African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies
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Creating Knowledge and Knowers in the Undergraduate Curriculum
Get PDFThis paper draws on concepts from the field known as the sociology of knowledge to identify the challenges involved in introducing research in the undergraduate curriculum. It begins by using Bernstein’s (2000) ‘pedagogic device’ to conceptualise the introduction of research as a movement from the field of reproduction to the field of production with profound implications for who students have to ‘be’ in order to engage with research as well as for classroom practices and course design more generally. It then moves to using the tool of specialization from Maton’s (2014) Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to go one step further in exploring students as researchers
Challenges Encountered in the Enhancement and Optimal Teaching and Learning of the Creative Arts Subject in South Africa
Get PDFIn recent years, there have been debates regarding the scope of Creative Arts subject in the existing curriculum known as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement offered in the South African public schools. Crucial points in question include that the curriculum does not fully equip learners with the requisite skills for their respective areas of interest. This article interrogates these, and many other challenges encountered in teaching and learning this subject. The study adopted a qualitative research method to collect data, using methods such as semi-structured interviews with the principals, teachers, as well as selected learners from the selected public schools. A substantial review of previous and recent scholarly writings was used to substantiate the findings. The over-arching finding is that this Creative Arts subject requires some intervention strategies and revision by the government and all relevant stakeholders. This study concludes by affirming that the Creative Arts subject plays a vital role in schools, but some issues have contributed to the ineffectiveness of the subject. There is a clear indication that one of the main contributions to the ineffectiveness of the Creative Arts subject in schools is to find specialist educators in each art form
Review of Solar Geoengineering for the Developing World: A Discourse on the State of Research and the Effects on Policy and Livelihoods for Africa
Get PDFThe world is experiencing a rapid increase in the global average temperatures at an unprecedented level, primarily due to human activities. Global actors' and policymakers' inability to find an agreed upon course of action to curtail the looming effects of these increased temperatures is an issue of global environmental and human security concern. Solar geoengineering, also solar radiation modification (SRM), has been proposed in many quarters as an option to reducing global warming while finding other alternatives to GHG emissions. This paper provides a summary introduction to climate science on solar engineering for the social scientists and policymakers from the global south. The paper assesses the status, effects, and preparedness of developing economies, especially Africa, in adopting SRM policies and practices. It observes that the effects of SRM for Africa have not been adequately researched due to the dearth of research and experts on SRM, specifically for Africa. It concludes that the reliance of a significant proportion of developing societies on climate-sensitive livelihood options makes the implication of SRM a worthy consideration for research and policymakers
Postgraduate Research during COVID-19 in a South African Higher Education Institution: Inequality, Ethics, and Requirements for a Reimagined Future
Get PDFCOVID-19 has distorted the teaching and learning pedagogy, as well as the research process of higher education institutions, particularly in Africa. This pandemic-imposed restrictions on movement and demanded a shift to online interaction. This blurred the lines between work and home life and has exacerbated the deep chasms of inequality upon which South African society operates. Established on empirical evidence, substantiated by documentary data, this paper explores how these existing inequalities, exacerbated by COVID-19, manifest in the postgraduate research space of South African higher education institutions. Qualitative data were collected during a recorded focus group interview, and thematically analysed. Through a Neo-Weberian lens, it will illustrate that the pandemic, among other challenges, posed significant ethical challenges to honours students completing their research projects, in turn, shifting policies and requirements of higher education institutions (HEIs) themselves to ensure the protection of their students and quality of research output. These include concerns around digital exclusion, locating participant consent, as well as the collection of data via online channels (Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype) and their privacy parameters. Considering these gulfs of inequality, the paper recommends key requirements for the future of ethically sound research in higher education in South Africa
Factors Affecting Small and Medium Enterprises’ Financial Sustainability in South Africa
Get PDFThe dwindling growth of small businesses and their rate of failure in South Africa has been traced to poor financing. Thus, the factors affecting the financial sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa are examined in this study. Using purposive sampling, data were collected from 310 respondents, however six were incorrectly completed. The analysis was based on data collected from 304 respondents which cut across owners and/or managers from small and medium construction, manufacturing, retail, and agricultural enterprises. A quantitative research design that falls under the positivist paradigm was used. Specifically, through a descriptive and multivariate regression analysis, it was found that financial awareness, budgeting, accounting skills, and access to finance have positive and significant effects on the financial sustainability of SMEs with all the variables, having 0.005 probability values, respectively. Out of all the variables examined, budgeting and access to finance have the largest absolute values of 0.425 and 0.373, respectively. Thus, it was concluded that workshops, training, and seminars to improve the financial literacy of small and medium enterprises should be organised. This will improve owner’s ability to deploy the accounting and budgeting skills and they will be exposed to meeting loan criteria and conditions from financial institutions. Also, adequate funds should be allocated to cater for the regular training and development of small business owners using the services of financial experts.  
Crafting an Endogenous Developmental Pathway for the Mgobodzi Community, South Africa
Get PDFThe Mgobodzi community of the Nkomazi Municipality is perceived as one of the most poverty-stricken and under-developed communities in South Africa. As an agendum to alleviating poverty, the government has employed a variety of developmental initiatives to accelerate development within this community. Despite the enormous investments and concentrated developmental interventions, little improvement has been noticed in regard to the state of poverty within this community as compared to the situation prior the kick-starting of these governmental interventions. In consonance, this study aims to propose an alternative developmental trajectory for this community through the ‘Endogenous growth theory’. The novelty of this research lies in its plausibility and dependence on insights from experienced rural development stakeholders, alongside beneficiaries of this community. The study found that the current rural development trajectory lacks crucial insights into the fundamental demands of this deprived community. The time of realism has set in for stakeholders to make more proactive interventions in addressing the awful specter of under-development and poverty epitomised amongst this community. Such realism is advocated in this research through the ‘conceptualisation of the endogenous growth theory’
Using ISO 9001 Principles to Enhance Total Quality Management: A Case Study of a Packaging Manufacturer in South Africa
Get PDFThe lifting of sanctions post-1994 ushered in the era of international trade in South Africa. To be competitive, the selected packaging organisation became ISO 9001 certified. However, it continued to be plagued by product quality complaints filed by customers. The objective of the study was to ascertain the factors contributing to quality gaps using the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Principles descriptors as measures and to recommend a TQM improvement framework based on the gap analysis. A mixed method approach was adopted for the study. Questionnaires were used to capture baseline information from employees and interviews were conducted with selected managers. The reasons for there being a high number of customer complaints not being closed off timeously, were found to be embedded in the disjuncture between skills required and personnel appointed to various positions. This also had a negative influence on people engagement, resulting in demotivated employees. It was also found that there was insufficient time allocated and personnel dedicated to performing root cause analysis. Continual improvement was found to be primarily constrained by cost considerations, and supplier quality was not being managed effectively
The Role of Size and Age on Firm Growth: Evidence from Manufacturing SMMEs in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
Get PDFPrevious studies in both developed and developing economies have reported that firm growth declines with firm age and size. However, review of literature showed that there are limited studies to empirically assess the validity of this fact on firm growth in developing countries. As such, this paper assesses the role of firm size and age on firm growth in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The study employed a unique balanced three-year panel dataset of 191 manufacturing Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in the province. As expected, the results showed a negative relationship between firm growth and size especially in the short term. However, contrary to the wider body of literature, the study established a positive relationship between firm age and growth. The study also established that older firms grow faster than their younger counterparts despite their size. On the other hand, small sized firms despite their age grow faster than large firms when employment and total assets were used as measures of firm size. It was recommended that the government should be cognisant of the complexity of SMMEs when crafting various sector policies
Freestyle Referencing for the African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies: Exactly why not?
Get PDFDear Editor,
After experiencing the disappointment of a rejection letter from a journal editor regarding a submission, an author will often immediately start searching for another journal in which to publish his or her work. A major consideration in this search will be the referencing style specified by the journal concerned. The range of possible format requirements is almost infinite, but fortunately, most journals follow acknowledged styles, such as those of the American Psychological Association, the Modern Language Association or the Chicago/Turabian style. Transforming a text from one referencing style to another is a cumbersome task – though some librarians may disregard this concern, declaring that software such as Mendeley and Endnotes is able to convert ‘appropriately captured’ references seamlessly from one style to another. A problem central to this approach relates to the ‘appropriate capturing’ of such references, a task that requires extreme diligence. For example, the capturing of an author’s first names might be unnecessary when using style A, but could be required by style B – a detail further complicated by the fact that some sources record only the author’s initials.
