Review of Solar Geoengineering for the Developing World: A Discourse on the State of Research and the Effects on Policy and Livelihoods for Africa

The world is experiencing a rapid increase in the global average temperatures at an unprecedented level, primarily due to human activities. Global actors' and policymakers' inability to find an agreed upon course of action to curtail the looming effects of these increased temperatures is an issue of global environmental and human security concern. Solar geoengineering, also solar radiation modification (SRM), has been proposed in many quarters as an option to reducing global warming while finding other alternatives to GHG emissions. This paper provides a summary introduction to climate science on solar engineering for the social scientists and policymakers from the global south. The paper assesses the status, effects, and preparedness of developing economies, especially Africa, in adopting SRM policies and practices. It observes that the effects of SRM for Africa have not been adequately researched due to the dearth of research and experts on SRM, specifically for Africa. It concludes that the reliance of a significant proportion of developing societies on climate-sensitive livelihood options makes the implication of SRM a worthy consideration for research and policymakers.

Crafting an Endogenous Developmental Pathway for the Mgobodzi Community, South Africa

The Mgobodzi community of the Nkomazi Municipality is perceived as one of the most poverty-stricken and under-developed communities in South Africa. As an agendum to alleviating poverty, the government has employed a variety of developmental initiatives to accelerate development within this community. Despite the enormous investments and concentrated developmental interventions, little improvement has been noticed in regard to the state of poverty within this community as compared to the situation prior the kick-starting of these governmental interventions. In consonance, this study aims to propose an alternative developmental trajectory for this community through the ‘Endogenous growth theory’. The novelty of this research lies in its plausibility and dependence on insights from experienced rural development stakeholders, alongside beneficiaries of this community. The study found that the current rural development trajectory lacks crucial insights into the fundamental demands of this deprived community. The time of realism has set in for stakeholders to make more proactive interventions in addressing the awful specter of under-development and poverty epitomised amongst this community. Such realism is advocated in this research through the ‘conceptualisation of the endogenous growth theory’.

Decolonisation and Rehumanising through Reclaiming the Humanities in ODEL

Due to an oft held presupposition by academic administrators that the humanities lack utility, it is common for humanities scholars to be fearful of the demise of our disciplines in institutions of higher learning. In a number of western institutions, humanities departments have been closed based upon this logic. Locating the discussion within the South African academy and based particularly upon the pedagogical experience of the University of South Africa, the authors note an emerging juxtaposition to the western utilitarian approach toward humanities. The decolonial turn is gaining traction in neo colonies and offers an approach away from western positivist-inspired reductivism. Therefore, from within the decolonial milieu, a recovery of the importance of researching and teaching themes of the human can arise when the conception of the person is integrally restored. We argue that when dominant knowledge systems are dislodged, space is created for epistemic plurality by which epistemic re-centring occurs. Doing philosophy in the decolonial environment affords the privilege of reclaiming humanity in the face of its neo colonial mutilation. This is even more so, when philosophy is taught through the dispersed mode of open, distance, and e-learning (ODeL), an andragogy that encourages recentring and decolonisation in both the theory and praxis of teaching and learning.

Exploring the Perspectives and Parental Roles in the Academic Performance of University Students with Disabilities

The present study focusses on exploring the impact of parental support on the academic performance of students with disabilities. A qualitative study approach was used to explore students with disabilities' perspectives of parental support and the impact it has on their academic performance. This qualitative study purposively selected eight participants. They were subjected to semi-structured, open-ended, one-on-one interviews, and these interviews were recorded using an audio recorder with their permission. The collected data was analysed using thematic content analysis. Parental support may take numerous forms, including emotional, physical, and financial assistance. As a result, parental support influences academic success and the adjustment of students living with disabilities to their new environment. However, parental knowledge, attitudes, and tolerance of a student's disability have been shown to be obstacles to meaningful parental support. This study concludes that for students with disabilities to perform to their maximum potential, parents must be trained and empowered to provide necessary support including motivating their children.

Your Future Employer: Employer Branding, Reputation, and Social Media

This study examines employer branding and the relationship between corporate reputation, social media, and the intention of potential applicants to seek future employment. The researchers deployed a structured questionnaire to gather data from national service personnel in Ghana via the WhatsApp platform using a Google Form hyperlink. The proposed conceptual framework was tested based on 581 generated responses. The researchers depended on ADANCO 2.1 software for analysis. This helped in producing the PLS-SEM. The results indicate that the application value, development value, and social value positively impact reputation, which successively influences the intent to apply. The findings also reveal that, where social media influence intention to apply, it does not positively impact corporate reputation. The limitation of this study and directions for future studies are presented.

The Flipside of New Public Management: An Inquiry into the Challenges Facing Outsourced Workers in South Africa

Inspired by the new public management (NPM) philosophy, public sector institutions have engaged private companies by outsourcing non-core services for improved service delivery, lowering government expenditure, and creating opportunities for employment. There is evidence suggesting that the public sector has witnessed industrial conflicts occasioned by labour unrest among outsourced workers. This paper explores how the employees of contract companies perceive outsourcing and how outsourcing has affected them. Using a non-probabilistic sampling technique, the study mixes both qualitative and quantitative techniques to show that the outsourced workers do not see outsourcing in good light. The viewpoint of participants revealed that the outsourced workers were not pleased with the condition of work under different management. These findings have significant implications for broadening the understanding of the plight of the outsourced workers in the public sector. This study has raised important questions about the nature of outsourcing in the public sector and aroused the consciousness that the challenge facing outsourced workforce persists despite the premium placed on NPM in literature. The study, therefore, recommends that the condition of service of outsourced workers in South Africa’s public departments be given due attention to forestall undesirable outcomes.

Using ISO 9001 Principles to Enhance Total Quality Management: A Case Study of a Packaging Manufacturer in South Africa

The lifting of sanctions post-1994 ushered in the era of international trade in South Africa. To be competitive, the selected packaging organisation became ISO 9001 certified. However, it continued to be plagued by product quality complaints filed by customers. The objective of the study was to ascertain the factors contributing to quality gaps using the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Principles descriptors as measures and to recommend a TQM improvement framework based on the gap analysis. A mixed method approach was adopted for the study. Questionnaires were used to capture baseline information from employees and interviews were conducted with selected managers. The reasons for there being a high number of customer complaints not being closed off timeously, were found to be embedded in the disjuncture between skills required and personnel appointed to various positions. This also had a negative influence on people engagement, resulting in demotivated employees. It was also found that there was insufficient time allocated and personnel dedicated to performing root cause analysis. Continual improvement was found to be primarily constrained by cost considerations, and supplier quality was not being managed effectively.

Household Mobility Dynamics among Young Adults in Established Suburban Council Rental Housing Estates in South African Cities: A Case Study of Kenneth Gardens, Durban

The household mobility dynamics of young adults are widely acknowledged as some of the central indicators of residential satisfaction and the quantitative housing deficit. Regardless of this, hardly any studies have been conducted to investigate the trend in South African neighbourhoods. This study investigated the dynamics of household mobility among young adults in the Kenneth Gardens, a subsidised council rental estate in the city of Durban, South Africa. It is based on a survey focusing on household characteristics, profiles of young adults, likely household mobility behaviour of young adults and the factors that influence the mobility of young adults. Descriptive statistical tabulations, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and cross tabulations were used in the analysis. The paper notes that established suburban council rental housing estates are multi-cultural and diverse. Likewise, household formation aspirations and mobility factors among young adults are influenced by ethnic cultural factors and cross-cultural socio-economic factors. The paper argues that the residential satisfaction of young adults and household mobility factors in diverse neighbourhoods should be differentially understood within the context of ethnic and cultural geographies. Furthermore, cross-cultural socio-economic constraints that delay the wishes of young adults to form new households must also be taken into consideration.

Factors Affecting Small and Medium Enterprises’ Financial Sustainability in South Africa

The dwindling growth of small businesses and their rate of failure in South Africa has been traced to poor financing. Thus, the factors affecting the financial sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa are examined in this study. Using purposive sampling, data were collected from 310 respondents, however six were incorrectly completed. The analysis was based on data collected from 304 respondents which cut across owners and/or managers from small and medium construction, manufacturing, retail, and agricultural enterprises. A quantitative research design that falls under the positivist paradigm was used. Specifically, through a descriptive and multivariate regression analysis, it was found that financial awareness, budgeting, accounting skills, and access to finance have positive and significant effects on the financial sustainability of SMEs with all the variables, having 0.005 probability values, respectively. Out of all the variables examined, budgeting and access to finance have the largest absolute values of 0.425 and 0.373, respectively. Thus, it was concluded that workshops, training, and seminars to improve the financial literacy of small and medium enterprises should be organised. This will improve owner’s ability to deploy the accounting and budgeting skills and they will be exposed to meeting loan criteria and conditions from financial institutions. Also, adequate funds should be allocated to cater for the regular training and development of small business owners using the services of financial experts.

The Role of Size and Age on Firm Growth: Evidence from Manufacturing SMMEs in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Previous studies in both developed and developing economies have reported that firm growth declines with firm age and size. However, review of literature showed that there are limited studies to empirically assess the validity of this fact on firm growth in developing countries. As such, this paper assesses the role of firm size and age on firm growth in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The study employed a unique balanced three-year panel dataset of 191 manufacturing Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in the province. As expected, the results showed a negative relationship between firm growth and size especially in the short term. However, contrary to the wider body of literature, the study established a positive relationship between firm age and growth. The study also established that older firms grow faster than their younger counterparts despite their size. On the other hand, small sized firms despite their age grow faster than large firms when employment and total assets were used as measures of firm size. It was recommended that the government should be cognisant of the complexity of SMMEs when crafting various sector policies.