CONSUMER OVER-INDEBTEDNESS LANDSCAPE: THE OBLITERATION OF A CREDITOR-ORIENTED APPROACH THROUGH THE DEBT INTERVENTION PROCEDURE?

As observed by Coetzee and Roestoff, the South African natural person insolvency system remains creditor oriented and as a ramification many over-indebted consumers are excluded from access to debt alleviation measures.1 There are three debt alleviation measures available to natural persons in South Africa, of which only the sequestration procedure under the Insolvency Act provides an over-indebted consumer with a discharge from pre-insolvency debts.2 However, the principal requirement of proving financial advantage to creditors restricts access for many debtors as they do not have sufficient disposable assets to satisfy the requirement.3 The other two debt alleviation measures are the administration order provided in the Magistrates Court4 and debt review under section 86 of the National Credit Act.5 These measures have been heavily criticised for their reliance on the courts and for only providing debt repayment plans with no provision for discharge.6 This article commences with a detailed discussion of the debt intervention procedure provided by the 2019 National Credit Amendment Act.7 Thereafter, the New Zealand insolvency system is discussed. The purpose is to benchmark the debt intervention procedure against the New Zealand insolvency system in order to ascertain if it obliterates a creditor-oriented approach

for colored girls who have considered suicide: when the rainbow is enuf (1998)

https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/productions_1997-1998/1014/thumbnail.jp

For Colored Girls (2017)

https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/productions_2016-2017/1000/thumbnail.jp

for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (2004)

https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/productions_2003-2004/1003/thumbnail.jp

Spell #7 (1990)

https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/productions_1989-1990/1001/thumbnail.jp

Perceptions of Engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners about academic development classes at a university of technology

With the increase in student enrolments in higher education, which has resulted in changesto student profiles, academic development has become important in terms of students’success. This article is a report on a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews toinvestigate the perceptions of Engineering students and staff to academic developmentclasses at a university of technology (UoT) in South Africa. The students’ feelingsconcerning the need for academic development to continue beyond their first year ofstudy was of particular interest. Participants included five lecturers from the Engineeringfaculty and four academic development practitioners, who were all purposefully selected.The sample consisted of men and women who were interviewed individually. Interviewswere also conducted with ten first-year Engineering students and ten second-year students,who were randomly selected on the grounds of having been involved in the academicdevelopment programme during their first year.The responses of the lecturers were compared with those of the academic developmentpractitioners and the first- and second-year students’ responses were compared. It emergedthat academic development was considered questionable as it did not seem to be structuredand that the academic development curriculum, itself, was problematic

Experiences of students facing financial difficulties to access higher Education in the case of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Students from disadvantaged backgrounds experience difficulties when making a transition from their backgrounds into a challenging and diverse multi-cultural education institutions environment. Due to their disadvantaged backgrounds these students are faced with enormous financial challenges that have adverse impacts on their academic performance. They therefore need solid support structures to help them make adjustments to meet the demands of higher education. This study explored experiences of students facing financial difficulties to access Higher Education in the case of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Using a qualitative approach in collecting data, the study tried to find out the experiences of students and effects of financial problems on academic performance. Economic, ecosystems and social justice framework provided the theoretical underpinning for the study. Economic theory helped the researcher to find out students’ experiences and how they cope. Ecosystems theory helped the researcher to look and understand interaction between individuals and society as a whole because financial difficulties to access Higher education is a social issue that affect individuals, families and societies. Social justice focuses on policy, national and institutional efforts in eliminating the identified financial problems faced by disadvantaged students at tertiary institutions. The tool that was used to collect data were semi-structured interviews which were orally questioning participants to express their views and beliefs of the impacts of financial difficulties in accessing higher education. This enabled the researcher to use an interpretivist paradigm which is qualitative in approach. Qualitative approach provided a descriptive and detailed data about the researched phenomenon. In-depth interviews were done with 15 participants at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Howard, Westville and PMB campus). Results of the study show that due to financial problems, the students encounter problems such as inability to cope with the high standards of studying as well as difficulty in paying fees and accessing basic needs. Data gathered from the interviews insinuates that financial problems have adverse effects on students’ academic performance, but contrary to the study’s assumptions, and review of secondary data, no correlation could be found between financial need and poor academic performance or outright failure

