scholarly journals Business skills development for a successful fashion business in peri-urban communities, South Africa

Author(s):  
Keshni Nana ◽  
Hanlie Van Staden ◽  
Nicolene Coetzee

Background: Entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds often possess low levels of education, limited qualifications and training. This also applies to survivalist fashion entrepreneurs in the Sedibeng District Municipality (SDM), Gauteng. Over a third of these entrepreneurs are not formally educated in business skills and may not possess the adequate knowledge to operate their fashion business successfully.Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the uses and challenges pertaining to business skills amongst fashion entrepreneurs without formal, fashion-related education or training, in order to determine their business skills’ training needs.Setting: The sample population included 105 black, adult fashion entrepreneurs, operating micro, survivalist fashion enterprises within peri-urban, resource-poor communities in the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) of the Sedibeng district. Data for this study were collected from the respondents whilst shopping at fabric and haberdashery stores or from their home-business environments.Methods: A quantitative study applying non-probability, purposive and snowball sampling was performed. Data were collected by means of interviewer-administered questionnaires by trained fieldworkers.Results: The results indicated that the respondents lacked skills in developing business plans and possessed only moderate skills in finance and marketing. The respondents indicated training needs for fashion business skills in all areas of investigation, including developing a business plan, conducting basic bookkeeping, determining correct product pricing, drafting quotations and invoices, developing a budget, conducting basic market research and advertising their products and services.Conclusion: Fashion business skill training programmes should be developed to target and train fashion entrepreneurs without formal fashion-related education or training, contributing to the long-term sustainability of local fashion businesses in South Africa (SA).

Author(s):  
Z. Makaula ◽  
S.F.G. Yusuf

This paper was initiated in order to find the usage and relevance of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by the smallholder farmers of the Umzimvubu Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. A survey questionnaire was then developed to collect the relevant data from randomly selected six villages of Umzimvubu Local Municipality targeting 138 respondents. The questionnaires structure employed both closed and open-ended questions that were administered using a face to face interview, conducted on the sample population in each village. There seems to be a correlation between ICT usage and the economies of scale in agricultural development, where smallholder farmers tend to use less of highly modernized ICT, while commercial large scale farmers use more of the modernized ICT. This disparity amongst farmers is exacerbated in many areas by the differing support systems employed by the public extension services. 


Author(s):  
Emmanuel Manu ◽  
Mbuyiselo Douglas ◽  
Mohlomi Jafta Ntsaba

Abstract Background Although commercial cultivation and trading of marijuana, commonly known as cannabis or dagga in the South African context, remains an illicit practice, adolescents actively engage in it. However, contextual influences that sustain adolescent involvement in illicit marijuana-related activties remain empirically unascertained. Objective This study sought to ascertain the various contextual influences of adolescent illicit marijuana cultivation and trading in two communities in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality (IHLM) of South Africa, using the tenets of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM). Methods The study utilised focus group discussions approach to interview thirty-three purposefully sampled participants who were recruited through the snowball sampling technique. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the interviews, while thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results We found that illicit adolescent marijuana cultivation and trading was influenced by eleven contextual factors that are grouped under four levels of socio-ecological influence. These include intrapersonal influences (knowledge and skills in marijuana cultivation and courage), interpersonal influences (peer and family influences), communal level influences (economic reasons, early childhood exposure to marijuana activities, protection of family lands, the topography of the area and soil fertility) and policy-related influences (lack of communal bylaws on marijuana activities and laxity in law enforcement). Conclusion It is recommended that substance abuse prevention policies and programmes focus on discouraging children from engaging in illicit marijuana activities in IHLM across the four tenets of SEM and curtailing adolescent involvement in marijuana cultivation and trading. There is also the need to incorporate the law enforcement approach into demand reduction strategies of the National Drug Master Plan (NDMP), which employs only an educative approach in its current form. Working agreements between municipal authorities, law enforcement agents and social service professionals also need to be strengthened to push demand reduction strategies for marijuana in communities to protect the rights of children as enshrined in the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005.


Author(s):  
Emmanuel Manu ◽  
Mbuyiselo Douglas ◽  
Mohlomi J. Ntsaba

Background: Although various reasons for adolescent marijuana use have extensively been explored, contextual factors that sustain the practice in settings where the plant is illegally cultivated, especially in South Africa, remain a grey area.Aim: We aimed to explore the contextual factors of sustained adolescent marijuana use in two illicit marijuana-growing settings of the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality of South Africa, based on the differential opportunity theory (DOT) and subcultural theory (SCT).Setting: The study was conducted in two illicit marijuana-growing communities in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.Methods: Exploratory qualitative research, using focus group discussions approach, was conducted amongst 37 participants, four focus groups and in two communities in the Ingquza Hill Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select the communities and participants, respectively. The data were analysed using a thematic content analysis approach and presented under various themes.Results: Nine themes, grouped under two broad factors, DOT influences (availability and affordability of marijuana, idleness and means of dealing with personal problems) and SCT influences (peer conformity, the pleasure derived from marijuana smoking, manipulation of appetite, health reasons, for higher cognitive function and addiction), emerged from the analysis.Conclusion: As marijuana has been identified to be a gateway drug for the use of other illicit drugs, its sustained usage amongst adolescents poses a health challenge to the user, community and the country’s healthcare system at large. Hence, there is the need to intensify adolescent marijuana use prevention campaigns in illicit marijuana-growing contexts of South Africa, focussing on the differential opportunities and subcultural inclinations that promote the behaviour in those contexts.


1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yokhanan Muryadi ◽  
Laurentia Ajeng Isdiana ◽  
Vivi Retno Intening

Latar belakang: Hambatan fsik yang dimiliki anak tunarungu dapat berpengaruh pada perkembangan psikologis dan sosial. Mereka akan mengalami kesulitan saat berkomunikasi dengan orang lain, dan sulit untuk mengungkapkan perasaan yang dia rasakan. Hal ini kadang membentuk kepribadian anak dengan hambatan fsik ini lebih memilih untuk sendiri. Tujuan: Mengetahui pengaruh SST terhadap keterampilan sosialisasi remaja tunarungu di SLB N I Bantul. Metode: Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Quasi-Experimental dengan rancangan one group pre-test dan post-testdesign. Hasil: Rata-rata peningkatan keterampilan sosialisasi sebesar 2,00%. Hasil penelitian diketahui perbedaan yang bermakna skor keterampilan sosial pada remaja tunarungu sebelum dan setelah diberikan terapi SST. Kesimpulan: SST dapat digunakan sebagai media untuk membentuk karaktristik, dan pergaulan seseorang dalam bersosialisasi. Saran: Dapat menjadi masukan SLB N I Bantul, meningkatkkan terapi sosial bagi murid- muridnya. Kata kunci: Keterampilan sosialisasi - social skills training - remaja tunarungu


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamer Abdel Moaein ◽  
Chirsty Tompkins ◽  
Natalie Bandrauk ◽  
Heidi Coombs-Thorne

BACKGROUND Clinical simulation is defined as “a technique to replace or amplify real experiences with guided experiences, often immersive in nature, that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion”. In medicine, its advantages include repeatability, a nonthreatening environment, absence of the need to intervene for patient safety issues during critical events, thus minimizing ethical concerns and promotion of self-reflection with facilitation of feedback [1] Apparently, simulation based education is a standard tool for introducing procedural skills in residency training [3]. However, while performance is clearly enhanced in the simulated setting, there is little information available on the translation of these skills to the actual patient care environment (transferability) and the retention rates of skills acquired in simulation-based training [1]. There has been significant interest in using simulation for both learning and assessment [2]. As Canadian internal medicine training programs are moving towards assessing entrustable professional activities (EPA), simulation will become imperative for training, assessment and identifying opportunities for improvement [4, 5]. Hence, it is crucial to assess the current state of skill learning, acquisition and retention in Canadian IM residency training programs. Also, identifying any challenges to consolidating these skills. We hope the results of this survey would provide material that would help in implementing an effective and targeted simulation-based skill training (skill mastery). OBJECTIVE 1. Appraise the status and impact of existing simulation training on procedural skill performance 2. Identify factors that might interfere with skill acquisition, consolidation and transferability METHODS An electronic bilingual web-based survey; Fluid survey platform utilized, was designed (Appendix 1). It consists of a mix of closed-ended, open-ended and check list questions to examine the attitudes, perceptions, experiences and feedback of internal medicine (IM) residents. The survey has been piloted locally with a sample of five residents. After making any necessary corrections, it will be distributed via e-mail to the program directors of all Canadian IM residency training programs, then to all residents registered in each program. Two follow up reminder e-mails will be sent to all participating institutions. Participation will be voluntarily and to keep anonymity, there will be no direct contact with residents and survey data will be summarized in an aggregate form. SPSS Software will be used for data analysis, and results will be shared with all participating institutions. The survey results will be used for display and presentation purposes during medical conferences and forums and might be submitted for publication. All data will be stored within the office of internal medicine program at Memorial University for a period of five years. Approval of Local Research Ethics board (HREB) at Memorial University has been obtained. RESULTS Pilot Results Residents confirmed having simulation-based training for many of the core clinical skills, although some gaps persist There was some concern regarding the number of sim sessions, lack of clinical opportunities, competition by other services and lack of bed side supervision Some residents used internet video to fill their training gaps and/or increase their skill comfort level before performing clinical procedure Resident feedback included desire for more corrective feedback, and more sim sessions per skill (Average 2-4 sessions) CONCLUSIONS This study is anticipated to provide data on current practices for skill development in Canadian IM residency training programs. Information gathered will be used to foster a discourse between training programs including discussion of barriers, sharing of solutions and proposing recommendations for optimal use of simulation in the continuum of procedural skills training.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 313-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Derera ◽  
Pepukayi Chitakunye ◽  
Charles O'Neill ◽  
Amandeep Tarkhar-Lail

This study explores gendered lending and marketing practices of start-up capital to women entrepreneurs in South Africa. A multi-method research design, comprising of 6 in-depth interviews with experts, and a survey of 50 women entrepreneurs was adopted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, respectively. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs are experiencing gendered discriminatory practices embedded in lending practices used by financial institutions, thereby discouraging them to venture into non-traditional industries. Whilst financial providers may know their products well, many emerging women entrepreneurs in South Africa may find it difficult and costly to obtain information on the thousands of financial products available. Hence, women entrepreneurs resort to taking greater risks than necessary in order to get their businesses off the ground. Educating women on financial matters is extremely important if South Africa is to benefit fully from the untapped entrepreneurial talent that women possess. The study adds voice to the discriminatory lending practices faced by women entrepreneurs in developing countries. Future research could explore the feasibility of establishing a financial institution which caters specifically for the needs of women.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7373
Author(s):  
Timo Nevalainen ◽  
Jaana Seikkula-Leino ◽  
Maria Salomaa

In the past decades, there has been a growing interest in entrepreneurship education, and many higher education institutions have developed specific programs and courses to support entrepreneurial competencies. However, there have been significant changes in how universities train competences related to business skills and entrepreneurship in practice. Whereas entrepreneurship courses used to focus on the different forms of businesses and drafting business plans, the overall perception of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial competences has shifted this toward a more holistic educational approach to develop students’ entrepreneurial competencies. In this comparative quantitative case study, we investigate the university students’ perception of the development of their entrepreneurial competencies in the case of Proakatemia (Tampere University of Applied Sciences). The aim was to examine how the entrepreneurial competencies are reflected and strengthened in their thinking and everyday functions through the concept of team learning. The survey involved, altogether, 64 students, of which 21 studied in Proakatemia. The results of this study indicate that the team learning concept of Proakatemia facilitates learning entrepreneurial competencies. Therefore, these results provide insights for universities aiming to develop their curricula, programs and pedagogy, thus promoting sustainable societal development. However, we recommend further studies, e.g., from a qualitative point of view, to assess the effective of the concept in other learning environments.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Oludayo Tade

Abstract Studies on xenophobic violence have mainly focused on their causes and effects, but have yet to probe how victimisation experiences of xenophobia trigger migration intentions and actual practices. In a balance of tales, I examine how families contributed to staying put/return decisions by Nigerian migrants in South Africa following the September 2019 xenophobic violence. The study asks: to what extent do family facilitate and/or contribute to the decision to return? And how do return strategies unveil the centrality of family in taking migration decisions? Data emerged through online interviews with Nigerian immigrants in South Africa who stayed put, and six family members in Nigeria were reached through snowball sampling. This was supplemented with secondary interviews conducted with Nigerian returnees in three National newspapers (The Punch, Vanguard, Nigerian Tribune and The Nation newspapers). Findings show the centrality of family in both migration intentions, staying-put, and the actual practices of Nigerian victims of xenophobia in South Africa.


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