National Research Database of Zimbabwe
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A model for an economic hybrid energy solution for a medium scale gold mine in remote Zimbabwe
No full textThe growth in energy demand is surpassing generation capacity especially in developing nations. Traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels are finite and are the largest contributors to global warming due to emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Strong initiatives have been borne to address energy sources whilst embarking on sustainable energy policies to reduce GHG and hence retard global warming. In the developing world, energy has been identified as one of the key drivers for sustainable development. It is against this background therefore, that renewable energy sources especially solar, wind and lately battery storage are now being included in the energy mix to address energy shortages whilst curtailing global warming. To provide energy to remote areas hybrid energy systems, grid-connected or off-grid, are being developed, with an incorporation of renewables into the energy mix. However, in most cases, sizing of hybrid energy solutions are done intuitively resulting in many cases of oversizing of hybrid energy systems which increases the cost
An analysis of the role of costume and make-up in horror films: a case study of ‘the hills have eyes’ (2006)
No full textThe study focused on analysing and finding out the importance of the role of costume and makeup in horror film making with particular focus on the horror film, ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ which was directed by Alexandra Aja in the year 2006. Findings of the study show how costume and makeup are important in film making and how they can also be used to enhance and convey film meaning in the horror genre. Theories like semiotics and audience reception
were appointed in the study in order to show how costume and makeup are interpreted by the audience therefore suggesting that they should not be taken for granted as they communicate a message. The qualitative method was used as it gave the researcher an insight of what the audience thinks of costume and makeup and provided a platform for observation and personal
analysis of the data they provided the researcher with
The post-colonial challenges of nation-building through international engagement: an analysis of Zimbabwe’s International Relations from 1980 to 2016
No full textZimbabwe inherited a strong, sophisticated and integrated economy on achieving independence in 1980 despite the existence of mandatory United Nations sanctions on the then Rhodesian Government. After independence, Zimbabwe went on to establish an international network of bilateral and multilateral relations with the global community which the previous racist regime of Rhodesia could not achieve. Zimbabwe was also embraced by both western and eastern bloc countries who mobilised international financial resources in the form of grants and soft loans to support post-war recovery programmes, land resettlement and redistribution, rural development, the training of the human resource base of the new nation and the provision of critical infrastructure. As a result of the international goodwill towards Zimbabwe, the country achieved modest Growth Domestic Product (GDP) annual growth rates of between 7.5% in 1980 to 2.1% in 1998. Thereafter, especially between 2000 and 2008, the country experienced unprecedented negative economic growth rates averaging -7% per annum leading to the collapse of the economy, and the general incapacity of political and social sectors of the country to support the nation. The study therefore sought to unravel the cause of the unprecedented decline of the state in economic, political and social terms between 1980 and 2016 despite the existence of multiple bilateral and multilateral relationships with the global community. Such networks were expected to boost the economy and political and social institutions through foreign direct investment, trade, tourism and development assistance initiatives but instead the state continued to decline from 1997 to 2016 except for the period during the Government of National Unity (2009-2013).
The research utilised in-depth interviews and unstructured questionnaires to collect data from policy makers, foreign policy and public policy experts and civil society groups which specialise in international relations and public policy issues. The primary sources of data collected were also supplemented by secondary sources of data. The combined theories of realism, liberalism, cognitivism, constructivism, marxism and regionalism reflected in one way or the other the behaviour pattern of Zimbabwe in the international system. The theories of realism, liberalism and regionalism were more dominant in the study. The study concluded that Zimbabwe’s international relations practices which emanated from the country’s public policies and other governance practices were largely to blame for the country’s decline from a strong state to a weak state between 1980 and 2016. The study concluded by pointing out how Zimbabwe could rebuild its international relations profile through re-engagement and policy reform
The impact of partisan politics on the decision making processes of local councils: a case study of Kwekwe City Council. (2000 – 2017)
No full textWorldwide, public administration has been considered to be the most crucial aspect in the field of administration where all administrative duties are supposed to be performed in order to serve the interest of the general mass. Local authorities perform their duties as a sub division of the central government and decision making at local council should be exercised as an independent action which should not be influenced by partisanship nor do central government meddle in the decision making processes of local council. With the dawn of independence in Zimbabwe the citizens had a vision of better and effective decision making process at municipals as decision were now going to be made by their fellow entrusted councilors. The rise of multi-party system in Zimbabwe negatively impacted on the decision making process of local authorities as decision were now being affected by party politics. It was a case study of Kwekwe City Council and the researcher developed a keen interest to research on the topic because partisan politics has brought about many challenges in decision making processes. This impact that is posed by partisan politics in local authorities is that decisions that are being made at the council are those mainly supported by the party which has the majority seats in the council chamber and some of the decisions are not made with the zeal to better the service but as those that serve the interest of the ruling party. Kwekwe City Council has experienced challenges which include inter departmental conflicts, unfair distribution of resource in different wards and promotion and recruitment based on political affiliation. The researcher took a qualitative approach to analyze the impact of partisan politics on the decision making processes of local authorities. Questionnaires, observations, interviews and document analysis were used as methods of data gathering. Thematic and content analysis were the methods that were used by the researcher to analyze the data gathered. The researcher during data collection made sure that ethical considerations were taken into account. The researcher from the data one gathered concluded of the fact that partisan politics in local authorities has caused a lot of challenges to the decision making processes of council and many decisions that are being made at council are not motivated by the zeal for a better service delivery but are done to serve the interest of political parties
K nowledge and perceptions of plant viral diseases by different stakeh olders in Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector : implications for disease management.
No full textPlant viruses
are major constraints to crop production
worldwide, causing US$60 billion losses
annually
. This st
udy
assess
ed
various agricultural sector stakeholders’
knowledge and perceptions of
plant viruses
in Zimbabwe
. Data was
collected from six provinces using surveys and participatory rural
appraisal methodologies between December 2013 and Oc
tober 2014.
Maize streak virus
,
Tobacco
mosaic virus
,
Cucumber mosaic virus
,
Tomato mosaic virus
and
Groundnut rosette virus
were ranked
as
the
country’s
five most important plant viruses by
agricultural
technical staff
.
Most (
72
%
)
technical
staff
rated
Maize streak virus
as
the most important
plant
virus in Zimbabwe
.
Over
30
% of
farmers were
self
-
taught to identify diseases, while only 15.3% were trained by agricultural extension staff.
Most
(95.8%) technical staff trained people in disease identificatio
n through running short courses, use of
demonstration plots and field days.
The majority
(41.9%)
of farmers recommended the use of
radio/TV/newspaper
broadcasts
to improve virus awareness. Only 23.7% of farmers
and 41.6% of
technical
staff
had heard about
TSWV/
tospoviruses
.
While most (97.2%) technical staff rated
TSWV/tospo
viruses as
“
fairly important
â€
to
“
very im
portant
â€
plant pathogens, only 15
.
7
%
were able to
correctly i
dentify tospoviral
vectors
. The study showed that there is poor
knowledge
of plant v
iruses
the
stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
There is need to train the technical staff
in plant virology
so
that they
can
disseminate their knowledge to
farmers
for improved virus disease management
An Investigation into whether access to quality education can be better met with the use of e-learning, analysing rural and urban schools. A Case of Zimbabwe
No full textZimbabwe is committed to transforming teaching and learning at all levels of education through the introduction of e-learning.
However, the successful introduction of e-learning into basic education depends largely on the availability of ICT infrastructure
and the capacity of teachers and students to use them. Using some selected rural and urban secondary schools in some parts of
Zimbabwe as a case study, this study investigates the accessibility of e-learning infrastructure among students and teachers of
rural and urban schools. It was found that access to e-learning resources by teachers and students was inadequate. Nonetheless,
there were differences in access to e-learning resources between students and teachers of rural and urban schools. Students of
urban schools had more access to e-learning resources and therefore had more access to quality education than their rural
counterparts. Young teachers of urban schools were also more likely to have access to e-learning resources than those of rural
schools. This digital divide was largely due to rural communities not being able to afford the resources and poor infrastructure
development and urban schools staffed with teachers that were trained in the pre-computer era. It is recommended that the
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education provides all basic schools across the country with ICT infrastructure. Also, efforts
should be made to build the capacity of all teachers in order to facilitate the efficient introduction of e-learning in education like
the initiative made by Higherlife Foundation to train Basic ICT Skills to teachers
The effectiveness of internal control systems used by parastatals in Zimbabwe in reducing the risk of fraud
No full textThis research is an investigation into the effectiveness of internal control systems being employed by Zimbabwe Parastatals in reducing the risk of fraud. The objectives of the research are to evaluate the effectiveness of the internal controls currently being used by Parastatals in reducing fraud and to give recommendations on what can be done to improve their effectiveness .Literature reviewed showed that ineffective internal controls provide an opportunity for fraudulent activities to happen in Parastatals. The researcher used stratified sampling technique whereby the target population was divided into stratus which includes mining, agriculture transport, telecommunication, health etc. The major finding of this research is that internal controls currently being employed are ineffective. The researcher recommended that Parastatals should formulate and implement corporate fraud policies as well as bringing about the concept of enterprise wide risk management in their system
An investigation of the effectiveness of outsourcing and its impact on organisational performance: case of Unki Mines
No full textThe study is an investigation of the effectiveness of outsourcing and its impact on
organisational performance. The problem was that the firm experienced decreases in profits while contractor costs increased from 2012-2015. Unki’s reports indicated that it had also been experiencing adverse variance in its contractor’s expenditure for the past three years this necessitated the research. Literature review was carried out in an attempt to explore on what authors said on outsourcing. The main sources of related literature were internet journals,
accounting text books and websites. The researcher made use of descriptive research design where both qualitative and quantitative research design were made use of on questionnaires and interviews. A sample size of thirty one was carried out. Both primary and secondary data were analysed, presented and interpreted. Presentation was in form of tables, graphs and pie charts that was simplified through the use of the Likert Scaling model. Conclusion and recommendations were made to the organisation to minimise challenges and risks of outsourcing
The impact of auditors’ workload on audit quality: case of BDO Zimbabwe chartered accountants
No full textThis research study was undertaken to deduce the impact of auditors’ workload on audit quality at BDO Zimbabwe Chartered Accountants. The researcher observed that audits performed under high workload pressures are more likely to be of lower quality which triggered the need for this research. The research therefore aimed to ascertain audit quality measurements, determine factors which contributes towards auditors’ workloads and in turn applicable measures to manage these workloads. Also targeted by the research was the relationship between auditor’s workload and audit quality before concluding with pertinent practices on workloads to ensure quality audit. A descriptive research design was embraced in this study incorporating both the qualitative and quantitative approaches so that they could complement each other in determining the impact of auditors’ workload on audit quality. The researcher found out that audit quality is compromised under workload compression conditions which are high during the first quarter of the year. Aggregated STATA 11 results showed that a single unit change in auditors’ workload will negatively affect audit quality by approximately 31.80%. The researcher rolled down the curtain by recommending that BDO Zimbabwe may develop a proper workload management policy to manage audit workload simultaneously defining audit team development
An investigation of the responsiveness by insurance companies to regulations affecting their financial performance: a case of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Zimbabwe.
No full textThe aim of this study was to investigate the responsiveness by insurance companies to regulations affecting their financial performance. More specifically the study sought to investigate the effect of profitability, capital adequacy, return on assets, capital requirements and non- financial factors on the financial performance of insurance entities. Primary data was used in this study, where a census survey was preferred as the population of the study was small. A likert scale questionnaire and interviews were used to gather data relation to OMLAC’s performance. The data was sorted and presented on graphs, tables and pie charts to enable descriptive statistics. The results indicated that regulations improves financial performance of an entity. From the findings the study concluded that return on assets, capital adequacy ratio, minimum capital requirements and non- financial factors through regulations significantly influence financial performance of insurance entities. The study recommends that further research should be done on the effect of regulations on profitability determinants, such as size, age and structure of the organisation