Control, compliance and conformity at the University of Fort Hare 1916 - 2000: a Gramscian approach
- Authors: Johnson, Pamela
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: University of Fort Hare -- History , University of Fort Hare -- Administration , Higher education and state -- South Africa , Hegemony -- South Africa , Conformity -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Abuse of administrative power -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1916-2000 , Apartheid -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013126
- Description: Arising from Marxist theory, critical theory investigates the mechanisms that enable continued domination in capitalist society, with a view to revealing the real, but obscured, nature of social relations and enabling these to be challenged by subjugated classes. Within the broad spectrum of Marxist theory, social relations of domination and subordination are assigned according to the relationship of social classes to economic production. However, the neo-Marxist perspective developed by Antonio Gramsci locates relations of power within the broader context of the political economy. In doing so, the role of the State in a capitalist society assumes greater significance than that of maintaining and securing social relations on behalf of the dominant class through coercion and force. Instead, the State embarks on a range of activities in the attempted “exercise of hegemony”, or the cultivation of general acceptance by all social classes of existing social relations and conditions. Gramsci refers to this desired outcome as “consent”, the product of the successful exercise of hegemony, a political function which is thus crucial to the accumulation of capital. When unsuccessful, dissent cannot be contained by the State, and the extent to which contestation constitutes a threat is revealed by recourse to coercion. The manner in which relations of power are cemented through the exercise of hegemony lies at the core of this thesis. It investigates the relationship between the State and the administrators of an institution within civil society, the University of Fort Hare, as well as the responses to the activities of the State and University Administration within the University itself, over an extended period of time between 1916 and 2000. This period is divided into three specific time frames, according to changes in the expression of the South African State. In general, it is seen that conformity characterises the relationship between the State and the University Administration, underscoring the success of the State in fostering the role of education in the reproduction of social relations and values and in eliciting conformity. The nature of conformity is seen to vary according to different expressions of the State and changes in social relations, which are in turn informed by the overarching political economy and events taking place within society and the University of Fort Hare. Manifestations of consent and dissent, as responses to the attempted exercise of hegemony, are presented in the three periods corresponding to different expressions of the State. Four reasons for conformity, as presented by Gramscian scholar Joseph V Femia (1981), are utilised in order to explain and illustrate the nature of control and compliance at the University of Fort Hare between 1916 and 2000.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Johnson, Pamela
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: University of Fort Hare -- History , University of Fort Hare -- Administration , Higher education and state -- South Africa , Hegemony -- South Africa , Conformity -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Abuse of administrative power -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1916-2000 , Apartheid -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013126
- Description: Arising from Marxist theory, critical theory investigates the mechanisms that enable continued domination in capitalist society, with a view to revealing the real, but obscured, nature of social relations and enabling these to be challenged by subjugated classes. Within the broad spectrum of Marxist theory, social relations of domination and subordination are assigned according to the relationship of social classes to economic production. However, the neo-Marxist perspective developed by Antonio Gramsci locates relations of power within the broader context of the political economy. In doing so, the role of the State in a capitalist society assumes greater significance than that of maintaining and securing social relations on behalf of the dominant class through coercion and force. Instead, the State embarks on a range of activities in the attempted “exercise of hegemony”, or the cultivation of general acceptance by all social classes of existing social relations and conditions. Gramsci refers to this desired outcome as “consent”, the product of the successful exercise of hegemony, a political function which is thus crucial to the accumulation of capital. When unsuccessful, dissent cannot be contained by the State, and the extent to which contestation constitutes a threat is revealed by recourse to coercion. The manner in which relations of power are cemented through the exercise of hegemony lies at the core of this thesis. It investigates the relationship between the State and the administrators of an institution within civil society, the University of Fort Hare, as well as the responses to the activities of the State and University Administration within the University itself, over an extended period of time between 1916 and 2000. This period is divided into three specific time frames, according to changes in the expression of the South African State. In general, it is seen that conformity characterises the relationship between the State and the University Administration, underscoring the success of the State in fostering the role of education in the reproduction of social relations and values and in eliciting conformity. The nature of conformity is seen to vary according to different expressions of the State and changes in social relations, which are in turn informed by the overarching political economy and events taking place within society and the University of Fort Hare. Manifestations of consent and dissent, as responses to the attempted exercise of hegemony, are presented in the three periods corresponding to different expressions of the State. Four reasons for conformity, as presented by Gramscian scholar Joseph V Femia (1981), are utilised in order to explain and illustrate the nature of control and compliance at the University of Fort Hare between 1916 and 2000.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Coordinating legal aid services in civil matters for indigent people in eThekwini: a model for improved access to justice
- Authors: Holness, David Roy
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Legal assistance to the poor -- South Africa Legal aid services -- South Africa Civil procedure -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , LLD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/10981 , vital:26864
- Description: The South African law and legal system can and should be a mechanism through which the lives of all resident there are enhanced through the safeguarding and advancement of the fundamental rights guaranteed in its Bill of Rights. This thesis focuses on ‘legal aid’ service delivery (broadly speaking) for the indigent in a particular locality by and through registered law clinics, other legal services providers and via other means in civil rather than criminal matters. In this regard there continue to be very substantial differences between the proper access to civil justice requirements of constitutional South Africa and the actual situation which has existed since the dawn of South Africa’s democratic era which continues unabated. Justice and equality are promised to all in South Africa, yet due to gaps in the ‘net’ of free legal services provided to the indigent, the ability to pay for legal services in civil cases often remains the deciding factor. This study examines the constitutional obligations which, it is argued, apply to the provision of free civil legal services to impoverished people in South Africa. This research considers the law as a vector for necessary positive transformation in the daily lives of those resident in South Africa, which is considered within the country’s woefully unequal socio-economic situation. It builds upon existing research and court authority which show the function of access to justice as an important promoter of the type of society envisaged by the South African Constitution - one where the enjoyment of justice and equality are within the reach of all. However, at present, if one can afford the expensive services of lawyers in civil matters, then access to justice is far more readily attainable. But the opposite is true where someone is denied meaningful access to justice through a lack of legal representation because they cannot afford prohibitively high lawyers’ costs (and disbursements) and no adequate alternatives are provided for by the state or through other means. In these circumstances a vulnerable, unrepresented litigant in a civil case faces a greatly increased likelihood of being denied proper access to a daunting and intricate legal system. There are two main reasons for concentrating on free legal services to the ‘needy’ in civil rather than criminal matters. In the first place, all available statistics show that a huge proportion of legal aid services in South Africa has been and continues to be dispensed in criminal rather than civil cases. Secondly, there has been minimal research or case authority in South Africa on legal aid and other free legal services for impoverished people in civil matters. This thesis examines the state of free civil legal service provision and the need for such assistance within the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, one of South Africa’s largest metropoles. This analysis includes an empirical study of the requests for free civil legal services in a particular year by qualifying potential clients in eThekwini and the degree to which free legal service providers are meeting or failing to meet those needs. The study considers the legal service provision in such matters by legal non-governmental organisations, state-supported legal service providers and the work of legal professionals in private practice acting pro bono. The thesis then proposes a model for eThekwini for coordinating (and concurrently improving) civil legal aid services, pro bono legal work and other forms of free legal assistance - like community service by senior law students and law graduates - in response to the particular needs and circumstances facing the indigent there. When referring to the concept of ‘legal aid services’, this research concentrates on legal advice, assistance and representation to indigent clients. However, the promotion of legal rights awareness to such clients is often necessary to open their eyes to the possibility of legal avenues, where appropriate, to improve their situations. Therefore this study also considers - albeit to a lesser degree - this more indirect form of legal assistance through the dissemination of legal knowledge in an accessible form to clients who would qualify for legal aid assistance. The work concludes by briefly postulating the likely appropriateness (and/or limitations) of the aforementioned ‘free civil legal service model for the indigent’ beyond eThekwini.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Holness, David Roy
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Legal assistance to the poor -- South Africa Legal aid services -- South Africa Civil procedure -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , LLD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/10981 , vital:26864
- Description: The South African law and legal system can and should be a mechanism through which the lives of all resident there are enhanced through the safeguarding and advancement of the fundamental rights guaranteed in its Bill of Rights. This thesis focuses on ‘legal aid’ service delivery (broadly speaking) for the indigent in a particular locality by and through registered law clinics, other legal services providers and via other means in civil rather than criminal matters. In this regard there continue to be very substantial differences between the proper access to civil justice requirements of constitutional South Africa and the actual situation which has existed since the dawn of South Africa’s democratic era which continues unabated. Justice and equality are promised to all in South Africa, yet due to gaps in the ‘net’ of free legal services provided to the indigent, the ability to pay for legal services in civil cases often remains the deciding factor. This study examines the constitutional obligations which, it is argued, apply to the provision of free civil legal services to impoverished people in South Africa. This research considers the law as a vector for necessary positive transformation in the daily lives of those resident in South Africa, which is considered within the country’s woefully unequal socio-economic situation. It builds upon existing research and court authority which show the function of access to justice as an important promoter of the type of society envisaged by the South African Constitution - one where the enjoyment of justice and equality are within the reach of all. However, at present, if one can afford the expensive services of lawyers in civil matters, then access to justice is far more readily attainable. But the opposite is true where someone is denied meaningful access to justice through a lack of legal representation because they cannot afford prohibitively high lawyers’ costs (and disbursements) and no adequate alternatives are provided for by the state or through other means. In these circumstances a vulnerable, unrepresented litigant in a civil case faces a greatly increased likelihood of being denied proper access to a daunting and intricate legal system. There are two main reasons for concentrating on free legal services to the ‘needy’ in civil rather than criminal matters. In the first place, all available statistics show that a huge proportion of legal aid services in South Africa has been and continues to be dispensed in criminal rather than civil cases. Secondly, there has been minimal research or case authority in South Africa on legal aid and other free legal services for impoverished people in civil matters. This thesis examines the state of free civil legal service provision and the need for such assistance within the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, one of South Africa’s largest metropoles. This analysis includes an empirical study of the requests for free civil legal services in a particular year by qualifying potential clients in eThekwini and the degree to which free legal service providers are meeting or failing to meet those needs. The study considers the legal service provision in such matters by legal non-governmental organisations, state-supported legal service providers and the work of legal professionals in private practice acting pro bono. The thesis then proposes a model for eThekwini for coordinating (and concurrently improving) civil legal aid services, pro bono legal work and other forms of free legal assistance - like community service by senior law students and law graduates - in response to the particular needs and circumstances facing the indigent there. When referring to the concept of ‘legal aid services’, this research concentrates on legal advice, assistance and representation to indigent clients. However, the promotion of legal rights awareness to such clients is often necessary to open their eyes to the possibility of legal avenues, where appropriate, to improve their situations. Therefore this study also considers - albeit to a lesser degree - this more indirect form of legal assistance through the dissemination of legal knowledge in an accessible form to clients who would qualify for legal aid assistance. The work concludes by briefly postulating the likely appropriateness (and/or limitations) of the aforementioned ‘free civil legal service model for the indigent’ beyond eThekwini.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Coping with romantic relationship dissolution: the role of social media
- Authors: Cothill, Elzaan
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Online social networks , Man-woman relationships , Cyberspace -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9982 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021161
- Description: Individuals utilise social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to communicate and stay in touch with romantic partners and to maintain relationships. SNSs also play a role in connecting individuals to each other – it enables users to gain a better understanding of the self and to develop meaningful relationships with others. It is used to share personal experiences and is frequently used as a means of social support. Making use of social media can therefore also play a role in coping with relationship dissolution, both at the time of the dissolution and during the post-dissolution stages of the romantic relationship. Lazarus’ Stress and Coping Theory, as well as aspects of Social Interactionist Theory, were utilised as a theoretical framework to conceptualise coping strategies and online behaviour. The aim of the study was to create a detailed description of the role of social media in coping with relationship dissolution. The study was a qualitative, phenomenological study and participants were obtained using purposive and snowball sampling. Unstructured, in-depth interviews were used to collect the data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Based on the findings of the researcher, social media can be both advantageous and disadvantageous in coping with relationships dissolution. Moreover, using social media in order to cope during and after relationship dissolution indicated adaptive coping in the short-term, and maladaptive coping in the long-term. This study has therefore generated an understanding of the role of social media in coping with relationship dissolution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Cothill, Elzaan
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Online social networks , Man-woman relationships , Cyberspace -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9982 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021161
- Description: Individuals utilise social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to communicate and stay in touch with romantic partners and to maintain relationships. SNSs also play a role in connecting individuals to each other – it enables users to gain a better understanding of the self and to develop meaningful relationships with others. It is used to share personal experiences and is frequently used as a means of social support. Making use of social media can therefore also play a role in coping with relationship dissolution, both at the time of the dissolution and during the post-dissolution stages of the romantic relationship. Lazarus’ Stress and Coping Theory, as well as aspects of Social Interactionist Theory, were utilised as a theoretical framework to conceptualise coping strategies and online behaviour. The aim of the study was to create a detailed description of the role of social media in coping with relationship dissolution. The study was a qualitative, phenomenological study and participants were obtained using purposive and snowball sampling. Unstructured, in-depth interviews were used to collect the data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Based on the findings of the researcher, social media can be both advantageous and disadvantageous in coping with relationships dissolution. Moreover, using social media in order to cope during and after relationship dissolution indicated adaptive coping in the short-term, and maladaptive coping in the long-term. This study has therefore generated an understanding of the role of social media in coping with relationship dissolution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Copycat
- Authors: Thomas, Adèle
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa , Creative writing -- Fiction , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5975 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012984
- Description: An exchange programme involving students and academics from Egoli University in Johannesburg and the University of Athens provides the conduit for the smuggling of Venetian Grossi coins discovered on the Cycladic island of Naxos. Thirty-five year old Delancey James, a Professor of Ethics at Egoli University, stumbles upon events associated with the murder of a post-graduate student. Through her investigation, she uncovers a web of intrigue that links the coin smuggling to corruption at the highest levels of the University, and, in the process, her life is placed in mortal danger.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Thomas, Adèle
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa , Creative writing -- Fiction , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5975 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012984
- Description: An exchange programme involving students and academics from Egoli University in Johannesburg and the University of Athens provides the conduit for the smuggling of Venetian Grossi coins discovered on the Cycladic island of Naxos. Thirty-five year old Delancey James, a Professor of Ethics at Egoli University, stumbles upon events associated with the murder of a post-graduate student. Through her investigation, she uncovers a web of intrigue that links the coin smuggling to corruption at the highest levels of the University, and, in the process, her life is placed in mortal danger.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Core self-evaluations, stress and work aspirations of Department of Education officers in selected districts in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Gabelana, Nomzamo
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Industrial Psychology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/944 , vital:26511
- Description: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of core self-evaluations and stress on the aspiration levels of the Department of Education (DoE) officers. An additional interest was on checking if general relationships amongst the three variables exist and the magnitude of such relationships. A literature study was conducted on three aspects, which are core self-evaluations, stress and work aspirations. This was followed by a survey involving 250 education specialists from four selected districts in the Eastern Cape, which are, Dutywa, Butterworth, Fort Beaufort and Mthatha. Results of the current research indicated that there is a positive relationship between core self-evaluation and DoE stress levels (r=0.32409; p=0.0014). These findings indicate that some individuals have low core self-evaluations due to their exposure to stressful situations hence they negatively appraise themselves and are less confident of themselves. DoE Senior Management Team (SMT) has to strategise and adopt measures that reduce stress levels and encourage positive CSE so as to deal effectively with under-performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Gabelana, Nomzamo
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Industrial Psychology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/944 , vital:26511
- Description: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of core self-evaluations and stress on the aspiration levels of the Department of Education (DoE) officers. An additional interest was on checking if general relationships amongst the three variables exist and the magnitude of such relationships. A literature study was conducted on three aspects, which are core self-evaluations, stress and work aspirations. This was followed by a survey involving 250 education specialists from four selected districts in the Eastern Cape, which are, Dutywa, Butterworth, Fort Beaufort and Mthatha. Results of the current research indicated that there is a positive relationship between core self-evaluation and DoE stress levels (r=0.32409; p=0.0014). These findings indicate that some individuals have low core self-evaluations due to their exposure to stressful situations hence they negatively appraise themselves and are less confident of themselves. DoE Senior Management Team (SMT) has to strategise and adopt measures that reduce stress levels and encourage positive CSE so as to deal effectively with under-performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Correlation and comparative analysis of traffic across five network telescopes
