AJOL - African Journals Online
Not a member yet
221688 research outputs found
Sort by
Appell-Carlitz numbers
No full textIn this paper, we introduce the concept of the (higher order) Appell-Carlitz numbers which unifies the denfiitions of several special numbers in positive characteristic, such as the Bernoulli-Carlitz numbers and the Cauchy-Carlitz numbers. Their generating function is named Hurwitz series in the function field arithmetic ([11, p. 352, Definition 9.1.4]). By using Hasse-Teichmuller derivatives, we also obtain several properties of the (higher order) Appell-Carlitz numbers, including a recurrence formula, two closed forms expressions, and a determinant expression.The recurrence formula implies Carlitz's recurrence formula for Bernoulli-Carlitz numbers. Two closed from expressions implies the corresponding results for Bernoulli-Carlitz and Cauchy-Carlitz numbers . The determinant expression implies the corresponding results for Bernoulli-Carlitz and Cauchy-Carlitz numbers, which are analogues of the classical determinant expressions of Bernoulli and Cauchy numbers stated in an article by Glaisher in 1875
Maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care at the Jos University Teaching Hospital
No full textBackground: A woman's satisfaction with the delivery service may have immediate and long term effects on her health and subsequent utilization of the services. Maternal satisfaction is an essential indicator of the quality and efficiency of health care systems. Providing skilled and satisfying care during pregnancy, intrapartum and postpartum period saves lives of both mother and neonates and so increases service utilization. Women play a principal role in the upbringing of children and the management of family affairs, and their loss from pregnancy related causes is a significant social and personal tragedy. Hence we sought to assess maternal satisfaction with the delivery service in Jos University Teaching Hospital and to determine satisfaction in relation to three dimensions; interpersonal care, information and involvement in decision making and physical birth environment
Methods: A cross sectional study of postnatal women that attended the family health clinic between January to March 2015. A simple random sampling was used on eligible participants. An interviewer administered questionnaire that included respondents sociodemographic characteristics and validated 14 items maternal satisfaction with intrapartum care scale was used. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23.
Results: A total of 173 mothers were interviewed, of which 64.6% of the respondents were between the ages of 20-34 years. All the respondents were married and had a mean age of 27.3±3.2 years. Greater than half of the participants (50.9%) had secondary level of education, 67.1% were multiparous while 32.9% were primiparous. Overall maternal satisfaction level with the delivery services rendered at the hospital was 86.7%.
Conclusion: Although the majority of the participants were satisfied with the services given to them during delivery, lack of satisfaction by the minority group will limit their ability to engage in health facility delivery which will further contribute to maternal mortality. Thus, mechanisms should be devised to increase maternal satisfaction in this health institution
Food and beverages promoting elderly health: six food-based dietary guidelines to plan good mixed meals for elderly South Africans
Get PDFStudies have shown that the elderly are at a higher risk of developing malnutrition due to physiological and pathological changes. Several studies have confirmed that older South Africans have insufficient dietary diversity, resulting in nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore, poor and uninformed dietary choices are associated with the development of several diseases and increased mortality. Following the Elderly Food Based Dietary Guidelines (EFBDGs) related to promoting elderly health could ensure that the elderly have an adequate intake of nutritious foods. This paper provides an overview of six FBDGs relating to promoting health and is based on the South African Food Based Dietary Guidelines
The relationship between female adiposity and physical attractiveness amongst adults in rural Ranaka village, Botswana
Get PDFObjective: The aim was to assess the relationship between female adiposity and physical attractiveness among men and women in Botswana.
Design: A cross-sectional study was undertaken.
Setting: Ranaka rural village, Botswana.
Subjects: Randomly selected adults (n = 113, men = 48 and women = 65), 18–50 years old were recruited.
Outcome measures: Scores to indicate the attractiveness of 21 images of female bodies that represented different percentage body fat (%BF) according to participants’ age, gender and body mass index (BMI) were recorded.
