43867 research outputs found
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Reimagining Albus : a critical and visual response to Albinism in contemporary South African art
Full text linkM.Tech. (Fine Art)Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract
Retrospective review of internal audit non–conformances at non accredited public health laboratories in Gauteng Province of South Africa
Full text linkAbstract: Public health medical laboratories are a component of a healthcare sector where clinical pathology tests are performed on clinical samples. The results of these samples aid in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease. Laboratory results greatly influence the outcome of patient management. Therefore, it is essential that the laboratories comply with internationally recognized standards to ensure the accuracy and reliability of results. The International standard specifically developed for the medical laboratories is the ISO15189 standard. The laboratories use it to implement and monitor the laboratory quality management system (QMS). Laboratories conduct annual internal audits to verify compliance with the standard. If the laboratory fulfils the requirements of this standard and is assessed by an external body to verify compliance, the laboratory is awarded an accreditation certificate that is recognized internationally. Out of the twenty-four laboratories in Gauteng, eight laboratories were ISO15189 accredited and sixteen laboratories were not accredited in 2018. There has been slow progress in the accreditation of laboratories throughout the years. The study aimed to determine the reasons for non-compliance with the ISO15189:2012 standard that prevented laboratories from being accredited. Internal audit non-conformances in the nonaccredited laboratories in the Gauteng Province of South Africa for the period 2015-2019 were reviewed to investigate the type of non-conformances recorded in these laboratories. The study was conducted in the three disciplines Haematology, Chemical Pathology, and Microbiology. A descriptive non-experimental quantitative research method design was used and a survey and quantitative data were collected. The survey data was collected through an online multiple response survey distributed to internal auditors that conducted audits in Gauteng. The auditors were asked to identify common non-conformances in these nonaccredited laboratories and to share reasons that contributed to the laboratories noncompliance with the ISO15189:2012 standard. They were asked to share recommendations for improvement based on their experience. The quantitative non-conformance data recorded for the period 2015-2019 was collected. Data was analysed using the SPSS program from STATKON. Descriptives were used to analyse data and frequencies and percentages were used to report results. Cross tabulations were done to compare frequencies and percentages observed for management...M.Tech. (Biomedical Technology
An assessment of environmental factors affecting the delivery practices of hospital-based intrapartum care : a case of rural Ketté District Health Service in Cameroon
Full text linkAbstract: Background: In 2017, the World Health Organization reported more than 295,000 maternal deaths on a global scale. The majority of these largely preventable misfortunes occurred within the intrapartum period. Interestingly, a significant relationship between environmental factors and hospital-based intrapartum care has been established in some studies. Objective: This study sought to assess the effect of environmental factors on maternal outcomes and the use of intrapartum healthcare services at the Ketté District Hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional . The study sampled 471 women presenting for peripartum care at the Ketté District hospital. A pilot study was initiated prior to data collection. The results were analysed at 95% confidence interval (CI) using EPI Info and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Charts, tables and logistic regression were used to relate variables to observed outcomes. Results: Of the study participants, 24.2% (n=114) had a history of maternal complications. Socio-demographic characteristics associated with higher odds for maternal complications included age group 18-25 years (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.16-3.11) where 26-33 years was the reference group, family size greater than 6 (AOR 2.17, 95% CI 1.18-3.98) where 3-4 persons was the reference group and being unemployed (AOR 2.46, 95% CI 1.12-5.41) where being self-employed was the reference group. One major factor associated with maternal complications was a travel distance of over 5 km from the health facility (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.07-9.13) where a distance of 1-2 km was the reference. Obstetric and delivery determinants associated with maternal complications included delivery being assisted by a traditional birth attendant (AOR 3.70, 95% CI 1.71-8.04) where delivery at a health centre was the reference group. The perceived importance of environmental factors for ANC frequency showed greater odds for maternal complications when road quality was important (AOR 4.33, 95% CI 1.62-11.57); when travel time was important (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.57-5.18); when travel distance was very important (OR 6.65, 95% CI 3.62-12.25); and when season was important (OR 3.59, 95% CI 1.91-6.78). Conclusion: Maternal outcomes were significantly influenced by distance, route network, and season of delivery. The implementation of sustainable measures via road maintenance and motorised transportation could greatly improve peripartum outcomes.M.A. (Public Health
