A gatherer's paradise? Early humans and plant foraging on the cape south coast, South Africa
- Authors: Gummow, William Thomas
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Soil amendments , Plants -- Nutrition Plant physiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/39687 , vital:35348
- Description: South Africa is a semi-arid country that is experiencing population growth and the associated pressure of producing sufficient crops to sustain the population. Furthermore, poor land management has also led to increased degradation of valuable arable land. To improve poor soil quality and possibly avoid or reverse degradation and ultimately desertification, it was suggested that soil amendments are a potential solution to some of these problems. Although soil amendment is a relatively well-known practice to improve soil quality, the use of rubber crumb as a soil amendment is not well studied. Rubber crumb is produced from end-of-life tyres that have been ground up to fine particles and as such can be used as a secondary resource to replace the use of virgin materials. Rubber crumb has been used in an array of industries, however, the present study investigated the possibility that rubber crumb might be used as a soil amendment to alleviate various forms of soil degradation, specifically soil compaction and crusting, and potentially improve crop establishment and growth.To determine this, a soil that is prone to crusting and compaction was amended with rubber crumb at rates of 5%, 15% and 25%. Various soil physical characteristics, such as bulk density, particle density, porosity, field capacity and penetration resistance were investigated and it was determined that as the percentage rubber crumb increases in the soil, so do the beneficial characteristics of the soil. Furthermore, the rubber crumb was also treated in various ways in order to determine how the treatments might affect the chemical properties of the soil, as well as the amount of zinc that is leached from the rubber crumb. It was found that washing the rubber with a weak acid or even water prior to adding it to the soil resulted in more desirable chemical condition compared to untreated rubber crumb. Lastly, maize (Zea mays L.) was used to determine whether amending soil with pre-treated rubber crumb in different percentages had an influence on the germination success and growth rate of maize. In terms of germination success, amending soil with rubber crumb does not seem to have a significant influence, however, growth rate decreased as the percentage rubber crumb increased, while treating the rubber with a weak acid or water prior to adding it to soil had the most positive effect on plant growth. It can therefore be concluded that rubber crumb amendment rates between 5% and 15% resulted in the most desirable soil physical properties and plant growth amongst the amendments. However the best plant growth was still seen in the control soil, to which no rubber crumb had been added.
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- Date Issued: 2019
The utility of facilities management in alleviating poor service delivery at Polokwane department of public works
- Authors: Sipungela, Nosipho Agreenett
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Facility management , Public works -- South Africa Government productivity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43457 , vital:36888
- Description: This study dealt with improving service delivery in the National Department of Public Works (NDPW) Polokwane Regional Office through facilities management (FM). It posits that FM can be usefully employed as an instrument to achieve integration of design, construction and FM. It argues that since FM encompasses the essential components of maintenance, refurbishment, reconfiguration and rehabilitation of accommodation it can be usefully utilised to ensure sustainability of government assets. An online data collection method was used to collect raw data from the selected sample. The sample population consisted of assistant directors, control works managers, works managers and administration officers within the FM of Polokwane regional office of the National Department of Public Works.The results show that performance management is not aligned to set service delivery standards and organisational objectives. Monitoring during the implementation of a project is sub- optimal and therefore does not ensure that services are rendered to the satisfaction of the client department. Moreover, there is no establised Management Information Systems (MIS) to keep records of information pertaining to infrastructure; conditional assessments; maintenance; the measurement of the quality of project output; the effectiveness of FM and the procurement policy; and the availability of skills and resources to execute the duties. The set hypotheses were tested by means of evaluation of data collected. The research finally presents a number of professional opinions and recommendations that could be considered to improve service delivery within the FM unit.
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- Date Issued: 2019
The development of natural fibre reinforced composites roof sheet
- Authors: Musikwa, Mufeba
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Textile fibers -- Research , Textile fabrics Textile chemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/32927 , vital:32398
- Description: The study aims to develop natural fibre reinforced bio-epoxy composite for use as roof sheets, manufacturing and characterization to evaluate its suitability for building applications. In this study natural fibres such as flax and kenaf were selected to reinforce bio-epoxy matrix. Different weight ratios of flax and kenaf fibres were processed by needle-punching technique to produce nonwoven mats. The nonwoven mats and bio-epoxy matrix were prepared using vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) at room temperature until dry and cured. The effects of weathering and water aging on the static and dynamic mechanical properties of kenaf and flax composites were investigated. Flax fibre reinforced bio-epoxy composites were found to exhibit higher tensile strength at 25% fibre content of 41.5 MPa in comparison to the composites reinforced with kenaf fibres (33.0 MPa). With regards to the drop weight impact results, flax fibre reinforced bio-epoxy composites exhibited brittle failure. Water aging results showed that kenaf fibre reinforced bio-epoxy composites absorbed less water for all fibre contents in comparison to composites reinforced with flax fibres. The tensile strength and modulus of both the composites reinforced with flax and kenaf fibres were reduced after water aging. However, the composite reinforced with kenaf fibres showed the maximum reduction in tensile strength at 25% fibre content. After UV treatment both composites reinforced with flax and kenaf fibres showed a decrease in tensile strength of 6.25% and 30%, respectively. In comparison to kenaf, bioepoxy composites reinforced with flax fibres showed an increase in tensile modulus. Both composites reinforced with flax and kenaf fibres were found to be brittle and broke easily but no colour fading was observed after UV treatment. The dynamic mechanical analyses results showed that the incorporation of flax and kenaf fibres increases the storage modulus of the composites with the maximum storage modulus value exhibited by flax fibre reinforced bio-epoxy composite at 30% fibre content. The glass transition temperature of composites reinforced with both flax and kenaf fibres shifted to lower temperatures of 79 °C and 69 °C respectively, in comparison to 96 °C for bio-epoxy resin, with the incorporation of fibres.
