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Challenges and opportunities to instructional leadership in inclusive secondary schools of Zimbabwe
No full textThis study explored challenges to and opportunities for instructional leadership in inclusive secondary schools as perceived and experienced by school heads in this instructional environment. It sought to provide answers to the central research question: What are the challenges to and opportunities for instructional leadership in inclusive secondary schools and how does sense-making by school heads explain their construction and practice of instructional leadership in such school settings? Although many countries, including Zimbabwe, have embraced inclusive education, at least on paper, very little is known about the challenges to and opportunities for instructional leadership in inclusive secondary schools as perceived and experienced by school heads. However, such knowledge is believed to have implications on the success of inclusive reforms in secondary schools. My study which is framed on a qualitative research approach and informed by an interpretivist paradigm and the enactive sense-making theory sought to bridge this knowledge gap. Research participants consisted of 3 school heads drawn from 3 inclusive secondary schools in the Masvingo district of Zimbabwe. The schools were identified through nominations by the district on the basis of the extent to which they had embraced the inclusive framework ahead of other schools in the same district. A combination of semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis research methods was employed to collect data. Data were presented and analysed case by case, using a storied approach. The key finding was that, whilst there were some important areas of overlap in their understanding; consistent with the sense-making theory which informs this study, by and large, instructional leadership in the schools studied appeared to school heads as listening to different sounds from echoes of a single drum-beat. As a result, instructional leadership meant different things across these schools. This difference was shaped by interactions between the institutional contexts for the schools and resources of biography for each of the school heads involved. The schools‟ contexts comprised expectations from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE), the Responsible authorities (RAs) and the community. Key challenges faced included that; education is a multi-stakeholder based social activity. As a result, its purpose and expectations varied across its key stakeholders. Other challenges included curriculum rigidity and inconsistency between the MoPSE‟s inclusive policy as practice (covert policy) and as written statements (overt policy). In theory, the MoPSE‟s policy spoke to inclusive education whilst in practice it was judged to support exclusionary practices. This discrepancy between written policy and practice made school heads to become disenchanted as they sought to couple diverse and, at times, conflicting expectations from multiple stakeholders. In practice, the RAs were seen to be more supportive of full inclusion than the MoPSE. The RAs appeared to be inclined to the social justice logic whilst the MoPSE seemed to favour the entrepreneurial logic and political inclusion of Black children to formerly group „A‟ schools only. Basing on the level of support that school heads enjoyed from stakeholders and the effect of resources of biography on sense-making and practice, findings in this study suggest that, the future of full inclusive education in the district studied was in the hands of church related schools and/or properly socialised school heads. These findings elaborated and in many instances brought new insights on the work of earlier writers on school leadership and policy implementation studies. They also illuminated the challenges secondary school authorities grapple with, as they seek to make education more responsive to the needs of „all‟ learners through embracing inclusive instructional practices
Challenges facing nurse educators in the implementation of high fidelity simulation at a public nursing college
