The Place And Role Of Em-learning In Multi-mode Delivery Of Educator Training In South Africa

In any country in the world, the business and responsibility of, as well as the challenge to the education fraternity are to provide quality education to all. Therefore, quality teaching and learning should be provided to assist all learners to acquire the required competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) at the highest possible level in order to fulfil their respective and diverse roles in life (Steyn, Steyn, De Waal and Wolhuter, 2002: 34). The point of departure should be to provide quality education in such a way that it is accessible and affordable to all. The quality of education is to a large extent determined by the quality of information transfer and the quality and quantity of support that the learners receive to master the outcomes of their studies. The developments in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provide a real opportunity to improve the quality of information transfer and teaching support that learners can obtain. However, the real challenge for education in the developing world, and even in the developed world, is the level of accessibility, affordability and complexities of ICT (Dreyer, 2005: 4). The result of the ability to provide assessable ICT in developing countries is the ever-increasing digital gap that deeply influences the quality of education of less affluent people and the difference in quality of education between developed and developing countries. At the North-West University, Faculty of Education Sciences, the decision was made to provide enriched teaching and learning to a particular group of teachers via an off-campus blended teaching and learning strategy. Within the limitations of affordability and access, the decision was made to use the multi-mode teaching strategy (including some types of modern ICT) to support the students and to enhance the support that the learners obtain. The aim of this article is to report on the reasons, development and implementation of the project as well as initial results. Attention will be given to the nature and contents of the ADP-programme, the theoretical framework that was used to develop the strategy and the nature and content of the multi-mode teaching strategy that was employed. The method of research that was used to develop the teaching and learning strategy particularly applicable to this programme was that of a process of iterative and systematic critical reasoning. Based on the critical reasoning, it was through an combined (and not necessarily initially decided upon) application of several (applicable) scientific methods and processes, such as observation, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction that the strategy was developed (Stoker, 1961: 62-90; Mouton and Marais, 1989: 102; Mouton, 1996; 77-78; Harden and Thomas, 2005: 258; Bensley, 1998: 3; Ennis, 1987: 9).Faculty of Education Sciences North-West Universit

The case of cholera preparedness, response and prevention in the SADC region: A need for proactive and multi-level communication and co-ordination

In this paper the authors seek to identify the most appropriate model for a regional co-ordination mechanism for cholera preparedness, response and prevention. The qualitative mixed-method data collection approach that was followed revealed the need for alternative solutions, including a socio-political understanding of cholera responses at different levels of scale and at different stages of an outbreak. Important areas that need to be understood include the multiplicity of actors and the complexity of their interaction, the importance of building local capacity, the need for varying responses at different levels of scale, the need for improved inter- and intra-country co-ordination and information exchange, the importance of cultural belief systems and the impact of the media on the response to cholera outbreaks. Ultimately, despite the proposed co-ordinating role that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) can play in a regional cholera response effort, the onus remains on states to build capacity at the local level and to capacitate local communities to drive response efforts semi-autonomously.Keywords: Cholera prevention, preparedness and response, socio-political understanding of cholera, socio-cultural understanding of cholera, transboundary disease, Southern African Development Community (SADC), choler

From research to policy in chronic disease prevention: mandatory salt reduction in South Africa

Abstract of a poster that presented at 20th International Congress of Nutrition, Granada, Spain, September 15-20, 2013

Trends in adult tobacco use from two South African demographic and health surveys conducted in 1998 and 2003

Introduction. Since peaking in the early 1990s in South Africa,tobacco use has declined significantly. The reduction has beenattributed to the governmentfs comprehensive tobacco controlpolicies that were introduced at the time.Objective. To assess the pattern of tobacco use in the SouthAfrican Demographic and Health Surveys of 1998 and 2003.Methods. Multi-stage sampling was used to select approximately 11 000 households in cross-sectional national surveys. Face-to-face interviews, conducted with 13 826 adults (41% men) aged .15 years in 1998, and 8 115 (42% men) in 2003, included questions on tobacco use according to the WHO STEP-wise surveillance programme. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the independent effects of selected characteristics on smoking prevalence.Results. Daily or occasional smoking prevalence among women remained unchanged at 10 - 11%; it decreased among men from 42% (1998) to 35% (2003). The decline for men was significant among the poorest and those aged 25 - 44 years. Strong age patterns were observed, peaking at 35 - 44 years, which was reduced among men in 2003. Higher income and education were associated with low prevalence of smoking, while living in urban areas was associated with higher rates. Black men and women smoked significantly less than otherpopulation groups.Conclusion. Despite decreased smoking rates in some subgroups, a lapse exists in the efforts to reduce tobacco use, as smoking rates have remained unchanged among women, and also among young adults aged 15 - 24 years

Neutron activation as an independent indicator of expected total yield in the production of 82Sr and 68Ge with 66 MeV protons

Introduction A method based on neutron activation is being developed to assist in resolving discrepancies between the expected yield and actual yield of radionuclides produced with the vertical-beam target station (VBTS) at iThemba LABS. The VBTS is routinely employed for multi-Ci batch productions of the radionuclide pairs 22Na/68Ga and 82Sr/68Ga using standardized natMg/natGa and natRb/natGa tandem targets, respectively [1]. The metal-clad target discs are bombarded with a primary beam of 66 MeV protons at an intensity of nominally 250 µA. The encapsulation materials are either Nb (for Mg and Ga) or stainless steel (for Rb) which serve to contain the molten target materials during bombardment and act as a barrier to the high-velocity cooling water which surrounds the targets in a 4π geometry. The natRb/natGa targets are typically bombarded according to a two-week cycle while natMg/natGa targets are bombarded on an ad-hoc basis, depending on a somewhat unpredictable 22Na demand. A too-large deviation between expected yield and actual yield has at times plagued this programme. These deviations can manifest both as an apparent loss or an apparent gain (relative to the expected yield) by up to about 15% in either direction. The resulting uncertainty of up to 30% (in the worst case) from one production batch to another can be costly and is unacceptable in a large-scale production regimen. This phenomenon is believed to be brought about by two types of problems: (1) Production losses, e.g. during the radio-chemical separation process or incomplete recovery of activated target material during the decapsulation step. (2) Incorrect values obtained for the accumulated proton charge. A problem of type (1) will always result in a loss of yield. A problem of type (2) can manifest as an apparent loss or gain. In an effort to get a handle on this second type of problem, neutron activation of suitable material samples, embedded in a target holder, is being investigated as an independent indicator of the total yield. For this purpose, samples of Co, Mn, Ni and Zn were activated during production runs and Co was found to be the most appropriate. Preliminary results will be presented after first discussing why the determination of the accumulated pro-ton charge is a problem with the VBTS. Materials and Methods The VBTS consists of a central region in which a target holder is located during bombardment as well as two half-cylindrical radiation shields which completely surround the target. The shields can be moved away from the central region on dedicated rails, e.g. when repairs or maintenance is required. FIGURE 1 shows the VBTS with the shields moved to the “open” position. As some components of the station are located below the vault floor, with the target position near floor level, it proved difficult to electrically isolate the VBTS as was done for the two horizontal-beam target stations at iThemba LABS [1]. The VBTS does not act as a Faraday cup like the other target stations. Instead, the beam current and accumulated charge is measured by means of a calibrated capacitive probe [1,2]. There appears to be a variation in the response of the capacitive probe, sensitive to the beam microstructure, in particular a dependence on the beam packet length. This problem is not yet fully resolved. FIGURE 2 (a) shows the beamstop of a VBTS target holder with several Co samples mounted on the outside as well as one each of Ni, Mn and Zn. The samples are small “tablets” with a 10 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness. The reactions of interest are 59Co(n,γ)60Co, 59Co(n,3n)57Co, nat-Ni(n,X)60Co, natNi(n,X)57Co, natZn(n,X)65Zn and 55Mn(n,2n)54Mn. The relevant half-lives are 60Co(5.271 a), 57Co(271.8 d), 65Zn(244.3 d) and 54Mn(312.2 d). The half-life should be long compared to the two-week cycle in order to reduce the dependence on the exact beam history, which is very fragmented over any production period. In this respect, 60Co is considered to be particularly attractive as its long half-life of more than 5 years leads to a negligible effect by the beam history. Note that the tandem targets, shown in FIGURE 2 (b), are mounted just upstream of the beamstop – in fact, the targets and beamstop form a single unit before being fitted into the target holder. At the end of bombardment, all samples were assayed for their characteristic γ-emissions using standard off-line γ-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector connected to a Genie 2000 MCA. Calculations of the neutron fluence density in the central sample volume on the beamstop were also performed using the Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNPX. For these calculations, the entire VBTS, a Rb/Ga target and the vault walls were included in the model. Results and Conclusion All samples activated significantly – copious amounts of 60Co were detected in the Co discs after a two-week run. The neutron fluence density for the case of a 250 µA, 66 MeV proton beam on a natRb/natGa tandem target is shown in FIGURE 3. The dominance of low-energy neutrons is evident, which is in part due to the large amount of paraffin-wax shielding material in close proximity to the target. While reactions such as the (n,2n) and (n,3n) would be sensitive to the more energetic part of the neutron spectrum, the (n,γ) capture reaction benefits from the large low-energy component. This explains the copious amounts of 60Co formed. It was therefore decided to only retain the central Co sample for subsequent bombardments, as shown in FIGURE 4. The first results are shown in TABLE 1. The accumulated charge as obtained from the capacitive probe (Q), the specific 60Co activity (A) at the end of bombardment (EOB), and their ratio (A/Q) are presented in the table, together with the deviation of individual ratios relative to their average for the case of the Mg/Ga tandem tar-gets only. Note that all samples were counted until the statistical uncertainties were negligible. Any systematic uncertainties are ignored at this stage as they are considered to remain the same from one batch production to another. For the sake of argument, the average value of the ratio is taken as the expected value. A positive deviation of the A/Q value is then indicative of a too-small value of the accumulated charge obtained from the capacitive probe, leading to a corresponding overproduction. Likewise, a negative value is indicative of a too-large value of the accumulated charge, leading to a corresponding underproduction. It is certainly true that the data in TABLE 1 are currently very limited. It is envisaged, however, that with time the growing database of values will assist in reducing the uncertainty in determining the accumulated charge and reduce the discrepancies between predicted and actual yields significantly. TABLE 1 illuminates the underlying problem satisfactorily. The four Mg/Ga tandem target bombardments, on identical targetry, were performed successively. The neutron activation correlates well the with actual yields, pointing directly to the current integration as the main source of error. The method already proves to be useful. An indication of an over or underprediction can be obtained prior to the target processing by recovering and measuring the Co disc. This in-formation can be used to make a decision concerning the present batch production and/or the subsequent one. One can either add beam to the present production target and/or in-crease/reduce the total beam on the subsequent production target to compensate for an expected overproduction or shortfall. In conclusion, we would like to stress that the capacitive probes show great promise and that better understanding and/or possibly some development of their signal processing algorithm may improve their ability to measure the accumulated charge to the desired accuracy. Segmented capacitive probes used at iThemba LABS and elsewhere for beam position measurement [1,3] are not affected by beam microstructure as only the ratios of the signal strengths on the different sectors are important. In this case, changes in response affect all sec-tors equally and the ratios are unaffected

Posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic criteria and suicidal ideation in a South African Police sample

Objective: Exposure to traumatic events may precipitate suicidal ideation. Once an individual is diagnosed with PTSD, a suicide risk assessment often follows. This study explores how PTSD symptom criteria correlate with suicidal ideation in a sample of police officers. While the psychometric measures of PTSD often mirror the DSM-IV-TR criteria, focusing on exposure, symptom, and duration criteria, suicidal ideation measures often focus on concepts quite different from that. In this report the focus was on investigating how PTSD symptom criteria correlate with the suicidal ideation.Method: A group of South African police officers (N = 217) were assessed by means of the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale and a short version of the Adult Suicide Ideation Questionnaire. Linear and hierarchical regressions were used to determine which PTSD symptom criteria best predict suicidalideation.Results: Hyperarousal was the primary predictor of suicidal ideation (R2 [adjusted] = 0.249). Intrusive thoughts added only marginally to the model, contributing a further 2.5% to the declared variance. The contributions of the other two symptom types were negligible.Conclusion: In this study hyperarousal correlated significantly with suicidal ideation. It is suggested that practitioners be alert to these symptoms as possible indicators of suicidal ideation. Implications for suicide risk assessment and prevention measures are discussed.Keywords: Stress Disorders; Post-Traumatic; Suicidal ideation; Police; South Afric

Academic and quantitative literacy in higher education: Relationship with cognate school-leaving subjects

Academic and quantitative literacies (AQL) are essential to success in higher education. These literacies are largely not explicitly taught, but acquired indirectly, mostly through practices in various school subjects. The National Benchmark Tests (NBT) Project assesses students’ AQL competencies to assist in identifying students who need support, with placement into appropriate programmes and with curriculum development. We analyse the performance on the NBT AQL test of students who took the school-leaving examinations in Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, English Home Language and English First Additional Language. We use the subject choice as a representation of the level of a candidate’s quantitative competence and language proficiency respectively, and investigate the relative contributions made by these subject choices to a student’s AQL. Students who paired Mathematics with English as Home Language subject had the statistically significant highest mean AQL score and those who took both English First Additional Language and Mathematical Literacy had the lowest. Language competence has a stronger effect than mathematical competence on AQL. Students who took the subject combination Mathematics and English Home Language at school are better prepared for the academic demands of higher education than their counterparts who took the alternate subjects. Treating these subjects as equivalent to English Home Language and Mathematics for admissions purposes ignores the differences in preparedness of these students

