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A framework for the corporate governance of ICT in local government

  • Authors: Delport, Petrus Marthinus Jacobus
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Information technology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7015 , vital:21191
  • Description: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become critical and pervasive in any well-run modern enterprise across all sectors, which include local government. As a result, ICT demands to be managed and governed in a sustainable manner. Therefore, local government should accept the responsibility of implementing good Corporate Governance of ICT (CGICT). Without sound CGICT, ICT is unable to support local government in the achievement of their strategic objectives. This will most likely result in local government not being able to serve the interests of the community. Even though local government is aware of their responsibility regarding CGICT, the Auditor-General reports that their attempts are unsatisfactory, in this regard. This is most probably due to the fact that ample information exists on guiding local government with `what' they should do towards good CGICT, but unfortunately a lack of guidance on `how' to achieve it. Thus, it is imperative for local government to adopt a CGICT framework which provides guidance not only on what they must do towards implementing good CGICT but also on how they should achieve it. In doing so, local government would most likely be able to properly manage and govern ICT and support the needs of the community. Therefore, the aim of this study is to report on research undertaken, in order to assist local government with a CGICT framework that is relevant to their unique environment. Accordingly, this CGICT framework aims to be usable and scallable to the needs of any sized local government entity. As a result, the CGICT framework aims to be simplistic in nature to promote self-implementation of sound CGICT in local government.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A framework for the secure consumerisation of mobile, handheld devices in the healthcare institutional context

  • Authors: Kativu, Tatenda Kevin
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Mobile computing -- Hospitals -- South Africa Electronic data processing -- Security measures -- South Africa , Wireless communication systems -- Social aspects Medical care -- Technological innovations -- Developing countries
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18630 , vital:28696
  • Description: The advances in communication technologies have resulted in a significant shift in the workplace culture. Mobile computing devices are increasingly becoming an integral part of workplace culture. Mobility has several advantages to the organisation, one such example is the “always online” workforce resulting in increased productivity hours. As a result, organisations are increasingly providing mobile computing devices to the workforce to enable remote productivity at the organisations cost. A challenge associated with mobility is that these devices are likely to connect to a variety of networks, some which may insecure, and because of their smaller form factor and perceived value, are vulnerable to loss and theft amongst other information security challenges. Increased mobility has far reaching benefits for remote and rural communities, particularly in the healthcare domain where health workers are able to provide services to previously inaccessible populations. The adverse economic and infrastructure environment means institution provided devices make up the bulk of the mobile computing devices, and taking away the ownership, the usage patterns and the susceptibility of information to adversity are similar. It is for this reason that this study focuses on information security on institution provided devices in a rural healthcare setting. This study falls into the design science paradigm and is guided by the principles of design science proposed by Hevner et al. The research process incorporates literature reviews focusing on health information systems security and identifying theoretical constructs that support the low-resource based secure deployment of health information technologies. Thereafter, the artifact is developed and evaluated through an implementation case study and expert reviews. The outcomes from the feedback are integrated into the framework.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A framework to implement social entrepreneurship activities in higher education institutions

  • Authors: Tai Hing, Paul
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Social entrepreneurship -- Education (Higher) -- South Africa Business enterprises -- Education (Higher) -- South Africa , Social responsibility of business -- Education (Higher) -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15923 , vital:28291
  • Description: The development of social enterprises are recognised by the broader community as an effective tool for addressing social problems. As a result, the development and emergence of social enterprise sectors have taken various paths in different geographic regions in the world. For the African context, the withdrawal of funding from the state as a result of external conditions imposed by foreign actors as well as the institutional support provided by foreign aid organisations were the key drivers behind the emergence of the social enterprise sector in Africa. Within the South African context, job creation and poverty alleviation are pressing priorities, both politically and economically, so providing an environment that is conducive for the development of social enterprises or social entrepreneurship. Implementing social entrepreneurship activities in higher education is important as universities are under increasing pressure to become responsive to student needs, and there is a growing scrutiny of their engagement, supportive, and economic role in local communities. By supporting local communities, institutions can broaden the student experience and create an economic impact. In addition, as the student experience entails more than curricular learning opportunities, social entrepreneurship practices are an important dimension for higher learning. This study used a series of case studies of social entrepreneurship projects that were implemented in the classroom of the first and second year Management students on the 2nd Avenue Campus of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). These case studies highlighted the possibilities of how classroom space and students can be utilised to set-up social enterprises to improve the conditions of the many disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities within which the university functions. At the same time, learning takes place through the practical application of the theory taught in the classroom. From the seven case studies highlighted in the study, a framework was developed to implement social entrepreneurship activities in the context of higher education. This framework includes five steps, namely, motivation and inspiration to develop social enterprises in the classroom, student involvement in creating and developing a product for sale, use of appropriate teaching strategies to provide the learning experience, provision of adequate mentoring and control of the social enterprises and, finally, assessment of the social enterprises. With the funds generated from the projects, communities benefited, for example, the upgrading of community facilities. Educators in higher education institutions are responsible for developing future business leaders. Given the increasing importance of social issues, especially poverty, this educational experience ensured that the students were made aware of the importance of using the powers yielded by business to solve some of these social issues, and thus contribute to the improvement of the South African economy. As a result, social entrepreneurship has a role to play in addressing social and economic issues. For example, the entrepreneurship part of the business will help to alleviate the unemployment strain placed upon the South African economy, whereas, the social part of the business will assist in alleviating poverty. Regarding the implementation of social entrepreneurship activities within the environment of higher education, it is evident from the case studies that successful social enterprises can be established within the classroom and sufficient funds generated to effect positive change within disadvantaged communities. Other higher education institutions in South Africa may find the implementation of social entrepreneurship activities more problematic as they might not possess a similar university culture as the NMMU.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A framework to incorporate sustainability into South African consumer protection policy

  • Authors: Best, Laura Anne
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Consumer protection -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Corporate governance -- Law and legislation , Business ethics Sustainability -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14565 , vital:27766
  • Description: Consumer protection policy measures can enable consumer behaviour shifts in favour of more sustainable choices. Whilst government is responsible for developing consumer protection policy in a particular country, business is central in the implementation of such policy. In South Africa, there is disassociation in consumer protection policy and environmental policy where consumer protection policy is the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry, whilst sustainability is located under the Department of Environmental Affairs. As a result, South African consumer protection policy does not holistically incorporate sustainability. A six-step qualitative research process was adopted to develop a framework to implement sustainability into consumer protection policies. First, a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy was developed to structure the qualitative research. Four dimensions for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection were then identified. Qualitative data was collected using an open-ended questionnaire and also content analysis of existing data. Two sets of experts further reviewed and critiqued the proposed framework. The results of the qualitative enquiry, in particular, showed that for all the countries examined, some at least had sustainability consideration elements in their policies, but this was evident to a lesser extent in African countries, particularly those with less-developed economies. On the other hand, policy mechanisms that promoted sustainability were more evident in the policies and laws of developed countries. In the case of most African countries, basic needs were foregrounded as the primary concerns of consumers, ahead of sustainability concerns. Further, poverty limited consumer choices, particularly if more sustainably produced and eco-efficient goods came at a higher price. The research also underscored the importance and centrality of consumer education and stakeholder engagement for achieving sustainability policy intentions. It further confirmed that the basic needs of poor consumers in South Africa, and the impact of poverty on sustainability policy intentions must underpin the proposed framework. Factors that created an enabling environment for the implementation of the framework were identified as policy harmonisation within government policy domains, joined-up government, good corporate governance and shared value that considered the needs of future generations and consumer education. These factors would create an enabling environment for policy implementation. Consumer policy could play a key role in the choices that consumers make and, if well-designed and implemented, could direct consumer spending in support of the goal of sustainability and sustainable consumption. The proposed framework provides a foundation on which to futher refine and develop consumer protection policy that incorporates the well-being of consumers and social justice. Using consumer spending to drive sustainability requires a deliberate intention on the part of policy makers to move away from the more conventional framing of consumer policy, which has tended to focus on the economic interests of consumers, such as price, quality, choice and redress. However, modern business is shifting towards a more holistic conceptualisation of sustainability, as a value that needs to be deliberately and consciously built into the design and essence of a business. Doing so is not only good corporate citizenship, but offers a competitive advantage, which could drive product demand and attract consumers.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A framework to support inexperienced postgraduate research supervisors

  • Authors: Mapasa, Tobeka Eugié
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Graduate students -- Supervision of Universities and colleges -- Graduate work -- Supervision , Supervision Research -- Study and teaching -- Supervision
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18529 , vital:28657
  • Description: It has been taken for granted that being able to lecture presupposes being able to supervise research students, and completing a Master’s or doctoral degree successfully meant that an academic could assume the research supervisor role. However, findings on research into graduate students’ experiences of the research process indicate that in most cases, postgraduate students are dissatisfied with the guidance they receive from their supervisors. In an effort to contribute to finding ways and to continuing the debate on the improvement of postgraduate research supervision, in this study, I aimed to develop a framework that could be used to support postgraduate research supervisors within faculties. To achieve this aim, I conducted a literature review in order to understand what it means to supervise at postgraduate level effectively and also to identify existing support programmes for postgraduate research supervisors. I adopted a phenomenological research design within an interpretive tradition. The technique used to select the sample was purposeful criterion. The sample size was determined by means of data saturation. It consisted of four faculty postgraduate studies committee chairpersons, seven inexperienced and four experienced postgraduate research supervisors. Meetings and semi-structured interviews were employed to generate data. The findings revealed that attempts by faculties to support postgraduate research supervisors have not been systematically documented as they were done, to a large extent, informally. The size of the faculty, lack of resources, heavy workload and timing emerged as factors that impacted positively and/or negatively on the provision of support to postgraduate research supervisors within faculties. Thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that both the experienced and the inexperienced postgraduate research supervisors view good postgraduate research supervision as a relationship of human beings involving critical engagement between the postgraduate students and their supervisors. A need to mentor postgraduate research students was also highlighted. The findings also indicated that the participants viewed good postgraduate research supervision as a developmental process of co-learning and mutual growth culminating from joint effort by both the student and the research supervisor. Striking the balance between backing off and taking over was highlighted as important linked to the roles of the student and that of the supervisor in the research supervision process. The inexperienced and the experienced supervisors had mixed feelings about the usefulness of the existing support initiatives by faculties that they have been exposed to, citing the duration, the level at which some of them were pitched and the presentation styles of the facilitators as cause for concern. The support needs that were common to both the inexperienced and the experienced supervisors were designated mentors, manageable workload and time. The inexperienced postgraduate supervisors expressed the need for focussed support, briefing sessions, online resources for easy access, good timing, and an extended co-supervision period. The experienced supervisors expressed the need for support that will be at their level, group supervision, time and/or money to buy the time and better prepared postgraduate students. This study contributed the proposed framework informed by the integration of the insights from the literature on postgraduate research supervision, professional development and the findings from this study. The principles of the Transformative Learning Theory are appropriate to guide the implementation of the proposed framework in future applications.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A historical analysis of the impact of the 1966 Ugandan constitutional crisis on Buganda’s monarchy

  • Authors: Musisi, Fred
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Uganda -- Politics and government -- 1962-1971 Uganda -- History Buganda
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20703 , vital:29377
  • Description: 1966 was a particularly tumultuous year in the East African country of Uganda. After an era of relative peace and stability, the country was plagued by a range of tragedies that resulted in a constitutional crisis after the 24 May attack on the palace of the King of Buganda. This was the first time in Uganda's short history that the state had deliberately and systematically turned its guns on its own people. As a point of departure the study advances that existing historical analyses on the crisis lack detail. Consequently, the core of the study was to provide a more focused detailed and multi-faceted historical account of the 1966 crisis on the Buganda’s monarchy. The study yielded insights into the political and socio-economic impacts of the 1966 political turmoil on the people of Buganda. Using the historical method to inform the research design; the study employed an archival history methodology to examine how both the colonial legacy and the internal dynamics of the Ugandan society combined to lead to a serious and dramatic conflict between the kingdom of Buganda and State of Uganda. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the political turmoil left an indelible scar on the Kingdom of Buganda. The study offers clarity on why and how the crisis occurred and contributes a better understanding of the ‘grey area’ of knowledge and insights into what the abolition of the Kingdom meant to the Baganda.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A leadership transfer framework to improve the retention rate in the private hotel industry

  • Authors: Gregersen, Peter Carl
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Corporate culture -- South Africa , Employee retention -- South Africa , Hospitality industry -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7160 , vital:21284
  • Description: The transference of knowledge and the creation of a knowledge vault within operations of the Hospitality sector is the cornerstone to the success of this dynamic contributor to the economy, not only as a skills developer, but also as a collective group of experts that unknowingly build a community of expertise that transfer knowledge amongst themselves within an organisation. Leadership that share knowledge, whether tacit or implied, leads to the development and knowledge growth from members to those who are exposed to the intricacies of decision making and business practices. This leads then to the skills development and retention of the participants who feel nurtured and fulfilled in the employment within the organisation and view themselves as valued members. The finding of this research reveals a correlation between knowledge sharing and the desire for job security that leads to the feeling of being nurtured and finding the employment positive and enjoyable. The transference of knowledge allows the receiver of the knowledge to develop to where the point of the receiver becoming an expert in their chosen field is attained and the collective of the mangers are developed to the level of a community of experts in their various fields. However the academic qualifications of leadership is low, the significance of this highlights the level of networking amongst themselves as paramount to the success of this multi million rand industry.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A model for assessing and reporting network performance measurement in SANReN

  • Authors: Draai, Kevin
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Computer networks -- Evaluation Network performance (Telecommunication) , Computer networks -- Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16131 , vital:28326
  • Description: The performance measurement of a service provider network is an important activity. It is required for the smooth operation of the network as well as for reporting and planning. SANReN is a service provider tasked with serving the research and education network of South Africa. It currently has no structure or process for determining network performance metrics to measure the performance of its network. The objective of this study is to determine, through a process or structure, which metrics are best suited to the SANReN environment. This study is conducted in 3 phases in order to discover and verify the solution to this problem. The phases are "Contextualisation", "Design",and "Verification". The "Contextualisation" phase includes the literature review. This provides the context for the problem area but also serves as a search function for the solution. This study adopts the design science research paradigm which requires the creation of an artefact. The "Design" phase involves the creation of the conceptual network performance measurement model. This is the artefact and a generalised model for determining the network performance metrics for an NREN. To prove the utility of the model it is implemented in the SANReN environment. This is done in the "Verification" phase. The network performance measurement model proposes a process to determine network performance metrics. This process includes getting NREN requirements and goals, defining the NRENs network design goals through these requirements, define network performance metrics from these goals, evaluating the NRENs monitoring capability, and measuring what is possible. This model provides a starting point for NRENs to determine network performance metrics tailored to its environment. This is done in the SANReN environment as a proof of concept. The utility of the model is shown through the implementation in the SANReN environment thus it can be said that it is generic.The tools that monitor the performance of the SANReN network are used to retrieve network performance data from. Through understanding the requirements, determining network design goals and performance metrics, and determining the gap the retrieving of results took place. These results are analysed and finally aggregated to provide information that feeds into SANReN reporting and planning processes. A template is provided to do the aggregation of metric results. This template provides the structure to enable metrics results aggregation but leaves the categories or labels for the reporting and planning sections blank. These categories are specific to each NREN. At this point SANReN has the aggregated information to use for planning and reporting. The model is verified and thus the study’s main research objective is satisfied.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A model to address factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates

  • Authors: Mabece, Thandolwethu , Thomson, Kerry-Lynn
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Information technology -- Security measures , Computer security , Cyber intelligence (Computer security)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7355 , vital:21339
  • Description: The fact that information is ubiquitous throughout most modern organisations cannot be denied. Information is not merely used as an enabler in modern organisations today, but is also used to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. Thus, information has become one of the most important business assets. It is, therefore, imperative that organisations protect information assets as they would protect other business assets. This is typically achieved through implementing various security measures.Technological and procedural security measures are largely dependent on humans. However, the incorrect behaviour of humans poses a significant threat to the protection of these information assets. Thus, it is vital to understand how human behaviour may impact the protection of information assets. While the focus of much literature is on organisations, the focus of this research is on higher education institutions and the factors of information security, with a specific focus on influencing the information security behaviour of computing graduates. Typically, computing graduates would be employed in organisations in various careers such as software developers, network administrators, database administrators and information systems analysts. Employment in these careers means that they would be closely interacting with information assets and information systems. A real problem, as identified by this research, is that currently, many higher education institutions are not consciously doing enough to positively influence the information security behaviour of their computing graduates. This research presents a model to address various factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates. The aim of this model is to assist computing educators in influencing computing graduates to adopt more secure behaviour, such as security assurance behaviour. A literature review was conducted to identify the research problem. A number of theories such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Protection Motivation Theory and Social Cognitive Theory were identified as being relevant for this research as they provided a theoretical foundation for factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates. Additionally, a survey was conducted to gather the opinions and perceptions of computing educators relating to information security education in higher education institutions. Results indicated that information security is not pervasively integrated within the higher education institutions surveyed. Furthermore, results revealed that most computing students were perceived to not be behaving in a secure manner with regard to information security. This could negatively influence their information security behaviour as computing graduates employed within organisations. Computing educators therefore require assistance in influencing the information security behaviour of these computing students. The proposed model to provide this assistance was developed through argumentation and modelling.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A new synthetic approach for preparation of Efavirenz

  • Authors: Chada, Sravanthi
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Antiretroviral agents , Asymmetric synthesis , Enzyme inhibitors , HIV (Viruses) -- Enzymes
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15512 , vital:28265
  • Description: Efavirenz, a drug that is still inaccessible to millions of people worldwide, is potent non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), is one of the preferred agents used in combination therapy for first-line treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). NNRTIs attach to and block an HIV enzyme called reverse transcriptase, by blocking reverse transcriptase; NNRTIs prevent HIV from multiplying and can reduce the amount of HIV in the body. Efavirenz can't cure HIV/AIDS, but taken in combination with other HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day helps people with HIV live longer healthier lives. Efavirenz also reduces the risk of HIV transmission and can be used by children who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. All the above therapeutic uses of efavirenz prompted us to identify the novel and hopefully cost efficient synthetic methodology for the preparation of efavirenz. In this thesis a new synthetic method for asymmetric synthesis of efavirenz is described. This route started from commercially available starting materials and it is first established in traditional batch chemistry and further the parameters transferred to a semi continuous flow protocol for optimization.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A normative study of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices for South African children with cognitive barriers to learning

  • Authors: August, Justin Oswin
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Children -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19419 , vital:28869
  • Description: With the changing landscape in South Africa to a full democracy, increased research has been undertaken in the psychometric field on local and national normative studies regarding various assessment measures. The Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) is one of the measures that have already been extensively normed throughout the world for various population groups. In South Africa, local norms for normal populations of children have been developed by groups of researchers in the Grahamstown (Eastern Cape) as well as the Bloemfontein (Free State) areas. With a South African school educational system that focuses on Inclusive Education, there is a growing need for mainstream schools to identify learners who are at risk for learning disabilities in order to develop appropriate supportive intervention plans. The research aimed to establish psychometric normative screening data based on the Raven’s CPM, and to compare these with the established and published international and local Raven’s CPM norms. In addition, the researcher developed pilot classification scores for the early screening and detection of at risk learners in order to encourage the potential role and use of the Raven’s CPM in the identification of cognitive learning barriers. The sample consisted of 388 primary school learners identified as having cognitive barriers to learning. Archival data was used that was gathered from a Psychological clinic that provided screening services to schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. The results of the study indicated that there was a proportional relationship between age and test performance. Gender differences were found where the males in this study outperformed the females. There was a significant difference in the Raven’s CPM test performance with respect to the grade levels of the learners. The study developed a special set of norms with cognitive classification scores that will aid in the early identification of learning disabilities.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A participatory action research approach to engaging peer educators in the prevention of teenage pregnancy

  • Authors: Hendricks, Farah
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Peer teaching -- South Africa Teenage pregnancy -- South Africa , Sex instruction for teenagers -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16011 , vital:28306
  • Description: The phenomenon of teenage pregnancy among school-going youth is on the increase in South Africa, despite the existence of a number of intervention programmes. Although both curricular and co-curricular awareness programmes targeting this phenomenon are currently employed within South African schools, these programmes have patently not met with much success, since the problem remains acute. It was the question why these programmes are not succeeding in alleviating the problem that prompted my interest in undertaking this study. Based on literature that suggests that those programmes that are successful in reaching the youth are designed through participatory processes, rather than being designed by outside experts, my thesis proposes that prevention programmes that are designed and implemented by the youth for the youth may be more successful in helping them to make healthy decisions in terms of their sexual behaviour. This study attempted to engage youth in a participatory way in identifying and exploring their perceptions of teenage pregnancy and using the knowledge thus gained to design, implement and evaluate prevention strategies in their school. The study is informed by social learning theory and adopted a participatory action research (PAR) design, which is located in a critical paradigm. I purposefully recruited twenty-four youths (14 females and 10 males) to participate. The primary research question that guided this study was: “How can peer educators be engaged to create prevention strategies to reduce teenage pregnancy and its impacts?” The following sub-questions were identified from the primary research question: What do learners themselves know feel and experience with regard to the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy How might a participatory methodology help learners to create relevant and contextualised strategies for addressing teenage pregnancy? How can such strategies be implemented in a school system? What recommendations could be made for addressing teenage pregnancy in a contextualised way? The research was conducted in two cycles. In Cycle One, data was generated through two focus group discussions, led by a young researcher from the community to encourage openness and honesty. In addition through snowball sampling, six teenage mothers and two teenage fathers agreed to be interviewed individually. The same questions were asked in the two discussions and the individual interviews, namely: “What do you know, feel and think about teenage pregnancy?” In the first cycle, I responded to my first sub-research question. Interviews, drawings and focus group discussions were used to generate data. Three themes emerged from the data to provide insight into how the youth at the school perceived the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy. The findings from this cycle revealed certain tensions between what youth said they needed and what adults, such as teachers and parents, thought they needed to know. The participating teenagers regarded themselves as sexual beings, while the adults in their sphere of influence preached abstinence, moralised or merely cited the facts, without entering into any discussion of how young people could deal with social pressures and better protect themselves against unplanned pregnancy. The participating youth were clearly aware of how to prevent pregnancy, but the social barriers to using condoms or contraceptive pills were a stumbling block. They possessed knowledge of the potential consequences of risky behaviour, but this did not stop them from engaging in such behaviour. In the second cycle of the research, the participants used the findings of the first cycle to develop prevention messages and strategies to convey these messages to their peers. They used participatory visual methods to accomplish this. The findings from this cycle revealed that a peer education approach helped participants to increase maturity in sexual decision-making, had a positive effect on the learning and acquisition of new skills, and improved critical thinking relating to sexuality. The study also had a positive impact on other learners’ knowledge and the attitudes displayed by both learners and teachers, and also led to improvements in school policies related to sexuality education. It is contended that the study contributed important theoretical and methodological insights. Knowledge generated from the study could make a contribution to the field of sexuality education and how it should be approached in schools, particularly in communities facing social and economic adversity. The methodological contribution of this study provided guidelines and theory on how participatory action research and participatory methods can be implemented in schools to enable youth to influence change in their schools, not only regarding teenage pregnancy, but also other social issues.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A proposed model for enterprise resource planning benefits for SMEs

  • Authors: De Matos, Paulo
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Small business -- South Africa Enterprise resource planning -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14971 , vital:28107
  • Description: Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in global and national economies, both in developed and developing countries, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation. Yet, SMEs face ongoing survival issues as their limited access to resources often constrains their ability to compete and realise their potential. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are known to be a crucial component in realising benefits for any organisation and are seen as significant contributors to an organisation’s performance. However, only a portion of SMEs report that their value expectations have been met in adopting an ERP system. SMEs require a better understanding of how to extract value from ERP adoption in order to remain competitive. An on-going SME problem is a lack of low-level awareness of the benefits that an ERP system is capable of providing them. The problem is stated as “SMEs do not understand the benefits derived from the adoption of an ERP system”. The purpose of this treatise was to determine a clearer understanding of how ERP systems can be considered a technological innovation that may be exploited by an SME to deliver business value by increasing the performance of the SME and thereby increasing the SME’s competitive advantage. A literature review was conducted on ERP and SMEs which identified benefit models grounded in the theories of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Resource Based View (RBV). DOI explains the benefits derived from ERP use as the technology diffuses throughout the social organisation and RBV measures the business value extracted from ERP adoption and use. A model for ERP benefits for SMEs was proposed based on the extant literature and empirical evaluation on a sample of 107 SYSPRO ERP users in South Africa. The model was statistically assessed as to the relationships between the independent variables of ease of use, collaboration, capabilities, efficiencies, analytics, industry sector and maturity against the dependent variable of ERP business value. The variables of analytics, capabilities and ease of use together explain 68.9% of the variance of ERP business value, while analytics and capabilities explain 53.8%. No significant relationship was found for efficiencies, collaboration, industry or maturity, being a measure of length of years’ experience in ERP use. The results indicate that SMEs perceive analytics to be a valuable determinant of ERP value contributing to the competitiveness of SMEs. The higher the SME focuses on analytics, the greater the organisation’s performance increases due to the enhancement of analytical-based decisions aiding in a better decision-making process. Capabilities are the degree to which an ERP system caters for the functional needs of the SME. This treatise argues that SMEs should pay particular focus on their operational requirements and whether the ERP system is capable of providing them as customisation of the ERP is costly. Organisational personnel utilising ERP must be comfortable utilising it. Perceptions as to an ERP’s complexity and usefulness define the ease-of-use. SMEs should consider the inherent aspects of a given ERP system that support the adoption rate of their personnel of an ERP system. Practically, SMEs should assess the degree of system intuitiveness both during ERP selection and during the adoption lifecycle phases. ERP providers should focus on the provisioning of aspects both in the software and during the implementation of an ERP system at an SME in ensuring the system is intuitive, useful, easy to use, functionally addresses the SME requirements simply and surfaces meaningful analytics in support of decision-making process.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A proposed service quality framework for multi-national supply logistics providers in the South African automotive industry

  • Authors: Van Aswegen, Dawid Titus
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Business logistics -- South Africa -- Management , Purchasing -- South Africa -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Industrial procurement -- South Africa -- Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21307 , vital:29476
  • Description: Managing a sustainable service business rests on two critical customer perceptions: Firstly, the perceived sufficiency of the value of the service, and secondly the level of value differentiation between the current service provider other service providers in the market. (DeSarbo, Ebbs, Fong & Snow, 2010; Parasuraman & Grewal, 2000) The direction for this study was prompted by the limited research available around service quality for Supply Logistics within the global automotive industry. The study identified the key factors that logistics service providers need to focus on when aligning their perceptions of service quality to that of their customers. The service gaps between customer and service provider perceptions are uncovered. Particular focus was given to: The definition gaps in service quality, The perceived level of service quality, and The size of service quality differentiation between service providers. The key finding of the study is that service differentiation is influenced by the ability of the Logistics Service Provider (LSP) to deliver a quality of service in line with the level of importance the various elements hold to the customer. The causal relationships offered a step wise understanding of improving the perceptions of customers. This perception forming process is outlined as follows: Firstly, create a common understanding of the definition of service quality and establish the comparative importance of the various elements. Having an understanding of how customers’ value service quality is a critical first step in delivering superior service. A proposed Service Quality Framework for multi-national Supply Logistics providers in the South African automotive industry Secondly, align efforts to achieve in accordance to the level of importance of the service elements. If this is achieved, LSP’s will retain positive differentiation to its competitors irrespective of the actions of those competitors. Lastly, LSP’s need to regularly review if their own perception of the service level (per element) is in line with that of the customer. The study created a service quality framework of 22 different service elements grouped in four service factors. The relative importance of these elements were uncovered. This offered insight for organizing the business around key service elements. Within Supply Logistics the operational-management-tools, engineering-skills, processes-stability and management-structure are typical elements around which customers form their perceptions. The quality of the direct staff holds the key to sustained customer satisfaction, much more so than the commercial arrangements, industry innovations and the prestige of the brand behind the service. This study laid a foundation from which future research can deeper explore the unique slant that geographical, organisational designation or customer brand lines hold on the service quality perception.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A scenario-based ICT risk assessment approach in local government

