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Corporate governance in selected South African state-owned entities
No full textThis study has been undertaken against the backdrop of allegations of state capture in South Africa and public concern of failing Corporate Governance in the country’s state-owned entities. Specifically, this study pays attention to eight South African stateowned entities. The purpose of this study was to identify possible gaps in the application of Corporate Governance practices by the eight state-owned entities selected for the study. The study sought to identify these gaps by analysing their disclosures of the application of these practices and provides possible ways in which the weaknesses may be addressed. The literature review in this study focused on Corporate Governance Theories. The Corporate Governance Theories addressed in this study are: 1) the Agency Theory; 2) the Stewardship Theory; 3) the Stakeholder Theory; 4) the Enlightened Shareholder Theory; 5) the Resource Dependency Theory; 6) the Network Theory; and 7) the Class Hegemony Theory. The literature review also included a discussion on Corporate Governance in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany and South Africa. The discussion in these different countries sought to establish the different approaches to the enforcement of Corporate Governance. These approaches were addressed in the study, and are: 1) the comply or explain approach 2) the comply and explain approach 3) the apply or explain and 4) the apply and explain approach. The literature review was followed by a detailed analysis of the annual integrated reports of the eight state-owned entities. The analysis was done following a qualitative research approach, with document analysis as the research method used. The analysis of the annual integrated reports was done for eight financial years, starting from the 2010/2011 financial year to the 2017/2018 financial year. The levels of disclosure of Corporate Governance principles were analysed and the application of recommended principles seemed to be a struggle for all state-owned entities identified. A further analysis was made to determine whether, on average, the application of the Corporate Governance principles seemed to be deteriorating or improving over the period of analysis. In order to do this analysis, two basic scorecard systems were developed. The first scorecard system was used to establish whether the application of Corporate Governance practices was disclosed or not. The second scorecard system was used to identify the level of application of the practices, whether the practices were fully disclosed, partially disclosed or not disclosed at all. The results of the empirical study revealed that while the disclosure of the application of Corporate Governance practices seemed to improve over the financial years under analysis, there still remained challenges with the application of certain practices. The analysis revealed that the recommendations contained under themes 2, 7, 10 and 14 remained a challenge to all the state-owned entities selected for the study. The principles relate to the ethical and effective leadership, the governing body, the Chief Executive Officer and the remuneration of directors and senior executives respectively. Based on the findings from the empirical study, the study proceeded to make basic recommendations for the improvement in the application of Corporate Governance practices. This study contributes towards the debate on the causes for concern in the Corporate Governance of South African state-owned entities. It further contributes towards possibly similar conditions in the other South African state-owned entities which have not been included in this study. This is because those state-owned entities may benefit from the weaknesses identified and recommendations suggested in this study to improve their own Corporate Governance disclosures.University of the Free State Postgraduate Schoo
Modelling a conversion of a confined to an unconfined aquifer flow
No full textAs the human population increases, there is also an increase in water demand for water supply. Due to this increase in demand, groundwater is likely to be over-abstracted to meet the requirements that cannot be met by surface water resources alone. With minimal knowledge and understanding of the different aquifers, the over-abstraction can easily change the natural state of an aquifer, most likely from a confined aquifer conditions to an unconfined aquifer. It is because of this demand that many confined aquifers have been reported to be pumped intensively thus being converted to unconfined aquifers. While some researchers have devoted their attention to understanding this conversion, even also to predict it, we have to point out that several aspects have not been touched in the last decades. We shall point out that the understanding or the prediction of a given natural problem starts with good construction of a mathematical model, so far the studies done were based on local differential operator. It is important to recall that, classical differential operators have been recognized to only predict physical problems following processes with no memory. However, while dealing with the groundwater flow problem, it is important to include the effect of heterogeneity which