A profile of selected enterprises and their adopted cost allocation systems in Nelson Mandela Bay

Activity-based costing is a cost allocation method which appears to have many benefits when compared to traditional costing systems. However, there is limited academic research demonstrating this superiority. There is thus a need to investigate and profile the characteristics of selected enterprises and their adopted cost allocation systems. The main objective of this study was to profile and compare the characteristics of companies in Nelson Mandela Bay that use the activity-based costing system, versus those using traditional costing methods. The research methodology used for this research study is descriptive and quantitative, using various techniques for data analysis. An electronic internet based questionnaire was distributed to companies and the response automatically recorded for analysis with the help of Nelson Mandela University statistics department. The findings of the empirical study revealed that most (38%) of the respondents use a combination of both activity-based costing and traditional costing methods, followed by traditional costing methods (35%), and purely activity-based costing (27%). Data analysis revealed that companies in construction and manufacturing seemed to prefer activity-based costing over traditional costing methods. The findings raise the question as to whether the preference in cost allocation methods is based solely on the benefits of cost allocation, lack of new knowledge, adaptability within companies, or cost of change versus the benefit

Modern slavery in the post-1994 South Africa? A critical ethical analysis of the National Development Plan promises for unemployment in South Africa

In African ethics, work is not work if it is not related to God or gods. Work, or umsebenzi, is for God or gods ultimately; work without God is the definition of slavery in my interpretation of the African ethical value system. If one succeeds from that understanding to define what slavery is, then God-lessness in work might imply the need for us to search for the gods of modernity post-1994 that have dethroned God, if they have not disentangled work from God. This article looks at the problem of unemployment by analysing the National Development Plan (NDP) and in particular the solutions proposed in relation to unemployment in South Africa. The article examines the language and grammar of the NDP to evaluate its response to the violent history of cheap, docile and migratory labour in South Africa

Tiyo Soga: Violence, disruption and dislocation in the white polis

Tiyo Soga must be celebrated as he is the personification of a body of knowledge pertinent to the development of foundational knowledge in examining the violence, disruptions and dislocations of the bodies, knowledge and spirit in modernity. The question of skill and memory cannot be dichotomised in epistemologies of justice—the naming of black as pagan, kaffir, native, bantu, etcetra, in the history of oppression. Spatial justice, the article argues, is not just about physical space; it is about spiritual and temporal spaces as well. The linearity of time cannot do justice for the memory of the conquered. Land, the article argues, by inserting the memory of Tiyo Soga, is central to spatial justice as long as the ‘wedding’ between the troublesome Bible and the genocidal, epistemicidal and spirtualicidal forms of knowledge is debunked

Black theology of liberation and the economy of life

The original sin of capitalism is its relationship with racism, a repugnant expression of White supremacy, therefore to engage the metaphysics of neoliberal economics one must have to confront the symbiotic relationship between racism and capitalism with White racial supremacy as a causal factor. In the context of Empire, the question is not about the death of humanity, but the death of black African humanity for the life of humanity. Unmasking Christianized fetishes of neoliberal structures that have the capacity to absorb the whole body, Black Theology of liberation, by locating itself in zones of the will to live by the life-lessened oppressed, is a theology of life, the paper argues.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1758-66232016-07-31hb201

A critical black analysis of the church’s role in the post-apartheid struggle for socio-economic justice

This article reflects on the role of the church in the economic justice discourse post 1994 within the context of a dominant calculative rationality. It is firstly argued that language becomes distorted as a functionary of the dominant market fundamentalism in this context. Furthermore, the saturation of pragmatist politics, equally a sign of the crippling effects of this rationality, impedes democratic impulses as it eclipses theoretical and intellectual discourse. The article demonstrates that the passages from GEAR to NGP do not portray a significant radical change in economic policy. On the contrary, 'faith' has become central in an ambiguous economic imaginary. Ecclesiastical discourse, particularly its lapse into “church theology” mode, delinks social justice from reconciliation. Against an elusive interlocutor in this context, black theology of liberation must be authentic to the plight of the scum of the earth to achieve the goals of social justice in history.http://www.unisa.ac.za/sheam2014mn201

