Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Lesotho National Development Corporation'

Mini-study project (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) has been undertaken by many organisations with the hope of dramatically improving their competitive position. In most cases however, this undertaking has been a failure. For the success of the BPR, organisational and people issues are of critical importance and cannot be overlooked, as often is the case. Many organisations have not recognised the fundamental need of fully addressing the "soft people issues" during their re-engineering exercises. The ability of the Management team and Management Consultants to filter through these soft issues is of critical importance to the success of the BPR. This study discusses leadership as the first topical issue. Within the parenthesis of LNDC, it then explores the leadership skills required by management of this institution. Leadership is intensely studied from the traits models, situational, consistency models to the transformational leadership styles. Change leadership forms an important basis of the discussions. Organisational culture is one important aspect that has to be considered during change initiative. Crafting and creating appropriate organisational culture forms the centrepiece of leaders' consideration during organisational change. The ability of a leader to create shared values within the organisation leads to building a strong corporate culture that distinguishes between organisations. The McKinsey's seven S model provides a firm framework for most changing organisations. This model illustrates how the soft, yet important issues powerfully impact the BPR process. All of these namely, strategy, structure, systems, style, skills, staff and shared values, are equally important and if any one of them is not properly aligned with the rest, the whole change process may become a failure. This model impacts all seven S's of the organisational dimension and is driven by strategy. Communication on the other hand forms another important element of the discussions. This study shows that without proper communication during organisational change, the whole change process can become a complete failure. The ability of a leader to disseminate intended information appropriately to the employees requires one to have skills and communication methods that are applicable to that particular organisational setting. After undertaking a survey at the LNDC, the researcher concluded that management, at this corporation lacks leadership skills necessary for managing change in an organisation. Recommendations have been made suggesting that the either the CEO be replaced or trained in leadership skills. This would help the organisation to successfully implement the intended change process.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming

This study aims to capture the challenges and tensions that arise in donor funded curriculum projects in Lesotho. Through an interpretive case study research design I investigated these challenges and tensions in two projects relevant to Education for Sustainable Development, namely the Lesotho Environmental Support Project (LEESP) and the Population/Family Education (POP/FLE) projects which are donor funded curriculum projects funded by DANIDA and UNFPA respectively. A review of donor funded curriculum projects in the field of environmental education/Education for Sustainable Development was undertaken to provide background and a theoretical context for the study. It highlighted different challenges and implementation tensions experienced by other similar projects in other countries. At the heart of such projects lies a particular political economy, which is based on development assistance to poor countries. Such development assistance is constructed around concepts of need, participation and innovation, and donor-recipient relationships. It is structured around a system of governance and management that normally uses logical framework planning as its main methodology. This political economy has shaped the two donor funded projects that were considered in this study, and has shaped many of the tensions and challenges identified in the study. To investigate the two projects, data for this study was generated through in-depth interviews, document analysis and focus group interviews, with people who had been involved with the projects at the national level. The data generation process did not involve the schools where the projects were ultimately implemented, as it was seeking to identify how local institutions such as the National Curriculum Development Centre could support better synergies between donor funded initiatives and the local context. The findings of the study revealed the ambivalent nature of donor initiatives, and identified that the political economy and donor-recipient relations influence the projects. Aspects such as the design and management of projects, the processes associated with introducing innovation in educational ideas and paradigms, pedagogical issues, and staff contributions and ownership were identified as some of the key tensions that existed in the projects. Other factors such as poor capacity levels of local staff, non-alignment with existing structures, inadequate sustainability mechanisms and the difficulty of the envisaged integration of new paradigm thinking (methods and approaches) into the existing curriculum framework were also significant tensions, given the positivist history of the Lesotho curriculum. The study recommends the need to establish mechanisms for working with donors to tackle the tensions that arise in such projects within longer-term donor assistance. It proposes that government should expedite the development of policy on donor coordination. Both donors and the NCDC need to put mechanisms in place to allow for debate and discussions on innovations brought in by the donors in relation to local needs. The study further recommends that in cases where more than one donor exists, the NCDC and the donors should work towards developing synergies between the different initiatives to avoid duplication and overlap. Finally, there is a need for projects to use bottom-up approaches for the design and formulation of projects to ensure ownership.

