The pattern of expenditure of social pension income of older blacks in rural and urban areas of the Free State, South Africa

A lack of empirical data on the pattern of expenditure of social pension income by black South African beneficiaries prompted an investigation reported in this paper. It was found that although pension sharing is common in multi-generational households, it is not the norm among black pensioners who live alone. Food is the largest single expenditure item, while a relatively small amount of pension money is spent on children and/or grandchildren. Nor does much pension money find its way into the hands of cash loan agents. Little difference was found between the spending patterns of pensioners in rural areas and those in an urban area. It was moreover found that pensioners are less frequently robbed of their pension money than is alleged

Antimicrobial resistance patterns in outpatient urinary tract infections – the constant need to revise prescribing habits

Background. There is a global emergence of resistance against commonly prescribed antibiotics. Empirical antibiotic prescribing should be guided by local antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Aim. To identify organisms and determine antibiotic susceptibility in urinary tract infections (UTIs) at 3 Military Hospital, Bloemfontein. Methods. All urine samples collected during 2008 were analysed. The first positive urine culture per patient collected from the casualty, gynaecology, internal medicine and surgical outpatient departments were included. Only adult patients (>12 years old) were included. Prior use of antibiotics and underlying conditions were determined from electronic and paper-based patient and pharmacy records. Results. Positive cultures (N=65) were divided into uncomplicated (N=28) and complicated (N=37) UTIs. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was the most common uropathogen in uncomplicated (75%) and complicated (59%) UTIs. In uncomplicated UTIs, trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) (54%) and amoxicillin (46%) had the highest rates of resistance. Nitrofurantoin and ciprofloxacin had sensitivity rates of 89%. Co-amoxiclav was most commonly prescribed (36%). In complicated UTIs, TMP-SMX (68%) and amoxicillin (65%) had the highest resistance rates, followed by ciprofloxacin (41%). Nitrofurantoin had a sensitivity rate of 73%. Ciprofloxacin was prescribed most often (35%). All E. coli UTI isolates were sensitive to nitrofurantoin. Conclusion. E. coli remains the most common uropathogen. TMPSMX and amoxicillin are of no value in this population with UTIs. Uncomplicated UTIs can be treated effectively with nitrofurantoin; this will lead to cost savings and sparing quinolones as a class of antibiotics known to induce resistance. In this setting, ciprofloxacin should not be used empirically for complicated UTIs

Returns to Tenure or Seniority

This study documents two empirical facts using matched employer-employee data for Denmark and Portugal. First, workers who are hired last, are the first to leave the firm. Second, workers' wages rise with seniority (= a worker's tenure relative to the tenure of her colleagues). The identification problems for the wage return to tenure are shown not to apply to the return to seniority because seniority is not a deterministic function of time. Controlling for tenure, the probability of leaving the firm decreases with seniority. The increase in expected seniority with tenure explains a large part of the negative duration dependence of the hazard. Using a variety of estimation methods, we show that a 10% increase in seniority raises your wage by 0.1-0.2%, depending on the country and the method applied. Conditional on ten years of tenure, one standard deviation of seniority raises your wage by 0.5 to 1.6 percent. Forthcoming in Econometrica

Non-compliance with treatment by epileptic patients at George Provincial Hospital

Non-compliance with anti-epileptic drug treatment in the George area, resulting in recurrent seizures and visits to the emergency department of the George Provincial Hospital, has been identified as a social and economic problem. The aim of this study was to determine the socio-economic and medical factors, the information given to patients by healthcare workers, and the understanding of patients living with epilepsy who presented to the emergency department with seizures. Methods A descriptive study design was employed and the data-collection tools were a questionnaire and structured interview. Results The median age of the study population was 32 years. The patients had suffered from epilepsy for a median of two years and visited a clinic for a median of seven times a year. The median education level was primary school and three quarters had no employment or government grant. The majority did not understand the disease, the side effects of the medication and why they should be on medication. In addition, it became apparent from patient reports that healthcare workers showed a lack of counselling skills, time and appropriate knowledge. Conclusions There is a general lack of understanding of epilepsy by the patient. Not only were the patients uninformed, but they also showed apathy towards the management of their condition.South African Family Practice Vol. 49 (9) 2007: pp. 1

