Cultural specificity and cinematic narration

Except Indian theories, contemporary theories of cinematic narration seldom sufficiently verify the extent and ends to which cultural specificity informs principles of narration. That predicament is exacerbated by that significant theoretical accounts fail to effectively address the cross-cultural validity of narration theories. This dissertation undertakes to deconstruct these theories, seeking to establish ways in which the structures of cinematic narration and its theorization in specific cultural contexts are continuous with corresponding cultural patterns of thoughts. African, Indian, Latin American and Euro-American theories were therefore selected and analysed for such continuity. The analysis revealed some evidence which suggests the continuity of cinematic narration, and its theorization, with culturally specific patterns of thoughts. Another set of evidence, however, particularly the scarcity of comparative ethnographic studies of cinematic narration and the prevalence of a universalising approach in Euro-American theories, makes this continuity problematic. This dichotomy of evidence highlights issues of cross-cultural validity of narration theories, especially the transposability of theories to different cultural contexts. To be meaningfully addressed, these issues would require consistent ethnographic studies of narration. Such studies would be particularly useful (1) to post-theorist scholars who seek solutions to contextually-motivated theoretical problems, (2) in cross-cultural pluralist film analysis and (3) in studies of national cinema

Examining the inventory management of antiretroviral drugs at community health centres in the cape metropole, Western Cape

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharmSouth Africa is faced with a high number of people living with HIV/AIDS, and subsequently a great need to access quality medicines for improving patient therapeutic outcomes. Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) require rigid, efficient and effective management, due to their valuable efficacy in prolonging the survival of HIV/AIDS patients, and the limited possibility of substitution. Managing their flow is vital to ensure an uninterrupted supply. Problematic inventory management was experienced by some healthcare facilities in South Africa where in recent years it resulted in stock outs and stock losses through thefts. These factors present obstacles to the availability of quality medicines, which ultimately leads to treatment failure and deterioration of the health status of patients. The aim of this study was to characterise the inventory management practices and medicine store maintenance of ARVs in community health centres (CHCs) in the Cape Metropole, Western Cape, in order to identify specific problems associated with ARV stock management. The study used a descriptive, cross-sectional study design to examine ARV records and to highlight associated discrepancies between recorded iii quantities on logistics tools used and physical counts, to assess the store maintenance, to measure the supply rate and identify factors contributing to poor stock management. The sample comprised 15 CHCs under the Western Cape Provincial Government (WCPG) accredited to provide ARV treatment. A checklist developed by Management Sciences for Health was adapted and was used to gather quantitative information (e.g. physical stock count). Some qualitative data was collected from responsible personnel for ARV drug management at each site. 86.7% of CHCs utilised a logistics tool (either manual or electronic) to manage ARVs. The average number of adult ARV drugs with a logistics tool available in all CHCs was 82.7% of which 21.9% met the criteria for accuracy. Only 32.9% of all logistics tools had records that were up to date. The average percentage of total variation between stock records and physical counts for the ARV drugs assessed was 51.6%. No historical data on stock outs and monthly usage (monthly consumption) could be retrieved in any of the CHCs, although there were no actual stock outs on the day of the fieldwork. The order fill rate was 91.9%. Since ordering is done more often that it should, stock availability did not appear to be problematic. Standard appropriate physical dimensions were not met by 20% of the CHCs and only 66.7% of the CHCs had appropriate labeling of the shelves in the dispensary and in the storeroom. This study demonstrated poor inventory management with respect to the general quality of record keeping, space allocation and general organisation of the medicine storeroom. Making timely entries and recording issues on logistics tools are recommended to keep up to date inventory records and management information system. Frequent monitoring of stock status is suggested, to avoid discrepancies and to keep it to adequate levels iv which will minimise multiple ordering. Regular supervision by the district pharmacist is needed to identify training and other needs. A study on general cost and delivery costs associated with poor record keeping should be carried out

Properties of green valley galaxies in relation to their selection criteria

The distribution of galaxies has been studied to show the difference between the blue cloud and red sequence and to define the green valley region. However, there are still many open questions regarding the importance of the green valley for understanding the morphological transformation and evolution of galaxies, how galaxies change from late-type to early-type and the role of AGN in galaxy formation and evolution scenario. The work focused on studying in more details the properties of green valley galaxies by testing the six most used selection criteria, differences between them, and how they may affect the main results and conclusions. The main findings are that, by selecting the green valley galaxies using different criteria, we are selecting different types of galaxies in terms of their stellar masses, sSFR, SFR, spectroscopic classification and morphological properties, where the difference was more significant for colour criteria than for sSFR and SFR vs. stellar-mass criteria.Comment: Proceedings paper of the IAU symposium "Nuclear Activity in Galaxies Across Cosmic Time" (Ethiopia) accepted to be published under the Cambridge University Press, eds. M. Povic, P. Marziani, J. Masegosa, H. Netzer, S. H. Negu, and S. B. Tessem

Le chant des entrailles, une philosophie de l’intestin

« Dans le plus profond de la mer la plus profonde, j’ai creusé un trou dans le sein même de mon propre corps sphérique. Parce que je voulais manger plus. Parce que j’avais faim. À partir de ce trou central, j’ai percé mon corps en deux extrémités afin qu’il devienne un tube. Parce que je voulais manger plus, parce que ma faim ne s’apaisait jamais. J’ai alors pris (in)conscience de devenir « intestin ». Pour manger plus encore j’ai même réussi à fabriquer toute une organisation complexe qui me..

