First Year Students Understanding Of Elementary Concepts In Differential Calculus In A Computer Laboratory Teaching Environment

This paper focuses on blended learning in mathematics I module in elementary calculus, at a University of Technology.  A computer laboratory was used to create a learning environment that promoted interactive learning together with traditional teaching. The interactive learning was performed using projects to optimize the discovery and error diagnosis in an elementary differential calculus class consisting of first year engineering students.  A group of 33 engineering students (the experimental group) completed a project in elementary calculus as part of their course requirement for the mathematics I module in the engineering faculty. The project was designed to support the development of the differential calculus frames “limit of a sequence”, “average rate of change” and “instantaneous rate of change”.  Students were clinically interviewed on their tasks in the project. We also compared a control group of students (randomly selected students) in a completely traditional to the experimental group. Both groups were subjected to the Orton’s test on differential calculus.  Analysis of project work indicated that students have developed specific mathematical mental frames in elementary calculus. The control group exhibited more structural and executive errors than the experimental group. The experimental group tended to describe the concepts using deep structures than surface structures.  Statistically the scores on the Orton’s tests indicated a clear difference between the experimental group and the control group. We can suggest blended learning enhances understanding of key concepts in elementary calculus

The use of appreciative inquiry as an interview technique in radiography research

No Abstract

Compulsory HIV testing of alleged sexual offenders – a human rights violation

Chapter 5 of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act strives to achieve two objectives. It makes post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) accessible to victims of sexual assault, whether a charge is laid or not. In addition, it allows for the victim or the investigating officer to make application for the forcible disclosure of the HIV status of the accused, within 90 days of the assault. It is argued that the provision of PEP to victims of sexual assault is required by section 27(1) of the Constitution, and is an obligation that the state should assume and discharge efficiently and ably. However, it is considered that the provisions compelling the accused to disclosure his HIV status to the victim and investigating officer serve no medical purpose, and seriously infringe a number of important constitutional rights. The authors go on to argue that a magistrate has to be satisfied that a prima facie case has been made that the accused sexually assaulted the victim before compelling disclosure. Given the seriousness of this finding, it is very likely to be robustly contested by the accused and consequently victims may have to testify twice, initially at these proceedings and subsequently at the criminal proceedings. They argue that the medical, legal and support services provided to the victim should be upgraded and improved. The authors identify some clinics that are operating with reasonable efficiency. They argue that the simplistic solution of compelling the accused to disclose his HIV status is aimed at making up for the inadequacies of policing and the inability to prosecute effectively. They also submit that the test results may bring false hope and result in poor choices being made regarding treatment. They submit that the testing provisions may not be in the medical best interests of the patient and the provisions are not reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society and consequently unconstitutional

Communication Skills as a Subject in the Programme Cost and Management Accounting at a South African University

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the communication proficiency of the Cost and Management (CMA) students and to assess whether the studying of the subject,, â€Communication Skillsâ€, is having any positive influence on students’ skills development. The research design for this paper was descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional. The target population was 556 CMA students. A census survey was conducted. Findings, which were analysed with the aid of descriptive statistics, indicate a significant correlation between skills in English proficiency and better grades in CMA. This paper recommends the implementation of a screening mechanism and the provision for the acquisition of communication skills for first-year university students

Unusual presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis: a case report on mammary tuberculosis

This case study highlights an unusual manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in a person living with HIV, namely mammary TB. Clinicians practising in settings where HIV and TB are endemic need to be aware of the clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of mammary TB

Perceptions of Educators of Reading Literacy; A Case Study of the Intermediate Phase in South African Primary Schools

The achievement of worldwide participation in education is essentially determined by the quality of education available. How well learners are instructed and how much they learn determines how regularly learners attend schools. Sound education is further affected by the following factors: time spent learning by learners, assessment methods for monitoring learner progress, styles of teaching, education spending, the language of instruction, and classroom organisation strategies (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2005). However, the development of learners’ literacy in South Africa as a developing country is accentuated by several challenges. Many learners in South Africa have difficulty understanding the language in which they are taught which is English, as they are not taught in their mother tongue. However, the language of instruction is not solely responsible for the poor performance in international reading tests and schooling in general. Learners are also faced with socio-economic issues, very little or hardly any parental supervision and educators are faced with the challenge of finding reading methods and strategies suitable to improving reading. Learners in the foundation phase are explicitly taught reading skills. In the intermediate phase, learners are expected to apply the skills acquired in the foundation phase to access the curriculum. In reality, this is difficult to achieve. The purpose of this article is to determine educator perceptions of reading literacy in the intermediate phase with the aim of enhancing reading literacy in the intermediate phase

Spontaneous postpartum subcapsular haematoma of the liver

A case of spontaneous postpartum subcapsular haematoma of the liver is presented. Thus far there have been 54 reported cases in the literature and this is the 17th survivor. Our case is unusual in that the diagnosis was made pre-operatively, because of the classical presentation with signs of pre-eclampsia, shock, haemoperitoneum and a mass in the upper quadrant of the abdomen.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1997 (1974

Family planning dialogue: Identifying the key determinants of young women’s use and selection of contraception in Namibia

No Abstrac

Incorporating Africanness into the legal curricula: The case for criminal and procedural law

Criminal and procedural law has recently come under scrutiny and been criticised as being the ‘white-man’s law’. The claim is that this academic discipline of law, as conceptualised and studied thus far, has remained too Eurocentric and lego-centric, incorporating only Western legal concepts and not embodying African values and cultures. Criminal and procedural law studies are described as Western concepts created from the viewpoint of a dominant Western culture which does not take sufficient cognisance of other cultural traditions and therefore lacks certain elements of legitimacy. There has been increasing pressure on these subjects to Africanise the law and to make it relevant to the greater South African population. Combining indigenous legal concepts and general legal theory, this article examines the current situation and endeavours to develop methods to account for the effect of African law on criminal and procedural law. The article concludes that recognition should be given to the Africanisation (or South Africanisation) of law. Law students need to be better equipped to understand the manifold pluralities within and between legal systems in order to produce lawyers and judges who are “thoroughly grounded in the cultural milieu of the society in which the courts are based”

The implications of HIV infection on the management of valvular heart disease in Southern Africa

There is very limited information on the disease profile and treatment approaches in HIV patients with valvular heart disease (VHD) in developing countries. HIV infection impacts on patients with VHD in three settings: HIV/Aids as a comorbid disease in patients with underlying valve disease, infective endocarditis secondary to immunosuppression, and non-infective valve involvement from myocardial failure or from marantic endocarditis. The clinical presentation of infective endocarditis does not differ between HIV and non-HIV patients, with the exception that intravenous drug abuse is a common cause in specific populations. While peri-operative mortality and morbidity is high in acute infective endocarditis, surgical interventions do not increase the postoperative risk for complications or death and should therefore not be withheld. There is also little evidence to suggest that HIV or antiretroviral drugs increase the rate of cardiac-related pregnancy complications or that pregnancy may alter the course of HIV infection. Since antiretroviral therapy has been associated with considerable improvement in clinical status prior to surgery, as well as in long term outcomes, all patients with valve disease in whom intervention is likely should undergo HIV testing and staging so that highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) may be instituted timeously. Conclusion: The high prevalence of HIV in our population makes consideration of this comorbidity an essential facet in the routine evaluation and management of patients with VHD. There is solid evidence that these patients do no worse than non-HIV patients undergoing medical treatment or percutaneous/surgical intervention – open-heart surgery may be offered safely to patients with HIV if proper precautions are taken