Challenges in doctoral supervision in South African universities

This article addresses the challenges encountered by doctoral supervisors as they interact with their doctoral students in the contexts of South African universities. In a qualitative study of seven doctoral (PhD) supervisors and six PhD students, data was collected using interviews to examine the challenges supervisors experience as they supervise doctoral students. The PhD students were included in this study in because their responses would confirm or refute supervisor's views/opinions that emanated from their experiences in a social, cultural, and political context. Data analysis showed that doctoral supervisors experienced multiple challenges including overworking, time, and a set of academic characteristics of PhD students. Overall, the results of this study suggest that certain aspects among doctoral students who have completed doctorates in South African context, and their supervisors in different parts of the world would provide a starting point in the understanding of the implications of these aspects and their effect on the selection of doctoral students and the ongoing research in doctoral supervision in the South African context. doctoral supervision.

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Promoting Open Educational Resources Through Library Portals in South African Universities

Advances in Library and Information Science - Cooperation and Collaboration Initiatives for Libraries and Related Institutions ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0043-9.ch015 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 294-311

Author(s):

Lancelord Siphamandla Mncube

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Digital Libraries ◽

Academic Library ◽

Scientific Investigation ◽

Open Educational Resources ◽

Institutional Repository ◽

South African Context ◽

South African Universities ◽

African Context ◽

Website Content

In the South African context, there is still a lack of development of OER, and it is not well noted if library portals are a relevant place for hosting OER. There is a significance need for further scientific investigation about the appropriate channels of hosting OER in library portals. To further investigate the problem, this study opted for website content analysis to determine if library portals within the academic libraries accommodate OER in their portals. Out of 26 Institutions, so far only three institutions have accommodated OER in their repositories. This study concludes that policymakers and academics should play a significant role in engagement in promotion of OER to higher education institutions' digital libraries. This chapter concludes that library portals should strive to keep up with international initiative of openness. This study recommend that all South African universities and their academic library portals should have a common OER TAB (space) within the institutional repository.

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Promoting Open Educational Resources Through Library Portals in South African Universities

Research Anthology on Collaboration, Digital Services, and Resource Management for the Sustainability of Libraries ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-8051-6.ch053 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 962-975

Author(s):

Lancelord Siphamandla Mncube

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Digital Libraries ◽

Academic Library ◽

Scientific Investigation ◽

Open Educational Resources ◽

Institutional Repository ◽

South African Context ◽

South African Universities ◽

African Context ◽

Website Content

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Integrating African Pentecostalism into the theological education of South African Universities: An urgent task

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v74i3.5130 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mookgo S. Kgatle

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Theological Education ◽

High Rate ◽

South African Context ◽

Urgent Task ◽

The World ◽

South African Universities ◽

African Context ◽

Pentecostal Churches ◽

Very High

African Pentecostalism continues to be a growing part of Christianity both in Africa and the rest of the world. Pentecostal churches in Africa are on the rise at a very high rate. However, theological education in South African universities does not reflect this reality, but continues to be of a western orientation. Therefore, there is an urgent need and demand for a theological education that will be relevant to Africa. It is an urgent need for African Pentecostalism to be integrated into the theological education of South African universities. This can be achieved by integrating African Pentecostalism into the curriculum, by decolonising Pentecostal research and by the emergence of critical African scholars that can address cutting-edge issues in a South African context. Thus, theological education in South African universities shall be a contextual and relevant one.

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Understanding the Practices and Experiences of Supervising Nursing Doctoral Students: A Qualitative Survey of Two South African Universities

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v11n6p123 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 123

Author(s):

T. M. Mothiba ◽

M. S. Maputle ◽

D. T. Goon

Keyword(s):

Nursing Students ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

South African ◽

Research Process ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Limpopo Province ◽

Policies And Procedures ◽

South African Universities ◽

Open Coding ◽

Doctoral Supervision

Doctoral supervision involves an intensive, interpersonal one-to-one relationship between the supervisor and the student. Supervisors have a responsibility to guide students when choosing their research topics and throughout the research process until completion of their research projects. The purpose of this study is to explore the practices and experiences of faculty members supervising doctoral nursing students in two selected universities in South Africa. This qualitative and explorative study involves all faculty members supervising doctorate nursing students at four South African Universities in Limpopo Province. A purposive sampling was used to select 15 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data collection was through a telephonic in-depth unstructured interview. Probing was used to elicit more information from participants. Data were analysed through Tesch’s open coding method. Findings reveal three themes as practices and experiences of supervision, namely: research supervisory role, knowledge of models of supervision, and guiding principles towards doctorate supervision. There is a need for orientation of research supervisors and doctoral students before they commence with their supervisory role. Policies and procedures for doctorate supervision need to be communicated to all supervisors. There should be continuous support for both supervisors and students during the process of supervision.

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Investigating the direct costs of business rescue

Acta Commercii ◽

10.4102/ac.v21i1.903 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nicole V.A. De Abreu ◽

Wesley Rosslyn-Smith

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Direct Costs ◽

Small Sample ◽

Second Phase ◽

Mixed Method Research ◽

South African Context ◽

The South ◽

Starting Point ◽

African Context

Orientation: The direct costs associated with business rescue proceedings are essential to the decision-making of directors, business rescue practitioners and other affected parties. Business rescue has come under criticism for being a costly procedure, but what constitutes these costs and how they are defined remain largely unknown.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to identify and measure the direct costs of business rescue proceedings in South Africa. This research also explored the relationship between direct costs and the following variables: firm size and duration of business rescue proceedings.Motivation for the study: Despite the significance of understanding reorganisation costs, astonishingly little is know about the size and determinants of the direct costs of business rescue in the South African context. Business rescue practitioners fees and other related expenses have been blamed for worsening business rescue proceedings’ reputation. However, researchers have not yet determined the nature or quantum of such costs.Research design, approach and method: This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-method research design. The first phase comprised semi-structured interviews supplemented by a closed card sort with 14 business rescue practitioners. The first phase resulted in direct cost categories and components used to develop a survey instrument. The survey was administered in the second phase and measured the direct costs for 19 South African firms previously under business rescue.Main findings: The first phase results show that the direct costs of business rescue consist of four categories: the basic remuneration of the business rescue practitioner, contingency fees, professional fee disbursements and general disbursements. Because of the small sample size, the results of the second phase were inconclusive.Practical/managerial implications: This research contributes to the management body of knowledge by providing business rescue practitioners, the management of distressed companies, and affected parties, especially creditors with a starting point into understanding the direct costs of business rescue proceedings.Contribution/value-add: This is the first study of its kind, to quantitatively measure the direct costs of business rescue in the South African context. Therefore, the results of the study may offer affected parties some insight and clarity regarding the nature of the direct costs of business rescue.

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Exploring the elements of strategic innovation drivers in South African banks

Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences ◽

10.4102/jef.v8i2.111 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 604-620 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lelani Maree ◽

Kieran D. McKenzie

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Financial Service ◽

South African Context ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Service Companies ◽

Strategic Innovation ◽

Starting Point ◽

Innovation Capacity ◽

African Context ◽

Good Starting Point

Understanding the key elements of the drivers of strategic innovation remains elusive. Limited research has been conducted on the drivers, namely strategy processes, people, culture, and resources, in a South African context. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with innovation specialists of five participating banks to explore the key elements that constitute the drivers of strategic innovation in South African banks. The findings indicate that the elements of the drivers of strategic innovation, as outlined in the literature, were evident in the participating banks and that the exploration of these elements provides a good starting point for South African financial service companies to build innovation capacity.

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The now-times of (post) apartheid

Dialogues in Human Geography ◽

10.1177/20438206211030055 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 204382062110300

Author(s):

Jennifer Robinson

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

South African Context ◽

The South ◽

African Cities ◽

Starting Point ◽

African Context ◽

South African Cities

This commentary explores the multi-temporalities of the pasts which relate to South African cities ‘now’. Inspired by Myriam Houssay-Holzchuch’s article in this volume, and the wider engagements of French scholars in the South African context, this commentary takes as a starting point Walter Benjamin’s idea of history as thought through ‘now-time’. In doing so, I assess the declining relevance of the ‘post’ in thinking the futures of South African cities.

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Error analysis and language comparison as teaching strategies for German as a foreign language in a South African context

Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0010.5582 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 103-110

Author(s):

Anne Baker

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

South African ◽

First Language ◽

Target Language ◽

South African Context ◽

Black African ◽

African Heritage ◽

South African Universities ◽

African Context ◽

Similarities And Differences

Since 2015 there has been increased protest action by students at South African universities. One of the issues is decolonizing the curriculum. Academics have been re-thinking the curricula of various academic offerings. Recognizing the African heritage of students studying German could be in the form of comparing the first language (L1) of black African learners with German in order to facilitate learning the target language (TL). Specific examples of similarities and differences between German and Zulu are addressed in this article.

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