The tough economic times facing the South African public are forcing many families to review their budgets as they look for ways to tighten their belts. When evaluating your family’s expenses, exactly where do you rank the importance of your family’s health? “Consider an average family going through their finances and monthly expenses – a reality many of us are facing in order to make ends meet,” says Mark Arnold, Principal Officer of Resolution Health Medical Scheme. “The rent or bond for the family home is often a non-negotiable expense. The household grocery bills might be reduced slightly by cutting back on luxury items and through choosing cheaper brands. When it comes to healthcare cover, ‘buying down’ is to be avoided because paying for quality medical scheme cover is the price of peace of mind. “Perhaps during 2016 your family only had occasion to visit a GP once or twice, and this was covered by your medical scheme in terms of your chosen benefit option. Looking at your options for 2017, at first it may seem that your family could save money by opting for a cheaper benefit option. This simplistic view, however, does not take into account what you are really paying for as a member of a medical scheme,” Arnold points out. To put this into perspective, last year’s World Health Organization and World Bank joint report Tracking Universal Health Coverage stated that in 37 countries, six percent of the population face being plunged into extreme poverty through having to pay healthcare expenses out of their pockets. According to the report, in the United States an estimated 60% of bankruptcies are attributed to spending on healthcare. This may be due to a sudden ‘catastrophic’ health event, or gradual outlay over a number of years. “Medical scheme members are essentially contributing monthly to a pool of resources, not unlike a stokvel, which are made available to cover healthcare expenditure as it arises. From year to year, you may be fortunate . . .
Muule is changing the courier industry as we know it
You're a busy person. You've got work all day, groceries to buy during lunch, and kids to pick up after netball practice. The last thing you want to do is schlep across town to drop off that craft box off for your niece’s party next week. Wouldn't it be better if you could just send somebody else to do it? Muule turns everyday commuters and travelers into a network of couriers ready to take just about anything across town. Muule is very similar to ride-share services like Lyft and Uber, but oriented towards moving objects such as boxes, laptops or even a bed from point A to point B, rather than people. Senders post details about pick-up and drop-off locations, size of the cargo, and when a delivery should be made. Drivers, referred to as "Muules," can look through these offers and pick the ones that interest them. In theory, this makes it possible to arrange deliveries at specific times, on weekends, or with other criteria that aren't always possible (or reasonably priced) with established shippers like Aramax and Fedex. Creating a parcel log is very easy , it only requires a little bit of information about what is being sent, how big it is, pickup and drop-off locations, who the driver will meet at each side, and when the package should arrive. Scheduling options for the drop-off allow for picking a time for same-day deliveries, a specific date in the future, or just "whenever." Additional details about the pick-up and drop-off can go into the description. Muule allows senders to choose how much they're going to offer for a delivery In the near future we will be giving the Muule’s an option to counter offer the delivery price and so on until a price is agreed upon. The Muule need only provide a valid driver's license and copy of ID in order to vet them and then they are good to go The whole deal should be pretty attractive to drivers, since pick-up and drop-off shouldn't take up too much time, and the payouts look pretty good. If you want to . . .
Eliminating malaria in South Africa by 2018
The University of Pretoria Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control believes that by using a transdisciplinary approach and by focusing on all three parts of malaria; vector, parasite and human health; it's possible to eliminate malaria from South Africa by 2018. According to the World health Organisation (WHO) 438,000 people in 2015 died from malaria worldwide with 90% of those deaths occurring in Africa. But progress is being made to decrease this statistic. Comparing deaths from malaria in 2015 to 2000, there was a drop of 48% (839,000 deaths in 2000). "There's been substantial progress towards the World Health Assembly target of reducing the malaria burden by 75% by 2015, but we still have a long way to go,” remarks UP ISMC Director Prof Tiaan de Jager. “Which is why our team have devised a transdisciplinary approach to combat the disease.” Discover more background behind the significance of the research on the quality of healthcare received in South Africa’s communities, at www.researchmatters.up.ac.za. Indoor residual spraying (IRS), the spraying of the insecticide DDT within traditional homes has added to the reduction of malaria. But it is known to cause environmental problems and damage human health. "Vhembe in Limpopo is a malaria hotspot and is where we carried out our research," adds Prof de Jager. “Despite the use of DDT, malaria remains a constant problem in the area due to ineffective control in neighbouring Zimbabwe. So we need to design an innovative solution to reach our goal to stop Malaria in our borders." The solution The UP ISMC team focus on malaria-related research and has created a transdisciplinary approach of which some place emphasis on the communities in Vhembe, Limpopo due to its hotspot status. Some of its researchers work within communities to understand their needs and to pilot new technologies and solutions for the challenge of malaria control in South Africa. Although there’s a broad range of projects at the . . .
How to Create the Perfect Outdoor Cinema for Summer
With Spring already upon us, the weather is set to get even warmer. Outdoor activities will most certainly take first preference, and what better way to celebrate than with your very own outdoor cinema. Thanks to LG’s LED projectors, it couldn’t be easier. No one is going to say they never noticed the arrival of the warmer months – it’s as though a switch was flipped and suddenly there was heat, lots of it. Great. We South Africans love our warmer months. They’re the best months our beautiful country has to give, even if it means braving the bugs and occasional onset of hay fever. But let’s face it, we’re still partial to a good movie marathon, or a day in with the kids, or our closest friends. So, why not put two and two together – we’re talking outdoor cinema. It shouldn’t take much convincing for you to move outdoors – a respite from the bedrooms and lounges we’ve become all too accustomed to during the winter months. You might even save a little money turning the indoor fans off. But there’s a very good reason we watch our movies in the lounge; that’s where the TV is. Fortunately, there is an array of lightweight, high-resolution LED projectors perfectly suited for the job. The one we have in mind is the surreal PF1500G Minibeam Pro Projector, sporting a 1080p resolution and a vivid 150 000:1 contrast ratio. Capable of producing a crystal clear 100” image, few devices can match the cinematic experience this unbelievable LED projector can produce, and creating an outdoor cinema with it couldn’t be easier. All you need is a clear wall and any Bluetooth compatible sound system. Wait for the sun to set, and away you go. You don’t even need a laptop to play the film. The PF1500G can wirelessly connect to any media device around the household, be it a PC, laptop or smartphone, and it can even play films directly from USB storage. The best thing about the PF1500G is that once the film is over, its lightweight portability means you can turn virtually any . . .
Little Loans Now Just Got a Little Bigger for all South Africans
Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, XX November 2016: LittleLoans has been so efficient finding loans for South Africans that they’ve decided to increase their limit to R8 000! Deciding what short-term loan to choose can be extremely tricky when you consider the varied players in the financial game, reputations of loan institutions, and numerous repayment options (hidden in the fine print) - making huge differences when it comes time to pay it back. As a financial profiling tool LittleLoans has been incredibly successful. Sifting through hundreds of options and compiling them into one comprehensive list of short-term loans to review (if you've been honest with the questionnaire online). Once you’ve made your informed choice you can apply for the loan with deposits (cash) being made into your account on the same day - without any paperwork. LittleLoans – https://littleloans.co.za/ understands that simple and understandable financial advice is worth it’s weight in gold. According to a report compiled by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, Measuring and Profiling Financial Literacy in South Africa 2016, only 48.4% of South Africans understood financial terminology and were literate in the subject. It’s for this reason that reports generated by the online short-term loan compiler are informative, uncomplicated (without serious jargon), compact, and directly displayed on your mobile or computer. This simplification means that more local customers are using the service - with 2,500 people using it on a daily basis. With such a large amount of traffic to the site, and a broader wealth demographic logging on, the company decided that it was in the best interest of the consumers to up the old LittleLoan.co.za limit of R2 500 to R8 000. The same programming algorithm is still in play to help compare the best financial institutions and inform applicants of all the options when expanding their spending reach. So if you’ve had a very unfortunate month where . . .
Awareness is critical in the fight against prostate cancer – Tens of thousands of South African families impacted by the disease
While prostate cancer does not receive the kind of public attention that some other forms of cancer do, it nevertheless impacts tens of thousands of South African families every year. “Large numbers of South Africans know someone who is or has been struggling with this disease, which is the second most common form of cancer experienced by men, after lung cancer,” points out Dr Johan Venter, a urologist who practises at the Netcare Pretoria East Hospital. “It has impacted the lives of such prominent public figures as Desmond Tutu.” “More than 900 000 men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and one in 23 South African men will develop the disease at some point in their lives. It is an important men’s health issue both locally and internationally and it is of critical importance that we continue to improve awareness of this disease,” he adds. According to the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) and National Cancer Registry and Research, more than 4 300 men are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and 2 000 men die from the disease each year in South Africa. A treatable condition “More widespread and regular screening, early detection and new technologies resulting in improved treatment make it possible for more and more men to survive prostate cancer. If the cancer is diagnosed early, while it is localised to the prostate gland itself, the five-year survival rate is close to 100%.” The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that is part of the male reproductive system, producing fluid that forms part of male semen and energises the sperm to fertilise the egg. Prostate cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is usually a slow-growing cancer, however there are more aggressive types. If left untreated, aggressive forms of this cancer may metastasise, or spread to other organs in the body, and become life threatening. Prostate cancer usually develops in men over the age of . . .
Chinese tops list of best languages for job seekers
Those job seekers with a command of far eastern and local indigenous languages have better salaries awaiting them if their work requires the language. Adzuna in South Africa has completed research on which languages bring home the bacon best. Chinese/Mandarin, Japanese, Xhosa and Zulu topped the rankings, while Russian and various European languages made up the rest of the top 10. According to the job aggregator website, being bilingual or knowing a foreign language is a top skill in not only finding a job, but also obtaining work visas when moving to other countries. Some countries also require a certain level of competence in their official language/s. A spokesperson for Adzuna added: “Although many of these positions are for call-center or sales roles, it is interesting to note that South African languages, which were added into the mix researched, showed promising results.” Strong demand for French, Portuguese and German was noted, with the top South African language required being Afrikaans. English was not included in the research results as it was deemed ubiquitous. The least required language measured was Finnish. With a growing international presence and more BPO (business process outsourcing) companies entering South Africa, the demand and salaries for foreign language abilities is set to only move one way: up. Language Job demand Average salary Chinese/Mandarin 203 R335 863 Japanese 27 R335 625 Zulu 421 R332 714 Xhosa 142 R318 923 French 453 R304 378 Finnish 11 R301 236 Portuguese 294 R298 975 Dutch 72 R298 478 Russian 18 R280 531 Swedish 56 R279 872 German 563 R278 064 Norwegian 31 R271 734 Arabic 117 R264 667 Spanish 134 R255 674 Turkish 37 R231 047 Swahili 21 R198 000 Italian 127 R193 976 Afrikaans 4866 R176 992 Chinese tops list of best languages for job seekers by Jesse Green on 19 . . .
