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Access status: Open Access ,
Internal innovative capability and sustainable competitive advantage in the South African automobile manufacturing industry
(University of the Free State, 2023) Matšaseng, Kopano; Van Zyl, Johan; Sarpong, Prince
The automobile manufacturing industry in South Africa is dominated by multinational original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that restrict their ability to be innovative in product design and development. Given, the global nature of the industry, the local manufacturers need to stay competitive to be sustainable. The solutions that focus on efficiency and external challenges have not been adequate to assist the industry to stay competitive. Hence, this study is investigating the influence of internal innovative capability on sustainable competitive advantage in the South African vehicle manufacturing industry. This study has followed an exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research methods to identify 11 dimensions of innovative capability and 5 dimensions of sustainable competitive advantage. The secondary data analysis has shown that process innovation activities were important in the industry while exploratory factor analysis (EFA) showed that these dimensions are important sources of variation in innovative capability and sustainable competitive advantage. Pearson correlation analysis showed that innovative capability is relatively associated with 3 dependent variables, instead of 5. Regression analysis showed that the majority of estimated coefficients of the independent variables were insignificant, but the F-statistics was significant for 3 out of 5 regression equations and 4 models had an R-squared approximately greater than 50%. Lastly, the qualitative results revealed four themes that relate to the two main concepts of the study. The results have shown that there are five factors that play a role in the development of innovative capabilities. The implementation of innovative capabilities requires five distinct approaches. On the other hand, the creation of sustainable competitive advantage (i.e., value) through resources is based four factors and lastly, the maintenance of the unique value proposition is possible through five distinct measures.
Access status: Open Access ,
Political economy of urban settlement demolitions and state power in Zimbabwe: a case study of Harare Metropolitan Province since 2013
(University of the Free State, 2022) Mhlanga, Kowanai; Hansen, Melissa; Mukwada, G.
After the enactment of the Constitution in 2013, which prohibits arbitrary eviction, urban settlement demolitions resumed and escalated in Zimbabwe. This thesis examined the political economy of urban settlement demolitions and state power in Zimbabwe, to assess the extent to which the new Constitution, adopted in 2013, has transformed the conduct of urban settlement demolitions in Harare Metropolitan Province since then. If there is transformation, the thesis sought to understand how the opposition-party-led local authorities have been able to alter the nature of urban settlement demolitions. If there is no transformation, the thesis sought to expose the bottlenecks or restrictive underlying conditions that have curtailed the transformation in the conduct of urban settlement demolitions. It also sought to highlight the consequences of such transformation, or lack thereof, for the State. The political economy approach, the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), and the Procedural Social Justice Theory informed this study. Guided by the constructivist paradigm, the study adopted qualitative methodology. Purposive sampling was employed to select study sites, participants from the state sector and some from the non-state sector. Snowball sampling was employed to choose evictees and other participants from the non-state sector. Convenient sampling was used to select people who witnessed demolitions. Court judgements and newspaper articles on evictions complemented the primary findings. Whilst the study was based on the premise that Zimbabwe's Constitution which was adopted in 2013 is transformative on matters of urban settlement demolition, the research outcomes show that these constitutional changes have not in any way transformed the conduct of demolitions. The research outcomes revealed that up to 2020, demolition of illegal settlement occurred in violation of the canons of Zimbabwe's declaration of rights. First, demolitions occurred without the court authorisation. Second, they were conducted without any consideration of all relevant circumstances. However, such violation of the eviction law taints the image and reputation of the State. Legal, behavioural and institutional factors were found to be the main bottlenecks that have inhibited the transformation. The study found that the 2013 Constitution is still based on the Roman-Dutch law, which is hostile to the plight of illegal land occupiers. Hence, these vestiges of colonial planning legislation do not provide for fair compensation to anyone deprived of property during the councils' operationalisation of the master plan. Regarding behavioural factors, the study found that besides councils' resistance to embracing Section 74, the citizens’ adversarial action towards the governmentality of urban space has impeded transformation. The study recommends that citizens should respect the administrative authorities 'governmentality of the urban space. It also recommends that since Section 74 is the blueprint on matters of evictions, the judiciary which is the guarantor of this Section, should strongly penalize officials who violate this eviction procedure. As a contribution to knowledge production, the study brought new approaches to the investigation of urban settlement demolitions. First, these demolitions have been investigated from the constitutional perspective. This is a departure from the planning perspective that has dominated debates on evictions. No planning law should supersede the Constitution. Second, the ANT has been used to analyse the demolitions. The approach showed the contribution of a multiplicity of players. It revealed how the illegal settlers’ counter-conduct has been exploited by authorities to justify the use of force. Another contribution is the enhancement of S74 as the new eviction framework. The study reveals that this framework can further be strengthened through stakeholder participation and prosecuting its violators. Regarding stakeholder participation, the thesis demonstrates how the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee can use citizens' voices to devise an Act that defines relevant circumstances the court should consider before granting an eviction order.
Access status: Open Access ,
An evaluation of the use of high-resolution RGB and multispectral imaging as a potential tool for drill-core logging of the rocks of the Bushveld Complex
(University of the Free State, 2025) Mabogo, Nomonde Shantel Tshiwela; Roelofse, Frederick; Clark, Martin
Core recovery drilling remains a fundamental component of mineral exploration in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa, which hosts the world’s largest platinum-group element reserves within the world’s largest layered intrusion, the mafic to ultramafic Rustenburg Layered Suite. Manual logging of extensive drill-core intervals is time-consuming and inherently subjective, often limiting the precision of lithological and mineralogical interpretations. This study assesses spectroscopic drill-core logging techniques, such as RGB-to-grayscale and visible to near-infrared (VNIR) multispectral imaging (400-842 nm), applied to the Rustenburg Layered Suite drill-core as potential tools for cost-effective drill-core logging of the major lithologies and minerals of the Rustenburg Layered Suite. High-resolution RGB images were converted to grayscale using the luminosity method, and grayscale digital number (0-255) statistics, median and skewness were analysed for lithological classification. The grayscale approach distinguishes chromitite and anorthosite through contrasting histogram skewness, with median-based validation correctly classifying 3% of anorthosite samples and 0% of chromitite, the latter is due to limited representation in the training dataset and that training and validation chromitite samples differ in the proportion of dark and lighter crystals. In contrast, gabbronorite and pyroxenite proved more challenging to differentiate, reflecting their broad compositional ranges and overlapping plagioclase-pyroxene assemblages, with 19% gabbronorite validation sites and 44% pyroxenite validation sites being either a gabbronorite or pyroxenite. Additionally, the weighting of the green channel in the luminosity-based grayscale conversion can shift darker pixels toward higher grayscale values, potentially leading to the misclassification of dark lithologies as lighter-coloured lithologies. Thus, this approach proved less effective for reliable lithological classification across the dataset. VNIR multispectral imaging (475-842 nm) enables classification of major minerals such as pyroxene, plagioclase, and chromite, with spectral library correlations improving accuracy by identifying minerals prone to misclassification. The results show that 40% of pyroxenite samples contained over 90% pyroxene, 12% of anorthosite samples contained over 90% plagioclase, 71-75% of gabbronorite samples exhibited mixed plagioclase-pyroxene proportions within the 10-90% compositional range, and all chromitite samples contained more than 45% chromite. Results also reflect expected mineralogical trends, with mafic rocks showing higher mafic mineral content and anorthositic rocks dominated by felsic minerals. Consequently, VNIR multispectral imaging may emerge as a cost-effective and time-efficient assistive tool to traditional manual logging for the Rustenburg Layered Suite lithologies, especially in large-scale exploration programs involving the drilling of thousands of metres of drill-core, and when integrated with automated analytical workflows. Therefore, the applicability of these imaging techniques in mining operations is influenced by project scale and operational priorities.
Access status: Open Access ,
The manifestation and practice of intergovernmental relations in the Mohokare Local Municipality
(University of the Free State, 2019) Lipholo, Moitshepi Thembalethu; Engelbrecht, M.; Engelbrecht, M.; Mulu, N.
The year 1994 saw the dawn of a new and democratic governance system in South Africa. This democratic process came about with the abolishment of the apartheid system, which was based on racial segregation and discrimination. Kahn, Madue and Kalema (2016: 3) state that a significant development that came with the dismantling of the apartheid system was a reconfiguration of intergovernmental relations (IGR). One of the aims in introducing IGR as a new governance system was to create conducive interaction amongst national, provincial and local government to speed up service delivery to the masses. IGR was built around the already existing three spheres of government inherited from the apartheid government (Amtaika, 2013: 57). Concerns were raised by governance scholars regarding the monopoly of power that was centred in the national government (Nkwezane, 2012: 1). What IGR did was to promote recommendations for mutual relations between the three spheres of government and other bodies of the state. As the Constitution (RSA, 1996: 25) stipulates in Chapter 3, Section 40 (1), the government is divided between the national, provincial and local spheres, which are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated. Section 41 (1) (h) emphasises that co-operation between the spheres and all organs of government must be based on mutual trust and faith by fostering friendly relations and help in supporting one another (RSA, 1996: 25). The Constitution calls for a cooperative style of government. Chapter 3 of the Constitution outlines the principles of cooperative governance and intergovernmental relations, which must be followed by all spheres and all bodies of government (RSA, 1996: 25). This style of cooperative governance is guided by the principle of all spheres of government and all organs of the state working together. This is to preserve the peace, national unity, and the indivisibility of the country (RSA, 1996: 25). Most importantly, cooperative governance is meant to secure the well-being of the people of South Africa. A co-operative government must be based on mutual trust and good faith (RSA, 1996: 25). Governmental interaction is guided by the Constitution and other legislative documents, including the White Paper and the Green Paper. Combining the common ground found in those legislative documents, one can conclude that IGR is founded on establishing smooth, effective and efficient cooperation between the three spheres of government (Schwella, 2015: 83). All of the above illustrates that the 1996 Constitution promotes and supports IGR. Any mechanism that is proposed and advocated by the Constitution is worth exploring. IGR is no exception when it comes to this phenomenon (Kahn et al., 2016: 11).
Access status: Open Access ,
Exploring access to postpartum mental healthcare at a peri-urban community health centre: a socio-ecological perspective
(University of the Free State, 2025) Leshaba, Palesa; Kigozi-Male, Gladys; Mulu, Ngwi Nnam Thecla
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 Postpartum mental health (PPMH) remains a neglected aspect of maternal care within South Africa's primary health care system. This neglect is especially evident in peri-urban areas where overburdened community health centres (CHCs) often lack the capacity to offer mental health support. Although national policy acknowledges the importance of maternal mental health , postpartum women continue to face significant barriers in accessing care. These challenges extend beyond resource limitations, and include stigma, inconsistent screening practices, and sociocultural norms that minimise emotional distress. As a result, symptoms of depression, anxiety, or trauma frequently go undetected in settings that prioritise physical health. Existing research has largely overlooked the complex multilevel factors shaping access to PPMH care. This study addresses this gap by examining the determinants of access to postpartum mental health services (PPMHS) at a peri-urban CHC in Gauteng Province in South Africa. 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 The study employed a qualitative exploratory case study design grounded in a constructivist paradigm. The socio ecological model (SEM) provided a guiding framework to explore the multi-level determinants of access to PPMHS at the CHC across five levels: individual, interpersonal, organisational, community, and societal. Semi structured interviews were conducted with ten postpartum women (within six months of delivery) attending postnatal care at the CHC, as well as eight healthcare providers directly involved in maternal care. Participants were selected through purposive sampling to ensure depth and relevance of insights. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using abductive thematic analysis (ATA), which allowed for the integration of both data-driven themes and SEM-informed theoretical constructs. Ethical approval was obtained with all participants providing informed consent. Confidentiality and respectful engagement were upheld throughout the research process. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 The study identified a range of interrelated barriers and facilitators to accessing PPMHS across all five levels of the SEM. At the individual level, limited awareness of PPMH and internalised stigma discouraged help-seeking. In contrast, exposure to mental health education and trauma-informed care provided by healthcare providers facilitated service use. At the interpersonal level, emotional support from family members and partners played an instrumental role in enabling access to care. Conversely, the absence of such support posed a significant barrier. At the organisational level, systemic issues such as inconsistent screening practices, staff shortages, a lack of provider training in mental health, and the absence of mental health integration into routine postnatal care hindered access to PPHM services. However, access was supported by the availability of trained mental health professionals and proactive referral efforts by some healthcare providers. At the community level, entrenched cultural stigma, by rigid gender roles, and religious belief surrounding emotional distress inhibited disclosure and care seeking, yet respectful treatment and the use of culturally sensitive practices by healthcare providers improved acceptability of mental health services. At the societal level, limited involvement of frontline providers in policymaking and the absence of structured PPMH monitoring mechanisms weakened implementation of PPMHS at the CHC. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 The study highlights the complex, layered factors that shape access to PPMH care at the CHC. Addressing these challenges requires a coordinated, multilevel response. Priorities should include strengthening mental health literacy among women and families, enabling family support, augmenting provider capacity through training, and incorporating culturally responsive care into routine care services at the CHC. It is also important to have meaningful involvement of frontline healthcare providers in policy development and the establishment of quantifiable implementation strategies. A context-sensitive and integrated approach to implementing PPMHs has the potential to strengthen maternal mental health outcomes and ensure that primary healthcare services are more responsive to the needs of postpartum women.
Access status: Open Access ,
Accessibility of mental healthcare services to members of the LGBTQIA+ Community in rural South Africa
(University of the Free State, 2025) Harkers, Danilo; Engelbrecht, M.; Mulu, N.
South Africa, with its diverse population and complex socio-political history, has a high incidence of mental health conditions. The country’s burden of mental health conditions is closely linked to inequality, poverty, and limited access to mental healthcare services. These disparities are particularly pronounced for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual and other identities (LGBTQIA+) community residing in rural contexts. In response to this issue, this study aimed to explore and describe barriers to and facilitators of access to mental healthcare services as perceived by LGBTQIA+ individuals living in Namaqualand through the lens of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM). The SEM illustrates how multiple factors across the individual, interpersonal, organisational/community, and societal levels influence an individual’s health behaviour. This study, grounded in the constructivist paradigm, explored the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ while accessing mental healthcare services. Guided by a relativist ontology and a subjectivist epistemology, the research employed a qualitative case in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven purposively selected participants. The sample size was guided by the principle of data saturation rather than the generalisability of the study’s findings. The data were subsequently analysed thematically using the SEM as an analytical framework. Barriers and facilitators of mental healthcare access were categorised across the SEM’s four levels, with sub-themes emerging inductively from the data. Participants highlighted various mental healthcare needs within their community, including the pressing need for comprehensive mental healthcare services that are LGBTQIA+ affirming and increased community sensitisation on LGBTQIA+ rights, particularly in rural and conservative communities like Namaqualand. Barriers to mental healthcare access were identified across all levels of the SEM. At the individual level, barriers included internalised stigma, identity conflict, substance use, and limited mental health literacy. Interpersonally, a lack of support from family and friends increased isolation and limited help-seeking behaviour. Mental healthcare access was further influenced by systemic and structural inequalities at the organisational level, where limitations in the public health sector, such as shortages of healthcare professionals, inadequate facilities and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community, acted as barriers. Finally, stigma and unsupportive cultural norms, especially within Namaqualand’s Coloured communities, emerged as barriers at the societal level. Facilitators of access included individual-level factors, such as mental health literacy and positive health-seeking attitudes. At the interpersonal level, support from family and friends acted as an enabler to mental healthcare access. Organisational facilitators included access to private healthcare for those who could afford it, and unexpected support from faith-based organisations. The data did not show any societal-level factors that acted as enablers for mental healthcare access. The participants recommended establishing integrated healthcare facilities that cater to both mental and physical health, increasing mental health sensitisation, culturally competent training for healthcare workers and establishing LGBTQIA+ support groups in Namaqualand. The study highlights that access to mental healthcare services for LGBTQIA+ individuals in Namaqualand is influenced by complex, multi-level factors. To address the challenges, comprehensive and intersectional strategies are needed that take into account the overlapping influences of gender identity, socioeconomic status, culture, and geography on mental healthcare access. Drawing on the SEM, it is evident that there is a need for culturally competent, LGBTQIA+-affirming services, community education, and systemic reform to improve mental healthcare access in Namaqualand. Lessons learnt from this research could potentially inform strategies to improve access to mental healthcare services in other rural areas of the Northern Cape province in South Africa.
Access status: Open Access ,
Long-term Life Insurance valuations meet deep learning
(University of the Free State, 2025) Blomerus, Jan Marthinus; Ring, A.
Traditional actuarial methods for valuing insurance portfolios, while established, are often time consuming, complex, and prone to manual error. This study investigates the potential of machine learning techniques to enhance and streamline these traditional methods, offering improved efficiency and accuracy. Utilising a dataset from a commercial European life insurance company, this research designs and implements a deep neural network to predict policy reserve values. A combination of actuarial pricing and valuation bases is employed to prepare the data for training and evaluation, focusing on developing models capable of accurately predicting expected present values. The results demonstrate that machine learning models can effectively predict policy reserve values, providing valuations comparable to those obtained through traditional actuarial methods. Notably, the developed ”Midway” model consistently predicts accurate and efficient reserve estimates. These models demonstrate an ability to capture complex relationships between inputs and policy reserve values, even with combinations of previously unseen data within valid ranges. This research has significant implications for the insurance industry, offering the potential for improved efficiency, enhanced risk management, and more informed decision-making. The ability to rapidly and accurately value large policy portfolios can lead to improved pricing strategies and investment decisions. Furthermore, machine learning techniques can reduce the time and resources required for traditional valuations and provide an independent check on accuracy for auditors and regulators. Beyond its practical applications, this study contributes to the machine learning community by demonstrating a novel combination of methods for fitting supervised regression models and establishing a framework for data preparation, model training, and validation. This work provides valuable guidance for future research in applying machine learning to diverse categories of life insurance products. In conclusion, this study provides a compelling proof-of-concept for leveraging machine learning techniques to value a commercial book of life insurance policies, highlighting the potential for significant improvements in risk management within the insurance industry.
Access status: Open Access ,
An evaluation of the use of high-resolution RGB and multispectral imaging as a potential tool for drill-core logging of the rocks of the Bushveld Complex
(University of the Free State, 2025) Mabogo, Nomonde Shantel Tshiwela; Roelofse, Frederick; Clark, Martin
Core recovery drilling remains a fundamental component of mineral exploration in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa, which hosts the world’s largest platinum-group element reserves within the world’s largest layered intrusion, the mafic to ultramafic Rustenburg Layered Suite. Manual logging of extensive drill-core intervals is time-consuming and inherently subjective, often limiting the precision of lithological and mineralogical interpretations. This study assesses spectroscopic drill-core logging techniques, such as RGB to-grayscale and visible to near-infrared (VNIR) multispectral imaging (400-842 nm), applied to the Rustenburg Layered Suite drill-core as potential tools for cost-effective drill-core logging of the major lithologies and minerals of the Rustenburg Layered Suite. High-resolution RGB images were converted to grayscale using the luminosity method, and grayscale digital number (0-255) statistics, median and skewness were analysed for lithological classification. The grayscale approach distinguishes chromitite and anorthosite through contrasting histogram skewness, with median-based validation correctly classifying 3% of anorthosite samples and 0% of chromitite, the latter is due to limited representation in the training dataset and that training and validation chromitite samples differ in the proportion of dark and lighter crystals. In contrast, gabbronorite and pyroxenite proved more challenging to differentiate, reflecting their broad compositional ranges and overlapping plagioclase pyroxene assemblages, with 19% gabbronorite validation sites and 44% pyroxenite validation sites being either a gabbronorite or pyroxenite. Additionally, the weighting of the green channel in the luminosity-based grayscale conversion can shift darker pixels toward higher grayscale values, potentially leading to the misclassification of dark lithologies as lighter-coloured lithologies. Thus, this approach proved less effective for reliable lithological classification across the dataset. VNIR multispectral imaging (475-842 nm) enables classification of major minerals such as pyroxene, plagioclase, and chromite, with spectral library correlations improving accuracy by identifying minerals prone to misclassification. The results show that 40% of pyroxenite samples contained over 90% pyroxene, 12% of anorthosite samples contained over 90% plagioclase, 71-75% of gabbronorite samples exhibited mixed plagioclase-pyroxene proportions within the 10-90% compositional range, and all chromitite samples contained more than 45% chromite. Results also reflect expected mineralogical trends, with mafic rocks showing higher mafic mineral content and anorthositic rocks dominated by felsic minerals.
Access status: Open Access ,
Masculinity and Fatherhood: A Narrative Study of South African Black Men Living in Mangaung
(University of the Free State, 2024) Velelo, Nontombi Lenah; Rau, Asta; Coetzee, Jan K.
Access status: Open Access ,
The complexities of translator education in Ghana: exploring a human capabilities approach to curriculum design
(University of the Free State, 2024) Dakey, Linda Esinam; Marais, Kobus; González-Davies, Maria