African Professionals Research Articles

The Trace of Professionalization in the South African Public Service Amendment Bill and Public Administration Management Bill: A Comparative Analysis

The South African public sector has over the years seen erosion of professionalization and proliferation of corruption which is perpetuated largely through supply chain management processes. Politicians, officials, and business people are equally involved in the corrupt practices and more than anything it is driven by greed and indifference to the needs of the poverty-stricken communities. What is even worse is that the money stolen is meant to serve poor people and is stolen by relatively rich people. Erosion of ethical governance in the public sector has directly affected professionalization of the public service. Employees who do not qualify or meet the requirements are appointed to positions of authority so that they can pay back to those who appointed them through tenders. These corrupt officials become untouchable and cannot be disciplined even if there are proven allegations on financial misconduct. Corruption also erodes professionalization by chasing away true professionals from the public sector. That is the reason why many South African professionals are leaving the country and relocating to countries like Australia, New Zealand, etc. The South African government has tried through legislation to combat corruption in the public service and promote professionalization, but it is still too early to see if these attempts are successful or not. It is for this reason that this study focused on tracing professionalization in the Public Service Bill and Public Administration Management Bill. The comparative analysis revealed that the Public Service Bill can identify and address strategic and systemic challenges that will inhibit professionalization of the public sector and put some mechanisms to deal with those challenges. Whilst the Public Administration Management Bill is not necessarily criticised for not being upfront with the reforms that will help professionalization, its focus by its very nature is the administration and management of the provisions of the Public Service Act. It therefore remains to be seen if there will be any changes brought about by these amendments when they are accented into law by the President. The research was able to trace the elements that promote and support professionalization in the two Bills. However, it remains to be seen if, once these Bills are accented into law, they are implementable and can achieve the objectives of the respective amendments. On the main the two Bills aim to eradicate political interference from administration. The recommendation is that all parties involved (politicians and officials) should respect these two pieces of legislation and implement them as they are for the benefit of the public service.

Enhancing National Cohesion through Cultural Diversity in African Education Context

Africans and the world at large share common values of humanity. Lessons learnt from the recent COVID 19 pandemic, electoral differences in Kenya ongoing war in Ukraine and natural disasters like drought show that people in the world share such problems as one person. Education has have been used to reach mankind before and after these experiences. The weight of social pandemics, economical and psychological feelings among Kenyans and other Africans call for national cohesion and healing. Cohesion has been misconstrued with democracy, cultural diversity and human rights in Kenya and other African countries. Along the same vein educational curriculum has been blamed and teachers held to task on failing to address cultural diversity and cohesion in schools. The practicability of such a curriculum still hangs on the socio-economic balances of many African counties. This paper attempts to address National Cohesion in the higher Education context using cultural diversity as a tool for strengthening school governance, community partnership. The paper also attempts to identify Challenges and workable solutions of enhancing national cohesion. The paper concludes by observing lessons learnt in social skills and national cohesion in different forums. The paper recommends in-depth studies on social skill education and pedagogy, Continuous training of African professionals on social change and improvement of education and community partnership campaigns on cohesion.

Consciousness and Prospects of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Blocks for Wall Construction: Comparative Study Nigeria and South Africa

