The influence of the physical environment on invertebrate larval transport, settlement and recruitment with insights on early-stage physiological performance
- Authors: Duna, Oliver Olwethu
- Date: 2024-04-05
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/435663 , vital:73177 , DOI 10.21504/10962/435663
- Description: Most marine benthic organisms have a biphasic life cycle whereby the larvae are pelagic, and their distribution, transport and settlement are largely controlled by environmental factors. Among these factors, hydrodynamics have key direct effects. Nearshore water hydrodynamics are strongly influenced by wind. This study investigated whether wind indirectly affects the distribution, settlement and recruitment of invertebrate marine larvae. Additionally, larvae are exposed to a more constant, benign environment than they will experience after settlement, and therefore the possible effects of larval thermal history on the physiological plasticity of settled organisms was also estimated for possible long-term insights into population dynamics. Four sites, two on the western and two on the eastern side of Algoa Bay in Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth), South Africa, were chosen for larval collection. Sites at opposite ends of the bay were selected as they were towards either side of the dominant wind directions in this region. At each site, two sampling stations were identified at 300 and 900 metres offshore, with station replicates 300 metres apart. Sampling of marine invertebrate larvae was conducted after two days of westerly or easterly winds at either of the two western or eastern sites. The number of hours of unidirectional wind determined the prevalent wind on the two days prior to sampling. Samples were collected with a plankton pump at three depths; surface, mid-depth and bottom. Simultaneously with plankton sampling, water properties (fluorescence, temperature, zonal and meridional flow, salinity and oxygen) were measured. Settlement/recruitment samples of mussels and barnacles were collected at six sites, two at either edge of the bay and two within the center of the bay. Plastic scouring pads and PVC plastic plates covered with safety-walk, placed at least 30 cm from each other, were used to collect settlers/recruits of mussels and barnacles, respectively. The pads and plates were replaced on a monthly basis for 14 months to quantify monthly settlement/recruitment. At four of the six sites used for quantifying settlement/recruitment, settlers and recruits were collected to measure the physiological responses of these two ontogenetic stages (settlers and recruits) to acute temperature variations which they might experience in the intertidal zone. Three temperature loggers were used to record real time temperature variation at each site over the period (one month) in which the artificial collectors were in position. Factorial ANOVA was used to investigate the effects of wind, depth, site, and distance from the shore on the abundance of larvae in the water column, as well as the effects of month and site on settlement/recruitment. Additionally, multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the effects of physical parameters, including upwelling and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, on the abundance of both larvae, settlers and recruits. Distance-based linear models and redundancy analyses were also carried out on the abundances of invertebrate larvae. Correlation analyses were performed to investigate the effect of the number of hours of directional wind on settlement. Lastly, correlation analyses between wind and currents were carried out. The results revealed a link between winds and currents, with wind speed directly proportional to surface current speed, which, as expected, decreased with depth. Current direction was, however, not perfectly aligned with wind direction. Larval distribution, settlement and recruitment were largely associated with the nearshore dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy and upwelling. Thus, overall larval, settler and recruit abundances were indirectly affected by wind. Physiologically, there was no significant difference in oxygen consumption between the juvenile ontogenetic stages (settlers and recruits) of mussels. Recruits exposed to average and maximum temperatures, however, consumed more oxygen than those exposed to low temperatures. Wind and wind-mediated currents as well as temperature have been shown to shape the distribution and shore supply of larvae, and this study contributes to the broad knowledge of population dynamics and replenishment, and the tight relation of abiotic factors affecting biological processes on the shore. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04-05
- Authors: Duna, Oliver Olwethu
- Date: 2024-04-05
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/435663 , vital:73177 , DOI 10.21504/10962/435663
- Description: Most marine benthic organisms have a biphasic life cycle whereby the larvae are pelagic, and their distribution, transport and settlement are largely controlled by environmental factors. Among these factors, hydrodynamics have key direct effects. Nearshore water hydrodynamics are strongly influenced by wind. This study investigated whether wind indirectly affects the distribution, settlement and recruitment of invertebrate marine larvae. Additionally, larvae are exposed to a more constant, benign environment than they will experience after settlement, and therefore the possible effects of larval thermal history on the physiological plasticity of settled organisms was also estimated for possible long-term insights into population dynamics. Four sites, two on the western and two on the eastern side of Algoa Bay in Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth), South Africa, were chosen for larval collection. Sites at opposite ends of the bay were selected as they were towards either side of the dominant wind directions in this region. At each site, two sampling stations were identified at 300 and 900 metres offshore, with station replicates 300 metres apart. Sampling of marine invertebrate larvae was conducted after two days of westerly or easterly winds at either of the two western or eastern sites. The number of hours of unidirectional wind determined the prevalent wind on the two days prior to sampling. Samples were collected with a plankton pump at three depths; surface, mid-depth and bottom. Simultaneously with plankton sampling, water properties (fluorescence, temperature, zonal and meridional flow, salinity and oxygen) were measured. Settlement/recruitment samples of mussels and barnacles were collected at six sites, two at either edge of the bay and two within the center of the bay. Plastic scouring pads and PVC plastic plates covered with safety-walk, placed at least 30 cm from each other, were used to collect settlers/recruits of mussels and barnacles, respectively. The pads and plates were replaced on a monthly basis for 14 months to quantify monthly settlement/recruitment. At four of the six sites used for quantifying settlement/recruitment, settlers and recruits were collected to measure the physiological responses of these two ontogenetic stages (settlers and recruits) to acute temperature variations which they might experience in the intertidal zone. Three temperature loggers were used to record real time temperature variation at each site over the period (one month) in which the artificial collectors were in position. Factorial ANOVA was used to investigate the effects of wind, depth, site, and distance from the shore on the abundance of larvae in the water column, as well as the effects of month and site on settlement/recruitment. Additionally, multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the effects of physical parameters, including upwelling and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, on the abundance of both larvae, settlers and recruits. Distance-based linear models and redundancy analyses were also carried out on the abundances of invertebrate larvae. Correlation analyses were performed to investigate the effect of the number of hours of directional wind on settlement. Lastly, correlation analyses between wind and currents were carried out. The results revealed a link between winds and currents, with wind speed directly proportional to surface current speed, which, as expected, decreased with depth. Current direction was, however, not perfectly aligned with wind direction. Larval distribution, settlement and recruitment were largely associated with the nearshore dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy and upwelling. Thus, overall larval, settler and recruit abundances were indirectly affected by wind. Physiologically, there was no significant difference in oxygen consumption between the juvenile ontogenetic stages (settlers and recruits) of mussels. Recruits exposed to average and maximum temperatures, however, consumed more oxygen than those exposed to low temperatures. Wind and wind-mediated currents as well as temperature have been shown to shape the distribution and shore supply of larvae, and this study contributes to the broad knowledge of population dynamics and replenishment, and the tight relation of abiotic factors affecting biological processes on the shore. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04-05
A discourse analysis study of traditional health practitioners’ role in the treatment of female sexual violence and its mental health sequelae in KwaZulu-Natal
- Authors: Muthwa, Nqobile
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa , Physicians -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63904 , vital:73625
- Description: South Africa is considered the epicentre of rape, leading to its reputation as the ‘rape capital of the world’. As a way of mitigating the risk of re-victimisation to individuals who have experienced rape, hospital-based post-rape centres were developed to offer services and support to rape victims. The uptake of these services remains scant as issues such as rape stigma, limited knowledge on their availability and alternative health systems limits their usage. In South Africa, there exists medical pluralism, which refers to multiple ways of making sense of illness and treatment seeking methods. It is estimated that around 80% of South Africans utilise the services of traditional health practitioners in conjunction with biomedical health practices or as a standalone service to get alternative solutions for their health needs. Victims of rape need to access a wide range of services such as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), medical examinations, and emergency contraception. There has been a paucity in research looking into the alternative treatments accessed by rape victims who do not access services in the formal healthcare system. It is against this backdrop that this study explored the construction and treatment formulation of rape by traditional health practitioners. The study focused on the use of language and how it becomes action that influences the services rendered to rape victims. Thematic analysis, discourse and conversational analytical approaches were used to analyse data that emerges from the one-on-one interviews. 15 traditional healers who identified as abathandazi, Izangoma and izinyanga were selected to participate in the present study. The healthworlds framework and social constructionism were used to make sense of how traditional health practitioners construct rape and how the dominant discourses surrounding rape influence how they understand their position as healthcare providers. The main findings of the study illustrated that in the healthworld of traditional healers’ understanding of rape was constructed as ukungcola nobumnyama / impurity and darkness. These discourses spoke to the perception of rape as an aberration as one’s ancestors should prevent traumas and catastrophes from befalling on the individual. When rape occurs, it signalled spiritual problems resulting into a phenomenon where ancestors cannot safeguard the living. Under these discourse rape was also constructed as something that taints, impurifies and contaminates not just the raped individual but their entire bloodline and ancestors. As a result of the discourse surrounding rape, cleansing and purification rituals played a huge role in post-rape care. In addition, traditional health practitioners viewed their role as facilitators in reestablishing the relationship between the raped individual and their ancestors. The study observed that rape victims who share the same healthworld are likely to experience spiritual transgressions following rape which will have long-lasting effects on the psychological health outcomes of victims. The present study recommends a post-rape care model that advocates for collaborative opportunities between biomedical and traditional healthcare practitioners. This model can be integrated into existing post-rape care systems to provide holistic and comprehensive healthcare that addresses biopsychosocial as well as the spiritual and cultural influences of rape. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Health Science, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Muthwa, Nqobile
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Women -- Violence against -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa , Physicians -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63904 , vital:73625
- Description: South Africa is considered the epicentre of rape, leading to its reputation as the ‘rape capital of the world’. As a way of mitigating the risk of re-victimisation to individuals who have experienced rape, hospital-based post-rape centres were developed to offer services and support to rape victims. The uptake of these services remains scant as issues such as rape stigma, limited knowledge on their availability and alternative health systems limits their usage. In South Africa, there exists medical pluralism, which refers to multiple ways of making sense of illness and treatment seeking methods. It is estimated that around 80% of South Africans utilise the services of traditional health practitioners in conjunction with biomedical health practices or as a standalone service to get alternative solutions for their health needs. Victims of rape need to access a wide range of services such as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), medical examinations, and emergency contraception. There has been a paucity in research looking into the alternative treatments accessed by rape victims who do not access services in the formal healthcare system. It is against this backdrop that this study explored the construction and treatment formulation of rape by traditional health practitioners. The study focused on the use of language and how it becomes action that influences the services rendered to rape victims. Thematic analysis, discourse and conversational analytical approaches were used to analyse data that emerges from the one-on-one interviews. 15 traditional healers who identified as abathandazi, Izangoma and izinyanga were selected to participate in the present study. The healthworlds framework and social constructionism were used to make sense of how traditional health practitioners construct rape and how the dominant discourses surrounding rape influence how they understand their position as healthcare providers. The main findings of the study illustrated that in the healthworld of traditional healers’ understanding of rape was constructed as ukungcola nobumnyama / impurity and darkness. These discourses spoke to the perception of rape as an aberration as one’s ancestors should prevent traumas and catastrophes from befalling on the individual. When rape occurs, it signalled spiritual problems resulting into a phenomenon where ancestors cannot safeguard the living. Under these discourse rape was also constructed as something that taints, impurifies and contaminates not just the raped individual but their entire bloodline and ancestors. As a result of the discourse surrounding rape, cleansing and purification rituals played a huge role in post-rape care. In addition, traditional health practitioners viewed their role as facilitators in reestablishing the relationship between the raped individual and their ancestors. The study observed that rape victims who share the same healthworld are likely to experience spiritual transgressions following rape which will have long-lasting effects on the psychological health outcomes of victims. The present study recommends a post-rape care model that advocates for collaborative opportunities between biomedical and traditional healthcare practitioners. This model can be integrated into existing post-rape care systems to provide holistic and comprehensive healthcare that addresses biopsychosocial as well as the spiritual and cultural influences of rape. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Health Science, School of Behavioural & Lifestyle Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
A framework for the strategic alignment of internal auditing in the public sector
- Authors: Nyenyiso, Sizwe
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Auditing, Internal , Auditing , Accounting
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/65368 , vital:74095
- Description: The role of internal auditing has evolved from a control-based function to a strategic partner of strategy formulation and execution. In today’s fast paced business environment, the demand for internal audit (IA) services has increased enormously as management struggles to respond to disruptions. To maximise the IA value and effectively respond to the expectations of stakeholders, the internal audit functions (IAFs) must be properly aligned with the strategic direction of their organisations. Public sector IAFs must align their work with the strategies, objectives and risks of the public sector organisations and promote organisational improvement. Failure to strategically align the IAFs may lead to the non-delivery of their mandate, and thus be unable to assure, advise and provide the insights that inform strategic decision making. It is concerning that the public sector IAFs may not be adequately aligned to the strategic direction of their organisations, and that no mechanism is in place to enable this alignment. Hence the primary objective of this study to develop a framework for aligning public sector IAFs with the strategic direction of the South African public sector organisations. The secondary objectives were to investigate factors that impact on IA alignment with the strategies of the public sector organisations; and how these can be integrated into the IA strategic alignment framework. This qualitative Delphi study used a combination of the Agency Theory and Strategic Alignment Theory (SAT) to better understand the phenomenon of IA strategic alignment. An iterative process of three Delphi rounds was followed to facilitate consensus among participants, who were selected using a purposive sampling method. This culminated in the development of IA strategic alignment framework, encompassing five components: organisational context; IA governance; IA planning approach; IA processes and IA resourcing, as well as 48 factors (35 positive and 13 negative) of IA strategic alignment. The study also found 15 benefits of IA strategic alignment (eight benefits to the organisation and seven to the IAF). , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Accounting, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Nyenyiso, Sizwe
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Auditing, Internal , Auditing , Accounting
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/65368 , vital:74095
- Description: The role of internal auditing has evolved from a control-based function to a strategic partner of strategy formulation and execution. In today’s fast paced business environment, the demand for internal audit (IA) services has increased enormously as management struggles to respond to disruptions. To maximise the IA value and effectively respond to the expectations of stakeholders, the internal audit functions (IAFs) must be properly aligned with the strategic direction of their organisations. Public sector IAFs must align their work with the strategies, objectives and risks of the public sector organisations and promote organisational improvement. Failure to strategically align the IAFs may lead to the non-delivery of their mandate, and thus be unable to assure, advise and provide the insights that inform strategic decision making. It is concerning that the public sector IAFs may not be adequately aligned to the strategic direction of their organisations, and that no mechanism is in place to enable this alignment. Hence the primary objective of this study to develop a framework for aligning public sector IAFs with the strategic direction of the South African public sector organisations. The secondary objectives were to investigate factors that impact on IA alignment with the strategies of the public sector organisations; and how these can be integrated into the IA strategic alignment framework. This qualitative Delphi study used a combination of the Agency Theory and Strategic Alignment Theory (SAT) to better understand the phenomenon of IA strategic alignment. An iterative process of three Delphi rounds was followed to facilitate consensus among participants, who were selected using a purposive sampling method. This culminated in the development of IA strategic alignment framework, encompassing five components: organisational context; IA governance; IA planning approach; IA processes and IA resourcing, as well as 48 factors (35 positive and 13 negative) of IA strategic alignment. The study also found 15 benefits of IA strategic alignment (eight benefits to the organisation and seven to the IAF). , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Accounting, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
A leadership model for South Africa’s infrastructure-related State-owned Enterprises
- Authors: Notununu, Fezile
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Government business enterprises -- South Africa , Construction industry , Leadership -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64750 , vital:73885
- Description: The objective of this research was to create a leadership model designed specifically to address the challenges faced by South Africa's infrastructure-related, state-owned enterprises. Both Eskom and Transnet are currently experiencing leadership crises, which might be further exacerbated by the global economic difficulties. Through an initial literature review it became evident that there was a knowledge gap regarding leadership within South Africa's state-owned enterprises. Consequently, it was crucial to conduct an extensive analysis of leadership styles to ensure effective infrastructure management for these state-owned enterprises. The primary aim of this study was to propose a leadership model that would be suitable for South Africa's infrastructure-related, state-owned enterprises. To achieve this objective, the relationship between effective leadership and perceived success in infrastructure development was explored, as well as the relationship between effective planning and perceived success in infrastructure development within these enterprises. Additionally, the connection between leadership training and perceived success in infrastructure development was investigated in the study. Quantitative research methods were employed to address these research objectives. The data for this study were collected through an online survey, with a total of 335 respondents from South Africa. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used for analysis, using SPSS AMOS 29 Software. The findings of the study indicated a significant positive relationship between effective management and perceived success in infrastructure development for state-owned enterprises. However, the results regarding the relationship between effective planning and perceived success were not statistically significant, as the p-value exceeded 0.05. Based on the outcomes of the study, appropriate and meaningful recommendations have been provided regarding the leadership model necessary for effective infrastructure management in South Africa's infrastructure-related, state-owned enterprises. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Notununu, Fezile
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Government business enterprises -- South Africa , Construction industry , Leadership -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64750 , vital:73885
- Description: The objective of this research was to create a leadership model designed specifically to address the challenges faced by South Africa's infrastructure-related, state-owned enterprises. Both Eskom and Transnet are currently experiencing leadership crises, which might be further exacerbated by the global economic difficulties. Through an initial literature review it became evident that there was a knowledge gap regarding leadership within South Africa's state-owned enterprises. Consequently, it was crucial to conduct an extensive analysis of leadership styles to ensure effective infrastructure management for these state-owned enterprises. The primary aim of this study was to propose a leadership model that would be suitable for South Africa's infrastructure-related, state-owned enterprises. To achieve this objective, the relationship between effective leadership and perceived success in infrastructure development was explored, as well as the relationship between effective planning and perceived success in infrastructure development within these enterprises. Additionally, the connection between leadership training and perceived success in infrastructure development was investigated in the study. Quantitative research methods were employed to address these research objectives. The data for this study were collected through an online survey, with a total of 335 respondents from South Africa. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used for analysis, using SPSS AMOS 29 Software. The findings of the study indicated a significant positive relationship between effective management and perceived success in infrastructure development for state-owned enterprises. However, the results regarding the relationship between effective planning and perceived success were not statistically significant, as the p-value exceeded 0.05. Based on the outcomes of the study, appropriate and meaningful recommendations have been provided regarding the leadership model necessary for effective infrastructure management in South Africa's infrastructure-related, state-owned enterprises. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
A model to measure the digital competence of South African citizens
- Authors: Du Preez, Creswell Martin
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Communication of technical information , Digital divide , Information technology -- Social aspects , Information society
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64522 , vital:73746
- Description: The rapid proliferation of disruptive technologies is a paradigm shift fundamentally changing how humanity lives, works, communicates, and relates to each other. Many governments are implementing digital transformation strategies to improve service delivery, citizen participation, and information-sharing mechanisms. South Africa has identified digital skills as a key challenge to becoming a professional and globally competitive knowledge society. However, the 2016 Global IT Report of the World Economic Forum highlights the skills problem in South Africa, ranking it 95th out of 139 countries on the skills pillar. This is due to poor quality of education, particularly in math and science. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly underscored the importance of digital competence in South Africa, highlighting both challenges and opportunities. As the pandemic forced a shift to remote work, education, and digital service delivery, the disparities in digital access and skills became more apparent, especially in under-resourced communities. This situation revealed the urgent need to enhance digital competence across the population to bridge the digital divide. On the other hand, the pandemic also acted as a catalyst for digital transformation in the country. There was an accelerated adoption of digital technologies in various sectors, from education using online platforms to businesses embracing e-commerce. This rapid shift showcased the potential of digital technology to foster resilience against such disruptions. It highlighted citizens’ critical need for comprehensive digital competence to navigate this new digital landscape effectively. A gap exists between current online digital skills training programmes and the ability of citizens to participate in the same. While mega-vendors like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle offer virtual training on specific technologies, it is argued that users need digital competence training before participating in these opportunities. In other words, be able to access online training platforms, create a user account, use secure passwords, and navigate online training systems. This critical component is not holistically addressed across the education system in South Africa. Furthermore, digital competence is a new concept in the South African context and has not been holistically assessed until now. This study sets out to develop a digital competence assessment model to measure the digital competence of South African citizens. Research was conducted to understand digital competence, its characteristics and assessment models and frameworks. A suitable framework was then selected and adapted for the South African context. The adapted framework was used to develop a South African Digital Competence Assessment Model. The model consists of a Digital Competence Assessment Grid, which forms the core of the Digital Competence Assessment Model, as well as an example of how the model can be used to develop an assessment questionnaire. The South African Digital Competence Assessment Grid and the Digital Competence Assessment Example were reviewed by experts as part of an expert review process. The recommendations from the experts were used to refine the Digital Competence Assessment Grid. As the concept of digital competence is new to South Africa, implementation strategies and considerations were discussed for the model. As a starting point, implementation resources were developed on how to use the model in the form of a Digital Competence Assessment Model Guide. The study thus makes an important contribution to advancing digital competence assessment in South Africa, which will inform the nature of the development programs needed and from which the competence profiles for various jobs and job families can be generated. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Information Technology, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Du Preez, Creswell Martin
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Communication of technical information , Digital divide , Information technology -- Social aspects , Information society
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64522 , vital:73746
- Description: The rapid proliferation of disruptive technologies is a paradigm shift fundamentally changing how humanity lives, works, communicates, and relates to each other. Many governments are implementing digital transformation strategies to improve service delivery, citizen participation, and information-sharing mechanisms. South Africa has identified digital skills as a key challenge to becoming a professional and globally competitive knowledge society. However, the 2016 Global IT Report of the World Economic Forum highlights the skills problem in South Africa, ranking it 95th out of 139 countries on the skills pillar. This is due to poor quality of education, particularly in math and science. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly underscored the importance of digital competence in South Africa, highlighting both challenges and opportunities. As the pandemic forced a shift to remote work, education, and digital service delivery, the disparities in digital access and skills became more apparent, especially in under-resourced communities. This situation revealed the urgent need to enhance digital competence across the population to bridge the digital divide. On the other hand, the pandemic also acted as a catalyst for digital transformation in the country. There was an accelerated adoption of digital technologies in various sectors, from education using online platforms to businesses embracing e-commerce. This rapid shift showcased the potential of digital technology to foster resilience against such disruptions. It highlighted citizens’ critical need for comprehensive digital competence to navigate this new digital landscape effectively. A gap exists between current online digital skills training programmes and the ability of citizens to participate in the same. While mega-vendors like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle offer virtual training on specific technologies, it is argued that users need digital competence training before participating in these opportunities. In other words, be able to access online training platforms, create a user account, use secure passwords, and navigate online training systems. This critical component is not holistically addressed across the education system in South Africa. Furthermore, digital competence is a new concept in the South African context and has not been holistically assessed until now. This study sets out to develop a digital competence assessment model to measure the digital competence of South African citizens. Research was conducted to understand digital competence, its characteristics and assessment models and frameworks. A suitable framework was then selected and adapted for the South African context. The adapted framework was used to develop a South African Digital Competence Assessment Model. The model consists of a Digital Competence Assessment Grid, which forms the core of the Digital Competence Assessment Model, as well as an example of how the model can be used to develop an assessment questionnaire. The South African Digital Competence Assessment Grid and the Digital Competence Assessment Example were reviewed by experts as part of an expert review process. The recommendations from the experts were used to refine the Digital Competence Assessment Grid. As the concept of digital competence is new to South Africa, implementation strategies and considerations were discussed for the model. As a starting point, implementation resources were developed on how to use the model in the form of a Digital Competence Assessment Model Guide. The study thus makes an important contribution to advancing digital competence assessment in South Africa, which will inform the nature of the development programs needed and from which the competence profiles for various jobs and job families can be generated. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Information Technology, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
A qualitative exploration of the role of LO teachers and LO subject advisors in the design and formulation of sexuality and HIV curriculum
- Authors: Jacobs, Elfean Randall
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: HIV (Viruses) -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Life skills -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63956 , vital:73632
- Description: This research study investigated the role of LO teachers and LO subject advisors in designing and formulating a sexuality and HIV curriculum. The Life Orientation subject aims to equip learners with the necessary skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes to live a successful and healthy life in society. Some of LO's prescribed programmes, such as the sexuality and HIV curriculum, have operated for many years in the South African school curriculum. These programmes still do not address the social illnesses that destroy the lives of young people in our communities. There is a need for the transformation of these programmes. The research was conducted in the Blue Crane region in Somerset East and the Dr Beyers Naude region in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Qualitative data generation methods were employed, which consisted of field notes and individual interviews with six (6) LO teachers at three (3) of the identified secondary schools and two (2) LO subject advisors from the district office. The main research question for this study was: What is the role of LO teachers and LO subject advisors in the design and formulation of sexuality and HIV curriculum in the life orientation subject? What are the pedagogical contributions of LO teachers and LO subject advisors on the content of the sexuality and HIV curriculum in their schools? What do LO teachers and LO subject advisors perceive as relevant in the teaching methodology of the sexuality and HIV curriculum in the schools? What do LO teachers and LO subject advisors perceive as the relevant content for a sexuality and HIV curriculum? The data generated from the individual interviews was analysed using thematic analysis. The analysed data was further broken down into seven (7) themes and subthemes. The interpretation of the themes and subthemes are discussed in detail. To ensure whether the analysed data was accurate and correct, the researcher utilised quality criteria to measure the trustworthiness of the study as well as the credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability. , Thesis (D.Phil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Postgraduate education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Jacobs, Elfean Randall
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: HIV (Viruses) -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Life skills -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63956 , vital:73632
- Description: This research study investigated the role of LO teachers and LO subject advisors in designing and formulating a sexuality and HIV curriculum. The Life Orientation subject aims to equip learners with the necessary skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes to live a successful and healthy life in society. Some of LO's prescribed programmes, such as the sexuality and HIV curriculum, have operated for many years in the South African school curriculum. These programmes still do not address the social illnesses that destroy the lives of young people in our communities. There is a need for the transformation of these programmes. The research was conducted in the Blue Crane region in Somerset East and the Dr Beyers Naude region in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Qualitative data generation methods were employed, which consisted of field notes and individual interviews with six (6) LO teachers at three (3) of the identified secondary schools and two (2) LO subject advisors from the district office. The main research question for this study was: What is the role of LO teachers and LO subject advisors in the design and formulation of sexuality and HIV curriculum in the life orientation subject? What are the pedagogical contributions of LO teachers and LO subject advisors on the content of the sexuality and HIV curriculum in their schools? What do LO teachers and LO subject advisors perceive as relevant in the teaching methodology of the sexuality and HIV curriculum in the schools? What do LO teachers and LO subject advisors perceive as the relevant content for a sexuality and HIV curriculum? The data generated from the individual interviews was analysed using thematic analysis. The analysed data was further broken down into seven (7) themes and subthemes. The interpretation of the themes and subthemes are discussed in detail. To ensure whether the analysed data was accurate and correct, the researcher utilised quality criteria to measure the trustworthiness of the study as well as the credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability. , Thesis (D.Phil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Postgraduate education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
A toolkit for successful workplace learning analytics at software vendors
- Authors: Whale, Alyssa Morgan
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction , Intelligent tutoring systems , Information visualisation
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64448 , vital:73713
- Description: Software vendors commonly provide digital software training to their stakeholders and therefore are faced with the problem of an influx of data collected from these training/learning initiatives. Every second of every day, data is being collected based on online learning activities and learner behaviour. Thus, online platforms are struggling to cope with the volumes of data that are collected, and companies are finding it difficult to analyse and manage this data in a way that can be beneficial to all stakeholders. The majority of studies investigating learning analytics have been conducted in educational settings. This research aimed to develop and evaluate a toolkit that can be used for successful Workplace Learning Analytics (WLA) at software vendors. The study followed the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, which was applied in iterative cycles where various components of the toolkit were designed, developed, and evaluated by participants. The real-world-context was a software vendor, ERPCo, which has been struggling to implement WLA successfully with their current Learning Experience Platform (LXP), as well as with their previous platform. Qualitative data was collected using document analysis of key company documents and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with employees from ERPCo to explore and confirm different topics and themes. These methods were used to iteratively analyse the As-Is and To-Be situations at ERPCo and to develop and evaluate the proposed WLA Toolkit. The method used to analyse the collected data from the FGDs was the Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) method. To develop the first component of the toolkit, the Organisation component, the organisational success factors that influence the success of WLA were identified using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). These factors were discussed and validated in two exploratory FGDs held with employees from ERPCo, one with operational stakeholders and the other with strategic decision makers. The DeLone and McLean Information Systems (D&M IS) Success Model was used to undergird the research as a theory to guide the understanding of the factors influencing the success of WLA. Many of the factors identified in theory were found to be prevalent in the real-world-context, with some additional ones being identified in the FGDs. The most frequent challenges highlighted by participants were related to visibility; readily available high-quality data; flexibility of reporting; complexity of reporting; and effective decision making and insights obtained. Many of these related to the concept of usability issues for both the system and the information, which is specifically related to System Quality or Information Quality from the D&M IS Success Model. The second and third components of the toolkit are the Technology and Applications; and Information components respectively. Therefore, architecture and data management challenges and requirements for these components were analysed. An appropriate WLA architecture was selected and then further customised for use at ERPCo. A third FGD was conducted with employees who had more technical roles in ERPCo. The purpose of this FGD was to provide input on the architecture, technologies and data management challenges and requirements. In the Technology and Applications component of the WLA Toolkit, factors influencing WLA success related to applications and visualisations were considered. An instantiation of this component was demonstrated in the fourth FGD, where learning data from the LXP at ERPCo was collected and a dashboard incorporating recommended visualisation techniques was developed as a proof of concept. In this FGD participants gave feedback on both the dashboard and the toolkit. The artefact of this research is the WLA Toolkit that can be used by practitioners to guide the planning and implementation of WLA in large organisations that use LXP and WLA platforms. Researchers can use the WLA Toolkit to gain a deeper understanding of the required components and factors for successful WLA in software vendors. The research also contributes to the D&M IS Success Model theory in the information economy. In support of this PhD dissertation, the following paper has been published: Whale, A. & Scholtz, B. 2022. A Theoretical Classification of Organizational Success Factors for Workplace Learning Analytics. NEXTCOMP 2022. Mauritius. A draft manuscript for a journal paper was in progress at the time of submitting this thesis. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics , 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Whale, Alyssa Morgan
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction , Intelligent tutoring systems , Information visualisation
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64448 , vital:73713
- Description: Software vendors commonly provide digital software training to their stakeholders and therefore are faced with the problem of an influx of data collected from these training/learning initiatives. Every second of every day, data is being collected based on online learning activities and learner behaviour. Thus, online platforms are struggling to cope with the volumes of data that are collected, and companies are finding it difficult to analyse and manage this data in a way that can be beneficial to all stakeholders. The majority of studies investigating learning analytics have been conducted in educational settings. This research aimed to develop and evaluate a toolkit that can be used for successful Workplace Learning Analytics (WLA) at software vendors. The study followed the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, which was applied in iterative cycles where various components of the toolkit were designed, developed, and evaluated by participants. The real-world-context was a software vendor, ERPCo, which has been struggling to implement WLA successfully with their current Learning Experience Platform (LXP), as well as with their previous platform. Qualitative data was collected using document analysis of key company documents and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with employees from ERPCo to explore and confirm different topics and themes. These methods were used to iteratively analyse the As-Is and To-Be situations at ERPCo and to develop and evaluate the proposed WLA Toolkit. The method used to analyse the collected data from the FGDs was the Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) method. To develop the first component of the toolkit, the Organisation component, the organisational success factors that influence the success of WLA were identified using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). These factors were discussed and validated in two exploratory FGDs held with employees from ERPCo, one with operational stakeholders and the other with strategic decision makers. The DeLone and McLean Information Systems (D&M IS) Success Model was used to undergird the research as a theory to guide the understanding of the factors influencing the success of WLA. Many of the factors identified in theory were found to be prevalent in the real-world-context, with some additional ones being identified in the FGDs. The most frequent challenges highlighted by participants were related to visibility; readily available high-quality data; flexibility of reporting; complexity of reporting; and effective decision making and insights obtained. Many of these related to the concept of usability issues for both the system and the information, which is specifically related to System Quality or Information Quality from the D&M IS Success Model. The second and third components of the toolkit are the Technology and Applications; and Information components respectively. Therefore, architecture and data management challenges and requirements for these components were analysed. An appropriate WLA architecture was selected and then further customised for use at ERPCo. A third FGD was conducted with employees who had more technical roles in ERPCo. The purpose of this FGD was to provide input on the architecture, technologies and data management challenges and requirements. In the Technology and Applications component of the WLA Toolkit, factors influencing WLA success related to applications and visualisations were considered. An instantiation of this component was demonstrated in the fourth FGD, where learning data from the LXP at ERPCo was collected and a dashboard incorporating recommended visualisation techniques was developed as a proof of concept. In this FGD participants gave feedback on both the dashboard and the toolkit. The artefact of this research is the WLA Toolkit that can be used by practitioners to guide the planning and implementation of WLA in large organisations that use LXP and WLA platforms. Researchers can use the WLA Toolkit to gain a deeper understanding of the required components and factors for successful WLA in software vendors. The research also contributes to the D&M IS Success Model theory in the information economy. In support of this PhD dissertation, the following paper has been published: Whale, A. & Scholtz, B. 2022. A Theoretical Classification of Organizational Success Factors for Workplace Learning Analytics. NEXTCOMP 2022. Mauritius. A draft manuscript for a journal paper was in progress at the time of submitting this thesis. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics , 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
An implementation model: photovoltaic application for sustainable energy in South Africa
- Authors: Bukula, Mvuleni
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Energy development -- South Africa , Renewable energy sources -- South Africa , Sustainable engineering -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64511 , vital:73743
- Description: South African electrical grid faces significant risks that the state produced electricity supply from electricity network to premises for consumption will not meet the electricity demand. Certain sectors of the economy and essential social services such as the hospitals, the telecommunications networks, and water companies are heavily impacted on by load management, through load shedding by rotating power outages or reducing power consumption from primary sources until demand decreases. Eskom, as the major electricity supplier in South Africa's aging infrastructure, with declining reliability, substandard quality coal and large gaps between generating capacity and demand, leaves the country vulnerable to electricity blackouts. The consequences of such power outages are devastating, but no single technology solution can meet the demand. Localised backup solutions such as solar power and battery backup limit the risk of power outages and provide power security during the periods of load shedding. Quantitative research method is pursued as a systematic survey to collect quantitative data by means of sampling and submitting online survey questionnaires. After receiving the data, statistical techniques were performed through structural equation modeling to analyse the structural relationship between the measured variables and the underlying variables. This research focuses on photovoltaic applications as a means of harnessing solar energy to convert solar energy into electricity. Solar panels consist of photovoltaic cells made of semiconductors or materials that respond to the action of photons of light. Energy availability to all can promote economic development and human well-being. Without the improvements in energy efficiency and development costs of new energy technologies such as photovoltaics, the global energy system will come under even more pressure. Therefore, changes in the global trend towards a decentralised low-carbon energy system are inevitable to ensure affordable, reliable and sustainable energy access for all. This research seeks to contribute to the present challenges that are facing South Africa’s electricity supply industry by increasing the energy mix of renewable energy as compared to the fossil fuel-based electricity supply. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Bukula, Mvuleni
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Energy development -- South Africa , Renewable energy sources -- South Africa , Sustainable engineering -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64511 , vital:73743
- Description: South African electrical grid faces significant risks that the state produced electricity supply from electricity network to premises for consumption will not meet the electricity demand. Certain sectors of the economy and essential social services such as the hospitals, the telecommunications networks, and water companies are heavily impacted on by load management, through load shedding by rotating power outages or reducing power consumption from primary sources until demand decreases. Eskom, as the major electricity supplier in South Africa's aging infrastructure, with declining reliability, substandard quality coal and large gaps between generating capacity and demand, leaves the country vulnerable to electricity blackouts. The consequences of such power outages are devastating, but no single technology solution can meet the demand. Localised backup solutions such as solar power and battery backup limit the risk of power outages and provide power security during the periods of load shedding. Quantitative research method is pursued as a systematic survey to collect quantitative data by means of sampling and submitting online survey questionnaires. After receiving the data, statistical techniques were performed through structural equation modeling to analyse the structural relationship between the measured variables and the underlying variables. This research focuses on photovoltaic applications as a means of harnessing solar energy to convert solar energy into electricity. Solar panels consist of photovoltaic cells made of semiconductors or materials that respond to the action of photons of light. Energy availability to all can promote economic development and human well-being. Without the improvements in energy efficiency and development costs of new energy technologies such as photovoltaics, the global energy system will come under even more pressure. Therefore, changes in the global trend towards a decentralised low-carbon energy system are inevitable to ensure affordable, reliable and sustainable energy access for all. This research seeks to contribute to the present challenges that are facing South Africa’s electricity supply industry by increasing the energy mix of renewable energy as compared to the fossil fuel-based electricity supply. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Balancing an educator’s right to strike and a child’s right to basic education.
- Authors: Maluleke, Mongwena John
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Educational law and legislation , Children's right to education , Basic education
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/66128 , vital:74400
- Description: This thesis examines how a fair balance can be realised between the educator’s right to strike and the child’s right to education. International and constitutional frameworks are analysed to uncover South Africa’s position on the two opposing rights and the various balancing approaches available. The study recommends a consensus-based approach to balance the rights of educators with that of the child’s right to education. It further proposes the establishment of a structured and organised forum or institution with the sole purpose of dealing with the rights of educators that compete with the rights of learners. , Thesis (LLD) -- Faculty of Law, Department of Mercantile law, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Maluleke, Mongwena John
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Educational law and legislation , Children's right to education , Basic education
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/66128 , vital:74400
- Description: This thesis examines how a fair balance can be realised between the educator’s right to strike and the child’s right to education. International and constitutional frameworks are analysed to uncover South Africa’s position on the two opposing rights and the various balancing approaches available. The study recommends a consensus-based approach to balance the rights of educators with that of the child’s right to education. It further proposes the establishment of a structured and organised forum or institution with the sole purpose of dealing with the rights of educators that compete with the rights of learners. , Thesis (LLD) -- Faculty of Law, Department of Mercantile law, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Economic complexity and inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: a cross country analysis
- Authors: Maxwele, Chuma
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Gross domestic product , Economic development -- Africa , International trade , Balance of trade -- Africa Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/65142 , vital:74037
- Description: The concept of economic complexity is a relatively new term in economics literature, it is used to refer to the magnitude of productive knowledge or capabilities embedded in society. However, because of its potential impact on national prosperity, it is hypothesized that differences in the degree of economic complexity are major factors of inequalities in the growth rates of nations. The approach of economic complexity makes use of fine-grained data on thousands of economic activities to learn both abstract factors of production and the way they combine into thousands of outputs. However, it is only in recent years that studies have started to consider the association between economic complexity and economic growth. As such, there is a lack of robust, vigorous literature that examines the association between economic complexity and inclusive growth, particularly in the context of Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The extant literature focuses on the relationship between economic complexity and isolated cases of some macroeconomic indicators of growth. As a departure from the existing studies and as a contribution to the field, inclusive growth, in this study, is measured as a composite index from various growth indicators as postulated in the inclusive growth theories and then each indicator is viewed separately. Thus, the general purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between economic complexity and inclusive growth in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa from 1996 to 2019 2019, which is the primary objective of the study. The first objective of the study is to examine the effect of economic complexity on welfare indicators in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. In examining the effect, the study employed a Pool Mean Group – Autoregressive Distributive Lag (PMG PMG-ARDL) model. The results of the study reveal that economic complexity, economic growth rate, and terms of trade have a positive and statistically significant long-run impact on welfare in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The short-run dynamics reveal that economic complexity negatively and significantly affects welfare. The study's second objective examines the impact of economic complexity on economic indicators in Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. To examine the impact, the study employed the Panel Ordinary Least Square (POLS) model. The results of the study demonstrate that economic complexity, foreign direct investment, inflation, and population growth have a negative and significant impact on the economic index. However, government expenditure demonstrates a positive and significant effect on economic indicators. The third objective of the study examines the effect of economic complexity on human development in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. In examining the effect, the study employed the Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) model for the long-run relationship, and the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) for the short-run relationship. The results of the long long-run relationship show that economic complexity has a negative impact on human development which is significant at 1 percent. Short Short-run relationships reveal that economic complexity has a positive and insignificant impact on human development. The fourth objective of the study investigates the effect of economic complexity on good governance in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. The study employed the Pool Mean Group – Autoregressive Distributive Lag (PMG PMG-ARDL) model to investigate the relationship. The PMG PMG-ARDL model results reveal that economic complexity, foreign aid, and the Gini coefficient have a positive and statistically significant long-run impact on good governance in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The fifth and last objective of the study investigates the effect of economic complexity on inclusive growth in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from year 1996 to 2019. To investigate the relationship, the study applied the Panel Vector Autoregressive (P-VAR) model. The results from the grangerGranger-causality test show a unidirectional relationship running from economic complexity to inclusive growth, the panel VAR model reveals that economic complexity has a negative and significant effect on inclusive growth at 10 percent level of significance in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The present study investigated five objectives, and out of the five objectives, only two (i.e., Welfare and Good Governance ) have a positive and significant relationship with economic complexity in the long long-run. This implies that with more productive structures, these countries would be in a better position to promote institutional quality and later advance welfare regimes in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. However, for that goal to be realized, the Sub-Saharan African region should first achieve, or have, a certain level of economic development. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Maxwele, Chuma
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Gross domestic product , Economic development -- Africa , International trade , Balance of trade -- Africa Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/65142 , vital:74037
- Description: The concept of economic complexity is a relatively new term in economics literature, it is used to refer to the magnitude of productive knowledge or capabilities embedded in society. However, because of its potential impact on national prosperity, it is hypothesized that differences in the degree of economic complexity are major factors of inequalities in the growth rates of nations. The approach of economic complexity makes use of fine-grained data on thousands of economic activities to learn both abstract factors of production and the way they combine into thousands of outputs. However, it is only in recent years that studies have started to consider the association between economic complexity and economic growth. As such, there is a lack of robust, vigorous literature that examines the association between economic complexity and inclusive growth, particularly in the context of Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The extant literature focuses on the relationship between economic complexity and isolated cases of some macroeconomic indicators of growth. As a departure from the existing studies and as a contribution to the field, inclusive growth, in this study, is measured as a composite index from various growth indicators as postulated in the inclusive growth theories and then each indicator is viewed separately. Thus, the general purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between economic complexity and inclusive growth in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa from 1996 to 2019 2019, which is the primary objective of the study. The first objective of the study is to examine the effect of economic complexity on welfare indicators in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. In examining the effect, the study employed a Pool Mean Group – Autoregressive Distributive Lag (PMG PMG-ARDL) model. The results of the study reveal that economic complexity, economic growth rate, and terms of trade have a positive and statistically significant long-run impact on welfare in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The short-run dynamics reveal that economic complexity negatively and significantly affects welfare. The study's second objective examines the impact of economic complexity on economic indicators in Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. To examine the impact, the study employed the Panel Ordinary Least Square (POLS) model. The results of the study demonstrate that economic complexity, foreign direct investment, inflation, and population growth have a negative and significant impact on the economic index. However, government expenditure demonstrates a positive and significant effect on economic indicators. The third objective of the study examines the effect of economic complexity on human development in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. In examining the effect, the study employed the Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) model for the long-run relationship, and the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) for the short-run relationship. The results of the long long-run relationship show that economic complexity has a negative impact on human development which is significant at 1 percent. Short Short-run relationships reveal that economic complexity has a positive and insignificant impact on human development. The fourth objective of the study investigates the effect of economic complexity on good governance in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from 1996 to 2019. The study employed the Pool Mean Group – Autoregressive Distributive Lag (PMG PMG-ARDL) model to investigate the relationship. The PMG PMG-ARDL model results reveal that economic complexity, foreign aid, and the Gini coefficient have a positive and statistically significant long-run impact on good governance in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The fifth and last objective of the study investigates the effect of economic complexity on inclusive growth in Sub Sub-Saharan African countries from year 1996 to 2019. To investigate the relationship, the study applied the Panel Vector Autoregressive (P-VAR) model. The results from the grangerGranger-causality test show a unidirectional relationship running from economic complexity to inclusive growth, the panel VAR model reveals that economic complexity has a negative and significant effect on inclusive growth at 10 percent level of significance in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. The present study investigated five objectives, and out of the five objectives, only two (i.e., Welfare and Good Governance ) have a positive and significant relationship with economic complexity in the long long-run. This implies that with more productive structures, these countries would be in a better position to promote institutional quality and later advance welfare regimes in Sub Sub-Saharan Africa. However, for that goal to be realized, the Sub-Saharan African region should first achieve, or have, a certain level of economic development. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Enabling legislative coherence in the Eswatini construction industry
- Hlatshwayo, Thandiwe Ncam'sile
- Authors: Hlatshwayo, Thandiwe Ncam'sile
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Construction industry -- Law and legislation -- Swaziland , Construction workers -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Swaziland , Industrial safety -- Law and legislation -- Swaziland
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64544 , vital:73748
- Description: The construction industry is an age-old and highly dynamic sector that contributes to the betterment of human life through the development of infrastructure. The presence of regulations is crucial in ensuring the provision of quality, standardization, efficiency, and effectiveness in service delivery. Inadequate regulation of the construction industry has been identified as the primary cause of construction failures in both developing and developed nations. Eswatini is no exception to this issue of legislative failure. The Construction Industry Council (CIC) was established by the Government of Eswatini without initially determining the specific challenges faced by the construction industry in Eswatini. The unique legislative needs pertaining to Eswatini were not explored to ensure that the framework is tailor-made for the Eswatini sector. Given the industry's diverse and intricate nature, a generic approach would not be sufficient to create a unified legislative framework. The study was aimed at developing a coherent legislative framework for the Eswatini construction industry. This study used a mixed-methods research design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 297 participants were randomly selected from the CIC database for the quantitative survey. A total of 45 interviewees were purposively selected for the semi-structured interviews. Descriptive and inferential analysis were used for the interpretation of the quantitative data. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. Exploratory Factor Analysis, using the maximum likelihood method with Varimax Rotation was employed to analyse the factor structure and correlation between items of the quantitative data. Additionally, the KMO and Bartlett's Tests were conducted. The ANOVA Test was used to test the hypothesis. Thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative data analysis. The findings of this study revealed that contractors in Eswatini recognised the significance of a well-functioning legislative framework and expressed dissatisfaction with the existing legislative measures implemented in the country. The key informant interviews highlighted various challenges, including the absence of regulations for the implementation of the CIC Act, lack of accountability and transparency in the management of funds for CIC operations and inadequate grading criteria. Other challenges that were revealed were insufficient oversight, unfair competition, corruption and limited stakeholder engagement. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Hlatshwayo, Thandiwe Ncam'sile
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Construction industry -- Law and legislation -- Swaziland , Construction workers -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Swaziland , Industrial safety -- Law and legislation -- Swaziland
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64544 , vital:73748
- Description: The construction industry is an age-old and highly dynamic sector that contributes to the betterment of human life through the development of infrastructure. The presence of regulations is crucial in ensuring the provision of quality, standardization, efficiency, and effectiveness in service delivery. Inadequate regulation of the construction industry has been identified as the primary cause of construction failures in both developing and developed nations. Eswatini is no exception to this issue of legislative failure. The Construction Industry Council (CIC) was established by the Government of Eswatini without initially determining the specific challenges faced by the construction industry in Eswatini. The unique legislative needs pertaining to Eswatini were not explored to ensure that the framework is tailor-made for the Eswatini sector. Given the industry's diverse and intricate nature, a generic approach would not be sufficient to create a unified legislative framework. The study was aimed at developing a coherent legislative framework for the Eswatini construction industry. This study used a mixed-methods research design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 297 participants were randomly selected from the CIC database for the quantitative survey. A total of 45 interviewees were purposively selected for the semi-structured interviews. Descriptive and inferential analysis were used for the interpretation of the quantitative data. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. Exploratory Factor Analysis, using the maximum likelihood method with Varimax Rotation was employed to analyse the factor structure and correlation between items of the quantitative data. Additionally, the KMO and Bartlett's Tests were conducted. The ANOVA Test was used to test the hypothesis. Thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative data analysis. The findings of this study revealed that contractors in Eswatini recognised the significance of a well-functioning legislative framework and expressed dissatisfaction with the existing legislative measures implemented in the country. The key informant interviews highlighted various challenges, including the absence of regulations for the implementation of the CIC Act, lack of accountability and transparency in the management of funds for CIC operations and inadequate grading criteria. Other challenges that were revealed were insufficient oversight, unfair competition, corruption and limited stakeholder engagement. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Exploring the views of selected, unafflicted women from Walvis bay and Windhoek, Namibia, regarding intimate partner killing and its effect on their well-being.
- Authors: Amadhila,Luise Utuhole
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Intimate partner violence , Gender-based violence , Post-traumatic stress disorder in women
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63653 , vital:73575
- Description: Intimate Partner Killing (IPK), popularly known as passion killing in certain regions, such as in southern parts of Africa, Europe, and America, and also referred to as intimate partner homicide, is a global concern. In Namibia, the rate at which men take the lives of their intimate partners due to failed romantic relationships has sparked apprehension within the communities. This study delves into the perspectives of unafflicted women in Namibia, shedding light on the broader impact of intimate partner killing on female well-being. Using a qualitative approach, the study conducted face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 14 participants. Grounded theory was applied to analyse the collected data and form categories from it. The data were transcribed and analysed using codes, thematic analysis, and interpretation. The theoretical frameworks intersectionality theory, social feminist theory, structuralist theory and systems theory underpin this study. The findings reveal that intimate partner killing severely affects women’s mental health, leading to vicarious trauma characterised by fear and anxiety. Participants reported difficulty experiencing positive emotions in their romantic relationships due to the pervasive uncertainty of this growing issue. Intimate partner killing leaves women feeling scared, unsafe, and traumatised, often prompting them to exercise extreme caution in their relationships to avoid becoming victims themselves. Symptoms such as feeling unsafe, scared, and traumatised align with post-traumatic stress and generalised anxiety. The study recommends implementing policy interventions and stringent laws in Namibia to prevent or discourage men from resorting to violence against their loved ones. Moreover, establishing assistance centres staffed with social work and mental health professionals is crucial to counselling and supporting women experiencing post-traumatic stress and anxiety resulting from intimate partner violence. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of behavioural Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Amadhila,Luise Utuhole
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Intimate partner violence , Gender-based violence , Post-traumatic stress disorder in women
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63653 , vital:73575
- Description: Intimate Partner Killing (IPK), popularly known as passion killing in certain regions, such as in southern parts of Africa, Europe, and America, and also referred to as intimate partner homicide, is a global concern. In Namibia, the rate at which men take the lives of their intimate partners due to failed romantic relationships has sparked apprehension within the communities. This study delves into the perspectives of unafflicted women in Namibia, shedding light on the broader impact of intimate partner killing on female well-being. Using a qualitative approach, the study conducted face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 14 participants. Grounded theory was applied to analyse the collected data and form categories from it. The data were transcribed and analysed using codes, thematic analysis, and interpretation. The theoretical frameworks intersectionality theory, social feminist theory, structuralist theory and systems theory underpin this study. The findings reveal that intimate partner killing severely affects women’s mental health, leading to vicarious trauma characterised by fear and anxiety. Participants reported difficulty experiencing positive emotions in their romantic relationships due to the pervasive uncertainty of this growing issue. Intimate partner killing leaves women feeling scared, unsafe, and traumatised, often prompting them to exercise extreme caution in their relationships to avoid becoming victims themselves. Symptoms such as feeling unsafe, scared, and traumatised align with post-traumatic stress and generalised anxiety. The study recommends implementing policy interventions and stringent laws in Namibia to prevent or discourage men from resorting to violence against their loved ones. Moreover, establishing assistance centres staffed with social work and mental health professionals is crucial to counselling and supporting women experiencing post-traumatic stress and anxiety resulting from intimate partner violence. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of behavioural Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Facilitating language communication in English using “VFL” in English second language (ESL) primary school science classrooms
- Authors: Kemp, Hermione
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching , Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology , Communication -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63985 , vital:73635
- Description: Many classrooms across South Africa have teachers and learners who are English Second Language (ESL) speakers. As a result, teaching and learning becomes a challenge, especially in science education. Science has its own language, which has concepts, terminology, definitions and more that teachers and learners are expected to engage with. The language issues seem to weigh heavier on the learners’ scale as they are learning the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT), while they are learning science. Likewise, science teachers face their own challenges in that they are trying to teach the language of science while their learners are still in the process of learning the English language. Therefore, this research study addresses the issue of using language as a resource rather than seeing it as a challenge so that it can enhance the learners’ ability to engage with science concepts. In doing so, this study introduces a group of teachers to using VFL to teach science education through a Community of Practice. Through the use of qualitative methods such as questionnaires, video-recorded lessons and a focus group interview discussion, this study explores how VFL enhance the communication of ESL primary school science classrooms. The vehicles that were used in this study are drama, poetry, visual art, stories, and music. This study adds to the conversation around using the arts to teach science as well as the benefits thereof. One of the findings was that the learners were able to recall scientific content. Multilingual classrooms are the order of the day; therefore, language issues will be present. The teachers shared the same domain in this study within the COP. This space enhanced the opportunity for the teachers to create a community, where they were able to learn, share and grow from one another. Thus, this study encouraged teachers to step out of their comfort zone and to restructure how they teach science by including VFL. Therefore, VFL are a platform for teachers to see themselves as change agents. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Postgraduate education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Kemp, Hermione
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching , Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology , Communication -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63985 , vital:73635
- Description: Many classrooms across South Africa have teachers and learners who are English Second Language (ESL) speakers. As a result, teaching and learning becomes a challenge, especially in science education. Science has its own language, which has concepts, terminology, definitions and more that teachers and learners are expected to engage with. The language issues seem to weigh heavier on the learners’ scale as they are learning the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT), while they are learning science. Likewise, science teachers face their own challenges in that they are trying to teach the language of science while their learners are still in the process of learning the English language. Therefore, this research study addresses the issue of using language as a resource rather than seeing it as a challenge so that it can enhance the learners’ ability to engage with science concepts. In doing so, this study introduces a group of teachers to using VFL to teach science education through a Community of Practice. Through the use of qualitative methods such as questionnaires, video-recorded lessons and a focus group interview discussion, this study explores how VFL enhance the communication of ESL primary school science classrooms. The vehicles that were used in this study are drama, poetry, visual art, stories, and music. This study adds to the conversation around using the arts to teach science as well as the benefits thereof. One of the findings was that the learners were able to recall scientific content. Multilingual classrooms are the order of the day; therefore, language issues will be present. The teachers shared the same domain in this study within the COP. This space enhanced the opportunity for the teachers to create a community, where they were able to learn, share and grow from one another. Thus, this study encouraged teachers to step out of their comfort zone and to restructure how they teach science by including VFL. Therefore, VFL are a platform for teachers to see themselves as change agents. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Postgraduate education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Incorporating emotion detection in text-dependent speaker authentication
- van Rensburg, Ebenhaeser Otto Janse, Von Solms, Rossouw
- Authors: van Rensburg, Ebenhaeser Otto Janse , Von Solms, Rossouw
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Automatic speech recognition , Biometric identification , Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer networks -- Access control
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64566 , vital:73767
- Description: Biometric authentication allows a person to access sensitive information using unique physical characteristics. Voice, as a biometric authentication method, is gaining popularity due to its unique characteristics and widespread availability on smartphones and other devices. It offers a secure and user-friendly alternative to traditional password-based authentication and allows a less intrusive authentication method than fingerprint authentication. Furthermore, a vast amount of information is portrayed through voice, such as age, gender, health, and emotional state. Gaining illegitimate access to information becomes significantly more difficult as biometrics are difficult to steal, and countermeasures to techniques such as replay attacks are constantly being improved. However, illegitimate access can be gained by forcing a legitimate person to authenticate themselves through voice. This study investigates how the emotion(s) carried by voice can assist in detecting if authentication was performed under duress. Knowledge is contributed using a three-phased approach: information gathering, experimentation, and deliberation. The experimentation phase is further divided into three phases to extract data, implement findings, and assess the value of determining duress using voice. This phased approach to experimentation ensures minimal change in variables and allows the drawn conclusions to be relevant to each phase. The first phase examines datasets and classifiers; the second phase explores feature enhancement techniques and their impact; and the third phase discusses performance measurements and their value to emotion detection. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty Of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Information Technology, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: van Rensburg, Ebenhaeser Otto Janse , Von Solms, Rossouw
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Automatic speech recognition , Biometric identification , Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer networks -- Access control
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64566 , vital:73767
- Description: Biometric authentication allows a person to access sensitive information using unique physical characteristics. Voice, as a biometric authentication method, is gaining popularity due to its unique characteristics and widespread availability on smartphones and other devices. It offers a secure and user-friendly alternative to traditional password-based authentication and allows a less intrusive authentication method than fingerprint authentication. Furthermore, a vast amount of information is portrayed through voice, such as age, gender, health, and emotional state. Gaining illegitimate access to information becomes significantly more difficult as biometrics are difficult to steal, and countermeasures to techniques such as replay attacks are constantly being improved. However, illegitimate access can be gained by forcing a legitimate person to authenticate themselves through voice. This study investigates how the emotion(s) carried by voice can assist in detecting if authentication was performed under duress. Knowledge is contributed using a three-phased approach: information gathering, experimentation, and deliberation. The experimentation phase is further divided into three phases to extract data, implement findings, and assess the value of determining duress using voice. This phased approach to experimentation ensures minimal change in variables and allows the drawn conclusions to be relevant to each phase. The first phase examines datasets and classifiers; the second phase explores feature enhancement techniques and their impact; and the third phase discusses performance measurements and their value to emotion detection. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty Of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Information Technology, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Investigation of four roof-shaped host compounds for their separation potential of mixtures of guest Isomers and related compounds
- Authors: Senekal, Ulrich
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Grignard reagents , Optical isomers -- Analysis , Supramolecular chemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64368 , vital:73684
- Description: The inclusion ability of four roof-shaped host compounds, namely trans-9,10-dihydro-9,10- ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboxylic acid (H1), dimethyl trans-9,10-dihydro-9,10- ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboxylate (H2), trans-α,α,α’,α’-tetraphenyl-9,10-dihydro-9,10- ethanoanthracene-11,12-dimethanol (H3) and trans-α,α,α’,α’-tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)-9,10- dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dimethanol (H4), were investigated when presented with numerous guest series (eight in number), including the xylene isomers and ethylbenzene, pyridine and the methylpyridine isomers, structurally related toluene, ethylbenzene and cumene, the dichlorobenzenes, six-membered heterocyclic ring compounds (dioxane, morpholine, piperidine and pyridine), anisole and the methylanisole isomers, anisole and the bromoanisole guests, and phenol and the methoxyphenol isomers. The four host compounds were synthesized via Diels-Alder (H1), esterification (H2) and Grignard addition (H3 and H4) reactions, producing yields of product of up to 93%. The yields for the Grignard reactions were lower, 54 and 37%, for the corresponding procedures using phenylmagnesium bromide or 4-chlorophenylmagnesium bromide. Computational molecular modelling studies were conducted on all four host compounds, and the resultant molecular geometries compared with the apohost (guest-free) crystal structures, when available. The geometries of the lowest energy conformers were in close correlation with the observed host structures as obtained from the apohost crystal structures (unfortunately, H3 and H4 were not able to form adequate quality crystals for SCXRD analyses). Interestingly, H1–H4 displayed intramolecular non-classical C–H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonds, while only H1 and H2 demonstrated intermolecular interactions of this type. H3 and H4 assumed one of two forms depending on the guest that was employed: the “active” form presented a strong intramolecular O–H∙∙∙O hydrogen bond, while the “inactive” form possessed weak π∙∙∙π and O–H∙∙∙π interactions. All of the host compounds were subjected to crystallization experiments from each of the guest species, as well as from mixtures of guests from each series (the guest competition experiments), where 1H-, 13C-NMR spectroscopy, GC-MS and/or GC-FID were used to analyse any resultant solids formed, as applicable. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) experiments were carried out on each single solvent complex produced in this work, where the crystal quality was suitable, while thermal analyses were also employed on these to determine their relative thermal stabilities. During the single-guest crystallization experiments, H4 was found to be remarkable in its inclusion ability, forming complexes with all but p-dichlorobenzene, typically with a 1:1 host:guest (H:G) ratio. H1 was more selective in its inclusion behaviour, not enclathrating cumene, 3-bromoanisole, phenol or the three methoxyphenol isomers (favouring 1:1 or 2:1 H:G ratios where complexation was successful). Interestingly, H1 formed salts when presented with 2- and 3-methylpyridine, and morpholine and piperidine. H2 and H3 were less remarkable in their inclusion ability, furnishing apohost crystals or gels in some experiments (typically a 3:1 H:G ratio was favoured for both when complexation occurred). Of the four roof-shaped host compounds, H1 and H4 displayed enhanced selectivities for certain guest species, showing near-complete affinity for a specific guest compound when presented with a guest mixture. H1 was able to include 100.0 and 98.8% p-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB) (from m-DCB/p-DCB and o-DCB/p-DCB mixtures), 96.6 and 93.6% p-xylene (p-Xy) (from m-Xy/p-Xy and o-Xy/p-Xy), 99.3% 4-methylanisole (4-MA) (from 2-MA/4-MA) and 97.1% 4-bromoanisole (4-BA) (from ANI/2-BA/3-BA/4-BA, where ANI is anisole). Host compound H4 was able to include ≈ 90% of selected meta-substituted guests, while H2 and H3 demonstrated moderate preferences for the guest compounds employed in this work (< 60%). It was concluded that some xylene guest mixtures may be purified using all but H2, whereas only H1 and H2 showed potential in separating the pyridines. All but H2 may also be employed in the separation of selected dichlorobenzene mixtures, while H2 showed potential for the separation of the six-membered heterocyclic guest compounds (dioxane, morpholine, piperidine and pyridine), were these ever required to be separated. Both H1 and H4 exhibited an overwhelming affinity for the methyl- and bromoanisole guest compounds, and this work has shown that these are likely host candidates for the purification of a variety of these guest mixtures through supramolecular strategies. SCXRD analyses showed that H1 experienced intermolecular host···host hydrogen bonding interactions between the carboxylic acid functional groups, while H2 typically demonstrated intermolecular non-classical hydrogen bonds in its complexes, forming sheets of host molecules along the c-axis. H4 preferred the “inactive” form whereas H3 assumed either an “active” or “inactive“ form. Various host···guest interactions such as π∙∙∙π, C–H∙∙∙π, C–O∙∙∙π, hydrogen bonding and other short contacts were responsible for guest retention in the crystal structures. Thermal analyses were conducted on all of the successfully formed complexes. Ton (the guest release onset temperature) and Tp (the temperature at which the guest release was most rapid) were recorded, when possible, while the mass losses associated with the guest release event were compared with those mass losses expected, in most cases. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Biomolecular & Chemical Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Senekal, Ulrich
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Grignard reagents , Optical isomers -- Analysis , Supramolecular chemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64368 , vital:73684
- Description: The inclusion ability of four roof-shaped host compounds, namely trans-9,10-dihydro-9,10- ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboxylic acid (H1), dimethyl trans-9,10-dihydro-9,10- ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboxylate (H2), trans-α,α,α’,α’-tetraphenyl-9,10-dihydro-9,10- ethanoanthracene-11,12-dimethanol (H3) and trans-α,α,α’,α’-tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)-9,10- dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dimethanol (H4), were investigated when presented with numerous guest series (eight in number), including the xylene isomers and ethylbenzene, pyridine and the methylpyridine isomers, structurally related toluene, ethylbenzene and cumene, the dichlorobenzenes, six-membered heterocyclic ring compounds (dioxane, morpholine, piperidine and pyridine), anisole and the methylanisole isomers, anisole and the bromoanisole guests, and phenol and the methoxyphenol isomers. The four host compounds were synthesized via Diels-Alder (H1), esterification (H2) and Grignard addition (H3 and H4) reactions, producing yields of product of up to 93%. The yields for the Grignard reactions were lower, 54 and 37%, for the corresponding procedures using phenylmagnesium bromide or 4-chlorophenylmagnesium bromide. Computational molecular modelling studies were conducted on all four host compounds, and the resultant molecular geometries compared with the apohost (guest-free) crystal structures, when available. The geometries of the lowest energy conformers were in close correlation with the observed host structures as obtained from the apohost crystal structures (unfortunately, H3 and H4 were not able to form adequate quality crystals for SCXRD analyses). Interestingly, H1–H4 displayed intramolecular non-classical C–H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonds, while only H1 and H2 demonstrated intermolecular interactions of this type. H3 and H4 assumed one of two forms depending on the guest that was employed: the “active” form presented a strong intramolecular O–H∙∙∙O hydrogen bond, while the “inactive” form possessed weak π∙∙∙π and O–H∙∙∙π interactions. All of the host compounds were subjected to crystallization experiments from each of the guest species, as well as from mixtures of guests from each series (the guest competition experiments), where 1H-, 13C-NMR spectroscopy, GC-MS and/or GC-FID were used to analyse any resultant solids formed, as applicable. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) experiments were carried out on each single solvent complex produced in this work, where the crystal quality was suitable, while thermal analyses were also employed on these to determine their relative thermal stabilities. During the single-guest crystallization experiments, H4 was found to be remarkable in its inclusion ability, forming complexes with all but p-dichlorobenzene, typically with a 1:1 host:guest (H:G) ratio. H1 was more selective in its inclusion behaviour, not enclathrating cumene, 3-bromoanisole, phenol or the three methoxyphenol isomers (favouring 1:1 or 2:1 H:G ratios where complexation was successful). Interestingly, H1 formed salts when presented with 2- and 3-methylpyridine, and morpholine and piperidine. H2 and H3 were less remarkable in their inclusion ability, furnishing apohost crystals or gels in some experiments (typically a 3:1 H:G ratio was favoured for both when complexation occurred). Of the four roof-shaped host compounds, H1 and H4 displayed enhanced selectivities for certain guest species, showing near-complete affinity for a specific guest compound when presented with a guest mixture. H1 was able to include 100.0 and 98.8% p-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB) (from m-DCB/p-DCB and o-DCB/p-DCB mixtures), 96.6 and 93.6% p-xylene (p-Xy) (from m-Xy/p-Xy and o-Xy/p-Xy), 99.3% 4-methylanisole (4-MA) (from 2-MA/4-MA) and 97.1% 4-bromoanisole (4-BA) (from ANI/2-BA/3-BA/4-BA, where ANI is anisole). Host compound H4 was able to include ≈ 90% of selected meta-substituted guests, while H2 and H3 demonstrated moderate preferences for the guest compounds employed in this work (< 60%). It was concluded that some xylene guest mixtures may be purified using all but H2, whereas only H1 and H2 showed potential in separating the pyridines. All but H2 may also be employed in the separation of selected dichlorobenzene mixtures, while H2 showed potential for the separation of the six-membered heterocyclic guest compounds (dioxane, morpholine, piperidine and pyridine), were these ever required to be separated. Both H1 and H4 exhibited an overwhelming affinity for the methyl- and bromoanisole guest compounds, and this work has shown that these are likely host candidates for the purification of a variety of these guest mixtures through supramolecular strategies. SCXRD analyses showed that H1 experienced intermolecular host···host hydrogen bonding interactions between the carboxylic acid functional groups, while H2 typically demonstrated intermolecular non-classical hydrogen bonds in its complexes, forming sheets of host molecules along the c-axis. H4 preferred the “inactive” form whereas H3 assumed either an “active” or “inactive“ form. Various host···guest interactions such as π∙∙∙π, C–H∙∙∙π, C–O∙∙∙π, hydrogen bonding and other short contacts were responsible for guest retention in the crystal structures. Thermal analyses were conducted on all of the successfully formed complexes. Ton (the guest release onset temperature) and Tp (the temperature at which the guest release was most rapid) were recorded, when possible, while the mass losses associated with the guest release event were compared with those mass losses expected, in most cases. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Biomolecular & Chemical Sciences, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Learners’ understanding of their linguistic resources as a basis for learning natural sciences
- Authors: Thorne, Rochelle Eugenia
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology , Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64049 , vital:73646
- Description: With eleven official languages, South Africa is known for its multilingual environment. Despite this, the country's educational system heavily favours English and Afrikaans. Despite the varied linguistic backgrounds of learners, English continues to be used as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), which raises questions regarding fair access to education. Within the context of South Africa's constitution and policy frameworks, particularly the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), this study aims to investigate how group work activities in a Natural Sciences classroom can give learners an opportunity to mobilise their multilingual repertoires. Three formerly Afrikaans-medium high schools in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, were the sites for this research which focuses on Grade Nine Natural Sciences learners. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, classroom observations, and focus groups, the study explores how learners make use of their language resources to navigate science instruction in English. The results contest the idea that languages are distinct entities and show that learners use language interchangeably as a learning tool, a practice known as translanguaging. Group work becomes an important space in which learners exercise agency in language selection, enabling the link of dialogical, multilingual, and cultural responses. Sociocultural theory offers insights into group work relationships and provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how learners use language to understand scientific topics. Building on Gibbons' mode continuum (2003), which maps the shifts in discourse in classroom contexts from every day talk at the “here and now” to more specialized talk, the study also explored an expanded continuum which aimed at clarifying the nuances of language and cognitive progression among learners working in collaborative groups. This study adds to the conversation about language ideologies by recognising the ideologies of inclusion, access and identity which informed learners’ thinking and attitudes to language choice in education. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of a sophisticated comprehension of multilingual repertoires in the classroom. In order to better accommodate the changing linguistic patterns of multilingual learners, the study recommends re-evaluating language policies and encouraging educators to exploit the potential of group work to develop understanding of scientific concepts. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Post Graduate Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Thorne, Rochelle Eugenia
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Linguistic analysis (Linguistics) , Science -- Study and teaching -- Methodology , Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64049 , vital:73646
- Description: With eleven official languages, South Africa is known for its multilingual environment. Despite this, the country's educational system heavily favours English and Afrikaans. Despite the varied linguistic backgrounds of learners, English continues to be used as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT), which raises questions regarding fair access to education. Within the context of South Africa's constitution and policy frameworks, particularly the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), this study aims to investigate how group work activities in a Natural Sciences classroom can give learners an opportunity to mobilise their multilingual repertoires. Three formerly Afrikaans-medium high schools in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, were the sites for this research which focuses on Grade Nine Natural Sciences learners. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, classroom observations, and focus groups, the study explores how learners make use of their language resources to navigate science instruction in English. The results contest the idea that languages are distinct entities and show that learners use language interchangeably as a learning tool, a practice known as translanguaging. Group work becomes an important space in which learners exercise agency in language selection, enabling the link of dialogical, multilingual, and cultural responses. Sociocultural theory offers insights into group work relationships and provides the theoretical foundation for understanding how learners use language to understand scientific topics. Building on Gibbons' mode continuum (2003), which maps the shifts in discourse in classroom contexts from every day talk at the “here and now” to more specialized talk, the study also explored an expanded continuum which aimed at clarifying the nuances of language and cognitive progression among learners working in collaborative groups. This study adds to the conversation about language ideologies by recognising the ideologies of inclusion, access and identity which informed learners’ thinking and attitudes to language choice in education. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of a sophisticated comprehension of multilingual repertoires in the classroom. In order to better accommodate the changing linguistic patterns of multilingual learners, the study recommends re-evaluating language policies and encouraging educators to exploit the potential of group work to develop understanding of scientific concepts. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Education, School of Post Graduate Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Micro-insurance and rural micro-enterprises in the North West Province of South Africa
- Authors: Molefe, Samuel Seabelo
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Insurance -- South Africa -- North West Province , Small business -- South Africa -- North West Province , Business enterprises -- Insurance
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/65208 , vital:74049
- Description: The Provision of micro-insurance in developing countries' rural areas is quite important, but not without its share of challenges. Among those challenges are logistics and demand. Several problems experienced by developing countries, including moral hazards, adverse selection, correlated risks, high transaction costs, and lack of data, negatively impacting access to insurance, were identified. Other researchers are, however, hard at work trying to come up with solutions to address those challenges. The selective coverage by insurance providers leaves a large segment of the world’s poor population in the hundred poorest countries with limited or no access to micro-insurance. North West province of South Africa, was identified as one of the top four rural provinces, with a higher percentage of people living in poverty. The province was selected for the study, with the purpose of determining the relationship between micro-insurance and micro-enterprises. The study followed a mixed methodology design, with pragmatism as a research paradigm. The research instruments used were interviews focus group discussions (18 participants), and survey questionnaires (112 respondents). Data was collected using concurrent triangulated mixed methods from both strands, qualitative and quantitative were analyzed, and the results were merged and corroborated. The main finding is that micro-entrepreneurs do not have business micro-insurance and would be willing to have one if it existed. What emerged from other findings is that there is a positive relationship between trust and willingness to purchase insurance, as well as a positive relationship between risk and insurance demand. Furthermore, there are negative relationships between shocks and insurance demand, demand and prevalence, and the inclusion and demand for insurance. This is contrary to what is in literature. There is further, evidence of more dependence on funeral and death benefits, other than on investment and savings micro-insurance policies. This study recommended that there should be a national policy in place to address challenges experienced by micro-entrepreneurs in terms of access to insurance. Also, potential micro-insurance service providers deserve leniency through the lowering of entry barriers such as capital adequacy requirements. Furthermore, the issue of illegal or unregistered service providers must be addressed to protect consumers. It was also recommended that more awareness be created through tribal administrations, by micro-insurance regulators and service providers, to promote inclusion among micro-entrepreneurs and other rural low-income earners in general. In conclusion, it is envisaged that this exploration will lead to an applicable model that can assist insurance service providers and other stakeholders in coming up with innovative micro-insurance product packages. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Molefe, Samuel Seabelo
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Insurance -- South Africa -- North West Province , Small business -- South Africa -- North West Province , Business enterprises -- Insurance
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/65208 , vital:74049
- Description: The Provision of micro-insurance in developing countries' rural areas is quite important, but not without its share of challenges. Among those challenges are logistics and demand. Several problems experienced by developing countries, including moral hazards, adverse selection, correlated risks, high transaction costs, and lack of data, negatively impacting access to insurance, were identified. Other researchers are, however, hard at work trying to come up with solutions to address those challenges. The selective coverage by insurance providers leaves a large segment of the world’s poor population in the hundred poorest countries with limited or no access to micro-insurance. North West province of South Africa, was identified as one of the top four rural provinces, with a higher percentage of people living in poverty. The province was selected for the study, with the purpose of determining the relationship between micro-insurance and micro-enterprises. The study followed a mixed methodology design, with pragmatism as a research paradigm. The research instruments used were interviews focus group discussions (18 participants), and survey questionnaires (112 respondents). Data was collected using concurrent triangulated mixed methods from both strands, qualitative and quantitative were analyzed, and the results were merged and corroborated. The main finding is that micro-entrepreneurs do not have business micro-insurance and would be willing to have one if it existed. What emerged from other findings is that there is a positive relationship between trust and willingness to purchase insurance, as well as a positive relationship between risk and insurance demand. Furthermore, there are negative relationships between shocks and insurance demand, demand and prevalence, and the inclusion and demand for insurance. This is contrary to what is in literature. There is further, evidence of more dependence on funeral and death benefits, other than on investment and savings micro-insurance policies. This study recommended that there should be a national policy in place to address challenges experienced by micro-entrepreneurs in terms of access to insurance. Also, potential micro-insurance service providers deserve leniency through the lowering of entry barriers such as capital adequacy requirements. Furthermore, the issue of illegal or unregistered service providers must be addressed to protect consumers. It was also recommended that more awareness be created through tribal administrations, by micro-insurance regulators and service providers, to promote inclusion among micro-entrepreneurs and other rural low-income earners in general. In conclusion, it is envisaged that this exploration will lead to an applicable model that can assist insurance service providers and other stakeholders in coming up with innovative micro-insurance product packages. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Multi-purpose community centres as catalysts for socio-economic development in Eastern Cape province, South Africa
- Gobe, Cynthia Bongiwe Ntombikayise
- Authors: Gobe, Cynthia Bongiwe Ntombikayise
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Community centers -- South Africa , Buildings -- Environmental engineering -- South Africa , Sustainable construction -- Economic aspects , Infrastructure (Economics) -- South Africa Sustainable development
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64533 , vital:73747
- Description: The central issue facing African society, especially underdeveloped countries is that most of the population lives below the poverty line, experiences high levels of unemployment and unsustainable livelihoods. The poor and marginalised groups in many communities are deprived access to infrastructure and socio-economic amenities, this includes accessibility to government services, information, and developmental opportunities. The development of Multi-purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) is viewed as a value-adding solution to several challenges facing unequal societies, such as inadequate infrastructure, remote settlement patterns, poor access to basic services, poor access to technology, poor access to information, increased unemployment rate, increased poverty rate, and many others. The study examines the socio-economic impact of MPCCs on municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and explores how these centres, as built environment outputs can become a stimulus for sustainable livelihoods in urban, rural, and peri-urban human settlements, including informal settlements. The study falls under implementation evaluation research methodologies which assesses whether a programme has been adequately implemented before making inference on its effectiveness. Anchored in a Social Constructivism knowledge paradigm and leaning on a Systems and Development Theories, the study adopted a Mixed Method Research approach. In view of the data required document reviews, field observations, interviews and questionnaire surveys were employed. The research findings revealed that despite the delivery of MPCCs by the Department of Human Settlements, these centers have not provided much socio-economic opportunities to members of the communities where they are built. The MPCCs under study are facing many challenges that render them ineffective to fulfill their mandate of improving the lives of residents. The study yielded an inclusive and responsive human settlements development model for the creation of well-functioning socio-economic impactful MPCCs within existing and forth-coming housing projects and informal settlements. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Gobe, Cynthia Bongiwe Ntombikayise
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Community centers -- South Africa , Buildings -- Environmental engineering -- South Africa , Sustainable construction -- Economic aspects , Infrastructure (Economics) -- South Africa Sustainable development
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64533 , vital:73747
- Description: The central issue facing African society, especially underdeveloped countries is that most of the population lives below the poverty line, experiences high levels of unemployment and unsustainable livelihoods. The poor and marginalised groups in many communities are deprived access to infrastructure and socio-economic amenities, this includes accessibility to government services, information, and developmental opportunities. The development of Multi-purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) is viewed as a value-adding solution to several challenges facing unequal societies, such as inadequate infrastructure, remote settlement patterns, poor access to basic services, poor access to technology, poor access to information, increased unemployment rate, increased poverty rate, and many others. The study examines the socio-economic impact of MPCCs on municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and explores how these centres, as built environment outputs can become a stimulus for sustainable livelihoods in urban, rural, and peri-urban human settlements, including informal settlements. The study falls under implementation evaluation research methodologies which assesses whether a programme has been adequately implemented before making inference on its effectiveness. Anchored in a Social Constructivism knowledge paradigm and leaning on a Systems and Development Theories, the study adopted a Mixed Method Research approach. In view of the data required document reviews, field observations, interviews and questionnaire surveys were employed. The research findings revealed that despite the delivery of MPCCs by the Department of Human Settlements, these centers have not provided much socio-economic opportunities to members of the communities where they are built. The MPCCs under study are facing many challenges that render them ineffective to fulfill their mandate of improving the lives of residents. The study yielded an inclusive and responsive human settlements development model for the creation of well-functioning socio-economic impactful MPCCs within existing and forth-coming housing projects and informal settlements. , Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in the South African transport state-owned enterprises
- Authors: Calvert, Candice
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Organizational behavior -- South Africa , Government business enterprises -- South Africa , Government ownership -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64896 , vital:73944
- Description: The transport sector is critically important for economic growth and sustainability of a country and therefore requires carefully crafted strategical policies aimed at social enhancements. Employees who are employed in the major South African transport sector’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) carry the responsibility of providing quality and effective services, thus, they are executing the mandate of the National Department of Transport (NDoT). Therefore, their willingness to contribute positively to the goals of the sector, is critically important. Extra-roles and positive behaviours displayed by employees ensure that organisations gain competitive advantage over competitors. These special behaviours are documented in literature as organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB). OCB is referred to as voluntary positive behaviours displayed by employees, which benefit the organisation and improve the overall performance of employees and the organisation but are not recognised by the reward system of the organisation. The scarcity of literature pertaining to OCB in SOEs and in particular, the transport sector globally indicates that OCB is not entrenched in organisational cultures in this sector. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the views of management and employees regarding the influential factors and the outcomes of OCB in South Africa’s major SOEs in the transport sector. A hypothetical model and a questionnaire were developed to establish the influential factors of OCB and its outcomes on the performance of South Africa’s major transport SOEs. Eight independent variables (leadership styles, organisational culture, management support, personal importance, transparency, job autonomy, employee trust and organisational commitment), the intervening variable (organisational citizenship behaviour) and the dependent variables (employee performance and employee retention) were investigated. Primary data was collected by means of electronic questionnaires, which were distributed to five provinces via a QuestionPro link that was emailed to the contact person nominated by the HR department of the two major transport SOEs. Hard copies of the questionnaire were also physically distributed to prospective participants by the researcher. Non-probability sampling was used, specifically convenience sampling technique. The study targeted 500 respondents and 318 questionnaires were usable which amounts to a response rate of 64%. The reliability of the measuring instrument was determined by means of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and the construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Content validity for the measuring instrument was validated by experts in the fields of organisational behaviour and change management, prior to the distribution of the questionnaire to participants. EFA, descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and correlation analysis were determined. A STATISTICA computer programme 14.0 was used. The results of the study showed that OCB, which was tested as a seven-dimensional construct, namely, altruism, sportsmanship, loyalty, individual initiative, civic virtue, courtesy, and self-development, was perceived by respondents as two constructs, namely, OCB-selflessness (OCB-S) (altruism, sportsmanship, individual initiative, courtesy and self-development) and OCB-reliability (OCB-R) (civic virtue and loyalty). The empirical results revealed that personal importance is significantly related to OCB-S, but is not significantly related to OCB-R. Furthermore, the findings showed that transparency is not significantly related to OCB-S, however, there is a significant positive relationship between transparency and OCB-R. It was also found that job autonomy is not significantly related to OCB-S, and has a significant negative relationship with OCB-R. In addition, the research findings showed that employee trust and organisational commitment are significantly related to both OCB-S and OCB-R. OCB-S and OCB-R were found to be significantly related to employee performance and employee retention. This study contributed to the body of knowledge in the fields of organisational behaviour and human resources. Furthermore, the study will contribute to policy makers and management within the transport sector of South Africa and globally in order to develop policies and devise strategies to combat negative workplace environments, stimulate service delivery, and improve the competitive advantage of the organisation and the economic sustainability in the transport sector globally, through employee performance and employee retention. , Thesis (DBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business School, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Calvert, Candice
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Organizational behavior -- South Africa , Government business enterprises -- South Africa , Government ownership -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64896 , vital:73944
- Description: The transport sector is critically important for economic growth and sustainability of a country and therefore requires carefully crafted strategical policies aimed at social enhancements. Employees who are employed in the major South African transport sector’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) carry the responsibility of providing quality and effective services, thus, they are executing the mandate of the National Department of Transport (NDoT). Therefore, their willingness to contribute positively to the goals of the sector, is critically important. Extra-roles and positive behaviours displayed by employees ensure that organisations gain competitive advantage over competitors. These special behaviours are documented in literature as organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB). OCB is referred to as voluntary positive behaviours displayed by employees, which benefit the organisation and improve the overall performance of employees and the organisation but are not recognised by the reward system of the organisation. The scarcity of literature pertaining to OCB in SOEs and in particular, the transport sector globally indicates that OCB is not entrenched in organisational cultures in this sector. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the views of management and employees regarding the influential factors and the outcomes of OCB in South Africa’s major SOEs in the transport sector. A hypothetical model and a questionnaire were developed to establish the influential factors of OCB and its outcomes on the performance of South Africa’s major transport SOEs. Eight independent variables (leadership styles, organisational culture, management support, personal importance, transparency, job autonomy, employee trust and organisational commitment), the intervening variable (organisational citizenship behaviour) and the dependent variables (employee performance and employee retention) were investigated. Primary data was collected by means of electronic questionnaires, which were distributed to five provinces via a QuestionPro link that was emailed to the contact person nominated by the HR department of the two major transport SOEs. Hard copies of the questionnaire were also physically distributed to prospective participants by the researcher. Non-probability sampling was used, specifically convenience sampling technique. The study targeted 500 respondents and 318 questionnaires were usable which amounts to a response rate of 64%. The reliability of the measuring instrument was determined by means of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and the construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Content validity for the measuring instrument was validated by experts in the fields of organisational behaviour and change management, prior to the distribution of the questionnaire to participants. EFA, descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and correlation analysis were determined. A STATISTICA computer programme 14.0 was used. The results of the study showed that OCB, which was tested as a seven-dimensional construct, namely, altruism, sportsmanship, loyalty, individual initiative, civic virtue, courtesy, and self-development, was perceived by respondents as two constructs, namely, OCB-selflessness (OCB-S) (altruism, sportsmanship, individual initiative, courtesy and self-development) and OCB-reliability (OCB-R) (civic virtue and loyalty). The empirical results revealed that personal importance is significantly related to OCB-S, but is not significantly related to OCB-R. Furthermore, the findings showed that transparency is not significantly related to OCB-S, however, there is a significant positive relationship between transparency and OCB-R. It was also found that job autonomy is not significantly related to OCB-S, and has a significant negative relationship with OCB-R. In addition, the research findings showed that employee trust and organisational commitment are significantly related to both OCB-S and OCB-R. OCB-S and OCB-R were found to be significantly related to employee performance and employee retention. This study contributed to the body of knowledge in the fields of organisational behaviour and human resources. Furthermore, the study will contribute to policy makers and management within the transport sector of South Africa and globally in order to develop policies and devise strategies to combat negative workplace environments, stimulate service delivery, and improve the competitive advantage of the organisation and the economic sustainability in the transport sector globally, through employee performance and employee retention. , Thesis (DBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business School, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Scenarios for re-imagining the digital landscape of South African organizations
- Authors: Watson, Storm Brandon
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Cyberinfrastructure , Sustainability -- Technological innovations
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/66116 , vital:74356
- Description: The primary objective of this study was to develop and evaluate scenarios for re-imagining the digital landscape of South African organizations. This study aimed to re-imagine the future of South African organizations, focusing on developing a framework for the re-imagination of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to create a generic framework that could be incorporated by other organizations or sectors in South Africa to re-imagine their digital landscapes. The Council of Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa identifies the core functions of HEIs as teaching and learning, research and innovation, and community engagement. For this study, primary data was collected through the analysis of the 2021 annual reports and official websites of the 26 public universities in South Africa, which are known as HEIs. An environmental scan was conducted through content analysis of these sources to identify current trends and key uncertainties affecting the institution's core functions of teaching and learning, research and innovation, as well as community engagement concerning their digital landscape of South African HEIs, with separate scenarios crafted for each function. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Management Sciences, 2024
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Watson, Storm Brandon
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Cyberinfrastructure , Sustainability -- Technological innovations
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/66116 , vital:74356
- Description: The primary objective of this study was to develop and evaluate scenarios for re-imagining the digital landscape of South African organizations. This study aimed to re-imagine the future of South African organizations, focusing on developing a framework for the re-imagination of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to create a generic framework that could be incorporated by other organizations or sectors in South Africa to re-imagine their digital landscapes. The Council of Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa identifies the core functions of HEIs as teaching and learning, research and innovation, and community engagement. For this study, primary data was collected through the analysis of the 2021 annual reports and official websites of the 26 public universities in South Africa, which are known as HEIs. An environmental scan was conducted through content analysis of these sources to identify current trends and key uncertainties affecting the institution's core functions of teaching and learning, research and innovation, as well as community engagement concerning their digital landscape of South African HEIs, with separate scenarios crafted for each function. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Management Sciences, 2024
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2024-04