Pepukayi Chitakunye

Materiality and family consumption: the role of the television in changing mealtime rituals

This interpretivist study contributes to our understanding of how materiality mediates everyday family life by exploring the role of material objects in changing family rituals. We show how the television acts as an agent of cultural change when intermixed with family mealtimes. Our findings present a conceptual framework to explain the ways in which family life is altering across four key areas, namely: (1) mealtime settings and practices; (2) type of food consumed; (3) family structure and membership; and (4) family values and identity. This analytical framework illustrates how technologies such as the television mediate family relationships and how technologies become progressively more embedded in everyday practices. Revealing a transfer of mealtime practices from the formal environment into the informal environment, and vice versa, our study shows how mealtime rituals are altered and changed in form when mediated by the television, but not ultimately abandoned.

Recovering children's voices in consumer research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how children can be empowered in the research process, as active agents and key informants, in matters affecting their consumption.Design/methodology/approach – Insights are drawn from a study that used multiple methods to explore childrens everyday food consumption practices. The data set was gathered over a period of two years and included: 23 informant‐generated visual diaries; seven online depth interviews; 15 school‐based depth interviews; 42 days of school‐based mealtime observations; and home‐based mealtime observations with four families, each visited on five different occasions.Findings – The paper uncovers how visual diaries can be used in combination with other methods to transform relationships between adults and children in the research encounter. The emergent transformations are organised around three core themes that include: childrens authentic voices; multiplex reality; and power and control. It was also found that children were able to ...

The Impact of Gender on Start-up Capital: A Case of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa

In South Africa, women entrepreneurs do not enjoy the same opportunities as men in accessing start-up capital due to a number of discriminatory practices embedded in lending models. This study seeks to understand the gender-specific barriers to raising start-up capital, and adopts a mixed methods approach that includes semi-structured interviews with experts and a survey of women entrepreneurs. All participants were from the small business sector in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings revealed the gendered nature of start-up capital for women entrepreneurs in South Africa, and the difficulty women face in venturing into non-traditional industries. The findings build on previous research by focusing on the intersection between women’s contribution to the economy and their production activities in the informal and domestic context. This study calls for the activities of women entrepreneurs in these sectors of the economy to be recognised within lending models, and as constituting a valuable area of economic growth.

Rich descriptions: evoking informant self-reflexivity in marketing and consumer research

Abstract This study seeks to extend knowledge of reflexivity theories by moving beyond a sole focus on researcher reflexivity (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009) in considering the significance of informant self-reflexivity. It explores the promotion of informant self-reflexivity as a means to generating more in-depth interpretive data. Following the call for a ‘structured, disciplinary impetus to begin’ (Bettany & Woodruffe-Burton, 2009, p. 675) in relation to reflexivity, this paper draws on insights from two longitudinal studies, and develops some guidelines that could encourage informants to comprehend fully and realise their views and thoughts through the injection of reflexivity into the research design. Three key themes emerged as being significant within the research encounter: (1) stimulate discussion and promote co-research, (2) empower informants by building trust, and (3) ethical and moral dilemmas in reflexivity.

Transnational Analysis of the Impact of Corruption on Development in Africa: A Review of Literature

Abstract The study seeks to understand the nexus between corruption and development within Southern Africa. A cross-national analysis of relevant data was constructed to demonstrate the relationship between corruption and regional development. The study highlights the costs of corruption for the region particularly from an economic developmental standpoint. Insights from the study contribute to scholarly debate relating to the ills of corruption and resulted in the development of a framework that might help to reduce the levels of corruption, enhance good governance, and advance sustainable development in the region.

Gendered Lending Practices: Enabling South African Women Entrepreneurs to Access Start-Up Capital

This study explores gendered lending and marketing practices of start-up capital to women entrepreneurs in South Africa. A multi-method research design, comprising of 6 in-depth interviews with experts, and a survey of 50 women entrepreneurs was adopted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, respectively. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs are experiencing gendered discriminatory practices embedded in lending practices used by financial institutions, thereby discouraging them to venture into non-traditional industries. Whilst financial providers may know their products well, many emerging women entrepreneurs in South Africa may find it difficult and costly to obtain information on the thousands of financial products available. Hence, women entrepreneurs resort to taking greater risks than necessary in order to get their businesses off the ground. Educating women on financial matters is extremely important if South Africa is to benefit fully from the untapped entrepreneurial talent that women possess. The study adds voice to the discriminatory lending practices faced by women entrepreneurs in developing countries. Future research could explore the feasibility of establishing a financial institution which caters specifically for the needs of women.

