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Background Literature on anxiety in schizophrenia is confined to well-established diagnostic syndromes and the diagnostic category of unspecified anxiety disorder has not been quantitatively verified in this population. This study examined whether anxiety that is not differentiated into the well-established syndromes is empirically discernible from syndromal anxiety and no anxiety in acute-phase schizophrenia. Methods After sampling 111 acute-phase schizophrenia patients, they were stratified into three groups: syndromal anxiety; undifferentiated anxiety; and without anxiety disorder. The groups were compared statistically in two data sets on measures for anxiety, psychotic severity, depressive features, akathisia and medication use. Results On two measures of anxiety and for both data sets, the groups were significantly different without evidence of a confounding influence by akathisia, medication, or psychotic severity. The undifferentiated group was different from the syndromal group on the Staden Schizophrenia Anxiety Rating Scale (S-SARS) for both data sets (mean difference = 7.46, p  < 0.001; mean difference = 7.69, p  < 0.002) and on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale for the one data set (mean difference = 14.68, p  < 0.001) but not for the replicative data set (mean difference = 1.49, p  = 0.494). The undifferentiated anxiety group was different from the no anxiety group for the respective data sets on both anxiety scales (S-SARS: mean difference = 8.67, p  < 0.001; mean difference = 8.64, p  < 0.001)(HAM-A: mean difference = 6.05, p  < 0.001; mean difference = 8.67, p  = 0.002). When depressive features had a confounding effect, it was small relative to the group differences. Conclusions The results suggest some patients in acute-phase schizophrenia present with undifferentiated anxiety that is discernible from both syndromal anxiety and those without an anxiety disorder. This finding may serve as empirical grounds for clinicians to recognise undifferentiated anxiety in acute-phase schizophrenia, and for further research into the clinical importance of undifferentiated anxiety in this population.

The classical Cox model is the most popular procedure for studying right-censored data in survival analysis. However, it is based on the fundamental assumption of proportional hazards (PH). Modified Cox models, stratified and extended, have been widely employed as solutions when the PH assumption is violated. Nevertheless, prior comparisons of the modified Cox models did not employ comprehensive Monte-Carlo simulations to carry out a comparative analysis between the two models. In this paper, we conducted extensive Monte-Carlo simulation to compare the performance of the stratified and extended Cox models under varying censoring rates, sample sizes, and survival distributions. Our results suggest that the models’ performance at varying censoring rates and sample sizes is robust to the distribution of survival times. Thus, their performance under Weibull survival times was comparable to that of exponential survival times. Furthermore, we found that the extended Cox model outperformed other models under every combination of censoring, sample size and survival distribution.

This article focuses on the unique contribution of the QT-clicker regarding formative and summative assessment in a large flipped first year statistics module. In this module, the flipped classroom as pedagogical model first substituted the traditional teaching model. QT-clickers were subsequently introduced to enable active and cooperative learning for face-to-face engagement inside the classroom. The various input capabilities of the QT-clicker, providing for the possibility of partial grade crediting, offer a distinguishing advantage. These clickers were initially only used for formative assessment, but soon extended to summative assessment. Two cohorts—2014 (no QT-clickers) and 2017 (with QT-clickers)—were compared. The intervention of using QT-clickers was evaluated along two lines: the pedagogical influence of the QT-clicker and the effect of partial grade crediting. Several general linear models (GLMs) were fitted to the data to investigate how QT-clicker use is related to the students’ examination performance. The outcome of the GLM models indicates that the association of higher examination marks with QT-clicker use holds for the 2017 cohort with and without partial credit. A qualitative component of the study reports on the student voice testifying to positive experience.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the importance of high levels of trust and collaboration for increasing the likelihood of project management (PM) success. However, the link between these three constructs remains unclear. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors use structural equation modelling (SEM) based on the findings from an international survey of 151 project practitioners to demonstrate the significance of project team trust and collaboration for increasing the likelihood of PM success. Findings The results indicate that PM success becomes more likely as the degree of collaboration improves which, in turn, is influenced by an increase in the level of trust between team members. The two factors of PM success are project performance and knowledge integration and innovation. The six factors of the degree of collaboration that were studied are physical proximity, commitment, conflict, coordination, relationships and incentives. The three factors of the level of trust investigated are expectations, knowledge exchange and imported trust. Practical implications The results of the study are expected to provide insight for project practitioners to increase the likelihood of PM success by taking cognisance of the factors that influence collaboration and trust. The results of the study may also provide insight into teaching and learning in tertiary education, in terms of professionalism and integrity issues. Originality/value This paper presents a new perspective for investigating PM success. SEM techniques are used to determine the likelihood of PM success by promoting trust and collaboration in the project team. This unique approach highlights the “human factors” that influence perceived PM success which should benefit both researchers and practitioners.

