Showing items 1061 - 1080 of 1303

Your selections:

The host status of lemons for the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick)(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) with particular reference to export protocols

  • Authors: Moore, Sean D , Kirkman, Wayne , Hattingh, Vaughan
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/452252 , vital:75115 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC176581
  • Description: The South African citrus industry is dependent on export of fresh fruit to many markets around the world, with approximately 70% of South Africa's citrus crop being exported (CGA 2013). The false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is recorded as a pest of citrus fruit in southern Africa (Newton 1998; Grout and Moore 2015). As a result of its endemism to sub-Saharan Africa (Moore 2002), certain export markets of importance for the South African citrus industry, such as Peoples Republic of China, U.S.A. and South Korea, regulate it as a quarantine pest.Control of the pest in the field can be highly effective, using a suite of integrated control options, applied with diligent management (Moore and Hattingh 2012). These can succeed in reducing T. leucotreta infestation by 97% or more (Moore et al. 2015). Such an integrated system, using the sterile insect technique as the mainstay of the programme, has succeeded in reducing moth catches by 99%, fruit infestation by 96% and export rejections by 89% in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, since the inception of the programme in 2007 (Barnes et al. 2015).
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of a ward pharmacist in a surgical ward of a private hospital in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Stone, Leanne Nicole , Burton, S F
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Hospital pharmacies , Pharmaceutical services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Pharmacists -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPharm
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5916 , vital:21012
  • Description: Medication errors are becoming problematic in both hospital and outpatient settings worldwide. Inappropriate use of medication can cause harm to the patient and maintaining high levels of quality patient care is essential to protect all patients. Clinical pharmacy practice contributes to improved patient care by optimising medication therapy; and promoting health, wellness and disease prevention. The involvement of a pharmacist at a ward level has been shown to improve patient care; reduce mortality and morbidity rates; decrease healthcare costs; minimise medication errors; and improve outcomes of drug therapy. However, clinical pharmacy is a fairly new practice in South Africa and there are limited studies available. This study aimed to evaluate the perceived benefits of a ward-based pharmacist on the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients in a hospital setting and to consequently implement a ward-based pharmacy service. The objectives of the study were: (1) to assess, via a questionnaire, the perceptions and attitudes of medical practitioners and nurses to ward-based pharmacy prior to and after implementation of a ward-based pharmacy service, (2) to implement a ward-based pharmacy service in a selected hospital ward; (3) to document and analyse the nature of the work and activities that a ward pharmacist undertakes, and (4) to document and analyse the frequency and nature of ward pharmacist interventions. The study was conducted in a surgical ward of a private hospital in the Eastern Cape. The study design was an intervention study, using a mixed-methods design, with a convergent approach. A convenience sample of 106 patients was obtained over the eight week study period. Participation was voluntary and confidentiality was maintained at all times. Four data collection tools were used during the study and a pilot study was conducted to ensure their validity and reliability. The quantitative data was analysed statistically while the qualitative questions were analysed through coding the various responses. The results of the study showed that medical practitioners and nurses of a surgical ward had a positive attitude towards ward pharmacy both prior to and after the implementation of a ward pharmacy service. There were ward pharmacist interventions made in 50% (n=106) of the patients who participated in the study. A large percentage (57%; 50; n=87) of the ward pharmacist interventions were pharmacist-initiated interventions to optimise patient care while prescribing errors (51%; 19; n=37) were the most commonly occurring medication error. The majority of the medication items involved in the interventions (34%; 34; n=101) were related to the anti-microbial medication class. Overall, there was a 73% (36; n=49) acceptance rate of the ward pharmacist interventions that were made to both the medical practitioners and nurses. There were a number of factors that had a significant relationship with a ward pharmacist intervention being required which included: (1) number of medication items (p=0.001; Chi² test; p<0.0005 Student’s t-test), (2) length of hospital stay (p<0.0005; Chi² test), (3) presence of one or more chronic disease states (p=0.003; Chi² test) and (4) presence of one or more allergies (p=0.028; Chi² test). The ward pharmacist interventions were shown to be of clinical significance and to have a positive impact on the patients concerned. It can be concluded that the ward pharmacy service was beneficial to the patients, medical practitioners and nursing staff.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of biofuels on food prices, lessons from the experiences of Brazil and U.S. (1995-2013)

