Although there is a myriad of research on women's careers, limited research has considered the role women play in their own career development and advancement. This study aims to explore the role of personal attributes in the skills development and career advancement of women. The self-determination theory and the sustainable career model are used to unpack personal attributes vital for women's development and career progression. 234 women from the service industry in Johannesburg participated in this study. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. Free-text comments were gathered through open-ended questions in a questionnaire. The manual thematic analysis approach was used to analyse data. Findings reveal that personal attributes such as effort, willingness, motivation, determination, and optimism are vital for women's skills development. Likewise, inspiration, determination, hard work, effort, ownership, assertiveness, and eagerness to seize opportunities are critical for women's career progression. Findings also reveal that some organisational factors can discourage and demotivate women from pursuing their career goals. Therefore, women need to take personal responsibility to drive their careers forward. Organisations should motivate women and encourage them to actively take charge of their careers.
The prominence of information and communication technology (ICT) has transformed teaching and learning in higher education significantly. Its profound implications on pedagogy, epistemology and ontology have resulted in calls for a paradigm shift from traditional lecturer-centred teaching methods to modern studentcentred pedagogies. Consequently, the teaching, structuring, pacing and presentation of content need to be technologically responsive. This challenges lecturers to harness technology for innovative teaching and learning and to implement innovative approaches and practices in their educational practice. Against this exposition, this empirical qualitative study sought to understand lecturers’ perceptions of the use of ICT tools in accounting education. Data were collected from six purposefully selected accounting lecturers from two universities, using focus group interviews and open-ended questionnaires for triangulation. A thematic and conceptual content analysis of data revealed the important educational benefits of ICT tools in accounting education. These tools were found to have improved student participation in teaching and learning, as well as in academic performance. Authorities in education are therefore encouraged to implement programmes to capacitate lecturers on the effective use of ICT tools and to make the use of ICT tools mandatory in educational provision.
Much can be learned from doctoral examiner reports to improve supervision practice. The PhD by Publication (PBP) is a growing yet underexplored thesis format with a structured layout: a series of published or unpublished articles linked by contextual material, a substantial introduction and a concluding summation. While disciplinary norms significantly influence PBP preparation and examination, empirical evidence remains limited. This study analyses 60 examiner reports for feedback on the format of 20 PBPs submitted between 2013-2023 to the School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), identifying key preferences, expectations, challenges and recommendations. Content analysis highlights disciplinary preferences regarding thesis structure, co-authorship, linking materials, and supervisor roles. Additionally, the study found PBP length, candidate growth, guidance on marking published papers and publication selection as items strongly linked to clinical discipline and research culture. Addressing these unique concerns will enable UKZN to better prepare future clinical medicine doctoral candidates for thesis assessment in the evolving landscape of doctoral education and strengthen the PBP as a doctoral format.
Negative supervision experiences could derail the process and outcome of postgraduate research. A moral framework for reflection on positive and negative dimensions of the supervisory relationship is thus needed. The hidden curriculum highlights complementary approaches to research development, not only focusing on standard formal interventions, but also on ways to harness development during the research process. The 'thinking’ and ‘willing’ dimensions of the doctoral intelligence framework provided a springboard for exploring intellectual virtues, mindsets or characteristics of excellence during knowledge pursuits. This article explores the relevance of the virtue of intellectual humility to the advanced research context and specifically on the relational aspect of postgraduate supervision. While humility is a moral virtue in general society, intellectual humility is viewed as a virtue with internal and social application during knowledge production. Intellectual humility lies between the excess of humility (servility) and the deficit (arrogance), and metacognition assists in the scholar’s appraisal of their strengths and weaknesses. The intellectual humility moral framework provides a tool for reflection on positive and negative aspects in advanced research contexts. The guidelines for research development within the intellectual humility framework are applicable for thoughtful, ongoing, responsive reflections for reciprocal benefits for all role players for lifelong learning and continual development.
