Getting Seniors Moving Through Broome County

Faith in Action (FIA) is interested in expanding and restructuring its transportation program for seniors. FIA lacks the volunteers and program structure to serve all 449 clients. In 2013, transportation accounted for 66% of requested services, while only 30% of active volunteers are willing to provide transportation services. FIA is interested in learning volunteers\u27 motivations and the best practices for volunteer recruitment and management, as well as the most effective way to structure a volunteer-provided transportation program

Metal Complexes of Diisopropylthiourea: Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Studies

Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Fe(III) complexes of diisopropylthiourea have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, FTIR and electronic spectroscopy. The compounds are non-electrolytes in solution and spectroscopic data of the complexes are consistent with 4-coordinate geometry for the metal(II) complexes and six coordinate octahedral for Fe(III) complex. The complexes were screened for their antibacterial activities against six bacteria: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas auriginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus pumilus. The complexes showed varied antibacterial activities and their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined

Acne in South African black adults: A retrospective study in the private sector

Background. Acne vulgaris is the most common skin disorder affecting teenagers and young adults, and is becoming increasingly common in middle-aged women. It affects all skin types and ethnic groups, but dark-skinned individuals are burdened by post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) as a sequela. PIH causes distress in acne patients even after the inflammatory lesions have resolved.Objective. To describe the characteristics of acne in black South African adults in the private health sector in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province.Methods. A retrospective study of records of patients attending two large private dermatology clinics in central Durban, mainly catering for black patients, was performed. Data were collected for the period January - December 2014. Records with acne as a diagnosis were retrieved and analysed with regard to age, demographics, type and severity of acne, therapy, HIV status and outcomes.Results. Of a total of ~3 000 charts available for the 12-month period, 242 had acne as a diagnosis and were retrieved and analysed. Of these patients, 204 (84.3%) were female and the remainder were male. The mean age was 28.5 years (under-18s were excluded from the study). Inflammatory acne was the most frequently encountered form (58.6%). Fifteen patients (6.2%) were on topical treatment only, and 226 (93.4%) were on topical plus systemic treatment. PIH was the most common sequela (81.0% of patients).Conclusions. The majority of the patients were young females with inflammatory acne, and PIH was the most common sequela. Early and vigorous treatment of acne may minimise its complications, including those seen mainly in black patients

Consumer acceptance of provitamin A orange maize in rural Zambia:

This study analyzes consumer acceptance of biofortified orange maize in rural Zambia by eliciting consumers' willingness to pay. It attempts to examine the impact of nutrition information, comparing the use of simulated radio versus community leaders in transmitting the nutrition message, on consumer acceptance. Finally, it assesses whether product experience in a home-use setting influences the magnitude of premiums or discounts. The results suggest that (a) the negative perception of yellow maize does not affect orange maize which is well liked, (b) there is a premium for orange maize with nutrition information, (c) the mode of nutritional-message dissemination does not have a large impact on consumer acceptance, and (d) product experience does not translate into lower willingness to pay for orange maize.maize, willingness to pay, consumer acceptance,

Understanding the key competencies of market-ready building surveying graduates from employers’ perspectives

Purpose: This study investigates the various competencies a graduate should hold to prepare them for graduate building surveying roles from employers’ perspective. Design/Methodology: The study employs a sequential exploratory mixed-method approach by informing a quantitative study with the finding from a qualitative study. Findings: Based on exploratory factor analysis, the study found that 13 essential competencies are valued by the employers when recruiting building surveying graduates, as they are requisites for effective job performance. Personal management skills, technical surveying knowledge, and knowledge of RICS standards are the essential competencies based on the level of variance extracted by the three components. Other competency categories include client management skills, being goal-driven and self-motivated, optimistic personality traits, strong mental resilience, building maintenance and management knowledge, and time management skills, among others that are explained in the paper. Originality/Value: The essential competencies were dependent on maintaining a balance between knowledge, skills and personality-based competencies. Measures and approaches for gaining the essential competencies, as well as their level of significance, are further discussed. The study will be of significant benefits to employers of graduate building surveyors, academic institutions that are seeking to improve their graduate employability, as well as students that are preparing for the world of work

