Capability sets of teachers with regards to the implementation of the curriculum and policy statement in a no-fee school community in the Western Cape

Magister Educationis - MEdSince the onset of democracy in 1994, education in South Africa has undergone many developments and changes due to curriculum innovations and interventions. For more than two decades, the government has been seeking to eliminate the divisions of the past by establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and the observance of fundamental human rights as described in Act 108 of 1996 in the Constitution. The curriculum changes in South Africa after 1994 had a huge impact on the education system as a whole, and classroom teaching shifted from being largely teacher- centered to being predominantly learner-centered. Hence, the newly revised Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) was introduced (DBE, 2011) to provide all teachers with the same outline of what should be taught, when and how. The government's efforts at improving teaching and learning as well as maintaining a high standard of education are commendable, however, findings through this research demonstrate that CAPS disregards the massive differences in terms of contexts within which schools operate and the general lack of resources faced by certain schools. The main aim of this research was to explore the nature of the capability sets of teachers with respect to the implementation of the CAPS curriculum in a no fee school community in the Western Cape. The research was conducted within the framework of a qualitative research approach with a case study design. Classroom observation, focus group interviews and document analysis were utilized as data collection methods. The capability approach of Amartya Sen was applied to unveil the nature of teachers' capability sets in a no fee school in the Western Cape. This study has established that there are several factors inside and outside the school, which influence the implementation of CAPS during the teaching and assessment processes. Therefore, recommendations are made that the policymakers should take into account the context and socio economic background of the school and learners before changing the curriculum

Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security

Programming China: The Communist Party’s Autonomic Approach to Managing State Security, introduces the new analytical framework called China's “Autonomic Nervous System” (ANS). The ANS framework applies complex systems management theory to explain the process the Chinese Communist Party calls “social management”. Through the social management process, the Party-state leadership interacts with both the Party masses and non-Party masses. The process involves shaping, managing and responding and is aimed at ensuring the People’s Republic of China’s systemic stability and legitimacy—i.e. (Party-) state security. Using the ANS framework, this thesis brings cohesion to a complex set of concepts such as “holistic” state security, grid management, social credit and national defence mobilisation. Research carried out for the thesis included integrated archival research and the author’s database of nearly 10,000 social unrest events. Through ANS, the author demonstrates that in the case of the People’s Republic of China we may be witnessing a sideways development, where authoritarianism is stabilised, largely through a way of thinking that both embodies and applies complex systems management and attempts to “automate” that process through technology designed based on the same concepts. The party's rule of China, thus, evolves away from traditional political scales like reform versus retrenchment or hard versus soft authoritarianism. The ANS framework should be seen not as an incremental improvement to current research of China’s political system but as a fundamentally different approach to researching and analysing the nature of Chinese politics

Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security

Programming China: The Communist Party’s Autonomic Approach to Managing State Security, introduces the new analytical framework called China's “Autonomic Nervous System” (ANS). The ANS framework applies complex systems management theory to explain the process the Chinese Communist Party calls “social management”. Through the social management process, the Party-state leadership interacts with both the Party masses and non-Party masses. The process involves shaping, managing and responding and is aimed at ensuring the People’s Republic of China’s systemic stability and legitimacy—i.e. (Party-) state security. Using the ANS framework, this thesis brings cohesion to a complex set of concepts such as “holistic” state security, grid management, social credit and national defence mobilisation. Research carried out for the thesis included integrated archival research and the author’s database of nearly 10,000 social unrest events. Through ANS, the author demonstrates that in the case of the People’s Republic of China we may be witnessing a sideways development, where authoritarianism is stabilised, largely through a way of thinking that both embodies and applies complex systems management and attempts to “automate” that process through technology designed based on the same concepts. The party's rule of China, thus, evolves away from traditional political scales like reform versus retrenchment or hard versus soft authoritarianism. The ANS framework should be seen not as an incremental improvement to current research of China’s political system but as a fundamentally different approach to researching and analysing the nature of Chinese politics

Public Awareness of Medical Imaging as a Source of Ionizing Radiation Exposure

Background. Biological effects of exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) are well known. Literature suggests most patients and physicians lack proficient understanding of risks associated with ionizing radiation. Our study goals were to: assess the extent to which productive, informed conversations regarding ionizing radiation are occurring between patients and providers; characterize public awareness of medical imaging procedures as sources of IR exposure; and investigate best practices in patientprovider communications. Methods. We developed and administered a 17-question survey to 303 adults at five locations across Chittenden County, Vermont, over a 6-week period in fall 2016. Descriptive and statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS. Results. The three age groups of respondents had different knowledge levels about ionizing radiation (p Conclusions/Recommendations. 1. A standard oral presentation for pre-imaging patient-provider communication, along with a written handout, be developed; 2. A section of the electronic medical record (also accessible through the patient portal) containing IR exposure be created for patients and physicians to track individuals\u27 information.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1249/thumbnail.jp

West Nile Virus Viremia in Wild Rock Pigeons

Feral rock pigeons were screened for neutralizing antibodies to West Nile virus (WNV) during late winter/spring and summer of 2002 and 2003. Additionally, virus isolation from serum was attempted from 269 birds collected during peak transmission periods. The observed viremia levels and seroprevalence indicate that this species could be involved in amplifying WNV in urban settings

Tumor-targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R in combination with doxorubicin eradicate soft tissue sarcoma in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model.

A patient with high grade undifferentiated pleomorphic soft-tissue sarcoma from a striated muscle was grown orthotopically in the right biceps femoris muscle of mice to establish a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model. Twenty PDOX mice were divided into 4 groups: G1, control without treatment; G2, Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium)A1-R administered by intratumoral (i.t.) injection once a week for 4 weeks; G3, doxorubicin (DOX) administered by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection once a week for 4 weeks; G4, S. typhimurium A1-R (i.t.) administered once a week for 2 weeks followed by i.p. doxorubicin once a week for 2 weeks. On day 25 from the initiation of treatment, tumor volume in G2, G3, and G4 was significantly lower than G1. Mice found without gross tumor included one mouse (20%) in G2; one mouse (20%) in G3; and 3 mice (60%) in G4. Body weight loss did not significantly differ between the 3 treated groups or from the untreated control. Histological examination revealed eradication of tumor only in G4 where mice were treated with S. typhimurium A1-R followed by DOX. Our present study indicates future clinical potential of combining S. typhimurium A1-R with chemotherapy such as DOX for soft tissue sarcoma patients

The many streams of the Magellanic Stream

We present results from neutral hydrogen (HI) observations of the tip of the Magellanic Stream (MS), obtained with the Arecibo telescope as a part of the on-going survey by the Consortium for Galactic studies with the Arecibo L-band Feed Array. We find four large-scale, coherent HI streams, extending continously over a length of 20 degrees, each stream possessing different morphology and velocity gradients. The newly discovered streams provide strong support for the tidal model of the MS formation by Connors et al. (2006), which suggested a spatial and kinematic bifurcation of the MS. The observed morphology and kinematics suggest that three of these streams could be interpreted as a 3-way splitting of the main MS filament, while the fourth stream appears much younger and may have originated from the Magellanic Bridge. We find an extensive population of HI clouds at the tip of the MS. Two thirds of clouds have an angular size in the range 3.5'--10'. We interpret this as being due to thermal instability, which would affect a warm tail of gas trailing through the Galactic halo over a characteristic timescale of a few Myrs to a few hundred Myrs. We show that thermal fragments can survive in the hot halo for a long time, especially if surrounded by a <10^6 K halo gas. If the observed clumpy structure is mainly due to thermal instability, then the tip of the MS is at a distance of ~70 kpc. A significant fraction of HI clouds at the tip of the MS show multi-phase velocity profiles, indicating the co-existence of cooler and warmer gas.Comment: Accepted by Ap