No full textThe new nursing curriculum, Regulation 171 for introduction at Nursing Education Institutions throughout South Africa, as approved by the South African Nursing Council and Council for Higher Education, stipulates that 20% of practical hours are to be spent in simulation laboratories. High fidelity simulation is available in varying degrees at all the campuses of the public nursing education institution selected for this study, yet it is not formally being utilised. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges that nurse educators perceived to be standing in the way of their implementing high fidelity simulation at this nursing education institution. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive research design was employed and data was collected by means of the nominal group technique. The empirical data was analysed and themes, categories and subcategories were identified. The three main themes identified were stakeholders, readiness of staff and high fidelity simulation. Stakeholders’ four categories included finances, human resources, physical and material resources and attitudes. The three readiness of staff categories were identified as nurse educators’ training, empowerment/autonomy and students’ training. The three categories, responsibilities of the high fidelity simulation manager, standards of high fidelity simulation sessions and the information technology control centre were identified under the theme high fidelity simulation. Key recommendations included the coming together of all stakeholders for budgeting and financial purposes, the careful management of human resources, early consultation of nurse educators, comprehensive training and preparation of nurse educators for the implementation of high fidelity simulation and the availability of a fully functional information technology-controlled simulation laboratory, complete with control room
Socio-economic factors contributing to pregnancy prevention methods among adolescent girls in Mangaung
No full textBackground: In South Africa, adolescent girls continue to become pregnant at an unacceptably high rate. While the fertility rate is high, the rate of contraception use remains low, consequently resulting in perpetuating the cycle of poverty. The objective of the study is to assess the socioeconomic factors associated with the different forms of contraceptive use and perceptions among adolescent girls. Methods: The study uses a secondary dataset with a sample of 300 respondents. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression are used to examine the association between socioeconomic variables and the acceptability of pregnancy prevention methods. Result: Only two study variables had a significant correlation with pregnancy prevention methods; share of persons employed and the number of assets. Share of persons employed had a statistically significant (p=0.013 and p=0.027) weak, negative correlation (r=-1.43 and r=-1.28) with the use of a needle and withdrawal. The share of persons employed and the number of assets also showed a statically significant (p=0.027 and p=0.009) weak, negative correlation (r=-.128 and r=-.151) with withdrawal. The results further show a limited number of significant relationships. In the case of contraceptive injection, the requirements were not met for the Pearson chi-square, but the gamma and Kendall’s tau-b both indicated a statistically significant (p=0.024 each) weak, negative correlation (gamma=0.181 and tau-b=-0.134), indicating that higher education for the mother reduced the acceptability of contraceptive injection. In the case of condoms, the Pearson chi-square suggests a statistically significant difference, at p<0.05 (chi square=9.903, p=0.042). The gamma and Kendall’s tau-b showed a statistically significant (though only at p<0.1; p=0.062 each) weak, correlation (gamma=0.109 and tau-b=0.239), indicating that higher education reduced the acceptability of condoms. Conclusion: The findings from the study revealed that there is a minimal association of socioeconomic factors with the use and choice of contraception. Initiatives that seek to improve the use of contraceptives among adolescents in South Africa must consider attitude, cultural, and religious factors
Factors influencing infrainguinal reverse vein bypass patency at Universitas Academic Hospital: a retrospective review
No full textIntroduction and Aim: Peripheral arterial disease is a serious global healthcare concern with a subgroup of patients requiring revascularisation for chronic limb-threatening ischaemia. Open bypass surgery remain a valuable tool in the armamentarium of revascularisation options and several factors are known to affect the patency of a bypass procedure. Literature in this regard is, however, lacking in the South African population. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analytic study of infrainguinal reverse vein bypasses performed at a central academic hospital in South Africa between January 2012 and December 2016 for the indication of chronic limb-threatening ischaemia. 