The big data puzzle: making sense of unstructured data
Never before has there been so much information available to businesses and individuals. In January 2015, Google estimated that there were 300 exabytes (that’s 300 followed by 18 zeros) of human-made information in the world. In 2011, there were just 30 exabytes. In just 48 months, the amount of human-made information increased by 1000% and we are now at a point whereby more information has been created in the past few years than in all of human history before. The growing maturity around the Internet of Things, the massively increasing number of connected devices, the explosion of video, social media, user generated content have all resulted in exponential growth in the amount of data at our fingertips. In July 2015, YouTube reported that is was uploading 400 hours of video content every minute. So for every hour of YouTube videos you watch, you’re already 23,999 hours behind – that’s nearly three years! From a business perspective, there are two types of data that need to be analysed, understood and trawled through; structured and unstructured. Analysing the structured data is a well-established business requirement - vast amounts of data stored in well-organised databases can be interpreted and presented with relative ease. The challenge lies with analysing all the unstructured data residing in an organisation - from emails to voicemails, social media, video, contracts, letters. This unstructured information doesn’t clearly display any underlying patterns or trends. We also have to consider context. A contract, for example, is the final output. A negotiated, distilled and agreed-upon entity. But it is really just a snap-shot, a point in time. What about all the information that surrounds the contract, the email discussions the multiple revisions. What was actually meant by the parties negotiating the deal? Historically, the only way to gain insight into a big stack of reports - or see patterns in customer complaint letters or supplier payment issues – . . .
Legal research has never been quicker and easier
Legal research is a most time consuming process. Traditionally, it can take hours for legal professionals to sift through conventional law reports or their indices to determine the precedential strength and weaknesses of cases referenced in an argument. However, with the use of good research tools, the process can be simplified. Meeting the need for greater research efficiency, LexisNexis developed Legal Citator, an online research tool designed to reduce research time from hours to mere minutes. The solution facilitates quicker assessment of the precedential value of reported judgments. It shows how a particular case has been regarded by South African courts over time, at national, provincial and local division levels. In this way, at the touch of a button Legal Citator assists legal practitioners to avoid building an argument around outdated information. It also provides the researcher with a case analysis report which indicates how a particular judgment was regarded by the divisions in which it was cited. Easy searches can be done by case details (ranging from a delivering judge’s name to the date of the judgment), legislation, regulations, rules or subjects, complete with a predictive type-ahead feature unique to MyLexisNexis that provides prompting of available cases. Legal Citator has the ability to efficiently locate cases that deal with a specific section in an Act, rule or regulation. It also enables users to easily find similar cases for reference through a quick search, or to know how much weight to place on cases referenced in arguments by easily showing how determinative a precedent is without researchers having to spend hours on evaluation. A single search on Legal Citator tells you how your case has been treated nationally and within the same division. Key features of Legal Citator include: Judgment History: showing whether the case was subject to review or appeal (as published in the law reports)., what the result was, subsequent . . .
Tetra Pak teams up with Department of Basic Education for National Nutrition Week
Tetra Pak collaborated with the National Department of Basic Education (DBE) for the second year running around National Nutrition Week to spread the word of nutrition among learners. Tetra Pak and the DBE brought information about nutrition, pencil cases, activity booklets, and hundreds of litres of long life milk to nearly 4 000 learners of 10 primary schools in the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Province on October 10, 2016. “Our Tetra Pak TBA 1L mascot made the day more exciting for the children at Malakeng Serotele Primary School to learn about the serious business of nutrition,” says Penny Ntuli, communications director of Tetra Pak South Africa. “Our partnership with the Department of Basic Education is a natural one since government’s Vision 2030 commits government to improving the long-term health outcomes of South Africans by prioritising nutrition, among other things.” She says that creating healthy habits in children gives them immediate learning benefits since they are alert and receptive to their studies, they also develop healthy and strong physiologies, and the healthy eating habits that stay with them for a lifetime. Tetra Pak and DBE representatives visited learners at schools throughout Sekhukhune District in Limpopo Province and KwaDukuza District in KwaZulu-Natal. They donated 300 litres of milk to each of six schools. Long life milk is a key ingredient to changing the strategic landscape of global nutrition needs. It also democratises nutrition for many Africans since its qualities lend it to unrefrigerated transportation to remote locations even where little infrastructure exists. Milk and dairy products are also nutrient dense. They provide high quality protein and micronutrients in an easily absorbed form that can benefit both nutritionally vulnerable people and healthy people. Milk is an ideal source of protein and calcium, and also contains a range of essential vitamins and minerals. New advanced milks contain large doses of . . .
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