An Expose of the Relationship between Paradigm, Method and Design in Research

It is crucial that any research inquiry be guided by a paradigm. However, many early career researchers do not mention the research paradigm guiding their inquiry. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative methods are sometimes erroneously referred to as research paradigms or research designs. Experienced researchers often use the terms research paradigm, research methods and research design in a loose and confusing manner. Although it is reasonable to assume that experienced researchers do understand the distinction and relationship between the three concepts, the loose use of the concepts leads to confusion among early career researchers, especially Master’s and PhD students. By using a literature review, this paper provides an expose of the relationship between these three concepts and highlights the sources of confusion from the literature. A qualitative approach, using a sample of 11 students from different South African universities, is used to provide an understanding of these concepts by early career researchers. The findings show that there is confusion in the understanding of these concepts. The study raises questions about what could be the possible sources of the confusion, besides the literature, and how the confusion could be addressed

Land Reform in South Africa: The Conversation That Never Took Place

After independence, South Africa embarked on a land reform programme that is meant to redress the highly inequitable land ownership which resulted from Apartheid. The programme comprises land redistribution, land restitution and land tenure. On restitution projects, the maintenance of production has been highly problematic. Loss of production means there is very little or no livelihoods impacts from restitution. The beneficiaries of restitution projects usually have neither farming experience nor capital to continue or restart the farm operations. As a result, most restitution projects are either non-functional or are functioning at a meager fraction of previous levels. Most studies on restitution have been carried out by studying the beneficiaries but not previous owners. I use the social constructivist paradigm to explore personal experience through engagement using the interview as a data collection tool. I explore the perspectives of a previous land owner who provides insights into how the restitution programme could be made more successful by letting a conversation occur between the previous owners and beneficiaries. I posit that it is essential to include the previous owners to reduce the trauma from loss of their lifestyle while also reducing beneficiaries’ trauma caused by lack of benefits from restitution

Modeling the Distributive Effects of an Agricultural Shock on Household Income in South Africa: A Sam Multiplier Decomposition and Structurel Path Analysis

Abstract. Natural resource redistribution and ownership transfer programs are introduced as a way of improving income distribution and alleviating poverty in rural areas of most developing countries. In the case of South Africa, these redistributive policies are implemented in line with the national development plan targeting extreme poverty alleviation and reduction of wide income disparities by 2030. This paper analyses the distributive effects of the land redistribution policy which is a shock in the agriculture sector on poor household income in South Africa by applying a multiplier decomposition and structural path analysis. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a microscopic analysis of the global multiplier to show the transmission mechanism of household income from a shock into the agriculture sector and show how income moves across sectors, factors and households by dividing the multiplier effects into all its components. The results showed that poor households received higher direct effects and the rich households received high indirect effects from the shock in the agricultural sector. The structural path shows that a significant portion of the global influence of the shock in agriculture is transmitted through the path of factor income which in turn increases poor household income.Keywords. Multiplier decomposition, Structural path analysis, Land redistribution.JEL. I38, O13, Q15, Q18

The food security concept : definition, conceptual frameworks, measurement and operationalisation

The concept of food security appeared in policy forums and documents during the 1970s as a concern largely for developing countries. Today, food security stands centre stage in developing and developed nations. It is a multidimensional concept, which rests on the four pillars of availability, access, utilisation and stability. As our understanding of this complex concept deepens, there are persuasive arguments to add the elements of food agency, food sovereignty and food sustainability, to make it a six-pillar framework. The argument is that this framework better informs policy and global responses to short- and long-term food security challenges. One of the main challenges of the concept of food security is its measurement. This arises due to the fact that there are multiple units of analysis at macro, meso and micro levels. Even the pillars of food security are measured at different scales. This has resulted in the proliferation of hundreds of food security metrics and definitions. The currently accepted definition of food security encapsulates the complexity of the concept but does not assist in developing appropriate metrics. Development projects in Africa that state food security as an objective need to develop relevant food security definitions to guide the assessment of achieving that objective, otherwise measuring its success is reduced to an evaluation of increase in food production—yet we know food security goes beyond production.Le concept de sécurité alimentaire est apparu dans les forums et documents politiques des années 1970 comme une préoccupation majeure pour les pays en développement. Aujourd’hui, la sécurité alimentaire occupe une place centrale dans les pays en développement et développés. Il s’agit d’un concept multidimensionnel qui repose sur les quatre piliers que sont la disponibilité, l’accès, l’utilisation et la stabilité. À mesure d’une meilleure compréhension de ce concept complexe, des arguments convaincants viennent ajouter des éléments d’agentivité, de souveraineté et de durabilité alimentaires, pour en faire un cadre à six piliers. L’argument est que ce cadre éclaire mieux les politiques et les réponses mondiales aux défis de sécurité alimentaire à court et à long termes. L’un des principaux défis du concept de sécurité alimentaire est sa mesure. Il est dû à l’existence plusieurs unités d’analyse aux niveaux macro, méso et micro. Même les piliers de la sécurité alimentaire sont mesurés à différentes échelles. Cela a entraîné la prolifération de mesures et de définitions de la sécurité alimentaire. La définition actuellement acceptée de la sécurité alimentaire résume la complexité du concept mais ne permet pas de développer des mesures appropriées. Les projets de développement en Afrique qui font de la sécurité alimentaire un objectif doivent élaborer des définitions pertinentes de la sécurité alimentaire afin de guider l’évaluation de la réalisation de cet objectif, au risque de voir la mesure de leur succès se réduire à une évaluation de l’augmentation de la production alimentaire—pourtant nous savons que la sécurité alimentaire va au-delà de la production.https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48778842am2024Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)SDG-02:Zero Hunge

A descriptive analysis of the sample irrigation system

A study of irrigation systems in Zimbabwe. Proceedings of two workshops held in Harare and Juliasdale, Zimbabwe, 3 - 6 August, 1993.This paper gives an overview of some of the physical and socio-economic characteristics of the sites in the final sample. The sample covers the range of irrigation management systems that exist in Zimbabwe. Rainfall during the study year was below average in most of Zimbabwe, and on all of the sample irrigation systems except Maboleni and Dufuya . However, rainfall is only part of the total water available to plants on irrigation systems. The lower the rainfall, however, the more dependent crop production will be on irrigation:

A Qualitative Inquiry into the Socio-Economic Implications of Land Grabs Among the Nuer People in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia

The paper analyses the socio-economic implications of land grabbing among the Nuer people in the Gambella region of Ethiopia. To achieve its goals, the study is underpinned by two interrelated questions. The first question is: what are the socio-economic implications of land grabs in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia? The second question reads: what are the contestations and perceptions of the Nuer peoples in terms of gains and losses from the land grabs? The study was carried out among a Nilo-Saharan group known as the Nuer which traces its roots from Sudan within the qualitative research methodology. Findings from the study shows that land grabbing, which comes through large scale land takeovers in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, contradicts a state-remaking project under a dispossessive political economy. It was noted that the land grabs destruct the Nuer people’s identity, strip them of their dignity, disturb their ancestral philosophies, and negatively affect their livelihoods

Importance of irrigated agriculture to the Ethiopian economy: capturing the direct net benefits of irrigation

Irrigated farming / National income / Economic growth / Crops / Prices / Sensitivity analysis / Crop management / Irrigation schemes / Ethiopia

Agroeconomic perfomance of smallholder irrigation in Zimbabwe

A research paper on perfomance of irrigation-based agro projects of small holder rural producers.The objectives of increasing agricultural production and incomes are common to all types of irrigation in Zimbabwe, though the relative importance given to different objectives varies somewhat among irrigation system types. Many factors influence the impact of irrigation on achieving these goals, and the delivery of water from the source to the fields is only one (albeit critical) input- Seeds, fertilisers, labour, management, and other inputs also have a major impact on the level of agricultural production, while the relative prices of inputs and outputs will affect the level of farm incomes obtained from irrigated production. The structure of irrigation management in Zimbabwe acknowledges that meeting the objectives of irrigation development requires going beyond water deliveries. Whereas many countries have specialised irrigation departments that have no mandate beyond providing water to the fields, in Zimbabwe the management entities for all types of irrigation systems commercial, government, community, and informal systems are responsible for coordinating the supply of inputs and information on their schemes to increase the overall productivity of irrigated agriculture

Methodology for the study of irrigation perfomance in Zimbabwe

A research paper on how to measure irrigation performance in Zimbabwe.This project set out to measure and compare the performance of different types of irrigation systems in Zimbabwe. This research examined both large-scale and small-scale irrigation systems, but with greatest emphasis on smallholder systems under Agritex community, and individual management. ARDA systems which include smallholders on a settler component were also included in the study. One of the major objectives of the research project was to develop and test a methodology for assessing smallholder irrigation performance in Southern Africa

A qualitative inquiry into the socio-economic implications of land grabs among the Nuer people in the Gambella region of Ethiopia

The paper analyses the socio-economic implications of land grabbing among the Nuer people in the Gambella region of Ethiopia. To achieve its goals, the study is underpinned by two interrelated questions. The first question is: what are the socio-economic implications of land grabs in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia? The second question reads: what are the contestations and perceptions of the Nuer peoples in terms of gains and losses from the land grabs? The study was carried out among a Nilo-Saharan group known as the Nuer which traces its roots from Sudan within the qualitative research methodology. Findings from the study shows that land grabbing, which comes through large scale land takeovers in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, contradicts a state-remaking project under a dispossessive political economy. It was noted that the land grabs destruct the Nuer people’s identity, strip them of their dignity, disturb their ancestral philosophies, and negatively affect their livelihoods.http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqrhj2023Anthropology and ArchaeologyGordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS