The narrative of dual medium in a multilingual context of a black urban area in Grade R.

Abstract: This article is a critical analysis of how a black urban primary school in South Africa used dual medium in two Grade R (Reception year or kindergarten) classes. An ethnographic inquiry was conducted in a township primary school, informed by sociocultural theory. The sample comprised children, teachers and parents of classes divided by the school according to the learners’ home languages. Data collection included interviews, observations, artefacts and a reflective journal, analysed using Atlas.ti software and Brewer’s steps of analysis. Language code-switching and translation were mainly employed by teachers to address language complexity emanating from internal and external factors affecting the school. Having to learn in a dual medium of one African language or home language and English highlighted the need to revisit the crucial area of language development and acquisition in early childhood development and foundation phase learners

An ethnographic account of teaching and learning of the first Grade R programme in a developing school in 2010 in a black urban community

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology)The aim of this study was to give an ethnographic story of the first Grade R programme in a developing school in 2010 in a black urban community and to use my story of the Grade R teaching and learning to contribute to a better understanding of the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and education in South Africa. This research was a response to the Department of Education’s concern that the Foundation Phase, Grade R included, does not receive the attention it deserves in South Africa. There appears to be alternative views and perspectives of what constitutes good ECD or Grade R practice. As a result, the conceptualisation of Grade R and ECD as a whole is problematic and inconsistent. This study is situated in the interpretivist naturalistic paradigm using sociocultural theory as theoretical framework. I studied the participants in a naturally occurring setting using methods of data collection which captured their social meanings and ordinary activities, whilst I participated directly in the setting in order to collect data in a systemic manner. Thutong1 a primary school established in 2010 in a black urban community, was the research site. Two Grade R classrooms were studied, comprising 60 children and two teachers. The classes were divided according to the children’s home languages, Sesotho (South Sotho) and isiZulu. The lens through which I observed the teaching and learning of the Grade R at Thutong had a sociocultural focus. Data was collected by means of participant-observation; interviews; photographs and photographic data; and artefacts. I used Brewer’s steps of analysis but they were not necessarily followed to the letter. As social phenomena were recorded and classified I compared the different data sets across categories. Atlas.ti computer software was used for qualitative data analysis and text management. Findings suggested that the Grade R language maze is central to teaching and learning of Grade R children, and this became an overarching theme. The sub-themes that were arrived at include language code switching, translation, dual medium in multilingual context, sound/letter recognition, numeracy teaching, Thutong teachers as griots, rhymes and Grade R learning, rote learning in language and numeracy, play in language acquisition, and barriers to learning and support. The diverse population of the black urban community in which the school is situated cautions stakeholders to plan carefully Grade R. In line with the sociocultural theory, a proposal for reform in Thutong would have to consider economic, political, historical, social, and cultural factors because the school is a part of and reflects the larger social system in which it is situated. The story reflects an urgent need to strengthen Early Childhood Development and education in South Africa, thus this study also addresses the need to support and promote local perspectives, questions and issues in order to move beyond the singular image of the global child. The study highlights the importance of teacher training, intense support to teachers and children by the Department of Education, children’s readiness to learn and parental involvement in language acquisition and development

Atmospheric oxidative and non-oxidative leaching of Ni-Cu matte by acidified ferric chloride solution

The atmospheric leaching of copper-bearing matte by acidic ferric chloride solution was studied at the laboratory scale. The aim was to achieve maximum copper and nickel recovery by investigating the mechanisms of leaching, as well as identifying the effect of temperature, and concentration of ferric chloride and oxygen..

A Social Work investigation into the causal factors of relationship problems between stepparents and adolescent stepchildren

The objective of this study was to explore the problems existing in stepfamilies, which affect the relationship between stepparents and adolescent children and their effects on the different systems within these families. A qualitative research approach was followed. Three focus groups were conducted with the respondents. These focus groups were exploring the way things are regarding the adolescent stepchildren’s appraisal of the problems of having a stepparent, relating to him/her; their available coping resources; and their coping responses in adjusting to the situation. The respondents reported limited family interaction. It was also discovered that they were not freely expressing their feelings, especially about their stepparents. Their respondents, their biological parents and their stepparents have received limited professional assistance regarding their to-be-established stepfamilies. The outcomes of this study have shown that the stepfamily members need more professional support in terms of coping with the family situation. The stepfamily members need guidance and assistance with the coping responses with the stressors of having a stepfamily. Further research is recommended to describe the stepparents and biological parent’s relationship to their adolescent stepchildren, in order to provide comparative data for the present study. A study can also be conducted to determine further needs of stepfamilies, especially before remarriage, with regards to professional support services, for instance pre-marital counseling, legal issues pertaining to inheritance, wills, maintenance of stepchildren, adoption and custody of stepchildren.Dissertation (MA (SW) (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2006.Social Work and Criminologyunrestricte

