title: Changes in sustainability reporting by an African defence contractor: a longitudinal analysis

authors: Samkin, Grant

subjects: Africa

abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which sustainability disclosures in a strategically important South African company have changed, in the light of the work by King.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a content analysis of the sustainability reports of a single reporting entity, Denel (Pty) Ltd (Denel), the largest manufacturer of defence equipment in South Africa. The computer assisted textual analysis software programme CATPAC II™ was used to undertake the investigation.
Findings – The paper finds that the emphasis of the sustainability reports changed each year over the period of the study. However, all the reports embody the principles and philosophical aspects of King (in 2002 and 2009). A year on year comparison of the 20 concepts identified as common to each data set over the period of the study found no substantial differences between them. This finding suggests an underlying consistency in their use by the prepares of the sustainability reports.
Research limitations/implications – This research is limited to the analysis of the sustainability reports contained within Denel's 2007 to 2011 annual reports.
Practical implications – The use of research techniques such as those described in this paper has practical implications for future research. Where legislative requirement requires corporate social responsibility reports to be prepared by private and public sector entities, this technique would be especially useful to establish the similarities and differences between them. Differences and the extent of the differences will be of interest to stakeholders groups, preparers and researchers as they will indicate how organisations in the different sectors view sustainability.
Originality/value – Although sustainability reporting has been the subject of extensive research, longitudinal studies are limited. This longitudinal study contributes to the limited CSR literature focusing on developing countries and, in particular, African countries, as well as on the defence or armaments industry.

text: Changes in sustainability reporting by an African defence contractor: a longitudinal analysis Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which sustainability disclosures in a strategically important South African company have changed, in the light of the work by King.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a content analysis of the sustainability reports of a single reporting entity, Denel (Pty) Ltd (Denel), the largest manufacturer of defence equipment in South Africa. The computer assisted textual analysis software programme CATPAC II™ was used to undertake the investigation.
Findings – The paper finds that the emphasis of the sustainability reports changed each year over the period of the study. However, all the reports embody the principles and philosophical aspects of King (in 2002 and 2009). A year on year comparison of the 20 concepts identified as common to each data set over the period of the study found no substantial differences between them. This finding suggests an underlying consistency in their use by the prepares of the sustainability reports.
Research limitations/implications – This research is limited to the analysis of the sustainability reports contained within Denel's 2007 to 2011 annual reports.
Practical implications – The use of research techniques such as those described in this paper has practical implications for future research. Where legislative requirement requires corporate social responsibility reports to be prepared by private and public sector entities, this technique would be especially useful to establish the similarities and differences between them. Differences and the extent of the differences will be of interest to stakeholders groups, preparers and researchers as they will indicate how organisations in the different sectors view sustainability.
Originality/value – Although sustainability reporting has been the subject of extensive research, longitudinal studies are limited. This longitudinal study contributes to the limited CSR literature focusing on developing countries and, in particular, African countries, as well as on the defence or armaments industry.

year: 2012

title: The usability of open source software: analysis and prospects

authors: Nichols, David M.

subjects: computer science

abstract: Open source communities have successfully developed many pieces of software although most computer users only use proprietary applications. The usability of open source software is often regarded as one reason for this limited distribution. In this paper we review the existing evidence of the usability of open source software and discuss how the characteristics of open-source development influence usability. We describe how existing human-computer interaction techniques can be used to leverage distributed networked communities, of developers and users, to address issues of usability.

text: The usability of open source software: analysis and prospects Open source communities have successfully developed many pieces of software although most computer users only use proprietary applications. The usability of open source software is often regarded as one reason for this limited distribution. In this paper we review the existing evidence of the usability of open source software and discuss how the characteristics of open-source development influence usability. We describe how existing human-computer interaction techniques can be used to leverage distributed networked communities, of developers and users, to address issues of usability.

year: 2006

title: Ceremonious storytelling: Exploring experiences within the publicly funded health service

authors: Mellsop-Kupe, Jessie

subjects: Māori health

abstract: Background: Chronic disease is defined as a condition impacting organs or organ systems causing dysfunction or dysregulation that lasts longer than six months or remains, despite medical intervention or treatment.  Research has shown that barriers, including those of a financial, physical, institutional and patient orientated nature significantly impact on outcomes. Māori are significantly over-represented in chronic health condition statistics, particularly relating to cardiac, respiratory, renal and mental health.  Further, Māori are more likely to have a negative experience engaging with primary and secondary health services, leading to disempowerment and dis-engagement. Therefore, research which explores how quality of care for Māori can be improved is of pressing value.

