Leaders’ influence on collective action: An identity leadership perspective

What makes followers act collectively when called upon by their leaders? To answer this question, participants were randomly allocated to leader–follower relationships embedded either in a partisan group or a workgroup context; and the relationship between identity leadership and collective action through ingroup identification (Study 1: N = 293) or both ingroup identification and group-efficacy (Study 2: N = 338) were assessed. Based on the model of identity leadership, we predicted and found that identity leadership was positively related with intentions for collective action when called upon by the leader, both via ingroup identification and belief in group efficacy. As predicted, the social identity process for the effectiveness of identity leadership was more important in partisan groups than in workgroups. The efficacy related process was group context invariant. These results have implications for our understanding of group processes involved in the leadership in collective action.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Critical skills for deputy principals in South African secondary schools

The development of critical skills for deputy principals is a matter which deserves attention, owing to the critical role which deputy principals are expected to play in school management. However, this area of research is neglected and has received limited attention in the literature that focuses on school leadership development. In this vein, the critical skills needed by deputy principals should be identified in order to suggest measures or programmes to develop the skills. Moreover, the role of deputy principals in school management and leadership brings expectations which need to be met through effective performance. In order for deputy principals to perform their duties as expected, they need proper skills and professional development. The purpose of the study reported on here was to identify and establish the extent of the need of critical skills for deputy principals in secondary schools. In order to achieve the aim of the study, a quantitative survey was adopted to collect the data. The paradigm used was the post-positivist paradigm. The participants in the study were 157 secondary school deputy principals from one province in South Africa. Data were gathered using a standardised questionnaire and analysed by means of descriptive statistical techniques, including frequencies, means and percentages. The results reveal that deputy principals in the studied sample needed positional-awareness or role-awareness, technical, socialisation and self-awareness skills in order to perform their duties effectively. We recommend a preparation programme, mentoring and ongoing professional development to develop these skills for deputy principals in order to empower them to contribute to the attainment of quality education. Keywords: critical skills; deputy principals; mentoring; professional development; school management team; secondary schools; South Afric

Affordable moisturisers are effective in atopic eczema: A randomised controlled trial

Background. Many patients depend on moisturisers issued by public health services in the management of atopic dermatitis (AD).Methods. In a randomised controlled trial of patients with mild to moderate AD, aged 1 - 12 years, study 1 compared aqueous cream v. liquid paraffin (fragrance-free baby oil) as a soap substitute, all patients using emulsifying ointment as moisturiser, and study 2 compared four moisturisers, emulsifying ointment, cetomacrogol, white petroleum jelly and glycerine/petroleum (proportion 1:2; ‘the 1:2  moisturiser’), all using fragrance-free baby oil as soap substitute. Assessments were one quality of life and three AD severity scores, at baseline and weeks 4, 8 and 12. Differences were compared using repeated measures of analysis of variance.Results. In both studies (120 children randomised, 20 in each group of the two trials) disease severity scores declined with time. The only significant difference was in one AD severity score (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) in study 1, both at baseline and over time (p=0.042 and p=0.022). The groups did not differ with regard to topical steroid use or side-effects. Itching from baby oil applied as soap was reported by four patients in the two studies, the petroleum jelly group had more dropouts than the 1:2 moisturiser group, although this was not statistically significant, and 110 patients (91.7%) completed the trial.Conclusions. The small sample limits generalisability, but the duration was longer than in most AD moisturiser studies. Fragrance-free baby oil as a soap substitute may be better tolerated (if irritation occurs) as a bath additive. The 1:2 moisturiser may be preferable to white petroleum jelly, but both are equivalent to cetomacrogol and emulsifying ointment. Use of accessible moisturisers could reduce the cost of managing mild to moderate AD

Food security, urban governance and multilevel government in Africa

Realising the right to food requires more than an increase in food production. Increasing access to food is equally important, so this contribution adopts a “food systems approach”. Against the backdrop of a growing number of countries on the continent that are decentralising powers to cities and regions, this chapter assesses the role of local governments in South Africa with respect to food security. It argues that food security is not just a national and/or provincial government concern, but that the Constitution demands of municipalities to contribute to realising the right to food. Against the backdrop of a general introduction into the division of responsibilities between national, provincial and local government, it deploys two arguments to make this assertion. The first is located in the jurisprudence of the South African Constitutional Court on socio-economic rights. The second is located in the division of powers between national, provincial and local government. This contribution explores various linkages between a municipality’s constitutional powers and food security. Specific emphasis is placed on the municipality’s responsibility to regulate trade and markets as well as its responsibility to conduct spatial planning and land-use management. The argument made in this chapter is also relevant in other countries on the continent that combine socio-economic rights with multilevel government arrangements

