Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

M.A. (Social Work) / Assistance with a disability grant has made a number of positive contributions, especially to improving the life of its beneficiaries. In addition to the increasing number of job demands by a multitude of people in the country, there are also thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS who apply, especially those who have no income, for a disability grant to meet their basic needs and promote positive health. Throughout the study, it has been identified that the disability grant not only benefits individual beneficiaries in most instances, but also benefits their families and plays a major role not only in ensuring food security, but is extended in meeting other basic needs of the households. By its nature, the disability grant is not permanent social assistance as beneficiaries only qualify for a period ranging from six to 12 months. The cancellation of the grant also leaves the beneficiaries in a vulnerable condition as on cancellation, some beneficiaries are not in a position to provide for themselves financially. For the purpose of the study, purposive sampling was selected for its convenience in getting information relevant to the study. The study was guided by its goal which was to explore the need for developmental programmes for HIV positive disability grant applicants, with the purpose of improving food security and self-reliance. The objectives of the study included the interrogation of grantees on their desire, or not, to be self-reliant, to solicit their ideas for developmental programmes, to consult with social workers who are experienced in the field of Antiretroviral (ARV) intervention on alternative developmental programmes for disability grant re-applicants, and to make recommendations to social workers regarding appropriate developmental programmes for disability grant re-application. Practically, South Africa has no alternative assistance which will ensure continuous food security once the grant has lapsed. This raises a need for initiatives to address this situation as it was discovered that disability grant beneficiaries feel that they can participate in income-generating activities and thereby take more control of their lives and be economically sufficient. Other factors that were identified included a will to change and self-determination. These factors were therefore identified as better tools to be utilised and invested in to encourage them to do things for themselves, as meeting their basic needs is their individual responsibility, especially in cases where the individual‟s medical condition has improved. These interventions need to consider the socio-economic factors of the grant applicants as services provided to them should not treat other factors in isolation since the focus has been on medical aspects; hence assistance with disability grants is only provided when they cannot provide for themselves due to poor health and poor physical strength.

Goats significantly contribute towards the subsistence, economic and social livelihoods of many resource-poor farmers in developing countries, the majority of which own goats. There, however, is dearth of information on communal goat production potential and roles to the rural populace. The broad objective of the study was to evaluate production practices, constraints, production efficiency and to determine nutritional and health status of goats raised by resource-poor communal farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Roles and management systems of goats, goat flock dynamics and, prevalence and loads of gastrointestinal infections and the nutritional status of goats in the study areas were determined. The relationships among body weight, body condition score, faecal egg counts and, haematological and biochemical profiles were also determined. Mean goat flock sizes per household were similar between the two districts studied; Amatole (14.0 ± 0.31) and Alfred Nzo (14.1 ± 1.42). Seventy-nine percent of households in Amatole and 78% in Alfred Nzo kept goats for ceremonies, such as the initiation ceremonies. Goat houses in the two districts were poorly constructed. Thirty two percent of farmers in Alfred Nzo district and 27% in Amatole district reported low buck to doe ratios, suggesting that inbreeding might have been reducing productivity of their flocks. Kid mortality had two major peaks; in May (21%) and in September (21%). Goat production potential (GPP), the proportion of mature and growing goats to the total flock size, was affected by gender of owner of goats. Goats owned by female had a significantly lower GPP value of 0.63 ± 0.015 than goats owned by male farmers (0.70 ± 0.010). Month also significantly affected GPP with the highest (P < 0.05) GPP recorded in May, June and July and the lowest in March and April. Village affected GPP with values for Nkosana and Qawukeni being significantly higher than for Mankone. Goat production potential was also higher (P < 0.05) in small flocks (0.04 ± 0.008) than in large flocks (0.02 ± 0.008). Goat production efficiency (GPE) ranged from 0.11 ± 0.193 in April to 1.55 ± 0.193 in December. The most prevalent gastrointestinal eggs were the strongyle egg type (68.4 ± 8.49 in Qawukeni and 96.1 ± 12.01 in Nkosana) followed by coccidia (53.3 ± 8.76 in Qawukeni and 68.8 ± 8.00 in Mankone). The other identified nematodes were Strongyloides and Trichostrongylus egg types. The trematodes observed were Fasciola and Paramphistomum species. High loads of strongyle eggs were observed in the hot-wet season and the post-rainy season, whilst the other egg types showed a peak in the hot-wet season only. For most of the gastrointestinal parasite eggs, prevalence was higher (P < 0.05) in the sour rangeland compared to the sweet rangeland. Higher (P < 0.05) levels of total protein (TP), globulin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatinine kinase (CK) levels were recorded in the wet than in the dry season. Body condition scores were positively correlated (P < 0.05) to albumin, body weight and packed cell volume. However, body condition scores were negatively correlated to TP, glucose, alanine transaminase (ALT) and AST. Strongyle egg loads were positively correlated to FAMACHA scores, packed cell volume, body weight and body condition score. The observed high globulin levels suggested a chronic health challenge. Thus, it is fundamental to devise affordable interventions for the control of gastrointestinal parasites in communal goats leading to improved goat productivity and hence rural livelihood

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Com. (Economics) / The objective of this dissertation was to examine the desirability or not of the local processing of South Africa's gold into jewellery as an instrument for the extension of the life of the gold mining industry. The South African gold mining industry derives its significance not only from its importance as the source of 52 per cent of the country's foreign exchange receipts and a major consumer of labour, agricultural and industrial products, water and electricity, but also from the fact that it is the only long- term future source of gold for the world's jewellery manufacturing industry. The rapidly rising working costs since the early seventies was only neutralised for a few 'years by the increase in the gold price. The decline in profitability since the early eighties as a result of the continuation of the cost escalation and the falling gold price, forced the industry into a prolonged consolidation phase. Measures taken to address its rapidly declining economic position include severe cutbacks in its labour force, the closing down of marginal sections and curtailing expenditure on exploration activities.

M.Com. (Business Economics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (MMENVC) Wits Business School, 2016 / In order for developing countries like South Africa to not only compete in business at an international level, but to also establish a sustained competitive advantage in this increasingly integrated global business economy, a radical change in thinking is required. Technological innovation, knowledge and its application, which holistically explains an enterprise‟s technological innovation capability, are absolutely essential for modern firms looking to develop strategic and operational prowess on a global scale. Research in this field has largely highlighted the lack of technological innovation capabilities in developing regions around the world, and more recently the need for nations and firms to increasingly invest heavily in fostering technological innovation as a means for national economic growth. The same notion goes for the practice of corporate entrepreneurship, which has been internationally recognised as an integral aspect of firm survival, growth and relevance in all sectors and industries around the world. However, while several researchers agree that the relationship between technological innovation capabilities and corporate entrepreneurship is not clear, it is also vague as to the effect this relationship consequently has on organisational performance. Therefore, this research aims to delineate these relationships, specifically between technological innovation capabilities and corporate entrepreneurship, between technological innovation capabilities and organisational performance, between corporate entrepreneurship and organisational performance and through these constructs, shed some light on the investment capability of firms in these concepts in the context of the South African Media and Entertainment Industry. The research looks at the seven dimensions of technological innovation capabilities, the four dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship and a minor dimension on investment capability, all in relation to firm performance. This research employs both a regression and multi-correlation analysis to demonstrate the relationships between the two constructs and their individual relationships to firm performance. / GR2018

Thesis (M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2017 / The past decade has seen increasing attention given to the process termed ‘financialisation’ within the socio-political and economic literature. Despite the existence of robust macroeconomic literature, there is still a deficiency of firm-level studies on how financialisation takes root, particularly in developing countries. This paper contributes here by examining two agricultural firms within South Africa. South Africa is of particular heuristic value as it has a very advanced financial industry comparatively, and its agricultural industry has undergone very dramatic changes since the adoption of free-market policies in 1994. The study finds that the experience of financialisation remains variegated in South African agriculture. It does not support the view that financialisation is simply the ‘return of the rentier class’, instead illustrating how the changing role of the financial industry has had varied, though not insignificant effects on individual firms. It also confirms microeconomic linkages between liberalization and financialisation (previously identified on a macroeconomic level) as well confirming the importance of banks and ownership structures in facilitating financialisation. / GR2018

M.Comm. / The development of aviation in the 20th century presented a new mode of transportation within South Africa. Soon it was recognised that air transportation would play an important role in the development of South Africa, as the country was ideally suited to it due to favourable weather conditions and relatively long distances between larger community settlements. Air transportation also presented a new form of competition to an existing mode of transport - railways. The interest of the public in air transportation was soon recognised and control applied in various forms. These included legislation, regulations, conditions to licenses as well as contractual provisions of agreements. Two forms of control over air transport developed, namely: air navigational (or technical and operational) aspects; and economical / commercial aspects.

Technology enables progress for individuals and organisations; however, adopting technology may not always be simple. Cloud computing technology has revolutionised how one consumes IT. Governments too can leverage the advantages of adopting cloud computing. A review of the literature reveals a gap in research on the adoption of cloud computing by the South African public sector. Limited research has been done on the topic of cloud computing and none of them are from a quantitative perspective. This study set out to answer the question, “What is the extent (current state, benefits, barriers and readiness levels) of the adoption of cloud computing by the South Africa public sector?” The study is of much value to the public sector of South Africa and other countries and organisations wanting to understand what to consider when adopting cloud computing. The study used a survey research strategy that was exploratory in nature. The sample comprised government CIO’s and government Senior IT management. Questionnaires were sent via a web link and 51 responses were completed. The results revealed that more than half of the South African public sector has adopted cloud computing; however there is a lack of visibility of government initiatives that promote cloud computing. The study shows that public organisations that have adopted cloud computing significantly perceive more benefits of cloud computing than organisations that are yet to adopt. The Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) framework tested the barriers to adoption, revealing areas of concern that are limiting successful cloud computing adoption and adoption rates. The study uncovers a timeline for further cloud computing adoption in the South African public sector.