ResearchSpace

ResearchSpace is the institutional repository of the University of KwaZulu-Natal,
unlocking knowledge, empowering impact, and preserving UKZN's research legacy.


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Exploring the experiences and coping practices of home-based caregivers treating persons diagnosed with mental illness in Clermont township, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2025) Simelane, Londiwe Jabulile.; Nzuza, Nokwanda Yoliswa.
This study explored the experiences and coping strategies of home-based caregivers in Clermont Township, KwaZulu-Natal, who care for relatives living with mental illness. Guided by an interpretivist phenomenological design, the research examined how caregivers construct meaning around their caregiving roles. Data were generated through in-depth interviews, participant observations, and group discussions with 20 caregivers, and analysed inductively using thematic analysis. The study was informed by Social Constructionism, Feminist Theory, Social Identity Theory, and medical anthropology, which together helped illuminate how caregiving is shaped by cultural norms, gendered labour, relational identity, and local interpretations of illness. Caregivers reported exhaustion, fear, stigma, strained relationships, and disruptions to household roles. Despite these challenges, they demonstrated resilience through prayer and spiritual rituals, peer support, acceptance, distraction, routinised care practices, and the combined use of biomedical and traditional healing systems. Structural constraints such as unemployment, gendered expectations, limited social support, and fragmented mental healthcare intensified caregiver burden. Yet many caregivers also described pride, identity reinforcement, and personal growth arising from their caregiving responsibilities. This study contributes to the understanding of community-based mental health care in South Africa by foregrounding the often-invisible labour of township caregivers. It highlights the need for culturally responsive psychosocial support, improved integration between formal and informal care systems, caregiver training, and policies that recognise and support home-based mental health caregiving.
Exploring the availability, accessibility, and utilization of isiZulu academic resources at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
(2025) Mawela, Mfundo Lwazi.; Neni, Buyani Gift.; Naidoo, Shamila.
The elevation of the South African indigenous languages encouraged universities to implement language policies. At the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a bilingual language policy was developed in 2006. It sought to advance the isiZulu language into an academic language. Numerous studies have investigated the development of language policy and explored the attitudes of staff and students towards it. The current study takes a different direction. It explores the availability, accessibility, and utilization of academic information written in isiZulu at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s libraries. The study employed a mixed-methods approach. The qualitative component consisted of semi-structured interviews with subject librarians, while the quantitative component involved distributing an online questionnaire to a cohort of first-language (L1) isiZulu-speaking students. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically, and quantitative data was analyzed statistically. The two groups of informants in this study, librarians and students, provided critical insights into the availability, accessibility, and utilization of isiZulu resources. The librarians highlighted cataloguing challenges and the lukewarm attitude of students towards the utilization of isiZulu resources. Students, on the other hand, supported the call to have more academic resources available in isiZulu, explaining that much of what was available was outdated. Furthermore, students recognized that resources in isiZulu did not extend to all subjects, for example, Psychology. Carol Kuhlthau’s (1991) Information Search Process (ISP) informed the theoretical framework of this study. The results indicated that the University of KwaZulu-Natal students’ experiences of information search align with the stages of the model. The year 2026 marks two decades since the implementation of the UKZN bilingual language policy. This study revealed that the database of resources available to students in their native language needs to be expanded as a matter of priority.
Dynamic of procurement processes and application: the case of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
(2026) Nxumalo, Precious Nosipho.; Kimazi, Mathew Kimweli.; Gamede, Vangeli Wiseman.
Public procurement in South Africa is constitutionally mandated under Section 217 of the 1996 Constitution, which stipulates that procurement processes must be conducted in a fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective manner. Although higher education institutions (HEIs) operate with institutional autonomy, their significant reliance on public funding subjects them to these constitutional provisions. Persistent non-compliance with procurement regulations and inefficiencies in service delivery, however, remain critical challenges in the South African context. This study investigates the extent to which universities comply with constitutional requirements and adopt procurement best practices that have been shown to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, optimize supplier relationships, and contribute to institutional sustainability. Procurement best practices are conceptualized as standardized approaches that support strategic spend management and supplier base optimization, thereby advancing long-term value creation. Employing a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive design, the research was conducted in two phases: a review of relevant literature and an empirical investigation. Data was collected through virtual interviews with procurement staff at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, selected for their expertise in institutional procurement processes. Data saturation was achieved with seven participants. Findings highlight ambiguities within the constitutional framework, particularly the lack of alignment between Section 217 and Section 239 regarding the definition and scope of organs of state. While HEIs are not explicitly classified as organs of state, principles of good governance necessitate compliance with procurement regulations. The study further reveals that existing regulatory frameworks, both locally and globally, provide structural guidance but lack interpretive flexibility, rendering them inadequate for complex and time-sensitive procurement within universities. The study concludes that the effectiveness of procurement in HEIs depends on the integration of digital platforms, continuous capacity development, periodic policy review, and rigorous compliance mechanisms. Such measures are essential to advancing accountability, enhancing supplier performance, and supporting sustainable higher education development.
