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Purpose: To investigate whether the same health state results in the same distribution of responses on the EQ-5D youth and adult descriptive systems. Methods: Adolescents aged 13–18 years with a range of health conditions and from the general school going population were recruited in South Africa (ZA) and Ethiopia (ET). In ZA participants completed the English EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-5L in parallel. Whereas in ET participants completed the Amharic EQ-5D-5L and EQ-5D-Y-5L in parallel. Analysis aimed to describe the transition between youth and adult instruments and not differences between countries. Results: Data from 592 adolescents completing the EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-5L (ZA) and 693 completing the EQ-5D-5L and EQ-5D-Y-5L (ET) were analysed. Adolescents reported more problems on the youth versions compared to the adult version for the dimension of mental health. 13% and 4% of adolescents who reported no problems on the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L reported some problems on the EQ-5D-Y-3L respectively. This was less notable with transition between the five level versions with 4% of adolescents reporting more problems on the EQ-5D-Y-5L than the EQ-5D-5L. Very few adolescents reported severe problems (level 3 on the EQ-5D-3L or EQ-5D-Y-3L and level 4 and level 5 on the EQ-5D-5L or EQ-5D-5L) thus there was little variation between responses between the versions. In ZA, discriminatory power, measured on the Shannon's Index, was higher for Y-3L compared to 3L for pain/discomfort (ΔH′=0.11) and anxiety/depression (ΔH′=0.04) and across all dimensions for Y-3L compared to 5L. Similarly, in ET discriminatory power was higher for Y-5L than 5L (ΔH′ range 0.05–0.09). Gwet's AC showed good to very good agreement across all paired (ZA) 3L and (ET) 5L dimensions. The summary score of all EQ-5D versions were able to differentiate between known disease groups. Conclusion: Despite the overall high levels of agreement between EQ-5D instruments for youth and for adults, they do not provide identical results in terms of health state, from the same respondent. The differences were most notable for anxiety/depression. These differences in the way individuals respond to the various descriptive systems need to be taken into consideration for descriptive analysis, when transitioning between instruments, and when comparing preference-weighted scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, undivided attention has been drawn to the examination of metadiscourse in different contexts, genres, languages, and disciplines. Nevertheless, a large body of research has been predominantly centred on the qualitative examination of potential metadiscourse markers and their associated functions. In the current study, we drew on an embedded design and followed learning-oriented language assessment (LOLA) in the employment of interactional metadiscourse markers (IMMs) to better understand metadiscourse use by ectenic (n = 27) and synoptic (n = 30) learners using integrative writing tasks. To that end, 57 intermediate language learners completed Ehrman and Leaver's (2003) learning style questionnaire. We followed Hyland's (2019) interpersonal metadiscourse markers to determine the learners' realisation of metadiscourse in their writing. SPSS (version 25) was run to analyse the quantitative data, and MAXQDA (version 2020) the think-aloud data. The results of chi-square analyses showed that ectenic learners outperformed synoptic ones following LOLA in the employment of IMMs. The results of inductive thematic analyses revealed that synoptic learners benefitted from the utilization of LOLA in employing IMMs in their integrative writing tasks. The findings suggest that the use of LOLA as a pedagogical method can effectively develop the writing proficiency of EFL learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of donated expressed breast milk (DBM) is encouraged in South Africa, with donor milk banks and legislated policies and programmes available in hospitals serving populations with a high HIV prevalence. Concerns over poor attitudes amongst mothers towards DBM seem to persist. A cross-sectional mixed-methods approach was used in a cohort of mothers of neonates in a regional hospital. Between April 2021 and January 2022, survey data on knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards DBM was collected. Qualitative data from open-ended questions were thematically analysed. Comparative analysis using independent sample t-tests and logistic regression to determine differences in variables and to understand associations related to knowledge was conducted. A total of 163 mothers with a mean (SD) age of 27.1 ± 6.3 years were included; 49.7% of mothers had post-high-school qualifications, 82.8% were unemployed and 87.0% received social security. Some 64.4% had inadequate knowledge of DBM. Awareness of DBM had the strongest association with better knowledge concerning DBM and AdjOR (25.25 95% CI 10.60–68.40; p < 0.001). Negative attitudes towards DBM were largely driven by a lack of knowledge regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening of donor mothers and fears of HIV transmission when using DBM. Lack of awareness concerning DBM was associated with poor knowledge of DBM, which may drive poor uptake of this critical nutritional source for at-risk neonates. Implementing targeted awareness programmes on DBM, which begin in the antenatal period and specifically address HIV screening of donor mothers, could address the poor uptake of DBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of cyberfraud in the South African banks with the aim to provide recommendations to effectively mitigate it. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a qualitative approach involving the use of structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were made available to the staff of 17 licensed banks in South Africa who deal with management, operation, administration and banking services. Two hypotheses were formulated and non-parametric statistical analyses involving the use of Chi-square test, Fischer's Exact test and Spearman's correlation were carried out. The two hypotheses formulated were tested to draw a conclusion. Findings: The results obtained indicate that the impact of cyberfraud in the South African banking industry is highly significant and has affected the reputation of some of the banks. This calls for the need to review the diverse ways of curbing cyberfraud to lessen their impact and that of associated fraud risks on the banking operation. Practical implications: This study provides an analysis on the relationship cyberfraud occurrences and the reputation of South African banks. The implementation of the recommendations may reinforce the existing security measures in the fight against cyberfraud. Originality/value: The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the assessment of the impact of cyberfraud on the banking industry in South Africa has not been sufficiently highlighted by the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of agricultural cooperatives to foster socioeconomic development is a critical issue in developing countries. This study examines the factors that influence market choice among South African agricultural cooperatives. Data for 381 agricultural cooperatives were collected from the Cooperative Data Analysis System, drawn from the original database of 3,197 cases from 2017. Cases with missing observations were omitted. A multivariate approach utilising principal component analysis and K-means clustering was employed to identify the typologies of market choices. Multinomial logistic regression was then applied to determine the factors influencing agricultural cooperatives' choice of market typologies. The study reveals that the financial and social efficiency of agricultural cooperatives, the age of the institution, the square of the age of the institution, ownership of livestock, cooperative size, and credit access all influence market typology selection. Training programs such as those in financial management, corporate governance, accounting and bookkeeping, management committees, and the number of managers in cooperatives also impact cooperatives' market choice. The findings of this study should facilitate the design of policies that cater to cooperatives encountering diverse market choices. By influencing the choices of agricultural cooperatives, stakeholders can contribute to more meaningful cooperative involvement in markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]