Creativity and innovation are significant for the creation of a knowledge and productive base economy with its associated growth, sustainability and job creation. However it is noticed that students will need to employ the techniques on creativity and innovation in order to prepare themselves sufficiently to become business owners and entrepreneurs in this current global world where government jobs are difficult to come by. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to determine creative and innovative techniques that will prepare final-year students to become entrepreneurs. A hard copy Word document questionnaire was considered an appropriate measurement method for this study. The targeted population of the study included entrepreneurial experts, business owners, teachers and lecturers of business management/studies in the Sisonke District of Kwazulu Natal Province. Thus, some 100 entrepreneur experts, owners of businesses, teachers and lecturers were identified as part of the sampling frame. A total number of 67 questionnaires were administered out of the 100 targeted– giving a response rate of 67%. The quantitative data were processed using Excel, leading to appropriate descriptive statistical analyses, including frequencies, means, medians and standard deviations. In order to obtain a better understanding of a model that will prepare final year students to become entrepreneurs, problem statements and sub-problems were stated and a t-test was used to establish demographic variables, whilst correlation analysis among skills was conducted regarding the model of creative and innovative techniques. Factor analysis was conducted using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient which confirms that training in the model will prepare students to become entrepreneurs. The results from the empirical study revealed that a model of creative and innovative techniques will prepare students to become entrepreneurs, with a total of 70% of respondents attesting to it. Based on the relevant literature study and the empirical results, recommendations were made in order to support the training needs of students on creativity and innovation techniques. However, the unavailability of an exhaustive entrepreneurial experts database and small number of further education and training colleges in the Sisonke District, did not allow the research to draw on a larger representative sample. Thus, this limitation has impeded in-depth statistical analysis that would have allowed the research to obtain more accurate findings. Further studies could be investigated from lecturers, business owners and experts whether an introduction of a special curriculum on creativity and innovation in further education and training schools may prepare students to become entrepreneurs.

Organisations are constantly expected to be more competitive while working in an environment in which time and cost are limited, thereby preventing such organisations from taking the time required to be responsive. The supply chain provides a critical linkage between various organisations which should seek collective opportunities to improve performance. It is, therefore, important that organisations understand that conventional knowledge and methods will not serve unless there is a concerted focus on improvement of organisational performance toward fulfilling increased expectations, not just maintaining that which is comfortable. A more sustainable approach may be the introduction of supply chain best practice. An optimal supply chain is one that continuously strives to reduce unnecessary cost and eliminate waste, thereby increasing the percentage of time that may be devoted to value-adding activities. Supply chain technology principles were assessed and the application thereof, sought to understand its efficiency and effectiveness. This study was intended to identify supply chain cost dimensions with a focus on the optimal use of supply chain technology. Within the current supply chain context, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was explored to identify opportunities. A supply chain audit tool (SCAT) was developed which had proven to be an effective tool to analyse it’s logistics functions. Implementation of remedial tools through the SCAT could result in a leaner, cost optimal and more value-adding process. The result of conducting individual organisational improvements is expected to result in an overall improvement in the total supply chain. These supply chain cost drivers were rooted in cost, quality, safety and product performance. Recommendations on further improvements were also offered.

Small entrepreneurial businesses are widely regarded as important contributors to the economic well-being of countries all over the world as they create value for both the entrepreneur and the economy in which they operate. The value creation process in these businesses often differs from what commonly happens in larger established businesses. Resources available to the entrepreneur are normally much more restricted and decisions are often based on limited information. This thesis focuses on the value that is created by technology-based entrepreneurial businesses, the leveraging of limited resources and the decision-making orientation they adopt during this process. Given the importance of technology-based entrepreneurial businesses in contributing to economic growth and job creation in most global economies, as well as the limited previous research conducted amongst these businesses, the purpose of this study was to identify the human and social capital factors influencing value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses. With this purpose in mind, the primary objective was to identify, investigate and empirically test the relationships between the various identified factors and Perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses, taking into account their decision-making orientation, as well as the uncertain environment under which they operate. This study uses the Resource-Based View of the business as the basis of its theoretical orientation. The literature review revealed five main categories of constructs, namely Knowledge and skills, Experience, Networks, Decision-making orientation and Perceived environmental uncertainty influencing the dependent variable Perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses. Knowledge and skills, Experience and Networks were identified as independent variables while Decision-making orientation was identified as the mediating variable and Perceived environmental uncertainty as the moderating variable. Six demographic variables (type of industry, age of business, number of employees, age of entrepreneur, academic qualifications of entrepreneur and the number of previous businesses started by the entrepreneur) were also identified as potential influencing factors. Various hypotheses were formulated to be tested during the empirical investigation. Each construct was clearly defined and then operationalised. Operationalisation was done by using reliable and valid items sourced from tested measuring instruments used in previous studies, as well as a number of self-generated items based on secondary sources. A structured questionnaire was made available to respondents identified by means of the convenience snowball sampling technique, and the data collected from 313 usable questionnaires was subjected to various statistical analyses. An Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) was conducted which confirmed the different variables, and Cronbach-alpha coefficients were calculated to confirm the reliability of the measuring instrument. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was the main statistical procedure used to test the significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent, mediating, moderating and dependent variables. A number of different models were tested, and the results discussed and explained. The main finding of the study was that technology-based entrepreneurial business can create financial and non-financial value by adopting a decision-making orientation in the business of co-creating the future with other stakeholders. The most important human and social capital factors that influence the decision-making orientation of these businesses are Knowledge and skills, Unstructured networks and Structured networks. The main limitations of the study were firstly the convenience snowball sampling technique used to collect responses, secondly the dependence of reporting on organisation issues by individuals, and thirdly the limited number of influencing factors included in the models. Future research should address these limitations, and could include qualitative analyses. This study has added to the empirical body of knowledge on entrepreneurship research by investigating a particularly important segment of the literature, namely technology-based entrepreneurial businesses. By identifying and developing various models that outline the most significant factors that influence perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses, this study offers recommendations and suggestions for managing these businesses in such a way as to improve the creation of financial and non-financial value in them. It further provides recommendations for business teaching programmes to enhance curriculums by focusing on alternatives to the format of formal business planning.

The aim of this research was to establish the optimum processing conditions and parameters for producing nonwoven fabrics best suited for application in disposable and protective wear for surgical gowns, drapes and laboratory coats. Carded and crosslapped webs, of three basic weights (80, 120, and 150g/m2), from greige (unscoured and unbleached) cotton, viscose and polyester fibres, were hydroentangled, using three different waterjet pressures (60, 100 and 120 bars), on a Fleissner Aquajet hydroentanglement machine. An antibacterial agent (Ruco-Coat FC 9005) and a fluorochemical water repellent agent (Ruco Bac-AGP), were applied in one bath using the pad-dry-cure technique, to impart both antibacterial and water repellent properties to the fabrics, SEM photomicrographs indicating that the finished polymers were evenly dispersed on the fabric surface. The effect of waterjet pressure, fabric weight and type and treatment on the structure of the nonwoven produced, was evaluated by measuring the relevant characteristics of the fabrics. As expected, there was an interrelationship between fabric weight, thickness, and density, the fabric thickness and mass density increasing with fabric weight. An increase in waterjet pressure decreased the fabric thickness and increased the fabric density. The water repellent and antibacterial treatment increased the fabric weight and thickness. The antimicrobial activity of the fabrics was assessed by determining the percentage reduction in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria population. The maximum percent reduction at 24hrs contact time for both bacteria ranged from 99.5 to 99.6 percent for all the fabric types. The standard spray test ratings for the three treated fabrics ranged from 80-90 percent, whereas that of the untreated water repellent fabric was zero, while the contact angles for all the fabric types exceeded 90 degrees, indicating good resistance to wetting. It was found that the tensile strength of the fabric in the cross-machine direction was higher than that in the machine direction, for both the treated and untreated fabrics, with the tensile strengths in both the MD and CD of the treated fabrics were greater than that of the untreated fabrics, the reverse being true for the extension at break. An increase in waterjet pressure increased the tensile strength but decreased the extension at break, for both the treated and untreated fabrics. The finishing treatment decreased the mean pore size of all the fabrics, the mean pore size decreasing with an increase in fabric weight and waterjet pressure. An increase in waterjet pressure and fabric weight decreased the air and water vapour permeability, as did the finishing treatment, although the differences were not always statistically significant. The polyester fabrics had the highest water and air permeability. Hence low weight fabrics of 80 g/m2, which were hydroentangled at low water jet pressures of 60 bars, were suitable for use in this study due to their higher air and water vapour permeability as well as higher pore size distribution. These group of fabrics thus meet the requirements for surgical gowns, drapes, nurses’ uniforms and laboratory coats.

New innovative products are being designed while the user interface of existing products is constantly being revamped to give them a new look. All this is an effort to bring a satisfactory interacting experience for the user. However, in most cases users do not feel that they experience that benefit. The introduction of a new product, or the enhancement of the functionality and user interface of an existing product, often faces criticism and brings resistance to the acceptance and usage of the product by the users. Therefore, the change in user interface or introduction of new products does not only affect the business processes but also the lifestyles of the users, as well as their overall user experience. One of the most important components for the success of any product is a positive user experience. User experience refers to the subjective feeling of the user that results from their interaction or intention to interact with a product in order to perform a specific task in a specific environment. When the user interface and functionality of a product match the expectations of the users and make the users effective and efficient, feel safe and attain some level of self-worth from using or possessing the product, their interaction with the product becomes more satisfactory. User experience practitioners are in agreement that a change to the user interface influences the user experience of the people when interacting with the product; hence it affects change in the user experience of the people. A vast body of literature exists on the methods for evaluating user experience as well as on the principles that are aimed at guiding the design of products for a positive user experience. However, there is a lack of a means to manage this change in user experience that results from the changes in the features of the user interface or the product functionalities. This inadequacy opens up the potential for integrating change management principles in order to manage user experience. However, existing change management principles do not address the user experience aspects when managing change. Following the above premise, this study focused on the development of a model for managing user experience: the User Experience Management Model (UXM2). The UXM2 infers its components from the disciplines of user experience and change management. Its uniqueness is seated in its people-centred approach that aims to effect a free-will change in the individuals towards a long-term positive user experience. The proposed model further aims to promote the voluntary acceptance of a product, which is contrary to the mandatory change that is guided by the policies of the organization, as discussed in the study. The UXM2 was developed from a thorough argumentation of literature on user experience and change management. The components that were required for development of the model were identified from literature, and were evaluated for their relevance by means of academic publications in subject domain international conferences. The academic publications underwent double-blind peer review with subject domain experts. The model was evaluated for its relevance and potential applicability through interviews and discussions with subject domain experts. The subject domain experts consist of user experience practitioners and academic professionals in the domain of HCI. The subject domain experts also evaluated the model by means of an evaluation tool comprising of a Likert scale rating of the proposed components and related activities for managing user experience. The target users of the UXM2 are user experience practitioners and product developers who aim to promote a sustainable long-term positive user experience for the people interacting with their products. The UXM2 is aimed at being used for the design of products that are meant for institutional use, personal use, mandatory use and optional use. It is believed that adoption of the UXM2 will promote acceptance of the product by users, with an associated sustainable positive long-term user experience.

Obtaining low-latency results from window-aggregate queries can be critical to certain data-stream processing applications. Due to a DSMS's lack of control over incoming data (typically, because of delays and bursts in data arrival), timely results for a window-aggregate query over a data stream cannot be obtained with guarantees about the results' accuracy. In this thesis, I propose a technique, which I term prodding, to obtain early result estimates for window-aggregate queries over data streams. The early estimates are obtained in addition to the regular query results. The proposed technique aims to maximize the contribution to a result-estimate computation from all the stateful operators across a multi-level query plan. I evaluate the benefits of prodding using real-world and generated data streams having different patterns in data arrival and data values. I conclude that, in various DSMS applications, prodding can generate low-latency estimates to window-aggregate query results. The main factors affecting the degree of inaccuracy in such estimates are: the aggregate function used in a query, the patterns in arrivals and values of stream data, and the aggressiveness of demanding the estimates. The utility of the estimates obtained using prodding should be optimized by tuning the aggressiveness in result-estimate demands to the specific latency and accuracy needs of a business, considering any available knowledge about patterns in the incoming data.

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