Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) was formed in May 1998, to co-ordinate and provide leadership in communicating the message of government across all government functional disciplines. Initially its activities were implemented with resources of the disbanded South African Communication Services (SACS). Key findings * The GCIS's allocated budget was not linked to its own strategic priorities and operational plans. * The inherited staff of SACS had limited qualification to execute its key activities. * Budget motivations submitted for the subsequent years, were still using SACS's activities as a focal point and not the GCIS's priorities. * There were poor systems of managing and monitoring on a month to month basis the activities of the GCIS. Key recommendations * A newly created entity should have a strategic and an operational plan that will inform its zero based budgeting process. * Management involvement in the budgeting process and monitoring is critical. * The budgeting process should be preceded by an approved strategic plan and an operational plan. / Public Administration / (M.A (Public Administration))

Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) was formed in May 1998, to co-ordinate and provide leadership in communicating the message of government across all government functional disciplines. Initially its activities were implemented with resources of the disbanded South African Communication Services (SACS). Key findings * The GCIS's allocated budget was not linked to its own strategic priorities and operational plans. * The inherited staff of SACS had limited qualification to execute its key activities. * Budget motivations submitted for the subsequent years, were still using SACS's activities as a focal point and not the GCIS's priorities. * There were poor systems of managing and monitoring on a month to month basis the activities of the GCIS. Key recommendations * A newly created entity should have a strategic and an operational plan that will inform its zero based budgeting process. * Management involvement in the budgeting process and monitoring is critical. * The budgeting process should be preceded by an approved strategic plan and an operational plan. / Public Administration and Management / (M.A (Public Administration))

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts by Research (Development Studies), August, 2017 / In this master’s dissertation report, I explore how the National Union of Small-scale Farmers of Mozambique (UNAC) transnationalised its activism through its membership to La Via Campesina (LVC), covering the period between 2004 and 2014, to understand the nature of transnational activism of national peasant movement organisations. I identify the factors behind national peasant movement organisations embarking on transnational activism, the structure put in place to secure their transnational activism and the possible opportunities and threats transnational activism poses to their national mandate. I applied ethnography and more concretely Michael Burawoy’s approach to the extended case method to reconstruct (by extending) neo-Marxist approaches to the study of peasantry, peasant movements and social movements in general. Based on a qualitative approach to the data collected, the research conducted documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with relevant actors. Results suggest that peasants’ national movement organisations transnationalise part of their activism through joining an already transnational peasant’s movement organisation by adopting and campaigning for its political themes, building transnational peasant activists, and by practising transnational solidarity. Results also suggest that national peasant movement organisations transnationalise their activism precisely because they share a common interest of fighting capitalism with the movement organisation they affiliate with, they seek to expand their political messages and because they are looking for international solidarity. Added to this, results show that this type of transnational activism does not necessarily require specific administrative structures and does not pose major threats to the national mandate of national peasant movement organisations. More importantly, results suggest re-theorising the neo-Marxists’ approach to social movements by accommodating transnational agency of national peasant movement organisations. / XL2018

D. Tech. Computer Science and Data Processing (Business Information Systems) / The research examined the interplay between actors in the deployment of shared telecommunication infrastructures such as broadband. The study was conducted from a social context perspective, in three-fold. This includes understanding of sharing telecommunication infrastructures in rural areas; investigation of the influencing factors; and the roles of the community members. The analysis and interpretation of the empirical data revealed that the interaction amongst actors, which manifests from processes, politics and legislation are critical in the deployment of shared telecommunication infrastructures in South Africa rural areas. Based on the findings from the study, a Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing framework was developed. The Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing framework is aimed at guiding shared broadband deployment in the rural areas of South Africa.

The visitor information centre (VIC) play a valuable role in the distribution of tourism-related information in most areas in South Africa that are frequented by tourists. They also provide a contact point for human interaction where trust can be built between the VIC staff and visitor, thereby making the destination a more worthwhile and valued experience. The main role of the VIC is to provide information in the form of knowledge also referred to as value-added information. Today, the VIC, as intermediary, could be left behind as the Internet (of which social media is part) has become a powerful source of information for tourists and marketing tool for hotels and tourist attractions without them having to spend millions of Rands on alternative marketing strategies. This study sought to establish whether VICs still have a role to play in the South African tourist industry with the increasing presence of social media. A mixed method research methodology was applied, combining both qualitative and quantitative techniques. In-depth interviews were conducted with the staff and managers of selected visitor information centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg, respectively. The interviews were transcribed and the findings are presented in Chapter 5. Questionnaires was distributed, online, to a sample of 200 visitors, using Qualtrics. Overall, the aim of the study is to furnish information about the value of VICs in the tourism industry, including the role played by demographics in respect of social media usage, in order to help improve the functioning of VICs as a knowledge base that adds value to the process of making South Africa one of the top 20 tourism destinations, globally, by 2020. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Tourism Management / MCom / Unrestricted

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for Masters in Management Sciences Specialising in Public Relations, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Communication is the life blood of the organisation. No business or institution develops in the absence of an effective communication system. Communication is essential to the delivery of information, creating awareness and ensuring public participation. Participatory communication, which focuses on the active involvement of the people in all stages, is crucial. When participating in local government, citizens should be knowledgeable and attempt to understand the system and its operations, and be aware of their rights and responsibilities. To be truly significant and meaningful, participation needs to be based on the application of genuine two-way communication principles and practices. This study aimed to do exactly that; investigate, explore and analyse the various external communication channels employed by the Mnquma Local Municipality (MLM) whilst evaluating their effectiveness given the challenging circumstances and environment of a rural community and constituency. In this study a descriptive design with a quantitative research methodological approach was used. Data was collected from 400 constituents, using a questionnaire. Most respondents admitted that the municipality does communicate with them in a language they understood and that the municipality encouraged communication participation; however they indicated a need for more face-to-face engagement, a robust community development worker (CDW) programme, and more councillor engagement. Challenges to effective communication were identified as the lack of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and the slow infiltration of technology in the area as well as delays in message delivery and that the municipality did not keep them informed. The demographics presented another unique challenge in that the literacy levels are low and poverty is rampant. / M

The adoption of wireless broadband technologies to provide network and Internet connectivity in rural communities has conveyed the possibility to overcome the challenges caused by marginalization and many other characteristics possessed by these rural communities. With their different capabilities, these technologies enable communication for rural communities internally within the community and externally on a global scale. Deployment of these technologies in rural areas requires consideration of different factors - these are in contrast, to those considered when deploying these technologies in non-rural, urban areas. Numerous research show consideration of facts for deployment of broadband technologies in urban/ non-rural environments and a little has been done in considering facts for deployment in rural environments. Hence this research aims to define guidelines for selection of broadband technologies and make recommendations on which technologies are suitable for deployment in rural communities, thereby considering facts that are true only within these rural communities. To achieve this, the research determines the metrics that are relevant and important to consider when deploying wireless broadband technology in rural communities of South Africa. It further undertakes a survey of wireless broadband technologies that are suitable for deployment in such areas. The study first profiles a list of wireless communication technologies, determines and documents characteristics of rural communities in Africa, determines metrics used to declare technologies feasible in rural areas. The metrics and rural characteristics are then used to identify technologies that are better suited than others. Informed by this initial profiling, one technology: mobile WiMAX is then selected for deployment and further evaluation. A technical review of mobile WiMAX is then carried out by deploying it at our research site in the rural, marginalized community of Dwesa (Eastern Cape, South Africa). The final section of this research provides recommendations that mobile WiMAX, LTE and Wi-Fi are the best suitable technologies for deployment in rural marginalized environments. This has been supported by extensive research and real life deployment of both Wi-Fi and mobile WiMAX. This research also recommends consideration of the following facts when seeking deployment of these technologies in rural communities: the geographical setting of the target terrain, the distances between sources and target customers and distances between target communities, weather conditions of the area, applications to be deployed over the network, social well-being of the community and their financial freedom as well.

The researcher is motivated by the numerous concerns raised by public officials in South Africa for an answer to performance management in the public service. There are numerous misconceptions in regard to performance management in public institutions. The objective of writing on this topic is to enlighten both the employer and employee of their obligations, rights and legal framework in the management of performance. The focus of the study is on the impact of performance management systems, the existence of training and development of staff as well as the availability of the physical resources on performance management. Poor management of performance translates into lost productivity, increased absenteeism, lower morale of employees and it further hampers service delivery. The study comprises of five chapters, containing the orientation of the study; literature review; research design and methodology; data analysis and results and summary, findings and recommendation, respectively. The instrument employed to gather data was applied in five divisions, and data was gathered from a sample of 39 out of a target population of 66 employees. / M. Admin. (HRM) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

D.Litt. et Phil. / The main objective of this study is to determine the role of the communications manager in the changing South African business environment and the compilation of a contextual sensitive generic framework of the required outputs for communications managers in South African organisations. With this objective in view, a comprehensive theoretical study has been conducted to determine the role of public relations as a organisational sub-system, based on the principles of the systems approach. The main inward and outward public relations functions and xv the role of the communications manager as cosmopolitan on the border between the organisation and the environment has thereafter been discussed. As a result thereof, it became apparent that an integrated approach to communications is central to the effectiveness of public relations in a dynamic business environment. The validity and approaches of existing models of public relations have been evaluated as a basis for the development of an integrated public relations model. The integrated communication approach to public relations suggests that public relations cannot function in isolation of the other sub-systems in the organisation and that the public relations function is directly influenced hereby. With the integrated communication approach as basis, the influence of change and the socioeconomic implications thereof for public relations in South Africa have been determined. The implications of the intended standardisation in terms of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), the state of professionalisation of the public relations profession in South Africa and the requirements for competence in communication, have been determined by means of an in-depth theoretical inquiry and discussions with enlightened individuals and institutions. As a result, a generic framework for communications management in the South African business environment has been compiled with a view to contribute to the determination of the requirements for public relations in terms of the essential outputs as will be defined by the NQF. In the final section the proposed generic framework has been empirically tested on the basis of personal interviews conducted with communications managers of thirty of the Top 100 organisations in South Africa. After the results have been analysed and the implications discussed, the conclusion was reached that the proposed contextual sensitive generic framework has succeeded in expressing the essential outputs, as defined in the existing business environment. The framework was then interpreted in accordance with the levels of work and the implications for the state of public relations, as well as for research in this area, pointed out. The study illustrates the importance of the role of communications management in the South African business environment and presents a valuable contribution by creating an output model as basis for the suggested standardisation in terms of the NQF.

A dissertation submitted in fulfilnent of the Requirements for the degree of D. Litt in Communication Science University of Zululand, 2002 / In this study I looked at the issue of the Afrikaans language, which is most often approached from a position of strong vested interest, either in support or against it. This study was intended as an intellectual response to an intensely debated issue. It is a survey of scholarly and tendentious reporting regarding the status of Afrikaans and the other official languages of South Africa. As we move into the 21st century the .Afrikaans language has once more moved into a position of status, not for ideological purposes but for practical communication. Previously it was associated with the struggle for survival, and with an image of kitchen patios. As it takes its rightful place in our multilingual country, one in which the playing fields are levelled for all indigenous languages, major processes in society will determine its future and to what extent Afrikaans would function as an African language. For this to happen the language has to create a survival niche for itself, on behalf of the other nine indigenous languages. As one of the official languages it needs to create a space beyond hegemony and social legislation. By ensuring that it is always 'ahead and to the side' (rather than "on the side') of English and the other nine languages, the Afrikaans language will experience a growth phase continuing to interrogate its own traditions where people are empowered to use the language of their choice. The Afrikaans language must not be continually punished for its perceived complicity in apartheid politics but should be protected and advanced with an overarching structure of multilingualism. The downgrading of Afrikaans has not affected the language adversely; on the contrary it has triggered stronger support from influential persons and the rest of the population. It has found a new identity and status alongside the other ten official languages. Each of these languages should be encouraged to flourish with political will and patience. Afrikaans has a significant role to play in the 'African Renaissance' and remain an important language of all South Africans. Its role as a South African language can be redefined in terms of the constitution. In the words of President Thabo Mbeki, "when the sun rises, it must show a rebirth of South Africa, driven by the enormous talents of all our people, and made possible by the knowledge and realisation that we share a common destiny. / National Research Foundation (NRF)