The influence of non-financial nation brand image dimensions on foreign direct investment inflows in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Matiza, Tafadzwa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- Zimbabwe , Branding (Marketing) -- Zimbabwe , Zimbabwe -- Foreign economic relations , Political stability -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8902 , vital:26441
- Description: How a country is perceived by foreign investors is becoming increasingly significant to the ability of individual countries to attract foreign direct investment into their economies. In Africa, existing negative perceptions of the continent as an investment destination have been considered as an obstacle for foreign direct investment inflows to the continent in general. Although Zimbabwe offers foreign investors multiple lucrative investment opportunities, attracting foreign direct investment to the country presents a unique challenge due to the image of the country post the 1998-2008 economic crisis. Despite the vast research on the determinants of foreign direct inflows to particular countries, little is known about whether non-financial image-related factors influence the inflow of foreign direct investment to a particular country, especially a country with a unfavourable global image like Zimbabwe. The primary objective of this study was therefore to determine the perceived non-financial nation brand image factors considered to be influential for attracting specific foreign direct investment inflow opportunities in Zimbabwe. A comprehensive literature review resulted in the identification of nine independent variables (tourism, governance, people, culture and heritage, exports, investment and immigration, factor endowments, infrastructure, and legal and regulation frameworks), as well as four dependent variables (market-, resource-, efficiency- and strategic asset-seeking foreign direct investment inflow opportunities in Zimbabwe). A hypothesised model was developed in order to examine whether the independent variables have an influence on the dependent variables, and as a result nine hypotheses were formulated to test the relationships between the nine independent variables and each of the four dependent variables. A cross-sectional, quantitative deductive approach to research was employed in order to generate the data required for hypothesis testing. Purposive sampling techniques were employed to draw the sample frame for the study. A self-administered online survey was conducted, and generated empirical data from a final sample comprised of 305 investors who had applied to invest in Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Investment Authority between January 2009 and April 2015. Data was analysed using STATISTICA 12 software. Exploratory factor analysis was utilised to extract the constructs and validate the measuring instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated in order to test the reliability and internal consistency of the measuring instrument. As a result, a total of six valid and reliable independent variables, and four dependent variables were retained for further analysis. The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients revealed mostly moderate correlations. The Multi-Collinearity diagnostics test confirmed the absence of collinearity between the independent variables and dependent variables respectively. Subsequently, the results of the four sets of multiple regression analyses, disclosed thirteen statistically significant relationships between the six independent variables and the four categorical dependent variables. Tourism had significant relationships with market-, efficiency- and strategic asset-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. Government actions had significant relationships with resource- and strategic asset-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. People had significant relationships with resource- and efficiency- seeking FDI inflow opportunities. Export had significant relationships with market-, resource-, efficiency- and strategic asset-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. Regulatory framework had significant relationships with market- and resource-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. The results of the Analysis of Variance revealed that investor status can be used to predict which non-financial nation brand image determinants played a role in the ultimate decision for taking up foreign direct investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. Further analysis of the role that the demographic profiles of the investors played in predicting which non-financial nation brand image determinants are considered influential in taking up foreign direct investment opportunities in Zimbabwe was confirmed in the Multivariate Analysis of Variance with thirty-four statically significant relationships identified. Further analysis by means of post-hoc Scheffé testing and Cohen’s d-values calculations confirm that thirty-nine practically significant mean differences were evident. This study makes a novel contribution to the empirical body of nation branding, foreign direct investment and investment promotion research by developing and testing a hypothetical model that synthesises facets of the three fields of study. This study represents a new discourse in the identification of the determinants of FDI (that being non-financial determinants) and provides an explanatory framework for the non-financial nation brand image determinants influencing each type of FDI inflow opportunity sought in Zimbabwe. It is within this framework that recommendations, based on empirical evidence, are made for the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Investment Authority. Some of these recommendations could be implemented within the short-term, while others may be more strategic in the long term. Recommendations made include that the Government of Zimbabwe undertakes significant policy reviews, continues its engagement with key external stakeholders such as other governments, supra-national financial institutions, and foreign investors, as well as adhering to existing favourable FDI policies. It is also recommended that the Zimbabwe Investment Authority adopt an intermediary role, by linking the Government of Zimbabwe with potential foreign investors through investor targeting, as well as promoting Zimbabwe as an investment destination by engaging in image-building activities such as public diplomacy, investor relations, specialised advertising and hosting investor forums with multiple, distinct investor segments. These image-building activities should be centered on the non-financial nation brand image determinants that foreign investors consider to be influential to foreign direct investment in Zimbabwe, and should be geared towards improving and managing the perceived image of Zimbabwe as an investment destination.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Matiza, Tafadzwa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- Zimbabwe , Branding (Marketing) -- Zimbabwe , Zimbabwe -- Foreign economic relations , Political stability -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8902 , vital:26441
- Description: How a country is perceived by foreign investors is becoming increasingly significant to the ability of individual countries to attract foreign direct investment into their economies. In Africa, existing negative perceptions of the continent as an investment destination have been considered as an obstacle for foreign direct investment inflows to the continent in general. Although Zimbabwe offers foreign investors multiple lucrative investment opportunities, attracting foreign direct investment to the country presents a unique challenge due to the image of the country post the 1998-2008 economic crisis. Despite the vast research on the determinants of foreign direct inflows to particular countries, little is known about whether non-financial image-related factors influence the inflow of foreign direct investment to a particular country, especially a country with a unfavourable global image like Zimbabwe. The primary objective of this study was therefore to determine the perceived non-financial nation brand image factors considered to be influential for attracting specific foreign direct investment inflow opportunities in Zimbabwe. A comprehensive literature review resulted in the identification of nine independent variables (tourism, governance, people, culture and heritage, exports, investment and immigration, factor endowments, infrastructure, and legal and regulation frameworks), as well as four dependent variables (market-, resource-, efficiency- and strategic asset-seeking foreign direct investment inflow opportunities in Zimbabwe). A hypothesised model was developed in order to examine whether the independent variables have an influence on the dependent variables, and as a result nine hypotheses were formulated to test the relationships between the nine independent variables and each of the four dependent variables. A cross-sectional, quantitative deductive approach to research was employed in order to generate the data required for hypothesis testing. Purposive sampling techniques were employed to draw the sample frame for the study. A self-administered online survey was conducted, and generated empirical data from a final sample comprised of 305 investors who had applied to invest in Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Investment Authority between January 2009 and April 2015. Data was analysed using STATISTICA 12 software. Exploratory factor analysis was utilised to extract the constructs and validate the measuring instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated in order to test the reliability and internal consistency of the measuring instrument. As a result, a total of six valid and reliable independent variables, and four dependent variables were retained for further analysis. The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients revealed mostly moderate correlations. The Multi-Collinearity diagnostics test confirmed the absence of collinearity between the independent variables and dependent variables respectively. Subsequently, the results of the four sets of multiple regression analyses, disclosed thirteen statistically significant relationships between the six independent variables and the four categorical dependent variables. Tourism had significant relationships with market-, efficiency- and strategic asset-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. Government actions had significant relationships with resource- and strategic asset-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. People had significant relationships with resource- and efficiency- seeking FDI inflow opportunities. Export had significant relationships with market-, resource-, efficiency- and strategic asset-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. Regulatory framework had significant relationships with market- and resource-seeking FDI inflow opportunities. The results of the Analysis of Variance revealed that investor status can be used to predict which non-financial nation brand image determinants played a role in the ultimate decision for taking up foreign direct investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. Further analysis of the role that the demographic profiles of the investors played in predicting which non-financial nation brand image determinants are considered influential in taking up foreign direct investment opportunities in Zimbabwe was confirmed in the Multivariate Analysis of Variance with thirty-four statically significant relationships identified. Further analysis by means of post-hoc Scheffé testing and Cohen’s d-values calculations confirm that thirty-nine practically significant mean differences were evident. This study makes a novel contribution to the empirical body of nation branding, foreign direct investment and investment promotion research by developing and testing a hypothetical model that synthesises facets of the three fields of study. This study represents a new discourse in the identification of the determinants of FDI (that being non-financial determinants) and provides an explanatory framework for the non-financial nation brand image determinants influencing each type of FDI inflow opportunity sought in Zimbabwe. It is within this framework that recommendations, based on empirical evidence, are made for the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Investment Authority. Some of these recommendations could be implemented within the short-term, while others may be more strategic in the long term. Recommendations made include that the Government of Zimbabwe undertakes significant policy reviews, continues its engagement with key external stakeholders such as other governments, supra-national financial institutions, and foreign investors, as well as adhering to existing favourable FDI policies. It is also recommended that the Zimbabwe Investment Authority adopt an intermediary role, by linking the Government of Zimbabwe with potential foreign investors through investor targeting, as well as promoting Zimbabwe as an investment destination by engaging in image-building activities such as public diplomacy, investor relations, specialised advertising and hosting investor forums with multiple, distinct investor segments. These image-building activities should be centered on the non-financial nation brand image determinants that foreign investors consider to be influential to foreign direct investment in Zimbabwe, and should be geared towards improving and managing the perceived image of Zimbabwe as an investment destination.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Management capacity within small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs)
- Authors: Mxunyelwa, Siyabonga
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/41708 , vital:36574
- Description: The small to medium tourism enterprises are identified as important contributors to the growth of the local and regional economies and creates much needed entrepreneurial ventures. Universally, small to medium tourism enterprises play a significant role in the tourism sector. The small businesses are in many instances deemed to facing risk to economic environmental challenges and face uphill battles to operate their enterprises in a sustainable manner. Management of these enterprises by owners and managers seems to face challenges. This study focuses on small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, which faces the triple threat challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, and is one of the economically poorest provinces of South Africa. In an endeavour to create a trajectory for progression and development of small to medium tourism enterprises, owners and managers are required to undertake management capacity programmes to deal with the problems that confront the enterprise on a daily basis. The study examines the factors impacting on management capacity with specific focus on the small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Management capacity is paramount as it builds managerial competency and has become significant to the small business economy, as these enterprises make every effort to avoid discontinuation. Management capacity improves business performance and small enterprises require help in order to have a broader understanding of issues that can be an impediment to address the challenges in the business environment. The factors that could impact on management capacity within the enterprises are the focus of this research. The eleven main factors were identified, namely skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy; and organisational information factors. Furthermore, the study examined the level of influence of these factors on the management capacity of small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector in the Eastern Cape and investigated the relationships between these factors. A descriptive research design and a quantitative approach were considered suitable for this study. A systematic random sampling technique was utilised to choose a sample of 320 business respondents from the 2012 database of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, comprising of formally registered small tourism businesses. A total of 310 usable questionnaires was finally obtained. In this study descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Descriptive statistics were captured to highlight the owners and managers’ general characteristics and to consolidate their measurement scores. Utilising inferential statistics, the study undertook an investigation into relationships between demographic variables and business characteristics. Furthermore, an investigation of the relationships amongst the following factors: skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy and organisational information factors was undertaken. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and both the validity and reliability of the research instrument was assessed. The research findings support an overall significant correlation between management capacity and skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy and organisational information. The study also explored the relationship between demographics and business characteristics. A significant relationship was found between business characteristics and variables in the demographic profile, namely the gender of owners/managers, educational levels, qualifications, and gross annual turnover. What follows is a summation of the most significant contributions of this research. The overview of the significance of the tourism sector in the economy and the role of small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry of the Eastern Cape will benefit researchers and potential owners/managers who have an interest in this developing sector. The study enhances the understanding of the factors that relate to management capacity. The study has established a profile of SMTE sector in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which can play a significant role for future research. This research makes a contribution to the largely under-researched area of management capacity in small to medium tourism enterprises. Recommendations for owners/managers and consideration of future research included the following. Owners/managers need to have management skills and a strong strategic focus. Through management capacity the needs of the business will be addressed, and capacity building programmes can be tailored to maximise the benefits for owners/managers of SMTEs, thereby improving business performance and avoiding high failure rate. Managers need to be effectively trained to deal with business needs. The management of the business plays a pivotal role in the performance of the enterprise. Managers must be skilled with regards to developing strategic plans, marketing plans, and business plans, thus enhancing management capacity. Longitudinal studies can be undertaken to investigating the same factors which could impact on management capacity. It is recommended that this study be replicated across the global spectrum in order to analyse the factors that impact on management capacity of small to medium tourism businesses of other countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mxunyelwa, Siyabonga