Reversible difference expansion multi-layer data hiding technique for medical images

Maintaining the privacy and security of confidential information in data communication has always been a major concern. It is because the advancement of information technology is likely to be followed by an increase in cybercrime, such as illegal access to sensitive data. Several techniques were proposed to overcome that issue, for example, by hiding data in digital images. Reversible data hiding is an excellent approach for concealing private data due to its ability to be applied in various fields. However, it yields a limited payload and the quality of the image holding data (Stego image), and consequently, these two factors may not be addressed simultaneously. This paper addresses this problem by introducing a new non-complexity difference expansion (DE) and block-based reversible multi-layer data hiding technique constructed by exploring DE. Sensitive data are embedded into the difference values calculated between the original pixels in each block with relatively low complexity. To improve the payload capacity, confidential data are embedded in multiple layers of grayscale medical images while preserving their quality. The experiment results prove that the proposed technique has increased the payload with an average of 369999 bits and kept the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) to the average of 36.506 dB using medical images' adequate security the embedded private data. This proposed method has improved the performance, especially the secret size, without reducing much the quality. Therefore, it is suitable to use for relatively big payloads

Mental and physical health in Rwanda 14years after the genocide

Purpose: To examine the socio-demographic determinants of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its association with major depressive episode and self-perceived physical and mental health in a large random sample of the Rwandan population 14years after the 1994 genocide. Methods: Using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form (SF-36) translated in Kinyarwanda, we interviewed 1,000 adult residents from the five provinces of Rwanda. Socio-demographic data and specific somatic symptoms were also recorded. Data analysis included 962 questionnaires. Results: Participants were predominantly female (58.9%), aged between 16 and 34years (53.2%), with a low level of education (79.7% below secondary school). Prevalence of PTSD was estimated to be 26.1%. In multivariable analysis, factors associated with PTSD were being aged between 25 and 34years, living in extreme poverty, having endured the murder of a close relative in 1994, being widowed or remarried, having lost both parents and living in the South Province. Participants who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for PTSD were significantly more often affected with major depression (68.4 vs. 6.6%, P<0.001) and substance dependence (7.6 vs. 3.5%, P=0.013) than respondents without PTSD. They scored significantly lower on all SF-36 subscales. Somatic symptoms such as hiccups, fainting and loss of speech or hearing delineated a specific pattern of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Conclusions: PTSD remains a significant public health problem in Rwanda 14years after the genocide. Facilitating access to appropriate care for all those who need it should be a national priorit

Utilização de instrumentos financeiros derivados em Moçambique

Mestrado em Contabilidade, Fiscalidade e Finanças EmpresariaisA utilização de derivados é cada vez mais comum nas empresas modernas, sendo estes instrumentos utilizados na cobertura de diferentes riscos a que as empresas estão expostas. Embora as empresas moçambicanas estejam expostas a diferentes categorias de risco, constata-se que a utilização de instrumentos derivados é inexpressiva em Moçambique. Assim, o objectivo desta pesquisa é estudar a utilização dos derivados em Moçambique, analisando o nível de utilização, perfil dos usuários, tipos de instrumentos e os motivos de sua contratação. Do estudo realizado, concluiu-se que a utilização dos derivados ainda é pouco expressiva em Moçambique, sendo que esses instrumentos não são transacionados em bolsa e são oferecidos por um reduzido número de bancos comerciais. Constatou-se também que os bancos que oferecem derivados, detém uma carteira muito reduzida de clientes nestes produtos. Conclui-se ainda que o principal motivo para o recurso aos derivados em Moçambique é a cobertura de risco e que os derivados de maior utilização são os derivados cambiais. Quanto às características dos utilizadores, os dados da pesquisa indicam que os derivados são utilizados por grandes e médias empresas, numa proporção de 86% e 14% respectivamente, não tendo sido reportado o uso por micro e pequenas empresas. Dentre as grandes empresas, a taxa de utilização encontrada foi de 37% sendo as grandes multinacionais responsáveis por 38% do reporte de uso de derivados. O sector de actividade que mais reporta o uso destes instrumentos é o das actividade financeiras e de seguros, com um reporte de utilização de 62%.The use of derivatives is increasingly common in modern companies, and these instruments are used to cover different risks to which companies are exposed. Although Mozambican companies are exposed to different risk categories, the use of derivative instruments is unimpressive. Thus, the objective of this research is to study the use of derivatives in Mozambique, analyzing the level of use, profile of users, most used products and utilization purposes. From the study, it was concluded that the use of derivatives is not very significant in Mozambique, that these instruments are not traded on the stock exchange and are offered by a small number of commercial banks. It was also found that the banks that offer derivatives have a very small portfolio of customers for these products. The study led to the conclusion that the main reason for the use of derivatives in Mozambique is risk hedging and that the most widely used derivatives are the currency derivatives. Regarding the characteristics of the customers, the research data indicate that the derivatives are used by large and medium-sized companies in a proportion of 86% and 14% respectively, and the use by micro and small companies has not been reported. The utilization rate among the large companies was found to be around 37% and among these companies, the major multinationals being responsible for 38% of the report on the use of derivatives. The sector of activity that most reports the use of derivatives is the financial sector, with a utilization report of 62%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio