4667 research outputs found
Sort by
An autoethnographic exploration of the experiences of a 'black' female employee and doctoral student in higher education
Full text linkJournal article published in African Perspectives of Research in Teaching and Learning Journal Issue 3, Volume 9, 2025 Special IssueThis autoethnographic paper explores the lived experiences of a ‘black’ female employee and doctoral student within higher education spaces in post-apartheid South Africa. Anchored by personal narratives and reflexive analysis, it examines the intersections of individual aspirations, systemic inequities and cultural barriers shaped by colonial and apartheid legacies. This paper focuses on identity formation, resilience and agency within academic spaces, revealing the challenges and opportunities encountered in pursuing equity and inclusion. This paper draws on scholars such as Maria Lugones (2010) Sara Ahmed (2012; 2017) and Chandra Talpade Mohanty (1988; 2003), who provide critical insights into structural exclusion and the systemic constraints that hinder the advancement of marginalised identities. By relying on the theoretical lens of postcolonial feminism, this paper contributes not only to understanding the unique challenges faced by a ‘black’ female employee and doctoral student from a marginalised group but also advocates a reimagining of institutional structures to enhance diversity, inclusion and equity, as well as amplifying marginalised voices. The findings contribute to the literature on marginalised identities in higher education spaces and offer insights that might resonate with others in a similar position
The forgotten organisational development roles of school leadership for classroom learning efficiency
Full text linkJournal article published in African Perspectives of Research in Teaching and Learning Journal Issue 4, Volume 9, 2025School leadership is a critical pillar in enriching all learning experiences. The quality of school leadership plays a fundamental and critical role in shaping classroom experiences and the learning efficiency in schools. Knowledge of various theories of leader-follower relations is not enough without knowledge of how school leadership makes a difference to learning efficiency and penetrates the classroom discourses that result in student improvement. School leaders such as head, deputy, senior teacher, teacher in charge, in the Zimbabwean context, have the role to transform classroom experiences yet they are seen leaning more to administrative duties. The study sought to explore the forgotten roles of school leadership that enrich classroom experiences and improve the learning efficiency in schools. It goes deeper to look at organisational development function played by school leadership in improving the quality of classroom discourses. House’s path-goal theory undergrounded the study. Path-goal theory’s focus on leadership behaviours in achieving goals was examined through an interpretive lens, hence, the interpretivist paradigm was used. The qualitative methodology was employed with open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews employed as data generation tools. School leaders in Masvingo urban primary and secondary schools were purposefully sampled to get information-rich cases. The study found out that school leadership lacks the dexterity and skills to help teachers not to teach from the margins, build teaching capacity and shift from theory to practice. The study recommends that professional development sessions and workshops that focus on classroom discourse need to be instituted
Investigation of the factors that impact on e-government readiness in Limpopo Province, South Africa : a case of the Department of Transport and Community and Safety
No full textThesis (Ph.D. (Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025In South Africa, the development of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) infrastructure remains inadequate, both in government
spheres and amongst private sector stakeholders. Despite the potential of digital
technologies to enhance the lives of people in various sectors of the economy,
the South African government still faces several challenges in its efforts to
improve the extent and quality of public service delivery to its people. This makes
the ideal of using ICTs for development a not-yet-achieved goal. This study investigated the factors influencing eGovernment readiness in the Limpopo Province’s Department of Transport and Community Safety (DTCS). Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, completed by selected officials at the DTCS who were knowledgeable about ICTs and the implementation of digital technologies for public service delivery. The second data source was from interviews, using an interview guide prepared for
community members both from business and non-business backgrounds. The
community stakeholder participants, as a group, included both those knowledgeable about the use of ICTs by governments and those who were not knowledgeable about it. The findings revealed that the implementation of ICTs, as a tool for achieving effective service delivery, is important, but that to be effective the right conditions are required. Historically disadvantaged communities, such as the rural population in Limpopo Province, still lag in their ability to find and use digital technologies to access the government’s public services platforms. Political, social, and economic factors influence this experience. A clear understanding by the government of the need for a coherent implementation strategy for ICTs (that considers all the limiting political, socio-economic, and cultural factors in the
provision of mainstream public services) is crucial to ensuring success. Recommendations for future research are provide
Market orientation and performance of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises in the Capricorn and Waterberg District Municipalities, South Africa : the role of innovation and absorptive capacity
Full text linkThesis (M. Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025An increasing number of recent studies have emphasised an important dimension of
market orientation. Previous research has explored the relationship between market
orientation (MO) and performance (P), revealing various integrated mechanisms.
However, the findings have been inconsistent, likely due to the neglect of the
mediating and moderating roles of innovation (I) and absorptive capacity (AC). To
address this gap directly, the current study examined the relationship between
market orientation and the performance of Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises
(SMMEs), while also investigating the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on
this relationship. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing a cross-sectional
survey method to gather data from conveniently sampled respondents. Reliability
was measured using Cronbach’s alpha, and Partial Least Square Structural Equation
Modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied for data analysis. The study's findings revealed a
significant positive relationship between market orientation and the performance of
SMMEs. While the mediating effect of innovation was found to be significant, the
moderating impact of absorptive capacity was deemed insignificant. Based on these
findings, recommendations were made for SMMEs to enhance their focus on market
orientation in order to improve their business outcome
Modification and adsorption of triazine collectors of sperrylite (PtAs2), platarsite (PtAsS) and palladoarsenide (Pd2As) mineral surfaces
No full textThesis (Ph.D. (Physics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025There are still difficulties in separating valuable minerals from gangue minerals, especially
when it comes to extracting arsenides, or platinum group minerals (PGMs), like “sperrylite,
platarsite and palladoarsenide, which are mostly found in the Platreef Bushveld Complex.
According to reports, the flotation of PGMs resulted in low recovery when using traditional
xanthates. This was owed to the report that the arsenides PGMs minerals are not easy to float,
and therefore new collectors are required to enhance the recovery and separation of hard to
float arsenide minerals. In minerals flotation, the pH effect is crucial in maximizing the
recovery of PGMs. The study on the performance of and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) molecule
and normal butyl xanthate (NBX), normal butyl dithiocarbamate (NBDTC) and the novel 2,6-
dithio-4-butylamino-1,3,5-triazine (DTBAT) collectors onto sperrylite, platarsite and
palladoarsenide mineral surfaces were performed using computational density functional
theory with dispersion correction (DFT-D3) and experimental (microcalorimetry and
microflotation) approaches. Experimentally, microcalorimetry and microflotation tests were
conducted using pure synthesised sperrylite mineral. The collectors were adsorbed
computationally on dry sperrylite, platarsite and palladoarsenide surfaces under neutral,
alkaline and acidic conditions. Sodium hydroxide adsorption was also performed to determine
the adsorption capacity with the sperrylite, platarsite and palladoarsenide (100) surfaces
compared to the collector adsorptions.
To compare the structural properties of each PtAs2, PtAsS and Pd2As structures, geometry
optimisations were carried out. The bulk PtAs2 benefited from a hydrostatic pressure of 2.0
GPa, which resulted in lattice parameters of a = 5.967 Å and a band gap of 0.264 eV, which
were in agreement with experiments. At 14.0 GPa, the lattice parameter a = 5.787 Å was
determined for PtAsS, which agreed well with the experimental findings. For computational
aspect, the PtAs2, PtAsS and Pd2As models were evaluated using the most stable surface plane
of (100), which was found to give the lowest surface energy compared to the other surface
planes. This was also complemented by the plotted X-ray diffraction (XRD), where the (200)
plane for PtAs2 and PtAsS and the (300) plane for Pd2As, which are similar to the (100)
plane/surface, were displayed the most dominant planes due to the highest intensity.” The
computed surface energies for (100) PtAs2, PtAsS and Pd2As were 1.05 J/m2, 0.56 J/m2 and
1.46 J/m2, respectively. Several adsorption sites were considered in order to identify the most stable exothermic
preferred site. “It was observed that the SNBX, SNBDTC and SDTBAT collectors preferred to
adsorb on the surface Pt and As atoms through S atoms on sperrylite and platarsite, while on
palladoarsenide they adsorbed on the 3-coordinated Pd atoms through S and N atoms.” For dry
sperrylite surface under neutral and alkaline conditions the collectors preferred a Pt-bidentate
(SNBX and SNBDTC) and Pt-tridentate (SDTBAT) adsorption modes. Under acidic
conditions all the three collectors favoured a Pt-monodentate adsorption mode. The adsorption
energies followed the decreasing order and therefore decreasing adsorption strength as:
SDTBAT > SNBDTC > SNBX, indicating that the SDTBAT had strong exothermic adsorption
at neutral conditions. In alkaline conditions, the SNBX gave the most exothermic adsorption
energy and the trend followed the decreasing order as: SNBX > SNBDTC > SDTBAT. The
HNBDTC gave strong adsorption energy under acidic condition and the order decreased as:
HNBDTC > HDTBAT > HNBX. Microcalorimetry and microflotation techniques were used
to supplement the adsorption of sperrylite mineral. It was noted that the neutral condition was
in agreement with the microcalorimetry (pH = 7) heats of adsorption where SDTBAT exhibited
stronger adsorption. The SNBX provided the best flotation performance when compared to the
SNBDTC and SDTBAT collectors, according to the microflotation recoveries conducted under
alkaline conditions (pH = 9). This was in agreement with the prediction of the computational
simulation. The microflotation recoveries under acidic conditions (pH = 4) showed that the
HNBDTC had higher recoveries than HNBX and HDTBAT, which compared well with
computational-acidic adsorptions on dry sperrylite surface. “Therefore computational-acidic
and microflotation deliver similar outcomes and it was depicted that sperrylite floats better
under acidic conditions using dithiocarbamate collector with higher recoveries of 41.46%.
