Book Review: Buy it Now: Lessons from EBay.

Review of Buy it Now: Lessons from EBay by Michelle Whit

Book Review: The Path of Mercy: The Life of Catherine McAuley

Review of The Path of Mercy: The Life of Catherine McAuley by Mary C. Sulliva

Integrative taxonomy of a key weevil pest in South Africa (Phlyctinus callosus Boh.) reveals a complex of at least six species

Phlyctinus callosus Boheman, 1934 (Curculionidae, Entiminae, Oosomini) is a species native from the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This pest causes economic damage to deciduous fruit during the adult stage and its quarantine status is strongly affecting fruit export markets. In addition to the damage caused within the country, it has spread to several areas of the Southern hemisphere via human mediated transportation. Phlyctinus callosus is presently considered as the only species of the genus Phlyctinus, however, slight morphological variation and the sporadic nature of this pest raised doubts on the present taxonomic status of this species. We applied an integrative taxonomic approach, combining the examination of external and internal morphological characters of adults and DNA sequencing (COI) of samples, to specimens from 23 localities of the Western Cape Province. Our preliminary results suggest that a total of 6 cryptic species are currently grouped under the name P. callosus. Diagnostic morphological features used to distinguish between species were found on the ventrites and genitalia of the males. Females cannot yet be distinguished reliably based on morphology. Uncorrected interspecific genetic distances based on COI sequences ranged from 3 to 11 %. Among the species of this complex, two were found in orchards and are causing damage. The other species were found in the surrounding, natural environment and seemed to be primarily associated with Asteraceae. More research is needed to explore the niche partitioning of each species, such as geographic distribution, hosts plant associations and phenology. More generally, this research highlights the importance of detailed integrative studies to identify functional taxonomic units of insect pests in agriculture

Head Teachers’ Perceptions of Power Bases: An Empirical Study about Swaziland

A journal article.As chief executives of schools, head teachers are often called upon to make demands or issue orders to staff members. Sometimes they need to resort to power to back up their demands and orders. The degree to which teachers listen and carry out head teachers’demands or orders is dependent, to some degree, on the perceived power bases. The purposes of this study were to examine (i)the profile of high school head teachers of Swaziland, (ii) the power bases perceived by high school head teachers of Swaziland to be very effective in influencing staff members to comply with the head teachers’demands and orders; (iii) the extent to which high school head teachers felt satisfied or dissatisfied with the headship job, salary car loan, and housing allowance; (iv) the relationship between the background variables of high school head teachers and their level of satisfaction with the headship job, salary car loan and housing allowance; and (v) the relationship between the head teachers’ background characteristics and the perceived use of the power bases to influence staff members to comply with the head teachers’ orders and demands. Data for this study were collected by a survey questionnaire mailed to 105 high schools in Swaziland. A self-addressed stamped envelope was enclosed for returning the completed questionnaire. Out of 105 mailed questionnaires, 63 (60%) were returned, of which 4 questionnaires were incomplete and therefore excluded from the analysis. In essence, the results of the present study are based on information provided by 59 (56%) high school head teachers out of a total of 105

Swaziland's relations with Britain and South Africa since 1968

This work looks into Swaziland's political, economic, social and cultural relations with Britain (its former colonial master) and South Africa (its big and rich neighbour) in the period since Swaziland's Independence in 1968. The focus is on how Swaziland's relations with Britain and South Africa influence its socio-economic and political developments, and its internal and external security. As a micro-state, with a population of less than 0.7 million people, the assumption is made that Swaziland's progress and security can be reasonably assessed by examining its relations with the two powerful states with whom it has close links. This assumption arises from the fact that (i) Swaziland inherited political institutions from Britain, (ii) there were strong economic links (investments, trade, aid) between it and Britain at Independence and these ties continue today, (iii) there were, and still are, economic links in almost every aspect between Swaziland and South Africa at Independence and (iv) South Africa dominates the Southern Africa region - militarily and economically. The main arguments in the Thesis are (a) that the economic links between Swaziland and the two states provide economic growth for the former, thus helping to maintain stability, although South African domination threatens to undermine Swaziland's independence (b) that Swaziland has pursued a "tightrope policy" in Southern Africa, and that this regional strategy has, on the whole, succeeded in helping the country's survival; and (c) that the political system of Swaziland has an in-built tension in that the traditional institutions exist alongside modern ones and this is a threat to political stability

The promotion and development of small and medium enterprises : an investigation of the effectiveness of assistance programmes and the participation of SMEs in the export sector in Swaziland : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor pf Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly occupying a prominent position in the policy agendas of both developed and developing countries, owing to the recognition of the significant potential contribution that these enterprises can make to national economic and social development. In addition, the exporting successes of SMEs in industrialised countries, in the last decade, have highlighted the critical role of SMEs in export- and private-sector-led economic growth, consequently many developing countries are refocusing their attention on the search for strategies and the design of policies and assistance programmes aimed at the promotion and development of their SME sectors. Sound policies to assist more SMEs to export, however, must be informed by a clear understanding of any systematic differences between current exporters and non-exporters. This study employed a multi-method approach, making use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, to investigate the nature and extent of SMEs' export involvement and the effectiveness of SME promotion and development programmes in Swaziland. In particular various firm-specific and managerial characteristics believed to shape the export behaviour of SMEs were utilised to investigate why some SMEs are exporters and some are not. The results of this study revealed that for many SMEs in Swaziland the export orientation is zero. The few that are exporting are mostly found in the manufacturing, agriculture and forestry industries. Foreign language proficiency and the frequency of business-related foreign trips are amongst the significant variables in explaining export propensity amongst SMEs in Swaziland. On the effectiveness of assistance programmes, this investigation showed that awareness levels and usage rates differ among assistance programmes and by the firms' market orientation. Generally, managers of SMEs are more aware of (and have accessed more) domestically oriented programmes than export oriented ones, which to some extent explains SMEs' poor export involvement. A policy recommendation that arises instinctively from this study is that official support, financial or otherwise, is likely to bear more fruit in exporting if targeted towards currently non-exporting SMEs and aimed at upgrading the language skills of managers, and assisting with bona fide business-related functions outside the country

Government housing subsidy : exploring the administration processes in the dispensation of title deeds in Kwa-Mashu.

Master of Public Administration in Management Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2017.The low-cost housing scheme was an initiative of the new government soon after the first democratic election in 1994. Since then the demand for low-cost housing is ever escalating and the government has never managed to get rid of the backlogs. Along with this problem is also another issue, the delays in the processing of title deeds for the beneficiaries of these low-cost houses. Findings of this study suggest that many beneficiaries of the low-cost housing scheme do not possess this important document: the title deed. This study investigated this issue, the causes of the delays in the processing of title deeds by the relevant officials. The main objective of the study was to establish why many beneficiaries do not have title deeds and what the repercussions for such a situation are. To achieve this, questionnaires were distributed to officials responsible for the processing of title deeds, as well as to the community members who have benefited from the scheme but have not yet received title deeds. The findings of the study revealed that although it should take between a few weeks and three months to process title deeds, it was clear that some community members have not yet received title deeds even though they were allocated these houses more than 16 years ago. The relevant authorities pointed to a number of issues as causing the delays in the processing of title deeds. These include the fact that the beneficiaries submit wrong documentation for processing, delays in the establishment of township registers, incorrect drawing up of deeds and delays on the part of municipalities in releasing figures required for rates clearance certificate. On the other hand, the community members who participated indicated that some officials deliberately delay the process with a view to fulfilling personal interests through fraudulent activities. Further, it was revealed that the absence of title deeds makes the beneficiaries live in fear of being evicted from the properties that they have been allocated because they do not have the legal document to claim ownership of the property. Given these findings the study recommends that government should make efforts to deal with backlogs in the processing of title deeds and one way of doing this is to invest in the skills and knowledge of the administrative authorities as they seem to be inadequately resourced in this regard

Stochastic characterisation of a mining production system

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, 2016There are discrepancies between deterministic mine planning and the actual mining process due to geological uncertainties associated with mineral deposits and inherent production system variabilities. The misalignment between the planning process and the actual mine production process often leads to non-achievement of production outcomes. Stochastic mine planning has been developed to minimise these misalignments but it is computationally intense and requires constraint functions to operate effectively. However, the stochastic mine planning approaches in literature do not have an embedded process analysing the interactions between the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the mine production activities. This dissertation proposes an approach to study the interactions/correlations between KPIs used to measure the progress of a mining operation and the mining activities. The Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) approach is a non-linear and non-normal measurement method which can assist in understanding the behaviour of mine production activities when compared to assessed KPIs. The MLR model can also assist in establishing which production activities require maximisation or minimisation in attaining the desired KPIs. This study shows that 71% of the KPIs for a case study in mining production system are influenced by the movements of the production activities in the mining process and the level of uncertainty on the forecasted KPIs is reduced through applying the MLR model. This method will help mining companies in assessing in the initial stages of mine planning the mine production activities that management should focus on to achieve desired KPIs by directing more effort and resources to these statistically significant activities.MT201

An evaluation of the implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems in the office of the Premier, Free State provincial government

Thesis (Master of Public Management) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2019The study examines the current implementation challenges with respect to monitoring and evaluation systems in the Office of the Premier, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Directorate of the Free State Province. M&E systems are indispensable for ensuring the effective functioning of the spheres of government in such a way that policy objectives and effective service delivery are achieved. Since the inception of the Government Wide Monitoring and Evaluations System (GWM&ES) in 2007, provinces are at varying levels of institutionalizing M&E. M&E is an imperative tool for the Office of the Premier to achieve its objectives by providing strategic leadership and to coordinate provincial policy formulation and reviews, planning as well as overseeing effective service delivery. Furthermore, the Office of the Premier is mandated with monitoring the performance of the various departments and ensure that they achieve the government’s 12 priority outcomes as set out in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). Lastly provincial governments are tasked with the monitoring of basic municipal services. For the realization of the aim and objectives of this study, qualitative research methodology is adopted. A semi structured, and structured interview was utilized as a tool that contains the predetermined questions prepared to acquire insight, knowledge and application of the people who are involved and familiar with M&E systems, its implementation challenges as well as best practices that can be replicated across the various provinces. The literature study is based extensive literature, legislation, policy documents, journal articles, books, conference papers, internet and government reports about, requirements, purpose, principles, objectives, components, and systems of monitoring and evaluation with specific reference to the introduction of the South African Government-Wide Monitoring and Evaluation System. Furthermore, the study investigated the role of the Offices of the Premier M&E Directorate concerning the effective implementation of M&E systems including the GWM&ES as well as identify current monitoring and evaluation processes, practices, challenges as well as best practices. An empirical study, by a process of semi-structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with selected public officials in the Office of the Premier, M&E Directorate and Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) of the Free State province. The study found that there is a lack of M&E culture within the Free State Provincial government (FSPG). The FSPG should clearly, establish a culture of M&E across all provincial government institutions