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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Identifying social entrepreneurial intent among students in South African universities

Wilton, Catherine January 2016 (has links)
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2016 / Social entrepreneurship is considered to be a practical way of solving global social challenges. Social entrepreneurs are considered to be change agents with a purpose of making a difference to those in need. Therefore, developing social entrepreneurship and potential social entrepreneurs should be encouraged and celebrated. This study aims to identify potential entrepreneurs in South Africa, by examining the intentions of students at universities in South Africa with regard to establishing a social venture. Empirical evidence suggests that motivational factors influencing behaviour can be summarised as intentions. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (1991) suggests that intentions are a prerequisite for entrepreneurial behaviour. This study presents an integrated model drawing on existing social intention-based models by Mair and Noboa (2003) and Ayob et al. (2013). The study seeks to establish the significance of relationships between antecedents (empathy, exposure and selfefficacy) and perceived feasibility and desirability and their influence on social entrepreneurial intentions. In order to analyse the hypothesised relationships in the proposed model, Structural Equation Modelling was conducted, based on 171 respondents. The findings of the study indicate that only empathy and exposure as antecedents to perceived feasibility had positive and significant relationships. The relationships between the antecedents of empathy, exposure and self-perceived desirability were insignificant. Surprisingly, the relationship between self-efficacy and perceived feasibility in this study was non-significant. Social entrepreneurship has the potential to solve the challenging social problems currently facing South Africa. Because of this, a study to determine the elements that motivate Social Entrepreneurship Intentions is invaluable. The study should provide some guidance in promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship through various interventions (Malebana, 2014). / MT2016
2

Social work education : critical imperatives for social change.

Harms Smith, Linda 23 July 2013 (has links)
Hegemonic discourses and ideologies of social work in South Africa, arose from the racist capitalism of colonialism and apartheid. Imperatives for social justice and social change therefore require that social work education reflect on and develop discourses of radical and critical knowledge and practice. The main aim of the study was to explore the extent to which South African social work knowledge and education, as reflected in various formal and narrative discourses, meets critical imperatives for social change and transformation. The study was qualitative in nature, using a depth-hermeneutic approach, with various interrelated, coherent empirical processes. These include reviewing extant theory to contribute to a framework of knowledge and practice constitutive of social change, conducting a politically engaged, critical thematic analysis of social work discourse constitutive of social change, as reflected historically in a selection of formal South African social work texts and in the narratives from group conversations among South African social work educators. Early South African social work knowledge and practice had emerged from the ‘social hygiene’ and eugenics movement, but later, Afrikaner nationalist ideology and liberal and racist capitalism shaped social work. In postapartheid South Africa, discourses of social development and reform within a free market rational economy; ideologies of liberalism and capitalism as solutions to structural social problems, neo-liberal discourses of individual responsibility and valorisation of agency, social control and regulation, are prevalent. Social work knowledge and practice consistently supported hegemonic ideologies of the state. Throughout the history of social work however, there was evidence of counterhegemonic, radical and critical discourse, albeit suppressed and hidden. Knowledge and practice constitutive of social change can be positioned on a continuum from oppressive, domesticating and colonizing knowledge and practice, to coercion and status quo maintenance, to institutional and societal reformist knowledge and practice; to transformational and critical knowledge and practice; and to radical and revolutionary knowledge and practice.
3

A comparative study of attitudes of urban Black communities in selected areas of Durban towards evolutionist strategies for social change in South Africa.

Naidoo, Kammila. January 1988 (has links)
No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1988.
4

The role of open schools in the process of social change in South Africa

Bhengu, Paulus. January 1997 (has links)
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Sociology of Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 1997 / This study considers open schools as a movement for reform and social change. It is argued in this study that the mere act of opening up schools to all race groups is an important step in the road to social change, particularly in a country where government had enacted several pieces of legislation to prevent racial mixing of pupils in schools. A combination of social, political and economic factors such as, the crisis in black education culminating in the 1976 Soweto uprising, the moral and the social conscience of the Churches, corporate social responsibility, skills shortage and the government reform initiatives during the 1990's are cited as the main reasons for the opening up of schools. Theoretically, the study draws on the assimilationist and pluralistic models. These two models are prevalently used in the provision of education in a society comprising of people from diverse groups and backgrounds. Approaches under each of these two models are initially discussed and analysed, and later applied in the conclusion. This dissertation depicts the attitudes of 100 respondents selected from the teachers, parents and pupils ranks associated with open schools in the Durban Metropolitan area. Findings drawn from the empirical data indicate that the different views on open schools held by black and white respondents somewhat blur the role of open schools as catalysts for social change. Blacks interpret open schools from the educational standards point of view, whereas whites see open schools as providing an opportunity for socio-cultural enrichment. As a result of the differing views, the educational approach adopted by open schools vacillates between assimilationism and pluralism. Be that as it may, respondents displayed overwhelming support for the potential open schools have to bring about social change. Finally, on the basis of the aims of the study and the empirical findings, conclusions are drawn. Recommendations to make open schools viable agents of reform and social change are formulated as follows: That open schools reflect their 'openness' in practice in keeping with their intended mission. That open schools revisit their school policies with a view to addressing those aspects of policy which members of certain groups find objectionable. That open schools practise differentiation with care. That open schools implement training for teachers on dealing with school population diversity. That open schools work on producing appropriate teaching material to be used in open schools. That open schools and the Department of Education should co-operate in dealing with problems arising from the 'openness' of schools.
5

Understanding film and video as tools for change : applying participatory video and video advocacy in South Africa

Cain, Julia 03 1900 (has links)
Thesis (DPhil (Drama))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / The purpose of this study is to examine critically the phenomenon of participatory video and to situate within this the participatory video project that was initiated as part of this study in the informal settlement area of Kayamandi, South Africa. The overall objective of the dissertation is to consider the potential of participatory video within current-day South Africa towards enabling marginalised groups to represent themselves and achieve social change. As will be shown, the term ‘participatory video’ has been used broadly and applied to many different types of video products and processes. For the preliminary purposes of this dissertation, participatory video is defined as any video (or film) process dedicated to achieving change through which the subject(s) has been an integral part of the planning and/or production, as well as a primary end-user or target audience. The two key elements that distinguish participatory video are thus (1) understanding video (or film) as a tool for social change; and (2) understanding participation by the subject as integral to the video process. An historical analysis thus considers various filmmaking developments that fed into the emergence of participatory video. These include various film practices that used film as a tool for change -- from soviet agitprop through to the documentary movement of the 1930s, as well as various types of filmmaking in the 1960s that opened up questions of participation. The Fogo process, developed in the late 1960s, marked the start of participatory video and video advocacy and provided guiding principles for the Kayamandi project initiated as part of this dissertation. Practitioners of the Fogo process helped initiate participatory video practice in South Africa when they brought the process to South African anti-apartheid activists in the early 1970s. The Kayamandi Participatory Video Project draws on this background and context in its planned methodology and its implementation. Out of this, various theoretical issues arising from participatory video practice contextualise a reflection and an analysis of the Kayamandi project. Lastly, this study draws conclusions and recommendations on participatory video practice in South Africa.
6

The effective management of social change in the South African pharmaceutical industry.

Kriel, Gustav Peter. January 2007 (has links)
The purpose of the study was to find causality for poor social change in the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. Top, middle, and lower-level management respondents, including the CEOs, were studied in 11 pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. Human resources managers selected the participants randomly in such a way as to ensure a 60%-40% split between affirmees and non-affirmees. Participants responded to three questionnaires: the leadership questionnaire to determine if effective or appropriate leadership styles were being used with the respondents given their levels of readiness (ability and willingness to do the required tasks), the organisational climate questionnaire to determine what areas of the companies needed improvement, and the social change questionnaire to determine the problematic aspects of social change within the companies. Participants completed the questionnaires during a designated 45-minute period in their respective company headquarters. A clinical psychologist was in attendance to answer any questions. Prior to participating, respondents received cover letters, and the psychologist provided detailed explanations of the study. The main findings were (a) a mismatch in leadership style in affirmee-led organisations that was normally problematic; (b) differences in existing organisations compared to desired organisations; and (c) problems in the dimensions of support and attitude toward change in the mismatch group, which was the affirmee-led organisations. The conclusion was that, although external factors should be the drivers for transformation and also affect leadership style, leaders must be able to adapt their style to fit the readiness level of their followers. In addition, a proposed model for transformation in the pharmaceutical industry, based on the findings from the study and the literature review, was presented. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2007.
7

Mediation and the nature of cognitive socialization in the crèche and the home in a black rural context

Van der Riet, Mary Boudine January 1993 (has links)
This thesis examines socialization in the homes and crèches of a rural area in a time of change. Change which is controlled and initiated from outside the local context, creates a dilemma for socialization agents when it introduces a knowledge paradigm different from that operating locally. Rural South African communities frequently experience exogenous change. The introduction of rural preschools, locally known as crèches, provides one example of such change challenging local socialization agents. While rural residents may not operate within knowledge paradigms to deal effectively with such change, they are not necessarily defeated by it. They "grapple" with the uncertainty, developing ways of coping and containing the change. This forms the focus of this thesis. Vygotsky's concept of mediation and conceptualization of the individual/society relationship, informs the examination of "grappling" with change. Two central questions are addressed: In an unfamiliar situation, what is mediated and what resources are drawn on? The research was designed around the recognition of the process nature of research, the constructivism inherent in research and the significance of the social context. Two central mediators, the mother and the crèche teacher, and the broader social context of the home and the creche, were examined. Three levels of investigation were utilised. An analysis of mediation in dyads working on an unfamiliar task provided insight into the social/psychological dynamics. Interviews with residents highlighted socialization beliefs and practices and the social context. Analysis of verses and stories taught to children revealed the inherent ideology of socialization. The main findings of this study are that: Rural residents "grapple" with social change by drawing on their own resources; in "grappling" with the unfamiliar what is mediated is an adult/child interactional status based on the inherent ideology of socialization and the dominant resource drawn on is the "culture of orality". It is argued that in the situation of neither mastery nor defeat, rural residents have used intermediary strategies of coping and containing the effect of the preschool as an agent of exogenous, social change. Recommendations are made for integrating "socialized" and "learned" knowledge from the home and the crèche.
8

An analysis of change and transformation strategies: the Department of Home Affairs, Province of the Eastern Cape

Biyase, Sibongiseni Nobert January 2014 (has links)
The South African public sector is important for the sustainable growth and development of the country. One of its major responsibilities is to ensure that all citizens have access to and receive the services they need. The manner in which public sector institutions are structured has an impact on the delivery of effective and efficient services to citizens.Achieving a high degree of productivity is an important objective of public service organisations across the world given the pressure to deliver quality public goods and services within the limits of ever-increasing resource constraints. The South African Public Service is no exception to this global phenomenon. The focus on the public service is therefore continuously to improve performance to meet citizens’ needs. Where as performance is directed at measuring outputs achieved, productivity goes an important step further by measuring the relationship between the resources used to achieve outputs. The focus of this study is the analysis of change and transformation strategies in the Department of Home Affairs, Province of the Eastern Cape. The primary purpose was to assess the current state of service delivery in the Department of Home Affairs and to ascertain how continuous monitoring and evaluation could be factored in to enhance the delivery of services. The target population was the employees and clients of the Department of Home Affairs. Employees were selected randomly and asked to participate in the study. The sample was a convenient-purposive sampling and a quantitative research questionnaire was used.
9

Mentoring for best educational practice : a generic framework for whole school transformation within dysfunctional senior secondary schools, South Africa

Mohamed, Gishma January 2013 (has links)
During transformation (1994 onwards), different interventions were instituted within Education as an attempt to redress learner achievement and throughput. By so doing, the South African government believed that by investing in education a return would be attained which would be beneficial to stabilising its economy — nationally and internationally. However, expected outcomes of these interventions have not been achieved and various researchers and opinion leaders still view the quality of education in South Africa as disparaging and deficient as well as characterised by an increasing prevalence of dysfunctional schooling systems. Therefore, this research aimed to design a generic mentoring framework through which transformation within dysfunctional schooling systems can be facilitated; this is to enable whole school development to achieve best educational practice. In order to achieve this, a micro-level analysis of schooling systems, using the functionalist perspective, specifically enabled through the contributions of Parsons and Merton was undertaken. In addition, insight gained from a broad range of literature and other secondary resources on mentoring, best practice and quality education was used to develop a number of premises. These premises were used to suggest how the generic mentoring framework can be adapted to enable a fit-for-purpose mentoring system which allows facilitation of a process of sustained transformation which gravitates towards a whole school culture that envisions quality education for all. It is recommended that further research be undertaken to ascertain the strength of the generic mentoring framework and operationalising it as a fit-for-purpose mentoring system within a school in the form of a pilot study. Aligned with this, to undertake assessment research, amongst other things, to systematically and with greater depth explore the notions of intended and unintended consequences that manifest during operationalisation of a fit-for-purpose mentoring system and how these can and should be measured.
10

Shongweni Resources Reserve : community participation, preferences and perceptions

Gumede, Zenzele Simon January 2003 (has links)
A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course-work Postgraduate Diploma in Recreation and Tourism in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2003. / The study was conducted in the light of the background that there is a rising concern from the government that the companies should give socio-economical benefits to the local communities. In the aspect of recreation and tourism the Department of Sports and Recreation (DSR) is expecting the reserve to give the socio-economical benefits to the local communities in a very participatory way. The reason above led to the initiatives to explore at the local reserve, which is Shongweni Resources Reserve whether it co-operates with what have been said in the white paper. For example the White Paper (1994:35) said Recreation development should be demand driven and community based. It also said communities must be empowered to participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of recreation programmes. The people responsible for looking at that realised that there was poor relationship between the Shongweni Resources Reserve and local communities. It was from that perspective that there was a need for someone to conduct a study that would look at their relationship and the reasons and motives behind that relationship. The study had specific objectives to be explored, which are: • To determine the relationship between the local communities and the reserve. • To establish whether the communities are being involved or participate in the reserve activities. • Investigate whether there is any development initiative the reserve is offering to the local community. • Find out whether the local people are aware of the kind of socio- economic development they can get from the reserve. All these four objectives have been met because the whole study was formulated around these objectives. The study looked at the relation between local communities and the reserve and found that it is not healthy. It also looked at the communities whether they are involved or not, and found that they are very participating. The development initiatives the reserve is offering to local communities have been also explored and the findings showed that there are development initiatives the reserve is offering to the communities. The issue of whether the local people are aware of the kind of socio-economic development they can get from the reserve was also looked at, and found that the local people are not aware of the type of socio-economic development. There are also expectations that have been formulated as guidelines for the study. There were four expectations that had been formulated, and out of those four expectations half of them have been proven correctly and half of them have been proven wrong. The expectations that have been formulated are: • That there is poor relationship between the local communities and the reserve. • That the local communities are less involved in the activities of the reserve. • That there are inadequate recreation and tourism development initiatives offered to the local communities. • That the local people are not aware of the socio-economic development benefits for them in the reserve. There were different findings that were found. Most of the people considered development as medium and the community members are prepared to take the responsibilities of the development of the Shongweni Resources Reserve. They are fairly involved in the management and maintenance of the reserve. The involvement of communities in participating for the recreation activities is happening. This has happened by considering the period and the frequency of their participation, which have positive responses. The communities are also allowed to use recreation activities found in the reserve. When considering the socio-economical aspects, the reserve is giving very less economical aspects to the local communities. They are not allowed to sell their crafts and to cut wood for carving, and there are very few local employees. There are various factors that were found to be the cause of bad relationship. One of them was the communities were not clear about community benefits they should get from the reserve. The recommendations that have been surfaced are that the reserve should be transparent, socio-economical improvement, and to conduct the future study that would involve the Shongweni Resources Reserve staff to include their perspectives.

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