Showing items 1221 - 1240 of 1463

Your selections:

The intersection between social development and the internationalisation of higher education in Colombia

  • Authors: Anzola-Pardo, Giovanni
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Education, Higher -- Colombia , Education and globalization International education -- Colombia Education, Higher -- International cooperation -- Colombia
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23371 , vital:30536
  • Description: The study addresses the nature of Colombian sustainable social development and the internationalisation of higher education (iHE). This intersection is analysed within various theoretical paradigms surrounding social sustainable development and the internationalisation of higher education. This study aims at reviewing the activities of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) which focus on internationalisation. The analysis focuses on the manner in which HEIs in Colombia approach internationalisation vis-à-vis social sustainable development, and emphasis is made on knowledge transfer, research and community engagement. Using the theories of sustainable development, the iHE, in terms of practises and policies, are assessed. Within a mixed-methods approach, data gathered from Colombian university heads (16 presidents and vice-presidents) and 133 individuals responsible for internationalisation affairs is analysed. Concurrent triangulation is used to help introduce a series of themes and sub-themes derived from the qualitative and quantitative information. Within a social constructionist framework, this study has a twofold purpose. On the one hand, it is sought to identify and understand the challenges for Colombia’s academic internationalisation; on the other, an in-depth approach is presented in relation to the way different stakeholders perceive the society-HE internationalisation nexus. The major findings of the study indicate that there is a need to clarify and revise Colombia’s Higher Education policy to address both the education needs of the society and its social development requirements. It was also found that higher education internationalisation could act as an important agent of social change.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The investigation of in vitro dark cytotoxicity and photodynamic therapy effect of a 2, 6-dibromo-3, 5-distyryl BODIPY dye encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles

  • Authors: Molupe, Nthabeleng , Babu, Balaji , Oluwole, David O , Prinsloo, Earl , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187862 , vital:44704 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00958972.2018.1522536"
  • Description: A 2,6-dibrominated 3,5-distyryl boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye with a moderately high singlet oxygen quantum yield was encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles, and its dark cytotoxicity and photodynamic activity were investigated on the human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line. The BODIPY dye exhibited very low dark toxicity and a significant PDT effect when added in drug formulations consisting of 5.0% (v/v) DMSO in supplemented Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) and as Pluronic® F-127 micelle encapsulation complexes in supplemented DMEM alone. An IC50 value of 4 ± 2 μM was obtained when the BODIPY dye was encapsulated in Pluronic® F-127 micelles during in vitro photodynamic activity studies in MCF-7 cancer cells with a 660 nm light emitting diode.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The investigation of type-specific features of the copper coordinating AA9 proteins and their effect on the interaction with crystalline cellulose using molecular dynamics studies

  • Authors: Moses, Vuyani
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Copper proteins , Cellulose , Molecular dynamics , Cellulose -- Biodegradation , Bioinformatics
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/58327 , vital:27230
  • Description: AA9 proteins are metallo-enzymes which are crucial for the early stages of cellulose degradation. AA9 proteins have been suggested to cleave glycosidic bonds linking cellulose through the use of their Cu2+ coordinating active site. AA9 proteins possess different regioselectivities depending on the resulting cleavage they form and as result, are grouped accordingly. Type 1 AA9 proteins cleave the C1 carbon of cellulose while Type 2 AA9 proteins cleave the C4 carbon and Type 3 AA9 proteins cleave either C1 or C4 carbons. The steric congestion of the AA9 active site has been proposed to be a contributor to the observed regioselectivity. As such, a bioinformatics characterisation of type-specific sequence and structural features was performed. Initially AA9 protein sequences were obtained from the Pfam database and multiple sequence alignment was performed. The sequences were phylogenetically characterised and sequences were grouped into their respective types and sub-groups were identified. A selection analysis was performed on AA9 LPMO types to determine the selective pressure acting on AA9 protein residues. Motif discovery was then performed to identify conserved sequence motifs in AA9 proteins. Once type-specific sequence features were identified structural mapping was performed to assess possible effects on substrate interaction. Physicochemical property analysis was also performed to assess biochemical differences between AA9 LPMO types. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were then employed to dynamically assess the consequences of the discovered type-specific features on AA9-cellulose interaction. Due to the absence of AA9 specific force field parameters MD simulations were not readily applicable. As a result, Potential Energy Surface (PES) scans were performed to evaluate the force field parameters for the AA9 active site using the PM6 semi empirical approach and least squares fitting. A Type 1 AA9 active site was constructed from the crystal structure 4B5Q, encompassing only the Cu2+ coordinating residues, the Cu2+ ion and two water residues. Due to the similarity in AA9 active sites, the Type force field parameters were validated on all three AA9 LPMO types. Two MD simulations for each AA9 LPMO types were conducted using two separate Lennard-Jones parameter sets. Once completed, the MD trajectories were analysed for various features including the RMSD, RMSF, radius of gyration, coordination during simulation, hydrogen bonding, secondary structure conservation and overall protein movement. Force field parameters were successfully evaluated and validated for AA9 proteins. MD simulations of AA9 proteins were able to reveal the presence of unique type-specific binding modes of AA9 active sites to cellulose. These binding modes were characterised by the presence of unique type-specific loops which were present in Type 2 and 3 AA9 proteins but not in Type 1 AA9 proteins. The loops were found to result in steric congestion that affects how the Cu2+ ion interacts with cellulose. As a result, Cu2+ binding to cellulose was observed for Type 1 and not Type 2 and 3 AA9 proteins. In this study force field parameters have been evaluated for the Type 1 active site of AA9 proteins and this parameters were evaluated on all three types and binding. Future work will focus on identifying the nature of the reactive oxygen species and performing QM/MM calculations to elucidate the reactive mechanism of all three AA9 LPMO types.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The Kenya National Human Rights Commission and the promotion, protection and monitoring of socio-economic rights in Kenya

