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Has the separation of functions between roads fund administration and roads authority improved the performance delivery of roads in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in Malawi.
No full textIn 2006, the Malawi Government implemented some reforms in the Road Sector which resulted into repealing the National Roads Authority Act and enacting two new pieces of legislations namely; Roads Authority Act and the Roads Fund Administration Act. The objective was to separate the implementation function from the financing function of the then National Roads Authority’s combined structure.The study was carried to investigate whether this reforms had brought about some benefits in terms of improvements in the service delivery focusing on efficiency and effective delivery of roads in Malawi. In carrying out this research, the researcher employed interpretivism approach because it made the researcher to easily interpret the social roles of others in accordance with the researcher’s own set of meanings. The research approach that was employed was deductive. The strategy employed was case study strategy because the research involved exploring views of different people from organisations involved in the roads management and other road users on their feelings towards general road management in relation to the new reforms.The results show that many of the Malawian citizens in the first place are not aware that there are two separate institutions managing the roads. Further research revealed that practically though the majority citizen lacks information on the existence of the two institutions but the reform has brought about positive benefits while some challenges were also encountered.The study recommends the two institutions to deliberately make efforts of ensuring that the public knows what they do. Further, it recommends the two institutions to ensure that they come up with strategies of overcoming all the challenges being encountered
Service encounter-based innovation through the lens of innovative behaviour: a comparative study in the personal-interactive services subsector.
No full textPurpose – Innovation in services continues to be recognised as a mean of retaining a competitive advantage whilst the role of service employees in initiating innovation is increasingly signified in terms of enhancing customers’ perceptions of quality and also suggesting ideas that can lead to innovations (Rubalcaba et al., 2012). The input of service employees into the innovation process is perceived inconsistently in the literature, reflecting a lack of theoretical uniformity to determine employee-driven service innovation. An emerging line of research, however, focused on employees’ role in service encounter-based innovation (i.e. Toivonen and Tuominen, 2009; Sundbo and Toivonen, 2011); the service encounter-based innovation conception was originally derived from the user-driven innovation theme in the innovation management literature and emerged as a contemporary research line in the service innovation literature. Service encounter-based innovation denotes service innovation as developing from ideas, knowledge or practices derived from frontline service employees’ meetings with users during the service delivery process (Sørensen and Jensen, 2012).Respectively, this paper intends to investigate further the role of employees in initiating service encounter-based innovation through the lens of innovative behaviour proposition. By doing so, this paper also aims to compare and contrast the research findings with the theoretical framework of (Sørensen et al., 2013) that determined an integrative relationship between practice-based and management directed innovation.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case-study research strategy, which compared between two case studies of personal-interactive service companies, was applied to achieve the objectives of the study. The application of qualitative case-study research allowed closer assessment and observation while the researcher was directly present within the service delivery environment. The combining of qualitative research methods, such as semi-structured interviews, review of archival records and direct observation, was applied to congregate evidence of employees’ innovative behaviour patterns from multiple perspectives.Originality/value – This paper adds further insight by verifying the nature of service employees’ innovative behaviour and its contribution in initiating service innovation. The findings also identify the influence of contextual determinants in nurturing or inhibiting service employees’ innovative behaviour.Practical implications – Practical implications and recommendations for management to nurture service employees’ innovative behaviour are presented based on the study findings. The practical recommendations provide managers working within personal-interactive service companies with sensible measures to nurture innovative behaviour among employees
An analysis of outsourcing a case study of Malawi Defence Force (MDF)