Interlocution and black theology of liberation in the 21st century : a reflection

Before the dawn of democracy in South Africa, in the methodological debates that were associated with who the interlocutor of Black Theology of liberation was, there was a tacit understanding that not everyone who is black is necessarily an interlocutor of Black Theology of liberation. The changes arising from globalisation which coincided with the demise of apartheid seem to have diffused the clarity of interlocution in the Black Theology of liberation school as it was sought before. Another problem is that post 1994 more emphasis has been rather on the notion of prophetic theology whose relationship with the liberation paradigm is becoming equally unclear. This article will trace the debate on the interlocution and highlights the differences between prophetic theology and Black Theology of liberation in order to assert the interlocution of Black Theology of liberation with the voiceless in the 21st century.http://www.unisa.ac.za/sheam2013mn201

Factors contributing towards the decline in enrolment of learners in the rural Junior Secondary Schools in the Qumbu District of Education of South Africa

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors contributing towards the decline of learners in rural junior secondary schools in the Qumbu Education District in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This was done because in South Africa before the 1994 elections rural schools were not supported by the apartheid government. Rural areas were disadvantaged in education, in terms of finance. This resulted in poor quality of teaching and learning. Declining numbers of learners in rural schools was occurring in all rural schools. Staffs were alarmed by the declining enrolment of learners in their schools because their schools were affected. Teachers were redeployed to schools where there were sufficient learner numbers. Department of Education due to declining learner numbers in schools introduced rationalisation and re-alignment of schools, meaning closure of some schools with low learner numbers. This led to learners walking long distances to schools. This study was conducted in the Qumbu Education District. It focused on declining numbers of learner enrolment. The literature internationally focused on declining number in enrolment of learners. These learners were afraid of Physical Science (Chemistry side) as a subject. They had taken Chemistry as difficult because of the perceived link with Mathematics. Continentally the literature had alluded to teenage pregnancy, affected and infected learners with HIV/AIDS and human trafficking. In South Africa literature focused on the educational level of parents. Learners with educated parents leave rural schools to study in urban areas because of poor education which is provided in rural areas. Lack of resources in these schools could also be the cause of declining learner numbers in rural junior secondary schools. The study used a quantitative research design to elicit data from the respondents. The respondents in this study were 50 principals of the sampled rural junior secondary schools. Data was collected from 50 participants through the use of a questionnaire; 50 questionnaires were returned and the data which was finally processed was from these 50 questionnaires. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis of the data. iii The findings of the study revealed that factors such as lack of parental involvement, socio-economic factors, HIV/AIDS - related issues, culture and gender - related issues, lack of resources, teacher and teaching - related issues and the education level of the parents were the contributing factors to the decline in enrolment of learners in rural junior secondary schools in the Qumbu Education District. In the light of the findings, the researcher recommends that more tuition time and the reduction of absenteeism by teachers can help reduce the decline of enrolment in rural junior schools in the Qumbu area. The Department must consider the number of learning areas and not teacher - pupil ratio. The Department should also introduce computer classes, woodwork, bricklaying and other practical skill subjects in these schools. Furthermore there must be resources such as laboratories, libraries and television. Some of the limitations encountered by the researcher during the study included the reluctance of the participants to take part in the research, the inaccessibility of schools in deep rural areas, the slow return rate of completed questionnaires and the obtaining of permission to undertake the study

Undergraduate nursing students' lived experiences with preceptors during their clinical placement at a psychiatric hospital in the Western Cape

Magister Curationis - MCurDue to the large student-supervisor ratio, a school of nursing at an university in the Western Cape, developed specific preceptorship training for professional nurses working in e.g. psychiatric hospitals. This aimed at improving the clinical teaching expertise of professional nurses and ensuring positive experiences around placement of student nurses. It was unclear how undergraduate student nurses experienced their interactions with their preceptors while placed in psychiatric units. The study used a descriptive phenomenological design to describe the lived experiences of student nurses with preceptors during their clinical placement at a psychiatric hospital. Undergraduate student nurses who were allocated to a preceptor at a psychiatric hospital in the Western Cape served as the population of the study. Purposive sampling was applied and individual unstructured interviews (n=11) held. This study adopted Collaizi's method of data analysis. Results of this study indicated that the nurse preceptors played a supportive role towards students during placement in psychiatric units. This resulted in meeting the students' objectives and needs in clinical placement. A challenge around a comprehensive learning environment was interpreted as a great need during students' training. Ethical clearance was sought from the Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape and ethical principles followed in conducting the study. Trustworthiness was ensured during the research process

An intervention study for low risk pregnant women and high risk pregnant women with GDM in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Low risk and high risk pregnant women (HRPW) with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who practise sedentary life style are at risk of overweight and obesity that predispose to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The purpose of the study is to describe the effectiveness of an intervention strategy of modified diet and planned physical activity implemented amongst low-risk and high-risk pregnant women with GDM in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Quantitative experimental intervention design and stratified random sampling was used for drawing a sample of low-risk and high risk pregnant women with GDM. A sample size 291 of LRPW and n=34 HRPW were eligible for the study. The sample frame of the study was taken from the registers of the CHCs, Frere Hospital and Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH). Questionnaires were used to collect data from the low and high risk pregnant with GDM. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation) were used for categorical variables. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The total analysed of LRPW were n=135 and HRPW n=34 all in control group due to miscarriages, phone loss and relocation. LRPW had some risk factors of overweight (6.2 percent), obesity (15.5 percent), family history of diabetes (16.5 percent). HRPW also had overweight and obesity of (14.7 percent) and family history of (26.4 percent) as the Pvalue was statistically significant of weight was 001, MUAC Pvalue of 000 and Pvalue of BMI 000. There were alarming abnormalities of urinalysis of protein, glucose, leucocytes and blood in urine. The LRPW and HRPW had consumption of high content of carbohydrates, vegetables, fats and low in fruit, vegetables and fibre diet. Both LRPW and HRPW were also interested on the education about modified diet benefits (95.1 percent) and modified diet programs networks (87.5 percent). The barriers showed that LRPW and HRPW were low motivation (90 percent) minimal knowledge and benefits of modified diet (93 percent) and socio-cultural issues (86 percent). The majority of participants both LRPW and HRPW showed the interest in the planned physical activity benefits especially frequent education (96.9 percent) and encouragement of social support networks (90.2 percent) and convenient location (89.4 percent). But the HRPW had lower engagement than the LRPW in planned physical activity and is associated with risk of GDM. Although pregnant women were faced with fatigue and low energy (98.6 percent), as pregnancy progresses, minimum information regarding benefits of planned physical activity (87.6 percent) and the socio-cultural influence (77.8 percent). The recommendations are education on frequent use of modified diet and planned physical activity that is available, less economical and within their context. Frequent screening of all pregnant women during pregnancy of BMI, MUAC and weight and educate accordingly. The availability of dietician and physical activity speciality is needed

A critical black analysis of the church's role in the post-apartheid struggle for socio-economic justice

Peer reviewedThis article reflects on the role of the church in the economic justice discourse post 1994 within the context of a dominant calculative rationality. It is firstly argued that language becomes distorted as a functionary of the dominant market fundamentalism in this context. Furthermore, the saturation of pragmatist politics, equally a sign of the crippling effects of this rationality, impedes democratic impulses as it eclipses theoretical and intellectual discourse. The article demonstrates that the passages from GEAR to NGP do not portray a significant radical change in economic policy. On the contrary, 'faith' has become central in an ambiguous economic imaginary. Ecclesiastical discourse, particularly its lapse into “church theology” mode, delinks social justice from reconciliation. Against an elusive interlocutor in this context, black theology of liberation must be authentic to the plight of the scum of the earth to achieve the goals of social justice in history.Research Institute for Theology and Religio