Consuming family quality time: the role of technological devices at mealtimes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how technological devices impact on family mealtime rituals. The intention is to understand how the consumption of technological devices transforms eating practices, and how the meanings of family quality time are continuously evolving through the consumption of mobile media devices. Design/methodology/approach – Insights are drawn from two independent, ethnographic studies that adopted an interpretive approach which employed multiple methods, including 63 visual diaries; 40 written diaries; observations in schools, homes, and Sikh temples (73 items observed), and 66 in-depth interviews. Both studies involved children, aged between 13 and 17 years within the UK, and were conducted for a period of over 12 months each. Informants were recruited through interaction with schools, Sikh temples and the Sikh community. Findings – The findings reveal interplay between family quality time, and the consumption of technological devices such as smartphones, laptops, t...

The effects of calibration amongst management students in higher education

ABSTRACT This study contributes to the on-going discourse on calibration among University students. The study examines the understanding of student self-reflectivity in relation to class written tests and assignments, and of the fact that students’ expected results rarely match the actual results. A quantitative research approach was adopted to collect data from third-year and honours management students at a university in South Africa. The sample population for the class test was 105 out of 205 students, while the sample population for the assignment was 71 out of 205 students. The method applied involved asking students to forecast their result before and after the class test or the assignment. The evaluation process involved a comparison of students’ expected results and the actual performance in both cases. The findings reveal that students’ perception and understanding of the questions in the class test and the assignment contribute immensely to their individual performance. A limitation on this study is that data were collected from students within the management discipline only. Insights from this study can be used to develop assessment methods that are in sync with changes in the present-day education environment. The study contributes to an understanding of curriculum development within the context of challenges facing the educational system in South Africa.

The Marketing of Start-Up Capital to Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa

Women entrepreneurship plays a critical role in economic growth and development (Mitchelmore and Rowley 2013; Still and Timms 2000). In fact, research on economic growth is incomplete without recognising the contribution of women entrepreneurship. Whilst the participation of women in the small business sector is growing rapidly (McGregor and Tweed 2002), there is a dearth of research on this subject within developing countries (Roomi and Parrott 2008) as most studies have focused on women entrepreneurship in developed countries (Bhatt-Datta and Gaily 2012). This is largely attributed to the fact that entrepreneurial efforts by women have gone unnoticed and their contributions have been under appreciated (Bhatt-Datta and Gailey 2012). In Sub-Saharan Africa for example, women owned small businesses produce more than eighty per cent of food production (Woldie and Adersua 2004). Previous studies have focused on how females are choosing entrepreneurship in favour of the corporate ladder (Kephart and Schumacher 2005); the lack of public policy and programmes relating to women entrepreneurs in India (Chandra 1991); the entry and performance barriers for women entrepreneurs in Tanzania taking a governmental perspective (Rutashobya 1998). However, research relating to the marketing of start-up capital targeting women entrepreneurs within developing countries is scarce (Carter and Peter 1998; Nichter and Goldmark 2009).

Discretion and Autonomy: Public Administrators’ Dilemmas in the Implementation of National Curriculum Statements

This study contributes to an understanding of teachers, as street-level bureaucrats in South Africa, and their relative discretion and autonomy in the implementation of public policies. We adopted a mixed-method approach that included in-depth interviews (5), observation (65 days), survey (26), and detailed fieldnotes (25 pages). Our findings demonstrate that teachers exercise discretion and autonomy in areas such as ignoring assessment protocols, following school rules and procedures, rescheduling concepts to be taught, and giving little attention to certain policy requirements. These results offer insights for the exercise of discretion and autonomy by teachers and other street-level bureaucrats.