Ultra-high precision manufacturing
- Authors: Abou-El-Hossein, Khaled
- Subjects: Machining , Diamond turning , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20878 , vital:29410
- Description: One of the engineering areas focusing on the research and development of highvalue components and manufacturing technologies is precision engineering. Precision engineering represents a variety of engineering and science disciplines ranging from areas such as mechanical, electronics and industrial engineering to chemistry, physics, optics and materials science. This paper aims at familiarising the reader with the recent advances in ultra-high precision manufacturing technologies and their applications for the production of various critical components employed in different sectors of the industry. In this paper, the principles of ultra-high precision manufacturing will be discussed followed by examples of its use in various industrial applications. The status of ultra-high precision manufacturing in terms of current research issues and future trends will be discussed. In addition, research activities and projects in the area of precision manufacturing that are currently conducted at the NMMU will be also highlighted. Finally, the author looks forward to presenting herewith comprehensive information that could be useful to the reader and easy to understand by the bigger NMMU’s community.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Abou-El-Hossein, Khaled
- Subjects: Machining , Diamond turning , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20878 , vital:29410
- Description: One of the engineering areas focusing on the research and development of highvalue components and manufacturing technologies is precision engineering. Precision engineering represents a variety of engineering and science disciplines ranging from areas such as mechanical, electronics and industrial engineering to chemistry, physics, optics and materials science. This paper aims at familiarising the reader with the recent advances in ultra-high precision manufacturing technologies and their applications for the production of various critical components employed in different sectors of the industry. In this paper, the principles of ultra-high precision manufacturing will be discussed followed by examples of its use in various industrial applications. The status of ultra-high precision manufacturing in terms of current research issues and future trends will be discussed. In addition, research activities and projects in the area of precision manufacturing that are currently conducted at the NMMU will be also highlighted. Finally, the author looks forward to presenting herewith comprehensive information that could be useful to the reader and easy to understand by the bigger NMMU’s community.
- Full Text:
Perspectives on leadership
- Authors: Arnolds, Cecil Ashleigh
- Subjects: Leadership , Industrial management , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21857 , vital:29794
- Description: My fields of study are business management and organizational behaviour (OB). In business management we study how to manage businesses effectively by executing various functions (marketing, finance, human resources management, general and strategic management, purchasing and logistics, public relations management, production and opertaions, information technology management) and management tasks (planning, organising, leading and control) (Bosch, Tait and Venter, 2006).
- Full Text: false
- Authors: Arnolds, Cecil Ashleigh
- Subjects: Leadership , Industrial management , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21857 , vital:29794
- Description: My fields of study are business management and organizational behaviour (OB). In business management we study how to manage businesses effectively by executing various functions (marketing, finance, human resources management, general and strategic management, purchasing and logistics, public relations management, production and opertaions, information technology management) and management tasks (planning, organising, leading and control) (Bosch, Tait and Venter, 2006).
- Full Text: false
Two decades of curriculum transformation: what have we learnt and where do we go from here?
- Authors: Blignaut, Sylvan
- Subjects: Curriculum change -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16076 , vital:28318
- Description: In this lecture, I will revisit the implementation of a new curriculum in South Africa’s schooling system and provide a brief overview of why curriculum change is so complex and fraught with difficulties. I will argue that an important reason for the failure of curriculum implementation could be ascribed to a relative neglect by policymakers of “teacher landscapes” or the beliefs teachers have about teaching. I will argue that it “matters what teachers think and do” and if policymakers do not take account of this reality, successful curriculum implementation will remain a challenge.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Blignaut, Sylvan
- Subjects: Curriculum change -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16076 , vital:28318
- Description: In this lecture, I will revisit the implementation of a new curriculum in South Africa’s schooling system and provide a brief overview of why curriculum change is so complex and fraught with difficulties. I will argue that an important reason for the failure of curriculum implementation could be ascribed to a relative neglect by policymakers of “teacher landscapes” or the beliefs teachers have about teaching. I will argue that it “matters what teachers think and do” and if policymakers do not take account of this reality, successful curriculum implementation will remain a challenge.