211 patients with a total of 219 bypass procedures were included. Patency data was assessed for 138 bypasses with 79 patients (36.1%) lost to follow-up and 2 patients (0.9%) who demised. Results: 156 (73.9%) were males and 55 (26.1%) were females. The median age was 61 years. The majority of the patients (78.2%) had hypertension and were known smokers (83.4%), whereas only 32.2% had diabetes mellitus and 11.4% had renal impairment. The human immunodeficiency virus status was unknown in the majority (70.6%) of patients. 83.1% of bypasses were performed for the indication of tissue loss in addition to rest pain. The proximal anastomosis was performed from the common femoral artery in 47.9% of cases and the distal anastomosis to the tibialis posterior artery in 27.9% of cases. Most patients (26.9%) had a single vessel runoff. The median diameter of greater saphenous vein utilised was 2.7mm. 26.1% of grafts demonstrated early graft failure within 30 days compared to 45.7% demonstrating patency beyond 12 months. Age, race, hypertension, diabetes, renal failure, the presence of tissue loss, level of the proximal and distal anastomoses and number of runoff vessels had no significant effect on graft patency. Female gender, a small greater saphenous diameter as well as a single anterior tibial vessel runoff, however, proved to be statistically significant indicators of early graft failure. Smoking, on the other hand, was associated with a longer graft patency beyond 12 months. Conclusions: Female gender, small vein diameter and a single anterior tibial runoff vessel are independent predictors of early graft failure. Smoking, on the other hand, is associated with prolonged patency beyond 12 months which is in contrast to the majority of existing literature
Motivation and emotional praxis: a collaborative autobiographical narrative of TVET college students from lower socio-economic backgrounds
No full textIn this qualitative study, I focused on understanding the role of emotions in promoting social justice for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds at TVET colleges. The study also looked at the possibility of decolonising TVET colleges by focusing on emotional experiences and enhancing learning motivation for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Consistent with Zembylas’s critical emotional praxis theory, the participants collaboratively shared their stories of emotions encountered in their spaces, and created a collective biography based on emotional experiences, decolonisation, social justice and learning motivation. The collective biography revealed that there are certain emotions and practices that should be taken into consideration when lecturers are working with students from lower socio-economic backgrounds at TVET colleges
Zoonotic potential of viral enteric pathogens in South African domesticated animals
No full textDiarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children less than the age of five years of age. Enteric viruses are the major aetiological agents associated with acute diarrhoea. The occurrence of enteric viruses in humans and animals highlights the importance of the One Health approach and interest in investigating the possible potential for zoonosis to occur. Common human enteric viruses include Rotavirus (RV), Sapovirus (SaV), Norovirus (NoV), Adenovirus (AdV) and Astrovirus (AstV). Rotaviruses have been extensively studied as compared to other enteric viruses and there is evidence that rotavirus is a zoonotic virus. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which was caused by a zoonotic transmission, it is vital to investigate and know the zoonotic status of other viruses. In this study, canine (n = 104) and porcine (n = 118) stool samples were screened for human enteric viruses, to identify viral agents with the possible potential for zoonosis. Three water samples from the porcine pen were also evaluated for the presence of enteric viruses. Electropherotyping was used as a primary method for detecting RV. In the canine samples, none (0/104) were positive for RV, whereas for porcine, 13.56% (16/118) were recorded positive for RV. Of the three water samples, none were positive for RV. Real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to expand the study to detect other enteric viruses mentioned above. RT-qPCR was able to identify three more RV positive porcine samples that were not detected by electropherotyping. Therefore, a total of 19/118 (16.10%) porcine samples were positive for RV. Of the 19 RV positive samples, 16 were confirmed to have sufficient RNA by agarose gel electrophoresis and therefore selected for whole genome sequencing. The whole genomes of fifteen group A rotavirus (RVA) strains were determined using the Illumina Miseq platform. One sample displayed a G5P[13] genotype combination, two G5P[6]P[13], three G5P[13]P[23], and nine G5P[23] combinations. One of the fifteen samples also had a co-infection with group C rotavirus (RVC). The average coverage for the RVC strain was too low for phylogenetic analysis but a BLASTn search was used to identify close relatives. Eight of the fifteen samples, were co-infections with picobirnavirus. A group B (RVB) strain was also identified and genotyped. The zoonotic potential of the detected RVAs was determined by phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that study strains are similar to one another and clustered with the South African porcine strains. Exceptions were P[6] and NSP5/6 which were closely related to human strains identified in GenBank. These results suggest possible zoonotic potential for some of the RV strains evaluated. The two P[13]-containing study strains, RVA/Pig-wt/ZAF/UFS BOC009/2018/G5P[6]P[13] and RVA/Pig-wt/ZAF/UFS-BOC035/G5P[6]P[13] were distinct with nucleotide sequence identities of 83% and 83.55% to RVA/Pig-wt/ZAF/UFS-BOC001/2018/G5P[13], respectively, suggesting possible reassortment. The presence of these rotavirus strains on one farm in South Africa, calls for more investigation on the farm and overall surveillance of porcine RV strains in Africa.National Research Foundation (NRF)Poliomyelitis Research Foundation (PRF
Ontgroeningspraktyke in skole: ’n ondersoek na die spanning tussen populere diskoerse en die regsraamwerk
No full textOor die jare heen het die mate waarin ontgroening plaasvind, net meer intens geraak. Die wrede ontgroeningspraktyke wat tydens ontgroeningseremonies by instansies en spanne plaasvind, word oorgedra van groep tot groep. Ten spyte van ʼn baie duidelike 2002 beleid wat ontgroening by alle skole in Suid-Afrika verbied, blyk dit vandag nog ʼn werklikheid in sommige skole te wees, aangesien daar telkens aan die begin van die jaar daaroor in die media berig word. Op die oog af word die praktyke deur die leerders aanvaar, en deur volwassenes goedgekeur. Dit het my opgeval tydens my Meesterstudie dat mense sterk standpunt ten gunste van ontgroening inneem, al kom sulke praktyke as skadelik voor, en al word dit verbied. ʼn Literatuursoektog het dit duidelik gemaak dat navorsing oor die fenomeen binne die konteks van Suid-Afrika uiters beperk is. Selfs internasionale bronne is taamlik beperk. Wat egter duidelik was, is dat daar wel steun vir die praktyk is, ten spyte daarvan dat dit nie in lyn met die handhawing van menseregte is nie. Dit het vir my voorgekom asof daar, binne ʼn konstitusionele bestel soos Suid-Afrika, op die oog af spanning is tussen die populêre opinie en dit wat die reg voorskryf. Dit het my gelei om die volgende navorsingsvraag in die studie te stel: Watter klaarblyklike spanninge kan blootgelê word tussen die regsraamwerk en populêre diskoerse rakende ontgroeningspraktyke by skole? Die studie word ondersteun deur Festinger se Teorie van Kognitiewe Dissonansie. Volgens Festinger se teorie moet ʼn mens se oortuigings en dade ooreenstem, anders sal ʼn persoon buite karakter optree. Tydens ontgroeningspraktyke weet individue dat hulle aan dade en praktyke deelneem wat heeltemal teen die oënskynlik aanvaarbare gedrag indruis. Desnieteenstaande ʼn gevoel van weersin jeens die aktiwiteite, neem die persoon steeds deel, en so ontstaan ʼn wanbalans. Individue verander dus hulle persepsies en oortuigings teenoor ontgroening, sodat dit in hul gedagtes aanvaarbaar word, omdat hulle hierdie dissonansie wil afweer. Deur hulle dissonansie met betrekking tot ontgroeningspraktyke te verminder, verlaag hulle spanning en hulle gee toe tot deelname aan aktiwiteite waarteen hulle normaalweg sou vasskop. Ek het terselfdertyd na Morgenthau se Balans van Mag Teorie verwys, wat uitwys dat persone morele waardes opsy sal skuif in hulle drang na mag. Dit kom na vore wanneer seniors gemeen, onredelik en selfs vernietigend teenoor juniors optree, in ʼn poging om hulle mag te vertoon. ʼn Literatuurstudie oor ontgroening in die Suid-Afrikaanse opset is onderneem. Verder is ontgroening as internasionale verskynsel ondersoek deur na Indië, Amerika en Engeland te kyk, en te bepaal wat die effek daarvan op dié lande is. Die regsraamwerk rakende ontgroening is ook beskryf. Die verskillende terme en definisies is beskryf, en die regsverpligtinge en regsgevolge van al die rolspelers in die onderwys rakende ontgroening is volledig uitgelig. Hofsake rakende ontgroening of wat in verband staan daarmee is ook bespreek. Die regsraamwerk toon duidelik dat enige vorm van ontgroening onwettig is. Deur middel van ʼn kwalitatiewe benadering is semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude gevoer en kommentaar is versamel om te bepaal hoe die verskillende rolspelers oor ontgroening voel. Die studie sluit af met kritiese kommentaar ten opsigte van die regsraamwerk en populêre diskoerse. Die siklus van ontgroening sal nie