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/41708 , vital:36574
- Description: The small to medium tourism enterprises are identified as important contributors to the growth of the local and regional economies and creates much needed entrepreneurial ventures. Universally, small to medium tourism enterprises play a significant role in the tourism sector. The small businesses are in many instances deemed to facing risk to economic environmental challenges and face uphill battles to operate their enterprises in a sustainable manner. Management of these enterprises by owners and managers seems to face challenges. This study focuses on small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, which faces the triple threat challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, and is one of the economically poorest provinces of South Africa. In an endeavour to create a trajectory for progression and development of small to medium tourism enterprises, owners and managers are required to undertake management capacity programmes to deal with the problems that confront the enterprise on a daily basis. The study examines the factors impacting on management capacity with specific focus on the small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Management capacity is paramount as it builds managerial competency and has become significant to the small business economy, as these enterprises make every effort to avoid discontinuation. Management capacity improves business performance and small enterprises require help in order to have a broader understanding of issues that can be an impediment to address the challenges in the business environment. The factors that could impact on management capacity within the enterprises are the focus of this research. The eleven main factors were identified, namely skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy; and organisational information factors. Furthermore, the study examined the level of influence of these factors on the management capacity of small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector in the Eastern Cape and investigated the relationships between these factors. A descriptive research design and a quantitative approach were considered suitable for this study. A systematic random sampling technique was utilised to choose a sample of 320 business respondents from the 2012 database of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, comprising of formally registered small tourism businesses. A total of 310 usable questionnaires was finally obtained. In this study descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Descriptive statistics were captured to highlight the owners and managers’ general characteristics and to consolidate their measurement scores. Utilising inferential statistics, the study undertook an investigation into relationships between demographic variables and business characteristics. Furthermore, an investigation of the relationships amongst the following factors: skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy and organisational information factors was undertaken. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and both the validity and reliability of the research instrument was assessed. The research findings support an overall significant correlation between management capacity and skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy and organisational information. The study also explored the relationship between demographics and business characteristics. A significant relationship was found between business characteristics and variables in the demographic profile, namely the gender of owners/managers, educational levels, qualifications, and gross annual turnover. What follows is a summation of the most significant contributions of this research. The overview of the significance of the tourism sector in the economy and the role of small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry of the Eastern Cape will benefit researchers and potential owners/managers who have an interest in this developing sector. The study enhances the understanding of the factors that relate to management capacity. The study has established a profile of SMTE sector in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which can play a significant role for future research. This research makes a contribution to the largely under-researched area of management capacity in small to medium tourism enterprises. Recommendations for owners/managers and consideration of future research included the following. Owners/managers need to have management skills and a strong strategic focus. Through management capacity the needs of the business will be addressed, and capacity building programmes can be tailored to maximise the benefits for owners/managers of SMTEs, thereby improving business performance and avoiding high failure rate. Managers need to be effectively trained to deal with business needs. The management of the business plays a pivotal role in the performance of the enterprise. Managers must be skilled with regards to developing strategic plans, marketing plans, and business plans, thus enhancing management capacity. Longitudinal studies can be undertaken to investigating the same factors which could impact on management capacity. It is recommended that this study be replicated across the global spectrum in order to analyse the factors that impact on management capacity of small to medium tourism businesses of other countries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
In search of identity: an anthropological study on the experiences of Rastafarians in contemporary Malawi
- Authors: Maganga, Stewart Martin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Malawi -- Religious life and customs , Rastafari movement Identity (Philosophical concept)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42536 , vital:36666
- Description: Prior to 1994, religious freedoms were largely restricted because the constitution at the time vested its powers in the president who was at the time was Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Banda, who ruled Malawi for thirty years, sought to present Malawi to the outside world as a Christian nation. This was purposefully done by ignoring the existence of other religious faiths in the country of which Rastafari was one. Although the Rastafari movement was in existence during Banda’s presidency, most Rastas found it difficult to practice their religious beliefs freely. Because of this, it was found that throughout the three decades Banda was in power, the Rastafari movement in Malawi was virtually underground. This further gave the public impression to the public at the time that Rastas were non-existent in the country. It was only after the general elections of 1994 that Malawians became aware of the existence of the Rastafari movement in the country. With that said, there remains a paucity of written information on the Rastafari movement in Malawi, that is before and after the 1994 general election. To be able to establish why the Rastafari movement continues to grow in Malawi, this thesis began by addressing the question of why a certain group of individuals would seek becoming to Rastas in Malawi including its impact on their lives including relationships with both friends and family members. For the many that embraced Rastafari, the intention was to embrace a spiritual identity that was separate to that of their parents. Most raised the concern that the religions that they were previously affiliated did not allow them the freedom to explore their spirituality. This further raises the question regarding the link between established religions and spirituality. In as much as Rastafari has provided the individuals in this study a sense of meaning and identity in their lives, they have had to contend with facing confrontation with friends and family members. This thesis also explored the experiences that come with being a Rasta in Malawi. Amongst the issues that are of concern to the Rasta community is that for the many Rasta children that attend public schools, most are denied their right to attend classes with dreadlocks. Most Rastas had hoped that with the advent of democracy in Malawi, their fundamental rights would be recognised and protected under the constitution. What this thesis has demonstrated that despite the existence of democracy in Malawi, it did ultimately result in a society that would be open to diversity. What this study has demonstrated is that Malawi continues to remain a highly conservative society. This is further illustrated in the way Malawian Rastas have had to contend with being denied employment opportunities including their fundamental right to smoke chamba (marijuana) freely. This thesis set out to argue that the democracy brought about by the elections of 1994 did not necessarily result in the improved conditions of minority religious groups like Rastafarians. This is despite the current constitution allowing for religious freedom. Despite this, the thesis further set out to show that the Rastafari movement does have vital role in the current dispensation. The issues that make the Rastafari movement pertinent in present-day Malawi include issues of corruption and neo-colonialism. This thesis concluded that more must be done to improve the conditions of Rastas in Malawi. Some of recommendations that were raised in this study included reviewing the current policy regarding the length of hair that one wears to school as it relates to one’s religious beliefs. The other recommendation that was raised in this study includes amending the Religious and Moral Education (RME) school curriculum in order that it becomes inclusive of other religious faiths that are existing in the country. In addition, the current legislation regarding the possession of chamba must be amended to accommodate for religious groups such as Rastas who use it for religious purposes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Maganga, Stewart Martin
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Malawi -- Religious life and customs , Rastafari movement Identity (Philosophical concept)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42536 , vital:36666
- Description: Prior to 1994, religious freedoms were largely restricted because the constitution at the time vested its powers in the president who was at the time was Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Banda, who ruled Malawi for thirty years, sought to present Malawi to the outside world as a Christian nation. This was purposefully done by ignoring the existence of other religious faiths in the country of which Rastafari was one. Although the Rastafari movement was in existence during Banda’s presidency, most Rastas found it difficult to practice their religious beliefs freely. Because of this, it was found that throughout the three decades Banda was in power, the Rastafari movement in Malawi was virtually underground. This further gave the public impression to the public at the time that Rastas were non-existent in the country. It was only after the general elections of 1994 that Malawians became aware of the existence of the Rastafari movement in the country. With that said, there remains a paucity of written information on the Rastafari movement in Malawi, that is before and after the 1994 general election. To be able to establish why the Rastafari movement continues to grow in Malawi, this thesis began by addressing the question of why a certain group of individuals would seek becoming to Rastas in Malawi including its impact on their lives including relationships with both friends and family members. For the many that embraced Rastafari, the intention was to embrace a spiritual identity that was separate to that of their parents. Most raised the concern that the religions that they were previously affiliated did not allow them the freedom to explore their spirituality. This further raises the question regarding the link between established religions and spirituality. In as much as Rastafari has provided the individuals in this study a sense of meaning and identity in their lives, they have had to contend with facing confrontation with friends and family members. This thesis also explored the experiences that come with being a Rasta in Malawi. Amongst the issues that are of concern to the Rasta community is that for the many Rasta children that attend public schools, most are denied their right to attend classes with dreadlocks. Most Rastas had hoped that with the advent of democracy in Malawi, their fundamental rights would be recognised and protected under the constitution. What this thesis has demonstrated that despite the existence of democracy in Malawi, it did ultimately result in a society that would be open to diversity. What this study has demonstrated is that Malawi continues to remain a highly conservative society. This is further illustrated in the way Malawian Rastas have had to contend with being denied employment opportunities including their fundamental right to smoke chamba (marijuana) freely. This thesis set out to argue that the democracy brought about by the elections of 1994 did not necessarily result in the improved conditions of minority religious groups like Rastafarians. This is despite the current constitution allowing for religious freedom. Despite this, the thesis further set out to show that the Rastafari movement does have vital role in the current dispensation. The issues that make the Rastafari movement pertinent in present-day Malawi include issues of corruption and neo-colonialism. This thesis concluded that more must be done to improve the conditions of Rastas in Malawi. Some of recommendations that were raised in this study included reviewing the current policy regarding the length of hair that one wears to school as it relates to one’s religious beliefs. The other recommendation that was raised in this study includes amending the Religious and Moral Education (RME) school curriculum in order that it becomes inclusive of other religious faiths that are existing in the country. In addition, the current legislation regarding the possession of chamba must be amended to accommodate for religious groups such as Rastas who use it for religious purposes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Teachers' perceptions of the state of readiness for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education in Zimbabwe : a case study
- Authors: Mangwaya, Ezron Pemberai
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Early childhood education -- Zimbabwe , Curriculum planning -- Zimbabwe , Readiness for school -- Zimbabwe , Education, Preschool -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9574 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018179
- Description: Up to 2005 early childhood education in Zimbabwe was organised, directed and run by non-governmental organisations, churches and private individuals. Such an arrangement meant that the curriculum, personnel and strategies used to implement the programme were varied. In 2004 the Ministry of Education directed that all primary schools attach two classes of children aged between 3 and 5 years with effect from 2006, thus effectively making early childhood education part of the formal primary school structure. The research presented in this thesis focuses on teachers' perceptions of primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education in Zimbabwe. Located in the interpretive paradigm of qualitative research the study draws on a wide range of research methods. In particular a multiple case study was used to explore teachers' perceptions of primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education in a former government group B school, a church run school, a rural school, a former government group A school and, a council run school. Some of the key findings of the study are: • School heads who are the principal gate keepers in primary schools were not provided with any preparation for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education. • School reliance on fees and levies, without direct Ministry of Education financial assistance, meant that resource conditions - hence state of readiness - greatly differed from one school to another. • No ongoing support was provided to school heads, teachers-in-charge and early childhood education teachers. • The quality of teaching and learning at the early childhood education level, in the multiple case study, depended on the nature of teacher preparation, availability of appropriate resources, adequacy and appropriateness of teacher support, and teacher state of preparedness. The study recommends interventions that curriculum policy planners and implementers can use to create conditions that enable schools to be ready for installing, implementing and institutionalising the early childhood education innovation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Mangwaya, Ezron Pemberai
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Early childhood education -- Zimbabwe , Curriculum planning -- Zimbabwe , Readiness for school -- Zimbabwe , Education, Preschool -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9574 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018179
- Description: Up to 2005 early childhood education in Zimbabwe was organised, directed and run by non-governmental organisations, churches and private individuals. Such an arrangement meant that the curriculum, personnel and strategies used to implement the programme were varied. In 2004 the Ministry of Education directed that all primary schools attach two classes of children aged between 3 and 5 years with effect from 2006, thus effectively making early childhood education part of the formal primary school structure. The research presented in this thesis focuses on teachers' perceptions of primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education in Zimbabwe. Located in the interpretive paradigm of qualitative research the study draws on a wide range of research methods. In particular a multiple case study was used to explore teachers' perceptions of primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education in a former government group B school, a church run school, a rural school, a former government group A school and, a council run school. Some of the key findings of the study are: • School heads who are the principal gate keepers in primary schools were not provided with any preparation for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education. • School reliance on fees and levies, without direct Ministry of Education financial assistance, meant that resource conditions - hence state of readiness - greatly differed from one school to another. • No ongoing support was provided to school heads, teachers-in-charge and early childhood education teachers. • The quality of teaching and learning at the early childhood education level, in the multiple case study, depended on the nature of teacher preparation, availability of appropriate resources, adequacy and appropriateness of teacher support, and teacher state of preparedness. The study recommends interventions that curriculum policy planners and implementers can use to create conditions that enable schools to be ready for installing, implementing and institutionalising the early childhood education innovation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A critical analysis of child labour and human resource development in Uganda
- Authors: Kibukamusoke, Martha
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Child labor -- Uganda , Child soldiers -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:16128 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1196 , Child labor -- Uganda , Child soldiers -- Uganda
- Description: This study is a critical analysis of child labour and human resource development in Uganda. The study was undertaken because of the growing concern about child-labour practices in African countries, Uganda being an example. The incidence of child labour and the form that it takes are driven by supply-anddemand factors countrywide, but also by the sheer need of children to survive. Child labour is considered to be a fundamental child development problem. Children are involved in a number of child-labour practices such as prostitution in the commercial and tourism sex industry, forced begging on the streets, and forced soldiering. They may be used as camel jockeys, domestic servants, farm labourers/herders, mine labourers, produce porters, roadside sellers/street vendors, sweetshop-industry labourers, cooks and porters for rebels. The persistent exploitation of children involved in hazardous work and conditions has become overwhelming in Uganda. Poverty as one of the major causes for the growing numbers of child labourers in the agricultural sector in Uganda has caused a number of children to engage in child-labour activities to earn extra income for household survival. Many children have opted for partial attendance in school, eventually dropping out. Parents have also frequently influenced children to work on family farms, thus contributing to the children dropping out of school. Child-labour practices have become entrenched in the social and moral fabric of Ugandan society, and for this reason, research endeavours to uncover ways and methods to reverse this situation. The main objectives of this research were to establish the impact of poverty on child labour, to assess the effect of the social and cultural setup on child labour, to find out the impact of child-labour legislation enforcement, to determine the 5 influence of the HIV and AIDS pandemic on child labour, to establish the effect of the educational system and technological advancement on child labour, to establish the level of awareness of human rights in the community, and to establish the impact of human rights activists on the prevention of child labour. The study was undertaken in Masindi District in Budongo Sub County, in three parishes, Nyabyeya, Nyantonzi and Kasongoire. The respondents used for the study included child labourers, their parents, farmers, and community leaders. The method used to get to the sample was purposive sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires for written answers and a tape recorder for oral answers. Both primary and secondary data was collected, verified, edited, checked, coded, analysed, and then exported to Excel and SPSS. Collecting the data was a challenging exercise for the researcher. Experiences were varied, in the hospitality and willingness of respondents to learn more about child issues. Although respondents were willing to participate in the data collection exercise, social and cultural values did not permit all of them to share their views with the researcher. To collect data from respondents, the researcher had to ensure that remuneration was in place at the end of the exercise. The respondents filled out the questionnaires only after learning of the availability of a reward for every questionnaire answered. More setbacks were the need to travel long distances, and enduring the poor infrastructure, poor sanitation, and epidemic outbreaks, some of which diluted the quality of data collected. During group interviews, most parents were not entirely truthful about involving their children in child-labour activities. Although most respondents had an idea of what child labour is, their ignorance levels on the topic prevented them from stopping their children from working. The major findings of the research were that the cultural, social and economic setup of the community in the study area favoured child labour, although the child-labour legislation is against using children as labourers. Various ethnicities 6 in the study area considered a person between the ages of 5 and 12 years to be a child, yet the Constitution of Uganda dictates the age of childhood to be below 18 years. This causes conflict in the definition of who a child is. Although parents were aware of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) regulation penalties for not taking children to school, they still permitted children to engage in child-labour activities, and little has been done by government to curb the culprits. Awareness of the Sub Counties and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs) and their implementation has not helped to reduce poverty in the area studied, resulting in an increased school dropout rate among school-going-age children, as well as more child-labour activities. The major conclusion of the study was that little has been done to increase the awareness levels of the teachers, parents and their children about child labour and its legislation, their knowledge of and involvement in micro-finance institutions in the community, and the availability of vocational training institutions. Little has therefore been done to reduce child-labour activities, improve the economic status of the community, and improve their human resource skills. The major recommendations of the research to the study are that culture should not override the Constitution as far as the definition of age limit is concerned. The government should carry out stakeholder analyses, and implement a life-skills and sensitisation programme in order to improve child participation in the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme. Government should ensure that the society is given information about basic accounting, project planning and management skills, in order to be effectively involved in the economic programmes of SACCOs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Kibukamusoke, Martha
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Child labor -- Uganda , Child soldiers -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:16128 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1196 , Child labor -- Uganda , Child soldiers -- Uganda
- Description: This study is a critical analysis of child labour and human resource development in Uganda. The study was undertaken because of the growing concern about child-labour practices in African countries, Uganda being an example. The incidence of child labour and the form that it takes are driven by supply-anddemand factors countrywide, but also by the sheer need of children to survive. Child labour is considered to be a fundamental child development problem. Children are involved in a number of child-labour practices such as prostitution in the commercial and tourism sex industry, forced begging on the streets, and forced soldiering. They may be used as camel jockeys, domestic servants, farm labourers/herders, mine labourers, produce porters, roadside sellers/street vendors, sweetshop-industry labourers, cooks and porters for rebels. The persistent exploitation of children involved in hazardous work and conditions has become overwhelming in Uganda. Poverty as one of the major causes for the growing numbers of child labourers in the agricultural sector in Uganda has caused a number of children to engage in child-labour activities to earn extra income for household survival. Many children have opted for partial attendance in school, eventually dropping out. Parents have also frequently influenced children to work on family farms, thus contributing to the children dropping out of school. Child-labour practices have become entrenched in the social and moral fabric of Ugandan society, and for this reason, research endeavours to uncover ways and methods to reverse this situation. The main objectives of this research were to establish the impact of poverty on child labour, to assess the effect of the social and cultural setup on child labour, to find out the impact of child-labour legislation enforcement, to determine the 5 influence of the HIV and AIDS pandemic on child labour, to establish the effect of the educational system and technological advancement on child labour, to establish the level of awareness of human rights in the community, and to establish the impact of human rights activists on the prevention of child labour. The study was undertaken in Masindi District in Budongo Sub County, in three parishes, Nyabyeya, Nyantonzi and Kasongoire. The respondents used for the study included child labourers, their parents, farmers, and community leaders. The method used to get to the sample was purposive sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires for written answers and a tape recorder for oral answers. Both primary and secondary data was collected, verified, edited, checked, coded, analysed, and then exported to Excel and SPSS. Collecting the data was a challenging exercise for the researcher. Experiences were varied, in the hospitality and willingness of respondents to learn more about child issues. Although respondents were willing to participate in the data collection exercise, social and cultural values did not permit all of them to share their views with the researcher. To collect data from respondents, the researcher had to ensure that remuneration was in place at the end of the exercise. The respondents filled out the questionnaires only after learning of the availability of a reward for every questionnaire answered. More setbacks were the need to travel long distances, and enduring the poor infrastructure, poor sanitation, and epidemic outbreaks, some of which diluted the quality of data collected. During group interviews, most parents were not entirely truthful about involving their children in child-labour activities. Although most respondents had an idea of what child labour is, their ignorance levels on the topic prevented them from stopping their children from working. The major findings of the research were that the cultural, social and economic setup of the community in the study area favoured child labour, although the child-labour legislation is against using children as labourers. Various ethnicities 6 in the study area considered a person between the ages of 5 and 12 years to be a child, yet the Constitution of Uganda dictates the age of childhood to be below 18 years. This causes conflict in the definition of who a child is. Although parents were aware of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) regulation penalties for not taking children to school, they still permitted children to engage in child-labour activities, and little has been done by government to curb the culprits. Awareness of the Sub Counties and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs) and their implementation has not helped to reduce poverty in the area studied, resulting in an increased school dropout rate among school-going-age children, as well as more child-labour activities. The major conclusion of the study was that little has been done to increase the awareness levels of the teachers, parents and their children about child labour and its legislation, their knowledge of and involvement in micro-finance institutions in the community, and the availability of vocational training institutions. Little has therefore been done to reduce child-labour activities, improve the economic status of the community, and improve their human resource skills. The major recommendations of the research to the study are that culture should not override the Constitution as far as the definition of age limit is concerned. The government should carry out stakeholder analyses, and implement a life-skills and sensitisation programme in order to improve child participation in the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme. Government should ensure that the society is given information about basic accounting, project planning and management skills, in order to be effectively involved in the economic programmes of SACCOs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Towards a community based conservation strategy for wetlands in Uganda
- Authors: Barakagira, Alex
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Conservation of natural resources , Wetland conservation -- Uganda Wetlands -- Uganda -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23902 , vital:30640
- Description: Conservation of natural resources in Uganda focuses primarily on protected areas, including savannah national parks, mainly for conserving big game and forests, for controlling the harvest of commercially valuable timber resources, with less concern for wetlands. Later, policies and legislation in Uganda favoured agricultural production rather than the conservation of wetlands, a situation that culminated in their degradation. In a bid to counter the effects of wetlands degradation, Wetland Management Agencies were created. These agencies excluded the input of members of the local communities who reside in the wetlands environs. Local communities were not consulted on matters concerning management and conservation strategies, a situation that may have escalated the problem of wetlands degradation. Local knowledge is needed for the effective management and conservation of the wetlands and it is essential that local communities are included in decision making. This research study is more of an initiative for providing information that may be essential for the formulation of a community based conservation strategy for wetlands in Uganda. The study aimed to identify and characterize activities carried out by members of the local communities in wetlands found in central and western Uganda that are responsible for their progressive degradation; to assess the performance of existing Wetlands Management Institutions towards protection and conservation of wetlands in Uganda; to ascertain whether the acts and policies that have been promulgated for the protection of wetlands in Uganda have been adhered to by members of the local communities and to evaluate three community based conservation case studies with two vastly different outcomes in order to come up with the community-based conservation principles Ugandan communities may need to adopt to achieve sustainable utilisation and conservation of wetland resources. To achieve the objectives stated above, the researcher used a multi-disciplinary methodology that required several areas of expertise and sources of information. Hence, to accomplish the study, primary sources of data that included quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the study participants by means of a questionnaire survey, key informant interviews and direct observations. Secondary sources of data centred on published Ugandan acts and policies; textbooks; case study articles and journal articles. The study revealed a host of activities in which members of the local community are involved that have led to the degradation of the wetlands in Uganda. These include but are not limited to crop cultivation, dairy farming and unsustainable wetland resource harvesting. A number of other reasons for the degradation of the wetlands include unclear ownership of the wetlands, unclear wetland boundaries and a lack of awareness of the indirect benefits wetlands provide for members of the local communities. The study disclosed that wetlands management institutions have not been effective in the protection and conservation of wetlands in Uganda, mainly due to political interference and inadequate funding for the institutions’ conservation activities. The acts and policies that were promulgated for the protection and conservation of wetlands have been selectively implemented in some places and in others completely ignored, culminating in the degradation of the wetlands. The study revealed that effective community based conservation of wetlands in Uganda includes: initiation of the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all wetlands activities being borne by members of the local community; government introducing alternative income-generating activities aimed to reduce over-reliance on wetland resources and education of the local communities regarding the community-based projects’ objectives in order to garner their support. Recommendations emanating from this study are that the Land Act should be amended to specify a particular land tenure system, preferably freehold, which may promote the conservation of wetlands in Uganda; fertilizers (organic) should be introduced in the study area to fertilize the uplands that have reportedly become infertile in order to reduce the pressure the local community members are exerting on the wetlands for agriculture; wetlands management institutions should be empowered financially and political interference in activities aimed at conservation of wetlands in Uganda must cease. There should be uniform implementation of the rules and regulations stipulated in the acts and policies for all members of the public concerning wetlands protection. Lastly, essential community based conservation principles, as stated above, need to be applied carefully and adhered to if effective implementation of community-based conservation of wetlands is to be achieved in Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Barakagira, Alex
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Conservation of natural resources , Wetland conservation -- Uganda Wetlands -- Uganda -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23902 , vital:30640
- Description: Conservation of natural resources in Uganda focuses primarily on protected areas, including savannah national parks, mainly for conserving big game and forests, for controlling the harvest of commercially valuable timber resources, with less concern for wetlands. Later, policies and legislation in Uganda favoured agricultural production rather than the conservation of wetlands, a situation that culminated in their degradation. In a bid to counter the effects of wetlands degradation, Wetland Management Agencies were created. These agencies excluded the input of members of the local communities who reside in the wetlands environs. Local communities were not consulted on matters concerning management and conservation strategies, a situation that may have escalated the problem of wetlands degradation. Local knowledge is needed for the effective management and conservation of the wetlands and it is essential that local communities are included in decision making. This research study is more of an initiative for providing information that may be essential for the formulation of a community based conservation strategy for wetlands in Uganda. The study aimed to identify and characterize activities carried out by members of the local communities in wetlands found in central and western Uganda that are responsible for their progressive degradation; to assess the performance of existing Wetlands Management Institutions towards protection and conservation of wetlands in Uganda; to ascertain whether the acts and policies that have been promulgated for the protection of wetlands in Uganda have been adhered to by members of the local communities and to evaluate three community based conservation case studies with two vastly different outcomes in order to come up with the community-based conservation principles Ugandan communities may need to adopt to achieve sustainable utilisation and conservation of wetland resources. To achieve the objectives stated above, the researcher used a multi-disciplinary methodology that required several areas of expertise and sources of information. Hence, to accomplish the study, primary sources of data that included quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the study participants by means of a questionnaire survey, key informant interviews and direct observations. Secondary sources of data centred on published Ugandan acts and policies; textbooks; case study articles and journal articles. The study revealed a host of activities in which members of the local community are involved that have led to the degradation of the wetlands in Uganda. These include but are not limited to crop cultivation, dairy farming and unsustainable wetland resource harvesting. A number of other reasons for the degradation of the wetlands include unclear ownership of the wetlands, unclear wetland boundaries and a lack of awareness of the indirect benefits wetlands provide for members of the local communities. The study disclosed that wetlands management institutions have not been effective in the protection and conservation of wetlands in Uganda, mainly due to political interference and inadequate funding for the institutions’ conservation activities. The acts and policies that were promulgated for the protection and conservation of wetlands have been selectively implemented in some places and in others completely ignored, culminating in the degradation of the wetlands. The study revealed that effective community based conservation of wetlands in Uganda includes: initiation of the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all wetlands activities being borne by members of the local community; government introducing alternative income-generating activities aimed to reduce over-reliance on wetland resources and education of the local communities regarding the community-based projects’ objectives in order to garner their support. Recommendations emanating from this study are that the Land Act should be amended to specify a particular land tenure system, preferably freehold, which may promote the conservation of wetlands in Uganda; fertilizers (organic) should be introduced in the study area to fertilize the uplands that have reportedly become infertile in order to reduce the pressure the local community members are exerting on the wetlands for agriculture; wetlands management institutions should be empowered financially and political interference in activities aimed at conservation of wetlands in Uganda must cease. There should be uniform implementation of the rules and regulations stipulated in the acts and policies for all members of the public concerning wetlands protection. Lastly, essential community based conservation principles, as stated above, need to be applied carefully and adhered to if effective implementation of community-based conservation of wetlands is to be achieved in Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The contribution of guest houses to economic growth and employment as key components of local economic development in the Eden District Area
- Authors: Ramukumba, Takalani
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Sustainable tourism -- South Africa -- Western Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5214 , vital:20821
- Description: Tourism has come to be seen as a key driver for local economic development in South Africa, as it provides opportunities for pro-poor and community-based initiatives. On a global scale, the challenges of confronting poverty and unemployment continue to dominate the development agenda. The ability of Local Economic Development (LED) to empower local people has earned favour with national governments and development theorists. The imperative facing South Africa to achieve a more equitable and sustainable economy is essentially the challenge to adopt and implement a development approach that will reduce poverty and unemployment (which are the two key objectives of LED) to the greatest extent. It is within this context that the South African government has sought to incorporate LED into their economic development framework, predominantly through the decentralisation of development control and planning to the local government level. This study examined the contribution of guest houses to economic growth and employment as key components of LED in a sustainable manner. The study revealed that guest houses are playing a key role in the development of the local economy in the Eden district region. Guest houses are providing employment opportunities to the local residents both on a full-time and part-time basis. Further to this, guest houses are buying many locally-produced products and services from local suppliers and this contributes to economic growth of the local economy. However, this study also found that many of the guest houses in the area are not aware of government incentives available to support them and very few of them have made use of these services. This is something that needs to be addressed if these guest houses are to continue to strengthen the local economy and provide employment opportunities in a sustainable manner. The study revealed that many of the guest houses are operating in an environmentally friendly manner and this will ensure their future sustainability. The broader situation and the contribution of the accommodation sector as critical assets in local and national tourism economies has been thoroughly researched in tourism research around the world. Existing work on the accommodation sector in the South African tourism economy is mainly urban-focused and indicates that its local development impacts can be positive albeit not always maximised through local linkages, however, only a limited amount of academic investigations examines the contribution of tourism sub-sectors to economic growth and employment. The authenticity of this study is based on Its contribution which must be viewed in relation to the relatively limited body of literature in the contribution of tourism sub-sectors to economic growth and employment and in this case guest houses as one type of accommodation sub-sector.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Ramukumba, Takalani
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Sustainable tourism -- South Africa -- Western Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5214 , vital:20821
- Description: Tourism has come to be seen as a key driver for local economic development in South Africa, as it provides opportunities for pro-poor and community-based initiatives. On a global scale, the challenges of confronting poverty and unemployment continue to dominate the development agenda. The ability of Local Economic Development (LED) to empower local people has earned favour with national governments and development theorists. The imperative facing South Africa to achieve a more equitable and sustainable economy is essentially the challenge to adopt and implement a development approach that will reduce poverty and unemployment (which are the two key objectives of LED) to the greatest extent. It is within this context that the South African government has sought to incorporate LED into their economic development framework, predominantly through the decentralisation of development control and planning to the local government level. This study examined the contribution of guest houses to economic growth and employment as key components of LED in a sustainable manner. The study revealed that guest houses are playing a key role in the development of the local economy in the Eden district region. Guest houses are providing employment opportunities to the local residents both on a full-time and part-time basis. Further to this, guest houses are buying many locally-produced products and services from local suppliers and this contributes to economic growth of the local economy. However, this study also found that many of the guest houses in the area are not aware of government incentives available to support them and very few of them have made use of these services. This is something that needs to be addressed if these guest houses are to continue to strengthen the local economy and provide employment opportunities in a sustainable manner. The study revealed that many of the guest houses are operating in an environmentally friendly manner and this will ensure their future sustainability. The broader situation and the contribution of the accommodation sector as critical assets in local and national tourism economies has been thoroughly researched in tourism research around the world. Existing work on the accommodation sector in the South African tourism economy is mainly urban-focused and indicates that its local development impacts can be positive albeit not always maximised through local linkages, however, only a limited amount of academic investigations examines the contribution of tourism sub-sectors to economic growth and employment. The authenticity of this study is based on Its contribution which must be viewed in relation to the relatively limited body of literature in the contribution of tourism sub-sectors to economic growth and employment and in this case guest houses as one type of accommodation sub-sector.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Games as communication: an analysis of advertising in South Africa
- Authors: Wright, Bianca Maria-Teresa
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Internet advertising , Branding (Marketing)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:8417 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012929
- Description: Games as a form of communication have been examined by academics in the fields of game studies, narratology and media studies, among others, but the use of games to communicate advertising messages has not been adequately explored within the South African context. The study sought to investigate the phenomenon of advergaming, purpose-built games designed to communicate an advertising message, in South Africa, and to develop a model for the use of advergaming as a viral marketing tool in this context. Using a hybrid approach, the study examined the way that advertising agencies currently use advergames as well as the effectiveness of advergaming as a means to communicate a message. The study presents the results of a national survey of advertising agencies in South Africa, a content analysis of existing advergames and an analysis of three semi-structured group interview experiments conducted using selected advergames. The findings point to the potential of advergaming as a message communication tool, but also highlight the challenges that may hamper the widespread use of advergaming in South Africa. It proposes the use of the mobile environment as a means to reach a wider South African audience and in that way, overcome some of the obstacles to advergaming adoption. In addition, the results identify aspects of advergames that seem to correlate with the effectiveness of message communication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Wright, Bianca Maria-Teresa
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Internet advertising , Branding (Marketing)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:8417 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012929
- Description: Games as a form of communication have been examined by academics in the fields of game studies, narratology and media studies, among others, but the use of games to communicate advertising messages has not been adequately explored within the South African context. The study sought to investigate the phenomenon of advergaming, purpose-built games designed to communicate an advertising message, in South Africa, and to develop a model for the use of advergaming as a viral marketing tool in this context. Using a hybrid approach, the study examined the way that advertising agencies currently use advergames as well as the effectiveness of advergaming as a means to communicate a message. The study presents the results of a national survey of advertising agencies in South Africa, a content analysis of existing advergames and an analysis of three semi-structured group interview experiments conducted using selected advergames. The findings point to the potential of advergaming as a message communication tool, but also highlight the challenges that may hamper the widespread use of advergaming in South Africa. It proposes the use of the mobile environment as a means to reach a wider South African audience and in that way, overcome some of the obstacles to advergaming adoption. In addition, the results identify aspects of advergames that seem to correlate with the effectiveness of message communication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Indigenous forests level of deforestation, forest dependency and factors determining willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation: evidence from resettled farmers of Shamva, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Chivheya, Renias V
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Forest conservation -- Zimbabwe Forests and forestry -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe Deforestation -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2370 , vital:27786
- Description: This study first explored the rate of forest deforestation in Shamva resettlement areas. It then identified and estimated the extent to which these resettled farmers depend on forest for their livelihoods. Evaluation of farmer perceptions on management issues and willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation and the socio-economic and institutional factors which affect their willingness to participate were also done. Finally the study sought to identify incentives for forests conservation. The study was conducted in Shamva district in Mashonaland Central province. And the respondents were stratified into three groups: A1, A2 and Old resettlement models. The three models differ on how they were implemented and supported which might render them to have different deforestation rates, livelihood strategies and forest dependency. A total of 247 respondents were surveyed, consisting of 98 A1 farmers, 50 A2 farmers and 99 Old resettled farmers. The data was collected using GIS and remote sensing, structured questionnaire interviews and direct observation. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, KAP analytic framework and binary logistic regression analysis. The land cover/changes results revealed that both deforestation and afforestation are taking place in Shamva resettlement. Woodland and bushland were decreasing, croplands were also decreasing. However woodland dense and grasslands were increasing. Deforestation was found to be as a result of the resettled farmers’ livelihood strategies which were found to be diverse and agriculture being dominant in all models. All the farmers depended on the forest but at varying levels of 19 percent for Old and 14 percent forA1 and 0.02 percent for A2 resettle farmers. 84 percent of the interviewed farmers however, indicated that they are willing to conserve forest with A1 farmers being the highest followed by A2 86 percent and lastly Old resettled farmers at 76.8 percent. Results of the binary regression model revealed that the significant factors which explain willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation are age, marital status, education, gender, institution, culture and belief, employment and household size. The highest preferred incentive was the provision of free seedlings and the lowest was out grower scheme. The study recommends that GIS and remote sensing should be used to monitor deforestation, off farm projects be encouraged, exotic and indigenous trees be promoted and forest conservation education be promoted in resettlement areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Chivheya, Renias V
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Forest conservation -- Zimbabwe Forests and forestry -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe Deforestation -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2370 , vital:27786
- Description: This study first explored the rate of forest deforestation in Shamva resettlement areas. It then identified and estimated the extent to which these resettled farmers depend on forest for their livelihoods. Evaluation of farmer perceptions on management issues and willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation and the socio-economic and institutional factors which affect their willingness to participate were also done. Finally the study sought to identify incentives for forests conservation. The study was conducted in Shamva district in Mashonaland Central province. And the respondents were stratified into three groups: A1, A2 and Old resettlement models. The three models differ on how they were implemented and supported which might render them to have different deforestation rates, livelihood strategies and forest dependency. A total of 247 respondents were surveyed, consisting of 98 A1 farmers, 50 A2 farmers and 99 Old resettled farmers. The data was collected using GIS and remote sensing, structured questionnaire interviews and direct observation. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, KAP analytic framework and binary logistic regression analysis. The land cover/changes results revealed that both deforestation and afforestation are taking place in Shamva resettlement. Woodland and bushland were decreasing, croplands were also decreasing. However woodland dense and grasslands were increasing. Deforestation was found to be as a result of the resettled farmers’ livelihood strategies which were found to be diverse and agriculture being dominant in all models. All the farmers depended on the forest but at varying levels of 19 percent for Old and 14 percent forA1 and 0.02 percent for A2 resettle farmers. 84 percent of the interviewed farmers however, indicated that they are willing to conserve forest with A1 farmers being the highest followed by A2 86 percent and lastly Old resettled farmers at 76.8 percent. Results of the binary regression model revealed that the significant factors which explain willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation are age, marital status, education, gender, institution, culture and belief, employment and household size. The highest preferred incentive was the provision of free seedlings and the lowest was out grower scheme. The study recommends that GIS and remote sensing should be used to monitor deforestation, off farm projects be encouraged, exotic and indigenous trees be promoted and forest conservation education be promoted in resettlement areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Microfinace and poverty alleviation in Uganda
- Authors: Ben, Ssembajjwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Microfinance -- Uganda , Economic development -- Uganda Economic assistance, Domestic Poverty -- Economic aspects -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23624 , vital:30588
- Description: Microfinance began in Uganda in the early 1990s as a response to the failure by formal financial institutions to extend financial services to the poor because of the high transaction costs involved. These microfinance institutions provide financial and non-financial services to the poor in order for the poor to generate incomes and consequently alleviate poverty. The advent of microfinance institutions was not accidental but rather in response to the people’s needs and they have therefore been beneficial for the people of Uganda. Because of that, several MFIs have been initiated to help the poor. Although many services are provided, the study focused on credit services. As most of the MFIs have to balance the business goal of profit maximization and the social goal of poverty reduction, the main objective of this study was to explore whether microfinance in Uganda is an effective tool for poverty alleviation. The study was conducted in four districts, namely Mukono, Mpigi, Wakiso and Luwero. Using random probability sampling, a sample of 170 was drawn from a pool of 300 MFI clients. and all of them responded. MFI officials were also interviewed. A total 136 officials were obtained from 47 MFI branches. The study used descriptive methods of analysis, a Likert scale to derive means, as well as a Principal Component Analysis technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to detect if there were any statistically significant differences among the demographic variables used in the study. A Probit Regression Model was used to determine the impact of certain variables drawn from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on poverty in Uganda. The results obtained proved that MFIs in general are effective in combating poverty in Uganda. Variables that are significant in poverty reduction through loan use are land, education, employment, household incomes and occupations of the respondents, loan sizes and improved livelihoods. Despite the positive impact of MFI loans in Uganda, the MFIs are faced with a number of challenges. The results from the interviews with the MFI officials indicated that MFIs are challenged by increasing competition, bad debt, multiple borrowings by clients, and information asymmetry. The study recommended reduced interest rates on agricultural, education and business loans. The public must also be sensitised about borrowing and there should be increased monitoring and supervision of clients, improved assessment of creditworthiness, and government should ensure an enabling environment and encourage group loans. Effort should be exerted to create employment opportunities. The study also recommended improvement in market intelligence and to be alert in gathering information on client profiles. it was recommended that microloan insurance and savings must be encouraged, operational costs be reduced, portfolios be expanded to increase loans and outreach must be maximised. Lastly, the thesis put forward some potential areas for further studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ben, Ssembajjwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Microfinance -- Uganda , Economic development -- Uganda Economic assistance, Domestic Poverty -- Economic aspects -- Uganda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23624 , vital:30588
- Description: Microfinance began in Uganda in the early 1990s as a response to the failure by formal financial institutions to extend financial services to the poor because of the high transaction costs involved. These microfinance institutions provide financial and non-financial services to the poor in order for the poor to generate incomes and consequently alleviate poverty. The advent of microfinance institutions was not accidental but rather in response to the people’s needs and they have therefore been beneficial for the people of Uganda. Because of that, several MFIs have been initiated to help the poor. Although many services are provided, the study focused on credit services. As most of the MFIs have to balance the business goal of profit maximization and the social goal of poverty reduction, the main objective of this study was to explore whether microfinance in Uganda is an effective tool for poverty alleviation. The study was conducted in four districts, namely Mukono, Mpigi, Wakiso and Luwero. Using random probability sampling, a sample of 170 was drawn from a pool of 300 MFI clients. and all of them responded. MFI officials were also interviewed. A total 136 officials were obtained from 47 MFI branches. The study used descriptive methods of analysis, a Likert scale to derive means, as well as a Principal Component Analysis technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to detect if there were any statistically significant differences among the demographic variables used in the study. A Probit Regression Model was used to determine the impact of certain variables drawn from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on poverty in Uganda. The results obtained proved that MFIs in general are effective in combating poverty in Uganda. Variables that are significant in poverty reduction through loan use are land, education, employment, household incomes and occupations of the respondents, loan sizes and improved livelihoods. Despite the positive impact of MFI loans in Uganda, the MFIs are faced with a number of challenges. The results from the interviews with the MFI officials indicated that MFIs are challenged by increasing competition, bad debt, multiple borrowings by clients, and information asymmetry. The study recommended reduced interest rates on agricultural, education and business loans. The public must also be sensitised about borrowing and there should be increased monitoring and supervision of clients, improved assessment of creditworthiness, and government should ensure an enabling environment and encourage group loans. Effort should be exerted to create employment opportunities. The study also recommended improvement in market intelligence and to be alert in gathering information on client profiles. it was recommended that microloan insurance and savings must be encouraged, operational costs be reduced, portfolios be expanded to increase loans and outreach must be maximised. Lastly, the thesis put forward some potential areas for further studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The influence of legislation and regulations on strategy in public entities
- Authors: Govender, Kasavan
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Government business enterprises -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Government corporations -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Industrial development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22178 , vital:29866
- Description: While citizens require products and services to meet their needs, government goes about designing systems and processes to meet that need through the setting of goals and objectives. Many methods are adopted for that to happen. However, one of the ways that this occurs is through legislation and regulations and the formation of public entities. On the other hand, strategy is needed to devise techniques and plans to meet needs, goals and aspirations of government in the most efficient manner. At face value it would seem that the enactment of certain legislation and regulations seems to make the need for strategy obsolete especially since there is proliferation of national, provincial and local strategies that only need implementation. The purpose of this research is to determine the influence of legislation and regulations on strategy in public entities focusing on the Eastern Cape Province and using the Eastern Cape Development Corporation as a case study. The study focused on the assessment of the relationship between the public entities and the shareholder through the use of legislation and regulations. The context for the research is prefixed on creating an understanding of the public administrative system and especially the components of the New Public Management approach that deal with the principal-agent and public choice theory. The study assessed the public administrative system and its relationships in order to locate the use of legislation and regulations and public entities to deliver products and services to citizens. Likewise the concept of strategy was examined from three perspectives namely that strategy is about goal consciousness, strategy involves leadership and strategy is multifaceted in its nature. In order to undertake the study a document review was conducted on the legislation and regulations, semi-structured interviews were held with the principal or shareholder and a questionnaire was administered to executives and senior managers in public entities in the Eastern Cape Province. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between legislation and regulations and strategy on the one hand and on the other strategy appears to be ineffective due to a lack of planning, key role players’ involvement in the process, leadership, inflexible compliance and restrictive conditions. The research further found that strategy involves implementation of legislation and regulations which support the rise of the regulatory state. The study proposes a normative model that is built around defining the nature of strategy and predetermining the definition of roles in the system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Govender, Kasavan
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Government business enterprises -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Government corporations -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Industrial development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22178 , vital:29866
- Description: While citizens require products and services to meet their needs, government goes about designing systems and processes to meet that need through the setting of goals and objectives. Many methods are adopted for that to happen. However, one of the ways that this occurs is through legislation and regulations and the formation of public entities. On the other hand, strategy is needed to devise techniques and plans to meet needs, goals and aspirations of government in the most efficient manner. At face value it would seem that the enactment of certain legislation and regulations seems to make the need for strategy obsolete especially since there is proliferation of national, provincial and local strategies that only need implementation. The purpose of this research is to determine the influence of legislation and regulations on strategy in public entities focusing on the Eastern Cape Province and using the Eastern Cape Development Corporation as a case study. The study focused on the assessment of the relationship between the public entities and the shareholder through the use of legislation and regulations. The context for the research is prefixed on creating an understanding of the public administrative system and especially the components of the New Public Management approach that deal with the principal-agent and public choice theory. The study assessed the public administrative system and its relationships in order to locate the use of legislation and regulations and public entities to deliver products and services to citizens. Likewise the concept of strategy was examined from three perspectives namely that strategy is about goal consciousness, strategy involves leadership and strategy is multifaceted in its nature. In order to undertake the study a document review was conducted on the legislation and regulations, semi-structured interviews were held with the principal or shareholder and a questionnaire was administered to executives and senior managers in public entities in the Eastern Cape Province. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between legislation and regulations and strategy on the one hand and on the other strategy appears to be ineffective due to a lack of planning, key role players’ involvement in the process, leadership, inflexible compliance and restrictive conditions. The research further found that strategy involves implementation of legislation and regulations which support the rise of the regulatory state. The study proposes a normative model that is built around defining the nature of strategy and predetermining the definition of roles in the system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Appraisal of experimental performance and modelling of an on-farm dairy milk bulk cooler: Fort Hare Dairy Trust, South Africa
- Authors: Mhundwa, Russel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Milk -- Cooling Milk -- Cooling -- Equipment and supplies Milk tanks -- Specifications
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4671 , vital:28487
- Description: South Africa contributes approximately 0.5 percent to the total world milk demand and is the third largest producer of fresh cow milk in Africa after Sudan and Kenya. In comparison to any other enterprise, the cost of milk production is influenced by numerous factors, that in turn affect the profitability of the farm enterprise; however one of such factors is high electricity cost. In this regard, there is need for efficient operation of the milk processing plant at all stages and at the same time maximising on product quality and minimising on the cost of production including energy. At the dairy farm, milk handling mainly commences as the milk leaves the cow udder at 35°C–37°C and must be cooled rapidly to a storage temperature of 4°C in a bid to stop microbial activity. The cooling of the milk can be done directly by the bulk milk cooler (BMC) from 37°C to the required storage temperature of 4°C or it can be done successively through pre-cooling. The process of pre-cooling involves the use of a heat exchanger where in most instances the plate heat exchanger (PHE) is used as the pre-cooler (PC) thereby leading to energy savings in a dairy facility. Cooling of milk involves significant amount of energy and it could account for about 20 percent of the total energy consumed on a farm. The aim of the research was to develop mathematical models that could be used to predict the electrical energy performance and capture the cooling saving of an on-farm direct expansion bulk milk cooler (DXBMC) during the milk cooling process. Accordingly, data acquisition system (DAS) was designed and built to accurately measure the power consumption of the BMC, temperature of raw milk, room temperature, temperature of cold water, relative humidity and ambient temperature. The volume of milk produced per day was extracted from the daily records on the farm. In addition, the temperature sensors were connected to a four channel HOBO data loggers which were configured to log at every five-minutes interval. The results were analysed and the mathematical models were developed using MATLAB. The statistical Toolbox in MATLAB was used to rank the predictors according to their weight of importance using the ReliefF Algorithm test. The results showed that on average, the daily electrical energy consumed by the BMC at the two milking times was higher during the peak period (127.82 kWh and 93.86 kWh) than the off-peak period (48.31 kWh and 43.23 kWh). On average, the electricity used for cooling of milk on the dairy farm was 17.06 kWh/m3 of milk. The average monthly electricity used per cow on the farm was 8.03 kWh/cow which translated to an average of 0.26 kWh/cow/day The average specific energy consumption of the cooling system per litre of milk cooled was 0.02 kWh/L and was almost constant throughout the whole period of monitoring. Furthermore, the BMC was able to cool 57.33 L/kWh during the off-peak period which increased by 7.7 percent to 62.13 L/kWh during the peak period. Furthermore, mathematical models represented as multiple linear regression (MLR) models were built and developed using the experimental data. The developed mathematical models had good agreement with the experimental data as evidenced by the correlation coefficients of 0.922 and 0.8995 along with 0.935 and 0.930. The ReliefF Algorithm test revealed that the volume of milk was the principal contributor to the energy consumption of the BMC for both the morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) milking period. The Relative Prediction Error (RPE) was used to evaluate the suitability of the developed models. In this light, the AM off-peak model had RPE of 18.54 percent while the PM off-peak model had 14.42 percent. In addition, the AM peak and PM peak models had RPE of 19.23 percent and 18.95 percent respectively. This suggested that the MLR models for the off-peak and peak milking periods (both AM and PM) had acceptable prediction accuracy since the RPE values were between 10 percent and 20 percent. The findings from the experimental study showed that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the AM milking period was higher (2.20) than that of the PM milking period of the BMC (1.93). Increase in the milk volume led to an increase in the COP such that the peak period with higher milk volumes recorded a high COP increase of 12.61 percent and 19.81 percent for the AM and PM milking periods respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mhundwa, Russel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Milk -- Cooling Milk -- Cooling -- Equipment and supplies Milk tanks -- Specifications
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4671 , vital:28487
- Description: South Africa contributes approximately 0.5 percent to the total world milk demand and is the third largest producer of fresh cow milk in Africa after Sudan and Kenya. In comparison to any other enterprise, the cost of milk production is influenced by numerous factors, that in turn affect the profitability of the farm enterprise; however one of such factors is high electricity cost. In this regard, there is need for efficient operation of the milk processing plant at all stages and at the same time maximising on product quality and minimising on the cost of production including energy. At the dairy farm, milk handling mainly commences as the milk leaves the cow udder at 35°C–37°C and must be cooled rapidly to a storage temperature of 4°C in a bid to stop microbial activity. The cooling of the milk can be done directly by the bulk milk cooler (BMC) from 37°C to the required storage temperature of 4°C or it can be done successively through pre-cooling. The process of pre-cooling involves the use of a heat exchanger where in most instances the plate heat exchanger (PHE) is used as the pre-cooler (PC) thereby leading to energy savings in a dairy facility. Cooling of milk involves significant amount of energy and it could account for about 20 percent of the total energy consumed on a farm. The aim of the research was to develop mathematical models that could be used to predict the electrical energy performance and capture the cooling saving of an on-farm direct expansion bulk milk cooler (DXBMC) during the milk cooling process. Accordingly, data acquisition system (DAS) was designed and built to accurately measure the power consumption of the BMC, temperature of raw milk, room temperature, temperature of cold water, relative humidity and ambient temperature. The volume of milk produced per day was extracted from the daily records on the farm. In addition, the temperature sensors were connected to a four channel HOBO data loggers which were configured to log at every five-minutes interval. The results were analysed and the mathematical models were developed using MATLAB. The statistical Toolbox in MATLAB was used to rank the predictors according to their weight of importance using the ReliefF Algorithm test. The results showed that on average, the daily electrical energy consumed by the BMC at the two milking times was higher during the peak period (127.82 kWh and 93.86 kWh) than the off-peak period (48.31 kWh and 43.23 kWh). On average, the electricity used for cooling of milk on the dairy farm was 17.06 kWh/m3 of milk. The average monthly electricity used per cow on the farm was 8.03 kWh/cow which translated to an average of 0.26 kWh/cow/day The average specific energy consumption of the cooling system per litre of milk cooled was 0.02 kWh/L and was almost constant throughout the whole period of monitoring. Furthermore, the BMC was able to cool 57.33 L/kWh during the off-peak period which increased by 7.7 percent to 62.13 L/kWh during the peak period. Furthermore, mathematical models represented as multiple linear regression (MLR) models were built and developed using the experimental data. The developed mathematical models had good agreement with the experimental data as evidenced by the correlation coefficients of 0.922 and 0.8995 along with 0.935 and 0.930. The ReliefF Algorithm test revealed that the volume of milk was the principal contributor to the energy consumption of the BMC for both the morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) milking period. The Relative Prediction Error (RPE) was used to evaluate the suitability of the developed models. In this light, the AM off-peak model had RPE of 18.54 percent while the PM off-peak model had 14.42 percent. In addition, the AM peak and PM peak models had RPE of 19.23 percent and 18.95 percent respectively. This suggested that the MLR models for the off-peak and peak milking periods (both AM and PM) had acceptable prediction accuracy since the RPE values were between 10 percent and 20 percent. The findings from the experimental study showed that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the AM milking period was higher (2.20) than that of the PM milking period of the BMC (1.93). Increase in the milk volume led to an increase in the COP such that the peak period with higher milk volumes recorded a high COP increase of 12.61 percent and 19.81 percent for the AM and PM milking periods respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Microstructural evolution of welded creep aged 12% cr martensitic stainless steel
- Authors: Marx, Genevéve
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Stainless steel -- Welding
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30766 , vital:31128
- Description: Tempered martensite ferritic (TMF) steels with 9-12% Cr additions are used extensively for high-pressure steam pipes in coal-fired power plants. They operate at temperatures above 500ºC and are consequently susceptible to creep damage. Due to economic reasons, welding must be performed on service exposed materials when a component needs to be replaced. Fusion welding results in the formation of different microstructural regions within the weldment. The primary failure mechanism of TMF steel welded components is Type IV cracking that results from accelerated void formation in the fine-grained heat affected zone (FGHAZ) during creep. Short-term creep-tests performed across weldments made on new and service exposed steels have shown that the weldment consistently fails in the FGHAZ of the service exposed material. This observation has not yet been fully explained since not much is known about the microstructural evolution of creep aged material during welding. Thus, further investigation on the microstructure of welded creep aged material is warranted. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the microstructural evolution when welding upon creep aged 9-12% Cr martensitic steels using advanced electron microscopy techniques. X20CrMoV12-1 (12% Cr) in the virgin and long-term service-exposed state were investigated. GleebleTM weld simulation of the FGHAZ was performed on the materials. Detailed microstructural investigations were conducted on the parent and simulated FGHAZ materials to analyse the voids, dislocation density, micro-grains, and precipitates (M23C6, MX, Laves, Z-phase) in the materials. Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the voids. Twin-jet electropolished specimens were prepared for precipitate, micro-grain and substructure analyses using Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) combined with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS), Concentric Backscatter (CBS) imaging, Energy-Filtered Transmission Electron Microscopy (EFTEM), and Annular Dark-Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (ADF-STEM) combined with EDS. The precipitates were extracted from the iron matrix using Bulk Replication and further investigated using EFTEM and STEM-EDS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Marx, Genevéve
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Stainless steel -- Welding
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30766 , vital:31128
- Description: Tempered martensite ferritic (TMF) steels with 9-12% Cr additions are used extensively for high-pressure steam pipes in coal-fired power plants. They operate at temperatures above 500ºC and are consequently susceptible to creep damage. Due to economic reasons, welding must be performed on service exposed materials when a component needs to be replaced. Fusion welding results in the formation of different microstructural regions within the weldment. The primary failure mechanism of TMF steel welded components is Type IV cracking that results from accelerated void formation in the fine-grained heat affected zone (FGHAZ) during creep. Short-term creep-tests performed across weldments made on new and service exposed steels have shown that the weldment consistently fails in the FGHAZ of the service exposed material. This observation has not yet been fully explained since not much is known about the microstructural evolution of creep aged material during welding. Thus, further investigation on the microstructure of welded creep aged material is warranted. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the microstructural evolution when welding upon creep aged 9-12% Cr martensitic steels using advanced electron microscopy techniques. X20CrMoV12-1 (12% Cr) in the virgin and long-term service-exposed state were investigated. GleebleTM weld simulation of the FGHAZ was performed on the materials. Detailed microstructural investigations were conducted on the parent and simulated FGHAZ materials to analyse the voids, dislocation density, micro-grains, and precipitates (M23C6, MX, Laves, Z-phase) in the materials. Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the voids. Twin-jet electropolished specimens were prepared for precipitate, micro-grain and substructure analyses using Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) combined with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS), Concentric Backscatter (CBS) imaging, Energy-Filtered Transmission Electron Microscopy (EFTEM), and Annular Dark-Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (ADF-STEM) combined with EDS. The precipitates were extracted from the iron matrix using Bulk Replication and further investigated using EFTEM and STEM-EDS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Black women’s narratives of womanhood: before and after hysterectomy
- Kota-Nyati, Phumeza Patricia
- Authors: Kota-Nyati, Phumeza Patricia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hysterectomy -- psychological aspects , Women -- psychological aspects Gender identity Intersectionality (Sociology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/29995 , vital:30807
- Description: The removal of the uterus, medically referred to as a hysterectomy, is a permanent and irreversible procedure that potentially results in a number of immediate and significant effects. Performing a hysterectomy is at times the only medical option to a long and traumatic history of pelvic pains and surgeries. The decision to undergo this very costly, painful, and life-changing procedure can have an influence on the way women view themselves. Women’s narratives of womanhood before and after hysterectomy need to be understood within the context of women’s socially constructed identities. Gendered identity has been closely linked to genital and/or reproductive organs and the removal of these organs may influence the way women and societies define womanhood.The interpretive paradigm of constructionism with a narrative inquiry design was used as the lens to examine the women’s experiences. In-depth interviews were analysed through thematic analysis. The findings of this research revealed negative experiences resulting from severe symptoms before hysterectomy, exposed multi-layered structures of power and dominance during treatment, and indicated positive outcomes of hysterectomy. The findings should inform medical and allied practitioners regarding hysterectomy as a treatment option and add to the theoretical debate on the relationships between hysterectomy, womanhood, and identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kota-Nyati, Phumeza Patricia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hysterectomy -- psychological aspects , Women -- psychological aspects Gender identity Intersectionality (Sociology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/29995 , vital:30807
- Description: The removal of the uterus, medically referred to as a hysterectomy, is a permanent and irreversible procedure that potentially results in a number of immediate and significant effects. Performing a hysterectomy is at times the only medical option to a long and traumatic history of pelvic pains and surgeries. The decision to undergo this very costly, painful, and life-changing procedure can have an influence on the way women view themselves. Women’s narratives of womanhood before and after hysterectomy need to be understood within the context of women’s socially constructed identities. Gendered identity has been closely linked to genital and/or reproductive organs and the removal of these organs may influence the way women and societies define womanhood.The interpretive paradigm of constructionism with a narrative inquiry design was used as the lens to examine the women’s experiences. In-depth interviews were analysed through thematic analysis. The findings of this research revealed negative experiences resulting from severe symptoms before hysterectomy, exposed multi-layered structures of power and dominance during treatment, and indicated positive outcomes of hysterectomy. The findings should inform medical and allied practitioners regarding hysterectomy as a treatment option and add to the theoretical debate on the relationships between hysterectomy, womanhood, and identity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The effect of using a computer-based exploration tool on children's career development learning
- Authors: Crause, Ewald
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Vocational guidance -- Computer network resources , Career development -- Computer network resources
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9947 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015020