- Full Text:
Colonial tales, alter-narratives and the enduring value of anthropology
- Authors: Boswell, Rose
- Subjects: Anthrology , Oral tradition , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20989 , vital:29425
- Description: Stories and story-telling are fundamental to human beings. What stories do we choose to tell, hear and relate? From childhood through to adulthood, stories and story-telling provide social content, example, advice, therapy, continuity, connection and entertainment. Story-telling is also a space for hidden resistance, embodiment and the invocation of rank. Accompanied by song and dance, those intangible heritages which must remain dynamic to endure, stories facilitate an aural and oral community that engenders its own understanding of time, place and identity. In anthropology, the study of humanity in all its complexities, there is the collection, collation and retelling of stories for audiences who would otherwise not understand or seek to essentialise those deemed ‗other‘. In this inaugural lecture I focus on the value of stories gathered from anthropological field research in the southwest Indian Ocean Islands. The stories (often constitutive of a multiply-situated self), shed light on the finer details of gendered, ethnic and raced existence in the island communities. They also offer deep insight into the nature and possible ‗evolutions‘ of contemporary societies. Finally, I suggest that alter-narratives, those stories rarely told, provide access not only to multiple worlds, they are part of an aural epistemology which might lead to alternative ways of connecting with others and thereby conceptualising and articulating identity in our contemporary global society.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Boswell, Rose
- Subjects: Anthrology , Oral tradition , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20989 , vital:29425
- Description: Stories and story-telling are fundamental to human beings. What stories do we choose to tell, hear and relate? From childhood through to adulthood, stories and story-telling provide social content, example, advice, therapy, continuity, connection and entertainment. Story-telling is also a space for hidden resistance, embodiment and the invocation of rank. Accompanied by song and dance, those intangible heritages which must remain dynamic to endure, stories facilitate an aural and oral community that engenders its own understanding of time, place and identity. In anthropology, the study of humanity in all its complexities, there is the collection, collation and retelling of stories for audiences who would otherwise not understand or seek to essentialise those deemed ‗other‘. In this inaugural lecture I focus on the value of stories gathered from anthropological field research in the southwest Indian Ocean Islands. The stories (often constitutive of a multiply-situated self), shed light on the finer details of gendered, ethnic and raced existence in the island communities. They also offer deep insight into the nature and possible ‗evolutions‘ of contemporary societies. Finally, I suggest that alter-narratives, those stories rarely told, provide access not only to multiple worlds, they are part of an aural epistemology which might lead to alternative ways of connecting with others and thereby conceptualising and articulating identity in our contemporary global society.
- Full Text:
Property development body of knowledge (PDBoK)
- Authors: Botha, Brink
- Subjects: Real estate business , Real estate , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Inaugural Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52750 , vital:44007
- Description: Property development constitutes one of the largest enterprises and gross domestic product contributors of the world. Property development is about the development of land or Real Estate. The business of property development boasts enormous successes over the centuries, however also incurred substantial losses. Then the Covid-19 pandemic took this sentiment to new horizons. Empirical research identified factors affecting the perceived success of property development. The property development project life cycle has been identified to an extent, however, in the international arena, there are still extensive debate in terms of what constitute the accepted norm and stages involved in the proposed property development project life cycle. During primarily the last two decades, further empirical research identified certain knowledge areas that inform the property development process and ultimate life cycle, however, a Best Practice Guide informing the Property Development Body of Knowledge (pork) does not exist. The primary objective of this on-going research project will be to deliver this knew knowledge. The secondary objective will be in the form of knowledge areas aligned to the internationally agreed property development project life cycle that will enable the practice of property development to be professionally governed in all its impact and composure.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Botha, Brink
- Subjects: Real estate business , Real estate , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Inaugural Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52750 , vital:44007
- Description: Property development constitutes one of the largest enterprises and gross domestic product contributors of the world. Property development is about the development of land or Real Estate. The business of property development boasts enormous successes over the centuries, however also incurred substantial losses. Then the Covid-19 pandemic took this sentiment to new horizons. Empirical research identified factors affecting the perceived success of property development. The property development project life cycle has been identified to an extent, however, in the international arena, there are still extensive debate in terms of what constitute the accepted norm and stages involved in the proposed property development project life cycle. During primarily the last two decades, further empirical research identified certain knowledge areas that inform the property development process and ultimate life cycle, however, a Best Practice Guide informing the Property Development Body of Knowledge (pork) does not exist. The primary objective of this on-going research project will be to deliver this knew knowledge. The secondary objective will be in the form of knowledge areas aligned to the internationally agreed property development project life cycle that will enable the practice of property development to be professionally governed in all its impact and composure.
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Of science and small things: recollections of the past twenty(-)odd years
- Authors: Botha, J. R
- Subjects: Nanoscience , Nanotechnology , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20867 , vital:29409
- Description: I will start, therefore, with an overview of achievements in a “new” field of endeavour, a science of small things, popularly called nanoscience, and its spin-off called nanotechnology. I will present a brief history, look at the approaches that have been followed by scientists and engineers to develop and understand small things, and summarise some of the benefits to society in terms of new materials and processes, energy storage and generation, electronics, environmental applications, medicine and transportation. Since our own research focuses on the development on semiconductors, I will conclude the scientific part of the presentation by considering the contribution of semiconductors to the development of nanotechnology and highlight a few examples from our own research during the past two decades on the development of nano-scale semiconductor structures, like nanorods, quantum wells and superlattices.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Botha, J. R
- Subjects: Nanoscience , Nanotechnology , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20867 , vital:29409
- Description: I will start, therefore, with an overview of achievements in a “new” field of endeavour, a science of small things, popularly called nanoscience, and its spin-off called nanotechnology. I will present a brief history, look at the approaches that have been followed by scientists and engineers to develop and understand small things, and summarise some of the benefits to society in terms of new materials and processes, energy storage and generation, electronics, environmental applications, medicine and transportation. Since our own research focuses on the development on semiconductors, I will conclude the scientific part of the presentation by considering the contribution of semiconductors to the development of nanotechnology and highlight a few examples from our own research during the past two decades on the development of nano-scale semiconductor structures, like nanorods, quantum wells and superlattices.
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Structure and agency in the age of climate change
- Authors: Cherry, Janet
- Subjects: South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Social conditions , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21033 , vital:29429
- Description: What I will present here is based on my grappling over the past three decades with one of the central problems of social science – the relationship between social structure and human agency. This is not a new problem for social scientists; from Karl Marx, who understood that human beings make history, but not in circumstances of their choosing; to the French structuralists who conceived the term ‘relative autonomy’ and ‘overdetermination’; to Anthony Giddens’ ‘structuration theory’ and other contemporary sociologists. What is new are the changing physical circumstances of the world in which we live, which mean that human society can no longer afford to analyse ourselves and our social, political and economic systems independently of the natural world.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Cherry, Janet
- Subjects: South Africa -- Economic conditions , South Africa -- Social conditions , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21033 , vital:29429
- Description: What I will present here is based on my grappling over the past three decades with one of the central problems of social science – the relationship between social structure and human agency. This is not a new problem for social scientists; from Karl Marx, who understood that human beings make history, but not in circumstances of their choosing; to the French structuralists who conceived the term ‘relative autonomy’ and ‘overdetermination’; to Anthony Giddens’ ‘structuration theory’ and other contemporary sociologists. What is new are the changing physical circumstances of the world in which we live, which mean that human society can no longer afford to analyse ourselves and our social, political and economic systems independently of the natural world.
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Whither the International Court?
- Authors: Cilliers, A. C
- Subjects: International Court of Justice -- Powers and duties , Mandates -- Namibia , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21110 , vital:29441
- Description: The International Court of Justice is an important organ regulating the pacific settlement of international disputes. If the present Court is to function effectively, disrespectful attacks on members of the Court should cease, and the organs of the United Nations should not attempt to use the Court as an instrument of policy. Moreover, the Court itself should adhere to the appropriate method of interpretation of international instruments in litigation having a bearing on political controversies. In October 1966 the General Assembly of the United Nations purported to terminate South Africa's mandate in respect of South West Africa. The Security Council thereafter requested the Court to advise it as to the legal consequences for states of South Africa's continued presence in South West Africa, notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970). Has the mandate been validly terminated?
- Full Text: false
- Authors: Cilliers, A. C
- Subjects: International Court of Justice -- Powers and duties , Mandates -- Namibia , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21110 , vital:29441
- Description: The International Court of Justice is an important organ regulating the pacific settlement of international disputes. If the present Court is to function effectively, disrespectful attacks on members of the Court should cease, and the organs of the United Nations should not attempt to use the Court as an instrument of policy. Moreover, the Court itself should adhere to the appropriate method of interpretation of international instruments in litigation having a bearing on political controversies. In October 1966 the General Assembly of the United Nations purported to terminate South Africa's mandate in respect of South West Africa. The Security Council thereafter requested the Court to advise it as to the legal consequences for states of South Africa's continued presence in South West Africa, notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970). Has the mandate been validly terminated?
- Full Text: false
Happiness: a business model
- Authors: Cullen, Margaret
- Subjects: Happiness , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20956 , vital:29422
- Description: The concept of happiness might appear elusive. It has been extensively analysed by philosophers and historians, who agree that the concept of happiness in antiquity centered on good luck and fortune. Something beyond human agency and therefore controlled by the Gods (McMahon, 2006).Today, happiness is viewed as something over which you can have control and something that can be pursued (Oishi, 2012).
- Full Text:
- Authors: Cullen, Margaret
- Subjects: Happiness , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20956 , vital:29422
- Description: The concept of happiness might appear elusive. It has been extensively analysed by philosophers and historians, who agree that the concept of happiness in antiquity centered on good luck and fortune. Something beyond human agency and therefore controlled by the Gods (McMahon, 2006).Today, happiness is viewed as something over which you can have control and something that can be pursued (Oishi, 2012).
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Environmental ethics, protection and valuation
- Authors: Du Preez, M
- Subjects: Environmental ethics , Environmental protection , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21022 , vital:29428
- Description: This lecture addresses the environmental ethics, protection and valuation of natural assets. The aim of the lecture is threefold: first, to present a bio-ethical argument for the extension of our moral reference class to include all conscious and non-conscious natural assets; second, to discuss the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’; third, to discuss the valuation of natural assets from a system’s perspective with specific reference to the estimation of non-use values. In what follows, Section I discusses environmental protection from a bioethical point of view, Section II discusses the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’, Section III describes the concept of valuing natural assets with specific reference to the concept of non-use value and its measurement, and finally, Section IV concludes the lecture.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Du Preez, M
- Subjects: Environmental ethics , Environmental protection , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21022 , vital:29428
- Description: This lecture addresses the environmental ethics, protection and valuation of natural assets. The aim of the lecture is threefold: first, to present a bio-ethical argument for the extension of our moral reference class to include all conscious and non-conscious natural assets; second, to discuss the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’; third, to discuss the valuation of natural assets from a system’s perspective with specific reference to the estimation of non-use values. In what follows, Section I discusses environmental protection from a bioethical point of view, Section II discusses the moral significance of a broader moral reference class in terms of Aldo Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’, Section III describes the concept of valuing natural assets with specific reference to the concept of non-use value and its measurement, and finally, Section IV concludes the lecture.
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Corruption, state capture and the betrayal of South Africa’s vulnerable
- Authors: Erasmus, Deon
- Subjects: Political corruption -- South Africa , Business enterprises -- Corrupt practices -- South Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/53199 , vital:45037
- Description: The term state capture was first defined in a World Bank report on corruption in eastern Europe and central Asia in 2003. Hellman, Jones and Kaufmann (2000) point out in the report that some firms in transition economies were able to shape the rules of the game to their own advantage at a considerable social cost by creating a “capture economy.”
- Full Text:
- Authors: Erasmus, Deon
- Subjects: Political corruption -- South Africa , Business enterprises -- Corrupt practices -- South Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/53199 , vital:45037
- Description: The term state capture was first defined in a World Bank report on corruption in eastern Europe and central Asia in 2003. Hellman, Jones and Kaufmann (2000) point out in the report that some firms in transition economies were able to shape the rules of the game to their own advantage at a considerable social cost by creating a “capture economy.”
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Family business: a legitimate scholarly field
- Authors: Farrington, Shelley M
- Subjects: Family-owned business enterprises , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20934 , vital:29420
- Description: My lecture this afternoon is titled “Family business: A legitimate scholarly field”. I will first provide you with some background to family businesses and their prominence and contributions worldwide. This will be followed by an overview of how the field has evolved and where it is today. I will highlight the key role players in this evolution, some of the main challenges facing the field as well as the reasons why scholars study these businesses. I will conclude by highlighting how I believe that research on family business in South Africa can contribute to the field as a whole.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Farrington, Shelley M
- Subjects: Family-owned business enterprises , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20934 , vital:29420
- Description: My lecture this afternoon is titled “Family business: A legitimate scholarly field”. I will first provide you with some background to family businesses and their prominence and contributions worldwide. This will be followed by an overview of how the field has evolved and where it is today. I will highlight the key role players in this evolution, some of the main challenges facing the field as well as the reasons why scholars study these businesses. I will conclude by highlighting how I believe that research on family business in South Africa can contribute to the field as a whole.