of course cannot be captured with classical operators. Very recently, some new concepts of differentiation have been suggested, and are called non-local operators, they are able to capture the flow within heterogeneous media, and even the flow is able to follow the Brownian motion and even the random walk. The newly introduced mathematical operator has the ability to describe statistical setting like the Gaussian distribution. More precisely, the operator can capture normal and sub-diffusion, with the crossover in waiting time distribution that ranges from exponential decay law to power law. The aim of this thesis was to analyze the existing model especially the nonlinear one using some newly introduced numerical schemes that have been recognized to be very efficient and powerful mathematical tools. Secondly, the aim was to extend the existing model using the newly introduced differential operator known as the Atangana-Baleanu derivative to provide a numerical scheme that can be used to solve such a model, present the condition under which the scheme is stable and finally the presentation of numerical simulations for different values of alpha using a software package called MATLAB is highlighted and discussed
The prevalence of dry eye syndrome among patients at the eye clinic in Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital
No full textIntroduction: Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a multi-factorial disease of the tears and
ocular surface that results in ocular discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear-film
instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. The aim of the study was to
determine the prevalence of dry eye syndrome among patients at the Eye Clinic in
Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital (NMAH) in Mthatha. No study has been published
on the prevalence of dry eye syndrome in the Eastern Cape Province.
Method: This is an observational descriptive study that looked at the prevalence of
dry eye syndrome among patients at the eye clinic in Nelson Mandela Academic
Hospital (NMAH). Dry eye syndrome was assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease
Index (OSDI) questionnaire, Tear-Break Up Time (TBUT) and Schirmer 2 Test. The
OSDI questionnaire was administered by a trained optical dispenser student to the
participants that agreed to partake in the study. Following the completion of the OSDI
questionnaire, the three clinical tests were performed in sequence. The researcher
used the same slit lamp for all the participants and tests. The researcher started
assessing for the Meibomian glands to determine whether the participant had
Meibomian gland dysfunction or not. After the assessment of Meibomian glands, the
TBUT was measured. The Schirmer 2 test was performed 5 minutes later after the
TBUT was performed. When performing the Schirmer 2 test, novesin wander was
used as a local anesthetic for all participants. The Schirmer strips were measured with a millimeter ruler after 5 minutes of inserting the strip in the lower lid of each eye. A
stopwatch was used for timing when performing the TBUT and Schirmer 2 tests. The
outcomes of each test were recorded on the data sheet that was marked uniquely
using a code for each participant.
Results: One hundred and fifty participants took part in the study, and 72% of the
participants were females. The prevalence of dry eye syndrome was determined to be
92.00% when using the OSDI. The OSDI determined the prevalence of severe dry eye
syndrome to be 64.67%. The Tear Break-Up Time (TBUT) and Schirmer’s 2 test
determined the prevalence of dry eye syndrome to be 64.67% and 62.67%
respectively.
Conclusion: There was high prevalence of DES among patients at the Eye clinic in
NMAH. Females were predominantly affected more than males. An intervention from
health authorities is required in order to curb the disease. Eye care personnel, such as Ophthalmic nurses, Optometrists and Ophthalmologist should be made aware of
the seriousness of the disease and its prevalence in order to encourage them to take
precautions when managing other ocular disease to avoid turning a blind eye to the
disease. The inclusion of tear osmolarity testing as a tool in assisting with the
diagnosis of dry eye syndrome will be recommended for future studies
The effect of herbicide formulations and soybean genotype on the relationship between beneficial organisms and root pathogens
No full textThere has been considerable speculation in the media that glyphosate has a negative impact on symbiotic micro-organisms, particularly in the case of genetically modified soybeans. This speculation coincides with the assumption that the presence of the RR® gene is detrimental to ability of rhizobacteria to infect genetically modified soybeans and stimulate nodule formation. Also postulated was that the presence of the gene weakens the resistance of the crop to soil borne pathogens. This thesis tested the hypothesis that glyphosate has an effect on soybean plants and its symbiotic rhizobacteria and that genetic modification of the plant is detrimental to successful rhizobium colonisation and disease resistance. A definite weakness in previous studies is that only one glyphosate formulation was used and that according to the literature no studies have used isolines of soybeans to compare interactions.
In trials utilising a strain of Bradyrhizobium japonicum recommended by the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa, (WB74), and direct exposure of rhizobacteria to different glyphosate formulations showed no significant reduction of number of colonies. Neither did any of the treatments inhibit the ability of treated bacteria to infect both soybean isolines’ plant roots and stimulate the formation of active nodules.
When exposing the RR® soybeans to different glyphosate formulations, the only negative effects on the different plant parts were found in cases where fertilisation with NH4NO3 was used instead of inoculation with the rhizobacteria. This result emphasised the importance of successful inoculation with the correct rhizobacterium. When the RR® soybeans were exposed to different glyphosate formulations in the presence of three soil pathogens, it was only plants treated with NH4NO3 that showed detrimental effects. Since these trials were not taken to harvest, it is not possible to speculate on ultimate yield in these cases.
To investigate the presence of the RR® gene and its effect on soybean growth, both lines were treated in the exact same manner and cultivated under the same conditions. No significant differences were observed in any plant parameters, especially the mass of active nodules formed. When the growth parameters of the soybean lines were compared after exposure to soil pathogens, no significant differences in infection were observed. The presence of the RR® gene therefore does not appear to increase the susceptibility of soybean to soil borne pathogens
Designing a context-based strategy for teaching and learning of mathematics word problems
No full textThis study aims to design a context-based strategy for the teaching and learning of mathematical WP for Afromontane learners. In the context of this study, Afromontane learners form part of the social construct of people that live and subsist in mountainous places, drawing from the wealth of their cultural and indigenous knowledge. This wealth of knowledge, which has sustained the Afromontane or Indigenous people, is often marginalised in the teaching and learning of mathematics, particularly WP. For these apparent reasons, I found it necessary to design a context-based strategy that would enhance teaching and learning of mathematical WP for Afromontane learners. In order to attain this goal, firstly, I opted to utilise Community Cultural Wealth as a lens through which I looked into the challenges experienced by these learners in their attempts to use these indigenous skills. Secondly, I employed Participatory Action Research (PAR) as the research methodology with a view that would also assist to generate data from the research site with the aid of the research participants. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a technique employed to analyse and interpret data generated from the research field, taking into consideration the three levels of analysing and interpreting data, namely: textual analysis, discursive practices and social structures.
Key findings of the study include:
Inadequate skills to teach mathematical WP within the context of the learners as a remaining challenge that forces some teachers to opt for using traditional way of teaching (rote teaching and algorithmic approach)
• Teachers still lack skills to integrate indigenous games with mathematical WP
• Abstract teaching and learning of mathematical WP still remain a challenge
• The creation of a learning environment in the classroom setting during tuition time still remains a challenge
Based on the findings of the study, the following is recommended:
• Collaborative teaching and learning mathematical WP with the Hands-on strategy
• The use of indigenous games as a tool to bridge a gap between traditional and western practices
• Teaching and learning mathematical WP through manipulatives
• Connection of the conceptual world with the real worl
Verification of the South African pork classification system
No full textThe main objective of this study was to investigate whether the current formulas used in the pork classification system (PORCUS) is still suitable for predicting meat yield over different carcasses yield and weight classes. Ninety seven pork carcasses from different weight categories classed as P, O, and R classification groups were sampled at 4 major South African abattoirs and these pigs were then dissected into different wholesale cuts. These cuts were then dissected into skin, bone, meat and fat. The dissected portions were then weighed and these weights were used to determine true lean yield, which in turn was used to reclassify the carcasses. Pearson correlations coefficients indicated that the % true meat yield by dissection gives better correlations with most of the meat quality parameters in comparison with the % meat yield predicted by the HGP. Only 26.8% of the carcasses were classed correctly with the HGP. For most classes the yield was over predicted by the HGP. There is a general perception that pig carcasses are becoming heavier and leaner, 36 of the selected 97 carcasses that were supposed to yield P, O, and R, recorded actual yields of C, U, and S.