Risk factors for Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) death in a population cohort study from the Western Cape province, South Africa

Risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death in sub-Saharan Africa and the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis on COVID-19 outcomes are unknown. We conducted a population cohort study using linked data from adults attending public-sector health facilities in the Western Cape, South Africa. We used Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, sex, location, and comorbidities, to examine the associations between HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 death from 1 March to 9 June 2020 among (1) public-sector “active patients” (≥1 visit in the 3 years before March 2020); (2) laboratory-diagnosed COVID-19 cases; and (3) hospitalized COVID-19 cases. We calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for COVID-19, comparing adults living with and without HIV using modeled population estimates.Among 3 460 932 patients (16% living with HIV), 22 308 were diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 625 died. COVID19 death was associated with male sex, increasing age, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. HIV was associated with COVID-19 mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70–2.70), with similar risks across strata of viral loads and immunosuppression. Current and previous diagnoses of tuberculosis were associated with COVID-19 death (aHR, 2.70 [95% CI, 1.81–4.04] and 1.51 [95% CI, 1.18–1.93], respectively). The SMR for COVID-19 death associated with HIV was 2.39 (95% CI, 1.96–2.86); population attributable fraction 8.5% (95% CI, 6.1–11.1)

The impact of impressions management on women's career progression in an organisation

In a moment a woman can decide to remain on a set career path, however through Impressions management, a process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of themselves, decisions are made to continue or opt out. The focus of this study was to explore unspoken or (in)visible norms that form part of these impressions. The study explored what the norms are that move a woman along her career journey and norms that move her away. The findings in this research report considered the existing body of literature on women, norms, impression management and career progression. This research project comprised of ten in-depth interviews with women in an organisation. The women were interviewed face-to-face, in an unstructured format. Secondary sources such as annual reports and company website were reviewed. The research found that when career building norms were visible to both the woman and others, the woman experienced positive career progression. When the woman was unaware of career building norms, but these were visible to others, the woman experienced positive career development. When the woman was aware of career limiting norms, while this remained oblivious to others and remained unspoken, career dis-alignment was experienced by the woman. Lastly when both the woman and others did not question or acknowledge existing career limiting norms, her career experienced status quo. There was lack of diversity in the sample and the company and country context influenced the results. This study focused on contributing to (in)visibility by assessing the impact of impressions management of women’s career progression. This would contribute to considerations when developing women’s career progression plans. A total of four suggestions were made for future research.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013.lmgibs2014Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)MBAUnrestricte

A model to facilitate a quest for emotional maturity of psychiatric nurses through capacity development in promoting their mental health

D.Cur.Lifecare, like any other corporate business, in the current environment, has to change all the time. Companies need new customers, innovative products, expanded market and cutting edge technologies. The Company has the potential to shape the behaviour, reinforce common beliefs, and encourage members to apply their efforts to accomplish important Company objectives of providing care for chronic mentally ill patients. The psychiatric nurses are therefore an essential requirement for the success of the Company in a competitive environment. On the other side, psychiatric nurses face the difficult task of confronting the challenges involved in the nature of care required among chronic psychiatric patients. Whilst striving for quality patient care, they find themselves faced with some breakdowns within the environment in which they are interacting, resulting in their resorting to negative media publicity. This type of publicity can lead to damaging the Company’s reputation and can retard the Company’s growth strategy, which the psychiatric nurses might not seem to understand. There was also high staff turnover which hampered quality patient care. This could also affect the Company in terms of what affects the competitiveness of the quality care which the Company aims to deliver. The researcher believes that for clinical care to take place, psychiatric nurses need to be in sound mental health and understand the dynamics within the Company in order to deal with it in an effective way. The following research questions posed were addressed in this research: • What are the psychiatric nurses’ experiences whilst being employed by the Company? • In what way can the formulation of the model be of assistance in the promotion of the psychiatric nurses’ mental health as an integral part of health? The research objectives were: • To explore and describe the experiences of the psychiatric nurses whilst employed by Lifecare.• To use the results to generate the concepts for the model that would serve as a framework for the psychiatric nursing specialist to facilitate the implementation of guidelines that would assist the psychiatric nurses to be in a sound mental state. • To describe the guidelines that would serve as a framework for operationalising the model in nursing education, psychiatric nursing practice and nursing research. Methods to ensure trustworthiness were ensured throughout this research. Ethical consideration as outlined in the Position Statements published by the Democratic Nursing Association of South Africa (1998: 2-21), was adopted. The researcher utilized the assumptions of the Theory for Health Promotion in Nursing in this research. This theory focuses on the whole person, that is, the mind, body and spirit as well as on the parameters of nursing and the beliefs about the person, health, illness and nursing. The emphasis in this theory is on mental health promotion of the psychiatric nurses within the Company. This research consisted of three stages as follows: In stage one a qualitative design was used to explore and describe the psychiatric nurses’ inner world experiences of the Company’s culture. Indepth semi-structured interviews were utilized to obtain data from these psychiatric nurses. These interviews were conducted by an independent interviewer, and were audio-taped. These were transcribed and were analysed by the researcher. Tesch (1990) in Cresswell (1994: 154) outlined eight steps, which are referred to as decontextualisation and contextualisation, which were adopted in analyzing the results. A description of the results was given. This was followed by literature control which highlighted the similarities to and contributions to this research. Themes that emerged highlighted the experiences that the psychiatric nurses had of the Company culture which affected their mental health. In stage two the research design and theory generation was employed to formulate a model which could be used in nursing education, nursing research and nursing practice. The model formulated was based on the resultsobtained on the inner world experiences of psychiatric nurses. A combination of stages of theory generation by Chinn and Kramer (1991:79-104) and Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach (1968: 431-434) were employed by the researcher to identify the central concepts that guided the identification of the main theme. A tentative model was formulated and was submitted to the independent experts for consultations and clarification. The model was named and presented in its final form to the independent experts. In stage three the researcher formulated the guidelines for operationalising the implementation of the model in clinical practice, nursing education and recommendations were made for further research

A PROCESS MODEL OF CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

MBA thesis - WBSMaking innovation happen is one of the most important issues currently facing most companies in understanding how best to unlock value. As important as it is, it remains a fairly elusive value for most organisations, which, while acknowledging its importance, lack the ability to leverage it for value creation, much the same way organisational culture is acknowledged to be an important factor in the success of organisations. Yet, despite all its proclaimed values, 70% of all corporate culture change efforts result in failure. The topic and practice of corporate entrepreneurship have attracted considerable interest from both corporate practitioners and academics alike. Much of the interest in this area is based on the acknowledgement that innovation is assumed to have critical importance for firms competing in rapidly evolving industries. Within this interest, a particularly promising area of research focus has been that of entrepreneurial cognition. However, the focus in the area has largely been on individual entrepreneurship, the way entrepreneurs think, the individual decision-making processes and heuristics adopted by entrepreneurs. In line with this focus, there is an increased awareness of the need for a greater understanding of the processes and strategies of corporate entrepreneurship, particularly in the manner in which culture affects these entrepreneurial cognitive processes. The purpose of this research is to develop a model that provides a description of the process of how culture affects corporate entrepreneurship. The rationale of the research is to help fill a gap in the literature by providing a model that describes corporate entrepreneurship as a process that is also affected by corporate culture

An empirical investigation into the key factors causing second-year accounting students to drop out at Tshwane University of Technology Soshanguve Campus between 2004 to 2006

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.The accounting profession has been identified as one of the scarce skills in South Africa. This phenomenon has attracted many students aspiring to tertiary education to enrol for an accounting degree. Regrettably, most of these students drop out of the programmes in the second year of their studies due to many challenges that they were not prepared for and that the institutions are not making any extra efforts to address. The objective of the study is to investigate the key factors that contribute to a high rate of second-year Accounting students drop-out in the Department of Accounting at Tshwane University of Technology in the academic years of 2004 to 2006. The study comprises two phases: the theoretical phase and the empirical phase respectively. The theoretical phase encompasses an in-depth review of relevant literature on issues affecting students to drop out of institutions of higher learning. The empirical phase of the research entails testing the opinions of second-year Accounting students on the factors causing the high drop-out rate among them through the use of a questionnaire and followed by interviews with the relevant stakeholders. The study will further report on the findings and recommendations made by the lecturing staff, academic development practitioners, support staff and students on how to improve on the factors identified as the cause of drop-out of students in institutions of higher learning. The findings and recommendations of the study will assist the institution in formulating appropriate strategies that will provide remedial services and that will lead to the reduction of the drop-out rate, and subsequently lead to high retention rates of students at Tshwane University of Technology. This research should also be extended to other similar institutions.Master

School expulsion in the context of inclusive education: a case study

M.Ed