Mechanisms conditioning the implementation of an integrated quality assurance and enhancement approach at a South African University of Technology
- Authors: Mabote, Ntele Emily
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Quality assurance , Tshwane University of Technology , Transformative learning , Critical realism , Social realism , Quality (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431576 , vital:72787 , DOI 10.21504/10962/431576
- Description: Literature related to quality in higher education argues that achieving an integrated approach which balances improvement and accountability in a single quality assurance (QA) system, is not easy. In response to the literature, I decided to conduct a realist study to identify mechanisms that can enable or constrain the implementation of an integrated approach in a single quality assurance system at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The scope of my study was limited to teaching and learning as one of the University’s core functions. An integrated approach encouraged a deliberate focus and attention on transformative learning and teaching. The main research question, “what mechanisms enable or constrain the implementation of an integrated approach to quality assurance and enhancement at the Tshwane University of Technology,” underpinned this study. I used Bhaskar’s critical realist philosophy as an underlabourer for the study and Archer’s social realism as an analytical framework to enable me to seek answers to the research questions. The study took the form of a case study at TUT. Data was generated through document analysis and thirty-five semi-structured interviews with agents from across the various levels and campuses of TUT. In keeping with a social realist study, I used Archer’s concept of analytical dualism to analyse structure, culture, and agency separately, and their interplay. My findings indicated that compliance and accountability are related cultural mechanisms and were dominant in the University’s cultural system. This signalled a strong emphasis on quality assurance (QA) rather than quality enhancement (QE). In addition, the findings showed that the University has established sufficient structural and agential enablements to assure the quality of learning and teaching. However, there is a need to integrate transformative cultural mechanisms into the University’s QA system. Furthermore, there were limited structural, cultural, and agential enablements to encourage enhancement. In this regard, I recommended mechanisms that should be in place for an integrated QA and QE approach to be successful at TUT. My main argument is that an institutional context that encourages structural, cultural, and agential QA and QE mechanisms to work in tandem can enable an integrated QA and QE approach. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning, 2023
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- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
Management of quality assurance programmes: experiences of radiographers responsible for quality assurance programmes in digital diagnostic imaging departments of public hospitals
- Authors: Willemse, Marilyn Margot
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Quality assurance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/40223 , vital:35987
- Description: Quality assurance (QA) in digital diagnostic imaging departments (DDIDs) is of utmost importance to ensure the production of good quality images. Radiographers who are given the responsibility to manage the QA programmes in their departments are faced with challenges that hinder the execution of the required quality control tests. The main objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of diagnostic radiographers who are responsible for the management of QA programmes in DDIDs of public hospitals in the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District (NMBHD). A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual design was used in this study. In-depth interviews with probing questions were done to collect data. The target population encompassed 16 quality assurance officers, and data collection was continued until saturation was reached at the eleventh interview (n=11). Trustworthiness of the data collection process was ensured by applying Guba and Lincoln’s criteria for qualitative research which include the following: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Required ethical approval was obtained from the various institutions including the Health departments. Electronic informed consent was obtained from the gatekeepers in the work environment of the participants. The researcher conducted the interviews. The ethical principles, as stated in the Belmont report, were observed throughout the study. These principles are respect for persons, beneficence and the principle of justice (The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1979:13). Two themes emerged from the data collected, namely: Participants indicated that management support is required to ensure the success of QA programme. Participants provided suggestions to optimise the QA programme. The experiences of the participants were described by means of quotations from the interviews and a literature control verified the participants’ experiences.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Factors that influence warranty costs at Volkswagen South Africa
- Authors: Blignaut, Bevan Hyron
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Warranty , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Total quality management , Quality assurance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:8944 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013088
- Description: Driving a vehicle while it is within the warranty period provide customers with assurance that should a failure occur on the vehicle, there would be no financial obligation for the customer to repair the vehicle. For the manufacturer, it is a huge financial obligation to repair or replace components that fail on the vehicle. The research conducted in this study explores and identifies the main reasons for high warranty costs as well as the reasons that do not influence high warranty costs at VWSA. The purpose of this research is to provide VWSA with a potential starting point to reduce warranty costs and increase profits. The study revealed that the main cause of high warranty costs at VWSA was related to the quality of vehicles. By improving the quality of vehicles produced, VWSA could reduce a significant portion of the warranty costs it spends each year. With reduced warranty costs, VWSA could increase the warranty period and thereby attract more customers to purchase VW products. In a cutthroat automotive industry, this would ensure a competitive advantage over rivals; maintain longevity, increase profits and continued success.
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- Date Issued: 2013