Results: The perceptions of physical attractiveness of female body size were similar among men and women, regardless of significant differences between the BMI of men and women. Younger (18–30 years) and older participants (31–50 years) separately, as well as underweight/normal weight versus overweight/obese groups all gave higher attractiveness scores for images with a lower %BF. All groups gave the highest score for the same image (%BF of 19% and waist:hip ratio (WHR) of 0.72), and the lowest score for an image with %BF of 49% and WHR of 0.81. There was a significant negative correlation between attractiveness score and %BF of the images for all groups, but no significant correlation between the attractiveness scores for the images and WHR. There was a consistent outlier in the graphs between attractiveness score and %BF with a % BF of 32% and a WHR of 0.61, with a relatively high score of 7.4 out of 9 for all groups.
Conclusions: Participant groups according to gender, age or BMI gave similar attractiveness scores for leaner female body images
Food wastage management at the South African Military Academy officers’ mess
Get PDFGlobally, an estimated one-third of the total of food produced for human consumption is never consumed. This affects food security. South Africa has obligations to meet international commitments to reduce food wastage. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 aims to reduce food loss through wastage by 30 per cent by 2030. To contribute to the achievement of this goal, South Africa has to formulate policies to reduce food loss to achieve national food security. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF), as an organ of the state, should align with national policies aimed at reducing food loss and waste. The current study was conducted at the South African Military Academy (SAMA), an institution of higher learning for SANDF members. The institution has a catering facility that serves approximately 350 resident students and other living-in members375 daily. To date, no research has been done on food wastage management either in the broader SANDF or at this institution. This lack of information and analysis on food wastage management in the military in South Africa prompted the current research. The study analysed food wastage management at the SAMA mess to identify the level of knowledge and skills of SAMA officers’ mess personnel regarding the status of food wastage and best management practices. Through this qualitative study, online semi-structured interviews, using Microsoft Teams, were utilised to collect data from SAMA mess personnel. The findings revealed that there are set measures in place at the SAMA mess for managing food wastage, such as booking meals in advance and being able to repurpose food. The participants also indicated that most SAMA chefs are trained in food wastage management and possess the necessary skills to reduce food wastage in the mess; yet, not optimally so. Recommendations from this research are that more and improved training of personnel, as well as awareness programmes among mess staff and SAMA students would further reduce food wastage. Implementing such food wastage management measures would benefit the SAMA and the SANDF, and would contribute to national food wastage management and the realisation of the United Nations SDG 12.3
Artificial intelligence and big data in the Maritime Silk Road Initiative: The road towards Sea Power 2.0
Get PDFChina’s Belt and Road Initiative continues to attract considerable attention from scholars and observers in diverse fields. However, students of the Belt and Road Initiative (‘the Initiative’) have focused extensively on the land and sea dimensions of this grand project while only tentatively touching on its other dimensions. This article draws attention to the digital and maritime dimensions of the Initiative, which are respectively known as the Digital Silk Road Initiative and the Maritime Silk Road Initiative. Specifically, the article focuses on how artificial intelligence and big data, as promoted under the Digital Silk Road Initiative, intersect with the Maritime Silk Road Initiative to produce what the author refers to as Sea power 2.0. To contextualise this intersection, the article draws on patent data to show how artificial intelligence and big data are adopted in supply chains. The results from the patent analysis show that artificial intelligence and big data will play a crucial role in future supply chains, and hence, the Maritime Silk Road Initiative. Although the article focuses mostly on the commercial side of Sea power 2.0, it concludes by pointing out how artificial intelligence and big data could serve military objectives
The modern military leader as sensemaker on the battlefield
Get PDFThe study on which this article reports, addressed the problem with which modern military leaders on the battlefield are faced in assisting the soldier at basic level to make sense of what is happening. In this study, the term ‘sensemaker’ implied a process of individual and group sensemaking that forms the basis for meaning-making in the volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world within which soldiers are functioning. The authors postulate a best-fit world view for military leaders in this military leadership sensemaking and meaning-making nexus. They coined ‘social constructivism in complexity’ where the military leader acts as a guide for soldiers through a sensemaking process. This process is graphically represented, and requires a toolkit to assist military leaders in working as sensemakers on the battlefield. The article concludes with recommendations to military psychologists and military educators who have to make policy changes to develop and implement such a toolkit for sensemaking on the battlefield