- Nkhumeleni, Thizwilondi Moses
- Authors: Nkhumeleni, Thizwilondi Moses
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sensor networks , Computer networks , TCP/IP (Computer network protocol) , Computer networks -- Management , Electronic data processing -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4693 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011668 , Sensor networks , Computer networks , TCP/IP (Computer network protocol) , Computer networks -- Management , Electronic data processing -- Management
- Description: Monitoring unused IP address space by using network telescopes provides a favourable environment for researchers to study and detect malware, worms, denial of service and scanning activities. Research in the field of network telescopes has progressed over the past decade resulting in the development of an increased number of overlapping datasets. Rhodes University's network of telescope sensors has continued to grow with additional network telescopes being brought online. At the time of writing, Rhodes University has a distributed network of five relatively small /24 network telescopes. With five network telescope sensors, this research focuses on comparative and correlation analysis of traffic activity across the network of telescope sensors. To aid summarisation and visualisation techniques, time series' representing time-based traffic activity, are constructed. By employing an iterative experimental process of captured traffic, two natural categories of the five network telescopes are presented. Using the cross- and auto-correlation methods of time series analysis, moderate correlation of traffic activity was achieved between telescope sensors in each category. Weak to moderate correlation was calculated when comparing category A and category B network telescopes' datasets. Results were significantly improved by studying TCP traffic separately. Moderate to strong correlation coefficients in each category were calculated when using TCP traffic only. UDP traffic analysis showed weaker correlation between sensors, however the uniformity of ICMP traffic showed correlation of traffic activity across all sensors. The results confirmed the visual observation of traffic relativity in telescope sensors within the same category and quantitatively analysed the correlation of network telescopes' traffic activity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Nkhumeleni, Thizwilondi Moses
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sensor networks , Computer networks , TCP/IP (Computer network protocol) , Computer networks -- Management , Electronic data processing -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4693 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011668 , Sensor networks , Computer networks , TCP/IP (Computer network protocol) , Computer networks -- Management , Electronic data processing -- Management
- Description: Monitoring unused IP address space by using network telescopes provides a favourable environment for researchers to study and detect malware, worms, denial of service and scanning activities. Research in the field of network telescopes has progressed over the past decade resulting in the development of an increased number of overlapping datasets. Rhodes University's network of telescope sensors has continued to grow with additional network telescopes being brought online. At the time of writing, Rhodes University has a distributed network of five relatively small /24 network telescopes. With five network telescope sensors, this research focuses on comparative and correlation analysis of traffic activity across the network of telescope sensors. To aid summarisation and visualisation techniques, time series' representing time-based traffic activity, are constructed. By employing an iterative experimental process of captured traffic, two natural categories of the five network telescopes are presented. Using the cross- and auto-correlation methods of time series analysis, moderate correlation of traffic activity was achieved between telescope sensors in each category. Weak to moderate correlation was calculated when comparing category A and category B network telescopes' datasets. Results were significantly improved by studying TCP traffic separately. Moderate to strong correlation coefficients in each category were calculated when using TCP traffic only. UDP traffic analysis showed weaker correlation between sensors, however the uniformity of ICMP traffic showed correlation of traffic activity across all sensors. The results confirmed the visual observation of traffic relativity in telescope sensors within the same category and quantitatively analysed the correlation of network telescopes' traffic activity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Cosmological efficacy and the politics of Sacred Place: Soli Rainmaking in contemporary Zambia
- Authors: Simbao, Ruth K
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147482 , vital:38642 , https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_a_00163
- Description: In this article I analyze cosmological efficacy in light of the politicization and apparent secularization of contemporary annual ceremonies in Zambia, south-central Africa, which are framed by scholars as neotraditional (Lentz 2001), folklorized (van Binsbergen 1994), or retraditionalized (Gould 2005:3, 6) events. My term “festivalization” registers the formalization of Zambian performances such as rituals, harvest festivals, inaugurations, and initiations as annual festival events, but does not imply a pejorative attitude towards cultural change and so-called inauthenticity, as the words “folklorization” or “retraditionalization” seem to do.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Simbao, Ruth K
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/147482 , vital:38642 , https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_a_00163
- Description: In this article I analyze cosmological efficacy in light of the politicization and apparent secularization of contemporary annual ceremonies in Zambia, south-central Africa, which are framed by scholars as neotraditional (Lentz 2001), folklorized (van Binsbergen 1994), or retraditionalized (Gould 2005:3, 6) events. My term “festivalization” registers the formalization of Zambian performances such as rituals, harvest festivals, inaugurations, and initiations as annual festival events, but does not imply a pejorative attitude towards cultural change and so-called inauthenticity, as the words “folklorization” or “retraditionalization” seem to do.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Cost comparison between repackaging bulk oral solid medicines and purchasing manufacturer-prepared patient-ready packs in the public sector in South Africa
- Authors: Abahamye, Aloysius
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Packaging -- Cost control , Business logistics -- Costs , Drugs -- Packaging , Manufacturing processes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: vital:10163 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020596 , Drugs -- Packaging
- Description: In an attempt to have medicines available in patient-ready packs (PRPs) prior to the dispensing process, the provincial medicine depots in South Africa have, for many years, been repackaging bulk medicines into PRPs. Notwithstanding the fact that bulk medicine packages may have been the only packages available from the manufacturers to service the Primary Health Care (PHC) sector, the main aim of this process was to ensure that medicines were available in PRPs for dispensing to patients, thus, minimising the time spent on each prescription by the pharmacist, pharmacist’s assistant or Nurse. Currently, some medicines are being procured in PRPs from the manufacturers, whereas others are still procured in bulk packs which must be repackaged into PRPs. After a thorough literature search, it was established that, up until this point in time, no studies have been performed to compare costs of repackaged medicines from bulk packs with costs of medicines procured from manufacturers in PRPs. There was very scanty literature comparing the use of medicines procured either in PRPs or bulk packs. However, literature on cost comparison between repackaging and purchasing of commercially available manufacturer-prepared PRPs was not identified.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Abahamye, Aloysius
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Packaging -- Cost control , Business logistics -- Costs , Drugs -- Packaging , Manufacturing processes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
- Identifier: vital:10163 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020596 , Drugs -- Packaging
- Description: In an attempt to have medicines available in patient-ready packs (PRPs) prior to the dispensing process, the provincial medicine depots in South Africa have, for many years, been repackaging bulk medicines into PRPs. Notwithstanding the fact that bulk medicine packages may have been the only packages available from the manufacturers to service the Primary Health Care (PHC) sector, the main aim of this process was to ensure that medicines were available in PRPs for dispensing to patients, thus, minimising the time spent on each prescription by the pharmacist, pharmacist’s assistant or Nurse. Currently, some medicines are being procured in PRPs from the manufacturers, whereas others are still procured in bulk packs which must be repackaged into PRPs. After a thorough literature search, it was established that, up until this point in time, no studies have been performed to compare costs of repackaged medicines from bulk packs with costs of medicines procured from manufacturers in PRPs. There was very scanty literature comparing the use of medicines procured either in PRPs or bulk packs. However, literature on cost comparison between repackaging and purchasing of commercially available manufacturer-prepared PRPs was not identified.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Cracks in reproductive health rights: knowledge of abortion legislation stipulations amongst learners in Buffalo City, South Africa
- Macleod, Catriona I, Seutlwadi, Lebogang, Steele, Gary I
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Seutlwadi, Lebogang , Steele, Gary I
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6296 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014772
- Description: Background: The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act legalised abortion on request in South Africa until up to 12 weeks of gestation and thereafter under specified conditions. Within the context of liberal legislation, accurate information is a necessary (although not sufficient) requirement for women to exercise their reproductive rights. Objectives: This research investigated Grade 11 learners’ knowledge of the CTOP Act and its stipulations. Methods: Survey research was conducted with respondents drawn from a range of schools in Buffalo City, South Africa. Multi-stage sampling was used, namely stratified random sampling of schools and purposive sampling of grades used within schools. The data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires in group situations. Results: Results indicate that knowledge of the legal status of abortion, as well as of the various stipulations of the law, was poor. Various misunderstandings were evident, including that spousal approval is required in order for married women to have an abortion. Significant differences between the knowledge of respondents at the various schools were found, with those learners attending schools formerly designated for African learners during Apartheid having the least knowledge. Conclusion: Given the multiple factors that may serve as barriers to women accessing abortion, it is imperative that at least the most fundamental aspect of reproductive rights, that is, the right to information, is not undermined.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Seutlwadi, Lebogang , Steele, Gary I
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6296 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014772
- Description: Background: The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act legalised abortion on request in South Africa until up to 12 weeks of gestation and thereafter under specified conditions. Within the context of liberal legislation, accurate information is a necessary (although not sufficient) requirement for women to exercise their reproductive rights. Objectives: This research investigated Grade 11 learners’ knowledge of the CTOP Act and its stipulations. Methods: Survey research was conducted with respondents drawn from a range of schools in Buffalo City, South Africa. Multi-stage sampling was used, namely stratified random sampling of schools and purposive sampling of grades used within schools. The data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires in group situations. Results: Results indicate that knowledge of the legal status of abortion, as well as of the various stipulations of the law, was poor. Various misunderstandings were evident, including that spousal approval is required in order for married women to have an abortion. Significant differences between the knowledge of respondents at the various schools were found, with those learners attending schools formerly designated for African learners during Apartheid having the least knowledge. Conclusion: Given the multiple factors that may serve as barriers to women accessing abortion, it is imperative that at least the most fundamental aspect of reproductive rights, that is, the right to information, is not undermined.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Crimes against nature : ecocritical discourse in South African crime fiction
- Authors: Naidu, Samantha
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:26322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/53754 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18125441.2014.950599 , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-8657
- Description: Heeding Patrick Murphy's call to critics, in his book, Ecocritical explorations in literary and cultural studies: fences, boundaries and field, to study “nature-oriented mystery novels … in order to understand the degree to which environmental consciousness and nature awareness has permeated popular and commercial fiction” (2009: 143), this article examines how highly successful author, Deon Meyer, has employed crime fiction to popularize ecological issues and debates in South Africa. In this article, Meyer's first “nature-oriented” novel, the crime thriller, Blood safari (2009), is analysed. The main question asked is whether South African crime fiction deploys ecocritical discourse for mercenary reasons or whether its engagement with environmental issues constitutes a bona fide sub-category of ecocritical literature. The same rationale – understanding how “environmental consciousness and nature awareness” manifest in one of the most popular and commercially viable genres of fiction in South Africa today – informs the broader study from which this article is drawn. Some of the findings of this study, which includes a reading of Meyer's second “nature-oriented” novel, Trackers (2011), Jane Taylor's Of wild dogs, Margaret von Klemperer's Just a dead man, and Ingrid Winterbach's literary detective novel, The book of happenstance, are referred to briefly. To conclude, the contribution of “nature-oriented” crime fiction to a “localised ecocriticism” is assessed
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Naidu, Samantha
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:26322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/53754 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18125441.2014.950599 , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-8657
- Description: Heeding Patrick Murphy's call to critics, in his book, Ecocritical explorations in literary and cultural studies: fences, boundaries and field, to study “nature-oriented mystery novels … in order to understand the degree to which environmental consciousness and nature awareness has permeated popular and commercial fiction” (2009: 143), this article examines how highly successful author, Deon Meyer, has employed crime fiction to popularize ecological issues and debates in South Africa. In this article, Meyer's first “nature-oriented” novel, the crime thriller, Blood safari (2009), is analysed. The main question asked is whether South African crime fiction deploys ecocritical discourse for mercenary reasons or whether its engagement with environmental issues constitutes a bona fide sub-category of ecocritical literature. The same rationale – understanding how “environmental consciousness and nature awareness” manifest in one of the most popular and commercially viable genres of fiction in South Africa today – informs the broader study from which this article is drawn. Some of the findings of this study, which includes a reading of Meyer's second “nature-oriented” novel, Trackers (2011), Jane Taylor's Of wild dogs, Margaret von Klemperer's Just a dead man, and Ingrid Winterbach's literary detective novel, The book of happenstance, are referred to briefly. To conclude, the contribution of “nature-oriented” crime fiction to a “localised ecocriticism” is assessed
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Critical analysis of environmental water quality in South Africa Historic and current trends
- Griffin, Neil J, Palmer, Carolyn G, Scherman, Patricia A
- Authors: Griffin, Neil J , Palmer, Carolyn G , Scherman, Patricia A
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437812 , vital:73414 , ISBN 978-1-4312-0536-3 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2184-1-14.pdf
- Description: South Africa is widely recognised as having an admirable water law, and as being a leader in granting a right to water, in terms of quality and quantity, to the environment. However, the water quality of South Afri-can water resources is deteriorating (eg CSIR 2010, DWA 2011a), alt-hough good water quality management structures, strategies, ap-proaches, programmes, instruments, and tools have been developed and implemented nationally. The research reported on here provides a review of changes in water quality management structures, pro-grammes and approaches over the past two decades, and highlights areas where these need updating, completion or revision. As a com-parative illustration of changes in water quality with time, changes in 11 water quality parameters in two river systems (the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga, which is moderately impacted, and the Olifants River, in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which is severely impacted) are presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Griffin, Neil J , Palmer, Carolyn G , Scherman, Patricia A
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437812 , vital:73414 , ISBN 978-1-4312-0536-3 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2184-1-14.pdf
- Description: South Africa is widely recognised as having an admirable water law, and as being a leader in granting a right to water, in terms of quality and quantity, to the environment. However, the water quality of South Afri-can water resources is deteriorating (eg CSIR 2010, DWA 2011a), alt-hough good water quality management structures, strategies, ap-proaches, programmes, instruments, and tools have been developed and implemented nationally. The research reported on here provides a review of changes in water quality management structures, pro-grammes and approaches over the past two decades, and highlights areas where these need updating, completion or revision. As a com-parative illustration of changes in water quality with time, changes in 11 water quality parameters in two river systems (the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga, which is moderately impacted, and the Olifants River, in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which is severely impacted) are presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Critical evaluation of medical waste management policies, processes and practices in selected rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Maseko, Qondile
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Hazardous wastes -- Management -- South Africa , Radioactive waste disposal -- South Africa , Medical wastes -- Management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3373 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013107
- Description: This thesis critically evaluates the policies, processes and practices of medical waste management in selected rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Medical Waste Management is a growing public health and environmental issue worldwide. Research shows large scale incapacity in dealing with medical waste in an efficient and sustainable fashion globally, which demonstrates that it is not merely a developing world problem alone. This study is conducted against the backdrop of an increasing medical waste crisis in South Africa. Although there are an abundance of studies on solid waste management, there is a lack of data and research particularly on medical waste management in rural hospitals. The crisis of medical waste management in South Africa is closely intertwined with the collapsing health care system and an overburdened natural environment. It is an undisputable fact that South Africa’s generation of medical waste far exceeds its capacity to handle it effectively. This thesis argues that the neglect of medical waste as an environmental-health issue and the absence of an integrated national medical waste management plan aggravate the medical waste problem in the country. In explaining the medical waste crisis, this thesis adopts a Marxist perspective which is based on the premise that industrial capitalist societies place economic growth and production at high priority at the expense of the natural environment; creating a society that is engulfed by high health risk due to the generation of hazardous and toxic waste. Industrial societies view themselves as superior and separate from the natural environment, whereas one cannot separate nature from society as they are interlinked. As society attempts to adopt a sustainable environmental approach towards environmental management, science and technology are enforced as a solution to environmental problems in order to continue developing countries’ economies whilst sustainably managing and protecting the environment, which is contradictory. This thesis emphasises that medical waste management is a socio-political problem as much as it is an environmental problem, hence the need to focus on power relations and issues of environmental and social justice. The results of the study identified gaps in policy framework nationally and institutionally on medical waste management. In addition, there were poor waste management practices due to poor training, inadequate infrastructure and resources as well as poor budget support.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Maseko, Qondile
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Hazardous wastes -- Management -- South Africa , Radioactive waste disposal -- South Africa , Medical wastes -- Management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3373 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013107
- Description: This thesis critically evaluates the policies, processes and practices of medical waste management in selected rural hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Medical Waste Management is a growing public health and environmental issue worldwide. Research shows large scale incapacity in dealing with medical waste in an efficient and sustainable fashion globally, which demonstrates that it is not merely a developing world problem alone. This study is conducted against the backdrop of an increasing medical waste crisis in South Africa. Although there are an abundance of studies on solid waste management, there is a lack of data and research particularly on medical waste management in rural hospitals. The crisis of medical waste management in South Africa is closely intertwined with the collapsing health care system and an overburdened natural environment. It is an undisputable fact that South Africa’s generation of medical waste far exceeds its capacity to handle it effectively. This thesis argues that the neglect of medical waste as an environmental-health issue and the absence of an integrated national medical waste management plan aggravate the medical waste problem in the country. In explaining the medical waste crisis, this thesis adopts a Marxist perspective which is based on the premise that industrial capitalist societies place economic growth and production at high priority at the expense of the natural environment; creating a society that is engulfed by high health risk due to the generation of hazardous and toxic waste. Industrial societies view themselves as superior and separate from the natural environment, whereas one cannot separate nature from society as they are interlinked. As society attempts to adopt a sustainable environmental approach towards environmental management, science and technology are enforced as a solution to environmental problems in order to continue developing countries’ economies whilst sustainably managing and protecting the environment, which is contradictory. This thesis emphasises that medical waste management is a socio-political problem as much as it is an environmental problem, hence the need to focus on power relations and issues of environmental and social justice. The results of the study identified gaps in policy framework nationally and institutionally on medical waste management. In addition, there were poor waste management practices due to poor training, inadequate infrastructure and resources as well as poor budget support.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Critical realist versus mainstream interdisciplinarity
- Authors: Price, Leigh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/391143 , vital:68624 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1179/1476743013Z.00000000019"
- Description: In this paper I argue for the superiority of a critical realist understanding of interdisciplinarity over a mainstream understanding of it. I begin by exploring the reasons for the failure of mainstream researchers to achieve interdisciplinarity. My main argument is that mainstream interdisciplinary researchers tend to hypostatize facts, fetishize constant conjunctions of events and apply to open systems an epistemology designed for closed systems. I also explain how mainstream interdisciplinarity supports oppression and gross inequality. I argue that mainstream interdisciplinarity is not true interdisciplinarity and refer to it accordingly as ‘condisciplinarity’. By way of example, I examine the condisciplinarity of the World Health Organization’s ecological model applied to the issue of men’s violence against women. Specifically, I argue that critical realist interdisciplinarity is preferable because it acknowledges inter alia the empirical, actual and real layers of reality, which allows it to develop depth-explanations of phenomena. In practice, this means that critical realist interdisciplinarity can potentially provide explanations that, compared to condisciplinarity, are broader (include more of the human and non-human context) and deeper (include for example individuals’ conscious and unconscious psychological motivations). In the World Health Organization’s example of the causes of men’s violence against women, condisciplinarity resulted in the absence of historical, global and unconscious aspects of the problem. It is also restricted the analysis to reductive, constant-conjunction based theories of the causes of the problem, specifically ‘risk factors’, thereby providing a relatively shallow explanation for the problem.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Price, Leigh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/391143 , vital:68624 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1179/1476743013Z.00000000019"
- Description: In this paper I argue for the superiority of a critical realist understanding of interdisciplinarity over a mainstream understanding of it. I begin by exploring the reasons for the failure of mainstream researchers to achieve interdisciplinarity. My main argument is that mainstream interdisciplinary researchers tend to hypostatize facts, fetishize constant conjunctions of events and apply to open systems an epistemology designed for closed systems. I also explain how mainstream interdisciplinarity supports oppression and gross inequality. I argue that mainstream interdisciplinarity is not true interdisciplinarity and refer to it accordingly as ‘condisciplinarity’. By way of example, I examine the condisciplinarity of the World Health Organization’s ecological model applied to the issue of men’s violence against women. Specifically, I argue that critical realist interdisciplinarity is preferable because it acknowledges inter alia the empirical, actual and real layers of reality, which allows it to develop depth-explanations of phenomena. In practice, this means that critical realist interdisciplinarity can potentially provide explanations that, compared to condisciplinarity, are broader (include more of the human and non-human context) and deeper (include for example individuals’ conscious and unconscious psychological motivations). In the World Health Organization’s example of the causes of men’s violence against women, condisciplinarity resulted in the absence of historical, global and unconscious aspects of the problem. It is also restricted the analysis to reductive, constant-conjunction based theories of the causes of the problem, specifically ‘risk factors’, thereby providing a relatively shallow explanation for the problem.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Critical spaces: processes of othering in British Institutions of Higher Education
- Authors: Phiri, Aretha
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60741 , vital:27824 , http://www.jfsonline.org/issue7-8/articles/phiri/
- Description: Global recession and the economic crisis have affected contemporary British society in predictable ways. But this age of austerity has also unveiled the continued sinister machinations of whiteness. While not necessarily homogeneous, austerity rhetoric, as it is currently conventionally deployed, works to perpetuate white masculinist privilege and further entrenches the normative value of whiteness, while simultaneously masking and marginalizing those ethnic minority populations traditionally othered from mainstream sociopolitical discourse. More specifically, recent austerity measures adversely affect the situation of women and the future of feminist theory and practice in British higher education. This paper investigates and problematizes the deployment of austerity discourse within higher learning for its perpetuation of the normativity and hegemony of a masculinist whiteness, which further disadvantages (white) women and disrupts the practice of feminism(s) in academia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Phiri, Aretha
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60741 , vital:27824 , http://www.jfsonline.org/issue7-8/articles/phiri/
- Description: Global recession and the economic crisis have affected contemporary British society in predictable ways. But this age of austerity has also unveiled the continued sinister machinations of whiteness. While not necessarily homogeneous, austerity rhetoric, as it is currently conventionally deployed, works to perpetuate white masculinist privilege and further entrenches the normative value of whiteness, while simultaneously masking and marginalizing those ethnic minority populations traditionally othered from mainstream sociopolitical discourse. More specifically, recent austerity measures adversely affect the situation of women and the future of feminist theory and practice in British higher education. This paper investigates and problematizes the deployment of austerity discourse within higher learning for its perpetuation of the normativity and hegemony of a masculinist whiteness, which further disadvantages (white) women and disrupts the practice of feminism(s) in academia.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Critical success factors in implementing an IT project plan within a South African automotive assembly firm
- Authors: Meyer, Harold
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Project management , Information technology projects , Management information systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/9173 , vital:26471
- Description: Research shows that information technology (IT) projects have a poor success rate. Many IT projects exceed the allocated budget, take longer than the time allocated or do not meet the project requirements. The purpose of this study is to identify the critical success factors for implementing an IT project plan in automotive assembly firms in South Africa. The factors identified during the study cover the following topics: the project manager as a factor of success; project communication; knowledge management; the role of management; business strategy; project success measurements; and training and development. For the empirical study an online questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. The study consisted of 40 participants who are involved in the implementation of IT projects in automotive assembly firms with a minimum of 1 year experience. The questionnaire requested the biographical information of the participants and then asked the participants about their perception of the current project activity as well as their perceived importance of the project activities mentioned. The participants’ responses were structured according to a Likert-type scale. Participants had to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each statement in the questionnaire. The responses obtained from the survey were presented and analysed. The researcher observed in this study that aspects of the critical success factors were in place however there were areas which showed large variances. The researcher recommends that management of automotive assembly firms in South Africa should look into project communication and knowledge management. These factors showed large variances with regards to the current project activities and the perceived importance of the activities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Meyer, Harold
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Project management , Information technology projects , Management information systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/9173 , vital:26471
- Description: Research shows that information technology (IT) projects have a poor success rate. Many IT projects exceed the allocated budget, take longer than the time allocated or do not meet the project requirements. The purpose of this study is to identify the critical success factors for implementing an IT project plan in automotive assembly firms in South Africa. The factors identified during the study cover the following topics: the project manager as a factor of success; project communication; knowledge management; the role of management; business strategy; project success measurements; and training and development. For the empirical study an online questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. The study consisted of 40 participants who are involved in the implementation of IT projects in automotive assembly firms with a minimum of 1 year experience. The questionnaire requested the biographical information of the participants and then asked the participants about their perception of the current project activity as well as their perceived importance of the project activities mentioned. The participants’ responses were structured according to a Likert-type scale. Participants had to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each statement in the questionnaire. The responses obtained from the survey were presented and analysed. The researcher observed in this study that aspects of the critical success factors were in place however there were areas which showed large variances. The researcher recommends that management of automotive assembly firms in South Africa should look into project communication and knowledge management. These factors showed large variances with regards to the current project activities and the perceived importance of the activities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Crumpled hearts
- Authors: Crain, Patricia Ann
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education) , English language -- Writing , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5984 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015676
- Description: A middle-aged woman, living in Johannesburg, has an experience which catapults her into changing her life. In the process of confronting her alcoholism, she realizes how patterns of addiction extend to other areas of her life and tries to make sense of the tragic events that have occurred. Her world becomes a different place as she questions everything that she has been taught about relationships, religion, race and her place in society. In the search for answers she uncovers stories about the lives of her parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and acquaintances. Embarking on a journey of discovery and rediscovery through her experiences and those of others, she explores the ways in which the things that she thought she knew defined her behaviour and expression of herself.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Crain, Patricia Ann
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , Creative writing (Higher education) , English language -- Writing , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5984 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015676
- Description: A middle-aged woman, living in Johannesburg, has an experience which catapults her into changing her life. In the process of confronting her alcoholism, she realizes how patterns of addiction extend to other areas of her life and tries to make sense of the tragic events that have occurred. Her world becomes a different place as she questions everything that she has been taught about relationships, religion, race and her place in society. In the search for answers she uncovers stories about the lives of her parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and acquaintances. Embarking on a journey of discovery and rediscovery through her experiences and those of others, she explores the ways in which the things that she thought she knew defined her behaviour and expression of herself.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Cultural bias on the IELTS examination
- Authors: Freimuth, Hilda
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: International English Language Testing System -- Evaluation Language and culture -- United Arab Emirates English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers English language -- Examinations Critical realism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1324 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012088
- Description: The study reported in this thesis investigated Emirati students’ claims related to experiences of cultural bias of the reading component of the IELTS examination through a critical realist lens. Critical realism posits a layered reality which allows for the conceptualization of experiences as emerging from the interplay of events and mechanisms found in two other realms of reality – the actual and the real. Experiences, therefore, have a different ontological status than the events and the causal mechanisms to which they are attributed. Social realism was used to further explore the depth of the realm of the real through Archer’s construct of analytical dualism. This allowed for the placement of generative mechanisms into three domains: structure, culture, and agency. There were two parts to this investigation: a content analysis and a focus group study. The first part of the content analysis consisted of analyzing 60 reading passages from 20 IELTS examinations for a number of cultural categories. These included such things as cultural objects, social roles, idiomatic expressions, traditions and festivals, superstitions and beliefs, and political and historical settings. The second part of the content analysis focused on the question types and syntactical structure of the 5 different IELTS examinations that the focus groups students sat. All three components of the analysis – the cultural content, question types, and syntactical structure – were conducted at the level of the actual. Findings indicated that on average, an IELTS examination contained 14 cultural references of various kinds. Only 4% of all geographical references pertained to the Middle East with the biggest share being western locations. The most common question types were matching questions, fill in the blank questions, and yes/no questions with more than 50% of all questions requiring some form of higher order thinking due to text reinterpretation. The study also found that the question types were not consistently distributed over the examinations with each consisting of a different variety of questions and some even having repetitive question types on one reading examination. The second part of the study was the focus groups. Here, 21 Emirati students sat 5 different IELTS examinations. Upon test completion, these students underwent a semistructured interview to relate their experiences of the test. These experiences, at the level of the empirical, all shared 7 ideas: reading is hard, the questions are too difficult, the passages are too long and difficult, the topics are unfamiliar, the topics are not interesting, the vocabulary is too difficult, and there is not enough time. When the processes of retroduction and abduction were applied to both the content analysis and these common experiences, numerous structures and discourses at the level of the real were identified as having contributed to the emergence of the feeling of bias at the level of the empirical. These structures included such things as the students’ school system (eg. curriculum, assessment, instructors etc.), religion, literacy practices, and home. In the cultural domain, a number of discourses were found to contribute to the experiences at the level of the empirical. Amongst these were the ‘Unimportance of Reading’, the culture of ‘Obedience’, the rejection of the ‘un-Islamic’, and the students’ sense of ‘Entitlement’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Freimuth, Hilda
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: International English Language Testing System -- Evaluation Language and culture -- United Arab Emirates English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers English language -- Examinations Critical realism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1324 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012088
- Description: The study reported in this thesis investigated Emirati students’ claims related to experiences of cultural bias of the reading component of the IELTS examination through a critical realist lens. Critical realism posits a layered reality which allows for the conceptualization of experiences as emerging from the interplay of events and mechanisms found in two other realms of reality – the actual and the real. Experiences, therefore, have a different ontological status than the events and the causal mechanisms to which they are attributed. Social realism was used to further explore the depth of the realm of the real through Archer’s construct of analytical dualism. This allowed for the placement of generative mechanisms into three domains: structure, culture, and agency. There were two parts to this investigation: a content analysis and a focus group study. The first part of the content analysis consisted of analyzing 60 reading passages from 20 IELTS examinations for a number of cultural categories. These included such things as cultural objects, social roles, idiomatic expressions, traditions and festivals, superstitions and beliefs, and political and historical settings. The second part of the content analysis focused on the question types and syntactical structure of the 5 different IELTS examinations that the focus groups students sat. All three components of the analysis – the cultural content, question types, and syntactical structure – were conducted at the level of the actual. Findings indicated that on average, an IELTS examination contained 14 cultural references of various kinds. Only 4% of all geographical references pertained to the Middle East with the biggest share being western locations. The most common question types were matching questions, fill in the blank questions, and yes/no questions with more than 50% of all questions requiring some form of higher order thinking due to text reinterpretation. The study also found that the question types were not consistently distributed over the examinations with each consisting of a different variety of questions and some even having repetitive question types on one reading examination. The second part of the study was the focus groups. Here, 21 Emirati students sat 5 different IELTS examinations. Upon test completion, these students underwent a semistructured interview to relate their experiences of the test. These experiences, at the level of the empirical, all shared 7 ideas: reading is hard, the questions are too difficult, the passages are too long and difficult, the topics are unfamiliar, the topics are not interesting, the vocabulary is too difficult, and there is not enough time. When the processes of retroduction and abduction were applied to both the content analysis and these common experiences, numerous structures and discourses at the level of the real were identified as having contributed to the emergence of the feeling of bias at the level of the empirical. These structures included such things as the students’ school system (eg. curriculum, assessment, instructors etc.), religion, literacy practices, and home. In the cultural domain, a number of discourses were found to contribute to the experiences at the level of the empirical. Amongst these were the ‘Unimportance of Reading’, the culture of ‘Obedience’, the rejection of the ‘un-Islamic’, and the students’ sense of ‘Entitlement’.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Curriculum outcomes, teaching practices and learner competencies in isiXhosa in three Grahamstown schools
- Authors: Fobe, Mila Pamella
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Xhosa language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Xhosa language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Language and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Curriculum planning Second language acquisition Public schools -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3630 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012072
- Description: This study looks at the curriculum outcomes, teaching practices and learner competencies in isiXhosa at three Eastern Cape schools and across three different grades, 7-9. It explores the link between language learning and teaching as well as the teaching strategies used within the classroom. In particular, the study seeks to analyse how isiXhosa is taught at three different levels of instruction, namely at Home Language (HL), First Additional Language (FAL) and Second Additional Language (SAL) levels. Qualitative methods were used, and the study took the form of interpretive case studies within the respective schools. The purpose of using multiple case studies was to investigate the reality within the three sites selected. The three schools had three extreme settings, in the sense that one of the schools is a rich isiXhosa environment and the other two schools are English environments. The tools used for data gathering were interviews, classroom observations, and an analysis of documents from the Department of Basic Education. Data was then presented and analysed in Chapter 4 and 5 against the backdrop of an extensive literature review in Chapter 2 as well as a detailed methodological approach as outlined in Chapter 3. One of the findings of this research indicates that in two of the schools the teaching culture is largely from a western perspective, whereas in one of the schools the learners are primarily isiXhosa speaking and teachers use a different linguistic approach to imparting knowledge. In the private and ex-Model C school it was found that a lack of exposure to isiXhosa is the primary cause of language problems for L2 learners. Secondly the L1 is not appropriately maintained or promoted in the school environment because it is presumed that learners are sufficiently exposed to their L1 at home. The research found therefore that in this particular schooling environment there is an inconsistency between the curricula that is taught in relation to the linguistic abilities of the learners, many of whom are mother tongue speakers of isiXhosa. Furthermore and more generally, it was found that teachers are still not well informed concerning South Africa’s Language-in-Education-Policy and there is a need for more inservice training that will focus on the nature of additional language acquisition in order to address the challenges of teaching these languages. The thesis concludes that extensive work needs to be done in order to reposition the teaching of isiXhosa at all three levels, but particularly at FAL level. This research shows that there is a disjuncture between the proposed curriculum/learning outcomes and the standards or levels achieved by the learners, more especially at FAL and SAL where oral proficiency in isiXhosa remains a challenge. Specific recommendations are contained in the final chapter of the thesis which also makes reference to the draft policy of the Ministry of Basic Education regarding the incremental introduction of the teaching of African languages from 2014 onwards. This thesis also makes takes as a point of departure the importance of multilingualism in a multicultural society such as South Africa where language is suggested as a strong factor in the fostering of social cohesion. It is for this reason that the thesis argues that the expert teaching of African languages, in this case isiXhosa, at both mother tongue and second language levels is of fundamental importance to the future of South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Fobe, Mila Pamella
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Xhosa language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Xhosa language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Language and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Curriculum planning Second language acquisition Public schools -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Language policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3630 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012072
- Description: This study looks at the curriculum outcomes, teaching practices and learner competencies in isiXhosa at three Eastern Cape schools and across three different grades, 7-9. It explores the link between language learning and teaching as well as the teaching strategies used within the classroom. In particular, the study seeks to analyse how isiXhosa is taught at three different levels of instruction, namely at Home Language (HL), First Additional Language (FAL) and Second Additional Language (SAL) levels. Qualitative methods were used, and the study took the form of interpretive case studies within the respective schools. The purpose of using multiple case studies was to investigate the reality within the three sites selected. The three schools had three extreme settings, in the sense that one of the schools is a rich isiXhosa environment and the other two schools are English environments. The tools used for data gathering were interviews, classroom observations, and an analysis of documents from the Department of Basic Education. Data was then presented and analysed in Chapter 4 and 5 against the backdrop of an extensive literature review in Chapter 2 as well as a detailed methodological approach as outlined in Chapter 3. One of the findings of this research indicates that in two of the schools the teaching culture is largely from a western perspective, whereas in one of the schools the learners are primarily isiXhosa speaking and teachers use a different linguistic approach to imparting knowledge. In the private and ex-Model C school it was found that a lack of exposure to isiXhosa is the primary cause of language problems for L2 learners. Secondly the L1 is not appropriately maintained or promoted in the school environment because it is presumed that learners are sufficiently exposed to their L1 at home. The research found therefore that in this particular schooling environment there is an inconsistency between the curricula that is taught in relation to the linguistic abilities of the learners, many of whom are mother tongue speakers of isiXhosa. Furthermore and more generally, it was found that teachers are still not well informed concerning South Africa’s Language-in-Education-Policy and there is a need for more inservice training that will focus on the nature of additional language acquisition in order to address the challenges of teaching these languages. The thesis concludes that extensive work needs to be done in order to reposition the teaching of isiXhosa at all three levels, but particularly at FAL level. This research shows that there is a disjuncture between the proposed curriculum/learning outcomes and the standards or levels achieved by the learners, more especially at FAL and SAL where oral proficiency in isiXhosa remains a challenge. Specific recommendations are contained in the final chapter of the thesis which also makes reference to the draft policy of the Ministry of Basic Education regarding the incremental introduction of the teaching of African languages from 2014 onwards. This thesis also makes takes as a point of departure the importance of multilingualism in a multicultural society such as South Africa where language is suggested as a strong factor in the fostering of social cohesion. It is for this reason that the thesis argues that the expert teaching of African languages, in this case isiXhosa, at both mother tongue and second language levels is of fundamental importance to the future of South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Customer relationship management in small to medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in the Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Vallabh, Dinesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Customer relations -- Management , Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020797
- Description: The role of entrepreneurship in small to medium tourism enterprises is well recognised and acknowledged as a significant contributor to economic development and employment opportunities. Worldwide, small to medium tourism enterprises play a dominant role in the tourism industry. These businesses are often vulnerable to external economic forces and find it increasingly difficult to transform their strategic and operational management to face the challenges placed upon them. This study focuses on small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, which is economically the poorest province of South Africa. To ensure the growth and sustainability of small to medium tourism enterprises, owners need to make efficient and effective business decisions regarding the challenges their businesses face. The study examines the factors impacting customer relationship management in the context of small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape. Customer relationship management, that is, building relationships with customers, has become of pivotal importance to many organisations as businesses strive to be competitive and profitable. While large organisations practice customer relationship management to enable them to better target profitable customers, improve customer services, enhance customer retention and ultimately improve business performance, small businesses often need assistance in understanding and effecting this complex relationship. The factors that could impact customer relationship management in the organisations are the focus of this study. Three major factors were identified, namely, strategic, operational, and organisational factors. The study furthermore examined the extent to which these factors are present in the tourism and hospitality sector of the Eastern Cape and investigated the relationships between these factors. Quantitative research was deemed appropriate for this study. Systematic random sampling was employed to select a sample of 332 respondent organisations from the 2012 database of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency consisting of formally registered small to medium tourism enterprises. A total of 310 usable questionnaires were finally obtained. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the study. Descriptive statistics were computed to reflect the organisations‟ and respondent managers‟ general characteristics and to summarise their measurement scores. Using inferential statistics, the study further investigated relationships between customer relationship management factors, as well as demographic factors. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and both the validity (refer to section 2.10.1) and reliability (refer to section 2.10.2) of the research instrument was assessed. The relationships between customer relationship management variables were also investigated (refer to section 2.11.4). The research results support an overall significant association between customer relationship management readiness and business strategy, customer strategy, touch points and competencies, skills and technology. Relationships were also explored among customer relationship management factors and demographic characteristics. Significant results were found between perceived business performance and the gender of managers, family businesses and gross annual turnover. The most salient contributions of this research can be summarised as follows. The overview of the importance of tourism and the role of small to medium enterprises in the tourism and hospitality industry of the Eastern Cape will benefit researchers and potential owners who have an interest in this sector. The study contributes to an improved understanding of the factors that should precede customer relationship management. The study established a profile of the small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape which can serve as a basis for future research. A measuring instrument for assessing respondents‟ views on the existence of the strategic, operational and organisational factors in their organisations was developed. This instrument showed good internal validity and reliability and can serve as a basis for the same purpose in contexts other than the tourism and hospitality sector. This research has made a contribution toward a largely under-researched area concerning customer relationship management in small to medium enterprises. Recommendations for managers and consideration of future research included the following. Managers need to have a strategic vision and a strong customer-centric focus. Through understanding customers and their needs, offerings can be tailored to maximize the overall value of customers, thereby, improving business performance. Through efficient operational processes in place, enhanced customer service levels can be attained in the organisations. Managers need to effectively manage customer information through data warehousing and technology. Top management commitment is a crucial element for ensuring improved customer services. Managers need to train staff with respect to customer services, thus enhancing CRM. Future researchers can conduct a longitudinal study and investigate the same factors which could impact customer relationship management. A verification of the usefulness of the measuring instrument in examining the determinants of customer relationship management and the level of development regarding other small businesses is suggested. It is recommended that this study be replicated abroad in an effort to verify to what extent the determinants of customer relationship management are evident in small businesses of other countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Vallabh, Dinesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Customer relations -- Management , Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020797
