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Although physical education (PE) provides a school-based platform for the enhancement of learners' physical health, implementation challenges can have a detrimental effect on learners' motivation to participate in physical activities and their fitness levels. Within the framework of the Self-determination Theory (SDT), meeting learners' basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness in the PE class, can promote their fitness levels by enhancing their intrinsic motivation to be physically active. The purpose with this study was to investigate the effect of an in-service PE teacher training programme including needs-support teaching strategies on the physical and motor fitness levels of the learners of the participating teachers. Using a pre- and post-test experimental design, the fitness of 1 control and 4 experimental groups were assessed using standardised tests before and after the intervention programme. The intervention included implementing the needs-support teaching strategies acquired by the teachers during the once-off, 5-day teacher training programme, for 4 months while receiving continued support from the instructors of the course during those 4 months. The results show that the programme had a positive effect on the fitness levels of the learners in most of the tested fitness components, warranting the recommendation of SDT-based in-service training of PE teachers to support learners' motivation towards physical activity and fitness.

Objectives: Transfers between health facilities of people living with HIV attending primary health care (PHC) including hospital to PHC facility, PHC facility to hospital and PHC facility to PHC facility transfers occur frequently, affect health service planning, and are associated with disengagement from care and viraemia. Data on transfers among people living with diabetes attending PHC, particularly transfers between PHC facilities, are few. We assessed the transfer incidence rate of people living with diabetes attending PHC, and the association between transfers between PHC facilities and subsequent HbA1c values. Methods: We analysed data on HbA1c tests at public sector facilities in the Western Cape Province (2016–March 2020). Individuals with an HbA1c in 2016–2017 were followed‐up for 27 months and included in the analysis if ≥18 years at first included HbA1c, ≥2 HbA1cs during follow‐up and ≥1 HbA1c at a PHC facility. A visit interval was the duration between two consecutive HbA1cs. Successive HbA1cs at different facilities of any type indicated any transfer, and HbA1cs at different PHC facilities indicated a transfer between PHC facilities. Mixed effects logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, rural/urban facility attended at the start of the visit interval, disengagement (visit interval >14 months) and a hospital visit during follow‐up assessed the association between transfers between PHC facilities and HbA1c >8%. Results: Among 102,813 participants, 22.6% had ≥1 transfer of any type. Including repeat transfers, there were 29,994 transfers (14.4 transfers per 100 person‐years, 95% confidence interval [CI] 14.3–14.6). A total of 6996 (30.1%) of those who transferred had a transfer between PHC facilities. Visit intervals with a transfer between PHC facilities were longer (349 days, interquartile range [IQR] 211–503) than those without any transfer (330 days, IQR 182–422). The adjusted relative odds of an HbA1c ≥8% after a transfer between PHC facilities versus no transfer were 1.20 (95% CI 1.05–1.37). Conclusion: The volume of transfers involving PHC facilities requires consideration when planning services. Individuals who transfer between PHC facilities require additional monitoring and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow batteries are promising for large‐scale energy storage in intermittent renewable energy technologies. While the iron–chromium redox flow battery (ICRFB) is a low‐cost flow battery, it has a lower storage capacity and a higher capacity decay rate than the all‐vanadium RFB. Herein, the effect of electrolyte composition (active species and supporting electrolyte concentrations), Fe/Cr molar ratio, and supporting electrolyte type (HCl and H2SO4) on the performance (current efficiency (CE), voltage efficiency (VE), energy efficiency, discharge capacity, and capacity decay) of an ICRFB is investigated. The storage capacity of the optimum electrolyte (1.3 m FeCl2, 1.4 m CrCl3, 5.0 mm Bi2O3 in 1.0 m HCl) is 40% higher (from 17.5 to 24.4 Ah L−1), while the capacity decay rate is tenfold lower (from 3.0 to 0.3% h−1) than the performance of the previously used 1.0 m FeCl2, 1.0 m CrCl3 in 3.0 m HCl. At the optimum Fe and Cr concentrations and ratio in 0.5 m HCl, a near constant CE (92.3%), VE (78.7%), and EE (72.6%) are obtained over 50 cycles. The significantly higher capacity decay when using 1.0 m H2SO4 (1.6% h−1) compared to 1.0 m HCl (0.3% h−1) confirms that HCl is the more suitable supporting electrolyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an analytical review of the implementation of the performance management system (PMS) of the Botswana public service, covering the period 1999-2014. It employs a case study and a survey method, using literature review, document analysis, questionnaires and interviews as data sources. There is limited literature examining in detail and holistically the key components of Botswana's PMS and the challenges that affect the design, implementation and integration of these components. Although the