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Block (AACB) is a viable, sustainable walling material for building projects but has not been given the attention it deserves in developing countries. To increase the usage of AACB on building projects, this study examines the consciousness and prospects for its use in Nigeria and South Africa. The objectives are (i) to evaluate the degree of knowledge about AACB, (ii) the variants in Nigeria and South Africa, and to assess the likelihood of adopting AACB in Nigeria—the study centres on Lagos and five provinces in South Africa. Lagos was chosen in Nigeria because the State is the only place in Nigeria where AAC blocks have been used. A total of 145 questionnaires were administered to professionals who had been involved in AAC projects. In contrast, 17 South African respondents familiar with AACB in construction projects were polled online using Google Forms. Convenience and snowball sampling procedures were used for construction professionals in both countries. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Statistics such as percentages and mean scores were explored using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Mann-Whitney U test. Findings indicate that construction professionals in Nigeria know very little about 19 of the 20 documented AACBs. However, the South African professionals are very knowledgeable about AACB grade 42.5 OPC and AACB of AP/RHA and fully aware of AACB with grade 52.5 OPC, though they know nothing about the Bamboo Leaf Ash (BLA) AACB. This means that Nigerian professionals have a moderate stance on using AACB. The study concludes that South African Builders are more aware of AACB and its variants than Nigeria. This implies that AACB manufacturing in Nigeria would not thrive in the construction market due to poor patronage since patronage is directly related to product awareness. The study, therefore, suggests that building construction professionals should increase their understanding of AACB through continuous development training, workshops, and seminars on environmentally friendly building materials. Another suggestion is for consultants, clients, developers, contractors, governments, and research institutions to continuously conduct research and embrace findings on the AACB and new building construction materials regarding usage, wear, tears and durability.

South African professionals and developmental dyslexia: Knowledge, needs and perspectives

Background: Despite extensive research on the specific learning disorder (developmental dyslexia) – SLD (DD), many fallacies still cause confusion amongst professionals worldwide. These myths involve the characteristics, diagnoses and treatment of SLD (DD) and should be eradicated.Aim: The authors aimed to determine the knowledge, needs and perspectives of South African professionals working with children with SLD (DD).Setting: A mixed-methods research design was implemented.Methods: A survey study was carried out and a sample of 108 respondents was obtained. The respondents include speech–language therapists (SLTs), occupational therapists (OTs) and psychologists.Results: Speech–language therapists and psychologists displayed better knowledge about the facts of SLD (DD), compared to OTs. Their knowledge levels were, however, not significantly affected by existing misconceptions surrounding the condition. The fallacy that SLD (DD) is caused by a visual impairment is still believed. An investigation into the professionals’ perspectives regarding the identification of SLD (DD) suggested that South African psychologists were the most confident of their ability to identify characteristics. Nonetheless, all professionals reported not being convinced of their ability to provide a differential diagnosis of the disorder. Statements regarding management highlighted the uncertainties about the importance of addressing phonological awareness skills in treatment. Additional training needs were also identified as SLTs, OTs and psychologists generally feel unprepared to assess and treat SLD (DD).Conclusion: The differences identified amongst professional groups were related to the knowledge of the facts and characteristics of SLD (DD) and the ability to identify and manage the condition. Additional training needs should be addressed.Contribution: The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the NRF for partially funding the publication of this article.

Hear it From the Horses’ Mouth: Listening to African Professionals in Australia

The study investigated the growing concern of the African professionals who arrived in Australia since 2007. The ongoing concern was based on the lack of job opportunity in their nominated skilled occupation in post arrival in Australia. The study used demographic questionnaire and semi-structured interview to elicit information from forty (40) participants from Western Australia and Northern Territory cities and regional areas. The data analysed provided the needed perspectives about the extreme frustration of the African skilled migrants lack job opportunities in the post arrival in Australia. Based on the findings, the study made some recommendations, including counselling implications on several pathways on how African professionals could gain recognition for opportunities in their professional areas.

Editorial

Welcome to the twenty-seventh edition of Learning Communities for 2022. This issue covers a range of topics from Group Up Inquiry, theory and education policy, job opportunities of African professionals in Australia, and the changing dynamics of fertility behavior and child mortality across the wealth distribution in Pakistan. Plus a book review of Leading from the north: Rethinking northern Australia development.