  • Authors: Mcube, Unathi Unity
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Internet in public administration -- South Africa , Electronic commerce -- Government policy Municipal services -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7598 , vital:21942
  • Description: Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of conducting business within enterprises including the local government. Local government relies on the use of ICT to ensure that its objectives and goals are accomplished. The effective use of ICT within the context of local government is fundamental for the support, sustainability and growth of municipalities. Benefits associated with the effective use of ICT in local government include but are not limited to accelerated service delivery, efficiency and accountability. While these benefits cannot be disputed, it is important to realise that the use of ICT presents potential risks. Thus, good governance of ICT should be addressed in local government. However, in recent years, the Auditor-General of South Africa (AG) has identified lack of good governance of ICT in local government. Various issues have been identified as emanating from the lack of good governance of ICT and lack of adequate ICT risk assessment is a case in point. In an attempt to address the good governance of ICT local government, various documents have been formulated. However, none of these address how effective management of ICT risks can be achieved. As such, local government lacks the means to effectively address the management of ICT risk which is core to the good governance of ICT. Local government still requires urgent intervention with regard to addressing the activities of managing ICT risks, particularly ICT risk assessment. Moreover, it was revealed that the lack of adequate ICT skills and financial resources in local government elevates this problem. The above-mentioned problem is what has motivated this research study. This dissertation aims to produce an artefact in the form of an approach for ICT risk assessment in local government. It is believed that a customised approach to ICT risk assessment in local government will contribute towards solving the identified problem.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A sedimentological and structural study of the lower Ecca Group, with a focus on facies analysis of the Collingham Formation, north of Grahamstown, SE Karoo Basin, South Africa

  • Authors: Slamang, Shereen
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Formations (Geology) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Facies (Geology) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21099 , vital:29439
  • Description: A study of the Collingham Formation was conducted in the area of the Ecca Pass and Committees Drift Road some 20km north of Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The study incorporates outcrops of the lower Ecca Group, with a focus on the Collingham Formation. The structural and sedimentological characteristics have been documented, and a detailed description and facies outcrop characterization of the Collingham Formation has been undertaken. The combined thickness of the Prince Albert (~55m), Whitehill (~12m), and Collingham (~20m) Formations is approximately 85m. These formations are composed of fine grained parallel laminated mudrocks of mostly silt- and clay-size particles. A general north-easterly dip direction is recorded with three prominent joint directions striking NNE, NNW, and ESE. Intense small scale folding is evident in the Whitehill Formation, and is likely linked to local décollement structures; while north-verging duplex faults in the Prince Albert Formation is possibly linked to a sole thrust/detachment fault rooted in rocks of the Cape Supergroup. The foreland model has been proposed for these deformational structures. Six lithofacies have been recognised in the Collingham Formation, namely; claystone facies, mudstone facies, siltstone facies, chert facies, tuff facies, and shale facies. The Collingham Formation is comprised of an upward fining sequence of sediments; seen from the gradual change from siltstone facies in the lower layers, to mudstone facies, and claystone facies in the upper layers. This was created in a delta environment whereby clay particles were held in suspension in a hypopycnal mouth bar, and slowly settled to form claystone facies. An influx of sediment caused silt particles to settle further out to sea under the influence of gravity in a hyperpycnal mouth bar, thereby forming siltstone facies. Mudstone facies formed as the sediment supply gradually depleted, subsequently reducing the concentration of silt particles. The dominance of clay particles present suggests deposition to have occurred in tranquil waters, in a possible intracratonic basin setting, where the water depth is known to be a lot shallower. An upward decrease in organic content is seen by the colour change of mudrocks from dark grey near the base to dark green grey in the upper layers. Chlorite is commonly found in thin section, SEM, and XRD, and is an indication that the formation was later subject to low grade greenschist facies metamorphism.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A smart home environment to support safety and risk monitoring for the elderly living independently

  • Authors: Chiridza, Tongai
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Multisensor data fusion , Raspberry Pi (Computer) -- Programming Adaptive computing systems
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14851 , vital:27880
  • Description: The elderly prefer to live independently despite vulnerability to age-related challenges. Constant monitoring is required in cases where the elderly are living alone. The home environment can be a dangerous environment for the elderly living independently due to adverse events that can occur at any time. The potential risks for the elderly living independently can be categorised as injury in the home, home environmental risks and inactivity due to unconsciousness. The main research objective was to develop a Smart Home Environment (SHE) that can support risk and safety monitoring for the elderly living independently. An unobtrusive and low cost SHE solution that uses a Raspberry Pi 3 model B, a Microsoft Kinect Sensor and an Aeotec 4-in-1 Multisensor was implemented. The Aeotec Multisensor was used to measure temperature, motion, lighting, and humidity in the home. Data from the multisensor was collected using OpenHAB as the Smart Home Operating System. The information was processed using the Raspberry Pi 3 and push notifications were sent when risk situations were detected. An experimental evaluation was conducted to determine the accuracy with which the prototype SHE detected abnormal events. Evaluation scripts were each evaluated five times. The results show that the prototype has an average accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 94%, 96.92% and 88.93% respectively. The sensitivity shows that the chance of the prototype missing a risk situation is 3.08%, and the specificity shows that the chance of incorrectly classifying a non-risk situation is 11.07%. The prototype does not require any interaction on the part of the elderly. Relatives and caregivers can remotely monitor the elderly person living independently via the mobile application or a web portal. The total cost of the equipment used was below R3000.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A spiritual intelligence model for operational humanitarian leadership development in conflict-affected areas

  • Authors: Els, Deon André
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Development leadership Conflict management , Peace-building Spiritual life
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15534 , vital:28267
  • Description: The scale and cadence of crises that demand international humanitarian response are on the rise and pose increasingly hostile and complex challenges to operational humanitarian leaders. The international responses to humanitarian crises since 2011 recognised the need for successful humanitarian leadership development that emphasises the importance of ethical and effective leadership. The under-achievement of operational humanitarian leaders in conflict-affected areas has long been a chief concern amongst humanitarian organisations and leadership scholars. Several approaches to the development of operational humanitarian leaders have been presented as possible solutions such as establishing new financing mechanisms; improving technical abilities, academic knowledge, simulation training, conflict management skills; conflict prevention training; and enhancing the capacity for collaborative networks. Despite various efforts, it is reported that ineffective and incompetent leadership is still a major constraint on the success and effectiveness of operational humanitarian response in conflict-affected areas. This research effort attempted to contribute to improving operational humanitarian leadership by considering a “human or people-centred approach”. The primary objective was to identify the factors that influence the successful development of the spiritual intelligence (SQ) of humanitarian leaders working in conflict-affected areas. The primary objective was, therefore, to improve the abilities and skills of humanitarian leaders by validating and analysing factors that should contribute to the development of spiritually intelligent leaders and, subsequently, improve humanitarian leadership performance. There is growing consensus that values, ethical behaviour, self-awareness, motivation, compassion, humility, empathy, co-ordination and the empowerment of others have a significant impact on the effectiveness of operational humanitarian leadership which emphasises the need for human or people-centred approaches in developing humanitarian leaders. The striking similarities between abilities pertaining to effective, operational, humanitarian leadership and the capabilities of a spiritually intelligent individual suggested an opportunity to investigate the development of a spiritual intelligence model for humanitarian leaders. The frequency, duration and intensity of humanitarian crises between 2004 and 2016 further emphasised the urgent need for operational leaders to develop and apply abilities based on spiritual intelligence in the humanitarian sector. Some scholars argue that the development of spiritually intelligent leaders should play an instrumental role in successfully responding to global crises.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A study of the South African national anthem as a tool for division or unification

  • Authors: Gallant, Bernette Denolia
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Cultural fusion -- South Africa Multiculturalism -- South Africa , Politics and culture -- South Africa National songs -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15138 , vital:28143
  • Description: South Africa is a nation that was born from a struggle that can be said to have turned racial divisions and discrimination into a diversity of heritages. Thus, contemporary South Africa has become a country recreated in such a way that its people are able to embrace diversity freely. This research study aimed to provide insights into South Africa’s diversity in culture and linguistics that were moulded into a single song, the South African National Anthem. The research study aimed to determine the selected sample’s (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Staff and Students) responses to the representation of the South African National Anthem based on two specific performances. The research study aimed to determine how the two online videos affected the perceptions of NMMU Staff and Students of the South African National Anthem and South Africa as a brand. The research study aimed to determine how the two performances of the South African National Anthem under study were received by Staff and Students at NMMU. The study also aimed to highlight the similarities and differences in the sample’s responses, based on this reception. The selected YouTube videos under study are: SA anthem destroyed URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beg0-kMN3fM Ard Matthews ruins the SA national anthem URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6IG0Wx19w. An electronic questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions was used to draw a conclusion regarding the selected sample’s perceptions of the South African National Anthem. Following the questionnaire results, a rhetoric analysis of the sample’s questionnaire responses was conducted. This text analysis and interpretation was conducted to gain insight into themes that were labelled based on the questionnaire responses, thus affecting perceptions of the sample and determining whether the South African National Anthem was perceived as a tool for division or unification.
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  • Date Issued: 2017

A sustainable franchise venture framework for new franchises in South Africa

  • Authors: George, Karen Jean
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Franchises (Retail trade) -- South Africa New business enterprises -- South Africa , New business enterprises -- Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47948 , vital:40455
  • Description: This paper proposes a franchise framework to gain better insight into identifying sustainable future franchise business ventures in South Africa. Many studies have confirmed that worldwide franchises offer more sustainable business growth for entrepreneurs and a higher success rate for start-up businesses, yet the problem persists of franchise failures and there are inconclusive reasons for these failures. By developing a franchise framework, the study aimed to contribute to possible solutions of South Africa’s high unemployment, as well as its poor performance in terms of entrepreneurial activity and economic development. The study proposed methods for improving the chances of success with franchise selection for franchisees through developing a franchise framework with specific emphasis on the sustainability of the business. By applying the proposed framework, the prospective franchisee could apply this framework in determining whether a particular franchise would provide a sound investment. Design/Methodology/Approach – A literature study was followed up with a case study research approach. The context was singular, namely the franchise restaurant industry in South Africa. Semi-structured interview questionnaires and recorded interviews were undertaken with embedded multiple units of analyses based on feedback from franchise industry experts, franchisees and a franchisor who owns restaurant franchises. The case study research explored the factors that contributed to the successful franchising business model of selected Spur Corporation Ltd. restaurant franchises, located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Key success factors, which were necessary to maintain and establish a sustainable franchise that has competitive edge over its competitors, were explored in this research.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2017
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