IziNambuzane: isiZulu names for insects

We provide a tool for communicating about insects in isiZulu to facilitate research and knowledge sharing in the fields of indigenous knowledge, cultural entomology, environmental education and community extensioninvolving isiZulu speakers. A total of 213 different names for 64 insect specimens were encountered among a sample of 67 respondents in 11 communities distributed across the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This list includes 93 names that can be considered core isiZulu vocabulary and which are widely used to identify insects that are agriculturally, medically, domestically, culturally or ecologically common or significant. Substantial variation was found regarding the names for particular insects, especially between regions, suggesting dialectal differences between isiZulu speakers. Grammatical and social variation in names was also recorded. This study highlights interdisciplinary teamwork in the field of indigenous knowledge research and the influences affecting the standardisation of South African languages for technical and scientific work

Anti-LRP/LR specific antibody IgG1-iS18 impedes adhesion and invasion of liver cancer cells.

Two key events, namely adhesion and invasion, are pivotal to the occurrence of metastasis. Importantly, the 37 kDa/67 kDa laminin receptor (LRP/LR) has been implicated in enhancing these two events thus facilitating cancer progression. In the current study, the role of LRP/LR in the adhesion and invasion of liver cancer (HUH-7) and leukaemia (K562) cells was investigated. Flow cytometry revealed that the HUH-7 cells displayed significantly higher cell surface LRP/LR levels compared to the poorly-invasive breast cancer (MCF-7) control cells, whilst the K562 cells displayed significantly lower cell surface LRP/LR levels in comparison to the MCF-7 control cells. However, Western blotting and densitometric analysis revealed that all three tumorigenic cell lines did not differ significantly with regards to total LRP/LR levels. Furthermore, treatment of liver cancer cells with anti-LRP/LR specific antibody IgG1-iS18 (0.2 mg/ml) significantly reduced the adhesive potential of cells to laminin-1 and the invasive potential of cells through the ECM-like Matrigel, whilst leukaemia cells showed no significant differences in both instances. Additionally, Pearson's correlation coefficients suggested direct proportionality between cell surface LRP/LR levels and the adhesive and invasive potential of liver cancer and leukaemia cells. These findings suggest the potential use of anti-LRP/LR specific antibody IgG1-iS18 as an alternative therapeutic tool for metastatic liver cancer through impediment of the LRP/LR- laminin-1 interaction.National Research Foundation.NCS201

The challenge of designing a Fischer-Tropsch reactor

Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 1-4 July, 2007.The Fischer-Tropsch process converts synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, to a spectrum of predominantly hydrocarbon products. The reaction is catalysed by cobalt, iron, nickel or ruthenium at elevated temperatures and pressures. In our studies of this system we developed a thermo-kinetic model of the reactor. One of the main challenges for the design of this type of reactor is the exothermicity of the reaction. Heat removal is critical to avoid catalyst deactivation and damage. To assess the heat removal it was therefore necessary to develop a descriptive model of the reactor. The overall process design we are developing is based on the results of an application of our process synthesis methodologies. These methods involved initially the definition and description of the fundamental processes taking place which are reaction and heat transfer. Thus in order to achieve an optimised design we needed to consider not only the reaction rate but also the rate of heat removal. Ideally, one would prefer a highly active catalyst to increase production per unit volume. However, the advantage of a highly active catalyst is offset by the necessity to equivalently enhance the heat removal to avoid damaging or destroying the catalyst. This requires the reactor designs to accommodate a trade-off between unit volume production rate and heat removal. This paper will address the issues involved in the thermodynamics, mass and heat transfer aspects of the Fischer-Tropsch reactor. This is further complicated by the high number of components and the multiple phases involved in the reactor. However due to the sensitivity of some information for commercial purposes in our research centre, relative values have been assigned to critical variables. This however does not compromise the quality of work.cs201

Gamma ray production cross sections in proton induced reactions on natural Mg, Si and Fe targets over the proton energy range 30 up to 66 MeV

Gamma-ray excitation functions have been measured for 30, 42, 54 and 66 MeV proton beams accelerated onto C + O (Mylar), Mg, Si, and Fe targets of astrophysical interest at the separate-sector cyclotron of iThemba LABS in Somerset West (Cape Town, South Africa). A large solid angle, high energy resolution detection system of the Eurogam type was used to record Gamma-ray energy spectra. Derived preliminary results of Gamma-ray line production cross sections for the Mg, Si and Fe target nuclei are reported and discussed. The current cross section data for known, intense Gamma-ray lines from these nuclei consistently extend to higher proton energies previous experimental data measured up to Ep ~ 25 MeV at the Orsay and Washington tandem accelerators. Data for new Gamma-ray lines observed for the first time in this work are also reported.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. IOP Institute of Physics Conference Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics VII, 28th EPF Nuclear Physics Divisional Conference, May 18-22 2015, York, U