Psychological capital, psychological empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour among nurses in public hospitals in Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Chamisa, Shingirayi Florence
- Authors: Chamisa, Shingirayi Florence
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Organizational behavior--South Africa Nurses--Employment--South Africa--Eastern Cape Organizational effectiveness--South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , Industrial Psychology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15441 , vital:40408
- Description: The current task environment in the South African public hospitals has reconfirmed the importance of researching on the psychological environment and its influence on individual employee performance. The motivation of this study is to examine the relationship between psychological capital and psychological empowerment on the one hand and organisational citizenship behaviour on the other hand among nurses within selected public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This contributes to the theoretical conceptual knowledge on how performance can be enhanced through the appropriate provision of psychological resources in the workplace and the promotion of competence, efficiency and sustainability of organisations. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data. Inferential analysis from SPSS was carried out to understand the antecedents and consequences of organisation citizenship behaviour. An overall model of the study was also identified through AMOS using structural equation modeling. Findings from the selected South African public hospitals indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between psychological capital and psychological empowerment on the one hand and organisational citizenship behaviour on the other hand among nurses within the selected public hospitals. The results validate certain aspects of the Conservative frame work and the Job Demands Resources Model. The study recommends that hospital managers and supervisors should determine the social networks in their hospitals as a strategy to promote performance and organisational citizenship behaviour. Individual employees who are located at the fringes of the network must be recognised and empowered. This allows for the comparison evaluation of both individual and organisational characteristics on organisational citizenship behaviour and the promotion of slack resources which are important in maintaining a steady organisational performance which further widens organisational capacity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Chamisa, Shingirayi Florence
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Organizational behavior--South Africa Nurses--Employment--South Africa--Eastern Cape Organizational effectiveness--South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , Industrial Psychology
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15441 , vital:40408
- Description: The current task environment in the South African public hospitals has reconfirmed the importance of researching on the psychological environment and its influence on individual employee performance. The motivation of this study is to examine the relationship between psychological capital and psychological empowerment on the one hand and organisational citizenship behaviour on the other hand among nurses within selected public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This contributes to the theoretical conceptual knowledge on how performance can be enhanced through the appropriate provision of psychological resources in the workplace and the promotion of competence, efficiency and sustainability of organisations. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data. Inferential analysis from SPSS was carried out to understand the antecedents and consequences of organisation citizenship behaviour. An overall model of the study was also identified through AMOS using structural equation modeling. Findings from the selected South African public hospitals indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between psychological capital and psychological empowerment on the one hand and organisational citizenship behaviour on the other hand among nurses within the selected public hospitals. The results validate certain aspects of the Conservative frame work and the Job Demands Resources Model. The study recommends that hospital managers and supervisors should determine the social networks in their hospitals as a strategy to promote performance and organisational citizenship behaviour. Individual employees who are located at the fringes of the network must be recognised and empowered. This allows for the comparison evaluation of both individual and organisational characteristics on organisational citizenship behaviour and the promotion of slack resources which are important in maintaining a steady organisational performance which further widens organisational capacity.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Psychosocial challenges faced by guardians whose children are involved with substance abuse : a case study of Cofimvaba
- Authors: Mfengwana, Sibabalwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Children -- Substance use Social service
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10700 , vital:35701
- Description: Parents/ guardians are facing major problems in South Africa as their children are involved in substance abuse. Both genders are involved in substance abuse meaning therefore that guardians are facing huge challenges especially now that the girls are also involved in substance abuse. This research explored the psycho social challenges faced by guardians whose children are involved with substance abuse at Cofimvaba, in the Eastern Cape Province. The study was premised by four objectives, firstly the study was aimed to examine the challenges that guardians face since their children are involved with substance abuse. Secondly the study was aimed to assess the emotional consequences of the guardians since their children are involved with substance abuse. Thirdly to establish the community perceptions with regard to the involvement of the children with substance abuse. Lastly, to establish the support services the guardians get from professionals. The researchers used qualitative method because it provides a deep understanding of what is under investigation. The design used in the study was exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The study was conducted through qualitative research instruments of in-depth interviews and focus group in collecting the data. The study utilized social learning theory and the systems theory. The population in this study was made up of 20 participants, as well as 5 members forming up a focus group. All the participants were originally from Cofimvaba. The data was analyzed using content thematic analysis. The study revealed the following findings that there are support services given to the guardians at all. The support service is solely meant for the children when reported to be affected by substance abuse. There is high rate of labelling and discrimination to guardians from community members when the child is involved with substance abuse. There is an element of isolation with regard to the guardians whose children are involved with substance abuse. Guardians are sometimes isolating themselves and are scared about the comments that are impose to them because of their children who are involved in substance abuse. All the guardians are not happy and are feeling helpless now that their children are involved in substance abuse. The following are the challenges faced by guardians with regards to their children’s involvement with substance abuse; (i) overspending money because they have to repay all the damages done by their children. When the children are not well, the guardians have to take the children to the doctors. (ii) Behavioural challenges, the guardians are (iii) School performance dropping from the children is affecting the health and welfare of the guardians. Not a single guardian is not ambitious about the future and education of the children. Some of the guardians are not having any income and are really struggling to meet the ends means. The study made the following recommendations: The guardians as well as community members need to be equipped with information with regard to substance abuse. More strategies should be put in place with regard to support services by professionals to render to guardians. Guardians should be involved in the development of the children. Guardians should be involved in the schoolwork of the children to monitor and evaluate the performance. All the community members should be involved and should come up with strategies that could bring preventative services to the community members including children.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mfengwana, Sibabalwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Children -- Substance use Social service
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10700 , vital:35701
- Description: Parents/ guardians are facing major problems in South Africa as their children are involved in substance abuse. Both genders are involved in substance abuse meaning therefore that guardians are facing huge challenges especially now that the girls are also involved in substance abuse. This research explored the psycho social challenges faced by guardians whose children are involved with substance abuse at Cofimvaba, in the Eastern Cape Province. The study was premised by four objectives, firstly the study was aimed to examine the challenges that guardians face since their children are involved with substance abuse. Secondly the study was aimed to assess the emotional consequences of the guardians since their children are involved with substance abuse. Thirdly to establish the community perceptions with regard to the involvement of the children with substance abuse. Lastly, to establish the support services the guardians get from professionals. The researchers used qualitative method because it provides a deep understanding of what is under investigation. The design used in the study was exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The study was conducted through qualitative research instruments of in-depth interviews and focus group in collecting the data. The study utilized social learning theory and the systems theory. The population in this study was made up of 20 participants, as well as 5 members forming up a focus group. All the participants were originally from Cofimvaba. The data was analyzed using content thematic analysis. The study revealed the following findings that there are support services given to the guardians at all. The support service is solely meant for the children when reported to be affected by substance abuse. There is high rate of labelling and discrimination to guardians from community members when the child is involved with substance abuse. There is an element of isolation with regard to the guardians whose children are involved with substance abuse. Guardians are sometimes isolating themselves and are scared about the comments that are impose to them because of their children who are involved in substance abuse. All the guardians are not happy and are feeling helpless now that their children are involved in substance abuse. The following are the challenges faced by guardians with regards to their children’s involvement with substance abuse; (i) overspending money because they have to repay all the damages done by their children. When the children are not well, the guardians have to take the children to the doctors. (ii) Behavioural challenges, the guardians are (iii) School performance dropping from the children is affecting the health and welfare of the guardians. Not a single guardian is not ambitious about the future and education of the children. Some of the guardians are not having any income and are really struggling to meet the ends means. The study made the following recommendations: The guardians as well as community members need to be equipped with information with regard to substance abuse. More strategies should be put in place with regard to support services by professionals to render to guardians. Guardians should be involved in the development of the children. Guardians should be involved in the schoolwork of the children to monitor and evaluate the performance. All the community members should be involved and should come up with strategies that could bring preventative services to the community members including children.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Public employment services in the Department of Labour
- Authors: Pupuma, Taba
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Public service employment -- South Africa , Employee-management relations in government -- South Africa Unemployment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22990 , vital:30290
