weak" depending on whether they agreed or disagreed with the theoretical and exegetical conclusions in the preceding chapters of the study, and grouped them based on similarity of assertions. It further summarised and evaluated the group assertions under each of the themes identified above, from where it drew inferences regarding the hermeneutical issues involved in each instance. The inferred hermeneutical patterns for the "strong" theme-codes included that certain assertions were biblically informed, reflected awareness of the genre and literary as well as socio-historical contexts of the passages, followed a continualist view of miracles, and so on. On the other hand, the "weak" theme-codes suggested that the interpreters lacked the insights of word-study and broader literary context, tended toward eisegesis, and paid limited attention to grammatical rules, among other things. Based on these inferred patterns, the researcher formulated hermeneutic hints that could enhance interpretation of the themes, and in turn, proposed a multidimensional hermeneutic key that could both demonstrate the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of Reformed and Pentecostal interpretations of the four miracle imperatives broadly identified in Matthew 10:18, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9, namely, "heal the sick", "raise the dead", "cleanse the lepers", and "drive out demons". The hermeneutic key suggested that interpreters of the miracle imperatives should attend carefully to the literal meaning of the miracle imperatives, undertake careful word-study of concepts, investigate the literary and socio-historical contexts of the passages, and emphasise the literary connections between the miracle imperatives and the mission mandate in the passages, among other things. The study reached a conclusion in chapter 7, highlighting biblical testimony as the essential guiding principle for scholarly or pragmatic reflection on the NT "miracle" subgenre. It also concluded that from NT evidence, miracles and the miracle imperatives in Matthew 10:1-8, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 10:1-9 are valid today. It emphasised the strict literal meanings of the imperatives on a synchronic level, while conceding that they bore subtle political and social undertones within their original settings. Based on evidence in this study, the researcher concluded that both Reformed and Pentecostal interpreters grapple with differential understandings of the meanings of the miracle imperatives in the passages, indicating that the two traditions need a hermeneutic key that can improve their interpretations of these motifs. The study therefore recommended that Reformed and Pentecostal interpreters should take seriously the existential implications of the maladies being targeted by the miracle imperatives in the passages, and therefore should interpret the imperatives in hermeneutically faithful ways in order to practically and effectively help resolve such problems today. It also recommended that they explore the suggestions offered in the hermeneutic key formulated in this research.