Global Software Development (GSD) and Agile are two popular software development trends that are gaining in popularity. In addition, more and more organisations are now seeking to engage in agile software development within the GSD context to reap the benefits of both ventures and achieve project success. Hence, agile methodologies adapted to fit the GSD context are commonly termed Global Agile Software Development (GASD) methodologies. However, because of geographical, temporal, and cultural challenges, collaboration is not easily realized in the GASD context. In addition, this work context is characterized by multiple overlapping fields of practice, which further hinder collaboration, and give rise to social challenges. Given the existence of these social challenges, there is a need to further investigate the human-centred aspect of collaboration during GASD. Following an extensive literature review on the application of Scrum and other agile methodologies in GASD between 2006 and 2011, it was noted that there is a lack of understanding of the social conditions giving rise to the social challenges experienced during GASD. It was noted that past studies have instead sought to describe these social challenges and to provide mitigating strategies in the form of best-practices, without detailing and theorising about the social conditions under which these social challenges emerge. One of the objective of the study was thus to investigate the use of Scrum during GASD. In particular, the Scrum process breakdowns experienced during and after Scrum's sprint planning and retrospective meetings were identified. The social conditions under which these breakdowns emerged were investigated in the light of Bourdieu's Theory of Practice. Scrum Process breakdowns were defined as any deviation from an ideal Scrum process (as per the Scrum methodology's guidelines) which yields to the emergence of social challenges, conflict or disagreements in the GASD team. The study was empirical and qualitative in nature and followed the positivist research paradigm. Two case studies, in line with Bonoma (1985)'s "drift" and "design" stages of case study design, were undertaken to investigate the phenomena of interest and answer the research questions. The first case focused on a distributed agile team executing a software project across South Africa (Cape Town) and Brazil (Sao Paulo) while the second case focused on a team executing an agile software project across India (Pune) and South Africa (Durban). The site selection was carefully thought out and the results from the first case informed the second case in order to add more richness in the data being gathered. In both case studies, data was collected through semi-structured interviews, documentation, field notes and direct observation. The underlying theoretical framework employed for the study was the Theory of Practice (Bourdieu, 1990). The study has identified various forms of Scrum process breakdowns occurring during and after sprint planning and retrospective meetings: » Different perceptions about task urgency at the software development sites » Disagreements on the suitability of software engineering practices » Low level of communication openness during meetings involving the whole GASD team compared to internal meetings at the sites » Impromptu changes to user stories' content and priorities » Product Owner's low level of authority » Disagreements on estimation mechanisms » Number of User Stories to be completed during the Sprint Is imposed on the team » Decisions on Scrum process updates not made by the development team » Selective invitation to retrospective meetings In addition, various social conditions were identified as possibly leading to the emergence of these Scrum process breakdowns in the GASD context: » GASD project stakeholders' low level of capital in the joint field » Different beliefs and values because of multiple fields Two theoretical propositions were derived to describe the social conditions and the corresponding Scrum process breakdowns which are likely to emerge under these conditions.

This study examined the relationship between social capital and utilization of HIV/AIDSrelated healthcare amongst people living with HIV in rural Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe. It also explored barriers to optimal HIV/AIDS-related healthcare utilization among this rural population. Grounded on the Andersen and Newman model of healthcare utilization and social capital theory, the study employed a mixed method research design. Using time-location sampling procedure, a total of 399 people living with HIV were interviewed using a survey questionnaire. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were also conducted with 40 purposively selected key informants that included healthcare workers, HIV/AIDS service providers and community leaders. A statistically significant association was found between social capital and healthcare utilization. The binary logistic regression model was statistically significant, χ² (11) =129.362, (p < .005), it correctly classified 80.20% of cases and explained 59.3% of the variance in healthcare utilization (Nagelkerke R-Square =59.30%). The 16 items of the social capital scale were subjected to principal compoments analysis (PCA). Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of sampling adequacy was 0.645 and Bartletts's Test of Spehericity reached statistical significance (χ² (120) = 128, p < .001), supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix. Social capital was a significant predictor of HIV/AIDS-related healthcare utilization (p<0.001). The results indicated that for a unit increase in social capital the odds of utilization of HIV/AIDS-related healthcare increased by a factor of 59.84. Other significant predictors of HIV/AID-related healthcare utilization amongst the study participants were gender (p<.05, odds ratio=3.4), discrimination (p<.05, odds ratio = 7.7) and household headship (p<.001, odds ratio = 4.3). Enabling factors such as membership in health insurance schemes and household income had no significant effect on HIV/AIDS-related healthcare utilization. Major barriers to HIV/AIDS-related healthcare utilization were food insecurity and reliance on informal sources of medication. This study contributed to understanding of the influences of social capital on the utilization of HIV/AIDS-related health care and underscored the need to integrate social capital in designing interventions to improve HIV/AIDS-related healthcare utilization in rural contexts.

Child sexual abuse is a prevalent problem in South Africa – one in every three children is sexually abused before the age of 18. Sexually abused children have serious psychological, physical and social problems which cause further difficulties into adulthood. Most abusers are known to their victims and thus, victims do not always disclose the abuse. Therefore, the law compels the reporting of child sexual abuse suspicions by third parties. However, past research shows that mandated reporters do not always report child sexual abuse suspicions. This study aimed to investigate the factors related to the mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse amongst primary school teachers in South Africa. A cross-sectional research study, using self-administered survey questionnaires, was conducted amongst foundation phase teachers in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Grounded on the theory of planned behaviour, this study investigated the relationships between various independent variables with the teacher's intention to report child sexual abuse. The independent variables tested included the teachers' attitude towards reporting, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, knowledge on mandatory reporting, past reporting behaviour and socio-demographic characteristics of teachers. From a total population of 1118 public primary schools (and estimated 9542 foundation phase teachers), using stratified random sampling, a total of 2032 questionnaires were hand-delivered to 200 schools randomly selected across the Western Cape. A total of 399 foundation phase teachers participated in this study, representing a 20% response rate. This study found that about 25% of teachers had reported at least one case of child sexual abuse during their teaching career. About 7% of the teachers in this study had encountered instances in which they had failed to report suspected child sexual abuse. Subjective norm and perceived behavioural control (but not attitude towards reporting) was found to predict intention to report amongst teachers. A teacher who reported child sexual abuse in the past as well as a teacher with more accurate knowledge on mandatory reporting, was more likely to have intention to report in the future. Contrary to that posited by the theory of planned behaviour, attitude towards reporting did not mediate the relationship between past reporting behaviour and intention to report nor the relationship between knowledge on mandatory reporting and intention to report. The study further found that older teachers with more years teaching experience, although having a lower education level, were more likely to report their suspicions. Younger teachers, with less teaching experience, although better educated than their older counterparts, indicated less likelihood of reporting. The theory of planned behaviour, although significant, could not on its own effectively be applied to teachers' intention to report child sexual abuse and further investigation identified other explanatory factors that influenced teachers' intention to report. Given the high prevalence of child sexual abuse, the results have important implications. Whilst the teachers' age, years teaching experience or past reporting behaviour cannot be controlled, teachers must be adequately trained and supported. Knowing how to recognize and report child sexual abuse must be integrated into the tertiary education qualifications of student teachers as well as in continuing in-service training initiatives of current teachers. Furthermore, schools and the entire child protection system, must be supportive to teachers in their reporting duties.

This study deals with leadership and 'humanness' and compares the perceptions of human equality of two outstanding African leaders, 'fathers of their nations', Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana, and Julius Nyerere, first president of Tanganyika, later Tanzania. Leadership is a key issue for political, economic and social development in Africa and worldwide. This is especially true in times of financial and economic globalisation that affects people in poor African countries significantly. Half a century after the independence of most countries on the continent, poverty is the daily experience of the majority of Africa's people. Public criticism about the present political leadership and their 'delivery' of goods and services to the people is widespread and profound. This problem prompted me to study the leadership experiences of Nkrumah and Nyerere. The overall goal of this research is to better understand Nkrumah and Nyerere as leaders in Africa. Therefore, my study has two research questions: what are their perceptions on equality and human development - and what is their historical and contemporary relevance, in times of human rights violations and increasing inequalities. The methodological choice is critical hermeneutics (Gadamer 1990, 2013; Ricoeur 1991b; Habermas 1992b, 1996), which allows a multi-cultural historical and contemporary dialogue with Nkrumah and Nyerere through their text. Hermeneutics also has relevance in Africa (Oruka 1990; Serequeberhan 1994; Mbembe 2001). I name my method the "triple jump" (Häussler 2009a). The study is a combination of a quantitative and a qualitative method with a hermeneutic conversation. The core-keywords of the dialogues are colonialism, unity, socialism, equality, freedom and development. There are three significant findings that contribute new knowledge to our understanding of Nkrumah and Nyerere as leaders. First, that using the hermeneutic dialogue (my "triple jump") as a holistic and practical model enables a 'better' understanding of Nkrumah and Nyerere. Second, interpreting their perceptions on human equality reveals that both leaders prioritise education as a critical part of human development and achieving equality in society. It also unveils differences in their focus: Nkrumah on de-colonisation and African unity; Nyerere on social and economic self-reliance, and equal rights. Thirdly, the study reveals tensions between their discourses on equality and freedom and their personal capacity to deal with power, opposition, human rights and idealism. My study concludes with recommendations for the development of ethical leadership and for personal support for leaders in office.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / The study explored the use of residential diversion within a restorative justice framework in the management of youth sex offenders in South Africa. The research design combined qualitative and quantitative approaches with a predominantly qualitative thrust in the gathering, analysis and presentation of data. A non-probability purposive sampling method was adopted with three sets of samples, namely, youth ex-sex offenders, their significant others, and key informants from various professions who were involved in the management of youth ex-sex offenders and/or their victims in a variety of settings. Three semi-structured interview schedules were developed in advance and used as tools for data collection through in-depth face-to-face interviews with each research respondent.

Since the fall of Apartheid, the new mandate of the democratic South African government has been to provide equal quality education for all and to desegregate the education system in South Africa. The desegregation of tertiary education afforded Black students the opportunity to navigate different campuses with vast institutional origins and cultures. This qualitative study aimed to explore Black students' experiences of Blackness while navigating two university campuses in the Western Cape. Drawing upon Black Consciousness and Double Consciousness as the theoretical frameworks, this study examined the experiences and perceptions of Blackness of 20 Black male and female students from two Universities in the Western Cape Province. The aim was to gauge the participants’ sense and understanding of Blackness and how it is shaped and reshaped as they navigate the university space. First, the findings revealed that that Black students exhibited racial pride and ascribed positive traits to Blackness. The students were proud to be Black and asserted that Black people had a good work ethic. Students reported that being Black afforded them an opportunity to change their socio-economic circumstances and improve their communities. Second, Black students who navigated historically White neighbourhoods, schools and university experienced South Africa as untransformed and unequal. On the other hand, Black students who navigated historically Black neighbourhoods, who went to historically Black schools and who attended a majority Black University viewed South Africa as a Rainbow Nation. Black students who attended a historically White university had a heightened sense of Blackness and experienced marginalisation within the university context compared to the Black students who went to a majority Black university Third, universities are not neutral spaces and their historical origins characterise their institutional cultures and the academy. Black students who attended the university founded during colonialism reported that the campus had colonial symbolism and the culture of the university favoured White students. The students reported that the curriculum was Eurocentric and needed to be decolonized. Fourth, Blackness is shaped and reshaped differently on university campuses. Students who went to a majority Black university expressed they were in the majority and the university was a comfortable environment. Black students at both universities experienced racial discrimination and alienation from White and/or Coloured academic staff. Despite progressive policies, this study revealed that much more work need still needs to be done to right the wrongs of the past.

As a consequence of Apartheid, schools today are still grappling with the process of desegregation of an unequal education system in South Africa. The inequality of skills acquired by children and the poor quality of education received undermines their ability to understand or develop aspirations. This qualitative study aims to explore the educational journey of high school learners and how the journey shapes their aspirations. Drawing upon the background of high school learners, particularly their family background, socio-economic status and neighborhood, this study examines the aspirations informed by the educational journey of learners. First, the findings revealed that academic interests of learners were not steered by the stature of the school they attended. The reasons that are understood to be positively affecting the change in academic interests are more self-driven than influenced by factors that are outside of the personal journey of the learners. Second, parents who were educated themselves valued the importance of quality education, which meant not only improving marks, but also building and working towards an aspiration. Third, learners who came from decent and peaceful neighborhoods mostly reported a supportive community and one that is always striving for a better future through education. This community dynamic also had a positive effect on the learners’ focus and ability to study after school hours. The results of the study also mention the shortcomings of the current South African education system in the way that it only allows for limited real-world exposure and restricts learners from making informed subject choices. Recommendations for corrective measures in the form of introduction of gap year programs, better subject choices and exposure to career fairs and interaction with field experts are made by the researcher.

The number of orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa reached 51,900,000 in 2013. There has been limited research, particularly in the countries of Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, on the role of social protection policies, types of alternative care, and fulfillment of basic needsin ensuring the welfare of this vulnerable population. The goal of the present thesis was to examine the interconnections between these factors and their relations to the overall well-being of 122 orphans and vulnerable children between the ages of 10 and 17 yearsin the two countries. Using a mixed-method approach, both quantitative data (health, basic needs fulfillment, domains of well-being) and exploratory qualitative interview-based data were collected. A literature review on the social protection policies of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) was undertaken prior to data collection in the field. Caregivers and local authorities were also interviewed. The results showed a marked difference in the way basic and psycho-social needs were met in the different types of alternative care situations children experienced in the two countries. The well-being of children varied widely among the care centres within each country, and indicated a comparative advantage for those children living in residential centres. The findings also indicated that the efforts to support orphans and vulnerable children were more advanced in Mozambique than in Guinea-Bissau at the policy-level, but this did not necessarily translate into higher overall well-being for children in that country. Significant associations were also found between the overall well-being of orphans and vulerable children and their social situation in the community, food, health, and education situations. Taking these findings into account, the researcher calls for more comprehensive social protection policies in the two countries, promoting community integration of these children.

This thesis investigates the level of sustainability of two microfinance institutions (MFIs): Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and Capitec Bank of South Africa. Data from 2004 to 2013 is used in this study employing internationally accepted sustainability criteria, namely, the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) 2010 Microfinance Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) and the SEEP Framework of 2005. The results of this study indicate that although the operations of both microfinance institutions are sustainable, Capitec Bank exhibits a higher level of sustainability as compared to Grameen Bank. This is evidenced by Capitec Bank’s higher levels of profitability, capital adequacy and solvency, operational self-sufficiency, and healthier asset portfolio. This finding underlines South Africa’s financial sector’s stability, institutional quality, competitive market, and solid regulatory framework. The sustainability criteria suggest that Capitec Bank and other South African MFIs should heed Grameen Bank’s low ROE and insufficient capital adequacy and solvency measures. Ensuring healthy and strategic lending portfolios gives a good ROE for a firm’s shareholders. Furthermore, the capital adequacy and solvency ratios have important implications for an institution’s capital structure. Therefore, Capitec and South African MFIs should maintain healthy ROE, capital adequacy and solvency ratios in order to ensure their long-term sustainability. As future research, it would be useful if data were made available to enable an assessment of a failed South African MFI to obtain clearer insight into the South African microfinance sector. Furthermore, data on Grameen and Capitec’s asset quality and social performance will give additional insight into the social sustainability of these two MFIs.

Every year youth living in child and youth care centres (CYCCs) in Cape Town prepare themselves for independent adult living as they approach the age of majority, eighteen years of age, which enables them to legally leave state care. This research study explored the experiences of Cape Town youth transitioning from CYCCs to independent adult living. The study was conducted with a sample of twenty youth from five different CYCCs in Cape Town, South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative approach using a semi-structured interview schedule for face-to-face interviews with the participants. A purposive sample was used for the selection of participants for this study. Data collected during this study was analysed using Tesch’s eight-step approach to data analysis. The study findings revealed that participants had various perceptions regarding their transition from their CYCCs to independent adult living. Some perceived their exit from state care as a disturbance in their lives which resulted in them experiencing a range of emotions such as fear and anxiety as they anticipated how their lives would change once they leave state care. Others recognised that during this time they would experience some independence which meant taking on more responsibility for their lives such as being accountable for their daily living costs which include groceries, electricity and transport. Participants also viewed this transitional period as a time to actively look for alternative accommodation before leaving state care to avoid potential homelessness. Living in care was also understood as an opportunity for youth to successfully complete their high schooling without any disruptions. In addition to this the study findings revealed that participants had aspirations that they hoped to see come to fruition while they prepare for independent adult living. These included making contact with their families of origin, enrolling into tertiary institutions, finding employment and helping others in need. They also foresaw challenges that may arise while they prepared for independent adult living. These challenges included repetition of negative past behaviours, struggling to find employment, worries about safety, worries about not having support after leaving care and possible financial challenges. The study findings also revealed how youth living in CYCCs can be better supported during their transition to independent adult living. This can occur through improving existing transitional programmes, assigning youth living in CYCCs with mentors during their transitional period and improving the government’s role in supporting CYCCs and youth leaving care by, amongst other things, creating more employment opportunities for youth. The main recommendations of the study include that CYCCs provide youth preparing to leave care for independent adult living with the necessary emotional support such as individual counselling sessions where they can disclose and deal with their fears and anxieties about leaving state care. It is also recommended that CYCCs continue to push their education agenda with youth preparing to leave state care so that they can continue to be ambitious when it comes to furthering their education. Another recommendation is that CYCCs readily support youth wanting to make contact with their family of origin during their transition to independent adult living. Finally, children living in CYCCs should be introduced to transitional programmes soon after their entrance into the CYCC programme rather than too close to their exit from state care.