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Investigating the employee turnover of educators in selected schools in the Butterworth Education District

  • Authors: Siganagana, Zimkitha
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Labor turnover -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Employee retention -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teachers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45227 , vital:38334
  • Description: The aim of this study is to investigate the employee turnover of educators in the Butterworth Education District. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to review the literature on human resource management. The motivation of job satisfaction was used to utilise the full potential people so as to ensure quality products and services. This is a very complex issue owing to the wide range of internal and external factors that impact on it. The study employed a literature study to examine the employee turnover. Moreover, the study discussed the types, consequences and factors influencing employee turnover. It also discussed retaining strategies, steps to manage employee turnover and methods to reduce employee turnover. The findings of the study revealed that an overview of human resource management plays a key role in determining the survival, effectiveness and competitiveness of an organisation. Factors influencing employee turnover determine employee turnover, and one of these is the labour market, which is determined by economic conditions. The findings also revealed that the causes and consequences of employee turnover can impact both negatively and positively to the organisation. Thus, the management of the Department of Education should perhaps adopt intervention strategies to control the main factors. In this regard, the study made recommendations for the motivation of educators in carrying out the core business of teaching and learning. This would involve the adequate allocation of all resources and benefits that surround teaching and learning and the introduction of a retention policy, which might encourage qualified and productive employees to continue working for the Department and reduce the unwanted voluntary turnover of valuable employees.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2019

Investigating the employee turnover of educators in selected schools in the Butterworth Education District

  • Authors: Siganagana, Zimkitha
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Employee turnover
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44634 , vital:38157
  • Description: The aim of this study is to investigate the employee turnover of educators in the Butterworth Education District. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to review the literature on human resource management. The motivation of job satisfaction was used to utilise the full potential people so as to ensure quality products and services. This is a very complex issue owing to the wide range of internal and external factors that impact on it. The study employed a literature study to examine the employee turnover. Moreover, the study discussed the types, consequences and factors influencing employee turnover. It also discussed retaining strategies, steps to manage employee turnover and methods to reduce employee turnover. The findings of the study revealed that an overview of human resource management plays a key role in determining the survival, effectiveness and competitiveness of an organisation. Factors influencing employee turnover determine employee turnover, and one of these is the labour market, which is determined by economic conditions. The findings also revealed that the causes and consequences of employee turnover can impact both negatively and positively to the organisation. Thus, the management of the Department of Education should perhaps adopt intervention strategies to control the main factors. In this regard, the study made recommendations for the motivation of educators in carrying out the core business of teaching and learning. This would involve the adequate allocation of all resources and benefits that surround teaching and learning and the introduction of a retention policy, which might encourage qualified and productive employees to continue working for the Department and reduce the unwanted voluntary turnover of valuable employees.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Investigating the linguistic effectiveness of early reading schemes in isiXhosa: a phonological and orthographical analysis of three isiXhosa Grade 1 graded reader series

  • Authors: Katz, Jennifer L
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Education, Elementary -- South Africa , Literacy -- South Africa , Xhosa language -- Readers , Native language and education -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92798 , vital:30748
  • Description: Literacy in South Africa is in crisis. Inadequate learning and teaching materials, extensive curriculum changes, under-resourced schools and under-qualified teachers are all contributing factors to an alarming situation. Grade 1 African language reading schemes in South Africa are failing to provide young children with the necessary and appropriate practice required to facilitate home language literacy acquisition (NEEDU 2013). A detailed analysis of three isiXhosa Grade 1 graded reader series will show the short-comings of texts translated from English with no cognisance of isiXhosa phonic structures and little appreciation for the agglutinative nature of Nguni languages. Formulating a new, effective approach to the development of African language readers to facilitate reading literacy is urgent and of national importance. The innovative phonics-based methodology, as well as an appropriate instructional level used to develop the Vula Bula Grade 1 isiXhosa readers appears to be a viable blueprint for the development of early readers that can effectively help to ameliorate current deficient literacy levels in African languages. This research thus combines applied linguistics with literacy materials development.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Investigating the nature of grade six after school mathematics club learners’ shifts in mathematical number sense and procedural fluency