- Description: Employment and unemployment levels and trends are crucial in assisting any government to track the performance of its economy and measure the level of success of its macroeconomic strategies. Studies conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have placed South Africa amongst the countries that have the highest levels of unemployment in the world and reports by Statistics South Africa indicate an increase in unemployment levels every year. The Department of Labour’s (DoL) mandate is driven by the overall Government Service Delivery Outcome, which talks about improving the quality and accessibility of labour market services to contribute to decent employment through inclusive growth. This research study was prompted by the fact that the South African Government, in its pursuit to fight unemployment through the DoL, has established Public Employment Services (PES). This is ‘Programme 3’ of the Department of Labour. The primary function of the Public Employment Services directorate in the DoL is to register unemployed and under-employed employment seekers with the aim of integrating them into the labour market. The service equips the employment seekers registered on the DoL Employment Services of South Africa data base with employment counselling and matches them with opportunities brought to the DoL by employers. The aim of the research was to investigate the role of Public Employment Services programmes at the DoL in alleviating unemployment by guiding employment seekers registered on the department’s employment services of South Africa (ESSA) database to secure employment. The research adopted an interpretivist paradigm as it aimed to investigate the reality and understand it within its context. It uncovered the context of the reality associated with the research by closely perusing data from three regional offices in the Gauteng Provincial Office with specific reference to the City of Tshwane. The study utilised document analysis and a desktop review of existing secondary data relating to the implementation of PES in the DoL. This included relevant and available information in the form of books, academic journals, policy documents, legislation, annual performance reports, strategic plans, media reports, minutes of PES branch meetings and PES Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The study uncovered a number of challenges that prevented PES programmes from fully achieving their intended goal of alleviating unemployment, particularly in the study area of Tshwane. These include information and communications technology (ICT) challenges, human resource limitations, non-alignment with legislation, non-uniformity in following the SOPs, lack of commitment by the DoL to market the service in order to attract employers to use it to source employees. The research revealed that PES has the potential to alleviate unemployment. The DoL needs to focus on the system and on devising strategies to fix the ICT as a top priority, as most of the challenges noted in PES stem from the poor performance of the system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Pupuma, Taba
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Public service employment -- South Africa , Employee-management relations in government -- South Africa Unemployment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22990 , vital:30290
- Description: Employment and unemployment levels and trends are crucial in assisting any government to track the performance of its economy and measure the level of success of its macroeconomic strategies. Studies conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have placed South Africa amongst the countries that have the highest levels of unemployment in the world and reports by Statistics South Africa indicate an increase in unemployment levels every year. The Department of Labour’s (DoL) mandate is driven by the overall Government Service Delivery Outcome, which talks about improving the quality and accessibility of labour market services to contribute to decent employment through inclusive growth. This research study was prompted by the fact that the South African Government, in its pursuit to fight unemployment through the DoL, has established Public Employment Services (PES). This is ‘Programme 3’ of the Department of Labour. The primary function of the Public Employment Services directorate in the DoL is to register unemployed and under-employed employment seekers with the aim of integrating them into the labour market. The service equips the employment seekers registered on the DoL Employment Services of South Africa data base with employment counselling and matches them with opportunities brought to the DoL by employers. The aim of the research was to investigate the role of Public Employment Services programmes at the DoL in alleviating unemployment by guiding employment seekers registered on the department’s employment services of South Africa (ESSA) database to secure employment. The research adopted an interpretivist paradigm as it aimed to investigate the reality and understand it within its context. It uncovered the context of the reality associated with the research by closely perusing data from three regional offices in the Gauteng Provincial Office with specific reference to the City of Tshwane. The study utilised document analysis and a desktop review of existing secondary data relating to the implementation of PES in the DoL. This included relevant and available information in the form of books, academic journals, policy documents, legislation, annual performance reports, strategic plans, media reports, minutes of PES branch meetings and PES Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The study uncovered a number of challenges that prevented PES programmes from fully achieving their intended goal of alleviating unemployment, particularly in the study area of Tshwane. These include information and communications technology (ICT) challenges, human resource limitations, non-alignment with legislation, non-uniformity in following the SOPs, lack of commitment by the DoL to market the service in order to attract employers to use it to source employees. The research revealed that PES has the potential to alleviate unemployment. The DoL needs to focus on the system and on devising strategies to fix the ICT as a top priority, as most of the challenges noted in PES stem from the poor performance of the system.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Public sector employees and their right to just administrative action
- Authors: Kemp, Matthew
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Administrative acts -- South Africa , Administrative law -- South Africa , Public administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30616 , vital:30980
- Description: Prior to the enactment of the Constitution, common law notions such as the audi alteram partem rule, the nemo iudex in sua causa rule and the doctrine of legitimate expectation were extended to protect public-sector employees against unlawful decisions taken against them by their employers. Courts noted the unique relationship between public-sector employees and their employers and that administrative law remedies could be extended to those employees. The enactment of the Constitution brought about two distinct sections in the Bill of Rights which provided for the right to fair labour practices (section 23) and the right to “lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair” administrative action (section 33) respectively. Legislation such as the LRA, BCEA and EEA has been enacted to give effect to section 23 of the Constitution, while the PAJA has been enacted to give effect to section 33. Whether public-sector employees retain their right to seek administrative law remedies against their employers has been the subject of debate for some time. On the one hand it is argued that there should be no problem with there being more than one right affected in a given case and there being more than one legal remedy available to a litigant who finds themselves in such a scenario. On the other hand, it is argued that certain perils, such as forum shopping and dual systems of law will arise if public-sector employees could simply choose either legal remedy. In Fredericks v MEC for Education and Training, Eastern Cape 2002 (2) BCLR 113 (CC) the Constitutional Court held that the applicants could claim relief in terms of sections 9 and 33 of the Constitution as they had specifically based their claims on the rights which they enjoyed in terms of those sections. The court therefore held that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter. X In Chirwa v Transnet Limited 2008 (3) BCLR 251 (CC) the applicant approached the High Court on the basis that her constitutional right to just administrative action as contemplated by the PAJA was violated as a result of her dismissal. The majority decision of the Constitutional Court held that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter. The applicant’s claim was based on an unfair dismissal dispute for alleged poor work performance. The Constitutional Court therefore held that the applicant should have exhausted the procedures and remedies specifically provided for in the LRA in the case of such a labour dispute. In order to bring clarity to the position of public-sector employees the Constitutional Court in the matter of Gcaba v Minister of Safety and Security [2009] 12 BLLR 1145 (CC) provided an explanation of why the failure of the state as employer to appoint a candidate to a certain position is quintessentially a labour issue and therefore not administrative action. It followed that the High Court indeed lacked jurisdiction as the dispute was primarily a labour matter, cognisable by the Labour Court. The Gcaba judgment raises a number of interesting legal challenges, such as whether the Constitutional Court has overruled its own judgment in the Fredericks case and to what extent administrative law remedies are still open to public-sector employees. The treatise will discuss the complex constitutional framework which is at play when labour law and administrative law overlap. With a critical analysis of the Gcaba judgment and the principles which it sets, this treatise will discuss the administrative law rights available to public-sector employees.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Kemp, Matthew
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Administrative acts -- South Africa , Administrative law -- South Africa , Public administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30616 , vital:30980
- Description: Prior to the enactment of the Constitution, common law notions such as the audi alteram partem rule, the nemo iudex in sua causa rule and the doctrine of legitimate expectation were extended to protect public-sector employees against unlawful decisions taken against them by their employers. Courts noted the unique relationship between public-sector employees and their employers and that administrative law remedies could be extended to those employees. The enactment of the Constitution brought about two distinct sections in the Bill of Rights which provided for the right to fair labour practices (section 23) and the right to “lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair” administrative action (section 33) respectively. Legislation such as the LRA, BCEA and EEA has been enacted to give effect to section 23 of the Constitution, while the PAJA has been enacted to give effect to section 33. Whether public-sector employees retain their right to seek administrative law remedies against their employers has been the subject of debate for some time. On the one hand it is argued that there should be no problem with there being more than one right affected in a given case and there being more than one legal remedy available to a litigant who finds themselves in such a scenario. On the other hand, it is argued that certain perils, such as forum shopping and dual systems of law will arise if public-sector employees could simply choose either legal remedy. In Fredericks v MEC for Education and Training, Eastern Cape 2002 (2) BCLR 113 (CC) the Constitutional Court held that the applicants could claim relief in terms of sections 9 and 33 of the Constitution as they had specifically based their claims on the rights which they enjoyed in terms of those sections. The court therefore held that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter. X In Chirwa v Transnet Limited 2008 (3) BCLR 251 (CC) the applicant approached the High Court on the basis that her constitutional right to just administrative action as contemplated by the PAJA was violated as a result of her dismissal. The majority decision of the Constitutional Court held that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter. The applicant’s claim was based on an unfair dismissal dispute for alleged poor work performance. The Constitutional Court therefore held that the applicant should have exhausted the procedures and remedies specifically provided for in the LRA in the case of such a labour dispute. In order to bring clarity to the position of public-sector employees the Constitutional Court in the matter of Gcaba v Minister of Safety and Security [2009] 12 BLLR 1145 (CC) provided an explanation of why the failure of the state as employer to appoint a candidate to a certain position is quintessentially a labour issue and therefore not administrative action. It followed that the High Court indeed lacked jurisdiction as the dispute was primarily a labour matter, cognisable by the Labour Court. The Gcaba judgment raises a number of interesting legal challenges, such as whether the Constitutional Court has overruled its own judgment in the Fredericks case and to what extent administrative law remedies are still open to public-sector employees. The treatise will discuss the complex constitutional framework which is at play when labour law and administrative law overlap. With a critical analysis of the Gcaba judgment and the principles which it sets, this treatise will discuss the administrative law rights available to public-sector employees.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Purification and characterization of an amyloglucosidase from an ericoid mycorrhizal fungus (Leohumicola incrustata)
