The history of the gold mining industry and that of South Africa are closely linked and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Despite declining production figures in the last decade, the gold mining industry remains a key contributor to economic development in the country. The legitimacy of the industry has been based almost entirely on the financial contribution to the fiscus and job creation. More recently, this legitimacy has been questioned by perceptions of shortcomings in the contribution to sustainable development. The purpose of the research was to gain an enhanced understanding into how the gold mining industry is respond to the challenges of sustainability in South Africa. Through a combination of qualitative interviews and secondary data review, the research had specific aims to: Establish the strategic stances of South African gold mining companies on sustainability Identify key drivers and impediments to implementing sustainability strategies into the day-to-day decision making; establish the maturity levels of the practices adopted by the companies; and establish an approach that can be used to assist South Africa’s gold mining companies embed sustainability in their strategies. By and large, the South African gold mining industry recognises its responsibilities towards society and the ecosystem. However, the focus seems to be more short-term and based on liability, cost and risk reduction. Additionally, there seems to be a gap between intent and actual performance. The Mining Charter and global sustainability frameworks are key drivers in the companies’ response to sustainability challenges.Leadership within the industry, the credibility and trust deficits, and the fragmented approach to sustainable development were identified as major impediments. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) attributed to anthropogenic activities are one of the fundamental drivers of environmental changes at the local, regional and global levels. These changes continue to threaten the capacity of the ecosystems to function and provide environmental goods and services and the ability to sustain the livelihoods of rural communities. Therefore, a critical understanding of LULC patterns and dynamics is crucial for predicting future LULC patterns and changes and formulation of appropriate policies, strategies and interventions for sustainable management of natural resources. Dedza district like any other district in Malawi has experienced rapid LULC changes over the past decades. However, knowledge about LULC changes that occur, where and when they occur and the rates at which they occur is not well documented. Equally important is the examination of the drivers and processes that cause these changes and the extent to which these LULC changes have impacted on natural resources and rural livelihoods in the studied area. As such, this remains a critical challenge that needs to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable natural resource management and community development. This study aimed to investigate the nature of LULC changes that have taken place between 1991 and 2015, drivers attributing to these changes and their impacts of these changes on the natural resources in Dedza district of Malawi. The study used a mixed-method approach consisting of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analysis, model simulations, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews covering 586 households. An overall accuracy of the classification achieved for the classified images was 91.86%. GIS-based analysis of remotely sensed data revealed that the areas under agricultural land, forest area, wetlands, water bodies drastically decreased from 71.3% (267,977.43 ha), 24.53% (9,939.15 ha), 0.96% (3,626.73 ha), 0.37% (1,380.60 ha) in 1991 to 69.41% (260,879.31 ha), 1.66% (6,237.63 ha), 0.71% (2,680.29 ha) and 0.24% (899.55 ha) in 2015. On the contrary, barren land and built-up areas substantially increased from 24.53% (92,185.38 ha) and 0.20% (761.67 ha) in 1991 to 25.85% (97,174.62 ha), 2.13% (7,999.56 ha) in 2015 respectively. Significant differences were found among the interviewed households in perceptions regarding LULC changes taken place in the studied landscape and distance to different infrastructures such as main roads, health centres, schools, and towns (p < 0.001). The results of the household surveys indicated that the local communities were aware of the LULC dynamics and validated the observed changes. Firewood collection, charcoal production, population growth, and poverty were identified as the key drivers of observed LULC changes in the study area. Local communities perceived that LULC changes led to a decline in agricultural land (57.3%, n = 586), crop production (82.8%, n = 586) and forest cover (87.4%, n = 586) and an increase in the distance to forest resources (50.7%, n = 586). These changes exposed rural households to major shocks such as drought, floods, food shortage, loss/damage of crops and death of household members. In order to address these shocks, communities were engaged in short-term strategies such as piecework, receiving aid from government and NGOs, receiving unconditional aid from relatives, relying on their own savings and credits. The simulation results using the CA-Markov model showed that water bodies, barren land and built-up areas will increase while agricultural land, wetlands and forest land will substantially decrease by 2025 and 2035. The undesired LULC changes, patterns and impacts observed in this study, however, pose a big threat and risk to the sustainable management of natural resources and rural livelihoods survival. Hence, the need for urgent attention by the natural resource managers, planners, researchers and decision-makers. The results found in this study are deemed useful in guiding planners and decision-makers in the field of land management and policy development towards a more sustainable natural resource management strategy in Dedza district. Results found in this study could also inform decision-making in other districts of similar settings. Thus, results of the study are expected to support decision-makers and planners in the design and implementation of holistic, tenable and coherent and sustainable development policies/strategies/ guidelines for effective natural resource management. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / PhD / Unrestricted

South African gold mining companies fail to meet employment equity targets at management level. The research aimed at establishing the level of Blacks in junior, middle and senior management positions in South African gold mining companies and to gain an understanding of the drivers and restraining factors for achieving employment equity at management level. Qualitative research was undertaken comprising focus group discussions with Black managers in the gold mining industry and with the Department of Mineral Resources. This was supplemented with in-depth interviews with gold mining HR and transformation managers/executives, labour unions and the Department of Labour. The research confirmed the current level of Blacks in management in gold mining companies, ranging between 23% and 29.6%. A conflict was identified between the Department of Mineral Resource’s “compliance” approach compared to gold companies’ “commitment” approach to employment equity transformation. Transformation Planning, Individual Development Support and Employment Equity Support Structures emerged as the key employment equity transformation themes. These were captured in the “three pillar” model to guide improved employment equity transformation in South African gold mining companies. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

One of the keys for restaurant managers in conducting a proper assessment of their business opportunities is through understanding the level of risk these opportunities bear. This can be achieved by analyzing the causal relationships between external environmental forces and internal capabilities of the firm, and then make a strategic choice in what opportunities to invest. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concept of risk and its underlying dimensions that influence the restaurant industry's cash flows and stock returns. This study proposed a contemporary framework that enables restaurant industry executives to develop a better understanding of the risk factors (macroeconomic and industry) that influence their firms' cash flows and stock returns. The primary unit of analysis was at industry (portfolio) level. In addition, as a second step, three restaurant firms were selected to demonstrate the practical application of the model. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the restaurant industry risk is represented by three dimensions: "Output," "PPI Meats," and "IP Restaurants." The macroeconomic risk construct was represented by the five variables of Arbitrage Pricing Theory of Chen et al. (1986). Time series-analysis regression of the portfolio of 75 restaurant firms, for the 1993-2004 period, revealed that macroeconomic variables explained a significant portion of restaurant stock returns. On the other hand, both macroeconomic and industry models explained a significant level of variation in operating cash flows. The addition of September 11 "dummy" variable improved the explained variation in stock returns for both equations (macroeconomic and industry). At a firm level, the industry model accounted for a significant variation in internal value drivers (operating cash flows, food cost, and labor cost) for all three restaurant companies. The industry risk model survived after controlling for the effect of macroeconomic variables on operating cash flows. The results indicate that the industry model provides a parsimonious solution in estimating variation in operating cash flows by capturing macroeconomic effects. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the concepts of remote and task risks in relation to the structure of the casual theme restaurant industry, and to examine the performance consequences of their relationships. This study proposed a framework of analysis that will enable industry participants to develop an improved understanding of the relationships among environmental risk drivers, and of the influence of their strategic decisions on the environment-performance connection. Specifically, it was proposed that task risk factors could be identified, and that they would mediate the influence that some identifiable remote risk factors would have on the performance of the industry. It was also expected that this mediated relationship would be moderated by the influence of the structure of industry. The primary unit of analysis was at the industry sector level as the performance construct was operationalized using a portfolio of 24 casual theme restaurant firms. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the remote and task risk factors. The analysis suggested that three remote factors and three task factors represent the two environmental constructs: "Interest rates", "Expectations" and "Exchange rates" for the remote environment, and "Input quantities", "Input restaurant" and "Input prices" for the task environment. A number of time-series regression analyses were subsequently conducted for the 1993-2006 period to investigate the various proposed relationships. The results indicated that a number of significant direct effects of the remote and task risk factors on the cash flow returns on invested capital of the industry portfolio existed. Also, a significant mediated relationship was found: the "Input prices" mediated the influence of the "Expectations" on changes in the cash flow returns on invested capital. However, and despite numerous significant direct effects between the industry structure variables and the performance variables, no moderation could be established. The present study paved the way for future research on the relationships between the remote and task environment and the performance of firms. In particular, further research should be conducted that delves into the role of the cyclical nature of environmental risk factors. Besides, additional investigations of the influence of the structure of the industry should be conducted by attempting to compare more contrasted states of the industry. / Ph. D.

The Miombo woodland vegetation of southern Africa has been subjected to anthropogenic pressures in recent years, resulting in a change in its cover and floristic-structural composition, and the population status of important tree species. The recent land use land cover changes (LULCC) is of concern due to the negative impacts on the Miombo woodland ecological functions. Understanding the overall dynamics of the vegetation that include LULCC, forest cover change, tree species composition, and diversity, population structure (PS) in relation to forest degradation, loss of endangered/rare species, is pivotal in influencing policy and sustainable woodland management. The Malawi Government instituted policies that allowed for improved forest management. However, the impact of forest management regimes on forest cover, tree species diversity, and structure is not well established. The study aimed to determine LULCC and forest cover changes and the associated drivers and how co-management (CM) and government-management (GM) impact on the florist-structural composition, diversity and the population structure of the important tree species in Malawian Miombo landscape. Firstly, the study analysed LULCC and the comparative impact of CM and GM on the forest cover in Malawi, for the period 1999-2018. CM involves a contractual agreement between communities (with a forest management plan who have been empowered to manage forest resources) and the Forest Department (representing the Government) in managing forest reserves. GM is the protection of forest resources by the government through the Forest Department. Since the introduction of participatory forest management (PFM), such as CM, its impact has not been established. Google Earth images (Landsat mosaics) for 1999 and 2018 for Malawi were acquired, registered, and pre-processed in Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI 4.7) Harris Geospatial Solutions. LULCC estimation using the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) classes was determined using the differences in error-adjusted areas between 1999 and 2018. Overall accuracies were >90%. Woodland net losses of 8.4% were to Plantation, Grassland, and Agriculture transition intensities. Agriculture net gains of 9.6% were from Grassland, Settlement, and Woodland transitions for Malawi. Forest cover within CM and GM indicated losses. Participatory land use plans and monitoring for diversified management in Malawian Miombo woodlands are required to mitigate anticipated irreversible impacts in the landscape. The second study investigated the factors that influence changes in CM and GM forest reserves between 1999 and 2018. CM and GM regimes in Miombo woodlands are possible interventions to mitigate forest degradation and deforestation in southern Africa. However, few studies have investigated the direct and indirect drivers of LULCC using socioeconomic characteristics and Remote sensing data in CM and GM regimes. The drivers of LULCC in forest reserves, and management challenges were identified using participatory assessments in both management regimes. The changes in woodland were observed with varying extent. Communities' perceptions in the factors contributing to changes in CM and GM forest reserves were similar and mostly due to the conversion of woodlands to agriculture while extraction of woody products led to forest degradation. In both management strategies, population pressure, youthful age, poverty, and poor education were associated with forest-based livelihood activities and therefore the woodland changes. The overall woodland cover loss to grassland is attributed to its importance as a source of energy. There is thus a need to harmonize policies for sustainable use and management of woodlands in order to address local, national, and regional ecosystem services. Future studies will need to link Remote sensing and socioeconomic data as part of a monitoring tool that could assist to sustainably adapt to changes in the woodlands and surrounding communities. The third study compared the Miombo Tree species composition and diversity between CM and GM regimes in Malawi. Tree species composition and diversity information is limited between CM and GM regimes. Two CM and two GM forest reserves were purposively selected to act as representatives of management regimes in the northern and southern regions of Malawi. Forest inventory data from 80 randomly selected nested circular plots were used. Two plot sizes: a large plot (0.16 ha; radius 22.6 m) to record stems ≥30 cm DBH, and the main plot (0.04 ha; radius 11.28 m) to record stems 5.0-29.9 cm DBH and species names. In total, 109 tree species belonging to 38 families, 87 species in GM FRs (Kaning’ina 58, Thambani 52), and 69 in CM FRs (Perekezi 45, Liwonde 43) were recorded. The largest families (number of species between brackets) were Fabaceae (34, with 3 subfamilies, Caesalpinioideae (17), Papilionoideae (12), and Mimosoideae (5), an indication of their adaptive potential in the area. Other important families were Combretaceae (7), Rubiaceae (7), and Clusiaceae (4). Species similarity between management regimes was low and was attributed to site factors, species characteristics and intensity of disturbances. TWINSPAN classification results were related to differences in site conditions and disturbances caused by historical and current resource use in management regimes. The eigenvalues ≥0.3 across CM and GM sub-communities indicated high stability. Brachystegia and Julbernardia species were highly important in CM and GM sub-communities. Uapaca species were highly important in agriculture and settlement abandoned areas in GM forest reserve. The study recommends selective harvesting to allow for dominant (Brachystegia and Julbernardia) and associated Miombo species to regenerate. Species richness and evenness (diversity) was high in more disturbed CM and GM sub-communities compared to intact areas. The high diversity was related to tree species high abundances of smaller stems with few scattered big trees. These results call for a Forest policy review to allow planned harvesting in GM forest reserves. Law enforcement is also required in both management regimes to mitigate unsustainable harvesting in sensitive areas. Future studies should include zonation to improve differentiation between site factors and wood extraction in stand development stages in management regimes. The fourth study compared the Miombo population structure (PS) between CM and GM regimes. Such information is limited in CM and GM regimes since the introduction of PFM in Malawi. The size class distribution (SCD) of sub-canopy/canopy species showed a reversed J-shaped profile in CM and GM forest reserves (South), when compared to CM and GM, in northern Malawi. These findings may reflect differences in the historical woodland utilization in the two regions. The bell-shaped SCDs in CM sub-communities with high stem density of Brachystegia and Julbernardia species suggest strong demand for light for successful recruitment from regeneration to adult trees and could be related to wood utilization. The reversed J-shape SCDs in northern GM sub-communities with high regeneration stem density of Pittosporum viridiflorum suggest an increase in shade-tolerant evergreen tree species under a low-level disturbance. Timber species showed interrupted SCDs with few to no stems, indicating challenges in regeneration. Pioneer species were associated with disturbances under CM indicating woodland recovery. The patterns in SCD showed similarities and differences between CM and GM sub-communities between the two management strategies. In Community 2, there were significant differences (p = 0.002) between management strategies with low canopy densities in CM, which could be attributed to unsustainable harvesting. Furthermore, saplings showed significant differences with a higher stems ha-1 in CM compared to GM. Trees and regeneration SCDs suggest a thorough analysis of the PS of varied species associations to guide sustainable resource use. An adaptive management approach that uses silvicultural systems to promote sustainable forest management is recommended. Additionally, selective harvesting in recovery stages would reduce intense competition in the dense, even-aged stands. However, there is need for instituting enabling policies and to monitor changes in both management regimes to promote biodiversity conservation, resource use, and diverse ecosystem services at all levels. / Thesis (PhD (Forest Science))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Malawi Government Scholarship Program and the African Forest Forum / Plant Production and Soil Science / PhD (Forest Science) / Unrestricted

The purpose of this research was to understand cost containment strategies used by private hospitals under managed care plans and their relationship to quality of care within the South African environment. The data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of closed questions requesting respondents to rate statements about costs and quality of care, as well as open questions for additional information about costs and quality of care. The study found that managed care has the ability to control costs and that hospitals monitor LOS and prescribe generic medication in order to control costs. The study also found that cost control strategies have a negative impact on quality of care and that hospitals place more emphasis on cost control than quality of care. In addition, large hospitals that enjoy high occupancy rates experienced an increase in patient complaints since the introduction of managed care, compared to small and medium hospitals. The study found that managed care has had a better than average impact on controlling costs and a better than average impact in quality reduction, however the correlation between cost control and quality reduction was negative. Finally, the study found that technology has an impact on rising healthcare costs and that any constraints placed on rising costs associated with technology will have a negative impact on quality of care. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

At present, humanity faces one of its most pressing and daunting challenges: climate change. For this reason, sustainable development is a topic more urgent now than ever. CSR 2.0 is a model introduced to tackle the limitations of traditional CSR practices that have been shown to be ineffective over time. As Sweden is a country that leads with a great sustainability standpoint, the purpose of this thesis is, therefore, to gain insight and knowledge on the drivers and barriers from CSR to CSR 2.0 in companies operating in Sweden. This study observes an interpretive philosophy through a qualitative study that aims to understand the drivers' contrary barriers to the shift. With a mixed methods methodology and use of triangulation, the empirical data is collected in accordance with four companies from semi-structured interviews, annual and sustainability reports, as well as from website information. The empirical findings are analyzed thematically through coding, where eleven sub-themes and two themes emerged. This study discovers the practices that occur within companies through an inductive approach and proposes that the companies have evolved and currently pursue and perform certain CSR 2.0 practices. The findings justify that all companies experience drivers of their fundamentals, long-term vision, climate action, value chains, innovation, organizational culture, competitive advantage as well as internal and external pressure which adhere to CSR 2.0. Additionally, barriers of risk aversion, lack of resources as well as monitoring and evaluation were identified. This thesis has contributed to existing literature to fill the gap on what acts as drivers and barriers to how companies pursue CSR 2.0. The findings may be valuable for companies that feel the need to adapt their CSR approaches in response to our evolving world.

To achieve the goals set by Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement, a societal transformation towards climate neutrality is required. However, the idea of ‘transformation’ is conceptually vague and deeply political. It is thus important to get a better understanding of this concept. This thesis explores what participants at COP26 perceive to be the most effective drivers for societal transformations towards climate neutrality, and what variations in their perceptions are visible. This was done using surveys taken at COP26, which have been analysed using Excel and the chi-square test in SPSS. Out of the thirteen driver themes that were identified in the coding scheme, it was found that Economic Sphere and Sectors, Civil Society and Public Opinion, Knowledge and Technology, and Governmental Sphere and Institutions were perceived to be the most effective driver themes. These results corroborate important drivers proposed in existing literature. Comparing the dataset to a variety of global indexes, it was found that participants from countries that are ranked relatively low on these global indexes generally perceive Economic Sphere and Sectors as an effective driver theme, while participants from higher-ranked countries generally focused more on the driver themes Governmental Sphere and Institutions, Behavioural and Cultural Change, and Incentives. An attempt has been made to explain these results, but much more research and additional data is needed to better understand the findings.

Two numerical techniques, the boundary-element method (BEM) and the finite-difference method (FDM), are used for simulating the radiation from horn-loaded compression drivers and from an infinitely-baffled, finite-length pipe. While computations of the horn-loaded compression driver are in steady state, transient analysis of the finite-length pipe is studied as a precursor to transient analysis within the horn-loaded compression driver. BEM numerical simulations show promise for the development of new designs. Numerical simulations serve as a good tool for time and cost-effective prototyping as poor designs are detected before they are built.