The adsorption energies on dry platarsite surface under neutral conditions for SNBX and
SDTBAT collectors preferred to adsorb in a Pt-monodentate adsorption mode between the
collector S atoms on surface Pt atom. The SNBDTC was found to desorb from the surface.
Under alkaline conditions, the adsorption of SNBX, SNBDTC and SDTBAT preferred to form
in a Pt-monodentate bonding mode. The HNBDTC preferred a Pt-monodentate bonding mode,
whereas the S and N atoms of HNBX and HDTBAT desorbed from the surface. It was found
that in both neutral and acidic conditions, the adsorption energies followed the decreasing order
as: DTBAT > NBDTC > NBX. This suggested that DTBAT had strong affinity with the surface
and therefore demonstrated that it could be utilised preferably under neutral and acidic
conditions giving better performance than the NBX and NBDTC collectors. The SNBX gave strong adsorption energy under alkaline conditions on dry platarsite (100) surface, and the trend
followed as: SNBX > SNBDTC > SDTBAT. This indicated that the SNBX may have better
performance in improving the flotation of platarsite mineral surface at alkaline conditions.
For palladoarsenide mineral surface, the collectors were observed to favour a Pd-bidentate
(NBX and NBDTC) and a Pd-tridentate (DTBAT) adsorption mode under neutral, alkaline and
acidic conditions. “The adsorption energies showed that SDTBAT adsorbed stronger under
neutral conditions and the adsorption trend followed the decreasing order as: SDTBAT >
SNBDTC > SNBX. Most significantly, it was found that the SDTBAT had strong adsorption
than the SNBX and SNBDTC, suggesting a potential substitute of SNBX and SNBDTC
collectors under neutral conditions. Under alkaline conditions, the SNBX gave the most
exothermic adsorption energies and the trend followed the decreasing order as: SNBX >
SNBDTC > SDTBAT. According to these findings, SNBX is a highly effective collector that
can enhance palladoarsenide mineral recovery in alkaline environment. Under acidic
conditions, the collector adsorption energies decreased in the order: HNBDTC > HNBX >
HDTBAT, and clearly the HNBDTC showed the strongest exothermic adsorption. It was
apparent that the HNBDTC collector displayed an ability to improve the palladoarsenide
mineral recovery in acidic condition.”
A variety of arsenide minerals may benefit from the flotation collectors that are designed
based on the adsorption of xanthate, DTC, and s-triazine as collectors on PtAs2, PtAsS, and
Pd2As. It was evident that under various pH conditions, the collectors NBX, NBDTC and
DTBAT showed the capacity to enhance the recovery of sperrylite, platarsite and
palladoarsenide mineral surface. Sperrylite and palladoarsenide minerals would be best floated
using s-triazine under neutral, xanthate under alkaline and DTC under acidic conditions, while
platarsite would be floated using s-triazine under neutral and acidic conditions and xanthate
under alkaline. This demonstrated that the xanthate, DTC and s-triazine had the ability to
improve the recovery of sperrylite, platarsite and palladoarsenide under different pH
conditions. Interestingly, it was noted that the adsorption were more exothermic on
palladoarsenide compared to the platarsite and sperrylite mineral surface. This revealed how
the minerals recovered in various ways during flotation. It is clear that palladoarsenide had
good collector interactions compared to sperrylite and platarsite. These findings thus paved a
way for design of novel collectors for sperrylite, platarsite, palladoarsenide and other various
chalcogenide minerals in order to improve their recovery.National research foundation (NRF)
Road initiatives between South Africa and Chin
Environmentally specific empowering leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour in the workplace :a study of hotel employees in Gauteng Province, South Africa
Full text linkThesis (Ph. D. Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025As there are increasing concerns over climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation, there is a growing need for organisations to adopt sustainable practices and behaviours to mitigate their impact on the environment. Environmentally specific empowering leadership (green empowering leadership), characterised by leaders who empower their employees to engage in sustainable practices, can serve as a catalyst for promoting organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment (OCBE) among employees. Leaders who prioritise environmental sustainability, provide support and resources for sustainable initiatives, and involve employees in decision-making processes related to sustainability, can inspire and motivate employees to adopt environmentally friendly behaviours and contribute to the organisation's environmental goals. By engaging in environmentally responsible behaviours, such as energy conservation and waste reduction, and promoting sustainable practices, employees can contribute to reducing the organisation's ecological footprint and fostering a culture of environmental responsibility. Therefore, green transformational leadership, environment-specific servant leadership, and OCBE have received considerable theoretical and empirical attention; however, the impact of Environmentally specific empowering leadership in encouraging sustainability-oriented behaviour has received less theoretical and empirical attention. To explicitly address this gap, this study examines the role played by leadership, organisational factors, and the OCBE of employees and co-employees in hospitality firms. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between green empowering leadership, mediating variables, moderating variables, and OCBE within the hospitality industry. The sampling procedure involved selecting a representative sample of mid-level managers in various three-, four- and five-star hotels to ensure the generalisability of the study’s findings. A convenience and purposive sampling technique was employed, and data collection was conducted through the distribution of structured questionnaires to the selected sample of mid-level managers. The questionnaire was designed based on established measurement scales from previous literature and was validated through pilot testing to ensure reliability and validity. The data was collected across the Tshwane and Johannesburg municipalities from 525 participants. The collected data was entered into statistical analysis software for PLS-SEM analysis (Smart-PLS 4.0), which involved assessing the measurement model to ensure the reliability and validity of the constructs and then testing the structural model to examine the hypothesised relationships among the variables. The study utilised bootstrapping techniques to estimate the significance of direct and indirect effects in the model and assessed the overall fit of the research hypotheses. The empirical findings of this study demonstrate that there is a significant positive relationship between green empowering leadership (GEL) and OCBE of hotels. The study further shows that the relationship between GEL and OCBE is partially mediated by a green organisational culture (GOC), green learning orientation (GLO), employees’ psychological ownership (EPO) and green work engagement (GWE). The relationship is also moderated by environmental concern (EC) at an average weight. The contributions of this study are that it unravels GEL as a unidimensional construct and the effect it has on OCBE. The second contribution was assessing the roles of mediating and moderating variables that influence the GEL-OCBE. This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring external business variables mediating and moderating the relationship between GEL and OCBE. It also contributes to the discussion on the contradictory results regarding the relationship between GEL and OCBE. The theoretical contribution focuses on uncovering the mechanisms through which environmentally specific empowering leadership influenced employees' engagement in environmentally sustainable practices. The findings offer valuable insights into how organisational practices and employees’ perceptions contribute to fostering a culture of environmental responsibility within hospitality firms. Moreover, the study reveals that environmental concern, such as a moderating variable, adds an overview understanding of the complexities surrounding sustainable leadership and employees' environmental behaviours. Considering the importance of Environmentally specific empowering leadership in driving employees' environmental behaviours and attitudes, the study offers a practical implication for hospitality firms looking to enhance their sustainability efforts. The findings of this research inform leadership practices, organisational culture development, and employees’ engagement strategies aimed at promoting environmental responsibility and sustainability within the hospitality industry. The policy contribution focuses on environmentally specific empowering leadership within the hospitality industry, a context that has not been extensively studied in relation to sustainable leadership practices. The unique challenges and opportunities within the hospitality sector, such as resource-intensive operations and high consumer demand for sustainability, make the exploration of environmentally specific empowering leadership especially relevant and significant for policymakers, industry practitioners, and scholars
