M.Tech.

D.Phil. (Education) / Transformation policies in South Africa have seen higher education come under increasing pressure to broaden participation of historically under-represented groups. Recently, student enrolments have become increasingly diverse in terms of cultural, socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds, as well as the levels of preparedness that students have for traditional higher education programmes. This places new and challenging teaching demands on lecturers and peer tutors. Whilst peer tutors may find themselves in an ever increasing teaching role, so might those who are responsible for guiding and developing them. This research focuses on offering holistic support to junior lecturers, via mentorship, who have the responsibility of developing and advising student tutors, so that they are able to engage in sound pedagogical practice. The purpose of this study is to investigate the responses to a mentorship programme designed to assist junior lecturers to develop tutors at The University of Johannesburg. These junior lecturers are referred to as tutor coordinators. The research aims to identity what kind of identity shifts, if any, the tutor coordinators experienced as a result of the mentorship programme. It also aims to understand how tutor coordinators engaged with collaborative mentorship and to what extent the mentorship programme influences pedagogy. Several theoretical perspectives have informed the research. These include ideas on collaborative mentorship and interdependence as well as reflective practice, as a tool for professional development in combination with insights from post structuralist theory on discourse, social organisation, power and in particular, identity. The study is framed by the understanding that the research participants construct multiple identities rather than report on an existing identity, and that identity is linked to power relations in a particular context. Broadly this research is a qualitative study. More specifically, it uses emancipatory action research as the research design. This is because the participants were provided with an opportunity to critically engage with their own practice via self-reflection and the recursive relationship offered by the mentorship programme. Questionnaires, observations and interviewing were used to collect the data. Interviews gave in-depth insight into participant subject positions and responses to the mentorship programme. Initially, the data was analysed thematically, using global analysis. Once the themes had been extracted, CDA (critical discourse analysis) was used to allow for a social analysis of language. The findings suggest that the research participants’ experiences in the role of tutor coordinator, shaped their identities in different ways and that in several cases they experienced considerable fragmentation of identity. This fragmentation is evident in the multifaceted and differentiated responses to various features of the mentorship programme. In addition, in some cases notable pedagogical shifts were made and personal sites of development were positively facilitated. This research brings to the fore issues that could determine professional staff development programmes as it considers South African academic identities framed by their current professional and educational challenges.

M.A. / The dissemination of relevant information is of critical importance to the success of any organisation that aims at realising its corporate objectives and meeting the requirements of its stakeholders. The emergence of information and communication technologies (ITCs) has had a far-reaching impact on the relationship and power structure between organisations and their audiences, stakeholders and the media. It has become extremely difficult for organisations to define and segment these audiences as, for example, Internet audiences are widely spread across geographical, cultural and economic boundaries. This makes the packaging and dissemination of information a near Herculean task, as information needs to be generic enough to be commonly understood and accessed, yet personalised and customised in such a way that it still addresses the various audience segmentations effectively. The identification and profiling of target audiences, however, are critical for successful information dissemination too, as the information thus gained will guide communicators within organisations to compile relevant (to the specific target audiences) content and to package the information in such a way that it be best suited to the needs and resources of their target groups. Extensive market research should, therefore, be an integrated organisational activity that is performed on an ongoing basis and in a structured manner. The principal aim of this research project is to determine the extent to which information and communication technologies could enable the Alumni Office of the University of Johannesburg (as a newly merged institution) to disseminate information to its alumni effectively. This target audience consists mainly of the merged partners’ alumni groups, namely the RAU and TWR alumni, but also makes provision for the establishment of a third alumni affinity group in the foreseeable future, namely the alumni of the University of Johannesburg. The research consists of an in-depth literature review, followed by an empirical component. The purpose of the literature review is to create a theoretical framework in order to lay a solid foundation from which to conduct the empirical research. The various components of the research problem are discussed, as well as the variables that could possibly influence the outcome of the research. Next, the possible challenges facing the Alumni Office of the University of Johannesburg are investigated, with special emphasis on RAU and TWR alumni, as these two groups would (at least initially) form the basis of the alumni target audience of the University of Johannesburg. The various information and communication technologies that could be employed as information-dissemination tools by the Alumni Office of the University of Johannesburg in order to build and maintain valuable relationships with the alumni target audience are also explored. Following, the so-called “digital divide” is investigated, with an overview of the factors influencing this divide in South Africa, as well as the impact it may have on disseminating and sharing information to and with alumni of the University of Johannesburg. For the empirical study, the sample population for answering the quantitative, close-ended questionnaire by means of telephonic surveys was selected by means of stratified sampling from the RAU and TWR alumni databases respectively. Three hundred RAU alumni and three hundred TWR alumni were sampled from the total target-group population, of which 25% were males older than 35 years, 25% males 35 years and younger, 25% females older than 35 and 25% females 35 years and younger. The research results indicate that information and communication technologies could, to a large extent, enable the Alumni Office of the University of Johannesburg to disseminate information to its alumni effectively. In addition, it indicates that a total of 92.80% of respondents feel that contact between them and the Alumni Office would inspire greater loyalty towards the University. A majority of alumni (86.80%) indicated that they would like to receive information about the benefits to be derived from joining the Alumni Association of the University. A strong correlation exists between the establishment of an alumni benefits programme and the level of alumni involvement with the University. The research findings could provide the Alumni Office with valuable guidelines to plan and implement an interactive information-communication strategy by means of effective information dissemination, which could be to the mutual benefit of both the University and its alumni.

M.A. / This was a study of how a group of second and third year humanities students at the University of Johannesburg managed to access University and progress past the critical and often turbulent first year. Data collected from the study participants through in-depth interviews and life histories reveal that encouraging parents and teachers, access to information on financial aid, and self-determination, were significant in contributing positively toward academic success. The study also reveals that role models play a very important part in student success. Especially significant is the role played by mothers (most with low educational qualifications) in encouraging their children to pursue higher education. This is noteworthy because it shows that students‘ pursuit of higher education is not wholly dependent on parents‘ education but on the parents‘ educational aspirations for their children.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The study of perceptions on nuclear energy programmes in South Africa was aimed at a small population of students with special focus on first-year students studying in UJ, in any field of study. Quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was done. The perceptions were directed towards nuclear energy programmes thus determining the causes or reasons behind their perceptions and recommend r aspects to be considered as corrective measures, to combat the perceptions. These include educating the public about nuclear energy, involving the public and allowing their participation at an early stage and using better communication platforms for nuclear related public communication.

M.A. / The development of ethics management models for university students is a way of encouraging and promoting ethical conduct for students at higher education institutions. The development and promotion of such models at universities will enhance the sound and proper management of higher education institutions. It will also assist in their effective and efficient administration and management. These student ethics management models provide guidelines that enhance ethical conduct at such institutions. It is a crucial stage or part of primary, secondary and higher education, as well as for the social, family and work environment in terms of character development. This chapter outlines the research design that will provide the background and rationale for the problem statement, in relation to the terms of reference for this study. It will include the research problem, background and rationale of the study and the research question, as well as the research objectives, the research methodology and the data collection methods. It will also outline the definitions of terms.

D.Phil. / The restructuring of the South African Higher Education landscape in postapartheid era has been the scene of vast organisational change as numerous mergers between Higher Education Institutions have typified this transformation. One such a merger is the merger between the Technikon Witwatersrand, the Rand Afrikaans University and two campuses of Vista University (namely the East Rand and Soweto Campuses) into the University of Johannesburg. Announced on 31 May 2002 and intended to be effective as of 1 January 2005, this merger represents the birth of the largest residential university in South Africa and presents the opportunity of studying the effects of all-encompassing change on employees first hand. In terms of organisational change – with mergers representing a specific type of organisational change – it is apparent that the effect of change on staff members is not only a widely overlooked matter in practice, but also in organisational change literature (and in mergers and acquisitions literature in particular). This study explores the merger experiences of academic staff at the University of Johannesburg and also examines the role leadership has played in these experiences. Using an Interpretive, case study design, 40 academic staff members were interviewed. These research subjects were selected on a purposive basis from all faculties across all campuses. Using the Strauss and Corbin application of Grounded Theory, the collected data was analysed to construct the reality of academic staffs’ merger experiences and perceptions of the merger at the University of Johannesburg. In terms of the University of Johannesburg, findings indicate that institutional predisposition is a major contributor to shaping research subjects’ initial attitude toward the pending merger. Furthermore, the interim phase that the University found itself in directly after merger the date, was a cause of great discontent amongst academic staff and was seen as the greatest debilitating factor to the successful roll-out of the merger. The study indicates that academic staff relay their experiences and perceptions of the merger in three discernable time frames, or perspectives, each with its own unique dynamic. Collectively, these three perspectives constitute the Reflective Experience of Mergers (REM) theory, which examines how the merger experiences of academic staff shape their perceptions of and attitudes toward the merger over time. The REM-theory reiterates the temporal nature of change; it is a phenomenon that evolves over time in discernable stages. Furthermore the REM-theory also underscores the effect change has on the emotional and psychological well being of individuals over time. The REM-theory also highlights the important role leadership plays in a merger as, in the case of the University of Johannesburg, research subjects tended to be far more critical of deficiencies in leadership as opposed to deficiencies in management.

I am an English Second Language (L2) lecturer teaching English Second Language students. Most of my colleagues are L2 lecturers teaching L2 students. My reading and study into the subject has revealed, that there are more L2 teachers and lecturers who teach L2 students in South Africa, and indeed in the world than there are native speakers of English. These considerations have prompted me to investigate English Second Language lecturers’ mediation of learning. My study describes the methodological and pedagogical experiences of L2 lecturers mediating learning to L2 students and the effect of the combined cultural and language differences between the L2 lecturers and students on the mediation of learning. The literature reviewed, related to research carried out in the United States of America, Hungary, Canada, India, Japan, Turkey, Hong Kong, Holland and Russia among others . The research design was an interpretive descriptive design which used a qualitative approach for data collection. Through observations and in depth interviews, I gleaned data about how the participants, seven English Second Language lecturers, have mediated learning to their English Second Language learners, in the Department of the University where I work. The most notable findings of the research was that in mediating learning to L2 learners, the participants in the study (L2 lecturers) were to a large extent, linguistically competent, aware of the communicative and informative aspects of pragmatics and able to negotiate meaning with their learners at an appropriate level. They were also empathetic and culturally aware. I conclude, by making recommendations, to improve the mediation of learning by English Second Language Lecturers to English Second Language learners. / Dr. E.U. Pather

M.A. / Identity is a broad term that has changed across time and within context. This paper focuses specifically on notions of ‘public versus private’ identity within an online context. Within this study I took both a qualitative and quantitative approach as a means of data collection. This research was aimed at answering the one research question: ‘How do UJ Facebook members use notions of public and private to perform their identity?’ I employed a ‘mixed methodology’ of a qualitative and quantitative approach to enable in gaining data. As part of my qualitative research I applied the ethnographic approach; I observed a total of 25 profiles in order to understand the way in which the UJ Facebook members ‘perform’ their identities through their individual profiles. For twelve months I used observations to understand and explore identities of UJ Facebook members. As part of my quantitative research, I randomly selected 105 individuals as a representation of the UJ Facebook group and with the use of a statistics programme (SPSS) I statistically represented my findings. During my twelve months of research I observed individual profiles of UJ Facebook members and focused on ‘identity markers’ to help me to understand how identities are represented within this space. By identity markers, I refer to markers such as name, sex, birth date, relationship status, religious and political viewpoint, and so on. These markers help create a perception of one’s identity based on the information that is filled in when the profile is created by the individual. Thus, both my qualitative and quantitative findings paint a picture of how profile pictures, status updates, walls, information, applications and so on help communicate a message of identity to an ‘outsider’. I have found a tension between public and private performances of identity. In tension, I don’t mean dishonesty but rather the tensions communicated by the UJ Facebook members in the way in which their identities are performed. For example, one of my participants does not indicate her relationship status, but her status updates and wall is a constant communication with her boyfriend. Therefore, at times these messages contradict each other and this tends to raise questions about ‘how public’ and ‘how private’ ones profile really is.

Ph.D. (Marketing Management) / In South Africa there are a number of government and private institutions that provide higher education. Competition amongst these is intense and all are competing for students. Dobbelstein (2003: 3) argues that higher education institutions have to consider their relative competitive advantage in this landscape. The institutions that fulfil customers’ requirements the best will get the most students. This situation must be seen in the light of the current skills shortage in South Africa. In order to meet future demand for appropriately skilled managers and workers, ongoing collaboration and consultation between the business sector and higher education providers is required in order to ensure that the goals are met of all primary stakeholders – industry, educators, and students. Students getting workplace experience (or internships) can benefit all three stakeholders (Petrillose & Montgomery, 1998: 46 – 51). The present study seeks to determine the impact of an experiential learning project on the development of marketing students – by using an occupational interest questionnaire. Research conducted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) indicated that there seems to be no general agreement on the use of terminology for concepts such as experiential learning (EL), work-based learning (WBL), work-integrated learning (WIL), or service learning (SL) (Geyser 2007: 5). There are subtle differences between the terms:  Experiential learning is a term traditionally used within the context of the former technikons to mean what is now known as ‘work-based learning’.  Work-based learning is a component of a programme of study: it focuses on the application of theory in an authentic, working context. It addresses specific competencies identified for the acquisition of a qualification. These competencies relate to the development of skills that will make the student employable, and will assist in developing personal skills.  Service learning is applied learning which is directed at specific community needs and is integrated into an academic programme or curriculum.  Work-integrated learning is a structured portion of a qualification in which the volume of learning allocated to WIL should be appropriate to the purposes of the qualification. WIL programmes must be appropriately structured, supervised, and assessed.  Co-operative education is a teaching and learning strategy which integrates classroom teaching and learning into structured learning that occurs in an authentic and approved setting. This concept is based on a partnership between the university, the student, and industry, or the community at large (Geyser 2007: 7).