Integrating zero-waste pattern making for sustainable fashion design
Full text linkAbstract: Integrating sustainable strategies within the conventional fashion design and production process rarely are explored or examined (Gwilt & Rissanen, 2011:57). This poses an opportunity for designers to adopt and cultivate new approaches to the design process where they actively participate. The aim of the study is to identify a set of first principles, underpinned by sustainability theory that is positioned within sustainable fashion praxis through design thinking approaches. The process of zerowaste pattern making is selected as a method to trial and evaluate the adoption of the first principle approach within this study. The study presents a means to facilitate the adoption of sustainable strategies within the fashion design praxis, specifically evaluating clothing construction processes and aligning sustainable strategies to invention points within the conventional design and production process. The study follows a qualitative framework and is situated within a pragmatist paradigm. The transition design framework from Irwin (2018) was adapted to the context of the study to craft a suitable research design, multiple methodologies, practice-led, practice-based and action research function as key frameworks in which the appropriate methods of data collection were deployed. The data collection methods allowed for an engaging investigative and explorative process undertaken by the researcher-practitioner to trial and evaluate adopting a first principle approach within sustainable fashion praxis. The findings presented within the study are limited to the core fashion design process. This encapsulates the first two phases of the design and production process, the trialling and evaluation of a first principle approach to fashion design provided insight into the adoption of innovative methods to assist in facilitating the first principle approach within the design and production process. Opportunities for further studies were identified through the findings, providing future avenues of investigation for evaluation of the first principle approach within the sustainable fashion design praxis.M.A. (Design
Contextualising the South African Life Skills Intermediate Phase Curriculum in the Johannesburg region
Full text linkAbstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of amendments made within the Life Skills curriculum in the context of the transforming education system and its effects on teaching and learning. The study took place at a school in the Johannesburg North district. The reason this school was chosen was that the researcher is a teacher at the school, which proved to be convenient for the researcher to conduct interviews. This was especially helpful during the time when the Coronavirus was at its peak and limited or even restricted interaction between individuals. The study further identified the possible challenges that teachers were faced with in implementing the Life Skills curriculum each time there was a curriculum change. The study was qualitative in nature and adopted an interpretivist research design to investigate teachers and learners’ perceptions with regards to the implementation of the Life Skills curriculum. The researcher used the constructivist approach to argue how the constant changes have impacted teachers and learners both positively and negatively. The research was conducted using purposive sampling where participants were purposefully selected according to their knowledge and experience with the three curricula discussed in the study. Five Intermediate Phase Life Skills teachers were chosen and five Intermediate Phase learners from Grade five to seven were chosen. The researcher employed semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions, observations and document analysis as methods of data collection. Document analysis was used in order to validate the data that was collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. Data was analysed through thematic and content analysis that resulted in the emergence of ten teachers’ themes, which were combined and reduced six to themes. Ten learner themes emerged, which was reduced to three themes. The findings of the study indicated that there were teachers who were not qualified Life Skills teachers, who were teaching Life Skills. The findings highlighted how the teachers who were not qualified Life Skills teachers had difficulty in implementing the curriculum in comparison to those teachers who were qualified Life Skills teachers who adapted to the changes more easily. The study did, however, reveal that all teachers vi did not have sufficient support in implementing the changes to the Life Skills curriculum. Based on the findings that emerged from the interviews, the observations and the document analysis the researcher made the following recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of the Life Skills curriculum: the principal and governing body representatives should ensure that they employ teachers with the necessary qualifications required to teach Life Skills. Teachers should assist each other by planning lessons together. Furthermore, the School Management Team should be well-informed about the Life Skills policies in order to assist and support teachers where necessary. In addition, the School Management Team should raise awareness of the contextual factors that deter teaching and learning for the Department of Education to provide the school with the resources it needs for effective teaching and learning. Finally, the Life Skills curriculum should be viewed with the same importance and prioritised as the other core subjects.M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies
Teachers’ support needs in the identification of sexually abused learners in primary school
Full text linkAbstract: This study explored what support teachers need to identify childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in a primary school. The purpose of the investigation was to indicate what support teachers may need to identify CSA to guide schools in having the correct interventions in place so that learners can learn and grow holistically. A qualitative approach embedded in an interpretative framework was used. Data was collected by means of open-ended questionnaires and individual semi-structured interviews with twenty participants. The data was analysed through thematic data analysis. Three themes were identified: teachers’ experiences regarding CSA, support teachers receive regarding CSA and additional teacher support for CSA identification. Sub-themes addressed school culture, knowledge and resources, relationship with learner, teacher’s awareness of trauma, principal’s knowledge, collaboration with the school with external service providers, professional development, trauma-informed care and community and parent engagement. The findings indicated the need for improved support to teachers for them to successfully identify CSA. Key words: Child Sexual Abuse, Contemporary Trauma Theory, Trauma Informed Care, Trauma Theory, Organisational CultureM.Ed. (Educational Psychology
Intermediate phase pre-service teachers’ integration of robotics in designing stem lessons
Full text linkAbstract: The educational value of robotics technology is being embraced in many countries. Teachers who are burdened with a full curriculum are expected to integrate robotics technology into teaching and learning. However, there are no clear guidelines about how they can achieve this. Pre-service teachers, therefore, need to be equipped with the knowledge about how to incorporate robotics into their lessons to deliver content and develop competencies for a changing world in learners. This study used literature to derive six learning design principles to guide the integration of robotics into the existing STEM curriculum. The principles were derived, refined, and grouped using TPACK as a framework. Twelve fourth-year Intermediate Phase pre-service teachers from the University of Johannesburg participated in a four-workshop iteration of the Design-Based research study. Participants engaged in robotics tasks, designed competency-infused Natural Sciences and Technology lessons for grades 4-6 that incorporate robotics, and then reflected on their integration approaches. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers integrate robotics into lessons based on the knowledge acquired through experiences with robotics kits. Furthermore, their integration knowledge relied on robotics knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content and competency knowledge. The results of this study point to the importance of embedding robotics into the already existing curriculum through activities that lead to learners' content knowledge and competency development. This research brings together robotics technology, lesson design, content delivery, and competency development. Keywords: Educational robotics, Pre-service teachers, STEM, Competencies for a changing world, Learning design principles.M.Ed. (Information and Communication Technology in Education
A constructivist learning approach to the integration of e-learning into the teaching of foundation phase mathematics at a primary school in the Gauteng province
Full text linkAbstract: A constructivist learning approach to the integration of e-learning into the teaching of foundation phase mathematics at a primary school in the Gauteng province The South African government in the process of limiting movement and gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced school lockdown, this accelerated the need for online learning, as learners could not attend traditional face-to-face classroom teaching and learning of mathematics. Applying a qualitative research method that agrees with the interpretivist paradigm the researcher explored the teacher phenomenon of constructivist teaching of mathematics problem solving to foundation phase learners using e-learning. The study used the constructivism theoretical framework. The study focused on a case study of a private school situated in Gauteng Province. E-learning was implemented by the school during the South African COVID-19 lockdown period. A study population of eight foundation phase mathematics teachers was used in the study. The teachers were selected using the purposive and expert sampling techniques. The researcher created semi-structured questions that were used during individual and focus-group interviews. Zoom recording function was used to record the interviews, the data was then transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed thematically using a four-step process. The findings revealed that online constructivist teaching of mathematics is a learner-centred approach that incorporated blended learning and learner collaboration. The study also reveals that constructivist teachers as facilitators of learning should promote inquiry based and discovery learning leading to learners gaining skills to solve mathematics problems whilst learning online. Teachers had to adapt and gain technological and pedagogical skills through training and experimenting to provide authentic learning using e-learning. The findings can assist policy and decision makers in integrating e-learning in the constructivist teaching of mathematics to foundation phase learners, one can conclude that an e-learning plan including teacher training and e-learning resources are essential.M.Ed. (Information and Communication Technology in Education
Teacher’s experiences with trauma informed care in a High School
Full text linkAbstract: Exposure to different types of trauma has been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school related behaviours. Educators are in a unique position to help learners who have experienced trauma, because they spend the majority of their time with learners. Educators are in a unique position to intervene and collaborate with parents, schools, and communities to assist children who have been impacted by trauma, (Mampane, 2018). The study was aimed at exploring teachers’ experiences with trauma informed care to support learners who have experienced trauma, and also to investigate what further support teachers may require to assist them in practising trauma-informed care within the school. Furthermore, it was aimed at exploring teachers’ understanding of the trauma informed care approach. This study used a single qualitative case study of a school in Diepsloot. According to Yin (2009), case studies are useful when an issue being investigated requires a more in-depth look and understanding, and they can also provide detailed information and insight for future research. Twelve teachers at the school were interviewed to get what their experiences with trauma informed care were. The findings of this study give an insight on how teachers are experiencing working with traumatised learners, and how are they experiencing trauma informed care within a classroom. It was found that almost half of the participants do not fully understand the role trauma informed care as an intervention to help learners who have been affected by trauma. The teachers who were interviewed indicated that they respond to the trauma of the learner through private conversations, referring to Life Orientation teachers, and referral to organisations outside the school. Furthermore, the participants pointed out that they need support from the school to better implement this model through training, workshops and counselling. Their experience with using the approach became a bit difficult because there is no specific policy within the school to help them work with learners and also to help them understand further what is required from them. Finally, the participants also pointed out that they found that the parents, and the outside environment hinder their efforts to assist learners who have experienced trauma, but nonetheless, they manage to continue supporting these learners.M.Ed. (Educational Psychology
Gender equity in leading a South African private Higher Education Institution
Full text linkAbstract: Significant gender inequity remains despite initiatives to increase the representation of women leaders in higher education. There is a scarcity of research focusing on gender equity in higher education leadership in the African context or reference to the standing of gender equity in private higher education institutions. Thus, this study sought to explore gender equity in leading a South African private higher education institution. Using a generic qualitative research approach, data collection was undertaken using semi-structured interviews, and a focus group with eight institutional leaders from a South African private higher education institution. The data from the study revealed that gender stereotypes persist in private higher education institutions, defining which roles women should hold and how they should be managed and regarded inside the institution. These gender biases are based on patriarchal attitudes that have cultural origins and impact the micropolitical culture of the institution. As a result, many women opt not to pursue leadership positions to protect themselves and their domestic responsibilities. As demonstrated by the study’s findings, there is no clear policy on leadership appointments, which has led to unfair practices in selecting leaders, such as an old boys club that advances male leaders. Women leaders face unequal treatment and must fight to be recognised and respected, often assuming masculine characteristics. Despite women numerically being the majority of the leaders in the institution, the study’s findings indicated that these women leaders’ responsibilities are primarily administrative. As a result, defining leadership and its responsibilities and context becomes significant. The benefits of attaining gender equity in leadership include being reflective of the student body, recruiting stronger female candidates for leadership roles, and growing the business. Some proposed strategies to achieve gender equity include formal mentorship and professional development plans, encouragement to take leadership roles, flexibility, and family-friendly policies. It is recommended that South African private higher education institutions establish a comprehensive, transparent policy on leadership and the support thereof, to advance gender equity in the leadership of these institutions. Key words: gender equity, leadership, private higher education, women leaders, policy.M.Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management
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