The moderating role of family structure on the association between attachment functioning and emotion regulations among vulnerable children in South Africa
Full text linkThesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025This study explores the moderating role of family structure on the relationship between attachment functioning and emotion regulation among vulnerable children in South Africa. The research employs a quantitative, cross-sectional design, utilizing a sample of 33 children aged 7-12 from the Hlatlaganya Drop-In-Centre. The Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) were administered to assess attachment functioning and emotion regulation strategies, respectively. Crosstabulation and 2-Way ANOVA were employed to examine associations and interaction effects among attachment functioning, emotion regulation strategies, and family structure. The results indicate a significant association between attachment security and the use of cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy. Furthermore, family structure was found to moderate this relationship, with the impact of attachment security on cognitive reappraisal being more pronounced in single-parent households compared to two-parent households. No significant effects were observed for expressive suppression. These findings underscore the importance of considering family structure in interventions aimed at enhancing emotion regulation in children, particularly those from single-parent households. The study highlights the need for culturally sensitive measures and further research to elucidate the complexities of attachment and emotion regulation within diverse family contexts in South Africa
Exploring teachers’ experiences on the implementation of inclusive education in Thabina Circuit mainstream schools
Full text linkJournal article published in African Perspectives of Research in Teaching and Learning Journal Issue 2, Volume 9, 2025This study aimed to explore teachers’ experiences with implementing inclusive education in mainstream schools in the Thabina circuit. The study employed a qualitative research approach with a case study design. An interpretive paradigm was used. The population was drawn from 231 teachers working in mainstream schools in Thabina Circuit. Purposive sampling was used to select 12 teachers who have learners living with disabilities in their classrooms. Data was collected using individual semi-structured interviews and observations. Implementing inclusive education in mainstream schools was interrogated using different stages distinguished by Kolb, which are concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation. A thematic approach was used to analyse data by formulating themes that emerged from interviews. The study's findings revealed that for full inclusion in mainstream schools, teachers must consider how learners learn by borrowing Kolb’s lenses, as indicated above. The study further found that teachers struggle to implement inclusive education policies due to misinterpretation and inability to interpret them in the context they find themselves in. The study recommends in-service training of teachers on inclusive education policies and practices. Furthermore, integrating Kolb’s lenses was also recommended for the total inclusion of learners
Voices of women in higher education : historical contexts and colonial legacies
Full text linkJournal article published in African Perspectives of Research in Teaching and Learning Journal Issue 3, Volume 9, 2025 Special Issu
Phenotypic plasticity in Toggenburg dairy goats on milk production traits across agro-ecological zone of South Africa
Full text linkThesis (M. Sc. Agriculture (Animal Production)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025Toggenburg dairy goats, which are valued for their versatility and excellent milk production under a variety of environmental conditions, are essential to the South African dairy industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic plasticity of the Toggenburg goat breed in milk production in South Africa's various agroecological zones (AEZ). Performance records of 2417 does born from 1955-2018 across five agro-ecological zones with five differing breed purity levels were obtained from the Milch Breeders Society of South Africa LOGIX database. Pedigree data and reproductive indices were included with the performance data. Descriptive statistics of milk production, reproductive, and dairy value traits computed using General Linear Model of Minitab 18.1 software. Significant animal and environmental factors affecting productivity were determined using ANOVA. Four methods of determining the phenotypic plasticity index (PPI) were compared. These were reaction norm-based, infinite-dimensional model, character trait, and variance-based model. The p-value and R2 values were used to assess the significance of the estimates and goodness-of-fit. Data visualisation techniques used included surface plots and phenotypic plasticity trends. The results showed that the winter kidding season showed high kid status (0.6269±0.0820 healthy) (p0.05) across genotypes and AEZ in key AFK and KI in all methods. Surface plots and phenotypic plasticity trends confirmed the observed results in all traits, with lactation milk yield, prolificacy (litter size), and dam longevity indicating conspicuous phenotypic plasticity. The study concludes that the evaluated fixed factors have a significant impact on Toggenburg goat reproductive performance, milk production traits, and dairy value traits. Therefore, Toggenburg goat blood purity levels exhibit phenotypic plasticity, showing their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions in the various agro-ecological zones of South Africa, revealing the reaction norm-based method as the most effective for assessing phenotypic plasticity.FoodBev SETA and University of Limpopo (UL