  • Authors: Ncube, Free P
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Biomass energy -- Economic aspects Food prices -- Brazil Food prices -- United States , Energy crops -- Economic aspects|zBrazil
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2150 , vital:27616
  • Description: Using crops for fuel generates concerns over competition with food uses. As Rajagopal et al (2009) asserts, “In 2008 the world entered a food crisis amid record-high commodity and energy prices that induced hunger and political unrest in developing countries, by export restrictions in top grain-producing countries”. This took place at the same time when biofuel production, reached its pinnacle in developed countries. This paper examines the effect that biofuel prices and or production has had on food prices in Brazil and U.S. by employing the panel cointegration and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) method of analysis. In regressing food prices as a function of demand and supply factors, such as oil prices, biofuel prices, interest rates and biofuel production, the study found that the increase in biofuels production over the past eighteen years has had a significant impact on food prices. Over the period January 1995- December 2013, the study estimates that a one hundred percent increase in biofuels production across time and between countries results in the increase of food prices by 21,9%. The study therefore rejects the null hypothesis that states, biofuel production does not have a statistically significant negative impact on food prices in U.S. and Brazil. , and accepts the alternative that biofuel production does have a statistically significant negative impact on food prices in U.S. and Brazil. Other predictors of food prices that the study revealed as significant were oil and interest rates. Policy recommendations for other countries like South Africa are therefore, made based on the results obtained.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of decentralisation on participatory development in the Nsanje district of Malawi

  • Authors: Simwaka, Rodin Rams Kapelele Atughanire
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Community development -- Malawi , Decentralization in government -- Malawi
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:9255 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021206
  • Description: This research investigated the impact of decentralisation on participatory development in the Nsanje District of Malawi from 2009 to 2014. Existing challenges in realising effective participation were identified by acquiring information from documents at three spheres of government, namely local, district and national. The literature explains decentralisation and local government; the theories of state-local relations; the nature, types and determinants of participation; the legislative framework of local government; and decentralisation reforms being implemented in Malawi. A descriptive approach was used in the study, with the emphasis on collecting data from primary sources such as minutes, reports, newspapers, and secondary sources such as the District Council and local government department records, books, academic journals, completed and unpublished post-graduate research theses, and legislation. From the acquired information, a number of recommendations are made to deal with various challenges faced to achieve effective participatory development in the District.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for corporate data mining

  • Authors: Welcker, Laura Joana Maria
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Data mining , Business -- Data processing , Database management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5009 , vital:20778
  • Description: The technological progress in terms of increasing computational power and growing virtual space to collect data offers great potential for businesses to benefit from data mining applications. Data mining can create a competitive advantage for corporations by discovering business relevant information, such as patterns, relationships, and rules. The role of the human user within the data mining process is crucial, which is why the research area of domain knowledge becomes increasingly important. This thesis investigates the impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for corporate data mining. Domain knowledge is defined as methodological, data and business know-how. The thesis investigates the topic from a new perspective by shifting the focus from a one-sided approach, namely a purely analytic or purely theoretical approach towards a target group-oriented (researcher and practitioner) approach which puts the methodological aspect by means of a scientific guideline in the centre of the research. In order to ensure feasibility and practical relevance of the guideline, it is adapted and applied to the requirements of a practical business case. Thus, the thesis examines the topic from both perspectives, a theoretical and practical perspective. Therewith, it overcomes the limitation of a one-sided approach which mostly lacks practical relevance or generalisability of the results. The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a scientific guideline which should enable both practitioners and researchers to move forward the domain knowledge-driven research for variable derivation on a corporate basis. In the theoretical part, a broad overview of the main aspects which are necessary to undertake the research are given, such as the concept of domain knowledge, the data mining task of classification, variable derivation as a subtask of data preparation, and evaluation techniques. This part of the thesis refers to the methodological aspect of domain knowledge. In the practical part, a research design is developed for testing six hypotheses related to domain knowledge-driven variable derivation. The major contribution of the empirical study is concerned with testing the impact of domain knowledge on a real business data set compared to the impact of a standard and randomly derived data set. The business application of the research is a binary classification problem in the domain of an insurance business, which deals with the prediction of damages in legal expenses insurances. Domain knowledge is expressed through deriving the corporate variables by means of the business and data-driven constructive induction strategy. Six variable derivation steps are investigated: normalisation, instance relation, discretisation, categorical encoding, ratio, and multivariate mathematical function. The impact of the domain knowledge is examined by pairwise (with and without derived variables) performance comparisons for five classification techniques (decision trees, naive Bayes, logistic regression, artificial neural networks, k-nearest neighbours). The impact is measured by two classifier performance criteria: sensitivity and area under the ROC-curve (AUC). The McNemar significance test is used to verify the results. Based on the results, two hypotheses are clearly verified and accepted, three hypotheses are partly verified, and one hypothesis had to be rejected on the basis of the case study results. The thesis reveals a significant positive impact of domain knowledge-driven variable derivation on classifier performance for options of all six tested steps. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the classification technique influences the impact of the variable derivation steps, and the bundling of steps has a significant higher performance impact if the variables are derived by using domain knowledge (compared to a non-knowledge application). Finally, the research turns out that an empirical examination of the domain knowledge impact is very complex due to a high level of interaction between the selected research parameters (variable derivation step, classification technique, and performance criteria).
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of globalization on economic growth in South Africa

  • Authors: Maronga, Vimbai Linah
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , International economic integration , International trade
  • Language: English
  • Type: text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25861 , vital:64552
  • Description: The dissertation investigated the impact of globalization on the economic growth of South Africa using annual South African data covering the period 1975 to 2011. The study used Johansen cointegration and vector error correction model to determine the impact of globalization on economic growth in South Africa. The VECM model with South African variables was specified and used to assess the effects of globalization on South Africa’s economic growth. Results of the study suggested that the South African economic growth was negatively impacted by globalization in the long run. Using the results conclusions and policy recommendations were made using these results. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2015
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of government support on growth, survival and performance of cooperatives in selected areas of Eastern Cape province; South Africa

  • Authors: Mqaba, Mzuyanda Victor
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Cooperative societies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Producer cooperatives -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agriculture, Cooperative -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com (Business Management)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1612 , vital:27488
  • Description: This study investigated the impact of government support on growth, survival and performance of agricultural cooperatives in selected areas of Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The objectives of this empirical study were to examine (1) the impact of government support on growth of cooperatives, (2) assess the impact of government support on the performance of cooperatives, (3) reviewing the impact of government support on survival of cooperatives. A total sample of 157 agricultural cooperatives which consisted of poultry, maize, goat, nursery, sheep and vegetable coops was used. Stratified random sampling technique was used and a self-administered questionnaire used to gather primary data. The primary data of the study was gathered from the cooperatives managers only as they were the targeted respondents. Gathered data went through factor analysis, anova test and correlation analysis for the statistical analysis purposefully to arrive in study findings and conclusion. The findings of the study drawn from the 66% response rate concluded that government support has a statistical significant impact on growth of cooperatives. The study also indicated that government support has a significant impact on the survival of cooperatives. It is also reported that the performance of cooperatives is significantly impacted positively by government support. The findings of the study also indicated that agricultural cooperatives are not satisfied with the present government support.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of internal behavioural decision-making biases on South African collective investment scheme performance

