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Statistical modelling in enrolment management: a higher education case study
No full textEnrolment management is important to institutions of higher learning. Administrators at these institutions are annually faced by the question: how many offers for a given academic programme should be made to applicants to meet the registration target set by the authorities? Data on past and new applicants are available at most institutions. In this paper, data from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of the Western Cape are used to develop a statistical model that provides estimates of the likelihood of new applicants accepting registration offers from the Faculty. The paper therefore contributes to the important field of strategic enrolment management. The paper shows how a statistical model estimated from historical data can assist administrators to determine the number of offers that should be extended to applicants to reach a given registration target
The false optimism of electrification: why universal electricity access has not delivered urban energy transformation in South Africa
No full textUniversal access to energy is a global priority, increasingly delivered through grid-tied and off-grid infrastructure. However, energy policies frequently conflate universal access with extending and subsidising networked electricity, resulting in technology-dominated approaches. Rapid urbanisation in the global south has outstripped infrastructure capacity, where urban dwellers' access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable forms of energy are precarious. This failure to reflect human needs and societal expectations alongside technical considerations is threatening the sustainability of urban energy transitions. This paper draws from qualitative data with low-income urban dwellers and municipal policymakers to critically examine South Africa's energy access policies. We demonstrate how prioritising ‘electricity for all’ via grid connections fails to deliver universal access to affordable energy. First, the state's emphasis on extending and subsidising networked electricity prioritises proximity to grid connections rather than access to energy services, and permanently excludes households living in un-serviceable structures/settlements. Second, limited community participation produces a policy that ignores low-income households' urban practices and creates perverse incentives to distort energy consumption. We argue that delivering an urban energy transition that is economically feasible, locally appropriate and socially desirable requires policy expansion beyond physical delivery, working with targeted communities on policy development, knowledge exchange, and capacity building
An exploratory study of the lived experiences of nurses who cared for patients with COVID-19 at a regional hospital in Mbombela local municipality, Mpumalanga province.
No full textNurses played an important role in providing first aid care and serving as frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to explore the lived experiences of nurses who cared for patients with COVID-19 at a rural South African hospital. It used a qualitative descriptive research design. Twenty research participants were selected to participate in the study. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data from the participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Ethical approval was obtained from the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape. Each participant’s written informed consent was obtained. Four keys themes emerged from the study. First, the nurses shared their journey into nursing, with most of them reporting that they pursued the career out of a desire to help others and due to limited career opportunities. Second, the study found that nurses had a fear of contracting COVID-19 and transmitting the virus to their loved ones; they also reported that they experienced fear of community ostracism. Third, the study delved into the impact of the work environment on nurses’ well-being, with most of them reporting experiencing burnout, long working hours and poor working environment. Finally, the study also examined the coping mechanisms used by the nurses and identified collegial support, religious support and avoidant coping
Effectiveness of oral health promotion in children and adolescents through behaviour change interventions: A scoping review
No full textObjective To explore the interventions for change in oral health behaviour that are effective in improving oral health behaviours in 8 to 18-year-old children during oral health promotion. Methods The Joanna Briggs Institute framework of evidence synthesis for conducting a scoping review was implemented for the methodology. Included studies related to the objective, measured clinical or non-clinical outcomes, were in English, 2011–2023, and were experimental, observational or reviews. PUBMED, Science-Direct, Scopus and Sabinet were systematically searched with predetermined search strings. Studies were selected by appraisal of the title, abstract and full text. Data were extracted using a standardised template and the key questions were addressed via a qualitative analysis. Results Searches yielded 407 articles from electronic databases. Of these, 290 articles were excluded, and 47 full-text studies were assessed for eligibility, with 23 studies and two systematic reviews finalised for inclusion. In addition, a PEARL search was conducted from the reference lists of other studies. Most studies (91.3%) focused on educating children directly; 8.7% indirectly influenced parents, guardians, and teachers. Interventions focused largely on traditional oral health education presented in diverse forms and via different