Thesis (MTech (Information Technology)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / In the last two decades, the concept of e-commerce has been embraced and widely adopted by many enterprises across the world. Many enterprises continue to reap the benefits of ecommerce across industries and sectors. Despite the benefits, which have been widely reported, South African retail enterprises have only adopted the concept sporadically. The lack of, or slow pace of, adoption and participation in the e-commerce space by South African retail enterprises is a problem for both the enterprises themselves and individuals (consumers): retail enterprises are challenged with competitiveness at global space, and individuals are constrained and limited in their attempts to partake in transactions with retailers. This research was therefore undertaken to examine and understand the factors, from both technical and non-technical perspectives, that influence the adoption and use of e-commerce within the South African environment. Two organisations were used as cases in the study. In that human opinions and views were required, the qualitative methods and the interpretive approach were employed in the research. Actor Network Theory (ANT) was applied in the analysis of the qualitative data. Based on the findings and interpretation of the findings, a framework was developed. The framework is intended to guide how e-commerce can be adopted and used in the mainstream retail grocery sector in South Africa. The research can be of use and benefit to both business and in the academic domain, from either a practical, methodological and theoretical perspective. Practically, small and large retail enterprises in South African or other African countries with similar business cultures and settings can come to a better understanding of the e-commerce influencing factors. Methodologically, the use of ANT was vital, in the way it was used to examine the various networks, actors, relationship and interaction that happens in the process of adopting and or use of e-commerce. Theoretically, this study contributes to existing literature. Also, the study can be used as case study material in the field of information systems by institutions of higher learning.

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. / The research provides a broad overview of the problem statement, research objectives, demarcation of the research, research methodology, and significance of the research, a brief literature review and the ethics statement. Theoretical background through a literature review of the selected topic, as well as of the legal frameworks that guide the provisioning of sanitation. The researcher consulted literature that describes the provisioning of sanitation by the City of Cape Town, and the challenges it faces in this regard. The researcher also discussed the legislation that guides sanitation, and five broad themes relating to sanitation, around which the research questions were formulated. The researcher discovered that City of Cape Town employees face a number of challenges that make their job difficult, especially in providing water and sanitation to the communities in Site C in Khayelitsha. The researcher concludes the study and makes recommendations regarding the provision of proper sanitation by the City of Cape Town. These recommendations are based on the study's questionnaire results

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / As the worldwide demand for quality higher education seems to be increasing, growing concern for the foreseeable future over the supply and talent retention of researchers and academics has become a major discussion amongst higher education institutions in South Africa Higher Education South Africa (HESA, 2014). Today almost half of South Africa’s population is under 25 years old and 30 percent are under 15 years old (World Bank, 2015:38). While the country is experiencing this demographic window of opportunity, the majority of academics are entering the retirement phase of their careers (HESA, 2014). Under such circumstances, these academic staff will need to be replaced with talented employees thus alerting scholars to investigate the issue. To reach target levels of education and skills development which will promote growth and development of the economy, it will be essential for the country to attract talented academic staff (Zuma, 2014). It is essential for South Africa to attract academic staff in order to enable government to reach target levels of education and skills development which will promote growth and development of the economy (Zuma, 2014). Retaining academic staff will further ensure that tertiary institutions accomplish their visions and missions and thereby becoming centres of excellence (Ng’ethe, Iravo and Namusonge, 2012). In a study by Currie (2006:119) it was found that the financial costs associated in losing experienced academic staff makes it necessary to retain them. Currently, there appears to be limited research studies on talent attraction and retention factors in higher learning institutions. Previous scholars that have attempted to research into talent management components in higher education (Theron, Barkhuizen and du Plesis, 2014) only focused on factors in academic turnover and retention factors while some scholars only researched on intention to quit factors amongst Generation Y academics in higher education (Robyn and du Preez, 2013). The talent management domain is not receiving enough attention and gaps in research seem to exist in the context of talent management system in higher learning institutions. The research focused on the emerging trends relating in the discipline of talent management specifically on talent attraction and retention which have become predominant topics in the higher education. The study provides comprehensive overview of challenges and obstacles that are found in the aspect of talent management within the higher education sector. It is against this background that the primary aim of the researcher was to introduce a framework model to attract and retain talented employees as the means to harness the issue of talent management in the higher education sector.

Thesis (MTech (Conservation and Marine Sciences))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Invasive alien plant species pose a major threat to global biodiversity by displacing native vegetation and transforming habitats. In South Africa, invasive alien plants have become a major component of most habitats. River systems are particularly affected owing to their dynamic nature and to anthropogenic activities. This has resulted in fynbos riparian scrub vegetation being replaced mainly by Acacia and Eucalyptus species, with serious ecological and economic impacts. The presence of alien trees along river banks leads to a reduction in native plant species richness and their high water consumption adds on to the existing water challenges in an already dry country. However, with regards to native fauna, it largely remains unknown both at small or large spatial scale, whether alien trees provide additional habitat which increases biodiversity, or if their presence leads to a reduction of native biodiversity. Impacts on water supply have led to large-scale clearing of invasive alien trees from riparian zones by the government through the Working for Water (WfW) programme. Monitoring and evaluation studies carried out after clearing are not well-rounded and mostly focus on vegetation response to clearing. Although some of these studies have reported successful restoration through passive methods, ecosystem recovery remains partial. There is evidently a lack of information regarding the response of animal communities to invasive alien plant clearing. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis was to investigate bird assemblage response to alien tree invasion and clearing. As a study system, I used the riparian area of the Berg River within the fynbos biome of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. The area historically consisted of renosterveld vegetation characterised by a matrix of shrubs and a high diversity of geophytes but relatively poor avifaunal diversity. This area is heavily affected by invasive alien trees and shrubs including Eucalyptus camaldulensis. I employed bird assemblages as an indicator, and used fixed-point bird counts to compare bird species richness and bird abundance between invaded and near-pristine habitats. Invasion by E. camaldulensis significantly reduced bird species richness and abundance. In particular, nectarivores and frugivores, which play important mutualistic roles in the fynbos, were reduced and unexpectedly; there were fewer raptors in invaded areas. I proceeded to carry out a space for time substitution, comparing plant and bird assemblages in invaded sites, near-pristine sites and in sites cleared in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2014. A general increase in bird species richness and bird abundance with time since clearing exists with bird assemblages in cleared sites being similar to those in near-pristine sites. However, bird assemblages in cleared sites have not yet fully recovered a decade after clearing and four native plant species are still absent. In the third part of my thesis I assessed the impacts of invasive alien plants on bird assemblages at a larger spatial scale. The different responses shown by bird assemblages to invasive alien plant cover depended on the intensity of invasion, spatial scale and other land uses. From a bird’s eye view, this study supports the current clearing by WfW given the significant negative effects of invasive alien plants on bird diversity both at plot and large spatial scales. However, passive restoration is unsuccessful in restoring the full complement of plants and birds, therefore, active restoration should be considered. To limit the cost, I suggest a focused restoration approach of selected keystone tree species which can assist to establish a functional native ecosystem.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Substance use is a major problem in South Africa, particularly within the Western Cape. The problem of substance use is prominent amongst adolescents in low socio-economic-status communities, and these prevalence rates are increasing. Literature regarding the onset of substance use is often limited and inadequate. It is for this reason that the South African Substance Use Contextual Risk Instrument (SASUCRI) was developed and employed to assess factors which contribute to adolescent substance use. The SASUCRI is a measure of the individual and contextual factors associated with adolescent substance use. It was developed to be used in low socio-economic-status communities to identify adolescents at risk for substance use as well as communities in which these risk factors are present. The initial validation study reports on the validity evidence for this instrument. The initial study identified items to be rewritten to improve the validity of the instrument. It further recommended the inclusion of additional items to improve reliability in some sub-scales. This contributed to the current study. The purpose of this study was to pretest the new and revised items. The researcher pretested both the English and the Afrikaans’s revised sub-scales of the SASUCRI. The following sub-scales were pretested; “School as support” (6 items), “School as a stressor” (6 items), “Tolerance for soft drugs” (6 items), Hopelessness individual”(11 items) and “Hopelessness community” (5 items). The theoretical framework employed was the Multi-Component Approach. The framework guided the data collection, analysis and partially the discussion of the findings. The study was of a qualitative nature. Two schools were selected from low socio-economic status communities. The study had 32 high school learners who participated. There were 4 focus groups conducted in total.

Thesis (MEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This study investigates some of the factors affecting the adoption and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for curriculum delivery in selected private high schools in the Western Cape. In this 21st century, ICT has penetrated the society to the point that it is most likely to assume that the private high school in general, are effectively incorporating them (ICTs) in delivery of the curriculum. Regrettably, this assumption is not always true as revealed in most of the cases examined in this study. Instead, a lot of private high school teachers who were selected as participants or respondents in this study revealed that they are still facing critical challenges when they want to effectively adopt and use ICTs for curriculum delivery. While the previous studies have focused more on the ICT integration in pubic schools in disadvantaged communities, this study employed a mixed methods research design (that is both quantitative and qualitative research methods) to explore the factors affecting the adoption and use of ICTs in private high schools in the Western Cape Province. The two frameworks adopted in this study, the Teacher Development framework (DoE, 2007) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework guided the researcher in the analysis of the research findings. The study also used both deductive and inductive reasoning in the interpretation of the results. The results of the study show that despite the high level of appreciating the importance of ICT adoption and use in teaching and learning by private high school teachers in the Western Cape Province, there are still critical factors that continue to militate against the effective integration of technology in the classroom. The study revealed the following factors as critical regarding the effective adoption and use of ICTs in curriculum delivery: lack of skills, limited access to ICT resources, lack of technical support, shortage of class time, and lack of teacher motivation.

Thesis (MTech (Quality))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. / Customer satisfaction is a topic of global interest in higher education and it also forms the backdrop of the research presented in this thesis. This study focuses on the employees (academics and non-academics) in the Faculty of Education at a South African university of technology (UoT) who play a key role in providing the services that their customers receive. The study is underpinned by the understanding that in order for the customer’s experience of service provision to be positive, a healthy relationship between the customer and the service provider is critical. The organization, in this case a higher education institution, has to have a sense of quality culture in order for the service provider to maintain a good relationship with a customer. Quality culture assessment can help to better understand complex organizational culture and its impact on service delivery. Quality culture assessment also helps to direct the implementation of organizational changes for better service delivery structures. The type of quality culture dominant in an organization may positively or negatively affect service quality, employee performance and motivation. As a result, the service delivery experience of the customer may be influenced. Quality culture affects the way in which employees interact with each other and with their customers. This study therefore, presents an inquiry into quality culture within a higher education context with the aim to evaluate quality culture within the Faculty of Education at a UoT using quality management principles (QMPs) as a framework. This study employed QMPs because of their increased effectiveness in enhancing customer satisfaction and improving customer loyalty. The quality management principles are: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvements, evidence-based decisions and relationship management (ISO 9001, 2015:Online). This study used a quantitative research approach and was designed as a survey case study. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire that was disseminated to all the academic and non-academic staff in the Faculty of Education at the UoT. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used as a tool for data analysis. Findings in this study reveal that a safe working environment, communication between employees, communication between management and employees, in addition to good working relationships, may affect service quality in the Faculty of Education at the UoT. This implies that having a healthy working environment in an organization is beneficial for employees in order to perform their duties better and to provide quality services to their customers. In an organization with good quality culture, there is close cooperation between employees which leads to good service quality. If the institution under study is concerned with providing value to customers, it needs to consider improving customer value by formally applying QMPs throughout the organization. QMPs are central to the practice of quality management and service delivery. The findings of this study suggest that quality culture affects service quality in the Faculty of Education at the UoT as some of the quality management principles are lacking. This study recommends that the Faculty of Education have a closer look at improving communication between employees, communication between management and employees, in addition to encouraging good working relationships as well as an enabling environment that allows employees to work efficiently. It is also recommended that quality culture be on the Faculty of Education’s agenda in order to enhance the service delivery experience of customers. The Faculty of Education should support a quality culture environment by providing appropriate structures such as service delivery structures within their organizations. These structures may be needed in order to facilitate, maintain and show commitment of staff members towards a quality culture environment and service delivery. Furthermore, these structures may contribute to quality culture by introducing new shared values and behavioural norms that might facilitate the long-term success and well-being of the organization. It is also recommended that the institution under study formally apply quality management principles throughout the organization for the purpose of improving customer value, customer experience and meeting customer needs.

<p>The aim of this study was to determine the types of sport that are available for the learner with a physical disability in ordinary schools in the Western Cape and what prevents and facilitates participation in sport.</p>

<p>The aim of this study was to determine the types of sport that are available for the learner with a physical disability in ordinary schools in the Western Cape and what prevents and facilitates participation in sport.</p>

Increasingly, organisations are realising that they have to establish an equitable balance between the employee&rsquo / s contribution to the organisation and the organisation&rsquo / s contribution to the employee. Establishing this balance is one of the main reasons to reward and recognise employees. Organisations that follow a strategic approach to creating this balance focus on the three main components of a reward system, which includes, compensation, benefits and recognition (Deeprose, 1994). Studies that have been conducted on the topic indicates that the most common problem in organisations today is that they miss the important component of recognition, which is the low-cost, high-return ingredient to a well-balanced reward system. A key focus of recognition is to make employees feel appreciated and valued (Sarvadi, 2005). Research has proven that employees who get recognised tend to have higher self-esteem, more confidence, more willingness to take on new challenges and more eagerness to be innovative (Mason, 2001). The aim of this study is to investigate whether rewards and recognition has an impact on employee motivation. A biographical and Work Motivation Questionnaire was administered to respondents (De Beer, 1987). The sample group (N= 184) consists of male and female employees on post-grade levels 5 to 12. The results of the research indicated that there is a positive relationship between rewards, recognition and motivation. The results also revealed that women, and employees from non-white racial backgrounds experienced lower levels of rewards, recognition and motivation. Future research on the latter issues could yield interesting insights into the different factors that motivate employees. Notwithstanding the insights derived from the current research, results need to be interpreted with caution since a convenience sample was used, thereby restricting the generalisability to the wider population.