Walter Sisulu University
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Investigating the determinants of economics growth in South Africa
Get PDFEconomic growth is regarded as one of the prime macroeconomic objectives of any economy. The study aimed to investigate the determinants of economic growth in South Africa for the period 1994 to 2021 using yearly data obtained from World Bank and IMF. The analysis of all the variables has been provided to show the relationship that the variables have with economic growth in the South African economy. The independent variables used were capital stock, financial development, employment and inflation. In achieving this aim, an Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) was used since it examines both the short-term and the long-term dynamics of the determinants of economic growth. In addition, Granger causality was used to determine whether the explored variables were causally related to one another. In the long run, the results point out that financial development was significant at 5%, while capital stock and employment were significant at 10%. In the short run, all variables were significant at 1%. The study recommends employment stimulation, investment in capital stock and financial development in order to boost economic growth.Thesis (Masters) -- Faculty of Economics and Financial Sciences, 202
The Infuence of Agricultural Policy on Carbon Emission in Selected OECD Countries
Get PDFGlobal agriculture is actively impacted by policies which affect the composition and location of produce and the production methods. This paper examines how agricultural policy affects carbon emissons in 27 OECD countries over the period 2000 to 2020. This research deploys the Gener-alised Methods of Moments (GMM) and Pooled Mean Group (PMG) to analyse panel data. The study findings demonstrate that the indicators of agricultural policy (agricultural financial sup-port and producer protection ratio) predominantly display a significantly positive relationship with emissions in the short term. Still, that link is mostly significantly negative in the long run. As such, agricultural policy is a driver of emissions in the short run, which is in line with the extended STIRPAT model, although in the long run, the variable seizes to be a driver. Economic growth, transport services and human capital support that their association is positively signifi-cant in the short run, chiefly negative and significant in the long run. There is overwhelming evidence that renewable energy is negatively and significantly associated with emissions in both periods. This research analysis is imperative to create vital cornerstones towards a complete understanding of the effects of agricultural policy on developing green economies
Improving Quality Education in Rural South African Schools through Shared Leadership Style: A Case Study of Three Rural Secondary Schools
Get PDFThis paper discussed how to improve the quality of education in rural schools in South Africa by advocating for the inclusion of community-based leaders (CBLs) such as traditional leaders, religious leaders and business leaders in school affairs by principals. The study was premised on the observation that principals lack the competencies and capabilities to share leadership with community-based leaders such as traditional, religious and business leaders. The exclusion of community-based leaders in crucial decision-making processes resulted in poor learner performance. The study was grounded on the assumption that sharing leadership expertise by principals would sustain a quality learning and teaching culture in rural schools. The belief is that community-based leaders are the most respected people in their communities and therefore their voices can be heard when it comes to parent participation and combating social ills in schools. The study was conducted purposely in poor-performing rural schools whereby community-based leaders were excluded in school matters. A phenomenological study with an interpretive-constructivism paradigm was conducted to establish sustainable principals’ shared leadership roles for quality education. Data collected through interviews in three schools were thematically analysed and it revealed that: Principals lack competent and capable leadership skills to include community-based leaders in school matters. Also, social ills prevail which affect learning and teaching negatively. Further, community based-leaders were only invited when there was a crisis and once the crisis solved, their input was no longer needed. Thus, the authors recommended that the Department of Basic Education could spend more resources on training rural school principals about the importance of including community-based leaders in crucial decision-making processes to improve and sustain quality education in rural areas. The authors also recommend ZiCBL's Model for the improvement of quality education in rural areas
Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis Diagnosis after Re-Evaluation for Chronic Cough Unresponsive to Empirical Antituberculosis Therapy
Get PDFTuberculosis (TB) is a common cause of chronic cough in South Africa (SA). Empirical anti-TB therapy is often initiated in the absence of a microbiological diagnosis. We report on a patient who initially commenced treatment for TB despite negative sputum results and on re-evaluation was diagnosed with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), which is a rare cause of chronic cough. This case report emphasises the need for microbiological diagnosis of pulmonary TB to justify the long-term use of potentially toxic medications, and also shows that rare diseases may present with common TB-like symptoms.A 29-year-old black African woman had a 12-month history of dry cough, weight loss, intermittent wheezing and progressive dyspnoea. She was HIV negative and had no constitutional symptoms such as anorexia, fever or night sweats, and no joint pains or stiffness. She had never smoked, and had no exposure to organic or inorganic dust. She had been commenced on empirical treatment for TB at a peripheral hospital before transfer to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Mthatha, for re-evaluation because she continued to deteriorate clinically despite 4 months of TB treatment, which had been started based on findings on the chest radiograph of bilateral diffuse infiltrates not responding to antibiotics..