Exploring the role of the Sunshine District Teacher Development Centre in Kwazulu-Natal in supporting teachers’ professional learning.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.In KwaZulu-Natal, District Teachers’ Development Centres have been established to support teachers’ professional development. The report by the DBE (2015) indicates that inspections were conducted to determine the practicality of Teachers’ Centres. Out of 147 Centres established, only 74 were completely practical (DBE, 2015). This study provides insight into how Sunshine DTDC supports teachers’ learning. It intends to discover what is happening in the Centre. The focus is on activities and the resources that are there and how these activities and resources enhance teachers’ learning. The conceptual framework by Harland and Kinder (1997) is used to outline the lens of this study. The study was located within an interpretive paradigm. Data was collected using qualitative face-to-face interviews, observations, documents, transact walk, audio and visual materials. I interviewed ten participants including eight teachers, the Centre Manager and the ICT Specialist. The findings show that Sunshine DTDC is used as a venue for a whole range of activities including out of school youth who come for computer lessons, Department workshops, meetings, computer literacy training, cluster activities, teachers’ networking and teachers’ NGO activities. The main resources for use by teachers are the computer Centre, the hall and the classrooms. Teachers do not seem to see the Centre as a place where they can learn professionally on their own initiative, but they see it as a place where they go to workshops when the Department calls them to workshops or meetings. Though teachers do not come to the Centre on their own accord, they seemed to be very active and enthusiastic in all the activities that they engaged in at the Centre

A critical analysis of the use of exemption clauses with particular reference to risky activities.

Masters Degrees (Business Law). University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Exemption clauses are regarded as part and parcel of most contracts, and are used by suppliers to ensure the efficient running of their business. It is common for suppliers of risky activities to include exemption clauses in their contracts. Therefore, it is submitted that if suppliers of risky activities are not allowed to use exemption clauses, many businesses will close down because they will not be able to afford insurance, and those that do decide to carry on will pass the cost of doing business on to consumers. In determining the enforceability and effectiveness of exemption clauses relating to risky activities, this dissertation will examine the common law position in relation to the treatment of exemption clauses. In terms of the common law of contract, the court will most likely uphold an exemption clause in favour of the principles of freedom of contract and pacta sunt servanda. This is to ensure commercial and legal certainty in contracts entered into between two parties. However, since the introduction of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the courts will have regard to whether the term or contract is contrary to public policy and the values that underlie our constitutional democracy. This dissertation will further discuss the rights of consumers and the duties of suppliers in terms of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA). The CPA has brought about greater regulation of unfair contract terms. It not only prohibits the use of unfair, unreasonable and unjust terms, but also requires a supplier of a risky facility to draw the consumer‟s attention to a term that seeks to limit the supplier‟s liability. Furthermore, the CPA provides for greater protection of consumer rights, and among other things, the CPA aims to ensure fairness in contracts concluded between supplier and consumer

Perceptions of Engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners about academic development classes at a university of technology

With the increase in student enrolments in higher education, which has resulted in changes to student profiles, academic development has become important in terms of students’ success. This article is a report on a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to investigate the perceptions of Engineering students and staff to academic development classes at a university of technology (UoT) in South Africa. The students’ feelings concerning the need for academic development to continue beyond their first year of study was of particular interest. Participants included five lecturers from the Engineering faculty and four academic development practitioners, who were all purposefully selected. The sample consisted of men and women who were interviewed individually. Interviews were also conducted with ten first-year Engineering students and ten second-year students, who were randomly selected on the grounds of having been involved in the academic development programme during their first year. The responses of the lecturers were compared with those of the academic development practitioners and the first- and second-year students’ responses were compared. It emerged that academic development was considered questionable as it did not seem to be structured and that the academic development curriculum, itself, was problematic