PMS of the Botswana public service has eight key components, the current literature focuses mostly on one component, notably performance monitoring and evaluation system. The analysis reveals that components such as balanced scorecard and performance-based budgeting were ineffective and poorly integrated because they were developed as distinct systems and were not customised. This article contributes to the literature by providing a synthesis and analysis of these components, highlighting the challenges encountered by the Botswana public service in designing, implementing and integrating these components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Physical Education (PE) is valued for its educational outcomes and the potential to enhance learners' physical health, the professional implementation is often lacking, leading to a decline in learners' intrinsic motivation levels and negative perceptions of PE. PE teachers can enhance learners' motivation and perceptions of PE by meeting their basic psychological needs, according to the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), first developed by Deci and Ryan in 1985. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an in-service PE teacher training and support programme, based on the principles of the SDT, on the perceptions of PE participating learners. Four months after the five-day teacher training programme including teaching strategies to support the needs of learners, data were collected through focus group interview, from Grade 7, 12- to 13-year-old learners (n=28). The participating learners generally perceived PE more positively after their teachers attended the training programme. It is recommended that PE teacher training programmes include needs-support strategies to enhance learners' perceptions and motivation levels in the PE class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calls for the decolonisation of knowledge in South Africa is a challenge that educational researchers cannot ignore. The problem is, however, that research and knowledge development traditions in education have not contributed in significant ways to enhancing cognitive justice in society. The focus of this article is on grounded theory, a research methodology tradition that is assumed to be relevant and valuable to the possibilities of transformational changes in education because it allows, by design, for research that produces theories in ways that are inductive, data based, and bottom-up. The purpose is to review research in education in South Africa, since 1994, and to identify trends and patterns in order to understand how grounded theory methods contribute to the development of new education theories and to transformation. We have reviewed articles published during the period 1994-2016 and found that they cover different academic domains. We also found that the majority of studies utilised grounded theory methodology meticulously and with varied levels of sophistication, leading to around one third of the studies articulating theories in the comprehensive sense of the word. The findings are discussed with reference to the role of educational research in the changing times of decolonisation. Recommendations are made to improve educational research: to be more relevant and transformative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of time spent in a feedlot on the size of the various fat depots and the distribution of the main tissues (muscle, bone, and fat) of three common South African sheep breeds. Lambs were supplied with a balanced diet (16% protein, 10 MJ ME/kg feed) ad libitum and had free access to water. Lambs from each breed were divided into six groups, which were slaughtered at 21-day intervals until a production period of 105 days had been reached. During carcass dressing, visceral and renal fat was removed and expressed as a percentage of carcass weight. The subcutaneous fat (SCF) depth was measured on the longissimus lumborum at the 13th rib position using an electronic calliper. The proportion of muscle, bone and fat was determined by dissecting a three-rib cut made on the prime rib between the 9th and 11th ribs. The percentage of visceral and renal fat increased throughout the production period for all breeds. The percentage of renal fat was up to 2.9% higher than the percentage visceral fat in both SAMM production groups. Dorper lambs tended to have high SCF levels (5.6 mm fat after 42 days) due to the early maturing nature of the breed. They reached a maximum fat depth of 20.4 mm fat after 105 days. The SAMM lambs tended to deposit SCF at a slower rate and the late maturing Merino breed was found to be much leaner, and did not reach the high fat levels of the SAMM or Dorper lambs. The percentage of muscle and bone in all carcasses decreased with an increase in the number of days in the feedlot, while the percentage of carcass fat increased during this period. The increase in late maturing adipose tissue in all breeds as they become older is amplified by the restricted movement in the feedlot and high energy diet that the lambs receive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of feedlot production on lamb growth characteristics of three common South African breeds: Merino, South African Mutton Merino (SAMM) and Dorper. Lambs were supplied with a balanced diet (16% crude protein, 9.41 MJ ME/kg feed) ad libitum and had free access to water. Lambs from each breed were divided into six groups. One group of each breed was slaughtered every three weeks until 105 days under feedlot production were reached. The