Being tax compliant generates costs and these costs affect small business tax compliance behaviour and contribution. This study uses multiple regression analyses to investigate the key drivers of small business’s internal tax compliance costs (hours spent internally on tax compliance activities). This will assist Revenue Services in understanding what factors (determinants) could increase a small business’s internal tax compliance costs and might assist in managing tax compliance behaviour and contribution. The results expose the significant determinants per tax type, enabling a comparison to be made across the different tax types. Overall, turnover is the variable that had the most significant influence on internal tax compliance costs (time) (as opposed to the number of employees, which had a significant effect only on the internal time spent on employees’ tax). The analysis confirmed that there is a higher proportional burden for smaller businesses in respect of internal income tax and employees’ compliance activities.

Growth in computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies such as instant messaging (IM) and video conferencing (VC) has led to a need to explore the utilisation and influence of these tools on the quality of project communication, which must still be established. This article reports the results of a survey conducted among 210 project practitioners using CMC in various industries to determine how, why and what each medium is used for, and how these media influence factors that promote quality communication. Some results showed that the use of both instant messaging and video conferencing in projects is moderate and both improve the quality of communication in virtual teams, however in different ways.

Background Hand infections are exceedingly common conditions that are associated with significant morbidity. Sound anatomical and microbiological knowledge is required to effectively manage these entities and to prevent or limit disability. The cornerstones of treatment remain surgical drainage of pus collections, judicious use of antimicrobial agents, and rehabilitation. Empiric antibiotic guidelines should target common organisms based on regional aetiological patterns, with strong consideration of host factors. The aim of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the epidemiology and suitability of empiric antibiotics in hand infections requiring surgical drainage at a centre in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Methods A retrospective chart review of patients with hand infections requiring surgical drainage was conducted over a 24-month period between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019. The data was collected at an institution in the Northern Cape, which serves as the referral centre for the majority of the rural areas in the province. Culture results were obtained from the specimens collected during surgical drainage and debridement, and were accessed from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) website. Results Of the 414 specimens, 388 yielded positive cultures and 26 had no growth. In total, 403 organisms were cultured. This consisted of 374 Gram-positive organisms (93%), and 29 Gram-negative organisms (7%). Staphylococcus was the most common organism isolated in 368 cases. Three-hundred and forty (84%) of these were methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and 24 (6%) were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). With the low rates of MRSA cultured, caution should be exercised when generalising these results for the population. The mean age of patients was 31 years 10 months (standard deviation 14 years 5 months), with a 4:1 ratio of males to females, and the most common site of infection was the webspace (27%). Conclusion Staphylococcus is still overwhelmingly the most common causative organism in hand infections in this population. Low numbers of MRSA were detected, but this still represents a five-fold increase in the region over the past decade. Urgent surgical drainage and bacteriological sampling before empiric antibiotics that target local common organisms remains the mainstay of treatment. Consultation with an infectious disease specialist to maximise efficacy of antibiotic selection and dosing can limit the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. In this setting, the use of cloxacillin as a single empiric agent is still recommended, though the increasing prevalence of MRSA needs to be monitored.

Although social factors affecting recycling have been widely researched, the effect of spatial and physical factors posed by medium-density housing, such as townhouses, is less understood. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the relative effect of three sets of factors on household recycling in townhouses are examined, including ‘attitude’ (about recycling), ‘subjective norm’ (social pressure), and ‘perceived behaviour control’ (ability to recycle). A questionnaire survey of 300 households was conducted in Equestria, an enclosed middle-income residential estate consisting of several townhouse complexes. Confirmatory factor analysis verified the three factor measurement model for recycling participation. Both recyclers and non-recyclers showed positive attitudes toward recycling and felt social pressure to recycle. Non-recyclers, however, felt significantly less able to recycle. Most recyclers as well as non-recyclers indicated that certain proposals for increasing recycling may cause them to recycle more, in particular a system through which the management agency arranges access for a recycling company to collect recyclables from strategically located collection points inside the complex. Urban planning and design recommendations for facilitating recycling in townhouses are discussed.

The FitTrack Index is a web-based programme developed in South Africa and widely used by athletes to indicate their fitness. A need exists for a self-managed, non-invasive tool to evaluate and categorise health-related fitness in different population groups. The aim of this study was to compare the FitTrack Index with a reliable measure of cardio-respiratory fitness as indicated by maximal oxygen uptake (direct VO2max). During a 12-week cross-sectional, descriptive pilot study the direct laboratory tested VO2max indicated a moderate to strong correlation with the FitTrack Index (Spearman's rho = 0.439, p = 0.089 at baseline; Spearman's rho = 0.853, p < 0.001 after 12 weeks). These results suggest that the web-based FitTrack Index may be considered an appropriate tool to evaluate exercise capacity and cardiovascular fitness in healthy individuals following an aerobic training programme.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between knowledge sharing behaviour and the demographic variables gender, age, organisational tenure and professional tenure. Following a correlational survey approach, the study sourced its data from senior secondary school teachers in and around Gaborone, Botswana. Knowledge sharing behaviour was measured using an instrument sourced from the extant literature. No statistically significant relationship was detected between knowledge sharing behaviour and gender, age, or professional tenure. Only organisational tenure weakly negatively correlated with knowledge sharing behaviour. Thus, according to these findings, demographic variables do not appear to be important determinants of knowledge sharing behaviour.