Browsing by Author "Zhuwao, Patrick"

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Harnessing digital transformation to build social-ecological-systems resilience into institutional arrangements of agricultural transformation
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Zhuwao, Patrick; Armstrong, Brian
This study had the transformative purpose of exploring how to harness digital transformation to integrate small-scale farmers into commercial value chains and markets to effect agricultural transformation like how platform business models integrate small-scale players into commercial value chains and markets whilst fundamentally restructuring industries. Agricultural transformation is constrained by current institutional arrangements for agriculture as a complex social-ecological-system (SES). The critical social sciences study qualitatively explored how to build SES resilience into institutional arrangements for Gauteng’s high value horticulture to stimulate the emergence of new trajectories to create new SES regimes that result in agricultural transformation. The study’s multi-case participatory action research design with small-scale farmers utilised digital transformation as a conceptual framework. The study finds and submits that agricultural transformation, an aspirational concept steeped in historical analyses, ignores current realities most important of which is that the smallness of small-scale farmers is a major inhibitor to agricultural transformation. This thesis proposes reconceptualising agricultural transformation as digitally enabled agricultural transformation to address agricultural transformation’s scale and currency challenges. The study utilised platform business models to develop an architecture for a hybrid agricultural industry multi- sided marketplace super-app platform that can be built through the study’s proposed digital agriculture disruption framework.
THE INSTITUTIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE IN GWEBI MANYAME INTENSIVE CONSERVATION AREA (GMICA)
(2013-10-10) Zhuwao, Patrick
Farmers in GMICA continue to crop small plots using conservation agriculture whilst devoting most of their land to conventional farming practices. This qualitative study has determined that the institutions and institutional arrangements for conservation agriculture have resulted in a manual conservation farming model, based on planting basins, whose impact is higher yields at lower costs than conventional farming practices such that more farmers are adopting conservation farming. Conservation farming is informed and guided by an agricultural relief paradigm and a top down approach to the creation, sharing and utilization of conservation agriculture knowledge. The study has concluded that the institutions and institutional arrangements are limiting and constraining the growth of the area under conservation agriculture for the individual farmer. The study recommends that alternative approaches be developed that enable the creation of innovation networks and systems which incorporate participatory approaches for moving from conventional farming practices to conservation agriculture.
The feasibility of telemedicine based consultation in the primary healthcare sector in Johannesburg
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Mistry, Karishma Jivan; Wotela, Kambidima; Zhuwao, Patrick
Healthcare system in South Africa is overburdened and telemedicine is considered a useful tool to make quality healthcare more accessible. In South Africa, regulations imposed by Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and restricted access to technological, educational, economic and sociocultural factors has limited the ease of accessing and using telemedicine. In order for telemedicine to gain prominence, it needs to be integrated into everyday practice and be seen as an alternative to face-to-face consultation. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a combination of factors, in the context of Covid-19 pandemic, namely telemedicine as an engaging platform, seeking written or verbal informed consent for clinical procedures and using information and communication technology (ICT) and availability and knowledge of electronic resources to conduct virtual consultation. In addition, the method used to store patient information was examined to understand the prominence it has in the context of telemedicine. A quantitative, cross-sectional research strategy was used to collect data from 80 family physicians practicing in either private, state or both sectors. This study reported that a large number of participants have used some form of telemedicine, although only one third use it daily. On average the study population reported to agree that telemedicine is an engaging platform, but half the respondents found that the explanation concerning the disease or treatment is not better. Verbal consent is used more than written consent for activities relating to clinical examination or when using ICT. While, majority of the respondents indicated that they do have an electronic device to implement telemedicine consultation, only half the respondents had access to quality broadband network. The study also reported that about two-thirds of the respondents reported to stored patient information manually. Overall, more attention is required to make the functionality of telemedicine more noticeable. Telemedicine may not be valued so much when there is good health infrastructure, however, when health infrastructure is poor, telemedicine is unable to stand on its own. Hence, associated economic, education and socio cultural factors needs to be evaluated further so that behavioural barriers are reduced and telemedicine is used more frequently
The impact of fourth industrial revolutions' digital influence on negotiation in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mbonambi, Sandile; Zhuwao, Patrick
The aim of the study was to assess the nature of change arising from the digitalisation of negotiations and evaluate the implications of these digital transformations on negotiations. To achieve this aim, a study was conducted on a sample of N = 43 participants from the KwaZulu Natal Department of Health (KZN DOH). Data was collected through self-developed instruments to measure both negotiation and digitalisation. A quantitative methodology was adopted with descriptive, correlation and regression analyses used to analyse data. The results of the study revealed that generally, negotiations were an important part of the organisational process in the KZN DOH and that digitalisation was generally high. Digitalisation was found to have a significant positive impact on negotiations. The implication of these findings is that the KZN DOH needs to invest in digital technologies in order to enhance the quality and level of negotiations in the organisation. While every effort was taken to ensure that this study is valid and that its findings added value to the KZN DOH, the study still had some limitations. Firstly, this study was quantitative therefore it was not possible to enquire into the reasons why participants would have rated a statement in a way they did. In future, researchers may need to adopt either a mixed method or a qualitative design to deal with limitations of a quantitative design. In addition, the study was cross-sectional, meaning the responses were solicited at a particular point in time. That implies that whatever happened before or after the study could not be captured. In future, a longitudinal study would need to be adopted to account for changes in negotiation and digitalisation before and after the cross sectional period