Measuring creativity and innovation abilities of final year undergraduate students in an emerging economy

Abstract: Creativity and Innovation is an important aspect of entrepreneurial education. Creativity skills enable students to create value that have the potential to commercialise their innovations. Creativity is dependent on the real world exposure of students, and in emerging economies their exposure to problems differ from developed economies..

The utilisation of the right of children to shelter to alleviate poverty in South Africa

Children being the most vulnerable members of society are the one's most affected by living in poverty. This unacceptable situation can inter alia be attributed to the disastrous effects of Apartheid. During this unfortunate period in our nation's history millions of people were unjustly evicted from their homes and forced to live in deplorable conditions. Moreover, many of these people were left homeless or without the necessary adequate shelter. Children who were born into these circumstances were denied basic resources such as proper shelter, food, water and health care services. These unfortunate circumstances existed at the adoption of South Africa 's democratic Constitution. The preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996 reaffirms government's commitment to heal the inequalities of the past and improve the quality of life of all citizens. The Constitution is based on certain fundamental values, most importantly, human dignity, freedom and equality. The fact that these values are denied to those people living without access to basic resources such as adequate housing/shelter, food, water or health care services cannot be dismissed. To facilitate South Africa 's development as a democratic state based on human dignity, freedom and equality, the problem of poverty must be addressed. The Constitutional Court , in Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v Grootboom and Others 2000 11 BCLR 1169 (CC), has recently stated that the effective realisation of socio-economic rights is key to the advancement of a value based democratic South Africa . Section 26 of the Constitution grants everyone the right to have access to adequate housing and section 28 that grants every child the additional right to basic shelter among others. By virtue of section 28(1)(b) the primary responsibility to provide children with the necessary adequate housing/shelter is vested in their parents, unless the parents are unable to fulfil their duty or the children are removed from their care. This does not in the least mean that the state has no responsibilities to children living with their parents. The state must still provide the framework in which parents can facilitate the realisation of their children's rights. The state can fulfil this obligation by taking reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to realise everyone's right of access to adequate housing progressively.  Therefore, it is submitted that the measures taken to realise section 26 also indirectly ensures the realisation of children's right to basic shelter (section 28(1)(c)). It has been largely accepted by the courts and academics alike that all fundamental human rights are indivisible and interrelated. Clearly then, the state's obligations in terms of section 28(1)(c) cannot be properly interpreted without referring to the interpretation of those obligations conferred upon it by section 26(2) and the other socio-economic rights in the Constitution. Hence, section 28(1)(c) must be seen in the context of the Constitution as a whole. Put simply, the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to realise children's right to basic housing/shelter progressively. This article will focus on the utilisation of the right to shelter of the child to alleviate poverty. Essential to this discussion is an effective understanding of the right to basic shelter as entrenched by section 28 of the Constitution in conjunction with the right of access to adequate housing conferred on everyone by virtue of section 26. This will be achieved by studying the general working of such rights including their limitations and enforcement

Legislative and other measures taken by government to realise the right of children to shelter

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996 entrenches numerous socio-economic rights. One of these socio-economic rights is contained in section 26 that grants everyone the right to have access to adequate housing and section 28 that grants every child the additional right to basic shelter among others. This article aims to examine the legislative and other measures taken by the state to realise the right to shelter of children. Firstly, the legislative measures taken specifically for the realisation of children's right to basic shelter as envisaged by section 28(1)(c) will be discussed. Thereafter attention will be drawn to those measures taken to ensure the progressive realisation of section 26. Section 26 provides everyone, including children, the right of access to adequate housing. Therefore, every measure taken to realise section 26 is indirectly applicable to the realisation of section 28(1)(c) and children's right to basic shelter. The conclusion may be drawn that most of the discussed legislative and other measures are aimed at realising everyone's right of access to adequate housing, this includes children. However, most of these measures make little mention of the specific right of children to basic shelter. It is regarded as inclusive in the overall application of the legislation. Once again, it must be stressed that these legislative and other measures, in order to comply with the standard of reasonableness, must regard the interest of children to be paramount. If such legislation does not provide for the interest of children as a vulnerable group, it can be argued that the relevant legislative measure is not constitutionally valid. It is submitted that national government must recognise the importance of the role of local government, and local government should increasingly assume policy-making and implementation powers in their area. This will go a long way to building local capacity to function as effective development facilitators. As far as the resource problem is concerned, corruption in municipalities should be eradicated, while municipal capacity to manage and mobilise resources must be enhanced.  The importance of co-operative government cannot be over emphasised. Without an effective integrated plan of action, which includes cooperation between all three spheres of government, as well as the participation of civil society, especially people who are directly affected by the implementation of socio-economic rights, realising the right of children to shelter will only exist on paper

Can Calvin provide a golden thread in the labyrinth of catechisms available in the church today?

