Factors contributing to late booking amongst pregnant women at Ekurhuleni health district

The aim of the study was to determine factors contributing to late booking amongst pregnant women at Ekurhuleni health district in order to offer recommendations for enhancing early booking. Interpretative phenomenological analysis design was used. Data were collected using semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews from 20 purposively selected pregnant women. Each interview was audio recorded and lasted between 45-60 minutes. Fields notes were taken to triangulate data collection method. Audio recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data were thematically analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework for data analysis. Results indicate that healthcare service related factors such as human resources, infrastructure and the type of service rendered at the clinic contribute to late bookings. Client related factors such as socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs and knowledge deficit also contribute to late bookings. Recommendations are made addressing both healthcare service and client related factors in order to enhance early booking among pregnant woman at Ekurhuleni district.Health StudiesM.A. (Nursing science

Mapping cycling patterns and trends using strava metro data in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract: Plans for smart mobility through cycling are often hampered by lack of information on cycling patterns and trends, particularly in cities of the developing world such as Johannesburg. Similarly, traditional methods of data collection such as bicycle counts are often expensive, cover a limited spatial extent and not up-to-date. Consequently, the dataset presented in this paper illustrates the spatial and temporal coverage of cycling patterns and trends in Johannesburg for the year 2014 derived from the geolocation based mobile application Strava. To the best knowledge of the authors, there is little or no comprehensive dataset that describe cycling patterns in Johannesburg. Perhaps this dataset is a tool that will support evidence based transportation planning and smart mobility

Genetic analysis for resistance to Woolly Apple Aphid in an apple rootstock breeding population

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBiblThe Woolly Apple Aphid (WAA) Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausm.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) is economically one of the most important pests in apple commercial production in the Western Cape province, South Africa. The apple cultivar Northern Spy possesses a single major gene (Er1) responsible for E. lanigerum resistance. This cultivar has been used as a commercial rootstock in apple breeding programmes. There are other genes also implicated in resistance to E. lanigerum from other cultivars. Manipulation and pyramiding of the E. lanigerum resistance genes (Er1, Er2 and Er3) might provide a necessary control for commercial apple production. The aim of this study was to construct a genetic linkage map for apple using microsatellite markers. The use of marker-assisted selection would greatly benefit local apple breeding programmes. Ninety six seedlings from a Northern Spy × Cox Orange Pippin mapping population were used for genetic linkage construction

Constitutionalising The Right to Legal Representation at CCMA Arbitration Proceedings: Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour 2013 1 SA 468 (GNP)

Recently, the issue of legal representation at internal disciplinary hearings and CCMA arbitrations has been a fervent topic of labour law discourse in South Africa. While the courts have consistently accepted the common law principle that there is no absolute right to legal representation at tribunals other than courts of law, a study of recent case law reveals that the majority of court judgments seem to be leaning in favour of granting legal representation at disciplinary hearings and CCMA arbitrations than denying it. In the recent case, Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour, the High Court struck down the rule of the CCMA which restricted legal representation at CCMA arbitration as unconstitutional on grounds of irrationality. The High Court considered that the impugned rule was inconsistent with section 3(3)(a) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, which was specifically enacted to give effect to the right to administrative justice entrenched in the Constitution. In so deciding the High Court considered the importance of job security and the possible loss of job by an employee as a serious matter. This case note aims to analyse critically the court’s judgment in Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour and to consider its implications for dispute resolution in South Africa. It is asserted that although the right to legal representation is not absolute at labour proceedings, in light of the court’s decision in Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour it is not easy to identify the circumstances that would provide justification for the infringement of the right at CCMA arbitrations and probably at disciplinary hearings as well. Here, an argument is made suggesting that the court in the Law Society case has taken the right to legal representation too far.   

