Research Publications (Accounting and Informatics)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/212

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African women entrepreneurs and COVID-19 : towards achieving the African Union Agenda 2063
(AOSIS, 2022-01-01) Anwana, Emem O.; Aroba, Oluwasegun Julius
Research on the challenges facing African women entrepreneurship and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is scant. This article explored the challenges and the impact of COVID-19 on African women-owned businesses and the effect thereof on the 17th goal of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. African women entrepreneurs experience many social inequalities, ranging from cultural norms to family to legal and regulatory measures to accessing finance. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges as many African women entrepreneurs have been forced out of business because of measures taken by African governments to halt the spread of the disease. The article reviewed current literature on African women entrepreneurs and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic using two databases and is based on a total of 104 published articles. The article provided a foundation for post-COVID-19 policy directives in Africa. The authors recommend measures to mitigate these challenges and discuss strategies for policymakers to re-position African women entrepreneurs for the post-COVID-19 era towards achieving AU Agenda 2063 and realising the Africa we all want. Contribution: The study aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty in Africa and the AU Agenda 2063 goal of achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls to achieve the Africa we all want.
Agency in translating Une Vie de Boy into English: Exploring translator identity and translation strategies
(OJS, 2014) Awung, Felix Nkwatta
Recent research in translation studies has underscored the role of translators as agents. This implies that a translator is not just a neutral conduit of a message from one language to another, but someone who is very much involved in the power interplay that determines the decision making leading to the translation product. It is within this context that this paper seeks to analyse the concept of ‘agency’ in translation, with specific focus on African literature in European languages. It is worth mentioning that while this type of literature has been the subject of much research, less attention has been given to it in terms of translation. Focusing on a translation by the late John Reed of Ferdinand Oyono’s Une Vie de Boy, this paper seeks to show how an understanding of the identity of the translator can lead to an appreciation of his/her translation strategies. It should be noted that translating African culture from one European language to another can be quite a challenging task – especially if the culture is foreign to the translator – due to the fact that cultural value systems are difficult to grasp as they are intricately woven into the texture of the native languages (Bandia 2008). Such a task is even more intriguing since the original text is in itself a form of translation, initially conceived in the African language of the author before being rendered into a European language. In this case, the agency role of the translator would therefore be more significant given that s/he is dealing with a peculiar source text that is different from most source texts which are translated between relatively close or non-distant cultures. Through an ethnographic study involving an exploration of the context of the translation production, as well as an interview with Reed, this paper posits that the translator’s socio-cultural background tends to influence the nature and extent of his/her intervention in the translation process. This will contribute in shifting the focus of translation assessment from solely the end product to an inclusion of the translator’s identity.
Bridging the digital divide with changing information literacy methods in post-apartheid South Africa
(Springer International Publishing, 2013) Naidoo, Segarani; Omarsaib, Mousin
This paper reports on a study done at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The aim of the study was to identify innovative teaching and learning methods that would accommodate the diverse student population in the IL classroom and to recommend guidelines for teaching and learning of IL. The digital divide is defined as the gap or divide between those with access to and skills in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and those without such access or skills. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Self-administered questionnaires were administered to 227 students from the Faculty of Health who were engaged in the IL module, Subject Librarians (SL) teaching IL and the Co-ordinator of the IL module from the Centre of Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at the Durban University of Technology were interviewed. The findings of this study could be applied globally.
Can training in employability skills help adolescent girls and young women in South Africa increase their employment opportunities?
(2023-04-15) Mvunabandi, Jean Damascene; Mkhize, Msizi; Marimuthu, Ferina; Gadzikwa, Lawrence
This article investigated how employability skills training can be used to foster adolescent girls and young women's employment opportunities and to improve their employment pathways in South Africa. This study adopted quantitative and descriptive research approaches via longitudinal data collection. Secondary data was collected from 3584 AGYWs using a questionnaire survey during employability training from July-October 2021. Robustness analysis was performed using descriptive statistics using SPSS version 28.0. The empirical findings proved that employability skills training significantly improved the capabilities of adolescent girls and young women on labour market assessments. Relying on these empirical findings, this study proposes a framework for linking AGYWs and the labour market through an employability skills training capability-based conceptualised model. The results of this study will fill a gap in understanding the twelve dominant employability skills variables identified by this research study which has justified with most relevant literature and theories in particular. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge and further contributes to the career development and employability among adolescent girls and young women required to cope with the labour markets in South Africa. The study recommends schools, Universities and other key role players in skills development among employability skills guidelines for ensuring the readiness of young graduates for employment opportunities in South Africa.
Challenges impeding women into leadership roles in a student-led organization at the South African higher education institution
(Business Perspectives, 2021-12) Jali, Nokwanda; Suknunan, Sachin; Bhana, Anrusha
The study shows that a patriarchal society where women are still in the minority when it comes to leadership positions is still dominating. A few studies are exploring the role of women in leadership in government and industry, and very little focus is paid on higher education institutions and more especially – from a female leadership perspective. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the factors that hindered female students from attaining leadership positions and simultaneously make recommendations to create more leadership opportunities in a nationally recognized student-led organization known as the Student Representative Council at a large public South African higher education institution – the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The target population was 16 female leaders who served in the University’s Student Representative Council from 2019 to 2020 of which 13 had responded. A qualitative approach was followed and interviews were conducted. The study employed inductive qualitative thematic analysis using NVIVO 12. Findings revealed that the Student Representative Council structure at the university was patriarchal with little commitment to gender equality. Males outnumbered women in leadership roles. Portfolios assigned to women were mainly administrative rather than leadership. Females were subjected to stereotypical behavior. The study recommended ways to promote female student leadership whereby policy and constitution change is required to facilitate gender equality and the implementation of quotas. Women should be empowered to enhance their leadership skills via effective leadership development programs specifically designed for females to address the leadership gap between males and females.
Continuing Professional Development opportunities in Information and Communication Technology for academic librarians at the Durban University of Technology
(Stellenbosch University, 2018) Moonasar, Anushie; Underwood, Peter G.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a vital tool for maintaining the skills and expertise of staff, especially with regard to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). There is little information available about the involvement of librarians in South Africa with CPD: this study focused on academic librarians at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Library, seeking their attitudes towards CPD and its provision. It employed a qualitative approach in its research design. Questionnaires were utilised to collect information from twenty-five academic librarians. Follow-up interviews were conducted with five respondents. The overall study indicated that, although the respondents were aware of the importance of CPD and the impact of ICT on library resources and services, not all of them kept abreast of CPD activities within their field. The respondents believed that the institutions and the professional body, the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), should work together to encourage and promote CPD activities. By encouraging CPD activities within the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector, the quality of librarianship and service delivery within the LIS would improve. Half of the respondents agreed about the importance of CPD becoming compulsory within the LIS profession and 55% of respondents considered that LIASA had a potentially important role to play in promoting CPD. However, in separate interviews, several respondents expressed doubt about the capacity of LIASA to fulfil this role.
Examining the perceived impact of ICT adoption on academic workload and on academic productivity
(IACSIT Press, 2013) Basak, Sujit Kumar; Eyono Obono, Seraphim Desire
In the twenty-first century, the rapid growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have brought remarkable societal changes. Nowadays, ICT is becoming increasingly important both in the everyday life and in the education system. It therefore makes sense to examine the impact of ICT adoption on the conduct of academic activities. The aim of this paper is precisely to examine the perceived impact of ICT adoption on academic workload and on academic productivity. This aim is achieved within a theoretical framework on the factors affecting academic productivity. This research was conducted as a questionnaire based survey of 103 academic staff drawn from four Higher Education Institutions in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The survey data was analyzed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software using a quantitative approach. The results of this survey indicate that ICT adoption has no impact on teaching workload, or on research workload, or on administration workload. No evidence was found on the impact of ICT adoption on academic productivity. This research contributes to new evidence on the possible impact of ICT adoption on academic workload and on academic productivity.
Exploring first-year engineering student perceptions of the engineering librarian as an IL instructor in multimodal teaching and learning environments
(Emerald, 2023-12-08) Omarsaib, Mousin
This study aims to explore first-year engineering students’ perceptions of the engineering librarian as an instructor in multimodal environments related to Information Literacy (IL) topics, teaching strategy, content evaluation, organising, planning and support. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was used through a survey instrument based on an online questionnaire. Questions were adopted and modified from a lecturer evaluation survey. A simple random sampling technique was used to collect data from first-year cohorts of engineering students in 2020 and 2022. Findings Respondents perception of the engineering librarian as an instructor in multimodal learning environment was good. Findings revealed students’ learning experiences were aligned with IL instruction even though the environment changed from blended to online. However, an emerging theme that continuously appeared was a lack of access to technology. Practical implications These findings may help in developing and strengthening the teaching identity of academic librarians as instructors in multimodal learning environments. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is novel in that it evaluates the teaching abilities of an academic librarian in multimodal environments through the lens of students.
A hybridized framework for designing and evaluating e-learning students’ performance in medical education
(IEEE, 2022-10-27) Oluwadele, Deborah; Singh, Yashik; Adeliyi, Timothy T.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the hurried adoption of e-learning with no proper need analysis to inform the design and subsequent evaluation of students’ performance in e-learning in medical education. Consequently, several studies evaluating performance in e-learning in medical education do so by conducting pre-test and post-test with no defined framework or model to guide the evaluation. This makes the findings from these studies subjective and biased since factors that possibly impact students’ performance were neither considered in the design of the course nor measured and reported in the evaluation studies. We, therefore, introduce an essential pedagogical e-learning concept by developing a framework to inform the design and evaluation of students’ performance in e-learning in medical education via the thoughtful fusion of the Task-Technology Fit Model and the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model. Our hybrid framework was piloted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa and findings emphasize the need for alignment between learning tasks, technology infrastructures, individual traits, and contextual limitations of students as key factors in determining how well students perform in the classroom and their clinical practices at work. This study advances the body of knowledge by providing a well-brainstormed and intricately designed framework to guide the design of courses and evaluation of student’s performance in an e-learning context in medical education.
The impact of technology in expediting learning
(ACM Digital Library, 2019-12-21) Ramraj, Upaasna; Marimuthu, Ferina
Technology and its tools have had a major effect on higher education and are set to continue. This simply cannot be ignored, as growth in Information and communication technology (ICT) is soaring. The advent of online learning, as a tool, has generated unlimited learning opportunities to intensify the educational landscape, by accelerating educational output. The digital native is fervent on the transition from traditional teaching methods to the use of digital tools in enhancing learning. This paper provides an account of the impact of technology and its tools on education, contributing to teaching and learning in the 21st century, ultimately leading to innovative education. A census survey of a purposive group of educational personnel were employed in the study and the data collection tool was a questionnaire, comprising of both a qualitative and quantitative component. Assuming learner positions, allowed educational personnel to “experience or get the feel” of being educated using technology and its tools. Analysis of data was concluded using a statistical software package (IBM SPSS). The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was the identified model for the study, signifying users’ perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of technology are predictors of user attitude towards using the technology. Results of the study were largely favourable in facilitating the learning process, with constructive feedback on the use of technology-enhanced tools, especially surveys, journals, videos, discussion forums, blogs, concerning and ensuring interactivity as well as an enriched learning experience for all. However, a few respondents were apprehensive on the time management and technical aspects of online learning.
Modeling South African accounting academic staff teaching rationalism factors for the preservation of indigenous knowledge
(International Foundation for Research and Development, 2016-10) Nzuza, Zwelihle Wiseman
South African universities are under pressure to maximize the amount of accounting students, with specific reference to expand the number of qualified black African accountants, especially the Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA). Accountants are at the center of countries’ economy and act as lecturers in the academic institutions. Therefore, the issue of inadequate production of a new brand black qualified accountants may have something to do with accounting academic staff teaching rationalism, and this study seeks to address that subject. Literature has been used to investigate factors influencing accounting academic staff teaching rationalism and to propose a suitable model for accounting academic staff teaching rationalism factors for the preservation of South African indigenous knowledge. The proposed model forms the basis of the study results and is grounded on sound perception theories: bottom-up theory and top-down theory. The significance of a proposed model is subject to experiments by other scholars within the boundaries of the republic of South Africa or even outside.
On the perceived usefulness of the localization of compilers in African indigenous languages
(IJIET, 2013-02) Neves, Momed A. A.; Eyono Obono, Seraphin Desire
There are thousands of languages worldwide but only some of them are flourishing while many face extinction. This leads to a situation where computer graphical interfaces are mostly presented in English even for users from other indigenous languages. This presents a challenge for non-English natives, hence the need for software localization, defined as the presentation of computer graphical user interfaces in non-English languages. The aim of this study was to examine the perceived usefulness of the localization of programming compilers in African indigenous languages. Users’ perspectives were examined in this study through a questionnaire based survey of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) students from universities in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. These perspectives were analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, and it was found that localizing compilers in African languages is perceived as very useful by users, irrespective of demographic, cultural, language, and programming proficiency factors. The contribution of this research resides in the provision of new evidence on the usability of localized software.
The state of digital records preservation in South Africa's public sector in the 21st century : a literature review
(Emerald, 2022-06-01) Matlala, Mpubane Emanuel; Ncube, Thandukwazi Richman; Parbanath, Steven
This study aims to assess the status of the digital records preservation practices in the South African public sector at the national department level. It set out to establish to what extent digital preservation policies have been implemented in South Africa’s public sector, to determine the related skills and competency of public sector staff, and to make any necessary recommendations of the basis of the results. Design/methodology/approach A content review of Southern Africa literature dealing with the preservation of digital records, its importance and related factors over the past 20 years was conducted. Findings The current state of preservation of South African digital records suggests serious consequences of existing knowledge and training gaps. Addressing those gaps may provide the knowledge needed to support new ways of working. Records management professionals in the South African public sector at the national department level are currently ill-equipped to adequately preserve digital records. This complicates the application of tools offered by the information and communication technologies that have resulted in increased creation of digital records. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to only the public sector of South Africa. Practical implications The study makes practical implications concerning the policy framework for improving the state of digital preservation in South Africa so as to ensure long-term preservation of digital records. For instance, government departments are recommended to formulate and implement in-house policy frameworks, guidelines and plans that address digital preservation of records. Social implications Sufficient funding and resource allocation ought to be provided to advance electronic records management programmes. In addition, the formulation of proper strategies needed to preserve digital records should incorporate technological tools and media software in the existing operations for the creation, capturing, appraising and preserving of digital records. Originality/value This study offers informed recommendations to address the challenges of preserving digital records in South Africa so that future losses may be avoided and allow readers to see changes over the 20-year period.