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Ethics, cultures, fraud and corruption: the unanswered questions
- Authors: Fourie, Houdini
- Subjects: Fraud -- Moral and ethical aspects , Fraud -- South Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31797 , vital:31846
- Description: idea for the paper emanated from my concern regarding the absolute flood of unethical behaviour in recent times. Fraud and corruption in South Africa is rife and it seems that the average person has no control over what comes next. Considering the impacts of peoples’ background, social standing and culture, the paper considered the psychological processes through which learning of habits and mannerisms take place; and how it influences ethical behaviour. Valuable lessons are learnt, namely that culture, whether it being ethnical, organisational, family or religious, have a direct impact on a person’s ethical value system and subsequently on whether a person is inclined to partake in fraud and corrupt activities. Fraud and corruption can cripple and destroy organisations and its auditors. Fraud and corruption are costly. The paper reports that it is ultimately the responsibility of executive management to manage fraud and associated risks – management must set the “Tone at the Top”. Managing ethics is costly, but ignoring it is fatal. Although it is not the primary responsibility of auditors to detect and investigate fraud and corruption, the accounting profession needs to do introspection to determine what society expects of them. A mere audit opinion on annual financial statements does not satisfy the demands of society any more. The question is apparently not whether fraud will occur in organisations, but rather when and that everybody must insist on doing the right thing – for the greater good.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Fourie, Houdini
- Subjects: Fraud -- Moral and ethical aspects , Fraud -- South Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31797 , vital:31846
- Description: idea for the paper emanated from my concern regarding the absolute flood of unethical behaviour in recent times. Fraud and corruption in South Africa is rife and it seems that the average person has no control over what comes next. Considering the impacts of peoples’ background, social standing and culture, the paper considered the psychological processes through which learning of habits and mannerisms take place; and how it influences ethical behaviour. Valuable lessons are learnt, namely that culture, whether it being ethnical, organisational, family or religious, have a direct impact on a person’s ethical value system and subsequently on whether a person is inclined to partake in fraud and corrupt activities. Fraud and corruption can cripple and destroy organisations and its auditors. Fraud and corruption are costly. The paper reports that it is ultimately the responsibility of executive management to manage fraud and associated risks – management must set the “Tone at the Top”. Managing ethics is costly, but ignoring it is fatal. Although it is not the primary responsibility of auditors to detect and investigate fraud and corruption, the accounting profession needs to do introspection to determine what society expects of them. A mere audit opinion on annual financial statements does not satisfy the demands of society any more. The question is apparently not whether fraud will occur in organisations, but rather when and that everybody must insist on doing the right thing – for the greater good.
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Philosophy as laughter
- Authors: Hurst, Andrea
- Subjects: Laughter -- Philosophy , Philosophy -- Study and teaching , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37103 , vital:34106
- Description: Contextualising my current philosophical preoccupations within the framework of my understanding of my task as a philosopher, I engage with the proposition that philosophers have a double task: firstly learning (and teaching) how to think, and relatedly, unexpectedly, learning/teaching how to laugh.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hurst, Andrea
- Subjects: Laughter -- Philosophy , Philosophy -- Study and teaching , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37103 , vital:34106
- Description: Contextualising my current philosophical preoccupations within the framework of my understanding of my task as a philosopher, I engage with the proposition that philosophers have a double task: firstly learning (and teaching) how to think, and relatedly, unexpectedly, learning/teaching how to laugh.
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Confinement and labouring women: a persistent struggle against nature
- Authors: James, Sindiwe
- Subjects: Childbirth , Labor (Obstetrics) , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/40028 , vital:35730
- Description: Nature in its essence is frequently viewed as a thing of beauty and the ultimate truth of perfection. Unfortunately, this view of nature is often undermined when it comes to the concept of women in confinement and labour. Women, naturally by virtue of being females, have the capacity to become pregnant and thus to bear children. However, in many instances this capacity becomes limited, or misunderstood. In such cases, humans start viewing or considering confinement and labour in terms of ‘being wrong and incorrect’. They only see issues around age and marital status while losing sight of the fact that nature has ordained that all women have a uterus, which has a potential to conceive, but under ‘suitable’ conditions. Yes, the uterus does not know about age and health restrictions, but will expel its contents when the time comes, and suitability around that expulsion unfortunately becomes the concern of humans (midwives or family members). Very often young girls who are in confinement are received and treated differently by these two categories of humans because they are deemed not to be at the correct age for falling pregnant and to be in labour, or they are regarded as having been ‘naughty’.
- Full Text:
- Authors: James, Sindiwe
- Subjects: Childbirth , Labor (Obstetrics) , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/40028 , vital:35730
- Description: Nature in its essence is frequently viewed as a thing of beauty and the ultimate truth of perfection. Unfortunately, this view of nature is often undermined when it comes to the concept of women in confinement and labour. Women, naturally by virtue of being females, have the capacity to become pregnant and thus to bear children. However, in many instances this capacity becomes limited, or misunderstood. In such cases, humans start viewing or considering confinement and labour in terms of ‘being wrong and incorrect’. They only see issues around age and marital status while losing sight of the fact that nature has ordained that all women have a uterus, which has a potential to conceive, but under ‘suitable’ conditions. Yes, the uterus does not know about age and health restrictions, but will expel its contents when the time comes, and suitability around that expulsion unfortunately becomes the concern of humans (midwives or family members). Very often young girls who are in confinement are received and treated differently by these two categories of humans because they are deemed not to be at the correct age for falling pregnant and to be in labour, or they are regarded as having been ‘naughty’.
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The Plastic University: Knowledge, Disciplines and Decolonial 'Circulations'
- Authors: Keet, Andre
- Subjects: Critical pedagogy , Transformative learning , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21077 , vital:29436
- Description: The university is as plastic as the social figure of ‘Mandela’ after whom it is named. It is as plastic as the globe and its humanity in whose name it exists. And, it is as plastic as the human subject that is ‘perpetually called on to reconfigure itself in relation to the artefacts of the age’, as Mbembe2 argues in Critique of Black Reason. The very nature of addressing, of writing … of inaugurating … oneself, through an address is an act of reconfiguration, of responding to an artefact of the university and the professoriate. It is, when all is said and done, a performance, a performative act: declaring so and so a professor of this or that status, authorizing ‘it’ to utter something with some kind of formative force.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Keet, Andre
- Subjects: Critical pedagogy , Transformative learning , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21077 , vital:29436
- Description: The university is as plastic as the social figure of ‘Mandela’ after whom it is named. It is as plastic as the globe and its humanity in whose name it exists. And, it is as plastic as the human subject that is ‘perpetually called on to reconfigure itself in relation to the artefacts of the age’, as Mbembe2 argues in Critique of Black Reason. The very nature of addressing, of writing … of inaugurating … oneself, through an address is an act of reconfiguration, of responding to an artefact of the university and the professoriate. It is, when all is said and done, a performance, a performative act: declaring so and so a professor of this or that status, authorizing ‘it’ to utter something with some kind of formative force.
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Discourse, cinema and desubjectification: from Foucault to Deleuze and beyond.
- Authors: Konik, Adrian
- Subjects: Philosophy , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , article , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31594 , vital:31617
- Description: To be clear, this was not philosophy as a discipline, which like all canonical edifices can come across as weighty, dusty and extremely boring; especially when it rather arrogantly assumes the position of arbiter of truth, and tries to determine what everybody else can or cannot think, or what they should or should not say. Rather, what I encountered again in that Honors-level philosophy module was something that I had glimpsed during my undergraduate studies, but which I had yet to fully appreciate, namely an approach to thinking that was also an approach to life, on the part of certain people who, in their time, had to a large extent philosophized privately as they carried out their many other duties, or philosophized outside of the academy, or remained on the margins of academic philosophy – men like Marcus Aurelius, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Benedictus Spinoza.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Konik, Adrian
- Subjects: Philosophy , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , article , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/31594 , vital:31617
- Description: To be clear, this was not philosophy as a discipline, which like all canonical edifices can come across as weighty, dusty and extremely boring; especially when it rather arrogantly assumes the position of arbiter of truth, and tries to determine what everybody else can or cannot think, or what they should or should not say. Rather, what I encountered again in that Honors-level philosophy module was something that I had glimpsed during my undergraduate studies, but which I had yet to fully appreciate, namely an approach to thinking that was also an approach to life, on the part of certain people who, in their time, had to a large extent philosophized privately as they carried out their many other duties, or philosophized outside of the academy, or remained on the margins of academic philosophy – men like Marcus Aurelius, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Benedictus Spinoza.
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Is e-business the saving grace for retailers during Covid-19?
- Authors: Kruger, Janine
- Subjects: Electronic commerce , COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- -- Economic aspects , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/56470 , vital:56687
- Description: The question can be asked whether e-business is the saving grace for retailers during Covid-19. Without pondering on the question, we will immediately say yes due to the lived experiences we all have as final consumers of retailers. However, before answering the question, it is important to consider what transpired within the retail business environment. The world has turned upside down towards the end of 2019 due to the outbreak of Covid-19 while South Africa felt the effect of Covid-19 as from March 2020. As cited by Verhoef, Noordhoff and Sloot (2022), the retail industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic. Not only has the retail industry been affected, the life of consumers also changed as consumers did not have direct access to their favourite traditional brick-and mortar-retailers. As the customers of these retailers, we have the lived experiences of not being able to patronise these retailers for an extended period of time. Due to the hard lockdown restrictions imposed within the business environment on brick-and-mortar retailers, the retailers had to find different ways to reach and provide need satisfying products to their customers. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (2020) and Rindita et al (2021, p.108), the pandemic provided retailers with a good opportunity to develop and adopt an e-commerce strategy that can act as an economic driver. In addition, Gramling, Orschell and Chernoff (2021) state that e-commerce is essential for future existence of businesses. This is evident when considering that the South African e-commerce sector grew by 66% in 2020 when 2 compared to 2019 while in-store shopping has declined by 30% (Kibuacha 2021). These results are expected if we take into account the trading restrictions imposed on brick-and-mortar retailers during the Covid-19 lockdown. In addition, a study by Deloitte in 2021 showed that more than 70% of South African consumers are shopping online at least once a month while citing convenience and saving time for doing so (Kibuacha 2021). However, whether businesses are implementing a new strategy or expand an existing strategy, the brick-and-mortar retailers were required to adapt their strategies with the focus on business survival.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kruger, Janine
- Subjects: Electronic commerce , COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- -- Economic aspects , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/56470 , vital:56687
- Description: The question can be asked whether e-business is the saving grace for retailers during Covid-19. Without pondering on the question, we will immediately say yes due to the lived experiences we all have as final consumers of retailers. However, before answering the question, it is important to consider what transpired within the retail business environment. The world has turned upside down towards the end of 2019 due to the outbreak of Covid-19 while South Africa felt the effect of Covid-19 as from March 2020. As cited by Verhoef, Noordhoff and Sloot (2022), the retail industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic. Not only has the retail industry been affected, the life of consumers also changed as consumers did not have direct access to their favourite traditional brick-and mortar-retailers. As the customers of these retailers, we have the lived experiences of not being able to patronise these retailers for an extended period of time. Due to the hard lockdown restrictions imposed within the business environment on brick-and-mortar retailers, the retailers had to find different ways to reach and provide need satisfying products to their customers. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (2020) and Rindita et al (2021, p.108), the pandemic provided retailers with a good opportunity to develop and adopt an e-commerce strategy that can act as an economic driver. In addition, Gramling, Orschell and Chernoff (2021) state that e-commerce is essential for future existence of businesses. This is evident when considering that the South African e-commerce sector grew by 66% in 2020 when 2 compared to 2019 while in-store shopping has declined by 30% (Kibuacha 2021). These results are expected if we take into account the trading restrictions imposed on brick-and-mortar retailers during the Covid-19 lockdown. In addition, a study by Deloitte in 2021 showed that more than 70% of South African consumers are shopping online at least once a month while citing convenience and saving time for doing so (Kibuacha 2021). However, whether businesses are implementing a new strategy or expand an existing strategy, the brick-and-mortar retailers were required to adapt their strategies with the focus on business survival.
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Macroeconomic theory after the great recession of 2008: the need for a market process approach
- Authors: Le Roux, Pierre
- Subjects: Recessions , Macroeconomics , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52919 , vital:44679
- Description: This paper sets out to reflect that contemporary schools of thought are unable to explain the great recession of 2008. The Great Recession 2007-2009 and the long, slow recovery from it serve as reminders of the difficulty of explaining business cycles. Macroeconomists of all varieties have been humbled by these events and by our inability to predict or to design policies that moderate the effects. Paul Krugman (2009) and John Cochrane (2010) are examples of how two schools of thought have struggled with the issue. Many theories of business cycles exist, without any being comprehensive; none are able to account for all important characteristics. Macroeconomic theory continues to explore stylised facts for explanatory power. The whole sub-discipline of “macroeconomics” is premised on the belief that the standard microeconomic tools are not of much use in understanding the dynamics of growth and business cycles. Even with the rational expectations revolution purporting to set macroeconomics back on microfoundations, the language of aggregate supply and demand, over-simplified versions of the Quantity Theory of Money, and the aggregative analytics of the Keynesian cross and simple models of functional finance still fill the textbooks and inform most policy debates. The neglect of capital theory in particular has removed the important elements of time and money from Macroeconomics. The main approaches to Macroeconomics are compared and their lack of a firm micro foundation exposed. The dissatisfaction with macroeconomics can be resolved by taking a more capitalbased approach. This will allow for macro elements such as time and money while reintroducing the entrepreneur into macroeconomic theory. Relative prices, especially intertemporal prices can then again take their rightful place in explaining the business cycle.
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- Authors: Le Roux, Pierre
- Subjects: Recessions , Macroeconomics , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52919 , vital:44679
- Description: This paper sets out to reflect that contemporary schools of thought are unable to explain the great recession of 2008. The Great Recession 2007-2009 and the long, slow recovery from it serve as reminders of the difficulty of explaining business cycles. Macroeconomists of all varieties have been humbled by these events and by our inability to predict or to design policies that moderate the effects. Paul Krugman (2009) and John Cochrane (2010) are examples of how two schools of thought have struggled with the issue. Many theories of business cycles exist, without any being comprehensive; none are able to account for all important characteristics. Macroeconomic theory continues to explore stylised facts for explanatory power. The whole sub-discipline of “macroeconomics” is premised on the belief that the standard microeconomic tools are not of much use in understanding the dynamics of growth and business cycles. Even with the rational expectations revolution purporting to set macroeconomics back on microfoundations, the language of aggregate supply and demand, over-simplified versions of the Quantity Theory of Money, and the aggregative analytics of the Keynesian cross and simple models of functional finance still fill the textbooks and inform most policy debates. The neglect of capital theory in particular has removed the important elements of time and money from Macroeconomics. The main approaches to Macroeconomics are compared and their lack of a firm micro foundation exposed. The dissatisfaction with macroeconomics can be resolved by taking a more capitalbased approach. This will allow for macro elements such as time and money while reintroducing the entrepreneur into macroeconomic theory. Relative prices, especially intertemporal prices can then again take their rightful place in explaining the business cycle.
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What is the future of financial inclusion?
- Authors: Mago, Stephen
- Subjects: Financial services industry -- Africa , Banks and banking -- Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/56481 , vital:56688
- Description: The purpose of this lecture is to explicate the future of financial inclusion with a focus on Africa. Understanding financial inclusion, its advantages, and its trajectory into the future sets a scene for future research and debates. Materials and methods: In preparing this lecture, I used systematic literature and bibliometric analysis complemented with field research done in two selected areas (Masvingo district in Zimbabwe and the Kirkwood area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa). Results/Findings: Results show that financial inclusion benefits poverty alleviation, job/employment creation, small business growth (through innovation and creativity), sustainability, closing inequality gaps, inclusive economic growth and development (local, national, regional, and global), closing gender gaps, and the promotion of digital finance. In other words, it creates opportunities for individuals, businesses, and economies in various ways. It also contributes to the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Globally, stakeholders such as governments, supranational organisations (the UN, the WB, the IMF, the G20) and development banks are working together to achieve financial inclusion. Alleviation or elimination of financial exclusion (FE) is the ultimate. Social implications: Financial inclusion promotes socio-economic transformation and livelihood enhancement. The unbanked, or the financially excluded, and the underbanked benefit from financial inclusion, thus allowing them access to financial services. Conclusions and recommendations: Extant literature and empirical research demonstrate the immense contribution of financial inclusion. It helps to defy the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. This lecture therefore recommends deliberate policy intentions by governments in developing countries to support financial inclusion to benefit the marginalised and promote the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). There is a need to digitise the financial systems for inclusivity. I argue that the future of financial inclusion is achieved not only by technology, but also by acceptance, behaviour, and collaboration/synergy, built around strong ecosystems. An underlying thesis is that financial inclusion benefits economies in many ways.
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- Authors: Mago, Stephen
- Subjects: Financial services industry -- Africa , Banks and banking -- Africa , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/56481 , vital:56688
- Description: The purpose of this lecture is to explicate the future of financial inclusion with a focus on Africa. Understanding financial inclusion, its advantages, and its trajectory into the future sets a scene for future research and debates. Materials and methods: In preparing this lecture, I used systematic literature and bibliometric analysis complemented with field research done in two selected areas (Masvingo district in Zimbabwe and the Kirkwood area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa). Results/Findings: Results show that financial inclusion benefits poverty alleviation, job/employment creation, small business growth (through innovation and creativity), sustainability, closing inequality gaps, inclusive economic growth and development (local, national, regional, and global), closing gender gaps, and the promotion of digital finance. In other words, it creates opportunities for individuals, businesses, and economies in various ways. It also contributes to the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Globally, stakeholders such as governments, supranational organisations (the UN, the WB, the IMF, the G20) and development banks are working together to achieve financial inclusion. Alleviation or elimination of financial exclusion (FE) is the ultimate. Social implications: Financial inclusion promotes socio-economic transformation and livelihood enhancement. The unbanked, or the financially excluded, and the underbanked benefit from financial inclusion, thus allowing them access to financial services. Conclusions and recommendations: Extant literature and empirical research demonstrate the immense contribution of financial inclusion. It helps to defy the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. This lecture therefore recommends deliberate policy intentions by governments in developing countries to support financial inclusion to benefit the marginalised and promote the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). There is a need to digitise the financial systems for inclusivity. I argue that the future of financial inclusion is achieved not only by technology, but also by acceptance, behaviour, and collaboration/synergy, built around strong ecosystems. An underlying thesis is that financial inclusion benefits economies in many ways.
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