gebreek kan word as dit steeds ondersteun word nie. Geen ontgroening is toelaatbaar nie en dit druis in teen alle wetgewing wat ontgroeningspraktyke verbied. Baie leerders en volwassenes glo steeds dat die ontgroening wat hulle deurmaak of deurgemaak het van waarde is. Hulle swaarkry en vernedering berei hulle glo voor vir die lewe daarbuite, wat nie maklik is nie. Magsvergrype tydens ontgroening kom algemeen voor, nie net in Suid-Afrika nie maar wêreldwyd. Die seniors wat in beheer is wil demonstreer hoe magtig en belangrik hulle is. Hoe erger die vernedering, aanranding en mishandeling, hoe magtiger glo die seniors sal hulle vertoon. Alhoewel skoolhoofde en personeel aan beleide en wette moet gehoor gee wat ontgroening verbied, gaan hulle steeds voort om ontgroening aan te moedig of self daaraan deel te neem. Die magskringloop of siklus van ontgroening bly ʼn realiteit. Ontgroening sal slegs stopgesit kan word as die kultuur daar rondom verander, en die regering alle rolspelers oortuig om oor hierdie kwessie saam te werk.In recent times the degree to which initiation in schools has been taking place has become
more intense. The cruel initiation practices applied during initiation ceremonies in institutions
and teams persist from one group to the next. Despite a very clear 2002 policy prohibiting
initiation in all South African schools, it still seems to be a reality if one looks at the number
of media reports on the topic at the start of each academic year. At face value it seems as if
these practices are accepted by learners, and supported by adults. During the course of this
study it became clear that people have strong positive feelings towards initiation, even
though such practices may be harmful, and are actually against the law. My literature review
revealed that very limited research on this topic has been done in South Africa. Even
international literature is quite limited. This study revealed strong support for initiation
practices, even though they go against basic human rights. I perceived discord between
popular opinion and legislative guidelines on this topic in South Africa as a constitutional
dispensation. This led me to the following research question: What apparent tensions can be
uncovered between the legal framework and popular discourse regarding initiation practices
in the school environment?
This study is supported by Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. According to
Festinger’s ideas, an individual’s views and deeds must be in alignment, otherwise the person
will act contrary to his/her character. During initiation practices individuals take part in acts
that they know are in opposition to acceptable behaviour. Despite feelings of aversion against
these activities, juniors still take part, and a discord develops between their thoughts and
their feelings. Individuals therefore adapt their perceptions and convictions towards
initiation, until it seems acceptable to them, in an attempt to deal with this dissonance. By
dealing with this dissonance, juniors will take part in almost any bizarre activity just to get it
over and done with to be able to return to normal. I also referred to Morgenthau’s Balance
of Power Theory, which demonstrates that people will cast aside their moral values in a desire
for power. This becomes an issue when seniors act in a mean, unreasonable and sometimes
even destructive way towards juniors in an attempt to display their power.
A literature review was done regarding initiation in the South African environment. Initiation
as experienced by countries such as India, America and England was examined in attempt to
determine its impact in these countries.
The legal framework that applies to initiation practices was discussed. The different terms
and definitions were explained and the legal responsibilities and legal outcomes of all the
stakeholders in the educational system regarding initiation practices were investigated. Case
law concerning initiation was also discussed. The existing legislative framework clearly
indicates that initiation practices in any form whatsoever are illegal.
By making use of a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted and
comments were collected to determine how the different role-players feel about initiation.
The study concludes with critical commentary on the legal framework and popular discourse.
The cycle of initiation will never be broken if some of these role-players persist in supporting
it.
No form of initiation is allowed as it goes against all legislation. Many students and adults still
believe that the initiation practices which they are subjected to have a certain degree of value.
Their suffering and degradation apparently prepares them for life in the hard, big wide world.
