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Exploring the ripple effect: learner psycho‑social challenges, teacher emotional fatigue, and the role of school social work in South Africa—an interview‑based qualitative study using Bronfenbrenner’s framework
Get PDFJournal Article, Faculty of Health Sciences, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), Center for Child, Youth & Family Studies (CCYC), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus.Guided by Bronfenbrenner's (1994) ecological systems theory Bronfenbrenner (Int Encycl Educ,3(2):37–43) , this study highlights the interplay between learner psycho-social challenges and teacher emotional fatigue, which affect classroom dynamics, and the critical role of systemic support—the role of school social workers (SSWs)—in South Africa. Using an exploratory-descriptive qualitative design, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 primary school teachers and 13 SSWs from various provinces. Our participants' diverse backgrounds and experiences provided comprehensive insights. Findings highlight the need for a holistic approach to addressing learner psycho-social challenges, emphasising comprehensive support systems for teachers, including training and early intervention. Additionally, the integration of full-time SSWs and the active involvement of psychologists, families, and communities is crucial. Insights can inform educational policies and practices, enhancing teachers' and learners' well-being and effectiveness.Open access funding provided by North-West University. Open access funding provided by North-West University. Open access
funding provided by North-West University. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The university as an organisation may gain from publishing this manuscript. No non-financial interests are involved
Experiences of Women regarding Accessibility of Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Services in Northwest Province, South Africa
Get PDFArticle, Faculty of Health Sciences (Quality In Nursing and Midwifery (NuMiQ)--Northwest University, Potchefstroom CampusBackground: Poor access to choose on termination of pregnancy services remains a disturbing health challenge to women, mostly in developing countries. In rural provinces of South Africa, this hurdle is manifested by, amongst others, fear of stigmatisation and failure to access the services due to a lack of trained staff and transport.
Objectives: This study is designed to explore and describe women’s experiences regarding access to choice on termination of pregnancy services, subsequently describing recommendations to improve access to choice of
termination of pregnancy in a sub-district of Northwest province of South Africa.
Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used to assess the experiences of women regarding access to termination of pregnancy services. The population included women of childbearing age with a history of legal or illegal termination of pregnancy at selected public health care facilities. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants for the study, and 10 women were interviewed using unstructured in-depth face-to-face
individual interviews. All ethical principles were adhered to throughout the study, and thematic analysis with six phases was utilised in evaluating the data generated.
Results: Difficulties in accessing choice of termination of pregnancy services and strategies for improvement of accessibility emerged as the two themes. Amongst others, pervasive negative attitudes of nurses, fear of stigma, and lack of psychological and social support were reported as cumbersome experiences in trying to access the service. To improve access, women recommended that more nurses should be trained and deployed to render choice of termination of pregnancy services to women. They also recommended advertising choice of termination of pregnancy services available on various platforms.
