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Introducing the SISM Model– A Holistic Approach to SMME Incubation Programmes
No full textBackground: Business incubators provide specialised training and mentorship support to upcoming small to medium businesses. There has been a number of incubation programmes in Gauteng province of South Africa. It has been observed that sometimes, some incubation centres fail to achieve objectives for which they were created and originated. That failure results in losses, particularly for those who had created them and as well as loss of income, time and related resources to the beneficiaries, usually the helpless and needy grassroots SMMEs. As a result, some initiatives through incubation are losing the confidence of those who should benefit or support them, due to the failures related to application and operationalization. In view of the above, this study sought to determine and assess the expected effectiveness and significance of business incubation services on turnover of the Gauteng Province tourism SMMEs sector.
Methods: The orientation of this study was hinged upon positivist paradigm with an objective ontological position. By virtue, a random sampling procedure of 103 participants using questionnaires for data collection was used in the study. Moreover, the Cronbach’s alpha and Keiser-Meyer-Olkin techniques were used and resulted in the conclusion that the study was structurally valid and reliable. This entailed a critique of the strategies that could optimally support the effective and efficient provision and growth of SMMEs within the tourism sector of the Province. The study achieved that result by using paired-samples t-tests, principal component analysis, frequencies, exploratory factor analysis, and descriptive statistical techniques to evaluate four hypotheses at a 5% level of significance.
Results: Empirical findings indicated that the respondents (SMMEs Business Owners and Managers) had a certain level of expectation regarding the incubation programme, such as support, training and business linkages. This expectation was mainly directed to the provincial government as he custodian of economic development and growth. Interestingly, the study found out that despite lack of confidence on similar initiatives (SMMEs incubation prgrammes), and much reported failures, SMME owners felt there was a need for this type of intervention but caution needs to be exercised in terms of operationalization and sustainability.
Discussion: In this synthesis, current trends, events and practice on a global, regional and local perspectives are closely securitized. Evidence shows that incubators have been successful in encouraging the development of new start-ups by reducing the failure rate of small- and medium-sized companies (Mirza & Rahmani, 2017). Incubators have become highly popular as a way of cultivating start-ups in both developed and developing countries, whereby they form integral for providing assistance to young businesses in enabling structures (Lalkaka, 2006). Having discovered their value, all those working in the incubation industry continue to seek to discover, describe, calculate, devise, and rate the different aspects of incubation as a sustainable intervention. For that reason, he SISM Model is hereby introduced
Syria in a Torment: Key Actors and Geopolitical Intrigues
No full textDefined as the “worst humanitarian disaster since the end of the cold war,” the Syrian civil war has to date claimed heavy casualties, including over 8,000 documented killings of children under eighteen years of age. In a country of approximately 22 million people, the bloody and prolonged conflict has resulted in 7.6 million internally displaced persons and an additional 3.2 million refugees, as well as approximately 12.2 million people (more than 1 in 2 Syrians) in need of humanitarian aid to survive. This essay is an analysis of the Syrian conflict. Its aim is to depict and underline the various aspects of the conflict in Syria. The internal and external actors alongside the geopolitical intrigues and interests involved in this conflict shall be scrutinized. This essay thrives to rectify subsequent analytical mistakes of scholars who limit the conflict in Syria to one about a confrontation between Russia and the USA, or try to predict the conflict through that lens alone, simply because the most demonstrated rivalry about Syria as a geostrategic epiphenomena relies on the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Above and beyond the internal power struggle, the conflict has acquired the character of a proxy war in which international, regional and sub-national conflicts are fought out. The actors here treat the conflict as a zero-sum game, where success for one is automatically a defeat for the other. One bone of contention is the interpretation and enforcement of international norms, with the United States and other Western states backing the Syrian opposition while Russia, Iran and China support the Assad regime with trade and protection in the UN Security Council and, in the case of Russia, arms deliveries.Defined as the “worst humanitarian disaster since the end of the cold war,” the Syrian civil war has to date claimed heavy casualties, including over 8,000 documented killings of children under eighteen years of age. In a country of approximately 22 million people, the bloody and prolonged conflict has resulted in 7.6 million internally displaced persons and an additional 3.2 million refugees, as well as approximately 12.2 million people (more than 1 in 2 Syrians) in need of humanitarian aid to survive. This essay is an analysis of the Syrian conflict. Its aim is to depict and underline the various aspects of the conflict in Syria. The internal and external actors alongside the geopolitical intrigues and interests involved in this conflict shall be scrutinized. This essay thrives to rectify subsequent analytical mistakes of scholars who limit the conflict in Syria to one about a confrontation between Russia and the USA, or try to predict the conflict through that lens alone, simply because the most demonstrated rivalry about Syria as a geostrategic epiphenomena relies on the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Above and beyond the internal power struggle, the conflict has acquired the character of a proxy war in which international, regional and sub-national conflicts are fought out. The actors here treat the conflict as a zero-sum game, where success for one is automatically a defeat for the other. One bone of contention is the interpretation and enforcement of international norms, with the United States and other Western states backing the Syrian opposition while Russia, Iran and China support the Assad regime with trade and protection in the UN Security Council and, in the case of Russia, arms deliveries
Reflecting Management Priorities In Research Data
No full textPoster summarising findings of a 2014-15 study, Communicating Wildlife Research in Northern Botswana, carried out as part of Stellenbosch University CREST PhD in Science and Technology Studies. Presented at Africa Rising conference, Africa Rising: Mobilising Biodiversity Data for Sustainable Development, which took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 19 to 22 May 2015.
Data collected and used in current wildlife research in northern Botswana appears to increasingly reflect the priorities of the country’s principal wildlife steward, the DWNP. While available open data is well used, development of local repositories needed to facilitate the broader scale analysis identified as a need by the Department of Wildlife and National Park’s new strategic plan is limited, supported mainly by short-term project funding. This needs to be remedied to ensure the applicability of research findings to effective wildlife management
A Grammar Of Gyeli
Get PDFThis grammar offers a grammatical description of the Ngòló variety of Gyeli, an endangered Bantu (A80) language spoken by 4,000-5,000 "Pygmy" hunter-gatherers in southern Cameroon. It represents one of the most comprehensive descriptions of a northwestern Bantu language. The grammatical description, which is couched in a form-to-function approach, covers all levels of language, ranging from Gyeli phonology to its information structure and complex clauses. It draws on nineteen months of fieldwork carried out as part of the "Bagyeli/Bakola" DoBeS (Documentation of Endangered Languages) project between 2010 and 2014. The resulting multimodal corpus from that project, which includes texts of diverse genres such as traditional stories, narratives, multi-party conversations and dialogues, procedural texts, and songs, provides the empirical basis for the grammatical description. The documentary text collection, supplemented by data from elicitation work, questionnaires, and experiments, are accessible in the Bagyeli/Bakola collection of The Language Archive. With additional ethnographic, sociolinguistic, diachronic, and comparative remarks, the grammar may appeal to a wider audience in general linguistics, typology, Bantu studies, and anthropology. In 2019, the grammar received the Pāṇini Award by the Association for Linguistic Typology
Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism in Kenya: Strategies for Recovery
Get PDFMany tourists have cancelled their trips to Kenya in response to global travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Plummeting demand has triggered a crisis that is being felt throughout the entire tourism ecosystem. Most tourist activities and businesses have been closed, and others are operating at a lower level, resulting in massive revenue and job losses. Whilst tourism has proven to be resilient to shocks, including terrorism, violence, natural disasters, economic recession, and pandemics, none of the disruptive events has ever had such a phenomenal impact on the world’s economy, especially the tourism economy as COVID-19 (UNWTO, 2020).
The impact of COVID-19 will most likely last longer, rendering the future bleak, and the road to recovery is uncertain, but much will depend on appropriate policy stimulus to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and kickstart a rebirth of Kenya's tourism industry
MONITORING AMBIENT VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND CONCENTRATIONS AT SELECTED SITES WITHIN THE TARKWA MUNICIPALITY
Get PDFIn the Tarkwa municipality, the concentration of aromatic compounds, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, as well as the total volatile organic compounds in the ambient air, were measured. The purpose of the study was to monitor the release of VOCs in urban areas. To achieve this, ambient concentrations were measured at four urban sites designated as industrial, residential, and commercial areas. Sampling was conducted in the morning and afternoon of July 1, 2021, at the Light-duty vehicle workshop, Goil fuel station, Tarkwa station, and Total fuel station. The MiniRAE Lite VOC monitor, mounted on a two-meter platform, and the Draeger Accuro tube pump, manually operated, were used to measure ambient concentrations. The results confirmed VOC emissions at all sampling sites. The ACGIH TWA permissible exposure limit for benzene was significantly exceeded at the Goil and Total fuel stations. Toluene also exceeded the permissible exposure limit, with a concentration of 21.89 ppm at the Goil fuel station. However, the recorded concentrations of ethylbenzene and xylene were below the allowable exposure limit.University of Mines and Technolog
Improvement of Coconut Production in Kenyan Coast for Income Generation
Get PDFThe potential value of the coconut sub-sector is estimated at US44.5 million) annually and consists of nuts (mature and immature-madafu) accounting for about 24 percent, coconut wine (60 percent), Makuti roofing materials (12 percent), brooms (3.3 percent) and coconut wood (1 percent). The low level of productivity is due to old and unproductive orchards – the East African Talls (EAT) with no designed improvement programme since they were introduced in Kenya, inadequate quality planting material, lack of fast means of generating clean planting materials, unavailability of improved varieties and a general lack of value addition (Muhammed et al., 2013). Slow growth and long pre-breeding period of palm is also a factor (Rajesh et al., 2008)
Methodological considerations of clinical research with Deaf adults in Kenya
Get PDFClinical research with adults who are Deaf in Kenya is nascent and with a loose array of methodological considerations detailed by various authors (Kakiri, 2019). Indeed, Deaf clinical research considerations are necessary for viable outcomes. A desk review of Deaf studies found that there are certain global sets of principles on ethical research and clinical practice considerations with Deaf populations. The document analysis method was used in this literature review, revealing the need for modifications to the standard protocol including the use of a visual-spatial language (Kenyan Sign Language) rather than a spoken language (English), as well as coding and procedural variations from the standardized protocol to fully accommodate Deaf culture. The use of Deaf research assistants or/and the researcher’s reflexivity as a Hearing signing researcher are certain key component of field research considerations. Since the Deaf are a marginalized sub-set of the population, paradigmatic as well as methodological considerations are recommended for effective clinical research in Kenya
Marking Grammatical Tone In Orthographies: Issues And Challenges
No full textWhen the concept of how to mark tone in an orthography arises, usually the first thought is to attend to the lexical tone. However, many African languages also employ grammatical tone, and how to indicate this in a practical orthography can involve entirely different approaches. These alternative approaches have significant advantages, but also traps for the unwary. Grammatical tone distinguishes constructions that are otherwise ambiguous, but unlike minimal pairs for lexical tone, contextual clues for disambiguation involving grammatical tone are often absent. Here different strategies for marking are presented, especially semiographic strategies, indicating meaning rather than the phonetics. I also present a warning about using non-Unicode characters