From the multiple regression analysis it was clear that the 1992 Bruwer equation over predicts the LMY of the carcasses and in turn this causes the HGP to incorrectly classify the pork carcasses.
The old HGP formula used by the HGP is as follows:
% Meat = 72.5114 – (0.4618 x fat thickness) + (0.0547 x muscle thickness)
The new proposed formula is as follows:
% Meat = 77.2281 – (0.9478 x fat thickness) + (0.0263 x muscle thickness)
The fat quality parameters, including fatty acid composition and fatty acid ratios, of pigs from different classification groups indicated that as the LM% decreased and the BFT increases, the % IMF, %EFC, AI and C18:0/C18:2 ratio increase and the % FFDM, % moisture, drip loss, IV, RI, DBI, PI, the amount of n-6, MUFA/SFA ratio, PUFA/MUFA ratio and n-6/ n-3 ratio all decreased. There is a constant contrast between classification group P and classification group U and S. Classification group P pigs are associated with healthier fat from a consumer’s point of view, but is seen as an inferior fat from a processors point of view, whereas pigs from classification group S are associated with the quality fat that the processor desires but consumers wish to avoid for health reasons.Meat Industry Trust (MIT)South African Pork Producers' Organization (SAPPO
Development needs of parliamentarians at the Lesotho parliament
No full textDissertation (MBA (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2019Skills and educations are indeed the pillars that organizations need to acquire sufficiently in
order to be successful. This is the case in the parliament of Lesotho, effectiveness in the
functionality of the parliament can been drawn from improved performance of the
parliamentarians. Education and skills when adequately acquired enhance competence and hence
effectiveness is achieved. Lesotho does not have on its electoral model academic qualifications
as prerequisite for one to qualify for being elected as a member of the parliament. This has
brought challenges as members come with various skills sets and educational backgrounds and it
impacts on their competence and effectiveness. The study is therefore aimed at assessing and
scrutinizing the development needs of parliamentarians and the focus on the Lesotho legislature.
The study also brought into detail different concepts such as needs analysis, capacitation and
other themes that guide the researcher on how the subject matter can be comprehended. This has
also helped in identifying the gaps in the current parliamentary system under study and as such
opened a platform for suggested programs that cam be adopted in the light of parliamentary
strengthening for effective and efficient functionality. The qualitative approach was employed in
collecting, analyzing and presenting data. The researcher used interviews as a tool to collect
responses from the participants
The Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education (2013): teachers' readiness for implementation
No full textThis study sought to explore teachers’ perceptions of their readiness to implement the Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education (LGCSE) which was introduced in 2013. The LGCSE was adopted as a result of critique against the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC), and was perceived as more aligned with the needs of the country and her people. Couched in a constructivist paradigm, this study was premised on the assumption that individuals create meaning from their interactions in their lives and the experiences they gain from work. In alignment with a qualitative methodology, data was generated through a document analysis, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. In this study I undertook a document analysis of Implementing the Curriculum with Cambridge: A Guide to School Leaders (undated) and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy (2009) (CAP). The analysis was used to highlight the differences between the COSC and the LGCSE curricula, and in particular, to indicate the similarties and differences between seleted syllabi. The research participants were purposively selected based on their experience in teaching towards both the COSC and the LGCSE. At two urban schools in Maseru city, two focus groups discussions were held with six participants from each school, and six semi-structured interviews were conducted, three at each school. The data generated through the focus group discussions was analysed by means of a constant comparison analysis. The findings revealed that the participants are aware of the differences between COSC and LGCSE, and they perceive the LGCSE as more accommodative in terms of the differentiation of learners’ ability in Mathematics and Physical science. In addition, they perceive the LGCSE curriculum as more relevant to address the needs of the Basotho. However, the one-day workshop was regarded as insufficient to adequately prepare the teachers for the transition from the COSC