  • Authors: Muller, Stacey Leigh
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Decision making , Investment analysis , Efficient market theory , Consumer behavior , Behavioral assessment , Mutual funds
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: vital:1209 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020308
  • Description: Market efficiency, based on people acting rationally, has been the dominating finance theory for most of the 20th and 21st Century’s. This classical finance theory is based on assumptions that people are rational, they absorb all available information and maximise utility. This view is outdated; it has been shown that people are in fact irrational and that this could be the cause of anomalies in the market. Behavioural finance takes into account people, and their natural biases. Behavioural finance has integrated classical financial theories and psychological theories to illustrate the way in which irrational people can impact market efficiency. This research looks at the way collective investment scheme manager decision-making can impact market efficiency. Specifically the behavioural biases: overconfidence, over optimism, loss aversion and frame dependence and whether or not collective investment scheme performance is affected by these. This research was carried out using a questionnaire distributed directly to CIS managers and risk-adjusted returns were used in order to allow for comparative results. The results from the questionnaire show evidence that actively managing South African CIS managers do indeed suffer from overconfidence and loss aversion and they do not appear to suffer from frame dependence or over optimism in this research context. There was also evidence showing that managers who suffer from these biases also demonstrated lower investment returns. “The investor’s chief problem, and even his worst enemy, is likely to be himself.” - Benjamin Graham
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of job redesign on employee job outcomes: the case of the implementation of a private-public partnership model at a hospital

  • Authors: Onaga, Chukwuka Moses
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Department of Health , Hospitals -- Employees , Public-private sector cooperation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Personnel management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Organizational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job enrichment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: vital:853 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017521
  • Description: It has been widely reported that despite high health expenditure and a myriad of policies in place, South Africa’s health outcomes are worse than those in many lower income countries. The adverse health outcomes are even more pronounced in a rural province such as the Eastern Cape Province. Consequently, the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDOH) had turned to Private Public Partnerships (PPP) with the hope of mitigating some of the challenges beleaguering the health system in the province. This study evaluated the impact of the implementation of one of the PPP models at an Eastern Cape Hospital on key employee job outcomes. This is crucial as there had not yet, been this type of scientific assessment of the impact of the PPP model since the inception of the PPP about half a decade ago. Theoretical guidance of the study was provided by the Job Characteristics Theory (JCT) of Oldham and Hackman (1975), which predicted that changes in five core characteristics of a job will affect three critical psychological states which will in turn impact on key employee job outcomes. Uniquely, this study veered away from the traditional quantitative approach to the application of the JCT but rather adopted a qualitative case study approach. There is historical evidence that cross cultural validation of a theory in a new setting (a South African PPP hospital in this instance) benefits from an initial qualitative study. Data collection and analysis were guided by the JCT. Primary data collection was by semi-structured, face to face, one on one interviews. The analyses of the data specifically employed pattern matching and explanation building techniques, all underpinned by the JCT. Validity of interview data was strongly contributed to by available relevant case study documents. This study found that indeed, the implementation of this PPP model brought about changes in all five (JCT) core job characteristics of clinical staff, but to varying degrees in the three unique shared service areas. Interestingly, the three psychological states were found to have been impacted upon by changes in the JCT core job characteristics but also by factors related to the context of the job, such as quality of supervision and co-worker relationship. In contrast to the predictions of the JCT, this study also found that the key job outcomes were impacted directly by such contextual factors as the recent availability of specialists and staff shortages, among others. It also emerged that the PPP implementation has directly evoked a perception of inequity and breach of psychological contract among clinical staff working at the shared service areas. Among the three shared areas, the accident and emergency unit was discovered to have had the worst overall impact. Due to the importance of contextual factors at this PPP setting, key recommendations were directed towards improved management of the jobs. It is also recommended that a follow-up quantitative study be commissioned to further explore the main themes that emerged from this study. This research report is presented in three sections. Section 1 is the evaluative report itself, structured as an academic paper. Section 2 expands on the literature that was briefly reviewed in Section 1 while Section 3 outlines, in greater details, the research methods followed during the conduct of the research and the justifications thereof.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of monetary policy on economic growth in Uganda