- Description: The role of entrepreneurship in small to medium tourism enterprises is well recognised and acknowledged as a significant contributor to economic development and employment opportunities. Worldwide, small to medium tourism enterprises play a dominant role in the tourism industry. These businesses are often vulnerable to external economic forces and find it increasingly difficult to transform their strategic and operational management to face the challenges placed upon them. This study focuses on small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, which is economically the poorest province of South Africa. To ensure the growth and sustainability of small to medium tourism enterprises, owners need to make efficient and effective business decisions regarding the challenges their businesses face. The study examines the factors impacting customer relationship management in the context of small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape. Customer relationship management, that is, building relationships with customers, has become of pivotal importance to many organisations as businesses strive to be competitive and profitable. While large organisations practice customer relationship management to enable them to better target profitable customers, improve customer services, enhance customer retention and ultimately improve business performance, small businesses often need assistance in understanding and effecting this complex relationship. The factors that could impact customer relationship management in the organisations are the focus of this study. Three major factors were identified, namely, strategic, operational, and organisational factors. The study furthermore examined the extent to which these factors are present in the tourism and hospitality sector of the Eastern Cape and investigated the relationships between these factors. Quantitative research was deemed appropriate for this study. Systematic random sampling was employed to select a sample of 332 respondent organisations from the 2012 database of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency consisting of formally registered small to medium tourism enterprises. A total of 310 usable questionnaires were finally obtained. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the study. Descriptive statistics were computed to reflect the organisations‟ and respondent managers‟ general characteristics and to summarise their measurement scores. Using inferential statistics, the study further investigated relationships between customer relationship management factors, as well as demographic factors. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and both the validity (refer to section 2.10.1) and reliability (refer to section 2.10.2) of the research instrument was assessed. The relationships between customer relationship management variables were also investigated (refer to section 2.11.4). The research results support an overall significant association between customer relationship management readiness and business strategy, customer strategy, touch points and competencies, skills and technology. Relationships were also explored among customer relationship management factors and demographic characteristics. Significant results were found between perceived business performance and the gender of managers, family businesses and gross annual turnover. The most salient contributions of this research can be summarised as follows. The overview of the importance of tourism and the role of small to medium enterprises in the tourism and hospitality industry of the Eastern Cape will benefit researchers and potential owners who have an interest in this sector. The study contributes to an improved understanding of the factors that should precede customer relationship management. The study established a profile of the small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape which can serve as a basis for future research. A measuring instrument for assessing respondents‟ views on the existence of the strategic, operational and organisational factors in their organisations was developed. This instrument showed good internal validity and reliability and can serve as a basis for the same purpose in contexts other than the tourism and hospitality sector. This research has made a contribution toward a largely under-researched area concerning customer relationship management in small to medium enterprises. Recommendations for managers and consideration of future research included the following. Managers need to have a strategic vision and a strong customer-centric focus. Through understanding customers and their needs, offerings can be tailored to maximize the overall value of customers, thereby, improving business performance. Through efficient operational processes in place, enhanced customer service levels can be attained in the organisations. Managers need to effectively manage customer information through data warehousing and technology. Top management commitment is a crucial element for ensuring improved customer services. Managers need to train staff with respect to customer services, thus enhancing CRM. Future researchers can conduct a longitudinal study and investigate the same factors which could impact customer relationship management. A verification of the usefulness of the measuring instrument in examining the determinants of customer relationship management and the level of development regarding other small businesses is suggested. It is recommended that this study be replicated abroad in an effort to verify to what extent the determinants of customer relationship management are evident in small businesses of other countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Customer satisfaction of two market segments in Nelson Mandela Bay: a retail perspective
- Authors: Gwavu, Nontle
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Consumer satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Retail trade -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7825 , vital:24308
- Description: Retail industry in South Africa is witnessing fast growth in all cities in South Africa. Attracting customers become key to success in the increased industry competition. Keeping customers satisfied has never been more important than currently. Retailers need to know what customer needs and wants are, to be able to provide and constantly satisfy their needs. Growth in the industry is largely influenced by economic conditions. A stable economic environment allows customers to spend more, thereby increasing the value of retail trade sales. In South Africa, there is strong competition between the four major dominant firms in the retail industry, which include Pick n Pay Holdings Limited (30%), Shoprite Holdings Limited (34%), Spar Holdings Limited (24%), and Woolworths Holdings Limited (11%). For the firms to grow in South Africa, they must have a clear understanding of consumers’ needs and wants. Services rendered by retailers are of utmost importance to their level of success and ability to successfully cater for the market’s needs. The main purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction of two retail stores in the Nelson Mandela Bay, namely Summerstrand and Cleary Park Pick n Pay stores. Three independent variables (employee empowerment, technology and customer relations) were identified and were tested against one dependent variable (customer satisfaction). A positivistic paradigm was used to conduct the research. The approach uses the quantitative method of research to establish the causal relationships. A null (Ho) and alternative (Ha) hypotheses were formulated in order to test relationships between variables. A five-point Likert scale enabled primary data to be sourced for 294 customers’ (respondents), who shared their customer satisfaction experience at Pick n Pay stores in the Nelson Mandela Bay. A statistical analysis of quantitative data compromised of three phases. Firstly, the data was subjected to a descriptive analysis to summarise the data. Secondly, reliability (internal consistency) for the research instrument was assessed by means of the Cronbach Alpha Reliability Coefficient. Finally, multiple linear regression analysis were used to test the hypothesis. The empirical findings show that the independent variable positively correlated with the dependent variables. This implies that a positive relationship between employee empowerment, technology, customer relations and customer satisfaction at Pick n Pay stores. Therefore, recommendations given by the researcher focused on all variables that have a relationship with customer satisfaction.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Gwavu, Nontle
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Consumer satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Retail trade -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7825 , vital:24308
- Description: Retail industry in South Africa is witnessing fast growth in all cities in South Africa. Attracting customers become key to success in the increased industry competition. Keeping customers satisfied has never been more important than currently. Retailers need to know what customer needs and wants are, to be able to provide and constantly satisfy their needs. Growth in the industry is largely influenced by economic conditions. A stable economic environment allows customers to spend more, thereby increasing the value of retail trade sales. In South Africa, there is strong competition between the four major dominant firms in the retail industry, which include Pick n Pay Holdings Limited (30%), Shoprite Holdings Limited (34%), Spar Holdings Limited (24%), and Woolworths Holdings Limited (11%). For the firms to grow in South Africa, they must have a clear understanding of consumers’ needs and wants. Services rendered by retailers are of utmost importance to their level of success and ability to successfully cater for the market’s needs. The main purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction of two retail stores in the Nelson Mandela Bay, namely Summerstrand and Cleary Park Pick n Pay stores. Three independent variables (employee empowerment, technology and customer relations) were identified and were tested against one dependent variable (customer satisfaction). A positivistic paradigm was used to conduct the research. The approach uses the quantitative method of research to establish the causal relationships. A null (Ho) and alternative (Ha) hypotheses were formulated in order to test relationships between variables. A five-point Likert scale enabled primary data to be sourced for 294 customers’ (respondents), who shared their customer satisfaction experience at Pick n Pay stores in the Nelson Mandela Bay. A statistical analysis of quantitative data compromised of three phases. Firstly, the data was subjected to a descriptive analysis to summarise the data. Secondly, reliability (internal consistency) for the research instrument was assessed by means of the Cronbach Alpha Reliability Coefficient. Finally, multiple linear regression analysis were used to test the hypothesis. The empirical findings show that the independent variable positively correlated with the dependent variables. This implies that a positive relationship between employee empowerment, technology, customer relations and customer satisfaction at Pick n Pay stores. Therefore, recommendations given by the researcher focused on all variables that have a relationship with customer satisfaction.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014