A Sensemaking Perspective of Digitalisation in Construction Organisations

Different researchers have examined construction innovation from diverse perspectives and with varied conclusions, but what has commonly transpired is that the construction industry is a complex and ever‐changing environment that tends to have a selective perspective on innovation. Recently, digitalisation has offered critical enhancements in construction organisations’ internal processes. However, the uptake of these innovations is far from satisfactory. To integrate theory with practice, sensemaking theories provide an opportunity to help us understand and explain the social phenomenon behind achieving a common meaning across social systems. In the quest to sup‐ port research efforts through understanding and explaining the enablers of digital transformation, this paper aims to qualitatively apply the sensemaking perspective to digitalisation in construction organisations. To this end, an empirical qualitative approach was adopted using a questionnaire survey of 59 construction professionals, from different firms in the United Kingdom, providing a perspective on how sense is being developed by their organisations to foster digitalisation and achieve an effective digital transformation. Results suggest that a variety of aspects contribute to the indecision of construction firms towards digitalisation, informing research of the pressure points deemed critical at both leadership and employee levels. The findings point to the complexity of construction organisations and the non‐linear nature of embracing new ideas. Future research is encouraged to assess the empirically captured cues presented in this paper through other means of investigation toward a more robust sensemaking perspective in the construction industry

Defining Construction Project Management Critical Success Factors Using the Business Excellence Model

The paper reports of an evaluation of a project management measurement framework that was used to cluster construction project management critical success factors. A review of literature suggests that there is a lack of agreement on what considered as critical success factors for construction project management. This in part is due to a lack of a common framework for the definition of critical success factors. The paper acknowledges the need to have a common basis for the definition of project management critical success factors and argues that the business excellence model provides a sound framework for this. A project management critical success factors (CSF) model was developed based on the business excellence model which to some extent can be looked at as a causal model between the management processes and the business or organisational results. The business excellence model was used to define constructs to which various critical success factors as identified in literature were mapped against. Data was collected using a questionnaire survey concerning various critical success factors. Results of a statistical analysis confirm that the project management CSF model is reliable and that the constructs used can be used to cluster construction project management critical success factors. Further examination of the data regarding the relative importance of the critical success factors is consistent with many other studies on critical success factors. The research concludes that the measurement model for construction project management critical success factors, as presented in the paper is a reliable scale and that such a model present a sound framework for the definition of factors critical to project management performance

Violence as an impediment to a culture of teaching and learning in some South African schools

School violence in South Africa has a long history. Despite the introduction of a new democratic political dispensation in 1994, it appears that violence in schools has not abated. School violence unfortunately impacts negatively on a culture of learning and teaching. In this project, the nature and extent of violence in schools among a sample of learners was investigated. It was found inter alia that school violence has indeed remained a serious problem among these learners and has impacted deleteriously on the culture of teaching and learning in their schools. Two solutions for the eradication of the problem are suggested. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(2) 2004: 170-17

Consumer acceptance of provitamin A orange maize in rural Zambia (HarvestPlus Working Paper No.4)

This study analyzes consumer acceptance of biofortified orange maize in rural Zambia by eliciting consumers’ willingness to pay. It attempts to examine the impact of nutrition information, comparing the use of simulated radio versus community leaders in transmitting the nutrition message, on consumer acceptance. Finally, it assesses whether product experience in a home-use setting influences the magnitude of premiums or discounts. The results suggest that (a) the negative perception of yellow maize does not affect orange maize which is well liked, (b) there is a premium for orange maize with nutrition information, (c) the mode of nutritional-message dissemination does not have a large impact on consumer acceptance, and (d) product experience does not translate into lower willingness to pay for orange maize

The Effect of Planting Date on the Dry Matter Production of Italian and Westerwolds Ryegrass in the Southern Cape of South Africa

Perennial pasture species such as lucerne (Medicago sativa), kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and perennial clovers (Trifolium spp.) make an important contribution to the fodder flow programmes for dairy production in the southern Cape. One of the main challenges when these species make up the primary pasture base within a pasture system is the mutually low growth rates during winter (Van Heerden et al., 1989; Swanepoel et al., 2014). In order to bridge pasture shortages during the critical winter months, producers establish annual Italian (Lolium multiflorum var. italicum) and Westerwolds ryegrass (L. multiflorum var. westerwoldicum) either as pure swards, mixtures or over-sown it into perennial pastures. The production potential and seasonal growth of annual ryegrass varieties are affected by climate and may not follow the same pattern of production as in other regions. The aim of this study was to determine the production potential of Italian and Westerwolds ryegrass planted at different planting dates in the southern Cape of South Africa