To Smear or Not To Smear? Evidence of a Failure of Implementation and Content Suitability of the 2000 National Guideline on Cervical Cancer Screening Program in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

The value of screening for cervical cancer has been proven; as such screening has resulted in a decrease in incidence and mortality of cervical cancer by over 80% in developed countries . Yet despite a screening infrastructure, cervical cancer is the most common female malignancy in South Africa , affecting 1 in ever 41 women. It is estimated that more than 3,400 South African women die of cervical cancer every year . In the year 2000, the South African Department of Health initiated its National Guideline on Cervical Cancer Screening Program. The program, based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for low-resource settings, calls for South African women to receive 3 smears per lifetime with a 10 year interval between each smear, commencing at no earlier than age 30. The ultimate goal is to screen 70% of targeted women, nationally, within 10 years of initiating the program in order to reduce the incidence, morbidity, mortality and cost of cervical cancer. In this study, I evaluate the implementation challenges and content suitability of the 2000 National Guideline on Cervical Cancer Program in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) by triangulating the data I have collected from interviews with relevant stakeholders in the cervical cancer field, pertinent secondary sources on the topic and my general observations living and studying in KZN from the period of 8 September 2006 to 7 December 2006. The evidence I detail suggests that the current National Guideline on Cervical Screening Program does not appear to be comprehensively implemented in KZN and may not be suitable within the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In this piece, I discuss possible reasons for this alleged failure of implementation, citing evidence that 1) there are inadequate resources in the public sector, that 2) health care workers are overstrained causing i. pap smears to fall low on the list of health priorities, ii. provider attitudes that discourage clinic attendance and iii. a possible information-dissemination failure from healthcare provider to patient and that 3) there is inadequate publicity of the cervical screening program to the public at large. I then discuss data that suggests that even if implemented, the cervical screening policy may not be suitable in KwaZulu-Natal because such a substantial portion of the young female population is infected with HIV. Evidence suggests that HIV decreases the age at which women have cervical cancer, decreases the interval of time from dysplasia to cancer and increases the likelihood of false-negative results of pap smears. As such, HIV-positive women should be getting pap smears at young ages and at frequent intervals. Finally, in an epilogue, I discuss exciting new developments in the cervical cancer field

Media, making & movement: Bridging media literacy and racial justice through critical media project

This article offers a theoretically-grounded case study considering the role of Critical Media Project (CMP) as an educational initiative and intervention that sits at the juncture of media literacy and social justice. CMP fills key gaps in media literacy education by using a critical media literacy frame to foster critical consumption, critical creation, and cultural competencies around seven key social identities (race and ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, socio-economic class, religion, ability and age). In turn, through a media-rich website, curriculum and other programs, CMP helps youth imagine a better future with the requisite tools, resources and power to challenge dominant systems and structures of power

Red Skies in the Morning—Professional Ethics at the Dawn of Cloud Computing

The article evaluates risks to clients’ confidential and privileged information when lawyers or law firms store such information in any cloud computing “space” against the requirements of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the New York Rules of Professional Conduct. It also evaluates pertinent liability provisions of some of the more commonly used cloud computing services (Amazon.com and Google) against the lawyer’s responsibilities. An interesting portion covers the latest thinking from NIST on cloud computing benefits and risks

A match made in heaven or down under? The effectiveness of matching visual and verbal horizons in advertising

According to construal level theory, consumers' processing styles become more abstract as psychological distance increases, but they grow more concrete when psychological distance decreases. This study provides evidence that panoramic pictures in which the horizon appears in the lower versus upper part of the frame trigger a different level of construal. As such, this study raises a novel source of construal. In addition, this study shows that when both visual (e.g., horizon height) and verbal (e.g., temporal benefit) advertising elements induce the same level of construal, advertising effectiveness increases. This work differs from previous research in that it focuses on the construal fit evoked by two advertisement features rather than a fit in construal between an external stimulus and the internal mindset of the consumer

Adoption of cloud computing by South African firms: an institutional theory and Diffusion Of Innovation theory perspective

Thesis (M.Com. (Information Systems))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2014.This study investigated the adoption of cloud computing as a form of innovative IT by South African organisations. The investigation into the factors that explain the current extent of adoption was focused through the lenses of Institutional Theory and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI). Cloud computing is a form of innovative IT offering an organisation the means to effectively and efficiently rent on-demand IT resources as a service. There are three generally agreed cloud services delivery models: Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Each of these cloud services models meets different organisational requirements and targets different customers, but what they all have in common is that each model offers advantages to organisations willing to adopt any one of them. Even though cloud computing offers advantages, it is not without its challenges and short-comings which are responsible for tempering the rate of adoption and the types of service delivery models being adopted. The aim of this research study was to develop and subsequently test a model of the institutional pressures and IS innovation characteristics that influence organisational adoption of cloud computing. A systematic literature review was conducted to gauge the state of the field, and thereafter a research model was developed and tested using a survey methodology. This involved operationalizing the variables hypothesized in the research model and collecting data through a questionnaire instrument. The self-administered online questionnaire was administered to a sample of 980 medium-to-large South African organisations, resulting in a final number of 87 usable responses. The data provided by these 87 organisations passed through reliability and validity tests which confirmed that the construct measures provided consistent and reproducible results (reliability) and accurately represented the constructs they were intended to measure (validity). After reliability and validity was demonstrated, correlation, regression and partial least square (PLS) structured equation modelling was employed to test the hypothesized research model. The results of the study indicate that the mimetic pressures construct drawn from Institutional Theory is more important than normative and coercive pressures in explaining adoption of cloud computing, and that the DOI factors of compatibility and relative advantage were also significant. However, it is evident from results that top management championship as an internal organisational factor is very important and may mediate the effects of other factors on the adoption of cloud computing. Cloud computing is very topical and is garnering a great deal of attention both academically and practically. Through the application of Institutional Theory and Diffusion of Innovation Theory to an IT innovation context, that of cloud computing, this study’s research results provides an academic contribution. This research also offers practical implications for organisational IT decision-makers, technology service suppliers and trade bodies. For those organisations who are considering adoption of cloud computing this research will offer insights into the relative influence of institutional pressures and IS innovation characteristics and how these factors weighed on other organisations’ decision-making

Inferential processes in the forced compliance situation : A Bayesian analysis

The attribution made by an observer (O) to an actor in the forced compliance situation was regarded as a probability revision process which can be described by a Bayesian inference model. Os' perceptions of the forced compliance situation were analyzed in terms of the input components into the Bayesian model: prior probabilities of the relevant attitudes and the diagnostic values of the behaviors which the actor may choose. In order to test propositions made by attribution theory about such perceptions (Kelley, 1967; Messick, 1971), Os viewed actors under conditions of Low Inducement (LI) and High Inducement (HI). Before observing the actor's decision, Os estimated the prior probabilities of the relevant attitudes and the conditional probabilities of compliance and refusal given each of the attitudes. After observing the actor's decision, Os estimated the posterior probabilities of the attitudes. As expected, in the LI condition, compared to the HI condition, compliance was seen as less probable and more diagnostic about the actor's attitudes, and the posterior probability of the corresponding attitude was higher. Contrary to expectations, within both conditions, compliance, compared to refusal, was seen as less diagnostic and more probable.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22432/1/0000882.pd

Regenerative Potential of Dental Pulp

AbstractThe regenerative potential of dental pulp, particularly in mature teeth, has been considered extremely limited. However, our improved understanding of pulpal inflammation and repair and improved dental materials and technologies make vital pulp therapy a viable alternative to root canal treatment. This article explores our knowledge in this regard and the future potential of saving or even regenerating the pulp as a routine dental procedure