Waste management through life cycle assessment of products

The rapid growth of a population in a country can contribute to high production of waste. Municipal waste and industrial waste can bring unhealthy and unpleasant environment or even diseases to human beings if the wastes are not managed properly. With increasing concerns over waste and the need for 'greener' products, it is necessary to carry out Life Cycle Assessments of products and this will help manufacturers take the first steps towards greener designs by assessing their product's carbon output. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment, and to assess the impact of those energy and material used and released to the environment. The aim of the study was to use a life cycle assessment approach to determine which waste disposal options that will substantially reduce the environmental burdens posed by the Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle. Several important observations can be made. 1)Recycling of the PET bottle waste can significantly reduce the energy requiredacross the life cycle because the high energy inputs needed to process the requisite virgin materials greatly exceeds the energy needs of the recycling process steps. 2)Greenhouse gases can be reduced by opting for recycling instead of landfilling andincineration. 3)Quantity of waste emissions released from different disposal options was identified. 4)Recycling is the environmentally preferable disposal method for the PET bottle. Industry can use the tools and data in this study to evaluate the health, environmental, and energy implications of the PET bottle. LCA intends to aid decision-makers in this respect, provided that the scientific underpinning is available. Strategic incentives for product development and life cycle management can then be developed

Effect of landcover/land-use changes on water availability in and around Ruti Dam in Nyazvidzi catchment, Zimbabwe

The aim of this study was to quantify the upstream land-use and landcover changes and assess their effect on Ruti Dam levels and water availability in Nyazvidzi catchment. Remote-sensing techniques, hydrologic modelling and statistical inference were applied. Spatial landcover dynamics were derived from Landsat satellite data for the years 1984, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2008, and 2013 using the maximum likelihood classification technique. Results showed that forests and shrubs decreased by 36% between 1984 and 2013 whilst cultivated areas increased by 13% over the same period. The HEC-HMS rainfall-runoff model was used to simulate steamflow for the Nyazvidzi catchment, Zimbabwe. For the calibration period (2000–2001), a satisfactory Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) model peformance of 0.71 and relative volume error (RVE) of 10% were obtained. Model validation (1995—1997) gave a NSE of 0.61 and RVE of 12%. We applied the Mann-Kendall trend test to assess for monotonic trends in runoff over the study period and the results showed that there were significant decreases in observed runoff at Station E140 (monthly time scale) and at Stations E62 and E140 (seasonal time scale). Results showed that the wet season (Nov–Feb) had higher mean water balance values with an excess runoff of 8.12 mm/month. The dry season (April— Sept) had lower mean water balance values, with the lowest at 0.04 mm/month. Strong positive relationships (r2) between dam levels and land-use changes were obtained as follows: bare (0.95), cultivation (0.76) and forests (0.98). The relationship between runoff generated and land-use changes was found to be relatively weaker (0.54 for forests, 0.51 for bare and 0.14 for cultivation). Findings of this study underscore the relevance of applying hydrological models, remote sensing and statistical inference in quantifying and detecting environmental changes, as well as how they affect the availability and the quality of water resources in space and time

Antiretroviral Therapy outcomes among adolescents and youth in rural Zimbabwe

Around 2 million adolescents and 3 million youth are estimated to be living with HIV worldwide. Antiretroviral outcomes for this group appear to be worse compared to adults. We report antiretroviral therapy outcomes from a rural setting in Zimbabwe among patients aged 10-30 years who were initiated on ART between 2005 and 2008. The cohort was stratified into four age groups: 10-15 (young adolescents) 15.1-19 years (adolescents), 19.1-24 years (young adults) and 24.1-29.9 years (older adults). Survival analysis was used to estimate rates of deaths and loss to follow-up stratified by age group. Endpoints were time from ART initiation to death or loss to follow-up. Follow-up of patients on continuous therapy was censored at date of transfer, or study end (31 December 2008). Sex-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios for different age groups. 898 patients were included in the analysis; median duration on ART was 468 days. The risk of death were highest in adults compared to young adolescents (aHR 2.25, 95%CI 1.17-4.35). Young adults and adolescents had a 2-3 times higher risk of loss to follow-up compared to young adolescents. When estimating the risk of attrition combining loss to follow-up and death, young adults had the highest risk (aHR 2.70, 95%CI 1.62-4.52). This study highlights the need for adapted adherence support and service delivery models for both adolescents and young adults