- Description: Historically the process of career development was thought of as occurring in adolescence and adulthood; however, the renewed emphasis on lifelong career development has led to a greater focus on the career developmental stage of childhood. The present research focused on the development and trialling of a research-based computerised career exploration tool, Growing-up: Children Building Careers™ (GCBC™) that can be used for early intervention in children‘s career development. The integration of developmental considerations within a career developmental context is of paramount importance, considering that child and career developmental theories share certain basic foundational principles such as the dual recognition of identifiable life stages and the resolution or accomplishment of associated tasks. The focus of the research is to provide access to a research-based tool that can assist learners with developing age appropriate career developmental skills. As the overview of education policy and existing programs will show, there are challenges in providing access to and improving the nature, level, and quality of career development services. Gaps in access to career development learning are particularly evident at the elementary education level. Furthermore it is clear that learners need to be at the centre of a radical rethink of careers services within a lifelong learning framework in order to ensure access to navigational tools throughout a lifetime of work and study transitions. Digital environments, such as the GCBC™, are tools that broaden and extend learning possibilities for children and appropriately designed digital environments can provide a vehicle that can take children further than they might travel unassisted. The research is divided into five phases and includes eight to ten year old children as participants. Phase one focused on the program design and pilot study (ensuring content validity and age-appropriate language use), while phases two to five focused on the fieldwork (i.e., pre –test, program exposure, post-test, and focus group discussions). The researcher made use of a mixed research design that combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The total sample consisted of 146 children between the ages of eight to ten years old. The control group had 72 children and the experimental group 74 children with a mean age of 8.74 years (SD = 0.63) for the total sample. The quantitative data collection entailed a pre-and post-test design with learners‘ career development measured with the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and their career awareness with the Revised Career Awareness Survey (RCAS). Qualitative data was collected in the form of two focus group discussions, which included a small sample of children from the experimental group, as well as insights gained from educators following the GCBC™ fieldwork. The quantitative statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics which allowed the researcher to not only describe the research findings, but to confirm the effectiveness of the GCBC™ as an intentional career development learning program. Furthermore, the responses of the children and educators who participated in or witnessed the facilitation of the GCBC™ provided support for the GCBC™ as a meaningful career learning experience which can be successfully implemented in educational settings.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Crause, Ewald
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Vocational guidance -- Computer network resources , Career development -- Computer network resources
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9947 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015020
- Description: Historically the process of career development was thought of as occurring in adolescence and adulthood; however, the renewed emphasis on lifelong career development has led to a greater focus on the career developmental stage of childhood. The present research focused on the development and trialling of a research-based computerised career exploration tool, Growing-up: Children Building Careers™ (GCBC™) that can be used for early intervention in children‘s career development. The integration of developmental considerations within a career developmental context is of paramount importance, considering that child and career developmental theories share certain basic foundational principles such as the dual recognition of identifiable life stages and the resolution or accomplishment of associated tasks. The focus of the research is to provide access to a research-based tool that can assist learners with developing age appropriate career developmental skills. As the overview of education policy and existing programs will show, there are challenges in providing access to and improving the nature, level, and quality of career development services. Gaps in access to career development learning are particularly evident at the elementary education level. Furthermore it is clear that learners need to be at the centre of a radical rethink of careers services within a lifelong learning framework in order to ensure access to navigational tools throughout a lifetime of work and study transitions. Digital environments, such as the GCBC™, are tools that broaden and extend learning possibilities for children and appropriately designed digital environments can provide a vehicle that can take children further than they might travel unassisted. The research is divided into five phases and includes eight to ten year old children as participants. Phase one focused on the program design and pilot study (ensuring content validity and age-appropriate language use), while phases two to five focused on the fieldwork (i.e., pre –test, program exposure, post-test, and focus group discussions). The researcher made use of a mixed research design that combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The total sample consisted of 146 children between the ages of eight to ten years old. The control group had 72 children and the experimental group 74 children with a mean age of 8.74 years (SD = 0.63) for the total sample. The quantitative data collection entailed a pre-and post-test design with learners‘ career development measured with the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and their career awareness with the Revised Career Awareness Survey (RCAS). Qualitative data was collected in the form of two focus group discussions, which included a small sample of children from the experimental group, as well as insights gained from educators following the GCBC™ fieldwork. The quantitative statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics which allowed the researcher to not only describe the research findings, but to confirm the effectiveness of the GCBC™ as an intentional career development learning program. Furthermore, the responses of the children and educators who participated in or witnessed the facilitation of the GCBC™ provided support for the GCBC™ as a meaningful career learning experience which can be successfully implemented in educational settings.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
An exploration of perceptions, adaptive capacity and food security in the Ngqushwa local municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Mazinyo, Sonwabo Perez, Zhou, Leocadia
- Authors: Mazinyo, Sonwabo Perez , Zhou, Leocadia
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Food security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Climatic changes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19032 , vital:40106
- Description: Approximately sixty percent of Africans depend on rainfed agriculture for their livelihoods. South Africa is evidenced to be susceptible to inclement climate which impacts on rural livelihoods as well as on farming systems. While South Africa is considered to be food sufficient, it is estimated that approximately 35% of the population is vulnerable to food insecurity. Therefore with the application of surveys and interviews this study investigates the factors influencing household, subsistence and small-scale farmer perceptions of vulnerability to climate variability as well as the determinants of adaptive capacity. A sample of 308 households is surveyed and four focus group discussions are administered in Ngqushwa Local Municipality as a case study. Furthermore, the study also focuses on the biophysical changes or factors (scientific analysis of the prevailing climatic regimes–rainfall trends); the interrogation of the impact of food systems on both food prices as well as its implications on food sovereignty. The study also interrogates the relationship between crop yield and rainfall data over a 30-year period. Therefore the study adopts a mixed method approach to ensure triangulation. The study finds that rural communities are able to perceive climate variability and its related changes as well as its negative impact on crop production, food access and availability. The perceived rainfall trends also corroborate this Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient reveals that there is a strong correlation between crop yields and rainfall (r = 0.69). Meteorological analyses also show that the rainfall trend has been significantly variable over 112 years (1900 - 2011) with several dry spells threatening the subsistence and small-scale farmers’ sustainable livelihoods. The food systems pose threats to food safety, food security and historical food sovereignty for the rural community of Ngqushwa Local Municipality. Adaptive capacity is greatly impaired by the lack of co-ordination of adaptation strategies, which communally benefit the majority of the farming respondents in the study area. Therefore vulnerability to climate variability impacts on the ability of the respondents to achieve food security. The study also finds that there is perceived competition between the farmers and wild life for the natural resources. The respondents’ perception is that climate variability and change is responsible for such competition. The study recommends that the national, provincial and local governments must foster a new food production model that is not based on the agro-business model and its attendant technologies but on one that is based on robust agro-ecological farming techniques which enhance adaptive capacity; which foster food safety; which promote food sovereignty; and which reduce vulnerability in a sustainable manner. Given the extent of climate variability in the study area the restoration of the NLM weather station infrastructure can also aid the farmers in taking advantage of a robust early warning system for better estimation of climate trends which enhance crop production.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mazinyo, Sonwabo Perez , Zhou, Leocadia
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Food security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Climatic changes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19032 , vital:40106
- Description: Approximately sixty percent of Africans depend on rainfed agriculture for their livelihoods. South Africa is evidenced to be susceptible to inclement climate which impacts on rural livelihoods as well as on farming systems. While South Africa is considered to be food sufficient, it is estimated that approximately 35% of the population is vulnerable to food insecurity. Therefore with the application of surveys and interviews this study investigates the factors influencing household, subsistence and small-scale farmer perceptions of vulnerability to climate variability as well as the determinants of adaptive capacity. A sample of 308 households is surveyed and four focus group discussions are administered in Ngqushwa Local Municipality as a case study. Furthermore, the study also focuses on the biophysical changes or factors (scientific analysis of the prevailing climatic regimes–rainfall trends); the interrogation of the impact of food systems on both food prices as well as its implications on food sovereignty. The study also interrogates the relationship between crop yield and rainfall data over a 30-year period. Therefore the study adopts a mixed method approach to ensure triangulation. The study finds that rural communities are able to perceive climate variability and its related changes as well as its negative impact on crop production, food access and availability. The perceived rainfall trends also corroborate this Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient reveals that there is a strong correlation between crop yields and rainfall (r = 0.69). Meteorological analyses also show that the rainfall trend has been significantly variable over 112 years (1900 - 2011) with several dry spells threatening the subsistence and small-scale farmers’ sustainable livelihoods. The food systems pose threats to food safety, food security and historical food sovereignty for the rural community of Ngqushwa Local Municipality. Adaptive capacity is greatly impaired by the lack of co-ordination of adaptation strategies, which communally benefit the majority of the farming respondents in the study area. Therefore vulnerability to climate variability impacts on the ability of the respondents to achieve food security. The study also finds that there is perceived competition between the farmers and wild life for the natural resources. The respondents’ perception is that climate variability and change is responsible for such competition. The study recommends that the national, provincial and local governments must foster a new food production model that is not based on the agro-business model and its attendant technologies but on one that is based on robust agro-ecological farming techniques which enhance adaptive capacity; which foster food safety; which promote food sovereignty; and which reduce vulnerability in a sustainable manner. Given the extent of climate variability in the study area the restoration of the NLM weather station infrastructure can also aid the farmers in taking advantage of a robust early warning system for better estimation of climate trends which enhance crop production.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An investigation of plant conservation strategies employed in Makhanda, South Africa: an educational exploration
- Authors: Cimi, Pumlani Viwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plant conservation , Rare plants Biodiversity conservation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37979 , vital:34276
- Description: The school curriculum in South Africa gives educators the freedom to design and organise learning experiences according to their local circumstances and availability of resources. In that context, this study advocates conservation education through use of plants on school grounds and visits to local herbaria and botanical gardens as part of the school curriculum. Trees growing on street verges in town suburbs are also a resource that could be using for teaching. School learners from three schools representing different areas of Makhanda (Grahamstown) participated in plant-related activities and were surveyed to determine their prior knowledge about plants and plant conservation. Learners answered a series of questions in writing using a funnel sequence and the inverted funnel sequence in questionnaire design. This motivated respondents to co-operate and fully complete a questionnaire. In addition, the non-participant observation technique was used to capture behavioural reactions to the activities in order to supplement the data generated through questionnaires and interviews. This proved to be a purposeful, systematic and a selective way of watching and listening to an interaction phenomenon as it takes place. Interviews and questionnaires revealed that most Makhanda residents (especially in rural and township areas) use traditional medicine and medicinal plants to treat many diseases. They also use plants for cultural activities. Traditional remedies are practised among the rural and township communities because of ease of availability, convenience, and also due to social, psychological and cultural reasons. Medicinal plants have been increasingly recognized for their role not only for health care, but also for improving the economic status. Community members and street vendors were also questioned using semi-structured interviews. Open-ended questions were used successfully to assess the person’s knowledge, attitudes, opinions, beliefs and feelings. This type of interview ensures that a specific question does not lose its purpose. These interviews were used to determine how community members see, interpret and relate to nature. In the interviews, I also assessed the real needs of the local communities because there is a tendency to think that our power, knowledge and resources can give us the right to predict what communities really need without actually asking them. When our imposed initiatives fail, we often accuse these communities of a lack of interest in our issue of interest. Documents on plants and their uses kept in the Selmar Schönland Herbarium were compared with the information given by community members and street vendors. Xhosa plant names and ethnobotanical information given by the community members and street vendors was used to augment existing information on plant use. A further aim of this study was to investigate the potential use of plant resources provided by the street trees and gardens for education. Makhanda streets were sampled and, of the 1 435 plants that were countered from 17 streets, only 15 indigenous species were represented, while 20 alien species were recorded. These trees can be used for lessons on both alien and indigenous plants. Notable differences in tree density and species richness were evident across suburbs with the highest density and richness found in the more affluent suburbs and poor representation of trees in the township. This will affect learner perceptions and viewpoints. The results from the analysed data revealed that use of the school grounds, botanical gardens, the local herbarium and town streets are effective in plant conservation education in schools and communities. These types of resources could be used for environmental education for future generations in South Africa and all over the world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Cimi, Pumlani Viwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plant conservation , Rare plants Biodiversity conservation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37979 , vital:34276