platforms. Studies differentiated clinical outcomes (indices) from non-clinical outcomes (knowledge, behaviour). All included RCTs were of different quality regarding selection, performance and detection bias. But all studies indicated a low risk of bias in attrition and Reporting bias. Seventeen of the 25 studies (68%) were not based on any behaviour change theory. Conclusions Oral health interventions based on motivational interviewing and the social cognitive theory have been shown to be to be effective. Interventions could also include practical tooth brushing activities, gamification, audio-visual components, as well as reinforcement and repetition in the longer term. Future oral health promotion in children should be designed to include these elements. There is a need for higher quality studies in this field, with future research being urged to provide detailed intervention descriptions and incorporate longer follow-up periods. © 2025 Peerbhay et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Luminescence and electroanalytical properties of carbon quantum dots in the context of immunosensor design
No full textElectroanalytical techniques are powerful tools in biological sensing because of their sensitivity and versatility. In recent decades, great attention has been given to the fabrication of electroactive nanomaterial-based biosensors. In this context, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have received special attention and have been used to develop many sensors because of their remarkable advantages such as high photostability, high solubility and stability in water, biocompatibility, high photoluminescence emission intensities, and simple methods of synthesis. Since they are very small in size, they have high surface area to volume ratios which in turn can allow good catalytic activities of the working electrodes in electrochemical reactions. Being motivated by these advantages, in this work we prepared two types of carbon quantum dots (CQD-COOH and CQD-NH2) and used them to modify screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) for detection of Troponin I (cTnI). These carbon quantum dot – modified SPCE immunosensors have offered promising results for the determination of cTnI with a limit of detection 62 pg/mL and 171 pg/mL, respectively. This simple approach to sensor design further offers valuable insights into the construction of paper based printed electrodes modified with new carbon-based nanomaterials as immunosensors for detection of other biomarkers of various diseases. © 2025 The Authors. ChemElectroChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
Assessment of access to drugs through the distribution of drug outlets in Uganda
No full textBackground: This study explored the distribution of pharmacies in Uganda to determine whether it was congruent with the population trends, ascertained where the new pharmacies were being established and assessed whether an increase in the number of pharmacies per capita was associated with an increase in the availability and affordability of medicines. Methods: The distribution of pharmacies was established using pharmacy licensing data from the National Drug Authority and population data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. A survey of 39 selected essential medicines in 45 randomly selected pharmacies from 8 regions was conducted to determine the availability and affordability/cost of medicines. The correlation between the availability and price of essential drugs and the district pharmacy equity index was assessed
Nano-based co-valorization, detoxification, and fermentation of potato waste and black liquor for bioethanol production
No full textBlack liquor from paper and pulp mills is an underutilized waste resource. Black liquor can be valorized due to its useful chemical fractions and water component that can be employed for the pretreatment and biochemical conversion of starchy potato waste (SPW) into bioethanol. Hence, in this study, the simultaneous co-valorization, detoxification, and fermentation of SPW and black liquor (without the addition of freshwater and chemicals) were optimized for bioethanol production. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) clearly confirmed the distortion of SPW inherent structure for the recovery of useful carbohydrates. A significant reduction in process inhibitors (furfural = 1.26-fold, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) = 5.68-fold, and phenols = 1.03-fold) was observed with CuO NP inclusion. The response surface methodology (RSM) model of the bioethanol production showed a high coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.98. The optimized process with CuO NP inclusion displayed a biomass and bioethanol concentrations of 2.12 g/L and 21.37 g/L corresponding to 1.74- and 1.68-fold improvement over the control respectively. In addition, the kinetic data showed that the incorporation of CuO nanoparticle (NP) significantly improved (1.86-fold) the potential maximum bioethanol concentration (Pm) (20.21 g/L) compared to the control experiment (10.86 g/L). The study demonstrates a 100% freshwater conservation approach for improved sugar recovery, remarkable inhibitor removal, and bioethanol production from pretreated SPW towards reduced biofuel production cost, waste management, and green environment sustainability
Online grocery shopping e-service quality: a generational comparison
No full textBackground: Online grocery shopping has increased due to the convenience it offers; however, consumers from different generational cohorts hold different expectations, shaping their
perceptions of e-service (e-SQ) quality. Aim: This study investigates how e-SQ perceptions differ between Generation X and Y within the South African grocery industry.
Setting: The study was conducted in the South African grocery retail sector, with data collected
online from consumers across the country.Method: A quantitative study was executed, resulting in 622 respondents. SmartPLS 4.0 was used to evaluate the measurement and structural models.
Results: Perceived risk had a significant negative impact on e-SQ for both cohorts, suggesting that this does not differ according to age. Platform content, ease of use, and service convenience
all have significant positive effects on e-SQ for both cohorts. Service convenience was the strongest predictor of e-SQ for Generation X, while platform content was the strongest
predictor for Generation Y. Conclusion: Both cohorts value similar factors. Generation Y regards platform content, ease of use, and service convenience as important, while Generation X views service convenience,
ease of use, and then platform content as important factors. These key differences allow online grocery retailers to ensure their platforms are designed to ensure the highest e-SQ levels,
depending on the cohort they target. Contribution: This study highlights specific differences between generational cohorts and whether differences in their e-SQ exist. Thus, online grocery retailers have the opportunity to
develop tailored marketing strategies focusing on different factors (e.g., platform content, ease of use, and service convenience for Generation Y and service convenience, ease of use, and
platform content for Generation X) to improve the e-SQ perceptions
Assessing the role of servicing in enhancing sanitation-related quality of life among container-based sanitation users
No full textHere we evaluate the servicing of container-based sanitation (CBS)—which includes the collection, replacement and cleaning of cartridges—and its influence on sanitation-related quality of life (using the SanQoL-5 index) in informal settlements across Kenya, Peru and South Africa. We (1) compared the incidence and severity of problems associated with CBS toilets against other sanitation types, (2) assessed the quality of CBS servicing across different regions and implementations and (3) evaluated the relationship between servicing issues and sanitation-related quality of life, utilizing high-frequency longitudinal smartphone survey data collected at various intervals over 1 year. Results revealed significantly fewer and less severe issues were recorded for CBS toilets than other toilet types, such as pit latrines, sewers and open drains. CBS servicing was consistently well regarded in all countries. Participants in Kenya highlighted particular satisfaction with the frequency of container replacement, whereas, in Peru, the cleanliness of replacement containers was highly regarded. SanQoL-5 scores decreased when CBS servicing issues were recorded, particularly in Kenya. This study underscores the potential of CBS as a sustainable sanitation solution in urban informal settlements, provided that high-quality servicing is maintained
Impostor syndrome and job satisfaction: perceptions of community service physiotherapists within the Western Cape
No full textBACKGROUND: Impostor syndrome, marked by persistent self-doubt despite evident success, is common among high-achievers and can negatively affect wellbeing and performance. Newly qualified physiotherapists, transitioning from academic to clinical settings during their community service year, may be particularly vulnerable. Exploring their experiences is crucial for early identification and support, which in turn contributes to targeted interventions, professional development, and the creation of more supportive work environments. AIM/PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore how community service physiotherapists in the Western Cape understand, experience, and manage Impostor Syndrome while completing their community service year. METHOD: A qualitative approach, using an exploratory study design, was employed to gather in-depth insights through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. The study population comprised of 20 physiotherapy graduates from South African universities who completed their community service year in either 2023 or 2024 at one of the twenty-four health care facilities (including hospitals and community health care centers) within the public sector of the Western Cape. Only 10 participants were able to be recruited and participated in the study. Purposive sampling was employed, and snowball sampling supplemented recruitment. Interviews were conducted via Google Meet for accessibility. Data saturation was reached after 10 interviews. Verbatim transcripts were thematically analysed using ATLAS.ti software. Trustworthiness was ensured through credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of the Western Cape’s Biomedical Research Ethics Committee and the Western Cape Department of Health. Informed consent was secured, and confidentiality and anonymity were maintained in line with Protection of Personal Information Act. Participation was voluntary, and minimal risk was anticipated. Emotional responses during interviews were addressed with support options