University of Johannesburg

About: University of Johannesburg is a education organization based out in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 8070 authors who have published 22749 publications receiving 329408 citations. The organization is also known as: UJ.

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution of Homo docens

Abstract: Teaching is present in all human societies, while within other species it is very limited. Something happened during the evolution of Homo sapiens that also made us Homo docens—the teaching animal. ...

Governance and support in the sponsoring of projects and programs

Abstract: Several factors have combined to draw attention to the importance of sponsoring projects and programs. One factor is that after several decades of attempting to improve success rates of projects by focusing on project-based management and the project manage- ment competence of practitioners, convincing evidence demonstrates that success or failure of projects is not entirely within the control of the proj- ect manager and project team. Contextual issues are crucial in influencing the progress and outcomes of projects, and a key theme that has emerged is the importance of top management support. Another fac- tor that has drawn attention to the sponsorship role is increased focus on corporate governance resulting from numerous high-profile corporate collapses, which have highlighted the need for accountability, transparency, and the ability to implement strategy. The sponsorship role provides the critical link between corporate and project governance and is important in ensuring that governance requirements are met and that support is provided to projects and programs. This article reports on research designed to address both formal and informal aspects of the sponsorship role and to provide guidance to organi- zations and professional organizations by defining the role and responsibilities of the sponsor within corporate and project governance frameworks and identifying the characteristics of effective perform- ance of the sponsor role. First, the role of sponsor- ship in the governance context is introduced; this is followed by a review of the literature relating to the sponsorship role, including its treatment in project and general management literature and in standards. The research methodology was specifically designed to take a holistic view of the sponsorship role, by examining the role in its project/program and organi- zational context and ensuring inclusion of views and experiences of sponsors as well as those of project managers, team members, and other stakeholders. A qualitative approach was adopted, focusing on a small number of case-study organizations and proj- ects/programs enabling researchers to gain a rich understanding of the environment in which the role of the sponsor is realized. Over 108 interviews relat- ing to 36 projects/programs in nine organizations from five geographic regions (Australia, China, Europe, North America, and South Africa) were recorded, transcribed, and then coded by the five researchers involved in the study. A priori codes derived from five preliminary studies were used for primary coding of the data. As the transcripts were coded, the researchers reviewed the data for emer- gent themes that might suggest additional codes. Analysis of the literature and the extensive qualita- tive data led to the development of a conceptual model for making sense of the sponsor's role. This model reflects the differing perspectives that may exist at the interface of the act of governing the proj- ect, which requires that the project be looked at from the perspective of the parent organization (gover- nance), and the act of providing top management support, which requires looking at the parent organi- zation from the perspective of the project (support). Under differing circumstances, the sponsor may need to emphasize the provision of governance, or support, or both. Utilizing this conceptual model, sec- ondary codes were created reflecting quotations per- taining to governance, support, and behaviors of sponsors. Review of quotations provided a rich illus- tration of the governance and support aspects of the sponsorship role and gave substance to effective behaviors, which led to the discovery of useful oppor- tunities for connection with mainstream general management literature to further enhance under- standing. The conceptual model has significant potential to provide organizations and sponsors with guidance in understanding and defining the effective contextual conduct of the sponsorship role.

Extinction risk and diversification are linked in a plant biodiversity hotspot.

Abstract: It is widely recognized that we are entering an extinction event on a scale approaching the mass extinctions seen in the fossil record. Present-day rates of extinction are estimated to be several orders of magnitude greater than background rates and are projected to increase further if current trends continue. In vertebrates, species traits, such as body size, fecundity, and geographic range, are important predictors of vulnerability. Although plants are the basis for life on Earth, our knowledge of plant extinctions and vulnerabilities is lagging. Here, we disentangle the underlying drivers of extinction risk in plants, focusing on the Cape of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot. By comparing Red List data for the British and South African floras, we demonstrate that the taxonomic distribution of extinction risk differs significantly between regions, inconsistent with a simple, trait-based model of extinction. Using a comprehensive phylogenetic tree for the Cape, we reveal a phylogenetic signal in the distribution of plant extinction risks but show that the most threatened species cluster within short branches at the tips of the phylogeny—opposite to trends in mammals. From analyzing the distribution of threatened species across 11 exemplar clades, we suggest that mode of speciation best explains the unusual phylogenetic structure of extinction risks in plants of the Cape. Our results demonstrate that explanations for elevated extinction risk in plants of the Cape flora differ dramatically from those recognized for vertebrates. In the Cape, extinction risk is higher for young and fast-evolving plant lineages and cannot be explained by correlations with simple biological traits. Critically, we find that the most vulnerable plant species are nonetheless marching towards extinction at a more rapid pace but, surprisingly, independently from anthropogenic effects. Our results have important implications for conservation priorities and cast doubts on the utility of current Red List criteria for plants in regions such as the Cape, where speciation has been rapid, if our aim is to maximize the preservation of the tree-of-life.