Child nutritional status and household patterns in South Africa

About 25% of all children under 5 years in South Africa are severely malnourished. The objective of this study was to assess the comparative effect of person-related and household characteristics on nutritional status of children <5years old in South  Africa  before 1994 realization of democracy. A secondary analysis of 4 027 children under 5 years from the 1993 Living Standards and Measurement Survey (LSMS) conducted by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) in South  Africa was performed. Only children with plausible Z-scores (n = 4 027) were selected for subsequent analyses. The influence of person-related and household related characteristics on the nutritional status of children were  assessed, taking into account  variables such as, gender of household head, de jure and de facto household head, relationship of child to household head, size of household, type of toilet facility and type of dwelling. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS/PC+) was used for the  analysis. Chronic malnutrition and  underweight were significantly pronounced in children from households with de jure household heads (P<0.05). However, chronic malnutrition was markedly prevalent among children from maleheaded households. Thus, the presence of the de facto household head and the gender of the head of the household are important in  determining nutrition  outcomes. Furthermore, children of the head of the household had better nutritional status (P<0.05) than the grandchildren and other children in the household. Both person related and household related variables were  significantly associated with  malnutrition, but at varied levels. Household  expenditure, particularly on the basic needs of life, is the most frequently used  measure of socio-economic status in nutritional analysis studies. Expenditure is considered as precisely representing the  household’s reserves that influence the health status of its members. In the absence of variables used for measuring household expenditure proxy variables are used. The proxy variables (type of  dwelling, household size, water source, and toilet location) for economic status of households seem to influence nutritional status more directly while the person  related variables seem to indirectly influence nutritional status.Key words: Nutritional Status, Under Five, Stuntin

The Incidence of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) In a South African Diamond Mine.

Student Number : 0213468X - MPh dissertation - School of Public Health - Faculty of Health SciencesBackground: Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is increasingly being regarded as one of the most important Occupational diseases, especially in the mining industry. As most mining houses have put systems in place to try and control this problem it remains to be seen if existing controls are effective in achieving the intended objective of preventing hearing loss. This study was conducted in one of the big South African Diamond mines, which has a well resourced Hearing Conservation Program. Objectives: This study was conducted with the purpose of establishing if there has been additional incidence of NIHL in noise exposed workers during the observation period of five years. The other objective of this study was to determine the effect of age. Study design and method: The population in this study was made up of permanent employees of the mine. They were divided into low risk and high risk groups according to the noise/acoustic zoning of their work areas by the mine’s Occupation Hygiene Section, with the low exposure group acting as the control group. A retrospective record review was done using the Occupational Health records in the mine’s Occupational Health Centre. The period of observation spanned 1 January 1999 – 31 December 2004 (inclusive). Trends of the collated data were used to compare the two exposure groups with regard to the various outcomes that are commonly associated with hazardous noise exposure. Results: The outcomes that were analyzed in this study were: Incidence Rates for NIHL, Notching and Down-sloping. All these were observed to have occurred more among the exposed group during the period of observation. The incidence rates, in particular, were found to 92.8 per thousand person years in the high exposure group and 52.3 per thousand person years in the low exposure group. The statistical test that was used was the z-test and the results were z=5.844 with a p<0.05. Having decided on a significance level of 5% for the statistical test, this result was found to be statistically significant. This can be regarded as some proof that the exposed group had a worse outcome than their non-exposed counterparts. Another observation that was made was that the incidence of NIHL was proportionately higher among the older study subjects. Conclusion: Since the exposed group of workers was found to show statistically significant incidence of NIHL compared to the low exposure group it shows that the current Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) that is employed by the mine is not effective in preventing NIHL. However there were some limitations in the study design that preclude generalization of these results. Therefore a recommendation was made for a prospective cohort study to address these limitations