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- Date Issued: 2018
A study of procurement and administration in the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Xatula, Meyisi Sigqibo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Government purchasing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Management -- Procurement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13458 , vital:27205
- Description: The study investigated issues concerning procurement and administration in the Department of Health (DoH) in the Eastern Cape and has further investigated the role of the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Act 1 of 1999 in the department. That included issues associated with the administration and procurement in relation to service providers from the private sector. The DoH in the Eastern Cape Province delivers:“ … a quality health service to the people of the Eastern Cape Province promoting a better life for all and ensures accessible, comprehensive, and integrated services in the province, emphasising the primary health care approach, as well as utilising and developing all resources to enable present and future generations to enjoy good health and quality of life” (Department of Health [DoH], Eastern Cape, Departmental Annual Performance Plan, 2013:3). Various researchers have investigated the implementation of the PFM Act 1 of 1999 and have identified gaps and made recommendations regarding the identified gaps. The study is based on the following reports from various authors: According to Pillay (2013), since 1994 every public sector department has lost approximately R385 billion to fraud, corruption and maladministration. Government employees have accepted kickbacks in exchange for rigging tenders, including focusing on high levels of corruption (Albert, 2011:1). The fraud and corruption in the Eastern Cape DoH, which involves nepotism, corruption and fraud amounting to a million rand in the audit report of 2013, have prompted calls by the opposition for interventions (PricewaterhouseCoopers [PWC], 2013:9). Departmental Annual Performance Plan for 2013/2014. Impact of accountability and ethics on public service delivery: a South African perspective which involves accountability stating that all government departments have to be efficient to ensure value for public funds including the qualitative and value-laden expectations of the society (Raga & Taylor, 2008:1). EC (2010:9), Audit Report: Health Department, Eastern Cape. King III Report (2009) – Corporate Governance. The study has built on previous research conducted by other researchers who have conducted research on the issue of the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act 1 (PFM Act 1) of 1999, and had identify further gaps not previously identified by other researchers or in the audits. In addition, this study aims to also identify shortcomings that have been described in the recent audits 2013/2014 of the DoH, Eastern Cape. Together with the new gaps identified in the PFM Act 1 of 1999, the researcher aims to make a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the implementation of the PFM Act 1 of 1999. The PFM Act 1 of 1999 was promulgated by the South African government in 1999. The Act promotes the objective of good financial management in order to maximise service delivery through effective and efficient use of available limited resources as well as credible interaction with private sector service providers. A key objective of this Act is to put in place a more effective financial accountability system over public entities. The objectives of the Act are to: Modernise the system of financial management, Enable public sector managers to manage, while at the same time being accountable, Ensure timely provision of quality information, To eliminate waste and corruption in the use of public assets.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The maturity of project management in engineering consulting firms
- Authors: Machite, Kennedy
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Project management Consulting engineers -- South Africa , Engineering firms -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18409 , vital:28634
- Description: With a considerable number of built environment projects not being completed successfully, this study was undertaken to investigate how effectively consulting engineering firms are applying project management principles in the way they manage projects. This was achieved by measuring the project management maturity levels of consulting engineering firms. Maturity levels were measured for each of the ten knowledge areas of the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge to determine areas where consulting engineering firms perform below expectation and as a result determine probable causes of project failures. The maturity of the firm was then calculated as the average of the maturity for the knowledge areas. The study found that consulting engineering firms have higher levels of project management maturity than the average for the construction and civil engineering sector. Apart from risk and procurement management, all the other knowledge areas have higher maturity levels than the corresponding construction and civil engineering knowledge areas. Although the overall maturity results indicate that the larger firms are more mature in their project management practices than the smaller firms, the individual knowledge areas are inconsistent. The study reveals that consulting engineering firms are weakest in the risk management, human resources and stakeholder management knowledge areas. There is limited literature available on the status of project management, project management methodologies, and performance of consulting projects in the engineering environment (Labuschagne & Steyn, 2010:70). There is need for future studies to establish a methodology developed specifically for the Consulting Engineering Firms in line with what Labuschagne & Steyn (2010) started and a Project Management Maturity Model specific to the Consulting Engineering Industry.
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- Date Issued: 2016
A model for assessing the anticipated relative financial impact of implementing the tools of lean manufacturing on a manufacturing concern
- Authors: Francis, Merwin
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Production management , Manufacturing processes , Production planning , Industrial efficiency , Total productive maintenance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:8972 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1326 , Production management , Manufacturing processes , Production planning , Industrial efficiency , Total productive maintenance
- Description: Lean manufacturing has seen its creators, Toyota, rise from insignificance in the middle of the previous century, to the biggest selling car manufacturer in the world today. Another Japanese car manufacturer, Honda, which has also been practising the principles of lean avidly during the last few decades, has also made huge strides towards becoming a dominant force in the car market. These Japanese companies‟ adoption of lean has seen many of their mass producing United States (US) and European counterparts struggle for survival. Maynard (2003:10) predicted that by the end of the decade, at least one of the „Big Three‟ auto makers in the US – Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors (GM) – would be forced to undertake significant restructuring to continue in operation. At the time of this writing all indications are that this prediction will come true. GM is in the process of major shareholding restructuring in an attempt to keep the company afloat, having run up insurmountable debts in the face of the current global economic downturn. Adopting the lean methodology has become a matter of necessity. The continued use of mass production methods alone is no longer viable; companies need to also employ lean methods intelligently in order to remain competitive. This study is regarded as a crucial endeavour to assist operations managers of manufacturing concerns in developing lean implementation strategies which will maximise the benefits to the organization.
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- Date Issued: 2011