The Influence of COVID-19 Lockdown on Women in the Academy in One Rural University in South Africa

Author(s):  
KL Thaba-Nkadimene ◽  
C. Makwara ◽  
D. Mzindle ◽  
M Lebepe ◽  
MS Rabodiba ◽  
...  

The primary objective of this study was to examine, interrogate and establish the influence of COVID-19 lockdown on the well-being of women in the academy and the roles they play as university employees and family members. This study was premised within interpretivism paradigm, and life history; and diaristic approach was used to understand this phenomenon. Biographies and interviews qualitative techniques were used to collect data from six women in academia in one university in South Africa. The research findings identified the COVID-19 pandemic as a cause of anxiety and restlessness among academic women; the excessive workload and lack of time; difficulties in balancing home and work duties; a lack of access to proper resources to aid job duties and research; and a lack of online resources-data, network access and Blackboard. This study recommended adequate online facilities and the design of the virtual mental wellness programmes to help academic women.

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Estelle Van Tonder ◽  
Mornay Roberts-Lombard

Orientation: Independent financial advisers in South Africa can make a valuable contribution to the financial well-being of the country’s citizens and, through sound financial planning and education, assist them in becoming financially independent.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines for creating customer loyalty towards independent financial advisers in South Africa.Motivation: To succeed, financial advisers need to build good relationships with clients and ensure they remain loyal to them in the long term.Research design, approach and method: A convenience non-probability sampling technique was applied, and altogether 262 self-administered questionnaires were completed and used in the analysis. Descriptive and standard multiple regression analysis and the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique were used to test four hypotheses formulated for the study.Main findings: Relationship commitment must be established in a trustworthy environment, regardless of the type of province where the business is operated.Practical/managerial implications: In urban provinces (such as Gauteng) both trusting relationships and commitment could lead to customer loyalty; in semi-urban provinces (such as North-West) only the commitment variable might do so. Independent financial advisers in both provinces should explore additional factors that could foster customer loyalty.Contributions: The research findings of this study challenge the seminal work of Morgan and Hunt (1994) by establishing that in South Africa, the extent to which trust and commitment predicts customer loyalty is specific to both industrial and geographical location. This study further provides customer loyalty guidelines for independent financial advisers in South Africa.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Farrington

Psychological well-being is influenced by the “surrounding contexts of people’s lives” and has consistently been found to be associated with positive outcomes. Given the turbulent surrounding contexts facing SME owners in South Africa, the primary objective of this study was to investigate their level of psychological well-being and to establish the influence thereof on the financial performance of their businesses. A survey using a structured questionnaire was used to gather the necessary data. The population consisted of all owners of SMEs operating within the borders of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Criterion and convenience sampling were used and questionnaires were administered by field workers. In total 495 questionnaires were useable for statistical analysis. Scale validity and reliability was assessed, descriptive statistics calculated and Pearson’s product moment correlations established. Multiple regression analysis was undertaken to investigate the hypothesised relationships. The results show that the participating SME owners have high levels of positive psychological well-being and that their businesses are performing financially. The results also suggest that the more SME owners display the attributes associated with environmental mastery, self-acceptance and autonomy, the more likely their SMEs are to perform financially.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 635
Author(s):  
Phillip Blaauw ◽  
Ilse Botha ◽  
Rinie Schenck ◽  
Christie Schoeman

Past research provided evidence of thenegative effect that individual unemployment can have on subjective well-being.The persistent high levels of unemployment and poverty in South Africa havebeen well documented. Many people are forced into the informal economy, wherethey engage in a variety of survivalist activities such as day labouring. As noprevious study has been conducted on the well-being of day labourers, the aimof this paper is to investigate the determinants of the well-being of South Africanday labourers. Objective and subjective functions are compared to determine therole of income and other variables in the well-being of day labourers. Thedeterminants are categorised according to economic, comparison and attitudinalvariables. The objective function uses income and the subjective function usesthe binary measure of experiencing a good week in terms of wages as dependentvariables. The results showed that comparison variables are importantdeterminants for the subjective measure of well-being, and attitudinalvariables are important for the objective measure of well-being. The economicvariables were important in both functions. The findings of this paper confirmother research findings showing that personal income is important for well-beingin a poor community. The difference between these functions indicates that thesubjective and objective measures of well-being both capture valuablecharacteristics of subjective well-being (SWB) in a poor community.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-51
Author(s):  
Kristine Brown ◽  
James Sturges

With the continued influx of Mexican immigrants to the United States, especially to Southern California, health concerns and needs have increased among this population over the last several years. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) obtained a federal grant that provided resources to establish the Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC). COPC consists of comprehensive efforts to improve the overall well-being of the Angela Chanslor area within the City of Pomona in East Los Angeles. Focus areas of the project include 1) Education and Integrated Services, 2) Community Planning and Capacity Building for Neighborhood Revitalization and Safety, and 3) Job Development and Training. The focus of this paper is health promotion activities within Education and Integrated Services. The primary objective of this portion of the program was to provide residents with physical examinations and health screenings, health education, and medical and social service referrals. Topics discussed are the target community, general overview of COPC, Family Services Information and Referral Program (i.e. health promotion program within Education and Integrated Services), program impact and results, and suggestions for continued implementation and future efforts. / Con la influencia continua de inmigrantes Mexicanos a los Estados Unidos, especialmente al sur de California, ciertas necesidades con respecto a la salud han incrementado en esta poblacion en los ultimos anos. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Obtuvo ayuda Federal para establecer El Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC). El centro COPC consiste de esfuerzos conprensivos para mejorar el bienestar del area Angela Chanslor que esta ubicado en la Ciudad de Pomona en la parte Este de Los Angeles. Las partes enfocadas del proyecto incluyen, 1) Educacion y servicios Integrados, 2) Plan para la Comunidad y un Edificio de Capacitacion para la comunidad que dara revitalizacion y seguridad, 3) Y habrira trabajos y entrenamientos. El enfoque de este proyecto es de actividades en Promocion de Salud aliadas con educacion y Servicios Integrados. El objetivo principal de esta porcion del programa era de proveer a los residentes con examinaciones fisicas, educacion para la salud, y eran referidas a servicios medicos y sociales. Los topicos que son tratados son: La comunidad que sera ayudada, El enfoque general de COPC, informacion del programa para referir a servicios familiares, el impacto del programa y resultados, y sugerencias para implementar futuros esfuerzos.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Nolen Fortuin

With the institution of compulsory military service in South Africa in 1948 the National Party government effected a tool well shaped for the construction of hegemonic masculinities. Through this, and other structures like schools and families, white children were shaped into submissive abiding citizens. Due to the brutal nature of a militarised society, gender roles become strictly defined and perpetuated. As such, white men’s time served on the border also “toughened” them up and shaped them into hegemonic copies of each other, ready to enforce patriarchal and racist ideologies. In this article, I look at how the novel Moffie by André Carl van der Merwe (2006) illustrates hegemonic white masculinity in South Africa and how it has long been strictly regulated to perpetuate the well-being of the white family as representative of the capitalist state. I discuss the novel by looking at the ways in which the narrator is marked by service in the military, which functions as a socialising agent, but as importantly by the looming threat of the application of the term “moffie” to himself, by self or others.  


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannie Van Wyk

Our spatial environment is one of the most important determinants of our well-being and life chances. It relates to schools, opportunities, businesses, recreation and access to public services. Spatial injustice results where discrimination determines that spatial environment. Since Apartheid in South Africa epitomised the notion of spatial injustice, tools and instruments are required to transform spatial injustice into spatial justice. One of these is the employment of principles of spatial justice. While the National Development Plan (NDP) recognised that all spatial development should conform to certain normative principles and should explicitly indicate how the requirements of these should be met, the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA) contains a more concrete principle of spatial justice. It echoes aspects of both the South African land reform programme and global principles of spatial justice. Essentially section 7(a) of SPLUMA entails three components: (1) redressing past spatial imbalances and exclusions; (2) including people and areas previously excluded and (3) upgrading informal areas and settlements. SPLUMA directs municipalities to apply the principle in its spatial development frameworks, land use schemes and, most importantly, in decision-making on development applications. The aim of this article is to determine whether the application of this principle in practice can move beyond the confines of spatial planning and land use management to address the housing issue in South Africa. Central to housing is section 26 of the Constitution, that has received the extensive attention of the Constitutional Court. The court has not hesitated to criticize the continuing existence of spatial injustice, thus contributing to the transformation of spatial injustice to spatial justice. Since planning, housing and land reform are all intertwined not only the role of SPLUMA, but also the NDP and the myriad other policies, programmes and legislation that are attempting to address the situation are examined and tested against the components of the principle of spatial justice in SPLUMA.


Author(s):  
Cheng-Yi Kuo ◽  
Jehn-Yih Wong

Objective - General well-being (GWB) is important for students’ mental wellness. This paper explores the motivations of Chinese students who study in Thailand and applies the push and pull model to explain how motivations influence life satisfaction (LS) and GWB. Methodology/Technique – 398 convenience samples from Dhurakij Pundit University were analysed. Finding - The results show that ‘personal growth’ is the most important push factor for motivation, whereas ‘the convenience to go to other cities’ is the most important pull factor for motivation. Moreover, overseas study motivations positively influence LS and GWB. Novelty - The theoretical and practical implications and study limitations are also discussed herein. Type of Paper: Empirical. Keywords: Push and Pull Theory; Life Satisfaction; General Well-being; Chinese Student; Thailand. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Yi, C; Kuo; Yih, J; Wong. 2019. Exploring Chinese Students’ Push and Pull Motivations in Influencing Life Satisfaction and General Well-being in Thailand, Global J. Bus. Soc. Sci. Review 7 (3): 178 – 184. https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2019.7.3(2) JEL Classification: M10, M14, M19.


Author(s):  
Jacques de Jongh

Globalisation has had an unprecedented impact on the development and well-being of societies across the globe. Whilst the process has been lauded for bringing about greater trade specialisation and factor mobility many have also come to raise concerns on its impact in the distribution of resources. For South Africa in particular this has been somewhat of a contentious issue given the country's controversial past and idiosyncratic socio-economic structure. Since 1994 though, considerable progress towards its global integration has been made, however this has largely coincided with the establishment of, arguably, the highest levels of income inequality the world has ever seen. This all has raised several questions as to whether a more financially open and technologically integrated economy has induced greater within-country inequality (WCI). This study therefore has the objective to analyse the impact of the various dimensions of globalisation (economic, social and political) on inequality in South Africa. Secondary annual time series from 1990 to 2018 were used sourced from the World Bank Development indicators database, KOF Swiss Economic Institute and the World Inequality database. By using different measures of inequality (Palma ratios and distribution figures), the study employed two ARDL models to test the long-run relationships with the purpose to ensure the robustness of the results. Likewise, two error correction models (ECM) were used to analyse the short-run dynamics between the variables. As a means of identifying the casual effects between the variables, a Toda-Yamamoto granger causality analysis was utilised. Keywords: ARDL, Inequality, Economic Globalisation; Social Globalisation; South Africa


Author(s):  
Andries C. Hauptfleisch

Unsubsidised private retirement resorts in South Africa developed during the last three decades present residents with many challenges. There is no existing generally accepted knowledge base or guidelines to serve this sensitive market. The research objective was to establish which elements are experienced by residents of retirement resorts as satisfactory and which as problematic. A literature study was also undertaken. Quantitative as well as qualitative data were obtained by means of structured questionnaires, interviews and a seminar. The results reported pertain to eight resorts in the east of Pretoria, four in Bloemfontein and two in Knysna. The study is currently being extended to other centres. The quantitative data is arranged in order of the priorities set by the biggest group (Pretoria), with the other groups in comparison. So the research was based on the sourcing of quantitative and qualitative data, as well as on descriptive evaluations. The results offer insightful knowledge and guidelines towards establishing an optimal profile for the development of long-term sustainable private retirement resorts. The implications and value of this study are that both developers of retirement resorts and prospective residents are provided with guidelines to better equip them to evaluate a specific retirement resort with regard to the sustainable well- being of residents long-term.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document