- Adeoyo, Olusegun R, Pletschke, Brett I, Dames, Joanna F
- Authors: Adeoyo, Olusegun R , Pletschke, Brett I , Dames, Joanna F
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440405 , vital:73780 , https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-018-0685-1
- Description: This study aimed to purify and characterize amyloglucosidase (AMG) from Leohumicola incrustata. AMG was purified to homogeneity from cell-free culture filtrate of an ERM fungus grown in a modified Melin–Norkrans liquid medium. The molecular mass of the AMG was estimated to be 101 kDa by combining the results of Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and zymography. The Km and kcat values were 0.38 mg mL−1 and 70 s−1, respectively, using soluble starch as a substrate. The enzyme was stable at 45 °C (pH 5.0), retaining over 65% activity after a pre-incubation period of 24 h. The metal inhibition profile of the AMG showed that Mn2+ and Ca2+ enhanced activity, while it was stable to metals ions, except a few (Al3+, Co2+, Hg2+ and Cd2+) that were inhibitory at a concentration higher than 5 mM. Thin layer chromatography revealed that only glucose was produced as the product of starch hydrolysis. The amylase from L. incrustata is a glucoamylase with promising characteristics such as temperature stability over an extended period, high substrate affinity and stability to a range of chemicals. Also, this study reports for the first time the possibility of using some culturable ERM fungi to produce enzymes for the bio-economy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Adeoyo, Olusegun R , Pletschke, Brett I , Dames, Joanna F
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440405 , vital:73780 , https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-018-0685-1
- Description: This study aimed to purify and characterize amyloglucosidase (AMG) from Leohumicola incrustata. AMG was purified to homogeneity from cell-free culture filtrate of an ERM fungus grown in a modified Melin–Norkrans liquid medium. The molecular mass of the AMG was estimated to be 101 kDa by combining the results of Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and zymography. The Km and kcat values were 0.38 mg mL−1 and 70 s−1, respectively, using soluble starch as a substrate. The enzyme was stable at 45 °C (pH 5.0), retaining over 65% activity after a pre-incubation period of 24 h. The metal inhibition profile of the AMG showed that Mn2+ and Ca2+ enhanced activity, while it was stable to metals ions, except a few (Al3+, Co2+, Hg2+ and Cd2+) that were inhibitory at a concentration higher than 5 mM. Thin layer chromatography revealed that only glucose was produced as the product of starch hydrolysis. The amylase from L. incrustata is a glucoamylase with promising characteristics such as temperature stability over an extended period, high substrate affinity and stability to a range of chemicals. Also, this study reports for the first time the possibility of using some culturable ERM fungi to produce enzymes for the bio-economy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Pursuing cost-effective secure network micro-segmentation
- Authors: Fürst, Mark Richard
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer networks -- Access control , Firewalls (Computer security) , IPSec (Computer network protocol) , Network micro-segmentation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/131106 , vital:36524
- Description: Traditional network segmentation allows discrete trust levels to be defined for different network segments, using physical firewalls or routers that control north-south traffic flowing between different interfaces. This technique reduces the attack surface area should an attacker breach one of the perimeter defences. However, east-west traffic flowing between endpoints within the same network segment does not pass through a firewall, and an attacker may be able to move laterally between endpoints within that segment. Network micro-segmentation was designed to address the challenge of controlling east-west traffic, and various solutions have been released with differing levels of capabilities and feature sets. These approaches range from simple network switch Access Control List based segmentation to complex hypervisor based software-defined security segments defined down to the individual workload, container or process level, and enforced via policy based security controls for each segment. Several commercial solutions for network micro-segmentation exist, but these are primarily focused on physical and cloud data centres, and are often accompanied by significant capital outlay and resource requirements. Given these constraints, this research determines whether existing tools provided with operating systems can be re-purposed to implement micro-segmentation and restrict east-west traffic within one or more network segments for a small-to-medium sized corporate network. To this end, a proof-of-concept lab environment was built with a heterogeneous mix of Windows and Linux virtual servers and workstations deployed in an Active Directory domain. The use of Group Policy Objects to deploy IPsec Server and Domain Isolation for controlling traffic between endpoints is examined, in conjunction with IPsec Authenticated Header and Encapsulating Security Payload modes as an additional layer of security. The outcome of the research shows that revisiting existing tools can enable organisations to implement an additional, cost-effective secure layer of defence in their network.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Fürst, Mark Richard
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Computer networks -- Security measures , Computer networks -- Access control , Firewalls (Computer security) , IPSec (Computer network protocol) , Network micro-segmentation
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/131106 , vital:36524
- Description: Traditional network segmentation allows discrete trust levels to be defined for different network segments, using physical firewalls or routers that control north-south traffic flowing between different interfaces. This technique reduces the attack surface area should an attacker breach one of the perimeter defences. However, east-west traffic flowing between endpoints within the same network segment does not pass through a firewall, and an attacker may be able to move laterally between endpoints within that segment. Network micro-segmentation was designed to address the challenge of controlling east-west traffic, and various solutions have been released with differing levels of capabilities and feature sets. These approaches range from simple network switch Access Control List based segmentation to complex hypervisor based software-defined security segments defined down to the individual workload, container or process level, and enforced via policy based security controls for each segment. Several commercial solutions for network micro-segmentation exist, but these are primarily focused on physical and cloud data centres, and are often accompanied by significant capital outlay and resource requirements. Given these constraints, this research determines whether existing tools provided with operating systems can be re-purposed to implement micro-segmentation and restrict east-west traffic within one or more network segments for a small-to-medium sized corporate network. To this end, a proof-of-concept lab environment was built with a heterogeneous mix of Windows and Linux virtual servers and workstations deployed in an Active Directory domain. The use of Group Policy Objects to deploy IPsec Server and Domain Isolation for controlling traffic between endpoints is examined, in conjunction with IPsec Authenticated Header and Encapsulating Security Payload modes as an additional layer of security. The outcome of the research shows that revisiting existing tools can enable organisations to implement an additional, cost-effective secure layer of defence in their network.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Pyridone substituted phthalocyanines: Photophysico-chemical properties and TD-DFT calculations
- Abdurrahmanoğlu, Şaziye, Canlica, Mevlüde, Mack, John, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Abdurrahmanoğlu, Şaziye , Canlica, Mevlüde , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188216 , vital:44735 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424617500730"
- Description: 4-(6-methyl-3-nitro-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridin-4-yloxy)phthalonitrile has been used to prepare a novel Zn(II) phthalocyanines with four peripheral pyridone substituents. The compound has been characterized by UV-visible absorption, FT-IR and 11H-NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. The fluorescence, triplet quantum and singlet oxygen quantum yields have been determined and TD-DFT calculations have been used to identify trends in the electronic structure.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Abdurrahmanoğlu, Şaziye , Canlica, Mevlüde , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188216 , vital:44735 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424617500730"
- Description: 4-(6-methyl-3-nitro-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridin-4-yloxy)phthalonitrile has been used to prepare a novel Zn(II) phthalocyanines with four peripheral pyridone substituents. The compound has been characterized by UV-visible absorption, FT-IR and 11H-NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. The fluorescence, triplet quantum and singlet oxygen quantum yields have been determined and TD-DFT calculations have been used to identify trends in the electronic structure.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Quantification of pre-competitive sleep/wake behaviour in a sample of South African cyclists
- Authors: Steenekamp, Travis
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sleep deprivation , Cyclists Health and hygiene South Africa , Sleep Physiological aspects , Performance , Performance anxiety
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59015 , vital:27408
- Description: The quantification of athlete pre-competitive sleep behaviour is of interest owing to the possibility that sleep loss may have a negative effect on health and performance. The purpose of this study was to monitor and quantify the sleep/wake patterns of South African cyclists prior to competitive races. A total of 336 cyclists, male and female and of differing competition levels, cycling in either the 2015 Tsogo Sun Amashova or the 2016 Telkom 94.7 Cycle Challenge completed an altered version of the Competitive Sports and Sleep Questionnaire. The questionnaire asked cyclists to report on precompetitive sleep over the past year. A subset of 92 cyclists also recorded a Core Consensus Sleep Diary for the three nights leading up to the races. The questionnaire showed that 67% of the cyclists reported worsened sleep at least once prior to competition within the past 12 months. The sleep diary found that the cyclists’ average sleep duration the night before the races was 6h19min (±1h38min), which was significantly less than two and three nights prior to the races. Sleep quality was also shown to deteriorate significantly the night before the races. The contributing factors leading to worsened pre-competitive sleep were the time the cyclists had to wake-up as well as perceived increases in sleep latency and awakenings after sleep onset. Anxiety was found to be the major cause of sleep disturbances. While females were found to be significantly more likely to report having experienced poorer sleep before competition in the past year, the sleep diary showed no difference in sleep the night before the races between the sexes. Females were significantly more likely to report instances of unpleasant dreams and waking up during the night. Again, the sleep diary data did not corroborate these findings. Females were also found to report significantly more accounts of nervousness or thoughts about competition as being the cause of sleep problems. There was no difference in sleep loss the night before competition when comparing competition-level groups. The only significant difference was that recreational cyclists were more likely to report sleeping in foreign environments as a cause of sleep disturbances. Despite a large percentage of cyclists experiencing pre-competitive sleep loss, over half (55%) perceived sleep loss to have no impact on their performance. Analysis of pre-sleep behaviour also revealed that the cyclists engaged in several practices that may have a negative effect on subsequent sleep. The vast majority of the cyclists (61%) indicated having no specific strategy to help them sleep the night before competition. Fifteen percent of cyclists reporting using media devices to help them fall asleep, a practice that has been shown to disrupt sleep. In conclusion, most cyclists, regardless of sex and level of competition experience precompetitive sleep loss attributed largely to anxiety but with the perception that this loss in sleep does not negatively impact their performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Steenekamp, Travis
