Factors influencing the formation of splinter unions from the Zambia National Union of Teachers: a case of Southern Province

Master of Education in Civic EducationThis study sought to establish the factors influencing the formation of splinter unions from the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) in Choma, Pemba and Monze districts of Southern province of Zambia. The general objective was to establish the factors influencing the formation of splinter unions from ZNUT. It was a qualitative study which utilised a descriptive survey design and the method of collecting information was by in-depth interviews. A sample selected by purposeful and snowball sampling consisted of 15 teachers, 3 members of the four men committee, 4 head- teachers, 4 unionists from the district level and 4 from the provincial level. The data was analysed thematically. The findings established that there are financial, organisational and social reasons that led to the formation of splinter unions. Under financial reasons, the study established lack of income generating activities, limited international support, poor funding due to periodical allocations and un even distribution of union funds. Under organisational reasons, lack of accountability, lack of efficient leadership from school to national level, poor representation, lack of transparency among some union representatives and loss of trust and confidence were established. Under social reasons the study revealed large membership, attraction by other services in other unions, lack of consultations to grass-root members, failure to give support in times of need and discrimination in service provision. Based on the above findings, the following recommendations were made, the union must take up representation as a core business and represent all members equally, It should expand from its focus on traditional core functions to include the establishment of sustainable schemes that have significant impacts on the sides of members. The leaders also need skills on how best they can attract new members and retain current ones. The union must strive to handle members’ grievances as soon as they are brought to their attention and all members should take part in decision making of the union. Finally, this study recommends that a future study should be carried out to assess how many splinter unions intend to re-join the mother union ZNUT

Thermodynamics of polymolecular duplexes between phosphate-methylated DNA and natural DNA

Phosphate-methylated (P.M.) DNA possesses a very high affinity for complementary natural DNA, as a result of the absence of interstrand electrostatic repulsions. In this study, a model system phosphate-methylated d[Cn] with natural d(Gk) (n <k)is chosen for an investigation of the thermodynamic properties that determine duplex stability. The enthalpy change of a melting transition is shown to be considerably larger than is observed for corresponding natural DNA duplexes. It is found that H of GG/CC nearest neighbor pairwise interaction equals -15.6 kcal/mol, compared to -11.0 kcal/mol for the natural analog. The entropy change is strongly dependent on the length of the natural DNA strand and the number of phosphate-methylated DNA oligomers hybridized. The results are explained by means of a model in which a cooperative effect for subsequent hybridizations of phosphate-methylated DNA oligomers is assumed, thus giving additional stability

Historic 2005 toxic bloom of Alexandrium fundyense in the western Gulf of Maine : 2. Coupled biophysical numerical modeling

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (2008): C07040, doi:10.1029/2007JC004602.A coupled physical/biological modeling system was used to hindcast a massive Alexandrium fundyense bloom that occurred in the western Gulf of Maine in 2005 and to investigate the relative importance of factors governing the bloom's initiation and development. The coupled system consists of a state-of-the-art, free-surface primitive equation Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) tailored for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) using a multinested configuration, and a population dynamics model for A. fundyense. The system was forced by realistic momentum and buoyancy fluxes, tides, river runoff, observed A. fundyense benthic cyst abundance, and climatological nutrient fields. Extensive comparisons were made between simulated (both physical and biological) fields and in situ observations, revealing that the hindcast model is capable of reproducing the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the 2005 bloom. Sensitivity experiments were then performed to distinguish the roles of three major factors hypothesized to contribute to the bloom: (1) the high abundance of cysts in western GOM sediments; (2) strong ‘northeaster' storms with prevailing downwelling-favorable winds; and (3) a large amount of fresh water input due to abundant rainfall and heavy snowmelt. Model results suggest the following. (1) The high abundance of cysts in western GOM was the primary factor of the 2005 bloom. (2) Wind-forcing was an important regulator, as episodic bursts of northeast winds caused onshore advection of offshore populations. These downwelling favorable winds accelerated the alongshore flow, resulting in transport of high cell concentrations into Massachusetts Bay. A large regional bloom would still have happened, however, even with normal or typical winds for that period. (3) Anomalously high river runoff in 2005 resulted in stronger buoyant plumes/currents, which facilitated the transport of cell population to the western GOM. While affecting nearshore cell abundance in Massachusetts Bay, the buoyant plumes were confined near to the coast, and had limited impact on the gulf-wide bloom distribution.Research support was provided through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, National Science Foundation (NSF) grant OCE-0430723 and National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) grant 1-P50-ES012742-01, ECOHAB program through NSF grant OCE-9808173 and NOAA grant NA96OP0099, and GOMTOX program through NOAA grant NA06NOS4780245