  • Authors: Khayundi, Francis Bulimo Mapati
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Kenya Human Rights Commission , Economic rights -- Kenya , Social rights -- Kenya , Kenya -- Economic conditions , Kenya -- Social conditions , Kenya -- Politics and government
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60413 , vital:27777
  • Description: The promulgation of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya introduced socio-economic rights (SERs) amid widespread poverty and rising inequality. This study seeks to answer the overarching question, what role can the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) play in promoting, protecting and monitoring SERs in Kenya? Further research questions included whether the KNCHR has the requisite powers to perform its mandate and what lessons could be learned from the South African context. The research sought to understand how the local context affects the ability of KNCHR to carry out its mandate. Likewise, it analyses some of the contributions KNCHR has made in the promotion and protection of SERs while identifying the challenges the Commission faces in carrying out its mandate. Several methodologies were utilised to answer the research questions above. The methodologies included the doctrinal method, analysis of secondary sources and interviews with key informants. A comparative legal research methodology was also employed, with the SAHRC being used as a case study on how NHRIs can promote, protect and monitor SERs. The findings from the research argue that the Paris Principles provide the minimum guidelines on the establishment of NHRIs. Compliance with these Principles has not necessarily guaranteed the effectives of NHRIs. Any assessment of an NHRI should be based on its performance and legitimacy considering the local factors obtaining within its jurisdiction. The domestic protection and judicial enforcement of human rights in Kenya, though crucial to the realisation of SERs, has been fraught with challenges. These challenges have meant that the realisation of SERs has been curtailed and necessitated complementary institutions for human rights to be realised. Given the country’s constitutional architecture, the KNCHR was one such institution that could complement the role of the judiciary given its wide mandate. With SERs a new feature of the 2010 Constitution, the KNCHR had to find ways to promote SERs in the country considering the local peculiarities such as poverty, a highly political climate and lack of political goodwill from the legislature and executive sometime characterised by open hostility. These challenges and the new nature of these rights called for a comparative study with the SAHRC given some similarities between the two jurisdictions. The SAHRC provided valuable lessons having had more experience in dealing with SERs while navigating similar challenges the KNCHR faced or might face. The findings of the research prompted recommendations directed at the KNCHR and other stakeholders, specifically the legislature and executive on how to address the challenges curtailing the performance of the KNCHR in general and particularly ways in which the Commission could go about in promoting, protecting and monitoring SERs.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The key drivers of grain commodity prices in South Africa: a market intelligence approach

  • Authors: Mbhele, Dadewabo Babongile Pearl
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Marketing research -- South Africa , Commodity exchanges -- South Africa Grain -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22725 , vital:30068
  • Description: Grain forms a staple part of the majority of the global populations’ diets and it is used a raw material for animal feed in many countries. The envisaged increase in population in years to come can be expected to increase the demand of grain globally. Grain production is expected to fulfil energy requirements since developed countries are increasingly utilising grain as an alternative energy source to reduce the negative environmental effects caused by energy derived from fossil fuels. The grain value chain in South Africa consists of grain producers, input suppliers, millers and processors, as well as traders and speculators. The majority of the grain producers in South Africa are commercial farmers who play an important role in the economy of the country. South Africa trades their grain commodities on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange where grain prices are controlled by different social, economic and political factors. This gives rise to grain commodity price volatility because of its sensitivity to market changes. This study focuses on the difficulty faced by the grain producers and stakeholders in the value chain, like traders and speculators, who are exposed to price related risks as a result of the volatility of the grain commodity. It presents the current mitigation strategies that are available to hedge against these risks. Research shows that the current mitigation strategies are not being fully utilised by the grain producers because of their lack of skills and the time to search through and make sense of the datasets on the abundance of factors that influence the grain commodities market. This study presents a market intelligence approach as a solution to the grain volatility price risk. Market intelligence is utilised to enable the prediction of grain prices and to discover the factors that are driving the market at different periods. This is achieved by utilising neural networks and relative importance statistical techniques. In this study, it was found that the impact of the different factors changes from time to time. It proposed a technique for making sense of the changes in the prices of grain commodities. A framework for the implementation of market intelligence to mitigate against price volatility risks is proposed as an output of this study. The impact of the findings of this study to the grain producers and stakeholders in the value chain is that they can have insight on which factor is driving the market at a given period. This would enable then to adjust their activities and enable increased profitability.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The knowledge commons, pan-Africanism, and epistemic inequality: a study of CODESRIA

  • Authors: Hoffmann, Nimi
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Pan-Africanism , Codesria , Equality -- Africa , Social justice -- Africa , Feminist criticism -- Africa , Sex discrimination against women -- Africa , Postcolonialism -- Africa , Women intellectuals -- Africa , Academic freedom -- Africa , Africans -- Intellectual life
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60303 , vital:27764
  • Description: This study is about the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). Conceived in 1964 and formalised in 1973, CODESRIA is the longest-standing pan-African intellectual organisation on the continent. It was established with the primary objective of fostering greater collaboration between African scholars, and has acquired a reputation for challenging the marginalisation and fragmentation of African scholarship. However, there has been no systematic account of this important organisation. This study aims to cast light on this organisation and its intellectual contributions in the post-independence period. It examines CODESRIA as a knowledge commons - a community of scholars that creates, manages and shares intellectual goods outside of the state and the market. It asks: what factors have shaped CODESRIA as a pan-African knowledge commons in the context of epistemic inequality? As a way of answering this question, it examines three key debates: the different meanings of pan-Africanism in CODESRIA, CODESRIA’s defence of the academic project during structural adjustment, and African feminists’ struggles to change CODESRIA. These debates exemplify the ways in which different generations of African scholars in the post - independence period have sought to make sense of and respond to the problems of inequality - both outside of CODESRIA and within CODESRIA. This thesis approaches CODESRIA as a case study. It combines a document analysis with semi-structured interviews to construct and critique key intellectuals' understandings of the organisational design and practices of CODESRIA, the nature of its community and intellectual work. It supplements this with a descriptive analysis of CODESRIA’s bibliometric and administrative data. The study finds that CODESRIA has forged a distinctive form of pan-Africanism that offers a non-governmental and intellectual alternative to state-centric and bureaucratic forms of pan-Africanism. As a powerful counter-narrative to prevailing ideas of African intellectual inferiority, pan-Africanism has been an important motivational source for establishing and cohering CODESRIA’s community. Although its pan-African organisational form has been complicated by the enduring influence of colonial frameworks and limited by the the material and institutional weaknesses of African universities, it has nevertheless acted as a mode of collective enquiry for troubling and expanding the colonial conception of Africa. This study further finds that structural adjustment fundamentally reshaped the intellectual and material underpinnings of CODESRIA with complex and ambiguous results. In the short term, CODESRIA’s analysis of structural adjustment led to considerable intellectual and organisational innovation so that it grew in size and influence. In the long-run, however, structural adjustment eroded the public universities upon which CODESRIA relied. This eroded the mechanisms to maintain its intellectual vigour and democratic character, and increased CODESRIA’s dependency on donors. The study also finds that the struggles of feminist scholars to change unequal gender norms in CODESRIA have been a source of significant intellectual and organisational renewal. Contestations over gender inequality within CODESRIA have given rise to a distinctive form of African feminism, which emphasises the historicity of gender relations in ways that reject essentialist and teleological accounts of African societies. Feminist struggles have also given rise to new standards of scholastic excellence that mark a meaningful departure from the skewed standards introduced under colonial rule. Nevertheless, the persistent minoritisation of female scholars in CODESRIA has significantly limited their capacity to effect institutional change, such that the ghettoization of feminist scholarship and the hollowing out of feminist discourses on gender remains a constant threat. The central argument of this study is that inequality can motivate marginalised members to engage in the collective action required to create and reshape knowledge commons, but it can also constrain their collective action and threaten the long-term sustainability of the commons. The collective agency of marginalised individuals is therefore central to the flourishing of knowledge commons. Second, knowledge commons are intimately dependent on public goods, such as universities. Public goods are plausibly the source, and therefore the limit, of knowledge commons’ capacity to flourish over the long-term. As a consequence, it is likely that knowledge commons are complements to public goods provision, rather than substitutes. Rethinking the knowledge commons in terms of the predicaments of African intellectual communities, I contend, provides new ways of understanding the possibilities, constraints and contradictions of knowledge commons in an unequal world. This study contributes to the empirical literature on African intellectual communities. In particular, it provides critical knowledge on a scholarly community that has not only endured, but has managed to thrive in a context of profound economic and political instability. This provides an indication of the institutions, practices, and intellectual resources that are required to ensure that African knowledge systems flourish over the long-term. This study also makes a theoretical contribution to the literature on knowledge commons, which are largely theorised using examples from the global North. It shows how reconceptualising knowledge commons in terms of inequality opens up new lines of empirical investigation. Building on existing commons research, it develops a methodological framework for comparative research on southern knowledge commons, which may also be of use for investigating commons in general.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The land restitution programme on Rural Livelihoods in the Amathole District, Eastern Cape: The case of Cata Community land claim.

  • Authors: Mnqandi, Nomgqibelo Beauty
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Restitution -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10453 , vital:35475
  • Description: The history of South Africa has been shaped by the dictatorial laws of the apartheid regime which ushered an order of domination and segregation, ostensibly to perpetuate social inequality along racial lines. In the process the white minority intended to stifle the potential of the black communities and render them subservient and unable to question or stand against white domination. To this effect the white minority instituted discriminatory laws such as The Native Land Act of 1913, among others, in a bid to give impetus to the dispossession of black communities of their land. The dispossessed people were eventually forcefully removed from their land and posted to the middle of nowhere, at the so-called Ciskei and Transkei territories. In these homelands, as these states were called, the black South Africans started to feel the pinch of apartheid more. The worst of all, these people were impoverished since they had no jobs. It is only after the emergence of the democratic dispensation, in 1994, that the transformative action was taken even though it failed to deliver as expected. In the process, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform was established with a mission to transform and redress the evils of the past by either giving the dispossessed back their land, alternative land or financial compensation, among other arrangements. However, since it was difficult to give people back their land, the most popular option became financial compensation. This choice, it has been argued, was influenced by the high levels of poverty, high unemployment rate, low rural household incomes and poor levels of education – instances which may have led to the beneficiaries attaching little or no value towards land ownership and other possible means of land restitution. As such, ii the majority of the community thought that financial compensation would lead to sustainable livelihood and would, therefore, not allow such opportunity to slip off their hands. However, more than two decades after the emergence of the democratic dispensation, the popular financial compensation has not yielded the expected results. Yet there is a Cata community which, being among the first members of the society to successfully claim for land restitution opted for land restoration and financial compensation award was given to claimants to pay for houses that were demolished during the betterment process. Out of the award, the Cata community took a calculated risk and invested 50% of the compensation money towards the development and improving the livelihood of the Cata community. This being the case, the study sought to explore to what extent the restitution programme (with the financial compensation option) could succeed in improving the livelihoods of the Cata community. In a way, while this statement is the main objective of the study, it also satisfies the key question of the study. It will ensure that the Cata community, in their attempt to lead sustainable livelihoods, will become creative and ensure that people have good paying jobs, they budget and rationalise before using money; and that they are even prepared to take calculated risks in order to succeed, just as the Cata communities have done. No doubt this would ensure that every member of the society enjoys and is regaled by the fruits and transformative actions of the new democratic dispensation. Qualitative research methodology has been selected to conduct research of this study because it requires a researcher to dig deep to the research problems and give out rich research findings with insight because community experiences can only be understood qualitatively not through the statistics. The main findings of this study among others are that financial compensation should be linked with iii development in order to sustain livelihoods of the rural poor as the case has been with Cata community. A number of communities who opted financial compensation did not lead a sustainable livelihood instead they either became poorer or fell victims of poverty because they fail to use their financial compensation award wisely.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The legal remedies to protect minors against cyberbullying in South Africa

  • Authors: Hlazo, Nonhlanhla Irene
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Cyberbullying -- South Africa , Child pornography -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Child sexual abuse -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30271 , vital:30914
  • Description: The aim of this research is to investigate the constitutional, common law and legislative remedies available to protect the rights of minors against cyberbullying in South Africa and whether these laws are in line with the relevant international instruments. The study focuses on the protection of the rights of minors online as the most vulnerable group in society. The internet was not originally created to be used by minors, therefore, children are subject to more risks on the internet like cyberbullying. Cyberbullying results in the infringement of the rights to privacy, dignity and reputation among others. There are several remedies available in South African private law to protect the rights of minors. However, the rights of the victim must be balanced against the perpetrator’s right to freedom of expression, taking into consideration the best interests of both children. The remedies available are in line with some international instruments safeguarding human rights but there are a number of weaknesses in relation to the application of these remedies to instances of cyberbullying. For example, an interdict cannot be issued in instances where the cyberbully is anonymous. The current legislative framework, although also in line with relevant international instruments, is not going far enough to protect children against cyberbullying. In addition, the term “cyberbullying” is not specifically defined in any of the Acts, which may create challenges in the prosecution of the crime. Fortunately, there are a number of Bills in the pipeline that aim to address the gaps in the current law. Several provisions of the Bills also correlate with relevant international instruments. However, there is a need to revise the proposed Bills in order to sufficiently protect minors against cyberbulling. This study also proposes recommendations relating to some of the inadequacies of the law in this regard.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The lenses we use to research student experiences:

  • Authors: Hlengwa, Amanda I , McKenna, Sioux , Njovane, Thandokazi
  • Date: 2018
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142736 , vital:38112 , ISBN 9781928331902 , http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/e3388578-a030-46de-8d8e-df18dcb52bec/Higher_Education_Pathways_9781928331902.pdf#page=160
  • Description: The recent student protests that erupted in the South African higher education landscape in 2015 and 2016 suggest that research concerning student experiences in our institutions has become all the more crucial. In light of this, our chapter argues for theoretically rigorous and conceptually rich approaches to research on the student experience, without which we will not be in a position to address the significant concerns raised by these protests. There is, of course, already a robust body of work detailing the student experience (for example Case, 2013; Case, Marshall, McKenna, and Mogashana, 2018; Walker and Wilson-Strydom, 2017). However, questions are often raised about the extent to which such research is being drawn on in subsequent studies (Niven, 2012) and this suggests that limited accounts of student experience remain dominant despite this body of research (Boughey and McKenna, 2016). It thus seemed important to make sense of the ways in which current research on student experience is being constructed.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The machinability of rapidly solidified aluminium alloy for optical mould inserts

  • Authors: Otieno, Timothy
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Aluminum alloys , Automobiles -- Materials Materials -- Mechanical properties
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23097 , vital:30415
  • Description: Ultra-high precision machining is a material removing process under the nanotechnology regime whereby the highest dimensional accuracies are attained. Critical components for optical devices and optical measuring systems are mainly produced through ultra-high precision machining. Their mass production is usually implemented by utilising optical moulds. Aluminium alloys have proven to be advantageous and very commonly used in the photonics industry for moulds. This ever-increasing use and demand within optics have led to the development of newly modified grades of aluminium alloys produced by rapid solidification in the foundry process. The newer grades are characterised by finer microstructures and improved mechanical and physical properties. The main inconvenience in their usage currently lies in their very limited machining database. This research investigates the machinability of rapidly solidified aluminium, RSA 905, under varying cutting conditions in single point diamond turning. The machining parameters varied were cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. The resulting surface roughness of the workpiece and wear of the diamond tool were measured at various intervals. Acoustic emissions and cutting force were also monitored during machining. The results were statistically analysed and accurate predictive models were developed. Generally, very low tool wear, within 3 to 5 μm, and very low surface roughness, within 3 to 8 nm, was obtained. Acoustic emissions recorded were in the range of 0.06 to 0.13 V and cutting forces were in the range of 0.08 to 0.94 N. The trends of the monitored acoustic emissions and cutting force showed to have a linked representation of the tool wear and surface roughness results. Contour maps were generated to identify zones where the cutting parameters produced the best results. In addition, a range of machining parameters were presented for optimum quality where surface roughness and tool wear can be minimised. As the machining is of a nanometric scale, a molecular dynamics approach was applied to investigate the underlying mechanisms at atom level. The nanomachining simulations were found to have a correlation to the actual machining results and microstructural nature of the alloy. This research proves that rapidly solidified aluminium is a superior alternative to traditional aluminium alloys and provides a good reference with room for flexibility that machinists can apply when using rapidly solidified aluminium alloys. Efficiency could be improved by reducing the required machining interruption through effective monitoring and performance could be improved by maintaining quality and extending tool life through parameter selection.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The management of court records for justice delivery : a case study of Alice Magistrate court in the Eastern Cape,South Africa

  • Authors: Ntengenyane, Khunjulwa
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Records -- Management Court records -- Management Court records -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MLS
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7798 , vital:30767
  • Description: This study sought to investigate the management of court records for justice delivery at Alice Magistrate Court in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The objectives of the study were to find out the extent to which records are managed in Alice Magistrate Court; to establish the existing infrastructure for the management of court records in Alice Magistrate Court; to find out the extent to which the management of court records in Alice Magistrate Court comply with legislative and regulatory requirement; to find out the influence of the current management of court records in court processes, to find out the challenges of the management of court records in Alice Magistrate Court, and to make recommendations on the improvement of the management of court records in Alice Magistrate Court. The record life cycle and the records continuum models underpinned the study based on post-positivist paradigm that allowed the use of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The court manager, magistrate, prosecutor, interpreter, court clerks, and court users at the Alice Magistrate Court formed the sample for the study. Quantitative data were coded and analysed using Office Microsoft Excel 2010 while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The major finding indicated weak records management practices that resulted into loss and misplacement of records, and postponements of many cases that led to delays in justice delivery by the court. The study recommended the enhancement of the records management programme by continuous training of court personnel, the adoption of electronic records management system, and the review of the current records security and tracking systems.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The management of records for accountability by municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa : a case study of Mbizana Local Municipality

  • Authors: Tseku, Zintle
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Records--Management Information organization Public records--Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , Library and Information Science
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15254 , vital:40331
  • Description: Records management is a major element for accountability in the municipality. The research topic was “the management of records for accountability by the municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: A case study of Mbizana Local Municipality”. The objectives of the study were: to find out the types of records management programme maintained by Bizana Local Municipality, to describe available infrastructure that supports the records management programme in Mbizana Local Municipality, to find out the extent to which the management of records in Mbizana Local Municipality complies with statutory and legislative requirements, and to find out the possible constraints that affects the records management programme in Mbizana Local Municipality. The study was conducted in Mbizana Local Municipality which is under Alfred Ndzo District Municipality in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The sample was municipality staff and the residents of the municipality. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The findings were that Mbizana Local Municipality has a records management programme which is important for accountability, however, there is a need for security maintenance. In addition, the findings were that the municipality need to train its registry staff about records management or hire new people who are capable of managing records. The researcher recommended that Mbizana Local Municipality should provide more training to registry staff on the management of records. The municipality should introduce electronic records management system since nowadays records are created electronically. Electronic records can be easily retrieved when needed for accountability. Also the municipality should allow the public to have access to records.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The mangroves of Mozambique: pathways to conservation through integrated management

  • Authors: Macamo, Célia , Bandeira, Salomão
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Mangrove ecology -- Mozambique , Mangrove conservation -- Mozambique
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctorate , Dphil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30843 , vital:31182
  • Description: This study analyses the status and management of mangroves in Mozambique and how the management system addresses the threats to mangrove conservation. A comprehensive analysis of the country forest condition and management status was conducted based on a literature review and informal interviews with key informants. GIS and remote sensing techniques combined with groundtruthing were used to assess the impact of natural and human threats on mangroves based on changes in NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) and cover area. These studies were conducted at the Save River and Cabo Delgado province, respectively. Structural data of the mangrove forest were collected during field visits to assess changes in structural parameters and compare impacts in different forests or locations within the same forest. Finally a community-based management system in Nhangau (Sofala province) was analysed in order to assess the efficacy as a management tool to meet mangrove conservation objectives. Mozambique has an estimated mangrove cover area of 3 054 km2. In general there is a trend of decrease in cover around major human settlements, while remote areas show an increase in cover as documented in Maputo Bay (175.96 km2, decreasing within Maputo town) and Zambezi Delta (370.34 km2, increasing), respectively. Mangroves are mostly used for wood resources, salt production and fishing grounds. However, urban development, saltpans, logging and natural phenomena such as floods and cyclones are a threat to these systems. Mozambique has 27% of its mangroves protected in conservation areas. At places like the Quirimbas National Park, this protection is not effective due to illegal cutting and poor enforcement. The Mozambican institutional and legal frameworks provide protection to mangroves at all levels and prohibit all forms of degradation and unsustainable use. However law enforcement and institutional functioning is weak. There is also a need to update the legislation by adding specific aspects related to mangroves, such as regulating invertebrate collection and defining customary use. At the Save River changes in NDVI indicated that 63.42 km2 of mangrove (47.8%) were affected by cyclone Eline. Field investigations 11 years after the cyclone showed that there was substantial recovery in the protected creek forest but changes in sedimentation prevented recovery in the seaward sites that are exposed to storm surges and wind. This study highlighted the necessity for field based investigations in addition to remote sensing as results showed site specific differences. The percentage of living trees at the creek forest ranged from 71 to 97% from the outer to inner forest. Also species density was higher at the creek sites from the outer (101 ± 63 tree/ha) to inner forest (488 ± 111 trees/ha) as was the complexity index (0.09 to 0.25 respectively). At the seaward forest the percentage of living trees increased from 0 to 79% from the outer to inner forest. Seedlings (up to 40 cm height) dominated the understory throughout the forest however the outer edge of the seaward forest had no regeneration at all. This forest recovered naturally from the cyclone, however it is important to maintain low exploitation levels to ensure forest resilience in case of similar future impacts. The frequency and intensity of cyclones is expected to increase with climate change and thus the results can contribute to management strategies and climate change adaptation plans. 3 Human impacts were investigated at a peri-urban, rural and island setting in Cabo Delgado province. It was hypothesized that peri-urban forests would be more impacted. However an analysis of LandSat images showed that mangrove cover at the peri-urban site actually increased by 22.7% between 1991 and 2013; while rural forests lost 23.2% of its area during the same period. Field studies showed that there was no significant difference between average tree density for the different sites (p= 0.16) and the low complexity indices indicated young disturbed forests. At the peri-urban and rural sites, the tree diameter class 5.1-8 cm was targeted for extraction, while at the rural island all size classes were targeted. The proportion of stump:living trees was 1:11 at the peri-urban site; 1:9 at the rural site and 1:4 at the rural island. Most of the standing trees were crooked and not suitable for building purposes. The small extractive use of mangroves at the peri-urban site could be related to the fact that the dominant ethnic group has kept its essentially agricultural habits while at the rural site the people are typically fishermen and marine invertebrate collectors that rely on mangroves and marine resources for their livelihoods. Proposed management measures for these sites include raising awareness at all sites and conducting mangrove restoration at the peri-urban (abandoned saltpans and aquaculture farm) and rural sites. A community-based management system at Nhangau (Sofala province) was analysed in order to assess how this has achieved management conservation objectives. After facing several impacts due to mangrove degradation, the community of Nhangau engaged in mangrove replanting and management. The main management actions were (1) reduction of extractive uses, (2) continuous awareness and mangrove planting and (3) law enforcement. The restoration interventions started in the late 1990s by the local government in partnership with the local community and NGOs. Currently (2018), most of the activities are led by the local Natural Resources Management Committee (NRMC). Ten hectares of mangrove were planted between 1996 and 2017, and according to the local community the restored areas are already providing important ecological services such as temperature regulation. There are several challenges such as, limited functionality of the NRMC and its interaction with other stakeholders, Government representatives and local NGOs. There is also a lack of alternative livelihoods for mangrove cutters and the wider Nhangau community. Improvements to the system include better integration of local government representative structures with the civil society organizations (NGO and NRMC), law enforcement, financing of the appropriate sustainable use practices, environmental awareness and education and the promotion of appropriate NRMC functionality and representation. With these improvements this community-based management system can be effective as a management tool to meet mangrove conservation objectives and serve as a replicable model for other parts of the country. In conclusion, this research has documented both anthropogenic and climate-related impacts on mangroves in Mozambique and highlighted options for mangrove management focusing at strengthening the community –based management of mangroves in rural sites. Mangrove management would improve significantly by strengthening the legislation on specific mangrove issues combined with law enforcement and better community organization and their training and sensitization to manage mangrove resources at the local level. Such actions will increase the resilience of forests, allowing sustainable use and faster recovery in case of impacts by either anthropogenic or natural factors such as cyclones.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The metabolic physiology of early stage Argyrosomus japonicus with insight into the potential effects of pCO2 induced ocean acidification

