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UNSC Resolution 2417 and food insecurity in Yemen and South Sudan : international humanitarian law obligations
Get PDFAbstract: Starvation as a means of warfare has been analysed in the law of war as a critical issue that contributes to armed conflict between warring parties. Historically, it was used as a method to starve the enemy population, in an attempt to cause capitulation. In contemporary times, the act has gone beyond the general intention to starve the enemy; instead, it contributes to high incidences of mortality amongst women and children during times of conflict. The implicit approach to starve the population through the deliberate deprivation of food as a means to maintain warfare, seems to assume that civilians will pressure the government of the starved nation to capitulate and sue for peace. However, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) sanctions continued starvation due to food insecurity brought about by deliberate food deprivation. These sanctions stand because the starvation of civilians to encourage capitulation is regarded as a form of genocide, and therefore a crime against humanity. In 2018, food deprivation as a tool of warfare has been given due attention through United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2417. The UNSC acts as the main body in overseeing the implementation of resolutions in states experiencing complex humanitarian issues, including food insecurity because of conflict. For this study, the conflict hotspots of Yemen and South Sudan were chosen as case studies. The aim of this study was to explore food insecurity in these two states, and to understand the required responses within the framework of IHL, with specific reference to UNSC Resolution 2417 and R2P.M.A. (Politics and International Relations
The extension of protection to domestic workers for occupational injuries and diseases : a legal perspective
Get PDFAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.LL.M. (Labour Law
An assessment of the impact of the rights of employees on business rescue
Get PDFAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.LL.M. (Corporate Law
The financial performance of the Royal Bafokeng nation
Get PDFAbstract: This study aimed at investigating and comparing the financial performance between Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies and other listed companies. The study sample consisted of 14 companies from the financial services sector and 16 companies from the mining sector. These companies were all listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) mainboard and were divided in two groups: Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies and other listed companies. The study was carried out in South Africa and covered a 5-year period from 2015 through to 2019. A quantitative research methodology was utilised, and financial ratio analysis was performed to analyse data. Return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), price earnings (P/E), debt to equity ratio (DER) and asset growth (AG) were used to measure the financial performance between the two groups of companies. The results of the study revealed that in the financial services sector, Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies performed better than other listed companies in terms of mean ROE, P/E and DER. On the other hand, other listed companies in the same sector performed better than Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies in terms of mean ROA and AG. In the mining sector, Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies performed better than other listed companies in terms of mean PE and DER. Other listed companies in the mining sector on the other hand performed better than Royal Bafokeng in terms of mean ROA, ROE and AG. In summary, it was therefore established that, Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies outperformed other listed companies in the financial services sector. Other listed companies in the mining sector, on the other hand, outperformed Royal Bafokeng shareholding companies.M.Com. (Finance
The Relationship between period operating and growth aspects in Small Businesses
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The impact of entry on competition in the South African mobile data market : a case study on Rain Mobile
Get PDFAbstract: Mobile telecommunications, and in particular the growth in mobile data consumption, has transformed the way in which consumers and businesses operate and communicate, and has significantly contributed to the growth of the economy through increased productivity effects. Competition in mobile telecommunications markets has become an increasingly important theme as economies strive for more competitive outcomes to maximise the potential for expanded services, lower prices, and increased innovation. Over the past 19 years, the effective duopoly in the South African mobile telecommunications market, which had long been protected by a strong network effect, was interrupted by the entry of Cell C in 2001, Telkom in 2010, and Rain Mobile in 2017. This research study assessed the impact of entry on the nature of competition in the South African mobile telecommunications market, using Rain Mobile as a case study. Using bi-annual data on mobile data headline prices and promotional offerings from 2016 to 2019, the study analysed price-based competition by (i) employing a simple price comparison methodology of the 1GB and 5GB data-bundle plans offered by each of Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Telkom, and Rain Mobile and (ii) calculating effective prices using data on promotional offerings and discounts offered by mobile operators on their 1GB and 5GB data-bundle plans in the same period. The research study went further to analyse the nature of competition on non-price factors such as coverage, quality, reputation, and brand awareness between the mobile operators. While the study found no obvious response from competitors to the entry of Rain Mobile on headline prices, the assessment on promotional offerings demonstrated much more vigorous competition among the operators through lower prices and product variety. The study also found evidence of competition on non-price factors among operators. The study found that, although the impact of the entry of Rain Mobile had been effective in inducing ability and willingness among customers to switch and inciting a response from competitors in the form of new product offerings and reduced prices to the benefit of consumers, such impact was limited to only a segment of customers and did not reduce overall prices of mobile data.M.Com. (Competition and Economic Regulation
Prevalence of hepatitis E virus among childbearing women in Namibia from October 2017 to August 2019 : a retrospective study
Get PDFAbstract: Background - Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a liver disease and a global public health concern that is unrecognized and has drawn little attention from global health policymakers, and it is also a problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Most studies done globally and locally have focused on the ordinal population however, this study aimed to ease the lack of knowledge of Hepatitis E infection in childbearing women. Methods - A descriptive retrospective study to determine HEV infection prevalence, symptoms presented and the risk factors associated with Hepatitis E virus infection was conducted in childbearing women residing in Windhoek’s informal settlements (Havana, Hakahana, Ombili, Soweto, Wanaheda, Goreangab dam, Shandumbala, Okuryongava, Greenwell Matongo, Oshitenda, Babilon, One Nation, Okahandja park, Single quarters, and Marula) where there is poor sanitation, to determine the prevalence, symptoms and risk factors of HEV. A descriptive quantitative retrospective study design was used in the current study and the information was obtained from the secondary data sources using a designed questionnaire checklist. Frequencies and proportions were sued to summarise categorical patient socio-demographic characteristics. For continuous variables such as patient age, median and ranges were used to summarise the data, graphics such as the normal curve were used to assess the distribution of the data. Additionally, a chi-square test was used to establish the association between the dependent variable and independent variables. The level of statistically significance was set at 5% level. All data analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)...M.A. (Public Health
Youth, voting and partisanship : South Africa’s 2019 general election in Kamhlushwa, Mpumalanga
Get PDFAbstract: It is of global knowledge and concern that voter turnout in elections among young people is on the decline, hence the richness of literature around the topic. This study considers the opposite by asking why young people vote in elections? Secondly, rather than focusing on urban youth's views, the study provides a case study of young people (18-34 years) in a rural area (KaMhlushwa). Due to a shortage of research on this topic concerning the South African context, some international texts are deployed to offer explanations where necessary. Findings are drawn from two sources. The first is a questionnaire completed by voters in the May 2019 General Election. The main findings revealed that young people voted because of a sense of responsibility and for economic improvement. Little variation was demonstrated compared to other groups (urban young people and rural and urban older people). The main exceptions, however, were that KaMhlushwa’s youth demonstrated little interest in land redistribution and party leaders. The second part of the findings emanate from semi-structured interviews with 18 youths, all of whom had completed the questionnaire. Questions for interviews were drawn from the survey findings. This part of the study reveals that the young people had partisan motives in their responses to the survey, mostly towards the ANC. Rather than voting for high ideals, they were also, or, in particular, casting their ballot to promote the success of the ANC and EFF (for the few EFF partisans). The bases of the partisanship for both parties were, however, different. While ANC supporter’s partisanship was derived from historical legacy, fear, uncertainty and resistance, amongst others, EFF partisanship was derived from party identification, resistance towards the DA, and expectations of land redistribution. The overall conclusion made in this study is that increasing young people’s participation requires increased party identification and attachment to particular parties, i.e., partisanship, and to a setting where there is a serious competition between parties.M.A. (Communication Studies
Inclusion in the Anglican Church from the perspective of non-ordained women : a Johannesburg case study
Get PDFAbstract: Inclusion of women in the Church is most often discussed in scholarship in the context of the ordination of women, as found in most of the academic literature associated with women and inclusion. Within the Anglican context, where women have been ordained into the priesthood for more than 25 years, there still seems to be a conditional inclusion by some who continue to hold onto the patriarchal structures that exist in the Church. If this is true for ordained women, then the question to explore is how do those women who are not ordained, and yet make up the majority of the church composition, experience inclusion in the church setting? The research available on non-ordained women in the Anglican church has not been broadly studied. Inclusion in the Church has also been researched with some emphasis placed on criteria that hinder inclusion. In this research, I explore how inclusion is understood and experienced from the perspective of non-ordained women in the Anglican church in selected parishes in Johannesburg, through the intersectional lens of age, race, cultural background, language and socioeconomic groups within an African women’s theology framework. The methodology applied to this research followed a qualitative approach. The primary data collection method was in the form of semi-structured interviews, which were conducted with the total of eighteen participants, selected from two parishes in Johannesburg using purposive sampling. Some participants were interviewed with a total of 32 interviews conducted. The analysis of this data applied open coding as a significant step in the analysis process, from which concepts, and later, categories emerged. The key findings, related to the perceptions and experiences of inclusion by non-ordained women within the Anglican parish setting, were described in five categories of which acceptance was one category expressed by most participants. The remaining categories of inclusion as community, as choice, as a voice and as support, surfaced through the interpretation of the data. The latter two categories related to the participants taking an active role in creating an inclusive space for themselves. The categories inclusion as choice and support, are less prevalent in previous literature on inclusion. Despite some similarities on what constitutes inclusion for participants, inclusion does not hold the same definition for everyone, as is evident both from the 4 review of the literature and the research participants interviewed. Language and culture became evident as important intersectional lenses in how inclusion was understood by the research participants. It also emerged that the significance of each participant’s (childhood and current) personal and religious context impacted the way in which inclusion was described. This, in addition to each participant’s previous parish experience, broadened the way in which inclusion was described and provided valuable comparisons as to whether their current parish experience strengthens or weakens the practice of inclusion. The findings of this study speak to how experiences influence the ways in which inclusion is perceived and experienced.M.A. (Biblical Studies
Executive functions as predictors of posttraumatic growth
Get PDFAbstract: Executive functioning (EF) refers to a set of cognitive abilities mediated by the prefrontal cortex, which provide the ability to motivate, initialise, plan, inhibit and mentalise, especially during goal-directed behaviour. EF has been conceptualised into five subdomains for assessment and operationalization, namely organisation, strategic planning, empathy, impulse control, and motivational drive. Furthermore, EFs influence how different events and experiences are processed and managed by individuals. Traumatic types of events can result in trauma symptoms such as intrusive thoughts and emotions, high levels of anger, guilt, irritability, irrational thinking patterns, sensory sensitivity, declined intellectual performance or psychological disorder. However, these events can also result in the positive transformational process known as posttraumatic growth (PTG). A significant traumatic experience challenges an individual’s assumption and beliefs about themselves. Cognitive processing and activities that result in positive changes related to the individual’s outlooks and approach to life, relationships, and spiritual or existential engagement, indicate growth in one or more of the five PTG domains, namely relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life. The adaptive nature and tasks required for PTG, such as reconstruction, reappraisal, compassion, conscientiousness, self-regulation, perseverance, goal-orientation, and planning appear to be associated with the domains of executive functioning. Research has found PTG to be associated with prefrontal cortex activation, positive affect, deliberate rumination, mentalisation and prospective memory. The current study aimed to investigate whether the five subdomains of executive functions could significantly predict the five domains of PTG. The sample was comprised of undergraduate students of both genders, and various ethnicities, who had reported experiencing a traumatic event at least one, and at most five years prior to the time of data collection. The Executive Function Index (EFI) and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) were administered online to assess EF and PTG. Data were analysed using zero-order correlations and a multivariate multiple regression analysis (MMRA). Motivational drive, strategic planning, and empathy correlated positively with all five domains of PTG. Results also indicated that motivational drive and strategic planning predicted new possibilities and strategic planning predicted personal strength. The findings indicate the importance of goal-directed behaviour in the development of PTG and can assist in the development of trauma-related intervention and practice.M.A. (Counselling Psychology
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