The Influence of Cultural Experiences on the Associations between Socio-Economic Status and Motor Performance as Well as Body Fat Percentage of Grade One Learners in Cape Town, South Africa

Fundamental movement skills (FMS), physical fitness (PF) and body fat percentage (BF%) are significantly related to socio-economic status (SES). However, it remains unclear why previous studies have had different findings regarding the direction of the association between SES and FMS, PF and BF%. A suggested explanation is that the direction of the link can be influenced by cultural experiences and traditions. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate links between SES and FMS, PF, BF% of Grade One learners from two different ethno-geographic areas in Cape Town, South Africa. Grade One children (n = 191) (n = 106 boys and n = 85 girls; age (6.7 ± 0.33)) from different socio-economic areas in Cape Town, South Africa, were selected to participate in the study. South African schools are classified into five different quintiles (1 = poorest and 5 = least poor public schools). For this study, two schools were selected, one from quintile 2 and the other from quintile 5. BF% was assessed according to Slaughter’s equation. FMS were measured using the Gross Motor Development Test-2 (TGMD-2) and PF via five tests: 1. dynamic strength of lower limb (broad jump); 2. dynamic strength of upper limb and trunk (throwing a tennis ball); 3. speed agility (4 × 10 m shuttle running); 4. cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle run endurance test (Leger test)) and 5. flexibility (sit and reach test). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) found that BF% and WHtR were significantly greater in children with higher SES (Z = 6.04 p < 0.001; Hedg = 0.54), (Z = 3.89 p < 0.001; Hedg = 0.32). Children with lower SES achieved significantly better TGMD-2 standard scores in the locomotor subtest, compared to their peers with higher SES. In the object control subtest, no significant SES-related difference was found. However, ANCOVA showed that girls performed better in FMS than boys. In PF, the main effect of SES was observed in dynamic strength of trunk and upper limb (throwing) and flexibility, where children with lower SES performed significantly better. No significant difference was found in cardiorespiratory performance (CRP) (Beep test), even though children with lower SES achieved better results. Results from the current study suggest that links between SES, PF, FMS and body fat percentage in children seem to be dependent on cultural and traditional experiences. These experiences should therefore be included as an important factor for the development of programmes and interventions to enhance children’s lifelong motor behaviour and health strategies.

Demystifying performance difference between local and foreign contractors through organisational culture

PurposeThis research aimed to investigate the extent to which organisational culture is practised in local and foreign contractors in grade one and two categories and how it affects their performance.Design/methodology/approachThe approach for this research was positivist in nature adopting a mono-method of data collection through a survey using self-administered questionnaires. A total of 138 questionnaires were distributed among public clients and large-scale contractors registered in the stated grades, and 112 questionnaires were returned for analysis representing an overall response rate of 81% for contractors and clients.FindingsFindings revealed that in organisational culture, significant differences were found for management style and dominant characteristics of the organisation between local and foreign contractors. Differences were not found for leadership styles, measures of success and organisational glue. Results suggest that for local contractors to perform better, significant changes are needed to their management style and dominant characteristics of their organisations.Originality/valueForeign contractors in the Zambian construction industry are reportedly outperforming local contractors making them preferred contractors on larger public projects accounting for 85% of construction projects by value of works. This study presents the differences in organisational culture between foreign and local firms. It further demonstrates that organisational culture plays a key role in determining performance of a contracting firm. The study presents areas that local contractors can improve in organisational culture in order to remain competitive.

Pinhole does not increase screening accuracy of detecting decreased best corrected visual acuity in schoolchildren

Background Decreased best corrected visual acuity among children should be treated early in life, and vision screening in schoolchildren is an efficient and feasible selection for developing countries. Thus, the screening accuracy of different visual acuity tests is the key point for making vision screening strategies. The present study aims to explore the screening accuracy of uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and pin-hole corrected visual acuity (PCVA) using different vision chart in the detection of decreased best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) among schoolchildren. Methods Grade one primary schoolchildren in urban Lhasa with data of UCVA using tumbling E chart (UCVAE), PCVA using tumbling E chart (PCVAE), UCVA using Lea Symbols chart (UCVAL), PCVA using Lea Symbols chart (PCVAL) and BCVA using Lea Symbols chart were reviewed. Decreased BCVA was defined as BCVA≤20/32(≥0.2 logMAR). Difference, reliability, and diagnostic parameters in the detection of decreased BCVA of different visual acuity results were analyzed. Results Overall, 1672 children aged 6.58 ± 0.44 years fulfilling the criteria. The prevalence of decreased BCVA was 6.8%. Although no significant differences were found between UCVAE vs UCVAL (p = .84, paired t-test) as well as PCVAE vs PCVAL (p = .24), the ICC between them was low (0.68 and 0.57, respectively). The average difference between BCVA and UCVAE, UCVAL, PCVAE, PCVAL was logMAR -0.08 (− 0.37, 0.21), − 0.08 (− 0.29, 0.17), − 0.05 (− 0.30, 0.19), − 0.06 (− 0.23, 0.12) using Bland–Altman method. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of UCVAE, PCVAE, UCVAL, PCVAL for the detection of decreased BCVA was 0.78 (0.73, 0.84), 0.76 (0.71, 0.82), 0.95 (0.94, 0.96), 0.93 (0.91, 0.95), respectively. Conclusion Pinhole does not increase the screening accuracy of detecting decreased BCVA in grade one primary schoolchildren. Visual acuity test using Lea Symbols is more efficient than Tumbling E in the screening of that age. Trial registration Data were maily from the Lhasa Childhood Eye Study which has finished the clinical registration on (ChiCTR1900026693).

