Andragogy : a theoretical overview on learning theories that impact on benchmarking blended learning at the Central Univerity of Technology, Free State

Published ArticleBlended learning has shown enormous growth worldwide during the last decade. Blended learning initiatives expanded rapidly, as technological improvement and a greater demand from learners arose as a result of the need for life-long learning and changing demands in the world of work. Many higher education institutions use blended learning as an alternative for or additional to conventional face-to-face education. The changing needs of learners, and especially adults, forced institutions to upgrade their traditional courses and increasingly make use of technologically enhanced courses. The research problem encompasses the fact that the growth of blended learning poses many problems to higher education institutions, as the delivery by means of technology is complex. Many higher learning institutions were not prepared adequately to deliver education by using blended learning and did not have the required systems in place. The greatest concern was that staff was not familiar with the technology or its use and that the particular demands of staff arrangements to engage in blended learning programs were not taken into account. It appears that institutions did not plan or have systems and guidelines in place to implement programs at a distance using blended learning technology. Another concern was that most of the programs held traditional approaches and has not been adapted to suit the particular characteristics and needs of distance education by taking the planning, development and review of such programs into consideration. As part of ongoing research at the Central University of Technology, Free State appropriate research had to be undertaken. Consequently the following research question emanated from the research problem: Within the context of higher education in South Africa, what framework underpinned by andragogy, national education policies and blended learning theory, will benchmark and support the implementation of blended learning at the Central University of Technology, Free State

Andragogy : a theoretical overview on learning theories that impact on benchmarking blended learning at the Central Univerity of Technology, Free State

Published ArticleBlended learning has shown enormous growth worldwide during the last decade. Blended learning initiatives expanded rapidly, as technological improvement and a greater demand from learners arose as a result of the need for life-long learning and changing demands in the world of work. Many higher education institutions use blended learning as an alternative for or additional to conventional face-to-face education. The changing needs of learners, and especially adults, forced institutions to upgrade their traditional courses and increasingly make use of technologically enhanced courses. The research problem encompasses the fact that the growth of blended learning poses many problems to higher education institutions, as the delivery by means of technology is complex. Many higher learning institutions were not prepared adequately to deliver education by using blended learning and did not have the required systems in place. The greatest concern was that staff was not familiar with the technology or its use and that the particular demands of staff arrangements to engage in blended learning programs were not taken into account. It appears that institutions did not plan or have systems and guidelines in place to implement programs at a distance using blended learning technology. Another concern was that most of the programs held traditional approaches and has not been adapted to suit the particular characteristics and needs of distance education by taking the planning, development and review of such programs into consideration. As part of ongoing research at the Central University of Technology, Free State appropriate research had to be undertaken. Consequently the following research question emanated from the research problem: Within the context of higher education in South Africa, what framework underpinned by andragogy, national education policies and blended learning theory, will benchmark and support the implementation of blended learning at the Central University of Technology, Free State

Sonic injection into a PGM Peirce-Smith converter: CFD modelling and industrial trials

Peirce-Smith converters (PSCs) are extensively used in the copper, nickel, and platinum group metals industries. The typical converting operation involves lateral purging of air into molten matte through a bank of tuyeres. This blowing operation occurs at low pressure from the blowers, resulting in a bubbling regime that is considered inefficient from both a process and an energy utilization perspective. Inherent drawbacks also include recurrent tuyere blockage, tuyere punching, and low oxygen efficiency. Western Platinum embarked on a full-scale industrial evaluation of generating a jetting regime by using sonic injection. Prior to industrial- scale tests, a numerical assessment to ascertain the feasibility of implementing sonic injection into a PSC was conducted. The work included flow characterization at high-pressure injection achieving sonic velocity at the tuyere exit. The 2D and 3D simulations of the three-phase system were carried out using the volume of fluid method together with the RKE turbulence model to account for the multiphase and turbulent nature of the flow. This paper discusses the key findings in understanding plume extension, velocity distribution, shear wall stress analysis, and phase distribution characteristics in the system. Plant trials are also discussed with reference to the commercial aspects of a full-scale implementation of sonic injection in the smelter

Effect of curriculum changes to enhance generic skills proficiency of 1st-year medical students

Background. Curriculum review is a dynamic, iterative process, and the effect of change may not always be wholly predictable. At Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa, revision of the MB,ChB curriculum was undertaken to meet enhanced and changing educational and medical practice, and to provide opportunities to enhance optimal generic skills underpinning effective learning, implemented in 2008. Objective. To determine the extent to which the newly implemented revised curriculum had an effect on experience in necessary generic skills of students in their first year of study. Methods. Students provided annual formal end-of-module evaluation in addition to focus group interviews. Evaluation by teaching staff was conducted by individual in-depth interviews. A validated generic skills questionnaire completed at the end of each academic year monitored the effect on students’ generic learning skills experience. Results. Feedback from these different evaluation methods identified specific needs in the newly implemented revised curriculum, including contextualisation of interventions, unnecessary duplication of content and malalignment of assessment. This led to minor curriculum changes and an educational capacity-building programme. These responsive curriculum changes after evaluation had the intended positive effect on students’ selfreported acquisition of generic learning skills. Conclusion. The objective of the curriculum evaluation was to monitor content output and the acquisition of crucial generic learning skills. Implementation of a revised curriculum combined with ongoing responsive changes aligned with careful multimodality evaluation can ensure that, in addition to scientific knowledge and skills, generic learning skills development of students is facilitated

South African national household survey of HIV/AIDS prevalence, behavioural risks and mass media impact-detailed methodology and response rate results

Objectives. To describe the methodology used in a recent survey of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and to present the response rates.Methods. A cross-sectional, national household-based survey was conducted using second-generation surveillance procedures. A complex multistage sampling technique was used to create a master sample of 1 000 census enumerator areas out of a total of 86 000 nationally. Aerial photographs were taken and used to randomly select more than 10 197 households and ultimately 13 518 individuals from a sampling frame of 31 321 people. Phase 1 of the study involved notifying the household residents about the study and collecting key demographic information on respondents aged 2 years and older. This information was used to randomly select up to 3 respondents from each household: 1 adult (25 years and older), 1 youth (15- 24 years), and 1 child (2- 14 years). In phase 2 nurses interviewed respondents and collected oral fluid specimens for HIV testing. In the case of children aged 2 - 11 years, parents or guardians were interviewed, but HIV testing was performed on the selected children. Questionnaire data were anonymously linked with HIV test results.Results. A total of 9 963 persons agreed to be interviewed and 8 840 were tested for HIV, yielding a response rate of 73.7% and 65.4% respectively. However, only 8 428 (62.3%) HIV test results were correctly matched with behavioural data. The results showed that those tested for HIV did not differ from those not tested in terms of key determinants.Conclusion. It is possible to use community-based surveys to study the prevalence of HIV in the general population

Cancer molecular biology and strategies for the design of cytotoxic gold(i) and gold(iii) complexes: a tutorial review

This tutorial review highlights key principles underpinning the design of selected metallodrugs to target specific biological macromolecules (DNA and proteins). The review commences with a descriptive overview of the eukaryotic cell cycle and the molecular biology of cancer, particularly apoptosis, which is provided as a necessary foundation for the discovery, design, and targeting of metal-based anticancer agents. Drugs which target DNA have been highlighted and clinically approved metallodrugs discussed. A brief history of the development of mainly gold-based metallodrugs is presented prior to addressing ligand systems for stabilizing and adding functionality to bio-active gold(I) and gold(III) complexes, particularly in the burgeoning field of anticancer metallodrugs. Concepts such as multi-modal and selective cytotoxic agents are covered where necessary for selected compounds. The emerging role of carbenes as the ligand system of choice to achieve these goals for gold-based metallodrug candidates is highlighted prior to closing the review with comments on some future directions that this research field might follow. The latter section ultimately emphasizes the importance of understanding the fate of metal complexes in cells to garner key mechanistic insights

The osteology of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana): vertebral column, ribs and sternum

The vertebral column, sternum and ribs of the African elephant were studied and illustrated. In the cervical series, the vertebrae are characterized by very short (compressed) vertebral bodies and short spinous processes. There are 20-21 thoracic vertebrae that carry ribs, and three lumbar vertebrae. The neural arches of the five sacral vertebrae fuse with each other as well as with the wings of the ilium, while the intervertebral discs do not ossify and the vertebral bodies remain separate. There are 19-21 caudal vertebrae. In the latter, the neural arches of only the first five to six vertebrae fuse dorsally, the vertebral foramens of the other vertebrae as well as the vertebral canal remain open dorsally. The body of the first rib is greatly expanded while that of the last three to four ribs are reduced. The cartilages of the first six ribs articulate with the sternum, the last five to six ribs do not bear costal cartilages and are not attached to the costal arch. The sternum consists of five sternabrae that form three approximately equal , but separate, segments. The first segment is formed by the first sternabra, the second segment is formed by the second to fourth sternabrae and the last segment is formed by the fifth sternabra. The first and second sternabrae articulate with each other by means of a synovial joint, the second to fourth sternabrae are fused to each other and the fourth and fifth sternabrae are loosely attached to each other by connective tissue.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat X Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Micromechanical homogenization of a hydrogel-filled electrospun scaffold for tissue-engineered epicardial patching of the infarcted heart: a feasibility study

For tissue engineering applications, accurate prediction of the effective mechanical properties of tissue scaffolds is critical. Open and closed cell modelling, mean-field homogenization theory, and finite element (FE) methods are theories and techniques currently used in conventional homogenization methods to estimate the equivalent mechanical properties of tissue-engineering scaffolds. This study aimed at developing a formulation to link the microscopic structure and macroscopic mechanics of a fibrous electrospun scaffold filled with a hydrogel for use as an epicardial patch for local support of the infarcted heart. The macroscopic elastic modulus of the scaffold was predicted to be 0.287 MPa with the FE method and 0.290 MPa with the closed-cell model for the realistic fibre structure of the scaffold, and 0.108 MPa and 0.540 MPa with mean-field homogenization for randomly oriented and completely aligned fibres. The homogenized constitutive description of the scaffold was implemented for an epicardial patch in a FE model of a human cardiac left ventricle to assess the effects of patching on myocardial mechanics and ventricular function in the presence of an infarct. Epicardial patching was predicted to reduce maximum myocardial stress in the infarcted LV from 19 kPa (no patch) to 9.5 kPa (patch) and to marginally improve the ventricular ejection fraction from 40% (no patch) to 43% (patch). This study demonstrates the feasibility of homogenization techniques to represent complex multiscale structural features in a simplified but meaningful and effective manner