The Enforceability of Illegal Employment Contracts according to the Labour Appeal Court Comments on Kylie v CCMA 2011 4 SA 383 (LAC)

The Labour Appeal Court in Kylie v CCMA decided the vexed question as to whether or not the CCMA has jurisdiction to resolve a dispute of unfair dismissal involving a sex worker. Both the CCMA and the Labour Court had declined to assume jurisdiction to resolve the dispute on the basis that the employee’s contract of employment was invalid and therefore unenforceable in law. The Labour Appeal Court, on the other hand, overturned the Labour Court’s decision and held that the CCMA has jurisdiction to resolve the dispute, regardless of the fact that sex work is still illegal under the South African law. For this decision, the Labour Appeal Court relied on section 23(1) of the Constitution, which provides that everyone has the right to fair labour practices. According to the Labour Appeal Court the crucial question for determination by the court was if a person in the position of a sex worker enjoyed the full range of constitutional rights including the right to fair labour practices. In the court’s reasoning the word everyone in section 23(1) of the Constitution is a term of general import and conveys precisely what it means. In other words everyone, including a sex worker, has the right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in the Constitution. A critical analysis of the judgment is made in this case note. The correctness of the court’s judgment, particularly insofar as it relates to the approach to and the determination of the issue of jurisdiction, is questioned. It is argued that the Court lost focus on the main issue in the appeal, namely jurisdiction, and instead proceeded to place heavy emphasis on the employee’s constitutional rights. Relying on a handful of cases of the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, the case note concludes that the approach adopted by the Labour Appeal Court in the determination of the appeal was incorrect - hence its decision. Given the critical importance of the matter, and the attendant implications of the judgment for labour litigation in South Africa, it is hoped that a similar case will soon come to the attention of a superior court and that a definitive pronouncement will be made.   

Effects of Egg's Weight on Egg Quality Traits of the Potchefstroom Koekoek Chicken Genotype

Egg is a reproduction tool for chickens and valuable food source for humans. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of egg weight (EW) on egg quality traits such as egg length (EL), egg diameter (ED), yolk weight (YW), albumen weight (AW), shell weight (SW), shell index (SI), yolk ratio (YR), albumen ratio (AR) and shell ratio (SR). Potchefstroom Koekoek layer genotype eggs (n = 200) were used. Pearson correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for analysis. Correlation results indicated that egg weight had a statistical significant correlation (P < 0.05) with egg quality traits. Egg weight displayed a positive significant correlation with EL (0.82), AW (0.67) and SW (0.62), respectively. The findings suggest that EL, AW and SW might be used to improve EW of Potchefstroom Koekoek chicken genotype. ANOVA results showed that egg weight had a statistical significant difference (P < 0.05) with egg quality traits except albumen ratio and yolk ratio (P > 0.05). Moreover, the findings revealed that small eggs weight had a longer egg length, yolk weight, shell weight, shell ratio and albumen weight than medium and large eggs. Large eggs had a higher egg diameter and shell index. Keywords: Albumen weight, egg length, large egg, medium egg, small egg, shell weigh

Responses of selected biota after biostimulation of a vegetable oil spill in the Con Joubert Bird Sanctuary wetland: A pilot study

An investigation on the effect of a vegetable oil spill was conducted on the biological diversity of the Con Joubert Bird Sanctuary wetland in South Africa before and after biostimulation with different concentrations of fertilizer during 2008. Biostimulation responses were analyzed 30 days after different concentrations of fertilizer were applied to the freshwater wetland at three selected sampling sites. The Con Joubert Bird Sanctuary wetland showed a high degree of contamination after a vegetable oil spill, resulting in a large volume of vegetable oil in the sediment and water column, respectively. Vegetable oil contents differed at each sampling site before biostimulation and each site showed variable responses after biostimulation. In this study, biostimulation results displayed a high yield of microbial activity and vegetable oil degradation at site one and two respectively. However, the degradation of the high vegetable oil concentrations within the sediments at sampling site 3 may have been hampered or retarded by the polymerized state of the vegetable oil. The phytoplankton, protozoan, macroinvertebrates and microorganisms assemblage were affected and showed little improvement at site 3, even after biostimulation with the high fertilizer concentration of 800 g/m2, in comparison to sites 1 and 2 which showed greater biological activities and degradation of vegetable oil.Keywords: Biostimulation, vegetable oil spill, fresh water wetlandAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(4), pp. 385-39

Effects of vegetable oil pollution on aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblage in a freshwater wetland and its use as a remediation tool

