M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Everywhere in the world, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are becoming the pillars of economic growth and development. New venture start-ups are a vital contributing factor for any economy as well as to the tourism industry. It creates employment opportunities, involves many stakeholders and contributes to sustainable development. This exploratory research sought to investigate the barriers and constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs. It focuses on the perceptions of tourism entrepreneurs in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Survey research was used to gather data for the study by questionnaires distributed to entrepreneurs in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. The literature study reviews the history of tourism, the role of the Government and their involvement in tourism. Other role players in tourism are also considered. The structure of tourism in South Africa, functions and initiatives of various role players as well as policy regarding tourism are discussed. The national tourism targets and size are analysed including national and international tourism forecasts. The study investigates opportunities that exist in tourism. Furthermore, it reviews concepts regarding entrepreneurship, small, medium and micro enterprises and the link between entrepreneurship and tourism. Clear problems, barriers and constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs are identified through factor analysis. The three major factors include Government policies and support, the tourism industry’s products and services and perceptions about South Africa. The item analyses that were conducted support the findings of the factor analysis. Possible limitations of the study and further areas for research are identified. Various recommendations are made to guide current and prospective tourism entrepreneurs. The research will not only be of value to entrepreneurs, small, medium and micro enterprises, but also to the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism development in South Africa can only be achieved through recognition that the Government, the public and the private sector, host communities and the natural environment are interdependent stakeholders in a complex tourism domain. No single individual, agency or group can resolve tourism issues by acting alone. The problems, barriers and constraints that tourism entrepreneurs face can only be rectified if all role players in tourism work together to reduce the impact of these problems, barriers and constraints. / Thesis (DCom (Business Management))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Business Management / unrestricted

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Dissertation submitted for a Masters Degree in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities and School of Social Sciences, at the University of the Witwatersrand March 2019 / Over the years Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been providing a variety of social services, ranging from improving the skills of homeless individuals to helping prevent homelessness. This paper shed light on the current efforts by the Johannesburg Organisation of Services to the Homeless (JOSH), a Non-Profit Company (NPC) providing services to homeless individuals in Randburg. The study aimed to bridge the knowledge gap that exists in understanding the experiences of CSOs in service provision by exploring JOSH’s experiences in providing services to homeless individuals. The study asked the following research question: What are the experiences of JOSH as a CSO in providing services to homeless individuals in the City of Johannesburg? And the following three sub-questions: What services are provided to homeless people by JOSH? What informs the approach taken for service provision by JOSH? How does JOSH understand their experiences of service provision? I adopted a qualitative methodology and administered 15 face to face semi-structured interviews with the Directors, volunteers, and the staff at JOSH. This approach presented the opportunity to listen to the ideas, experiences and stories of people engaged with social action at JOSH. I used participant observation to collect data. I found this valuable as it gave me an opportunity to participate and observe the settings at JOSH in a way that provided a nuanced understanding of the services provided at JOSH. Thinking critically about the parameters of my research, I used purposive sampling to select my interviews. I chose people who worked closely with JOSH, whose knowledge and experiences would enable me to answer my research question and sub-questions. The fight to end homelessness has brought a new strategic de-instutionalised model of community engagement that addresses issues of social justice through spaces of engagement. According to Cloke (2011) these new spaces of engagement that emerge are known as ‘rapprochement’. This concept is developed in the literature review. It provides a framework of how non-statutory agencies uses a post-secular approach to engage with the homeless population through community-based social action. Five major themes emerged from data analysis: (1) A snapshot of JOSH’s homeless services, (2) Defining JOSH’s homeless services (3) JOSH’s view on homelessness, (4) Approach taken by JOSH, (5) A culture of support at JOSH and (6) challenges faced by JOSH. The first theme describes the different types of services that are provided by JOSH. This study has revealed that JOSH offers food services, skills assessment as well as counselling services to persons experiencing homelessness. JOSH does this by using a social entrepreneurial model, which is an example of rapprochement. This social enterprise model allows JOSH to put agency, innovation and hope at the heart of their approach. This approach 5 has enabled JOSH to create a space that is a transformative form of hospitality and a leadership style that allows different stakeholders to develop and acquire a sense of agency. The second theme demonstrated the model JOSH has adopted to provide services to homeless individuals. The third theme described the different terms JOSH uses to conceptualise homelessness. The fourth theme illustrates that JOSH uses a case management and service integration system to identify individuals who are homeless. The fifth theme describes how Directors, volunteers, and the staff at JOSH support homeless individuals. The final theme describes the different challenges JOSH faces in providing services to homeless individuals. The findings of the study revealed that JOSH’s soup kitchen was more successful because food services were the most accessible and reliable service to homeless individuals. JOSH also indicated that there is a need for an overnight shelter which was currently not JOSH’s focus of service delivery. Recommendations are made based on the findings of the study. / NG (2020)

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017. / Background: Generic drugs provide a safe, effective and affordable alternative to medicines whose patent protection has expired. The affordability of generics improves access to medicines and thus improves health outcomes. The generic pharmaceutical industry is complex; profitability depends on the number of other generics on the market. Objective: To develop a model that explains structural relationships in the off-patent market between the price of a generic drug and the characteristics of a drug, formulation market and regulatory processes in the South African pharmaceutical industry. Sources of Data: Innovators’ drugs and their generic equivalents were selected from all the molecules whose patents expired between 1999 and 2012. Data were obtained from IMS Health (Total Private Market Report) and National Department of Health (Database of Medicine Prices) for the patents’ expiration dates, prices, sales, launch dates of generics, therapeutic groups, schedules, and dosage forms of drugs in the sample. Principal Findings: Generic entry into the local pharmaceutical industry is low, slow and selective. The developed model for this study identified seven market variables that were found to have an influence on the prices of generic drugs in South Africa. The determinants of generic entry are the market size of the on-patent innovator product, and the complexity of manufacture of a dosage form. The introduction of the transparent pricing system has had a significant impact in reducing the average unit prices of generics in South Africa. However, there appears to be policy incoherencies between the public health and industrial policies of the South African government as it pertains to pharmaceuticals. The erosion of the manufacturing capacity in South Africa could potentially be attributed to the pharmaceutical pricing policy. The overreliance on pharmaceutical imports for satisfying local consumption poses a risk to the security of supply of medicines in a country that has a high burden of diseases. Conclusion: The introduction of legislative reforms related to the pricing of medicines in South Africa has largely yielded positive results in making medicines to be more accessible. Policy-making requires monitoring and evaluation programmes and inclusivity across all the stake-holders. / LG2018

A Master’s Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities School of Human and Community Development Psychology For the Degree of Masters in Educational Psychology University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2019 / Inclusive education, a system adopted in post-apartheid South Africa, is an education system which seeks to protect the rights of all learners, irrespective of the barriers to learning and development which they may be facing. It is based on the premise that all learners have the right to an education, and that the education system needs to ensure that they have the appropriate systems in place to ensure that this right is protected. Barriers to learning and development impedes the learning process, and they need to be addressed in order for the basic need of education to be met. One of the key stakeholders in overcoming barriers to learning and development, and ensuring the successful implementation of inclusive education, are parents. This exploratory and descriptive qualitative study aimed to explore the manner in which parents conceptualise barriers to learning and development, and their attitudes towards them. Seven parents participated in individual interviews, and the data from the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants were parents of school-going children, who had placed their child in one specific mainstream school in Lenasia. The analysis of the interviews revealed that parents hold an overall positive view of inclusive education, but that this perception shifts to a more negative one in light of considering the impact it might have on their own children. Parents are also able to identify barriers to learning and development being faced by the general population of learners in South Africa; these included language and cultural barriers, socio-economic deprivation, transport barriers, as well as large classrooms, and a lack of discipline within classrooms. Most of the participants’ responses regarding the barriers to learning being faced by their own children related to barriers within the chosen school, such as teacher attitude and teacher competence, as well as a perceived lack of support from the school. Finally, parents regarded parental involvement as a central contributing factor to the successful education of their children. / XL2019

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy:African languages and linguistics in theSchool of Literature, Language and Media Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwaterrand , Johannesburg / The main focus of the study embraced the investigation the onomastic principles and also the socio-cultural factors to be taken into consideration when naming an official language. The fundamental objective of the study was to consider the two names Sepedi and Sesotho sa Leboa, to decide which one should be used and to determine which name is supported by the investigated onomastic principles of naming a language (official). Research was conducted involving a group of Higher Education students and lecturers; employees at the Sesotho sa Leboa National Lexicography Unit; employees at the Sesotho sa Leboa National Language Body; employees at the Pan South African Language Board; employees at the National Department of Arts and Culture and its sub-departments in Limpopo and Gauteng Provinces; and Traditional Leaders in almost all the District Municipalities that are inhabited by the first language speakers of the language under investigation. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Office of the Public Protector of South Africa were also involved in the study as to obtain a legal and constitutional implementation point of view on the current use of Sepedi and Sesotho sa Leboa as language names in official and policy documentation as one and the same language name while they are not.A mixed-methods research approach, including both quantitative and qualitative methodologies was employed in the study. In this quest, survey questionnaires, interviews, observations and text analysis were mainly considered as methods of data collection. The findings of the study revealed that neither the language names Sepedi nor Sesotho sa Leboa is supported by the onomastic principles of naming a language. An overwhelming majority of the participants in this study opined that the language under onomastic scrutiny should be reconsidered and replaced with a neutral and inclusive name that cannot in any way be associated with the influence of power and politics as well as with ethnic and dialectal status of a particular speech community. In summary, it was found in this study that the language under scrutiny was not properly named in the first place, since both Sepedi and Sesotho sa Leboa were found to have strong ties with colonialism as concomitant part of the Apartheid regime. / NG (2020)

Ischaemic necrosis of bone, particularly of the femoral head appears to be an increasing cause of musculoskeletal disability in relatively young people (Hungerford 1981). The disease is usually progressive, resulting in the destruction of major weight-bearing joints requiring arthrodesis or arthroplasty. A decade ago it was hoped that joint replacement would solve most of these problems, however, failure of such arthroplasties have often been associated with catastrophic consequences (Chandler 1979).

Bibliography: pages. 63-66. / This research consists of a wide literature review on deregulation and privatisation of airline business world wide. The emphasis is on the benefits of airline privatisation. The idea was to attempt to find out whether the deregulation of South African Airways (SAA) indeed brought about the changes that are expected of a commercial concern. These changes included cost cutting strategies and charging economically efficient fares as well as abandoning unprofitable routes. Some personal contact with the SAA Public Relations Officers in Cape Town and Johannesburg was used to gather the data used in the research. The Transnet and the Competition Board annual reports were other major sources of data. The analysis was accomplished by scrutinising the SAA financial statements as to whether SAA followed all the requirements implemented when deregulation was introduced. An econometric test was used to check whether there was any improvement in capacity utilisation at SAA as was expected to happen after deregulation. The findings from this research are that SAA did introduce new measures to try to be profitable and cut costs, such as, reducing the labour force and abandoning unprofitable routes. SAA also stopped cross-subsidisation practise, whereby loss making routes were financed by profitable ones. In general SAA introduced measures that can be expected from a profit maximising firm which is under pressure to tum profits. However, these changes have not yet produced consistent results as far as profit is concerned and is supported by the econometrics test which does not support the expected hypothesis that since SAA is now operated on commercial basis, should be able to tum profits and be efficient.

Summary in English. / Bibliography: pages 146-169. / The biology, population dynamics, and the environmental tolerances (temperature and light) in laboratory culture, of the endemic intertidal South African fucoid Bifurcaria brassicaeformis (Kütz) Barton have been investigated. A general description is included of the morphology and anatomy, and comparisons made with that of other species in the genus. Studies on plants collected from contrasting habitats on the lowshore and from mid-shore pools revealed that while cortical thickness of vegetative uprights were similar for both habitats, medullary diameters were generally higher, corresponding to generally thicker uprights in the low-shore. Observations on the method of zygote attachment revealed that attachment of the species resembles that of the European Bifurcaria and Halidrys siliguosa which both also display delayed rhizoidal development and initially attach by means of a mucilage secretion of the zygote wall. Observations on receptacle anatomy revealed that size of conceptacles increase from the apex to the base of a receptacle.