The challenges of banks in financing SMEs in Harare, Zimbabwe

This research is a diagnosis of the supply side of SME (small and medium enterprises) credit. Its objectives are to determine the current level of bank lending to SMEs to validate the financing gap, to explore the strategies and mechanisms employed by banks to provide tailor-made lending for SMEs and finally to conclude by identifying some of the key challenges the banks face in their quest to lend to SMEs. This, then, culminated in some recommendations for increasing bank funding to SMEs. This study employed a deductive qualitative research.. The research used a non-probability, purposive/judgmental sampling method to choose the heads of bank SME units to include in the research. There are twelve banks with dedicated SME units, out of a total of 18. The researcher carried out in-depth face to face interviews using semi-structured questions. The qualitative data was coded, deductively analysed and conclusions drawn and incorporated into a report. Banks’ most outstanding challenges in dealing with SMEs in terms of information asymmetry, an unsupportive business environment, poor quality of SME clients and inflexible regulatory requirements

De-stressing race. Documenting 'The trauma of freedom' in post-apartheid South Africa; through the viewpoint of a black female born during the state of emergency (1985-1990)

M.A., Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011This study is as an examination into the everyday experience of Freedom in our democracy as a traumatic one. I outline my search as a Sartrean existential project, via the definitions of the key terms in the investigation: Race, Trauma, Freedom, Post-apartheid, South Africa, Black and Female. I make use of a practice-as-research mode of exploration through the methodology of Narrative Inquiry to discover the stories that give meaning to my being; as a free being. Through a critical reflection on the theatrical praxis, I draw meaning as to what it means to be a young Black woman in South Africa today. Freedom as a conceptual fact and the awareness thereof is outlined as the cause of the distress that has been termed the ‘Trauma of Freedom’. What this work reveals to me is the paradoxical optimism that is inherent within the ‘Trauma of Freedom

Exploring the implementation of an internet based rehabilitation programme for HIV adults in a public health centre

Abstract South Africa has one of the largest population of adults living with HIV. About 30 to 60% of people living with HIV have been found to have HAND which can affect treatment with HAART which requires 95% compliance rate in order to be effective. Interventions that seek to alleviate the cognitive deterioration that is associated with HIV can include Internet based rehabilitation programmes. However, internet based interventions are plagued by poor adherence and attrition rates. The aim of the study was to describe the challenges and facilitating factors in the process of implementing the CogMed™ Working Memory Training Programme at a public HIV clinic for adults living with HIV. The study used a qualitative method with an ethnographic approach. Data was collected through CogMed™ administrator console, observations, interactions with gatekeepers, interactions and interviews with participants and interviews healthcare workers. The factors involved in the implementation process were categorised into the four “Stages of Use”. In the Recruitment/Consideration Stage perception of need, identifying and defining an ideal user were the main themes. Factors affecting the Initiation of Use Stage were sense of obligation, time to commit and access to suitable training environment. Utilisation of Service was influenced by ease of drop out, ease of use, perceived cost versus the perceived benefits of participating. Predisposing, enabling, and needs factors that affected adherence and participation were explored. Finally the Outcomes Stage covered the experiences and perceptions of using the rehabilitation tool. Limitations of the study were also discussed. Keywords: CogMed, Working Memory, HIV, HAND, Internet based interventions, Stages of Us

Physical Solubility of Carbon Dioxide in Decane (C10H22) Solvent from a CO2/CH4 System

An investigation of the potential removal of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from a gas stream containing CO2 and methane (CH4) using n-decane (C10H22) as the physical solvent is presented. Physical absorption has been identified as one of the most effective ways to capture CO2 from natural gas streams as it can handle high pressures and high concentrations of CO2. The study is divided into two parts – the solubility experiment, and a simulation of the process in Aspen HYSYS. The solubility experiments were conducted to predict the solubility of CO2/CH4 at different temperatures and pressures using a high pressure gas solubility cell. The simulation was carried out at different pressures up to 60 bar, for various gas compositions. Two thermodynamic models were selected and analyzed, the PR-EOS and the SRK-EOS. Subsequently, the data obtained was used to estimate Henry’s constant for CO2. The simulation results for n-decane showed an increase in CO2 capturing capacity at lower temperatures and at higher pressures, which is in agreement with Henry’s law, and the absorption capacity was found to be selectively higher for CO2 than for CH4. Based on the experiment results; there was more absorption of CO2 and CH4 at lower temperatures and at a higher pressure, and that the absorption was selectively higher for CO2 than it was for CH4. Therefore, the simulation and the solubility experiment findings show that n-decane is a potential candidate as a physical solvent for the application of the removal of CO2 from natural gas

Lived Experiences of Widows in Botswana: An Ethnographic Examination of Cultural Rituals of Death, Loss, Grief, and Bereavement: Implications for Counseling

The purpose of this investigation was to examine experiences of widows in Botswana regarding the performance of cultural rituals, as they mourned their husband\u27s deaths. The study sought to find out aspects of the rituals that enhanced or hindered healing; and how insights and knowledge gained from the results of the investigation can inform culturally relevant and sensitive psychosocial interventions. The study involved two focus group discussions and seven key informants from two villages in the Northern and Central districts of Botswana. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data through focus group discussions which were video-recorded; data from the key informants was captured through note-taking. The results of the study revealed that if cultural rituals were undertaken timely by a designated elder, they provided grieving widows with multiple sources of support, and thus, enhanced healing. However, when the tradition protocol was disorganized, widows reported feeling insurmountable pain and emotional hurt and perceiving elder attitude as that of neglect. Cultural rituals carry specific and special meanings to widows and their community; as such, they are observed to satisfy personal needs, comply with societal expectations, as well as prevent mysterious and lethal ailments that are believed to be harbored by a new widow. Despite the comfort and solace that widows said they enjoyed from the support provided by elders and performance of traditional rituals, widows reported experiencing other issues that did not fall under the realm of the cultural practices, which were subsequently not addressed. Widows expressed feelings of loneliness, intrusive thoughts, overwhelming pain, and extreme anxiety regarding their future without their husbands. In some instances, these experiences were compounded by struggle with their in-laws over the deceased\u27s estate, pointing to the need for legal and psychosocial supports. Traditional and professional interventions represent two compatible approaches of care to grieving widows, but they are provided to the same population in a noncollaborative way by service providers. If these approaches could be combined, they would ensure a comprehensive, culturally appropriate, and sensitive service. The findings of this investigation call for recognition of traditional culture during counseling interventions and their incorporation into counselor education and supervision programs

Contradictory location of the black woman passport academic: Embrace, alienation and vulnerability

This article is a narration of two black women’s experiences and perceptions of inclusion and/or exclusion within the academy arising out of their identity as ‘passport academics’. The inter-relation of nationality, ethnicity and race as identity markers creates power dynamics that lead to conflicting and competing expectations depending on whose discourse holds sway. The competing expectations form the nexus of the contradictory location leading to an identity crisis of a particular kind. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, the authors describe critical incidences in the course of social and academic relationships within the university which were interpreted as instances of ‘othering’. Alternate perceptions and feelings of embrace, alienation, and vulnerability by both black women ‘passport academics’ and black women South African academics are described. These reveal complex identity issues in which, sadly, black academics’ feelings of affirmation are still seen through the eyes of their white academic colleagues. The irony is that colleagues of different racial categories originating from the same foreign country are often perceived and labelled differently as either ‘outsiders’ or ‘insiders’. It is interesting how the apparent invisibility of one racial category affords people the privilege of global citizenship, while the visibility of blackness opens people to the scrutiny of national origins. What also emerges is that current discourses of transformation and diversity within the university seem to be struggling under the weight of a nationalistic turn. The authors conclude by suggesting that recovering the ‘academic’ rather than projecting nationality might be more productive and beneficial to all

Too late to come back? The paradox of being a 50-year-old ‘early career’ black female academic

Much of what is known about the experiences of black women in academia is from research in the developed world. Little is known about the experiences of black women at African higher education institutions (HEIs) and even less about the experiences of black women who experience career breaks. Using an auto-ethnographic approach I reflects on her attempts to balance the demands of her different roles as a black woman and an academic. In a narrative that explores the complex relationship of time, career and context, the author argues that the time of womanhood, blackness and motherhood in academia is out of joint. Finally, she considers some of the strategies and resources that enabled her entry, re-entry, survival and growth during the course of her stop-and-start academic career. The author hopes that her story may contribute to the ongoing debates about the challenges of and possibilities for late-entry female academics at HEIs

Fast Identification of Components Commonly Used in Homemade Explosives by Spectroscopic and Chemometric Methods

Homemade explosives (HMEs) have become a global pandemic. This forensic research focuses on developing identification methods that can provide quick, cost effective, non-destructive analysis using portable instrumentation. These capabilities would be invaluable to first responders, military, and security officials to establish an evidentiary link between a suspect and a reference in cases of HMEs, IEDs, arson and environmental contamination. Modern methods for quick identification of the fuels and oxidant sources used in manufacturing HMEs, include Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy. Visual confirmation alone, however, is not strong enough to discriminate chemicals with nearly identical spectra, which occurs when analyzing sample within the same class. This research focuses on coupling the chemical identification abilities of spectroscopic techniques with the strength of chemometrics such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for qualitative discrimination and classification of common fuel sources and inorganic salts used as oxidants. Additional quantification research was performed to determine limits of detection for adulterated fuels and oxidant mixtures using partial least squares regression (PLS-R). We have demonstrated that spectroscopic techniques combined with chemometrics can discern highly correlated spectra that are not possible to discriminate by visualizing the spectroscopic information alone

The evolution of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) in southern Africa.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.The house sparrow, Passer domesticus, is one of the most successful invading bird species in the world. It was introduced to southern Africa around 1900 and has since spread through the region. Its dispersal was characterised by an initial slow phase followed by a rapid increase in the rate of spread. Following 50 years of slow spread, the rate of dispersal accelerated to over 80 km/year. The initial slow rate can be attributed to an Allee effect, defined as "a disproportionate reduction in reproduction below a threshold population density due to reduced probability of finding a mate". The rapid phase involved a combination of long-range jumps (leap-frogging dispersal) and diffusive movement over short distances. Dispersal was significantly faster along railway lines. Introduction of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, to southern Africa involved unknown numbers of both the domesticus race of Europe and indicus of Asia, resulting in the establishment of a genetically diverse founder population along coastal South Africa. The birds have undergone significant differentiation since introduction about 100 years ago. Significant sexual size dimorphism was detected among southern African house sparrows, especially in flight structures. Males were larger than females in all characters except tarsus and claw length. Overall body size variation was clinaly ordered with a general increase in size with latitude in conformity with Bergmann's rule. Tarsus length also increased southwards, with the longest tarsi in birds of coastal sites in South Africa and the shortest in Zimbabwe. Patterns of variation in morphological characters paralleled climatic trends, especially minimum temperature and humidity. Beak size and shape of Zimbabwean birds appeared to be under the greatest influence of climatic factors. Shorter and more conicaly shaped beaks were selected for in females in Zimbabwe. Natural selection was modifying the morphological characters resulting in adaptive radiation in morphology of southern African populations. Few studies of microevolution (change in morphology over a short period) have been conducted in birds and none in invading bird species in the tropics. A founding population comprising both the Asian and the European races of the house sparrow, P. d. domesticus and P. d. indicus first arrived in Zimbabwe 30 years ago. Because of its recent introduction to Zimbabwe and because of its known potential for rapid adaptation and differentiation elsewhere in its new range, the house sparrow provided the ideal case study in microevolution in tropical Africa. Morphological differentiation in Zimbabwean populations of the house sparrow was analysed to determine temporal variation in local samples and the extent of variation from parent populations of Asia and Europe. Samples collected since arrival in Zimbabwe up to 1980 were compared with those collected from current populations in 1998/1999 to determine local changes over time. The Zimbabwean samples were then contrasted with samples from Asian and European populations to determine the extent of differentiation in the introduced birds of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean populations had differentiated from their Asian parents in six of the seven morphological characters examined. The greatest differentiation was in beak size and shape for both males and females. Males developed larger beaks and shorter wings than the Asian birds and female beaks became more conical. A large proportion of the potential phenetic diversity of the founding population of both domesticus and indicus genes had been realised in Zimbabwe

Cointegration, causality and international portfolio diversification : investigating potential benefits to a South African investor

Research studies on portfolio diversification have tended to focus on developed markets and paid less attention to emerging markets. Traditionally, correlation analysis has been used to determine potential benefits from diversification but current studies have shifted focus from correlation analysis to exploring cointegration analysis and other forms of tests such as the Vector Error Correction Methodology. The research seeks to find if it is beneficial for a South African investor to diversify their portfolio of emerging market equities over a long-term period. Daily weighted share indices for the period of January 1996 to November 2008 were collected and analysed through the application of the Johansen cointegration technique and Vector Error Correction Methodology. Granger Causality tests were also performed to established whether one variable can be useful in forecasting another variable. The study found that there was at least one statistically significant long-run relationship between the emerging markets. After testing for unit roots for all the share indices and their first difference using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test (ADF), Philips-Perron and Kwiatkowski, Phillips, Schmidt, and Shin (KPSS) unit root tests, similar conclusions were m~de. All the unit root tests and their levels could not be rejected for all the series. However, unit root tests on the first differences were rejected, meaning that all series are of order 1(1) - evidence of cointegration. Simply put, emerging markets tend not to drift apart over time. This suggests that emerging markets offer limited benefits to investors who are looking to add some risk to their portfolios. In addition, the study also found evidence of both unidirectional and bidirectional causality (Granger-Cause tests) between markets. This implies that the conditions for a particular market are exogenous of the other market. The study concludes that emerging markets are gradually adopting the same profile as developed markets