Spaces for interactive engagement or technology for differential academic participation? Google Groups for collaborative learning at a South African University

Published ArticleThe rhetoric on the potential of Web 2.0 technologies to democratize online engagement of students often overlooks the discomforting, differential participation and asymmetrical engagement that accompanies student adoption of emerging technologies. This paper, therefore, constitutes a critical reality check for student adoption of technology to the extent that it explores the potential of Google Groups (i.e. self-organised online groups) to leverage collaborative engagement and balanced participation of students with minimal educator support. Community of Inquiry and a case study approach involving in-depth interviews with racially mixed students and Google Group artifacts were drawn upon as theoretical and methodological lenses for examining the equality of participation, academic rigor and complexity of engagement in Google Groups. Study findings were mixed: a semblance of authentic peer-based engagements, emergent academic networking, and inter-racial communication in Google Groups was juxtaposed with gender asymmetries in participation, dominance of group administrators’ postings and shallow collaborative engagements. The study, therefore, recommends actively engaged Group leaders who steer gender and racially balanced engagements, scaffold peer on-task behavior; including a sound pedagogical strategy anchored in collaborative problem-solving; authentic construction of knowledge; effective completion of collaborative tasks by students; and constructive assessments by the educator and peers

Private Financing and Human Resource Practices of Small Local and Foreign-Owned Cosmetological Businesses

There exists a growing body of empirical studies that explore both the sources of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMME) funding, and the quality of their human resource practices. However, there is paucity of literature that interrogates the impact of private funding of local and foreign SMMEs on the quality of human resources. Nevertheless, the wide recognition of the economic significance of SMMEs in emerging economies and the pivotal role that funding plays in the growth of such firms suggest that the nexus between SMME private funding and human resourcing is integral to this condition and growth. As a result, the current study examined the influence of private financing of local and foreign-owned hair salon SMMEs on the quality of their human resources, in an attempt to bridge the aforementioned research gap. The study, which drew on a quantitative approach, is based on a survey conducted on 150 South African and foreign immigrant-owned hair salon businesses. The findings suggest that the private financing structure was dominated by a combination of debt and equity financing, followed by debt financing, with equity financing as the least employed funding model. The study established the significant impact that access to private equity financing has on recruitment, selection and compensation. However, the level of private debt financing, attractiveness of interest rates for private debt financing and financial value of funding from private institutions (banks) do not have any impact on human resources management practices. A major observation from the results is that, some aspects of private financing impact negatively on human resources management albeit a small effect size, which somehow raises critical questions about the popular claims that financing, contributes positively to the quality of human resources of firms

Reconciling Business Social Responsibility Goals, Activities and Practices in Hospitality SMMES in an Emerging Economy

Published ArticleDespite the prominence of business social responsibility (BSR) studies in advanced economies and their gradual maturation in emerging economies, no systematic attempt has been made to reconcile BSR goals, activities and entrenched practices that support them. In emerging economies where BSR is gaining currency but remains vaguely understood, the pernicious effect of small, micro and medium enterprises‘ (SMMEs) casual approach to BSR is sheer reductionism that narrows down BSR goals, activities and practices exclusively to philanthropy. This ideological illusion often precludes SMMEs from leveraging their competitive advantage due to their negation of paramount ethical, legal, and economic considerations. Drawing on quantitative approach, a survey was conducted on 92 owner/managers of hospitality SMMEs in the Free State province, South Africa to explore the relationship between BSR goals, activities and practices. Evidence suggests that hospitality SMMEs‘ goals are crystallised in conformity to laws and regulations and in what society conceives as legitimate norms. While their BSR activities are concentrated predominantly in philanthropy, they also extend to other economic and social concerns like giving discounts to long term customers, combating crime in local communities, maintaining employee satisfaction and conducting business ethically. When BSR goals and activities are reconciled, BSR economic activities and BSR-based economic growth will be positively affected as these variables are significantly correlated to the latter. The other BSR goals and activities are not significantly correlated with the BSR practices. Recommendations for leveraging economic dimensions of BSR should be considered to improve SMME competitiveness

The role of educational technology in design and delivery of curricula programmes: A case of STEPS at a University of Technology

Published ArticleWhile Universities of Technologies (UoTs) regard the adoption of educational technology for the creation of effective learning environments as one of their defining features, there is limited research on these universities’ innovative use of technologies to transform their curricula design and delivery. This research explores the extent to which educational technology has been integrated into the implementation of new and revised educational programs under the Strategic Transformation of Educational Programs and Structures (STEPS) at a UoT. The research employed document analysis and interview data from middle level managers (deans), curriculum designers and educational technologists. The findings suggest that, except for one faculty where educational technology was an enduring feature of the design and delivery of curricula programs, technology played a peripheral role in the design and reorganization phases although it featured more in the implementation of curricula programs under STEPS. The paper concludes that the innovative use of technology, a holistic teaching and learning strategy, and training of educators on technology integration are critical in achieving total integration of educational technology into curricula programs

The role of educational technology in design and delivery of curricula programmes: A case of STEPS at a University of Technology

While Universities of Technologies (UoTs) regard the adoption of educational technology for the creation of effective learning environments as one of their defining features, there is limited research on these universities’ innovative use of technologies to transform their curricula design and delivery. This research explores the extent to which educational technology has been integrated into the implementation of new and recurriculated educational programmes under the Strategic Transformation of Educational Programmes and Structures (STEPS) at a UoT. The research employed document analysis and interview data from middle level managers (Deans), curriculum designers and educational technologists. The findings suggest that, except for one faculty where educational technology was an enduring feature of the design and delivery of curricula programmes, technology played a peripheral role in the design and recurriculation phases although it featured more in the implementation of curricula programmes under STEPS. The paper concludes that the innovative use of technology, a holistic teaching and learning strategy and training of educators on technology integration are critical in achieving total integration of educational technology into curricula programmes

The Influence Of Personal, Family And Social Variables On Technology-Oriented Venture Creation: Theoretical Case Of Internet Cafés In Bloemfontein, South Africa

In an increasingly competitive, technology-driven world, the pressure for small, technology-oriented firms in developing countries to be productive and efficient has never been more intense. For technology-oriented firms such as internet cafés, which are now in constant competition with inexpensive, low threshold, ubiquitous technologies such as mobile phones and social media for availing internet resources and providing personalised learning environments respectively, the need to understand the critical determinants of the establishment and sustenance of small technology-oriented ventures demands rigorous investigation. Despite the central place of internet cafés as the dominant points-of-access of internet resources for low socio-economic groups in South Africa, there is paucity of in-depth knowledge on the critical variables influencing the establishment of such technology-oriented ventures. This research gap is attributed to the independent and fragmented examination of micro-level (personal demographic variables such as gender, age, income and language of manager/owners), institutional (such as family role models, family entrepreneurial values and support) and macro-level variables (as manager/owner’s prior scientific literacy such as their participation in STEM subjects, social prejudice) that shape and influence the creation of technology-oriented ventures. The thesis of this theoretical paper, therefore, is that an integrated perspective that combines these micro-level, institutional and macro level factors would provide a more inclusive, authentic view of the process of establishing small internet cafés in emerging economies. The contribution of this paper is an integrated conceptual framework premised on the combined influences of determinants of technology-oriented ventures and their implications for technology oriented venture creation

The Influence Of Private And Public Finance, Organisational And Environmental Variables On The Performance Of Beauty Salons In The Free State, South Africa: A Theoretical Perspective

Although small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), such as hair salons, have harnessed a subtle combination of private and public funding to bankroll their business operations, literature on the performance of SMMEs in developing countries that often identifies finance as a major obstacle to the SMMEs’ survival, tends to be uncritical about the nature and sources of funding. In view of the fragmented nature of the literature that examines the isolated influences of private and public funding on performance, it becomes difficult to unpack the combined influence of these different funding sources on the performance of emerging firms. The problem is compounded further by the existence of limited literature that focuses on the environmental and organisational variables that mediate the funding-performance relationship in small emerging firms. This article considers a critical integrated approach that is located at the intersection of types of funding (private and public funding), mediating organisational and environmental factors and performance, in explaining the SMME performance, well aware that there is a potential for large firms to crowd out the growth opportunities of SMMEs and the insufficiency of the “wicked financial problem” in explicating the performance of such firms. The theoretical study adopts hair salons as a metaphor for an otherwise large, complex beauty and cosmetological industry in its exploration of the combined influence of private and public funding on the performance of SMMEs, with organisational and environmental concepts as mediating variables. The study deviates from mainstream studies that tend to accord significance solely to finance in SMME development and therefore, places financing, organisational and environmental variables as key variables in explaning successful business performance. The main contribution of this paper is a conceptual framework that is based on the view that financing-performance does not occur in vacuum, but is rather mediated by organisational (human resources, technological acquisition, staff training and education) and environmental (technology acquisition, firm location, competition) variables

Relationship Between Managerial Competencies Of Owners / Managers Of Emerging Technology Firms And Business Performance: A Conceptual Framework Of Internet Caf Performance In South Africa

Despite the growing literature on the impact of entrepreneurial traits of managers/owners on the performance of small firms in developed economies, little is known about the contribution of managerial competencies (MC) of these managers/owners to the success of their firms. Since entrepreneurial literature attributes the failure of most emerging businesses (i.e. in their first three years of existence) to the paucity of MC among managers/owners of emerging businesses, an investigation into the effects of these competencies on the performance of small emerging internet businesses is critical to locating the strategic levers that potentially optimise the growth and sustainability of these businesses in emerging economies. This theoretical study, therefore, examines the relationship between managerial competencies of owners/ managers and the performance of emerging internet firms in South Africa. Extant literature and researchers reflective experiences were used to develop a conceptual model on the relationship between managerial competencies of managers/owners of small internet caf and the performance of their firms. The model suggests that an assortment of managerial competencies (human capital requirements, resources and individual capabilities) is critical to the improved performance of small internet businesses. The thesis of this paper is that understanding the appropriate constitution of managerial competencies ideal for emerging technology firms, organisational context of emerging technology firms including the broader business environment would positively impact small internet business performance

The Influence Of Personal, Family And Social Variables On Technology-Oriented Venture Creation: Theoretical Case Of Internet Cafés In Bloemfontein, South Africa

Published ArticleIn an increasingly competitive, technology-driven world, the pressure for small, technology-oriented firms in developing countries to be productive and efficient has never been more intense. For technology-oriented firms such as internet cafés, which are now in constant competition with inexpensive, low threshold, ubiquitous technologies such as mobile phones and social media for availing internet resources and providing personalised learning environments respectively, the need to understand the critical determinants of the establishment and sustenance of small technology-oriented ventures demands rigorous investigation. Despite the central place of internet cafés as the dominant points-of-access of internet resources for low socio-economic groups in South Africa, there is paucity of in-depth knowledge on the critical variables influencing the establishment of such technology-oriented ventures. This research gap is attributed to the independent and fragmented examination of micro-level (personal demographic variables such as gender, age, income and language of manager/owners), institutional (such as family role models, family entrepreneurial values and support) and macro-level variables (as manager/owner’s prior scientific literacy such as their participation in STEM subjects, social prejudice) that shape and influence the creation of technology-oriented ventures. The thesis of this theoretical paper, therefore, is that an integrated perspective that combines these micro-level, institutional and macro level factors would provide a more inclusive, authentic view of the process of establishing small internet cafés in emerging economies. The contribution of this paper is an integrated conceptual framework premised on the combined influences of determinants of technologyoriented ventures and their implications for technology oriented venture creation