A Stakeholder-Centered mHealth Implementation Inquiry Within the Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem in South Africa: MomConnect as a Demonstration Case

BackgroundThe internet is a useful web-based multimedia platform for accessing and disseminating information unconstrained by time, distance, and place. To the health care sector’s benefit, the advent and proliferation of mobile devices have provided an opportunity for interventions that combine asynchronous technology-aided health services to improve the lives of the less privileged and marginalized people and their communities, particularly in developing societies.ObjectiveThis study aimed to report on the perspectives of the different stakeholders involved in the study and to review an existing government mobile health (mHealth) program. It forms part of a study to design a re-engineered strategy based on the best demonstrated practices (considerations and methods) and learned experiences from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders within the digital health innovation ecosystem in South Africa.MethodsThis study used an ethnographic approach involving document review, stakeholder mapping, semistructured individual interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observations to explore, describe, and analyze the perspectives of its heterogeneous participant categories representing purposively sampled but different constituencies.ResultsOverall, 80 participants were involved in the study, in addition to the 6 meetings the researcher attended with members of a government-appointed task team. In addition, 46 archived records and reports were consulted and reviewed as part of gathering data relating to the government’s MomConnect project. Among the consulted stakeholders, there was general consensus that the existing government-sponsored MomConnect program should be implemented beyond mere piloting, to as best as possible capacity within the available resources and time. It was further intimated that the scalability and sustainability of mHealth services as part of an innovative digital health ecosystem was hamstrung by challenges that included stakeholder mismanagement, impact assessment inadequacies, management of data, lack of effective leadership and political support, inappropriate technology choices, eHealth and mHealth funding, integration of mHealth to existing health programs in tandem with Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, integration of lessons learned from other mHealth initiatives to avoid resource wastage and duplication of efforts, proactive evaluation of both mHealth and eHealth strategies, and change management and developing human resources for eHealth.ConclusionsThis study has only laid a foundation for the re-engineering of mHealth services within the digital health innovation ecosystem. This study articulated the need for stakeholder collaboration, such as continuous engagement among academics, technologists, and mHealth fieldwork professionals. Such compelling collaboration is accentuated more by the South African realities of the best practices in the fieldwork, which may not necessarily be documented in peer-reviewed or systematic research documents from which South African professionals, research experts, and practitioners could learn. Further research is needed for the retrospective analysis of mHealth initiatives and forecasting of the sustainability of current and future mHealth initiatives in South Africa.

Knowledge management toolkit enhancement for a professional services firm

Background: Professional services firms utilise knowledge management tools, for example, IBM and Oracle solutions and toolkits, in their day-to-day client-facing operations. The effectiveness of toolkits must be evaluated to establish their actual value.Objectives: This article evaluates the current toolkit used by the South African client-facing professionals of a global multinational corporation.Method: Pragmatism philosophy was used because of the various perspectives needed to interpret the data. Data were collected from 30 participants who adhered to sample eligibility criteria. An interview was used to collect data to help determine which tools worked well and what had to be improved on.Results: The most value-adding tool was the Experience Tool, whereas the Collaboration Tool ranked the least valuable. The Collaboration Tool showed the most potential to increase its value. The results gave a clear indication of areas of improvement that will enable a professional services firm to strategically position its knowledge management toolkit towards adding value for client engagements.Conclusion: The study contributes towards evaluating the knowledge management toolkit, analysing areas of improvement, and recommending components such as machine learning, online collaboration and other activities that would enhance the knowledge management toolkit.

The Financial Commitment of Repository Countries: A Key Element of Reparation

The Financial Commitment of Repository Countries: A Key Element of Reparation

Work-family role blurring and conflict among South African construction professionals

A research model was proposed investigating the relationships between work demand, role blurring, work-to-family conflict, and health and wellbeing consequences, and the model was tested on registered South African construction professionals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected from an online survey. The research results show that work pressure is a salient antecedent to all role blurring activities, i.e. after-hours work contact, pre-occupation with work, and multi-tasking between job tasks and family tasks whilst at home. Work hours directly predict work contact but indirectly affect pre-occupation and multi-tasking via the mediating role of work contact. All role blurring activities are positively associated with construction professionals’ experience of work-to-family conflict, which subsequently leads to depression and sleep problems. The results also show that depression affects the quality of sleep and construction professionals are likely to use alcohol consumption to cope with sleep problems. However, depression was found to be negatively associated with alcohol consumption, which calls for a more fine-grained analysis of the relationship. The study highlights the importance of appropriate work design with manageable workloads and reasonable work hours, and the promotion of boundary tactics for reducing work–family role blurring and conflict experienced by construction professionals.

