UWCScholar
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Investigating child labour market activities in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Herwel, Clinton
The phenomenon of child labour is renowned around the world. Child labour infiltrates the labour market both knowingly and unknowingly. However, child labour is more prevalent in underdeveloped nations as impoverishment pressures parents/guardians to encourage their children to engage in the labour market to help their respective households meet their basic needs. Although child labour was prevalent throughout history, it is still evident today. Policymakers and the public have raised concerns over the lasting effects of children being exposed too early to the labour market. Some of the terms under which these children operate pose a threat to their health and well-being. Laws and Policies against child labour are implemented across the world, but the magnitude of children working in the labour market is deeply rooted and gigantic. As researchers tackle the task at hand, to measure the scope of child labour around the world, it becomes clearer that inconsistency in data collection arises as business owners hide crucial information about their employment of youth to protect themselves against legal confrontation to maintain their economic benefits in the labour market. This study investigated the extent of child labour activities in South Africa, with the aid of the 2010, 2015 and 2019 waves of the Survey of Activities of Young People (SAYP) data. The empirical outcomes showed that most of the child labour were African females with low levels of education. In terms of the age cohort, just below two-thirds of child labourers were within the 7-14 years age category, signalling unlawful employment in the labour market. Also, a major part of child labour resided in regions including KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Furthermore, the findings revealed that if children came from households with a small proportion of adult members being employed, they were significantly more inclined to be involved in economic activities or work as child labour. On the contrary, the findings showed that for adults coming from households with a high number of children involved in economic activities or work as child labour, these adult members suffered greater unemployment probability.
The influence of transformational leadership and organisational climate on organisational citizenship behaviour among support staff at a selected University in the Western Cape Province
(2022) Dafe, Paul Ufoma
In the academic sector, especially the Universities and many other organizations, the human factor is the most important element of the organization and its functions exert a huge influence on the effectiveness, efficiency and success of the organization. Therefore, discretionary behaviours such as OCB among employees in such organizations like any other organizations are crucial for organizational effectiveness and performance. Thus, improving the organizational citizenship behaviours of employees in such organizations in order to promote organizational effectiveness, performance and success is one of the fundamental challenges and principal tasks facing managers. The primary aim of this study is to examine and understand the influence of transformational leadership and organizational climate on organizational citizenship behaviour among support staff. The secondary objective is to make recommendations to organizations on the importance of transformational leadership in promoting OCB thereby providing recommendations to OD and HR practitioners on the best practice on the pro-organizational behaviour. The quantitative research design was used in the study. The target population for this study were the support staff at the selected university in the Western Cape Province. The population size was approximately 1123. A sample size of 220 was drawn using the Rasoft calculator. An online Google Form Questionnaire (instead of hard copy questionnaire as originally planned) was administered to a sample size of about 220 working support staff. Convenience sampling methods were used to reach the desired number of responses. The Multi factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ SX) was used to measure transformational leadership, Organizational climate questionnaire (OCQ) for measuring organisational climate and the Organizational Citizenship Behaviour scale (OCBS) for measuring organisational citizenship behaviour. Data was analysed using structural equation modeling. Item and dimensional analyses were performed to determine the quality of the items. Significant relationships were found between transformational leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour; organisational climate and organisational citizenship behaviour and transformational leadership and organisational climate. The practical implications and recommendations for future studies were provided.
Examining the challenges of youth empowerment initiatives under Kenya vision 2030: a comparative analysis of selected projects
(The University of the Western Cape, 2025) Chege, Faith Nyakairu
Despite the presence of a plethora of youth intervention initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya being one of them, in practice, very little impact is seen in the lives of the intended beneficiaries. It is evident that significant challenges hamper the efficacy and sustainability of youth empowerment interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya’s growing youth population and the persistent challenges and risks faced by Kenyan youth exacerbate this state of affairs. This study, therefore, critically examines the challenges of youth empowerment initiatives, particularly selected projects under the Kenya Vision 2030 Strategy, through the lens of Development Administration Theory and Empowerment Theory. Guided by these conceptual frameworks, the study explores the policy environment, institutional capacity, resource management, and coordination mechanism challenges of selected youth-focused programmes, specifically the Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP), Kazi Kwa Vijana (KKV), the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), and the Uwezo Fund. Using a qualitative research approach and document analysis as the primary method, the study investigates the constraints affecting the success and sustainability of these initiatives. Key challenges identified include insufficient and weak monitoring and coordination mechanisms; lack of beneficiary participation at all stages of the projects; weak accountability systems owing to a lack of measures for policy compliance; misconduct in the use of financial resources, such as corruption and embezzlement of funds; and political interference, among others.
Optimizing supply chain innovations and sustainable health service performance of tertiary hospitals in Ghana
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Prempeh-Nana Agyeman
Limited empirical studies address what enables supply chain innovations and their impact on sustainable health outcomes in Ghana's tertiary hospitals. To address this gap, this research explores factors leading to supply chain innovations and their effect on sustainable health service performance using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data from 250 responses were analysed with Smart PLS, while qualitative insights were gathered from 15 supply chain experts through thematic analysis. Grounded in dialectical pluralism, the study used the TOE framework, supplemented by the Innovation Diffusion, Stakeholder, and Institutional theories. The measurement model proved valid and reliable with Cronbach’s alpha and factor loadings of over 0.7. Findings showed that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain innovation adoption was undervalued, and staff lacked training. Key findings indicated that technological factors were not significant in predicting e-supply chain adoption, but organizational and environmental factors were significant. Furthermore, e-supply chain adoption did not improve environmental or social sustainability but did contribute to economic sustainability. The two moderators, supply chain integration and process innovation, influenced the relationship between esupply chain adoption and economic sustainability, but facilitating conditions were found not to be a moderating variable between e-supply chain adoption and sustainable health service performance. Qualitative themes were found to support some of the quantitative findings. A framework was developed to guide e-supply chain implementation to enhance sustainable health performance, emphasizing technology infrastructure and policy. Future research should compare Ghanaian hospitals with others and consider longitudinal studies using UTAUT2 to explore factors affecting technology adoption and supply chain innovation.
Damping mechanism of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance in 58Ni
(Elsevier B.V, 2025) Mabika, Phumzile Zandile; Bahini ATriambak, Smarajit; Rebeiro, Bernadette
Following the success achieved in explaining the origin of fine structure observed in the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance (ISGQR) and the isovector giant dipole resonance (IVGDR), fine structure in the region of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) were investigated using the wavelet analysis in order to investigate the role of different mechanisms contributing to its decay width. In this context, high-energy resolution ISGMR data on many nuclei were acquired at the iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS). The experimental scales extracted from these data are compared to different theoretical approaches performed in the framework of quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) and beyond-QRPA including complex configurations using both non-relativistic and relativistic density functional theory. The role of Landau fragmentation was highlighted while the inclusion of coupling between one particle-one hole (1p-1h) and two particle-two hole (2p-2h) configurations modify the strength distributions and wavelet scales indicating the importance of the spreading width.