Critical Competencies To Promote A Customer Service Core Capability In A Human Resources Call Centre

In today’s information-intensive environment customer service is an important aspect that differentiates one organisation from another. This research focuses on those individual competencies which will lead to a customer service core capability in a Human Resources Call Centre. Data was obtained from Call Centre agents (n=18), supervisors (n=3) and customers (n=25) by means of five focus group-, three individual- and 25 telephonic interviews, respectively. The transcendental realism research procedure was applied within a qualitative research paradigm. Ten key competencies were identified by all groups of participants. Opsomming In vandag se inligtings-intensiewe omgewing is kliëntediens ’n belangrike aspek wat organisasies van mekaar onderskei. Hierdie navorsing fokus op welke individuele bevoegdhede tot ’n kliëntedienssleutelbekwaamheid in ’n Menslikehulpbron-oproepsentrum sal lei. Data is van Oproepsentrumagente (n=18), -toesighouers (n=3) en -kliënte (n=25) ingewin deur middel van onderskeidelik vyf fokusgroep-, drie individuele- en 25 telefoniese onderhoude. Die transendentale realisme navorsingsprosedure is binne ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsparadigma toegepas. Tien sleutelbevoegdhede is deur al drie groepe deelnemers geïdentifiseer.

Early bactericidal activity of antituberculosis agents

The early bactericidal activity (EBA) of an antituberculosis agent is arbitrarily defined as the fall in log(10) colony forming units (cfu) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis per ml sputum per day during the first 2 days of treatment. Determining the EBA is an important preliminary step in the clinical evaluation of an antituberculosis agent. We review the results of eight published studies of the EBA of different antituberculosis agents, the impact of these results on our understanding of the actions of the respective agents, the clinical characteristics and sputum findings of patients included in these studies, and explore sources of variation in the EBA results. Patients in these studies had a mean age of 31-36 years, a mean weight of 50-57 kg, 67% were male and 56% had lung involvement covering an area of more than one lung, and 90% had multicavitary disease. None of these findings were related to EBA in any study. The mean log(10) cfu per ml sputum in the first specimen was 6.474. This was related to radiological extent of disease and cavity size in one study (p < 0.001) and, in the case of isoniazid to EBA with a rise in EBA of 0.094 (95% CL 0.029-0.158) for each tenfold rise in cfu counts/ml sputum. The overall variation in EBA in these studies was 0.0303, that due to laboratory processing of specimens was 0.0011, and due to patient characteristics and sputum sampling 0.0212. The EBA is a reproducible investigation that has contributed significantly to our knowledge of the actions and characteristics of both established and new antituberculosis agents. The greatest source of variation in EBA results appears to be that due to interpatient variation in disease characteristics and sputum sampling.

The effect of violent versus non-violent incidents on eyewitness memory

As South Africans are daily subjected to violent incidents for which they are summoned to testify about in court, months or years after the event in question occurred, it is of importance to determine the effect violence has on memory after an extended period of time. The present study not only aimed to determine the accuracy of short-term and long-term memory after exposure to a violent and non-violent incident, but also the relationship between short-term and long-term memory and different biographical variables (occupation, age, gender and race). Four-hundred-and-seventy-four respondents consisting of university students, the business sector and Police College students participated and were divided into a short-term and long-term memory group. After a five to six week retention period a significant decrease in the accuracy scores for both the violent and non-violent incident occurred. Significant higher average scores for all the biographical groups in the short-term memory group in comparisons with the long-term memory groups were obtained.

The relationship between memory and the recall of specific details

When eyewitnesses are exposed to an event, certain details tend to capture their attention more than other details, which ensures the better recall of the details that were observed. As little research has focussed on the relationship between certain biographical variables (occupation, age, gender, race and retention period) and specific event details, the present study attempts to shed some light on this area. A sample of 295 participants was obtained from 12- to 14-year-olds, university students, the public and Police College students that were divided into a short-term and long-term memory group. The details that were focussed on in the questionnaire were divided into obvious physiognomic, less pronounced physiognomic, clothing, circumstantial, and action-related details. Between the short-term and long-term memory groups it was found that significant differences were indicated for only certain items related to obvious physiognomic details, clothing details, circumstantial evidence and action-related details. For all the different biographical groups significant differences were found for certain items belonging to the different groups of details.

Memory accuracy of a real-life simulated incident

Due to an awareness that both laboratory and real-life research present limitations, the present study attempts to combine the two research approaches, making use of the strengths of both methodologies. A real-life situation was created in a classroom and combined with laboratory conditions to determine the influence of certain variables (occupation, age, gender, race and retention interval) on the accuracy of eyewitness reporting. A total of 295 participants consisting of 12- to 14-year-olds, University students, the public and Police College students were divided into a short- and long-term memory group. The short-term group were assessed immediately after witnessing the incident, while the long-term group were only assessed five to six weeks later. It was found that the effect of passage of time was insubstantial; however, the performance of the short-term group had already been disconcertingly poor. The school children did not perform significantly less well than other occupational groups, and the members of the Police did not perform significantly better than the other groups. No significant differences were found for the different gender and racial groups.

A randomized controlled study of the impact of dietary zinc supplementation in the management of children with protein-energy malnutrition in Lesotho. II: Special investigations

Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) remains one of the common causes of morbidity and mortality among children throughout the world. The supplementation of 10 mg elemental zinc, as zinc sulphate, was evaluated in the management of PEM in a randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial in 300 children, aged 6-60 months (zinc, n = 150; control, n = 150) admitted to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Maseru, Lesotho. Supplementation and follow-up were done for 3 months post-discharge from the hospital. Both the supplemented and the control groups presented with biochemically determined zinc deficiency on presentation. Despite supplementation the treated group only began to show evidence of biochemical increase in serum zinc at 60 days post-discharge from hospital. This may represent the period of replacement of the total body zinc. Zinc deficiency was more severe in those children in the control group that died after admission to hospital than those that survived, suggesting that low serum levels in children with PEM are associated with a poor prognosis. Zinc did not emerge as a predicator of poor prognosis in the supplemented group as very few children died in this group. The supplemented group also made significant gains as far as albumin levels were concerned, which probably reflects rehabilitation of their malnutrition. The associated improvement in haematological parameters has not been described before and may be secondary to the decreased burden of disease in the supplemented group. These findings suggest that not only were significant benefits of zinc supplementation shown for morbidity in mortality of children in Lesotho with PEM, but these trends were also demonstrated on biochemical profiles.

A randomized controlled study of the impact of dietary zinc supplementation in the management of children with protein-energy malnutrition in Lesotho. I: Mortality and morbidity

Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) remains one of the common causes of morbidity and mortality among children throughout the world. The supplementation of 10 mg elemental zinc, as zinc sulphate, was evaluated in the management of PEM in a randomized, controlled double-blind clinical trial in 300 children, aged 6-60 months (zinc, n = 150; control, n = 150) admitted to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Maseru, Lesotho. Supplementation and follow-up were done for 3 months post-discharge from the hospital. Mortality during hospitalization was significantly lower in the zinc supplemented group (4.7 per cent), compared with 16.7 per cent in the control group. The prevalence of morbidity was significantly higher in the control group at 1, 2, and 3 month's follow-up. In the zinc supplemented group 58 per cent of the children were above the 80th percentile of expected weight-for-age 3 months after discharge, compared with 27.6 per cent in the control group. Dietary zinc supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in diarrhoeal disease, respiratory morbidity, and episodes of clinical anaemia, skin infections, and fever as well as vomiting in children with PEM. These findings suggest that interventions to improve zinc intake in their management may be of benefit to Basotho children in Lesotho with PEM.

The early bactericidal activity of streptomycin

SETTING

Patients with sputum smear-positive, newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis studied at Tygerburg Hospital, Cape Town, for their early response to streptomycin (SM).

OBJECTIVE

To determine the standard early bactericidal activity (EBA), namely the fall in viable counts of tubercle bacilli in 16-hour sputum collections during the first 2 days of treatment with SM.

DESIGN

Patients were randomised to logarithmically spaced daily doses of 7.5, 15 or 30 mg/kg SM. A comparison by standard biological assay methods was then made with previous estimations of the EBA of paromomycin in doses of 7.5 and 15 mg/kg.

RESULTS

An EBA of 0.133 obtained with 30 mg/kg SM differed significantly from zero (P = 0.0009), while the EBAs of 0.043 with 15 mg/kg and -0.025 with 7.5 mg/kg did not so differ. A linear regression equation of EBA = -0.2587 + 0.2627 log10 dose was obtained with significant slope (P = 0.007). Paromomycin was estimated to be 1.745 more potent than SM with wide 95% confidence limits (0.6-28.6), indicating that it cannot be considered more potent than SM.

CONCLUSIONS

The low EBAs show that SM has low, dose-related, bactericidal activity in cavities, consistent with results from clinical trials. If streptomycin-resistant bacilli are present, paromomycin is probably the aminoglycoside of choice.

Children with intellectual disability in rural South Africa: prevalence and associated disability

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of intellectual disability (ID) and its associated disabilities in rural South African children aged 2-9 years. It was undertaken in eight villages in the district of Bushbuckridge, Northern Province, South Africa. A two-phase design was utilized. The first phase involved screening children on a house-to-house basis by interviewing mothers or caregivers using an internationally validated questionnaire for detecting childhood disability in developing countries. The second phase consisted of a paediatric/neurodevelopmental assessment of the children who screened positive. A total of 6692 children were screened; 722 (10.8%) had a paediatric evaluation and 238 children were diagnosed with ID, giving a minimum observed prevalence of 35.6 per 1000 children in this population. The prevalence of severe and mild ID was 0.64 per 1000 and 29.1 per 1000 children, respectively. The male:female ratio of children with ID was 3:2. In the affected children, a congenital aetiology for the ID was determined in 49 subjects (20.6%), an acquired aetiology in 15 (6.3%) and the aetiology was undetermined in 174 children (73.1%). Epilepsy (15.5%) and cerebral palsy (8.4%) were the commonest associated disabilities. The present study represents the first data on the prevalence of ID and associated disabilities in rural South African children. The prevalence of ID was comparable with results from a study performed in one other African country (Zambia) as well as those from other developing countries. The data provide an initial factual insight into ID and its associated disabilities for healthcare, social service and educational policy planners. This study provides a basis for the initiation and development of appropriate and integrated services for the best possible care of individuals affected with these disabilities, and for their possible prevention.

Early bactericidal activity of amoxicillin in combination with clavulanic acid in patients with sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis

The early bactericidal activity (EBA) of an antituberculosis agent is the rate of decrease in viable colony-forming units (CFU) per milliliter of sputum during the first 2 d of treatment of patients with previously untreated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. The objective of this open randomized study was to evaluate the EBA of the combination of amoxicillin 3 g and clavulanic acid 750 mg. Ten patients with a mean age of 34 y and a mean weight of 56 kg received amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and 5 patients with a mean age of 34 y and a mean weight of 57 kg received no drug. In the patients receiving 1 dose of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid daily for 2 d the mean log10CFU/ml of sputum before treatment was 6.7402 (SD 0.539) and after 2 d of treatment 6.7046 (SD 0.609); the corresponding values in patients receiving no drug were 6.7823 (SD 0.563) and 6.7502 (SD 0.673), respectively. The EBA of 0.018 (SD 0.130) in patients receiving amoxicillin/clavulanic acid did not differ significantly from that of 0.016 (SD 0.069) in patients receiving no drug. It is unlikely that the combination of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid has an important place in the treatment of tuberculosis with the exception of those patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis who are otherwise therapeutically destitute.

The early bactericidal activity of a low-clearance liposomal amikacin in pulmonary tuberculosis

The early bactericidal activity (EBA) of a liposomal preparation of amikacin (MiKasome) with a long plasma half-life of 120-200 h was examined in seven patients with newly diagnosed, smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Liposomal amikacin was given in slow iv infusions of 30 mg total amikacin/kg body weight on three successive days. Cfu counts were set up on 16 h sputum collections preceding the first dose and following each dose and were used for calculating the EBA. Despite the high concentrations of total amikacin, >1000 mg/L, obtainable in plasma, no evidence of EBA was obtained. In view of the considerable activity of liposomal amikacin in experimental murine tuberculosis, this finding indicates that liberation of amikacin from the long-life liposomes occurs only in macrophages that are not usually present in the vicinity of the large extracellular clumps of bacilli in the cavity caseum.

The early bactericidal activity of amikacin in pulmonary tuberculosis

SETTING

Stellenbosch University, a tertiary care hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the early bactericidal activity (EBA) of amikacin in dosages of 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg body weight in comparison to that of isoniazid 6 mg/kg body weight or no drug.

DESIGN

An open, randomised trial.

PATIENTS

Patients with previously untreated, sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis.

INTERVENTION

Patients received amikacin 5 mg/kg (12 patients), 10 mg/kg (13 patients) or 15 mg/kg (15 patients), isoniazid 6 mg/kg (9 patients) or no drug (10 patients).

RESULTS

The rate of decrease in log viable colony forming units of Mycobacterium tuberculosis per ml of sputum per day during the first 2 days of treatment with amikacin 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg was 0.041 (SD 0.100), 0.045 (SD 0.144) and 0.052 (SD 0.096), respectively, 0.515 (SD 0.173) in the patients receiving isoniazid 6 mg/kg, and 0.041 (SD 0.113) in those receiving no drug. The EBA found in patients receiving amikacin did not differ significantly from that of the no drug group. However, as the EBA in the no drug group was the highest ever encountered at Stellenbosch University, the mean in patients receiving drug was tested against 0 and found to differ significantly (P = 0.03), suggesting minimal activity. Mean amikacin serum concentrations 1 hour after intramuscular drug administration were 13.5 microg/ml, 26.7 microg/ml and 39.2 microg/ml in the patients receiving 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg per kg body weight, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Despite serum concentrations well in excess of the minimal inhibitory concentration of 2-4 microg/ml, the EBA of amikacin in patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis was only just detectable.