Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Library and Information Science) in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / Agriculture is the dominant sector in Zimbabwe’s economy, contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and providing an income to over 75% of the population. Agricultural research and extension is undertaken in both public and private sector institutions across the five agro-ecological regions of the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the information needs and challenges of agricultural researchers and extension workers in the public sector in Zimbabwe. The government is responsible for agriculture in Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development (MoAMID). The study focused on researchers falling under the Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS) and extension workers under the Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX). The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods; a questionnaire was distributed to researchers and extension workers, and interviews were conducted with key informants and librarians. An observation schedule on the state of agricultural libraries in Zimbabwe was also used. The respondents were drawn from eight provinces and research institutes as defined in the target population. Mashonaland Central Province produced the highest number of respondents because the population for the province included ward and village extension workers in addition to the district and provincial extension officers and supervisors targeted in each province. Forty four (44) districts participated from the projected sixty (60), while sixteen (16) out of seventeen (17) research institutes responded, although there were variations in responses per institute. The findings of the study indicated that the respondents held qualifications ranging from certificates (for extension workers at ward level) to doctorates for senior researchers in their respective areas of work. The study also showed that the agricultural researchers were generally younger than extension workers, and on average the majority of both categories of respondents had less than 10 years working experience. The majority of the respondents also had less than five years working experience in their current positions. In terms of gender, there were more males than females in both categories of respondents. The study revealed that the information needs of the researchers and extension workers aligned with the major agricultural disciplines of crop science, animal science, agricultural engineering, although agricultural economics did not attract prominence. v The respondents were using various sources of information in fulfilling their information needs, ranging from libraries to internet sources (including databases and other electronic sources), consulting colleagues, workshops and seminars, and personal collections. The level of usage and preferences differed, but overall agricultural researchers showed a preference for electronic sources while extension workers preferred print sources. Departmental collections were especially prominent among the extension workers, and these were mentioned as their first point of call when they were in need of information. Library usage was low, and it was observed that the Ministry of Agriculture’s libraries were not adequately equipped to meet the information needs of the researchers and extension workers. The materials were dated, and the libraries had no budget for the acquisition of new resources. Internet access was limited to institutions with access to internet connections and requisite technologies like computers; the TEEAL database, for example, was only available on standalone access at the Central Library. The different available resources were considered to be important sources of agricultural information. The use of indigenous knowledge by both researchers and extension workers in agriculture was also evident in the study. The study revealed that agricultural research prioritisation was determined by the government, national needs, and the availability of funds in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including farmers. The research extension model that is used suggests a communication pattern where researchers reach the farmers through the extension system and also through direct contact with the farmers. The reverse – farmer to researcher - also shows communication in the opposite (upward) direction. Overall, the researchers and extension workers appear to play a pivotal role in disseminating agricultural information to the farmers. Various channels also appear to be used to communicate agricultural information, including the media, pamphlets and posters, and public gatherings like field days and agricultural shows. Lack of material in local languages was identified as a major challenge in the communication process, although some translation was being done. This challenge was exacerbated by the land reform programme, which has seen a massive increase in the number of people directly involved in farming. The Ministry of Agriculture was seen to lack a clear policy on the management of information generated by its departments, including research and extension. This was vi despite mention by the respondents that the information was adequately captured. The study showed that ICTs were used to generate information which was subsequently distributed as hard copies. The distribution of such material was hampered by lack of resources like printers and toners. ICTs such as the radio, television, the internet, databases, and telephones were also being used to disseminate agricultural information, although databases were hampered by the lack of computers. Mobile phones, although not readily available as office equipment, were highly utilised in the communication process. The study revealed that there is collaboration between agricultural researchers and extension workers and with other stakeholders at both local and international level in the areas of material production, research facilities, and training. Linkages were also evident with farmer organisations in the areas of funding, farm research, and materials production. The study concluded that funding was one of the main challenges facing research and extension in Zimbabwe, with donor funding having dried up in recent years. Although privatisation and charging for services have been considered as alternatives for income generation, they face criticism for discriminating against poor farmers. The study recommends that the Central Library should be empowered in terms of personnel and other resources in order to address the information needs of researchers and extension workers. It also recommends the strengthening of the delivery of research and extension services by capacitating research and extension institutions through adequate ICTs, funding and enhanced collaboration with relevant stakeholders among other issues. / University of Zululand

A mini dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters Of Education in Research Methodology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University Of Zululand, 2016 / This study was designed to explore educators’ views on the challenges facing the teaching of Life skills in Umkhanyakude primary schools. The study was motivated, among other things, by the paucity of literature regarding educators’ views on the challenges facing Life skills in rural area primary schools. Life skills are a mandatory subject for all learners at Junior and Intermediate phases. It deals with the holistic development of the learner throughout childhood and equips them with knowledge, skills and values that will assist them to achieve their full physical, intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills (DoE 2012). To guide the study three research hypotheses were formulated and statistically tested at a/the 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a quantitative research approach using descriptive survey design. The sample for the study comprises of 202 educators in Umkhanyakude Districts primary schools. This/the sample was obtained using the random sampling. Data was obtained from the sample using a questionnaire. The questionnaire is a 24 item, which was designed in a Likert like 5 scale. The validity of the questionnaire was obtained through a sample pilot test of 60 educators and the reliability coefficient of 0.753 was obtained using the Crobach’s Alpha. The data obtained from the sample was analysed using the Chi Square with SPSS. The study’s findings revealed agreement amongst educators that there are challenges facing the Life skills teaching. In addition, the study revealed that an overwhelming majority of educators (99%) confidently agree that Life skills can be used as an intervention to counteract the challenges faced in the Life skills class. Additionally, the study revealed that biographical information like gender and post level have no significant influence on the educators’ ability to indicate different challenges experienced in Life skills class, while, on the other hand, age, phase, experience and qualifications was found to have a significant impact on the educators’ ability to indicate different challenges experienced in Life skills class. Likewise, the study revealed that there is no evidence that educators’ view on the challenges facing Life skills teaching depend on the post level and gender. The respondents’ opinions were independent of gender, meaning that males and female homogenously agree that there are challenges when teaching Life skills. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that all educators teaching Life skills must be professionally qualified as the study revealed qualification influence the teachers’ ability. More important is that educators with more years of teaching experience may be the ones teaching the subject as per the study results. It is also recommended that efforts should be made by stakeholders, especially the Department of Education, to motivate educators teaching Life skills considering the importance of Life skills education in equipping learners with essential skills to cope with the various challenges learners are facing. Efforts should be made to ensure the continuity of Life skills education as an intervention in schools. Finally, it is recommended that there should be networking and collaboration between educators; especially for those qualified and those unqualified to teach Life skills education, as the findings indicated as such.

A dissertation submitted to the FACULTY OF EDUCATION at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration, 2004. / This study was influenced by the White Paper 6 document on inclusive education. The document proposes non-discrimination of learners which is in line with South African Constitution, Act 108 of 1996 and South African Schools, Act 1996. All learners should be accommodated in the class without any discrimination against race, gender and disabilities so as to have opportunities to develop their capacities and potential, and make their full contribution to the society. The empirical study, conducted at Ndwedwe Circuit in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), attempts to evaluate the implementation of inclusive education in mainstream schools. Data has been solicited from a sample population of school management teams by means of questionnaires. Both open and close-ended questions were used. The followings are reflected as key findings that emanated from the empirical study. * There is a general lack of information from school management teams about new education document relative to Inclusive Education which has -emerged recently such as Education White Paper 6 (2002). * There is a lack of teacher development programmes to capacitate the educators to effectively implement inclusive education in the mainstream schools. * There is also a shortage and/or inadequate infrastructure to support inclusive education within the mainstream schools. ^ The study also reveals that not all the respondents have appropriate knowledge or adequate information about inclusive education and effective strategies for it successful implementation. On the basis of the above findings, among others, the following key recommendations have been made. * Every educator in the mainstream schools should be adequately trained to implement Inclusive Education at the level of the classroom. * The department of education should provide meaningful and adequate support services to schools and school management teams (SMTs). * The school governing body should play an active role to promote inclusive education and training.

Drygt 50 miljoner personer världen över lider idag av demenssjukdom. En siffra som förväntas tredubblats vid år 2050. Demenssjukdomar beskrivs som kroniska och degenerativa och har påverkan på personens minne, beteende samt förmågan att utföra dagliga sysslor. Personer med demenssjukdom är i behov av kompetent omvårdnad baserad på respekt för personens autonomi, integritet och värdighet. I takt med ökningen krävs mer kunskap kring omvårdnad vid demenssjukdom, för att personer med diagnosen skall erhålla rätt och passande vård. Syftet med studien var att belysa etiska utmaningar i omvårdnaden av personer med demenssjukdom. För att besvara syftet genomfördes en litteraturstudie med artikelsökningar i tre olika databaser. Det resulterade i fem kategorier; Bevara personens värdighet, Bristande kompetens, Bristande stöd, Bristande tid och resurser samt Bristande kommunikativ förmåga – den outtalade utmaningen. Det är av vikt att besitta kunskap kring de etiska utmaningar som uppstår i omvårdnaden av personer med demenssjukdom, då det kan öka förutsättningarna för en personcentrerad vård och därmed bevara personens autonomi, integritet och värdighet. / Approxmently 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia today. A number that is expected to triple by year 2050. Dementia is described as chronic and degenerative and has an impact on the person's memory, behavior and ability to perform daily chores. People with dementia are in need of competent nursing based on respect for the person's autonomy, integrity and dignity. In line with the increase more knowledge about dementiacare is needed in order for people with the diagnosis to receive the right and appropriate care. The aim of this study was to highlight ethical challenges in the care of people with dementia. To answer the purpose, a literature study was conducted with article searches in three different databases. It resulted in five categories; Preserve the person's dignity, Lack of competense, Lack of support, Lack of time and resources and Lack of communicative – the unspoken challenge. It is important to have knowledge about the ethical challenges that arise in the care of people with dementia, as it can increase the conditions for a person-centered care and thus preserve the person's autonomy, integrity and dignity.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This pilot study examines the use of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program by the Burmese population in Indianapolis, Indiana. A significant number of Burmese people migrated to the Indianapolis area starting in 2004. Many of them are families with young children and are enrolled in the WIC program. Language barriers and cultural differences make it more difficult for the WIC program to meet the needs of these families. To what extent is the WIC program meeting their needs? To answer this question, Burmese WIC participants enrolled in the Marion County WIC program were invited to participate in this study. Study participants received a survey at the time of their appointment at the WIC office. The survey included questions that focus on how the Burmese people feel about the foods provided and the nutrition education they receive on the program. Of the 30 study participants, 28 of them or 93.3% reported WIC as being very helpful. Some foods were reported as not being utilized as frequently by the Burmese population on the WIC program, including tortillas, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta. In addition, twenty six of the 30 participants or 86.7% reported the nutrition education they receive on WIC as being very helpful. Participants reported learning many new things through WIC nutrition education including how best to feed their infants and children, as well as breastfeeding being the best for their babies.

Historically, women all over the world have been subjected to several kinds of discriminatory behaviour, attitudes and stereotypes. This results from long-held patriarchal values and male dominance. In the workplace, women suffer prejudice against their role in society, which often limits their chances of reaching top leadership positions. Women are faced with many challenges in the workplace, including, inter alia: the glass ceiling , work/life demands, workplace inequality, sexual harassment, poor career development and tokenism. The goal of this study is to explore the leadership challenges facing female managers in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Fifteen operational managers were purposively selected by means of the non-probability sampling method. The research approach to this study is the qualitative approach. For the purpose of this study, the collective case study design was used. Qualitative researchers are interested primarily in the meaning subjects give to their life experiences. The researcher made use of the collective case study design to gain insight into the experiences by the female managers in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted as the primary data collection method. The findings of this study reveal that female managers are experiencing leadership challenges, including reaching the `glass ceiling´, work/life demands, workplace inequality, workplace discrimination and lack of promotional prospects. The findings call for a concerted effort by senior management to ensure equal opportunities for women in the workplace. The City of Johannesburg should take the lead in addressing these challenges in order to champion the course of women’s emancipation. / Dissertation (MSW (EAP))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (EAP) / Unrestricted

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the business cultural challenges that arise when Swedish companies choose to enter the Chinese market. The study utilizes a qualitative approach, employing semi-structured interviews with five individuals who possess extensive experience working in China. The theoretical framework draws upon Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Trompenaar's seven dimensions to illustrate the cultural differences between Sweden and China. The findings of the study indicate that Swedish companies encounter numerous business cultural challenges. Recruiting employees, communication styles, and learning the social intricacies, including the Chinese language are among the various business cultural challenges faced by Swedish companies when establishing themselves in China. / Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen för de affärskulturella utmaningar som uppstår när svenska företag etablerar sig på den kinesiska marknaden. Studien använder en kvalitativ metod och genomför semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem personer som har omfattande erfarenhet av att arbeta i Kina. Den teoretiska ramen bygger på Hofstedes kulturella dimensioner och Trompenaars sju dimensioner för att belysa de kulturella skillnaderna mellan Sverige och Kina. Resultaten från studien visar att svenska företag står inför ett antal affärskulturella utmaningar. Rekrytering av personal, kommunikationsstilar och lärandet av de hemliga koderna i samhället, inklusive det kinesiska språket, är bland de olika affärskulturella utmaningar som svenska företag möter när de etablerar sig i Kina.

Nowadays, we have seen a tremendous improvement in technology, as stated by Almega.Se, (2021), the era of digitalization has helped many companies increase productivity, reduce costs, and expand to new markets. There has been a massive increase in start-ups, especially in the tech industry. This study will examine how Swedish tech start-ups grow their businesses and identify some of the biggest and most important challenges they face while growing. This thesis uses Greiner's (1998) “Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow” to explore organizations' strategies and challenges while expanding and growing their business. This study also uses other scientific articles related to Greiner’s model to support and update the model. The results of this study found the most common challenges that start-ups in the tech industry face but also suggested some strategies to overcome these challenges.  The authors of this study found that startups could use Greiner's (1998) model to get inspired and informed about challenges and strategies to grow, even though some changes have occurred as the tech industry has evolved dramatically. Challenges such as finding a skillful team that can contribute to the growing firm are not noted by Greiner's (1998) model or strategies related to heavy marketing. On the other hand, challenges such as delivering a complete product, and conflicts between upper and low levels of management are noticeable nowadays among start-ups.  Keywords: Startups, strategy, challenges, Growth, Tech industry, Greiner 1998 Model, II

As the closed innovation model requires firms to be strongly reliant on their own R&D- capabilities in order to generate new innovations (van de Vrande et al., 2009, p. 425), a new approach has emerged over the last decade: The open innovation model. Open innovation is a model where organizations commercialize both their own and external ideas through purposive out and inflows of information (Chesbrough, 2006, p. 1). As a result, enterprises can benefit from the reduction of costs it infers, and simultaneously gain a larger amount of competence (Ghezzi et al., 2018; Rehman et al., 2018; Dodgson et al., 2006).  The open innovation model favors smaller firms and gives them an increasingly prominent position in the innovation landscape (Chesbrough, 2003, cited in van de Vrande et al., 2009, p. 427), and since SMEs are limited by a lack of financial resources, manpower, and substitutes for lack of sales, they especially benefit from collaboration with external parts to increase innovation performance (Hanna & Walsh, 2002; Kaufmann & Tödtling, 2002). However, successfully implementing an open innovation model as an SME comes with its unique challenges. In this study we will aim to investigate how SMEs in Sweden addresses these barriers through the following research question:  How do Swedish SMEs overcome the challenges of open innovation in practice?  The purpose of our study was to explore how SMEs overcome the barriers of working with open innovation in order to provide guidance for organizations who struggle to do so. To answer our research question and fulfill our purpose, we have conducted semi- structured interviews with eight different decision-makers from eight different SMEs. We performed a thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Our study found many ways that SMEs overcome barriers related to open innovation and resulted in several actions for decision-makers to overcome different categories of barriers. For example, our research showed how an equal exchange of value between partners could be an efficient way of maintaining a partnership, how shaping the team to be open for and involved in the organization's innovation work was a way of overcoming the barrier of company culture, and that educating the employees on open innovation was a way of tackling the barrier of lack of resources.  From a theoretical standpoint, our study contributes with a new perspective on the existing literature. It complements what is claimed to be an under-researched area, not only for open innovation in SMEs in general (Lee et al., 2010, p. 299), but also with a focus on overcoming innovation barriers (Hölzl & Janger, 2012, p. 25). It also brings a new geographical perspective of the concept, providing insights from the Swedish innovation climate.

Microservice architecture has been prevalent for the last decade. This type of architecture is a proven solution to scalability, team autonomy, and complexity challenges. The industry acknowledges that this approach effectively addresses these issues. Through a literature review where we mainly examine the case for microservice architecture, along with a case study, we interview the project architect involved in migrating a system away from microservice architecture. Understanding the difficulties that people face when dealing with microservices is crucial. We need to identify the situations where it is appropriate to question their usage. Through our study, we also examine the process of raising the granularity in a system, i.e. migrating it towards a microservice architecture, as well as what might be the unique difficulties in moving in the opposite direction. The study does not cover differences in technically oriented quality attributes between architectural designs but how teams, architects and developers work with them. The results show that several factors, such as team size, number of teams and the scope of the system, play into whether microservices are suitable for a particular system or not, or what alternatives might suit it better. The results provide valuable insights into things worth considering when making architectural decisions.