Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Colorado, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-245).

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes one special report study. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-150).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (DTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / The energy sector is fast nearing a tipping point of no turning back. Transitioning from fossil fuel to renewable energy holds both threats and opportunities for businesses across the world. Africa is a continent rich in natural resources. The World Bank predicts that by 2020 only four or five African countries will not be involved in mineral exploitation. However, the continent is in economic, political and social crises with the majority of Africans living in poverty. As an enabler of business, business expects information technology (IT) to support, grow and maintain their existing portfolio of IT products and services while at the same time innovate and build new IT competencies to respond rapidly to the transition towards renewable energy. But, IT leadership is blamed for being rigid and unable to service the evolving needs of their organisations. As a result, traditional management theory is failing IT leadership in responding to the rapid rate of change required for serving as an enabler and transformational agent for business in leveraging technology to create a competitive advantage. As an enabler of business, the rate of implementing new products and services has a direct impact on organisational competitiveness, something that traditional management theory does not provide for. Theory tells us what technical skills the IT department requires; it does not tell us what people skills are required. In addition, business managers in Africa need to develop the ability to integrate traditional and conventional management styles to resolve the unique challenges they face. The implementation of an effective and efficient IT department remains problematic for business and IT management as traditional management theory does not necessarily support the implementation of IT within organisations in the African Oil and Gas industry. This research explores the disconnect between traditional management theory and the way that IT implementation works within the African Oil and Gas industry. The study followed an inductive research approach. The research paradigm fluctuated between exploratory humanism and interpretivism. The African Oil and Gas industry presents the case study. A multistage mixed-model research design (a subset of mixed method research) was followed, combining quantitative data with qualitative data in order to add depth to the findings. The multistage mixed-model research design allowed for the collection and corroboration of data and enhanced the credibility of the study. This design was used to expand the qualitative and quantitative data collected by challenging the results from both methods.

D.Phil. / The aim of the study was to explore and understand the emerging leadership challenges in order to further enhance the development of leadership and management in the information technology industry in South Africa. A combined casing and life-story approach in this modernist qualitative research study was employed. Selective sampling, as described by Plummer (1983; 2001) as part of his critical humanistic approach, was employed to select the CEO, Mr X, from a particular South African information technology company. Data were obtained mainly from solicited sources, but also some that were unsolicited. This resulted in a life story containing rich descriptive data obtained at first hand from Mr X’s professional career and associated areas of his life. The life -story of this storyteller was organised manually as well as with the aid of ATLAS-Ti 5.0, a computer-based software package suitable for this type of study. The leadership landscape model of Veldsman (2004), a local expert in the area of leadership, together with key theoretical concepts found in the literature, were used to construct an enhanced leadership model. Appropriate qualitative guidelines were used to ensure a study that attends to both academic rigour and aesthetics. The resultant constructed leadership model offers important, if not unique, insights and findings regarding the leadership environment, individual psychosocial dynamics, competencies and capabilities, as well as leadership roles, modes, styles and processes that contribute to personal leadership effectiveness. The thesis illuminates and offers recommendations for a number of methodological and theoretical implications regarding local and global leadership studies, as well as for practice and policy regarding leadership and managerial development.

Modern organisations make substantial investments in Information Technology (IT). Corporate governance practices can no longer ignore the importance of effectively governing IT. Consequently, the third King Report on Corporate Governance (King III) makes specific provision for IT governance, which is implemented through the establishment of an IT governance framework. The purpose of this research is to develop a generic IT governance framework, suitable to any large South African organisation in the public or private sector. The literature considered for this research confirmed the extent of standards and practices available in support of IT governance, together with the roles and structures required to implement them. These included well-known publications such as COBIT, Prince2, ITIL and ISO/IEC27000. Based on the literature review, a theoretical Processes, Enablers and Structures (PES) IT Governance Framework was formulated. The framework was further explored by means of a survey of and structured interview with ten Chief Information Officers (CIOs) of South African organisations with a turnover in excess of R1bn per annum. The final PES IT Governance Framework comprises three dimensions, each of which contains a set of constituent components: • Processes: Strategic Alignment, Value Delivery, Resource Management, Risk Management and Performance Measurement. • Enablers: IT Sub Processes, Supporting Documentation, IT Control Framework, Technology Architecture, Desirable Practice, IT Portfolio Management and Regulation. • Structures: The Board, Office of the CIO, IT Steering Committee, Technology Architecture Forum, IT Programme Management Office and Information Security Organisation. As the number of regulatory requirements and associated compliance pressures grow, the importance of an effective IT governance framework also becomes more prominent. The PES IT Governance Framework offers a uniquely practical approach to addressing IT governance principles that are often regarded as abstract. The final PES IT Governance Framework provides clear guidance on how organisations could implement an IT governance framework, which addresses the strategic alignment of IT to business, value delivery by IT investments, IT risk management, IT resource management and IT performance measurement.

The purpose of this research was to identify factors that impact on tablet PC usage in low-income communities. In order to determine and identify these factors a main research question and sub-research questions were formulated. The primary research question of this study was "What factors impact on tablet PC usage in low-income communities?" This main research question was answered by creating three sub-research questions followed by triangulating the results from these questions. The first sub-research question was aimed at determining whether prior exposure to touch screen technology impacts the user experience. In order to reach this objective an extensive literature review was conducted on the tablet PC landscape in South Africa. This literature review, coupled with the case study helped answer this first research question. The second sub-research question was concerned with determining whether existing user experience guidelines are relevant to South African users. A thorough literature review was conducted on user experience guidelines and related studies. This literature review, together with the results from the case study helped answer this second research question. The third sub-research question involved identifying specific factors which help improve the user experience of tablet PC users in a specific context. This research question was addressed in the case study. Each sub-research question provided results which were analysed in order to answer the main research question. The factors which impact on tablet PC usage were thus identified and recommendations were proposed.