ResearchSpace
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The relevance and reliability of intangible asset values for JSE listed companies: an empirical analysis.
(2024) Gurr, Kerry-Lee.; Mkhize, Msizi Vitalis.; Tipoy, Christian Kakese.
Difficulties in measuring intangible assets and applying them within commerce have persisted due to their unique nature. This complexity challenges companies' ability to fairly value and present intangible assets in annual financial statements. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) emphasise the importance of presenting information that is both relevant and reliable; without these qualities, users’ decision-making may be adversely affected. Concerns have been raised over whether intangible asset values reported in financial statements meet these criteria. This study investigates the relevance and reliability of intangible asset values presented by JSElisted companies in South Africa. Using a quantitative, empirical approach, the research analysed secondary data drawn from the annual financial statements of the top 40 JSE-listed companies (by market capitalisation) from 2015 to 2019. Data was analysed through ratio and descriptive statistical analysis (via Excel), and inferential statistics using the Ohlson model (via SPSS and AMOS). Four key objectives guided the study: (1) to determine how intangible assets are measured and valued; (2) to assess whether current valuation techniques (cost or revaluation model per IAS 38) produce relevant and reliable values; (3) to evaluate the significance of intangible assets relative to total assets; and (4) to explore industry-specific differences in intangible asset values. Findings reveal that most JSE-listed companies report intangible assets. The cost model with finite useful lives dominates for other intangible assets, while goodwill is measured applying an indefinite useful life, as required by IFRS. Intangible assets were found to be a significant component of total assets, especially in sectors like tobacco and pharmaceuticals. A statistically significant positive correlation (p = 0.0166) was found between book equity value and market value, highlighting the material role of intangible assets. The study acknowledges limitations, including reliance on JSE data, simplified Ohlson model assumptions, and limited generalisability. Recommendations include revisions to IAS 38 for more relevant valuation methods, the use of industry-specific guidance, and the involvement of valuation experts. Establishing an intangible asset exchange platform is proposed to aid consistent valuation. The study contributes valuable insight for standard setters to enhance intangible asset reporting.
Examining the gap between grade 11 mathematics teachers' content knowledge and its application in teaching Euclidean geometry in selected secondary schools in the Ugu District.
(2025) Ntombela, Bongiwe Princess.; Maharajh, Lokesh.
This dissertation is an examination of the content knowledge of Grade 11 Mathematics teachers in the teaching of Euclidean Geometry in the Ugu District, KwaZulu-Natal. The study was motivated by the persistent poor performance of South African learners in Mathematics, particularly in Euclidean Geometry, which is a key component of the subject. The research aims to understand how Grade 11 Mathematics teachers use their content knowledge in the classroom. The theoretical framework for the study is the Van Hiele model, which describes a developmental progression of geometric understanding. The research adopted a qualitative approach with a multiple-case study design. Data was generated through tests and task-based interviews with ten Grade 11 Mathematics teachers from ten secondary schools. The findings indicate that poor performance in Euclidean Geometry is linked to teachers' lack of content knowledge and their inability to be innovative in lesson preparation and presentation. The study concludes that improving teachers' content knowledge and providing continuous professional development are critical to improving educational outcomes and fostering learner success in Euclidean Geometry. The recommendations include a need for further research on a larger scale and the implementation of accredited continuous professional development programs to address teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practices.
The interplay between job demands and emotional regulation of secondary school teachers and their relationship to teacher wellbeing at South African schools.
(2025) Mdluli, Ndabenhle Terry.; Philipp, Anja.
Teacher well-being is the focus of research (Dreer, 2023) because of concerns about how to retain teachers when teacher attrition rates are high (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019) and because teachers who are well are considered to provide high-quality teaching (Monk, 2007). Teachers’ job demands play a role in teacher well-being (Dreer, 2023). Especially in South African schools, many teachers report high levels of job demands and lack of job resources (Naidoo-Chetty & Du Plessis, 2021). Teachers often report that emotional aspects of their profession are especially demanding (Frenzel et al., 2016), and how they regulate emotions as part of their profession is thus of great concern. Prior studies could show that emotion regulation strategies are relevant to teacher well-being (Fried et al., 2015). However, it is not yet established how the level and variety of teacher job demands and their choice of emotion regulation strategies interact and influence their well-being. It might also be possible that teachers who experience high levels and a wide variety of job demands may choose certain emotion regulation strategies or even struggle to regulate their emotions professionally. Thus, the study aimed to investigate the interplay of teachers’ job demands, emotional regulation, and the degree to which the interplay impacted the teacher’s well-being. The study also sought to examine why teachers reach a stage where they struggle to regulate their emotions. The study is underpinned by the Hot/Cool (Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999), the Resource/Strength (Baumeister et al., 1998), and the Job Demands Resources (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006) models. Informed by the pragmatist research paradigm, the study adopted a mixed methods research design in which (in the first phase) data was collected from a purposive sample of secondary school teachers in the Umlazi and Pinetown districts of Durban in the Republic of South Africa via selfadministered questionnaires. In the second phase, data were generated with a purposively recruited sample of nine teachers from the same areas, and semi-structured interviews were used. Data collected through the self-administered questionnaires were analysed using descriptive, inferential and multivariate statistics (hierarchical regressions, testing for interactions with the PROCESS macro, (Hayes, 2013) conducted in SPSS 28 (IBM Corp., 2021). Inductive content analysis was employed for the qualitative phase using MAXQDA (Version 2020) through emerging themes to analyse data from the semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study revealed that teachers in the two districts experienced high levels of job demands for disruptive learners, hiding emotions and frequency of emotions. The study showed that teachers in the sample mostly used emotional reappraisal, emotional suppression and deep acting instead of surface acting when regulating their emotions. One significant contribution of this study was to aggregate teacher job demands into the level and variety. The result of the analysis to determine how the new variable of level and variety of job demands affected teacher well-being showed a complex but exciting interplay of outcomes.
Teachers’ experiences of teaching grade 8 technology in overcrowded classes.
(2025) Netshongolwe, Goitsemang Annah.; Sokhulu, Lerato Hlengiwe.
Teaching of Technology covers both theory and practical aspects of learning. Due to overcrowded classes in some contexts like South Africa, the classes lack space, which impacts the teaching and learning process. Teachers are often limited in their capacity to facilitate learning and their mobility within the classroom. The purpose of the study was to explore teachers’ experiences in teaching Technology in overcrowded classes. The focus of the study was on grade 8 Technology teachers from public secondary schools in the Gauteng North District. The study adopted a qualitative research approach in which a case study design was employed. The data was generated using semi-structured interviews with participating teachers and classroom observations. Findings of the study revealed that teachers had both positive and negative experiences to share. As part of the positive experiences, participating teachers maintained enthusiasm using strategies such as rotational learning, making enough space and time for learning. They also engaged learners with practical work, and created songs that explained the Technology practical terms, so that learning can be fun. This enthusiasm fuelled their motivation to keep their lessons interesting and enjoyable for learners. Alluding to the negative experiences, participants shared that there was some ill-discipline behaviour in their overcrowded classes, low academic performances, and managing assessments was also problematic. However, they received support from the school and their subject departments to address these challenges. The study recommends that teachers who manage overcrowded classes and struggle with maintaining order and discipline may consider dividing the class into two groups and teaching them rotationally, as this strategy proved effective for participants in the study. Additionally, assigning duties and tasks to disruptive learners can help keep them engaged and focused on the instruction.
The colonial conquest of Identity: exploring silence, memory, and narrative agency as resistance in Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night (1996)
(2025) Sanjeevy, Serusha.; Scott, Claire.
This dissertation explores the enduring impact of trauma, originating from colonial violence, on identity and memory within the postcolonial Caribbean context through a close reading of Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night (1996). It investigates how colonial violence, namely narrative erasure and silencing extends beyond political subjugation to inscribe itself onto personal identities and collective memory, leaving psychological scars that persist long after formal independence. Central to this study is how memory operates as a repository of trauma and as a means of narrative agency and resistance, and how silence could potentially enable the affirmation of identities which have been historically erased by colonial discourse. By focusing on characters from the novel like Mala and Chandin Ramchandin, the analysis reveals how Chandin’s internalised colonial mimicry forms part of a larger cycle of domestic violence and abuse which mirrors violent colonial hierarchies. Mala’s silence and psychological fragmentation also serve as an allegory for the erasure of postcolonial identities as her trauma manifests both in the withdrawal of language and societal neglect. This dissertation employs an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, drawing on postcolonial theory, trauma theory, memory studies and research on silence in literature, engaging with scholars such as Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak, Maurice Halbwachs, Cathy Caruth and Charles Glicksberg. The study examines how various narrative techniques including non-linear narration, narrative ambiguity and polyphonic narration mirror the fragmented nature of memory and facilitates a counter-discursive space where silenced voices emerge. By situating Cereus Blooms at Night (1996) in a much broader Caribbean literary canon, the project aims to demonstrate how Mootoo subverts traditional binaries surrounding victimhood and agency, public and private as well as natural versus unnatural identities. Finally, the dissertation contends that memory and silence, despite their inscrutable and fractured nature, are capable of functioning as powerful tools for resistance and identity reclamation, urging postcolonial identities to renegotiate their personal narratives and collective histories that have for so long been silenced. At large, this project contributes to ongoing dialogue around how postcolonial literature grapples with memory, silence and trauma as key factors in the reconstitution of identity.