A comparison of the comfort properties, measured with a sweating manikin (WalterTM), of clothing containing different fibres
- Authors: Britz, Lizaan
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Textile chemistry Cotton fabrics , Cotton textiles
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14752 , vital:27842
- Description: The main objective of the present study was to determine the relative role and importance of worsted suiting fabric fibre blend vis-à-vis fabric structural parameters, on the comfort related properties of 12 clothing ensembles, each comprising a different man’s suit, but the same wool/nylon underwear and cotton shirt. To achieve the objective, the comfort related properties, namely thermal resistance (Rt) and water vapour resistance (Ret) and water vapour permeability index (Im), of the clothing ensembles, as determined by means of WalterTM, a thermal sweating fabric manikin, were subjected to multi-linear and multi-quadratic analysis, as dependent variables, with the various suiting fabric parameters, namely weight, thickness, density, porosity, air permeability and wool content, as independent variables. It was found that the multi-quadratic regression analysis was able to best explain the observed differences in the clothing ensemble comfort related properties, in terms of the differences in suiting fabric properties. The regression analyses were used to isolate and quantify the effects of the various fabric and fibre content variables on the above mentioned comfort related properties of the various clothing ensembles. This study indicated that the suiting fabric structural properties (notably air permeability), had a more significant influence than either fibre blend or suiting fabric, as measured on WalterTM, a thermal sweating fabric manikin.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Motivating blue-collar employees at a selected municipality
- Authors: Nogaya, Sigqibo Sipho Songezo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Blue collar workers -- South Africa Employee motivation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20176 , vital:29151
- Description: This study seeks to provide insight into the potential that motivation has in improving, not only on service delivery but the personal willingness of employees to perform as well. Continuous improvement is aided by conducting studies of this nature, in an organisation, at pre-determined periods. Municipalities across the country are plagued with complaints regarding service delivery issues. The municipality under study is no different. Newspaper articles like the one in Appendix G depict the stories of communities that are reliant on services provide by local government. There are a range of problems that can lead to municipal service delivery being hampered. One of the problems can be a de-motivated workforce. Human Resources Management needs to find ways of instilling motivation in employees in order to get maximum performance from them. Motivation is influenced by a variety of factors and the Human Resources Management section must look into the influence of these factors on motivation. Studies looking into the constructs of these factors must be conducted. The findings of such research can assist in making positive change in the organisation. The expected motivating factor would be remuneration or financial reward for work done. This may be one of the factors but there is also a range of other factors to be considered. Some of these factors relate to the psychological aspect of motivation. It is important to formulate sustainable ways of motivating employees and these may not be simply raising salaries. This research looked into specific factors of motivation. This is due to the fact that an attempt to cover all factors would simply be too lengthy an exercise. It became necessary to remain within a specific framework. This also assisted in maintaining the quality of the research undertaken.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The relationship between organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation in private critical care units
- Authors: Flippies, Emirenthia Emogin Elouise , Venter, D J L
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Medicine -- Practice -- Standards -- South Africa Medical care -- Standards , Intensive care units
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12583 , vital:27096
- Description: Clinical practice guidelines are one way of ensuring that healthcare is based on the evidence-based practices. In a dynamic unit, like the critical care unit, where sound decision-making and critical thinking are required in the care of critically ill patients, the implementation of such guidelines for care is of utmost importance. Guideline implementation is however not so simplistic, and various studies have proven that there are various barriers linked to guideline implementation. However, most the barriers have proven to be related to individual factors. Therefore, a greater focus has been placed on organisational contextual factors that might have an influence on clinical practice guideline implementation. The research study followed a positivistic, quantitative paradigm, where the hypothesised relationship between the organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation were investigated. A structured pre-existing questionnaire, namely the Alberta Context Tool, was used to collect data from 65 registered nurses in private critical care units. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that although the organisational contextual factors were prevalent in the private critical care units sampled, some factors like leadership and culture scored higher than the other factors. Positive relations were reported between the organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation. The results imply that the alternative hypothesis H1 is supported, and thus proved that there are significant relationships between organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation in private critical care units in the East London area.Recommendations were made on how to enhance organisational contextual factors in the implementation of clinical practice guidelines. Ethical principles were maintained throughout the study.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Factors influencing cultural diversity at a multinational company
- Authors: Swart, Victor
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Diversity in the workplace , Multiculturalism , International business enterprises -- Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8790 , vital:26430
- Description: Cultural diversity in the workplace is the presence of multiple cultures or groups within the work environment. This diversity in culture can be as a result of a difference in origin or nationality, difference in society, difference in religion or a difference in tradition. A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a transnational company is an organisation that is registered and operates in multiple countries but is managed from the home country. Today’s ever increasing rate of globalization and the expansion of organisations into countries other than their own has created workplaces where cultural diversity is the norm and where workplaces are no longer characterized by a single or monoculture. This study explores the cultural diversity of an Argentinian multinational company, My Multinational Company (MMC), operating in Argentina and South Africa. MMC is a market leader in the production, procurement and export of citrus products. There is a plethora of information on cultural diversity which identifies various factors which influence cultural diversity. The purpose of this study is therefore to enhance the current understanding of cultural diversity within a multinational company by identifying the factors which influence cultural diversity in a multinational company. The approach to this study is quantitative in nature and the paradigm to be followed is positivistic, based on an empirical study and questionnaire. The empirical study assesses previous work relating to cultural diversity and identifies the factors which influence cultural diversity. The questionnaire was developed from the literature and distributed to MMC employees in Argentina and South Africa in order to determine their similarities and differences. The results of the empirical study identified areas of improvement for MMC. Recommendations were then made based on the literature review and the analysis of the empirical results.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Cross-border tourism planning and development: the case of the Lake Gariep Initiative
- Authors: Crozier, Marguerite Nicole
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Tourism -- South Africa -- Gariep Dam -- Case studies , Gariep Dam (South Africa) -- Tourism -- Case studies , Central-local government relations -- South Africa -- Gariep Dam , Globalization -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9034 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1668 , Tourism -- South Africa -- Gariep Dam -- Case studies , Gariep Dam (South Africa) -- Tourism -- Case studies , Central-local government relations -- South Africa -- Gariep Dam , Globalization -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Description: The concept of cross-border tourism planning and cooperation is investigated in reference to the Lake !Gariep Initiative. The field of cross-border economic planning and integration is an area of increasing interest in regional development studies. The Lake Gariep Initiative is an initiative to promote cross-border planning and development around nature conservation, water resource management, economic development, poverty alleviation and tourism in the three municipalities that surround the Gariep Dam. The Gariep Dam, which is largest dam in South Africa, is surrounded by three provinces. The region is also economically and politically marginalised as it has a small, dispersed population and a marginal contribution to the broader regional economy. Under these circumstances the coordination of resources between municipalities to develop and promote the region has been identified as a key success factor for the region. The Lake Gariep Initiative although strongly supported locally has over ten years failed to be institutionalised. This study examines the Lake Gariep Initiative in terms of the origins of the concept and the key challenges that have been faced in establishing a cross-border, development entity. Findings are based on an assessment of documents on the formation of the LGI, interviews with stakeholders involved in the process and an assessment of critical success factors in reference to national and international case studies. This study provides a review of the key challenges, benefits and critical success factors for cross-border tourism development in relation to the Lake !Gariep Initiative.
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- Date Issued: 2011