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Theology from the Suburbs: The Challenge of Life for the City as a Whole
No full textThis article seeks to interrogate critically and problematize the silence on the suburb in urban theology: in the process the article seeks to illustrate the importance of the suburb through examining it considering the soteriology underpinning apartheid spatial planning and its persistent quasi-soteriological envisioning of the good life in the ongoing spatial imagination of the South African city. While this proposal does not present a fully developed contextual or public theology in response to the complex place of the suburb in the city, it highlights the persistence of this silence and illustrates key theological questions that could underpin such a focus in the future.Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theolog
Internal communication satisfaction at the NGO, gender links, with a specific focus on media quality, channel selection and technology
No full textAbstract in English and Afrikaans translationWe have long known that communication satisfaction is of utmost importance, but
as it is in business organisations, so it is in non-profit organisations. Theorists have
acknowledged that substantial communication satisfaction with media quality,
channel selection and technology is vital in dealing with problems faced by South
African business organisations, which also applies to the non-profit sector. In spite
of this importance, ways of improving employee internal communication satisfaction
have not yet been exhaustively researched, especially within the context of South
African non-profit industry.
In light of the above, this study centres on assessing internal communication
satisfaction with a focus on media quality, channel selection and technology within
the NGO sector specifically Gender Links. The systems theory was used as a meta theory to develop this study alongside the theoretical concept of communication
satisfaction.
Literature review was conducted to identify and discuss internal communication
satisfaction dimensions and internal communication channels as well as their
usefulness within the South African NGO industry and specifically their application
to employee communication satisfaction. Technology was also included to meet the
specific needs of the study. In this regard, digital channels, specifically the social
media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and YouTube were explored.
Furthermore, the systems theory and communication satisfaction theoretical concept
are operationalised alongside other constructs such as communication climate,
media quality, relationship with superiors, informal horizontal communication,
relationship with subordinates, personal feedback, organisational perspective and
organisational integration, which are dimensions of communication satisfaction. In
addition, other sub-constructs such as media richness with a specific focus on media
selection, media clarity and content adequacy are also operationalised in this study.
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Moreover, a contextualisation of NGOs is given with a specific focus on criteria and
characteristics of non-profit organisations, governance of NGOs, role of NGOs in
society and problems faced by NGOs. Additionally, the application of these internal
communication media channels alongside the communication satisfaction
dimensions was further researched at Gender Links, an NGO, as it has to satisfy its
employees’ communication needs through media quality, channel selection and
technology.
Paper-based questionnaire surveys and partially-structured face-to-face interviews
established the experiences of Gender Links employees with internal
communication at Gender Links which accounted for a mixed research method.
From this research, it has been noted that Gender Links employees are generally
satisfied with internal communications as both findings show that attention is given
to most dimensions of satisfaction which kindles employees to meet organisational
communication satisfaction objectives.
Both findings also show that, in some instances, Gender Links’ media quality and
technology satisfies its employees in terms of communication as set out in the
literature while in others it does not as it pertains to preferred channels. Both findings
also seem to show that channels such as emails are associated with problems of
information overload.
Both findings also show that Gender Links uses a variety of channels of
communication depending on suitability to cater for the problem of diverse staff
contingency. As a result, formal channels seem to be mostly preferred because of
their ability to control, written directives are also preferred because they provide a
record-keeping, two-way channels are also preferred because they offer clarity and
informal channels are preferred because they convey urgent matters.
From these shortfalls, recommendations are drawn up for the improvement of
employee internal communication satisfaction with media quality, channels selection
and technology at Gender Links. These include reviewing internal communication
systems and structures for inclusion of lower level employees to enable capacity
building for all. Internal communication satisfaction should be managed in a strategic
way by integrating all the qualities of the communication media used within the
organisation.
In addition, it is recommended that Gender Links should narrow its communication
channels to the common information needs of the majority of its employees to help
improve their effectiveness. This also includes reviewing internal communications in
order to accommodate lower level employees in the communication processes.
There is need for continuous improvement on diverse employees in order to improve
their technological skills. Another recommendation includes formalising WhatsApp
because of its ability to convey quick messages during emergencies.
However, in brief, this study contributes to the field of communication satisfaction
through its focus on pointing out and reporting on these communication satisfaction
dimensions and media qualities best suited for employee internal communication
satisfaction within South African NGO sector, specifically Gender Links.Ons weet lankal dat kommunikasietevredenheid van uiterste belang is, maar soos dit in sake-organisasies is, so is dit in nie-winsgewende organisasies. Teoretici het erken dat aansienlike kommunikasie-tevredenheid met mediakwaliteit, kanaalkeuse en tegnologie noodsaaklik is in die hantering van probleme waarmee Suid Afrikaanse sake-organisasies te kampe het, wat ook van toepassing is op die nie winsgewende sektor.
Ten spyte van hierdie belangrikheid, is maniere om werknemers se interne kommunikasie-tevredenheid te verbeter nog nie volledig nagevors nie, veral binne die konteks van die Suid-Afrikaanse nie-winsgewende bedryf. In die lig van bogenoemde, fokus hierdie studie op die assessering van interne kommunikasie tevredenheid met 'n fokus op mediakwaliteit, kanaalkeuse en tegnologie binne die NRO-sektor spesifiek Gender Links. Die sisteemteorie is as 'n metateorie gebruik om hierdie studie saam met die teoretiese konsep van kommunikasiebevrediging te ontwikkel.
Literatuuroorsig is gedoen om interne kommunikasie-tevredenheidsdimensies en interne kommunikasiekanale sowel as hul bruikbaarheid binne die Suid-Afrikaanse NRO-industrie en spesifiek hul toepassing op werknemerkommunikasie tevredenheid te identifiseer en te bespreek. Tegnologie is ook ingesluit om aan die spesifieke behoeftes van die studie te voldoen. In hierdie verband is digitale kanale, spesifiek die sosiale media-kanale soos Facebook, Twitter, Blogs en YouTube ondersoek.
Verder word die sisteemteorie en kommunikasietevredenheidsteoretiese konsep geoperasionaliseer saam met ander konstrukte soos kommunikasieklimaat, mediakwaliteit, verhouding met meerderes, informele horisontale kommunikasie, verhouding met ondergeskiktes, persoonlike terugvoer, organisatoriese perspektief en organisatoriese integrasie, wat dimensies van kommunikasietevredenheid is. .
Hierbenewens word ander subkonstrukte soos mediarykheid met 'n spesifieke fokus
op mediakeuse, mediaduidelikheid en inhoudtoereikendheid ook in hierdie studie geoperasionaliseer.
Boonop word 'n kontekstualisering van NRO's gegee met 'n spesifieke fokus op kriteria en kenmerke van nie-winsgewende organisasies, bestuur van NRO's, rol van NRO's in die samelewing en probleme waarmee NRO's te kampe het. Daarbenewens is die toepassing van hierdie interne kommunikasiemediakanale saam met die kommunikasie-tevredenheidsdimensies verder by Gender Links, 'n NRO, nagevors, aangesien dit sy werknemers se kommunikasiebehoeftes moet bevredig deur middel van mediakwaliteit, kanaalkeuse en tegnologie.
Papiergebaseerde vraelysopnames en gedeeltelik-gestruktureerde aangesig-tot aangesig-onderhoude het die ervarings van Gender Links-werknemers vasgestel met interne kommunikasie by Gender Links wat verantwoordelik was vir 'n gemengde navorsingsmetode.
Uit hierdie navorsing is opgemerk dat Gender Links-werknemers oor die algemeen tevrede is met interne kommunikasie aangesien beide bevindinge toon dat aandag gegee word aan die meeste dimensies van tevredenheid wat werknemers aanspoor om organisatoriese kommunikasie-tevredenheidsdoelwitte te bereik.
Beide bevindinge toon ook dat Gender Links se mediakwaliteit en tegnologie in sommige gevalle sy werknemers tevrede stel in terme van kommunikasie soos uiteengesit in die literatuur, terwyl dit in ander nie op voorkeurkanale betrekking het nie. Albei bevindinge blyk ook te wys dat kanale soos e-posse geassosieer word met probleme van inligtingoorlading.
Beide bevindinge toon ook dat Gender Links 'n verskeidenheid kommunikasiekanale gebruik afhangende van geskiktheid om voorsiening te maak vir die probleem van diverse personeelgebeurlikheid. Gevolglik word formele kanale meestal verkies weens hul vermoë om te beheer, geskrewe voorskrifte word ook verkies omdat dit rekordhouding bied, tweerigtingkanale word ook verkies omdat hulle duidelikheid bied en informele kanale word verkies omdat hulle oordra. dringende sake.
Uit hierdie tekortkominge word aanbevelings opgestel vir die verbetering van werknemers se interne kommunikasie-tevredenheid met mediakwaliteit, kanalekeuse en tegnologie by Gender Links. Dit sluit in die hersiening van interne kommunikasiestelsels en strukture vir die insluiting van laervlakwerknemers om kapasiteitsbou vir almal moontlik te maak. Interne kommunikasie-tevredenheid moet op 'n strategiese wyse bestuur word deur al die kwaliteite van die kommunikasiemedia wat binne die organisasie gebruik word, te integreer.
Daarbenewens word aanbeveel dat Gender Links sy kommunikasiekanale moet vernou tot die algemene inligtingsbehoeftes van die meerderheid van sy werknemers om hul doeltreffendheid te help verbeter. Dit sluit ook die hersiening van interne kommunikasie in om laer vlak werknemers in die kommunikasieprosesse te akkommodeer. Daar is behoefte aan voortdurende verbetering op diverse werknemers om hul tegnologiese vaardighede te verbeter. Nog 'n aanbeveling sluit in die formalisering van WhatsApp vanweë sy vermoë om vinnige boodskappe tydens noodgevalle oor te dra.
Kortliks dra hierdie studie egter by tot die veld van kommunikasietevredenheid deur die fokus daarvan om hierdie kommunikasietevredenheidsdimensies en media eienskappe uit te wys en daaroor verslag te doen wat die beste geskik is vir werknemers se interne kommunikasie-tevredenheid binne die Suid-Afrikaanse NRO-sektor, spesifiek Gender Links.M. A. (Communication Science)Communication Scienc
An examination of the effectiveness of physical security measures at government printing works, Pretoria
No full textGovernment Printing Works (GPW) has a long history of creating and publishing national documents such as birth certificates, passports, and identification documents. If these records are compromised in any manner, South Africa could face grave security challenges. Similarly, unauthorised access to these documents can have devastating effects on national security. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficiency of physical security measures at Government Printing Works. The research employed a qualitative methodology. The exploratory research design was selected. The technique of convenience sampling was employed to select 20 participants. As a research tool, semi-structured interviews using an interview guide were employed. The findings of the study indicate that employees anticipate enhanced physical security measures to ensure the physical safety of Information Technology (IT) assets, such as facilities, equipment, personnel, and property protection. The current security at GPW was found to be good albeit some weaknesses. The results shows it’s hard to come with a water tight physical security. In addition, it was discovered that strong leadership is a strength of the physical security measures at GPW, while a lack of communication is main weakness. The current study suggests that GPW augment its physical security by installing signs, fences, and other barriers, sufficient lights, patrols, alarms for obstacles, additional indoor and outdoor CCTV cameras, doors, locks, security personnel, and access control systems.Ofisi ya Dikgatiso tsa Mmuso (GPW / Government Printing e na le nalane e telele ya ho hlahisa le ho phatlalatsa ditokomane tsa naha tse kang mangolo a tswalo, diphasepoto, le ditokomane tsa boitsebiso. Haeba direkoto tsena di ka behwa tsietsing ka mokgwa leha e le ofe, Afrika Borwa e ka tobana le diphepetso tse matla tsa tshireletso. Ka ho tshwana, phumantsho e sa dumellwang ya ditokomane tsena e ka ba le ditlamorao tse mpe mabapi le tshireletso ya naha. Morero wa diphuputso tsena e ne e le ho hlahloba bokgabane ba mehato e tshwarehang ya tshireletso dikantorong tsa Mesebetsi ya Dikgatiso tsa Mmuso. Diphuputso di sebedisitse mokgwa wa diphuputso wa dipalo (qualitative methodology). Ho ile ha kgethwa moralo wa
diphuputso wa ho fatolla (exploratory research). Lewa la ho sebedisa disampole tse
haufinyana tse leshome le metso emebedi le ile la sebediswa. Jwalo ka sesebediswa
sa diphuputso, dipuisano tse hlophisitsweng habonolo di ile tsa sebediswa. Diphetho
di bontshitse hore basebeletsi ba lebeletse mehato e matlafaditsweng ya tshireletso
ho netefatsa polokeho e bon ahalang ya dithoto tsa mahlale a dikomporo (Information
Technolgy), tse kang dibaka, thepa, basebeletsi, le tshireletso ya moaho.
T sh ireletseho y a ha jw ale ho GPW e fuman w e e le ntle le ha e le mefokolo e meng.
d iphetho d i bont sha hore ho thata ho tla le ts hi reletso e tiileng Hodima moo, ho ile ha
sibollwa hore maitsebelo a matla a boetapele ke tshiya ya ditsela tse tshwarehang tsa
tshireletso ofising ya Dikgatiso tsa Mmuso, ha kgaello ya ho buisana e le bofokodi bo
teng. Diphuputso tsa hajwale di sisinya hore ofisi ena ya Dik gatiso tsa Mmuso e eketse
tshireletso ya yona e tshwarehang ka ho kenya matshwao, difense le dithibelo tse
ding, mabone a lekaneng, dipatrolo, dialamo bakeng sa ditshitiso, dikhamera tsa
CCTV ka ntle le ka har e, mamati, dinotlolo, balebedi le mekgwa ya ho laola ho kena
le ho tswa.Die Staatsdrukkery (GPW / Government Printing Works) het ’n lang geskiedenis wat
gekenmerk word deur die skepping en publisering van nasionale dokumente soos
geboortesertifikate, paspoorte en identiteitsdokumente. Indien hierdie rekords op
enige wyse gekompromitteer sou word, kan Suid Afrika ernstige sekuriteitsuitdagings
in die gesig staar. Net so kan ongemagtigde toegang tot hierdie dokumente
rampspoedige gevolge vir nasionale sekuriteit hê. Die doel van hierdie studie was om
die doeltreffendheid van fisieke beveiligingsmaatreëls by die Staatsdrukkery te
ondersoek. ’n Kwalitatiewe metodologie is in die navorsing gebruik. Die
verkenningsnavorsing ontwerp en die tegniek van gerieflikheidsteekpro efneming is
ingespan. As navorsingshulpmiddel is halfgestruktureerde onderhoude met die hulp
van ’n onderhoudsgids, gebruik. Die resultate van die studie dui daarop dat
werknemers versterkte maatreëls vir fisieke beveiliging verwag om die fisieke
veilighei d van IT bates, soos fasiliteite, toerusting, personeel, en eiendomsbeskerming
te verseker. Daar is ook ontdek dat sterk leierskapsvaardighede ’n sterk punt van die
fisieke beveiligingsmaatreëls by die Staatsdrukkery is, terwyl ’n gebrek aan
kommunikasie ’ n swakheid is. Die huidige studie stel voor dat die Staatsdrukkery sy
fisieke sekuriteit aanvul deur uithangtekens, heinings en ander versperrings,
genoegsame beligting, patrollies, alarms vir hindernisse, bykomende binnenshuise en
buitenshuise geslotekri ngtelevisie kameras, deure, slotte, sekuriteitspersoneel, en
toegangsbeheerstelsels in te spanM. Tech. (Security Management)School of Computin
The Nexus between international capital flows and nation branding
Get PDFIn this paper, we seek to assess the nexus between international capital flows and the various factors which have significant impact on a country’s ability to attract inward foreign flows. Such factors include the level of financial market development, institutional quality, natural resources’ endowment, infrastructural development, human capital development, trade and capital openness, economic growth prospects, amongst others. Due to the diversity of the aforementioned factors, researchers in recent years have coined the term “nation branding” to collectively refer to all characteristics which can be used to describe a country with respect to its economics contributors. The emphasis on inward foreign capital flows is based on their ability to complement domestic savings and other internal efforts by governments, in a bid to ensure that productive sectors of the economy are adequately funded at all times. We argue that developing countries need to shed their dependence