Acquisition, Maintenance and Generalization of Script Training: A Comparison of Errorful and Error-Reducing Conditions

Relatively few studies have investigated errorless versus errorful learning in aphasia, and most have focused on the single word level. In a review of a series of anomia studies, Fillingham et al. (2003) found that rate of success was equivalent for errorless and errorful conditions; the number of therapies using errorful techniques outweighed those based on errorless learning; errorless approaches were likely to achieve positive immediate effects, but many of the errorless studies did not report long term effects and generalization; and there was a lack of studies reporting a direct comparison of errorful and errorless learning. More recent work has continued to support the findings that there is no essential difference between error-free and errorless learning approaches (Middleton & Schwartz, 2012). However, none have investigated and contrasted the errorless/errorful learning paradigm in the production of phrases and sentences. This pilot study directly measures and compare the acquisition, maintenance and generalization of script-training under both error-reducing and errorful conditions. We hypothesized that error-reducing training would improve acquisition of a trained script while errorful learning would improve maintenance of the trained script and generalization to untrained scripts

Characterisation of penA and tetM resistance genes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in southern Africa - epidemiological monitoring and resistance development

Objective. To investigate penA and tetM resistance gene variation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in order to define gene types for epidemiological monitoring and resistance development. Design. Isolates of N. gonorrhoeae which were susceptible and resistant to penicillin and/or tetracycline were selected. Strains comprised South African isolates (22 from Bloemfontein, 13 from Transvaal, 20 from the Cape) and 15 Botswana and 4 Namibia isolates. The penA genes (2 kb) of all strains and tetM genes (765 bp) of 11 high-level tetracycline-resistant strains were amplified and restricted with Hpall. Results and conclusions. Twelve different Hpall fingerprint patterns were obtained from the 74 isolates analysed for penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2 gene (penA) alterations. Focusing on the transpeptidase domain, 25 isolates (3 whole gene patterns, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ~ 0,03 - 0,125 ug/ml) had restriction sites equivalent to those previously described for a susceptible strain. Of the remaining 9 PBP 2 'gene groups, 25 strains fell into a designated group E. Penicillin/ penicillin + clavulanic acid MICs determined on these group E isolates gave a range of 0,125 - 2,0 ug/ml, although MICs against 4 strains were ~ 0,03 ug/ml. MICs of penicillin/penicillin + c1avulanic acid for the 24 isolates that contained altered PBP 2 transpeptidase gene regions not designated group E were only ~ 0,03 - 0,125 ug/ml. The lack of a Hpall restriction site at nucleotide 1934 in the PBP 2 gene of group E strains was indicative of a small terminal region of N. cinerea DNA. This gene block, which was found in all the southern African areas studied, appears to predispose isolates to increased penicillin resistance. The 25,2 MDa conjugative plasmid carrying the tetM resistance determinant was readily demonstrated in 11 Botswana Namibia isolates exhibiting high-level resistance to tetracycline (MICs > 16 ug/ml). The tetM gene was shown to be of the American type

Entrepreneurship orientation and business discontinuance : a relationship analysis of total early-stage activities in the BRICS countries