  • Authors: Baart, Noluntu Via
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa -- Case studies , Numeracy -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96825 , vital:31326
  • Description: A wide range of research locally points to intermediate phase learners having extremely weak basic number sense resulting in the dominance of inefficient strategies for calculations with the four operations, irrespective of the number range. The grade six Annual National Assessments (ANA) diagnostic reports for 2012 to 2014 also point to errors and misconceptions that tend to dominate learners’ computations in the four basic operations; such errors are often attributed to the use of either tallies or incorrectly applied mathematical procedures. Having the above context in mind and following informal conversations with teachers in the Uitenhage Education District, five teachers expressed an interest in running the afterschool mathematics clubs based on the South African Numeracy Chair (SANC) project model. The SANC project team ran workshops in April, May and June 2016 with nine teachers (five as facilitators and four others as co-facilitators in five different club sites) in which teachers were provided with key resources for use in their clubs. Fifteen club sessions ran in each club with grade six learners across the 2nd and 3rd terms. These clubs form the empirical field for this research, which aims to investigate the nature of learners’ evolving number sense, procedural fluency and teachers’ experiences of working with learners in the club space. The unit of analysis in this study is both the shifts evident in learners’ number sense and procedural fluency as a result of participating in the clubs and the teacher’s experiences of working with learners in those clubs as club facilitators. A social constructivist perspective of learning guides this study. Especially Vygotsky’s (1978) notion that cognitive development stems from social interactions and guided learning within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of children, guided by more knowledgeable others. Furthermore, Kilpatrick et al.’s (2001) strands of mathematical proficiency provide the conceptual frame with a particular focus on procedural fluency and number sense. A mixed method approach to data collection was used. Quantitative data has been drawn from learner’s scores on pre- and post- assessments on four basic operations. Visual progression spectra have been adopted from the Pushing for Progression (PfP) Programme which is an intervention Programme developed by the SANC project for club facilitators. They provide explanations of learner progression trajectories and how to analyse learner methods. Qualitative narratives were drawn from learner progression data, as well as teacher post club questionnaires and one-to-one teacher interviews. The findings of this research suggest that learner workings when used in conjunction with visual progression spectra can provide important clues to researchers and teachers. This in turn contributes to an understanding of where learners are in their mathematical learning and gives ideas for how to support learners to progress using more flexible methods of calculation, particularly for poor performing learners. Included, is the discussion of the effectiveness of the club space to enable such shifts and improve learner flexibility, fluency and performance as displayed in learner methods and scores of the pre- and post- assessments. The teachers’ observations about the relaxed atmosphere in the club space, small sized groups, learning through play with co-members may have enabled the shifts in procedural fluency and number sense in club learners. Additionally, implications of the study are discussed, and tentative recommendations are made for the DBE to consider.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Investigating the role of extension officers in supporting social learning of rainwater harvesting practices amongst rural smallholder farmers in Nkonkobe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Sithole, Phindile Nomfundo
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Water harvesting -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rainwater -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water-supply, Agricultural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water-supply, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural extension workers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96757 , vital:31316
  • Description: Water is essential for food production, however South Africa’s water is already under pressure due to increasing population, food demand, and climate change, amongst other factors. Over the past years, there has been increasing demand for agricultural water use for food production due to these factors. Rainwater harvesting and conservation (RWH&C) for food production is one of the most promising approaches to address increasing demand of water. The Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre have led a project with the Water Research Commission (Project No. K5/2277) focusing on the dissemination of RWH&C practice knowledge that involves some of the extension services in the Nkonkobe Municipality in the Eastern Cape, called the ‘Amanzi [Water] for Food’ project. While extension services were included in the project, the wider role of extension services in ‘disseminating’ RWH&C knowledge amongst farmers is not clear, a problem which provides the focus for this research, especially since there are changes in the designated role of extension services to become more responsive and reflexive in relation to farmers emerging needs, and in response to wider issues such as climate change and water scarcity. In general, there is agreement that the role of extension is to be active within the farming community, to facilitate social interactions and collaborative processes that often focus on activities that are intended to find, assess, interpret and adapt information, knowledge and evidence that are suitable for farmer’s needs. Extension should also be available to identify arising issues that the farmers experience that can be solved by the use of research knowledge. However, little is known with regard to whether extension officers are taking up this role effectively, especially in relation to RWH&C knowledge. Using document analysis, semi-structured interviews, field-based observations and focus group discussions, this research seeks to demonstrate the role of extension services in facilitating and supporting social learning of RWH&C practices amongst rural smallholder farmers for improved food security. It provides insight into the way in which extension officers are able to facilitate social learning using RWH&C knowledge, and the issues that affect the adoption of social learning approaches to extension support related to RWH&C knowledge uptake and dissemination.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Investigation of novel substituted zinc and aluminium phthalocyanines for photodynamic therapy of epithelial breast cancer