Another problem posed by conversion is the fact that many journals profess to use a standard, acknowledged referencing style, but then impose idiosyncratic house style rules, where they deviate from the norm. Clearly, converting from one referencing style to another is an intricate, time-consuming endeavour and most authors would prefer to select a journal that uses the same referencing style as the one they originally selected. Why, then, does the African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies (AJIMS) not adopt a policy of free referencing styles? Free referencing refers to the journal considering and reviewing articles irrespective of the referencing style used – subject to the style being specified and then applied consistently throughout the article. As most reviewers are exposed to a variety of referencing styles, this should not impact negatively on the review process. I believe that adopting freestyle referencing would attract more authors to AJIMS, thus enlarging the pool of submissions from which the editor can select. Particularly as AJIMS is a progressive journal, and as inter- and multidisciplinary studies require an embracement of diversity, AJIMS is well-positioned to follow a policy of freestyle referencing.
Freestyle referencing is not a new concept. Indeed, it has been widely advocated and is accepted by many respectable journals, such as the 350 titles with Taylor & Francis and Routledge, as well as the 92 Wiley journals that allow it. I am firmly of the opinion that the adoption of freestyle referencing would reduce unnecessary labour expended in efforts to disseminate knowledge and would also allow researchers to focus on researching, all without adding to the load carried by AJIMS’s editorial staff. Indeed, I believe that such a move might well enlarge the pool of submissions to AJIMS, providing the publication with an additional competitive advantage.
Comments on ‘Freestyle Referencing for the African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies: Exactly why not?’
Rodwell Makombe | University of the Free State
I think that the issues that you raise in your letter have merit and are worth considering. However, one may have to reflect on why most journals prefer to have a house style or require authors to adhere to a particular style of referencing. I know that changing reference styles when you move from one journal to another is frustrating and time consuming. But the question is: why do most journals prefer to have a house style? I think that while adopting freestyle referencing is quite seductive, we need to consider several issues here. Firstly, when a journal adopts freestyle referencing, it shifts the burden of “policing” referencing from the editorial team of a specific journal to reviewers. From the letter, it is evident that once a journal allows authors to submit without following a specific referencing style, reviewers of that article may have to determine which referencing style the author has adopted, and then enforce consistency in that style (assuming that the said style is not contested). My concern is that if we impose an extra responsibility upon reviewers by asking them to “police” any referencing style as per the preferences of the author(s), we are simply kicking the can down the road. As the author rightly puts it, there are as many referencing styles as there are journals and authors. Even a known and established referencing style such as Harvard has variations depending on the preferences of journals. How do we ensure consistency in cases where authors and reviewers have different ways of interpreting a particular referencing style? Does the reviewer impose his/her Harvard/MLA on authors? Who has the final say on this and by what standard do we measure appropriate referencing?
In short, while adopting freestyle referencing might, on the surface, appear to be the magic wand that will make all the problems of referencing disappear, it is likely to create more headaches for all parties – authors, reviewers, and editors – than solutions. Also, it may consequently raise questions around quality, which is an outcome of standards and benchmarks. A journal without a referencing style is likely to be a journal without an identity. Probably, the question is how we remove the inconveniences associated with referencing without compromising the quality of the journal and creating more work for reviewers. Is freestyle referencing not likely to frustrate authors when reviewers tell them their Harvard style is wrong, given that there are so many versions of Harvard on the internet? While I appreciate the author’s frustrations with referencing styles and their attendant inconveniences, I do not believe that adopting freestyle referencing will make life easier for authors. Rather, it is likely to cause more headaches and open the floodgates for poorly referenced submissions.
Jurgen Becker | University of the Western Cape
I see the merit in the argument presented by the original author of this opinion piece. Adhering to editorial guidelines can be a time-consuming endeavour for applied researchers, especially when one is forced to convert a manuscript into a referencing style that is rarely used. Typically, researchers will prepare a manuscript, including the in-text references and supplementary material, in the editorial style that they are most familiar with. Prior to submission, they will attempt to convert the document to match the editorial guidelines of the target journal. This two-step approach is clearlyinefficient since it can lead to significant reworking of the manuscript. Allowing authors to prepare the manuscript in the style with which they are familiar and comfortable will encourage more submissions to AJIMS and lower the barriers to entry for aspiring authors.
However, this policy may also lead to unintended consequences, including a collection of publications that seemingly lack consistency and quality. The publication guidelines serve an important function insofar as research is presented in a logical fashion that improves the readability and comprehension of the findings. In addition, readers of a specific journal become accustomed to a specific layout, logical flow, and reference style. Using various referencing styles may lead to inconsistencies in how research findings are presented and interpreted.
Jo Nel | University of Limpopo
It is about time that we, in the 21st Century adopt methodologies that enable – not obstruct – the dissemination of knowledge. Indeed, it would be more appropriate to write “the rapid, widespread dissemination of knowledge”. For the life of me, I cannot discern why a specific referencing style is imposed on authors. Surely, surely by this time, with our globalisation and entwined geographies, we should be able to settle on a single system that complies with the essential aspects of referencing, which entails giving due credit to the provenance of a piece of work produced and enabling the rapid retrieval of such work for various purposes. I have often thought that the imposition of strict referencing idiosyncrasies was merely a vanity project by editors or editorial boards. It is also very difficult to imagine an editor rejecting a brilliant treatise simply because the author did not comply narrowly with the required referencing style, yet we know that this often happens. Finally, many – not all – reviewers are like rabid canines, ostentatiously seeking any reason to malign a submission. Rather than producing an article themselves, they spend their time maliciously dismembering another author’s work. Allowing them to reject a submission based on a divergence from the stipulated referencing style is simply adding to their dismal pouch of tools.
Grace Temiloluwa Agbede | Durban University of Technology
This letter to the African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies (AJIMS) captures an important issue, or challenge, that academics and researchers are often faced with. The disparities between different types of referencing formats make the submission of the same paper to different journals an extremely laborious task. While some formatting styles are simple, others are complex. And academics have to battle with these different formats every time they prepare a paper. Personally, I find it discouraging to have to reformat my referencing after receiving a rejection from a particular journal. It is within this context that I agree with the writer of the letter that academic journals and their editorial boards should begin to think of a freestyle referencing format that will allow researchers to submit their papers in any of the popularly accepted formats. Another decision they would need to make is whether the journal’s editorial team would make changes to the referencing style or publish the papers as received, with their various referencing styles intact. I believe that journal editors will have to make a tough decision in this respect. While the former option would place additional responsibilities on journal editors, the latter would not. The question, however,remains as to whether journal editors/publishers would really want to see different referencing styles employed across their published articles.
Ria Vosloo | University of Johannesburg
I agree with the Author. AJIMS is an inter/multidisciplinary journal and, as such, should be accessible to people from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. The referencing styles that authors are familiar and comfortable with are often linked to a disciplinary background and not only to specific journals. Working in a different referencing style and ensuring accuracy can become an unnecessary hurdle. I would therefore support a move to freestyle referencing, especially for the AJIMS
Decolonisation and Rehumanising through Reclaiming the Humanities in ODEL
Get PDFDue to an oft held presupposition by academic administrators that the humanities lack utility, it is common for humanities scholars to be fearful of the demise of our disciplines in institutions of higher learning. In a number of western institutions, humanities departments have been closed based upon this logic. Locating the discussion within the South African academy and based particularly upon the pedagogical experience of the University of South Africa, the authors note an emerging juxtaposition to the western utilitarian approach toward humanities. The decolonial turn is gaining traction in neo colonies and offers an approach away from western positivist-inspired reductivism. Therefore, from within the decolonial milieu, a recovery of the importance of researching and teaching themes of the human can arise when the conception of the person is integrally restored. We argue that when dominant knowledge systems are dislodged, space is created for epistemic plurality by which epistemic re-centring occurs. Doing philosophy in the decolonial environment affords the privilege of reclaiming humanity in the face of its neo colonial mutilation. This is even more so, when philosophy is taught through the dispersed mode of open, distance, and e-learning (ODeL), an andragogy that encourages recentring and decolonisation in both the theory and praxis of teaching and learning