Financial literacy in South African healthcare professionals: An unmet need in health professions education

The holistic training of healthcare professionals as a strategy to build the healthcare system has received considerable attention. As part of training a holistic workforce, it is expected the healthcare professionals be component in management and governance. Financial literacy is low globally and impacts financial decision-making and business management. Despite high levels of education, medical professionals elsewhere in the world have low financial literacy. Financial literacy levels in South African healthcare professionals are unknown. This study investigated the degree of and contributors to financial literacy in South African healthcare professionals. A validated financial literacy questionnaire was completed by 473 healthcare professionals, of whom 130 owned private practices. Financial literacy scores were determined as a composite score based on financial knowledge, financial behaviour and financial attitudes. The independent contribution of demographic factors to financial literacy were determined in multivariate linear regression analysis. Financial literacy in healthcare professionals was relatively high (73%). Of the total cohort 24%, 27% and 63% did not reach acceptable scores for financial knowledge, behaviour, and attitudes, respectively. Sex, medical specialty and being in private healthcare predicted financial knowledge scores. Higher income and self-rated financial knowledge were associated with financial literacy. In business owners, business-specific financial literacy was low (51%), and not associated with general financial literacy (r=-0.11, p=0.40). Education in economics and finance predicted business-related financial literacy scores (p=0.02). Financial attitudes that favour the short term may impact financial decision-making in healthcare professionals in managing small businesses and state healthcare facilities. Current approaches in health professions education may impact the success of the healthcare system in South Africa

Pax NATO: The Opportunities of Enlargement

The author examines NATO\u27s extraordinary performance and incisive initiatives during the immediate post-Cold War years. He scrutinizes the impact of enlargement on the Alliance, not only from a military but also a geopolitical perspective. He is quick to point out that, without the needed reforms, new members will bring more fat than muscle to the Alliance. However, the process of enlargement has served to harmonize Central and Eastern Europe with Western Europe in a remarkable manner. That achievement alone has made enlargement worthwhile. He goes beyond the next round of enlargement and makes a case for a reorientation of NATO enlargement towards the Middle East and North African regions. They may never receive the full security umbrella of NATO, but they can enjoy the shade.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1817/thumbnail.jp

Afghanistan: Reconstituting a Collapsed State

LTC Raymond A. Millen examines warlordism as the principal impediment to Afghanistan\u27s revival and offers a shift in strategy that addresses the war of ideas, the counternarcotics initiative, and the incorporation of the Afghan National Army into the provincial reconstruction teams. As Lieutenant Colonel Millen observes, all the resources are in place; they simply need a shift in focus. LTC Millen takes into account the historical, cultural, and economic factors that impede central authority and the eforms needed for modern states. His problem-solving approach is insightful, pragmatic, and innovative.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1748/thumbnail.jp

Reconfiguring the American Military Presence in Europe

The author examines America\u27s options regarding the basing of ground troops in Europe and considers three major options available to the United States--complete withdrawal, annual rotations, and restructuring the Alliance to accommodate a smaller U.S. presence. While weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each option, he does not lose sight of the ultimate objective of NATO--to provide credible land power for the full spectrum of operations. He introduces a NATO 3-3 Force Structure concept that rests on a smaller NATO ground force adaptive to the capabilities and wealth of member states; increases interoperability (technologically and procedurally); and supports the expeditionary force structure already in progress by the formal establishment of three standing combined joint task forces (CJTF). Additionally, he recommends the adoption of nine division-sized bases in Europe located at key geostrategic points for greater access to the Middle East and Africa.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1774/thumbnail.jp

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Europe

War with Iraq signals the beginning of a new era in American national security policy and alters strategic balances and relationships around the world. The specific effects of the war, though, will vary from region to region. The author has been asked to analyze four issues: the position that key states in their region are taking on U.S. military action against Iraq; the role of America in the region after the war with Iraq; the nature of security partnerships in the region after the war with Iraq; and the effect that war with Iraq will have on the war on terrorism in the region. The vast majority of European states will contribute to the peacekeeping mission in Iraq if asked bilaterally. Four conclusions have been reached. 1. Given its proximity, the European Union can provide substantial economic and diplomatic resources for stabilizing the region. 2. The European Union will seize upon the opportunities of greater regional democratization to practice diplomacy and crisis resolution. 3. The post-Iraqi war era provides an opportunity for NATO to reorient towards the Middle East. 4. European active participation on the global war on terrorism is predicated on clear success in the Middle East. Failure will result in a period of European isolationism.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1802/thumbnail.jp

Closing the Gap Between Technological and Best Practice Innovations: TPACK and DI

Implementing differentiated instruction with the fast changing landscape of technology is a complex process (Fullan, 2014; Tomlinson; 2014) and requires widespread diffusion of multiple innovations by educators (Meyer, 2004). However, most U.S. classrooms remain stagnant in their attempts to successfully incorporate innovative pedagogies (Darling-Hammond, 2010; November, 2014; Prensky, 2010; Robinson, 2011). Thus Fullan (2014) reported, “The time is right to bring together knowledge of systems change, new pedagogies and technologies that allow change to scale through diffusion” (p. 13). To understand this problem, this pragmatic, mixed-methods study (Creswell, 2009) collected data through the following condensed research questions: What are the relationships between educators’ TPACK and DI self-efficacy and the following demographics: grade level, years of teaching, adopter category, device-student ratio, professional development hours in technology or DI, class size, certification(s), and educational background? How do teachers describe their use of technology to differentiate instruction? A questionnaire with open-ended questions provided quantitative and qualitative data (N=72). Of the respondents, 22% were categorized as innovators and 32% as early adopters-considered teacher leaders. Even though both groups demonstrated more confidence with DI-T than later adopter categories, neither showed significantly stronger TPACK. However, Grade 8-12 teachers demonstrated significantly higher TPACK and self-efficacy to DI than pre-kindergarten to grade 4 teachers. Qualitative themes confirmed the problem. Educators demonstrated misconceptions of TPACK and self-efficacy to DI, and these innovative practices were not successfully being diffused. Thus, recommendations identified specific professional development needs, and for educational systems to create communication channels to more rapidly diffuse innovational pedagogies

Levitated electromechanics: all-electrical cooling of charged nano- and micro-particles

We show how charged levitated nano- and micro-particles can be cooled by interfacing them with an $RLC$ circuit. All-electrical levitation and cooling is applicable to a wide range of particle sizes and materials, and will enable state-of-the-art force sensing within an electrically networked system. Exploring the cooling limits in the presence of realistic noise we find that the quantum regime of particle motion can be reached in cryogenic environments both for passive resistive cooling and for an active feedback scheme, paving the way to levitated quantum electromechanics.Comment: Manuscript: 16 pages, 5 figures. Supplementary material: 3 pages 2 figure

Optically driven ultra-stable nanomechanical rotor

Nanomechanical devices have attracted the interest of a growing interdisciplinary research community, since they can be used as highly sensitive transducers for various physical quantities. Exquisite control over these systems facilitates experiments on the foundations of physics. Here, we demonstrate that an optically trapped silicon nanorod, set into rotation at MHz frequencies, can be locked to an external clock, transducing the properties of the time standard to the rod's motion with the remarkable frequency stability $f_{\rm r}/\Delta f_{\rm r}$ of $7.7 \times 10^{11}$. While the dynamics of this periodically driven rotor generally can be chaotic, we derive and verify that stable limit cycles exist over a surprisingly wide parameter range. This robustness should enable, in principle, measurements of external torques with sensitivities better than 0.25zNm, even at room temperature. We show that in a dilute gas, real-time phase measurements on the locked nanorod transduce pressure values with a sensitivity of 0.3%.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Probing Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions with Nanorotors

Whether quantum physics is universally valid is an open question with far-reaching implications. Intense research is therefore invested into testing the quantum superposition principle with ever heavier and more complex objects. Here we propose a radically new, experimentally viable route towards studies at the quantum-to-classical borderline by probing the orientational quantum revivals of a nanoscale rigid rotor. The proposed interference experiment testifies a macroscopic superposition of all possible orientations. It requires no diffraction grating, uses only a single levitated particle, and works with moderate motional temperatures under realistic environmental conditions. The first exploitation of quantum rotations of a massive object opens the door to new tests of quantum physics with submicron particles and to quantum gyroscopic torque sensors, holding the potential to improve state-of-the art devices by many orders of magnitude.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

A Cation-π Interaction in the Binding Site of the Glycine Receptor Is Mediated by a Phenylalanine Residue

Cys-loop receptor binding sites characteristically contain many aromatic amino acids. In nicotinic ACh and 5-HT3 receptors, a Trp residue forms a cation-{pi} interaction with the agonist, whereas in GABAA receptors, a Tyr performs this role. The glycine receptor binding site, however, contains predominantly Phe residues. Homology models suggest that two of these Phe side chains, Phe159 and Phe207, and possibly a third, Phe63, are positioned such that they could contribute to a cation-{pi} interaction with the primary amine of glycine. Here, we test this hypothesis by incorporation of a series of fluorinated Phe derivatives using unnatural amino acid mutagenesis. The data reveal a clear correlation between the glycine EC50 value and the cation-{pi} binding ability of the fluorinated Phe derivatives at position 159, but not at positions 207 or 63, indicating a single cation-{pi} interaction between glycine and Phe159. The data thus provide an anchor point for locating glycine in its binding site, and demonstrate for the first time a cation-{pi} interaction between Phe and a neurotransmitter