Atypical Black Leader Emergence: South African Self-Perceptions.

The research aimed to gain understanding of the self-perceptions of black professionals in relation to business leadership, and how these self-perceptions influenced their behaviors, aspirations and self-perceived abilities in leadership positions. The study was specifically focused on black South African professionals. Black professionals were found to exhibit signs of deep-rooted pain, anger and general emotional fatigue stemming from workplace-, socio-economic- and political triggers that evoked generational trauma and overall negative black lived experiences. The negative lived experiences could have led to racial identity dissonance and, in extreme cases, complete racial identity disassociation. Moreover, black professionals were found to display symptoms of ‘survivor guilt,’ stemming from the shared history of oppression amongst black people in South Africa. The ‘survivor guilt’ contributed toward a profound sense of shared responsibility and purpose to change the circumstances, experiences and overall perceptions about the capabilities of black professionals. Results showed that upbringing, determination, resilience, black support networks, and black leadership representation within organizational structures were important ingredients that positively contributed to the leadership aspirations and success of black professionals. The research discovered that, in some cases, black professionals leveraged white relationships to propel their careers forward, however, this practice reportedly resulted in the black professionals experiencing feelings of self-doubt in their own abilities. Self-doubt, also found to be a result of historical oppression, could have and have been shown to eventually lead to self-deselection, negatively impacting the aspirations and career advancement prospects of black professionals in organizational leadership. Furthermore, the research found that black leaders believed that their blackness, specifically, its unique texture of experiences and history in South Africa, provided them with superior empathetic leadership abilities toward other black employees. Black leaders frequently highlighted the distinctive values of ubuntu as the cornerstone of their leadership approach. In addition, it was found that black professionals also considered their blackness, particularly the shade of their skin, to detract from their leadership opportunities, as it reduced the odds of being authorized as natural leaders, thus fortifying a skewed self-perception of their own leadership capabilities.

Racial Microaggressions at Work: Reflections from Black African Professionals in Australia

Abstract Theorising how race and Africanness intersect in the professional lives of African immigrants can provide a nuanced understanding of how racial identities shape the professional identities of Black Africans in Australia. This article is contextualised within a larger study that sought to explore the Afro-diasporic experiences of highly skilled Black African immigrants in South Australia. Particularly, it examines how Black African professionals experience their workplace. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with twenty-seven Black African professionals in South Australia. The findings from this study reveal that the often-accepted narrative of race-free workplaces is not one that is supported by Black African immigrants’ experiences, as they report constant, subtle and covert patterns of racial microaggressions in the workplace. Utilising critical race theories, this article makes the invisibility of microaggressions visible by probing how the Black body is worn as a burden in the workplace, which consequently produces psychological distress and racial battle fatigue. This study will provide social work practitioners with a critical understanding of the various challenges facing African professionals in the workplace, and how processes of racialisation at work may impact on psychological safety in this environment.

A critical examination of migration and globalization: Implication for development in Africa

This paper argues that there is a relationship between globalization and migration in the sense that increased reduction in global borders enhances migration. Migration on its own has raised some human right concerns. This is because as communities are growing closer, trade, politics, culture, technology e.t.c., raise some conflicts of ideology. This paper surmises that unless there is a way of humanizing the unevenness in the mercantile relationships that exists between Western nations and their Third world counterpart, the world will not benefit from these interactions as we have seen in the 21st Century slavery witnessed in Libya where humans were auctioned like goats. In the ideological pedestal, the challenges posed by Islamic migrants have become very mendacious. However, the aim of this paper is to examine globalization and migration and its implication for development in Africa. The movement of skilled and / or wealthy Africans is generally viewed negatively. For instance, there is long-standing concern on the African continent with the impact of the ‘brain drain’ of African professionals. Nevertheless, slowly and very few places, is understanding arising of the potentially positive role that migration itself can play in development or of the possibilities for ‘mobilization’ of the African Diaspora in the fight against poverty.
 Keywords: Migration, globalization, development and ideology

Can South African biokineticists function as recreational therapists: a review of the minimum training standards relevant to each profession?

ABSTRACTIn South Africa, the profession of Recreational Therapy is recognized by neither the Health Professions Council South Africa (HPCSA) nor the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA). However, the South African profession of biokinetics is an accredited HPCSA member, which shares a proximity of Recreational Therapy. The American National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) serves as the gold standard for the prescribed minimum training standards (MTS) of the profession of Recreational Therapy due to the absence of a national South African health statutory affiliation. This commentary reviews the MTS of biokinetics as compared to the NCTRC MTS, so as to ascertain whether biokineticists can function as recreational therapists. A literature search was conducted in Google Scholar, using the key-search terms “recreational therapist biokineticist.” Six hundred and fourteen records were uncovered, which were reduced to nine. The quality of each record was evaluated through the use of the modified Downs and Black Appraisal Scale. The literature analysis suggests that the MTS of the South African Biokinetic curriculum and those of the NCTRC share a number of common prerequisites, but are not wholly in accordance with each other. Biokineticists are therefore inequitable to American NCTRC trained recreational therapists.

Management of Knowledge Transfer for Capacity Building in Africa

Between sporadic remittances and training of a qualified manpower mastering new technologies, what does Africa expect from its diaspora to fill its development gap in the current context of globalization? When it comes to capital building, defined as the process or strategy to endow or increase the technical, managerial, or intellectual skills of an individual or a group, its know-how or knowledge, and financial capital or purchasing power, the World Bank and other development partners seem to grant priority to remittances. This paper strongly suggests that attention may be granted to the transfer of scientific knowledge between Africa and its diaspora, as many believe that progressing knowledge would help bring out a neglected source of wealth to fight the scourges responsible for political and economic backwardness in industrial countries. The development models based on the diaspora’s contribution in several countries and regions of the world, particularly in Asia, show the importance of knowledge transfer in capacity building. Similarly, Silicon Valley in California demonstrates the role of emigrants in the knowledge industry. As the brain drain is a normal phenomenon of globalization, emigration of African professionals is no more an obstacle to Africa’s development. Rather, the African diaspora constitutes a pool of human and investment capital that can strongly contribute to the continent’s development. From our point of view, the diaspora has an important role to play in capacity building, provided respective governments come up with sound policies to promote its participation. The diaspora’s participation in nation-building without physical relocation on the one hand, and the existence of the first generation of retired researchers and academics organized into civil society associations such as AED (Association for Education and Development) in Cameroon, on the other hand, constitute the pipeline of knowledge transmission. African partners and its diaspora can build a genuine partnership to create sustainable and competitive scientific institutions in Africa on this foundation. Improved governance, leadership, regulations, and immigration policy of sending and receiving countries are necessary for transnational scholarly/economic engagement.

Validation of the Schieman and Young measurement scales for work contact, work-family conflict, working conditions, psychological distress and sleep problems in construction industry professionals

BackgroundThis study examined the construct validity and internal consistency of modified versions of the job autonomy and control, job pressure, work contact, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and sleep problems scales developed by Schieman and Young (2013) among construction professionals through confirmatory factor analysis and tests of internal consistency.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, survey data were collected from 942 South African construction professionals, of which 630 responses were considered for analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine construct validity. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was used to determine the internal consistency, and convergent validity was tested using correlation analysis.ResultsThe final CFA indicated very good model fit to the data (χ2 /df ratio = 2.11, IFI = .95, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .06, and Hoelter (95%) = 176). The scales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency: .82; .91; .83; .90; .90; and .73, respectively. Convergent validity was largely demonstrated with respect to direction of association, but not in relation to magnitude. A limitation of the validation study was the lack of available data for a more robust examination of reliability beyond internal consistency, such as test-retest.ConclusionsThe six scales developed by Schieman and Young (2013) hold promise as measures of work contact, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and sleep problems in relation to working conditions of construction professionals.