The occurrence, as well as the environmental fate and impact, of vegetable oil spills in freshwater wetlands have until now been unreported. Thus, the largest global vegetable oil spillage in a freshwater wetland, which occurred at the Con Joubert Bird Sanctuary wetland in 2007, presented an ideal opportunity to evaluate these impacts. Five post-spill sampling sites were selected within the wetland from which a variety of abiotic and biotic samples were collected bimonthly over a period of 12 months. Abiotic variables included the sediment and water column oil concentrations, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), silica, chlorophyll a, as well as in situ measurements of pH, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen. Aquatic macroinvertebrates were chosen as biotic indicators in the study field due to their wide applicability as water quality indicators and were thus collected at each site. Spatial and temporal changes in total nitrogen, total phosphorous, and chlorophyll a concentrations as well as changes in pH were observed. The oil spillage also resulted in an increase in tolerant macroinvertebrate taxa, mainly Chironomidae and Psychodidae, at the sites closest to the source of the spillage. These two taxa, and to a lesser extent, Syrphidae, were identified as potentially useful indicators to determine the extent of vegetable oil contamination within a freshwater wetland. Furthermore, monitoring of these indicator taxa can be a useful management tool to determine the recovery of freshwater wetlands after vegetable oil spills. In the study, a static battery of bioassays of different biotic trophic levels was also employed to determine the adverse effects of the spilled vegetable oil on the biotic environment. It was evident from the result of the static battery of bioassay that adverse effects of the sunflower oil differ between trophic levels. The latter was in relationship with the data obtained from the field macroinvertebrate study, indicating that certain macroinvertebrate families were more tolerant to the adverse effects of sunflower oil than other families.http://link.springer.com/journal/11270hb2014mn201

Using phytoplankton diversity to determine wetland resilience, one year after a vegetable oil spill

A 250 t sunflower oil spill in the Con Joubert Bird Sanctuary Wetland, South Africa, was the largest global sunflower oil spill in a freshwater wetland to date. Since there was insufficient historical data for the Con Joubert Bird Sanctuary Wetland prior to the spill, variations in phytoplankton assemblages were used to indicate wetland resilience in relationship with water quality variables. From this study, it was evident that the phytoplankton biodiversity was a more reliable indicator of wetland resilience than vegetable oil concentrations measured in the water column. Vegetable oil concentrations measured in the water column varied both spatially and temporally and can possibly be linked to the passive movement of drifting oil in the water column caused by wind action and temperature changes. While we were unable to pinpoint the exact mechanisms behind the increase in phytoplankton biodiversity, the response was probably driven by the degradation of the oil by natural microbial consortiums in the wetland or a possible increase in phytoplankton grazers. Certain phytoplankton genera were found to be tolerant to the adverse effects of the oil spill. These genera include Oedogonium, Cyclotella, Spirogyra, a n d Planktothrix. In general, the univariate and multivariate statistical analysis showed a low diversity and richness at sites 1, 2 and 3 during the initial sampling surveys when compared to the remaining sites. However, the phytoplankton diversity and richness subsequently increased at all sampling sites from the second sampling survey, implying that there was a shift in phytoplankton biodiversity to a more stable state.National Research Foundation of South Africahttp://link.springer.com/journal/112702015-07-31hb201

Constitutionalising the Right Legal Representation at CCMA Arbitration Proceedings: Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour 2013 1 SA 468 (GNP)

Recently, the issue of legal representation at internal disciplinary hearings and CCMA arbitrations has been a fervent topic of labour law discourse in South Africa. While the courts have consistently accepted the common law principle that there is no absolute right to legal representation at tribunals other than courts of law, a study of recent case law reveals that the majority of court judgments seem to be leaning in favour of granting legal representation at disciplinary hearings and CCMA arbitrations than denying it. In the recent case, Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour, the High Court struck down the rule of the CCMA which restricted legal representation at CCMA arbitration as unconstitutional on grounds of irrationality. The High Court considered that the impugned rule was inconsistent with section 3(3)(a) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, which was specifically enacted to give effect to the right to administrative justice entrenched in the Constitution. In so deciding the High Court considered the importance of job security and the possible loss of job by an employee as a serious matter. This case note aims to analyse critically the court’s judgment in Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour and to consider its implications for dispute resolution in South Africa. It is asserted that although the right to legal representation is not absolute at labour proceedings, in light of the court’s decision in Law Society of the Northern Provinces v Minister of Labour it is not easy to identify the circumstances that would provide justification for the infringement of the right at CCMA arbitrations and probably at disciplinary hearings as well. Here, an argument is made suggesting that the court in the Law Society case has taken the right to legal representation too far.Keywords: Legal representation; CCMA; Irrational; Constitution; Administrative action; Arbitration