No full textAbstractThis paper is aimed at assessing the effects of outsourcing for organisations especially those in the defence industry. The author analysed the strategic reasoning behind the outsourcing approach and other motivating factors that include financial, strategic and political. To a higher degree, the paper identified that most authors attribute outsourcing as a strategy that helps an organisation retain and sustain its competitive advantage over its rivals through focus on its core activities. The study revealed that the biggest driver for an organisation to get to a competitive advantage is through flexibility. Flexibility is interweaved with other outsourcing motives such as improved time to market, access to new technology, transforming fixed costs into variables and focus on core activity.Further the author identified that flexibility is also key for an organisation to suit the lean approach and concept that is demanded by modern supply chain strategy. The lean concept was also an area of worth mention as its synchronisation with Just-in-time approach emphasise the elimination of waste and production of item only when they are needed in contrast with over production and pushing them to end user. Flexibility was also analysed to be another key factor as the concept of continuance improvement through which avoidance of wastes or Muda is founded.The paper further analysed outsourcing risks. This was another area worth exploring as risk in business would mean break down in supply chain that can be attributed as putting a spanner in the works thereby all the mechanism fail.This is in recognition to the fact that supply chain requires a smooth flow of activities since it looks at satisfying the end user from production line.Flawless supply chain mechanism would mean that the production line is risk free and all this is attributed to flexibility among other factors
An impact of centralised procurement in the public sector, A case study of Malawi defense force
No full textCentralised and decentralised are the two commonly used procurement concepts in the public and private sectors today. In Malawi all the public sectors use centralised procurement system under the guidance of the Office of the Director of Public Procurement. Malawi Defence Force (MDF). Being a government arm they use centralised procurement system to sustain the troops during peace and operational periods. To date, authors continue to debate on which procurement systems of the two are ideal for the public sector. However, both systems have their own advantages and disadvantages.The MDF has of late switched from decentralised system to the current centralised system under the Directorate of Logistics (DOL) which is the procurement entity of the MDF. Procurement in the military system is more complicated and different from the public sector because it involves large purchases of capital investment from the global market. The objective is to acquire products and services that specify specific needs and provide measureable improvement to accomplish any assigned tasks but at a reasonable cost.The MDF being an arm of the government receives financial funding from the government and it is for this reason that the MDF should adhere to the government procurement procedures as stipulated in the Public Procurement Act (2003) and also encourage transparency and accountability in the procurement process to achieve Value for Money (VFM)
An investigation of the impact of developmental aid channeled through faith based institutions : a case study of Njolo irrigation scheme under Cadecom Dedza Diocese
No full textDevelopmental aid is provided by developed nations to governments in the third world for specific reasons. Reasons for this kind of aid could be humanitarian, charitable, and what is called systematic. Some of the aid is channeled or provided through church or faith-based communities. One of such faith based institutions that received developmental aid is Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM).For this study CADECOM has been selected due to the advantages of accessibility and quantum of aid received annually.The aim of the research study was to investigate the impact of developmental aid on the targeted beneficiaries of Njolo irrigation scheme, a project carried out by CADECOM. The researcher intended to achieve three objectives; a) to explore how Njolo irrigation scheme project was initiated, designed and implemented; b) to explore the challenges encountered during the implementation of Njolo irrigation scheme projects; c) to investigate the impact of developmental aid through Njolo irrigation scheme on the project beneficiaries and the promotion of human values as stipulated by Dedza Diocese.There are notable indications in the literature review that seem to suggest that aid has not made much impact in Africa especially in the sub Saharan region. The reasons vary, but one of it is lack of the transfer of the technical skills from the donor partner to the beneficiary of the aid.For the design of the research study the author applied epistemology type of philosophy which leans heavily on positivism because of the existing facts of Njolo irrigation scheme. On the basis of the approaches, the author applied qualitative research mainly, though quantitative element can be detected.The study revealed the following:• The Njolo irrigation scheme was initiated by the community; hence it was a demand –driven project.• To a larger extent, the stages in the project cycle that is project initiation, designing and planning, execution, and monitoring were done to satisfactory levels.• During the implementation of the project, there were a number of challenges that were encountered by both the implementers and project beneficiaries.• The project registered some impacts on the socio-economic welfare of the target beneficiaries. Such impact included: The beneficiaries became more food secure than before.• To a great extent, the project managed to promote the human values as stipulated by the Diocese of Dedza.• Overall, factors that affected the attainment of the intended project impact included inadequate funding, insignificant number of project beneficiaries, lack of market to sell the extra produce from the scheme, time span for the project and non-holistic approach to addressing the needs of the target community.Based on the revelations from the study, the researcher recommends that:• There is need to increase the time frame for such projects • There is need to increasing number of project beneficiaries in such projects in order to realize meaning impact • There is need to secure adequate funding for project implementation • There is need to be equipping the project beneficiaries with technical skills to ensure suitability of technical support.• In such projects, the project beneficiaries should be involved through the entire project cycle • Project planning should include an exist plan. The exist plan shall be a kind of agreement with the donor partners that when a project duration expires, there must be an allowance of a certain period where the donor still provides support that may be needed be it technical, financial. The researcher suggests this because Malawi is a third World country where learning doing new things takes a gradual process.For future research, a study that targets significantly a larger group would be necessary. Further to that there is a need to make comparative study with a group that has not received any donor support to find out how they survive
An investigation into the impact of merging Town and District Councils in Malawi on employees and service delivery: A case study of Salima District Council
No full text"If it ain’t broke don’t fix it", Kotter J. (1995:110). This is the thinking of resistors to change and they prefer maintaining the status quo. It is however said that ‘Change’ is inevitable in life and that those that don’t change are bound to stagnate or fail (Harvard Business Essentials, 2003) in life.Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, the then president of Malawi, through powers vested in him by the Local Government Act 1998, section 3 & 4 directed that all Town Councils be merged with their respective District Councils. He was compelled by results of a study conducted by Department of Human Resource Management and Development. The study recommended for merging the said councils so that service delivery is improved on the part of the council and operational costs on the part of central government is reduced.The proponents of the merger thought that it will bring about synergy as is suggested by Henry, (2008:221)… the total output from the combined businesses is greater than the output of the businesses operating individually. However, the research has revealed that the newly established council is struggling in providing its mandatory services to people, contrary to the above stated expectations. Municipal services such as sanitation, road and street, just to mention a few, have suffered quite a lot. It is imperative, therefore that the ministry deliberately engages the district council to review effectiveness of the merger as soon as possible. On the other hand the district council should develop and implement staff motivational strategies since it has been noted that most of the junior staff are de-motivated
TA study into Teacher Perception and Practice of Inclusive Education for Disabled Learners in Nigeria and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
No full textTeachers are seen as key bodies to implement inclusive education. Positive perception and attitudes are therefore argued as playing a considerable role in implementing inclusive practices successfully within and outside the classroom. The aim of this study is to examine how teachers in Nigeria and in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), perceive the teaching of disabled learners and what attitude they display towards inclusive education. It also examined which variables are related to their attitudes and how these affect social and educational inclusion of disabled learners in mainstream schools. A broad survey was undertaken with sample comprising of 516 secondary and primary school teachers from both countries. The analysis revealed some thematic key factors that impact on teacher perception and practise of inclusion for disabled learners. It mainly reveals that the majority of teachers hold negative attitudes towards the inclusion of these types of learners. Five variable key factors obtained from the themes were teacher characteristics towards the disabled learners, inappropriate classroom management technique, the system of recruitment and career development, the parental involvement and other contextual factors like availability of resources and funding. Nevertheless, the recommendations provided at the end of this paper portrays a further in-depth research to address the themes mentioned above in other to domesticate a framework for these teachers for the inclusive learning of disabled pupils in these two countrie
Is there an exit strategy from a preventive war? The opposing cases of Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) and Rome in the Macedonian Wars (214-205 BC) through the lens of International Relations’ theory
No full textIt was once said that “if Sparta and Rome perished, what state can hope to endure forever?” (J. J. Rousseau, “Social Contract, Discourses”, B.III.ch. IX). The Peloponnesian and Macedonian wars have been scrutinized to the extent that the surviving sources may allow for it, but they have never been put under the magnifying glass in terms of International Relations’ schools of thought, namely “Realists”, “Rationalists” and “Revolutionists”, despite their striking similarities as to the prevention of competing state’s ascending power, as well as of their underlying dissimilarities regarding the respective exit strategies followed from the said preventive wars. This thesis brings together the principal episodes of these two war periods placing particular emphasis on notions of power, international anarchy, morality, security dilemma which all answer as to why the wars started, how they were fought and how they were ended. Furthermore, I extrapolate these deductions into the future in an attempt to forecast the main constants of great power behaviour in a similar situation of preventive wars. In this regard I demonstrate that “Realism” may provide the best toolkit not exclusively at the state (“forum externum”) level as the International Relations theory suggests, but also at the unit level (“forum internum”), which stands distinct from the holistic notion of domestic politics and falls within the contours of the decision making process. I attempt to bridge these two levels by injecting the notion of the “cosmo-icon”, which shall be assessed separately by the same aforementioned International Relations’ three schools of thought. Cosmo-icon is the inherent, unique, alphabet whereby the leader reads the book of international politics which is written by the states’ interaction. That alphabet is indispensable for “self-orientation” within the political system and emanates from fundamental decisions, based upon specific predefined approaches of the reality and not solely upon mere reactions to it (“perceptions”). Showing that the level of states and the unit level correspond in essence respectively to Thucydides’ famous reference to “uneven growth” and “fear” as causes of war and that the cosmo-icon is in fact identified within “predetermined” decisions, I stress that a successful exit strategy from a preventive war shall be the outgrowth of realism’s preponderance both at the state level of analysis as well as at the cosmo-icon’s one. Indeed, I prove that Rome succeeded when it cleaved to a “realistic” cosmo-icon, within a “realistic” states’ foreign policy, while Sparta failed because within a “realistic” states’ foreign policy she adopted a “rationalist” cosmo-icon. That said, it becomes evident from the two periods that for a great power a successful exit strategy from a preventive war is actually to stay within it, maintaining a “realistic” cosmo-icon towards a decisive battle and consequently establishing an authoritative relationship of a “mistress” but not of a “lover” with the subject states. That relationship will be based on the principle of proactively creating an interest rather than simply defending it, through a prudent, constant, political evaluation of alternative options by a small number, if not only one, person(s), through a web of ad hoc and restricted alliances, desisting from any territory-annexation, but also from ideological affiliations of any kind
Flame retardant natural fibre composites for high performance applications
No full textNatural fibres such as flax, jute and hemp are becoming attractive alternatives to traditional high performance fibres such as glass and carbon fibres for reinforcement in composites. This is because natural fibres are from renewable sources, are biodegradable, and therefore are more environmentally friendly. However, unlike inherently non-flammable glass and carbon fibres, natural fibres thermally degrade and burn readily and their use has been restricted in applications where the fire regulations are stringent. In addition, natural fibres have low compatibility with a polymer matrix, especially hydrophobic polymers such as polypropylene, causing poor fibre/matrix interfacial adhesion in composites. This leads to lower mechanical performance in natural fibre composites.Therefore treatments/modifications of fibre and/or polymer matrix are required to overcome these drawbacks and expand their range of applications.The main aim of this PhD is to develop flame retardant (FR) natural fibre composites for high performance applications by using FR treated fibres and/or polymer matrices with FR treatment. To achieve this, firstly the flammability of different natural fibres and bio/synthetic polymers was studied by using limiting oxygen index (LOI) and cone calorimetry to identify suitable components for producing FR natural fibre composites. Flax was selected as reinforcing component, and three polymers (polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(furfuryl alcohol) (furan resin)) were selected for polymer matrices. Various strategies to develop flame retardant natural fibre composites were adopted. These can be summarised as (1) development of FR composites from FR treated flax/PP and flax/PLA commingled, woven fabrics, (2) surface modification of flax/PP and flax/PLA fabrics for improving fibre-matrix adhesion in FR composites, (3) development of FR bio/synthetic polymer matrix, and (4) Identification of suitable FR strategy involving synergistic combination of different FR components for producing high performance FR natural fibre composites. The fire performance of these natural fibre composites was evaluated by using UL-94 and cone calorimetry, while the mechanical performance was studied by tensile, flexural testing. In order to develop flame retardant flax/PP and flax/PLA composites from commingled flax/PP and flax/PLA woven fabrics, it was established that the best way to render these flame retardant is to apply FR aqueous solutions by using a conventional pad-dry technique, commonly used for textiles.Usually for textile finishes, fabrics are first scoured which helps in improving the pickup of fabrics.As a first step, the effect of fabric pre-treatment (scouring) on fire and mechanical performance of composites was studied. It was concluded that there is no advantage of using an extra process of scouring during FR composite preparation as the improvement in fire and mechanical properties were only marginal. A number of commercially available water soluble flame retardants were used, out of which guanylurea methylphosphonate (GUP), was seen to be the most effective FR to improve fire performance of the composites. However, GUP caused significant reduction in mechanical properties of the composites therefore the effect of flame retardant concentration on fire and mechanical performance of the composites was studied in order to identify an optimised flame retardant formulation that significantly improves fire retardancy (i.e. V-0 rating in UL-94) of each of flax/PP and flax/PLA laminates with minimal effect on their mechanical performances. The optimised GUP content for flax/PP and flax/PLA was identified as those which have respectively 0.9% and 0.6% phosphorus in respective fabric/composite. To improve fibre/matrix interfacial adhesion in these composites, different surface modification treatments of the fabrics were studied including silane! solution application (i.e. triethoxyvinylsilane (VTS) and 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APS) for flax/PP and flax/PLA respectively), exposure to atmospheric argon-plasma and a combination of both. The fibre/matrix interfacial adhesions of these composites were studied by using peeling and flexural tests. The results showed that the combination of plasma and silane treatments was the most effective method to improve the fibre/matrix adhesion for FR treated flax/PP, whereas only plasma treatment was required for FR flax/PLA composites.In order to develop flame retardant polymer matrices, PP and PLA were compounded with different flame retardants and then extruded into fibres. The commercially available organic phosphorus compound (OP) was seen to be the most effective FR to improve flammability of PP and PLA fibres.In furan resin also a number phosphorus based FRs were studied, from which ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and melamine polyphosphate (MPP) were seen to be most effective.These FR components were then used in different combination (i.e. either application of FR on flax, or in polymer matrix, or both) in order to identify the most effective FR strategy to improve fire performance of a composite with minimum effect on mechanical properties. For FR thermoplastic (flax/PP and flax/PLA) composites best results were achieved with the use of FRs in both flax fibre and polymer matrix. On the other hand for FR flax/furan laminates, the addition of FR in the resin provided best results
‘Don’t mention the P word’ The Hidden Consequences of Imprisonment for Prisoners’ Children.
No full textResearch, media interest, and political involvement around prisons and families have grown significantly in recent years, although there is scant evidence within the growing body of related literature of original work that documents the perceptions and experiences of families affected by a member’s imprisonment. This research attempts to redress this, taking a social constructionist perspective which uses unstructured interviews to gain a critical insight into why family members’, and in particular, children’s voices are often absent in this field. The research focuses predominantly on children’s experiences, expressed through their own words, or through the words of an adult.The findings complement and add value to the emerging literature in this relatively neglected area, suggesting that stigma, shame, guilt and frustration are commonplace for prisoners’ families. The findings also reveal that what is significant, but remains largely hidden in research to date, are the reasons why children often do not know what is happening when a parent is in prison.This thesis presents the results from interviews held with a sample of twenty-four families, including parents, children, prisoners, and practitioners. The interviews took place over a nineteen-month period, and involved, in many instances, a series of interviews with the same respondents.The phenomenon of ‘story telling’ where children are offered fictitious accounts to explain the absence of an imprisoned family member, thereby avoiding the necessity of mentioning ‘prison’ forms an important element of the thesis. Whilst these fictitious accounts were motivated by a desire to protect the children from the social harm and stigma commonly associated with prison, the children themselves often understood more than their parents realised or were prepared to realise. The research exposes parental anxieties and fears, evidenced in their narratives, and played out in their respectable, sometimes implausible, fictitious accounts they concocted for their children. What is uncovered is that, contrary to parental expectations, children can often deal with the imprisonment of a family member when they are presented with the facts, showing resilience, fortitude, and competence.3 Additionally, the thesis shows how families struggle to navigate and make sense of the criminal justice system, frequently encountering hostility, incompetence, and a lack of empathy and understanding. Events such as the arrest of a family member or visiting a family member in prison can exacerbate the difficulties family members already face. By focusing the research around the experiences of children within these families, the thesis offers an original perspective and a valuable contribution to knowledge.The thesis demonstrates that it is prisoners’ families, and in particular the children in these families who are the real victims of prison