weights of the lambs were recorded weekly, along with feed intake, to obtain the individual daily intake, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) for each lamb. The ADG for the SAMM 2007 and Dorper lambs increased throughout their production period, while that of the SAMM 2008 and Merino lambs tended to decrease with time, although the SAMM 2008 group achieved the highest ADG of 350.2 g/lamb/day of all the breeds. The Dorper and SAMM 2007 lambs had higher FCR (7.52 and 7.58, respectively). The average FCR achieved by the SAMM 2008 and Merino lambs was 5.54 and 5.14, respectively. However, the FCR of Merino and SAMM 2008 lambs increased throughout the production period. The Dorper lambs produced fatter carcasses and therefore exhibited the highest average dressing percentage of 49.7% compared with the SAMM 2007 (48.4%) and 2008 lambs (45.6%), followed by the Merino lambs (43.9%). The results confirm that the Merino is a late maturing breed that is recognised for its wool rather than meat production, and therefore exhibits weaker growth characteristics. The SAMM is a dual-purpose breed that has also been selected for growth and meat production, and therefore exhibits desirable production characteristics, while the Dorper is an early maturing breed that deposits localized fat at an earlier age as it grows, thereby producing fatter carcasses than SAMM and Merino lambs. Therefore, Dorper lambs should be slaughtered at lower live weights so that carcasses are not graded as over-fat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shortage of housing is currently one of the key public service delivery concerns in developing countries. South Africa's situation is complicated by the fact that millions of the homeless are living on the fringes of the major cities and, with the ever rising rural urban migration, ability of government to cope with housing delivery remains constrained. Against this background, this article reports on research that was undertaken to explore the effects of public housing delivery in Gauteng, one of South Africa's nine provinces. The research design and methodology is distinctly qualitative in nature and data collection was undertaken through primary methods, namely, semi-structured personal interviews and focus group discussions. The target population in the study comprised of 71 participants from members of the Gauteng Housing Research Forum, officials from the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and ward councillors of a Local Municipality in the province. A key finding of the study is that public housing experiences and models from other countries should be contextually bound prior to being considered by the Gauteng provincial government. In this way, relevant skills and knowledge could be generated on what works and what does not. The study further noted the challenge of managing policies crafted at one level of government but which have to be implemented by a different (lower) level of government. In addition, examples of practical implications in Gauteng are presented to illustrate the relevance of these findings for public housing policy extrapolations to other provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employment in the South African public sector has reached a stage where it can be regarded as being fairly democratised. Democratised, in this context, refers to a democratic order where the state acknowledges key interest groups, such as public employees, as important role players in the procedures, systems and structures of government. One major structural arrangement which has been developed in this regard is the entrenchment of democratic values and principles, such as the acknowledgement of basic human rights as contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), which sets out a framework for a new democratic order in workplaces. The courts play an important role in safeguarding the fundamental rights employees. This article highlights the democratic values and principles that govern public administration and discusses court decisions and their implications for public sector employment theory and practice. Using a qualitative research method, in which litigated court cases filed from 1996 to 2013 are interpreted and analysed, this article reports that public employees are mistreated in the workplaces and that their human rights are abused. Emerging areas of concern are unequal treatment, discrimination and unfair labour practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Services have the ability to affect the productivity of sensor network systems on a daily basis. A network with the ability to identify and share services among connected devices within the network would enable the effective use of space and decrease the probability of resource wastage and redundant processing of data and unnecessary configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular modelling was used to identify the species that form during the solvent extraction of tantalum and niobium. In this case study the acknowledged reactions of tantalum pentachloride are used to identify the tantalum pentafluoride, -hydroxide and -oxyfluoride species that may form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ADU conversion process operated at Necsa, resulted in a significant amount of U-containing waste. To recover the valuable U, the main impurities were determined as Ca, Fe and Th and it was found that 98% of U could be dissolved in 3 M HNO3 without an additional oxidising agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]