University of South Africa

About: University of South Africa is a education organization based out in Pretoria, South Africa. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Population. The organization has 8478 authors who have published 19960 publications receiving 237688 citations. The organization is also known as: Unisa.

The viability of informal microenterprise in south africa

Abstract: This paper analyzes entrepreneurs in South Africa‘s informal sector. The aim is to determine the extent to which African informal retail trade spawns viable enterprises. To assess the prospects for South Africa‘s informal retail sector, questionnaires were obtained from owners of small-scale establishments in random sample taken throughout the country in 2007. Owner salary and sales data provide a lens to understand viability. Regression analysis tests hypotheses identified as crucial to higher income and sales, including access to capital, size, male/female ownership, business training, and the proximity shopping centers. Also tested is the influence of urbanization externalities on sales and owner income. Access to capital and positive urban externalities have a strong influence on the ability to generate a sustainable livelihood for informal entrepreneurs. After controlling for startup capital, it appears that women entrepreneurs face distinct difficulties in generating a viable income through informal retail trade.

The Impact of the Use of Energy Sources on the Quality of Life of Poor Communities

Abstract: Over the last few decades, the energy literature has been dominated by a theory of transition. The theory of transition is based on the notion that households gradually ascend an ‘energy ladder’, which begins with traditional biomass fuels (firewood and charcoal), moves through modern commercial fuels (kerosene and liquid petroleum gas (LPG)) and culminates with the advent of electricity. The ascent of the ‘energy body’, though not fully understood, is thought to be associated with rising income and increasing levels of urbanisation. Empirical evidence on energy and poverty issues has been to suggest that reality is rather more complex than the simple transitional theory would appear to suggest. To choose an appropriate set of indicators to measure the impact of electrification, this paper takes three basic different perspectives on human welfare, namely, basic needs, monetary, and non-monetary into consideration. According to the basic needs approach, welfare relates to people’s ability to satisfy their basic material needs. In the monetary approach it is a generally accepted view that the purchasing power of the household provides the best overall indicator of welfare. According to the non-monetary approach there has been a trend towards complementing economic measures of deprivation with non-monetary measures to obtain a multidimensional view of human well being, particularly by tracking health and education indicators. In the rest of the paper the two primary research projects conducted in two provinces in South Africa, namely KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, will be discussed. The one research project is still in process. However, the methodology will be discussed. In this project a comparison will be made of households’ experiences in villages with and without electricity to see if and to what extent electrification contributed to the welfare of the communities. In the second project households were interviewed about their experiences in the use of paraffin as source of energy.

Algorithm for the instantaneous frequency estimation using time-frequency distributions with adaptive window width

Abstract: A method for the minimization of mean square error of the instantaneous frequency estimation using time-frequency distributions, in the case of a discrete optimization parameter, is presented. It does not require knowledge of the estimation bias. The method is illustrated on the adaptive window length determination in the Wigner distribution.

Psychological career resources and subjective work experiences of working adults: an exploratory study

Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the psychological career resources (as measured by the Psychological Career Resources Inventory) and the subjective work experiences of a sample of working adults (as measured by a fouritem global work experiences scale). The research also aimed to explore broad trends regarding how the participants diff ered on these variables in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics (marital status, educational level, age, gender and race). A sample of 2 997 working adults, registered as students at a South African higher distance education institution, participated in this study. Stepwise regression analyses indicated dimensions of psychological career resources as signifi cant predictors of the four subjective work experiences: life satisfaction, job/career satisfaction, happiness and perceptions of work as a valuable activity. The results further indicated signifi cant diff erences between participants with regard to their socio-demographic characteristics and their psychological career resources and subjective work experiences. Considering that the employment equity context in South Africa contributes to a more diversifi ed workforce, the fi ndings add valuable new knowledge that can be used to inform organisational career development practices concerned with promoting experiences of psychological career success.

Is there an independent association between parity and maternal weight gain

Abstract: SummaryThe independent associations between parity and maternal body mass index (BMI), and between parity and maternal weight gain, were investigated using a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses based on a retrospective, repeat-pregnancy study that examined the change in maternal body weight from the beginning of one pregnancy to the beginning of the next. A group of 523 multiparous women who had been weighed regularly during pregnancy, and none of whom had fallen pregnant less than 12 months after the birth of their previous child, were examined. Sociodemographic, behavioural, medical, obstetric and perinatal data, together with antenatal measurements of maternal body weight and height, were abstracted from each mother's obstetric notes. Parity was found to be independently associated with maternal BMI (p < 0·001), gestational weight gain (p < 0·001) and interpregnancy weight gain (p = 0·032). Women of different parities were found to be at differential risk of long-term weight gain f...