The abuse of power during initiation is a common occurrence, both in South Africa and
internationally. The seniors in charge want to demonstrate their power and importance,
which they believe will increase if they treat the juniors badly. Although principals and
teaching staff should adhere to policies and legislation regarding initiation, they persist in
encouraging it and even take part in it themselves. The power cycle of initiation remains a
reality. As long as a strong culture exists that supports initiation, the government and the
Department of Education will struggle to eradicate the problem and initiation practices will
continue due to public support.Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK)South African Academy for Science and Art
Source code comprehension: decoding the cognitive challenges of novice programmers
No full textAfter four decades of research investigations, source code comprehension (SCC) continues to be challenging to undergraduate Computer Science (CS) students. CS instructors, on the other hand, do not generally have any problems to comprehend source code. The Decoding the Disciplines (DtDs) philosophy is based on the premise that each discipline has its own unique set of mental operations. In many cases, these operations have become invisible to instructors, as they tend to perform them automatically based on years of experience. If the nature of these operations is not made explicit to students, it is likely that they will develop learning ‘bottlenecks’ which could prevent them from mastering key disciplinary practices (such as SCC). Better understanding of the nature of the cognitive processes and related strategies employed by experts during SCC could ultimately be utilised to expose these ‘hidden’ mental steps. The overall aim of this study was to explore how a systematic decoding approach can be used to uncover cognitive strategies for efficient SCC by novice programmers. The research findings are presented in the format of three interrelated articles: Article 1 reports on a study aimed at uncovering common SCC bottlenecks experienced by senior CS students. Thematic analysis of the collected data revealed eight common SCC difficulties specifically related to arrays, programming logic, and control structures. The identified difficulties, together with findings from existing literature, as well as personal experiences were then used to formulate six usable SCC bottlenecks. The identified bottlenecks point to student learning difficulties that should be addressed in introductory CS courses. This article intends to create awareness among CS instructors regarding the role that a systematic decoding approach can play in exposing the mental processes and bottlenecks unique to the CS discipline. Article 2 describes a study that employed decoding interviews, followed by thematic data analysis, to uncover a variety of explicit cognitive processes and related strategies utilised by a select group of experienced programming instructors during a SCC task. The insights gained were then used to propose a set of mental scaffolding techniques for efficient SCC. It is foreseen that programming instructors could use these techniques as an SCC teaching aid to convey expert ways of thinking more explicitly to their students. Insight into the general cognitive strategies utilised by expert programmers is also an important step towards further exploration of the more detailed step-by-step procedures followed by experts during SCC. One of the key bottlenecks identified in the CS discipline, relates to students’ inability to reliably work their way through the long chain of reasoning necessary to comprehend source code. In an attempt to narrow the existing gap between expert and novice thinking in this regard, Article 3 describes a study in which decoding interviews with five expert programmers (who were also experienced programming instructors) were utilised to systematically deconstruct the explicit mental techniques and reasoning strategies necessary for efficient SCC. Thematic analysis of the mental operations performed by these experts during an SCC activity, led to the identification of 11 key strategies. Knowledge of these strategies as well as the related explicit mental operations were then used to devise a step-by-step framework for efficient SCC. The main purpose of this framework is to create awareness among CS instructors regarding the explicit mental operations required for efficient SCC, and to serve as a source of further research and refinement. Moreover, within the realm of the DtDs philosophy, this framework can also serve as a starting point for devising explicit strategies to model these mental operations to students, and to help them master each of the identified strategies.University of the Free Stat
Exploring school principals’ lived leadership experiences of creating high performing schools in a South African township
No full textThis study explores the involvement of modern-day principals who engage in innovative intervention processes to promote excellence in their schools thus sustaining high-quality learner-performance. This arises out of concern that the DoE Diagnostic Report (2017) depicts a depressing picture concerning learner-performances in South African secondary schools that fail to meet the international benchmark. However, there are those schools that are “high-performing.” Given that there exists a correlation between leadership practices and learner-performances, principals of secondary schools who are held accountable for learner-performances, are now proactive such that they institute strategies to uplift learners’ academic results. The qualitative study’s aim is to explore the practices of “lived leadership” by principals of high-performing secondary schools in an effort to contribute to education that will yield good quality results in South African secondary schools. The research project adopted the theory of transformational leadership which was used as a lens to review the relevant