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The study examined the sensitivity analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on Corporate Sustainability and Company Performance of South African listed companies. The study employed secondary data retrieved from the annual reports of the selected companies. Stakeholder Theory and the Traditional Theory of Economics and Finance from the theoretical foundation of this study. Data retrieved from 40 companies for the period 2010 -2021 was analyzed using panel fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) methods, representing all sectors with the help of a convenience sampling method. Findings revealed a strong relationship between corporate sustainability performance and company performance with other explanatory variables. This study also implied that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was so sensitive on South African companies and companies must pay strong attention to recovery strategies suggested to reduce the severity of the impact on them and ensure a quick recovery.

South Africa is currently facing a water crisis due to low rainfall, climate change, a large population and pollution in freshwater sources. Rivers and streams are polluted despite the legislation and management systems established by the government at the national, provincial, and local levels. The aim of this study was to determine the perceived barriers to the effective management of streams in uMlazi township in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The study was conducted at a Durban solid waste office in Cator Manor and a community hall in uMlazi township. A qualitative case study design was used. Data was collected through focus group discussions from the two groups who were involved in the management of water streams in uMlazi township, namely Sihlanzimvelo co-operatives and the section of the EThekwini Municipality involved in stream management. Data were recorded, transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed. Four main themes were identified, which revealed that the current barriers to effective stream management were related to attitudes and behavior of the communities and the EThekwini Municipality's working conditions and management practices. The study established that to manage the streams effectively, all stakeholders in communities should be actively involved, and for that to be possible, they should all be educated about the importance of streams and the environment in general. Environmental education was found to be central in promoting accountability and civility in engagements amongst stakeholders, to ensure that there were healthier streams and river systems and an eco-friendly future was secured.

In the process of socio-economic development, the rural environment has witnessed various setbacks, mostly in agro-social and the socio-economic sustainability of the QwaQwa community of South Africa. Evidence exists from the literature, our observations and experience that sustainability in the rural economic development of the QwaQwa community is not equal and stable, which has exposed the youths of the community to crime and various anti-social activities such as drugging, drinking, gangsterism, raping, among others. Therefore, the asset-based community development approach was adopted to instigate stakeholders’ intention toward community emancipation. This was done within the lens of the transformative paradigm designed with the community-based participatory action research process. The research comprised key stakeholders such as community leaders, NGOs, and youths. A structured interview was used to elicit information from the selected participants. We used socio-thematic analysis to make sense of the data in order to understand the sociality of the people living within the spotted problem. The study revealed that the community is endowed with arable farming land and team spirit, but criminalities were found to challenge their development. In its quest for rural emancipation, the study also found out that the QwaQwa community needs empowerment programs in social and agricultural skill development.

Rape seems to be a traumatic event, with multiple effects on potential victims’ psychological, social, as well as physical levels, which can occur simultaneously at times. The noted effects of rape incidences may differ from one victim to the other. The qualitative research approach was deployed in this study to clearly understand human behavior from an insider’s point of view. This was aided by the Q-methodology research design to explore perspectives of the selected participants who represent different stances on this subject. This also allowed explorations of community members’ perceptions on the effects of rape in selected Mankweng areas, as an objective guiding this study. The data was collected in Mankweng through the applications of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). About Thirty (30) participants were purposively sampled. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used for analysis. This study presented that some victims of rape do experience symptoms such as; feelings of worthlessness, social isolation, resorting to substance abuse and persistent sadness and crying. To serve as an intervention to victims. For recommendations, training and refresher courses should be provided in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice and professionals from the medical field on how to deal with rape victims. Relevant stakeholders should urgently readdress understanding the associated effects of rape on society and potential victims and programmes should be hosted within these communities to alert residents about the effects of rape in the Mankweng policing area.

