Prof. Pierre Mostert,

Dr. Christine De

Meyer and Prof.

Renier Jansen van

Rensburg of the

School of Business

Management re-

cently received the

Best Paper award in

the International

M a n a g e m e n t /

Organizational &

Management The-

ory/Critical Manage-

m e n t S t u d i e s /

Management & Or-

ganizational Cognition/Management Education & Development track

at the Southwest Academy of Management conference held in Okla-

homa City, Oklahoma. Their paper titled “The Effect of Service Failure

and Recovery on Airline-Passenger Relationships: A Comparison Be-

tween South Africa and United States Airline Passengers” was pre-

Statistics: Overview of

2008

Total number of pub-

lications: 51

Of which are in ac-

credited journals: 49

Of which are in inter-

national journals: 13

International confer-

ence presentations:

36

National conference

presentations: 28

8 May 2009

Prof. Renier Jansen van Rensburg, Prof. Pierre Mostert

and Dr. Christine de Meyer with their awards

The WorkWell Calendar

Mariana Kleynhans

Louise

Jansen van

Rensburg

Workwell Research Unit;

Faculty of Economic and

Management Sciences,

North-West University,

P o t c h e f s t r o o m , 2 5 2 0

Tel: +27 (0)18-299-1369 Fax: +27 (0)18-299-1360

E-mail: Jaco.Pienaar@nwu.ac.za Web: www.workwell.co.za

Winning paper for WorkWell researchers

Volume 3, Issue 1

Inside this issue:

Winning paper for research-

ers

1

International students at

WorkWell

2

International Atlantic Eco-

nomic Society Conference

2

Visit of Dr. Hans Siebers 3

Prof. Styger in Ghana 3

Collaboration between School

for Economics and DTI

4

New qualification for staff 4

A new measure of tourism well-

being

5

Research in Accounting Sciences 6

New collaboration 6

Please note: All research proposals of Master’s and PhD

students are presented at Research Committee meetings.

The WorkWell Support Team

Date of Meeting Date for Submission to

Research Director

20 May 13 May

22 July 15 July

19 August 12 August

23 September 16 September

21 October 14 October

A number of international students visited WorkWell in the first semester of 2009. The research unit hosted

students from Stockholm University and Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

Corina op’t Hoog and Marianne Pepers are visiting the research unit untill the end of April, for the research

component of their Master’s theses. Both students focus on the experience of diversity in the South African

mining sector, associated with employment equity

and affirmative action policies. Various qualitative

interviews have already been conducted in a mine

and some of the preliminary results of their re-

search were delivererd at a diversity seminar.

Sofia Bystedt and Alexandra Forsberg were in

South Africa to participate in a study on work

stress and moderators of individual health.

Our guests also experienced a lot of the South Afri-

can culture and landscape, since they made some

interesting trips to the Pilanesberg National Park

and the Western Cape.

International Students at WorkWell

On the photo (f.l.t.r.): Alexandra Forsberg (SU), Sofia Bystedt (SU), Marianne Pepers (UVT) & Corina op’t Hoog (UVT).

DOWell Newsletter

Presentations at the International Atlantic

Economic Society Conference

During March, staff from the School of

Economics and the research niche area for the

Socio-Economic Impact of Tourism presented

several papers at the conference of the

International Atlantic Economic Society held in

Rome, Italy.

Quinton Morris and Prof. Paul Styger presented

a paper with colleague Gary van Vuuren

entitled “Describing JSE Price behaviour with

Wavelet and Markov switching regime analysis”.

Prof. Styger also presented a paper with Chris

van Heerden entitled “The relationship

between the ZAR/Dollar forward exchange rate

premium and the interest differential”. Prof.

Andrea Saayman collaborated with Chris du

Plessis for a presentation on “The uncovered

interest parity exchange rate: long memory or

mean reversion”. Gary van Vuuren,

extraordinary professor in the School of Economics presented a paper entitled “Government bank guarantees

and their effect on Basel II’s counterparty risk”.

Dr. Pieter Vosloo, a colleague in Economics from the Vaal Triangle campus presented on “A proposed credit

rating methodology for Co-operative Banks in South Africa”. PhD student Lullu Krugel dealt with “Estimating

the size of product substitution bias in the South African CPI”.

Proffs. Melville Saayman and Elmarie Slabbert from the Tourism niche area presented a paper on

“Expenditure-based segmentation of visitors to the Grahamstown National Arts Festival”. Dr. Peet van der

Merwe, together with Proffs. Melville Saayman en Jaco Pienaar investigated and presented on the

expenditure-based segmentation of hunters who hunt primarily for that favourite of South African delicacies:

Biltong!

On the photo (f.l.t.r.): Prof. Melville Saayman, Prof. Elmarie

Slabbert, Dr. Peet van der Merwe, Dr. Pieter Vosloo, Prof.

Andrea Saayman, Prof. Paul Styger, Mr. Chris van Heerden, Mr.

Quinton Morris & Dr. Lullu Krugell

Page 2

Dr. Hans Siebers – associate professor at Tilburg University (TU) – visited the WorkWell Research Unit from

12 to 18 April to enhance collaboration between the NWU and TU. Hans’ research interests include the

conceptualisation and management of risks involved in the emergence of multiculturality in the context of

globalisation; diversity and ethnicity and their management in organisations; and identity regulation and

management of subjectivity of co-workers in the context of organisational development. In addition to work-

ing with his two Master’s degree students (Corina op’t Hoog and Marianne Pepers) on their projects, Hans

was also involved in a combined research project with Dr. Bennie Linde and had discussions with Prof.

Karina Mostert and Ms.

Crizelle Swanepoel con-

cerning research method-

ology modules for the

School of Human Re-

source Sciences. Hans

had a very busy, produc-

tive and successful visit.

The WorkWell Research

Unit enjoyed hosting him

very much!

Page 3

Volume 3, Issue 1

Dr. Hans Siebers visits the Research Unit

Dr. Hans Siebers (blue shirt) was presented with a good bottle of South African red wine at an informal farewell

function. On the photo he appears with staff from the research unit and Afriforté.

Mr. Fanie Bothma, Mr.

Millison Narh, Mr. Lionel

van Lare Dosoo and Prof.

Paul Styger (far right)

Prof. Paul Styger of the School for Economics and Mr. Fanie Bothma of Riskflow Technologies presented a

course in Strategic Asset and Liability Management for the top management of the Reserve Bank of Ghana.

It was the first course to be presented at the Bank’s new Centre of Excellence. The Senior Vice-President of

the bank, Mr. Lionel van Lare Dosoo described the training as a “Wow Moment” for the Bank of Ghana.

The head of the newly established Centre of Excellence, Mr. Millison Narh, has expressed confidence that

closer collaboration with the School for Economics may contribute to improving skills of staff of the Central

Bank for Central and Western Africa.

Prof. Styger in Ghana

Dr. Elmarí Deacon

Successful collaboration between the School of

Economics and DTI

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has commissioned a research project to Prof. Wilma Viviers,

director of the School of Economics, NWU, Potchefstroom Campus. The aim of this research was to rerun

and refine a Decision Support Model (DSM), which was developed by Prof. Cuyvers and colleagues from the

University of Antwerp in Belgium, to the South African economy in order to identify realistic export opportu-

nities for South Africa. The results are needed to focus the export promotion activities of the DTI and there-

fore to utilise government resources to their maximum potential.

On 6 March 2009, the 2008 results

obtained from the DSM rerun and

refinement of the model to the South

African circumstances, as well as

comparisons of these results with

those of the initial run, were pre-

sented by Dr. Riaan Roussouw and

Mrs. Ermie Steenkamp of the School

of Economics, to the DTI's staff mem-

bers involved in the project, Mr.

Riaan le Roux, chief director of Ex-

port promotion of the DTI and Ms.

Lynne Smillie.

The next phase of the research will

focus on in-depth market studies on

the export potential of specific prod-

uct-market combinations that were

identified from the DSM results. Ms.

Noleen Sithole, a Master’s degree student already has a head start in this phase by presenting the results of

her study on the export potential of South African macadamia nuts to Germany.

Mr. Riaan Le Roux also presented a lecture to the School of Economics' honours students on the topic of:

The global financial crisis and the impact on South Africa.

DOWell Newsletter

Page 4

Dr. Elmarí Deacon, a lecturer in Industrial Psychology in the School of Be-

havioural Sciences on the Vaal Triangle campus of North-West University,

received her PhD in Psychology at the September graduation ceremony.

The title of her thesis is: The compilation and evaluation of an emotional

and social competency programme for Gr. 0 - learners. The aim of the study

was to determine the effect of an emotional and social competency develop-

ment programme on the emotional and social competence, as well as cer-

tain aspects of development of a group of Gr. 0-learners.

The results indicate that the programme had a practical significant effect on

the internalisation of problems and social competence, as well as practical

reasoning of the experimental group, when compared with the control

group.

Dr. Riaan Rossouw, Mrs. Ermie Steenkamp & Prof. Wilma Viviers

Staff member obtains her PhD

Volume 3, Issue 1

This researcher is on fire!

The Tourism Department of the Ministry of Local Government (Hungary) cordially

invited Dr. Stefan Kruger, to join the first workshop on tourism-specific Quality of

Life Methodology, to be held in Budapest Hungary. The research methodology

was tested in three locations in Hungary and it was proved to be applicable and

relevant. Dr. Kruger is part of 9 international partners ( Brazil, Czech Republic,

Finland, Malaysia, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, The Netherlands and South Africa) in

an international project on Quality of Life Methodology in the tourism field.

Dr. Stefan Kruger had also been invited by Prof. Joe Sirgy (who has more than 160

publications in the field of Quality of Life) to join a research team, consisting of

Prof. Joe Sirgy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech)

U.S.A, Michael Bosnjak, Free University of Bozen Bolzano in Italy, and Ibrahim

Hegazy, Board member of the Egypt Tourism Bureau and American University in

Cairo on a research project on developing and validating a measure of tourism well

-being.

Dr. Kruger also started a new hobby: Fire Breathing! Below are some action shots

of his new skill displayed!

Dr. Stefan Kruger

A New Measure of Tourism Wellbeing

Dr. Stefan Kruger has also been collaborating with Prof. Joe Sirgy from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute &

State University in the USA, since June 2007, with a new research project entitled “A new measure of tour-

ism well-being”. The survey was designed to capture tourists’ feelings about the last out-of-home vacation

they took in the last few months.

It was hypothesised that tourists’ satisfaction with health and safety on their last leisure travel trip contributes

significantly to their life satisfaction (overall sense of well-being and happiness). This hypothesis was sup-

ported. It was further hypothesised that tourists’ satisfaction with health and safety on their last leisure travel

trip is determined by positive emotions arising from feeling relaxed, rested, de-stressed; feeling mentally re-

charged after the trip; and feeling that own health improved because the trip required physical activity.

This hypothesis was not supported. Instead, the study results supported a different hypothesis related to the

absence of negative emotions. That is, the data supported the notion that tourists’ satisfaction with health

and safety on their last leisure travel trip was strongly influenced by not feeling too tired and exhausted, not

getting sick, not gaining weight, and not worrying about catching a disease.

These findings are indeed interesting. It contradicts the general belief that leisure travel affects life satisfac-

tion by feeling relaxed, rested, de-stressed, etc. (positive emotions related to health). Our study shows that

safety plays a stronger role in predicting the effect of leisure travel on life satisfaction (i.e., avoiding the

health problems that most people end up having going on a leisure travel trip, such as getting sick). In other

words, a leisure travel trip that reduces the possibility of negative emotions arising from health and safety

issues is the kind of trip that can significantly contribute to the quality of life of the tourist.

This research project places the study at the forefront of tourism research in the field of Quality of life and

Tourism Well-being in the world, as this is the first time that research of this na-

ture had been conducted. The article will further be presented at the ISQOLS

Conference in Florence, Italy this year. Page 5

The research unit, together with the

Potchefstroom Business School, presented

their Short Course in Research Methods for

Economic and Management Students to

staff and students of MANCOSA

(Management College of South Africa), in

Durban, during the first week of April

2009.

Prof. Jaco Pienaar (Research Director),

and Prof. Christo Bisschoff and Dr. Christoff

Botha from the Business School were the

presenters for the four-day course.

The research methodology course was tai-

lored to provide MBA or PhD students with

the relevant research knowledge to suc-

cessfully complete the dissertation/thesis

component of the MBA or PhD pro-

gramme. The course not only intends to

enhance their knowledge in the subject,

but also to strengthen their skills in statisti-

cal analysis. The course was well attended,

with students from as far a field as Swazi-

land attending.

The “new face” at the School for Accounting Sciences is Mr. Shaun Kruger, a contract lecturer at Forensic

Accounting and formerly a member of the Special Investigations Unit. Mr. Kruger is already in possession of a

Master’s degree in law, but is also busy with a second Research Master’s-degree in the Faculty of Law.

Mr. Kruger has been fortunate enough to obtain a bursary for studies at the University of Tilburg, the

Netherlands, from January until June 2010. The bursary, to the value of €5000 will cover tuition fees as well as

accommodation and provides him with the opportunity to be lectured in 5 subjects, including European

Criminal Law and State Aid and Public Procurement, at the Faculty of Law at Tilburg University. Mr. Kruger is

the first fortunate student of North-West University to receive such a bursary. With this opportunity contributing

to his current Master’s studies, he is already building a solid base for future doctoral studies. Congratulations and

good luck Shaun!

Prof Danie Schutte is going to visit the De Monfort Unversity in Leicester during the May 2009. The visit is part

of Danie’s research into the influence of culture on accountancy. As part of the study, Danie has been working

with Dr Panagiotis Andrikopoulos of the De Monfort university, where the accounting students of this university

forms one of the participant groups of this multi-cultural, cross-border project. The other participants are stu-

dents of North-West University, from both the Potchefstroom and Mafikeng Campusses.

Proff Merwe Oberholzer and Pieter Buys from the School of Accounting Sciences in Potchefstroom are going to

present two papers at the 6th African Finance Journal’s Conference on “Research and Development in Devel-

opment Finance” during the 16th and 17th of July. Prof Oberholzer’s paper is entitled The relationship between

efficiency and financial ratios: Evidence from the South African listed banks. Prof Buys’ paper is entitled The

impact of human capital development on economic growth.

Mr. Dawie Mong is the conference organiser for the Central region of the Southern African Accountancy

Association. The meeting is scheduled to take place from 18-19 September at Stonehenge, Parys. It is expected

that a large number of papers from the School of Accounting Sciences will be presented at this meeting.

Prof. Nico van der Merwe will be presenting a paper entitled “Transformation of Accounting Education at the

Research news from the School for Accounting Sciences

Page 6

Volume 3, Issue 1

On the photo above appears Prof. Jaco Pienaar and management of

MANCOSA, and below are the attendees

New Collaboration for the Research Unit