Understanding corporate social investment practice in South Africa

In this study, the researcher employed an inductive qualitative approach to explore the rationale and dimensions of corporate social investment (CSI) practice in South Africa. While the globalised CSI literature is robust, the South African literature is fragmented and insufficient, despite the growing social need for this type of funding in the context of South Africa. Thus, with this paper, the researcher fills this research gap by providing an exploratory analysis of the structure and evolution of CSI practice in South Africa. The motivation behind this research is to use the research to optimise the social impact that CSI participation can provide, as well as integrating corporate funding into the broader approach of addressing the country's poor socioeconomic conditions. In the study, the researcher covered a sample of 15 CSI professions operating in positions in either large South African corporations or established NGOs, with an average CSI experience of 13 years. The results of the inductive qualitative analysis show that the CSI functions operated using a traditional corporate function structure. The history and rationale of CSI practice have been key elements in defining current CSI practice. Initially, governmental regulation resulted in adherence strategies. However, growing social considerations have shifted CSI policy from adherence to impact. This has driven the growing sophistication in CSI practice in the country. The researcher breaks down this evolution and discusses the key strengths and weaknesses of each element to provide sufficient detail to the function. The findings are used to derive recommendations for CSI best practice. Internal commitment, sustainability, process management and key stakeholder relationships are prioritised in these recommendations. The exploratory findings provide a baseline in accordance with which more statistically robust or comprehensive research methods can be used to assess the identified elements of CSI more thoroughly and in more depth. The research provides a generalised benchmark for corporations to assess their CSI practice against an established peer group, while providing ideas about improving their CSI practice going forward

Development of Methods for Assessing the Effect of Moisture and Aging On Sliceability of Cheese

Sliceability is a cheese’s ability to cut cleanly into thin slices, resist breakage or fracture at slices edges, and undergo a high level of bending before breaking. Intuitively, sliceability depends on the chemistry, microstructural, and rheological properties of the casein network. Currently there is no reported scientific research investigating evaluation methods of cheese slice quality, as well as properties that influence a cheese’s ability to slice. In this study, a method for slice quality evaluation was developed on purchased cheese and performed on commercial cheeses and experimental cheeses manufactured at three different moisture contents (40.6%, 37.0%, and 33.9%). In addition, tack force, tack energy, flexibility force, G’, G”, and G* were examined to determine whether or not moisture content influences cheese sliceability. Overall, slice quality at all three moisture contents improved as storage time increased, and the high moisture cheeses produced the worst quality slices and the low moisture cheeses produced the best. Both tack energy and tack force increased with increasing moisture content, and G’, G”, and G* decreased with increasing moisture and did not change over time. Tack energy and G” were found to be slightly correlated with cheese slice quality. Flexibility force was not correlated with cheese slice quality. Moisture and storage time, as well their interaction, had significant effects on dependent variables, potentially indicating that a higher moisture cheese texture changes differently compared to medium and low moisture cheeses during storage. Correlation tests did not express a strong connection between moisture content, age, and cheese slice quality, overall. This research lays the foundation for future slice quality evaluation, and is a starting point upon which other companies and scientists can build

Knowledge of intensive care nurses in selected care areas commonly guided by protocols

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of nurses working in ICU with respect to pain management, glycaemic control and weaning from mechanical ventilation, care areas that are commonly guided by protocols. The effect of formal ICU training and years of ICU experience on this knowledge was elicited. A non-experimental, descriptive and contextual two-phase research design was used. The first phase of the study consisted of developing and validating a data collection instrument, using purposive sampling to select two groups of ICU nursing experts. The second phase of the study used the instrument developed in phase one to test the knowledge of nurses working in ICU. The knowledge of 136 ICU nurses (68 ICU trained and 68 non-ICU trained) from three (n=3) public sector and two (n=2) private sector hospitals in Gauteng was tested using the data collection instrument developed by the researcher and the two groups of ICU nursing experts. Knowledge of nurses, both ICU trained and non-ICU trained, working in the ICUs of three public and two private hospitals in Gauteng was found to be lacking in the three care areas tested in this study, namely pain management, glycaemic control and weaning from mechanical ventilation. The difference in knowledge between ICU trained and non-ICU trained nurses was statistically significant but relatively small. A weak correlation was found between level of knowledge and years of ICU experience. Recommendations to address this lack of knowledge of ICU nurses are given for clinical nursing practice, nursing management and nursing educators, as well as recommendations for further research in this area

От поэтики литературы к истории крестьянства: мои ранние приключения в области русистики