  • Authors: Mohammed, Imadalulla , Oluwole, David O , Nemakal, Majunatha , Sannegowda, Lokesh K , Nyokong, Tebello
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186824 , vital:44537 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2019.107592"
  • Description: A series of phthalonitrile ligands were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction using the hydroxyl or sulfanyl group precursors and the nitro moiety of the nitrophthalonitrile to yield corresponding oxy or sulfanyl bridged ligands. These ligands were subsequently subjected to cyclocondensation reaction with diamagnetic metal ions like zinc and aluminium to afford symmetrically substituted zinc and aluminium phthalocyanine (Pc) complexes and polymers. The ligands and Pc complexes were characterized by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance, fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet visible and mass spectrometric techniques. Additionally, thermal gravimetric, and elemental analyzer were used for characterization of the Pc complexes. The photophysical and photochemical behaviour of the Pc complexes were investigated in dimethyl sulfoxide. Additionally, the complexes were tested against epithelial breast cancer cells for photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect. The substituted ZnPc complexes afforded higher singlet oxygen quantum yields as compared to the AlPc analogue. All the complexes showed innocuous invitro dark cytotoxicity and moderate PDT effect.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Investigation of Sexual Relationships among gay students at the University Of Fort Hare (Alice Campus), Eastern Cape.

  • Authors: Mbanga , T.Q
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Gay youth Sex (Psychology)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc. Sci (Psychology)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17619 , vital:41129
  • Description: The main aim of the study was to investigate sexual relationships among gay students at the University of Fort Hare (Alice Campus), Eastern Cape. A qualitative research design was followed and semi-structured interview schedules were issued to twelve participants. The queer theory underpinned this study and it is based on the notion that individuals are able to determine their sexual identity and sexual orientation as they are. The participants, aged 18-25 years, were purposively selected to share their sexual behaviour as gays. The ethical principles such as informed consent, confidentiality, privacy and protection from harm, were adhered to, throughout the study. Prior identification of the themes, coding took place. The following themes were very important in the research and they helped to achieve the aim of the study and they are; challenges gay students experience in their relationships, closet partners, social networks sexual partners among gay students, condom use among gay students, sexual agreements among gay students, condom use, condom self-efficacy, honesty and communication, social support, self-esteem, liberal community and non-homophobic, traditional male circumcision, sexual agreements among gay students ,pornography viewing , sexual abuse among gay students, discrimination in residence, religiosity and perception towards marriage among gay students. Based on the findings, it is recommended that there should be communication among gay couples to avoid lot of conflicts. Also, there should be education about homosexuality in communities, schools and tertiary institutions as many people treat gays badly owing to lack of knowledge
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Investment-grade or “junk” status: do sovereign credit ratings really matter?

  • Authors: Slabbert, Adriaan
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Credit ratings , Rating agencies (Finance) , Developing countries -- Economic conditions , Developing countries -- Foreign economic relations
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/97067 , vital:31393
  • Description: Credit ratings play a well-established part in modern financial markets, reducing asymmetric information between investors and borrowers. In particular, sovereign credit ratings allow the world’s lesser-known economies to access a wider pool of international capital, while simultaneously allowing international investors to access a more diverse set of investment opportunities. The importance of sovereign credit ratings in terms of the cost of government debt in developing nations was observed. The relationship between sovereign credit ratings and average bond spreads over the time period spanning 2006 – 2017 was examined in 25 emerging economies. Regression analysis in the form of fixed-effects and random-effects models was used to determine the impact of changes in sovereign credit ratings on the cost of sovereign debt, controlling for certain macroeconomic factors. It was concluded that sovereign credit ratings are relevant in helping to determine the cost of sovereign debt for developing economies, but that they are not the only factor considered by global markets. The thesis therefore recommended further research into the factors affecting the cost of sovereign debt as well as further refinements to the methodologies that ratings agencies use to assign ratings.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Involving fishermen in seabirds’ conservation: bridging the gap between socio-economic needs of industry and the needs of seabirds

  • Authors: Ginsburg, Tayla
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Sea birds -- Ecology , Island ecology Island animals -- Conservation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42184 , vital:36633
  • Description: Marine ecosystems and species face multiple threats, particularly intensive industrial-scale fishing activities. As the human population continues to increase exponentially and drive a greater demand for food, commercial fishing effort will likely intensify. While terrestrial protected areas are well developed, marine protected areas (MPAs) are less so, both in the area covered and management practices. There is currently a drive to increase the extent of MPAs, both globally and in South Africa, particularly for those ecosystems and marine species that can benefit from area-based management. The size, shape, location zonation of MPAs generally remain static through time. However, the ocean is a dynamic environment and static MPAs are not always able to achieve conservation objectives for their component ecosystems and species. Dynamic Ocean Management (DOM) is an approach that integrates near real-time data on biological, oceanographic, social and/or economic variables to adjust an MPAs boundary and zonation in both space and time. The aim of this thesis was to assess the viability of applying DOM to a fishing exclusion zone within a zoned MPA in Algoa Bay, South Africa, to support conservation objectives for the Endangered African penguin Spheniscus demersus. Algoa Bay supports half of the world’s remaining population of this species. First, the degree of spatial overlap between foraging penguins and purse-seine fishers in Algoa Bay was determined over five years. In all years, purse-seiner fishing vessels were located around or near to St Croix Island and a large proportion of the total pelagic fish catch from the Bay was removed from this area. Breeding penguins travelled significantly further while foraging when the overlap (and subsequent competition for pelagic fish) was higher, suggesting that African penguins would benefit from a fishing exclusion zone around St Croix Island owing to reduced competition. However, an exclusion zone can have socio-economic impacts on fisheries as a result of the lost fishing area. A common concern raised by fishers is the direct loss of income, either as a result of increased fuel costs to reach alternate fishing grounds or decreased catch. An analysis of catch and travel time (as a proxy for fuel costs) when a 20 km exclusion zone was present or absent around St Croix Island revealed that the exclusion zone scenarios had no significant impact on either variable. Interviews with individuals in the local purse-seine fishery (both fishers and factory managers) showed a consensus that the marine environment needs protection and that MPAs have various environmental benefits. Despite this, individuals were concerned about how they would be impacted by the exclusion zone in the MPA. The interviews highlighted the willingness of individuals in the purse-seine fishery to talk to and work with scientists.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Is contemporary art postdevelopmental?: a study of ‘art as NGO’

  • Authors: Tello, Verónica
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146365 , vital:38519 , ISBN 9780429959981
  • Description: Book abstract. Postdevelopment in Practice critically engages with recent trends in postdevelopment and critical development studies that have destabilised the concept of development, challenging its assumptions and exposing areas where it has failed in its objectives, whilst also pushing beyond theory to uncover alternatives in practice.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Isixhosa speaking biological fathers’ perceptions and experiences of parental alienation

  • Authors: Mokolobate, Motshabi Catherine
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Parental alienation syndrome , Fatherhood -- Psychological aspects Father and Child -- Psychological aspects Parenting -- Psychological aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45053 , vital:38229
  • Description: There has been a positive shift in South African laws advocating for children and father’s rights to parent-child relationships. Children often get caught in the middle of their parents’ enduring battles and acrimonious separations or divorces frequently resulting in loss of contact with one parent. The term parental alienation is used to describe this phenomenon. Parental alienation can take many forms with the common thread being the negative impact that it has on the parent-child relationship and an increase in father absenteeism. The psychological effects of absent fathers on children and single parenthood are significant and contribute to social ailments such as substance abuse, violence and abuse. Extensive research has been conducted on the effects of parental alienation on children; however, there is limited research on how fathers experience parental alienation and how it shapes their perception of fatherhood. This study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions and experiences of fathers who have experienced parental alienation. A purposive sampling method was utilized using 6 participants who were sourced from a male-focused NGO in Zwide Township in the Port Elizabeth Metropolitan area. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured audio taped interviews. Transcribed data was analysed by means of thematic analysis following Guba’s Model of Trustworthiness as a guide for data verification. All necessary ethical considerations were adhered to. Four themes emerged from the study. Participants understood and experienced parental alienation as unjust and painful; parental alienation was perceived as complex and challenging; upbringing influenced their paternal involvement and finally parental alienation affected their perception of fatherhood and their construction of paternal identity.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

IsiXhosa speaking biological fathers’ perceptions and experiences of parental alienation

  • Authors: Mokolobate, Motshabi Catherine
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Parental alienation -- Psychological effects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44587 , vital:38148
  • Description: There has been a positive shift in South African laws advocating for children and father’s rights to parent-child relationships. Children often get caught in the middle of their parents’ enduring battles and acrimonious separations or divorces frequently resulting in loss of contact with one parent. The term parental alienation is used to describe this phenomenon. Parental alienation can take many forms with the common thread being the negative impact that it has on the parent-child relationship and an increase in father absenteeism. The psychological effects of absent fathers on children and single parenthood are significant and contribute to social ailments such as substance abuse, violence and abuse. Extensive research has been conducted on the effects of parental alienation on children; however, there is limited research on how fathers experience parental alienation and how it shapes their perception of fatherhood. This study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions and experiences of fathers who have experienced parental alienation. A purposive sampling method was utilized using 6 participants who were sourced from a male-focused NGO in Zwide Township in the Port Elizabeth Metropolitan area. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured audio taped interviews. Transcribed data was analysed by means of thematic analysis following Guba’s Model of Trustworthiness as a guide for data verification. All necessary ethical considerations were adhered to. Four themes emerged from the study. Participants understood and experienced parental alienation as unjust and painful; parental alienation was perceived as complex and challenging; upbringing influenced their paternal involvement and finally parental alienation affected their perception of fatherhood and their construction of paternal identity.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Isolation and characterisation of a channel inhibitor from Bunodosoma capense

  • Authors: Van Losenoord, Wynand
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Bioactive compounds , Potassium channels Medical microbiology
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44134 , vital:37114
  • Description: Voltage gated ion channels have recently become a subject of investigation as possible pharmaceutical targets. Research has linked the activity of ion channels directly to antiinflammatory pathways, energy homeostasis, cancer proliferation and painful diabetic neuropathy. Sea anemones secrete a diverse array of bioactive compounds including potassium and sodium channel inhibitors. A novel sodium channel inhibitor (molecular mass of 4619.7 ± 0.6 Da) with a predicted sequence: CLCNSDGPSV RGNTLSGILW LAGCPSGWHN CKKHKPTIGW CCK was isolated from Bunodosoma capense using a modified stimulation technique to induce the secretion of the neurotoxin rich mucus confirmed by an Artemia nauplii swimming assay. The peptide purification combined size-exclusion and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. A thallium-based ion flux assay confirmed the presence of a sodium channel inhibitor and purity was determined using a modified tricine SDS-PAGE system. The peptide isolated indicated a tight conformation with the presence of multiple disulfide bonds in a cystine knot conformation. An IC50 value of 26 nM was determined for sodium channel inhibition on MCF-7 cells, indicating increased toxicity in comparison to sodium channel inhibitors previously isolated from Bunodosoma species.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Isolation and characterization of extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis l. And comparative evaluation of its antimicrobial activity and selected types of antibiotics against some bacteria species

  • Authors: Gbede,Remi
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Rosmarinus Essences and essential oils Lamiaceae Medicinal plants
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19142 , vital:39875
  • Description: Rosmarinus officinalis L. is known extensively for its multifunctional purposes. The essential oil has been widely used in cosmeceuticals and several ethnopharmacological values. In vitro studies have demonstrated the antibacterial activity of essential oils (EOs) of Rosmarinus officinalis L. against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Vibrio cholerae DSM 19283, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Bacillus cereus. These different bacteria were screened against antibiotics such as Tetracycline, Ampicillin Sodium salt, Erythromycin and Amoxicillin, and some standards namely rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid and carnosol, and also against the methanol, acetone, chloroform and dichloromethane extracts of rosemary. The essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis L. showed significant inhibitory properties compared to antibiotics with various degrees of growth inhibition. The standards exhibited some activities against the organisms. The GC/MS analysis of the essential oil revealed 34 compounds present with most components acting in synergy to bring about antibacterial activities. The antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities of two leaf extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis (with hexane and dichloromethane as solvents) using standard procedure were studied. The findings justify the claims on the efficacy of plants for therapeutic uses for antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Antiplasmodial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis recorded IC50 values of 9.99 µg/ml and 9.76 µg/ml in hexane and dichloromethane respectively.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Job creation and income generation in the cultural and creative industries: a case study of the shweshwe sewing industry

  • Authors: Mapuma, Aviwe Simbonge
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Textile industry -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Clothing trade -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sewing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job creation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Textile manufacturers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Textile fabrics , Income -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/122948 , vital:35378
  • Description: Worldwide, there has been a growing realisation of the importance of Cultural and Creative Industries as a driving force for employment creation, income generation and economic growth. Therefore, there is a need in South Africa to study and understand these industries setting, and business environment. Shweshwe is a unique local fabric produced by Da Gama Textiles in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. This fabric is used by many micro-enterprises as an input to make clothes and other items for traditional cultural celebrations and ceremonies. This study is about the micro-enterprises who use South Africa made textiles (i.e. shweshwe textile) as business input. More specifically, it looks at employment creation and income generation opportunities of the micro-enterprises that use shweshwe textile as an input. These micro-enterprises and shweshwe production are being threatened by the rising influx of cheaper ready-made imported clothes that mimic the shweshwe designs and colours, in some cases, the logo as well. This study also plans to estimate the size and discover the attributes of the micro-enterprises that use shweshwe as an input in their businesses in South Africa, in order to estimate the impact of the counterfeit shweshwe imports on those micro-enterprises. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach-using a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Face-to-face interviews with questionnaires, were done with a total sample of 62 owners of the micro-enterprises that use shweshwe as input, in the Western Cape (Cape Town) and Eastern Cape (i.e. Makhanda and East London), South Africa. Self-administered questionnaires were emailed to 20 Jackson’s Stores managers across the country. Lastly, face-to-face interviews were done with the key stakeholder-the representative of Cowie trading (the main shweshwe distributor) and Da Gama Textiles (the factory of shweshwe), during a field visit. The Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis, whereas the quantitative data was analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The results show, that the micro-enterprises that use shweshwe as input are a significant contributor in terms of employment creation and income generation in South Africa. They also reveal that there is a big number of micro-enterprises that use shweshwe as an input in SA. The findings showed an estimate of between 5077 and 6000 small businesses that are using shweshwe an input, which are associated with 10 900 to 12 900 jobs. It was also found out that there is a transformation in this industry, and that this sector is B-BEE compliant. There are also high levels of human capital in this industry. This is an important finding revealing that there is potential for future growth in this sector. Results also found that the majority micro-enterprise owners (80%) have no other source of income, meaning that they are highly reliant on their shweshwe sewing business income. Additionally, 85% of those business, shweshwe garments makes up half or more of their sewing business proceeds. This reveals that a decline in income caused by the import of ready-made clothes in “fake” shweshwe will have a negative impact on the micro-enterprises’ ability to contribute to economic growth and job creation in this industry. To show the impact of the import of ready-made clothes in “fake” shweshwe on the micro-enterprises’ ability to contribute to economic growth and job creation in this industry. In the questionnaires that were used to conduct face-to-face interviews with the micro-enterprises, respondents were asked to indicate whether they had other sources of income other than the income they generate from the shweshwe sewing business. They were further asked as follow up question to choose from a given list of possible options containing a range of percentages of their business income that comes from the work sewn with shweshwe. This question was asked in order to be able to see, if there were to be a decline in income caused by the import of ready-made clothes in “fake” shweshwe what impact it would have on the micro-enterprises that use shweshwe as an input. The theory of industrial organisation has adopted the view of that businesses operating in the formal sector are more efficient and productive than those in the informal sector (Lobato, 2010). The study found that the micro-enterprises that operate in the formal sector generate more turnover than the ones that operate in the informal sector. However, the theory was further tested by running OLS regression, the results showed that operating in the informal sector does not affect turnover when other variables are controlled for, however, that it does affect job creation. In closing, this thesis provides suggestions on how to support, and protect the micro-enterprises that use shweshwe as an input, in order to enhance this industry’s potential also to ensure its continuous contribution in terms of employment creation and income generation in South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Job embeddedness and employee retention in higher education

  • Authors: Esterhuizen, Christa
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Employee retention -- South Africa , Organizational behavior -- South Africa Work -- Psychological aspects Employee morale -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- Employees
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/39852 , vital:35483
  • Description: The only sustainable competitive advantage for organisations worldwide, including higher education institutions, is their human resources. Therefore, to acquire and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, the ability to effectively retain knowledge employees has become high-priority. The job embeddedness model presents an alternative approach to the traditional constructs of job satisfaction, organisational commitment and job involvement, for understanding the retention concept. The aim of the research was to determine the interaction effect of job embeddedness on retention, which could be used to intensify the attachment of academic staff in a higher education institution and to dissuade turnover cognitions. An empirical study consisting of a web-based questionnaire was conducted amongst 100 academic staff members across all campuses of Nelson Mandela University. The purpose of the survey was to measure job embeddedness, retention, and the relationship between job embeddedness and retention. The results indicated that organisational embeddedness, rather than community embeddedness, influenced the intention to leave. Employees that had a positive experience with the organisation in terms of fit, links and sacrifice, were less likely to leave the organisation. It is recommended that job embeddedness should form the basis for the development of an effective integrated human resource management retention strategy to attract, retain, motivate and develop employees, to improve organisational performance and achieve organisational goals and objectives. The implication is that recruitment and selection should be done carefully to create a fit between the employee and the organisation. Talent should be fully used in an environment that fosters autonomy and teamwork should be crafted and encouraged.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Job engagement, Self-efficacy and Organisational citizenship behaviour among employees in selected insurance companies in the eastern cape province

  • Authors: Ntshentshe, Sinazo
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Organizational behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Management -- Employee participation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom (Industrial Psychology)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12502 , vital:39269
  • Description: The present study investigated “Job engagement, self-efficacy and organisational citizenship behaviour among employees in an insurance company in the Eastern Cape province”. A research issue is emphasized and debated in details methodically. Social exchange theory (SET) and social cognitive theory (SCT were used in the study with the support of variable. Previous studies discovered and established the relationship between job engagement (JE) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB); as well as self-efficacy (SE) and organisational citizenship behavior; and all variables combined together. Hypothesis is formulated that used to achieve objectives. The study used quantitative research design. The sample (N=100) of the study consist of the employees in the selected insurance companies in Eastern Cape, province. The data was collected with the use of questionnaire method and analyses was done using Statistical Package for the social science.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Job performance and the relationship between employee engagement, goal setting, training, job fit and trust

  • Authors: Brood, Ayoob
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Performance -- Management , Job satisfaction -- South Africa Employee motivation -- South Africa Labor productivity -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37846 , vital:34253
  • Description: Every business has a goal of being profitable which relies on employee job performance. To determine the relationship employee engagement, trust, goal setting, job fit and training had on job performance surveys was sent to 8 MTN Branded retail stores within the Eastern Cape to gather data. Each survey once completed would then be dropped off and the MTN head office in Cape Road. Previous work has looked at these independent variables and how they affect job performance separately and not as a whole. Contrary to the literature, goal settings were the only variable that had a significant influence according to the findings of this study. The statistical results of this study revealed that goal settings influenced job performance with a p-value of 0.010 (p<0.05) and had a positive relationship, indicating that the respondent’s goal settings had an influence on their job performance. The mean values indicated that the respondents agreed that the independent variables would affect the performance. Thus, it is highly recommended that management investigates the requirements of implementing strategies of these variables to improve job performance.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Job satisfaction and workplace stress of public service staff in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa

  • Authors: De Koning, Divan , Van Niekerk, Roelf
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Job stress , Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Western Cape. Public service employment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Public service employment -- South Africa -- Western Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/39414 , vital:35244
  • Description: The aim of the study was to measure and explore the job satisfaction and workplace stress levels of public service staff within the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa, as well as to establish the extent of the relationship between the areas of job satisfaction and workplace stress. The measure was predominantly administered to staff that the researcher came into contact with as a result of psychometric assessments that their employer required them to complete. The researcher facilitated the role of a service provider to the public service entities and utilised this opportunity to encourage staff to complete the measure. The measure covered five job satisfaction and seven workplace stress variables. 230 staff members completed the measure of which 170 was deemed to be useable. A quantitative study thereby enabling the investigation into the potential sources of job dissatisfaction and workplace stress was conducted. Eight hypotheses had been formulated in order to facilitate the comparisons and had been informed by prior research. The quantitative analysis established that both of the sections in the measure (job satisfaction and workplace stress) averaged Cronbach’s alphas in excess of .60 for the 12 variables measured, this, therefore, exceeded the minimum benchmark that had been set for the study. As such, the measures were considered to be appropriate measures of their respective constructs. Staff were most satisfied with the hours that they worked and least satisfied with their opportunities for promotion. Staff experienced the least amount of stress related to bullying at work and experienced the most stress related to the intensity with which they were expected to work. A moderate relationship between workplace stress and job satisfaction was identified along with strong relationships between the factors of, managerial support and work relationships; managerial support and work activities; and between role and work activities. Moderate support was found for hypothesis six which referred to the relationships between job satisfaction and age. The study aided in enhancing insight into the causes of workplace stress and job dissatisfaction within public service in South Africa and can serve as a basis for future studies into the public service industry.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Job satisfaction of lecturers at TVET colleges in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipal region in the context of organisational culture

  • Authors: Jegels, Unity Christine
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Job satisfaction , Corporate culture Organizational change Vocational education -- Employees Technical education
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/40039 , vital:35739
  • Description: One of the most widely researched job attitudes and extensively investigated topics in the history of industrial and organisational psychology is job satisfaction. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the attributes of organisational culture that impact the levels of employee job satisfaction. This study explored the experience of job satisfaction in the context of the organisational culture at TVET colleges. The current research investigated the correlation between organisational culture and the prevalence of job satisfaction. A descriptive-analytical study was conducted on sixty-one (61) lecturers selected using convenience sampling. A valid and reliable questionnaire, based on a five-point Likert scale, was used as a measuring instrument. The questionnaire surveyed the sample demographics and statements on organisational culture as designated by organisational leadership style and supervision, working conditions, promotion and job security, organisational communication, remuneration and employee benefits. SPSS software, Version 25, was used to analyse the data sets that were collected. Research findings indicated a significant relationship between job satisfaction and the organisational culture elements of remuneration and employee benefits and organisational communication.
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  • Date Issued: 2019
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