The protection of indigenous knowledge within the current intellectual property rights regime: a critical assessment focusing upon the Masakhane Pelargonium case
- Authors: Msomi, Zuziwe Nokwanda
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Intellectual property -- South Africa -- Case studies Cultural property -- Protection -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Indigenous peoples -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa Masakhane (South Africa) -- Trials, litigation, etc. Pelargoniums -- Therapeutic use Traditional ecological knowledge -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Pharmaceutical industry -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2871 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007744
- Description: The use of indigenous knowledge (IK) and indigenous bio-resources by pharmaceutical and herbal industries has led to concerns about the need to protect IK in order to prevent biopiracy and the misappropriation of indigenous knowledge and resources. While some commentators believe that intellectual property rights (IPR) law can effectively protect IK, others are more sceptical. In order to contribute to the growing debate on this issue, this study uses the relatively new and as yet largely critically unanalysed Masakhane Pelargonium case to address the question of whether or not IPR law can be used to effectively protect IK. It is argued here that discussion about the protection of IK is a matter that must be located within broader discussions about North-South relations and the continued struggle for economic and political freedom by indigenous people and their states. The Masakhane case suggests that IPR law in its current form cannot provide sufficient protection of IK on its own. Incompatibilities between IPR law and IK necessitate that certain factors, most important of which are land, organised representation, and what are referred as 'confidence and network resources', be present in order for IPR law to be used with any degree of success. The study also reveals various factors that undermine the possibility of using IPR law to protect IK. In particular, the study highlights the way in which local political tensions can undermine the ability of communities to effectively use IPR law to protect their knowledge. The thesis concludes with several recommendations that will enable indigenous communities and their states to benefit more substantially from the commercialisation of their bio-resources and associated IK.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Msomi, Zuziwe Nokwanda
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Intellectual property -- South Africa -- Case studies Cultural property -- Protection -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Indigenous peoples -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa Masakhane (South Africa) -- Trials, litigation, etc. Pelargoniums -- Therapeutic use Traditional ecological knowledge -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Pharmaceutical industry -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2871 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007744
- Description: The use of indigenous knowledge (IK) and indigenous bio-resources by pharmaceutical and herbal industries has led to concerns about the need to protect IK in order to prevent biopiracy and the misappropriation of indigenous knowledge and resources. While some commentators believe that intellectual property rights (IPR) law can effectively protect IK, others are more sceptical. In order to contribute to the growing debate on this issue, this study uses the relatively new and as yet largely critically unanalysed Masakhane Pelargonium case to address the question of whether or not IPR law can be used to effectively protect IK. It is argued here that discussion about the protection of IK is a matter that must be located within broader discussions about North-South relations and the continued struggle for economic and political freedom by indigenous people and their states. The Masakhane case suggests that IPR law in its current form cannot provide sufficient protection of IK on its own. Incompatibilities between IPR law and IK necessitate that certain factors, most important of which are land, organised representation, and what are referred as 'confidence and network resources', be present in order for IPR law to be used with any degree of success. The study also reveals various factors that undermine the possibility of using IPR law to protect IK. In particular, the study highlights the way in which local political tensions can undermine the ability of communities to effectively use IPR law to protect their knowledge. The thesis concludes with several recommendations that will enable indigenous communities and their states to benefit more substantially from the commercialisation of their bio-resources and associated IK.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Crossing the border : constructions of borderline personality disorder within the South African context: a discourse analytic study
- Authors: Elphick, Marie-Clair
- Date: 2013-07-12
- Subjects: Borderline personality disorder -- South Africa Borderline personality disorder -- Diagnosis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3184 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008307
- Description: This research aims to open up for critical discussion the effects of the discourses employed by mental health professionals in relation to the diagnosis of BPO, with a view of questioning the discursive practices available within a South African context. This discussion will situate identified discourses in relation to the subjects and objects to which it refers in an attempt to identify and interrogate dominant discourses which circulate to oppress and discriminate against female 'others' within the mental health setting. This discussion will serve to challenge mainstream, traditional psychology by questioning the utility of deploying these concepts within a South African context as well as the effects this deployment may have. A discourse analytic methodology is employed to identify the constructions of BPO by five mental health professionals working within a government setting. The analysis aims at interrogating the broader role of the identified discourses in supporting institutions, preserving power relations and transmitting ideological practices. Ultimately the aim of the research is to open up for critical debate, through the example of psychology and psychiatry's treatment of BPO; constituted as 'other', the possibility that there may be deleterious consequences for the wholesale acceptance of traditional psychological understandings by mental health professionals working within a South African context. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Elphick, Marie-Clair
- Date: 2013-07-12
- Subjects: Borderline personality disorder -- South Africa Borderline personality disorder -- Diagnosis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3184 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008307
- Description: This research aims to open up for critical discussion the effects of the discourses employed by mental health professionals in relation to the diagnosis of BPO, with a view of questioning the discursive practices available within a South African context. This discussion will situate identified discourses in relation to the subjects and objects to which it refers in an attempt to identify and interrogate dominant discourses which circulate to oppress and discriminate against female 'others' within the mental health setting. This discussion will serve to challenge mainstream, traditional psychology by questioning the utility of deploying these concepts within a South African context as well as the effects this deployment may have. A discourse analytic methodology is employed to identify the constructions of BPO by five mental health professionals working within a government setting. The analysis aims at interrogating the broader role of the identified discourses in supporting institutions, preserving power relations and transmitting ideological practices. Ultimately the aim of the research is to open up for critical debate, through the example of psychology and psychiatry's treatment of BPO; constituted as 'other', the possibility that there may be deleterious consequences for the wholesale acceptance of traditional psychological understandings by mental health professionals working within a South African context. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
Kedibone
- Authors: Mokae, Sabata Paul
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa , Creative writing -- Fiction , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6000 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020883
- Description: A young woman from a rural village near Kimberley is killed by her husband in a fit of jealousy. Her illiterate mother is summoned to the hospital to authorize the removal of vital organs – eyes, liver, kidney and heart – for organ donation. But some members of the family feel that their child should not be buried with parts of her body missing. Thus begins a story that changes the lives of many people, both black and white, over the following twenty years.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mokae, Sabata Paul
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa , Creative writing -- Fiction , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6000 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020883
- Description: A young woman from a rural village near Kimberley is killed by her husband in a fit of jealousy. Her illiterate mother is summoned to the hospital to authorize the removal of vital organs – eyes, liver, kidney and heart – for organ donation. But some members of the family feel that their child should not be buried with parts of her body missing. Thus begins a story that changes the lives of many people, both black and white, over the following twenty years.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“Exploring barriers to citizen participation in development: a case study of a participatory broadcasting project in rural Malawi”
- Authors: Mtelera, Prince
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Political participation -- Malawi , Malawi -- Citizen participation , Citizen journalism -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3539 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016360
- Description: In Malawi, as in many newly-democratic countries in the developing world, donor organisations and NGOs have embarked on projects aimed at making reforms in governance which have generated a profusion of new spaces for citizen engagement. This thesis critically examines one such project in Malawi against the backdrop of a democratic nation emerging from a background of dictatorial regime. For thirty years, until 1994, Malawi was under the one-party regime of Kamuzu Banda which was characterised by dictatorial tendencies, in which participatory processes were non-existent and development was defined in terms of client-patronage relationships between the state and society (Cammack, 2004: 17). In 1994, however, Malawi embraced a multiparty system of government, paving way to various political and social reforms, which adopted participatory approaches to development. Drawing on a number of literatures, this thesis seeks to historicize the relationship which developed during the pre democracy era between the state and society in Malawi to underscore its influence on the current dispositions displayed by both bureaucrats and citizens as they engage in participatory decision making processes. This is achieved through a critical realist case study of a participatory radio project in Malawi called Ndizathuzomwe which works through a network of community-based radio production structures popularly known as ‘Radio Listening Clubs’(RLCs) where communities are mobilised at village level to first identify and define development problems through consensus and then secondly engage state bureaucrats, politicians, and members of other relevant service delivery organisations in making decisions aimed at resolving community-identified development problems (Chijere-Chirwa et al, 2000). Unlike during the pre-democracy era, there is now a shift in the discourse of participation in development, from the participation of ‘beneficiaries’ in projects, to the more political and rights-based definitions of participation by citizens who are the ‘makers and shapers’ of their own development (Cornwall and Gaventa, 2000). The findings of this thesis, however point to the fact that, there remains a gap between normative expectations and empirical realities in that spaces for participation are not neutral, but are themselves shaped by power relations (Cornwall, 2002). A number of preconditions exist for entry into participatory institutions as such entry of certain interests and actors into public spaces is privileged over others through a prevailing mobilisation of bias or rules of the game (Lukes, 1974: I)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mtelera, Prince
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Political participation -- Malawi , Malawi -- Citizen participation , Citizen journalism -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3539 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016360
- Description: In Malawi, as in many newly-democratic countries in the developing world, donor organisations and NGOs have embarked on projects aimed at making reforms in governance which have generated a profusion of new spaces for citizen engagement. This thesis critically examines one such project in Malawi against the backdrop of a democratic nation emerging from a background of dictatorial regime. For thirty years, until 1994, Malawi was under the one-party regime of Kamuzu Banda which was characterised by dictatorial tendencies, in which participatory processes were non-existent and development was defined in terms of client-patronage relationships between the state and society (Cammack, 2004: 17). In 1994, however, Malawi embraced a multiparty system of government, paving way to various political and social reforms, which adopted participatory approaches to development. Drawing on a number of literatures, this thesis seeks to historicize the relationship which developed during the pre democracy era between the state and society in Malawi to underscore its influence on the current dispositions displayed by both bureaucrats and citizens as they engage in participatory decision making processes. This is achieved through a critical realist case study of a participatory radio project in Malawi called Ndizathuzomwe which works through a network of community-based radio production structures popularly known as ‘Radio Listening Clubs’(RLCs) where communities are mobilised at village level to first identify and define development problems through consensus and then secondly engage state bureaucrats, politicians, and members of other relevant service delivery organisations in making decisions aimed at resolving community-identified development problems (Chijere-Chirwa et al, 2000). Unlike during the pre-democracy era, there is now a shift in the discourse of participation in development, from the participation of ‘beneficiaries’ in projects, to the more political and rights-based definitions of participation by citizens who are the ‘makers and shapers’ of their own development (Cornwall and Gaventa, 2000). The findings of this thesis, however point to the fact that, there remains a gap between normative expectations and empirical realities in that spaces for participation are not neutral, but are themselves shaped by power relations (Cornwall, 2002). A number of preconditions exist for entry into participatory institutions as such entry of certain interests and actors into public spaces is privileged over others through a prevailing mobilisation of bias or rules of the game (Lukes, 1974: I)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
An investigation into how Zimbabwe's Bulawayo viewers negotiate the gay storyline in Generations
- Authors: Khumalo, Senziwani
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Generations (Television program) , Homosexuality on television , Homosexuality -- Social aspects -- Zimbabwe -- Bulawayo , Homosexuality -- Law and legislation -- Zimbabwe , Homophobia -- Zimbabwe -- Bulawayo , Social psychology -- Zimbabwe -- Bulawayo
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3543 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017784
- Description: This study seeks to evaluate how aspects of religion, culture, political context, education and class, amongst others, impact on the manner with which Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo residents make sense of media messages which explore issues of homosexuality, as encountered in the soap opera Generations. This is against the backdrop of Zimbabwean legislation, such as the Sexual Deviancy Act, which criminalises homosexuality and the state victimisation of gays and lesbians in this country. The inclusion of homosexual liberties was rejected by all political parties and both public and private media in the recent drafting of a new rule of law. The legislation, including gay rights exclusion in the new constitution, and state action has perpetuated an impression that Zimbabwe is a deeply homophobic society. As a starting point the study examines the claims of the media imperialism thesis which supposes an all-consuming power of western media and next examines Straubhaar’s thesis of ‘cultural proximity’ which argues that there is often a preference for regional media, which is proximate to viewers’ local culture, language and identity. The study explores the prominence of South Africa as a regional media player and that proximate identities with some cultures in that country have played a role in drawing some Bulawayo viewers to South African television, as they feel slighted by Zimbabwean media. Utilising qualitative research methods, the study explores whether or not the representation of gay images on this South African soap opera provides viewers with opportunities for ‘symbolic distancing’. The concept highlights that when people have insight into lifestyles that are different from their own, they use that as a resource to critically analyse their own lives and cultural understandings. The study evaluates if Bulawayo viewers’ sentiments towards homosexuality has been challenged and changed through their interface with the soap opera, Generations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Khumalo, Senziwani
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Generations (Television program) , Homosexuality on television , Homosexuality -- Social aspects -- Zimbabwe -- Bulawayo , Homosexuality -- Law and legislation -- Zimbabwe , Homophobia -- Zimbabwe -- Bulawayo , Social psychology -- Zimbabwe -- Bulawayo
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3543 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017784
- Description: This study seeks to evaluate how aspects of religion, culture, political context, education and class, amongst others, impact on the manner with which Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo residents make sense of media messages which explore issues of homosexuality, as encountered in the soap opera Generations. This is against the backdrop of Zimbabwean legislation, such as the Sexual Deviancy Act, which criminalises homosexuality and the state victimisation of gays and lesbians in this country. The inclusion of homosexual liberties was rejected by all political parties and both public and private media in the recent drafting of a new rule of law. The legislation, including gay rights exclusion in the new constitution, and state action has perpetuated an impression that Zimbabwe is a deeply homophobic society. As a starting point the study examines the claims of the media imperialism thesis which supposes an all-consuming power of western media and next examines Straubhaar’s thesis of ‘cultural proximity’ which argues that there is often a preference for regional media, which is proximate to viewers’ local culture, language and identity. The study explores the prominence of South Africa as a regional media player and that proximate identities with some cultures in that country have played a role in drawing some Bulawayo viewers to South African television, as they feel slighted by Zimbabwean media. Utilising qualitative research methods, the study explores whether or not the representation of gay images on this South African soap opera provides viewers with opportunities for ‘symbolic distancing’. The concept highlights that when people have insight into lifestyles that are different from their own, they use that as a resource to critically analyse their own lives and cultural understandings. The study evaluates if Bulawayo viewers’ sentiments towards homosexuality has been challenged and changed through their interface with the soap opera, Generations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Selfhood, identity and madness in the works of Milan Kundera and Peter Carey
- Authors: Graven, Ashley Holm
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3904 , vital:20554
- Description: Despite all the critical attention Milan Kundera’s and Peter Carey’s fiction has received, relatively little has been said about the way in which these authors problematise selfhood. In this study, I argue that these two writers share a preoccupation with the strictures placed on the individual by his/her location in language and discourse. I show that they deconstruct subjectivity with a view to intimating the possibility of momentarily transcending discursive control, and thereby inhabiting authentic selfhood. In addition, I demonstrate that both authors draw attention to the nature of language through their thematisation of madness, and I then trace the implications of this nexus between language and madness for the reader, who of course is a subject in language. My contention in this regard is that Carey and Kundera seek to instil in the reader a self-reflexive awareness of the ways in which his/her location in language shapes his/her perception of others. In turn, this awareness charges the reader with the responsibility of questioning his/her judgements, and thereby enables him/her to negotiate a measure of authenticity from his/her position in language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Graven, Ashley Holm
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3904 , vital:20554
- Description: Despite all the critical attention Milan Kundera’s and Peter Carey’s fiction has received, relatively little has been said about the way in which these authors problematise selfhood. In this study, I argue that these two writers share a preoccupation with the strictures placed on the individual by his/her location in language and discourse. I show that they deconstruct subjectivity with a view to intimating the possibility of momentarily transcending discursive control, and thereby inhabiting authentic selfhood. In addition, I demonstrate that both authors draw attention to the nature of language through their thematisation of madness, and I then trace the implications of this nexus between language and madness for the reader, who of course is a subject in language. My contention in this regard is that Carey and Kundera seek to instil in the reader a self-reflexive awareness of the ways in which his/her location in language shapes his/her perception of others. In turn, this awareness charges the reader with the responsibility of questioning his/her judgements, and thereby enables him/her to negotiate a measure of authenticity from his/her position in language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The design of a research centre for the study of indigenous medical plants, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha
- Authors: Dabula, Xola
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: College buildings , Research institutes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Designs and plans , Architecture -- Technological innovations -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Architecture, Modern
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18718 , vital:28710
- Description: This treatise is preoccupied with the design of an Indigenous Medicine Research Institute within the region of (the former) underdeveloped Transkei. The interest in the matter developed out of a concern for a medical system which finds itself in jeopardy of depletion due to over-harvesting which is endangering the ecosystem and its dependents. This is as a resultant lack of development due to its informal nature, and loss of impact of traditional knowledge. Indigenous medicine forms part of the cultural, religious, medical and socio-economical back bone of the region, research will create opportunities for the discovery of new medicinal plants and exploring the applications of age-old remedies in contemporary times. Thus developing and promoting indigenous medicine of the region to a wider user group, in a sustainable method which will protect the environment. Architecturally, the design seeks to respond to an in-depth quest to identify the appropriate nurturing of the relationship between learning and the natural environment, while accommodating the necessary programmatic components which will satisfy the needs of the Institute; namely education, conservation and research. Central to the design is the development of an architecture that addresses the fundamental challenges of education, conservation and the research of plants, in a manner that provides opportunities for collaborative learning practices and an interchange between the user-groups and the plants to be studied, resulting in a building that is at harmony with nature. Through this collaboration of the diverse components, an effective scheme has evolved which offers a singular co-operative environment for the indigenous medical system, in a particular effort to transform the learning environment and extend of the knowledge, as a catalyst for further development and reconciliation with nature. Set in the academic context of the Walter Sisulu University Campus, a once major university in Transkei renowned for its medical department, the Research Institute facility re-establishes the University's medical status in a manner that truly represents its region. The built form will integrate itself into the existing campus conditions in a contemporary way that sets up a response which is conducive to the discovery, preservation and sharing of knowledge pertaining to indigenous medicine.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Dabula, Xola
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: College buildings , Research institutes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Designs and plans , Architecture -- Technological innovations -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Architecture, Modern
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18718 , vital:28710
- Description: This treatise is preoccupied with the design of an Indigenous Medicine Research Institute within the region of (the former) underdeveloped Transkei. The interest in the matter developed out of a concern for a medical system which finds itself in jeopardy of depletion due to over-harvesting which is endangering the ecosystem and its dependents. This is as a resultant lack of development due to its informal nature, and loss of impact of traditional knowledge. Indigenous medicine forms part of the cultural, religious, medical and socio-economical back bone of the region, research will create opportunities for the discovery of new medicinal plants and exploring the applications of age-old remedies in contemporary times. Thus developing and promoting indigenous medicine of the region to a wider user group, in a sustainable method which will protect the environment. Architecturally, the design seeks to respond to an in-depth quest to identify the appropriate nurturing of the relationship between learning and the natural environment, while accommodating the necessary programmatic components which will satisfy the needs of the Institute; namely education, conservation and research. Central to the design is the development of an architecture that addresses the fundamental challenges of education, conservation and the research of plants, in a manner that provides opportunities for collaborative learning practices and an interchange between the user-groups and the plants to be studied, resulting in a building that is at harmony with nature. Through this collaboration of the diverse components, an effective scheme has evolved which offers a singular co-operative environment for the indigenous medical system, in a particular effort to transform the learning environment and extend of the knowledge, as a catalyst for further development and reconciliation with nature. Set in the academic context of the Walter Sisulu University Campus, a once major university in Transkei renowned for its medical department, the Research Institute facility re-establishes the University's medical status in a manner that truly represents its region. The built form will integrate itself into the existing campus conditions in a contemporary way that sets up a response which is conducive to the discovery, preservation and sharing of knowledge pertaining to indigenous medicine.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Work engagement ,organizational commitment and perceived organizational support within a South African agricultural organization
- Authors: Van der Byl, Sally Louise
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Organizational commitment Employee motivation -- Agriculture , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45580 , vital:38915
- Description: As organisations focus on cultivating extraordinary performance and developing human strength, the need for understanding related constructs has increased. Work engagement, organisational commitment and POS are associated with positive experiences in the workplace. By better understanding these constructs within the agricultural industry, agricultural organisations can focus and develop these constructs in order to increase their sustained competitive advantage. A self-report electronic questionnaire was distributed to employees (N = 126) of a large agricultural organisation whose employees are located throughout South Africa. The measuring instrument measured demographic variables, work engagement, organisational commitment and POS. descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that both the work engagement and POS constructs are related to affective, normative and overall organisational commitment. A substantial relationship was also established between work engagement and POS. It was also determined that employees with specialised industry skills are more engaged and committed than their colleagues whose skills are not directly related to agriculture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Van der Byl, Sally Louise
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Organizational commitment Employee motivation -- Agriculture , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45580 , vital:38915
- Description: As organisations focus on cultivating extraordinary performance and developing human strength, the need for understanding related constructs has increased. Work engagement, organisational commitment and POS are associated with positive experiences in the workplace. By better understanding these constructs within the agricultural industry, agricultural organisations can focus and develop these constructs in order to increase their sustained competitive advantage. A self-report electronic questionnaire was distributed to employees (N = 126) of a large agricultural organisation whose employees are located throughout South Africa. The measuring instrument measured demographic variables, work engagement, organisational commitment and POS. descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that both the work engagement and POS constructs are related to affective, normative and overall organisational commitment. A substantial relationship was also established between work engagement and POS. It was also determined that employees with specialised industry skills are more engaged and committed than their colleagues whose skills are not directly related to agriculture.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Decent work and informal employment: the case of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province (Central Business District) Zimbabwe
- Authors: Bob, Shaka Keny
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Labor -- Zimbabwe , Informal sector (Economics) -- Zimbabwe , Job creation -- Zimbabwe , Poor -- Zimbabwe -- Employment , Labor policy -- Zimbabwe , Football coaches -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115241 , vital:34104
- Description: Zimbabwe, similar to other developing countries experiences a high level of informal employment. However, most informal jobs are situated in very poor working conditions and are characterised by decent work deficits. Despite the fact that various studies have shown the importance of the informal economy in that it provides livelihood earning opportunities for the majority of people in the Global South, it has remained a largely forgotten sector in policy making in most countries. It is, therefore, important that informal work be taken seriously and efforts must be made to improve working conditions for the urban working poor in the developing world. The purpose of this study is to investigate on the self-reported experiences of informal workers to understand their perspectives surrounding the concept of decent work in the Zimbabwean context. The case study is the Bulawayo metropolitan province, and this study targeted informal workers who trade within the central business district. The study also aimed to measure the decent work deficit scores between two economic sectors (food and clothing traders). This was done by testing the suitability of the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index as a methodology of measuring decent work at a micro level. The analysis is based on a mixed methods study which was carried out through the use of a semi-structured survey. The study revealed that decent work for the sampled informal workers meant work related improvements, insurances and risk management, right of expression and business advancement skills which closely resembles the International Labour Organisation's conceptualisation of decent work. The study also highlighted that childcare assistance and disability insurance are concepts which remained excluded in the current conceptualisation of decent work. The thesis offers a new policy angle which shows that to promote decent work the concept of heterogeneity must be adopted because inequalities persist within the informal economy. The study also suggested that the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index can be used as an appropriate methodology of monitoring the progress towards achieving decent work at the micro level i.e. industry or individual level. This is because since the formation of the decent work concept; the International Labour Organisation has only provided a methodology of how to measure the progress of decent work at the county level. The survey findings revealed that food vendors scored more poorly on the decent work deficit index compared to the clothing traders. The study also identified that food vendors and clothing traders are faced with different challenges which suggests that policy makers must take that into consideration when attempting to design policies or programmes which are aimed at assisting informal workers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bob, Shaka Keny
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Labor -- Zimbabwe , Informal sector (Economics) -- Zimbabwe , Job creation -- Zimbabwe , Poor -- Zimbabwe -- Employment , Labor policy -- Zimbabwe , Football coaches -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115241 , vital:34104
- Description: Zimbabwe, similar to other developing countries experiences a high level of informal employment. However, most informal jobs are situated in very poor working conditions and are characterised by decent work deficits. Despite the fact that various studies have shown the importance of the informal economy in that it provides livelihood earning opportunities for the majority of people in the Global South, it has remained a largely forgotten sector in policy making in most countries. It is, therefore, important that informal work be taken seriously and efforts must be made to improve working conditions for the urban working poor in the developing world. The purpose of this study is to investigate on the self-reported experiences of informal workers to understand their perspectives surrounding the concept of decent work in the Zimbabwean context. The case study is the Bulawayo metropolitan province, and this study targeted informal workers who trade within the central business district. The study also aimed to measure the decent work deficit scores between two economic sectors (food and clothing traders). This was done by testing the suitability of the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index as a methodology of measuring decent work at a micro level. The analysis is based on a mixed methods study which was carried out through the use of a semi-structured survey. The study revealed that decent work for the sampled informal workers meant work related improvements, insurances and risk management, right of expression and business advancement skills which closely resembles the International Labour Organisation's conceptualisation of decent work. The study also highlighted that childcare assistance and disability insurance are concepts which remained excluded in the current conceptualisation of decent work. The thesis offers a new policy angle which shows that to promote decent work the concept of heterogeneity must be adopted because inequalities persist within the informal economy. The study also suggested that the Edward Webster Decent Work Deficit Index can be used as an appropriate methodology of monitoring the progress towards achieving decent work at the micro level i.e. industry or individual level. This is because since the formation of the decent work concept; the International Labour Organisation has only provided a methodology of how to measure the progress of decent work at the county level. The survey findings revealed that food vendors scored more poorly on the decent work deficit index compared to the clothing traders. The study also identified that food vendors and clothing traders are faced with different challenges which suggests that policy makers must take that into consideration when attempting to design policies or programmes which are aimed at assisting informal workers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
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