Factors Influencing the Formation of Splinter Unions from the Zambia National Union of Teachers: A Case of Southern Province

This study sought to establish the factors influencing the formation of splinter unions from the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) in Choma, Pemba and Monze districts of Southern province of Zambia. The general objective was to establish the factors influencing the formation of splinter unions from ZNUT. It was a qualitative study which utilised a descriptive survey design and the method of collecting information was by in-depth interviews. A sample selected by purposeful and snowball sampling consisted of 15 teachers, 3 members of the four men committee, 4 head- teachers, 4 unionists from the district level and 4 from the provincial level. The data was analysed thematically. The findings established that there are financial, organisational and social reasons that led to the formation of splinter unions. Under financial reasons, the study established lack of income generating activities, limited international support, poor funding due to periodical allocations and un even distribution of union funds. Under organisational reasons, lack of accountability, lack of efficient leadership from school to national level, poor representation, lack of transparency among some union representatives and loss of trust and confidence were established. Under social reasons the study revealed large membership, attraction by other services in other unions, lack of consultations to grass-root members, failure to give support in times of need and discrimination in service provision. Based on the above findings, the following recommendations were made, the union must take up representation as a core business and represent all members equally, It should expand from its focus on traditional core functions to include the establishment of sustainable schemes that have significant impacts on the sides of members. The leaders also need skills on how best they can attract new members and retain current ones. The union must strive to handle members’ grievances as soon as they are brought to their attention and all members should take part in decision making of the union. Finally, this study recommends that a future study should be carried out to assess how many splinter unions intend to re-join the mother union ZNUT

Risk factors associated with and the consequences of obesity among residents of Tshikota Location in Makhado Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

MPHDepartment of Public HealthObesity has been viewed as a serious problem that affects people of all ages, races, ethnicity, and political, religious, social and economic status. It presents a major health challenge worldwide, with an estimated 2 to 3 billion of overweight adults and 700 million of obese individuals. A cross- sectional descriptive research survey using quantitative approach was used to collect data from 318 adults aged 18-45 at Tshikota Location.. Data will be analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Cross tabulations and the Pearson’s Chi-square test will be used to obtain the associations and strength of relationship between independent and dependent variables. Results: Higher prevalence of obesity (35.5%) and overweight (28.6%) was found among the sampled population. The prevalence of obesity was found to be higher in males (51.3%) than females (46.7%), males also showed high prevalence in overweight (57.1%) than females (42.9%). There was significant different between socioeconomic status, family history and BMI. 75.2% of the participants who are obese was of those participants who do not engage in physical activity. Majority of the participants (63.5%) take meals 3 times a day and they are more likely to be obese, 19.2% of the participants do not skip breakfast. Mode of transport was positive significant to BMI as a sedentary behaviour. Neighbourhoods environment and psychological factors showed negative significant to BMI. Conclusion: The findings of this study found the prevalence of obesity and overweight to be high among residents of Tshikota Location. Males showed higher prevalence of obesity than females, they also showed high prevalence in overweight compared to that of females. Factors contributing to obesity were found to be diverse, they include socio- demographic, lifestyle, behavioral, environment, psychological and family history.NR