11613 research outputs found
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Identification of mushrooms from pine plantations within the Tsitsikamma region, South Africa
No full textMushrooms have been exploited for ages by mankind for their astoundingly wide application as a sustainable dietary supplement that also carries economical, ecological value and medicinal qualities. Although some mushrooms are considered edible and flavoursome others are deadly. Mushrooms also play ecologically vital roles in nature as decomposers, pathogens and symbionts of plants, animals and humans. Mushrooms have in recent times been heavily explored for new-age biotechnological and medical innovations, but without knowledge of species present in a country, regulation is difficult. In South Africa, knowledge about the biodiversity of macro fungi seems to be lacking. To expand this biodiversity knowledge, this study focused on the coastal Tsitsikamma region in the Eastern Cape province, which represents the largest native forest area of South Africa. However, these forests are interspersed with commercial tree plantations, agriculture and urban development. Specifically, this study focused on mushrooms occurring in plantation areas, to initiate a knowledge base of macro fungi associated with these alien plants, before future studies can determine which are more likely native mushrooms, and if mushrooms from these alien plants can also be found in native vegetation. Therefore, the first aim of the study was to collect and document mushroom diversity and morphology from plantations, and to highlight distinguishable and identifiable characteristics. Morphological studies were aided in the second aim of using rDNA nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) DNA sequence comparisons to confirm specimen identities. A total of 13 species were collected and identified from various plantations in the region. These included species of Amanita, Russula and Lactarius, as well as Panaeolus, Chlorophyllum, Clitopilus, Imleria and Gymnopilus. One specimen identified to be a Chlorophyllum species could not be identified to species level, and may possibly represent a novel species. The study yielded three first reports for South Africa, namely L. quieticolor, P. antillarum and A. morissi, with the latter species having vulnerable red list status and is only known from North America. It was also found that the South African described R. capensis could possibly be conspecific to R. caerulea, which occurs widely in the Northern Hemisphere. A large number of species found were also ectomycorrhizal, having a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, which were pines in this study. The use of DNA sequence comparisons in this study revealed novel associations and reports, in some cases different from the better known morphologically identified species previously known from the region. This study thus shows that careful surveys should be done in future, using both morphological and DNA sequence based identification
Book review
No full textThula Simpson, History of South Africa: From 1902 to the Present, New York, Oxford University Press, 2022, Hardcover ISBN: 9780197672020Publisher's versio
Evaluation of enterprise risk management culture at lesotho highlands development authority
No full textDissertation (MBA.(Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2022A culture of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) at Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) is impacted by risk-behaviour factors, which are risk governance leadership and strategy, communication and people, accountability and staff involvement, risk competence and learning, the risk management process, performance management and decision making. The ability to develop a strong risk culture at LHDA helps the organisation to manage risks and opportunities and accomplish its strategic goals and objectives. A quantitative research method was used to gather data by means of closed-ended questionnaires. One hundred and twenty-seven (127) employees of the targeted 190 responded to the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 67%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed from the data collected and analysed in order to derive a meaningful conclusion. The overall factors / findings that negatively influence risk culture at LHDA were lack of a good attitude towards receiving and handling bad news, lack of reward for staff escalating risk issues, risk management not being an agenda item for monthly branch meetings, lack of influence by CRPM for board decisions and LHDA not adapting to regulatory and environmental changes. The research helped to evaluate the ERM Culture, and the recommendations were proposed based on recommended best practices that can be adopted to improve the ERM culture at LHDA. Periodic risk cultural awareness and monitoring, holding employees accountable for failing to manage their risks, periodic review of risk culture maturity and development of LHDA ERM culture framework were documented as some of the mitigation strategies that might bring about a positive change at LHDA
National development agency (NDA) support for non-profit organizations to become sustainable social enterprises: Pixley Ka Seme district, Northern Cape
No full textDissertation (MDS (Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022This study explored how the National Development Agency (NDA) can support Non-profit organizations (NPOs) to become sustainable social enterprises in Pixley Ka Seme, Northern Cape. NPOs are the closest organizations to the communities in which they operate. NPOs contribute immensely to development, and their unsustainability creates problems for founders, funders, and the communities they serve. Government and the institutions working directly with them recognize the importance of sustainable community development organizations. However, community development organizations still need to improve with a lack of good governance and long-term planning, which can be traced to inadequate or improper capacity-building interventions and a lack of understanding of social entrepreneurship. The study applied a qualitative methods approach, and data was collected through face-to-face interviews. Interviews were conducted with three state institutions and nine organizations from the NDA database in Pixley Ka Seme. The data were analyzed thematically and presented. The study shows that within the sector, there needs to be more understanding of NPO and social enterprise. Only the participants from the government institutions understood the concept of social enterprise and agreed that they only knew how it is defined. However, its registration of it needs to be more explicit in South African legislation. Furthermore, NPO support in the sector is only widely known to some organizations as they heavily depend on the Department of Social Development. The need to be aware of the importance of capacity building and the opportunities that organizations can benefit from if they can have good governance, innovation, and creativity to ensure that they are only sometimes dependent on state or private funding. Organizations can become sustainable if they are self-reliant with skills and finances. The study revealed that NPO managers and administrators in Pixley Ka Seme need to be made aware that they can creatively find and use ways to bring income to their organizations. The income can be utilized to further the organization's objectives, thereby ensuring its sustainability. The study shows that the NDA needs to have a time frame for its funding process to ensure that CSO can comply with the conditions of the funding agreement
Incorporating corporate social responsibility into graduate employability
No full textTo remain sustainably viable in today's business environment, employers require appropriate skills to support their commitment to social responsibility. When recruiting skills, employers recognize that graduate attributes are essential indicators of the capability to render constructive workplace outcomes. Graduates need to develop these attributes to demonstrate their employability potential to prospective employers. However, existing employability capital frameworks do not include the graduate attributes needed to measure capability in corporate social responsibility (CSR) skills. The objective of this study was to determine which graduate attributes would support employability capability in CSR skills. Following a theoretical investigation, a mixed-method exploratory study was undertaken in South Africa's state-owned electricity provider to determine the employability attributes required by the organization in CSR management. The first phase involved a data collection survey, 302 managers and supervisors in South Africa's primary electricity provider rated a proposed 44 personal attributes linked to nine theoretical determined CSR skills and their importance in CSR management. In the second phase, the survey results were validated through a separate Delphi technique with three Human Resource Development experts. Confirmatory factor analysis found significant relationships between the tested attributes and the nine CSR skills. The findings could assist graduates in understanding the attributes they need to develop to be deemed employable for CSR performance. Furthermore, higher education institutions can include the results in curriculums to contribute to the development of CSR skills. Finally, the attributes and skills could be used to conceptualize a focused CSR employability capital, which employers can use to test employability potential.Publisher's versio
Marabi and poststructuralism(s): an inquiry into the possibility of forging a rapprochement between aspects of poststructuralist thinking and marabi in its context (1920’s-1930’s)
No full textThesis (Ph.D.(Philosophy))--University of the Free State, 2022This study forges a rapprochement between aspects of poststructuralist theory and marabi in its socio-political, historical, ideological and labour contexts of the 1920s to 1930s. After considering the socio-historical context of marabi and possible resonances with poststructuralism, the focus falls on the various ethnic and multitudinous manifestations of marabi as music, dance, social occasion and as the symbolic prefiguration of a nascent black urban identity. Whilst bearing in mind the ‘indefinability’ of both marabi and poststructuralism in traditional binary, hierarchical terms, the study moves onto a consideration of marabi, its context, and various major poststructuralist theorists. Firstly, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s philosophy is employed to demonstrate how marabi can be regarded as a “minor music.” Thereafter, it is shown how Deleuze and Guattari’s notions of the assemblage and rhizome are able to accommodate as well as exemplify marabi’s multitudinous constitution. Secondly, the focus falls on how Jacques Derrida’s thought can be employed productively to demonstrate how marabi deconstructs the traditional (Saussurian) notion of the sign, text, intertext and context (generic, genetic and citational). Thirdly, the deeply entrenched binary horizon of Western thought and rhetoric is explored, specifically that of the male/female binary couplet, as disclosed by Hélène Cixous. A consideration then follows of how famo (Sotho) marabi resonates with Cixous’s notion of féminine écriture, notably its ability to undermine phallocentric structures. Finally, marabi’s ideological and labour context (as a rhizomatic part of marabi) is considered as refracted through the critical prism of Michel Foucault’s theorisation of disciplinary and biopolitical power. Having established that pre-Apartheid racist ideology is deeply social-Darwinist, the focus falls on marabi’s disciplinary, panoptical and biopolitical contexts, as evidenced in the mining industry. This chapter concludes by showing how marabi made life bearable in the face of the draconian measures used by the state apparatus to ‘deal’ with the ‘black peril.’ In the final analysis, the study demonstrates that, not only is there a correlation between aspects of poststructuralist thought and marabi in its context, but also that poststructuralism provides us with expanded ways of reasoning that potentially enrich the way we think about marabi and other aspects of society. Inversely, marabi has shown itself capable of enriching poststructuralist thinking as well
Assessing academic success among off-campus students: A case study of Majuba Technical, Vocational Educational and Training College, Centre for People's Development Campus, South Africa
No full textDissertation (MDS (Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022The Department of Higher Education in South Africa merged all technical colleges, colleges of education, and training centres into 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to turn the smaller, weaker colleges into stronger institutions. This merger allowed the new bigger colleges the capacity to offer more educational programmes and the capacity to take more students, thus improving the issue of access to education and training (Human Resource Development Council for South Africa, 2013). Human development views the TVET sector as one of the means to develop capabilities, which are the opportunities that can lead to what the capability approach terms as "functioning" that the individual and communities at large can value (Tikly, 2013). The merger of the colleges meant that the youth had to temporarily move from their home and stay in the towns where the colleges are to be able to attend classes frequently. Few colleges were able to build college-owned accommodation facilities and students have to rent privately owned accommodation from the households within the area where campuses are based. The study seeks to understand and assess the academic success of students staying in the off-campus private accommodation, with the focus being the students of Majuba TVET college, Centre for People's Development (CPD) Campus. The capability approach is employed in analyzing the experiences of the students. The researcher adopted the qualitative research approach in form of a case study design. The information was gathered through semi-structured interviews with a total of 20 students that are enrolled for N5 and N6 from report 191 programmes, and L3 and L4 from the National Certificate Vocational (NCV). A thematic data analysis method was applied using the CA tenets. Findings from the study show that the South African government provided students in the TVET sector with National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) so that students from poor economic backgrounds can access education and training opportunities. The unavailability of college-owned accommodation forces the students to seek private off-campus accommodation, which exposes them to several negative conversion factors that negatively affect their overall academic experience
Collaboration: the key to managing discipline in South African schools
No full textSouth African schools are faced with an arguably insurmountable problem as a culture of indiscipline continually increases in schools. Despite being undeterred by the legal framework that guides stakeholders in the discipline crisis in schools, indiscipline in schools has soared to critical levels. Scant literature exists on how stakeholders collaborate in managing discipline in schools. The research reported on here was guided by the primary research question: How do stakeholders collaborate in managing discipline in schools? As such, in this article we explore how stakeholders collaborate in managing discipline in schools. Through purposive sampling, 16 participants from 4 secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal were chosen to take part in semi-structured interviews. The sample of participants comprised school management team members (SMT); the principal, 1 head of department, 1 post-level 1 educator and 1 school governing body (SGB) member from 4 schools in the iLembe education district. Themes that emerged from the data include that implementation of the school code of conduct as one of the most effective strategies in managing discipline in schools. The inclusion of stakeholders such as the local community, the Community Police Forum, the South African Police Services and the Department of Social Development in the successful management of learner discipline surfaced as an important theme. Furthermore, participants asserted that a whole-school approach to the implementation of the code of conduct was successful in managing discipline. The participants revealed that the collaboration of stakeholders in schools was very important for the smooth running of the school, including the management of discipline.Publisher's versio
Lived experiences of mothers lodging at a public hospital in South Africa
No full textDissertation(M.Sc.(Nursing))--University of the Free State, 2022The lived experiences of mothers who must make use of lodging residences while their sick babies have been admitted to a neonatal care unit (NCU) is understudied. The challenges that these mothers face daily is not well documented. To explore and understand the phenomenon of lodging at a public hospital in South Africa, this study focused on mothers and their experiences while waiting for the recovery of their babies. The research question to be answered was: What are the lived experiences of mothers lodging at a public hospital while their babies have been admitted to an NCU?
Since little is understood about lodging and its challenges, the researcher selected a qualitative approach through which data could be obtained from participants who had first-hand experience of lodging. A sample of 13 mothers participated in the study. The research phenomenon was investigated using data obtained from in-depth individual interviews. The findings of the study included five categories with relevant subcategories. The five major categories were: lodging environment, emotional experiences, nursing care of babies, interaction with staff, and participant perspectives.
From the data, it was inferred that participants experienced many challenges and multiple causes of stress during the lodging period and that they were not well supported by the service providers.
In terms of recommendations, the institution providing the lodging should commit to developing support programmes and policies for mothers who must endure being away from family and social support structures. Extended research into the phenomenon of lodging mothers might lead to the development of a unique institutional approach that will ensure a stay as pleasant and supportive as possible. In turn, satisfied mothers and supportive staff relations may reflect positively on the well-being and health outcomes of the babies