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05 April 2018 Photo Xolisa Mnukwa
Global genealogy explored at UFS guest lecture
Karen Ehlers, lecturer in Department of Genetics; Prof Eugenia D’Amato, guest lecturer and Associate Professor: Department of Biotechnology at the UWC, and Prof Paul Grobler Head of Department: Genetics at the UFS.

Prof Eugenia D’Amato held a lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Genetics about the research activities she has conducted in her unit at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), in the Forensic DNA lab of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
 
The lecture focused on research topics she has piloted, including the use of forensic markers in South Africa. Prof D’Amato also spoke on food forensics, the identification of anti-apartheid activists, understanding human genetic variation, and the implementation of novel/refined methods, with a strong emphasis on the forensic use of Y chromosome-based information.

She concluded her PhD studies at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, at the forensic lab. Currently, Prof D’Amato participates in numerous genotyping international forensic collaborations.

 “A survey of existing genetic diversity,
the distribution of diversity, the forensic
parameters and applications are a few of
the subject matters which are important
components of the GlobalFiler project.”
Prof Eugenia D’Amato

She also belongs to the working committee of the “Innocence Project South Africa”.

Her training and subsequent experience in population genetics facilitated the design of a Y chromosome “kit”, as well as the analysis and successful identification of various individuals from highly degraded DNA. Her lecture revealed interesting statistics about how poorly represented African diversity is in the existing world population databases. She explained that mechanisms that drive differentiation include random “genetic drift” and historic demographic processes.
 
Prof D’Amato indicated that her “Database Projection” project for 2018/2019 aims at profiling the population groups of South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. She further explained that a powerful tool for forensic application has been developed, and that there is potential for other applications including haplogroup prediction and the study of demographic history, that will aid her projects in the future.

News Archive

UFS implements paperless meeting system
2004-08-20

 

The Management Committee of the University of the Free State ’s (UFS) Executive Management recently entered the electronic environment of more effective and centralised meeting and decision-making administration by implementing ‘n computerised meeting system.

With this the UFS became the first higher education institution in the world to use the PARNASSUS-meeting management system. PARNASSUS , which refers to a mountain in the Greek mythology, is a licensed system from CIPAL in Belguim – a developer of software for a variety of applications.

“In stead of coming to a weekly management meeting with a file of documentation, each member now walks in with his/her laptop and the whole meeting procedure takes place electronically,” says Prof Sakkie Steyn, Registrar: General at the UFS.

At the same time the secretary registers the minutes point by point on the PARNASSUS programme. At the end of the meeting, after certain technical finishes are done, the minutes are distributed to members of the meeting and their secretaries/office managers. The draft minutes is also distributed to those who must implement decisions and prepare implementation steps. These staff members are given security clearance beforehand.

“The system is unique due to the fact that a translation engine has been built into the agenda and minute system. Agenda items can be submitted in Afrikaans and then automatically be translated in English by means of the interactive translation engine, or vice versa. The same principle applies to the minutes,” says Prof Steyn.

According to Prof Steyn the translation engine was develop with the expert assistance of the UFS’s Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment (ULFE). Word strings from previous minutes are now being added to the corpus of the translation engine.

“The system enables the secretary to continuously monitor which points are submitted for the agenda and if these points comply with the set standards namely clear recommendations, background and proposed implementation steps. The agenda is closed at a certain moment and no new points can then be added. The secretary does certain technical finished by means of a final classification of point and annexures. The draft agenda is then sent to the chairperson for approval, after which the agenda is electronically sent to members of the meeting and their secretaries/office managers for preparation,” says Prof Steyn.

“After the minutes have been approved at the next meeting, it is saved on the PARNASSUS decisions data base. The tracing of decisions made during previous meetings can be done by any person with the necessary security clearance. This is different from the past where stacks of documents had to be searched to find a decision,” says Prof Steyn.

According to Prof Steyn the secretariat and meeting administration services at the UFS has now entered a fully virtual and electronic environment. This will enhance effective decision making tremendously. “The PARNASSUS system saves us costs and time and the decentralisation of submissions to meetings lessens the work at centralised points,” says Prof Steyn.

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