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sleep deprivation , Cyclists Health and hygiene South Africa , Sleep Physiological aspects , Performance , Performance anxiety
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59015 , vital:27408
- Description: The quantification of athlete pre-competitive sleep behaviour is of interest owing to the possibility that sleep loss may have a negative effect on health and performance. The purpose of this study was to monitor and quantify the sleep/wake patterns of South African cyclists prior to competitive races. A total of 336 cyclists, male and female and of differing competition levels, cycling in either the 2015 Tsogo Sun Amashova or the 2016 Telkom 94.7 Cycle Challenge completed an altered version of the Competitive Sports and Sleep Questionnaire. The questionnaire asked cyclists to report on precompetitive sleep over the past year. A subset of 92 cyclists also recorded a Core Consensus Sleep Diary for the three nights leading up to the races. The questionnaire showed that 67% of the cyclists reported worsened sleep at least once prior to competition within the past 12 months. The sleep diary found that the cyclists’ average sleep duration the night before the races was 6h19min (±1h38min), which was significantly less than two and three nights prior to the races. Sleep quality was also shown to deteriorate significantly the night before the races. The contributing factors leading to worsened pre-competitive sleep were the time the cyclists had to wake-up as well as perceived increases in sleep latency and awakenings after sleep onset. Anxiety was found to be the major cause of sleep disturbances. While females were found to be significantly more likely to report having experienced poorer sleep before competition in the past year, the sleep diary showed no difference in sleep the night before the races between the sexes. Females were significantly more likely to report instances of unpleasant dreams and waking up during the night. Again, the sleep diary data did not corroborate these findings. Females were also found to report significantly more accounts of nervousness or thoughts about competition as being the cause of sleep problems. There was no difference in sleep loss the night before competition when comparing competition-level groups. The only significant difference was that recreational cyclists were more likely to report sleeping in foreign environments as a cause of sleep disturbances. Despite a large percentage of cyclists experiencing pre-competitive sleep loss, over half (55%) perceived sleep loss to have no impact on their performance. Analysis of pre-sleep behaviour also revealed that the cyclists engaged in several practices that may have a negative effect on subsequent sleep. The vast majority of the cyclists (61%) indicated having no specific strategy to help them sleep the night before competition. Fifteen percent of cyclists reporting using media devices to help them fall asleep, a practice that has been shown to disrupt sleep. In conclusion, most cyclists, regardless of sex and level of competition experience precompetitive sleep loss attributed largely to anxiety but with the perception that this loss in sleep does not negatively impact their performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Quantification of water resources uncertainties in two sub-basins of the Limpopo River basin
- Authors: Oosthuizen, Nadia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hydrologic models -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Management , Sustainable development , Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Reservoirs -- Limpopo River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63267 , vital:28388
- Description: The demand for water is rapidly growing, placing more strain on access to the resources and subsequently its management. For sustainable management, there is a need to accurately quantify the available water resources. Unfortunately, the data required for such assessments are frequently far from sufficient in terms of availability and quality, especially in southern Africa. In the absence of historical observed data, models are generally used to describe the different hydrological processes and generate data and information that will inform management and policy decision making. Ideally, any hydrological model should be based on a sound conceptual understanding of the processes in the basin and be backed by quantitative information for the parameterization of the model. Such data is however, often inadequate in many sub-basins necessitating the incorporation of the uncertainty related to the estimation process. Model parameter estimation and input data are significant sources of uncertainty that should be quantified. Also, in southern Africa water use data are unreliable because available databases consist of licensed information and actual use is generally unknown. In this study, the water resources of two sub-basins of the Limpopo River basin – the Mogalakwena in South Africa and the Shashe shared between Botswana and Zimbabwe – are estimated. The study assessed how uncertainties in the Pitman model parameterisation and input water use data affect the estimation of surface water resources of the selected sub-basins. Farm reservoirs and irrigated areas data from various sources were collected and used to run the Pitman model. Results indicate that the total model output uncertainty is higher for the Shashe sub-basin which is more data scarce than the Mogalakwena sub-basin. The study illustrates the importance of including uncertainty in the water resources assessment process to provide baseline data for decision making in resource management and planning. The study reviews existing information sources associated with the quantification of water balance components and gives an update of water resources of the sub-basin. The flows generated by the model at the outlet of the basin were between 22.6 Mm3 and 24.7 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The total predictive uncertainty of the model increased to between 22.2 Mm3 and 25.0 Mm3 when anthropogenic water use data such as small farm and large reservoirs and irrigation were included. The flows generated for Shashe was between 11.7 Mm3 and 14.5 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The predictive uncertainty of the model changed to 11.7 Mm3 and 17.7 Mm3 after the water use uncertainty was added. However, it is expected that the uncertainty could be reduced by using higher resolution remote sensing imagery.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Oosthuizen, Nadia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hydrologic models -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Management , Sustainable development , Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Reservoirs -- Limpopo River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63267 , vital:28388
- Description: The demand for water is rapidly growing, placing more strain on access to the resources and subsequently its management. For sustainable management, there is a need to accurately quantify the available water resources. Unfortunately, the data required for such assessments are frequently far from sufficient in terms of availability and quality, especially in southern Africa. In the absence of historical observed data, models are generally used to describe the different hydrological processes and generate data and information that will inform management and policy decision making. Ideally, any hydrological model should be based on a sound conceptual understanding of the processes in the basin and be backed by quantitative information for the parameterization of the model. Such data is however, often inadequate in many sub-basins necessitating the incorporation of the uncertainty related to the estimation process. Model parameter estimation and input data are significant sources of uncertainty that should be quantified. Also, in southern Africa water use data are unreliable because available databases consist of licensed information and actual use is generally unknown. In this study, the water resources of two sub-basins of the Limpopo River basin – the Mogalakwena in South Africa and the Shashe shared between Botswana and Zimbabwe – are estimated. The study assessed how uncertainties in the Pitman model parameterisation and input water use data affect the estimation of surface water resources of the selected sub-basins. Farm reservoirs and irrigated areas data from various sources were collected and used to run the Pitman model. Results indicate that the total model output uncertainty is higher for the Shashe sub-basin which is more data scarce than the Mogalakwena sub-basin. The study illustrates the importance of including uncertainty in the water resources assessment process to provide baseline data for decision making in resource management and planning. The study reviews existing information sources associated with the quantification of water balance components and gives an update of water resources of the sub-basin. The flows generated by the model at the outlet of the basin were between 22.6 Mm3 and 24.7 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The total predictive uncertainty of the model increased to between 22.2 Mm3 and 25.0 Mm3 when anthropogenic water use data such as small farm and large reservoirs and irrigation were included. The flows generated for Shashe was between 11.7 Mm3 and 14.5 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The predictive uncertainty of the model changed to 11.7 Mm3 and 17.7 Mm3 after the water use uncertainty was added. However, it is expected that the uncertainty could be reduced by using higher resolution remote sensing imagery.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Quantitation of zolpidem in biological fluids by electro-driven microextraction combined with HPLC-UV analysis
- Yaripour, Saeid, Mohammadi, Ali, Esfanjani, Isa, Walker, Roderick B, Nojavan, Saeed
- Authors: Yaripour, Saeid , Mohammadi, Ali , Esfanjani, Isa , Walker, Roderick B , Nojavan, Saeed
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184723 , vital:44266 , xlink:href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17179/excli2018-1140"
- Description: In this study, for the first time, an electro-driven microextraction method named electromembrane extraction combined with a simple high performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection was developed and validated for the quantitation of zolpidem in biological samples. Parameters influencing electromembrane extraction were evaluated and optimized. The membrane consisted of 2-ethylhexanol immobilized in the pores of a hollow fiber. As a driving force, a 150 V electric field was applied to facilitate the analyte migration from the sample matrix to an acceptor solution through a supported liquid membrane. The pHs of donor and acceptor solutions were optimized to 6.0 and 2.0, respectively. The enrichment factor was obtained >75 within 15 minutes. The effect of carbon nanotubes (as solid nano-sorbents) on the membrane performance and EME efficiency was evaluated. The method was linear over the range of 10-1000 ng/mL for zolpidem (R2 >0.9991) with repeatability (%RSD) between 0.3 % and 7.3 % (n = 3). The limits of detection and quantitation were 3 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. The sensitivity of HPLC-UV for the determination of zolpidem was enhanced by electromembrane extraction. Finally, the method was employed for the quantitation of zolpidem in biological samples with relative recoveries in the range of 60-79 %.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Yaripour, Saeid , Mohammadi, Ali , Esfanjani, Isa , Walker, Roderick B , Nojavan, Saeed
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/184723 , vital:44266 , xlink:href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17179/excli2018-1140"