literature and critically analyse generated data. In this study, the researcher adopted an interpretive paradigm. Relevant data from each school principal of four (4) high-performing schools in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District (North-West Province) through the responses and transcripts of from individual-semi-structured interviews focusing on their matriculation results of 2017 and 2018. This led to the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and a better understanding of how high- performing secondary school principals utilise their “lived leadership” experiences in order to generate, promote and maintain their highly productive instructional environments. The multi-case study revealed that in their schools where innovativeness in leadership was in operation, school principals focused on the twinning of schools, and supporting and motivating both educators and learners in reaching a shared vision, in addition to engaging in strong collaboration with school community members. Thus, school principals established mutual relationships on the basis of trust, common decision-making, and freedom of communication – all of which can be implemented at other schools. It is recommended that extensive studies (covering all schools in the North-West Province) be conducted to help and keep us informed about the phenomenon. It was suggested that secondary school principals should also support and promote studies in functional leadership which entails their involvement in more-advanced vocational training sessions, workshops, conferences, and seminars. The intensification of such training should be done in a modern transformational leadership style which solves serious challenges such as school discipline. Additionally, school principals should collaborate to discuss and minimise challenges at schools. Lastly, it was recommended that educators be recognised, praised, and rewarded by principals for their sacrifices to sustain schools’ high-performance rates
Investigating the influence of arachidonic acid on Candida albicans and its interaction with Pseudomonas aeruginosa
No full textInfection causes the release of arachidonic acid (AA) by the host that not only alters pathogen clearance by the immune system, but can also affect virulence and the antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogens. Furthermore, it may alter the interaction between co-infecting agents. Candida albicans exhibits multiple phenotypes and morphological plasticity, that are crucial to its virulence. Furthermore, it is known to form associations with commensal and co-infective bacteria in polymicrobial biofilms that can affect patient outcomes. The interkingdom interaction between C. albicans and the ubiquitous bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, can be regarded as a model for polymicrobial infection with detrimental cause to the host. The role that AA plays during this interaction is unknown. Arachidonic acid is not endogenously produced by C. albicans and P. aeruginosa, however, exogenously added AA has been reported to increase the susceptibility of C. albicans to antifungal agents, with reduction in virulence associated characteristics. The mechanism of this is unknown. To address this lack of knowledge, transcriptomic profiles of single species and polymicrobial biofilms, in the absence or presence of a sub-inhibitory concentration of AA, were compared. Focusing on C. albicans, genes of interest were identified, and homozygous deletion mutants were constructed. The roles of these genes were then evaluated during in vitro characterisation of biofilms as well as virulence in a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model. Regulatory mechanisms of C. albicans phenotypes and morphologies were evaluated in the presence of P. aeruginosa, along with their contribution to virulence during polymicrobial infection. Deletion of a component of the Set3/Hos2-histone deacetylase complex, involved in morphogenesis via chromatin remodelling, showed limited effect on the interaction between fungus and bacterium in vitro, but abrogated virulence, even in the presence of P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, deletion of WOR1, the principle regulator of phenotypic switching, did not modify population dynamics or virulence of C. albicans with P. aeruginosa. Genes associated with membrane organisation and antifungal resistance were shown to be induced by AA in C. albicans single species biofilms. Three genes, CDR1, IPT1 and RTA3, were chosen due to their importance in antifungal susceptibility. In addition to AA, co-incubation with P. aeruginosa induced their expression. However, only deletion of IPT1 was able to affect survival of C. albicans in the presence of P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, deletion of IPT1 and CDR1, but not RTA3, altered the virulence of C. albicans. Deletion of CDR1, a multi-drug transporter, increased oxidative stress, possibly due to lipid peroxidation, in the presence of AA. This may indicate that Cdr1p may be responsible for the efflux of AA. Although AA increased CDR1 mRNA and protein levels in a dose dependent manner, its function was diminished. This may be due to a combination of factors, including mislocalisation and subsequent loss of function of Cdr1p, reduced mitochondrial function, as well as competitive inhibition of AA with xenobiotic compounds. As Cdr1p provides antifungal resistance to C. albicans by efflux of antifungal agents, this provides a possible mechanism whereby AA increases antifungal susceptibility in C. albicans. This study addressed the influence of AA, a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), present in ample amounts during infection, on C. albicans. The influence of this fatty acid is frequently ignored during in vitro studies. Furthermore, the results obtained in this study prompts investigation into other PUFAs and their effects on pathogenic yeast, and their associations with pathobionts.National Research Foundation (NRF