Magister Commercii - MCom / Middle managers play an important role in contemporary organisations, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Research on middle managers in a HEI environment suggests that their roles, work practice and identities are under-researched. Middle managers occupy a central position in organisational hierarchies where they are responsible for implementing senior management plans. In HEIs in SA academic middle managers/heads of departments (HODs) face many challenges that are not commonly found in conventional organisations. In this qualitative study the contribution is based on the participants’ experiences in relation to an increasingly diverse workload and responsibilities. Using a fluid conceptualisation of identity and subjectivity, the researcher argues that academic middle managers are engaged in ethical and political practices through demands in the workplace. Drawing on theories on ethics put forward by Foucault, Levinas & Critchley, various aspects of ethics of ‘the self’ and ethics of ‘the other’ in relation to academic middle managers’ identities and practices are discussed. A case study was used with a cross-sectional research design to gather the data on academic middle managers in a single faculty in a South African HEI. Information gathered particularly focussed on the implementation of ethical practices. The findings show that middle managers’ work practices were dependent on their ethical goals and aspirations.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / It is often contended that many barriers deter women from reaching the academic ladder in terms of hierarchy. Publication records are important in promotion criterion to become Professors, it is therefore imperative that females become engage in academic activity for their successful progression and recognition in the academia. This can be achieved through the extension of strategies and practices that women use to attain Professorship. Against this background, this study examined possible challenges female Professors encounter within their Departments, Faculties, and the Institution. The study explores qualitative research method within a feminist paradigm, face to face in-depth interview with academic female Professors was administered to get an insight and understand their experiences; how they cope with such challenges; policies that promotes gender equality and institutional responses to these challenges. The findings to this study revealed that networking groups amongst women where they are able to share their challenges are not available. In addition, the university does not have policies that support females in general and Professors in particular in their struggle to combine their personal and academic role. The study therefore recommends a strong need for a networking group amongst females and female Professors to assist each other; future studies that will include female black Professors, and institutional intervention in terms of policies that would develop and support academic females in their publishing at UWC.

With globalisation and the rise of the knowledge economy, there has been an increase in demand for higher education worldwide, which has resulted in the proliferation of private higher education institutions (PHEIs). Within this context, issues of quality and quality assurance processes, guided by national policies and frameworks, have become increasingly important. In South Africa, programme accreditation is one form of external quality assurance. Literature reveals several gaps in the understanding of the management of quality assurance in the private higher education sector, and the topic of programme accreditation in relation to PHEIs in South Africa has received scant attention. The research question for this study was: How do PHEIs manage quality assurance as they engage in the process of programme accreditation in South Africa? Exploratory, qualitative research methodology was deemed the most appropriate for this study and twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with quality assurance managers at ten PHEIs in Gauteng. The conceptual framework, adapted from Zaki and Zaki Rashidi (2013), lists eight parameters relevant to the management of quality assurance within PHEIs in South Africa. The findings of this study indicate a general lack of sound governance and management structures at PHEIs, an absence of institutional capacity, and academic leadership that is often deficient. The availability of relevant higher education resources within PHEIs remains a challenge. Concerning external quality assurance, the complexity of quality assurance and higher education legislation and various process-based challenges are some of the most common barriers for South African PHEIs. Recommendations are presented. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / M Ed / unrestricted

With globalisation and the rise of the knowledge economy, there has been an increase in demand for higher education worldwide, which has resulted in the proliferation of private higher education institutions (PHEIs). Within this context, issues of quality and quality assurance processes, guided by national policies and frameworks, have become increasingly important. In South Africa, programme accreditation is one form of external quality assurance. Literature reveals several gaps in the understanding of the management of quality assurance in the private higher education sector, and the topic of programme accreditation in relation to PHEIs in South Africa has received scant attention. The research question for this study was: How do PHEIs manage quality assurance as they engage in the process of programme accreditation in South Africa? Exploratory, qualitative research methodology was deemed the most appropriate for this study and twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with quality assurance managers at ten PHEIs in Gauteng. The conceptual framework, adapted from Zaki and Zaki Rashidi (2013), lists eight parameters relevant to the management of quality assurance within PHEIs in South Africa. The findings of this study indicate a general lack of sound governance and management structures at PHEIs, an absence of institutional capacity, and academic leadership that is often deficient. The availability of relevant higher education resources within PHEIs remains a challenge. Concerning external quality assurance, the complexity of quality assurance and higher education legislation and various process-based challenges are some of the most common barriers for South African PHEIs. Recommendations are presented. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Problem Statement: The implementation and use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has been ascribed as a transformative drive across the world, especially to improve the human capacity development of individuals in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). However, developing countries are still struggling to harness the productive capacity of their ICT resources. The ICT index of ‘access, use and skills’ in developing countries is less than 50%, whilst that for developed countries is above 75%. Whilst HEIs have incorporated ICTs, the uptake of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) is low, with the expected objectives remaining largely unachieved and the full potential of the technologies not realised. A myriad of challenges have contributed to the low uptake of ICT projects in resource-limited settings ranging from limited ICT expertise, cost and complexity of implementation, inadequate training, lack of top management support, poor organisational culture, limited infrastructure and resistance to change. Whilst these challenges play a significant role in limiting uptake, the role of user resistance to LMS implementation in HEIs has not been fully explored. Purpose of study: This study offered an explanatory critique of user resistance and its implications on low uptake of LMS in HEIs. The objective was to examine how resistance behaviours manifested from lecturers during implementation of an LMS in an HEI of a developing country context. The study identified different forms of lecturer resistance behaviours and examined how they manifested to cause low uptake of the LMS. It also analysed the nature of responses and/or strategies from management and ICT implementers towards the lecturer resistance behaviours during LMS implementation. Furthermore, the study examined how contextual factors influenced manifestation of resistance practices in relation to habitus, capital and field positions of lecturers, management and ICT implementers. Research methodology: The study adopted an interpretive research paradigm and drew on Bourdieu`s Theory of Practice (TOP) framework and the Multilevel Model of Resistance to Information Technology Implementation (MRITI) as theoretical lens, to analyse the manifestation, interaction and logic of user resistance towards LMS implementation in HEIs. The study analysed data from semi-structured interviews and project documents to highlight issues of incorporating ICTs into teaching and learning. More data and field notes came from participant observations during the implementation of the LMS (Moodle). The case of Omega University in Zimbabwe was used as a representation of an HEI in a developing country context. Key findings: User resistance affected the implementation and uptake of Moodle. The different forms of resistance behaviours that manifested from lecturers during Moodle implementation were disinterest, minimal use, refusal to use, pessimism, withdrawal, avoidance, prioritisation and delegation. The forms were classified into four episodes; apathy, passive resistance, covert resistance and active resistance. Aggressive forms of resistance were not found in this study. Delegation of responsibilities was a unique form in that it falsified and misrepresented acceptance of Moodle despite harbouring resistance tendencies; like two sides of the same coin. Resistance behaviours manifested during Moodle implementation due to initial conditions that interacted with objects and triggers of resistance to generate perceived threats in lecturers. Initial conditions were Omega`s management model, its ICT structure and ICT culture, whilst the objects of lecturer`s resistance were mostly towards ‘Moodle advocates’ and less towards ‘Moodle features’ or ‘Moodle significance’. Therefore, lecturer resistance behaviours were directed towards external rather than internal factors with regard to the LMS. The triggers of lecturer resistance were grouped into management, infrastructure and personal triggers. Perceived threats from lecturers were either fear of loss of relevance, status, jobs or increased workloads. The positive responses and/or strategies from management and ICT implementers were acknowledgment, reward innovation, rectification, effective training and user consultations, whilst the negative responses were inaction, dissuasion, enforcement, no reward for innovation, ineffective training, and absence of change management. Due to other underlying contextual factors, the nature of these responses neither reduced lecturer resistance nor enhanced the low uptake of Moodle. Contextual factors in form of differences in habitus and forms of capital influenced lecturer resistance as well as practices of management and ICT implementers during Moodle implementation. Lecturer resistance was caused by the following habitus: prior exposure to technology, age-related habitus, technophobia and pedagogical beliefs and the following forms of capital: qualifications, position, academic titles and employment status. The practices of management and ICT implementers were driven by the habitus of implementing, supporting, training of ICT projects, providing ICT infrastructure as well as developing and enforcing ICT policies. The following forms of capital motivated management and ICT implementers` practices: prestige, honour, level of Moodle expertise and university positions. Contribution of the study: The study contributed to knowledge, theory and practice. First, the study provided a deeper conceptualisation of user resistance towards the implementation of ICT projects and suggested theoretical propositions to explain how lecturer resistance manifested during the implementation of LMS in HEIs. Second, the study developed a unified conceptual framework by integrating Bourdieu`s TOP and MRITI to explain resistance practices during LMS implementation in HEIs. Third, the study provided recommendations for managers and ICT implementers in Zimbabwean HEIs and similar contextual settings, to address user resistance issues by creating effective responses and strategies aimed at improving the design, implementation and uptake of LMS in HEIs. Additionally, recommendations were provided for HEIs who wish to achieve ‘technological determinism’ and/or ‘techno-centrism’, to implement policies that equip intended technology users with all the knowledge components of TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge). Finally, technology implementers should resolve exogenous issues in the institution before system implementation to avoid users directing focus on endogenous factors. This intervention and understanding may lead to the realisation of the full potential of ICT projects and achievement of expected objectives in HEIs of developing countries.

Mozambique academic libraries are quite vulnerable in hybrid collection development for various reasons. In the process of collection development, physical collections have dominated the Mozambican libraries’ scene because they can acquire printed materials relatively easily. Digital materials, on the other hand, have caused difficulties due to the costs of subscribing to databases and poor technological infrastructure generated by insufficient resources. This work aims to understand the strategies followed by the libraries of Mozambican higher education institutions for the development of their hybrid collections, and to highlight the acquisition patterns, trends of integration of the collections and general challenges they face in this area. To answer the research questions, we have conducted the literature review and collected empirical data from university library documents and through semi-structured interviews with librarians responsible for collection development in three universities. The research adopted a qualitative study method and investigated three university libraries in Mozambique. As a result, we have identified collection development strategies used for the development of hybrid collections. These are partly overlapping as they must help to solve similar problems, and some strategies are specific to a university, because of different conditions and opportunities. It was also realized that, despite the efforts of those university libraries, there is a general weakness in state funding. The influence of external investment proved to be a great positive differential in the working areas of the affected libraries. It was also found out that university libraries participate and use the potential of the Mozambican library consortium AMOBAP unequally and the integration of institutional repositories is not on the same stage among the libraries.

Masters of Commerce / Middle managers play an important role in contemporary organisations, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Research on middle managers in a HEI environment suggests that their roles, work practice and identities are under-researched. Middle managers occupy a central position in organisational hierarchies where they are responsible for implementing senior management plans. In HEIs in SA academic middle managers/heads of departments (HODs) face many challenges that are not commonly found in conventional organisations. In this qualitative study the contribution is based on the participants’ experiences in relation to an increasingly diverse workload and responsibilities. Using a fluid conceptualisation of identity and subjectivity, the researcher argues that academic middle managers are engaged in ethical and political practices through demands in the workplace. Drawing on theories on ethics put forward by Foucault, Levinas & Critchley, various aspects of ethics of ‘the self’ and ethics of ‘the other’ in relation to academic middle managers’ identities and practices are discussed. A case study was used with a cross-sectional research design to gather the data on academic middle managers in a single faculty in a South African HEI. Information gathered particularly focused on the implementation of ethical practices. The findings show that middle managers’ work practices were dependent on their ethical goals and aspirations. This is crucial to achieving success in a HEI. The findings indicate that many academic middle managers engaged with the multiple demands of their positions but attempted to form and shape their identities and practices in the higher education system in response to their own ethical value systems. Thus, academic middle managers created and fashioned new and personalised hybrid identities based on their ethical values to cope with multiple demands. The recommendation is that academic middle managers receive contemporary management training (such as intrapreneurship, leadership, management, administrative etc.) on how to cope and manage the multiple demands within a higher education environment. It is further recommended that they be given more space and freedom to rely on ethics in dealing with their functions rather than following strict guidelines on what they ought to do within their respective departments

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact leadership and teaching styles have on student engagement in higher education institutions in Sweden. Additionally, this study aims to examine how the Covid-19 pandemic and the emergence of digital technologies have impacted student engagement. Finally, we aim to provide recommendations for universities to enhance student engagement. Method: This thesis uses a qualitative method in the form of a case study and the primary data is collected through semi-structured interviews with a variety of students and teachers. To interpret and analyze the information we conducted a thematic analysis by coding all the necessary information.  Conclusion: It can be concluded that leadership styles and teaching styles significantly impact student engagement. Both the students and teachers showed that an interactive and variety of teaching methods in combination with feedback and an engaging leadership style keep the students motivated and engaged with their studies at university. Finally, the model related to student engagement seems to be relevant and provides a prompt visual representation that explains it rather accurately and is easy to understand.

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The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine the extent to which American colleges and universities utilize employee assistance programs (EAPs) to overcome faculty and non-faculty staff members' personal, social, and medical problems. The purpose of this study is to assess the employee assistance programs at institutions that were involved in a related 1979 study conducted by the University of Missouri, Columbia. This study reviews the content and process of the responding programs to determine the extent to which they provide for early recognition, treatment, and rehabilitation of employees for personal, social, and medical problems that potentially affect job performance. The direct outcome of this study is the development of an EAP model for use by higher education institutions.