Exposure of Reference and Sense in English Textbook of Elementary Students of Grade One

The objectives of this study were to describe the exposure of references in Elementary English textbooks. This study revealed that 96% in the attempt to teach the students the reference as the semantic properties of the objects. No systematic and organized attempts to expose the references which enable the students to develop their mental image critically and systematically. Exposure of senses is also found in the textbook although their occurrences are very few and limited in terms of number (4%) and types of sense. The sense exposed in the textbook is limited to attributes of various objects having the same expression and proper names. Systematic and purposeful organizations of this exposure are not found either. This might be caused by the lack of knowledge of the textbook writer about the semantic properties of objects (nouns), their relationship with the mental image development of the students. For better exposure of meanings of objects (nouns) in English textbooks, theories of reference and sense and other semantic properties of meaning must be taken into account. Keywords: reference, sense, elementary, mental image, textbook

Liver abscess after drug-eluting bead chemoembolization in patients with metastatic hepatic tumors

Objective: To investigate the incidence and risk factors for liver abscess formation after treatment with drug-eluting bead chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) in patients with metastatic hepatic tumors (MHT). Methods: The current study is a retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 137 patients with metastatic hepatic tumors who received DEB-TACE treatment in our institute between June 2015 and September 2020. Patients were evaluated for the presence or absence of post-DEB-TACE liver abscess. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors for liver abscess formation. Results: The incidence of liver abscess formation after the DEB-TACE procedure was 8.76% per patient and 5.53% per procedure. Univariate analysis showed that larger maximum tumor diameter (p = 0.004), Grade one artery occlusion (p < 0.001) and systemic chemotherapy within 3 months before the DEB-TACE procedure (p < 0.001) were all associated with liver abscess formation. However, only systemic chemotherapy within 3 months before the DEB-TACE procedure (OR 5.49; 95% CI 0.34–13.54; p < 0.001) was identified by multivariate analysis to be an independent risk factor. Conclusions: Tumor size, Grade one artery occlusion and recent systemic chemotherapy may all be associated with increased risk of liver abscess formation following DEB-TACE treatment in patients with metastatic hepatic tumors. Advances in knowledge: Identification of risk factors for liver abscess formation following DEB-TACE in patients with MHT. These findings suggest the need for caution and consideration of the aforementioned risk factors on the part of interventional radiologists when designing DEB-TACE strategies and performing post-procedure patient management.

INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS’ TEACHING EXPERIENCE ON TEACHING OF LITERACY SKILLS AMONG GRADE ONE PUPILS IN MOMBASA, KENYA

<p>Early childhood years are crucial in children’s literacy development since the development of language and literacy begins at birth and is a lifelong process. For early childhood education to be a success, teacher experience is imperative for teaching literacy. The teachers’ experience informs the necessary literacy skills for the child which include writing, reading, speaking, listening and drawing. Policies governing basic education in Kenya do emphasize the importance of skilled, experienced teachers in the classroom, including early childhood settings. However, such requirements have not been adhered to and therefore numerous early childhood teachers lack experience in children literacy issues. This study sought to determine how teacher’s experience influences the teaching of literacy skills in primary school in Mbaraki Zone, Mombasa County, Kenya. Descriptive survey design was adopted in the study. The target population for the study comprised of 20 head teachers, 800 Grade one pupils and 40 Grade one teachers of all the twenty primary schools in Mbaraki Zone, Mombasa County, Kenya. Purposive sampling approach was used to obtain the sample for the primary school head teachers and Grade one teachers because they are relatively small. Three learners were sampled randomly from each class that had a participating teacher. The study findings revealed that majority of teachers had more than five years of experience teaching literacy skills. The inferential analysis revealed that the teaching experience had a statistically significant influence on reading (p 0.014), speaking (p 0.021), listening skills (p 0.038) as well as basic skills (p 0.019). The study calls on the ministry of education and the schools to ensure that teachers assigned to grade one should have extensive experience teaching literacy skills to promote teaching of literacy skills in the classes.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0975/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

