Research Publications (Arts and Design)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/214
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Item Microfinance as a pathway for smallholder farming in Zimbabwe(Business Perspectives, 2016) Mago, Stephen; Hofisi, CostaMicrofinance has been viewed as a pathway for smallholder farming. This paper aims to investigate the impact of microfinance on smallholder farming. It examines the role of microfinance in the development of smallholder farming. This paper employs the integrated view of microfinance study, as opposed to the ‘credit only’(minimalist) view. Using qualitative research methodology, the paper relies on literature review and primary data. Household level data (primary) were collected from a rural district (Masvingo Rural District) of Masvingo province in Zimbabwe. Data were collected from 250 microfinance participants (household heads) using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. The findings show that microfinance had positive effects on accumulation of agricultural assets, income from agriculture, agricultural education, agricultural productivity, agri-business, consumption and health. However, the impact is limited due to lack of finance. Basic financial services are essential for the management of their smallholder farming activities. The practical implications are that the study results could be used by the government and development agencies for policy making. The paper recommends that microfinance should be harnessed as a useful intervention that can be employed to economically empower the smallholder rural agricultural sector.Item Surname dynamics in avian nomenclature(NISC (Pty) Ltd, 2017) Koopman, AdrianThis article begins by explaining the roles surnames play in formal scientific nomenclature, where surnames may appear in both the vernacular names (Wahlberg’s Eagle) and the scientific names (Aquila walbergi) of birds, as well as in the descriptions of the formal naming process found in ornithological publications. The article explains the former usage as honouring someone in the ornithological world, while the latter usage refers to the person who first identified and named a new species of bird. The article goes on to note that both those who do the naming of new species of birds and they who are honoured for their contribution to ornithology by having new species of birds named after them belong to the same closed world, with the result that often the same surnames crop up in both onomastic roles: honouree and namer. Looked at diachronically, such surname usage creates distinct dynamics. The second half of the article looks at other types of surname dynamics: immigrants changing their surnames on arriving in a new country, the rebranding of film stars and singers, the use of noms-de-plume, and surname change (or exchange) on marriage. The article concludes by situating surname usage in avian nomenclature within a wider context of surname dynamics, and suggests that ornithologists and onomasticians see these surnames from considerably different perspectives.