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The ‘Platformisation’ of Domestic Work in South Africa: A Shift Towards Marginal Formalisation and Deepening Informalisation of Domestic Work Employment
Get PDFDigital platform technologies have brought about a new labour form in the occupation of domestic work, in which domestic cleaningwork is now being managed and organised virtually through an online platform, or ‘app’, operated by private technology companies and provided to householders on a convenient and on-demand basis. This paper analyses the emerging impact of this new form of ‘platform domestic work’ in South Africa’s domestic sector using an interpretivist case study done in Cape Town on ten platform domestic workers and their platform companies. Using evidence obtained through in-depth interviews and analysis of publishedcompany discourse material, this paper argues that far from formalising and modernising domestic work through the twin forces of commercialisation and digital platform technology, the phenomenon of platform domestic work is deepening informalisation in paid domestic work as a form of insecure ‘gig work’, and also through the widespread practice of platform leakage by domestic workers on the platform
The implication of Brexit on Africa’s regional integration: The case of the African Union
Get PDFBrexit in contemporary International Relations has noticeable implications that Africa and other relating states should tentatively be on the lookout, as such the study contends that Britain leaving the European Union (EU) not only imposes negative attributes to African states, economically, politically, structurally and socially, but draws questionable attributes to the advocacy of Africa’s integration processes. Because of the diverse and multiple regional organizations, the study utilizes the African Union (AU) as an example to illustrate the impact Brexit will bear on regional institutions and equally impact on individual states’ quest to continue integrating with other states. The adoption of qualitative techniques is solely to assist the study in describing the impact of Brexit, both for states to learn to better their regional institutions or to advocate for national autonomy just as Britain is endeavoring. In assessing Africa’s perception amidst Brexit, the study holds that Britain’s endeavor for national autonomy threatens the principles of regional integration, as such, contributes significantly to the studying of Brexit’s multi-dimensional implications on Africa
Shifting assessment paradigms in South African higher education: Evolving towards transformative approaches to policy development.
Get PDFAssessment policies facilitate the optimisation of learning and academic performance through the provision of fair, equitable, and standardised criteria for evaluation. In recent years, the assessment policies of three South African universities have been reviewed. These policies, in comparison to their previous iterations, are indicative of transformative approaches taken in assessment practices in South Africa amid broader disruptions to higher education. This article explores shifts in assessment paradigms in South African higher education using a conceptual framework of positivist and behaviourist, interpretative and constructivist, and socio-constructivist views. Document analysis identifies several notable trends, including a shift in the purpose of assessment away from assessment of learning to assessment for learning and assessment as learning. The paradigm shift is characterised by changes in the approach from a rules-based, with specific prescriptions, to principles and values-based approaches. The growing use of alternative and technology-enhanced online assessment methods, along with the need for flexibility, are more prominent additions to these new policies post-COVID-19. However, being mindful of the South African context, culturally sensitive and fair assessment practices, that consider the diversity of South African learners, and the role of assessment in promoting equity, social justice, and quality learning, are highlighted
Perceived Life Balance and Cultural Experience on Academic Outcomes: A Comparative Study of First-generation Students in South Africa and Canada
Get PDFNot much is known about how first-generation students’ cultural experiences, resourcefulness, resilience and their belief that they are able to balance multiple roles affects their academic success. In this North-South comparative study, we examined the impact of culture and perceived ability to balance multiple academic and non-academic roles (balance belief) on academic outcomes experienced by first-generation and non-first-generation students in Canada and South Africa. We also identified the relationship between culture, balance belief, student resilience and resourcefulness and academic outcomes (grades, adjustment and academic self-efficacy). While academic behaviours were similar across countries and similar between students who are and are not first-generation, some non-academic roles differed. Further, for all students, greater balance belief had a small positive effect on grades, university adjustment and academic self-efficacy. When balance belief was combined with students’ academic resourcefulness, predictions of grades, especially for first-generation students from South Africa, were improved. Interventions that improve balance belief may aid students in each country; but understanding cultural experiences related to resourcefulness and resilience is importance since their association with balance belief vary between country and first-generation status.
Keywords: first-generation, balance, resilience, resourcefulness, student succes
Using Mobile Gaming in Virtual Physical Education: Challenges and Opportunities
Get PDFRecent research in education during the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed several structural inequalities leading to problematic implementation of teaching and learning programs globally. However, while the use of communication technology has been greatly capitalized to bridge the physical distance between teachers and students, certain subjects such as Physical Education (henceforth PE) poses logistical challenges in terms of implementation since it entails actual development of physical skills on the part of the learner. This reflective piece examined the use of mobile gaming as an alternative to traditional Physical education programs. Specifically, we argue that mobile gaming helps develop peer engagement, critical thinking, and communication skills. On the other hand, challenges such as a need to engage in more physical activities, addiction and access to technology were encountered.
 
Academia’s Breath: Oxygenating Academia One Creative, Embodied Breath at a Time
Get PDFAustralia is one colonised country in the Global South trying to live differently with our ‘morbid symptoms’. The global South’s Academy has a neoliberal coating that hopefully can be perforated – even if slightly – with intentional and unintentional shifts in how we do academia that allow oxygen into scholarship with some different scholarly processes. The health of the planet, where we are inextricably linked to planetary health, calls for care within and between academic bodies – (non)human bodies, water bodies and bodies of knowledge. I have examined some old blogposts playfully to understand creative blogging as one hopeful way toward an academic sustenance. This entry listens like a record to select blog posts through the voices of feminist black scholars and First Nations informed expertise in the post qualitative, new material turn. By re-experiencing and expressing the sustaining nature of academia to date there are some practical possibilities for an everyday, mothering, emerging academic to do academia differently. Entangled with the unceded lands and waters of Australia’s First Nation people’s – the Boonwurrung / Bunurong – a moment of everyday, academic emergence asks – an academia that plays out one creative, embodied, oxygenated breath at a time – how would you do that
Assessing knowledge management and time performance of building construction projects in Ghana
Get PDFThe construction industry, given its nature of frequent disbanding and exit of professionals and workforce after a project is completed, cannot downplay the importance of managing knowledge and the need to manage the knowledge of construction professionals and the workforce at the corporate and project levels. This study sought to assess project knowledge management and time performance of building construction projects in Ghana. The objectives of the study were to determine whether project knowledge managed on past projects is applied on current projects, to determine the impact of project knowledge management on project time performance, and to determine the critical factors governing the application of knowledge management in enhancing project time performance. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design with construction professionals employed by 19 D1K1 construction companies within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana as the population. A purposive sampling method was adopted for the study, with a questionnaire as the data collection instrument. The questionnaire was administered by Google Forms, and a response rate of 69% was achieved. The study found that Ghanaian building construction firms apply knowledge gained from previous projects to current projects during construction, and the application of this knowledge managed on current projects during construction explains a 30% improvement in project time performance. Also, the findings of the study suggest improved project supervision and site management, a fully utilised construction team, and proper planning of works, among others, are critical factors that govern the application of project knowledge management for improving project time performance. These factors should be documented and applied as lessons learned on future projects to rid projects of delays and time overruns. The study would enable construction project managers to understand the extent of importance the application of project knowledge management is to a project\u27s time performance. It will also inform construction project managers about the critical factors that the application of project knowledge management improves to enhance project time performance.
Life Trajectories in the Language Games of Islamic Reform and Pentecostalism in Cape Town
Get PDFI present two individuals in Cape Town as they became religious leaders in Islamic reform and Christian Pentecostalism respectively. This essay pays attention to the place of charisma generated in their practices, how they relate to existing traditions and institutions, and how they introduce innovations over their life trajectories. Unlike most studies on Pentecostalism and Islamic reform, this essay analyses lesser-known leaders in their respective congregations and communities to illustrate what Wittgenstein has called a ‘language game’. The latter offers a perspective on how individuals inhabit a movement without being constrained by it. The language games of these movements come alive in the life trajectories of my subjects
Resilience and Resistance Among Migrant Male Domestic Workers in South Africa
Get PDFDespite the large body of scholarly research that has addressed the various challenges encountered by female domestic workers,there exists a notable gap in understanding the experiences of male domestic workers in South Africa. The present study seeks to bridge this gap by exploring the experiences of ten black African migrant male domestic workers in Johannesburg. Drawing upon Katz’s framework of disaggregated agency, encompassing resilience, reworking, and resistance strategies, the study demonstrates that in the absence of collective resistance through unionisation, male domestic workers employ resilience and reworking strategies to improve their material well-being. Decision-making processes regarding migration to South Africa, engaging in job-hopping, and engaging in multiple piece jobs are examples of the resilience and reworking strategies used by male domestic workers to improve their living conditions. This study shows that paid domestic work in South Africa, whether performed by men or women, is not withoutchallenges, but that male domestic workers exhibit agency by utilising various strategies to navigate and mitigate some of these challenges