EFFECTS OF COMPLEMENTARY APPROACH ON ARABIC WRITING SKILLS FOR TRAINEE TEACHERS

The purpose of this article is to report a quasi-experimental research on Arabic writing skills AWS for the trainee teachers. The effect of complementary approach CA on achievements of AWS for grade one Arabic as a Second Language students was investigated. The null hypothesis (Ho); there is no signicant difference at 0.05 between students' achievements in the experimental cluster and students' achievements in the control cluster when CA is used to teach AWS was tested. The Randomized Solomon Four Group Design n=100 was used. Different statistical measures were applied to analyze the data including averages, standard deviations, degrees of freedom and independent t-tests. The ndings yielded the rejection of the null hypothesis (Ho) of no signicant difference between clusters' means when CA is used to teach AWS for the sample in question at: 1-2 =19.04, t=5.223, df (48)=.000, α2, p <.05. The alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted due to the following data abstractions: integrated reading and orthography: 1-2 =11.12, t=3.955, df (48)=.000, α2, p <.05; integrated reading and essay writing: 1-2 =31.24, t=5.630, df (48)=.000, α2, p <.05; integrated listening and summary writing: 1-2 =-6.461, t=-1.246, df (48)= .220, α2, p >.05 and integrated speaking and report writing: 1-2 =40.44, t=7.823, df (48)=.000, α2, p <.05. Other than the CA strategy of integrated listening and summary writing which yielded insignicant effects, the rest of the selected CA strategies positively inuenced AWS variables in question. These ndings can be interpreted in a number of implications, including building integrative AWS curricula for the purpose of Arabic writing benchmarking and standardization. They are also applicable in terms of predicting and controlling of relevant Arabic linguistic variables for different research and practical purposes. The signicance of these ndings is also feasible with the contemporary scientic call for the diversication of communication andragogy.

Kemampuan Literasi Anak: Bagaimana Peran Serta Orang Tua di Masa Pandemi Covid-19?

Literacy skills in children include the ability to hear, read, write, and speak. Increasingliteracy skills in children can develop children's thinking patterns to be more critical and logical insolving problems, express new ideas, and be able to understand what information is obtained frombooks, audios, and other sources. However, currently, Covid-19 has appeared across the world,resulting in many institutions closing, including educational institutions, to break the chain of Covid-19 spread. The purpose of this study was to analyze how the role of parents in improving literacy skillsin children, especially during the pandemic. One of the guardians of grade one at MIS Paya BujokTunong, Langsa City became the subject of research using this type of qualitative research through anaturalistic approach that is descriptive and interview techniques as a research instrument. Theresults of this study indicate that parents' awareness and ways of improving literacy skills in childrenare very important to capture interest and disinterest in children. In addition, during this pandemic,the learning process is also carried out at home, thus a friendly way using soft intonation can maintainthe mood. children in the process of improving literacy skills in children.

Prevalence and pattern of refractive error and visual impairment among schoolchildren: the Lhasa childhood eye study

Background Early and effective ocular screening may help to eliminate treatable eye disorders. The Lhasa Childhood Eye Study (LCES) revealed the particular prevalence of refractive error and visual impairment in grade one schoolchildren (starting age of 6 years old) in Lhasa. Methods This is a cross-sectional part of school-based cohort study. One thousand nine hundred forty-three children were enrolled (median age, 6.78 years, range, 5.89 to 10.32). Each child underwent general and ocular examinations, including logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity, cycloplegic autorefraction, and slit-lamp biomicroscopy evaluation. Multivariate and correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the association between refractive error with gender and ethnics. Results The prevalence of visual impairment (logMAR visual acuity ≥0.3 in the better-seeing eye) of uncorrected, presenting and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 12.2, 11.7 and 2.7%, respectively. Refractive error presented in 177 (78.0%) out of 227 children with bilateral visual impairment. Myopia (spherical equivalent refractor [SER] ≤ − 0.50 diopter [D] in either eye) was present in 4.7% children when measured after cycloplegic autorefraction. Hyperopia (SER ≥ + 2.00 D) affected 12.1% children. Hyperopia was significantly associated with female gender (P<0.001). Astigmatism (cylinder value ≤ − 0.75 D) was present in 44.8% children. In multivariate regression and correlation analysis, SER had no significant difference between ethnic groups. Conclusion The Lhasa Childhood Eye Study is the first school-based cohort study to reveal the prevalence and pattern of refractive error and visual impairment in Lhasa. Effective strategies such as corrective spectacles should be considered to alleviate treatable visual impairment.