PURPOSE FOR THE STUDY : The links between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and business discontinuance are seldom researched. This article analyses EO and business discontinuance rates in the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (SA) of which the acronym is BRICS. The study aim is to establish whether innovative management of SMEs increase business survival rates. The BRICS formed in 2009-2010 but research comparing their SME sectors are sparse. Theoretically, EO underscored by innovation, high exportintensity and new technology take-up within early-stage entrepreneurship should lower business discontinuance. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : Data for the variables studied were extracted from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report and the study hypothesised that innovation, high export-intensity and new technology take-up rates are negatively correlated with business discontinuance rates. The hypotheses were tested using correlation analysis. Kruskal-Wallis and post hoc tests find significant overall variances and specific country-country variances. FINDINGS : While overall total early-stage entrepreneurship (TEA) is positively correlated with business discontinuance, the TEA variables scrutinised in the study are indeed mostly negatively correlated. These findings indicate that more generic small businesses are not good for accelerated economic growth because specific qualities in SMEs increase their survival and growth. Furthermore, innovation and new technology takeup are consistently positively correlated, implying that innovation cannot do without new technology. RECOMMENDATIONS/VALUE : EO within SME management practice must be nurtured by well-crafted entrepreneurial policy and implementation. Support to SMEs, in particular with technology and digitalisation, is required to boost their innovation and competitiveness. Policy support is required to boost SMEs enter global value chains. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : Entrepreneurs and SME managers must increase their EO and focus on being innovative, export-driven and to employ new technology. SMEs need these inputs to grow and survive. SME management must also find ways to invest in new technology in order to increase their innovation and competitiveness.http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/jcmanam2022Business Managemen

Developing new opportunities, entrepreneurial skills and product/service creativity: a ‘Young Enterprise’ (YE) perspective

The purpose of this research is to investigate how Young Enterprise (YE) student entrepreneurs develop new product/service opportunities, learn decision-making skills and achieve a sense of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. From a national survey of YE participants in the Netherlands, entrepreneurial self-efficacy was found to partially mediate relationships between new opportunity recognition belief and two key product/service creativity characteristics, namely: (a) new product/service novelty and; (b) new product/service meaningfulness. The ability of YE entrepreneurs to re-scale their new venture strategies, and/or re-adapt products and services were also important real options (or strategic decision-making) moderators in a new social cognitive learning framework. This article contributes to a fresh understanding of the opportunity recognition belief and entrepreneurial decision skills literatures from a social cognitive theoretical perspective. This research also provides much needed empirical support for European YE policy-makers, demonstrating that team-based mini-enterprise education initiatives really do benefit entrepreneurial learners

Dysfunction, activity limitations, participation restriction and contextual factors in South African women with pelvic organ prolapse

Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a multifactorial, poorly understood condition impacting quality of life (QOL). The pathology and aetiology might imply population-specific differences in domains of the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF). There is, however, a lack of research in this regard in South Africa. Objectives: To describe the dysfunction, activity limitations, participation restrictions and contextual factors in South African women with POP. Method: One hundred women were conveniently sampled in a primary health care setting. They completed a self-compiled medical and exercise history questionnaire, the standardised Prolapse-Quality of Life (P-QOL) questionnaire and the Visual Faces Scale. The stage of prolapse was determined by the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) Scale. Means, medians, standard deviations, percentages and frequencies were calculated. Results: Eighty-six per cent had a stage III POP, 57% had overactive bladder, 50% had constipation, 37% had stress urinary incontinence, 31% had urge urinary incontinence, 32% had incomplete emptying and 30% had anal incontinence. Comorbidities included cardiovascular disease (65%), depressive symptoms (12%) and hypothyroidism (18%). Other contextual factors included limited physical activity (80%), an increased body mass index (29 kg/m2), older age (59 years) and unemployment (80%). Quality of life was affected in the severity, social, emotional and sleep/energy domains (median scores were 66.7% – 33.3%). Conclusion: The dysfunction domain of the ICF was similar to other populations with POP. Activity and participation restrictions included social, emotional and sleep/energy aspects. Contextual factors seem to be population-specific, possibly leading to differences comparing QOL amongst different populations. Clinical implications: Activity and participation restrictions, as well as contextual factors, may differ in different populations with POP. Interactions between contextual factors and movement impairment should be considered during management and be further investigated