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Maturity of sustainable development within information systems projects

  • Authors: Marnewick, Carl
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Sustainability , Information systems , Capability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/236183 , uj:24165 , Citation: Marnewick, C. 2017. Maturity of sustainable development within information systems projects.
  • Description: Abstract: Sustainability or sustainability development has been a major topic of discussion over the last couple of years. Project management is also a discipline that is starting to focus on sustainability, but the focus is more on the environmental aspect of the project itself. Information systems (IS) projects do not have such a major impact on the environment as construction and engineering projects do. Should project managers that are implementing these ‘soft’ projects be concerned about sustainability? There is currently little or no knowledge about sustainability within the IS domain and whether sustainability is incorporated at all within IS projects. A structured questionnaire was adapted based on previous studies. It was circulated to the project management community within South Africa and a total of 1 099 responses were received. The responses covered all industries and for the purpose of this article, 387 IS projects (35.2% of the total projects) were analysed to determine the level of project management sustainability maturity. The objective of the study was to determine the level of capability regarding sustainability.
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Prospective inclination of research and engineering education

  • Authors: Agbenyeku, Emmanuel Emem-Obong , Muzenda, Edison , Msibi, Innocent Mandla
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Sustainability , Engineering education , Sociotechnical systems
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/123934 , uj:20853 , Citation: Agbenyeku, E.E., Muzenda, E & Msibi, I.M. 2016. Prospective inclination of research and engineering education.
  • Description: Abstract: The roles of Engineers are generally vital as their knowledge and expertise play a pivotal part in societal improvement, offer empowering ideas, innovations and initiatives that motivate financial and economic progress, enrich social and physical infrastructures, and also stimulate transformations that advance quality and standard of living. Concurrently, there are enormous challenges weighing on all facets of research and development (R&D), industry and manufacturing owing to globalization and circulated manufacturing. On this note, the corporate and commercial setting of manufacturing enterprises are categorized by incessant modification and growing intricacies. Most companies are in dire need of dynamic technical solutions as well as handling composite socio-technical systems geared towards substantially contributing to the sustainable growth and development of manufacturing and the environment. For this reason, in the ever changing industrial and business world of Engineering, Health delivery, Environment, Transportation, Logistics and Supply chain amongst others, researchers and graduates are profusely required once they display the ability to comprehend both composite technological processes and the resourceful arts and social skills. Thus, through the proficient technical and communication skills of engineering managers, various team-based activities are successfully supervised and executed. As such, aiming at the crucial role of engineering in solving simple to compound global problems make the career attractive to all gender of students.
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Regenerative sustainability in South Africa through mixed in-come housing development

  • Authors: Thwala, Wellington Didibhuku , Aigbavboa, Clinton O.
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Regenerative sustainability , Mixed-income housing programme , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceeding
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/92523 , uj:20238 , Citation: Thwala D. W. & Aigbavboa, O.C. 2016. Regenerative sustainability in South Africa through mixed in-come housing development.
  • Description: Abstract: The provision of adequate and regenerative sustainable housing remains a key priority for the South Africa government. The South African Government has since 1994 initiated and implemented several housing delivery programmes and subsidy mechanisms to eliminate the incidence of ‘slum housing’, its associated poverty and destructive effect to the ecological environment. This include the mixed housing programmes which has been allude to have positive social impact and the potential for interaction between different social spheres and income groups, reduction of negative area effects (for example, low aspirations and low-level crime), a mix of different people from various backgrounds in the local community, attracting and supporting a higher level of services, provision for a change in household composition in one neighbourhood and the creation of additional employment opportunities through higher disposal income in the area. All this attributes steams from the fact that sustainable housing and environmental development requires a new understanding to effectively and synergistically address the pressing issues of sustainability which include climate change. In South Africa, housing development is no longer regarded as simply ‘a roof over one’s head’, but housing development is seen as a crucial role player in achieving regenerative sustainable development – as envisaged by the idea of sustainable housing. Hence this article aims to reveal the effectiveness of the mixed-income integrated development programme, and to access how the programme create sustainable regenerative environment for the occupants of the mixed-income housing. The data used in this article were derived from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was obtained through the survey method, while the secondary data was derived from the review of literature. The primary data for the study was collected through a structured questionnaire survey distributed to a sample of 80 mixed-income households in Fleurhoff in Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Findings from the questionnaire survey revealed that the programme makes better environment and has been effective through the creation better neighbourhood, urban revitalization and improvement of the occupants’ quality of life. The article closes with recommendations on how mixed-income housing can be better adapted to support the regenerative sustainability process and the improvement of the human environment.
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Atomic layer deposition process modeling and experimental investigation for sustainable manufacturing of nano thin films

  • Authors: Pan, Dongqing , Guan, Dongsheng , Jen, Tien-Chien , Yuan, Chris
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Atomic layer deposition; ; , Density functional theory , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/213957 , uj:21218 , Citation: Pan, D. et al. 2016. Atomic layer deposition process modeling and experimental investigation for sustainable manufacturing of nano thin films.
  • Description: Abstract: This paper studies the adverse environmental impacts of atomic layer deposition (ALD) nano-manufacturing technology on ALD of Al2O3 nano-scale thin films. Numerical simulations with detailed ALD surface reaction mechanism developed based on Density Functional Theory (DFT), and atomic-level calculations are performed to investigate the effects of four process parameters including process temperature, pulse time, purge time, and carrier gas flow rate on ALD film deposition rate, process emissions and wastes. Full-cycle ALD simulations reveal that the depositions of nano-thin-films in ALD are in essence the chemisorption of the gaseous species and the conversion of surface species. Methane emissions are positively proportional to the film deposition process. The studies show that process temperature fundamentally affects the ALD chemical process by changing the energy states of the surface species. Pulse time is directly related to the precursor dosage. Purge time influences the ALD process by changing the gas-surface interaction time, and higher carrier gas flow rate alters the ALD flow field by accelerating the convective heat and mass transfer in ALD process.
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Considering sustainability in project management decision making; an investigation using Q-methodology

  • Authors: Silvius, A.J.G. , Kampinga, M. , Paniagua, S. , Mooi, H
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Project , Project management , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/239178 , uj:24568 , Citation: Silvius, A.J.G. et al. 2015. Considering sustainability in project management decision making; an investigation using Q-methodology.
  • Description: Abstract: Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. Projects play a pivotal role in the realization of more sustainable business practices and the concept of sustainability has also been linked to project management. However, how managers of projects consider sustainability in their operational daily work is still to be explored. This paper uses Q-methodology to investigate the consideration of sustainability aspects in the decision making processes of project managers. The research question was How are dimensions of sustainability considered in the decision-making processes of project managers in relation to the triple constraint of time, cost and quality? Based on the Q-sort of selected respondents, the study found that the consideration of sustainability principles is underrepresented, compared to the triple constraint criteria. However, the analysis of the individual Q-sorts revealed four distinct perspectives that differ significantly in their consideration of sustainability principles and triple constraint criteria.
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Exploring patterns of sustainability stimuli of project managers

  • Authors: Marnewick, Carl , Silvius, Gilbert , Schipper, Ron
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Sustainability , Stimulus patterns , Project manager
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/397872 , uj:33093 , Citation: Marnewick, C., Silvius, G. & Schipper, R. 2019. Exploring patterns of sustainability stimuli of project managers. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5016; doi:10.3390/su11185016
  • Description: Abstract: Sustainable project management is becoming important and the sustainability concepts of people, the planet and profit needs to be incorporated into any type of project. This article focuses on the behavior of the project manager per se and the stimuli patterns that motivate them to adhere to sustainable project management. Three stimuli patterns are used i.e., intrinsically motivated, pragmatic and task driven. To determine which of these patterns influence a project manager, a quantitative pair-wise comparison was used. Twelve statements were used in a pair-wise comparison resulting in a combination of 66 questions. A sample of 101 project managers was analyzed to determine the stimuli patterns. The results indicate that the most prevalent stimulus pattern is the intrinsically motivated pattern with the other two patterns equally important. The results are consistent across gender, age and types of projects as well as industries. It can be concluded that for this study, project managers incorporate sustainability because they feel that it is something they should do. The motivation to consider sustainability is dominated by their behavioral beliefs and the characteristics of the project, or the opinion of others, do not play a large role. This research contributes to the larger body of knowledge with regards to sustainable project management and specifically to the human behavior of project managers. This research addresses the gap that currently exists in current literature where the focus is on the product’s sustainability and sustainable processes.
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Evaluating the sustainability of Rea Vaya System through measuring the service quality