Management of Risk of Corporate Distress and Failure Before, During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic via Corporate Governance Perfomance
Get PDFThe impact of the recent pandemic on aspects of corporate governance, business, a country's economy, corporate distress, failures, and the general well-being of companies has been a subject of robust discussion. This study was conducted to examine the influence of corporate governance in mediating and managing the risk of corporate distress and failures before, during, and after the COVID-19pandemic. The study employed the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PARDL) model on annual data from 2010 to 2021 to analyse the short-run and long-run effects of the pandemic on corporate governance and sustainability performance. The results from both the short-run and long-run effects are similar, revealing that the estimated coefficients of the debt-to-equity ratio, finance costs, and COVID-19-related costs are negative but significant in the models. Conversely, the coefficients of the current ratio, quick ratio, and board size from both short-run and long-run effects show positive and significant results. Generally, the findings reveal that the coefficient of board size, as a proxy for corporate governance, has a very strong influence in mediating the risk of corporate distress and failure before, during, and after the pandemic period, up to a certain level until the pandemic’simpact was severe on companies’ production, sales, and other operational performance. Based on the above findings, it is recommended that the board of directors and other management boards employ enhanced good governance strategies and improve risk control mechanisms that enhance company performance during the pandemic to help avert corporate distress and failures thereafter
Citizens’ Perspectives on the Form, Contributory Factors and Impacts of White-Collar Crimes on Local Authorities in Zimbabwe
Get PDFDespite their instrumental role in the provision of a conducive environ-ment for socio-economic development, local authorities across the globe have been riddled with a myriad of criminal activities, negatively impacting on service to their communities. On numerous occasions, local authorities in Zimbabwe have had to contend with widespread allegations of corruption and a host of other white-collar crimes. This study sought to explore citizens’ perspectives on the scourge of white- collar crime in Zimbabwe’s local authorities, with a particular focus on the trends, causes and impacts. Data were collected from purposely sampled 315 rate payers. Findings revealed that corruption, embezzlement and fraud are the major types of white-collar crime prevalent in local authorities. Poverty, poor internal controls and greediness were found to be the major drivers of white-collar crime. Poor service delivery, reduced revenues and increased expenditure were found to be the major impacts of white collar-crime. The study recommends whistleblowing, sound inter-nal control mechanisms and regular audits as the major strategies to deal with white-collar in local authorities
Analysis of Participatory Action Research as a Decolonial Research Methodology
Get PDFDecolonising the research process is inevitable in today’s world full of social and powerinequalities. Participatory Action Research (PAR), as one of the methodologies that enhances thetransformation of both the researchers and researched, is, therefore, inevitable in social researchtargeting social, inclusive, and informed change. This study responds to various agitations ofdecoloniality of the research process that sees the participants as mere subjects rather than essentialpartners of the knowledge production process. This study conceptualises decoloniality and PARwith an argument recognising PAR as a decolonised research process. This study is located withina transformative paradigm and employs conceptual analysis as a tool to argue the nexus betweendecoloniality and participatory action research and their assumptions. This study attests to the factthat it is an effective and valuable tool in achieving the decolonised research process because it allowsfor the research subjects to have input into the process, have their voices recognised, and provide themwith a platform to take agency and exercise self-determination. The elements, therefore, resonatewith the decolonial agenda to deconstruct oppressive power structures and remembering those whohave been historically dismembered by systems of colonial occupation. In this way, this study findsthat PAR functions as an important element in implementing the decolonised research process
Analysis of Participatory Action Research as a Decolonial Research Methodology
Get PDFDecolonising the research process is inevitable in today’s world full of social and power inequalities. Participatory Action Research (PAR), as one of the methodologies that enhances the transformation of both the researchers and researched, is, therefore, inevitable in social research targeting social, inclusive, and informed change. This study responds to various agitations of decoloniality of the research process that sees the participants as mere subjects rather than essential partners of the knowledge production process. This study conceptualises decoloniality and PAR with an argument recognising PAR as a decolonised research process. This study is located within a transformative paradigm and employs conceptual analysis as a tool to argue the nexus between decoloniality and participatory action research and their assumptions. This study attests to the fact that it is an effective and valuable tool in achieving the decolonised research process because it allows for the research subjects to have input into the process, have their voices recognised, and provide them with a platform to take agency and exercise self-determination. The elements, therefore, resonate with the decolonial agenda to deconstruct oppressive power structures and remembering those who have been historically dismembered by systems of colonial occupation. In this way, this study finds that PAR functions as an important element in implementing the decolonised research process
Limitations of Futuristic Building Materials for Achieving Sustainability in the Construction Industry
Get PDFGlobally, the construction industry (CI) is regarded as one of the largest consumersof raw materials and natural resources. The industry is also known to be a major source of pollution, waste, and other adverse environmental issues within the builtenvironment. It is therefore imperative to introduce strategies, processes, materials,and technologies that have the potential to revolutionize the CI to a sustainable state, especially in this fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. Futuristic building materials(FBMs) are the generation of novel and cutting-edge materials with significant poten-tial to solve ongoing challenges and address environmental issues attributed to the CI. Hence, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the hindrances to the utilization of FBMs in realizing a sustainable CI in South Africa. The quantitative research approach was employed in this study. A structured questionnaire survey was administered to construction professionals in the South African construction industry (SACI). Data collected were analyzed using a descriptive statistical method and exploratory factor analysis. Findings from the study revealed the impact of the 15 barriers identified inthe reviewed literature. The study also revealed a lack of awareness, lack of knowledge, shortage of skills, poor economic conditions, and escalating costs of building materials as the major barriers hindering the adoption of FBMs. In conclusion, the availability, and accessibility of FBMs are discovered to be limited in the SACI. Research and development, awareness creation, and multi-disciplinary collaboration is recommended to maximize the effectiveness of FBMs for a sustainable and innovative SACI
The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Brand Selection: A Case of Durban Customers.
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to assess the impact of social media marketing on South African consumers' brand selection in Durban, with the primary goal of determining the extent to which social media marketing influences consumers' decision-making when selecting a brand. This research used a quantitative research method and non-probability sampling approaches. Only 400 questionnaires out of 450 were collected. In this study, descriptive, and inferential statistics were used. The results of this study suggest that social media is an extremely effective communication tool that might be used to sway consumers' judgments when selecting where to buy. All users claimed to utilize computer-generated platforms, with Facebook being the most widely used..