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To what extent does South Africa s legal framework effectively combat child trafficking and comply with international law obligations?
Get PDFThis thesis conducts a comprehensive critical analysis of South Africa's legislative and policy measures aimed at combatting child trafficking. It commences by presenting and critically examining the international definition of trafficking arising from the Palermo Protocol while also investigating the causes of trafficking. Subsequently, it delves into identifying and exploring South Africa's legal obligations, especially concerning children, as outlined in international and regional treaties. These obligations encompass a multifaceted commitment, including the duty to prevent trafficking, prosecute offenders, and ensure the protection of trafficking victims. Building upon this framework, the thesis critically evaluates South Africa's legal response primarily focusing on the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Act (7 of 2013) in light of these obligations. Furthermore, it assesses the implementation and effectiveness of the TIP Act. Ultimately, the thesis reaches a nuanced conclusion. It acknowledges that despite some deficiencies in the TIP Act, particularly regarding child trafficking, the legislation predominantly aligns with international and regional standards. However, its effectiveness is hindered by shortcomings in implementation, significantly undermining the TIP Act's potential to combat trafficking comprehensively. In conclusion, the thesis presents recommendations aimed at more effectively combating child trafficking
Teachers' integration of technology in classrooms: a case study of school readiness, barriers, and opportunities in Nelson Mandela Bay District
No full textAmong the problems that public schools face in the Nelson Mandela Bay District of Eastern Cape, South Africa is teachers' lack of technology integration in curriculum delivery. The study explored teachers' Technology Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) to understand the school readiness, barriers, and opportunities for technology integration in selected public schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay District. The study used a qualitative approach with an interpretivism paradigm. TPACK framework was used to guide the formulation of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers who were engaged in educational technology integration in their schools. Informed consent was obtained before the start of the interviews. The findings of the study showed that teachers were trained in technology integrations. The teachers showed knowledge of using technology in curriculum delivery and were passionate about using technology. The study also revealed that teachers could select suitable technology for integration in the classroom. However, they did not always consider selecting ubiquitous technologies such as mobile phones which are accessible to learners. The study also found that teachers' knowledge of technology was narrowed to desktops, computers, and projectors. This may be cemented by the kind of training they received. The study found that teachers used the following technologies: (1) YouTube videos to explain difficult concepts, (2) Microsoft PowerPoint, for lesson presentations, and (3) WhatsApp for blended learning and communication. The study identified several barriers to teacher technology integration in the classrooms including insufficient technological resources, electricity insecurity, and inadequate training. Eliminating these berries can enhance the integration of technology in schools
Macroeconomic determinants of the demand for international reserves and monetary disequilibrium in Namibia
Get PDFFollowing the extended version of the buffer stock model, this empirical analysis broadly focuses on assessing the macroeconomic determinants of the demand for international reserves in Namibia. The study employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration, covering the period 2000q1 to 2021q4. Empirical results reveal the existence of a long-run relationship between reserve demand and the regressors, that is, broad money, foreign direct investment, real GDP and opportunity cost. The significant finding on opportunity cost is an indication that the accumulation of reserves is motivated by returns to assets in Namibia. Focusing on the main thrust of the study, we failed to validate the existence of the theory of the monetary approach to the balance of payment signified by the term monetary disequilibrium. Short-run results are corroborated by a negative and statistically significant error correction term. The CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests suggest stability in Namibia's reserve demand function over the study period
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the grief and bereavement of the Eersterust community
Get PDFIntroduction: Strict lockdown regulations during COVID-19 could have led to emotional distress and affected grief. Feelings of distress and guilt can increase when one is unable to care for dying loved ones or get support during changed death rituals. Those that suffer from abnormal grief should be identified and managed promptly. Aim: To explore how COVID-19 lockdown regulations impacted on grieving of public health users of the Eersterust community. Objectives: To determine 1) the incidence of bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) the changes in social norms of bereavement, and to 3) explore the individual effects of the changes in norms on members of the community. Methodology: A cross-sectional mixed methods descriptive study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a survey with n=399 health care users, which included the validated pandemic grief scale (PGS). Bereaved individuals from phase 1 participated in phase 2 which consisted of a focus group discussion, individual interviews, and qualitative data derived phase 1 questionnaires. Results: 106 participants (26.6%) experienced loss between 1 March 2020 and 31 August 2021. Significant associations were shown for changes of funerals practices and less support received (p=0.023). The pandemic grief scale (PGS) found a complicated grief incidence of 1.9%, whilst 18.5% of participants expressed counselling needs. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis: Hospitalised loved one, saying goodbye, travel, coping and funerals. Conclusion: The “bereavement curve” was flatter than anticipated, yet lockdown regulations affected the loss experienced. Changes to all aspects of dying, death, and funerals deprived the bereaved from the comforting experiences rituals used to offer. The altered ceremonies left many dissatisfied, although participation was helpful in managing loss. The community's awareness regarding availability of mental health services were poor, but many had received counselling and support from their churches during their bereavemen
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on EMS practitioners in the Western Cape: strategies to enhance wellness
Get PDFThis research study aimed to explore the psycho-social impact of stress endured by frontline emergency medical services providers during COVID-19 pandemic and to develop a framework for enhancing their wellness during healthcare crises of the same or similar nature. Prior to the pandemic, emergency medical services providers faced high occupational stress within their work environment, which was characterised by exposure to traumatic scenes and high-stress conditions. The COVID-19 crisis added unique pressures, including increased mortality rates, higher exposure to the virus, and lack of resources emphasising the need for improved wellness strategies. Conducted as a qualitative design, using instrumental case study at the Western Cape Government Emergency Medical Services, Khayelitsha base, Cape Town, this research delved into the experiences of emergency medical care providers during the pandemic, the psycho-social effects the pandemic had on these providers, the coping strategies employed during the crisis and the wellness-enhancing aspects within the context of a health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study data was obtained using one-on-one interviews with a sample of thirty emergency medical care providers and focus group interviews with nine managers from the Western Cape Government Emergency Medical Services, Khayelitsha base, Cape Town, who were operational during the pandemic. The samples included both staff who became infected with COVID-19 but recovered and those that did not contract COVID-19. The qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis to identify key themes and patterns in the participants' responses. The findings propose a structural framework for bolstering the wellness of emergency medical services providers, within four wellness contexts of spirituality, family, work, and community, with suggested interventions in each context The findings highlight the importance of recognising and addressing the mental and social toll that emergency medical care work during the COVID-19 pandemic had on providers, as well as the need for ongoing preparation, support and resilience building in high-stress situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed framework may provide basis for further implementation of specific psycho-social interventions within emergency medical services work environment and inform policy development in this regard
Information and Communication Technology Skills Dynamics in Mozambique
Get PDFThe current state of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Mozambique is inadequate in terms of education, skills, infrastructure, government support, language, and culture. There is poor education available at all levels, and there is a lack of basic ICT skills countrywide. Language and cultural differences constitute barriers to ICT, due to English not being commonly spoken. The infrastructure of the country remains insufficient to fully reap the potential of ICT. As there is insufficient literature regarding ICT as a field in Mozambique , this study lays some of the groundwork in this regard, by inductively exploring the dynamics around ICT skills supply and demand, as perceived by local actors. The study was guided by a Case Study-Grounded Theory Methodology (CS-GTM), with data collected through in-depth interviews with various local stakeholders implicated in the ICT skills ecosystems. The findings reveal a never-ending loop of a lack of the supply of ICT opportunities (employment, education, and training) to gain ICT skills on the one hand, and a lack of skills available to demand ICT skills in the country as a result of the lack of current conditions for ICT growth, aided by a lack of support from the government for ICT on the other . Some of the dynamics raised were the centralisation and reliance on the capital city, the hierarchy of the different regions of the country, and the heavy reliance on foreign companies and talent. From a big picture view, the government holds the power in the ICT ecosystem but provides little support leading to stakeholders adapting to the situation. However, due little support, ICT skills supply remain inadequate leading to inadequate demand creating a never-end loop of ICT skills not improving in the ecosystem. For future research, studying the role of the government may assist in better understanding the different dynamics at play. Interviewing participants from the different parts of the country will broaden understanding. Lastly, comparing the dynamics in Mozambique to dynamics in similar countries (in terms of development indicators) may provide further insight
Cortical Gyrification in Methamphetamine Associated Psychosis: A Potential Neurodevelopmental Biomarker for Risk of Psychosis
Get PDFFor many years, methamphetamine associated psychosis (MAP) has been viewed as a symptomatic, genetic, and morphological blueprint for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) (Aoki et al., 2013; Grant et al., 2012; Uhlmann et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2021). MAP is currently diagnosed as a substance induced disorder; however, many researchers suggest that MAP may represent a transition into SSD following substance use (McKetin, 2018). The current study investigated global and local gyrification indices (GI) as a potential neurodevelopmental biomarker for psychosis vulnerability in three quasi-experimental groups; methamphetamine users without psychosis (n=21), individuals with MAP (n=18) and healthy controls (n=21). Gyrification indices were determined for each participant using Freesurfer 7.2 and compared across groups with age and sex as covariates in a multivariate analysis of co-variance (MANCOVA). The results demonstrate that group membership alone significantly accounts for 32% of the variation in overall gyrification (F(12, 106) = 1.87, p=.06, η²=0.16; Wilk's lambda = 0.68, p=.04). Follow-up ANCOVAs suggest that individuals who use methamphetamine have higher temporal gyrification than MAP and control participants, although this result was not statistically significant. There was also a significant effect of age on gyrification (F(6, 50) = 5.37, p<.01, η²=0.39; Wilk's lambda = .61, p<.01). Further associations between gyrification and age (r=-0.43, p<0.05), cannabis use and temporal gyrification (r=0.29, p<0.05), alcohol use and temporal (r=0.34, p<0.05) and parietal gyrification were found (r=0.26, p<0.05), as well as age of methamphetamine use onset (r=-0.40, p<0.05). These results offer more evidence on the harmful effects of drug use on brain structure, posing new questions around the developmental basis of gyrification and its status as a biomarker for disease
Cytochrome P450 whole cell biohydroxylation of alkanes
Get PDFProduction of higher-value fine chemicals via bio-based catalytic alkane activation are becoming increasingly relevant in the context of sustainability. Linear alkanes, sourced from fossil fuel reserves and as by-products in gas-to-liquid technology and CO2-to-power strategies, both through Fischer Tropsch activities, can serve not only as a low-cost fuel or solvent, but also as a precursor to produce valuable long chain alcohols. Effective use, or resource efficiency, with respect to alkanes is important in sustainable processing. Alkanes contain unreactive hydrocarbon bonds and cracking processes apply high temperatures and pressures to split these inert molecules into smaller and reactive molecules. Although widely applied, cracking suffers from poor selectivity and is resource heavy and environmentally burdening. Biocatalysis has shown potential for highly regio-selective alkane oxidation under mild conditions. Enzyme catalytic mechanisms evolved to catabolise fatty molecules in an organism’s metabolic pathway. Biocatalysis harnesses these evolved pathways to produce value added chemicals. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) monooxygenases such as CYP153A6 have previously shown excellent 95% selectivity for hydroxylation at the terminal carbon on n-octane and CYP153A13 has shown promising activity on n-octane and n-decane. In the present study, whole cell biocatalysts were prepared by expressing CYPs in E. coli BL21(DE3) and suspended in aqueous media required to maintain whole cell health. Alkanes applied were immiscible with the aqueous phase, resulting in a ‘2-Liquid Phase System’ (2LPS). Alkane accessibility to the enzyme in the whole cells significantly constrains scalability of biocatalysis due to transfer across the aqueous-organic interface and the cellular membrane to reach CYPs. The extent to which alkanes are transferred is determined by variables such as solubility, thermodynamic equilibrium, cell membrane permeability, temperature etc. The kinetics of the biocatalytic reaction are partly dependent on physicochemical variables, but also on biological parameters such as cellular health, enzyme expression etc. It was shown that although CYP153A13 showed superior coupling efficiencies compared to multicomponent enzyme systems, fusion proteins suffer from low expression levels and cytoplasmic proteolytic truncation, lowering its concentration and activity compared to CYP153A6. High Cell Density Cultures (HCDCs) were used to circumvent CYP153A13’s low expression. HCDCs of both CYP153A6 and CYP153A13 resulted in larger 1-octanol volumetric production rates by 10- and four-fold respectively compared to the LCDC counterparts. The turnover number of CYP153A6 and -A13 LCDCs, however, were respectively 2- and 7- fold higher than their HCDC counterparts, illustrating the oxygen and nutrient limitation of HCDCs. The multicomponent CYP153A6 system was expressed with high functionality and showed descending activity with: n-octane > n-decane > n-nonane, caused by a combination of alkane solubility and transmembrane transport. Although n-decane is less soluble in water than n-nonane, the ‘odd-even’ effect of alkanes resulted in high in vivo activity on n-decane. UNIF-LL predictions illustrated that BEHP reduces the amount of alkane in the aqueous phase than in the absence of BEHP. Therefore, it was illustrated that BEHP regulates the amount of substrate in the aqueous phase, which decreases the toxicity of the alkane substrates towards the whole cells. Therefore, while substrate solubility plays a role in availability to the whole cell biocatalyst which would impact the rate of biocatalytic reaction, cellular health maintenance is also important. This proved that factors related to aqueous substrate solubility play a larger role in the outcomes of 2LPS whole cell biocatalytic reaction kinetics as well as factors such as cellular health. The study showed that although substrate solubility plays an important role in biocatalytic performance, substrate solubility could not be used as the sole indicator of predicting biocatalytic performance and factors such as enzyme expression, membrane transport, enzyme-substrate affinity and physical substrate properties should be considered. To investigate the enzyme-substrate affinity, apparent Michaelis Menten (MM) constants ( ) of each enzyme-substrate pair were determined from experimental data, of product concentration, accumulated over time using least squares nonlinear regression. constants, however, represented both enzyme-substrate (ES) and substrate-solvent interactions. To determine the true affinity of each ES pair without the interference of substrate-solvent interactions on ES interactions, thermodynamic activity-based constants ( ) were determined. This approach paves the way for the future development of ‘one-pot’ biocatalytic systems containing multiple different enzymes and substrates. A process flowsheet using the UNIF-LL model was developed and a theoretical calculation were used to determine activity coefficients, which were in turn used to determine the constants. The constants of CYP153A6 illustrated a 17-fold and two-fold larger affinity for n decane and n-nonane compared to n-octane, respectively. By excluding the effects of substrate-solvent interactions, CYP153A6 had an affinity twice as large for n-nonane compared to both n-octane and n decane. Therefore, while the constants depicted that n-decane had the highest affinity with CYP153A6, this resulted from unfavourable molecular interactions between n-decane and the aqueous solvent, rather than favourable ES affinity. The constants suggested that n-decane is the preferred substrate of CYP153A13 by two-fold compared to n-octane, but values revealed that CYP153A13 had a six-fold larger affinity for n-octane than n-decane. The UNIF-LL model predicted substrate available in the aqueous phase at phase equilibrium for each alkane in the 2LPS. These predicted aqueous phase substrate concentrations were compared to the enzyme concentration and the MM constants, respectively. From these comparisons, it was determined that the reactions catalysed by CYP153A6 on n-octane and n-nonane were not limited by substrate concentration, whilst the reactions catalysed by CYP153A13 on n-decane were limited by substrate concentration. These results, together with enzyme expression characterisation mentioned earlier, means that CYP153A6 processes can be improved using enzyme engineering techniques, whilst CYP153A13 processes can be improved using enzyme engineering to improve enzyme expression levels as well as substrate delivery enhancement techniques. These findings highlighted the impact of substrate solubility on substrate partitioning into the aqueous phase to be available to the biocatalyst. However, once the substrate reaches the aqueous phase, effective bioconversion relies on adequate transmembrane transport, sufficient enzyme expression levels, ES affinity, and the effectiveness of the reaction mechanism. Therefore, both physiochemical and biological factors play a role in the demand-based delivery system. This demand-based delivery system is governed by the rate of substrate transfer across the liquid-liquid and membrane barriers, as well as the amount of substrate converted into product by the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme, thereby allowing more substrate to partition into the aqueous phase. Overall, the approach developed could be used to enhance the kinetic studies of CYP153 whole cell alkane primary hydroxylation in two-liquid-phase-systems, a field that receives little attention but shows importance in the goal of scaling up such systems. Globally, researchers and industry share interest in the biohydroxylation of linear chain alkanes due to their high-end properties and value, but poor solubility limits techno-economic feasibility and large-scale application. This study showed promising compatibility of CYP enzymes with medium chain alkanes (C8 C9 C10), but showed the challenges presented in molecular biology such as enzyme expression. Moreover, substrate solubility of linear alkanes impacts the location of the reaction within a 2LPS, accessibility and the apparent ES affinity. Overall, the study developed an integrated approach to investigate the reaction kinetics of an alkane whole cell hydroxylation 2LPS by considering the limitations arising from both molecular biology and biochemistry as well as thermodynamics. From this, the interdisciplinarity of biocatalysis was enhanced by integrating aspects of molecular biology and biochemistry into the greater context of chemical engineering. The findings can be used to facilitate research in alkane bio-activation process control, optimisation and scaling up by implementing the use of multiple enzymes and substrates simultaneously
Development of a clinical deterioration prediction tool for adult patients during ambulance transportation in South Africa
Get PDFBackground – Clinical deterioration is a worldwide concern and is associated with increased mortality, hospital stay, and incidence of adverse events. CD also occurs in the pre-hospital setting though few studies describe its occurrence as well as the factors it is associated with, and no evidence currently exists that describes its occurrence within the South African context. CD is deemed to be preventable, and although several tools exist to detect early CD, no published evidence was found about validated pre-hospital CD prediction tools. Aim - This study aimed to perform a data-archive analysis with the purpose of describing the occurrence of clinical deterioration during ambulance transportation in adult patients within the South African context. Through classification and regression analysis it also sought to determine the variables associated with the occurrence of CD, with the goal of developing a pre-hospital clinical deterioration prediction tool. Methods – A data archive analysis was done on physiological parameters and other factors recorded by pre-hospital practitioners of patients during ambulance transportation. A NEWS and MEES score were calculated on physiological parameter trends to observe for the occurrence of CD on 89193 patients. Data from the analysis was subsequently used for the creation of a pre-hospital clinical deterioration prediction tool through binomial regression and Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector classification. Results – A CD deterioration rate of 15.7% was observed in this sample, with numerous corelating variables. A Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detection as well as binomial regression analysis was performed on significant logistic and clinical variables revealing significant predictive ability. Medical oxygen administration (OR 3.38, 95% CI 3.22-3.55, P-value 0.000) and high clinical risk (OR 2.42, 95% CI 2.26- 2.59, p-value 0.000) emerged as the most significant predictors for CD amongst others, while senior crew qualification ECP (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.64-0.77, p-value 0.000) emerged as 30% protective against CD compared to the reference category BAA. These results indicate that there is a significant increase in probability of CD should a patient be of high acuity and receive medical oxygen for example, as well as a decrease in probability of CD should the patient be treated by higher qualified providers. The regression analysis was followed by a pre-hospital clinical deterioration prediction tool development, where these variables amongst others were included into a composite score. The score subtracted more points as the qualification of the treating provider increased or if it was a primary case. The score added points should it have been a trauma case, medical oxygen was administered, inotropic support was provided, analgesia or sedation was provided, or of the patients had increase in level of acuity. Each variable had its own score value depending on its OR for CD, ultimately revealing a percentage for probability of CD. Conclusion The aim of the study was to develop a pre-hospital clinical deterioration prediction tool through retrospective data-archive analysis, and regression. Multiple logistic and clinical variables were identified that are significant predictors for CD in the pre hospital setting and were ultimately included into a composite score. This tool can practically be implemented into the call centre of an emergency medical service during information gathering for inter-facility transfers, or in an electronic patient report form by a pre-hospital provider. Despite its limitations, we believe this tool could lead to early identification of pre-hospital CD and early implementation of CD mitigation strategies, ultimately improving patient safety and outcomes. We recommend a validation study to be performed in the future
More than a ‘culture of justification': evaluating the content and importance of parliament's accountability and oversight functions in a time of state capture
Get PDFBefore South Africa's current constitutional dispensation, the apartheid government, through its parliamentary sovereignty mode of governance, did very little to ensure accountability and oversight of the Executive branch of government. As a result, the Executive was able to establish what has been called a culture of authority. The advent of the Constitution, which entrenches the rule of law, a separation of powers doctrine, and the principle of legality, seeks to do away with the culture of authority and entrench a culture of 'justification'. However, to the extent that the Constitution includes clear accountability and oversight prescripts, to which all branches of government are bound, it envisages more than the idea of 'justification'. In this sense, at least, the Constitution seeks to ensure a 'culture of accountability' and oversight that ensures that certain checks and balances are in place between the different branches of government. Corruption and, specifically state capture phenomenon, are not exempt from these constitutional prescripts. This research suggests that corruption must be understood against the constitutional framework and in particular against the requirements of accountability and oversight