Feasibility of utilizing autism navigator® for primary care in South Africa.

There is a significant research-to-practice gap in early detection of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) worldwide but particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where expertise is limited and high-quality training is difficult to access. Autism Navigator® for Primary Care is a web-based course designed to increase awareness of red flags of ASD in the second year of life and thus promote earlier detection and referral for intervention. It contains extensive video illustrations that offer rapid access to multiple exemplars of ASD red flags. This study examined aspects of feasibility of the Autism Navigator® for Primary Care in one LMIC, South Africa. A mixed-methods quasi-experimental design was used to examine relevant professionals' implementation of the course and measure changes in their knowledge of red flags after training. Perceptions of the acceptability, demand, and practicality of the course were explored in focus groups. Sixty-two providers completed the course online with a 94% completion rate. Built-in learner assessment pass rates ranged from 88% to 100%. Second-language English speakers took longer to complete the learner assessments, and professionals with less access to the Internet spent less time in the course. Participants' perceptions of the acceptability, demand, and practicality of the course were mostly positive with some suggestions made for local conditions. Results supported the feasibility of the course in this LMIC with some supports required pertaining to language and Internet access. We propose that this training has the potential to lower the age of detection of ASD in South Africa and other LMICs. Autism Research 2018, 11: 1511-1521. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Professionals in low- and middle-income countries urgently need training to recognize red flags of autism in very young children. The feasibility of utilizing the Autism Navigator® for Primary Care course for this training was explored with 62 South African professionals. After training, professionals' knowledge of early red flags improved, and most reported the course important and needed in South Africa. They found the web-based design mostly acceptable, practical, and culturally applicable. The course could help lower the age of autism detection.

Conditions for coaching to contribute to the adjustment of black African professionals

Orientation: Efforts to attract and retain black African professionals in Cape Town-based organisations are often met with challenges. Coaching has been identified as a potential strategic contributor for developing a sense of inclusivity and successful adjustment for black African professionals.Research purpose: The study investigated the contribution that coaching makes and aimed at understanding the conditions required for coaching to support the adjustment process during relocation.Motivation for the study: Too little is known in South Africa of how coaching can impact the adjustment during relocation. There is a need to identify key conditions that would enable a successful coaching process for migrating groups in the larger South African context.Research design/approach and method: A qualitative inductive methodology approach was followed to guide the study, consisting of 11 in-depth interviews with three different professional groups to elicit various perspectives.Main findings: It can be concluded that coaching contributes to black African professionals’ adjustment to living and working in South Africa. The success of the coaching outcome and capability for adjustment depends on the individual, the coach and the environment in which they work. The supporting conditions that were commonly found from the three professional groups were support and space for the individual, while depth and match played a key role according to coaches and human resource (HR) professionals.Practical/managerial implications: This article provides guidelines and recommendations for HR and senior managers in any organisation that experiences a complexity infused by racial and cultural diversity within its internal and external context. The study shows ways in which coaching as a tool can be useful in dealing with cross-cultural dynamics that prevail in South Africa and South Africa-based organisations especially during relocation adjustment.Contribution/value-add: The body of knowledge contributes to understanding coaching in a diverse society reflected in cross-cultural organisations and the key conditions influencing the coaching intervention during an adjustment process.

Jimmie Holland: The founder, developer, and the soul of the International Psycho-Oncology Society.

Jimmie Holland: The founder, developer, and the soul of the International Psycho-Oncology Society.

6.2-O6Navigating the points based system and racialisation: African healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom

6.2-O6Navigating the points based system and racialisation: African healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom