Coal as a strategic resource in South Africa

The higher price of oil and gas has positioned coal as the premium source of energy. This is likely to remain so as electricity demand is steadily rising. Listed as a strategic resource to the South African economy, coal attracts approximately 20% of the workforce of the mining sector. The national beneficiation strategy intends to develop this mineral wealth to its full potential for the benefit of the population. This paper explores the implication of coal as a strategic resource and discusses whether this may benefit the South African economy. Supply, demand, and geopolitical factors are considered. A framework for coal as a strategic resource is proposed while the need for clear differentiation between critical and strategic resources is highlighted. Concerns raised by investors in the mining industry are also discussed. The proposed framework is expected to contribute towards planning for a secure future of coal. South Africa is rich in mineral resources, therefore, it is necessary to explore the future of coal as a strategic resource; and establish benefits and evaluate the impacts, including whether it will benefit the economy.Electrical and Mining Engineerin

The application of theory of constrain (TOC) in an organisation to resolve problems and to boost productivity

The theory of constraints (TOC) identifies constraints which are otherwise labelled as waste by lean. It isolates these constraints and provide resources in order to buffer and/or eliminate them completely. Its underlying premise is that organisations can be measured and controlled by variation on three measures which are throughput, operational expense and inventory. TOC challenges managers to rethink some of their fundamental assumptions about how to achieve the goals of their organizations, what they consider productive actions, and about the real purpose of cost management in order to maximize throughput through sales. It is about understanding bottlenecks to a process and better managing these bottlenecks to create an efficient process. The paper identifies inputs that are causing constraints. It explains the methodology to isolates them and how and when to apply TOC in minimising their impact. In order to prove this, a research was carried out in the Bakwena mine in South Africa where TOC was used to resolve recurring problems. The end results has shown that when problem area are isolated, conditions observed, resources allocated at the problem area and action taken to address problems immediately, positive results can be achieved

Constructing efficient multi-asset class portfolios: Top-down or bottom-up?

This dissertation concerns itself with the problem of constructing multi asset class portfolios. The investment process is aimed at solving two problems. The first problem is estimating the future returns of individual securities, which is an exercise fraught with uncertainty as the future is fundamentally unpredictable. This uncertainty means that the investor must allocate his portfolio to a number of assets instead of just one, in case his predicted future returns do not materialize. This leads the investor to the second problem of how best to construct the portfolio. It is this part of the investment process which is the subject of this dissertation which examines whether it is best to construct multi-asset class portfolios using a top-down or bottom-up approach. In the top-down approach one begins by creating independent single asset class portfolios which are then combined to create a multi-asset class portfolio. The bottom-up approach constructs the portfolio by considering all the securities available to the investor (irrespective of asset class) at the same time. The Mean-Variance and Black- Litterman models are reviewed in detail. Portfolios are then created using these portfolio construction methods in order to compare the two approaches. In constructing these portfolios, the commonly encountered problem of missing data in financial return series is also examined. The main result is that the top-down and bottom-up approaches create similar efficient frontiers, though the bottom-up approach results in an extended frontier which allows investors to obtain efficient portfolios with either a higher expected return or a lower volatility

Exploring and describing experiences and needs of family members/significant others of male forensic patients in a specialist psychiatric hospital

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science (Nursing) Johannesburg, June 2016Family and caregivers play a vital role in providing support, care and assistance to forensic mental healthcare users. Family members of the forensic mental healthcare users often find their caregiving role stressful and suffer from significant stress and experience high levels of caregiver burden. Forensic patients need physical and emotional support from their family members to help them cope in the hospital, but the needs of those family members are often neglected when caring for the forensic patients in South Africa. The objective of the study was to explore and describe the experiences and needs of family members/significant others of male forensic mental healthcare users in a specialist psychiatric hospital, and to recommend guidelines for the Psychiatric nurses to assist families of the forensic mental healthcare users to manage their stressful experiences. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was followed to achieve the aim and objectives of the study. Purposive sampling was used for sample selection. Two open-ended questions were asked in a semi-structured interview. The audio taped interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis Themes emerging were poor parental expectation, strained relationship with others, and the emotional and financial impact of caregiving. The families experienced emotional distress and lack of support by other family members as well as self-blame and strained relationships. These findings highlighted the need for inventions such as support groups and psycho-education for psychiatric nurses as well as families of forensic patients. The findings are to be used to guide professional development, counselling and family therapy sessions that would assist the family members and also caregivers of the forensic patients to cope. Key words: Experiences, Needs, Families, Forensic MHCU, Specialist Hospital.MB201

Learning in Mother Tongue: Language Preferences in South Africa

Published ArticleThis study is based on the findings conducted to investigate children and parents’ preferences of language of learning and teaching in grades 1 – 3. This study is a survey in which interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data from pupils, parents, school heads, Foundation Phase teachers and teachers in Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs). The sample consisted of fifty learners, forty parents, thirty school heads, hundred and fifty Foundation Phase teachers and twenty ECDs. Respondents were purposively selected from metropolitan, township and rural schools in Motheo district in Free State province in South Africa. The findings were that learners and parents preferred English as the language of instruction at Foundation Phase. It is recommended that there is a need for attitude change and thus a serious campaign for all stakeholders to appreciate the role played by the mother tongue in the early years of schooling

Issues of Ambiguity in Sesotho: Meaning Retrieval

Published ArticleThis paper is based on the findings from a study conducted to examine issues of ambiguity in Sesotho. This is a qualitative study in which two experiments were conducted to collect data from 30 Sesotho native speakers. The respondents were purposefully selected from language users in Motheo district in South Africa. The results from these experiments showed that native speakers are able to distinguish a dominant meaning of a word from a subordinate meaning. They are able to assess the role of context in determining the meaning(s) of words. The implications of these findings are discussed. This paper provide an insight as to how context should be regarded as crucial in meaning retrieval. That in the absence of ‘context’, or if it is less restrictive, the most frequent occurring meaning will be activated

A Comparative Study of Requests amongst Second Language Speakers of English

Published ArticleThis paper is based on the findings from a study that investigated the analysis of requests produced by second language (L2) speakers (that is, 15 Afrikaans-speaking (L1) and 17 Sesotho-speaking (L1) learners) of English and how these requests are received by English first language (L1) speakers. The aim of this study is to compare the manners in which Afrikaans first language (L1) and Sesotho first language (L1) speakers make requests when speaking English. The Cross Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) framework of Blum-Kulka was utilized to analyze the requests made by these two groups. The outcomes revealed that Afrikaans speakers used fewer politeness and alert markers as compared to Sesotho speakers who utilized more. The implications of these findings are also discussed

South African Student Leadership Unrest and Unsettled Constructions: A CIBART Analysis

Student leadership in South Africa is unsettled and characterised by unrest. The perturbing changes in the higher education system, including global shifts and crises, impact South African student leadership psychologically. Consequently, this article seeks to understand the system psychodynamics of South African student leadership. Data was collected during a social dream drawing (SDD) session with student leaders at a South African university before the onset of the Fees Must Fall movement. The SDD session aimed to understand the social construction of student leadership at a South African university and data was analysed through discourse analysis with a psychodynamic interpretation. For this article, a co-reflector was incorporated for secondary analysis after Fees Must Fall to reorganise, reinterpret the data and enhance the initial findings using a conflict, identity, boundaries, authority, role, task (CIBART) model. CIBART findings show that students have a need for a collective and shared vision, and find it unsettling when this need is not satisfied due to the complex environment. Thereby, their psychological safety is threatened, while anxiety is heightened in an environment characterised by transformation and decolonisation agendas. Substantial conflicts impact authority dynamics while, simultaneously, student leadership identity and boundaries are blurry and in crisis. Thus, the compromised clarity of student leadership elevates implications for the confidence that is required for the role and task of student leadership. Consequently, efforts to reduce the anxiety of student leadership ought to be a priority. Psychologists are indicated to play a crucial role in restoring the psychological safety and security of student leaders