Carcinoid heart disease: Two clinical cases and a review

We present two cases of metastatic carcinoid tumours, complicated by carcinoid syndrome and by cardiac valve involvement, a well-known, but infrequent, complication. Carcinoid tumours are generally more indolent than other cancers and may have a long asymptomatic phase. The symptoms of carcinoid syndrome generally manifest only once metastases to the liver have occurred. Cardiac involvement occurs in up to 50% of patients, and heralds a poor prognosis. However, a multidisciplinary team approach has improved the prognosis and quality of life for patients with carcinoid heart disease. Therapy includes somatostatin analogues and treatment for heart failure, removal of primary or metastatic tumour deposits, valve replacement in the presence of valvular involvement, and radioisotopes therapy

Weight and health status of black female students

Objective. To examine black female students for the occurrence of risk factors associated with chronic diseas~s of lifestyle, namely obesity, hypertension, nicotine usage, dyslipidaemia and compromised mental health (depression).Design. A cross-sectional analytical study design was used. All participants were examined within a period of 3 months during 1994. Weight, height, and hip and waist measurements were taken. Body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC) were calculated for each subject. Two systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings were taken for each participant. Questionnaires were used to determine specific risk factors related to lifestyle. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to measure psychological well-being. Fasting blood samples were collected and analysed for serum lipids and iron status.Setting. The University of the North in the Northern Province of South Africa.Subjects. A complete data set of sociodemographic information, anthropometric measurements and blood pressure readings, as well as a psychological health test and a medical questionnaire, were obtained from 231 of the 431 first-year female students who attended the university orientation programme. Only students with a complete data set were included in the sample.Results. Eighteen per cent of students were overweight (BMI 25 - 29.9), 6.5% were obese (BMI ≥ 30), and 26.8% were underweight. Mean blood pressure, BMI, WHR and WC increased significantly with age and were highest among the  ≥ 24-year-olds. Only 1.6% of students had elevated blood pressure, 1.0% smoked and 4.4% took snuff. BMI, WC and WHR were positively correlated with blood pressure and age. Few students had dyslipidaemia (3.8% cholesterol> 5.2 mmol/l). However 14.5% were anaemic (Hb < 11.5 g/dl) and 24.6% had microcytosis « 80 fl). Nearly one-fifth of students (17.7%) were classified as being moderately to severely depressed. Conclusions. Black female students younger than 24 years exhibited few risk factors associated with chronic diseases of lifestyle. However in older women (;<,24 years) there were significant increases in BMI, WHR, WC and blood pressure. A large number of students of all ages exhibited moderate to severe depression and anaemia was prevalent

How diverse is the diet of adult South Africans?

The original publication is available at http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/33Abstract. Background. The objective of the current study was to measure dietary diversity in South Africans aged 16 years and older from all population groups as a proxy of food security. Methods. A cross-sectional study representative of adults from all specified ages, provinces, geographic localities, and socio-economic strata in South Africa was used (n = 3287). Trained interviewers visited participants at their homes during the survey. Dietary data was collected by means of a face validated 24 hour recall which was not quantified. A dietary diversity score (DDS) was calculated by counting each of 9 food groups. A DDS <4 was regarded as reflecting poor dietary diversity and poor food security. Results The provinces with the highest prevalence of poor dietary diversity (DDS <4) were Limpopo (61.8%) and the Eastern Cape (59.6%). By contrast, only 15.7% of participants in Western Cape had a low score. Participants in tribal areas (63.9%) and informal urban areas (55.7%) were by far the worst affected. There were significant differences in DDS by Living Standards Mean (LSM) analysis (p < 0.05) with the lowest LSM group having the lowest mean DDS (2.93).The most commonly consumed food groups were cereals/roots; meat/fish; dairy and vegetables other than vitamin A rich. Eggs, legumes, and vitamin A rich fruit and vegetables were the least consumed. Conclusion. Overall the majority of South Africans consumed a diet low in dietary variety. The tribal areas and informal urban areas were worst affected and eggs, legumes and vitamin A rich fruit and vegetables, were the least consumed.Publishers' versio