An Assessment of Control Systems in Asset Management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services, Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Dobela,Yola Colleen
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Asset management accounts
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13337 , vital:39635
- Description: The aim of this study is to assess control systems in asset management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services. It seeks to establish how control systems are used as asset management tools for financial reporting and for compliance with financial management prescripts as prescribed by the Auditor-General. The specific objectives of the study are to assess the nature of control systems used in asset management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services; to establish the extent to which financial reporting control systems comply with financial management regulations prescribed by the Auditor-General; and to establish the mechanisms, processes, and procedures that are in place at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services for compliance with financial management regulations in asset management This study is motivated by the repetition of qualified audit reports on asset management the Middledrift Department of Correctional services keeps on receiving over the years. The study is therefore, significant in that it seeks to address how the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services can best address issues of complying fully with financial management regulations in asset management, so as to ensure that issues highlighted in the Auditor-General’s report do not recur. This study adopted a qualitative research methodology. Data was collected by means of interviews, focus-group discussions, observations and official documents. In-depth interviews were conducted with the head of the correctional centre, head of supply chain management and four employees within the supply chain management section. Focus group interviews were conducted in three groups. The first and second group consisted of 5 asset controllers each and the third group consisted of 5 sub-asset controllers. The researcher observed how assets are verified in the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services, and observed the process of asset reconciliation between Basic Accounting System and Logistical Information System. The sample for this study consisted of 21 respondents (n=21)comprising of the following respondents: the head of correctional centre, head of supply chain management, four employees within the supply chain management section, 10 asset controllers and five sub-asset controllers. The respondents were selected using purposive/judgemental sampling. Data obtained through transcribed in-depth interviews, focus group discussions was transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data as well as data from observations were analysed using opencoding. Emerging codes and patterns were clustered into themes the data was compared within the categories to establish connections in the meanings as well as variations. The results of the ii study suggests that control systems used in asset management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services are far from satisfactory. Results reveal lack of adequate training on asset management for officials. The results further indicate that there is a communication barrier between asset controllers and supply chain management officials, which is a challenge for the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services. The researcher recommends that inhouse trainings and workshops on asset management should be provided to ensure that officials in all sections of the department are capacitated on what asset management is all about and that they acquire more knowledge, skills and capacity on how to effectively manage assets of the department. The study also recommends, the need for a directorate for asset management, so that there is a unit dedicated to managing the assets of the department. The study further recommends that communication between officials in the supply chain management unit and asset controllers in the department has to be consistent and strengthened since many processes surrounding asset management rely on the cooperation of multiple officials. This study contributes public administration practise in that it adds to knowledge that can assist public officials to adopt effective and appropriate control systems and procedures in managing public sector assets, to ensure that assets are managed and utilised in the most effective and economical way. The study also identifies gaps in control systems in asset management, thereby providing a basis for further research by other researchers. The study is therefore a significant contribution to theory and practice, it provides guidelines to the public sector and specifically public officials at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services on ways to improve control systems in asset management.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dobela,Yola Colleen
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Asset management accounts
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13337 , vital:39635
- Description: The aim of this study is to assess control systems in asset management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services. It seeks to establish how control systems are used as asset management tools for financial reporting and for compliance with financial management prescripts as prescribed by the Auditor-General. The specific objectives of the study are to assess the nature of control systems used in asset management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services; to establish the extent to which financial reporting control systems comply with financial management regulations prescribed by the Auditor-General; and to establish the mechanisms, processes, and procedures that are in place at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services for compliance with financial management regulations in asset management This study is motivated by the repetition of qualified audit reports on asset management the Middledrift Department of Correctional services keeps on receiving over the years. The study is therefore, significant in that it seeks to address how the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services can best address issues of complying fully with financial management regulations in asset management, so as to ensure that issues highlighted in the Auditor-General’s report do not recur. This study adopted a qualitative research methodology. Data was collected by means of interviews, focus-group discussions, observations and official documents. In-depth interviews were conducted with the head of the correctional centre, head of supply chain management and four employees within the supply chain management section. Focus group interviews were conducted in three groups. The first and second group consisted of 5 asset controllers each and the third group consisted of 5 sub-asset controllers. The researcher observed how assets are verified in the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services, and observed the process of asset reconciliation between Basic Accounting System and Logistical Information System. The sample for this study consisted of 21 respondents (n=21)comprising of the following respondents: the head of correctional centre, head of supply chain management, four employees within the supply chain management section, 10 asset controllers and five sub-asset controllers. The respondents were selected using purposive/judgemental sampling. Data obtained through transcribed in-depth interviews, focus group discussions was transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data as well as data from observations were analysed using opencoding. Emerging codes and patterns were clustered into themes the data was compared within the categories to establish connections in the meanings as well as variations. The results of the ii study suggests that control systems used in asset management at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services are far from satisfactory. Results reveal lack of adequate training on asset management for officials. The results further indicate that there is a communication barrier between asset controllers and supply chain management officials, which is a challenge for the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services. The researcher recommends that inhouse trainings and workshops on asset management should be provided to ensure that officials in all sections of the department are capacitated on what asset management is all about and that they acquire more knowledge, skills and capacity on how to effectively manage assets of the department. The study also recommends, the need for a directorate for asset management, so that there is a unit dedicated to managing the assets of the department. The study further recommends that communication between officials in the supply chain management unit and asset controllers in the department has to be consistent and strengthened since many processes surrounding asset management rely on the cooperation of multiple officials. This study contributes public administration practise in that it adds to knowledge that can assist public officials to adopt effective and appropriate control systems and procedures in managing public sector assets, to ensure that assets are managed and utilised in the most effective and economical way. The study also identifies gaps in control systems in asset management, thereby providing a basis for further research by other researchers. The study is therefore a significant contribution to theory and practice, it provides guidelines to the public sector and specifically public officials at the Middledrift Department of Correctional Services on ways to improve control systems in asset management.
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Evaluation of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design Principles at the University of Fort Hare, Alice Campus
- Authors: Mditshwa, Abongile Sisanda
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Crime prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc.Sci (Criminology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17695 , vital:41137
- Description: The University of Fort Hare Alice campus experiences high crime rates. To address this problem, and add to the literature, this study applied the Crime Prevention through Environmental design (CPTED) model to measure the effectiveness of the crime prevention strategies at the University of Fort Hare (Alice campus). The aim of this study was to evaluate the sufficiency of surveillance and visibility, target hardening, maintenance and management at the University of Fort Hare, which contribute to the reduction of criminal activities around campus. The study further sought to evaluate the perceptions of students regarding their safety on campus by way of soliciting their experiences and observations. This study used the quantitative method, and questionnaires were distributed to the students in the Alice campus to collect data. The study found that whilst a marginal majority of students felt safe, a large proportion of students felt unsafe on campus. The study also found that students were dissatisfied with the service and found the security officers to be incompetent and un-trained. The study evaluated the sufficiency of crime prevention measures implemented within the university. One crucial aspect that emerged from the study is that CPTED principles were not sufficiently implemented to their fullest and the perception of the majority of students was that security personnel were not functioning in the way that they should, and measures such as adequate lighting were lacking. As a result, students felt unsafe on campus, especially during the night .The study concluded that there are clear increased feelings of vulnerability among students at the University of Fort Hare. The measures that are currently in place are not sufficient; therefore there is need for implementation of CPTED principles. It was recommended that the University increases number of CCTV surveillance cameras on campus, Social gathering places be surrounded by security guards for patrols, lighting recommendations that are modern and in proper design, keep up with repairs, make necessary replacements, paint, trim, current campus buildings e updated to meet recent CPTED practises etc.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mditshwa, Abongile Sisanda
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Crime prevention
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc.Sci (Criminology)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17695 , vital:41137
- Description: The University of Fort Hare Alice campus experiences high crime rates. To address this problem, and add to the literature, this study applied the Crime Prevention through Environmental design (CPTED) model to measure the effectiveness of the crime prevention strategies at the University of Fort Hare (Alice campus). The aim of this study was to evaluate the sufficiency of surveillance and visibility, target hardening, maintenance and management at the University of Fort Hare, which contribute to the reduction of criminal activities around campus. The study further sought to evaluate the perceptions of students regarding their safety on campus by way of soliciting their experiences and observations. This study used the quantitative method, and questionnaires were distributed to the students in the Alice campus to collect data. The study found that whilst a marginal majority of students felt safe, a large proportion of students felt unsafe on campus. The study also found that students were dissatisfied with the service and found the security officers to be incompetent and un-trained. The study evaluated the sufficiency of crime prevention measures implemented within the university. One crucial aspect that emerged from the study is that CPTED principles were not sufficiently implemented to their fullest and the perception of the majority of students was that security personnel were not functioning in the way that they should, and measures such as adequate lighting were lacking. As a result, students felt unsafe on campus, especially during the night .The study concluded that there are clear increased feelings of vulnerability among students at the University of Fort Hare. The measures that are currently in place are not sufficient; therefore there is need for implementation of CPTED principles. It was recommended that the University increases number of CCTV surveillance cameras on campus, Social gathering places be surrounded by security guards for patrols, lighting recommendations that are modern and in proper design, keep up with repairs, make necessary replacements, paint, trim, current campus buildings e updated to meet recent CPTED practises etc.
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Exploring the underpinning factors that contribute to the involvement of children in criminal behaviour: A case of King William’s Town”
- Authors: Mbomvana, Anelisa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: juvenile delinquency Parent and child
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16220 , vital:40700
- Description: Crime, in its daily occurrence, makes everyone a victim; whether of primary, secondary or of tertiary victimization, which has connotations of either direct or indirect victimization. It affects everyone and every sector. The involvement and the perpetration of crime by children, owing to a number of social dynamics, has serious implications and repercussions on children and how they later on conduct themselves. The aim of the study was to explore the factors that underpin criminal behaviour in children. The qualitative research method was adopted in the study and it informed the data collection and analysis processes of the study. Interviews and a focus group discussions were, therefore used to gain insight into the experiences of the participants. Through the use of purposive sampling, thirty five (35) participants comprising key and focus participants who were children in conflict with the law, their parents, the community members, social workers, probation officers and youth care workers from a certain Child and Youth Care Rehabilitation centre in King William’s Town were selected. The findings revealed that it was a variety of multi-factorial components that influenced criminal behaviour in children, and amongst those were individual, family, community and school factors. However, it was found that the impact of these detrimental factors identified was not comparable to the impact of the parent in the life of a child. The propensity and the extent to which these factors can affect a child was found as less probable where strong relationships were maintained between the parents and their children. This further implies that nurture was found to be very pivotal, as the role of the parents and of family support were found to be the most significant in children. Single parenting, father absence, undisclosed paternal identities, parental ignorance, poor parenting, and divorce were issues that emerged and were indicated in the study to be potentially harmful in the lives of children. A strong correlation was found between ignorant parenting and ill behavior in children as it was also found that parental conduct was very important as it defined the family’s wellbeing. A corresponding relationship was also established between dropping out of school and crime due to the fact that an overwhelming number of child offenders who participated in the study had dropped out of school. It was v further concluded that in spite of the social work profession’s adoption of the developmental approach, the propensity and timing the interventions took place was compared to those of the residual approach wherein the welfare system intervened as a measure of last resort. The study recommends that emphasis needs to be stressed on family based programmes in order to protect and secure the spontaneous growth of children
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mbomvana, Anelisa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: juvenile delinquency Parent and child
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSW
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16220 , vital:40700
- Description: Crime, in its daily occurrence, makes everyone a victim; whether of primary, secondary or of tertiary victimization, which has connotations of either direct or indirect victimization. It affects everyone and every sector. The involvement and the perpetration of crime by children, owing to a number of social dynamics, has serious implications and repercussions on children and how they later on conduct themselves. The aim of the study was to explore the factors that underpin criminal behaviour in children. The qualitative research method was adopted in the study and it informed the data collection and analysis processes of the study. Interviews and a focus group discussions were, therefore used to gain insight into the experiences of the participants. Through the use of purposive sampling, thirty five (35) participants comprising key and focus participants who were children in conflict with the law, their parents, the community members, social workers, probation officers and youth care workers from a certain Child and Youth Care Rehabilitation centre in King William’s Town were selected. The findings revealed that it was a variety of multi-factorial components that influenced criminal behaviour in children, and amongst those were individual, family, community and school factors. However, it was found that the impact of these detrimental factors identified was not comparable to the impact of the parent in the life of a child. The propensity and the extent to which these factors can affect a child was found as less probable where strong relationships were maintained between the parents and their children. This further implies that nurture was found to be very pivotal, as the role of the parents and of family support were found to be the most significant in children. Single parenting, father absence, undisclosed paternal identities, parental ignorance, poor parenting, and divorce were issues that emerged and were indicated in the study to be potentially harmful in the lives of children. A strong correlation was found between ignorant parenting and ill behavior in children as it was also found that parental conduct was very important as it defined the family’s wellbeing. A corresponding relationship was also established between dropping out of school and crime due to the fact that an overwhelming number of child offenders who participated in the study had dropped out of school. It was v further concluded that in spite of the social work profession’s adoption of the developmental approach, the propensity and timing the interventions took place was compared to those of the residual approach wherein the welfare system intervened as a measure of last resort. The study recommends that emphasis needs to be stressed on family based programmes in order to protect and secure the spontaneous growth of children
- Full Text:
Dynamic adaptive cost model for wireless Internet connectivity in African rural communities
- Authors: Sibanda, Khulumani
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Internet , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cost effectiveness , Wireless communication systems , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Computer Science)
- Identifier: vital:11389 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/380 , Internet , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cost effectiveness , Wireless communication systems , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: In today’s dynamic technological landscape, wireless communication networks have become an important part of economic development. The emergence of wireless technologies raises hopes to extend communication to remote areas that have not seen any tangible deployment to date. As developing nations pin their hopes to wireless technologies, cost models for wireless communication networks are becoming vital to support the emerging technologies. However, varying cost changes raise critical challenges to the estimation of both capital expenditure and operational expenditure. The network deployment process has numerous events that may cause adjustments to initially estimated project costs. These adjustments are necessary for a cost management plan and this plan includes monitoring cost performance and ensuring that only appropriate changes are made to the network project. The incidents that may cause cost changes can not be entirely predicted as their distribution tend to change dynamically from time to time. Estimating network deployment costs in such a dynamic environment necessitates cost models that can adapt to random occurrence of cost changes. Widely used cost models are usually performed by experienced personnel whose engineering experience is derived from deploying similar networks. In this approach experienced personnel add a certain percentage to the cost estimate to cater for contingency costs. Certainly such an approach depends on individual opinion, making it subjective and void of mathematical estimating relationships which are of paramount importance in ensuring that estimated deployment costs are sufficient to deal with cost uncertainties. We observe that existing approaches can only explore a limited solution space and hence can lead to cost overruns if implemented in dynamically cost changing environments. This thesis presents a wireless communication network deployment cost model that incorporates uncertainties into the final cost estimate. The model is adaptive to unpredictable cost changes since it allows adjustments of confidence levels when calculating contingency costs. This allows dynamically updating the cost changes without the cost model being reconstructed from scratch. We make use of the Poisson process in modeling the occurrence of incidents that are responsible for causing cost changes during network deployment. We also show that the occurrence of the incidents causing cost change are random and tend to follow the Poisson distribution. Using different levels of confidence we model various cost contingencies and make sensitivity analyses to identify the probability of cost overrun when given different contingencies. The dynamic adaptive cost model can be used either at the strategic level to understand the cost of a particular technique or at the operational level, as a way to show how Poisson process in network deployment can compare with engineering experience and other estimating techniques. We believe that the model is useful for remote areas where deployment costs are volatile and the distribution of incidents causing cost change to original cost estimates are diverse and dynamically changing. Further we expect that our research improves the knowledge base of information about the costs for rural communities to connect to the Internet, consequently providing useful input to future policy debates. This work is further poised to be a utility function to help those planning internet infrastructure deployments in least developed regions.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sibanda, Khulumani
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Internet , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cost effectiveness , Wireless communication systems , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Computer Science)
- Identifier: vital:11389 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/380 , Internet , Community development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Cost effectiveness , Wireless communication systems , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: In today’s dynamic technological landscape, wireless communication networks have become an important part of economic development. The emergence of wireless technologies raises hopes to extend communication to remote areas that have not seen any tangible deployment to date. As developing nations pin their hopes to wireless technologies, cost models for wireless communication networks are becoming vital to support the emerging technologies. However, varying cost changes raise critical challenges to the estimation of both capital expenditure and operational expenditure. The network deployment process has numerous events that may cause adjustments to initially estimated project costs. These adjustments are necessary for a cost management plan and this plan includes monitoring cost performance and ensuring that only appropriate changes are made to the network project. The incidents that may cause cost changes can not be entirely predicted as their distribution tend to change dynamically from time to time. Estimating network deployment costs in such a dynamic environment necessitates cost models that can adapt to random occurrence of cost changes. Widely used cost models are usually performed by experienced personnel whose engineering experience is derived from deploying similar networks. In this approach experienced personnel add a certain percentage to the cost estimate to cater for contingency costs. Certainly such an approach depends on individual opinion, making it subjective and void of mathematical estimating relationships which are of paramount importance in ensuring that estimated deployment costs are sufficient to deal with cost uncertainties. We observe that existing approaches can only explore a limited solution space and hence can lead to cost overruns if implemented in dynamically cost changing environments. This thesis presents a wireless communication network deployment cost model that incorporates uncertainties into the final cost estimate. The model is adaptive to unpredictable cost changes since it allows adjustments of confidence levels when calculating contingency costs. This allows dynamically updating the cost changes without the cost model being reconstructed from scratch. We make use of the Poisson process in modeling the occurrence of incidents that are responsible for causing cost changes during network deployment. We also show that the occurrence of the incidents causing cost change are random and tend to follow the Poisson distribution. Using different levels of confidence we model various cost contingencies and make sensitivity analyses to identify the probability of cost overrun when given different contingencies. The dynamic adaptive cost model can be used either at the strategic level to understand the cost of a particular technique or at the operational level, as a way to show how Poisson process in network deployment can compare with engineering experience and other estimating techniques. We believe that the model is useful for remote areas where deployment costs are volatile and the distribution of incidents causing cost change to original cost estimates are diverse and dynamically changing. Further we expect that our research improves the knowledge base of information about the costs for rural communities to connect to the Internet, consequently providing useful input to future policy debates. This work is further poised to be a utility function to help those planning internet infrastructure deployments in least developed regions.
- Full Text:
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