- Description: The school curriculum in South Africa gives educators the freedom to design and organise learning experiences according to their local circumstances and availability of resources. In that context, this study advocates conservation education through use of plants on school grounds and visits to local herbaria and botanical gardens as part of the school curriculum. Trees growing on street verges in town suburbs are also a resource that could be using for teaching. School learners from three schools representing different areas of Makhanda (Grahamstown) participated in plant-related activities and were surveyed to determine their prior knowledge about plants and plant conservation. Learners answered a series of questions in writing using a funnel sequence and the inverted funnel sequence in questionnaire design. This motivated respondents to co-operate and fully complete a questionnaire. In addition, the non-participant observation technique was used to capture behavioural reactions to the activities in order to supplement the data generated through questionnaires and interviews. This proved to be a purposeful, systematic and a selective way of watching and listening to an interaction phenomenon as it takes place. Interviews and questionnaires revealed that most Makhanda residents (especially in rural and township areas) use traditional medicine and medicinal plants to treat many diseases. They also use plants for cultural activities. Traditional remedies are practised among the rural and township communities because of ease of availability, convenience, and also due to social, psychological and cultural reasons. Medicinal plants have been increasingly recognized for their role not only for health care, but also for improving the economic status. Community members and street vendors were also questioned using semi-structured interviews. Open-ended questions were used successfully to assess the person’s knowledge, attitudes, opinions, beliefs and feelings. This type of interview ensures that a specific question does not lose its purpose. These interviews were used to determine how community members see, interpret and relate to nature. In the interviews, I also assessed the real needs of the local communities because there is a tendency to think that our power, knowledge and resources can give us the right to predict what communities really need without actually asking them. When our imposed initiatives fail, we often accuse these communities of a lack of interest in our issue of interest. Documents on plants and their uses kept in the Selmar Schönland Herbarium were compared with the information given by community members and street vendors. Xhosa plant names and ethnobotanical information given by the community members and street vendors was used to augment existing information on plant use. A further aim of this study was to investigate the potential use of plant resources provided by the street trees and gardens for education. Makhanda streets were sampled and, of the 1 435 plants that were countered from 17 streets, only 15 indigenous species were represented, while 20 alien species were recorded. These trees can be used for lessons on both alien and indigenous plants. Notable differences in tree density and species richness were evident across suburbs with the highest density and richness found in the more affluent suburbs and poor representation of trees in the township. This will affect learner perceptions and viewpoints. The results from the analysed data revealed that use of the school grounds, botanical gardens, the local herbarium and town streets are effective in plant conservation education in schools and communities. These types of resources could be used for environmental education for future generations in South Africa and all over the world.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Causes of staff turnover in selected departments: province of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Khelekethe, Eric Phathisile
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Labor turnover -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Employee retention -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8836 , vital:26434
- Description: This research focused on the impact of staff turnover in selected departments of the Province of the Eastern Cape Province. High staff turnover rate may jeopardise efforts to attain organisational objectives. In addition, `when an organisation loses a critical employee, there is a negative impact, on innovation; consistency in providing service to guests may be jeopardised, and major delays in the delivery of services to customers may occur. The research design used in this study contained elements of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches, which allowed the researcher to use structured questionnaires in data collection, on which space was provided for comments. This study was influenced and shaped by the concerns raised by a number of General Managers in the course of various provincial meetings. The main purpose of this research was to identify retention strategies that could be used by selected departments to reduce the turnover of their talented staff. The research also investigated methods to retain knowledge within departments that could possibly be lost due to a high turnover rate among talented staff. The first step used to resolve the issues discussed above was to conduct a full literature study. The literature study sought to reveal what characteristics were required in the departments that ensured that staff would be happy in those departments and remain there for a long time. The literature study also covered what knowledge management methods could be used in managing valuable knowledge. Secondly, the views of current staff and management of the selected departments on staff and knowledge management strategies were solicited in an empirical study, which involved the completion of structured questionnaires. It is the researcher’s aim that this study will, firstly, contribute to the existing body of knowledge of staff turnover and that the Provincial Departments will take into cognisance the problems that lead to employee turnover. Secondly, that it will contribute to an improvement in employee working conditions in various Provincial Government departments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Khelekethe, Eric Phathisile
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Labor turnover -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Employee retention -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8836 , vital:26434
- Description: This research focused on the impact of staff turnover in selected departments of the Province of the Eastern Cape Province. High staff turnover rate may jeopardise efforts to attain organisational objectives. In addition, `when an organisation loses a critical employee, there is a negative impact, on innovation; consistency in providing service to guests may be jeopardised, and major delays in the delivery of services to customers may occur. The research design used in this study contained elements of both the quantitative and qualitative approaches, which allowed the researcher to use structured questionnaires in data collection, on which space was provided for comments. This study was influenced and shaped by the concerns raised by a number of General Managers in the course of various provincial meetings. The main purpose of this research was to identify retention strategies that could be used by selected departments to reduce the turnover of their talented staff. The research also investigated methods to retain knowledge within departments that could possibly be lost due to a high turnover rate among talented staff. The first step used to resolve the issues discussed above was to conduct a full literature study. The literature study sought to reveal what characteristics were required in the departments that ensured that staff would be happy in those departments and remain there for a long time. The literature study also covered what knowledge management methods could be used in managing valuable knowledge. Secondly, the views of current staff and management of the selected departments on staff and knowledge management strategies were solicited in an empirical study, which involved the completion of structured questionnaires. It is the researcher’s aim that this study will, firstly, contribute to the existing body of knowledge of staff turnover and that the Provincial Departments will take into cognisance the problems that lead to employee turnover. Secondly, that it will contribute to an improvement in employee working conditions in various Provincial Government departments.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Applying anthropological perspectives in criminal procedures involving murder in Port Elizabeth, 2000-2016
- Authors: Thornton, Jessica Leigh
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Murder -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Crime -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Law enforcement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Criminology -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45238 , vital:38335
- Description: With the spike of annual reported murders in South Africa, the country is continuing to climb the global rank of the world’s most violent countries. In 2016 alone, there were over nineteen thousand reported murders, equalling over fifty murders per day, with the Eastern Cape holding position as the province with the highest murder rate. Studies indicate that Port Elizabeth is the hardest hit by crime, adding up to 60% of all reported crimes in the province and despite the use of a ‘catch and convict’ only approach in criminal proceedings, violence and crime are still highly prevalent. Thus, overall the situation suggests that it may be beyond law enforcement control and even though the South African Police Service have taken some progressive steps in reforming procedures, generally, these have been too little and too late, as the reforms introduced are piecemeal and crisis driven. This thesis, therefore, proposes that additional approaches may be needed to improve investigations of the most pernicious crimes. Here, the focus is on the role of culture and social life in ‘murder-scapes’ with a critical contribution of the ‘habitus’ of murder allowing for the meaningful engagement with criminal acts, policing, sentencing, imprisonment and probation. In this regard, perspectives drawn from anthropology can possibly assist law enforcement officials in their steps of investigating a murder by providing a more ethnographic, holistic and integrated narrative in all areas of a criminal proceeding. An efficacious and constructive interpretation of the different subcultures, crime scene processing, profiles development, testimony documentation and participation production with the police force and task teams can assist in redirecting and reappraising current practises that prove incompetent. That is, in attempting to review the current procedures conducted by law enforcers to identify how and where anthropological and ethnographical knowledge can be applied and successfully utilised, an assessment may aid officials in better investigative practises which could have implications for wider lenses making use of action, investigation, containment, prevention and rehabilitation. By advancing a deep understanding of the issue of murder in the South African context, implications for a wider, equally modernising and equally troubled society in the global South can be inferred.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Thornton, Jessica Leigh
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Murder -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Crime -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Law enforcement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Criminology -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45238 , vital:38335
- Description: With the spike of annual reported murders in South Africa, the country is continuing to climb the global rank of the world’s most violent countries. In 2016 alone, there were over nineteen thousand reported murders, equalling over fifty murders per day, with the Eastern Cape holding position as the province with the highest murder rate. Studies indicate that Port Elizabeth is the hardest hit by crime, adding up to 60% of all reported crimes in the province and despite the use of a ‘catch and convict’ only approach in criminal proceedings, violence and crime are still highly prevalent. Thus, overall the situation suggests that it may be beyond law enforcement control and even though the South African Police Service have taken some progressive steps in reforming procedures, generally, these have been too little and too late, as the reforms introduced are piecemeal and crisis driven. This thesis, therefore, proposes that additional approaches may be needed to improve investigations of the most pernicious crimes. Here, the focus is on the role of culture and social life in ‘murder-scapes’ with a critical contribution of the ‘habitus’ of murder allowing for the meaningful engagement with criminal acts, policing, sentencing, imprisonment and probation. In this regard, perspectives drawn from anthropology can possibly assist law enforcement officials in their steps of investigating a murder by providing a more ethnographic, holistic and integrated narrative in all areas of a criminal proceeding. An efficacious and constructive interpretation of the different subcultures, crime scene processing, profiles development, testimony documentation and participation production with the police force and task teams can assist in redirecting and reappraising current practises that prove incompetent. That is, in attempting to review the current procedures conducted by law enforcers to identify how and where anthropological and ethnographical knowledge can be applied and successfully utilised, an assessment may aid officials in better investigative practises which could have implications for wider lenses making use of action, investigation, containment, prevention and rehabilitation. By advancing a deep understanding of the issue of murder in the South African context, implications for a wider, equally modernising and equally troubled society in the global South can be inferred.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Decentralisation and development: the contradictions of local government in Uganda with specific reference to Masindi and Sembabule districts
- Authors: Galiwango, Wasswa Hassan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Decentralization in government -- Uganda , Local government -- Uganda , Uganda -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:8238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/780 , Decentralization in government -- Uganda , Local government -- Uganda , Uganda -- Politics and government
- Description: Decentralisation is the process through which Central Government transfers authority and functions to sub-national units of the Government and it traces its origin in Uganda from the “ bush” period (1981 – 1986) when Resistance Committees were established by the NRM/A in the Luwero triangle. The Mamdani Commission Report of 1987 on the Local Government system in Uganda recommended devolution of powers. Subsequently, decentralisation was launched in 1992, constitutionalised by the 1995 Constitution, and operationalised by the Local Governments Act (LGA) in 1997. Among the services devolved were education and health, which this study used as case studies to illustrate whether decentralisation has enhanced development in Uganda during the period 1993 – 2006. The study used both primary and secondary data in analysing the linkage between decentralisation and development in the two selected districts in Uganda, namely Masindi and Sembabule. Primary data was collected through interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions while secondary data was gathered through a literature survey of relevant textbooks, newspapers, reports, legislation and journals. The findings of the study established that if decentralisation is properly planned and implemented it can make a meaningful contribution to enhancing development. However, since decentralisation is a process and not a once-off project, it evolves from one stage to another and, as it does so, it also unfolds new challenges and contradictions that need to be effectively addressed. These challenges include aspects relating to the legal framework, as well as political, fiscal and administrative decentralisation. The study recommended mitigation measures to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency, and subsequently the quality of services delivered (development) under decentralised local governance in Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Galiwango, Wasswa Hassan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Decentralization in government -- Uganda , Local government -- Uganda , Uganda -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:8238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/780 , Decentralization in government -- Uganda , Local government -- Uganda , Uganda -- Politics and government
- Description: Decentralisation is the process through which Central Government transfers authority and functions to sub-national units of the Government and it traces its origin in Uganda from the “ bush” period (1981 – 1986) when Resistance Committees were established by the NRM/A in the Luwero triangle. The Mamdani Commission Report of 1987 on the Local Government system in Uganda recommended devolution of powers. Subsequently, decentralisation was launched in 1992, constitutionalised by the 1995 Constitution, and operationalised by the Local Governments Act (LGA) in 1997. Among the services devolved were education and health, which this study used as case studies to illustrate whether decentralisation has enhanced development in Uganda during the period 1993 – 2006. The study used both primary and secondary data in analysing the linkage between decentralisation and development in the two selected districts in Uganda, namely Masindi and Sembabule. Primary data was collected through interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions while secondary data was gathered through a literature survey of relevant textbooks, newspapers, reports, legislation and journals. The findings of the study established that if decentralisation is properly planned and implemented it can make a meaningful contribution to enhancing development. However, since decentralisation is a process and not a once-off project, it evolves from one stage to another and, as it does so, it also unfolds new challenges and contradictions that need to be effectively addressed. These challenges include aspects relating to the legal framework, as well as political, fiscal and administrative decentralisation. The study recommended mitigation measures to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency, and subsequently the quality of services delivered (development) under decentralised local governance in Uganda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008