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.

Why don't all maths teachers use dynamic geometry software in their classrooms?

Abstract: In this exploratory study, we sought to examine the influence of mathematics teachers' beliefs on their intended and actual usage of dynamic mathematics software in their classrooms. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) were used to examine the influence of teachers' attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control on their intention to use dynamic mathematics software in their classrooms. The study adopted the co-relational research design, with both correlation statistics and regression analysis used to analyse the data. By using stepwise regression analysis, it was possible to identify the most important belief predictors and their weights for the different constructs. The results were verified by the use of partial least squares. This study found that beliefs about the perceived usefulness and beliefs about their level of technological proficiency are the most important predictors of teachers' intended and actual usage of the software. In this preliminary study the suggested simplified model sufficiently explains 15 (83.3%) of the 18 teachers adaption and use of dynamic mathematics software in their classrooms.

Information society and digital divide in South Africa: results of longitudinal surveys

Abstract: Integration into the information society implies that information plays an increasingly important role in all sectors of society and holds distinct social and economic benefits. Discourses on the information society are, however, also associated with the digital divide and inequalities in access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Within sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa is often regarded as one of the most information-integrated societies due to widespread mobile phone ownership, among other things. However, while ICT access has been emphasized, research also points to the role of demographic, socio-economic and cultural factors such as ethnicity, income, education and gender. This article discusses the results of questionnaire surveys conducted by Afrobarometer among probability South African samples in 2008 and 2011. The results indicate that individual Internet use and mobile Internet access were lower than estimated in the literature. Furthermore, gender gaps, as well as c...

Burnout, work engagement and sense of coherence in female academics in higher-education institutions in South Africa

Abstract: Orientation: Female academics in higher-education institutions face numerous challenges in the continuously changing landscape of South African higher education. Mergers, increasing job demands, ever-increasing class sizes and role conflict inherent in the female role contribute extensively to the manifestation of stress and burnout in this population group. Research purpose: This research was conducted from a salutogenic paradigm, seeking to find ways of avoiding the negative consequences of burnout and contributing towards the positive experience of work engagement for the female academic. The research also explored the effect of the individual academic’s sense of coherence (SOC) on her experience of burnout and work engagement. Research design, approach and method: The research was quantitative in nature. A psychometric instrument was sent to all the permanently employed female academics at Unisa and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), measuring their levels of burnout, work engagement and SOC. The completed questionnaires were statistically analysed. Main findings: The findings included average levels of burnout, with definite signs that the experience of burnout is on the increase. The cynicism sub-dimension of burnout showed increased levels, work engagement scores were just above average and SOC scores were low. Practical/managerial implications: This article offers a psychological interpretation of the variables in the target group. The article contributes towards the body of research studies conducted from a positive psychological paradigm and, specifically, on the female gender. Contribution/value-add: The main recommendations are that university management needs to take cognisance of the alarming symptoms of burnout present in the population under discussion. Strategies are recommended to address these and to nurture work engagement.

Radiative Transfer Effects in He I Emission Lines

Abstract: We consider the effect of optical depth of the 2 ^{3}S level on the nebular recombination spectrum of He I for a spherically symmetric nebula with no systematic velocity gradients. These calculations, using many improvements in atomic data, can be used in place of the earlier calculations of Robbins. We give representative Case B line fluxes for UV, optical, and IR emission lines over a range of physical conditions: T=5000-20000 K, n_{e}=1-10^{8} cm^{-3}, and tau_{3889}=0-100. A FORTRAN program for calculating emissivities for all lines arising from quantum levels with n < 11 is also available from the authors. We present a special set of fitting formulae for the physical conditions relevant to low metallicity extragalactic H II regions: T=12,000-20,000 K, n_{e}=1-300 cm^{-3}, and tau_{3889} < 2.0. For this range of physical conditions, the Case B line fluxes of the bright optical lines 4471 A, 5876 A, and 6678 A, are changed less than 1%, in agreement with previous studies. However, the 7065 A corrections are much smaller than those calculated by Izotov & Thuan based on the earlier calculations by Robbins. This means that the 7065 A line is a better density diagnostic than previously thought. Two corrections to the fitting functions calculated in our previous work are also given.

What Drives Financial Innovations in Kenya’s Commercial Banks? An Empirical Study on Firm and Macro-Level Drivers of Branchless Banking

Abstract: This paper examines the firm- and macro-level drivers of financial innovations in Kenya’s commercial banks. We focus on branchless banking innovations, namely: mobile banking, agency banking, inter...