A Game Theoretic Framework for Cooperative Benefits in South Africa’s Land Redistribution Process: A Case of Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal Sugarcane Farmland Transfers

A good indicator of successful farm redistribution cases has to be the continuation of viable productivity rates in their post transfer periods. Continued productivity benefits all the stakeholders that are involved in the process. Unfortunately negative productivity levels have been reported in numerous South African land redistribution transfers in recent years. A game theoretic perspective is adopted to argue that cooperation among key stakeholders, which could be enforced through long term contracts between a land buyer, sellers and new owners, would lead to higher productivity levels and other benefits. Additional benefits would, for example, include market related prices paid by a buyer. Sugarcane farm transfer cases from two municipality districts in KwaZulu Natal province are used to show that the productivity rates in post transfer periods of cooperative land sales were more than 10% higher than the rates observed before such transfers. At the opposite end of the scale, the productivity rates in noncooperative land sales dropped by 16% after land takeovers. Furthermore, the prices paid for farms that became less productive after transfers were higher by more than 40% compared to those paid for productive farms. The cases illustrate the values of cooperative strategies in economic transactions.Sugarcane, farms, redistribution, productivity, cooperation, games, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

What is really in the economic partnership agreements for the Southern African region? A perspective from Botswana’s beef export markets

The signing of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) nations dominated the multilateral trade agenda in late 2007 and early 2008. While the Caribbean nations signed the full EPAs, some of the African countries only singed interim agreements with the EU and a number of West African countries chose not to sign any EPA. Using the case of Botswana’s export markets, especially in agriculture, it is argued that the interim Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA, which was signed by Botswana and her neighbours, with the exception of South Africa, may have been economically sensible in protecting Botswana’s rural poor, at least in the short run. By tracing trade flows from the border to specifically poor sectors of the country, the importance of the beef exports sector to the poor and rural communities was found. The potential effects on the most significant exports of tariff bands associated with preferential agreements with the EU were found to be most beneficial in comparison to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) and the South Africa-EU Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) tariff bands. But it is also argued that the EPA will most likely have far reaching long run costs on regional economic development and institutional integration, within the SADC and Southern African Customs Union (SACU).Botswana, economic partnership agreements, European Union, exports, beef,

Institutions and economic research: a case of location externalities on agricultural resource allocation in the Kat River basin, South Africa

The Physical Externality Model is used to illustrate the potential limitations of blindly adopting formal models for economic investigation and explanation in varied geographical contexts. As argued by institutional economists for the last hundred years the practice limits the value and relevance of most general economic inquiry. This model postulates that the geographical location of farmers along a given watercourse, in which water is diverted individually, leads to structural inefficiencies that negatively affect the whole farming community. These effects are felt more severely at downstream sites and lead to a status quo where upstream farmers possess relative economic and political advantages over their counterparts elsewhere. In the study of the Kat River basin these predictions appear to be true only in as far as they relate to legal and political allocations and use of water resources. In terms of lawful uses of land resources aimed at expanding citrus production, the model’s predictions are not met. The status quo is however fully explained by the implications of having adopted formal water scheduling rights by upstream farmers as well as other geographical factors. Hence, the case for investigating the effects of important institutions within general economic research is strengthened.institutions, water allocation, physical externality, Kat River Valley,

Dreaming in Colour.

No Abstract

Experiences of case managers in caring for a patient in a managed health care organisation

Abstract: Professional nurses’ experiences are affected by a lack of facilities and resources, heavy workloads and unsafe working environments. These contributory factors prompt professional nurses’ decisions to leave the bedside setting for alternative employment opportunities. Case management is a nursing resource employed by managed health care organisations to ensure patients receive appropriate care which is cost effective and beneficial to the patient’s health within available funding structures. Traditional nursing practices, however, take place in a physical face-to-face context, allowing compassion and care transference. Nursing care in the managed health organisation is office-based; contact between the professional registered nurse and patient is only through electronic, digital systems. It is best described as ‘faceless’. The nursing care that a case manager renders is unexamined and unknown, and this detached structure introduces a different facet of nursing and nursing care. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of case managers in caring for patients in a managed health care organisation, in order to make recommendations for quality nursing care by case managers in a managed health care organisation. A qualitative research approach was used by implementing an explorative, descriptive and contextual phenomenological research design. Non-probability purposive sampling was used. The research population consisted of 10 registered professional nurses employed as case managers for one year or longer. Data collection was done through one-on-one, in-depth, unstructured phenomenological interviews, which focused on the central question: What are the experiences of case managers in caring for patients in a managed health care organisation? Ten participants out of a total of 80 case managers who formed part of the total accessible population were interviewed and data saturation was reached. Data was analysed using Giorgi’s five-step method, with the help of an independent coder. From the research findings two themes emerged from the data. Communication was found in theme one: The case manager’s role includes coordinating all aspects of care in a financial framework and they rely on receiving sufficient, timely information. Caring was found in theme two this was determined vi to be that case managers experience great satisfaction in caring for patients, even if they do not see the patients; they view it as a professional benefit. However, the case managers are subjected to frustrating barriers in their efforts to obtain sufficient, appropriate clinical information from the hospitals. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical principles were applied throughout this study. The findings reveal that case managers experienced a great sense of ultimate satisfaction from caring for patients in a managed health care organisation. Although the case managers did express that they communicate and care for a patient from behind a computer screen and never get to see or touch their patient, as they did at the clinical bedside setting, this forces them to seek new and alternative ways to communicate with their patient to show and share care. The caring that a case manager renders to a patient is through technological, digital means; mainly by email or telephone. Patient care rendered by a case manager from the managed health care organisation is thus distant and detached. But there is still care that is shared; it is just a different way of caring. General recommendations to facilitate case managers in caring for patients in a managed health care organisation were made as follows: To develop an effective, efficient means of coordination of all aspects of nursing care for patients by case managers, and management should monitor and collaborate communication and relationship building between in-hospital case managers and managed health care case managers.M.Cur. (Nursing

Access to success: qualitative accounts of successful access/foundation program students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.Higher education in South Africa has undergone numerous changes over the past few decades. These changes have focused on addressing the discriminatory practices that the past apartheid laws (e.g. Bantu Education Act) have had on higher education in South Africa. As such, higher education in South Africa has been on an ongoing process of positive transformation so as to provide equal opportunities for previously disadvantaged groups of students. The increase of participation in higher education through the expansion of formal access for all learners, was one strategy that was used to contribute to the transformation of higher education. In recent years, conversations in higher education have shifted towards increasing epistemological access and success for students. This study aimed to explore success stories and accounts of students who entered the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) through access programmes. The study sought to explore how academically successful students who started their university studies through UKZN access programmes account for their academic success, what aspects of the university environment enabled and constrained these students’ academic success, and what aspects of their personal history enabled and constrained their academic success. The findings of this study revealed that there are various aspects in a student’s life that contribute to their success in university. These aspects range from academic factors, to family background, and to social and personal challenges. The findings from this study (such as sub-theme 1:1 attention and motivation, sub-theme 1:2 preparation and transitioning sub-theme 1:3 smaller classes and style of lecturing) are presented according to three thematic clusters, namely 1) The benefits of an access programme for academic success, 2) Explaining academic success by access programme students, and 3) Challenges that impacted on access programme students’ academic success. Within the three thematic clusters, eight sub-themes were identified as factors that either contributed to the participants’ academic success or were challenges that impacted on the participants’ academic success. The findings of this study highlight aspects that are worth considering when working towards optimising student success in university. For instance, it was evident in the findings that doing the access programme prepared students for transitioning into university and equipped them with the foundational skills needed for academic success. As such, the researcher highlighted the need for higher education institutions to enhance support programmes or even extend programmes (such as the access programme) to all students entering university so as to assist them with transitioning and to equip them with the skills needed for academic success. The findings also highlighted the challenges that successful non-traditional students encounter during their studies such as finances, language/communication barriers and time management amongst other challenges. The awareness of the realities that successful access programme students experience is important especially for institutions and other stakeholders who are intending optimise student success by addressing challenges that present themselves in the students studying experience

Understanding skin colour: Exploring colourism and its articulation among black and coloured students

While international scholars have increasingly drawn attention to colourism as a social phenomenon, South Africa has yet to understand its various expressions in the wake of a history of apartheid. Colourism can be described as "prejudicial treatment of individuals based on varying degrees of skin colour." This has significant implications for people of colour, who are often targets of racism, but also perpetrators of skin tone discrimination among their own racial group. The main objective of this study was twofold: to enquire about the existence of colourism, and to determine how it may possibly articulate itself as an everyday phenomenon among students. A sample of black and coloured students were drawn from the University of Cape Town student population. Qualitative focus group interviews were conducted to collect all necessary data. The results indicated the existence of colourism in the lives of students including their relationships with family members, friends, potential intimate partners, and in their wider societal context. A thematic analysis revealed four main themes: a) Racial identity formation; b) Skin tone valuations and their influence in the colourism hierarchy; c) Gendered articulations of colourism; and d) Trauma and its effect on the expression of colourism. Racial identity formed an important part of how students situated themselves positively or negatively in the historical and present day context of South Africa. Skin tone valuations meant that greater value was often placed on light skin as an attribute of beauty, wealth and intelligence. However, this was mediated by gender such that the value placed on light and dark skin was often determined by gender. One crucial observation was the pervasive nature of cultural trauma in and through experiences of colourism. Through a process of symbolic violence, colourism was understood as internalised racism which becomes a weapon wielded by black and coloured individuals against themselves. As such, inherited racist beliefs about the inferiority of darker skin, and superiority of lighter skin have been internalised, even among a post-apartheid generation of youth

Barriers that impede the effectiveness of precautionary measures of combating the spread of HIV and AIDS: the case of the University of Zululand and Mangosuthu University of Technology

This article explores and identifies the barriers that impede the effectiveness of precautionary measures of fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS in tertiary institutions in KwaZulu Natal, namely, University of Zululand and Mangosuthu University of Technology. This article is informed by the Satisfaction Theory which emphasises the importance of product or service marketing as it determines whether a customer will continue using a product or service or not. The theory indicates that if a customer is satisfied with the service offered by an organisation or a company, then the client may continue using the company’s product or service. However, if a client is dissatisfied with the service offered, he or she may decide to discontinue using the particular product or service. The research problem of this study is articulated through the following research questions: why is the pregnancy rate high in tertiary institutions, whereas condoms are freely available? Why is the spread of HIV escalating in tertiary institutions, whereas information on HIV and AIDS is available? And why are precautionary measures to scale down HIV and AIDS less effective? The study targeted only students in two purposively selected tertiary institutions. The quantitative method and stratified random sampling was used. Data was analysed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft excel. The study established that there are many barriers that impede the effectiveness of precautionary measures of fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS in these tertiary institutions. The study further established that precautionary measures of fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS such as condoms are freely available in these tertiary institutions. However, they are not easily accessible as they are only distributed at the clinics. This article recommends that condoms be distributed all over campus, more especially in students’ residences because that is where students spend most of their time. In addition, the clinics are not always opened as compared to students’ residences. Keywords: HIV; AIDS; University of Zululand; Mangosuthu University of Technolog

Access to success: qualitative accounts of successful Access/Foundation Program students from University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg Campus.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.Higher education in South Africa has undergone numerous changes over the past few decades. These changes have focused on addressing the discriminatory practices that the past apartheid laws (e.g. Bantu Education Act) have had on higher education in South Africa. As such, higher education in South Africa has been on an ongoing process of positive transformation so as to provide equal opportunities for previously disadvantaged groups of students. The increase of participation in higher education through the expansion of formal access for all learners, was one strategy that was used to contribute to the transformation of higher education. In recent years, conversations in higher education have shifted towards increasing epistemological access and success for students. This study aimed to explore success stories and accounts of students who entered the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) through access programmes. The study sought to explore how academically successful students who started their university studies through UKZN access programmes account for their academic success, what aspects of the university environment enabled and constrained these students’ academic success, and what aspects of their personal history enabled and constrained their academic success. The findings of this study revealed that there are various aspects in a student’s life that contribute to their success in university. These aspects range from academic factors, to family background, and to social and personal challenges. The findings from this study (such as sub-theme 1:1 attention and motivation, sub-theme 1:2 preparation and transitioning sub-theme 1:3 smaller classes and style of lecturing) are presented according to three thematic clusters, namely 1) The benefits of an access programme for academic success, 2) Explaining academic success by access programme students, and 3) Challenges that impacted on access programme students’ academic success. Within the three thematic clusters, eight sub-themes were identified as factors that either contributed to the participants’ academic success or were challenges that impacted on the participants’ academic success. The findings of this study highlight aspects that are worth considering when working towards optimising student success in university. For instance, it was evident in the findings that doing the access programme prepared students for transitioning into university and equipped them with the foundational skills needed for academic success. As such, the researcher highlighted the need for higher education institutions to enhance support programmes or even extend programmes (such as the access programme) to all students entering university so as to assist them with transitioning and to equip them with the skills needed for academic success. The findings also highlighted the challenges that successful non-traditional students encounter during their studies such as finances, language/communication barriers and time management amongst other challenges. The awareness of the realities that successful access programme students experience is important especially for institutions and other stakeholders who are intending optimise student success by addressing challenges that present themselves in the students studying experience

New media and self-directed learning : enhancing pedagogical transformation in an open distance learning landscape

Modern technological innovations are constantly seen throughout every aspect of life, and higher education is no exception. To this end, this article sheds some light on the types of and pedagogical value of new media adopted by academics to promote self-directed learning at the University of South Africa. The study answers the following questions: Which new media approaches have been adopted by academics to enhance self-directed learning? What is the pedagogical value of new media in an ODL environment? A qualitative approach was employed and data was collected through face-to-face interviews with 30 purposively selected Unisa academics. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model was found relevant to this study. Thematic categorisation was employed for data analysis. The findings depict that a variety of new media have been adopted to promote self-directed learning at Unisa. The study also found that new media are playing a pivotal role in promoting self-directed learning in an ODL landscape. It is therefore important to note that new media have emerged as strong catalysts in fostering pedagogical transformation.College of EducationM. Ed (Open and Distance Learning