The economic impact of electrical meter tampering within Western Cape municipalities
- Authors: Brink, Petrus Johannes
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Electric meters--Power supply
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47526 , vital:40125
- Description: Electricity access is fundamental for satisfying elementary human needs, raising living standards, preserving satisfactory human health, assisting in the relief of poverty and helping expedite sustainable development. Furthermore, access to electricity helps to uplift communities and empower businesses, contributing to an all-round positive environment ultimately leading to the development of a country. Worldwide, electricity is generated at identified areas and by specific entities such as Eskom in South Africa, Nampower in Namibia and LEC in Lesotho. Electricity generation, transmission, and distribution are a business just like any other business and its main goals are to service the needs of its customers as well as to make a profit and look after the interests of the shareholders. Although electricity must be made available for use by all the citizens and businesses in a country, it is not a free service and must be paid for. An electricity meter is used to measure the amount of electricity used and bill the consumer accordingly. Tampering with any electrical meters in order to avoid paying for electricity is illegal and a criminal offense. Electrical meter tampering and the economic impact it has on a utility is a massive overall problem. An initial review of the problem revealed that there are studies and published statistics for electrical meter tampering in South Africa on a national level, but that there is a lack of focus and results on a regional level. The purpose of this study is to assist regional municipalities and determine how to challenge electricity meter tampering and therefore influence the economic effect it might have on such a municipality. This study looks at investigating regional municipalities with a specific focus on municipalities situated within the Western Cape. To initiate this study, secondary data was collected from academic sources and presented in the form of a literature review. The literature review addresses research questions and objectives around the background, nature, and extent of managing electricity, electrical meters, the importance of solving the problem and the potential causes of electrical meter tampering. An interpretive research philosophy was followed and primary data was gathered through a qualitative study by interviewing eleven (11)participants from ten (10)local Western Cape Municipalities. Furthermore, it was identified that the two qualitative approaches best suited to this research was a case study and grounded theory. In order to analyse the primary data gathered, a sophisticated software programme called ATLAS.ti was used to identify themes and codes emanating from the data. The analysis of the primary data was presented in the form of columns, bar and pie charts and the key findings interpreted with reference to the secondary data gathered earlier in the study.The treatise was concluded with recommendations to municipal managers of how to challenge electrical meter tampering and what economic impact meter tampering has on their municipalities. It was left to the municipal manager’s discretion to decide if they want to share the results of the study with their senior and middle managers who acted as participants in the study.
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- Date Issued: 2020
Comparison of leg dominance and fatigue state on lower extremity kinematics during cutting manoeuvres in male soccer players
- Authors: Nienaber, Madeleine
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Human mechanics , Kinematics Kinesiology Sports injuries Soccer players -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42880 , vital:36702
- Description: Soccer is one of the most popular sports played in South Africa and around the world. Soccer is a high intensity, semi-contact sport which is associated with an increased prevalence of injuries, especially to the lower extremities. Central and neuromuscular fatigue is believed to cause changes to kinetic and kinematic patterns of soccer players which may increase the risk for injuries, specifically related to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). To investigate the effects of fatigue on knee joint kinematics during the stance phase of a cutting manoeuvre of the dominant and non-dominant legs. A quantitative approach, more specifically, an experimental study design was adopte and a quasi-experimental study design was selected. A ‘within-participants post-test only design’ was used, which is also known as a ‘repeated measures design’ because all participants were ‘repeatedly’ measured under each experimental condition. Due to the non-randomization of the quasi-experimental design, non-probability sampling was utilized to sample the population group for the proposed study. A total of 13 male soccer players volunteered for the study. The participants had the following characteristics (mean ± SD): age 22.15 ± 2.77 years; height 169.64 ± 5.75 cm and weight 64.60 ± 7.04 kg. Non-significant differences within hip joint kinematics were observed between the dominant and non-dominant legs in a non-fatigued state in all three planes of motion (F = 0.61, p = 0.55). Similar kinematic characteristics were observed for the knee joint (F = 1.25, p = 0.48) and the ankle joint (F = 3.33, p = 0.64). Non-significant differences were also observed during the fatigued state in all three planes of motion for the hip joints (F = 8.98, p = 0.72), knee joints (F = 5.21, p = 0.41) and ankle joints (F = 0.21, p = 0.12). Peak vertical forces were however significantly different between the fatigued state compared to the non-fatigued state during the cutting manoeuvre (F = 23.51, p = 0.035), thereby indicating that neuromuscular fatigue may influence landing forces on impact during a directional change. The effect of leg dominance did not have a statistically significant impact on any kinematic measures as well as the interactions between fatigue and non-fatigue trials were also not observed for any of the kinematic parameters. Several initial contact and peak stance–phase lower limb-joint rotations were influenced by fatigue during the execution of the sub-maximal 60° cutting manoeuvre. The main effect of fatigue produced an increase in knee internal rotation and hip abduction and a decrease in peak knee abduction angles compared to non-fatigue, but they were not statistically significant. Significant differences were found between dominant and non-dominant legs as well as between fatigue and non-fatigue with ankle pronation (p=0.007) and ankle external rotation (p=0.033). Knee abduction angle during cutting (p=0.061) also showed an effect even though not statistically significant. The purpose was to examine the combined effects of leg dominance and fatigue on lower-limb biomechanics during a sub-maximal 60° cutting manoeuvre. The conclusion of the present study related to limb dominance was that no statistically significant differences were evident for any of the dependent variables (limb dominance; fatigue state) related to the independent variables (i.e. joint [hip, knee, ankle], contact time, ground reaction however, between-subject fatigue variations that is large enough could negatively impact the biomechanical data comparisons. Future research should target specific locations of fatigue within a general fatigue paradigm and develop standardized tasks to achieve this.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Direct income tax and the digital economy
- Authors: Mackenzie, Lara
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Income tax Corporations -- Taxation , information technology -- Economic aspects Electronic commerce
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18047 , vital:28568
- Description: Due to the nature of the digital economy, multi-national entities are able to trade in countries over the internet without a physical presence, they are setting up group structures across the world, housing intellectual property in tax havens and shifting profits between jurisdictions, lowering their group tax rates. This treatise considered the OECD/G20 BEPS Project 2015 Final Report on Action Plan 1 which discusses the nature, risks and proposed options to combat base erosion and profit sharing (BEPS). Although the OECD have made no recommendations in their report many countries have taken action to protect their tax bases. The scope of this treatise is limited to multi-national entities who avoid tax presence in a country or shift profits to off-shore entities in low/no tax jurisdictions. The aim of this treatise is to identify the risks posed by the nature of the digital economy to direct taxation and analyse proposed solutions to respond to these risks. A comparative study of the proposal and changes implemented in the UK, Australia and India was undertaken to gain an understanding of international thinking regarding the best way to combat BEPS. These proposals were then compared to the South African perspective in order to determine which of the proposals would be feasible to combat BEPS in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Image of Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB): an external stakeholder's perspective
- Authors: Bush, Charmel Lolita
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , South Africa -- Description and travel
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/9097 , vital:26464
- Description: A distinctive destination image is required in order to compete with other destinations for tourists and investors alike. This main objective of this study is to develop a model for destination image formation for Nelson Mandela Bay as a secondary economy to boost its global competitiveness. Several researchers have studied destination image and based on the fact that tourists and investors usually have a limited knowledge of destinations they have not previously visited, destination image fulfils an important function insofar as destinations with strong, positive, discriminatory and recognisable images. A literature study was conducted to identify the key influencers on destination image as well as to identify which forces are likely to influence the destination image of Nelson Mandela Bay. The different factors of destination image were identified from the literature sources and these factors provided a basis for an empirical study that was conducted amongst external stakeholders. The primary research objective was to create a model of destination image for Nelson Mandela Bay and to explain the cause and effect relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Added to the primary research objective, eight secondary research objectives were identified. The primary research question for this study was to identify what influences the destination image of Nelson Mandela Bay. Added to the primary research question, the researcher also identified eight research questions as part of the study. The empirical analysis was used to test the hypotheses and ultimately develop a model for destination image formation for Nelson Mandela Bay. This study was exploratory in nature and thus used a limited sample to gain insights for further research. Data were obtained through questionnaires that were distributed electronically to 120 respondents. This study concluded with the development of a destination image model for Nelson Mandela Bay that can be expanded upon with further research. The results indicate that general infrastructure and social environment; leisure and recreation; and culture influence the Affective component of Nelson Mandela Bay. Information sources and Political stability and risk influence the Cognitive component of Nelson Mandela Bay. Together the Affective and Cognitive component makes up the overall image of Nelson Mandela Bay.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Post-2008 voter apathy among the youth in the Eastern Cape : a comparative study of urban and rural municipalities
- Authors: Peter, Bongeka
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Youth -- Political activity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Political participation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Apathy -- South Africa Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Soc Sci
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/630 , vital:26475
- Description: This dissertation deals with the nature of the black middle-class assimilation in the South African suburban space, a space that was the sole preserve of the white middle-class during apartheid. It explores the relationship between these races as they come to meet in this space and what new identities are being formed. It also explores the relationship between both the black and white suburbanites and the urban poor who stay in an adjacent area to the suburb. The study uses the Beacon Bay area, which is constituted by one of East London’s most affluent suburbs and a poor township, Nompumelelo, to show how the emergent black middle-class has managed to enter this space in the post-apartheid era. Previous studies by Richard Ballard (2004) and Grant Saff (2001) have shown how the white middle-class has always been against any form of race or class mixing. Within the suburb, the new black suburbanites in Beacon Bay appear to have been welcomed but with conditions by their fellow white counterparts. The relationship between these two races does not stretch beyond meet and greets and it is only in the second generation black middle-class that you find better and non-superficial relations with fellow white suburbanites. In the older generation, the generation that experienced apartheid, the relationship between these two races has been that of tolerance and serious escape of contact unless when necessary. The children of both white and black families, though, have a far better relationship in school and in sport than their parents. This has created another area of contact for both these races and it bears potential for meaningful integration in the suburban space. Externally as it relates to relations between the black middle-class and the urban poor, the findings show that these new black suburbanites express a similar discomfort as the white suburbanites about the urban poor’s presence in the area. This shows that the evolution of the Beacon Bay suburb, with its deep-rooted discourse of white middle-class exclusivity, has not been entirely about hatred of the urban poor necessarily but about an identity ascription of what it means to live in a suburb. Despite these realities traditional ceremonies organised by the black middle-class in the suburbs and the church appear to be playing a role in creating relations between these suburbanites and the Nompumelelo residents. This is why we have decided to use the conceptualisation of the 18th century frontier zone as the borders of segregation within the suburb and between the suburban residents and those of the township can be crossed and re-crossed.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Perceptions on knowledge and understanding acquired by secondary school learners from sex education to reduce sex-related problems in the Libode District in the Eastern Cape : Implications for school management
- Authors: Gcelu, Ntombizandile
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Sex education -- Learners -- Education (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:18452 , http://hdl.handle.net/11260/d1007758
- Description: The study investigates whether knowledge and understanding acquired by secondary school learners from sex education in schools contribute to meaningful reduction of sex-related problems amongst them. The study was undertaken in the Eastern Cape in the Libode District (Nonesi Circuit). Data was collected from one hundred and thirty learners of five junior secondary schools of the Libode District (Nonesi Circuit).The respondents were learners with ages varying between 12 and 18 years, grades 7-9 (females and males). A quantitative approach and qualitative approach (mixed-method approach) was used. A survey design in the form of questionnaire was selected in the study. Nonesi circuit has a population of twenty junior secondary schools with a total enrolment of 2500 learners. Out of this population, a sample of five junior secondary schools was used. The five junior secondary schools were selected purposively. The sample consisted of twenty-six learners from each junior secondary school. Questionnaires were personally distributed, administered and collected by myself in the five junior secondary schools. The study findings revealed that learners understand the knowledge they acquired from sex education to prevent pregnancy and sex related diseases. The study also showed that knowledge and understanding acquired by learners from sex education is not effective enough to empower them to prevent pregnancy and sex-related diseases. The study highlighted the point that secondary school learners know and use other available sources of information on sex education after school to empower them to reduce pregnancy and sex- related diseases. It also revealed that learners know but do not take responsibility for their own lives regarding prevention of sex-related diseases.
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- Date Issued: 2012