  • Authors: Edworthy, Carla
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Argyrosomus , Argyrosomus -- Growth , Argyrosomus -- Mortality , Argyrosomus -- Larvae -- Ecology , Ocean acidification , Marine ecology -- South Africa , Carbon dioxide -- Physiological effect
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/51417 , vital:26094
  • Description: Ocean acidification is a phenomenon associated with global change and anthropogenic CO2 emissions that is changing the chemistry of seawater. These changes result in elevated pCO2 and reduced pH in seawater and this is impacting marine organisms in various ways. Marine fishes are considered generally tolerant to conditions of ocean acidification; however, these assumptions are based on juvenile and adult fish tolerance and the larval stages have not been frequently assessed. Furthermore, it has been suggested that temperate species, particularly those with an estuarine association, may be tolerant to variable CO2 and pH. This study used an eco-physiological approach to understand how the early life stages of Argyrosomus japonicus, an estuarine dependent marine fisheries species found in warm-temperate regions, may be impacted by ocean acidification. The metabolic response of early stage larvae (hatching to early juvenile stage) was assessed under conditions of elevated pCO2 and reduced pH in a controlled laboratory setting. Small volume static respirometry was used to determine the oxygen consumption rate of larvae raised in three pCO2 treatments including a low (pCO2 = 327.50 ± 80.07 µatm at pH 8.15), moderate (pCO2 477.40 ± 59.46 µatm at pH 8.03) and high treatment (PCO2 910.20 ± 136.45 µatm at pH 7.78). These treatment levels were relevant to the present (low) and projected conditions of ocean acidification for the years 2050 (moderate) and 2100 (high). Prior to experimentation with ocean acidification treatments, baseline metabolic rates and diurnal variation in oxygen consumption rates in early stage A. japonicus was determined. Distinct ontogenetic structuring of metabolic rates was observed in early stage A. japonicus, with no cyclical fluctuations in metabolic rate occurring during the 24 hour photoperiodic cycle. Pre-flexion larvae showed no metabolic response to ocean acidification treatments; however post-flexion stage larvae showed metabolic depression of standard metabolic rate in the moderate (32.5%) and high (9.5%) pCO2 treatments (P = 0.02). Larvae raised in the high pCO2 treatment also showed high levels of mortality with no individuals surviving past the post-flexion stage. Larvae raised in the moderate pCO2 treatment were unaffected. This study concluded that ocean acidification conditions expected for the end of the century will have significant impacts on the metabolism of early stage A. japonicus, which may result in reduced growth, retardation of skeletal development and ultimately survival as a result of increased mortality. Furthermore, the timing of reduced metabolic scope will significantly impact the recruitment ability of A. japonicus larvae into estuarine habitats. This could ultimately impact the sustainability of A. japonicus populations. Most importantly, this study highlighted the need to consider the combined effect of ontogeny and life-history strategy when assessing the vulnerability of species to ocean acidification.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The missing ingredient: rethinking the drought disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation nexus in Chirumhanzu District, Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Grey, Mashoko Stephen
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Climatic changes -- Zimbabwe -- Chirumanzu District , Climatic changes -- Government policy -- Zimbabwe -- Chirumanzu District , Climatic changes -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe -- Chirumanzu District , Natural disasters -- Risk assessment -- Zimbabwe -- Chirumanzu District , Drought management -- Zimbabwe -- Chirumanzu District , Hazard mitigation -- Zimbabwe -- Chirumanzu District
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/58298 , vital:27207
  • Description: Two of the main challenges facing communities and governments in developing countries are the reduction of risks of hydro-meteorological hazards and adaptation to climate change. As climate variability and change impacts are becoming more visible in the form of disasters, and are negatively affecting climate sensitive livelihoods and eroding communities' ability to fully recover, leading to increased vulnerability to subsequent climate risks. The unpredictability of current weather systems, therefore, makes it very difficult for poor governments and households to deal with adverse impacts of climate change. Furthermore, the fragmented approach to DRR and CCA with regards to practice, policy and organisational frameworks for dealing with climate risks is resulting in coordination challenges for the government departments. This study aimed to explore how local households and communities perceive and are experiencing and coping with climate change and drought, and what that means for integrating hydro-meteorological disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The study was carried out in Chirumhanzu district and the methods used for data collection included: 217 household surveys; six focus group discussions; participatory learning actions methods; key informant's interviews and document review. The majority of households owned low value material assets and had low levels of livelihood capitals and this exposed them to the impacts of climate variability and successive droughts. This low adaptive capacity largely affected their ability to engage effective drought risk reduction and adaptation strategies for their livelihood activities in small-scale farming and livestock rearing. Vulnerability to climate risks was exacerbated by seasonal weather forecasts, which were deemed by some households to be unreliable, inaccurate and not easily understood, while others used of indigenous knowledge. Successive droughts affected households' access to food and cash income for other household demands. Other non-climatic factors that contributed to adverse drought impacts at the household level were an emphasis on reactive humanitarian aid approach and the poor economy in Zimbabwe. Additionally, the policy framework for dealing with climate change and drought hazards is fragmented and weak; and is housed in different government departments making it difficult to coordinate and implement. To improve climate risk management, there is need for the government to appreciate that drought risk reduction and climate change adaptation are all about reducing vulnerability. Understanding this, might assist in improving government focus on addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability and mainstreaming DRR and CCA into development processes through addressing specific and generic adaptive capacities. The thesis argues that as long as rural households are involved in climate sensitive livelihood activities and not getting meaningful intervention to diversity and/or better intensify their livelihood activities, they will continue to be vulnerable to successive climate risks. This fragmented approach to dealing with climate risks, is not yielding any successful results with regards to building resilience, risk reduction or adaptation of rural households.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The moderating role of occupational self-efficacy and organisational justice in the relationship between perceived job insecurity and counterproductive work behaviour among bank employees in Nigeria

  • Authors: Oluwole, Olugbenga Joseph
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Job security Self-efficacy Bank employees
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12665 , vital:39297
  • Description: The unstable global economy and the drive by every organisation to remain in business and be competitive has led to many organisational downsizing, which in turn poses concerns towards identifying behaviours of the survivors’. These behaviours constitute the components of employees’ job performance which include task performance, organisational citizenship behaviour and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). One of the major behavioural concerns facing organisations globally, in particular in Nigeria, is CWB, which previous studies identified as an attitudinal reaction of perceived job insecurity. Very few empirical studies in Nigeria have attempted to examine the relationship as well as the variables that can moderate the negative effect of job insecurity-CWB. This study, therefore, explores the moderating effects of occupational self-efficacy (OSE) and organisational justice on the job insecurity–CWB relationship among bank employees in Nigeria. Four theories provided the framework for the study, while a descriptive research design which utilized a cross-sectional survey was used. The multi-stage sampling procedure and purposive technique were employed to select the two participating banking organisations from the 22 licensed commercial banks in Nigeria. Using the convenience sampling technique, a total of 380 Nigerian bank employees who gave their personal consent participated through a structured questionnaire. The reliability coefficient of all the instruments are as follows: counterproductive work behaviour (α = .92), perceived job insecurity (α = .65), occupational self-efficacy (α = .82), organisational justice (α = .93) were used for data collection. The sample was taken from branches of the two selected banking organisations that cut across Lagos State, Nigeria, a cosmopolitan and Nigeria business hub. Six hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics, zero-order correlation and hierarchical multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance. A significant positive relationship existed between: job insecurity and CWB (r = .14); job insecurity and sabotage (r = .23), job insecurity and withdrawal (r = .14) and job insecurity and abuse (r = .20) of sub-dimensions of CWB. Also, a significant relationship existed between OSE and CWB (r = .12); OSE and withdrawal (r = .27) and OSE and abuse (r = .12) of the sub-dimensions of CWB. And lastly, a significant positive relationship existed between organisational justice and CWB (r = .11); distributive justice and CWB (r = .13), procedural justice and CWB (r = .17); organisational justice and withdrawal (r = .35), and a negative relationship between organisational justice and production deviance (r = -.12) of the sub-dimensions of CWB. Also, a significant positive relationship existed on distributive justice and withdrawal behaviour (r = .22) and distributive justice and abuse (r = .12); procedural justice and sabotage (r = .17); procedural justice and withdrawal (r = .44); Interactional justice and withdrawal (r = .29) and a significant negative relationship existed on interactional justice and sabotage. Furthermore, there were significant moderator effects of OSE on job insecurity- CWB relationship (β = .11, p<.05); significant moderator effects of OSE on job insecurity-abuse behaviour (β = .13, p<.05) of sub-dimension of CWB. Also, there was significant moderator effects of organisational justice in job insecurity-CWB relationship (β = -.10, p<.05), interaction effect of procedural justice in job insecurity-withdrawal behaviour relationship (β = .24, p<.01) and interaction effect of interactional justice in job insecurity-abuse behaviour relationship (β = -.39, p<.001). And lastly, there was no significant joint moderator effects of OSE and organisational justice in job insecurity and CWB relationship (β = .00, ns), while there was significant moderator effect of joint OSE and organisational justice on job insecurity – sabotage relationshi0p (β = .17, p<.01) and job insecurity – withdrawal behaviour (β = .14, p<.01) The findings of this study pointed to the significance of employees’ cognitive sense as important and stable resources which organisational practitioners need to take into consideration during organisational change approach. Also, the banking organisation must clearly state the procedure and implementations of downsizing policies.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The Moravian church music heritage in South Africa: a historical account and a theoretical framework for the establishment of a music foundation based on the North American concept

  • Authors: Boonzaaier, Devandre
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Church music , Moravian Church -- South Africa Choirs (Music) -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23570 , vital:30581
  • Description: This study serves as a contribution to the literature on the music of the Moravian Church with specific reference to the South African Moravian music heritage. The Moravian Church music heritage is documented through the lens of Coloured composers of Moravian church music. In my study, I highlight the origins of the Moravian Church and its underlying philosophies by focusing on important figures and treasures of the Moravian Church. I provide a brief outline of the Moravians’ contribution to education and music. In the study I discuss the importance of record-keeping and rich hymnody of the Moravian church. I also discuss the doctrine, worship and sacraments of the Moravian Church. The literature study provides the history of the music of the American Moravian Church. This serves as a basis for comparison with the Moravian Church music tradition in South Africa, which is discussed in chapter four of this study. Furthermore, I provide an account of the history of the Moravian Church in South Africa. I use the qualitative research method of case studies to detail the music departments of a selected number of congregations within the Moravian Church of South Africa. Chapter five contains biographies of South African Moravian composers. This research adds to the body of new knowledge through the provision of a comprehensive list of South African Moravian composers and provides the first annotated bibliography of their works. Finally, my study concludes with the provision of a theoretical framework for the establishment of a Moravian Music Foundation based on the North American Moravian Music Foundation model.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The National Skills Fund and green skills: towards a generative mechanism approach

