Interpreting an integrated curriculum in a non-racial, private, alternative secondary school in South Africa

Research into school curricula indicates an instability of focus. Curriculum may refer to a disciplinary perspective on a programme, to what practitioners 'do' in a programme, to programme content and its arrangement, to the hidden assumptions patterning thought and action and embedded in the discourse of a curriculum, to the historical and political context of curriculum, to the official curriculum, to the curriculum as curriculum-in-use, to combining academic disciplines in Learning Areas, school with community, or incorporating disability into the mainstream. As opposed to curriculum research being seen as an aspirant body of knowledge, it has been argued that curriculum studies may more usefully be seen as a social movement which focuses, in the first instance, on the unstable but usable arts of the practitioner, rather than on the systematic application of a discipline to elucidate programme purposes and effects and to reflect back on the discipline. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(1) 2004: 31-4

Erectile dysfunction and relationships : views of men with erectile dysfunction and their partners

There has been limited previous research that has examined the views of both men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and their partners on the impact of ED on their sexuality, relationship and general functioning. The current study was designed to evaluate the above variables among men with ED and their partners. Participants for the current study were 40 heterosexual men with ED and their partners. All participants completed a questionnaire that evaluated their reaction to ED, their past and current sexual activity, their sexual and relationship satisfaction as well as their levels of self-esteem and quality of life (QOL). The results demonstrated that both men with ED and their partners reported a reduction in their levels of sexual activity since the development of ED and that they wanted to seek a solution to the problem. Men with ED demonstrated lower levels of self-esteem, QOL and sexual satisfaction than their partners but there were no differences between the partners in their level of relationship satisfaction. These findings demonstrate that ED has an impact on both the man and his partner. They also indicate the importance of including the man\u27s partner in the assessment and treatment of ED. <br /

Betroubaarheid van enkele vakdidaktiese assesseringsinstrumente

Reliability of several subject didactic assessment instruments. The use of assessment instruments may help teachers monitor their own subject didactic effort in an effort to attain certain goals. In the light of the critical importance which subjects in the natural sciences (e.g. mathematics and physical science) have assumed in South Africa, research on assessment instruments has become of critical importance. However, the effectiveness of these measuring instruments has to be established beforehand. The aim here was to compare the SOM, LEMOSS(II) and LCH questionnaires in terms of reliability. The ultimate aim of the analysis is the use of these questionnaires to optimise learning competences, especially in mathematics, physical science and home economics. It was found that the three questionnaires discussed can be used with an acceptable degree of confidence for the measurement and optimisation of the subject-related learning competences of Grade 9 learners in the Tzaneen and Phalaborwa areas. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between sufficient of the problem-solving strategies and better achievement in the subjects discussed. (South African Journal of Education: 2003 22(3): 219-229

ISO/IEC 15504 measurement applied to COBIT process maturity

Purpose: The assessment of COBIT process maturity levels is fraught with a number of problems regarding the objectivity of the assessment results. Unlike ISO/IEC 15504, COBIT does not define an assessment model. The purpose of this paper is to align the behavioural aspects of the six COBIT process attributes with achievement results defined for the nine process attributes associated with the ISO/IEC 15504-2 measurement scale. The authors believe that this alignment permits a translation of the ISO/IEC 15504 assessment data into an objective COBIT process maturity rating. Design/methodology/approach: The tables presented in the paper identify the COBIT process attributes, the applicable ISO/IEC 15504 process attribute achievement results and the aggregated rating that pertains to the selected achievement results. A final table lists the derived COBIT process maturity level in terms of the ratings for the ISO/IEC 15504 process attribute achievement results for an assessed process. Findings: The objectivity of the aggregated result (COBIT process maturity level) appeals strongly to end-users of this measurement result, particularly where contractual obligations must be satisfied. Practical implications: The method is useful where measurement rigour must be demonstrated in the computation of the COBIT process maturity levels. Originality/value: This assessment and computational method was developed and trialled in the second half of 2010 in the context of the assessment of 13 information technology (IT) service management processes at two different customer sites. The material is of special value to service managers in companies that have outsourced IT service management processes to external IT service providers. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

A comparison of the yield, nutritional value and predicted production potential of different maize hybrids for silage production

The yield, nutritional value and production potential of silage made from twenty one maize hybrids was compared. The digestibility of organic matter and predicted intake, mean retention time and milk production potential were found to differ between hybrids (p < 0.05). Acid detergent fibre content could not be used to accurately predict the metabolizable energy content of silage. (South African Journal of Animal Science, 2000, 30(1): 18-21

A retrospective study evaluating the efficacy of identification and management of sepsis at a district-level hospital internal medicine department in the Western Cape Province, South Africa...

Full Title: A retrospective study evaluating the efficacy of identification and management of sepsis at a district-level hospital internal medicine department in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, in comparison with the guidelines stipulated in the 2012 Surviving Sepsis CampaignBackground. Currently there is little information on the identification, management and outcomes of patients with sepsis in developing countries. Simple cost-effective measures such as accurate identification of patients with sepsis and early antibiotic administration are achievable targets, within reach without having to make use of unsustainable protocols constructed in developed countries.Objectives. To assess the ability of clinicians at a district-level hospital to identify and manage sepsis, and to assess patient outcome in terms of in-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay given the above management.Methods. A retrospective descriptive study design was used, analysing data from the routine burden of disease audit done on a 3-monthly basis at Karl Bremer Hospital (KBH) in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.Results. The total sample size obtained was 70 patients, of whom 18 (25.7%) had an initial triage blood pressure indicative of sepsis-induced hypotension. However, only 1 (5.5%) of these 18 patients received an initial crystalloid fluid bolus of at least 30 mL/kg. The median time that elapsed before administration of antibiotics in septic shock was 4.25 hours. Furthermore, a positive delay in antibiotic administration (p=0.0039) was demonstrated. The data also showed that 8/12 patients (66.7%) with septic shock received inappropriate amounts of fluids. The in-hospital mortality rate for sepsis was 4/24 (16.7%), for severe sepsis 11/34 (32.3%) and for septic shock a staggering 9/12 (75.0%).Conclusions. The initial classification process and management of sepsis by clinicians at KBH is flawed. This inevitably leads to an increase in in-hospital mortality

A Thirteenth-Century English Charter at Brock University

In the fall of 2008, staff of the Special Collections and Archives of the James A. Gibson library at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, discovered a small, tightly folded, and clearly very old parchment document in a bag in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet. The document, which had been transferred to the Library from the President’s Office in 1976, was stored without being catalogued, probably because it fell outside the scope of the department’s collection policy. It remained unexamined for over thirty years until early in 2009, when the announcement of its ‘rediscovery’ caused considerable excitement among the Brock University and Niagara communities. Efforts to trace the provenance of the Charter prior to its arrival at Brock University have proven unsuccessful. The document, dated to the mid-thirteenth century, records a grant of land in the village of Clopton in Warwickshire (see further below) by Robert de Clopton to his son William; although some of the individuals and places named in it are known from contemporaneous records, it does not appear to be referred to in secondary sources pertaining to the family, the estate, or the county and, in fact, seems to be completely unknown. The Clopton charter now has the distinction of being the oldest item in the holdings of the James A. Gibson Library at Brock University. This paper offers a description, transcription, translation and preliminary analysis of the document

ANALYSIS OF A TWO LACTATION TARGET ANIMAL SAFETY STUDY OF SOMIDOBOVE SUSTAINED RELEASE INJECTION IN MULTIPAROUS DAIRY COWS

An overview is given of the primary basis for the scientific inference that somidobove sustained release injection is safe for multiparous dairy cows. The process of analysis and interpretation of the voluminous data collected from a target animal safety study which started with 28 cows and lasted two lactations is described. This was a repeated measures study with most of 60 variables being measured or summarized every 28 days resulting in approximately 1500 measurements per cow. The statistical analysis was designed to screen the variables for biological change caused by treatment and consisted of a univariate analysis of variance for repeated measures data both within a lactation and across two lactations. Graphs of least squares means with error bounds and p-value plots of ANOVA p-values helped communicate statistical findings. A cross disciplinary approach interpreted analyses and arrived at inferences

The effect of data sources on the measurement of open access : a comparison of Dimensions and the Web of Science

With the growing number of open access (OA) mandates, the accurate measurement of OA publishing is an important policy issue. Existing studies have provided estimates of the prevalence of OA publications ranging from 27.9% to 53.7%, depending on the data source and period of investigation. This paper aims at providing a comparison of the proportion of OA publishing as represented in two major bibliometric databases, Web of Science (WoS) and Dimensions, and assesses how the choice of database affects the measurement of OA across different countries. Results show that a higher proportion of publications indexed in Dimensions are OA than those indexed by WoS, and that this is particularly true for publications originating from outside North America and Europe. The paper concludes with a discussion of the cause and consequences of these differences, motivating the use of more inclusive databases when examining OA, especially for publications originating beyond North America and Europe

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