Objective: This study seeks to explore the experiences of Māori and non-Māori health-care consumers and providers within the publicly funded health service of Aotearoa. 
 
Participants: Advertising across primary and secondary care settings resulted in a total of 37 responses from health care consumers (31 respondents contributing to pūrākau) and 37 responses from health professionals (27 respondents contributing to pūrākau).

Methods: This study utilised kaupapa Māori methodological approaches, frameworks and models to guide and intertwine qualitative and quantitative research methods.  Participants were able to engage with any subset of questions, defining their responses through pūrākau, which supports the development of narratives within questions that are outside the limits of other worldviews.  Māori methods such as pūrākau are flexible, enabling the development of research methods that are culturally aware and safe for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people globally

Results: Key themes found within pūrākau highlighted the importance of meaningful engagement, person focused, trauma informed care to positively impact willingness and ability to engage with primary, secondary and tertiary services.  The study reported that consumers had a strong willingness to engage with services.

Conclusion: Health is personal and impacts people in various ways.  Access to health services, while funded in Aotearoa, still create barriers for some people and perpetuates the gap between prevention and diagnosis of chronic disease.  Kaupapa Māori methods within research support Māori engagement and definition within research through historical ways of being, knowing and conducting research.  Participants of this study detailed experiences within health services, highlighting willingness and ability to engage with health services.  Prior research defined the development of the Levesque access and accessibility framework, which correlates with the findings within this study."

text: Ceremonious storytelling: Exploring experiences within the publicly funded health service Background: Chronic disease is defined as a condition impacting organs or organ systems causing dysfunction or dysregulation that lasts longer than six months or remains, despite medical intervention or treatment.  Research has shown that barriers, including those of a financial, physical, institutional and patient orientated nature significantly impact on outcomes. Māori are significantly over-represented in chronic health condition statistics, particularly relating to cardiac, respiratory, renal and mental health.  Further, Māori are more likely to have a negative experience engaging with primary and secondary health services, leading to disempowerment and dis-engagement. Therefore, research which explores how quality of care for Māori can be improved is of pressing value.

Objective: This study seeks to explore the experiences of Māori and non-Māori health-care consumers and providers within the publicly funded health service of Aotearoa. 
 
Participants: Advertising across primary and secondary care settings resulted in a total of 37 responses from health care consumers (31 respondents contributing to pūrākau) and 37 responses from health professionals (27 respondents contributing to pūrākau).

Methods: This study utilised kaupapa Māori methodological approaches, frameworks and models to guide and intertwine qualitative and quantitative research methods.  Participants were able to engage with any subset of questions, defining their responses through pūrākau, which supports the development of narratives within questions that are outside the limits of other worldviews.  Māori methods such as pūrākau are flexible, enabling the development of research methods that are culturally aware and safe for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people globally

Results: Key themes found within pūrākau highlighted the importance of meaningful engagement, person focused, trauma informed care to positively impact willingness and ability to engage with primary, secondary and tertiary services.  The study reported that consumers had a strong willingness to engage with services.

Conclusion: Health is personal and impacts people in various ways.  Access to health services, while funded in Aotearoa, still create barriers for some people and perpetuates the gap between prevention and diagnosis of chronic disease.  Kaupapa Māori methods within research support Māori engagement and definition within research through historical ways of being, knowing and conducting research.  Participants of this study detailed experiences within health services, highlighting willingness and ability to engage with health services.  Prior research defined the development of the Levesque access and accessibility framework, which correlates with the findings within this study."

year: 2024-07-27