Theses and dissertations (Accounting and Informatics)

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The development of a framework for the successful implementation of curriculum renewal : a case study of the office management and technology (OMT) programme
(2018) Moodley, Egashnee; Rajkoomar, Mogiveny
South Africa’s tertiary education institutions main goal is to train, educate, deliver high level professional and occupational skills, research and innovation required for development and economic growth for South Africa (Timm, Govender and Gonsalves 2016). To develop the manpower required for the advancement of South Africa’s economic development, tertiary institutions need to align their programme with the needs of social, economic and technology developments locally, nationally and globally. In an attempt to enhance the aligning needs of the industry and international education standards towards education, universities had started to accredit and renew their programme curricular. However, some researchers have identified that even though curriculum renewal of a programme had brought about some advantages for academics and students, there was many disadvantages as well (Bird et al. 2015: 19). Wormley (2004: 329) has identified that if there are many challenges, negative perceptions and lack of benefits because of a poorly planned framework for curriculum renewal of a programme. Ultimately it leads to the unsuccessful implementation of curriculum renewal. The aim of the study is to explore the curriculum renewal process amongst academics and students of the Office Management and Technology programme at Durban University of Technology to develop a framework for future successful implementation of the curriculum implementation process. As this case study will provide new insights into the perceptions and experiences of those most closely affected, that is the academic staff, the curriculum champion and students of the university involved in the curriculum renewal process, thereby assisting other departments or programmes embarking on a curriculum renewal process A qualitative methodology was employed for this study. Whereby semi-structured interviews were conducted with OMT academics, the OMT curriculum champion, representative from the Centre for Quality Promotion and Assurance (CQPA), and Academic Development Practioner (ADP) for the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics (FAI). Focus group discussion with OMT students was held to obtain the students’ perspectives on the curriculum renewal process of the OMT programme. The study revealed that the main barrier for academics implementing the curriculum renewal process and renewed curriculum lagged due to the lack of resources available to the department, lack of tutors for students, lack of student involvement in the advisory board for stakeholders, as well as lack of curriculum expert’s in department as the main factors that hinder the curriculum renewal process of a programme. On the other hand, the students revealed that the ‘’Blackboard, ThinkLearnZone’’ application notification system needs to be improved as most students do not own smartphones to access the internet. Moreover, students suggested that the academics should conduct more practical activities during the lecture period. Interestingly, students also suggested that lecturers begin to record lectures via the Podcast application which always them to download and learn. The recommendation highlights that students representatives from each level enrolled into the programme should form part of the advisory board for the curriculum renewal process and review, there should be a professional student body from the department, who must be given an equal opportunity to participate in the process discussion. Moreover, to resolve the lack of funds to purchase textbooks and resources, the researcher recommends that the OMT department should start using their own resources from the department and start creating revenue for the department.
A financial simulation for investment appraisal in solar panels at fast-food chains : a case study of McDonalds, South Africa
(2022-04-10) Abbana, Sharanam Sharma; Marimuthu, Ferina; Maama, Haruna
The sun is a significant source of inexhaustible free energy with the least adverse impact on the atmosphere. In order to overcome the adverse environmental effects and other issues connected with fossil fuels combustion, many nations have been compelled to investigate and develop environmentally-friendly options that are renewable in order to keep up with the growing demand for energy. This study was motivated by South Africa’s current electrical energy crisis and frequent load-shedding situations. Despite a global push towards renewable energy, South Africa presently relies on coal-fired power plants for more than 90% of its electrical energy. Currently, above-inflationary electrical energy tariffs are expected to increase. One of the renewable energy sources available is solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. The aim of this study was to financially simulate and appraise solar energy investment for McDonalds, an intensive fast-food restaurant energy consumer, to assess the feasibility of the investment. This study was quantitative in nature that simulated a census of 125 McDonalds DriveThru restaurants across South Africa. The data was derived from public domains such as a solar PV watts calculator from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and solar system online commercial quotes from Treetops which is a solar system South African based installation company. Thereafter, the data was inputted in the study’s investment appraisement. The findings of the financial simulated investment appraisal prove to be lucrative for McDonalds South Africa to undertake the investment in solar energy. The investment is rewarding in the longer-term compared to the shorter-term considering the initial outlay. The simulation process and the investment appraisal in this study contributes to the knowledge base of the South African fast-food sector and can be adapted and used by businesses to evaluate the feasibility of a solar energy investment.
The impact of online delivery on the Financial Accounting III curriculum : a student perspective at Durban University of Technology (DUT)
(2022-10-01) Joshua, Kim Mary; Bhana, Anrusha
The study aimed to determine whether the current online technological platforms support teaching, learning and assessment of the Financial Accounting III (FA3) module at the Durban University of Technology. The study explored the effectiveness of the emergency change of the Financial Accounting III module curriculum delivery on students’ ability to learn and be assessed. This study also examined the impact of online accounting curriculum delivery on the Financial Accounting III students at Durban University of Technology, Durban. The following questions premised the research. Is the online curriculum effective in supporting all Financial Accounting III students’ learning? What are the challenges experienced by Financial Accounting III students in terms of the change to online curriculum delivery? What must be done to enhance online curriculum delivery to promote students’ learning and performance? The researcher adopted a quantitative method for the study. A census approach allowed the entire population of 800 students completing the Financial Accounting III modules an equal opportunity to participate in this study. The study revealed that 34% of the target population gave feedback on their experience. The target population of Financial Accounting III students were selected due to their experience with both traditional and online pedagogies in their diploma qualifications. This study’s findings revealed that students have adjusted to how they experience teaching, learning and assessments. The study revealed an urgent need to train students and facilitators. Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the transition from traditional to online pedagogy took place with very little student and academic training. Interestingly, Financial Accounting III students embraced the pedagogical change. Even though the two technological platforms used during this transition phase of curriculum delivery did not cater for discipline-specific needs, these online platforms were user-friendly and easy to connect with academic staff, tutors, and peers.
Intelligent decision support systems for managing the diffusion of social computing in school-based ubiquitous learning
(2022-01-06) Sam, Caitlin; Naicker, Nalen; Rajkoomar, Mogiveny
The past decade has seen an explosion in social media applications. Most adolescents in South Africa have access to social media applications despite the country’s economic inequalities. The drive for social media applications is important to enhance human connectedness. In unprecedented times social computing can be utilised in school-based learning to benefit learners. Climate change has propagated extreme weather patterns which has increased the occurrence of natural disasters and diseases. The emergence of the novel Coronavirus resulted in most countries implementing nation-wide forms of lockdown to curb the spread of infection. Consequently, these adverse phenomena across the globe are disruptive to conventional schoolbased education. Ubiquitous learning (u-learning) relates to learning that occurs at any place without time constraints. In some schools, u-learning has become a conventional learning approach and pedagogy but there are various education and technology attributes that must be addressed for the penetration of social computing in schools. Therefore, there is a need to guide learners and school-based instructors on their preferences of digital access and social media applications. The main aim of the study was to investigate social media-driven Intelligent Decision Support Systems using live data, to assist instructors and learners manage the diffusion of social computing in school-based ubiquitous learning. In pursuing this study, a quantitative research methodology was used for the collection of data from learners and instructors from the schools in the eThekwini Region, namely, Umlazi District and Pinetown District of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. A survey was conducted to elicit data from participants on their use of social computing for u-learning. The approximate target population size was 129 421 individuals with a sample size of 384 participants. There were 260 respondents with an acceptable response rate of 67,71%. The study derived attributes for ranking the social media applications and Principal Component Analysis which is an unsupervised Machine Learning algorithm reduced the dimensionality of the attributes. The multi-criteria decision-making algorithm, Fuzzy Technique of Order Preference Similarity Ideal Solution was implemented to rank the social media applications in line with the dimensionality reduced criteria based on the subjective decisions of expert decision makers. Data Envelopment Analysis, another multi-criteria analysis method was utilised to score the efficiency of the devices for u-learning. The results showed the most precise, mathematically approved social media applications and devices that can support u-learning in schools. An automated application based on research evidence using Intelligent Decision Support Systems was designed as a research output.
Knowledge-based word sense disambiguation for Setswana-English machine translation
(2024) Moape, Tebatso Gorgina; Ojo, Sunday O.; Olugbara, Oludayo O.
There are several challenges that hinder the development of Setswana-to-English machine translation systems. A key obstacle is the absence of machine-readable knowledge resources. This has prompted the use of the only accessible data, which originates from the government domain. While training machine-translation systems using government-domain data can offer specialized language knowledge, such training introduces obstacles such as limited vocabulary, style variation, bias, and domain specificity. Furthermore, it is noted in the literature that the ongoing problem of polysemy in a machine-translation system reduces the overall accuracy. Polysemy is a linguistic phenomenon in which a single word or phrase has multiple senses, resulting in ambiguity. The task of resolving ambiguity in natural language processing (NLP) is known as word sense disambiguation (WSD). The concept of WSD serves as an intermediate task for enhancing text understanding in NLP applications, including machine translation, information retrieval, and text summarization. Its cardinal role is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of these applications by ensuring the accurate selection of the appropriate sense for polysemous words in diverse contexts. This study addresses these challenges by proposing three essential components: a diversity-aware machine-readable knowledge resource for SetswanaEnglish, or the Setswana universal knowledge core (SUKC), a WSD approach to resolving lexical ambiguity; and a corresponding machine-translation model embedded with a WSD capability. Setswana-English data was collected from the existing paper-based bilingual dictionaries to achieve this purpose. Secondly, the study employed professional translators to translate space domain concepts from English to Setswana. The collected lexicon was integrated into the universal knowledge core (UKC). The Lesk algorithm which has seen various adaptations by researchers for different languages over the years was employed to address the inherent polysemy challenges. This study used a simplified, Lesk-based algorithm to resolve polysemy for Setswana; and used the bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) model for Setswana, and cosine similarity measure to embed Setswana glosses and measure semantic similarity, thus determining the accurate sense. The study employed a rule-based method embedded with the WSD algorithm for machine translation. The translation accuracy of the machine-readable dictionary was assessed by employing the developed machine-translation model; and evaluated using the BLEU score. The proposed model was tested on a combination of sentences containing both ambiguous words and those without ambiguity; and a higher BLEU score of 34.89 was achieved.
The provision of access to electronic information by staff in Kwazulu-Natal Department of Health libraries in the digital transformation era
(2024) Ntloko, Nonhlanhla Princess; Masenya, Tlou Maggie
This study investigated the provision of staff digital access to information in KwazuluNatal Department of Health (KZN DOH) libraries. The current state of access to information was determined, challenges encountered were identified, systems and technologies used for the provision of access to information were assessed, the level of digital skills for staff members in accessing digital information was examined, and strategies for optimising the utilization of electronic information resources were discovered. National Health Digital Strategy of South Africa (2019 – 2024) emphasis on leveraging technology for better health outcomes aligns seamlessly with the health libraries' mission to provide timely and accurate health information. The goal is to create a seamless digital environment where health professionals, students, and researchers can easily access and utilise various health information resources. Digitisation in libraries is part of technological advancements of the twenty-first century that help to manage information securely and enable efficient retrieval and timeous dissemination. This study adopted interpretivist research paradigm. Qualitative research methodology was used for this study, with phenomenology as the research design. The target population for this study were student nurses, nurses, doctors, lecturers, and librarians from the thirteen (13) hospitals and nursing campus libraries in KwaZulu Natal. Non-probability, judgement, or purposive sampling was adopted, and according to Pathak (2015), it is the best sampling method for a phenomenological study. The sampling frame for this study consisted of student doctors, doctors, student nurses, librarians, lecturers, and other health staff. The study utilised a sample of 73 available and accessible participants across ten hospitals and nursing colleges with digital library resources. Data collection from the recruited participants included interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gather participants’ background data and information on library usage. Focus group discussions were utilised to generate discussion among the diverse participants, including student nurses, lecturers, nurses, and doctors. Phenomenological reduction was used for dimension reduction during data analysis. From the librarians' perspective, budgetary technological constraints and the need for improved digital literacy among patrons are significant concerns. In response, librarians have implemented various strategies, including enhancing digital access, providing training, and introducing innovative solutions. Conversely, patrons express satisfaction with the library staff but desire improved network reliability, access to online resources, extended library hours, and further digital literacy training. As the document analysis highlights, the legislative and strategic frameworks provide a roadmap for libraries to align their services with national health objectives and embrace digital transformation. The study recommended enhancing digital infrastructure, improving digital literacy, and adopting innovative technologies to effectively transition to digital information access. The study recommends reducing the digital gap and increasing digital awareness through investment in digital skills among patrons and providing digital tools.
Strategies employed for the sustainability of township tourism small medium and micro enterprises
(2022-09-23) Mokoena, Sinenhlanhla Lerato; Moyane, Smangele Pretty; Nkomo, N.
The Small, Micro, and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) sector is perceived as an economic engine for many countries. SMMEs are viewed as the primary creators and drivers of new businesses in the South African economy. The township tourism SMMEs are critical to the upliftment of the rural and township economies, however, they remain marginalized, continue to struggle to be sustainable, and face a variety of challenges that have a negative impact on their contribution to economic growth. This study aimed to examine the strategies employed for the sustainability of township tourism SMMEs. The objectives were to identify SMMEs involved in tourism in the townships, establish factors influencing the sustainability of SMMEs in the township, and determine the competitive strategy for the sustainability of tourism SMMEs in the townships. To guide the present inquiry, Porter’s Five Force’s for Industry Analysis (1980) was employed. A positivist research paradigm was adopted, through a quantitative approach and a survey research design. The population targeted for this study were township tourism SMMEs operating in UMlazi Township in KwaZulu Natal. There being no reliab le available sampling frame, a non-probability sampling strategy was adopted. Within non-probability, snowball sampling was used. Through the sampling strategy, owners and/ or managers of township tourism SMMEs were purposively approached and they suggested other SMMEs to consider for inclusion. A questionnaire was used for gathering data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, presented in tables, graphs, and percentages. The leading township tourism attractions in Umlazi were found to be in the lifestyle and entertainment category in particular food, beverage, and accommodation. In this regard, restaurants and BnBs dominated. Most SMMEs have been operating between 1-3 years and the majority were Micro enterprises. The number of registered and non-registered SMMEs was nearly equal, a larger number of SMMEs were located in fixed physical structures, with a smaller number offering mobile service/non-fixed services and/or operating online. A high number of businesses were located in residential areas, next to the taxi rank, and operated as sole proprietors and informal businesses.The most influential factors affecting the sustainability of township tourism SMMEs were the lack of funding, strong business competition, poor business location, lack of business skills, and high crime rate. It was revealed that only a few entrepreneurs applied a competitive strategy. Some of the used competitive strategies included registration of the businesses with the Department of Small Business Development, social media marketing, and bulk buying. The study recommends township tourism SMME diversification instead of the current focus which is food, beverage, and accommodation. SMMEs should consider operating their business remotely and/ or mobile non-fixed physical structures, as well as having a web presence and optimizing location to improve sustainability given that some of their sustainability are curtailed by their non-optimal location.
Transformation of the commercial property sector for the realisation of its economic benefits : an exploratory study of key stakeholders' perspectives in South Africa
(2021-10-29) Mpungose, Buyisiwe Poletty; Moyane, Smangele Pretty; Nkomo, Ntando
Diverse sectors of the economy in democratic South Africa have transformed, however, the commercial property sector is still characterised as a domain of inequality. It is recognised that for generations, significant numbers of South Africans never experienced formal property ownership and its wealth creation benefits. This racially based inequality of the commercial property sector requires transformation. It is claimed that the South African commercial property sector is slow on transformation. The widely alluded justification for lack of transformation is that laws enacted before the democratic government were not transformative. Undoing the legacies of apartheid and colonialism requires profound societal transformation. It was thus critical to conduct a research with an aim to explore a study of key stakeholders’ perspectives in transformation of the commercial property sector for the realisation of its economic benefits in South Africa. The objectives of this study was to determine from stakeholders’ perspectives in the commercial property sector on whether there is transformation and identify factors that are affecting transformation of the commercial property sector from stakeholders’ perspectives and subsequently the realisation of commercial property sector’s economic benefits. The study adopted the transformation theory propagated by Jack Mezirow in 1978 as a conceptual framework underpinning the study. The transformation theory views democratic societal changes as being agentic, inclusive, open, seeking social justice and equity. A post-positivist research paradigm was adopted. The research adopted a qualitative approach and an exploratory research design. The population for the study was identified through purposive sampling and comprised of the Senior Executives from eight stakeholders in the commercial property sector: Property Sector Chartered Council, five South African commercial banks (Standard Bank, ABSA Bank, First National Bank, Nedbank and Capitec Bank), Department of National Public Works and Provincial Public Works. Snowball sampling was also adopted to obtain the perspectives of other stakeholders of the sector. A semi-structured telephonically interview schedule was used to collect data. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The study findings emanating from the literature and respondents suggested that policy frameworks need to be reviewed and enforced as the first point of departure. Secondly, lack of information must be resolved by introducing technology that has features of transparency, traceability, accessibility, and enhanced security. The third factor is the ownership of commercial property sector, its value chain and economic spin offs through an inclusive approach to ensure economic and societal balances. This takes a political slant and may be hard to debate. However, this research is timely, topical and addressed an important issue, which has both policy and practical implications for the future economic growth and development of the commercial property sector transformation.