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Decent Working Conditions For Improved Construction Workers’ Productivity On Zimbabwean Building Projects
Get PDFPublished ArticleConstruction labour productivity is declining,
due to shortcomings in the Decent Work
Agenda. This research seeks to determine
decent working conditions that could improve
the productivity of skilled and semi-skilled
workers on construction sites in Zimbabwe.
A quantitative research approach enabled a
self-administered questionnaire survey among
site management and workers from selected
trades. The randomly selected respondents
work for construction companies affiliated
with the Construction Industry Federation of
Zimbabwe database. The companies are
based in Harare, Bulawayo, and Shurugwi.
In addition, thirteen building project sites in the
study area were purposively selected through
the National Social Security Authority register.
The results indicate that adequate work-related
health and safety conditions and facilities were
identified through ranking as the most significant
decent work conditions under which improved
labour productivity can be achieved. It is also
notable that all the decent working conditions assessed were deemed significant in terms of improving labour productivity.
A Kruskal-Wallis test ascertained that there were no statistically significant
differences due to the age, gender and experience of respondents. However,
statistically significant differences were found due to the designation and
educational levels of the respondents. The research study recommends that
training on decent working conditions be undertaken and that accentuation
of adequate decent working conditions on sites be encouraged. Adequate
planning and financing for decent work conditions are also proffered
Evaluation Of The Impact Of Scanning Strategies On Residual Stresses In Selective Laser Melting
Get PDFPublished ArticleThe occurrence of residual stresses in selective laser melting (SLM) presents challenges that limit the capability of the process to
manufacture parts at industrial scale. These stresses can have irreversible effects such as warping and cracking of parts during and
post manufacturing.One of the most important SLMparameters that should be controlled carefully in order to effectively manage
residual stresses is the scanning strategy. This study presents an evaluation of four different scanning strategies, namely the island,
successive, successive chessboard and least heat influence (LHI) scanning strategies with respect to their influence on residual
stresses and distortions. All the scanning strategies were investigated by melting single tracks on tool steel substrates without
powder. Measurement of residual stresses was performed on selected positions on the substrates before and after exposure to the
laser beam using the x-ray diffraction technique. The successive chessboard scanning strategy was found to contribute to the least
average residual stresses, and lowered residual stress by up to 40% relative to the default island scanning strategy. Further to this,
the influence of the successive chessboard and island scanning strategies on distortions was evaluated. Similar to the residual
stress findings, the successive chessboard contributed to lower form deviations compared to the island strategy. The scanning
strategies were also evaluated based on their impact on total scanning times, with the successive chessboard strategy showing
slightly lower scanning time than that for the island and LHI chessboard strategies
Analysis of Drought Progression Physiognomies in South Africa
Get PDFPublished ArticleThe spatial-temporal variability of drought characteristics and propagation mechanisms in
the hydrological cycle is a pertinent topic to policymakers and to the diverse scientific community.
This study reports on the analysis of drought characteristics and propagation patterns in the
hydrological cycle over South Africa. In particular, the analysis considered daily precipitation
and streamflow data spanning from 1985 to 2016, recorded from 74 weather stations, distributed
across South Africa and covering the country’s 19Water Management Areas (WMAs). The results
show that all the WMAs experience drought features characterized by an inherent spatial-temporal
dependence structure with transition periods categorized into short (1–3 months), intermediate
(4–6 months), long (7–12 months) and extended (>12 months) time-scales. Coupled with climate
and catchment characteristics, the drought propagation characteristics delineate the WMAs into
homogenous zones subtly akin to the broader climatic zones of South Africa, i.e., Savanna, Grassland,
Karoo, Fynbos, Forest, and Desert climates. We posit that drought evolution results emanating from
the current study provide a new perspective of drought characterization with practical use for the
design of drought monitoring, as well as early warning systems for drought hazard preparedness
and effective water resources planning and management. Overall, the analysis of drought evolution
in South Africa is expected to stimulate advanced drought research topics, including the elusive
drought termination typology
Bi-Hazard Assessment for Timely and Effective Disaster Management: Free State Disaster Area 2015
Get PDFPublished Articleconjure up. With its slow-on-set creeping nature, at its most severe levels it can last longer and extent across
large areas generating secondary hazards such as dust bowls, land degradation, destruction of terrestrial
and aquatic wildlife habitats and widespread wildfires. Therefore thereis no universal definition of drought,
therefore “Operational definitions can also be used to analyze drought frequency, severity, and duration for a given
historical period. Such definitions, however, require weather data on hourly, daily, monthly, or other time scales and,
possibly, impact data (e.g., crop yield), depending on the nature of the definition being applied. Developing climatology
of drought for a region provides a greater understanding of its characteristics and the probability of recurrence at
various levels of severity. Information of this type is extremely beneficial in the development of response and mitigation
strategies and preparedness plans”. Following the declaration of the Free State province on the 10th September
2015 being drought disaster area, the current study aims to assess drought and fire hazards from regional
operational indices in order to help disaster managers and political authorities facilitate resource allocation
mobilization in response to the present situation. The study collected January 2014 to October 2015
precipitation, wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity data from a web-based source. A modified
water balance method in conjunction with the works of Iyengar and Sudashan were used in constructing a
composite drought index. This analysis which was conducted in three dimensions, severity, frequency and
spatial extent, revealed the Free State province generally experiencing the same magnitude of frequencies
and severity, although, rankings of spatial extent show a descending trend from the northern to the northeastern
parts of the province and lastly the southern parts. The same spatial extent was revealed by a
Swedish Angstrom index for fire dangers
Ethical Tourism Consumption: Should Businesses Be Concerned?
Get PDFPublished ArticleNegative socio-cultural, economic and environmental impacts of tourism continue to be a major
concern. This concern has led to the number of initiatives aimed at creating awareness about tourist
activities and the overall impact of tourism on the environment and society in general. This awareness
has already started to have an effect on the way in which some tourists behave, how they select tourism
products and destinations. This wave of awareness may in the future also compel tourism businesses
to operate businesses differently, in a profitable way whilst ensuring the minimisation of the negative
impacts of tourism. This paper focuses on addressing the possible impact of alarming tourism markets
on the negative socio-cultural, economic and environmental issues caused by the tourism industry and
it addresses the impact this awareness may have on tourism businesses currently lacking corporate
social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This paper thus draws the attention of ethical tourism to
businesses and reinforces the importance and implications thereof. Ethical tourism strives to maximise
the positive impacts of tourism, and simultaneously tries to minimise the destructive impacts. The
concept of ethical tourism also means that purchasing decisions of tourism consumers will include an
element of responsible consumption. This in turn will mean that businesses without ethical credentials
will be less competitive, should this “new tourist” phenomenon gain traction. The paper encourages that
the tourism industry should lead the way in terms of responsible tourism, not solely for the purpose
preparing for the ethical tourism market in the future and being competitive, but because it is about
protecting and improving the future of the tourism industry sustainably
Examining Tourism SMMEs’ Extent of Use of Social Media Technologies to Position and Market Brands
Get PDFPublished ArticleIn view of the growing diversity of stakeholders that emerging, tourism businesses are envisaged to
engage with in their businesses, small, micro and medium enterprises’ sub-optimal utilisation of social
media technology (SMT) for branding and marketing of their products and services is ironic and
problematic. Perhaps the persistent inability of such businesses to augment their customer base stems
from their dependence on traditional technologies such as television and newspapers for marketing
their activities. However, these traditional technologies do not actively increase the visibility of brands
to customers and to broader markets the same way SMTs would. To close this gap, this paper examines
tourism SMMEs’ extent of use of SMTs to position and market brands. A quantitative approach and
survey was conducted on 234 tourism SMMEs’ owner/managers in the Free State province of South
Africa to establish the influence of SMTs on the branding and marketing of their products and services.
Only 123 questionnaires were correctly completed, representing a response rate of 53%. The papers’
findings revealed that tourism SMMEs in the Free State province utilise social media technologies to
position and market their brands and services. It further demonstrated that SMTs are important for
branding tourism SMMEs’ products/services as customers and prospective customers often engage
with the business via these platforms. The study recommends tourism SMMEs to develop an inventory
of customers and potential customers’ preferred social media platforms to ensure the optimisation of
SMT-based branding and marketing
Treated Acid Mine Drainage and Stream Recovery: Downstream Impacts on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Relation to Multispecies Toxicity Bioassays
Get PDFResearch ArticleThe success and long term effectiveness of extensive and expensive engineering solutions to restore streams
impacted by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is rarely tested. Concentrations of pollutants were measured in water
along a longitudinal gradient from a stretch of the Tweelopie stream, South Africa, that receives pH-treated acid
mine drainage (AMD) from an abandoned gold mine. The biotoxic effects of treated AMD were determined
through macroinvertebrate biotic indices (SASS5) and a battery of toxicity bioassays. These included the L.
sativa, A. cepa, D. magna toxicity and Ames mutagenicity tests, as well as an in vitro human liver cancer cell line
HepG2. Even though the Tweelopie stream was moderately to severely degraded by multiple anthropogenic
stressors, the impact of the treated AMD was masked by the improvement in the system downstream after mixing
with the domestic wastewater effluent receiving stream, and subsequent further dilution as a result of the karst
springs downstream. The general improvement of the system downstream was clearly shown by the decrease in
the ecotoxicity and mutagenicity in relation to the in-stream macroinvertebrates. PCA multivariate analysis
successfully displayed associations between the different environmental variables and the decrease in toxicity
and subsequent ecosystem improvement downstream. This study indicated that environmental management of
AMD remediation should consider long term assessment strategies, including multiple factors, to promote biological
ecosystem recovery
Financial Crisis and the South African Agricultural Sector: A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Analysis
Get PDFPublished ArticleThis study examines the impact of financial crisis as a shock on agricultural sector of the South African economy. Agriculture is regarded as a critical source of foreign exchange, employment and poverty alleviation in South Africa. Using a computable general equilibrium model of the South African economy based on the theory of ORANI-G framework, it was discovered that the impact of the financial crisis on agricultural sector was harmful to the economy. Job losses were recorded in the sector as well as decline in household demand. The financial crisis was also found to be harsh on domestic prices and general household consumption levels. The findings have far-reaching implications for research and practice. The results provide evidence of the vulnerability of the South African agricultural sector to any financial shocks
Effect Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus On Bone Mineral Density (BMD) In Middle-Aged Black South African Women
Get PDFDissertationDiabetes mellitus is a serious medical condition that occurs when the body cannot utilise glucose normally. There are two main types of diabetes, known as type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common type of diabetes which can have serious complications if not treated. Osteoporosis/osteopenia (low bone mass) are hidden, major health concerns for our society as a result of their quiescence nature of the bone loss process with no signs or symptoms until a fracture occurs. Non-invasive bone densitometry utilising X-ray absorptiometry enables accurate evaluation of bone mass and the diagnosis of osteoporosis in asymptomatic individuals prior to fracture. Bone mineral density is a vital component in the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis regarding bone strength, since fracture risk increases exponentially as bone mineral density decreases. A DXA scan was performed on each subject. The sites used in this study included the femoral neck (left and right), total hip (left and right) and the AP lumbar spine. This was a retrospective study. Data of 140 Black female subjects were obtained from a database. Ninety-one subjects were previously diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and acted as the test group, whilst 49 subjects had no diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and acted as the test group. The T-scores of the test group and the control group were compared according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization. These two groups were further divided into two subgroups according to age, as proposed by the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa. Subjects ≥ 50 years were added in the calculations for the T-score, whilst subjects < 50 years were added in the calculations for Z-score. The aim of this study was to address the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on bone mineral density in middle-aged Black South African women. A literature review was conducted to identify data sources for this ethnic group. Statistical analysis was used to determine whether numerical variables followed a normal distribution pattern. Numerical values used included age, height, weight, BMI, T-score, Z-score and BMD. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations and percentiles) were used to calculate for numerical data, whilst frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical data. The test and control groups were compared with calculations from the independent T-test to test for differences between mean values, whilst the Mann Whitney-U test was used to identify differences between the median values. A significance level (α) of 0.05 was used, where p≥0.05 indicates no significant difference in the mean or median values of the two groups, and p< 0.05 indicates significant differences. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare percentages of the T-score and Z-score in the two groups with the same significant level (α) p 0.05 to determine the difference between the proportions of the two groups.
The results of the test group compared with the control group according to the WHO definition of diagnosis with regards to the T-score showed no significant difference in the bone mineral density in the different areas. Osteopenia was more prevalent than Osteoporosis in both groups.
The results of the subjects ≥50 years’ T-score diagnosis according to the NOFSA guidelines indicate no significant difference between the proportions of the two groups, accept at the right femoral neck.
There was no significant difference between the proportions of the two groups at the Z-score for women < 50 years.
Although the difference was not statistically significant between the T-score, Z-score and BMD between the two groups, there is evidence of low bone mass (osteopenia) in general for this population. It has been observed that type 2 diabetes mellitus negatively affects bone strength, regardless of bone mineral density. Furthermore, diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for osteoporosis and fractures, and that fractures can occur at higher bone mineral density levels in patients with diabetes mellitus
The Impact Of Selected Individual And Organisational Factors On Intention To Quit Among Employees: A Case Of Bed And Breakfast (B&B) Establishments In Thabo Mofutsanayana District, Free State
Get PDFDissertationThe knowledge of factors influencing intention to quit has been used by large organisations to retain skilled employees. Not much, however, is known of the extent to which small businesses have used such knowledge to retain skilled employees, especially among small establishments, like B&Bs where research shows increased challenges in retaining employees. Previous attempts to extrapolate such knowledge in the B&B sector has only focused on owner-managers’ factors, leaving a gap in terms of exploring other possible factors on intention to quit. The objective of this study was, therefore, to examine the impact of selected individual and organisational factors on intention to quit among B&B employees. Using the Organisational Commitment Theory as a framework to understand intention to quit among the employees, the study adopted a positivist paradigm and a quantitative research approach. A cross-sectional research design with a sample size of 144 employees was selected using simple random sampling. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling Techniques. The findings showed that organisational factors have a positive effect on intention to quit, and that individual factors do not have a significant effect on intention to quit. It was concluded that, individual factors do not influence intention to quit among B&B employees, and, therefore, the recommendations focused on dealing with organisational factors to retain employees within the sector