on aid, by rather attracting permanent foreign direct investment (FDI) capital flows, which would have a positive impact on the economy. However, the attraction of international capital flows has to occur in line with enhancements within the country that would serve to entice those with excess funds to invest these in a conducive host country, offering not only higher returns than would be realised in the investors’ home country, but other value-additions such as sound institutional quality, availability of adequately developed financial markets, reliable infrastructure (communication and transportation), and a large, skilled pool of labour; and this is amply supported by the findings of this paper. Our recommendations are that developing nations should adopt a holistic approach to potential investment assessment, prior to accepting such offers. Oftentimes, there are terms and conditions which would be detrimental to the host country, but greed tends to inform political decisions, rather than policy or a cost-benefit analysis at the very least. Future studies should consider quantifying aspects such as carbon footprint which would harm countries more than they would potentially benefit financially and from other spill overs such as new technology or employment creation.Finance, Risk Management and Bankin
The experiences, challenges and coping strategies of women living in community residential units : Glebelands CRU case study
Get PDFBackground: Community residential units (CRUs) were introduced in 2006 in South Africa to increase women’s access to adequate low-cost housing rentals. The aim of this investigation was to explore the experiences, challenges and coping strategies of women living in Glebelands CRU, in Umlazi after their introduction.
Methods: This qualitative exploratory, descriptive, and contextual study integrated a phenomenological approach which was framed by bioecological systems and feminist perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a non-probability sample of ten female residents to gather the data. Colaizzi’s seven steps were used to analyse the data. The concepts of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability upheld the trustworthiness of the study, and the ethical principles of research were integrated throughout.
Results: The findings indicate that the converted CRUs have not been sensitive to women’s housing needs and have failed to elevate their socio-economic status. Issues of overcrowding and lack of privacy; lack of security and management of ongoing violence; challenges of raising children in a male-dominant child unfriendly environment where violence is an ongoing problem; and the severe neglect of governance, maintenance and sanitation of the CRU undermined the wellbeing of the women living there. The benefits the participants identified about living in Glebelands CRU included: mothers and children could live together, the accommodation was affordable and offered residents free services, women had better access to resources, and supportive relationships within the CRU helped them to survive. The participants endorsed the designs of the CRU family units because they were conducive for family life. However, the old hostel blocks had not been converted into family units and the quality of life for single women who lived in those blocks remained poor.
The participants recommendations for improving the living conditions of women residents in Glebelands CRU include: family unit accommodation for women-headed households must be fast-tracked; the Glebelands governance issues require urgent attention; measures must be taken to quell the violence; interventions are needed to increase women residents’ employability; and lastly, the representation of women in Glebelands CRU matters is essential.M.A. (Social Work)Social Wor
Verwondering-in-nederigheid as krities-Christelike spiritualiteit vanuit Skriftuur en natuur
Get PDFText in Afrikaans with a summary and keywords in EnglishLiterature study: pages 7-10Bibliography: pages 322-334The Christian believer has an awareness of and subsequent relationship with God which manifests in life depending on the type of spirituality the believer cultivates. This study seeks to promote and nurture a spirituality where nature in all its appearances is observed and experienced and the observer is filled with awe and amazement. One is filled with wonder of the complexity, enormity, beauty and grandeur of creation. In the realisation of this a person becomes aware of the Creator’s glory and greatness and one’s own smallness but not insignificant. This should encourage a disposition of humility, modesty, respect, and compassion which is a vital component of Christian spirituality. In this study a variety of sources of literature, ranging from secular and theological sources, and Scripture, namely Genesis 1 and a selection of creation psalms, have been scrutinised to determine what the different authors contribute toward the experience of wonderment and how that should colour the Christian experience. The literature reveals that everything has value to lesser or greater extent and should be respected and appreciated accordingly. Everyone, the professional investigator and the layperson should wonder about the material world – it is not a naïve or inferior experience and a sensitivity should be developed where wonderment will be experienced perpetually. The reflection upon wonderment in this study will also put forward that there is no conflict between science and faith but indeed complement each other to achieve a broader perspective and deeper meaning of the material world and what Scripture has to say about the creation and its Creator.D. Phil. (Christian Spirituality)Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiolog
Impact of Scratch on the achievements of first-year computer science students in programming in some Nigerian polytechnics
Get PDFTo support the advancement of modern civilisation, our institutions of higher learning must produce
the right pool of professionals, who can develop innovative software. However, the teaching and
learning of the first programming language (CS1) remains a great challenge for most educators and
novice computer students. Indicators such as failure and attrition rates, and CS1 student engagement,
continue to show that conventional pedagogy does not adequately meet the needs of some beginning
CS students. For its ease in introducing novices to programming, Scratch—a visual programming
environment following the constructionism philosophy of Seymour Papert—is now employed even
in some higher education CS1 classes with mixed evidence of its impact. Scratch captures the
constructionist agenda by its slogan: “Imagine, Program, Share.”
Therefore, this study explored the impart of using a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy
on higher education CS1 students’ achievements. This study also sought to compare the impacts of
the two CS1 modes: the conventional class - involving textual programming language, lectures and
labs, and the constructionist Scratch inquiry-based programming class. It further aims to discover if
gender, academic level, age, prior programming, and visual artistic abilities moderate the effects of
programming pedagogy on students’ achievements.
To realize the study’s aims, the study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent
groups design, involving four intact CS1 classes of polytechnic students (N = 418) in north-central
Nigeria. The investigation was conducted in phases: a pilot (n = 236) and main (n=182) studies lasting
two academic sessions, with each study comprising one experimental and one control group. In each
session, learning in both modes lasted for six weeks. In both studies, purposive sampling was
employed to select institutions, and selected institutions were randomly assigned to treatment groups.
Instruments employed included CS1 Student Profile Questionnaire (CSPROQ) and Introductory Programming Achievement Test (IPAT). To strengthen the research design, I employed Coarsened
Exact Matching (CEM) algorithm—after conducting a priori power analysis—to generate matched
random samples of cases from both studies. Thus, research data employed in the analysis include:
from the pilot, 41 cases in each treatment group; from the main study, 42 cases in each treatment
group. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to find answers to research questions and
test the research hypothesis. Data from both studies satisfied the requirements for statistical tests
employed, i.e., t-test and ANCOVA. The alpha level used in testing hypotheses was p = 0.05. The
dependent variable is the IPAT post-test score, while the independent variables are treatment, gender,
age, academic achievement level, prior programming, and prior visual art. The covariate was the
IPAT pretest score. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 23.
The t-test results from both pilot and main studies indicated that, both programming pedagogies had
significant effects on student IPAT scores, although the effect of the constructionist Scratch
intervention was higher.
Results from the one-way ANCOVA analysis of both pilot and main study data—while controlling
for students’ IPAT pretest scores—yielded the same outcome: There was significant main effect of
treatment on students’ IPAT posttest scores, although the impact was moderate. Controlling for pre test scores, analysis of the main studies data yielded no significant main effects of: gender, age,
academic level, prior programming and prior visual artistic ability. The result from the main study
also reveals no interaction effect of treatment, gender, academic level, age, prior programming, and
prior artistic ability.
While the quality of CS1 students’ performance in each session varies as their IPAT achievements
show, yet the results of this research revealed a consistent pattern: Students in the constructionist
Scratch class outperformed those in the conventional class, although the impart was moderate.
This finding implies college students without prior programming experience can perform better in a
class following a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy. The study recommends the use of
Scratch, following a constructionist pedagogy with first-year students in colleges, especially those
without prior background in programmingPh. D. (Computing Education)School of Computin
Quality of care for neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in central Ethiopia
Get PDFText in EnglishNeonatal and maternal deaths are attributable to low quality of care, however, the deaths are preventable. In Ethiopia, the low neonatal survival rate contributes to more than 56% of under-5 deaths. The purpose of the study was to assess the quality of care for neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in order to develop strategies to strengthen the quality of NICU care services. The study employed a parallel mixed methods design and was conducted in six NICUs of public hospitals in Central Ethiopia. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data was undertaken using ATLAS.ti 6.2. and quantitative data analysis was undertaken using SPSS Windows version 23. After separate analysis, the quantitative and qualitative results were integrated to address the research purpose.
The results revealed that of the neonates admitted to NICUs, 83% of them survived while most (75%) of the deaths occurred within the first week of life. Neonates with low admission weight, perinatal asphyxia, and congenital malformation had a higher risk of death compared to neonates without these conditions. Limited access to training; designs and organization of NICU rooms; shortage of supplies and functional equipment were among the key factors affecting quality of care in the NICUs.
The study revealed challenges with the provision of care, which were related to the healthcare workforce, the physical resources, and the experience of care provided in the study NICUs. Five strategies were developed to strengthen the quality of neonatal intensive care based on the findings of the study; which were to strengthen the technical capacity of the neonatal intensive care staff; improve professional risk compensation benefit for the NICU staff; enhance the NICUs to provide high-quality neonatal intensive care; strengthen the availability of functional essential equipment, supplies, and medications that are needed for the provision of quality neonatal intensive care; and to pay special attention to sick neonates and neonates with low birth weight on admission, perinatal asphyxia, and congenital malformation in the neonatal intensive care process. The strategies could be used to improve service integration, strengthening the referral system, and improving the experience of mothers and families of neonates admitted in the NICUs.D. Phil. (Public Health)Health Studie
Exploring the implementation of school improvement programme at selected secondary schools of Woliata zone, Ethiopia
No full textSchool improvement is an essential programme for the realisation of quality education. The programme is expected to help the schools in improving the academic performances of their learners’ achievements. The implementation of SIP in Woliata Zone secondary schools was ineffective due to a lack of smooth communication among learners, teachers and the community. The study's main objective was to investigate and explore the implementation of the SIP at selected secondary schools in Woliata Zone, Ethiopia. The quality of education in secondary schools, in terms of school improvement and factors of school improvement, is well documented in existing literature.
The qualitative research methodology was utilised to meticulously examine and investigate the implementation of the SIP at selected secondary schools in the Woliata Zone. The study was conducted at four selected secondary schools in the Woliata Zone. Data were generated from a purposive sampling of four principals, four supervisors, four SIP coordinators and 24 senior teachers through in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions respectively. Emerging themes from the generated data were established through basic points which were complemented by the Constant Comparative Analysis. The strategies for successful SIP implementation in the school and the implementation of the SIP domains and stages were the main influences on how the school improvement programme plan was implemented.
For exploring SIP implementation in schools effectively, expectations of stakeholder performance are not realistic for several reasons, particularly because of the aspects of SIP and the limited contributions of stakeholders in schools. The study's greatest value or significance was in providing insight into SIP as well as suggestions for problem-solving. It is possible to conclude from the findings that the SIP has a direct impact on how well the school performs. Since such schools continue to perform poorly due to a low degree of SIP implementation, the schools ought to have handled the change process appropriately. As a final step, strategies to raise academic achievement at the school were suggested, including monitoring SIP cycles, building trust among all stakeholders, establishing a connection between the schools and other institutions through experience sharing, implementing recognition systems, and providing aid to the underperforming schools.Ph. D. (Educational Leadership and Management)Educational Leadership and Managemen