The article was submitted on 30.01.2015.The Editorial Board of the journal is rightly proud that it managed to persuade Professor Maureen Perrie, the eminent British historian of Russia, to write this memoir, intriguingly entitled ‘From Poetry to Peasantry: my Early Adventures in Russian Studies’. The memoir is written with such candour, and in such a lively and entertaining style, that its appeal will extend beyond specialists in the humanities. The reader is presented with a portrait of an entire generation, with its insights and its delusions, its loyalty to its parents’ moral code and its aspiration towards new visions of humanity. Maureen Perrie’s remarkable memory for detail enables her to create a complex and dynamic picture of the attitude of British society towards Russia, of cultural interactions and the cruel political prejudice that played such a pernicious role. At the same time we have a valuable account of her youthful enthusiasms, heartfelt experiences and the role of personal relationships in her development as a historian. The author followed a complex path, beginning with an interest in Russian literature and the Symbolists (her favourite poet was Alexander Blok), and leading on to research on the Russian peasantry, pretenderism and the Russian monarchy. This trajectory provides evidence of her inquiring mind and her desire to get to the very heart of a phenomenon – because a true understanding of Russia involves first and foremost an understanding of the patriarchal mindset, the peasant world, popular utopias and the cruelty of the regime towards its own people. Maureen Perrie has brilliantly succeeded in her task. Her publications make a major contribution to international Russian Studies; and this autobiographical essay, which is so revealing of the author’s personality, provides entertaining and moving reading for all lovers of Russian culture. Translated by Elena Galitsyna.Редколлегия журнала по праву гордится тем, что ей удалось заинтересовать выдающегося английского профессора истории России Морин Перри предложением написать воспоминания, интригующе озаглавленные «От поэтики литературы к истории крестьянства: мои ранние приключения в области русистики». Воспоминания написаны с таким доверительным чувством, настолько живо и занимательно, что должны привлечь внимание не только специалистов в сфере гуманитарной науки. Перед читателем возникает портрет целого поколения с его проницательностью и заблуждениями, верностью родительской морали и устремлением к новым горизонтам человечности. Удивительная память Морин Перри на детали позволяет воспроизвести объемную и динамичную картину отношения британского общества к России, культурных взаимодействий и политической античеловеческой ангажированности, играющей губительную роль. Вместе с тем перед нами драгоценные страницы, описывающие увлечения юности, тонкие переживания, роль человеческих взаимоотношений в формировании историка. Проделанный автором непростой путь, начавшийся с интереса к русской литературе и младосимволистам (любимый поэт – А. Блок) и приведший к изучению русского крестьянства, самозванчества и российской монархии, свидетельствует о пытливости ума и стремлении проникнуть в самую глубь явления, потому что действительно понять Россию – это, в первую очередь, понять патриархальное сознание, крестьянский мир, народные утопии и жестокость режима к своему народу. Это блестяще удалось Морин Перри. Ее работы являются важной страницей мировой русистики, а ее биографические заметки, раскрывающие личность автора, представляют занимательное и эмоциональное чтение для всех любящих русскую культуру

Mechanisms of femtosecond laser-induced refractive index modification of poly(methyl methacrylate)

The mechanisms of refractive index change in poly(methyl methacrylate) by frequency doubled femtosecond laser pulses are investigated. It is demonstrated that positive refractive index modificaton can be caused by a combination of depolymerization and crosslinking

A pilot study to determine the profile of recovery room nurses in Johannesburg hospitals

Background: Apart from anecdotal evidence, very little is known of the recovery room nurses in South Africa.Method: An exploratory, prospective, descriptive pilot study was carried out in the recovery rooms of six Johannesburg hospitals, three academic and three private hospitals, one from each of the major private hospital groups. An appointment was scheduled and data were collected from either the theatre nursing manager, sister in charge of the recovery room or the nursing manager. The data collected reflected a brief profile of the selected recovery rooms and the demographic and education profile of nurses working there in August 2011.Results: Nurse:patient ratios were difficult to determine. Agency staff was used by one recovery room. The other recovery rooms used their permanent staff to work overtime. All the hospitals used anaesthetic nurses to double up when necessary. Only one of the recovery rooms had a supernumerary anaesthetist available during the day. A total of 49 nurses were working in the six recovery rooms during August 2011. The majority, 95.9% (n = 47), of the recovery room nurses were females and 4.1% (n = 2) were males. The average age of the recovery nurses was 44 years (25–63 years), with a median of 41 years. The experience of the recovery room nurses ranged from one month to 35 years with an average of 8.6 years. The majority of nurses, 57.1% (n = 28), were professional nurses, and 42.9% (n = 21) were enrolled nurses. Of the 28 professional nurses, 32.0% (n = 9) had no postgraduate training. The remaining 19 nurses had the following postgraduate qualifications: management and operating room technique 17.9% (n = 5), critical care 14.3% (n = 4), and education 10.7% (n = 3). The six-month anaesthetic nurse qualification, that is not an official South African Nursing Council-endorsed postgraduate qualification, was held by 35.7% (n = 10) of the professional nurses and 4.8% (n = 1) of the enrolled nurses. All the recovery rooms had an in-service education programme.Conclusion: There is a need to determine the profile of recovery room nurses in South Africa and to establish an appropriately trained and competent recovery room nursing workforce.Keywords: recovery room nurse, educational profile, demographic profil

Rent Control and Public Housing

Rent control is a snare and a delusion for those who think it will actually help the poor. It reduces the supply of rental housing from the level that would otherwise have obtained, and the poor get the short end of the stick whenever there is a shortage of anything. Housing is no exception to this general rule. Nor is public housing a solution to the needs of the poor. Instead, it boomerangs on this sector of the population. The free enterprise system, with neither of these policies, is the last best option for the poverty stricken