A congregation can easily get lost in the labyrinth of catechism syllabi available for an educational ministry today. Calvin’s wish was that the church would have one catechism common to all churches. However, he consented to different churches developing different catechisms. He also warned about the power of catechesis, as it has the potential to influence the church for decades to come, and as the body of Christ can be strengthened or wounded through catechesis. Can Calvin provide a golden thread to navigate the labyrinth of catechisms available in the church today? Different models of catechesis are discussed briefly. The similarities and differences with Calvin’s approach to catechism are highlighted, and the article concludes with guidelines for contemporary catechesis

The inadequacy of the Social Grant System available to children in South Africa

The purpose of this article is to examine the current social assistance grant system available to children in South Africa and to indicate its major shortcomings. The new Children’s Bill and Social Assistance Bill, soon to be enacted, will also be examined to establish whether there are any positive changes with regard to the socio-economic situation of children. Proposals made by the South African Law Commission, South African Human Rights Commission, Committee of Inquiry into a Comprehensive System of Social Security for South Africa, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and several other interested parties will also be considered to establish whether in fact government is in compliance with its constitutional and international duty towards realising the social security and social assistance rights of children. It is submitted that the exclusion of children of the ages of (currently) 11 to 18 from the child support grant infringes on their  constitutional rights to social assistance, human dignity, life and equality. Another problem with the current grants is the unavailability thereof to households where an adult caregiver is absent as well as the complicated means test. The unavailability of these grants to children of refugees is also a cause for concern. Due to the categorical nature of children’s social assistance grants, it is submitted that the state is not currently conforming to the standards set by the Bill of Rights and international law

A simple model of a vesicle drop in a confined geometry

We present the exact solution of a two-dimensional directed walk model of a drop, or half vesicle, confined between two walls, and attached to one wall. This model is also a generalisation of a polymer model of steric stabilisation recently investigated. We explore the competition between a sticky potential on the two walls and the effect of a pressure-like term in the system. We show that a negative pressure ensures the drop/polymer is unaffected by confinement when the walls are a macroscopic distance apart

Second-language intervention for prospective l eT learners at a University of Technology

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been identified as one of the key pillars of growth in the South African economy. Currently a skills gap exists in formally trained black and coloured ICT professionals. Concurrently, higher education institutions experience a changing  demographic profile of learner enrolments with high dropout rates, failure rates and an English proficiency level below the required Grade 12 level. The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) particularly experienced a high failure rate in the module, Programming l . Researchers at the VUT  introduced an entry-level certificate i n ICT, which includes an English  Proficiency module in order to improve the learners' English proficiency and to provide articulation for a diversity of learners into the Higher Diploma in ICT. The results indicate that the English Proficiency module had a positive correlation with the results of the Programming 1 module. Results also indicate the successful implementation of a teaching strategy based on collaborative constructivism.Keywords: English proficiency; comprehension; ICT; programming logi

A cross-sectional study of 2550 amateur cyclists shows lack of knowledge regarding relevant sports nutrition guidelines

Background: Amateur cyclists use a wide variety of supplements and nutritional substances to increase performance in addition to their training.Objectives: The intended nutritional supplement use, carbohydrate (CHO) use and hydration practices of amateur cyclists before, during and after endurance cycling were analysed. Evidence of ignorance regarding the use of sports supplements and CHO, as well as the disregard of hydration strategy was hypothesised.Methods: Amateur cyclists, of all age and sex groups, were requested to complete an online survey anonymously on the 2013 Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge website, a few days before the event.Results: Responses were received from 2 550 out of 30 640 race entrants (8%); representing a distribution of 75% males, 25% females, with the majority between 25 to 45 years old. Nutritional supplements were used by 59% of respondents, with 77% dose adherence, and 29% with supplement ingredient knowledge. Half of the respondents (48%) planned to carbo-load two-three days before the event, while only five percent used professional advice to scientifically calculate their carbo-loading requirements. CHO were consumed by 81% during the event. Hydration preferences during the race were sports drinks (59%) and water (22%); and after the race 45% preferred a sports drink and 40% water. Ingredients, taste, colour, and temperature were criteria used to choose a sports drink. Only 18% of respondents knew to use both colour of urine and thirstiness to determine post-race fluid requirements.Conclusion: The authors concluded that amateur cyclists had insufficient knowledge regarding nutritional supplement ingredients and usage, CHO requirements and carbo-loading practices, and hydration strategies before, during and after the event.Keywords: ergogenic aids, nutritional supplements, carbohydrate us

Vinnige identifikasiemetodes van giste tydens fungemie

A wet preparation method, modified serum test and a modified disc diffusion method were evaluated in order to identify yeasts more rapidly during fungaemia. A total of 2932 blood cultures were processed, of which 54 (1,8%) yielded yeasts. By using these methods, Candida albicans was identified within 3 hours, after yeast growth in the blood culture was confirmed by Gram stain. The wet preparation examinations were accurate in 60% of cases and the serum test in 95% of cases. After growth was detected, yeast species other than C. albicans were identified within 24 hours using the modified disc diffusion method. C. albicans (50%), C. tropicalis (22%) and C. parapsilosis (22%) were the species most frequently isolated. Fungaemia occurred ,most often after antimicrobial therapy and abdominal conditions

From start-up entrepreneur to entrepreneurial leader – a conceptual model

Abstract: There is no doubt that entrepreneurs are being considered as wealth creators and are considered as catalysts to bring about social change. Emerging economies are dependent on their entrepreneurial flare and robust thinking because of their ability to think and act outside normal practices. However, theories on how entrepreneurs transform from their start-up stage to entrepreneurial leaders in the shortest time possible with minimum risk is relatively absent. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is firstly, to define entrepreneurial leadership as a concept, provide an overview of Jaques Stratified Systems Theory and Sarasvathy’s effectual reasoning theory. The authors proceed with a conceptual model of Entrepreneurial Leadership Levels and the associated complexities per level. Secondly, the researchers propose different modes of entrepreneurial education and developmental interventions that would best fit during each Entrepreneurial Leadership Level to ensure successful transition to the next Entrepreneurial Leadership Level. The research design was qualitative, explorative and interpretative in nature. Document analysis was used to gain meaning and understanding to enable the researchers to cultivate empirical knowledge. Further, a constructivist approach was used by the researchers based on their own reality being formed by involvement with entrepreneurs and being involved in entrepreneurial upskilling