KovsieJournals - University of the Free State (UFS)
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How teacher behaviour influences learning performance: The mediating role of student motivation
Get PDFTeacher behaviour and student motivation are well-known antecedents of student learning performance. However, their interaction effects remain under-explored, especially given the different types of teacher behaviour and motivation. This study2 involving students in a private Pakistani secondary school (n=367) examined these interaction effects on students’ perceived learning performance. Our findings show that when students viewed their teachers as providing better teaching and classroom structure (termed structure), their extrinsic motivation influenced perceived learning performance more than intrinsic motivation did. Conversely, how students perceived that their teachers related individually and personally to them (termed relatedness) were more pertinent in enhancing intrinsic, than extrinsic, motivation. We also demonstrated that extrinsic motivation mediated the effects of structure on only perceived grade performance, whereas intrinsic motivation mediated the effects of relatedness on grade performance as well as confidence in ability and staying motivated. Further, perceived teacher behaviour was reciprocally influenced by intrinsic motivation, but not by extrinsic motivation. The study extends academic research into the nexus of teacher behaviour and motivation, especially the differential importance of intrinsic over extrinsic motivation. It also provides practical guidance to educationists on improving student performance through appropriate teacher training
Corporate social responsibility performance of property-development firms in Nigerian south-western urban cities
Get PDFPrevious studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the construction and property-development domain have mainly focused on countries in the Global North with very few studies in the Global South. These prior studies have defined the pyramid elements (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic) that make up overall CSR, but none of them have assessed how well corporations performed in relation to each pyramid element, particularly in the property-development industry. Consequently, reflecting on the limited CSR studies in the Global South, this study examines the performance of property-development companies regarding the CSR pyramid elements. The study also assesses the barriers and strategic drivers of CSR among property-development companies. The study employed a descriptive survey research, and questionnaires were administered to 43 property-development companies. Descriptive data analysis was done to rank the relative importance of items from the questionnaire. Results showed that, although companies performed ‘well’ in their legal CSR, and ‘average’ in their economic and ethical CSR, companies performed ‘poorly’ in the area of philanthropic CSR. Lack of support by top management, corruption/lack of transparency, lack of knowledge and awareness by professionals, and lack of regulatory framework were identified as significant barriers to CSR implementation among property-development companies. Vision of founders/support by top management, regulatory framework, stakeholder activism, and good relationship-building are potential key strategic drivers of CSR implementation programmes among property-development companies. Given the findings, it is recommended that property-development companies should integrate CSR principles into their vision and mission statement and consider it to be a business function. This can be done by mitigating the barriers identified through the adoption of strategic drivers as postulated by this study
Secrecy of Taxpayer Information and the Disclosure thereof by an Order of Court in Terms of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 and the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000
Get PDFThe secrecy provisions of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (hereinafter, the TA Act) provide that taxpayer information may generally not be disclosed by the South African Revenue Service (hereinafter, SARS). One of the exceptions to the preservation of secrecy is when a court orders disclosure following an application regulated by secs. 69(2)(c), 69(3), 69(4), and 69(5) of the TA Act. This article considers this exception to taxpayer secrecy in terms of the TA Act, with a focus on the circumstances provided in sec. 69(5) of the TA Act, which must be met before the court may order disclosure. This is done by first considering the previous provisions relating to secrecy and the exception thereof by an order of court found in, for example, the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, which applied before the commencement of the TA Act. The case law on the previous provisions and the more recent cases on the TA Act secrecy provisions are analysed. This article also considers the disclosure of taxpayer information by a court in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (hereinafter,the PAI Act), in light of the recent finding by the Constitutional Court in Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd t/a Financial Mail and Others v South African Revenue Service and Others.1 In this case, the majority of the court declared certain provisions of the PAI Act and the TA Act constitutionally invalid, which results in the mandatory disclosure of taxpayer information when it is in the public interest, as contemplated in sec. 46 of the PAI Act. The PAI Act, in addition to the TA Act, now allows for a court order to disclose information in terms of the public interest procedure if access was refused by SARS. This begs the question: What is the interaction between a TA Act court order to disclose taxpayer information and a PAI Act court order to disclose taxpayer information if the requirements ofsec. 46 of the PAI Act are applicable and if access was refused by SARS
Foreword
Get PDFThe full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will be felt long after the last lockdowns have ended. It affected almost every aspect of our lives. The seventh AnnualInternational Mercantile Law Conference at the University of the Free State was no exception. Initially scheduled to take place in November 2021, it had to be postponed to the next year because of the pandemic. Arranging meetings from the vaccination queues and ending emails with “stay safe and well” marked the planning for the conference. In South Africa, an adjusted alert level 1 was in place from 1 October 2021 to 4 April 2022. When the conference finally took place in November 2022, it was a reunion of academics from all over who contributed and participated with newfound energy and perspective. Eventhough it did not explicitly form part of the call for papers, the question that was on everyone’s minds was how to address ourselves in the current context. How do we teach differently, write differently, and think differently in the wake of a pandemic which had far-reaching financial implications at all scales: the domestic, the national and international, and undoubtedly had a lasting impact on the field of Mercantile Law? In this special edition, we bring together contributions that had their genesis at this very conference, and our hope is that, given their origin, they will spark a fresh way of thinking
A social constructivist understanding of culture for environmental justice and policy
Get PDFIn addressing the environmental threats to cultural resources, some environmental ethicists have taken for granted the idea that culture has an essential character of change that is to be welcomed. In this article, I show that there are pressing moral issues, in this age of environmental crisis, that lurk behind the idea that culture has an essential nature of change. One question that I address is whether, if change is always a pervasive part of culture, we should be morally neutral about changes to cultural values and resources, especially when such change is harmful and external forces are responsible. To address this question, I adopt a social constructivist understanding of culture to show why concerns for loss of culture in the event of environmental crisis that is qualified as cultural change is normatively flawed. I argue that this perspective on culture, yet to be considered in environmental justice literature, prescribes not being neutral about cultural change in addressing environmental issues that affect cultural resources. I demonstrate that seeing culture in this new light has revealing implications for environmental justice. I conclude that failure to integrate this idea of environmental justice runs the risk of dismissing what is harmful to some cultural groups under the guise of ‘normal’ cultural change
Chronicling participants’ understanding and experiences of integrating ICT into the teaching of geography in South African schools
Get PDFThis article examines geography teachers’, parents’ and learners’ understanding and experiences of the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the teaching of that subject. The study was guided by the TPACK-SAMR model, which proved to be a reliable tool for measuring the extent of ICT integration. The purposive sampling technique that was employed enabled the researchers to identify participants for the research study related to the importance of integrating ICTs into the teaching and learning of geography. The article draws its purpose from the integration of technologies into the teaching of geography as a means of preparing and equipping learners who take this subject with the type of skills required in the 21st-century job market. Surprisingly, the research findings revealed that some teachers still do not feel comfortable to integrate diverse technologies into their teaching of geography, perceiving it as time consuming. Their unwillingness to become digital citizens and conform to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a drawback, as are learners’ inappropriate use of ICTs (visiting irrelevant, unwanted sites instead of downloading subject-related content). To empower learners to adopt and use ICTs as valuable tools and solutions on their learning journey drastic changes are required, particularly on the part of curriculum planners in geography.
Community Interpreting and Translation in Africa : Bridging the Language Divide
Get PDFIn an increasingly interconnected world, the relevance of effective communication cannot be overemphasized. Nowhere is this more evident than in the diverse and linguistically rich continent of Africa. With over 2,000 indigenous languages spoken across its vast expanse, Africa presents unique challenges and opportunities for community interpreting and translation. As a matter of fact, community translation and interpretation is a daily occurrence in many African communities, from the newsreader who takes an article from Reuters or BBC and renders it in the local language, adding their own cultural twist, to the master of ceremonies at a traditional marriage ceremony between a couple from different ethnic/ language groups, to the agricultural extension officer whoneeds to translate his message of seedling management to a group of farmers who speaks a different language. In this editorial, we present selected papers from the ATSA conference on Community Interpreting and Translation in the African Context, exploring the significance of language empowerment and the bridging of linguistic divides
Leadership by the Spirit in Pentecostalism:: A transformational pneumatocracy approach
Get PDFPneumatology refers to the study of the Spirit within Pentecostal theology. Similarly, Pentecostals believe that pneumatology has a role to play in ecclesiastical leadership, which results in leadership through the Holy Spirit. In this article, this kind of leadership is theorised as pneumatocracy and is discussed in contrast to other leadership theories such as autocracy and democracy. The article seeks to demonstrate that pneumatocracy in the Pentecostal movement is important. However, it should engage in societal transformation, development of communities, and socio-economic and -political challenges for its relevance in the 21st century. Furthermore, this theory is proposed as an approach relevant to addressing gender parities in ecclesiastical leadership. The practices of pneumatocracy in early Pentecostalism, the early church, and contemporary times are explored in detail. A transformational pneumatocracy is proposed to address current leadership challenges in the African context
Paul, rhetorically gifted, or discursively manipulative?
Get PDFThe rhetoric of the Pauline letters has garnered much interest over the years, and regardless of agreement with the positions expressed in the letters, Paul generally received praise for his adept communicative skills of persuasion. Appreciation for his rhetorical craft, however, should not prevent the recognition of Paul’s deft handling of discourse, as if rhetorical skills and discursive goals are disconnected. Using discourse as a broader category than rhetoric, several instances of discourse manipulation, which at times remind us of imperialist discourse, are identified, including kinship language and ethnic stereotyping, military metaphors, as well as gendered power discourse and sexual slander, illustrated with examples mostly from Philippians