Stakeholders’ perspectives on the multiple pressures that affect tourism and hospitality businesses in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2025) Jele, Celumusa Lindelwa.; Gumede, Mabuyi.
The purpose of the study is to explore multiple pressures that affect tourism and hospitality businesses in Durban. This study also aims to offer advice to affected business in order to improve their performances. The research problem for the current study is that many employees in the tourism and hospitality industry in Durban lack specialised knowledge and necessary skills required for identifying and solving problems and formulating and interpreting policies. The study adopted a mixed methods sequential explanatory research design. Exactly 440 respondents participated in this study. The data collection process involved a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis of this study followed a thematic approach. This study is underpinned by the stakeholder theory. Major findings of this study are as follow: (a) too many employees in the tourism and hospitality businesses are unqualified; (b) deteriorating security issues; (c) worsening housekeeping issues; and (d) costly operational issues. Additional findings of this study are such that existing structures, which are meant to solve multiple challenges that affect tourism and hospitality businesses are not well coordinated, hence, employees receive conflicting messages, and this results in the duplication and multiplication of multiple pressures. A key recommendation of this study is that employees in the tourism and hospitality businesses in Durban must be equipped with the necessary skills, abilities and knowledge needed for solving multiple pressures that affect the delivery of services in the industry. In the wake of ever-demanding guests who make demands on tourism and hospitality businesses to improve services and satisfy their expectations, there is a great need for consistent refresher courses, which are designed to support employees, businesses and clients. Further research must be conducted into the role and impact of ever-demanding guests who make demands on tourism and hospitality businesses in Durban.
Impression management: the use of graphs in integrated reporting in South Africa.
(2025) Jurie, Felicia Anita.; Baldavoo, Kiran.; Matenda, Frank Ranganai.
The use of graphs in annual reports has increased because of the shift in audience annual reports are aimed not only at shareholders but also at various stakeholders. As management decides what information to disclose in the annual reports, there may be a bias towards the graphs presented. Impression management techniques for presentation enhancement and obfuscation may be present in the graphs presented in annual reports. This study aims to investigate the use of graphs as a tool for managing impressions in annual reports of the top 40 South African Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed companies. This study focuses on the frequency, subject matter, and distortion of graphs presented in the integrated reports. A total number of 78 integrated reports were analysed over the period 2021 to 2023, the post- COVID-19 era. The findings of this study indicate that the disclosure of graphs in annual reports has grown over time. The types of graphs used are primarily straightforward to read, such as column graphs, pie charts, and bar graphs collectively. The number of non-financial graphs showed an upward trend, whereas financial (Key Financial Variable (KFV)) graphs (graphs related to sales and profit) declined significantly. The transition towards increased non-financial graph usage may indicate a shift in the disclosure landscape because of COVID- 19, and the effort to provide a more holistic view of company performance while managing stakeholder perceptions. Financial (KFV) graphs showed a GDI calculation rate of 48.7%, and of those, 56.6% were distorted, whereas other financial graphs (financial graphs other than those relating to KFVs) exhibited a distortion of 56.5%. Non-financial graphs exhibited the highest distortion at 61.3%. The rate of distortion showed an upward trend between 2021 and 2023, indicating a shift toward more aggressive impression management strategies, possibly aimed at restoring investor confidence in the aftermath of COVID-19. This implies that impression management tactics are more commonly employed during periods of reputational or financial risk. To mitigate the risk of financial loss, stakeholders are advised to scrutinise not only the financial statements but also graphs contained in integrated reports to detect any use of impression management in integrated reports.