A Process Model of Social Development Supervision in Social Work

Abstract: Supervision practice in social work is understood as the mainstay of the profession. However, various studies have pointed to the inadequacies of supervision to facilitate quality service provision. The collected data reflects a general misalignment between the approach to supervision practice and social work practice approaches as one inadequacy leading to the failure of supervision practice. Although there are numerous supervision models in the profession, some of which are aligned to certain practice approaches, none is directly identifiable with the social development approach, which should be at the core of a social work orientation in South Africa. Thus, in this article I provide a process model of supervision in social work that aims to establish a dialectical relationship between supervision and social development practice approach. The model is an output of a qualitative study with principles of a phenomenological design. In the study I employed a Research and Design approach to conduct individual interviews and focus group with social workers and social work supervisors, and their comments suggested the need for a social development approach to supervision

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK

Introduction to Social Work (2nd Edition) is a valuable resource for students, educators and practitioners in the field of social work. The editors' extensive expertise and diverse research interests make the book both informative and engaging, offering users a well-rounded view of the theory and practice of social work. Whether the user is new to the field or seeking to deepen their knowledge, this book provides essential insights into the complexities and benefits of the profession

Strategies for recruitment and retention of teen mothers in a program to prevent repeat pregnancy

Background: We describe challenges to recruitment and retention of teen mothers in a study to prevent repeat teen pregnancies, and strategies used to overcome them. Methods: We documented recruitment efforts, the teens who were retained at each stage of the intervention and changes to strategies. Results: Challenges to recruitment and retention were related to lifestyles, immaturity, and competing demands, among others. Successful strategies included bus advertisements, early pairing of teens with mentors, using electronic media, convenient meeting times with a meal, providing child care, transportation vouchers and immediate incentives. Conclusions: This study highlights impediments to teen mother research recruitment and retention, and the value of emerging technologies and strong bonding relationships early in the intervention to maximize recruitment and retention

Reproductive health issues emanating from the Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005 as amended in 2008: A pilot study of the rights of parents versus rights of children

The study took as its point of departure the Children’s Act No, 38 of 2005 implemented in 2010, which aims to promote the preservation and strengthening of families and to give effect to the rights of children as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. When the Act was introduced certain segments of society applauded the government for its efforts to promote the rights of children, while others condemned the government’s approach towards parents’ rights in relation to reproductive health issues affecting their children. The primary aim of the research project was to explore the views of a group of parents in Johannesburg Metro Region 11 regarding reproductive health care as embedded in the Children’s Act. A small-scale, descriptive, cross-sectional pilot research design was employed which involved individual interviews with 35 participants. The main findings that emerged from the study were that participants did not participate in the process leading up to the promulgation of the Act and consequently had little knowledge about the Act or its objectives. The fact that participants did not support certain clauses on reproductive health care and were of the opinion that their rights as parents were being violated has implications for amendment of the Act

Dynamics of FitzHugh-Nagumo excitable systems with delayed coupling

Small lattices of $N$ nearest neighbor coupled excitable FitzHugh-Nagumo systems, with time-delayed coupling are studied, and compared with systems of FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators with the same delayed coupling. Bifurcations of equilibria in N=2 case are studied analytically, and it is then numerically confirmed that the same bifurcations are relevant for the dynamics in the case $N>2$. Bifurcations found include inverse and direct Hopf and fold limit cycle bifurcations. Typical dynamics for different small time-lags and coupling intensities could be excitable with a single globally stable equilibrium, asymptotic oscillatory with symmetric limit cycle, bi-stable with stable equilibrium and a symmetric limit cycle, and again coherent oscillatory but non-symmetric and phase-shifted. For an intermediate range of time-lags inverse sub-critical Hopf and fold limit cycle bifurcations lead to the phenomenon of oscillator death. The phenomenon does not occur in the case of FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators with the same type of coupling.Comment: accepted by Phys.Rev.

Interdisciplinary pathways for advancing social justice, peace, and sustainable development in social work education and professional practice

This issue of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) and the journal’s diamond jubilee, highlighting interdisciplinary scholarship that advances social justice, peace, and sustainable development in social work education and practice. It includes a special article, ten research studies, a book review, and a note from practice. Together, these contributions demonstrate how research, education, and practice intersect to strengthen professional capacity, inform policy, and foster transformative interventions for individuals, families, and communities