  • Authors: Tumwebaze, Vivian Jane
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Monetary policy -- Uganda , Economic development -- Uganda
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5836 , vital:21004
  • Description: This study sought to empirically investigate the impact of monetary policy on the economic growth in Uganda during the period 1985-2013. The variables analysed were real gross domestic product, real interest rates, real effective exchange rates and inflation. The empirical analysis used a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model as well as other techniques in order to obtain meaningful results. Using the Johansen technique, the empirical findings revealed that all the variables share a long run relationship. Further, real interest rates, real effective exchange rates and inflation have a negative effect on economic growth in the long run. The results further revealed that in a ten-year period, the variations in real GDP can be explained by its own innovations followed by real interest rates but real effective exchange rates and inflation however have minimal effects on real GDP. The findings of the impulse response test reiterated the VECM results showing that real interest rates and real effective exchange rate have a negative impact on economic growth in the first three years and the effect dies out after the fifth year. On the other hand, inflation rate has a marginal positive effect on economic growth in the first three years after which the effect becomes negative and wanes off after the sixth year. Uganda uses an Inflation Targeting Lite monetary framework that is based mainly on the use of interest rates to curb inflation. However, this study revealed that the use of interest rates as a policy tool to combat inflation results in a negative bearing on growth. It is on these grounds that this dissertation recommends a gradual policy shift from exclusive use of inflation targeting. Policy makers should thus consider using exchange rate targeting. Mishkin (2013) states that having a credible exchange rate target helps a country to anchor inflation to the expectations of the inflation rate in the economy because it ties the inflation rate of internationally traded goods to those of the country. This would be beneficial to Uganda which is a land locked country that relies heavily on imported products especially petroleum products and fuel whose prices fluctuate from time to time. In addition, exchange rate targeting is effective in reducing inflation quickly especially in emerging economies like Uganda. However, policy makers should be mindful that using exchange rate targeting can make a country prone to speculative attacks on their currencies which could devalue a country’s currency thus leading to a decline in economic growth. It is prudent therefore to apply these policies with a degree of caution.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of non-compliance with Eskom procurement policies

  • Authors: Mvelase, Thokozile Olivia
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Eskom (Firm) , Industrial procurement -- Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/9140 , vital:26468
  • Description: Supply Chain Management (SCM) has an overwhelming impact on firms as it directly impacts on sales and costs. Therefore, it must be a core competency for any organization and thus SCM expertise is highly valued in organisations. Procurement of goods and services has a major impact on the successful execution of the project. Procurement can help the business, ensuring that all the goods and services they buy will be of the right quality, quantity and price, and they will be delivered ‘just in time’. The application of procurement policies and practices, using fair and open procedures, is crucial not only for attracting efficient contractors and suppliers, but also to safeguard the principle of accountability and the cost-effective use of funds. Before awarding a tender, there is a substantial amount of work to be undertaken by the project manager, contracts manager, end user, buyer, and authorising committees. Commitment from personnel involved in contract awarding is not adequate. Furthermore, the Eskom governance process sometimes contributes to delays in awarding a contract. before the enquiry and tender documentation is sent out to the suppliers on the tender list, the core team involved in the procurement process verifies that the enquiry is complete and correct. Should there be contractual or legal issues during the execution of the project in the form of say a contract that has been issued with unsuitable clauses, solving the problem becomes difficult. Contractors will sometimes use contract clauses to suit themselves, and take advantage of the employer, causing cost overruns due to the difficulties in managing the contract. Eskom’s commercial activities are governed by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Constitution of South Africa, which states that an organisation such as Eskom should have in place “an appropriate procurement and provisioning system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective.” This can eliminate irregularities in contracts, since they can have a serious economic impact, interfere with fair competition, and destroy confidence in the integrity and functioning of public administration Such irregularities may lead to costs overruns on projects where incompetent contractors are awarded a contract. Incorrect financial forecasting is a very serious issue, and needs to be addressed in order to help strengthen the cash flow and forecasting within Eskom. This research strategy is intended for quantifying observations of human behaviour, with the emphasis on exact measurements. The primary data for this study was generated through the administration of a structured questionnaire survey conducted among engineers, project managers, contract managers, and forensics personnel. The secondary data for the present study was gathered from literature in the form of open ended questionnaire from the same personnel. Poor commitment of buyers and chain approval meetings being shifted affect the delays in awarding of contracts. Lack of training of contract managers, absence of legal representative’s advice and squad checking meetings not being represented properly contributes to contracts being awarded with unsuitable clauses. Managers specifically forcing contracts to be awarded to a specific contractor, nepotism or favoritism, politics and contractor greediness, relate to irregularities in contracts. Lack of experience, revision of scope (unclarified scope), project delays, less effort being made when forecasting and unforeseen circumstances, such as strikes, and forces of nature, relate to incorrect financial forecasting. Continuous training and commitment of all personnel involved in the project environment is important, therefore Eskom personnel in the project environment should work as a team in an integrated way. Adequate time should be spent, and thorough checks made, to ensure that documents sent out for tendering conform to requirements. Involvement of all the supporting functions must be maximised. Code of ethics training and application is very crucial in the project environment, and the current governance policies should be adhered to by all stakeholders in the project.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of the tasting room experience at the Nederburg wine estate on repurchase intentions

  • Authors: Jantjies, Heinrich
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Wine industry -- South Africa , Wine tasting , Wineries -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa , Wine and wine making -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3968 , vital:20496
  • Description: There are thousands of different wine brands available and wineries have to build a relationship with their customers, a relationship that will create a long-lasting experience. The relationship starts with the first interaction they have with the winery (Alonso et al 2008:978). Visitors to the tasting room create the opportunity to build long-term relationships (O’Neill & Charters 2000:113; Nowak & Newton 2006:157), build and develop brand loyalty (Dodd & Gustafson 1997:43), increase wine sales (Gilinsky et al 2003:18), and improve cash flow (Jago & Issaverdis 2001:18). The subject of repurchasing intentions in the wine industry has attracted the attention of numerous researchers; in particular, the connection between winery visits, brand loyalty and post-visit consumer behaviour (Nella & Christou 2010:2). Nederburg is one of the most prestigious South African wine estates, with a deep-rooted history in South Africa as one of the biggest wine brands. It is 100% owned by wine and spirits giant Distell and presents an ideal case for investigating the influence of the relationship between quality, customer satisfaction and price on repurchasing intentions in the South African wine industry. The purpose of this research was to determine whether the tasting room experience, in combination with a quality product, good pricing and customer-focused operations, leads to higher customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions. The present study indicates that the South African wine industry faces many challenges but it also highlights the various opportunities there are for wine estates to not only increase their sales but also to build long-lasting relationships with consumers. The study concludes with recommendations to the South African wine industry on how to improve their tasting room environment so that they can benefit from the relationship between wine quality, wine price, customer satisfaction and repurchasing intentions.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of transport infrastructure investment on unemployment in South Africa

  • Authors: Mayekiso, Sipokazi
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Transportation -- South Africa Infrastructure (Economics) -- South Africa Economic development -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2260 , vital:27720
  • Description: The transport infrastructure investment has been a subject of many studies for some time, mainly in improving and predicting the economic growth of the country and improving employment in South Africa. Given this, the study examines the impact of transport infrastructure investment on unemployment in South Africa by using time series econometric analysis over the period 1982-2012. Some key variables considered include unemployment, real GDP, real exchange rate, real interest rate, and trade openness total infrastructure investment exclude transport infrastructure investment. To separate the long and short run effect, VECM was employed after ensuring stationarity of the series. The study found that a long run relationship exist between the unemployment, transport infrastructure investment, real GDP, real exchange rate , real interest rate, trade openness and total infrastructure investment exclude transport infrastructure investment. The Results of this thesis have implications for policy and academic work.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of unemployment on grade R learners in Stephen Mazungula primary school in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

  • Authors: Mbengashe, Nosipho Theodora
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Children with social disabilities -- Education Poverty
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12560 , vital:27094
  • Description: The biggest problems facing South Africa is high rate of poverty. There are many reasons behind the high levels of poverty, and one of them is unemployment rate. Poverty is felt by particular groups, especially pro poor. Researchers brought to our attention that there is a link between poverty, children health and their school performance. According to the Millennium development goals, eradication of poverty, achieve primary education, empower women, and reduce mortality rate link together. For these goals to be achieved, full responsibility of women as life carriers should be taken into consideration as role players in upbringing children lives. Women health should be catered for better health as they are linked to the unborn and also born babies. In order to learn effectively and successfully one must be in good health. Children raised in poverty are subject to health problems, and at times suffer grave consequences because of some nutrients deficit in their bodies. The descriptive study investigated the impact of unemployment on Grade R learners in Stephen Mazungula Primary School in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. To understand the problems faced by learners and make recommendations. The study made use of sources like documents, government laws and policies, books, journals, newspaper articles and internet to promote the best interest of a child.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The impact of unguided animal husbandry on the peripheral and landscape elements: the case of Alice

  • Authors: Chungag, Anye https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2308-9410
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Livestock , Animal culture , Animal culture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19511 , vital:43134
  • Description: This study is based on Unguided Animal Husbandry as practiced in the town of Alice and its surrounding locations. It underscores the fact that though cattle are domesticated animals, they are still migratory in character. Their migratory tendency is prompted by the need of food and water and sometimes convenient rest positions. The search for food, water and rest may lead cattle to travel for many kilometres away from enclosure. This movement allows them to establish eating and drinking preferences and locations which become habitual, hence tracks develop along these paths which greatly compromise the soil, water and vegetation quality of the landscape. This study identifies such tracks and investigates the impact of cattle movement on soil physical properties and vegetation characteristics. However all this is against the back drop of the open access land regime; a mode of exploiting common property to which all have equal rights. It is a system of land management that comes with inherent challenges. Amongst them a selfish inclination of taking decisions that is motivated by egoistic interests and utmost personal gain. Secondly no thought is given to management and sustainability, subjecting common property to Haddins (1968) philosophy ‘The tragedy of the commons’. The results of the study show that when cattle is left to free range in common property they establish feeding, drinking and rest habits that have greater negative consequences on ecosystem elements of soil, vegetation and water than the positive effects they bring. The open access regime under which this farming system operates is appraised and recommendations proposed for its amelioration. , Thesis (MPhil) (Environmental Studies) -- University of Fort Hare, 2015
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The implications of smallholder agricultural productivity growth for poverty alleviation in post-apartheid South Africa

  • Authors: Dwesini, Nontembiso Eugenia
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Agricultural assistance -- South Africa , Sustainable development -- South Africa , Agricultural productivity -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
  • Identifier: vital:11232 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1021286 , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , Agricultural assistance -- South Africa , Sustainable development -- South Africa , Agricultural productivity -- South Africa
  • Description: The adoption of the Millennium Development Goal 1(MDG 1) of reducing the rate of poverty to half of the 1990-level by 2015 has been a challenge faced by the developing countries including South Africa. The foundations of democracy have to be continuously assessed so that the obstacles faced by South Africa as it strives towards sustainable democracy are addressed. With agricultural sector identified as having the potential to alleviate poverty compared to the mining sector, manufacturing sector and services sector, it faced the challenges that include: (i) accelerating agricultural productivity; (ii) reducing poverty and vulnerability; and (iii) narrowing rural-urban income disparities. The identification of the critical linkages in the agricultural development framework allows for effective strategic planning, effective decision making and appropriate policy formulation. Expectedly, the sector has attracted considerable fiscal policy interest and public investments. The primary aim of this research study is to assess the extent to which smallholder agricultural productivity growth alleviates poverty in South Africa. The statistical and econometric techniques namely; Johansen technique of co-integration analysis (1995), analysis of covariance and correlation, Vector Error Correction Model, are employed in this research study. The data description, data sources, expected relationship between variables and indexation of data are done. The drivers and cause-effect relationships between agriculture and poverty reduction are investigated. The employed models allowed for an exploration of plausible future growth in agricultural elasticity of poverty and the possibility of reducing poverty level in South Africa. The data is obtained from the National Department of Agriculture from 1994 -2013. The analysis of the results strongly confirms that agricultural productivity has a significant inverse relationship to the levels of poverty in South Africa. The outcome of the analysis will contribute to improved decision making on the use of public funds in agriculture.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The importance of Banting research and why withholding it costs us lives:

  • Authors: Remsing, Sandra , Viljoen, Janet E , Christie, Candice J
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143672 , vital:38272 , https://ischp.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/ischp_2015_abstract_booklet.pdf
  • Description: Increased attention is being paid to the low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, (LCHF) or ‘Banting diet’, as an effective method of managing insulin resistance and type ll diabetes. Randomised controlled trials have shown benefit, and anecdotes support the need for further investigation. Considering the prevalence and severity of type ll diabetes, effective non-pharmaceutical treatment options, such as LCHF, are crucial. However, current guidelines do not include the LCHF lifestyle, and in fact this option is generally opposed by the medical profession. Given the evidence, ignoring an alternative treatment must be considered an injustice to patients. This paper will present the opposing theories for the lifestyle treatment of type II diabetes, in particular, and critically argue that medical and scientific opposition to research into and application of an alternative treatment for insulin resistant individuals may be harmful rather than helpful.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The importance of demographic trends in forecasting energy demand for private households in South africa

  • Authors: Thubeni,Sinethemba Morine
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Electric power consumption -- South Africa -- Forecasting Households -- South Africa , Demography -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45322 , vital:38570
  • Description: South Africa’s residential energy use is expected to grow at approximately the same rate as the population. Efficient planning for energy demand by energy suppliers is therefore, essential since shortage of energy will negatively affect economic growth.This paper aims to investigate the causal relationship between population and house-hold energy demand on coal, gas, paraffin and wood for private households in South Africa. The adjusted R2, AIC (Akaike information criterion), the BIC (Bayesian information criterion) and standard deviation of residuals were used to investigate which model is the best to predict energy demand in each province using all available information. The results show that population and household energy demand are associated with each other. The findings imply that the causality between population growth and household energy demand is bidirectional in most cases.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The importance of winter-flowering Aloe ferox for specialist and generalist nectar-feeding birds

  • Authors: Kuiper, Timothy R , Smith, Diane L , Wolmarans, Milena H L , Jones, Sara S , Forbes, Ross W , Hulley, Patrick E , Craig, Adrian J F K
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465538 , vital:76618 , https://doi.org/10.1071/MU14054
  • Description: The abundance of consumers and the availability of resources are often linked, and birds are known to track food resources at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. This study describes the seasonal influx of nectar-feeding birds during flowering in a 51-ha stand of Aloe ferox in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, over 5 years (2008–09 and 2011–13). Bimonthly point counts of birds were conducted before (April—May), during (June—July) and after (August) flowering, which occurs during the austral winter. The abundance of nectar-feeding birds increased significantly during flowering each year, whereas monthly abundances of non-nectarivores were unrelated to flowering. Models fitted to bird count-data revealed a significant interaction between feeding guild (nectarivorous versus non-nectarivorous species) and the percentage of flowering A. ferox over the 5 years of the study, confirming that these guilds responded differently to flowering events. Malachite Sunbirds (Nectarina famosa), which are specialist nectarivores, responded consistently to flowering of A. ferox each year, despite the low sugar concentrations of A. ferox nectar. The arrival of nectar-feeding birds en masse during flowering, and the number of bird species (16) observed feeding on A. ferox nectar, suggest that this plant is an important source of nutrition for birds at a time when other food resources are likely to be scarce.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015

The Influence of Adaptive Co-management Interrelations on the Social Learning, Change and Transformation of the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi Community in Tanzania

  • Authors: Ferdinand, Victoria
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/387311 , vital:68224 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/137668"
  • Description: This study sought to identify signs of social learning, change and transformation resulting from adaptive co-management interrelations in terms of the project ‘Reduction of Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’ (REDD) at the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserves (PKFR) community in Tanzania. The study therefore presents some enablers and constraints in respect of learning, agency formation, social change and transformation potentially influenced by the REDD. This is a qualitative case study that explored ‘learning’1 from living experiences of local people at the PKFR and from local mechanisms of the REDD project. Reflexive workshop interventions were used to validate the performance of local REDD practices against the adaptive co-management framework. Other data was obtained through interviews, focus-group discussion, the analysis of documents and direct observations. The study found that individual people may deepen their understanding of forestry issues through collaborative interrelations. Social learning in the PKFR community was potentially stimulated by people’s relational interactions, reflective thinking and anticipations, and questioning of past practices. Learning occurred subtly, and the learning process was not endured firmly enough to foster the complex learning dynamics necessary for transformational changes. As a result, most of the REDD-stimulated learning did not transform the practices desired in the project.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2015
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact