25 research outputs found
Three-dimensional thinking in radiography
No full textDissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Radiography in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, 2008Introduction
Research to date has not been able to agree whether spatial abilities can be
developed by practice. According to some researchers spatial ability is an inherited
cognitive ability, compared to spatial skills that are task specific and can be acquired
through formal training. It is commonly assumed that radiographers require general
cognitive spatial abilities to interpret complex radiographic images. This research
was conducted to investigate second year radiography students’ three-dimensional
thinking skills pertaining to film-viewing assessments.
Materials and methods
The experimental research strategy was mainly applied together with correlation
research. Two trials were run (in 2005 and 2006). The sample group consisted of
fifteen second year diagnostic radiography students in 2005 and twenty-three second
year diagnostic radiography students, of the same institution, in 2006. Each year
group was randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group. Two
instruments were used, that is a film-viewing assessment and a three-dimensional
test, Academic Aptitude Test (University) (AAT) nr. nine: Spatial Perception (3-D).
The whole class completed this basic spatial aptitude test, as well as a base-line film viewing
assessment, which focused on the evaluation of technique/anatomy of
second year specialised radiographic projections. The marks that the students
achieved in the fore-mentioned tests were compared, to determine if there was any
correlation between their performances in the different tests. A curricular
intervention, which was intended to improve applied three-dimensional skills, was
subsequently applied. The students executed certain modified radiographic
projections on parts of a human skeleton. For each radiographic projection, the
students had to draw the relation of the X-ray beam to the specific anatomical
structures, as well as the relation of these structures to the film. The related images
of these projections were also drawn. With each of the following sessions, films
including images of the previous session were discussed with each student. After the
intervention, the whole class wrote a second film-viewing assessment. The marks
achieved in this assessment were compared to the marks of the initial film-viewing
assessment to determine the influence of the intervention on the performance of the
intervention group. Following this assessment, for ethical reasons, the same
intervention took place with the control group. A third film-viewing assessment was
then written by all the diagnostic second year students to evaluate the overall impact
of the intervention on the applied three-dimensional skills of the class. The marks of
both the 2005 and 2006 classes (intervention classes) were compared to the marks
achieved by former classes from 2000 to 2004 (control classes), in film-viewing
assessments to evaluate the role of the curricular intervention over the years. The
students again completed the three-dimensional test, Spatial Perception (3-D) to
evaluate the impact of the intervention on students’ general three-dimensional
cognitive abilities. These marks were also compared to the marks of the third filmviewing
assessment, to determine if there was any correlation between the students’
performances in the different tests.
Results
The intervention groups did not perform significantly better in film-viewing
assessments after the intervention, compared to the control groups, but reasonable
differences, favouring the intervention group, were achieved. Statistical significance
was achieved in film-viewing assessments with both year groups after the whole
class had the intervention. The intervention year groups also performed significantly
better than the previous year groups (without the intervention) in film-viewing
assessments. The performance in general three-dimensional cognitive abilities of the
group of 2006 improved significantly after the intervention, but on the contrary, the
performance of the group of 2005 declined. There was a small intervention effect on
the performance of the group of 2006. Only a weak to moderate correlation between
the marks of the students achieved in the three-dimensional tests and the marks
achieved in the film-viewing assessments, was found.
Conclusion
The contrasting evidence between the data of the two groups (2005 and 2006) in the
three-dimensional tests and the small intervention effect on the performance of the
group of 2006, makes the intervention not applicable for the increase of general
spatial abilities. The results of this research show that the applied three-dimensional
skills of radiography students in interpreting specialised and modified projections
can be improved by intensive practice, independent of their inherited spatial
abilities
The implementation of adaptive methods of assessment (particularly amanuenses) at four schools in the Gauteng East District of the Department of Education
No full textD.Ed.This study focuses on disability and specific learning difficulties as barriers to learning. With the introduction of inclusive education in South Africa, the fundamental rights of learners with disabilities to access educational opportunities equal to their non-disabled peers, were recognised. Many learners with physical disabilities and specific learning difficulties started attending mainstream schools, instead of being referred to special schools. The inclusion of these learners brought about many challenges to them, as well as to their teachers. It was now expected from teachers to make instructional, curriculum and assessment adaptions, in order to support and assist learners with a variety of disabilities and learning difficulties and to cater for their diverse needs. Learners with physical-, sensory- or neurological disabilities, as well as those with specific learning difficulties, may experience reading and writing difficulties which prevent them from giving a true reflection of their acquired knowledge in classroom tests and examinations. These barriers to learning are therefore causing barriers to assessment. The purpose of adaptive methods of assessment (also called special concessions) is to minimize the effects of a learner’s intrinsic or extrinsic barriers upon assessment performance and to place him/her on par with other learners. It provides the opportunity for learners experiencing barriers to assessment, to participate in the assessment process and to reach their full potential - which is in accordance to an inclusive learning community. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers should be familiar with the various types of disabilities and learning difficulties, as well as the appropriate special concessions that should be implemented, should a learner experience a barrier to assessment. The purpose of this research study was to explore and describe Grade 7 teachers’ understanding and implementation of adaptive methods of assessment (particularly amanuenses), for learners with reading and writing difficulties. A qualitative research study from an interpretative research paradigm was conducted. In this study I used a qualitative case study design. Sixteen teachers from four primary schools, as well as the four principals of the respective schools in the district of Gauteng East, were selected purposively as participants. Openended questionnaires, focus group interviews, observations and field notes, as well as document analysis of the schools’ assessment policies, were used as methods of data collection. The data was transcribed and analysed, using Tesch’s method of open coding and was interpreted on the basis of the literature
Radiology imaging equipment and accessories as possible Fomites of Nosocomial pathogens
No full textThesis (MSc (Radiography))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019Background:
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) known as nosocomial infections are a major challenge within the health-care environment. Although investment and time are continually spent on the eradication of HAIs, the problem still exists. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2015) reported that annually, 4,100,000 patients in Europe acquire additional diseases during their stay in the hospital resulting in 14,700 deaths. Nosocomial infections therefore contribute to the imbalance between resources for the management of hospitals. This is a particular challenge in developing countries like those in Sub-Saharan Africa, of which Ghana is part and, where very limited resources are available for the high volume of patient output.
Radiology is a high technology service department that provides imaging to numerous inpatients and outpatients on a continuous basis. This means that items in the radiology department may serve as possible reservoirs for the transmission of nosocomial pathogens from one individual to another. Where Radiology resides within a health-care system that is unable to give adequate attention to the spread of nosocomial infections or even to proper infection control measures, HAIs becomes a real possibility.
Aims:
The aim of this study was to determine whether radiology imaging equipment and accessories for general radiography are possible fomites of nosocomial pathogens. The study also aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the disinfectant chemical agents (chlorine bleach/sodium hypochlorite and methylated spirits) used for cleaning surfaces at the research site. Furthermore, the study aimed to observe the cleaning procedures and practises by radiographers in general radiography.
Methodology:
The design of this research included an observational and an experimental phase. The study was conducted in the radiology department of a Teaching Hospital (TH) in Ghana. Swabbing, using wet sterile swab sticks was the method for sample collection. This was done on one occasion without cleaning of the selected x-ray equipment and accessories and another occasion after cleaning with the department’s preferred disinfectant chemical agents. The swab samples were then taken to the microbiology laboratory of the University of Ghana for culturing and identification. MacConkey and blood agar media were used to prepare the culture media. The prepared media were put into petri dishes and swab samples were inoculated onto the culture plates. Culture plates were then incubated for 24 hours, at a temperature of 37ºC. At the end of the incubation period, the culture plates were viewed macroscopically under a bright light, to identify any bacterial growth; according to their colony forming characteristics. Seven radiographers (n=7) were observed for a period of one month on the current cleaning procedures and practises in the radiology department. How thoroughly the equipment and accessories were cleaned (how much time spent per item) was recorded. Damp dusting (using cotton wool moistened with methylated spirits or chlorine bleach), cleaning equipment using methylated spirits or chlorine bleach after each contact with body fluid, hands washing after each patient using water and liquid soap, washing of hand randomly after patients (or in between patients) using water and liquid soap, were observed and recorded. Data was captured and analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 25.
Results:
The selected radiology imaging equipment and accessories swabbed were found to be contaminated with pathogens. Organisms identified were Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-negative staphylococci, Bacillus species(spp.), Shigella spp., Shigella sonnei., Klebsiella spp., Salmonella Paratyphi A, Salmonella Typhi, Providencia rettgeri, Enterobacter spp. and Citrobacter spp. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominate pathogenic isolate identified. A significant number of the Staphylococcus aureus and CoNS isolated was methicillin-resistant. Bacillus spp. was the predominant non-pathogenic isolate identified in the study. Statistically there was no significant difference (p=0.5835) between the total number of occurrences of bacterial isolates in both rooms after decontamination.
The observation phase demonstrated that no documented protocol or infection control procedures were available. It was further observed that only one of the seven radiographers washed his/her hands after each patient, but that all radiographers practised hand washing and equipment cleaning when the procedure involved body fluid from patients.
Conclusion:
The research established that radiologic equipment and accessories were often exposed to pathogens and are therefore possible fomites of nosocomial pathogens. The effectiveness of the cleaning agents (methylated spirits and chlorine bleach) was not adequate. Radiographers partially practised infection control measures. Based on the findings of this study it recommended that a policy and procedure must be prepared and an awareness campaign/training of radiographers conducted. Other cleaning agents must also be investigated in a comparative study to determine the most effective agent (but still affordable within the resource constrained environment)
Nutraceutical Value of Yellow- and Red-Fleshed South African Plums (Prunus salicina Lindl.): Evaluation of Total Antioxidant Capacity and Phenolic Composition
No full textTen South African plum cultivars and selections, including yellow- and red-fleshed plums from two harvest seasons were evaluated in terms of nutraceutical value (phenolic composition, total polyphenol content (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)) and fruit attributes (colour, fruit mass, etc.). Plums were evaluated at two maturity stages, i.e., directly after harvest (unripe) and after a commercial cold storage and ripening regime (ripe). The phenolic composition of South African plums varied greatly, both qualitatively and quantitatively, between cultivars and selections. Neochlorogenic acid, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-glucoside were the predominant hydroxycinnamic acid, anthocyanin and flavonol, respectively, although not present in all plums. The flavan-3-ols, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin and procyanidins B1 and B2, were present in all plums. Red-fleshed plums tended to display higher TAC and TPC than yellow-fleshed plums. The flavan-3-ol content was highly correlated with TAC. The effect of harvest season was cultivar-dependent, but cultivar differences were not obscured. In terms of maturity stage, the ripe fruits tended to contain higher levels of anthocyanins and some flavonol compounds, although the TPC and TAC were not affected in most cases. South African plums, especially the red-fleshed selections PR04-32 and PR04-35, were shown to provide generally high TAC and TPC compared to literature values
Characterisation of Phenolic Compounds in South African Plum Fruits (Prunus salicina Lindl.) using HPLC Coupled with Diode-Array, Fluorescence, Mass Spectrometry and On-Line Antioxidant Detection
No full textPhenolic compounds are abundant secondary metabolites in plums, with potential health benefits believed to be due to their antioxidant activity, amongst others. Phenolic characterisation of South African Prunus salicina Lindl. plums is necessary to fully evaluate their potential health benefits. An HPLC method using diode-array detection (DAD) for quantification of phenolic compounds was improved and fluorescence detection (FLD) was added for quantification of flavan-3-ols. Validation of the HPLC-DAD-FLD method showed its suitability for quantification of 18 phenolic compounds, including flavan-3-ols using FLD, and phenolic acids, anthocyanins and flavonols using DAD. The method was suitable for characterisation of the phenolic composition of 11 South African plum cultivars and selections, including various types with yellow and red skin and flesh. The method was used in conjunction with mass spectrometry (MS) to identify 24 phenolic compounds. Neochlorogenic acid and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside were the major compounds in most of the plums, while cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was absent in Sun Breeze plums with yellow skin and flesh. Post-column on-line coupling of the ABTS•+ scavenging assay with HPLC-DAD enabled qualitative evaluation of the relative contribution of individual phenolic compounds to the antioxidant activity. The flavan-3-ols, neochlorogenic acid and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside displayed the largest antioxidant response peaks
Determining the need for after-hours diagnostic radiological reporting in emergency departments at public hospitals in South Africa: Perceptions of emergency physicians in KwaZulu-Natal
No full textEmergency departments in South African public hospitals have a high patient load after hours, with inadequate numbers of health care professionals available to satisfy patient influx. In addition, there is often no provision of after-hours diagnostic reporting services in public hospitals, to an extent that the emergency physician
is responsible for interpreting all radiographic images requested themselves. Emergency physicians, in this study, can be described as any medical doctor registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa
and working in the emergency department as a registrar or consultant physician because there were no physicians specialized in emergency medicine working at the hospitals selected for this study
Beneficiation of an ilmenite waste stream containing undesirable levels of chromite
No full textDissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2008.Please read the abstract in the section, 00front, of this document (Role and responsibility of the author)Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineeringunrestricte
History of Electronic Resources
No full textThis chapter describes the history of the development and use of electronic resources in libraries in the United States. It provides an overview of the major developments in the field with a focus on library catalogs, electronic databases, e-books and e-serials. The chapter is intended to convey the broad sweep of change that has characterized these electronic resources from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s, as well as a sense of the underlying issues that remain the same. The author hopes that an understanding of the history of the development and use of these resources may lead to a better understanding of the current environment and provide inspiration for the future.</jats:p
Young adult readers as potential consumers of literary tourism sites : a survey of the readers of two of the Dalene Matthee forest novels
No full textThe Knysna forest is a natural and cultural landscape that nurtured the creativity of author Dalene Matthee. Her literary works Kringe in 'n bos and Fiela se kind, regarded as the first two of her 'forest' novels, capture a segment of 19th-century rural life and have intermittently been setworks/prescribed texts for senior secondary school learners since their publication.
The aim of the research reported on, was to investigate the effect of prescribed works of fiction on the potential travel behaviour of adolescents or young adults, ranging from 17 to 19 years of age, and more specifically, whether the reading of Kringe in 'n bos and/or Fiela se kind may influence the reader as consumer to want to visit the Knysna forest, the setting of the novels, and similarly to visit other destinations with a literary heritage and engage in literary tourism. Any potential literary tourism site is a social construction that requires authentic development to attract visitors interested in experiencing the setting of novels. The fieldwork indicated significant interest among respondents in enhancing their prescribed reading with a real-life experience of visiting the Knysna Forest on an organised school tour. Should this not be possible, a 'virtual' internet tour would be their next choice. The linking of books with a destination could add value to a reader's experience of both. A literary place, such as the Knysna forest as the setting for Kringe in 'n bos and Fiela se kind, can be regarded as a place that readers as consumers (can) attach meaning to, and that draws tourists to the destination.
Interest in literary tours and literary tourism appears evident, and places could be promoted owing to their association with well-known writers and their books
Decentring the individual Subject: the perpetual recycling of the narrating “I” in David Mitchell’s Ghostwritten
No full textAbstract: British author David Mitchell’s debut novel Ghostwritten, published in 1999, has been lauded for its innovative nine-part structure, in which each chapter is presented as a first-person narrative that involves, each time, a different narrator with a different story. Mitchell himself describes this arrangement as a way to “locate meaning in randomness [...] Each chapter offers a different reason why its events unfold as they do” (in Begley 2010: 5). Such a postmodern concern with randomness is evident when the ostensible self-sufficiency of the individual account is undermined by the arbitrary, often mysterious (re)appearance of one or the other narrator as character in another’s story. Interestingly, these surprise appearances, of what could be called the ‘experiencing other’, work to undermine the centrality of the narrator’s story – of what could be called the ‘master narrative’. This destabilisation is compounded in characteristic postmodern fashion by the continual displacement of the narrating ‘I’ from one chapter to the next. Thus, while the ‘I’ remains – or seems to remain – a constant throughout, the individual subject is ceaselessly recycled as the experiencing other in different guises; it is a process that apparently denies the formation of an individual identity, thus ratifying the postmodern anxiety about the end of individuality. However, as I argue in this paper, it is precisely this continual recycling that affords the decentred subject a chance at individuality. In a telling deconstructive gesture, Mitchell’s novel bypasses the transcendental Subject to allow a space in which the plural subject can claim its identity, paradoxically, as a singular entity
