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The contributions of Enactus to South Africa’s social and solidarity economy: a case study of a university
(OASIS, 2024) Ndlovu, Crespen; Lefera, Maraka
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: Over the past decade, there has been a noticeable rise in worldwide acknowledgement of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and its substantial socioeconomic and environmental benefits. In response, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution on 18 April 2023 advocating for government and institutional support to the SSE towards accelerating the achievement of sustainable development Goals (SDGs). However, there is a lack of understanding of how higher education institutions contribute to this agenda.
𝗔𝗶𝗺:The study examines the contributions of Entrepreneurial Action Us (Enactus) to South Africa’s SSE.
𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: The case study was conducted at the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State in South Africa, to examine how higher education and the SSE interact through Enactus initiatives.
𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀: The study utilised a qualitative research design involving semi-structured interviews with 11 students and alumni and an analysis of Enactus’ annual impact reports. This allowed for a comprehensive understanding of participants’ experiences and perceptions regarding Enactus’ impact on the SSE.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: Enactus enhances student entrepreneurship and innovation, promoting economic growth, job creation and community sustainability. Initiatives like the student-led Vermi Village Enterprise have empowered youth and women and created employment opportunities. Collaboration with local corporations and educational institutions has fostered sustainable changes, improving regenerative agriculture and urban food production, thus addressing multiple poverty facets.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: This study highlights the crucial role of initiatives like Enactus in promoting a more inclusive and sustainable economy, advancing the broader objectives of the SDGs, and supporting a brighter future for South Africa.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Despite resource limitations and the need for greater stakeholder engagement, Enactus projects and enterprises hold significant potential for driving sustainable development and socioeconomic equality, ultimately strengthening South Africa’s SSE.
Creating a model to develop self-sustainable aquaculture agribusiness enterprises in South Africa
(University of the Free State, 2023) Brown-Webb, Bernadette; Nesamvuni, A. E.; van Niekerk, J. A.
South Africa’s policies emphasize the importance of small enterprise and aquaculture sector development in meeting development goals. Public and private investments do not have the expected impacts on enterprise development and job creation, and enterprise sustainability remains low. Many start-ups receiving support, including public funding, fail to become self-sustainable after the financial support ends.
This study hypothesized that the development of self-sustainable aquaculture enterprises is not adequately supported by the enabling environment for the sector. The research objectives were to (1) determine the impacts of key stakeholders on enterprise development; (2) identify critical success factors for enterprises; (3) understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector; (4) understand the challenges that compromise development of self-sustainable enterprises; and (5) develop and validate an enterprise development model to create self-sustainable aquaculture enterprises.
The study was conducted in Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape Province on South Africa’s west coast. A multiple-case study approach was followed, focusing on the marine bivalve shellfish farming industry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the owners or managers of ten aquaculture enterprises in Saldanha Bay, and with nine representatives of key role players in the sector. Consultations with enterprise development experts and stakeholder focus groups were also conducted.
The mussel farming sector has a well-developed commercial value chain. Vertical integration is prominent, and 32% of farms have access to 51% of the farming area. Self-sustainable enterprises had minimum farm sizes of 15 ha, produced for at least 5 years, had a commercial focus and strong leadership. In-depth analysis of four case studies indicated success factors as having commercial focus, good management and leadership, access to finance, economies of scale, and perseverance.
Key aquaculture stakeholders had positive and negative impacts on aquaculture sector development. Role players listed the main impacts as the approach to enterprise development (56%), community-based/co-operative ventures (67%) and impacts of different mandates (44%). Enterprise respondents listed community-based/co-operative ventures (50%), impacts of different mandates (40%) and the enabling environment (60%). Recommendations include resourcing of aquaculture industry associations, developing a focused aquaculture enterprise and supplier development (ESD) strategy and programme, streamlining application processes, and finalising the Oceans Economy Master Plan, to include aquaculture specific legislation. Both enterprise and role player respondent groups described critical success factors as environmentally sustainable farming (80% and 78%), addressing economic challenges/opportunities (90% and 89%) and good business leadership and management (100% each). Recommendations include a focused aquaculture development programme such as an incubator, a market development mechanism and an integrated research and development programme.
Enterprise respondents listed the main areas of COVID-19 impacts on operations and production (100%), requirements to survive and rebuild (89%), factors promoting resilience (78%) and initiatives to prepare and rebuild (67%). Role player respondents listed impacts on the sector (100%), requirements to survive (89%), factors promoting resilience (78%) and support measures (67%). Recommendations include interventions to rebuild a more resilient sector, follow-up assessments, prioritising interventions for surviving enterprises, and developing an industry-based Business Continuity Strategy.
The key factors affecting mussel production were a supportive regulatory framework, favourable environmental and economic conditions, appropriate species and technologies, and efficient farm and enterprise management. Challenges affecting these factors were identified and used to develop an aquaculture enterprise development model (AEDM) that could develop self-sustainable enterprises. The AEDM includes a vision for the sector, a mechanism for implementation, an aquaculture incubator, an integrated research and development programme, and a market development mechanism. The study recommends the implementation of a pilot AEDM in the Saldanha Bay Aquaculture Development Zone (ADZ). This will allow for testing of assumptions and refining of the model before rolling it out to other ADZs or industries.
A complexity approach to the incipient sign system of Zephaniah in the 1983 Afrikaans bible translation
(University of the Free State, 2022) de Villiers, Francois Tertius; Naudé, Jacobus A.; Miller-Naudé, Cynthia L.
Traditionally a translation is considered to be the result of the interaction between only two elements – the source text and the target text, each defined as being a single text. From the perspective of complexity, the current study argues that the source of a translation should not be viewed as just one text. The current study demonstrates that a translation emerges from a complex source that consists of various elements such as various texts and other factors. These could include other translations apart from the source text that translators consulted.
The current study uses the Book of Zephaniah in the Afrikaans Bible Translation of 1983 as an example to detect instances where the translators deviated from their source text. Using principles of Descriptive Translation Studies, the current study compares the translation to its explicitly stated source text (i.e. 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘰𝘧 1977). 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘢 is a scholarly edition of the Hebrew Bible that contains a critical Hebrew text based on 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘹 𝘓𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 supplemented by a text critical apparatus. Using principles of Descriptive Translation Studies, the translation was compared to its source text to determine the translators’ translation strategies. Describing translation strategies revealed that translators used the strategies of addition, deletion, specification, and transposition. In cases where the Hebrew source text of 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘢 was problematic, the translators sometimes deviated from their source text by following neither the Hebrew text nor the text critical apparatus. In such instances, the translators were forced to base their translation on sources beyond their stated source text; at least some of these additional sources can be identified. This study thus demonstrates the presence of a complex source for the Afrikaans 1983 translation of the Bible in particular, but it also has implications for Bible translations in general.
Exploring edamame survival mechanisms under combined drought and heat stress: photosynthesis efficiency and carbohydrate accumulation
(Elsevier, 2024) Hlahla, Jeremiah M.; Mafa, Mpho S.; van der Merwe, Rouxléne; Moloi, Makoena J.
The combined drought and heat (DH) stress have devastating effects on plant physiological and biochemical processes, leading to poor yield. The aims of this study were to identify the physio-biochemical mechanisms employed by edamame (Glycine max L. Merrill) for survival and to establish better performing cultivars under DH stress. The impact of DH stress on the photosynthesis efficiency and osmolytes production in three edamame cultivars (UVE14, UVE17 and AGS429) was investigated. Non-destructive measurements were performed to determine the photosynthesis attributes, while pigments, non-structural carbohydrates (starch, glucose, sucrose, trehalose) and proline were extracted and quantified spectrophotometrically. The results showed that chlorophyll a (Chl-a), Chl-b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids in AGS429 were not affected under DH stress, which corresponded to increased normalised difference vegetative index (NDVI). Positive correlations between the carotenoids and total chlorophyll contents suggest that in AGS429, prevention of chlorophyll degradation under DH stress could be attributed to the increased carotenoids because they have antioxidative function. Additionally, AGS429 and UVE14 had increased trehalose, suggesting high osmotic adjustment under DH stress. An increase in starch production maintained glucose balance in AGS429 and UVE14, demonstrating higher photosynthetic efficiency compared to UVE17. The DH stress reduced photochemical reactions and carbohydrate accumulation in UVE17. This study shows that AGS429 and UVE14 protected the photosystems and photosynthetic pigments during DH stress, which led to higher photosynthetic capacity and accumulation of carbohydrates. Thus, maintaining the photosynthesis efficiency and carbohydrate metabolism processes in the AGS429 and UVE14 were adaptation features under DH stress.
A systematic literature review on transparency in executive remuneration disclosures and their determinants
(MDPI, 2024) Siwendu, Tando O.; Ambe, Cosmas M.
There are ongoing debates globally regarding excessive executive compensation, the perceived weak link between pay and performance, and the widening inequality gap. The South African corporate governance code King IV’s Principle 14 addresses the need for fair, responsible, and transparent remuneration. At the same time, the newly enacted Companies Amendment Act No. 16 of 2024 in South Africa emphasizes transparency in compensation, shareholder voting, and responding to shareholder feedback. This study conducts a systematic literature review of 30 articles on the transparency of executive remuneration disclosures and their determinants by analyzing Scopus-indexed articles published between 2010 and 2023, selected through specific keyword searches. The findings suggest an increasing focus on research regarding the disclosure of executive compensation, predominantly conducted in the Global North and primarily framed through agency theory. Studies exploring the factors influencing executive remuneration and the relationship between pay and performance are prevalent, with mixed results generally indicating a positive connection. Firm size emerges as a key factor in transparency, and many studies employ binary scoring to evaluate whether executive compensation disclosure is present. This paper provides valuable insights for investors, analysts, and policymakers and adds to the current understanding of executive remuneration transparency.
COVID-19 pandemic in schools: an exploration of the self-efficacy of beginner teachers in Qwaqwa
(Noyam Publishers, 2022) Ndabankulu, Amanda; Muller, Marguerite; Tsotetsi, Cias T.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, schools in South Africa would have lost a considerable percentage of the annual school curriculum by the end of the lockdown. The Department of Basic Education had to work out plans for curriculum recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed plan was to gradual reopening schools using the “Phasing in Approach”. This study explored the Self-Efficacy of beginner teachers in Qwaqwa schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Informed by Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, we used the qualitative research approach and generated data through semi-structured interviews. The telephonic interviews were conducted in two different phases; the first (T1) was in January 2021, and the second (T2) was in August 2021. We interviewed 5 participants of beginner teachers in the Qwaqwa town of the Thabo-Mofutsanyane district. The finding showed that beginner teachers had very high levels of self-efficacy, as they were able to face the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some identified challenges had many classes to teach, and the curriculum coverage was disturbed. On a positive note, the class size was reduced. This study recommended that the Department of Basic Education attend to the issues of overcrowding in schools and the lack of sources, especially in rural schools, as these were the main challenges of beginner teachers. This paper contributes to the existing literature on how beginner teachers’ self-efficacy helped them overcome challenges during the pandemic.
(De)colonising outcomes of community participation – a South African ethnography of ‘ethics in practice’
(SAGE Publications, 2022) Brear, Michelle R.; Tsotetsi, Cias T.
Theoretically, community participation decolonises research ethics in settings where a ‘coloniality of power’ persists. We used ethnographic methods to document our experiences of ‘ethics in practice’, and interrogate the (de)colonising outcomes, of community participation in voluntary informed assent and consent (VIAC) procedures with 16–17-year-old Black South African youth and parents. Community participation decolonised by: (1) disrupting and problematising the power dynamics of written VIAC procedures and (2) minimally shifting power to youth and parents. However, community participation sometimes reinforced existing power hierarchies. In postcolonial qualitative research settings, community participation has potential to, but will not necessarily, decolonise ethics in practice.
Causes of the alarming rise of false sexual allegations against teachers in South African schools
(Institute of Managing and Publishing of Scientific Journals STKIP Singkawang, 2022) Madonsela, Thobile Perseverance; Omodan, Bunmi Isaiah; Tsotetsi, Cias T.
False sexual allegations against teachers have contributed to teachers leaving the profession early and a decline in males choosing the profession. The main focus of this study was to investigate learners' false allegations of sexual misconduct against teachers. This study was underpinned by Fabricated Rape Theory and adopted qualitative methodology data through semi-structured interviews. Four teachers, one deputy principal, and one principal making six participants in the South district of the Gauteng province of South Africa were selected using convenient selection methods. The collected data were analysed using the Thematic Analysis method, which enables the researcher to respond to the study's objectives one after the other. The study revealed that fear, emotional neglect, and revenge contribute to false sexual allegations against teachers and that the maintenance of professional conduct among teachers and policy change are the possible solutions. Therefore, the study recommends that students should be provided with adequate orientation and re-orientation about the implication of false allegations, that teachers should always maintain good conduct, and that there should be an improvement in school policies and code of conduct to include punishable consequences for false accusations.
Mentor-mentee experiences amidst COVID-19: a teaching practice case study
(OpenED Network, 2021) Tsotetsi, Cias t.; Mile, Selloane A.
Preparing student teachers for the world of work is seen globally as a challenge. This research aims to explore mentors and mentees experiences in teaching practice during the COVID-19 period. In order to explore the challenge in this study, the following research question guided the paper: What are the teaching practice experiences of mentors and mentees at a school during COVID-19? The research question is a result of limited research done on the experiences of two groups during COVID-19. Informed by the realist social theory, we generated data via telephonic interviews with mentors and mentees in one school. The data was generated through semi-structured Interviews and thematic analysis was a method employed in the analysis of the data. The results present challenges experienced by mentees which, amongst others, include a feeling of inadequacy or a lack of confidence in their abilities to bring about order to the classroom and a feeling of being excluded in meetings and extra-curricular activities. On the other hand, mentors receive mentees without any prior warning or without arrangements made to accommodate them and the absence of the university officials except for assessment. Based on the results, a collaborative approach should be employed to deal with some of the challenges experienced by mentors and mentees.
Managing the culture of COVID-19 "New Normal" as a motivation for university students in South Africa
(OpenED Network, 2021) Omodan, Bunmi I.; Tsotetsi, Cias T.; Ige, Olugbenga A.
The advent of COVID-19 and its implication on university education has been the bone of contention in recent times. The COVID-19 emergency has led to a change in knowledge inputs, processes, and outputs. This trajectory has demotivated student approaches to their learning. In response to this revolution, this study provides motivational strategies through students' perspectives to respond to the underside of new normal among South African university students. Ubuntu underpins the study within the Transformative Paradigm lens and Participatory Research as a research design. Ten students of a particular module in a selected university in South Africa were chosen to participate in the study. They were selected using the snowballing sampling technique because the participants were under level 3 lockdown with little or no access to campus at the time of the study. Online interview via phone calls, email and WhatsApp, was conducted with the students, and the data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The study revealed a lack of visualised physical engagement between students and their lecturers and unstable internet access and lack of the internet as the major challenges. The study, therefore, recommends solutions that there should be adequate provision of effective online audio-visual sessions with enough space for student-lecturer’s interactions and low-tech online sessions and content deliveries.