  • Authors: Sauls, Gideon George
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: South Africa. National Skills Fund , Environmental education Finance South Africa , Green technology Study and teaching South Africa , Postsecondary education South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63740 , vital:28482
  • Description: The aim of the study was to investigate the role of the South African National Skills Fund (NSF) in responding to green skills training for the sake of better integration and optimal effectiveness in relation to the green economy in South Africa. The NSF is a multi-billion rand fund for skills development, with the responsibility to respond effectively to the country’s skills development needs. Part of the NSF’s mandate is to ensure the development of green skills in South Africa, with special reference to the allocation of grants, as a key mechanism in ensuring adherence to properly governed skills development funding requirements. This study considers the identification of green skills funding as a skills planning and implementation challenge within the post-school education and training context, the NSF, the green economy and related skills debates, both locally and globally. The study contributes to a growing body of research in South Africa that seeks a wider systemic perspective on green skills concerns. The NSF and its functioning is a critical dimension of the wider skills system and is a significant system element influencing further emergence of a coherent national system for green skills development. Providing further rationale for this study is the 2011 finding of the International Labour Organisation, that the green skills development system in South Africa is re-active and poorly systematised, a finding that was also noted in the first ever Environmental Sector Skills Plan for South Africa undertaken by the Department of Environmental Affairs in 2010. As the study is mainly focused on one aspect of the policy system, namely the NSF’s role in green skills funding, the bulk of the data used in this study is documentary. Research information was obtained from NSF documentary sources to describe the NSF organisationally. Information was also obtained from green skills documentary sources to obtain a better understanding of the nature and purpose of the development of green skills in South Africa. The study has also drawn on references related to grant management as a mechanism for seeding meaningful transformations and skills development research in South Africa to understand the skills development landscape, with special reference to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) post-school education and training system. Documentary data was supplemented by selected key respondent interviews from the skills sector and from the green skills research community to provide further perspective on the research focus. Critical realism (CR) is utilised as a meta-theoretical framework that seeks to inform the overall academic reflection and interpretation process. The work of Danermark, Ekström, Jakobsen and Karlsson (2002), which describes the process of data analysis in critical realism, was adapted into a four-phased research approach for this particular policy study, which I framed as a Quadrilateral Policy Analysis Framework (QPAF). This provided a data analysis framework which allowed for taking account of the mechanisms shaping the NSF as an important systemic funding agency within South Africa’s emerging post-school education and training context, as this relates to green skills. However, to further analyse this research question and context, I needed to work with substantive policy theory. Given the nature of the policy object that I was investigating, I found Feiock’s (2013) Institutional Collective Action Framework to be a helpful substantive policy theory as it has adequate nuance with which I could describe the NSF’s core function, namely that of grant-making for the post-schooling policy context. Based on the critical realist meta-theoretical framework and the substantive policy theoretical frameworks, I developed four phases of analysis, namely a) descriptive analysis which is divided into Part A (describing the green skills landscape and its funding demands ) and Part B (describing the NSF as it relates to green skills); b) component analysis which further analyses key components of the above; c) abductive policy analysis which identifies critical mechanisms and how they operate; and d) generative mechanism analysis which identifies the underlying generative mechanisms shaping the NSF’s engagement with green skills (or lack thereof). The following main findings are identified: • It emerged that the responsiveness of the NSF to green skills is emergent, essential and yet multifaceted due to competing stakeholder interests, expectations and claims; • Key strategic relations with critical role players within South Africa’s skills levy funding matrix emerged as a fundamental requirement towards the achievement of the NSF’s organisational mandate to respond effectively to national green skills needs and expectations; • Contracting is the central mechanism driving the NSF grant-making process. Related to this is the finding that partnerships emerged as the most versatile and underutilised mechanism that cuts across all four of the NSF grant-making phases; • The NSF’s current method of making sense of funding policy indications as per national policy documents is too reductionist because the method betrays an alignment-mirroring form of sense-making awareness that uncritically endorses substratum philosophical assumptions like Human Capital Theory (HCT) and associated neoclassical economic theories embedded in the policy frameworks. These assumptions contradict and potentially limit engagement with wider theories and policy frameworks for guiding skills development that are oriented towards the wider common good as argued by non-anthropocentric orientations in critical realism and the green skills sector. In summary, an argument is put forward that the NSF is a key funding mechanism towards green skills delivery in South Africa, but that this funding mechanism is under-utilised and inadequately mobilised for transitioning towards sustainability in South Africa. The study recommends that, in pursuit of better integration and optimal effectiveness thereof and in line with the fund’s legislative, organisational and public mandate, a consensual negotiation skills planning mechanism be considered from an institutional collective action response platform. In terms of recommendations for further research, it is proposed that a comparative analysis study could be considered between the NSF and other leading global funding agencies or other national skills funding mechanisms that are also concerned with the inclusion of green skills development. Comparative studies of this nature could potentially enhance the fund’s policy-making process and assist in the development of more appropriate institutional arrangements towards optimal funding responsiveness. Lastly, in the light of the NSF’s current contribution to green skills in the country, an impact evaluation study on the return on green skills investment presents an additional intriguing research endeavour which would contribute further perspective on the arguments presented in this study.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018

The National Wellbeing Index in the isiXhosa translation: focus group discussions on how South Africans view the quality of their society

  • Authors: Moller, Valerie , Roberts, Benjamin J , Zani, Dalindyebo
  • Date: 2018
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67135 , vital:29035 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1481-4
  • Description: publisher version , The International Wellbeing Index covers two complementary measures, the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and the National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The focus group study reported here tested the understanding of the NWI when translated into isiXhosa, a language spoken by 6 million South Africans, or 16% of the country’s population. A challenge for the NWI in measuring national well-being is the tendency for meaning to get ‘lost in translation’ in the wording of the instrument, owing to the disparities that exist between levels of living in developed and developing nations. The focussed discussions with native isiXhosa speakers conveyed the different shades of meaning associated with the six domains that make up the NWI. The isiXhosa keywords for the domains of social conditions, the natural environment, national security, and management of the country’s affairs (government) were readily understood, but discussants asked for further clarification of keywords for the domains relating to the economy and business. Conversations showed up the close link between personal and national well-being: discussants drew upon their personal and parochial life experiences along with their knowledge of current affairs to evaluate the nation’s quality of life. They described the social contract between citizens and their government to create a ‘caring society’ that promotes well-being across key domains of national life. Many of the reference standards used to evaluate national well-being were ones postulated to influence personal well-being (Michalos A.C, Social Indicators Research 16(4): 347–413 1985 ). The study also pointed to a potential problem for longitudinal studies if the bipolar satisfaction scale, formerly used to measure the International Wellbeing Index’s PWI and NWI, is changed to a unipolar one. Findings from this pilot study confirm the potential of the NWI as a tool for measuring national well-being cross-culturally.
  • Full Text: false
  • Date Issued: 2018

The nature and use of family mediation by social workers in Port Elizabeth

  • Authors: Rundare, Tichainda Mactilda
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Family mediation -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Communication in families Families -- Psychological aspects Interpersonal conflict Social workers -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Social service -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/34844 , vital:33463
  • Description: Parental conflict profoundly affects many children globally and in South Africa. In recent times, both the undeveloped and developed countries have witnessed high levels of divorce cases with a resultant negative effect on the children. Poor communication escalates conflict, thereby affecting the decision making of the parents. The ongoing parental conflict commences before the divorce and it is likely to intensify after divorce if not properly managed or resolved. Private family mediators help the parents to regain trust to enable communication regarding contact and care of their children. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how conflict intensifies in order to manage it effectively as conflict introduces change. Despite, the importance of this type of research, there is still an existence of a gap in the literature concerning the need to inform social workers to consider family mediation as an area of specialisation. This will assist in resolving parental disputes during divorce and ensuring the welfare of the children. This study is going to fill the existing knowledge gap by exploring how family mediators influence divorcing parents to renegotiate on the new roles. In this qualitative study, private family mediators in Port Elizabeth were interviewed, on how they assist divorcing parents to communicate on the care and contact of their children. Purposive sampling and snowball sampling were used to select the participants. Face-to-face unstructured interviews were used to gather thick and rich data which was then thematically analysed. The findings revealed that family mediators helped parents improve parent-child relationships and reduce their parental conflicts. In addition, during orientation the mediators informed divorcing parents about litigation, so that the parents are aware of what to expect in the event of failure to reach a settlement in mediation. Most of the people are unaware of family mediation, opting for litigation which escalates emotions and family members become frustrated affecting the adaption of children. The findings show that the participants were concerned on the way mediation is conducted in Port Elizabeth, as some law professionals referred divorce cases to unauthentic mediators. The lawyers tend to intensify the emotional state of the divorcing parties which escalate conflict resulting in re-litigation. The family mediators reiterated that there is “professional jealous” from the lawyers.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2018
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact