Determining the critical success factors for implementing lean manufacturing in South Africa: a case study
- Authors: Pitout, Callum John
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Lean manufacturing , Production management -- South Africa , Manufacturing processes -- Control
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8915 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021082
- Description: The lean manufacturing system that evolved in Japan since World War II has leapt across the globe to North America and Europe. The secret success of Japan’s manufacturing machine has been shared. In Europe and America, lean has been identified as a manufacturing best practice that should be adopted to ensure competitive manufacturing efficiency. Many success stories have been told of American companies adopting the Japanese lean tools and techniques. Now, South African manufacturers are implementing the lean manufacturing philosophy, some with more success than others. This research paper explores lean manufacturing implementations at two South African automotive component manufacturers and identifies the critical success factors that have driven the implementation process forward. Commitment from top company executives, extensive training, worker empowerment and other critical success factors for implementing lean manufacturing into a South African environment are identified as a result of the research conducted.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Determining the impact of emotional intelligence on organisational effectiveness
- Authors: Paul, Stephanie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Organizational effectiveness , Emotional intelligence
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8762 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/591 , Organizational effectiveness , Emotional intelligence
- Description: Employees who are able to use their emotions intelligently can contribute meaningfully towards building an emotionally intelligent organisation, one in which everyone take responsibility for increasing his or her own emotional intelligence, for using it in relations with others, and for applying the skills of emotional intelligence to the organisation as a whole. The lack of emotional intelligence, however, undermines both an individual’s and a company’s growth and success. Expressing emotions within the workplace has for many years been considered inappropriate and irrelevant to business. This research study points to the fact that an overwhelming amount of research shows that not only are emotions very much a part if the work experience but, to a large degree, set the course that companies should follow. This research study firstly discusses the core components of emotional intelligence and its impact on individuals and how they relate to others. The study further focuses on the impact that emotional intelligence has on aspects that contribute to organisational effectiveness. This study suggests that emotional intelligence within companies could result in a situation where employees communicate with understanding and respect and where confidence and enthusiasm in the organisation are instilled. Knowing one’s own emotions and controlling them; recognizing emotions in others and managing them; and self-motivation are key dimensions of emotional intelligence covered in the theoretical perspective of emotional intelligence discussed in Chapter Two. This study points to the benefits of emotional intelligence as an indispensable element not only in creating a profitable business but also in leading a successful life. The findings discussed in Chapter Six indicate a reasonable level of emotional intelligence amongst employees at GMSA who participated in the survey. Recommendations from the study indicated a need for training in various aspects of emotional intelligence in order to derive the benefits of improved organisational effectiveness and profitability.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Development and assessment of azithromycin paediatric suppository formulations
- Authors: Mollel, Happiness
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Azithromycin , Pediatrics , Clinical pharmacology , Pharmacokinetics , Suppositories , Drugs -- Dosage forms
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3774 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003252 , Azithromycin , Pediatrics , Clinical pharmacology , Pharmacokinetics , Suppositories , Drugs -- Dosage forms
- Description: The use of the oral route of administration for the treatment of young children with antibiotics can at times be problematic since, factors such as nausea, vomiting, taste and/or smell, in addition to the challenges associated with the administration of suspensions, may contribute to poor patient compliance. In such cases, the use of the rectal route of administration may be appropriate. Therefore, suppositories containing 250 mg azithromycin (AZI) were manufactured and assessed for potential as an antibiotic suppository dosage form. Suppositories, containing AZI dihydrate were manufactured by the fusion method, using different grades of PEG, Witepsol® and Suppocire® bases. The rate and extent of AZI release was evaluated using USP apparatus I, and samples were analyzed using a validated HPLC method. Differences in the rate and extent of AZI release were observed with the greatest amount of AZI being released from PEG formulations. The rate and extent of AZI release from formulations manufactured using fatty bases were influenced by physicochemical properties, such as melting rate and hydroxyl value, of the bases. In addition drug partitioning appeared to favor the lipid phase and had a negative impact on AZI release characteristics. Two different formulation approaches were used in an attempt to increase the rate and extent of AZI release from fatty base formulations. The use of surfactants significantly increased AZI release from formulations manufactured with fatty bases with high hydroxyl values. The use of urea or Povidone K25 in combination with AZI as a physical mixture or solid dispersion did not increase the rate and extent of AZI release from the fatty suppositories, to any significant extent. The mechanism of drug release was evaluated using several mathematical models, including the Higuchi, Korsmeyer- eppas, Zero and, First order models. In addition, in vitro dissolution profiles were characterized by the difference and similarity factors, f1 and f2 and by use of the Gohel similarity factor, Sd. AZI release kinetics were best described by the Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models and the values of the release exponent, n, revealed that drug release was a consequence of the combined effects of AZI diffusion, rate of melting of the base and partitioning of the drug which can be considered to be anomalous release.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Development and assessment of propranolol sustained release dosage forms separately and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide
- Authors: Chetty, Prakash
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3749 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003227
- Description: Hypertension is a chronic illness that is often undiagnosed and untreated leading to high mortality rates in South Africa. The use of diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide and beta blockers such as propranolol has been advocated as first line therapy for the treatment of hypertension. The study and use of controlled release dosage forms for the treatment of various disease states has gained wide interest over the past two decades. The use of controlled release systems offers improved therapeutic efficiency over conventional immediate release dosage forms, the use of which at times have often led to poor patient adherence and decreased therapeutic efficiencies. The current research objective was to develop a sustained release multi-source product for propranolol such that once daily dosing would be achieved. In addition, the sustained release product was developed using Inderal® LA 80mg capsules as a reference product. In addition the development of a suitable immediate release hydrochlorothiazide tablet was undertaken to produce a combination dosage form. The use of two different technologies, namely direct compression and wet granulation were employed to develop the sustained release dosage form. The release of propranolol from these dosage forms was assessed using USP apparatus 1 with quantitation of the relevant dissolution samples using a validated high performance liquid chromatographic method. The release profiles from the prototype and subsequent products were subjected to model independent and model dependent analyses in order to compare them to the innovator product and to elucidate the mechanisms of drug release respectively. Dissolution test results reveal that dosage forms prepared from wet granulation showed better rate retardation and more appropriate release profiles than those prepared by direct compression techniques. The subsequent model independent and model dependent analysis show that a dosage form that is comparable to the innovator product has been developed, with drug release occurring by a diffusion type mechanism.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Development of an employee management model to address conflict and discipline in SME's
- Authors: Wren, Beverley
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Conflict management , Personnel management , Small business -- South Africa -- George
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/646 , Conflict management , Personnel management , Small business -- South Africa -- George
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study is to determine what effect current labour legislation has on small and medium enterprises (SME’s), in particular with regard to handling conflict and disciplinary procedures in the workplace. To achieve this objective a literature study was undertaken to ascertain what labour relations practices are recommended and/or enforced by law. The literature study included a look at the effect of conflict on the workforce and the resultant cause and effect of the stress that conflict causes. The literature study was then used to develop a questionnaire to test the degree to which small to medium sized business managers, in the coastal city of George in the Western Cape, complied with the law and application of the necessary regulations governing labour relations. The empirical study results indicated a healthy adherence to labour legislation in general. The results indicated that the role-players, namely owners and managers of small to medium sized businesses, had valid arguments both for and against the weight of the labour legislation imposed on small businesses. Those businesses that had not indicated a strict adherence to regulation run the risk of costly fines and penalties being imposed on them. Such enterprises would do well to employ an independent consultant to “audit” and update employee records on a regular (6 monthly) basis. Failure to take the time to have all the correct documentation prepared could result in costly labour disputes and government intervention, which far outweighs the cost of a professional ensuring that all the necessary paperwork is correct and in place
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- Date Issued: 2006
Diasporic consciousness and Bollywood : South African Indian youth and the meanings they make of Indian film
- Authors: Boshoff, Priscilla
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Motion pictures -- India , Youth -- South Africa -- Attitudes , East Indians -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Motion picture industry -- India -- Mumbai
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006249 , Motion pictures -- India , Youth -- South Africa -- Attitudes , East Indians -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Motion picture industry -- India -- Mumbai
- Description: A particular youth identity in the South African Indian diaspora is being forged in a nexus o flocal and global forces . The globalisation of Bollywood and its popularity as a global media and the international commodification of the Indian exotic have occurred at the same time as the valorisation of 'difference' in the local political landscape. Indian youth, as young members of the South African Indian diaspora, are inheritors both of a conservative - yet adaptable - home culture and the marginalised identities of apartheid. However, the tensions between their desire to be recognised as both 'modern' South Africans and as ' traditional ' Indians create a space in which they are able to (re)create for themselves an identity that can encompass both their home cultures and the desires of a Westernised modernity through the tropes of Bollywood. Bollywood speaks to its diasporic audiences through representations of an idealised 'traditional yet modern' India. Although India is not a place of return for this young generation, Bollywood representations of successful diasporic Indian culture and participation in the globalised Bollywood industry through concerts and international award ceremonies has provided an opportunity for young Indians in South Africa to re-examine their local Indian identities and feel invited to re-identify with the global diasporas of India.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Discrimination against people with mental health problems in the workplace : a comparative analysis
- Authors: Lake, Rosalind
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Employees -- Mental health People with disabilities -- Employment -- South Africa People with disabilities -- Employment -- Great Britain People with disabilities -- Employment -- Australia Discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- Australia Discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- Great Britain People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Australia People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Great Britain
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3705 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005712
- Description: For a long time the rights of disabled persons have been ignored worldwide. A major obstacle faced by disabled persons is discrimination in the workplace. Due to the development of a social approach to disability and the efforts of the Disability Rights Movement, legislation has been passed throughout the world to improve this dire situation. The thesis considers the efficacy of some of these statutes. It is concluded that stigma and negative stereotypes remain a constant hurdle in overcoming discrimination. The forthcoming UN Disability Convention is demonstrative of the recognition of the importance of the needs and rights of disabled people. The convention proposes some innovative measures to overcome stigma and stereotyping. Mental health problems constitute one of the leading causes of disability. The thesis explores how people with mental health problems fit within the concept of people with disabilities and whether they are included in anti-discrimination legislation and affirmative action measures. Special attention is given to statutory definitions of disability, the different forms of discrimination and the concept of reasonable accommodation. A comparative approach is taken to analyse how South Africa's disability law measures up against that of Britain and Australia in terms of its substantive provisions and enforcement thereof. In considering the South African position American and Canadian jurisprudence is consulted in order to aid in interpretation. It is concluded that although South Africa has a comparatively good legislative framework, it is held back by an overly restrictive and medically focused definition of disability. As a result many individuals with mental health difficulties, desirous of obtaining and retaining employment may be excluded from protection against discrimination in the workplace. It is argued that it will be necessary either to amend the Employment Equity Act or for the courts to adhere strictly to the concept of substantive equality in order to ensure that the rights and dignity of people with mental health difficulties are adequately protected.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Discursive space in the discourse of a woman school leader
- Authors: Thawley, Sarah
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia Women school administrators -- Namibia School management and organization -- Namibia Discourse analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1498 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003380
- Description: Women in leadership has become an increasingly popular area of research within the field of Educational Leadership and Management. As women hold more leadership roles and responsibilities in education it is increasingly important this subject is researched to enrich our understanding and knowledge of an area in which there have been silences. This research is a case study of a woman school leader in Namibia. The purpose was to explore the language she used and the impact of the discourses emerging from the text. The discourses are explained, described and interpreted through a critical discourse analysis to examine the discursive space and its relationship to the organisation. A feminist post-structural framework provided the basis for the critical orientation of this research. The findings of this study indicate that the leader occupied a discursive space of multiple positions that perpetuated and reproduced the school’s organizational structure and culture. The significance of this study lies in the possibilities for future research. The use of a poststructural framework to critically analyze discourses, combined with the use of leadership and management theory provided a means by which to explore and understand the multiple positions a woman leader takes up. By analyzing the discursive space in a discourse researchers are able to explore new ways of examining women and leadership in education.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Dismissal due to pregnancy
- Authors: Ledwaba, Lesetsa Joel
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Sex discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Pregnant women -- Employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10190 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/433 , Sex discrimination in employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Pregnant women -- Employment -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Description: Previously, our workplaces were characterised by serious hardships emanating from labour laws which did not always cater for all areas of the employment relationship. South African female employees were without a clear legitimate remedial right precluding any severe violation and infringement to their fundamental rights resulting from their pregnancy; a task they did not opt for in the first place, but was instead, naturally imposed on them as a result of their gender category. Undoubtedly, many female employees were victims of unfair discrimination. The legislature therefore saw it fit to democratise the workplace by making rapid statutory interventions. As a result, a number of significant changes in various spheres of our labour laws were brought in. Amongst the greatly notable valuable changes was the introduction of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. This piece of legislation has generally reformed our industrial society by bringing in the elimination of unfair discrimination and thereby enhancing the principle of equity in the workplace. The act has further touched a place within hearts of female employees for fear of discrimination as a result of their pregnancy status or any reasons related to their pregnancy. The act further codified Industrial Court decisions that were already established under the discrimination law jurisprudence from the Labour Relations Act 28 of 1956. The application of the provisions of the Act has made the employment relationship no longer to be a comfort zone for employers. These general changes to the law also impact on the dismissal law regime. The purpose of this treatise is to give an overview of the applicable legislation and contributions made by the Labour Courts in developing pregnancy dismissal and discrimination law. The Labour Courts have handed down few judgements that have helped in clarifying the provisions of both the current Labour Relations Act and the Employment Equity Act around the topic. One should hasten to say that this has never been a smooth process by the courts. It is further shown in this treatise that some of the court decisions were not well accepted in the light of other important considerations, such as the equality provisions of the Constitution. For the purpose of effectively dealing with this topic, this treatise contains a discussion of the historical context of discrimination law in the form of common-law position, and the discrimination law before the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. It then endeavours to identify the legislative provision of the Act when it comes to discrimination law provisions. At the same time the important court decisions that were made are identified and examined.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Does primary resource-based industrialisation offer an escape from underdevelopment?
- Authors: Ali, Fatimah
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Comparative advantage (International trade) , Exports -- Africa, West , Exports -- Mauritius , Exports -- South Africa , Foreign trade promotion -- Mauritius , International trade , Primary commodities -- Africa , Human capital -- Economic aspects -- Africa , Natural resources -- Africa , Africa -- Commerce
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1018 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002753 , Comparative advantage (International trade) , Exports -- Africa, West , Exports -- Mauritius , Exports -- South Africa , Foreign trade promotion -- Mauritius , International trade , Primary commodities -- Africa , Human capital -- Economic aspects -- Africa , Natural resources -- Africa , Africa -- Commerce
- Description: It is commonly believed about sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that the region has a comparative advantage in primary resources as reflected by its high share of primary exports to total exports. In acknowledging the region's comparative advantage, the study tries to put the determinants from the Wood and Mayer (1998, (999) (W-M) Heckscher-Ohlin based model in the context of two relatively diversified countries (South Africa and Mauritius) and two commodity-export-dependent countries of sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria and Cô̌̌te d'Ivoire). The study finds that the skill and land resource measures used in the W -M (1998, 1999) thesis do not explain why Nigeria, having a similar level of skill per worker ratio to South Africa, has not diversified. Further, Mauritius having relatively the highest skill per land ratio specialises in low-skill textiles and clothing, while South Africa specialises in the more human capital-intensive "other manufactures" group. The other measure, a low land per worker ratio that explains Mauritius' relatively higher share of manufacturing exports, also fails to apply to Nigeria. The thesis thus concludes that the W-M land and skill measures could only be rough proxies in determining comparative advantage in manufacturing exports. However, employing the Dutch disease hypothesis recognises the potential of land abundance as a natural resource, namely minerals in South Africa, oil in Nigeria, and cocoa in Cǒ̌te d'Ivoire. The Dutch disease is a dynamic process of structural economic and political development that will permit an understanding of why natural resource abundant countries do not have a comparative advantage in manufacturing, at least in the short to medium term. The study therefore investigates commodity dependence and the Dutch disease effects to examine whether primary resource- based industrialisation offers an escape from underdevelopment. It establishes that South Africa, a mineral resource rich country, diversified based on a broad mineral-energy-complex (MEC) reinforcing the notion that land abundant countries will first invest in capital- intensive primary resource processing. However, the thesis concludes that in Nigeria and Cǒ̌te d'Ivoire where external shocks are more predominant probably because of single commodity export reliance, the manufacturing sector lags behind more due to resource and spending effects that a natural resource boom generates in these economies.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Eating disorders, body image and weight control life orientation teachers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours
- Authors: Hardie, Alison
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Eating disorders in adolescence -- South Africa , Life skills -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9844 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/394 , Eating disorders in adolescence -- South Africa , Life skills -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Description: The apparent increase in the incidence of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa worldwide has resulted in a surge of interest in effective treatment, prevention programmes and health promotion. Health promotion and the primary prevention of eating and body image problems among young people, and in particular adolescents, is emerging as one of the most desirable achievements in contemporary health and nutrition education. Eating disorders usually have their origin during the teenage years, and as such, high schools provide useful sites for the implementation of prevention programmes. Educators can play an important role in the prevention of eating disorders and act as socialization agents who either reinforce or buffer the dominant societal discourses that shape young women’s views of themselves. There are calls, however, for caution in the design and implementation of school-based eating disorder curricula as school educators may inadvertently do more harm than good. It has also been suggested that female educators, as other women, are likely to possess a degree of normative discontent with their body shape and size, and that this dissatisfaction and negative beliefs about food may be unknowingly transferred to the learners within their care. The current study used an exploratory, descriptive research design to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to eating disorders, body image and weight control of a group of Life Orientation educators. A biographical questionnaire, a questionnaire designed for the purposes of the current research and two standardised paper-and-pencil questionnaires, namely the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), were administered to 50 female Life Orientation educators in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used in the selection of participants and descriptive statistics were used to explore and describe the data. The results of the current research study indicated a lack of knowledge in those Life Orientation educators assessed regarding eating disorders and healthy diet. The results also indicated inaccurate knowledge amongst those educators assessed regarding effective and safe teaching practices of eating disorder pathology. The results of the two standardised questionnaires reflected an internalisation of the dominant societal ideals regarding weight and body shape, with 18% of the sample xi demonstrating attitudes and behaviours that could be indicative of eating disorder pathology of either clinical or subclinical proportions. Suggestions were made regarding future research and the need for further training of Life Orientation educators. Finally, the limitations as well as the value of the research were outlined.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Effects of an agribusiness collapse on contract growers and their communities : a case study of Makeni Cooperative Society, Lusaka, Zambia
- Authors: Mfune, Elizabeth
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Zambia , Agricultural industries -- Zambia , Farmers -- Zambia -- Economic conditions , Cooperative societies -- Zambia , Contracts, Agricultural -- Zambia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3357 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007627 , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Zambia , Agricultural industries -- Zambia , Farmers -- Zambia -- Economic conditions , Cooperative societies -- Zambia , Contracts, Agricultural -- Zambia
- Description: This study assesses the effects of an agribusiness collapse, on the contracted growers and their surrounding communities in Lusaka Province, Zambia. In 2004, Agriflora Limited, a Trans-Zambezi Industries Limited (TZI) agribusiness in Lusaka Zambia was sold off. Agriflora Limited was one ofthe largest fresh vegetable exporters in Africa. It had contracted almost 500 small-scale farmers with 1-4 hectares of land within 50 km radius of Lusaka to grow vegetables for export. Makeni Cooperative Society was one of the targeted groups of growers. It grew baby corn, mangetout peas, and sugar snap and fine beans for export. The case study relied on both primary and secondary data. I undertook two months of ethnographic fieldwork utilising observations, in-depth interviews and informal discussions with some community members in Makeni. I also reviewed the literature on contract farming schemes (documenting both the negative and positive effects for growers) in developing countries. The case study showed that the impact of the collapse of Agriflora on the growers has been severe indeed; there has been a significant reduction in production with only a few farmers producing for export. Those that are producing are limited to one crop, baby corn. The effect on the local labour market (farm workers) has been quite drastic with a drop in employment. A new agribusiness company, York Farm, was sourced by the government for the contract growers of Makeni. York Farm has signed a procurement contract under which only sale and purchase conditions are specified. This means that, services such as extension services are no longer provided. It was also found that despite the price for baby corn at York Farm being better than what Agriflora used to offer the farmers, farmers are not producing peas which have a higher turnover than baby corn because York farm does not buy peas from the farmers. However, the farmers are hopeful that they will soon start producing peas after they pass the Eurep gap requirements. Furthermore, the farmers are still interested in contract farming as they are convinced that it can lead to higher farm incomes. While the neoliberal critique of the pre- Structural Adjustment agricultural policies was based on the need to improve rural farming income and productivity, my study shows that the contract farmers are not the "traditional" peasant farmers but retired civil servants or former public sector employees who lost their jobs during the contraction of the sector. In conclusion, my field work revealed that the collapse of Agriflora has had negative effects on the growers of MCS in terms a significant decrease in crop production, decline in farmer income, lack of technical assistance such as extension services, transportation problems (to take produce to the new market-York Farm) and reduced contraction in employment opportunities for farm workers.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Eksperiment en intertekstualiteit: 'n studie van Ingrid Winterbach se Niggie (2002) en die oorlogsdagboek van Jan F.E. Celliers 1899-1902 (1978), asook ander Anglo-Boereoorlog tekste
- Authors: Botha, Maria Elizabeth
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Afrikaans fiction -- History and criticism , Winterbach, Ingrid. Niggie , Intertextuality , South African War, 1899-1902 Fiction
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8442 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/436 , Afrikaans fiction -- History and criticism , Winterbach, Ingrid. Niggie , Intertextuality , South African War, 1899-1902 Fiction
- Description: This study focuses on the creative adaptation of Anglo-Boer War material in Ingrid Winterbach’s (Lettie Viljoen) Niggie [Cousin] (2002) with specific reference to the Oorlogsdagboek van Jan F.E. Celliers, 1899-1902 [War Diary of Jan F.E. Celliers, 1899-1902] (1978) and other texts written during or shortly after the Anglo Boer War in Dutch, such as Totius’ Vier-en-sestig dae te velde: ‘n Oorlogsdagboek [Sixty Four Days Afield: A War Diary] (1977) and in English, Woman’s Endurance (1904) by A.D.L. and Deneys Reitz’s Commando. A Boer Journal of the Boer War (1929). More recent Afrikaans novels dealing with the same war are also analysed, such as Ons oorlog [Our War] (2000) by Klaas Steytler, Op soek na Generaal Mannetjies Mentz [In Search of General Mannetjies Mentz] (1998) by Christoffel Coetzee and Etienne Leroux’s Magersfontein O! Magersfontein (1976). A literary analysis is done of the novel Niggie, with specific focus on the nature and function of Anglo-Boer War material in Winterbach’s text. The question is posed why there is such a sustained focus and creative adaptation of Anglo-Boer War texts in Winterbach’s oeuvre (especially in Belemmering [Impediment], 1990, Karolina Ferreira, 1993, Buller se plan [Buller’s Plan], 1999, and Niggie [Cousin], 2002)? This novel has a profound effect on the reader a century after the war, because it addresses postcolonial issues and predicaments such as a defragmenting identity, as well as the possible demise of the Afrikaans language and culture, faced by the descendants of those involved in the war a century ago. In her reworking of the past to come to grips with the present, Winterbach confronts difficult South African topics, such as interracial relationships, racism, the relationship with the land, possible language death, gender relationships, the role of the supernatural and the unconscious in everyday life (in the form of dreams and trickster figures), amongst many others. The dissertation offers an intertextual study as well as a literary analyses of the literary techniques used, and the characteristics of this magisterial novel, which deservedly won the Hertzog prize in 2004, the highest accolade possible for an Afrikaans novel. The anomaly of such a novel in 2002 seemingly dwelling on the past, is shown up for what it is: a metaphor for the present and its dilemmas, reflecting the social conflicts existing at present in the crumbling Afrikaans community.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Email meets issue-tracking: a prototype implementation
- Authors: Kwinana, Zukhanye N
- Date: 2006 , 2013-06-11
- Subjects: Microsoft Visual studio , Electronic mail systems , Computer networks , eXtreme programming , Computer software -- Development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4614 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005644 , Microsoft Visual studio , Electronic mail systems , Computer networks , eXtreme programming , Computer software -- Development
- Description: The use of electronic mail (email) has evolved from sending simple messages to task delegation and management. Most mail clients, however, have not kept up with the evolution and as a result have limited task management features available. On the other hand, while issue tracking systems offer useful task management functionality, they are not as widespread as emails and also have a few drawbacks. This thesis reports on the exploration of the integration of the ubiquitous nature of email with the task management features of issue-tracking systems. We explore this using simple ad-hoc as well as semi-automated tasks. With these two working together, tasks can be delegated from email clients without needing to switch between the two environments. It brings some of the benefits of issue tracking systems closer to our email users.The system is developed using Microsoft VisuaI Studio.NET. with the code written in C#. The eXtreme Programming (XP) methodology was used during the development of the proof-of-concept prototype that demonstrates the integration of the two environments, as we were faced at first with vague requirements bound to change, as we better understood the problem domain through our development. XP allowed us to skip an extended and comprehensive initial design process and incrementally develop the system, making refinements and extensions as we encountered the need for them. This alleviated the need to make upfront decisions that were based on minimal knowledge of what to expect during development. This thesis describes the implementation of the prototype and the decisions made with each step taken towards developing an email-based issue tracking system. With the two environments working together, we can now easily track issues from our email clients without needing to switch to another system. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 2006
Engaging sense of place in an environment of change: youth, identity and place-based learning activities in environmental education
- Authors: Farrington, Katie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Place-based education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Educational change -- South Africa Youth -- South Africa -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1942 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007931
- Description: This case study investigates sense of place of youth amidst a background of change in postapartheid South Africa. As used in this study, sense of place refers to the attachments made to both physical and social places, and the social and cultural interactions and meanings associated with such places. The research was conducted with a group of 13 young adults at Mary Waters Senior Secondary School in Grahamstown. The literature suggests that the changes that occur in the lives of the participants at school-leaving age such as new opportunities to identify with global aspirations, tend to influence their sense of place in local contexts. Social change that occurs due to globalising forces such as access to new technologies and improved personal mobility, also influences sense of place in this context. Another integral factor is the structural influence of changing cultural and educational norms. These notions form part of the backdrop of this study. The research project was developed in response to calls for learning approaches that are situated more in local contexts and which include the youth as intrinsic participants informing environmental education approaches. This research draws attention to the significance of finding sustainable ways that enhance opportunities for agency on the part of the youth in future local and global environmental care-taking. The study took place over a period of 15 months in which time the participants undertook place-based activities in their communities around self-identified environmental concerns. The study was intentionally generative in approach as this allowed the voices of the participants and their environmental perspectives to be considered in developing methods and activities that were suitable to their particular contexts and interests. The study highlights the relevance of particular social contexts, through the perspectives of people and in this case learners, as key to environmental education enquiries. The combination of approaches that consider: a) knowledge about social context, b) the educational intervention (place-based activities) and, c) the situated social capital of the participants, all form the basis of meaningful pedagogical engagements and serve to address my research question: How is learners' sense of place developed and articulated through place-based activities, and what are the implications for environmental education amidst a contemporary landscape of change in South Africa?
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- Date Issued: 2006
Epirismm: an enterprise information risk management model
- Authors: Lategan, Neil
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Risk management , Small business , Information technology -- Security measures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9734 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/541 , Risk management , Small business , Information technology -- Security measures
- Description: Today, information is considered a commodity and no enterprise can operate without it. Indeed, the information and the supporting technology are pivotal in all enterprises. However, a major problem being experienced in the business environment is that enterprise risk cannot be managed effectively because business and information-related risk are not congruently aligned with risk management terminology and practices. The business environment and information technology are bound together by information. For this reason, it is imperative that risk management is synergised in the business, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and information environments. A thorough, all inclusive, risk analysis exercise needs to be conducted in business and supporting environments in order to develop an effective internal control system. Such an internal control system should reduce the exposure of risk and aid the safeguarding of assets. Indeed, in today’s so-called information age, where business processes integrate the business and ICT environments, it is imperative that a unary internal control system be established, based on a holistic risk management exercise. To ensure that the enterprise, information and ICT environments operate free of the risks that threaten them, the risks should be properly governed. A model, EPiRISMM (Enterprise Information Risk Management Model) is proposed that offers to combine risk management practices from an ICT, information, governance, and enterprise perspective because there are so many overlapping aspects inherent in them. EPiRISMM combines various well-known standards and frameworks into one coherent model. By employing EPiRISMM, an enterprise will be able to eliminate the traditional segmented approach of the ICT department and thus eliminate any previous discontinuity in risk management practices.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Establishing effective organisational coaching strategies
- Authors: Dove, Jean Tracy
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Employees -- Coaching of , Mentoring in business , Employee retention , Organizational effectiveness
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/496 , Employees -- Coaching of , Mentoring in business , Employee retention , Organizational effectiveness
- Description: To enable a business to grow and to uplift the economic and social development of its employees, it is vital that skills are provided to individuals. Businesses today strive to retain employees, as their skills learnt, prove to be a valuable asset that takes years to replace. For this reason, all means available are utilised to retain employees in the workplace. The term coaching is a relatively newcomer to the world of business and is seen to take a holistic view of the individual and focuses on work, corporate values, personal needs and career development. The main objective of this study was to identify coaching strategies that can be implemented by organisations in order to ensure the retention and development of employees. Businesses have to rely on employees to help them achieve financial growth, outperform their competitors, produce innovative products and to achieve long-term goals. These tasks would be impossible to achieve if the interests of employees were neglected. It was established from the literature survey that the coaching style of leadership involved more than simply training managers in coaching skills. A whole new coaching culture needed to be implemented in businesses in order to bring about change. Coachees rely on effective coachers to provide guidance and to demonstrate the skills needed. Based on various models in the literature survey a coaching model was formulated. The empirical survey was conducted at five selected companies in the Buffalo City Municipal area. A theoretical model for organisational coaching was developed and tested by means of a questionnaire. It emerged that employees at lower levels had not been involved in any form of coaching.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Evaluating the extent to which Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) libraries meet student expectations
- Authors: Zhibing, Mu
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Nelson Mandela Metropoliotan University. Library , Academic libraries -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9351 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/648 , Nelson Mandela Metropoliotan University. Library , Academic libraries -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Evaluation
- Description: The failure to evaluate the service quality by comparing service expectations and service perceptions of students requires that the management of NMMU libraries identify the service expectations and service perceptions of students and measure the gaps between these service expectations and service perceptions of students. A literature review was conducted to explore the service expectations and service perceptions of students. An effective method (using the LibQUAL model) to evaluate the service quality of NMMU libraries based on the service expectations of students was described. Thereafter, a LibQUAL survey was used to collect the required empirical data from a convenience sample of 2 047 students enrolled at NMMU. The empirical findings showed that gaps existed between the service expectations and service perceptions of students at different campuses of NMMU. At different campuses of NMMU, the service expectations of students were not met in term of the service perceptions of the four dimensions (affect of service, library as place, information access and personal control) of the LibQUAL model. ii The study identified the gaps between the service expectations and service perceptions of students at different NMMU campuses and conclusions and recommendations based on these gaps were formulated. The management of the NMMU libraries needs to choose appropriate strategies to improve the quality of NMMU library services based on the service expectations of students.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Experiences of the Xhosa diabetic patient
- Authors: Ngamlana, Zodumo Princess
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Diabetes -- Treatment -- South Africa , Diabetics -- Rehabilitation -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: vital:10014 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/465 , Diabetes -- Treatment -- South Africa , Diabetics -- Rehabilitation -- South Africa , Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa
- Description: This study will be focussing on the experiences of Xhosa-speaking patients with DM utilising the NMMM public hospitals complex. In the OPD patients are assessed and treated for all chronic conditions including DM, and patients are seen at monthly intervals or when necessary. The OPD serves the neighbouring black population from the surrounding townships as well as the informal settlements. The effects of urbanisation have resulted in this area having a semi–rural, semi-urban population that is mostly Xhosa speaking. The bulk of the population is unemployed, while others are living on a minimal income. Unemployment in the Eastern Cape ranges from 40% in rural areas, rising to 50 - 60% in the urban areas (Proposed aluminium Pechiney smelter within the Coega IDZ, 2002:4-8). In some homes there is no or little money to buy food, and even less to make use of a health service. Some people live on either a social grant for the elderly, a grant for young children or a disability grant and most people in this area have an income below the level at which payment of taxes for contribution to the economy is possible.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Explaining South Africa's quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe since 2000: the dilemma of a pluralist middle power
- Authors: Gcoyi, Thembinkosi
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Middle powers , Conflict management , Zimbabwe -- Foreign relations -- South Africa , South Africa -- Foreign relations -- Zimbabwe , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2777 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002987 , Middle powers , Conflict management , Zimbabwe -- Foreign relations -- South Africa , South Africa -- Foreign relations -- Zimbabwe , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980-
- Description: This study is a contribution to the literature on South Africa's foreign policy since 2000-2004. It provides a theoretical framework within which South Africa's foreign policy should be understood. It attempts to explain the contradictions that have been apparent in South Africa's foreign policy by looking at the constraints inherent in South Africa's position as an emerging middle power. It argues that South Africa's pluralist inclinations are constrained by Africa's evolving multilateral forums and that South Africa's preference for such undermines the realization and achievement of her foreign policy principles and goals. It also argues that as a realist middle power, South Africa is constrained the ambivalence shown by the region towards her exercising leadership in the region. This is due to South Africa's history of destruction in Southern Africa in the 1980's. South Africa's quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe provides the focal point for the study. The study argues that it is not the case that South Africa is not concerned with human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Instead, this concern has been expressed in ways that do not tarnish South Africa's own image in Africa. This has been done by engaging Zimbabweans through multilateral forums. This study concludes that this strategy failed to bring about resolution to the Zimbabwean crisis.
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- Date Issued: 2006