Conclusion: Based on the findings, women in the North West Province face challenges in accessing Choice of Termination of Pregnancy services
A historical archaeological investigation of Sardelli’s shop, Sabiepoort, Kruger National Park
Get PDFJournal Article. Department of History, Faculty of Social Transformation, North-West University, PotchefstroomHistorical information indicates that Sardelli’s shop at Sabiepoort, built before the South African War because of its proximity to an existing trade route, was utilised by Steinaecker’s Horse during the war (1899–1902). This shop was likely a satellite of another site, the Gaza Gray outpost. Steinaecker’s Horse was a British volunteer unit operating in the Lowveld and eSwatini. Research on the Sabiepoort site forms part of a larger project, the Steinaecker’s Horse research project, aimed at undertaking archaeological and historical research of sites associated with this unit. The site was excavated with the aim of contributing to the contextualisation of information and to show the extent of the connection between historical information and archaeological evidence with regard to Steinaecker’s Horse at Sabiepoort. Dateable artefacts from the site represent the period of the late 19th to the early 20th century, coinciding with the dates of the war. Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of indigenous people present during the same period, most likely Tsonga. Indigenous pottery at the site is similar to those discovered from the Gaza Gray site, confirming concurrent occupation. Research findings were compared to outcomes from the Makhadzi outpost, indicating social differentiation between the different units stationed at this outpost close to the Letaba Rest Camp and gave evidence of the role of black soldiers and local inhabitants during the war. There is a distinction between the main aim of the Steinaecker’s Horse project and the aim at this site. The latter is described here with the former aimed at writing the history of this unit
NAVIGATING THE PROVISION OF SUPPORT TO LEARNERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN RURAL MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS: TEACHERS’ CHALLENGES
Get PDFJournal Article. School of Psychosocial Education, Faculty of Education, North-West University (NWU), MahikengImplementing support to learners experiencing barriers to learning in South African schools, has largely been presented with challenges which increasingly make it difficult for teachers to navigate their provision of support. Thus, the pragmatic realities show that there is a need to identify and combat such challenges. This study investigated challenges experienced by teachers in their attempt to support learners with special needs. The study is underpinned by the social constructivism research paradigm. The study used the transformative learning theory as its theoretical framework. The phenomenological qualitative research approach was employed to explore teachers' challenges in providing support to learners with special needs in mainstream rural schools. Data were collected using focus group interviews, with 36 purposively selected teachers in all 6 schools. The collected data was thematically analysed and interpreted using Braun & Clarke methods. The study discovered the following as major challenges hindering the provision of support to learners with special needs: a lack of teacher competency in managing the diverse learning needs of learners; an inability to improvise amidst the challenge of limited resources; as well as a lack of consistent and thorough training in attending to complex and severe learning disabilities. The study thereby recommended resource allocation, teacher professional development training in aspects relating to supporting learner special needs, strengthening of School-Based Support Team and initiation of collaborative networks, to be in place for the alleviation of the support challenges experienced by teachers
Potentials of microbe-plant assisted bioremediation in reclaiming heavy metal polluted soil environments for sustainable agriculture
Get PDFJournal Article, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North--West UniversityAs human population growth drives the demand for food, crop intensification has increased. However, urbanization, industrialization, and contamination of soil by heavy metals (HM) have become significant challenges to agricultural production. Urbanization activities jeopardize and/or harm soil health, which is critical for the environment, ecosystems, sustainable agriculture, and the global economy. Smelting, mining, and other industrial activities that release toxic HMs into the environment significantly reduce soil health, with serious consequences for both plants and humans. Furthermore, the presence of HM in the soil severely hinders sustainable agriculture. Therefore, to counteract the subsequent decrease in crop yield due to HM contamination, we must involve plants and appropriate microbes in eliminating these pollutants. This will lead to a more productive agriculture, food safety, and food security realization. Therefore, this study explored the efficacy, advantages, and limitations of current conventional methods of soil HM remediation as well as the potential of plants and microbes like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Alyxia rubricaulis, and Maytenus bureaviana in the reclamation of HM polluted soil for sustainable agriculture. Employing natural and non-hazardous methods to remove these contaminants, as highlighted in this review, would help to improve soil health and quality, increase crop production, and promote sustainable agriculture, as outlined in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
UML Design of Business Intelligence System for Small-Scale Enterprises
Get PDFJournal Article, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, North-West UniversitySmall scale enterprises (SSEs) face numerous challenges in managing and processing their business data, which often leads to inefficiencies, errors, and suboptimal decision-making. To address these challenges, the design of a Business Intelligence (BI) system for SSEs using Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams is proposed. UML diagrams provide a visual modeling language that facilitates the design, analysis, and implementation of complex systems. The proposed BI system is designed to enable SSEs to gather, integrate, analyze, and present data from various sources, including sales, finance, operations, and customer relations. The agile methodology was used in the design of the mobile intelligence system (MoIS) utilizing the Scrum method because of its time-boxed iterations (sprints), cross-functional team collaboration, and regular feedback loops. The UML diagrams used in this design are use case diagrams, activity diagrams, class diagrams, and sequence diagrams. The use case diagrams identify the system'susers and their interactions with the system, while the activity diagrams describe the system's processes and workflows. The class diagrams depict the system's data structures and relationships, and the sequence diagrams specify the interactions between system components. The proposed BI system provides SSEs with the necessary tools to make informed decisions, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive advantage. The UML-based design approach ensures that the BI system is well-structured, easy to maintain, and scalable. The effectiveness of the proposed BI system is demonstrated through a case study of an SSE in the retail industry. The results indicate that the BI system improves the SSE's decision-making processes and enables it to respond more quickly to changing market conditions. The proposed BI system using UML diagrams is a valuable contribution to the field of BI systems design and is expected to benefit SSEs in various industries
Transforming education throughmother tongue language as alanguage of instruction in SouthAfrica
Get PDFJournal Article, Faculty of Law, North--West UniversitySummary: The right to receive education in an official language ofone’s choice is enshrined in section 29(2) of the Constitution. However,the South African education system has not offered sustained learning aswell as equal opportunities for most of the population in more than onelanguage. Although language in education determines the languageof learning and teaching, language in education remains contentiousin South Africa. Jurisprudence supports the idea that schools shouldbe inclusive in language policies. The National Department of BasicEducation policy fails to address the need to ensure the sustained us
Scientific validation of plant extracts used by farmers in the management of bean flower thrips on French beans in Kenya.
Get PDFJournal Article. Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom,Bean flower thrips (Megalurothrips usitatus) is a major French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) pest. Small‐scale farmers manage the pest using mixed plant extracts although their efficacy has not been scientifically validated. We evaluated the efficacy of mixed plant extracts comprising; Capsicum frutescens, Allium sativum, Lantana camara, Tagetes minuta and Azadirachta indica, against M. usitatus under laboratory and screenhouse. We identified and quantified the secondary metabolites associated with insecticidal activity using spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). The plant combinations included PE1 (C. frutescens + A. sativum + L. camara + T. minuta extracts infused for 14 days), PE2 (same as PE1 but infused for 24 h) and PE + N (the five plant extracts infused for 24 h) in distilled water. We used an organic commercial botanical (Pyneem) as a positive control and distilled water as a negative control. Pyneem and PE + N induced the highest mortality at 88% and 77%, respectively, in the laboratory, and 68% and 71%, respectively, in the screenhouse. Phenolics, terpenoids and organosulfur compounds were identified in PE + N and individual plant extracts in varied quantities. These compounds were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in PE + N compared to individual plant extracts. The study showed that PE + N efficiently manages bean flower thrips, and mixing different plant extracts amplifies the secondary metabolites' abundance. The use of mixed plant extracts could be incorporated into integrated pest management strategies for thrips management in legumes. The specific compounds identified in PE + N should be investigated further to understand their modes of action against the pest
A gamma-ray flare from TXS 1508+572: characterizing the jet of a z = 4.31 blazar in the early Universe
Get PDFJournal Article, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Centre for Space Research (CSR)-- Potchefstroom CampusBlazars can be detected from very large distances due to their high luminosity. However, the detection of γ-ray emission of blazars beyond z = 3 has only been confirmed for a small number of sources. Such observations probe the growth of supermassive black holes close to the peak of star formation in the history of galaxy evolution. As a result from a continuous monitoring of a sample of 80 z > 3 blazars with Fermi-LAT, we present the first detection of a γ-ray flare from the z = 4.31 blazar TXS 1508+572. This source showed high γ-ray activity from February to August 2022, reaching a peak luminosity comparable to the most luminous flares ever detected with Fermi-LAT. We conducted a multiwavelength observing campaign involving XMM-Newton, Swift, the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope and the Very Long Baseline Array. In addition, we make use of the monitoring programs by the Zwicky Transient Facility and NEOWISE at optical and infrared wavelengths, respectively. We find that the source is particularly variable in the infrared band on daily time scales. The spectral energy distribution collected during our campaign is well described by a one-zone leptonic model, with
the γ-ray flare originating from an increase of external Compton emission as a result of a fresh injection of accelerated electrons.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors express gratitude towards the anonymous referee who gave valuable comments to improve the manuscript. In addition, the authors thank Lea Marcotulli for providing SARA optical photometry measurements that are used for modeling the quiescent state SED, and David J. Thompson for editorial suggestions that improved the manuscript. JH, FE, MK, and FR acknowledge support from the Deutsche Forschungs- gemeinschaft (DFG, grants 447572188, 434448349, 465409577). This publication is part of the M2FINDERS project which has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No 101018682). This research has made use of the XRT Data Analysis Software (XRTDAS) developed under the responsibility of the ASI Science Center (ASDC), Italy. Furthermore, it made use of a collection of ISIS functions (ISISscripts) provided by ECAP/Remeis observatory and MIT (https://www.sternwarte.uni-erlangen.de/isis/). Part of this work is based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and NASA. This publication makes use of data products from the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), which is a joint project of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona. NEOWISE is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This research is also partly based on observations obtained with the Samuel Oschin Telescope 48-inch and the 60-inch Telescope at the Palomar Observatory as part of the Zwicky Transient Facility project. ZTF is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-2034437 and a collaboration including Caltech, IPAC, the Weizmann Institute for Science, the Oskar Klein Center at Stockholm University, the University of Maryland, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron and Humboldt University, the TANGO Consortium of Taiwan, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Trinity College Dublin, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and IN2P3, France. Operations are conducted by COO, IPAC, and UW. The ZTF forced-photometry service was funded under the Heising-Simons Foundation grant #12540303 (PI: Graham). In parts, this work is based on observations with the 100-m telescope of the MPIfR (Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie) at Effelsberg
Antibiotic resistance and virulence profiles of Proteusmirabilis isolated from broiler chickens at abattoir in South Africa
Get PDFJournal Article. 1Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom,Background
Proteus mirabilis has been identified as an important zoonotic pathogen, causing several illnesses such as diarrhoea, keratitis and urinary tract infections.
Objective
This study assessed the prevalence of P. mirabilis in broiler chickens, its antibiotic resistance (AR) patterns, ESBL‐producing P. mirabilis and the presence of virulence genes.
Methods
A total of 26 isolates were confirmed as P. mirabilis from 480 pooled broiler chicken faecal samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The disk diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial susceptibility test, while nine virulence genes and 26 AR genes were also screened by PCR.
Results
All 26 P. mirabilis isolates harboured the ireA (siderophore receptors), ptA, and zapA (proteases), ucaA, pmfA, atfA, and mrpA (fimbriae), hlyA and hpmA (haemolysins) virulence genes. The P. mirabilis isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin (62%) and levofloxacin (54%), while 8 (30.7%) of the isolates were classified as multidrug resistant (MDR). PCR analysis identified the blaCTX‐M gene (62%), blaTEM (58%) and blaCTX‐M‐2 (38%). Further screening for AMR genes identified mcr‐1, cat1, cat2, qnrA, qnrD and mecA, 12%, 19%, 12%, 54%, 27% and 8%, respectively for P. mirabilis isolates. The prevalence of the integron integrase intI1 and intI2 genes was 43% and 4%, respectively.
Conclusions
The rise of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin resistance, as well as MDR strains, is a public health threat that points to a challenge in the treatment of infections caused by these zoonotic bacteria. Furthermore, because ESBL‐producing P. mirabilis has the potential to spread to humans, the presence of blaCTX‐M‐producing P. mirabilis in broilers should be kept under control. This is the first study undertaken to isolate P. mirabilis from chicken faecal samples and investigate its antibiotic resistance status as well as virulence profiles in South Africa