  • Authors: Lengana, Omphemetse , Mabaso, Phindile , Mavuso, Bhenkumuzi , Thaba, Sebonkile
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: SERVQUAL Model , Sustainability , BRT System
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/288806 , uj:31319 , Citation: Lengana, O. et al. 2018. Evaluating the sustainability of Rea Vaya System through measuring the service quality.
  • Description: Abstract: This study aimed at assessing the sustainability of the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system through assessing how the seven elements of service quality affects the commuters’ satisfaction with the service rendered by the Rea Vaya system, and the impact on its sustainability. The rationale for this assessment was to determine whether the system will continue to operate at a low cost for its customers, offer a high quality service that retains commuters and thus, sustaining Rea Vaya’s profitability in the future. A quantitative research method was used for this study, the method allows numerical data collection and enables the study to analyse data. The use of a quantitative data collection method helped in answering the primary and secondary objectives. A questionnaire was used as a means of collecting data handed out to BRT users at selected bus stations on specific routes in Johannesburg. The target population consisted of all users of the Rea Vaya BRT system. Rea Vaya transports an average of 16 000 commuters every day (Rea Vaya, 2009). The sampling unit can be found at five of the fifty-eight Rea Vaya stations currently operational. Data analysis included getting a summary of the mass of data that will be collected and presenting the results to communicate important findings.
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Sport tourism as a local economic development enhancer for emerging destinations

Sustainability of rural communities drinking water systems and local development projects in the Bole, West and Central Gonja Districts of the Savannah Region, Ghana

  • Authors: Bazaanah, Prosper
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Sustainability , Community Drinking Water , Sustainable Development
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/395143 , uj:32751 , Citation: Bazaanah, P. 2019. Sustainability of rural communities drinking water systems and local development projects in the Bole, West and Central Gonja Districts of the Savannah Region, Ghana. , DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18533/rss.v4i1.140 , ISSN: 2378-8569(Print)
  • Description: Abstract: This study employed the post-positivist epistemology and the cross-sectional survey to examine the factors influencing the sustainability of communities drinking water and local development projects in the Bole, West and Central Gonja Districts of the Savannah Region, Ghana. Proportionate, systematic and simple random techniques were utilised to sample 450 respondents, composed of 392 household heads and 58 officials. Data was collected, utilising self-designed and semi-structured face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. Correlation and regressions were generated to determine relationships between the variables. Results showed community participation (r= 0.576, p-value = 0.019), finance (r = 0.517, p-value = 0.006), sense of ownership (r = 0.573, p-value = 0.012), labour support (r = 0.474, p-value = 0.015), education (r = 0.469, p-value = 0.021), technology (r = - 0.436, p-value = 0.018), maintenance (r = -0.503, p-value = 0.029), water pollution (r = - 0.389, p-value =0.041) and transparency (r = - 0.250, p-value = 0.015), were significantly associated with water projects sustainability. 69.7 percent of variabilities were collectively explained by the independent variables. Since p-values were < α = 0.05, the null hypothesis (Ho) was ruled out in favour of the alternative hypothesis. With strong participation, funding, local ownership, labour, and citizen empowerment, coupled with improved facility maintenance, appropriate technologies, pollution control and good eco-governance, there is almost irresistible likelihood for water and development projects to be sustainable. Depoliticising water, democratisation and eco-friendly strategies are necessary preconditions for an inclusive, self-governing and ecologically responsible citizenship needed for sustainability of water projects at the lowest level of development.
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Renewable energy: deployment and the roles of energy storage

  • Authors: Masebinu, S. O. , Akinlabi, Esther Titilayo , Muzenda, E. , Aboyade, A. O.
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Energy storage , Environment , Renewable energy , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/93707 , uj:20381 , Citation: Masebinu, S.O. et al. 2016. Renewable energy: deployment and the roles of energy storage.
  • Description: Abstract: Hydro energy still remains the highest RE contributor to electricity generation globally, nevertheless, trends in solar and wind energy has shown increasing investment in RE. Though a decline in investment was observed between 2012 and 2013, yet investment in RE exceeded that of non-RE in the excess of $80 billion dollar. In 2014, investment increased by 16%. As developed countries get saturated with RE technologies, developing countries are now the focus for investment. Wistfully, path dependency problem, lack of adequate infrastructure and policy framework have been highlighted as the major barrier to RE deployment in developing countries. Also, lack of harmonised government agency for RE implementation, incentives and educational gap are the institutional and social barriers. Energy Storage (ES) is being promoted as the “game changer” with capability of smoothening the variability associated with the two RE technologies, wind and solar, with the highest deployment rate. Recent developments are indicative of cost reduction for ES. This paper therefore presents a concise and holistic review of renewable energy (RE) technologies for electricity generation and assess the roles of ES in mitigating intermittency associated with their generation profile.
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Synergizing food-energy-water (FEW) resources for sustainable benefits

  • Authors: Agbenyeku, Emmanuel Emem-Obong , Muzenda, Edison , Msibi, Innocent Mandla , Masebinu, Samson Oluwasegun
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Synergy , Sustainability , FEW resources
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/72767 , uj:18325 , Citation: Agbenyeku, E.E.O. et al. 2015. Synergizing food-energy-water (FEW) resources for sustainable benefits.
  • Description: Abstract: The drastic pursuit of economic, urbanized and globalized growth in recent decades have impacted severely on the natural ecosystem and available resources. The insistent climate change is further sustained by enormous food and energy production wastages. This also accounts for the increased tension on water supply and organic practices as consequences of an upset ecosystem; leading to unstable temperature changes, changes to normal weather patterns, floods and drought, melting glaciers and rising sea heads- all to which potentially affects the sustenance of man and the environment. As such, synergizing the food-energy-water (FEW) scarce resources and understanding their potential interactive merits as against their isolated short lived advantages have become an area of interest in recent years. This has driven the discuss herein towards the sustainable benefits of knotting the FEW scarce resources, as all three elements must be unified for ensured beneficial outcomes. The paper also highlighted the FEW interactive challenges and pathways of resource conservation particularly, in the dire need for food security in present time. The paper therefore holds a general discuss that posits the interactive link between the limited FEW resources as a platform towards sustainable conservative benefits of all three elements to man and the environment.
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Rhetoric or Practice Planning in the midst of a multitude of demands and expectations

  • Authors: Mbinza, Zenzile
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Planning , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference Proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/15841 , uj:15708 , Mbinza, Z, 2012. Rhetoric or Practice? Planning in the midst of a multitude of demands and expectations. Planning Africa Conference, 17 – 19 September, 2012, Durban International Convention Centre.
  • Description: Abstract Planning has lost its soul. The ebb and flow of spatial economics, the only determinant of successful places and/or regions, dictates ritual to the detriment of innovation, ingenuity and in some instances, logic. The plethora of rules, programmes and processes that plague planning have rendered it (planning) redundant and reactive. In this way, planning has increasingly alienated its original purpose: to sensitise the environment to humankind’s needs to the environment’s abundant opportunities in the midst of the environment’s fragility and sensitivity. Contemporary challenges including civil wars, global warming, climate change and rampant economic recessions are nothing short of catastrophic considering mankind’s higher intellectual capacities. Rather than being the conduit for change, planning, through rules and numerous protocols, has tamed its protagonists to such an extent that it has systematically mechanised its agents into narrow-minded thinking pawns. Planning proponents need to rediscover the very purpose of planning: to imagine better alternate futures and to continuously seek the means of attaining these futures. Planning’s interdisciplinary nature requires flexibility unparalleled to any other profession whose aims are to improve societies livelihoods and the sustainability of human settlements. This paper seeks to redefine the role of planning in society. In addition, it aims to explore and rationalise planning in such a way that lessens its bureaucracy and habitualness. Thus, the role of the ordinary citizen in planning is questioned and garnered for. Lastly, entrenched modes of thinking, at least as far as planning is concerned, are challenged and alternative, more proactive approaches suggested. I will conduct a cross analysis of contemporary planning tools and procedures. It is envisaged that this cross analysis will elucidate the shortcomings or gaps in planning in solving contemporary settlement and societal issues. The gaps identified will act as justifications for the need to change our approach to implementing planning tools and in reorganising our thinking in planning generally.
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Critical planning considerations for PPP road project sustainability : a case study approach

  • Authors: Okoro, Chioma , Musonda, Innocent , Agumba, Justus
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Public-private partnerships , Road infrastructure , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/278514 , uj:29890 , Citation: Okoro, C., Musonda, I. & Agumba, J. 2018. Critical planning considerations for PPP road project sustainability : a case study approach.
  • Description: Abstract: Road transport projects are complex and laden with risks and uncertainties which influence their success or otherwise; even more so, with projects involving the private sector. Private investors decide to proceed with projects based on projections of costs and benefits potentially accruing to a proposed project, which ultimately reflect the success or failure of the project. However, the risks associated with roads delivered through public-private-partnerships (PPP) are grave and if strategies are not put in place to reduce or mitigate the chances of their occurrence, the expected performance of the projects may not be realised. The current paper aims to identify critical feasibility considerations to ensure sustainability of PPP road projects. A thematic content analysis of extant literature and case study illustrations was undertaken. Journal and conference articles were sourced from databases including Academic Search Complete, ASCE Library, Google Scholar, Scopus, Taylor and Francis, Google and Science Direct. Findings revealed that joint decision-making and concessionaire selection procedure and considerations were the most important feasibility factors for PPP road projects sustainability. These factors should be taken cognisance of at the feasibility stage to ensure that mechanisms are put in place in order to realise expected project performance.
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Stakeholder inclusiveness in sustainability reporting by mining companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange

  • Authors: Lingenfelder, Deirdré , Thomas, Adele
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Corporate social responsibility , Stakeholder involvement , Sustainability , Johannesburg Securities Exchange , Global Reporting Initiative guidelines , Socially Responsible Investment index , Mining companies
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5822 , ISSN 1817-7417 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7839
  • Description: A key requirement for listing on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) index is the publication, by companies, of annual sustainability reports in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines that require stakeholders to be included in defining the content of such reports. Despite this requirement, stakeholders appear not to be integrally involved in the process. The primary objective of the study was to determine whether the contents of sustainability reports of the mining companies listed on the JSE SRI index are based on the outcome of robust stakeholder engagement processes undertaken specifically for the purpose of preparing these reports. Against a backdrop of the GRI requirements, a quantitative evaluation was undertaken of recent sustainability reports of 11 South African mining companies. These reports were also qualitatively assessed against the corporate social responsibility (CSR) Journey Model proposed by Mirvis and Googins (2006). The two assessment scores for each mining company were integrated and the companies were plotted according to a CSR journey that encompasses degrees of stakeholder involvement. The findings highlight that while the companies adhere to the quantitative GRI stakeholder engagement requirements, the contents of the sustainability reports have not been specifically informed by stakeholders. Companies also appear to be in the early stages of the CSR journey. Recommendations include advising mining companies to utilise existing stakeholder engagement platforms to advance stakeholder inclusion in sustainability reporting and for mining companies to engage in developing the business case for CSR, which could promote greater stakeholder involvement.
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Exploring responsible project management education

Sustainability beyond mining: transformations in systems for secondary beneficiation

  • Authors: Ferraz, Maria Fátima Freitas
  • Date: 2012-11-02
  • Subjects: Sustainability , Conservation of natural resources , Mines and mineral resources - Management
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:7324 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8061
  • Description: Ph.D. , Definitions of sustainable development can be grouped according to their ideological orientation and economic paradigm in which they are placed: neoclassical; social and ecological modernisation of neoclassical; and radical. The view of sustainable development predominant in the mining sector aligns with the dominant neoclassical economic paradigm. It is revealed specifically through the system of metrics used, the most obvious of which is profit, shareholder value, and growth. The idea of sustainability is understood in mining as the need to respond to increasing regulation by adding two extra dimensions to the economic one – social and environmental. This is abbreviated as the triple bottom line, or weak sustainability. In the exercise of process stewardship, mines tend to follow global responsibility guidelines formulated for the sector, but product stewardship is of secondary importance. Narrow definitions of sustainability fail to take into account the biosphere as a complex adaptive system. In this study there is a discussion about an innovative collaborative sustainability model to be developed in a new industrial sector. That sector would operate beyond mining, while at the same time using mining waste residues feedstock as its inputs. The landscape in which the new sector would be located would be the current neoclassical one, but the model has been formulated as a tool to move towards a broader conception of sustainability. As a means of clarifying the fuzzy boundaries between the various entities and components of the complex adaptive system of the biosphere, for the purposes of discussion, the biosphere has been divided into seven separate schematic dimensions (after Gell-Mann, 1994: 345-366). These are ideological, institutional, economic, social, demographic, informational and technological. Six research and development projects, carried out over seven years (2002 to 2009) in a research and development group of a trans-national mining corporation, were directed by the author. These projects, in the fields of improved air quality and of minimisation of mining waste residues, formed the basis for conceptualising a new collaborative sustainability model. The projects, when placed in the context of seven dimensions of the biosphere and as examples of sustainable development, reveal themselves as falling far short of attaining sustainability goals. What a reductionist definition of sustainability used in the mining industry means is that the industry is slow at anticipating needs of communities after a mine closes, or after organisational restructuring and downsizing in the trans-national corporation has happened, or in dealing with the influx of people into the area who come to improve their economic/political opportunities. The implementation of sustainability principles in mines is directed by global protocols, directives and regulatory obligations, and is driven by the market economy.
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Facilities ensure sustainability in golf clubs in Gauteng

  • Authors: Sao Joao, E.A. , Spowart, J. , Taylor, A.
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Hospitality , Facilities , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/214464 , uj:21284 , Citation: Sao Joao, E.A., Spowart, J & Taylor, A. 2016. Facilities ensure sustainability in golf clubs in Gauteng.
  • Description: Abstract: The visual aspects of the golf club facilities should create a desire in guests to return. The facilities of any hospitality establishment are referred to as the unrecognised champion that silently welcomes the guest to an area of comfort and safety. But these facilities are equally important to the employees who need to work within the walls, utilising equipment and systems in order to complete their daily tasks. Guests and employees do not look at the hospitality environment in the same way but the importance of maintenance and renovation of these facilities should not be underestimated. The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between golf facilities and sustainability. An explorative, mixed methods research design was used. The results indicated how the facilities contribute to the sustainability of the establishment. The facilities are the first feature of the golf /country club that the member sees. This requires constant upkeep and frequent renovations to attract contemporary members. The study contributes to the literature in the South African hospitality sector and established that there was a positive link between the golf facilities and sustainability.
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Sustainability as a new school of thought in project management

  • Authors: Silvius, Gilbert
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Project management , Project management theory , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/244547 , uj:25289 , Citation: Silvius, G. 2017. Sustainability as a new school of thought in project management.
  • Description: Abstract: Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. It is recognized that projects play a pivotal role in the realization of more sustainable business practices and a developing theme in project management research is the relationship between projects and sustainability. As the literature on this topic is evolving, this paper discusses the question whether the growing attention for sustainability in project management research represents a new ‘school of thought’ in project management? The study builds upon earlier work on schools of project management research, in which nine schools were identified. The question whether sustainability should be considered a new school of project management is answered by deriving the criteria for recognition as a school and performing a structured literature review on a sample of 71 articles on sustainability in project management, taken from the leading academic journals on this topic. As criteria for recognition as a school of project management, the criteria content, community and impact were found. After a content analysis of the articles in the sample, the conclusion is reached that sustainability qualifies a new, distinct and emerging school of thinking in project management. The defining characteristics of this sustainability school are: considering Projects in a societal perspective, having a Management for stakeholders approach, applying Triple bottom line criteria, and taking a Values based approach to projects and project management.
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Exploring challenges impeding sustainable supply chain practices in mining sector

  • Authors: Mulongo, Ndala Yves , Kholopane, Pule
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Mining industry , Challenges , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/243732 , uj:25194 , Citation: Mulongo, N.Y. & Kholopane, P. 2017. Exploring challenges impeding sustainable supply chain practices in mining sector.
  • Description: Abstract: Growing pressures from various players such as governments, non-governmental organizations, and customers have impelled business corporations to address the economic, environmental, and social issues associated with their supply chain activities. Consequently, the concept of sustainability has become a buzzword among scholars and industry practitioners. Although, the concept of sustainability is attaining high level of importance in Europe, America, and Asia due to its ability of ensuring environmental sustainability, in Africa the integration and application of sustainability’s concept is facing several challenges. To date, several studies were conducted to investigate the barriers affecting sustainability practices in mining sector at country’s level. However, an investigative study regarding the barriers of sustainability practices in mining sector of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which involve fifteen African countries is missing, this paper aims at filling this gap. The data were collected through a quantitative approach. At least 1 423 participants were involved in the survey. The findings revealed that the major barriers blocking the development of Sustainable Supply Chain in mining industry of SADC region include Lack of commitment on environmental deterioration, lack of communication and knowledge sharing, Ineffective monitoring and control system, lack of effective policy and legislation direction, high cost associated with the implementation of SSCM, Poor Supplier Commitment, lack of green practitioners, poor senior managements’ commitment, lack of recycling activities. Lack of Political commitment and support, Lack of managerial support and practical tools, and inadequate individual capacity.
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Environmental influences on sustainability dimensions in the South African construction industry

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