South African universities, research and positive psychology

Viviers, A.M.; Coetzee, Sanet

doi:10.4314/sajhe.v21i4.25696

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…• political challenges of the intelligentsia; and • a failure of the older generation to train and mentor younger academics. Viviers and Coetzee (2007), while echoing similar sentiments, point out that, despite the challenges, some universities in South Africa are focussing on areas of strength and making internationally recognised contributions to research. However, researchers remain fragmented and their efforts narrow and individualised.…”

Section: The African Situationmentioning

confidence: 93%

Building the research culture in an African business school

Puplampu

2015

European Business Review

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Purpose – This paper aims to report the efforts to reverse a dire research output trend at a Ghanaian Business School, following a similar effort at a business school in New Zealand in the 1990s. African universities are often challenged by resource constraints, ageing faculty and low compensation regimes. The consequences of these challenges are particularly felt in the area of the research output of faculty members in the business and management area. The problem of low research output has been written about by management scholars who lament the weak showing of African management faculty in reputable journals and top-notch conference presentations. Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative and phenomenological study of an applied intervention. Using a combination of open-ended questionnaires as well as open forums attended by faculty members of the business school, views, perceptions and opinions on factors mitigating research and issues on research culture were collected and analysed. Descriptive analyses were used to collate the dominant views and frequency of mention of such views. Findings – Using the descriptive accounts of faculty of the Business School, the research finds that a research-oriented culture expressed through factors such as leadership, institutional support, articulation or otherwise of relevant values have significant impacts on research output. Research limitations/implications – Based on the impacts reported here, this paper advances an intervention model to assist efforts towards improving the research culture and scholarly outputs in business schools in Africa. The paper also proposes a conceptual and research framework for examining and influencing the organisational and research culture of universities in Africa. Originality/value – This paper is perhaps the only attempt to examine research culture in an African business school. It suggests that the research culture in a business school or faculty can be developed, reinvented or influenced and that research in African universities will not “just happen”, it has to be carefully planned for, nurtured and built into the fabric of university culture. This has significant implications for the growing effort to bring African scholarship in the management areas up to the point where it can more directly impact management thinking.

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Section: The African Situationmentioning

confidence: 93%

Building the research culture in an African business school

Puplampu

2015

European Business Review

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“…Natural reproduction sites of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato larvae were inspected, and immature stages were collected from standing waters using dippers and transported to the insectary. Larvae were identified as species using morphological keys (34,35). A subset of larvae were immediately tested in standard conditions (27°C, 80% relative humidity, light:dark = 12:12 h) upon arrival to the insectary.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

TestingAnopheleslarvae and adults using standard bioassays reveals susceptibility to chlorfenapyr (pyrrole) while highlighting variability between species

Bouaka,

Ambadiang,

Ashu

et al. 2024

Preprint

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A standard test is available for assessing the susceptibility of adult Anopheles mosquitoes to chlorfenapyr, a new active ingredient in insecticide-treated nets. However, for a new insecticide with a unique mode of action, testing both larvae and adults using different routes of exposure is crucial to a comprehensive evaluation of susceptibility and to identifying potential selection pressures that may drive resistance. We followed WHO guidelines to assess the lethal toxicity of chlorfenapyr and monitor Anopheles susceptibility. Based on the median lethal concentration (LC50), larvae of the pyrethroid-susceptible colonized strain An. coluzzii Ngousso were 16-fold more susceptible to chlorfenapyr than immature stages of another susceptible colony: An. gambiae Kisumu. Larval bioassays indicated 99.63 +- 0.2% mortality after 24 h at a discriminating concentration of 100 ng/ml in Anopheles gambiae and An. coluzzii larvae collected from seven locations in urban and rural areas of Yaounde, Cameroon. By contrast, exposing emerging female adults from these populations to the recommended discriminating concentration (100 ug Active Ingredient (AI)/bottle) in bottle bioassays revealed variable mortality after 72 h, with values below the threshold of susceptibility (98%) in several tests. Anopheles coluzzii larvae and adults were fully susceptible, but mortality rates were slightly lower in An. gambiae adults compared to larvae (94 +- 1.5% vs 100%, Fisher exact test, p < 0.001). Piperonyl butoxide antagonized the activity of chlorphenapyr in An. gambiae adults. 100 ng/ml provides sufficient discriminative power for assessing the susceptibility of An. gambiae and An. coluzzii larvae to chlorfenapyr. Testing An. gambiae adults with 100 ug AI/bottle is likely to reveal inconsistent mortality values making it difficult to detect any emergence of resistance. Exploring different tests and accounting for variability between species are key to a reliable monitoring of Anopheles susceptibility to chlorfenapyr.

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“…Nevertheless, researchers in South Africa are actively placing focus on the investigation of intervention effectiveness that can assist in the facilitation of wellness (Viviers & Coetzee, 2007). However, the implementation of the WLOC and positive psychology principles and strategies in professional recruitment setting is still limited in South Africa.…”

Section: Relationship Between the Constructs Of Work Locus Of Control And Psychological Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between work locus of control and psychological capital amongst middle managers in the recruitment industry of South Africa

Shaik

Buitendach

2015

SA j. hum. resour. manag.

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Orientation: The role of traits as a determinant of states has resulted in researchers closely examining their potential for enhancing work behaviour. This is achieved through the examination of the trait and state perspectives.Research purpose: This research sought to determine the relationship between work locus of control (WLOC) and psychological capital (PsyCap), with the objective of increasing alertness on the trait and state approach.Motivation for the study: The current study investigated the role of traits and states in contributing to the positive psychology arena within the recruitment industry.Research approach, design and method: This longitudinal research design involved 425 middle managers at Time 1 (T1), at both supervisory and specialist levels, and 190 middle managers at supervisory levels at Time 2 (T2). This longitudinal study used a biographical, WLOC and PsyCap questionnaires.Main findings: The findings indicated that WLOC has predictive value for PsyCap: a statistically significant and practical relationship was established between WLOC and PsyCap at T1 and T2. However, the multiple regression analysis results were not consistently demonstrated over time.Practical managerial implications: Understanding the role of personality traits and psychological states can provide managers with additional means of increasing employee efficiency through improving work processes such as recruitment and selection.Contributions/value-add: The recruitment and other industries are encouraged to utilise a strength-based approach to enhance work performance through selection processes that incorporate traits and states to further increase organisational competitiveness.

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South African universities, research and positive psychology

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Building the research culture in an African business school

Building the research culture in an African business school

TestingAnopheleslarvae and adults using standard bioassays reveals susceptibility to chlorfenapyr (pyrrole) while highlighting variability between species

The relationship between work locus of control and psychological capital amongst middle managers in the recruitment industry of South Africa

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