curriculum to the LGCSE curriculum. These findings were in general corroborated by the data generated from the semi-structured interviews. The workshops held to train teachers were perceived as just a space for information dissemination, rather than an opportunity to gain information on the strategies and approaches of teaching the new syllabi content. In particular, the findings revealed that the training was insufficient in assisting teachers with the selection of learners to study the respective core and the extended syllabi. In addition, they also struggled with the content of the new topics as they were not dealt with in detail during the one-day workshop. The findings indicated that the one-day training workshop did not enable the teachers to frame their teaching within an integrated approach as required by CAP. In general, the research participants indicated that the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) did not sufficiently prepare them for the implementation of the LGCSE curriculum. The study concludes by suggesting that training workshops should be held on a regular basis with a focus on specific aspects of the curriculum in more detail, and also on CAP as a policy framework intended to guide education reform in Lesotho. It is also suggested that MOET contributes towards creating spaces for teachers to colloratively work together on the implementation of the LGSCE curriculu
Resilience of households to agricultural drought in the Northern Cape, South Africa
No full textThe recurring drought is a major challenge to livestock smallholder farmers in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The objective of the study was to determine household resilience to recurrent agricultural drought among smallholder livestock farmers by identifying strategies that affect these households resilience to agricultural drought, identifying factors that can be adopted by the farming households and other strategies which will assist farmers to absorb adverse welfare effects due to agricultural drought. This study used a mixed approach to collect data (primary and secondary data) with 207 smallholder farmers interviewed. The results show that most farming households in the Frances Baard District Municipality in Northern Cape were not resilient to agricultural drought. Drought resilience can be defined as the capacity of farmers to survive during a drought season or dry season or periods of low rainfall. Out of 207 smallholder farmers interviewed, only a few farming households were resilient to agricultural drought. Moreover, small-holder farmers refers to farmers that own small sizes of land, where they grow subsistence livestock and have limited resource endowment as compared to commercial farmers. A total of 189 farming households were non-resilient and vulnerable to agricultural drought, and only 18 were resilient. The study revealed that gender, educational level, financial support from relatives, being part of a co-operative, institutional support and government assistance are the significant factors that determine the resilience of a farming household to agricultural drought in the Frances Baard District Municipality. The study further shows that factors such as feed cost, other farming operational expenses and labour have a significant impact on the welfare of a farming household, whereas land tenure and agricultural drought resilience index were insignificant. Furthermore, one of the strategies that farming households adopt during dry periods is to sell their livestock to be able to feed the remaining livestock. During the 2015/2016 drought, farmers received coupons from the government to purchase feed. However, this initiative did not help much as most of the farmers had already started selling and losing (by death) their livestock. Based on the findings of this study, resilience of farming households to agricultural drought is a broad issue that needs comprehensive intervention.National Research Fund (NRF)Thuthuk
Computed tomography radiomic texture features dependence upon imaging parameters
No full textIntroduction and Aim: Few studies have been carried out to determine the influence of Computed Tomography (CT) acquisition parameters (slice thickness, tube potential difference (kVp), and tube current time product (mAs)) on the quantitative image features in radiomics studies. There is little evidence in the published literature, of studies that use mathematics to establish radiomic texture features that are independent of the CT scan technique parameters. The stability of radiomic texture features may have a great impact on the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Robust texture features can be used to track radiotherapy treatment response. In this study radiomic texture features were investigated to identify features that did not depend on the CT technique parameters. Methodology: The credence cartridge radiomics (CCR) phantom was imaged at four CT units at the Universitas Academic and the National District hospitals. The tube current-time product (mAs) was varied from 75 to 400 mAs in steps of 25mAs while the kilovoltage peak and slice thickness were kept set at 120kVp and 5 mm respectively. The CT tube potential was investigated at 80, 100, 120 and 135 kVp whilst mAs and slice thickness was kept set at 300 mAs and 5 mm respectively. The slice thickness was varied from 1 mm to 5 mm whilst the mAs and kVp was kept constant at 300 mAs and 120kVp respectively. The acquisition field of view (FOV) and pitch were kept constant. The images obtained were processed using PyRadiomics software platform of 3D Slicer and the Matlab 2017a package. PyRadiomics was used to segment and extract a total of 105 radiomics texture features for each region of interest (ROI) delineated on an image. The 105 radiomic features included 13 shape features, 18 first order statistics features, 23 grey-level co-occurrence matrix, 14 grey level difference matrix, 16 grey-level run length matrix, 16 grey level size zone matrix and 5 neighbourhood grey tone difference matrix features. For each 10 CCR phantom inserts, 16 ROI of 2cm diameter was segmented by aligning the centre of the ROI at the centre of the insert. The Matlab package was used to segment and extract image matrices that were used to perform hand GLCM calculations. A kV Cone Beam Computed Tomography (kV CBCT) acquired cervical cancer data-set was used to establish the robust radiomic texture features response to radiotherapy treatment. The kV CBCT images were acquired first day and weekly during the 25 treatment fractions. Results: Five first order statistic radiomic features and six grey level co-occurrence matrix features were identified in the experimental test and mathematical manual calculations tests to vary with coefficients of variance of less than or equal to 10 % when the slice thickness was varied. Most of the radiomic texture features were weak and unstable (coefficients of variance above 10%) at very small slice thickness (≥2.5 mm) and robust at medium (≥2.5 mm) to large slice thickness (3.75 mm and 5 mm) (coefficients of variance ≤ 10 %). The above was attributed to an averaging effect (image smoothening) on the images when the slice thickness of image acquisition is increased. The image noise was observed to be less in large slice thickness when compared to noise at small slice thickness. Radiomics features were independent and stable to the tube potential at greater than 100 kV. At high tube potential the radiation attenuated signal detected at the CT detector was higher cancelling the noise effects. The robustness of these radiomic features depended on the material comprising the insert analysed. The extent of mAs dependence observed for the dense cork and plaster resin materials inserts was low compared to the dependence on the solid acrylic material insert. All the other phantom inserts (rubber particles, natural cork and the 3 acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic) data plots showed smaller variations around the central axis (zero feature value) of the skewness, uniformity, entropy and kurtosis features graphs. Irrespective of the mAs changes, the radiomic texture feature values obtained from all of the ABS materials inserts, rubber particles and natural cork inserts were consistently smaller, closer to zero. A general decrease in image noise as the mAs of image acquisition was increased in images of uniform or relatively uniform material was also observed. The patient tumour analysis showed some radiomic texture features response to radiotherapy treatment. This was shown by the changes observed on the inverse difference, inverse difference moment, entropy and difference variance texture features. The texture features had their values decrease from start of treatment (first fraction) to the last treatment fraction. The decrease was not smooth along the treatment period, there were some anomalies on the trends. This decrease was ascribed to the change in the heterogeneity of the tissues within the treatment region of interest evaluated. Conclusion: Overall, using theoretical analysis and a practical approach, robust radiomic features that were independent of the CT scan parameters were observed. The experimental approach showed that the phantom insert materials had influence on radiomic texture feature values obtained in investigations. Radiomic texture features demonstrated that tumours had a variation of heterogeneity between them. The observation agrees with other clinical studies that showed that tumours exhibit some extensive genetic and phenotypic variations. Radiomic texture features can be utilised to depict tumour texture changes along the treatment timeline as shown in this study. A great challenge would be to associate the radiomic texture feature changes to the clinical biological changes. For future robust radiomic feature studies, the use of phantoms with tissue like materials was proposed