- Description: In this study, for the first time, an electro-driven microextraction method named electromembrane extraction combined with a simple high performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection was developed and validated for the quantitation of zolpidem in biological samples. Parameters influencing electromembrane extraction were evaluated and optimized. The membrane consisted of 2-ethylhexanol immobilized in the pores of a hollow fiber. As a driving force, a 150 V electric field was applied to facilitate the analyte migration from the sample matrix to an acceptor solution through a supported liquid membrane. The pHs of donor and acceptor solutions were optimized to 6.0 and 2.0, respectively. The enrichment factor was obtained >75 within 15 minutes. The effect of carbon nanotubes (as solid nano-sorbents) on the membrane performance and EME efficiency was evaluated. The method was linear over the range of 10-1000 ng/mL for zolpidem (R2 >0.9991) with repeatability (%RSD) between 0.3 % and 7.3 % (n = 3). The limits of detection and quantitation were 3 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. The sensitivity of HPLC-UV for the determination of zolpidem was enhanced by electromembrane extraction. Finally, the method was employed for the quantitation of zolpidem in biological samples with relative recoveries in the range of 60-79 %.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Ramifications of status non-disclosure by people living with HIV/AIDS in Alice, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mavhunga, Ayisha Dadiso
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Self-disclosure Stigma (Social psychology) AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Family relationships
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Social Work
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10963 , vital:35970
- Description: Non-disclosure of HIV/AIDS status is a topical issue in South Africa and across the globe. This study explored the ramifications of status non-disclosure by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Alice, Eastern Cape. The study aimed to explore the benefits and opportunities associated with HIV/AIDS disclosure; to examine the underlying factors discouraging Alice PLWHA from disclosing their status; to ascertain the ramifications of HIV/AIDS non-disclosure and to describe the coping strategies PLWHA and their families adopt in dealing with the ramifications of non-disclosure. The study employed the qualitative case study design, which was underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The key informant’s method, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were the main data collection methods. The sample of 35 participants was selected through the purposive and snowballing sampling technique. This sample comprised of 10 PLWHA, 20 family members and 5 key informants. The data collected from this sample was analysed through thematic content analysis. Findings indicated that PLWHA who disclosed their status accessed benefits and opportunities such as medication, psychosocial support, employment and the helping hands needed to manage their illness. In addition, the findings revealed that stigma, discrimination and socio-cultural factors inhibited some PLWHA from disclosing their status. Consequently, non-disclosure resulted in PLWHA experiencing ramifications such ramifications such as internal stigma, conflict in relationships, diminished career and educational achievement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mavhunga, Ayisha Dadiso
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Self-disclosure Stigma (Social psychology) AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Family relationships
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Social Work
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10963 , vital:35970
- Description: Non-disclosure of HIV/AIDS status is a topical issue in South Africa and across the globe. This study explored the ramifications of status non-disclosure by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Alice, Eastern Cape. The study aimed to explore the benefits and opportunities associated with HIV/AIDS disclosure; to examine the underlying factors discouraging Alice PLWHA from disclosing their status; to ascertain the ramifications of HIV/AIDS non-disclosure and to describe the coping strategies PLWHA and their families adopt in dealing with the ramifications of non-disclosure. The study employed the qualitative case study design, which was underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The key informant’s method, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were the main data collection methods. The sample of 35 participants was selected through the purposive and snowballing sampling technique. This sample comprised of 10 PLWHA, 20 family members and 5 key informants. The data collected from this sample was analysed through thematic content analysis. Findings indicated that PLWHA who disclosed their status accessed benefits and opportunities such as medication, psychosocial support, employment and the helping hands needed to manage their illness. In addition, the findings revealed that stigma, discrimination and socio-cultural factors inhibited some PLWHA from disclosing their status. Consequently, non-disclosure resulted in PLWHA experiencing ramifications such ramifications such as internal stigma, conflict in relationships, diminished career and educational achievement.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Ratifying the ILO convention no. 102 (social security minimum standards convention, 1952) by South Africa
- Authors: Xakaxa, Xoliswa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Social security -- South Africa , Social security -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Labor laws and legislation, International
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36452 , vital:33945
- Description: Twenty-three (23) years have elapsed since South Africa parted ways with the apartheid system. Nevertheless, poverty, inequality, and unemployment pose the greatest threat to human dignity and social cohesion. Section 27 (1) (c) of the Constitution obligates the state to develop a comprehensive social security system. It affirms the universal right to access social security, including appropriate social assistance for those unable to support themselves and their dependants. It orders the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of these rights. The underlying normative commitment of social security is the improvement of the quality of life of the population by promoting economic or material equality. The study provides a general overview of the system of Social Security in South Africa as a Member State of the ILO. In particular, the study underscores that South Africa has not ratified ILO Convention No. 102 Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 and other Conventions relevant to Social Security. The study examines the need to ratify the said Convention in order to receive extensive coverage that would, among other benefits receive guarantees for a well-established system and thereby potentially reduce poverty. The Constitution is the supreme law of the country, it clearly stipulates that when interpreting, and applying the statutes international law must be considered. The study illuminates the significant benefits the country would receive from ratifying Convention No. 102.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Xakaxa, Xoliswa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Social security -- South Africa , Social security -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Labor laws and legislation, International
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36452 , vital:33945
- Description: Twenty-three (23) years have elapsed since South Africa parted ways with the apartheid system. Nevertheless, poverty, inequality, and unemployment pose the greatest threat to human dignity and social cohesion. Section 27 (1) (c) of the Constitution obligates the state to develop a comprehensive social security system. It affirms the universal right to access social security, including appropriate social assistance for those unable to support themselves and their dependants. It orders the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of these rights. The underlying normative commitment of social security is the improvement of the quality of life of the population by promoting economic or material equality. The study provides a general overview of the system of Social Security in South Africa as a Member State of the ILO. In particular, the study underscores that South Africa has not ratified ILO Convention No. 102 Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 and other Conventions relevant to Social Security. The study examines the need to ratify the said Convention in order to receive extensive coverage that would, among other benefits receive guarantees for a well-established system and thereby potentially reduce poverty. The Constitution is the supreme law of the country, it clearly stipulates that when interpreting, and applying the statutes international law must be considered. The study illuminates the significant benefits the country would receive from ratifying Convention No. 102.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Rational and irrational indicators of financial efficacy and desirable savings behaviour among East London low-income consumers
- Khumalo, Sibanisezwe A, Dlodlo, Nobukhosi
- Authors: Khumalo, Sibanisezwe A , Dlodlo, Nobukhosi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/470655 , vital:77382 , https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijbms/issue/44994/558691
- Description: Since the principal source of retirement income is savings, the significance of projecting desirable savings behaviour during the pre-retirement phase can never be overestimated. Notably, the majority of low-income consumers in South Africa are not sufficiently prepared for retirement. This provides fertile ground for clarifying the importance of positive long-term savings behaviour. This study aimed to present a composite view by delineating both rational and irrational markers of financial efficacy and self-reported savings behaviour, whilst simultaneously discussing how such determinants can be predisposed towards increasing an individual’s retirement savings rate. Procedural techniques in the form of multiple regression analysis quantified the impact of financial risk tolerance, perceived income adequacy and social norms influence on individuals’ efficacy towards long-term savings behaviour. The findings of this study have practical implications for financial advisors, on how increased financial needs awareness amongst low-income consumers regarding future retirement life may be generated. Furthermore, this paper contributes towards the development of thriving communities by proffering knowledge on enhancing resource utilisation in lieu of increasing long-term financial security among low-income households.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Khumalo, Sibanisezwe A , Dlodlo, Nobukhosi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/470655 , vital:77382 , https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijbms/issue/44994/558691
- Description: Since the principal source of retirement income is savings, the significance of projecting desirable savings behaviour during the pre-retirement phase can never be overestimated. Notably, the majority of low-income consumers in South Africa are not sufficiently prepared for retirement. This provides fertile ground for clarifying the importance of positive long-term savings behaviour. This study aimed to present a composite view by delineating both rational and irrational markers of financial efficacy and self-reported savings behaviour, whilst simultaneously discussing how such determinants can be predisposed towards increasing an individual’s retirement savings rate. Procedural techniques in the form of multiple regression analysis quantified the impact of financial risk tolerance, perceived income adequacy and social norms influence on individuals’ efficacy towards long-term savings behaviour. The findings of this study have practical implications for financial advisors, on how increased financial needs awareness amongst low-income consumers regarding future retirement life may be generated. Furthermore, this paper contributes towards the development of thriving communities by proffering knowledge on enhancing resource utilisation in lieu of increasing long-term financial security among low-income households.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Re-interpreting the history of 'the rural' visual in the Eastern Cape, 1948-1976
- Authors: Steele, Candice Alexandra
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Medical photography -- South Africa -- Exhibitions Photography in ethnology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11064 , vital:37027
- Description: The thesis engages with the photographic collection of Dr Pauline Ingle, an amateur photographer who lived and worked in the former Transkei as a medical doctor from 1948-1976. As a visual history project situated within critical visual studies, the thesis is concerned to attend to the disciplinary optics that have conditioned seeing and constituted genres; but also the ways in which these genres have constituted subjects and corralled them into positions commensurate with the spatialised demarcations of the rural and the urban, and the attendant associations of tradition and modernity. The thesis begins by exploring the biography of Pauline Ingle and tracks the movement of the photographs from a private collection into the public realm and its constitution as an archive. The thesis then moves into a discussion of the key determinants of the ethnographic genre and its entwinement with the discipline of anthropology, as a foundation against which to investigate the limits of reading her images within this genre and the disruptions that are discernible through an aesthetics of proximity and forms of image-making that do not control the visual field. Through a theorisation that proposes the image as an act, various readings are brought to bear on the images through the lens of the social and political. Mobilising the concepts of social acts and acts of citizenship, allows for a reading that breaks with the disciplinary conditioning that has fixed subject positions into ‘the native subject’ and the ‘liberal subject’ and calls into question the construction of the human. By proposing the subject as migrant, is to signal that the question of the human/subject is more complex and convoluted than previously thought.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Steele, Candice Alexandra
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Medical photography -- South Africa -- Exhibitions Photography in ethnology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11064 , vital:37027
- Description: The thesis engages with the photographic collection of Dr Pauline Ingle, an amateur photographer who lived and worked in the former Transkei as a medical doctor from 1948-1976. As a visual history project situated within critical visual studies, the thesis is concerned to attend to the disciplinary optics that have conditioned seeing and constituted genres; but also the ways in which these genres have constituted subjects and corralled them into positions commensurate with the spatialised demarcations of the rural and the urban, and the attendant associations of tradition and modernity. The thesis begins by exploring the biography of Pauline Ingle and tracks the movement of the photographs from a private collection into the public realm and its constitution as an archive. The thesis then moves into a discussion of the key determinants of the ethnographic genre and its entwinement with the discipline of anthropology, as a foundation against which to investigate the limits of reading her images within this genre and the disruptions that are discernible through an aesthetics of proximity and forms of image-making that do not control the visual field. Through a theorisation that proposes the image as an act, various readings are brought to bear on the images through the lens of the social and political. Mobilising the concepts of social acts and acts of citizenship, allows for a reading that breaks with the disciplinary conditioning that has fixed subject positions into ‘the native subject’ and the ‘liberal subject’ and calls into question the construction of the human. By proposing the subject as migrant, is to signal that the question of the human/subject is more complex and convoluted than previously thought.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Real-time geotagging and filtering of network data using a heterogeneous NPU-CPU architecture
- Pennefather, Sean, Bradshaw, Karen L, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Pennefather, Sean , Bradshaw, Karen L , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/460603 , vital:75968 , ISBN 9780620810227
- Description: In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a NPU-CPU heterogeneous network monitoring application. This application allows for both filtering and monitoring operations to be performed on network traffic based on country of origin or destination of IP traffic in real-time at wire speeds up to 1 Gbit/s. This is achievable by distributing the application components to the relevant candidate architectures, leveraging the strengths of each. Communication between architectures is handled at runtime by a low latency synchronous message passing library. Testing of the implemented application indicates that the system can perform geolocation lookups on network traffic in real-time without impacting network throughput.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Pennefather, Sean , Bradshaw, Karen L , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/460603 , vital:75968 , ISBN 9780620810227
- Description: In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a NPU-CPU heterogeneous network monitoring application. This application allows for both filtering and monitoring operations to be performed on network traffic based on country of origin or destination of IP traffic in real-time at wire speeds up to 1 Gbit/s. This is achievable by distributing the application components to the relevant candidate architectures, leveraging the strengths of each. Communication between architectures is handled at runtime by a low latency synchronous message passing library. Testing of the implemented application indicates that the system can perform geolocation lookups on network traffic in real-time without impacting network throughput.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Reasons for late booking of pregnant women at antenatal care clinics in King Sabata Dalindyebo Sub-district in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Ntshanga, Nomvume Signoria
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Pregnant women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Prenatal Care Late antenatal care booking
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Public Health
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10520 , vital:35592
- Description: Background: The initiation of ante-natal care booking is universally recommended in the first trimester of pregnancy. While working in the Oliver Reginald Tambo district in the Eastern Cape Department of Health, the researcher noticed that late booking was the norm in all sub-districts, especially in the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) sub-district, resulting in impaired antenatal care and an increased potential for adverse outcomes such as maternal mortalities. Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the reasons for late booking for antenatal care by pregnant women in the KSD sub-district. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine reasons why women were booking late for antenatal in KSD sub district. Methods: Thirteen in-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted with late bookers (i.e., those who sought antenatal care (ANC) after twenty weeks of pregnancy) between July and August 2015. The interviews were recorded and, subsequently, transcribed by a reputable linguist from Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and analysed using Creswell’s thematic analysis model. Findings: The average gestational age of booking was 22 weeks (ranging from 22 to 28 weeks). Most women were teenagers and young unmarried women, most of whom were still attending school. All were unemployed. Most had experienced previous pregnancies. All these women delayed attending clinic early due to their ignorance of the exact gestational period for one to start the clinic. Although most of the women did not have direct reasons, the bulk of their reasons for delays were linked to long distances being travelled, leading to the payment of expensive taxi fees. This may also be attributed to cultural factors that seem to promote a veil of secrecy regarding pregnancy, the desire for visual evidence of pregnancy first and the practice of married women having to care for sick relatives. Conclusion: Poor access to clinics is a fundamental systemic failure and a major contributor and one of the reasons why women delayed in attending antenatal care clinics. Low socio economic status and cultural beliefs, coupled with long distance and expensive taxi fare, are other reasons for late booking.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Ntshanga, Nomvume Signoria
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Pregnant women -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Prenatal Care Late antenatal care booking
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Public Health
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10520 , vital:35592
- Description: Background: The initiation of ante-natal care booking is universally recommended in the first trimester of pregnancy. While working in the Oliver Reginald Tambo district in the Eastern Cape Department of Health, the researcher noticed that late booking was the norm in all sub-districts, especially in the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) sub-district, resulting in impaired antenatal care and an increased potential for adverse outcomes such as maternal mortalities. Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the reasons for late booking for antenatal care by pregnant women in the KSD sub-district. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine reasons why women were booking late for antenatal in KSD sub district. Methods: Thirteen in-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted with late bookers (i.e., those who sought antenatal care (ANC) after twenty weeks of pregnancy) between July and August 2015. The interviews were recorded and, subsequently, transcribed by a reputable linguist from Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and analysed using Creswell’s thematic analysis model. Findings: The average gestational age of booking was 22 weeks (ranging from 22 to 28 weeks). Most women were teenagers and young unmarried women, most of whom were still attending school. All were unemployed. Most had experienced previous pregnancies. All these women delayed attending clinic early due to their ignorance of the exact gestational period for one to start the clinic. Although most of the women did not have direct reasons, the bulk of their reasons for delays were linked to long distances being travelled, leading to the payment of expensive taxi fees. This may also be attributed to cultural factors that seem to promote a veil of secrecy regarding pregnancy, the desire for visual evidence of pregnancy first and the practice of married women having to care for sick relatives. Conclusion: Poor access to clinics is a fundamental systemic failure and a major contributor and one of the reasons why women delayed in attending antenatal care clinics. Low socio economic status and cultural beliefs, coupled with long distance and expensive taxi fare, are other reasons for late booking.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Records management practices for accountability in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province
- Authors: Khalankomo, Apiwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Records--Management Information organization Public records--Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Library and Information Science
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15287 , vital:40335
- Description: Records Management is playing a crucial role in government institutions, municipalities. This study sought to explore records management practices in for accountability in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa. The study sought to investigate whether the current records management practices upkeep or demoralize accountability and ultimate service delivery in the local municipalities. These are the objectives that were intended to be accomplished by the study: To find out the role of the provincial archives in the records management practices in Pixely ka Seme in the Northern Cape Province; To determine the extent to which records management practices in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province comply with the legal and regulatory requirements; and To assess the impact records management practices on service delivery in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province. Geographical Area; The district is comprised of eight local municipalities: Ubuntu, Umsobomvu, Emthanjeni, Kareeberg, Renosterberg, Thembelihle, Siyathemba and Siyancuma. Its main town is De Aar. Traffic flows through the region, linking the major industrial areas of the country. The area has a low rainfall, while the largest river in South Africa flows through it. Two of the major dams in South Africa, the Vanderkloof and Gariep Dams, are situated on the borders of the district municipality. Main Economic Sectors; Finance and business services (22.5percent), manufacturing (17.4percent), trade and accommodation (15.4percent), government services (12.9percent), transport and communication (11.3percent), mining (6.8percent), community and social services (5.6percent), construction (3.3percent), agriculture (2.7percent) Mixed methods were used for the investigation. Questionnaires and in depth interviews were used to collect data. Purposive sampling method was used to identify interview participants and adopted open ended questions to collect all necessary information by a questionnaire. The total population of the study was the Pixely ka Seme District employees in the Northern Cape Province. The Records Management Officials from eight local municipalities. The study sampled 18 participants but ended completing the investigation on 9 participants purposively. Total of Nine; 5 (56percent) of the participants were females while 4 (44percent) were males. The process was made possible through the use of purposive sampling to have the targeted respondents of the study. The study was enclosed within the theoretical frame of the “Life Cycle of a record” model and “Continuum model” to outline the whole process of record keeping discipline. The study discovered that records management negatively affected timely, effective and efficient accountability and in terms of audit results and service delivery. The results of the study revealed the dominance of the females in the records management practices in the Pixely ka Seme District. This finding was used was to analyze the impact of gender equality in the records management practices in the district. In this study, there is of a high number of females as compared to males and the study concluded that females led the records management structure in the Pixely Ka Seme District. Furthermore, the age range in this study proved to be one of the major factors that led to poor records management practice in the District. In addition, that qualification in relation to records management is the major hindrance in effective records management in the in the Pixely Ka Seme District in Northern Cape Province. Hereinafter, The Provincial Archives is not involved at all in the records management practices in the Northern Cape Province in the Pixely Ka Seme District. A large number of the municipalities do not have records management policies in place for the practice of proper records management. It is evident that records management compliance in compromised in this regard. A significant large number of the municipalities function without a legislative provision in terms of its record keeping. The study recommended that municipalities should now employ more and qualified records managers to rescue institutional records and the image of the organization. South African Local Government Association Records Management Forum (SALGA) as a municipal advocate must emphasize and command that municipalities must employ records managers at a managerial level to improve records section and professionalism in the field of records.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Khalankomo, Apiwe
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Records--Management Information organization Public records--Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Library and Information Science
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15287 , vital:40335
- Description: Records Management is playing a crucial role in government institutions, municipalities. This study sought to explore records management practices in for accountability in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa. The study sought to investigate whether the current records management practices upkeep or demoralize accountability and ultimate service delivery in the local municipalities. These are the objectives that were intended to be accomplished by the study: To find out the role of the provincial archives in the records management practices in Pixely ka Seme in the Northern Cape Province; To determine the extent to which records management practices in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province comply with the legal and regulatory requirements; and To assess the impact records management practices on service delivery in the Pixely ka Seme District in the Northern Cape Province. Geographical Area; The district is comprised of eight local municipalities: Ubuntu, Umsobomvu, Emthanjeni, Kareeberg, Renosterberg, Thembelihle, Siyathemba and Siyancuma. Its main town is De Aar. Traffic flows through the region, linking the major industrial areas of the country. The area has a low rainfall, while the largest river in South Africa flows through it. Two of the major dams in South Africa, the Vanderkloof and Gariep Dams, are situated on the borders of the district municipality. Main Economic Sectors; Finance and business services (22.5percent), manufacturing (17.4percent), trade and accommodation (15.4percent), government services (12.9percent), transport and communication (11.3percent), mining (6.8percent), community and social services (5.6percent), construction (3.3percent), agriculture (2.7percent) Mixed methods were used for the investigation. Questionnaires and in depth interviews were used to collect data. Purposive sampling method was used to identify interview participants and adopted open ended questions to collect all necessary information by a questionnaire. The total population of the study was the Pixely ka Seme District employees in the Northern Cape Province. The Records Management Officials from eight local municipalities. The study sampled 18 participants but ended completing the investigation on 9 participants purposively. Total of Nine; 5 (56percent) of the participants were females while 4 (44percent) were males. The process was made possible through the use of purposive sampling to have the targeted respondents of the study. The study was enclosed within the theoretical frame of the “Life Cycle of a record” model and “Continuum model” to outline the whole process of record keeping discipline. The study discovered that records management negatively affected timely, effective and efficient accountability and in terms of audit results and service delivery. The results of the study revealed the dominance of the females in the records management practices in the Pixely ka Seme District. This finding was used was to analyze the impact of gender equality in the records management practices in the district. In this study, there is of a high number of females as compared to males and the study concluded that females led the records management structure in the Pixely Ka Seme District. Furthermore, the age range in this study proved to be one of the major factors that led to poor records management practice in the District. In addition, that qualification in relation to records management is the major hindrance in effective records management in the in the Pixely Ka Seme District in Northern Cape Province. Hereinafter, The Provincial Archives is not involved at all in the records management practices in the Northern Cape Province in the Pixely Ka Seme District. A large number of the municipalities do not have records management policies in place for the practice of proper records management. It is evident that records management compliance in compromised in this regard. A significant large number of the municipalities function without a legislative provision in terms of its record keeping. The study recommended that municipalities should now employ more and qualified records managers to rescue institutional records and the image of the organization. South African Local Government Association Records Management Forum (SALGA) as a municipal advocate must emphasize and command that municipalities must employ records managers at a managerial level to improve records section and professionalism in the field of records.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Reducing the brittleness of poly-furfuryl alcohol resin used in composites
- Authors: Pillay, Princeton
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Textile chemistry , Textile chemicals
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/34350 , vital:33339
- Description: The thermoset market is dominated with petroleum-based products. The rising concerns on depletion of non-renewable resources and climate change has motivated researches and industries to find green alternatives for petroleum based materials. The thermoset polymer poly-furfuryl alcohol (PFA) displays good chemical, viscoelastic and moisture stability properties and importantly is bio-based, however, the cured PFA resin is very brittle. The approach of incorporating different types of particulate fillers into the PFA matrix and reinforcing the PFA matrix with flax fabric was used to address the brittleness issue associated with PFA. In the first study, flax fabric was treated with a diammonium phosphate based flame-retardant to reduce the flammability. Compression moulding was used to produce PFA biocomposites and PFA laminates. The effect of the flame-retardant was investigated using Scanning electron microscope (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and cone calorimeter, flexural and tensile tests. The flame-retardant treatment significantly improved the flammability properties, however, decreased the flexural and tensile properties. In the second study, 10 different fillers were selected, these being; ZnO, Clay, montmorillonite (MMT), Rubber, Chitin, Starch, CaCO3, Chitosan, Lignin and TiO2. These fillers were incorporated into the PFA resin at 2% and 5% concentration and reinforced with untreated (UT) flax fabric and flame-retardant (FR) treated flax fabric. Flexural, tensile and izod impact tests were performed on the cured laminates. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), SEM and micro x-ray computed tomography scan (CT scan) analysis was performed on selected samples. The inclusion of MMT and Rubber significantly increased the strength and the stiffness of the PFA/UT-Flax laminate while Clay and ZnO reduced the brittleness of the PFA/UT-Flax laminate. FR laminates generally exhibited poor mechanical properties regardless of the type of filler. This was the result of FR damaging the flax fibres during the compression moulding process and hindered the interaction between the PFA matrix and flax fabric. TGA results showed that FR treatment increased the thermal stability of the PFA laminate. SEM and CT scan analysis illustrated the large amount of voids between fabric layers, especially for UT-Flax laminates. The fillers MMT, Rubber and ZnO had a positive effect on the mechanical properties of UT-Flax laminates and therefore were used in the third study. A Box Behnken design of experiment was developed in which the concentration of MMT, Rubber and ZnO was varied between 0 – 5%. Multiple linear regression was used to model the mechanical properties of the PFA/UT-Flax laminates based on a full quadratic model. An optimized filler combination was determined with Solver ®. The experimental results of the optimised PFA/UT-Flax laminate were compared to the values predicted with the statistical model.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Pillay, Princeton
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Textile chemistry , Textile chemicals
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/34350 , vital:33339
- Description: The thermoset market is dominated with petroleum-based products. The rising concerns on depletion of non-renewable resources and climate change has motivated researches and industries to find green alternatives for petroleum based materials. The thermoset polymer poly-furfuryl alcohol (PFA) displays good chemical, viscoelastic and moisture stability properties and importantly is bio-based, however, the cured PFA resin is very brittle. The approach of incorporating different types of particulate fillers into the PFA matrix and reinforcing the PFA matrix with flax fabric was used to address the brittleness issue associated with PFA. In the first study, flax fabric was treated with a diammonium phosphate based flame-retardant to reduce the flammability. Compression moulding was used to produce PFA biocomposites and PFA laminates. The effect of the flame-retardant was investigated using Scanning electron microscope (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and cone calorimeter, flexural and tensile tests. The flame-retardant treatment significantly improved the flammability properties, however, decreased the flexural and tensile properties. In the second study, 10 different fillers were selected, these being; ZnO, Clay, montmorillonite (MMT), Rubber, Chitin, Starch, CaCO3, Chitosan, Lignin and TiO2. These fillers were incorporated into the PFA resin at 2% and 5% concentration and reinforced with untreated (UT) flax fabric and flame-retardant (FR) treated flax fabric. Flexural, tensile and izod impact tests were performed on the cured laminates. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), SEM and micro x-ray computed tomography scan (CT scan) analysis was performed on selected samples. The inclusion of MMT and Rubber significantly increased the strength and the stiffness of the PFA/UT-Flax laminate while Clay and ZnO reduced the brittleness of the PFA/UT-Flax laminate. FR laminates generally exhibited poor mechanical properties regardless of the type of filler. This was the result of FR damaging the flax fibres during the compression moulding process and hindered the interaction between the PFA matrix and flax fabric. TGA results showed that FR treatment increased the thermal stability of the PFA laminate. SEM and CT scan analysis illustrated the large amount of voids between fabric layers, especially for UT-Flax laminates. The fillers MMT, Rubber and ZnO had a positive effect on the mechanical properties of UT-Flax laminates and therefore were used in the third study. A Box Behnken design of experiment was developed in which the concentration of MMT, Rubber and ZnO was varied between 0 – 5%. Multiple linear regression was used to model the mechanical properties of the PFA/UT-Flax laminates based on a full quadratic model. An optimized filler combination was determined with Solver ®. The experimental results of the optimised PFA/UT-Flax laminate were compared to the values predicted with the statistical model.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Regional and community food systems for rural households :|bthe case of maize in Mqanduli, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Qangule, Mondli
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Food supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agricultural systems -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10232 , vital:35383
- Description: Smallholder farmers have been growing food in their communities, but some are still food insecure. Therefore, appropriate food systems are very important for smallholder farmers’ self-reliance as well as food and nutrition security. The study focuses only on community and regional maize food systems for rural households. The main aim of this study was to investigate the regional and community food systems for smallholder maize farmers in Mqanduli. The objectives of the study were to profile smallholder maize farmers, describing the existing maize food systems and patterns in Mqanduli and also to determine factors that influence farmers’ participation in local or regional markets. Availability or convenient sampling and random sampling techniques were used to collect primary data from smallholder maize farmers. Descriptive statistics was used to profile smallholder farmers, as well as, in describing the existing maize food systems at Mqanduli. The binary logistic regression model was used to analyse the variables that had influenced the smallholder famers’ participation in markets. Descriptive results revealed that, smallholder maize farmers in Mqanduli are characterised by high participation in both local and regional markets. Moreover, they utilized both community and regional food systems. Logistic regression results indicated that, out of 11 variables included in the analysis as factors influencing farmers’ participation, 6 of them (age, level of education, market information, distance, access to credit and extension visit) were found to be significant and 5 (gender, amount of land, transport availability etc) were not significant. However, access to credit and distance were found to be the most significant variables, showing a positive relationship to smallholder maize producer`s market participation. Therefore, it was recommended that, there must be more investment in research by government and policy makers when it comes to food systems especially in rural areas, to enhance smallholders’ livelihood. More access to credit is also needed by farmers in order to be able to market their produces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Qangule, Mondli
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Food supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Agricultural systems -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10232 , vital:35383
- Description: Smallholder farmers have been growing food in their communities, but some are still food insecure. Therefore, appropriate food systems are very important for smallholder farmers’ self-reliance as well as food and nutrition security. The study focuses only on community and regional maize food systems for rural households. The main aim of this study was to investigate the regional and community food systems for smallholder maize farmers in Mqanduli. The objectives of the study were to profile smallholder maize farmers, describing the existing maize food systems and patterns in Mqanduli and also to determine factors that influence farmers’ participation in local or regional markets. Availability or convenient sampling and random sampling techniques were used to collect primary data from smallholder maize farmers. Descriptive statistics was used to profile smallholder farmers, as well as, in describing the existing maize food systems at Mqanduli. The binary logistic regression model was used to analyse the variables that had influenced the smallholder famers’ participation in markets. Descriptive results revealed that, smallholder maize farmers in Mqanduli are characterised by high participation in both local and regional markets. Moreover, they utilized both community and regional food systems. Logistic regression results indicated that, out of 11 variables included in the analysis as factors influencing farmers’ participation, 6 of them (age, level of education, market information, distance, access to credit and extension visit) were found to be significant and 5 (gender, amount of land, transport availability etc) were not significant. However, access to credit and distance were found to be the most significant variables, showing a positive relationship to smallholder maize producer`s market participation. Therefore, it was recommended that, there must be more investment in research by government and policy makers when it comes to food systems especially in rural areas, to enhance smallholders’ livelihood. More access to credit is also needed by farmers in order to be able to market their produces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Regional value chains and development integration in the SADC Region: the case of the pharmaceutical industry
- Authors: Faydherbe, Sean
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Pharmaceutical industry -- Africa, Southern , Southern African Development Community , Africa, Southern -- Economic integration , Regional value chains (RVCs) , Global value chains (GVCs)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62906 , vital:28309
- Description: This thesis investigates how regional value chains (RVCs) can be used to further development integration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region with a focus on the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The study is motivated by the apparent lack of attention given to the development of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Southern Africa, the region’s high disease burden and the identification of the industry as economically and socially important by the SADC (2015) Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (2017a) Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP). At the same time, South Africa and other countries in the region are exploring alternative approaches to regional integration, given the failure or stagnation of numerous formal integration arrangements throughout Africa, which have often lead to polarised rather than balanced development. This thesis argues that the development of RVCs within SADC may be an effective tool for development integration in the region, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals. The study employs a value chain framework for the analysis and discusses development integration options, drawing on the East Asian experience with RVCs and on case studies involving India in the case of the pharmaceutical industry. It provides a sector profile of the industry in South Africa, due to its dominant status in the region, and also of Zimbabwe, due to that country’s potential to become a pharmaceutical industry leader in the region once again. The thesis first explores the important theoretical aspects underlying value chain analysis, namely governance and upgrading, while also outlining the rise of global value chains (GVCs). It analyses the complex relationships between RVCs and GVCs, and RVCs and regional integration. From this it concludes that RVCs are a stepping stone to participation in GVCs and that RVCs should be promoted within a development integration framework through strong regional cooperation. Value chain analysis is applied to the entire pharmaceutical manufacturing industry with a focus on SADC. The thesis examines how the sector is evolving with manufacturing multinational corporations (MNCs) outsourcing production and setting up centres of excellence in regional production hubs. The study argues that with the application of recommended policies, RVCs in sectors such as pharmaceutical manufacturing may provide a tool for achieving balanced development in the region. However, the study also finds that the pharmaceutical industry in SADC lags a long way behind the rest of the world and that many countries and firms will need to begin at the bottom of the value chain, with formulation, in order to contribute to the development of RVCs. The thesis concludes with recommendations on what policies are needed to foster the growth and development of pharmaceutical RVCs in the SADC region. These include strengthening public procurement, providing incentives for investment into the industry, incremental production and incremental export volumes, as well as certainty and predictability around the regulatory and business environment. Further, policy should aim to construct synergies and linkages on the ground between health systems and industrial developments; regulate service links important to pharmaceutical manufacturing; develop a coherent regional policy agenda; remove unnecessary non-tariff barriers to trade in the region and, in line with development integration, implement trade policy along with trade infrastructure that is efficient and includes airports, rail, roads and ports, as well as effective access to the internet.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Faydherbe, Sean
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Pharmaceutical industry -- Africa, Southern , Southern African Development Community , Africa, Southern -- Economic integration , Regional value chains (RVCs) , Global value chains (GVCs)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62906 , vital:28309
- Description: This thesis investigates how regional value chains (RVCs) can be used to further development integration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region with a focus on the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The study is motivated by the apparent lack of attention given to the development of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Southern Africa, the region’s high disease burden and the identification of the industry as economically and socially important by the SADC (2015) Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (2017a) Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP). At the same time, South Africa and other countries in the region are exploring alternative approaches to regional integration, given the failure or stagnation of numerous formal integration arrangements throughout Africa, which have often lead to polarised rather than balanced development. This thesis argues that the development of RVCs within SADC may be an effective tool for development integration in the region, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals. The study employs a value chain framework for the analysis and discusses development integration options, drawing on the East Asian experience with RVCs and on case studies involving India in the case of the pharmaceutical industry. It provides a sector profile of the industry in South Africa, due to its dominant status in the region, and also of Zimbabwe, due to that country’s potential to become a pharmaceutical industry leader in the region once again. The thesis first explores the important theoretical aspects underlying value chain analysis, namely governance and upgrading, while also outlining the rise of global value chains (GVCs). It analyses the complex relationships between RVCs and GVCs, and RVCs and regional integration. From this it concludes that RVCs are a stepping stone to participation in GVCs and that RVCs should be promoted within a development integration framework through strong regional cooperation. Value chain analysis is applied to the entire pharmaceutical manufacturing industry with a focus on SADC. The thesis examines how the sector is evolving with manufacturing multinational corporations (MNCs) outsourcing production and setting up centres of excellence in regional production hubs. The study argues that with the application of recommended policies, RVCs in sectors such as pharmaceutical manufacturing may provide a tool for achieving balanced development in the region. However, the study also finds that the pharmaceutical industry in SADC lags a long way behind the rest of the world and that many countries and firms will need to begin at the bottom of the value chain, with formulation, in order to contribute to the development of RVCs. The thesis concludes with recommendations on what policies are needed to foster the growth and development of pharmaceutical RVCs in the SADC region. These include strengthening public procurement, providing incentives for investment into the industry, incremental production and incremental export volumes, as well as certainty and predictability around the regulatory and business environment. Further, policy should aim to construct synergies and linkages on the ground between health systems and industrial developments; regulate service links important to pharmaceutical manufacturing; develop a coherent regional policy agenda; remove unnecessary non-tariff barriers to trade in the region and, in line with development integration, implement trade policy along with trade infrastructure that is efficient and includes airports, rail, roads and ports, as well as effective access to the internet.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018