Background and motivation: This thesis was prompted by the deteriorating health and economic status in Lesotho. The country is experiencing the double burden of disease including HIVIAIDS, communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as micronutrient deficiencies. The situation is compounded by the prevailing food insecurity due to climatic shocks and stresses surging through Southern Africa. The deteriorating health burden is drawing heavily on limited resources in the country. As a medium term measure towards realisation of the longer-term vision 2020, the Government of Lesotho (GOL) has recently developed the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (PRSP). Health is the fifth of the eight priority areas of the PRSP. One of the proposed strategies is reduction of nutrition related illness to be achieved through the development of a coherent nutrition policy. The aim: This thesis has attempted to produce a framework towards development of an integrated nutrition policy. The approach used follows standard procedures towards development of a policy. The specific objectives to be fulfilled by this thesis include problem identification and definition; analysing the magnitude of the problem and population groups affected; existing systems for reducing the impact of the problem among vulnerable groups; defining a framework that will articulate the desired output to be achieved by the proposed policy; a strategy articulating mechanisms to be implemented to achieve the output and a system for monitoring and evaluating the desired impact. The methods: Permission to proceed in defining the integrated national nutrition policy framework for Lesotho was obtained from relevant authorities in the country. A consultative process to define the process and solicit support from stakeholders within nutrition in Lesotho was engaged throughout the development of this thesis. The United Nations Children's fund's (UNICEF) conceptual framework depicting the causality of malnutrition was used to describe the nutrition related problems and their causes in Lesotho. In this thesis only the immediate causal factors of malnutrition are addressed. Other underlying causal factors contributing to these immediate causes can be pursued elsewhere when designing relevant specific interventions. This thesis describes the magnitude of disease experienced in Lesotho using secondary data generated from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW). Existing information on food security was obtained from studies undertaken in Lesotho, including the inter-agency assessment of the prevailing food shortage humanitarian crisis currently facing Southern African, vulnerability assessments, dietary intake and micronutrient deficiency studies. Selected elements of the existing national nutrition programme have been used in this thesis, taking cognizance of the problem, its size and location. The framework for developing a suitable nutrition policy for Lesotho is suggested. The suggested process will be participatory to include all stakeholders in an attempt to build components of sustainability. Results: Analysis of the prevailing situation confirms the double burden of disease, where infectious diseases are more prevalent in the younger age groups. In the older population, chronic illnesses are more prevalent. Both data sets used reflect that the burden of disease is a result of higher mortality rates compared to morbidity. HIVIAIDS, respiratory and other infections are causing a major proportion of the disease burden. The male population is more affected relative to the females, with the exception of females at the age of 15 to 29 years, probably because of maternal related complications. Analysis by age indicates the population group from 5 to 14 years old has lower rates of morbidity and mortality. This age group is the window of hope for correcting nutrition-related diseases. If the right interventions are targeted at this group, there is hope of attaining the national goal for vision 2020. It should be appreciated that this information reflects the burden of disease of those who seek health care within the health service delivery facilities. Both the exact magnitude of diseases and their causal factors can he confirmed by undertaking relevant research covering representative samples of the total population in Lesotho. The food security situation in Lesotho is far from optimal. Poor breastfeeding and infant feeding practices, such as early introduction of other foods besides breastfeeding, early cessation of breastfeeding, low nutrient (including energy) dense weaning foods and reduced feeding during illness and recuperation are ascertained as causal factors contributing to malnutrition amongst children in Lesotho. The mountain areas are identified as highly susceptible areas to food insecurity, followed by the southern districts. The vulnerability and high risk factors of populations in these locations are further confirmed by the high prevalence of chronic malnutrition and under-weights compared to the rest of the country. Indicators that were associated with vulnerability to food insecurity were households that were either widow or elderly headed, those engaging in multiple income earning mechanisms or relying on farming, herding, informal business or/and casual labour for income and those with a high ratio of dependents. The Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Food Programme (FAOIWFP) cereal production forecast for the 2003/04 period predicted that 45% of the total population in Lesotho would require food assistance in varying quantities. The livelihoods vulnerability assessment undertaken in 2003 estimated a nationwide food/income deficit ranging from 10 to 47%. The FAONFP report suggested improved soil husbandry and extension practices. The vulnerability assessment report suggested livelihood-based interventions, together with direct food and income transfers as relevant interventions. Analysis of the existing food and nutrition programme in Lesotho looked at main components that would strongly influence the integrated nutrition policy. The approach was borrowed from the European Union nutrition programme. In this thesis only the three elements of the national nutrition programme that would directly influence the nutritional outcomes were studied. These were nutrition security, food security and trade issues. On analysis, these elements reveal a fragmented implementation of nutrition interventions. This situation exists despite efforts by the GOL to establish a coordination office mandated with synchronizing all nutrition stakeholders countrywide on policy, programme, monitoring, evaluation and research issues. As a result of the fragmented non-cohesive approach and inefficient utilisation of resources, especially the scanty human resource, the national nutrition programme has not realised a positive impact on the prevalence of malnutrition in Lesotho. The main elements to constitute the policy will consider core values and principles of the nutrition profession and programme in Lesotho. This thesis assumes the national nutrition programme will embrace the common national vision 2020 and will share the similar mission reiterated by the Food and Nutrition Coordinating Office (FNCO) in the poverty reduction thematic nutrition paper. The nutrition policy advisory committee in Lesotho would, however, confirm this assumption or design alternative statements. The processes towards identifying relevant objectives and strategies have been defined in this thesis and will have to be undertaken by the committee, which will also define implementation mechanisms including financing, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The national nutrition programme has identified the need for technical support in some areas. The author, therefore, suggests that the WHO and the United Nations1 Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNISCN) can be approached for this support. Conclusions: The GOL demonstrated commitment towards the nutrition policy. The process toward defining the integrated nutrition policy for Lesotho should be completely participatory. This thesis has addressed the first component of the framework, which is the situation analysis and description of the main policy components. The situation analysis has portrayed a need for an integrated nutrition policy to address the double burden of disease compounded by HIVIAIDS and chronic food shortage. This adverse situation can be curbed through a coherent cost-effective food and nutrition programme. The FNCO, mandated with nutrition policy design, therefore, has to revitalize the policy advisory committee to carry the policy defining processes forward. A framework to be used in this process has been developed and presented in this thesis. Recommendations The stakeholders in nutrition should agree on systemic issues to be changed or maintained. The process for policy definition should state the institutional arrangements, such as stakeholders' analysis, financial mechanisms and management and coordination. The programme implementation arrangements should define the beneficiaries, realistic objectives aligned with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), strategies, prioritize cost-effective nutrition interventions and agree on coordination, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The nutrition policy will mainstream the cross-cutting issues such as HIVIAIDS, gender, environment and governance. On completion of this thesis the author will present it to the relevant authorities in Lesotho for the policy development processes to continue in line with the proposed time frame and implementation plan given in Chapter 5.
Thesis (Ph.D. (Nutrition))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Rapid and sustainable economic growth and progressive social and spatial development through industrial development, has been a persistent challenge for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A commonly held "solution" to this challenge has been to provide access of manufactured goods from the SSA-region to the dynamic markets of the affluent North. This perceived wisdom led to the passing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000 by the 200th Congress of the United States of America. In this exploratory study, the experience of Lesotho with AGOA, with specific reference to the economic and spatial development outcomes of the Act in the country, is explored. The findings of the study reveal that the larger settlements where the AGOA-factories are located have shown little improvement, neither from an economic, nor from a spatial perspective. The same applied to villages to which AGOA factory workers sent their remittances. This was due to the meagreness of the remittances a function of the low wages paid in the factories and the resulting limited disposable income to support small-scale businesses in these villages. While AGOA did result in the creation of tens of thousands of job opportunities for unskilled and semi-skilled Basotho youth, it did not provide them with portable skills for use after leaving the factory floor. AGOA was also not found to have motivated the youth or local entrepreneurs to tap into the manufacturing sector. On the spatial development side, a number of landlords in the larger settlements subdivided their land and built residential rental units for the factory workers. Some landlords also sold their land illegally and informally, resulting in haphazard land development. The research findings suggest that, while "trade and development boosting tools", like AGOA, may be useful in providing term-based job opportunities for unskilled workforce, they will most likely not have as significant a positive impact on (1) the local economy, (2) the creation of an indigenous industrial class, or (3) the building of sustainable human settlements. Other supporting instruments, in addition to tools such as AGOA, will need to be developed locally, to achieve these goals. In addition to the research findings providing an insight into the experience of Lesotho with AGOA, they should also be of assistance to scholars and policy-makers working on the development of trade-driven tools in support of struggling regions.
Dissertation (MTRP)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Town and Regional Planning
MTRP
Unrestricted

Rapid and sustainable economic growth and progressive social and spatial development through industrial development, has been a persistent challenge for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A commonly held “solution” to this challenge has been to provide access of manufactured goods from the SSA-region to the dynamic markets of the affluent North. This perceived wisdom led to the passing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000 by the 200th Congress of the United States of America. In this exploratory study, the experience of Lesotho with AGOA, with specific reference to the economic and spatial development outcomes of the Act in the country, is explored. The findings of the study reveal that the larger settlements where the AGOA-factories are located have shown little improvement, neither from an economic, nor from a spatial perspective. The same applied to villages to which AGOA factory workers sent their remittances. This was due to the meagreness of the remittances – a function of the low wages paid in the factories and the resulting limited disposable income to support small-scale businesses in these villages. While AGOA did result in the creation of tens of thousands of job opportunities for unskilled and semi-skilled Basotho youth, it did not provide them with portable skills for use after leaving the factory floor. AGOA was also not found to have motivated the youth or local entrepreneurs to tap into the manufacturing sector. On the spatial development side, a number of landlords in the larger settlements subdivided their land and built residential rental units for the factory workers. Some landlords also sold their land illegally and informally, resulting in haphazard land development. The research findings suggest that, while “trade and development boosting tools”, like AGOA, may be useful in providing term-based job opportunities for unskilled workforce, they will most likely not have as significant a positive impact on (1) the local economy, (2) the creation of an indigenous industrial class, or (3) the building of sustainable human settlements. Other supporting instruments, in addition to tools such as AGOA, will need to be developed locally, to achieve these goals. In addition to the research findings providing an insight into the experience of Lesotho with AGOA, they should also be of assistance to scholars and policy-makers working on the development of trade-driven tools in support of struggling regions.
Dissertation (Masters)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Mandela Rhodes Foundation
Town and Regional Planning
MASTER OF TOWN AND REGIONAL PLANNING (RESEARCH)
unrestricted

A global corporation values both profitability and social acceptance; its units mutually negotiate governance and represent a highly interdependent network where centers of excellence and high-potential employees are identified regardless of geographic locations. These companies try to build geocentric, or “world oriented” (Marquardt, 1999, p. 20), organizational cultures. Such culture “transcends cultural differences and establishes ‘beacons’ – values and attitudes – that are comprehensive and compelling” (Kets de Vries & Florent-Treacy, 2002, p. 299) for all employees, regardless of their national origins. Creating a geocentric organizational culture involves transforming each employee’s mindset, beliefs, and behaviors so that he/she can become “a world citizen in spite of having a national identity” (Marquardt, 1999, p. 47). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how employees with different national identities experience a geocentric organizational culture of a global corporation. Phenomenological research aims to understand “how people experience some phenomenon—how they perceive it, describe it, feel about it, judge it, remember it, make sense of it, and talk about it with others” (Patton, 2002, p. 104). Twelve participants were selected using criteria, convenience, and snow-ball sampling strategies. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data. Data were analyzed inductively, using Moustakas’s (1994) Modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data. The participants in this study experienced a geocentric organizational culture of a global corporation as on in which they felt connected, valued, and growing personally and professionally. The participants felt connected to the companies via business goals and social responsibility. The participants felt valued by the company because their creativity was welcomed and they could contribute to the corporation certain unique knowledge of the culture and language of their native countries. The participants felt growing personally and professionally due to the professional development opportunities, cross-cultural awareness, and perspective consciousness. Based on the findings from this study, a model of a geocentric organizational culture of a global corporation: An employee perspective is proposed. Implications for research and practice conclude this study.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

Many of the Third World countries are characterised by high levels of poverty in the rural areas. So, many government strategies are geared towards improving the living standards of the poor rural masses through introduction of cash crops in the agricultural sector. These are meant to create employment opportunities and provide a sustainable supply of income for the rural poor. Asparagus production in Lesotho is one of those strategies that was used by the government to combat rural poverty. In the past years, especially during the initial years of implementation of the asparagus project. the peasants achieved sustainable livelihoods. However, in the last decade, the asparagus project was confronted with many difficulties that made it less beneficial to the peasants.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Finance and Investment), 2016
This study examines the determinants of stock market development in a broader sense, in an effort to investigate the positive or negative impact they can have on the establishment of the national stock market in Lesotho. The focus is on the benefits enjoyed by other African countries from the establishment of stock markets, in particular, in Sub-Saharan Africa, whose effects can also be enjoyed by the Lesotho economy. I have concluded that Lesotho can also benefit from the establishment of a stock market and reforms to strengthen the institutional infrastructure are essential.
GR2018

The purpose of the study was to examine Lesotho's post-secondary educational reform policies and practices so as to understand the issues involved, to assess them in relation to those in other developing countries, and to make implications. The data were official documents and records and interviews with 28 senior officials in government, educational institutions and other organisations. An analysis of the findings in terms of Brown's (1999) framework on the political economy of high skills was complemented by a further examination of major factors which did not fit well into the Brown framework. The Kingdom of Lesotho (formerly Basutoland) is an enclave within the Republic of South Africa. Independent since 1966, it is relatively poor, having limited natural resources, no significant manufacturing capability and only two major exports, water and labour. In spite of the promulgation since 1970 of a series of national development plans, it seems that political unrest has acted as a brake on economic progress. A series of education reform policies aimed for universal primary education, large-scale development of secondary education, new institutions for post secondary education and training, and expansion of the National University. Overall growth in education has been greater than the rate of population growth. However, most of it has been in primary and secondary education and at the national university. In other sectors growth is less. There are also claims that enrolment increases have not been matched by gains in quality and that facilities development has been poor. In spite of declared policy intents to accelerate economic growth through education, there continues to be a lack of employment for graduates. Interview data showed respondents' concerns about the difficulty of developing post-secondary education and training in Lesotho's unfavourable economic circumstances, about the adverse effects of necessary foreign aid, and about the absence of planning and co-ordination. It is clear great strides have been made in Lesotho education. The government has a commitment to the development of a skilled workforce and is providing support to the best of its ability, in spite of scarce resources. It is also clear, however, that there is a gap between what has been promised with respect to post-secondary education and training and what has been delivered. This gap has many elements, some international, some national and some institutional. Analysis leads to three conclusions. (1) Lesotho is not alone in facing the issues resulting from a poor resource base: its circumstances are comparable to those of other developing countries trying to ensure development and needing help from international agencies. (2) Lesotho's national development plans use the language of human capital theory. Development in a country like Lesotho, however, poses different challenges from those in developed countries, and in adopting the rhetoric of human capital theory, the government may have unintentionally set false expectations for what could be achieved. (3) Skill development may need to be differently conceived if Lesotho's development is to progress. Rethinking skill development may require an appraisal of a number of issues fundamental to Lesotho institutions, traditions, and society. The thesis concludes with a number of implications to policy makers and researchers.

The statistical issues in conducting a National Household Survey such as the Lesotho National Household Health and Nutrition Survey (NH&NS) are considered from two aspects: 1) Issues related to data processing and the management of complex survey designs such as the NH&NS and 2) issues related to the weighting and analysis of such data. The problems with short-term consultants, the need for improved management skills and quality control are addressed in this thesis. To prevent common data errors found in a survey such as the NH&NS and to speed up the release of results, recommendations of improved data collection techniques are made. Since developing countries often lack the capacity to conduct large national surveys, the proposal of a well-conducted single round instead of a multi-round survey is investigated. Calculating weighting factors can be a complicated and time- consuming process for a Bureau of Statistics in a developing country, which might prevent the early release of the results. Therefore it is shown how appropriate weighting factors for a complex survey design are generated. It is also necessary to consider the effect of clustering and stratification, whether it is for presenting results as confidence intervals or for fitting models to the data. By applying the technique of portability to surveys such as the NH&NS, much time can be saved and the results released far earlier than when more convential analysis techniques are used. Chi-square analyses of two-way tables, log-linear modelling and logistic regression are the most common analytical techniques applied to the data from such surveys. The adjustments to these techniques to compensate for a complex survey design are demonstrated. These techniques are applied to the child nutrition, maternal care, disability and injury sections of the NH&NS, with an emphasis on the child nutrition data. Various programs have been written in SAS to perform these analyses. The results generated in this thesis using these techniques should be useful to the Lesotho Ministry of Health and serve as a reference for similar health and nutrition surveys in the future.

The study aims to assess performance of Technical Reports as a channel of information for development in the Lesotho context. It concurrently evaluates how a specialized information unit of the Institute of Southern African Studies (lSAS) has performed in its obligation to devise adequate mechanisms for managing the report literature and meeting the development-related needs of users. In order to achieve that aim, the study contextualized development as a process, state, and condition and highlighted some development indicators for Lesotho. Agriculture and gender were selected as sectors of development. Global conferences, as one of the many development strategies that generate technical reports heavily, were used as a benchmark. In the performance and impact assessment methodologies, case study techniques were applied with ISAS as a site and one unit ofanalysis. Technical Reports (TRs) on Lesotho were studied. Triangulation approaches were applied in sourcing data. The academics, information workers, government officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and aid agencies based in Lesotho were surveyed. Research questions that guided the study centred on the productivity, distribution of technical reports, their management by intermediaries, use, non-use and the effects thereon. Seven types ofTechnical Reports feature in the development process, namely Academic, Project, Conference, Survey, Enquiry, Official and Special Committee Reports. Technical Reports are produced at varying levels depending on needs and approaches to development by producers or commissioning bodies. Academic Reports are authored mostly by the academics. The Government, Aid agencies and NGOs produce widely through external consultants/experts, who utilize centres such as ISAS where commissioning bodies do not have information services. TRs productivity is high and diverse in Lesotho, but capacity to manage the output is seemingly low, and hence under-utilization results; ISAS's out-dated mission, lack of, or limited resources and dejure national support in the form of acts and statutes affect the Institute's Technical Reports' services. Production is gender biased, thus making for imbalance in reporting on development. Agriculture as a sector is heavily researched and reported about, but the benefits to the populace are either few or non-existent. Restricted materials are estimated at 30%, but most ofthe TRs are unaccounted for. Hoarding and poor records or information management leave a vacuum that leads to a duplication of previous studies and production. The study confirmed that technical reports are required by all the surveyed groups. Technical Reports are not ofa transient nature even though they reach a peak oftopicality and use at certain periods. Where the channel conveys factual data timeously, there are developmental benefits. Low or non-use is common where there are no specialized information services especially within the civil service. Such negative factors cause delays and infrequent currency, inadequate reporting and erroneous budgetary allocations, for example. Seeminglythere is no clarity on what restricted, secret and limited materials mean. Major recommendations were made. One concerned an integrated approach to managing the channel. This would involve preparing a Manual for the production of Technical Reports which would clarify how to prepare them; for instance, the caliber of personneVexperts who should author reports, the conditions to be observed, the timeliness production, reliability of data used, and centres that would be acknowledged to then qualify for commensurate financial and other support. The other proposes that the envisaged National Research Council be given the powers to enforce the guidelines ofthe manual and related functions. The last recommends assigning to the documentalistsfor classified Technical Reports, the role of managing classified items. Consideration should also be given to important issues raised in the study, being the role of Information, Communication and Technologies (lCTs), sectors of development to be attended to, training and networking in technical report\s. Further studies are also recommended mainly for the causes and effects of the closures of information services that managed technical reports' in southern Africa; longitudinal studies on the impact of non-use oftechnical reports in major sectors ofdevelopment like Agriculture; comparative studies on the impact of specialized centres in the developed and developing countries. Further action is urged under the aegis ofbodies like the Standing Conference ofEastem, Central and Southern African Librarians (SCECSAL), Standing Conference of National and University Librarians.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
高階公共管理組
93
Independent national defense is an essential issue in national survival and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) is the government-owned business established exactly for fulfilling this mission. Ever since the end of regular production of the Indigenous Defensive Fighter plane (IDF), AIDC has faced financial difficulties. For the purpose of independent national safety and aero defense, the study mainly focused on case analyses referring to strategic business transformation theories for transforming configuration and research mechanisms; by integral SWOT analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, it rebuilds core capabilities and competitive advantages by way of the five competition forces. Three strategic suggestions are thus being made: I. Re-organizing stage –set up concepts for business strategies and implement reform management; II. Resumption stage – plan to set up a national aerospace industrial park; III. Revival stage – Completion of integration of the innovative operational value chain. The study discloses that AIDC can transform to focus on developing aerospace vehicle software by setting up design, R&D and production centers. Additionally, it is our hope to arouse comprehensive attention on the importance of independent national defense, for implementing selective choice of talents and strategies as well as expanding studies in the related subjects, so that the purposes of national safety and independent aero defense can be achieved.

Masters in the Field of Environmental Sciences (MSc CW/RR) - GEOL7007 Research Report School of Animal Plants and Environmental Science. Johannesburg 2017.
In recent times increasing emphasis has been placed on the important role that corporations must play in the creation of greener economies. This has given rise to greater corporate environmental disclosure and reporting, and a wealth of research into the link between sustainability reporting and financial and environmental business performance. Notwithstanding this, it has been noted that corporate responses to environmental sustainability issues are highly variable, and very little research has been conducted to determine where businesses focus their environmental sustainability efforts and to what extent they have made measureable progress in this regard. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the implementation of sustainability initiatives across a variety of fast moving consumer goods companies, including large multinational organisations, privately owned South African and publically traded JSE listed companies. This was achieved through the evaluation and scoring of an environmental self-assessment questionnaire distributed annually over a three year period between 2012 and 2014. In total, the survey, which covered a cross section of business relevant environmental issues, allowed for the profiling of 851 company responses. Scoring of these responses was based on a defined matrix with a grading system of 0 – 6. Results showed that overall, larger companies appear to be making significantly better progress when it comes to tackling environmental issues than their smaller privately owned competitors. Of the product categories investigated, the sustainability performance of liquor suppliers was the best while transport suppliers scored significantly lower than their peers. Publically listed JSE-listed companies and large multinational companies had similar sustainability performance to one another but both these groups performed significantly better than their privately owned South African competitors. Of those supplier Groups surveyed, JSE listed companies were the only business Group who showed significant year-on-year improvement in performance. An evaluation of scores achieved across the different environmental issues covered revealed that suppliers indicated they performed best in the areas of waste minimisation, operational energy mitigation and sustainable product design, while they made least progress when it came to climate change mitigation, sustainability reporting and biodiversity conservation. Results suggest that overall: companies made most progress on environmental issues that offered the greatest potential for increasing revenues or reducing operating costs; large public corporations performed significantly better than privately owned companies when it came to tackling environmental sustainability issues; and despite increasing emphasis being placed on transitioning to more sustainable business models, only one group of suppliers showed a measurable improvement in sustainability performance over the course of the study.
LG2017

Student Number : 0311004X - MA dissertation - School of Geography, Archeology and Environmental Studies - Faculty of Humanities
This research focuses on the accommodation development in the Kruger National Park of South Africa. It makes a comparison of the accommodation that was there from 1980 to 1994 and the period after. The main objective is to analyze changes in accommodation and other activities in the context of the changing tourism policies and tourist tastes, a question which tourism literature to date has not paid much attention to. This was done using the concept of a tourism product with accommodation being the product that changes on the basis of supply and demand. Major sources that were used are policy documents, parks annual reports and archival resources and tourism and travel magazines and brochures.

碩士
龍華科技大學
資訊管理系碩士班
101
Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (VINACOMIN), with 138,000 people in its labor force, is one of the big groups playing important roles in Vietnam’s economic and social development. The group has set forth the strategy of and solutions to training and developing its human resources, who will make certain contributions to the “National prosperity and strength from the country’s mineral resources”. In the process of development of the group and, in particular, of developing and training its human resources there have been problems to which great attention is to be paid to overcome for quality improvement of its labor force. I, the author, has chosen this theme for my thesis research in the area of management of training and developing VINACOMIN’S human resources with the purpose of finding the status quo in order to enable me to suggest some solutions to complete the system of training and developing the human resources of VINACOMIN in meeting the demands of the strategy from now to the year 2020 under 2030 vision. The author has applied the methods of investigating, evaluating and analyzing the surveys and interviews with the experts who are the managers of VINACOMIN. The Thesis is with the focus on the theory of training and developing human resources in general and that in VINACOMIN in such particular aspects as the status quo of system of organizing management, achievements, weaknesses, limits, problems and forecasts of opportunities and challenges affecting the training and developing the human resources of VINACOMIN. On the basis of the status quo and the forecast of development, the Thesis has mentioned the gaps of demand of human resources between now and that of the strategy of VINACOMIN from which basic solutions of completing the comprehensive management of training and developing the human resources in VINACOMIN could be realized in 2020 under the vision 2030 as follows: -The solution to completing the long-term programming and strategy -The solution to completing objectives and targets -The solution to completing curricula, methodology, and qualification and standards -The solution to completing mechanism, policy, financing, controlling The scientific significance: The theme has systemized theoretical matters, basic concepts on training and developing the human resources in general, the management of those in one sector in particular, from which some applications can be made for research and practice of managing the training and development of human resources of VINACOMIN. The practical significance: The theme has suggested some basic solutions to the management of one sector in training and developing the human resources of VINACOMIN in the years to come.