Purchasing Power Parity: Some Empirical Evidence on Lesotho

This paper investigates the validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis under fixedexchange rate regime. First, the time series characteristics of real exchange rate areinvestigated using ADF unit root tests. The real exchange rate is found to be a random walk, arevelation that does not lend support to the validity of the PPP doctrine. Finally,cointegration-error-correction technique (a relatively more reliable procedure) is used toexamine the issue of PPP. A major advantage of this procedure is that the coefficients (βi’s)are estimated in an unconstrained fashion and the tests for validity or otherwise of therestrictions come last. Using this methodology, we are able to find evidence in favour of thePPP hypothesis

UmobiTalk: Ubiquitous Mobile Speech Based Learning Language Translator for Sesotho Language

Published ThesisThe need to conserve the under-resourced languages is becoming more urgent as some of them are becoming extinct; natural language processing can be used to redress this. Currently, most initiatives around language processing technologies are focusing on western languages such as English and French, yet resources for such languages are already available. The Sesotho language is one of the under-resourced Bantu languages; it is mostly spoken in Free State province of South Africa and in Lesotho. Like other parts of South Africa, Free State has experienced high number of migrants and non-Sesotho speakers from neighboring provinces and countries; such people are faced with serious language barrier problems especially in the informal settlements where everyone tends to speak only Sesotho. Non-Sesotho speakers refers to the racial groups such as Xhosas, Zulus, Coloureds, Whites and more, in which Sesotho language is not their native language. As a solution to this, we developed a parallel corpus that has English as source and Sesotho as a target language and packaged it in UmobiTalk - Ubiquitous mobile speech based learning translator. UmobiTalk is a mobile-based tool for learning Sesotho for English speakers. The development of this tool was based on the combination of automatic speech recognition, machine translation and speech synthesis

Stress coping strategies to prevent burnout amongst primary school teachers in Lesotho

Teachers are exposed to stressful situations, of which increasing work demands is but one, leading to an alarming escalation of stress and professional burnout as career risks in the teaching profession. The focus of this study is on stress coping strategies to prevent burnout among primary school teachers in Lesotho. Some of the reasons which urged the researcher to carry out this study pertain to the fact that, although teacher burnout is an international concern, limited studies have addressed burnout and stress coping strategies among staff in the teaching service in Lesotho. Prolonged stress is a social problem leading to mental and physical ill health, with an increasing number of teachers leaving the teaching profession in Lesotho due to burnout. The population for the study was 600 primary school teachers who were engaging in professional development by pursuing a Bachelor of Education in primary education at the National University of Lesotho. This is a part-time programme offered by the University for practising teachers who hold a Diploma in Primary Education. The study followed a mixed-methods research approach, so for the qualitative study, data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews with 20 participants. For the quantitative study, questionnaires were administered to 350 respondents. Qualitative data were analysed using an inductive approach. Quantitative data were analysed using multiple regression, Chi-square and t-test. Key findings revealed that variables such as work overload, organisational climate and role conflict are predictors of burnout among teachers. Other variables predicting teacher burnout pertain to learner indiscipline, teacher personality and insufficient teacher remuneration. Burnout attacks career motivation. It also causes aggressive and violent behaviour among teachers. Teachers buffer stress and prevent burnout by employing constructive, less constructive and neutral stress coping strategies. The Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training can alleviate stress and prevent burnout among teachers by clarifying their job descriptions, instituting formal induction programmes for new teachers and ensuring that teacher salaries are on par with equivalent professional careers.Onderwysers word aan stresvolle situasies blootgestel, waarvan toenemende werkseise net een is; dit lei tot 'n kommerwekkende styging van stres en professionele uitbranding as loopbaanrisiko's in die onderwysberoep. Hierdie studie fokus op strategieë om stres te hanteer om uitbranding onder laerskoolonderwysers in Lesotho te voorkom. Sommige redes wat die navorser genoop het om die studie te doen, hou verband met die feit dat alhoewel onderwyseruitbranding 'n internasionale bekommernis is, is beperkte studies gedoen om uitbranding en strategieë om stres te hanteer onder onderwysers in Lesotho gedoen. Langdurige stres is 'n sosiale probleem wat tot geestelike en fisiese swak gesondheid kan lei, met 'n toenemende aantal onderwysers wat die beroep verlaat in Lesotho as gevolg van uitbranding. Die populasie vir die studie was 600 laerskoolonderwysers wat by professionele ontwikkeling betrokke was deur vir 'n baccalaureusgraad in Opvoedkunde in primêre onderwys in te skryf by die Nasionale Universiteit van Lesotho. Dit is 'n deeltydse program wat die Universiteit aanbied vir praktiserende onderwysers met 'n Diploma in Primêre Opvoedkunde. Die studie het 'n benadering gebruik van gemengde navorsingsmetodes. Vir die kwalitatiewe studie is data versamel deur semigestruktureerde individuele onderhoude met 20 deelnemers. Vir die kwantitatiewe studie is vraelyste aan 350 respondente gegee. Kwalitatiewe data is ontleed deur 'n induktiewe benadering te gebruik. Kwantitatiewe data is ontleed deur meervoudige regressie, chi-kwadraat en t-toets te gebruik. Sleutelbevindings het getoon dat veranderlikes soos werksoorlading, organisatoriese klimaat en rolkonflik aanwysers van uitbranding onder onderwysers is. Ander veranderlikes wat onderwyseruitbranding aandui hou verband met leerders se gebrek aan dissipline, onderwysers se persoonlikhede en onvoldoende vergoeding vir onderwysers. Uitbranding val loopbaanmotivering aan. Dit lei ook tot aggressiewe en gewelddadige gedrag onder onderwysers. Onderwysers keer stres en voorkom uitbranding deur konstruktiewe, minder konstruktiewe en neutrale strategieë te gebruik om stres te hanteer. Lesotho se Ministerie van Onderwys en Opleiding kan stres verlig en uitbranding onder onderwysers voorkom deur hul posbeskrywings duidelik te maak, formele oriënteringsprogramme vir nuwe onderwysers daar te stel en te verseker dat onderwysers se salarisse ooreenkom met soortgelyke professionele beroepe.Barutiši ba lebana le maemo a kgatelelo ya monagano, ao go ona a bakwago ke dinyakego tša mošomo o montši, gomme se se feletša go kgolo ya godimo ya kgatelelo ya monagano le go lapa mošomong wa bona wa sephrofešenale bjalo ka go tsena kotsing ya mošomo wa bona ka phrofešeneng ya biorutiši. Nepišo ya dinyakišišo tše e go maano a go kgona go šoma ka fase ga kgatelelo ye ka nepo ya go thibela go lapa kudu gareng ga barutiši ba phoraemari ka Lesotho. A mangwe a mabaka ao a dirilego gore banyakišiši ba dire dinyakišišo tše ke mabapi le taba ya gore, le ge e le gore go lapa kudu ga barutiši ke tlhobaboroko maemong a boditšhabatšhaba, dinyakišišo tše mmalwa fela di boletše ka ga maano a go kgona go šoma ka mathata a go lapa kudu le a ka fase ga kgatelelo ya monagano gareng ga bašomi ka tirelong ya borutiši ka Lesotho. Kgatelelo ya monagano ye e tšeago lebaka le letelele ke bothata bja setšhaba bjo bo feletšago ka bofokodi bja maphelo a monagano le a mmeleng, fao palo ya godimo ya barutiši e tlogelago phrofešene ya borutiši ka Lesotho ka lebaka la go lapa kudu. Batho bao ba botšišwago dipotšišo ka mo dinyakišišong tše ke barutiši ba dikolo tša phoraemari ba 600 bao ba bego ba kgatha tema ka tlhabollong ya sephrofešenale ka go dira Kgrata ya Borutiši ka thuto ya phoraemari ka Yunibesithing ya Bosetšhaba ya Lesotho. Le ke lenaneo la thuto leo le dirwago dinako tše dingwe leo le abjago ke Yunibesithi ye go barutiši bao ba šomago bao ba nago le Tiploma ya Thuto ya Phoraemari. Dinyakišišo di latetše mekgwa ya dinyakišišo ye e kopantšwego, ka fao bjalo ka dinyakišišo tša boleng, datha e kgobokeditšwe ka go šomiša dipotšišo tšeo di beakantšwego ka seripa tšeo di botšišwago motho ka o tee ka o tee fao go nago le bakgathatema ba 20. Go dinyakišišo tša bontši, dipotšišonyakišišo di filwe baarabi ba 350. Datha ya bontši e sekasekilwe ka go šomiša mokgwa wa tirišo ya bohlatse. Datha ya bontši e sekasekilwe ka go šomiša dipalopalo tša go akanya kamano, Chi-square le t-test. Dikutollo tše bohlokwa di utollotše gore dilo tše dingwe tše di fapanego tša go swana le go šoma mošomo o montši go fetišiša, seemo sa ka mošomong le thulano ya go šoma mošomo ke dilo tšeo di bonwago bjalo ka tšeo di bakago go lapa kudu gareng ga barutiši. Dilo tše dingwe tše di fapanego tše di bakago go lapa kudu di mabapi le go se be le maitshwaro a mabotse ga baithuti, semelo sa barutiši le tefelo ya barutiši ye e sego ya lekana. Go lapa kudu go hlasela tlhohleletšo ya go dira mošomo. Gape go baka maitshwaro a go befelwa le a dikgaruru gareng ga barutiši. Barutiši ba fokotša kgatelelo ya monagano le go thibela go lapa kudu ka go diriša maano a go kgona go phela ka kgatelelo ao a kwagalago, ao a kwagala gannyane le a magareng. Kgoro ya Thuto le Tlhahlo ya Lesotho e ka fediša kgatelelo ya monagano le go thibela go lapa kudu gareng ga barutiši ka go hlatholla gabotse mešomo ya bona, ka go hloma mananeo a semmušo a tlwaelo ya barutiši ba baswa le go netefatša gore meputso ya barutiši e lekana le ya mešomo ye mengwe ya go swana le yona ya sephrofešenale.Educational Management and LeadershipD. Ed. (Educational Management

An investigation of phase transformations in Pt-V coating systems

Includes bibliographical references.Phase transformations in Pt-V coatings after heat treatment have been investigated. Five Pt- V ordered phases (PtV, PtV 3 , Pt 2 V, Pt 3 V and Pt 8 V) have been previously observed in bulk platinum-vanadium alloys. Phase formation in coatings is expected to be sequential and controlled by the lowest temperature eutectic (liquidus) composition; this allows control of experimental parameters for formation of desired ordered phases. This investigation included fabrication of coatings, heat treatments, morphology characterization and phase analysis. Single and multilayer coatings ranging between 0.07 μm and 0.5 μm were deposited on vanadium and platinum substrates using E-beam deposition. The kinetics of phase transformation were studied by subjecting the coated layers to a variety of heat treatments in the temperature range 600°C to 900°C for 4 and 8 hours. Composition and morphology characterization was carried out using EDS and SEM respectively. XRD was used for phase analysis. Four (PtV, PtV 3 , Pt 2 V, Pt 3 V) out of the five Pt-V ordered phases exhibited in bulk alloys, were successfully formed from the coating system investigated in this project. The first phase formed, and the sequence of phase formation, was found to be different depending on which metal formed the substrate. The vanadium-rich ordered phase (PtV 3 ) was preferentially formed first on vanadium substrates and the sequence of phase formation progressed through ordered phases richer in platinum. The platinum-rich ordered phase (Pt 3 V) was preferentially formed first on platinum substrates and the sequence continued towards formation of ordered phases richer in vanadium. An increase in heat treatment temperature from 600°C to 900°C resulted in rapid kinetics of phase transformation but affected the morphology of the coatings. An increase in coating thickness, number of coating layers, heat treatment time, and temperature resulted in an increase in overall total number of ordered phases and volume of ordered phases

Community involvement - Ga-Motlatla village

Ga-Motlatla is a village of approximately 600 households situated about 40 km west of Ventersdorp in the Northwest Province in South Africa. This village has transformed itself in a period of about 4 years from a totally neglected “black spot” settlement to a thriving community with basic services of water, electricity, automatic telephones, communal gardens and controlled (fenced) ranches for community herds. The seed for the success was sowed through the Ga-Motlatla Village Development project which was initiated by the Independent Development Trust under its Relief Development Programme during the drought in 1992. This paper examines the approach to the involvement of the community in the project and argues that the innovative and flexible manner in which this was done is directly responsible for the ability of the community, not only to sustain the projects long beyond the relief period but, in addition, to initiate other development projects that have transformed the Village to what it is today

Exploring How Lecturers Have Designed Their Online Courses to Promote Active Engagement in Teaching and Learning Contexts

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it mandatory for all university courses to be taught using online technologies. One of the major challenges experienced by Lecturers has been how to make students responsive and engaged in online environments as opposed to face-to-face classrooms. This study seeks to investigate how extended curriculum programme academics design their online extended curriculum courses such that they can promote active engagement in their online classrooms. The research design adopted for this study falls within the interpretative paradigm, embracing a qualitative research approach within a case study methodology. For data collection purposes, three courses and nine Lecturers, three from each faculty were selected for each of these faculties because of their engagement in online learning and hybrid learning initiatives, making nine courses. Two theoretical frameworks underpinned this study: the SAMR Model and the Technology integration matrix (TIM). The researchers argue that it is imperative that academic development supports and enhances the development and agency of academics in designing and creating active and engaging hybrid or online environments

Synthesis of metal organic frameworks (MOF)/graphene oxide (GO) composites modified with Ag, Cu and Ag/Cu as nanoparticles for wastewater treatment

Abstract: The intentional or unintentional release of wastewater containing dyes from the industries into the environment is a major challenge for municipalities, water practitioners and affected stakeholders. Conventional methods that are used somehow result in secondary pollution. Consequently, development of new or other treatment alternatives, such as membrane technology are required for the removal of these dyes from wastewater. Membrane technology has developed as a proficient method over conventional systems due to its high rejection capacity, ease in synthesis and operation, and cost effectiveness for the removal of dyes from wastewater. Polymeric membranes, such as those made of polyethersulfone (PES), are commonly used because of their higher flexibility, simple pore forming mechanism using phase inversion method, cost effective and require smaller space for synthesis as well as application in comparison to inorganic membranes. However, these polymeric membranes are susceptible to fouling because they are generally hydrophobic in nature. Fouling is a deposition of various colloidal particles, macromolecules (polysaccharides, proteins) and salts on membrane surface and within pores thus hinders membrane performance, reduces flux and results in high cost. As a result, modification of polymeric membranes is necessary to mitigate membrane fouling. Polymeric membranes are modified with nanomaterials owing to their altering ability; nanomaterials such as metal-organic framework (MOFs), graphene oxide (GO) and variety of metallic nanoparticles (e.g. AgNPs, CuNPs) results in polymeric nanocomposite membranes with high antifouling characteristics. Blending nanomaterials i.e. GO, MOFs and nanoparticles with polymeric membranes impart high selectivity, high permeability, high hydrophilicity, and antifouling properties to polymeric membranes...Ph.D. (Chemistry

The effects of sovereign credit rating on the banking sector in South Africa

The study investigated the effect of sovereign credit rating on the banking sector in South Africa. Four different models with different measures of the banking sector were used to investigate this effect. In the first model Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of sovereign credit rating on bank ratings in South Africa. The study found that sovereign credit ratings have a significant positive effect on bank credit ratings. Using GMM with a sample of 11 banks, with bank lending as the measure for the banking sector, the study found that sovereign credit ratings (SCR) have a positive and significant effect on bank lending by commercial banks in South Africa. The study also used net interest margin, a measure for bank profitability as a third proxy for the banking sector and found that sovereign credit ratings have a significant positive effect on bank profitability. Furthermore, the study used bank stability measured by Z-Score to assess the effect of sovereign credit rating on the banking sector in South Africa. Taking a different approach and using ARDL, the study found that SCR has a positive long-run relationship with Z-Score. Based on the findings in all four models, the study concluded that the sovereign credit rating has a positive and significant effect on the banking sector in South Africa. This means that the sovereign credit ratings upgrade will lead to an improvement in the banking sector. A sovereign credit rating downgrade will be detrimental to the banking sector in South Africa. The study has shown that there are interlinkages between the public and the private sector; therefore, government must come up with strategic policies to ensure stability and reduction of government debt. Policymakers of the banking sector should also strengthen policies that will ensure banks remain profitable and stable even during a sovereign crisis. An effective and efficient asset management is important for the survival of South African commercial banks. The study recommends that both the private and public sector should work in cooperation when formulating policies so that the impact of the regulatory measure on commercial banks is taken into consideration.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic science, 202

The effects of sovereign credit rating on the banking sector in South Africa

The study investigated the effect of sovereign credit rating on the banking sector in South Africa. Four different models with different measures of the banking sector were used to investigate this effect. In the first model Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of sovereign credit rating on bank ratings in South Africa. The study found that sovereign credit ratings have a significant positive effect on bank credit ratings. Using GMM with a sample of 11 banks, with bank lending as the measure for the banking sector, the study found that sovereign credit ratings (SCR) have a positive and significant effect on bank lending by commercial banks in South Africa. The study also used net interest margin, a measure for bank profitability as a third proxy for the banking sector and found that sovereign credit ratings have a significant positive effect on bank profitability. Furthermore, the study used bank stability measured by Z-Score to assess the effect of sovereign credit rating on the banking sector in South Africa. Taking a different approach and using ARDL, the study found that SCR has a positive long-run relationship with Z-Score. Based on the findings in all four models, the study concluded that the sovereign credit rating has a positive and significant effect on the banking sector in South Africa. This means that the sovereign credit ratings upgrade will lead to an improvement in the banking sector. A sovereign credit rating downgrade will be detrimental to the banking sector in South Africa. The study has shown that there are interlinkages between the public and the private sector; therefore, government must come up with strategic policies to ensure stability and reduction of government debt. Policymakers of the banking sector should also strengthen policies that will ensure banks remain profitable and stable even during a sovereign crisis. An effective and efficient asset management is important for the survival of South African commercial banks. The study recommends that both the private and public sector should work in cooperation when formulating policies so that the impact of the regulatory measure on commercial banks is taken into consideration.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic science, 202