This study aims to investigate the influence of electrical/electronic workshop climate on workshop accidents among self-employed electrical/electronic service personnel in Ebonyi state. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for the study was 622 registered (Unions) electrical/electronic service personnel. A sample of 120 was drawn from the population for the study through a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The study found that Regardless of the Administrative style; Number of the workshop users; Arrangement of the workshop and Available equipment in the electrical/electronic workshop respectively, there is an occasional rate of accident. But some types of accidents record varying rates of occurrence depending on the type of administrative style, number of workshop users, arrangement of the workshop, and workshop equipment in the said workshop. Based on the conclusions drawn from the findings of the study, the study recommended that Government should provide soft loans, start-up grants for the self-employed service personnel for the acquisition of the needed equipment; Government also should institute a fund that can help work accident victims to take care of the medical expenses.

The complex application process at the postgraduate level became a major blamer for poor doctorate enrolments. The complexity in the communication messages made it difficult for prospective postgraduate students to absorb information effectively. The proposal by the government to increase masters' and doctorate enrolments at universities requires universities to cater to the needs of customers whose preferences and expectations change continuously. The research upon which this paper was based was aimed at identifying the information needs of prospective postgraduates at public universities. The study design is quantitative, employing a descriptive technique and cross-sectional method. For the empirical study, a non-probability sampling method was utilized to obtain data from a sample of 116 masters’ and doctorate students. Descriptive statistics described the main features of the collected data through frequencies, tables, and bar charts. Inferential statistics were used to determine relationships between variables and test the significance, and reliability of the findings. Emphasis on university processes and specific aspects of the expected and augmented product were found. Interestingly, the importance attached to getting information about economic incentives significantly outweighs the importance attached to receiving information about the actual product. The results of this study affirm the assertion that the postgraduate market is unique and has unique information needs. The results provide universities with a guideline to identify the information needs of prospective postgraduate students applying for master's and doctorate studies at public universities.  The study limitation is that it encompasses only a small number of registered master’s and doctoral students in KwaZulu-Natal, limiting the possibility of generalizing the results to all prospective postgraduate students in South Africa.

South African and Australian higher education sector is facing challenges of fewer females in leadership positions despite policies in place in both countries. The main purpose of this integrative literature was to analyze and compare journal articles related to career development for female academics in South African and Australian higher education institutions to ascertain the challenges faced by women in both countries. South Africa and Australia were chosen for this study due to the differences in cultural background and legislation. Females are still underrepresented in leadership positions both in Australia and South Africa, hence this study investigated the reasons and provided recommendations to improve female academics representation in higher education institutions. A literature review of 15 research papers and journals articles published from 2010-to 2020 was conducted. The keywords “career development for female academics” were searched in three databases namely, Google Scholar, Ebsco-host and Emerald. The results from the literature showed that female career development in Australia is moving at a faster pace than in South Africa. The results also show that in both countries glass ceiling and limited female representation in leadership positions are rife in both countries. Female-only career development programs are essential to promote female development in higher education. As this study is focusing on two different countries on different continents, both countries have a lot to learn from each other in terms of policy implementations to enhance female career development. This article provides an analysis of the trends of female career development in South Africa and Australia. Therefore, from the existing literature for a period of 10 years, a conceptual career development model was developed.

To improve the delivery of services, municipalities in South Africa are implementing information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives. The use of digitalization thus demands municipalities to introduce e-government services. With adequate resources and training, some municipalities also aim to advance their status as smart cities. However, However, not all municipalities are equipped to operate ICT-based services.  The article aims to explore this situation in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (herein referred to as CoE). The article is qualitative in nature and the data collected is analyzed descriptively. The article utilizes the triangulation of data (document review, literature review, interview) to strengthen validity and reliability in the research process. The findings explore the challenges related to leadership in the municipality that requires a willingness to adopt, adapt and implement ICT initiatives for smart governance; ICT infrastructure that requires a municipality to allocate adequate budget to smart governance platforms, training of employees to equip them to operate digitalized processes, to state a few. Overall, the study considers the status and implementation levels of ICT and smart governance in the CoE to be unsatisfactory and requires policy recommendations for effective realization to become a smart city. The article offers policy recommendations emphasizing incorporating ICT in municipal budgets to invest in digital infrastructure.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the challenges encountered by the South African Police services (SAPS) when dealing with 4IR. The study used a qualitative approach because the study wished to obtain practical answers to the problem, as well as the explanations provided by participants who are practitioners in the field and a total of forty (40) police officers were selected to participate in the study. The researcher followed purposive sampling. The reasoning for using purposive sampling is that it is based on the assumptions that the participants have in-depth knowledge in the chosen areas of the study.  The findings of the study are that the local police stations of SAPS Gauteng are where many victims of crimes emerging from 4IR get turned away by officials who do not understand the various cybercrimes, the applicable charges, or how to go about escalating the matter. The study further found that the Government policy seems to prioritize statistics, quotas, and the images they reflect as opposed to the true situation hence crimes emerging from 4IR are poorly understood, prevented, and investigated. The study recommends that IT capacity and resources within SAPS have to be developed in order to ensure that the SAPS in Gauteng province is able to investigate, combat and trace the sophisticated crimes caused by the criminals. The SAPS needs to allocate funds to buy IT equipment, software and headhunt personnel who have skills, knowledge, and capacity to curb, investigate and combat 4IR crimes.

Service delivery protests in the recent past demonstrate the dire state of local government in South Africa. The absence of public sector innovation can be linked to service delivery backlogs hence embracing digital innovations (Internet of Things (IoT), Big data and analytics, cloud, Biometrics, computers, mobile applications, 3D machines) in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is strategic for enhancing municipal service provision and uplifting the living standards of citizens in communities.  The study utilised an explorative qualitative case study design premised on an extensive literature and document review analysis to examine the barriers facing the City of Tshwane from adopting digital innovations in the 4IR. The analysis of documents revealed digital hesitancy, leadership void, lack of innovative research culture, weak municipal preparedness, and digital divide in adopting digital innovations are barriers to digital innovation adoption to enhance service delivery. The paper observes further the lack of systematic and evaluative studies to inform public sector innovation, or growth in digital innovations often led to implementation challenges in the City of Tshwane. Conclusions drawn for the article revealed that adopting digital innovations can be the panacea to accelerating urban service delivery in the City of Tshwane; hence institutional readiness, improved revenue streams, including a stable regulatory and policy environment, are imperatives in achieving a digitalised local government in the 4IR.

This study examined the various leadership styles used at marine services companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. A quantitative structured closed-ended questionnaire was used to gather data from its sample respondent. The target population was 215 employees. However, every second element was selected systematically to produce a sample size of 107. The findings of this study showed that the overwhelming majority of respondents agreed that their managers practice transactional leadership styles. On the other hand, most respondents disagreed that their managers practice laissez-faire and transformational leadership styles. Based on the findings, the company's management should teach and train staff to perform their responsibilities efficiently. Furthermore, the management of the marines services company is advised to be proactive, assist staff, build connections, give resources, and avoid a laissez-faire leadership approach.

This research aims to explore the extent of COVID-19 reporting by the banking sector in a developing economy after the 2020 experience in the absence of known pandemic standards. The subject of this research is the 2021 top six banks from South Africa, a country classified as a developing economy. An unobtrusive research method was employed. Data were collected from the banks’ integrated reports for 2020/2021 depending on the banks’ financial year period. Document analysis was done and a technique of counting and recording the number of mentions for each COVID-19 content or capital category was employed. Findings indicated that Standard Bank, which was ranked top of the six, took the lead in the extent of COVID-19 reporting based on a recently suggested reporting framework that has not yet been contrasted by the rest of the researchers. A correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the bank size and the extent of COVID-19 disclosure by the sampled banks. The study indicated that the top South African banks significantly reported on the COVID-19 pandemic despite the absence of guiding reporting standards. However, there is a need for another study to develop an index that will show different levels of disclosure extent.

This study examined the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the much sought-after regional economic integration using Southern Africa as a case study. The eruption of COVID-19 stifled world economic activities and unleashed economic uncertainties.  First, the disease forced countries into imposing restrictions that included total closure of businesses and borders and travel bans that resulted in reduced economic activity among countries. Second, Africa was expected to suffer economic reverse of between -2% to -5% in 2020 due to a sharp decline in output growth. This has had adverse implications on trade and financial markets across the region and scuppers the ambitions for regional economic integration. Using a desktop approach the study critiqued and analysed the literature on regional integration and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prospects for enhanced regional economic integration. The findings revealed that COVID-19 plunged the prospects of regional economic integration into disarray. Owing to imposed restrictions business slumped, trade declined, poverty deepened and vulnerability of populations increased cumulatively negating the quest for regional integration. The study concludes that to manage the aftermath of COVID-19, regional economic coordination should be encouraged. 

Sometimes, teachers or instructors find it challenging to understand or achieve a democratic education without compromising the quality pedagogical process. Hence, this study is conceptualised around the principles of emancipatory pedagogy as a tool to ensure effective classrooms democracy across levels of classrooms. This study answers the following question: how can emancipatory pedagogy be presented as an effective tool to implement a democratic classroom? This study locates its argument within a transformative worldview and adopts a conceptual analysis to interpret emancipatory pedagogy as a conceptual framework for the study. Emancipatory pedagogy, its assumptions, and how they informed democratic classrooms were argued with the conclusion that emancipatory pedagogy is a dimension of effective and democratic classrooms because both concepts promote critical thinking and social justice among students, develop a personal connection with learning and create an atmosphere for freedom of knowledge construction among students. The study recommends that teachers or instructors interested in implementing democratic education/classrooms adopt the assumptions of emancipatory pedagogy by tailoring their classrooms towards promoting critical thinking skills, development of personal connection with learning, and freedom to enable students to construct knowledge of their own.

The father’s involvement in their children’s life is often defined by economical and psychological support, those without adequate financial muscle are often denied 1) parental contact and 2) responsibilities. The noted unjustified perceptions fail to contemplate historic socio-economic and psychosocial factors affecting fathers’ roles and related expectations. Therefore, the objective of this study was aimed at accentuating psychosocial and economic challenges faced by young fathers in assuming parental responsibilities, focusing on South African case studies. The applied methodology was based on ‘non-empirical research design: Systematic Review,’ documentary sources were qualitatively [Purposively] sampled from the search engines such as ‘Google scholar, South African Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) portal, Jstor, Sabinet, and EbcoHost,’ using keywords/phrases related to the subject under research to filter relevant data, restricted to 2003-2022. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) analyzed the collected data. The primary finding of this study revealed that [Some] young fathers are faced with parental exclusions owing to the financial instability of compensating and supporting them. Moreover, they also experience psychological distress and resort to criminal activities to find means of supporting their children. The underlined conclusion suggests that society should allow fatherly responsibilities to be catered on children without placing more pressure on them (Fathers’), their financial standards should be respected at all costs. Programs strictly advocating for children’s contact with their non-residential fathers to encourage their [Fathers] positive involvement and focus on children’s needs across South African communities should be urgently staged.

Undoubtedly, stock theft increased in most South African provinces during the lockdown period, thus, the objectives of this study were to provide a systematic discourse using news aggregators and seminal authors on this subject to showcase stock theft realities, and to establish the contributory factors thereof. The non-empirical research design: Systematic review methodology was used to analyse grey literature and primary research studies peer-reviewed and published, restricted from 2019-2020, as the Coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19) pandemic swept South Africa by an elusive heavy storm, with 1998-2022 directed studies on this scourge, however, none sequential preference was adopted. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Critical Appraisal Skill Programme (CASP) were employed to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings of this study. This study establishes that the current nature of policing in South Africa is regarded as one of the notable root causes of the stock theft problem and this crime will continue to hike during the lockdown and post-lockdown periods if concerted steps are not taken urgently by the top echelons of the South African Police Service (SAPS), their actions against this practice is currently compromised or emasculated, and the consequences are clear to see. This study recommends that to effectively respond to the identified study themes; an active discourse relating to the contributory of stock theft during lockdown should be prioritised by the South African government. This multi-agency approach should include reporting of this crime, brand-marking and tattooing of livestock, embracing technological advancements to combat it effectively.

This article examines the potential of space science technology for water infrastructure (WI) management. It defines space technology in detail, and when South Africa (SA) started using it as a tool. To explain the context, the different types of orbits, altitudes, and functions of satellites are given, as well as the challenges that satellites encounter in orbit, including the quantity and sizes of orbital debris also known as space junk. The article articulates the international and local challenges to WI and further introduces space technology as a tool that can assist to overcome the challenges. Legislation governing the application of space technology in SA is discussed and the different satellites owned by the various space agencies of Africa are outlined. A discussion on how space technology has boosted the economies and employment in Africa and South Africa is provided. How the various applications of the technology, such as remote sensing (RS), Earth observation (Eo), Geo-Information sciences, navigation, communication, safety, and security can assist WI management are discussed. Details about the involvement of various African and SA universities and colleges in space science programmes that benefit the communities are explained. Also outlined are some experiments performed on the International Space Station (ISS) that benefit the Earth and that could be useful to WI management.

Over the three decades, the democratic dispensation ushered in transformative constitutionalism which is an ideal model to anchor constitutionalism and respect for human rights in South Africa. Female offenders are the key informants of this study, as they are the end-users of the rehabilitation programmes that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) offers. A qualitative technique was used for this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 10 female ex-offenders, who have been enrolled in rehabilitative programmes were selected using purposive sampling to explore their experiences and or views. The findings of this study indicate that lack of offense-specific programmes s results in recidivism and offenders re-entering the correctional system to repeat the same programmes to meet their parole requirements. Furthermore, highlighted in the findings is the magnitude of the lack of understanding among most criminal justice professionals regarding the actual need for the programmes earmarked for female offenders. The risk factors of female offending identified within this study include poverty, anger, and drug use. Although the DCS has firm policy documents in place, implementing these has failed the offenders and negatively impacted recidivism rates.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) Training College, Paarl is facing challenges to reward, motivate and ensure service delivery at the Academy. In any organisation, employees are working to provide service to both internal and external clients for this it is important to take care of employees because they are interacting with these clients. Thus, a cardinal question is how can organisations retain and motivate employees in order to offer a quality service to their clients? The aim of this study was to determine the influence between rewards, motivation and service quality at the SAPS Training College, Paarl. Semi-structured interviews with 10 managers and supervisors utilizing purposive sampling were conducted. The findings revealed that participants at the Training College, Paarl are motivated by only intrinsic as the morale is slow due to a lack of extrinsic factors with particular emphasis on pay or remuneration. Lack of recognition or perceived favouritism with the SAPS where rewards are not linked to performance was identified to be the best de-motivating factor for employees at the SAPS Training College, Paarl. The quality of academic services has a significant effect on the consumer behavior of customers, the students.

Social media is considered a double-edged sword, with both positive and negative effects. A qualitative research approach was adopted to explore the extent to which and the ways in which South African police use social media in the study area. The findings were collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 participants comprising the South African Police Service (SAPS) officials in the Giyani Cluster policing area. The findings indicate that criminals in the Limpopo Province use social media to commit crimes in the country, other countries in Africa, and elsewhere. The findings also indicate that social media is used to bring positive attention to law enforcement agencies and aid in criminal investigations. Although the positive impact of social media was highlighted in these experiences, persistent problems and challenges also featured in the data. Finally, officer insights were drawn upon to make recommendations for future policing policy and research. This paper concludes that social media as a tool can be utilised in terms of data gathering, prediction and spotting broader patterns, for combating organised crime by the SAPS.