Robust Engineering of Dynamic Structures in Complex Networks

Populations of nearly identical dynamical systems are ubiquitous in natural and engineered systems, in which each unit plays a crucial role in determining the functioning of the ensemble. Robust and optimal control of such large collections of dynamical units remains a grand challenge, especially, when these units interact and form a complex network. Motivated by compelling practical problems in power systems, neural engineering and quantum control, where individual units often have to work in tandem to achieve a desired dynamic behavior, e.g., maintaining synchronization of generators in a power grid or conveying information in a neuronal network; in this dissertation, we focus on developing novel analytical tools and optimal control policies for large-scale ensembles and networks. To this end, we first formulate and solve an optimal tracking control problem for bilinear systems. We developed an iterative algorithm that synthesizes the optimal control input by solving a sequence of state-dependent differential equations that characterize the optimal solution. This iterative scheme is then extended to treat isolated population or networked systems. We demonstrate the robustness and versatility of the iterative control algorithm through diverse applications from different fields, involving nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging (MRI), electrochemistry, neuroscience, and neural engineering. For example, we design synchronization controls for optimal manipulation of spatiotemporal spike patterns in neuron ensembles. Such a task plays an important role in neural systems. Furthermore, we show that the formation of such spatiotemporal patterns is restricted when the network of neurons is only partially controllable. In neural circuitry, for instance, loss of controllability could imply loss of neural functions. In addition, we employ the phase reduction theory to leverage the development of novel control paradigms for cyclic deferrable loads, e.g., air conditioners, that are used to support grid stability through demand response (DR) programs. More importantly, we introduce novel theoretical tools for evaluating DR capacity and bandwidth. We also study pinning control of complex networks, where we establish a control-theoretic approach to identifying the most influential nodes in both undirected and directed complex networks. Such pinning strategies have extensive practical implications, e.g., identifying the most influential spreaders in epidemic and social networks, and lead to the discovery of degenerate networks, where the most influential node relocates depending on the coupling strength. This phenomenon had not been discovered until our recent study

Characterization in F. NYAMNJOH’s the Disillusioned African and Married but Available

The main purpose of this analysis is to study characterization in the two selected novels written by F. Nyamnjoh: The Disillusioned African and Married But Available. The analysis of characters through literary techniques where Davis’ PAIRS and Fowler’s Componential Approach were used, led to successful results. The main characters were given priority. Additional information provided through a componential analysis of the minor characters was also part of the research. The reason why the researcher takes on this subject is that he found no papers dealing with characterization jointly using PAIRS and componential analysis on F. Nyamnjoh’s works. Keywords: Characterization, The disillusioned African (TDA), Married But Available (MBA), PAIRS, Componential Analysis

Tear-drop fractures of the cervical spine

Tear-drop fractures of the cervical spine are relatively rare injuries. Those involving the upper cervical spine commonly occur in older patients following minor trauma. However, they may occur following major trauma like car accidents, falling from heights and diving into shallow water. They are stable injuries and are treated conservatively with relatively good outcome. They are usually not associated with neurological deficits unless they are associated with injuries at other levels. The cause of neurological fallout is commonly due to associated injuries.Tear-drop fractures of the lower cervical spine are usually caused by severe trauma including sports. About 83% - 87% of tear-drop fractures due to sports are accompanied by neurological fallout. Tear-drop fractures of the lower cervical spine are regarded as unstable. The management of tear-drop fractures of the lower cervical spine is very controversial. The controversies are: should all these fractures be managed surgically? If so, what is the best surgical approach? Unfortunately, available literature does not offer convincing answers. Current surgical techniques provide acceptable stability, at least according to biomechanical studies. It is still to be established whether these biomechanical findings are confirmed clinically

Teachers' talk regarding inclusion: a comparative discursive study

Much research on the educators' perceptions of and attitudes towards inclusive education has been conducted both in South Africa and abroad. What is absent in this literature is an acknowledgement of the socially constructed nature of teachers' responses to inclusive education and its recipients. In this study, the talk of educators involved in piloting inclusive education is compared to that of educators who are not involved, in order to determine the discourses from which educators draw in their construction of inclusive education. It is a comparative study premised on the social constructionist perspective in which discourse analysis was employed. The sample was drawn from schools piloting inclusive education in the East London District of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and was compared with schools not involved in the pilot, but in the same area. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight educators spread across two piloting and two non piloting schools. The analysis revealed significant similarities and quite minimal differences in the manner in which educators across the two settings construct their experiences of inclusive education. Even though the educators draw on the rights driven anti-discriminatory discourse, they still embrace the special needs/medical/expertise and charity discourses. These discourses construct disability around notions of disputed degrees of impairment, feared status and perceptions of disability as a personal issue rather than a public responsibility, and they undermine the status of people with a disability while supporting notions of dependency. In this article, I will argue that the historical legacy within which these discourses were originally constructed, will essentially continue unless there is a change in how diversity is viewed

Is prophylaxis of early-onset group B streptococcal disease appropriate for South Africa?

Background. Early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) disease in neonates can be prevented by the use of intrapartum chemoprophylaxis. There are two prevention strategies, one based on risk factors and the other on culture screening for GBS. This study sought to establish whether GBS chemoprophylaxis is appropriate in a developing country such as South Africa.Methods. All neonates with early-onset GBS disease born at Johannesburg Hospital between 1 January 1995 and 21 December 1997 were reviewed. Data were collected prospectively between 1 January and 31 October 1998. Data included demographic information, obstetric information, disease characteristics, admission details and mortality. The approximate cost of implementing both strategies was determined.Results. The overal incidence of early-onset GBS was 1.16 per 1 000 live births. The rate was significantly greater in 1998 compared with the previous years. Most of the babies were born preterm (70%), and 60% required admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (lCU) (a total of 81 ICU days). Twelve of the babies died. Assuming that chemoprophylaxis would reduce the number of ICU days by half, this would save an amount of R52 000. Culture based chemoprophylaxis would cost R1O million, whereas an approach based on risk factors would cost R31140.Conclusion. In conclusion, we feel that early-onset GBS disease is sufficiently prevalent in our unit to justify the implementation of a chemoprophylaxis strategy based on risk factors. Whether other units should adopt a similar approach would depend on the local incidence of earlyonset GBS

Living the Brand : a case study of how management at Standard Bank can create brand ambassadors of their employees.

Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.In April 2006 the new brand positioning for Standard Bank was revealed to staff and the general public. The new brand positioning focused mainly on employees and customers and to a lesser extent operational efficiency. The study attempts to find what meanings the employees of Standard Bank made of this new brand positioning through a qualitative case study methodology. As part of the study, theoretical models and concepts covering the brand, brand positioning, living the brand, employee segmentation and the 3-phased approach to implement the programme were reviewed. A qualitative research study was conducted whereby one-on-one interviews were held with managerial and non-managerial employees at Standard Bank. The research is therefore a phenomenological investigation of the business problem statement, that is, the re-positioning of the brand from simpler to better, faster as well as inspired and motivated. The research findings were that the brand repositioning did not have a negative impact on employee perceptions. However, it was found that employees did not understand what the brand stands for and were having problems delivering on the new brand promise. To improve the level of understanding by the employees so that the new brand positioning can influence employee behaviour, the researcher recommended applying the 3- phased approach in implementing an effective "living the brand" programme

Retaining critical skills and talented employees during and after organisational downsizing

Downsizing has become a common business practice as organisations attempt to maintain competitiveness and productivity especially with globalisation. Downsizing has negative effects on both affected employees and survivors and if not well managed could lead to survivor syndrome. Survivor syndrome creates negativity among survivors which results in low morale, motivation and lack of trust. These feelings increase the likelihood of survivors seeking alternative employment and subsequently leaving the organisation. The loss of staff especially critical skills and talented employees has direct impact on the organisation’s bottom line given the knowledge that is lost with the employee’s departure. Downsizing results in leaner structures which makes the organisation vulnerable when it losses critical skills and talented employees. This research report investigates how an organisation can retain their critical skills and talented employees during and after organisational downsizing. The research is a case study based on the downsizing process implemented in De Beers Consolidated Mines in 2005. The findings of the research indicate evidence of survivor syndrome in the organisation after the downsizing which led to the high employee turnover in 2006/7 years. The report makes recommendations based on a model which the organisation could implement to retain their critical skills and talented employees during and after downsizing.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte