WIReDSpace

Welcome to WIReDSpace (Wits Institutional Repository on DSpace)

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Communities in WIReDSpace

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 19

Recent Submissions

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    Birth Freedom: Healing Architecture’s Impact on the Experience of Childbirth and Healthcare Through a Community Maternity Centre in Alberton
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025-02) Grobler, Leonie; Szentesi, Anita
    This research explores the topic of childbirth and maternal health care in a community context where such facilities are lacking in focus and accessibility. The study explores the narratives of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period through the lenses of phenomenological experience, feminist theory, and healing. Its focus lies in how these concepts can shape the design of maternal healthcare architecture. The aim is to research and design a community health care centre that focusses primarily on aspects surrounding childbirth, and secondarily, aspects of female reproductive healthcare and family planning. The intervention aims to challenge the clinical nature of healthcare, improve accessibility to quality and affordable healthcare, and give women freedom over their reproductive healthcare choices. The site of the study is within the town of Alberton, located South of Johannesburg, in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. The goal of the research study is the development of a birthing centre model that serves as an alternative option to existing clinical birth settings which are part of larger hospitals. Research will be conducted through site analysis, contextual analysis, data analysis, theoretical and architectural research and precedent studies. This information will be used to guide the design process and develop a resolved building. This research project consists of two parts, a research report, and a set of design drawings, which will be combined into a single thesis document.
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    Exploring the use of ICT in a TVET College Course: Towards Blended Learning in Automotive Repair and Maintenance
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021-04) Morudu, Koketso; Naiker, Vasidevan S.
    Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges are an avenue that allows individuals to develop knowledge and skills for a specific trade. These skills are aimed at supporting social and economic development, creating national wealth in an attempt to eradicate poverty. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET, 2014), TVET institutions play a fundamental role in developing knowledgeable and highly skilled citizens, who will be able to contribute effectively to the social, political and economic development of South Africa. The study sought to explore the use of ICT in a TVET College course towards blended learning in Automotive Repair and Maintenance (ARM). The study reports that lecturers have sufficient knowledge of ICTs and how to use them for successful knowledge construction towards blended learning in ARM, however they are disadvantaged due to lack of resources. Existing literature provides various factors that give advantages and disadvantages towards the difficulties of acquiring knowledge in ARM. The study aimed to explore the current instructional practices in ARM lecturers offering NC (V) level 3 and 4, in an attempt to see if and how they used blended learning in the instruction of ARM. Furthermore, to discover how lecturers use their subject expertise to ascertain that maximum results are produced within the College and that the full potential of students is reached. The study made use of qualitative research methods and purposive sampling was used to select six ARM lecturers who offer NC (V) level 3 and 4. The study employed the use of Semi structured (open-ended) telephonic interviews. Additionally, the study made use of the TPACK framework and utilized some competencies within TPACK as it “emerged as a useful construct for researchers working to understand technology integration in learning and teaching” (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). The key research findings arising from the study reveal that TVET lecturers attempted to use technology to support and enhance their teaching practices and students’ learning, however the issue of resources came as a big challenge, hence it is a challenge to integrate ICTs to enable blended learning. Furthermore, the study concluded that lecturers’ usage of technology was constrained by inadequate resources, and also lecturers needed an exposure to alternative pedagogical theories and practice rather than traditional methods of instruction. The study recommends that to improve ICT integration towards blended learning, there is a need to provide professional development activities related to the use of technology to update lecturers’ skills and knowledge, and offer technical support when needed. Furthermore, there should be continuous and periodic training and retraining of lecturers in order for them to be in line with recent technological developments within ARM.
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    Open innovation and transformative leadership in small and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Kinuthia, Ruth Wanja
    Open innovation, as presented by Henry Chesbrough in 2003, has been extensively explored in the context of large corporations in industrialized economies. Studies that have been done focusing on the adoption of open innovation in small and medium enterprises have mainly focused on SMEs in developed economies. In order to further explore this practice under different geographical and firm conditions, this research is dedicated to examining the drivers, benefits, and challenges of open innovation adoption by SMEs in developing economies, with a major focus on Africa and specifically Kenya. The study focuses on 10 small and medium enterprises from three industrial sectors, namely manufacturing, retail and ICT. Of these 10, five SMEs will be selected from the ICT sector, three from manufacturing, and two from retail. Admitting that a favorable internal environment is necessary and important in enabling productivity and innovation in an organization, this study seeks to analyze the significance of transformational leadership in driving open innovation. Specifically, it explores how transformational leadership influences employee engagement, productivity and its subsequent impact on open innovation adoption in SMEs. A qualitative methodology was employed, utilizing semi-structured interviews which on one hand interacted with leaders and the other with employees using a sample of 10 Kenyan SMEs. Thematic analysis of the collected data revealed significant insights into the interplay between leadership style, employee engagement, and innovation adoption. Findings highlight the pivotal role of transformational leadership in fostering an environment favorable to open innovation which comes by cultivating trust, motivation, and cooperation between employees. These results contribute to the growing body of knowledge on open innovation and offer practical implications for SMEs in developing economies aiming to enhance their innovative capabilit
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    Remote work employee productivity in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Khobane, Thembi; Gobind, Jenika
    The concept of remote work has become a popular buzzword, yet its impact on productivity remained an unanswered question. The pandemic gave companies the opportunity to adopt remote work on a larger scale, leading to a significant increase in the number of employees working from home in South Africa. This study examined remote work impact on employee productivity, delving into the challenges, and factors contributing into feasibility of remote work in South Africa. The purpose of this research was to investigate the productivity levels of remote based employees in South Africa. There was a perception that remote work resulted in different levels of productivity, and this research aimed to understand if the perception was correct and further investigated this assumption. This qualitative study is underpinned by the TOE framework and employed a phenomenological approach to capture the lived experiences of remote workers. Through in-depth interviews, the purposively selected participants were able to share their personal insights and perspectives, providing a deeper understanding of the challenges, benefits, and complexities of working remotely. By using this method, the research aimed to give voice to the experiences of those directly affected by remote work, offering a rich and detailed account of how it affects their daily lives and influences productivity. The key findings from the study reveal that while remote work offers certain advantages, such as flexibility and elimination of daily travel to the office, it also presents challenges like feelings of isolation and technology challenges such as poor network connections and load shedding pose as a significant risk for the success of remote work. Employee well-being, in particular, emerges as a critical factor that significantly affects employee’s productivity, with positive mental well- being being linked to higher productivity, and poor mental health potentially leading to decreased productivity. This study offers valuable insights into the significant impact remote work has on employee productivity and emphasizes the importance of maintaining positive mental well-being to ensure ongoing productivity. It further contributes to the body iii of knowledge on changing perceptions of remote work productivity in South Africa. Additionally, the study explores the factors and challenges affecting remote workers and assesses the feasibility of remote work in South Africa
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    The impact of interest rates shocks on Namibia`s Treasury bonds pricing
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Kaxuxuena, Kunehafo Kombwana
    This study investigates the impact of interest rate shocks—caused by rising inflation, currency depreciation, and global commodity price fluctuations—on Namibian Treasury bonds. Using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model and Impulse Response Functions (IRFs), the research analyses how bond prices and yields respond to sudden interest rate shocks. The findings reveal that fixed-rate bonds, such as GC24, tend to react sharply and negatively to interest rate increases, especially during the first month. Conversely, inflation-linked bonds initially show a positive response to rate hikes, which is contrary to typical expectations; this suggests that during the study period, increases in the repo rate were perceived by investors as signals of rising inflation, leading to increased demand for inflation-protected securities. The study also finds that interest rate shocks significantly raise bond yields and borrowing costs, posing challenges to long-term debt sustainability for Namibia. Variance decomposition results indicate that short-term bond yield fluctuations are mainly driven by past yield shocks, while long-term movements are increasingly influenced by macroeconomic fundamentals and policy variables. Overall, the research highlights the importance of strengthening Namibia's bond market resilience and emphasizes the need for informed monetary and fiscal policy coordination. These insights are crucial for policymakers aiming to manage debt sustainability, stabilize markets, and develop bond instruments better equipped to absorb economic shocks.