An analysis of the credit scoring tool implemented by South African banks for vehicle asset financing
- Authors: Ntsingila, Themba
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Credit scoring systems , Consumer credit , Credit -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69972 , vital:78254
- Description: South Africa has been experiencing an increase in the number of people buying motor vehicles for primary reason of travelling from home to work and vice versa over the past years. However, there has been also an increase in the number of bad debts written off (bank repossessions) for vehicle asset financed through by the financial institutions. The risk that borrowers are not fulfilling their obligations present a huge risk to the bank as borrowing has become the leading function of the bank. This is proven by the volumes of different loans granted by banks to individuals (Kihuro and Iraya, 2018). Hartungi (2007:397) alludes that low-income earners tend to buy expensive motor vehicle which they cannot afford. It has been noted that the increased level of consumer’s indebtedness is due to unstable economy, frequent increase of petrol prices and interest rates increases. Vehicle financing face a higher probability of customers defaulting. The trend in the increase of the household credit granting became a concern for the South African government which led to the execution of the National credit act (NCA) on 1 June 2007 in a move to regulate the act particularly to protect the household in acquiring unnecessary credit. Companies are required to explore different ways of assisting their customers by reducing the high number of debts written off for motor vehicles. This study used the quantitative approach using the survey method to collect data from respondents who are credit managers in a bank based in Gauteng province. Data collection took place in a bank using a questionpro survey distributed by email to junior credit managers, credit managers and senior credit managers to administer an open-ended questionnaire. Responses received were codified and quantitative data was analysed using Statistical tools and packages including Statistica. This research aims to assist the financial institution(s) by performing better assessment in granting of credit for asset finance and by reducing several bad debts. It is the main aim of this academic exercise to bring to the fore the scholastic analysis to further enlighten the reader about the burden of reckless lending not only to individuals who are granted credit but also the approved financial institutions themselves. The study found variable respondents’ opinion of the analysis of the credit scoring tool used. In conclusion, is perceived that the use of correct credit scoring tool will reduce the number of bad debts written off. It can be recommended that a National Credit Act intervention could be applied to mitigate the risk of defaulting in credit assessment for loans granted to consumers. Therefore, the study seeks to first look at the credit scoring tool as a viable and relevant tool used for Vehicle Asset Financing (VAF) in the banking sector, and secondly attempt to provide novel ways to improve and enhance the current system with the sole aim to align with National Credit Regulator (NCR). , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business School, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-12
The influence of coaching on an insurance company productivity during VUCA (Volatile, Uncertainty, Complex and Ambiguity) conditions
- Authors: Kruger, Mark
- Date: 2024-12
- Subjects: Executive coaching , Executive ability , Success in business
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70198 , vital:78310
- Description: Coaching is becoming a more strategic tool for insurance businesses to increase productivity and efficiently handle problems in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) business environment of today. Information from prior studies and current data, this paper investigates the effect of coaching on insurance business productivity in VUCA environments. Qualitative research methodology was applied to collect qualitative data in this study as well as the participant views and opinions from their environment. Additionally, this method allowed more flexibility in terms of data collection and participant interaction. In insurance companies dealing with VUCA circumstances, coaching - which is acknowledged as a potent developmental intervention - plays a critical role in promoting effective leadership. By providing personalised guidance and feedback, coaching equips leaders with the adaptive skills necessary to make informed decisions in rapidly changing market landscapes. This improves strategic agility and gives managers the ability to successfully manage risks and seize new opportunities. Additionally, coaching fosters a culture of constant creativity and learning, which greatly increases organisational resilience. Employees improve their ability to solve problems and feel more in control of their own learning through organised coaching sessions. This enhances not only individual performance but also fosters departmental collaboration and cohesive teamwork, which are all critical for handling the intricate problems that the business sector presents. Research results highlight how coaching can have a revolutionary effect on staff retention and engagement in volatile times. Coaching creates a sense of purpose and dedication in workers by coordinating personal goals with company objectives, which raises worker productivity. A healthy corporate culture with open communication, trust, and shared accountability, is further helped by coaching interventions. These qualities are essential for maintaining high performance in the face of outside challenges. Within insurance firms, well-executed coaching initiatives support succession planning and employee development as well. Coaching promotes organisational stability during uncertain times and helps maintain leadership continuity by identifying and developing high-potential workers. This proactive strategy protects long-term corporate sustainability by strengthening the management team and preparing upcoming managers to navigate VUCA situations. The practical implications highlight how insurance companies must strategically prioritise investing in coaching as a core skill. Through the integration of coaching into their organisational culture, insurance companies may develop strong staff that can thrive in volatile and uncertain times. Proactive coaching interventions also help businesses stay ahead of the competition in the ever-changing insurance industry by helping them to innovate ahead of time and anticipate market trends. To summarise, the factors above emphasise the important influence of coaching on insurance company productivity in volatile and uncertain times, by combining the most recent research with practical data. Coaching appears as a strategic enabler for managing uncertainty and generating long-term success in insurance companies, through strengthening leadership efficacy, building organisational resilience, and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business School, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-12
Development of a novel agar-based microtitre plate system for construction of consistent biofilm models and subsequent use in antimicrobial screening
- Authors: Davies, Michaela Roxanne
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/464369 , vital:76505
- Description: Restricted access. Expected release in 2026. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
Enhancing licence plate recognition for a robust vehicle re-identification system
- Authors: Boby, Alden Zachary
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Automobile theft South Africa , Deep learning (Machine learning) , Object detection , YOLOv7 , YOLO , Pattern recognition systems , Image processing Digital techniques , Automobile license plates
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/464322 , vital:76501
- Description: Vehicle security is a growing concern for citizens of South Africa. Law enforcement relies on reports and security camera footage for vehicle identification but struggles to match the increasing number of carjacking incidents and low vehicle recovery rates. Security camera footage offers an accessible means to identify stolen vehicles, yet it often poses hurdles like anamorphic plates and low resolution. Furthermore, depending on human operators proves inefficient, requiring faster processes to improve vehicle recovery rates and trust in law enforcement. The integration of deep learning has revolutionised object detection algorithms, increasing the popularity of vehicle tracking for security purposes. This thesis investigates advanced deep-learning methods for a comprehensive vehicle search and re-identification system. It enhances YOLOv7’s algorithmic capabilities and employs preprocessing techniques like super-resolution and perspective correction via the Improved Warped Planar Object Detection network for more effective licence plate optical character recognition. Key contributions include a specifically annotated dataset for training object detection models, an optical character recognition model based on YOLOv7, and a method for identifying vehicles in unrestricted data. The system detected rectangular and square licence plates without prior shape knowledge, achieving a 98.7% character recognition rate compared to 95.31% in related work. Moreover, it outperformed traditional optical character recognition by 28.25% and deep-learning EasyOCR by 14.18%. Its potential applications in law enforcement, traffic management, and parking systems can improve surveillance and security through automation. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Computer Science, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
Medical pluralism amongst Makhanda traditional health practitioners: Exploring dispositions to COVID-19 vaccinations
- Authors: Mothapo, Lebogang
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Traditional healer Attitudes , Integrative medicine , COVID-19 vaccines , COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023 Influence , Traditional healer South Africa Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/466284 , vital:76714
- Description: ‘Healers and healing’, ‘wellbeing and prevalence’, ‘medical systems and progression’. Every healing concept is tied to people’s perspectives, thoughts, beliefs, and backgrounds. Worldviews and world perspectives influence these throughout time and space. The progressive postulation between medical systems and the comprehensive relations between them is a narrative worth exploring through the distinct perspectives of Traditional Health Practitioners in Makhanda. This qualitative study sought to explore the dispositions of Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) towards COVID-19 vaccinations to understand the practice and acceptance of medical pluralism through a traditional lens. Through purposive and snowball sampling, 10 participants were recruited and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted as a tool for data collection. Thematic data analysis was conducted to analyse the data, and multiple codes that led to themes emerged. THPs exhibit multiple concepts tied to COVID-19 vaccination, representing the dynamic understanding of participating in biomedical approaches. THPs, in their decision to uptake the COVID-19 vaccination, are motivated by the severity of the disease and other compelling reasons, such as the obligations and regulations put in place to encourage vaccination uptake in achieving mass/herd immunity. THPs who, in their decision of not uptaking the COVID-19 vaccination, display mistrust, disregard for the COVID-19 vaccination in particular and the entrusted commitment to traditional medicine. In all the expressed dispositions, reliance on the understanding of COVID-19 and the dependence on lived experiences played an integral role in how THPs responded to COVID-19 vaccinations. Due to this understanding, the practice of medical pluralism amongst Makhanda THPs is understood through context-based concepts to explore the in-depth multifaceted positioning of medical pluralism. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
Development of TiO2 nanostructures with a modified energy band gap for hydrogen extraction
- Authors: Mutubuki, Arnold
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: Nanostructures , Nanoscience , Nanochemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64226 , vital:73666
- Description: A rise in fossil fuel depletion has motivated the research towards alternative, cost effective and clean processes for energy production through renewable sources. The scientific community is currently engaged in extensive research to exploit viable, sustainable methods for generating green hydrogen. Titania (TiO2) is historically the most studied photoactive semiconductor material with great potential in photoelectrochemical water splitting (PECWS), following the discovery by Fujishima and Honda in 1972. TiO2 possesses superior physicochemical characteristics and band gap edges, which enables the semiconductor to effectively facilitate the PECWS process. Efforts are still ongoing to explore alternatives for narrowing the optical band gap energy of TiO2, for an efficient photoelectrode. In this research work, open-ended and well-ordered TiO2 nanotubular arrays were synthesised by a three-step anodization process. The third anodization was crucial to detach the TiO2 thin film from an opaque Ti metal substrate. The free-standing thin films were transferred and pasted onto conductive FTO-coated glass substrates transparent to visible light and annealed at 400 ℃ for crystallisation. The multi-step anodization has shown an improved top tube morphology by eliminating an initiation TiO2 mesh formed when a conventional single-step anodization process is used under similar conditions. To widen the absorption range of the samples, CuO nanosheets were deposited onto nanotubular TiO2/FTO films through successive ionic layer adsorption (SILAR), a wet chemical method. The formation of a CuO/TiO2 nanostructure enhances the transfer of photogenerated carriers, suppressing charge recombination. This research focused on investigating the influence of selected SILAR parameters on the formation of CuO nanostructures. The first was the effect of precursor concentration on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the CuO/TiO2/FTO nanostructured photoelectrode. The effect of the precursor concentration on the structure and morphology was evident in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. Crystallite sizes of deposited CuO increased from 10.6 nm to 15.7 nm when precursor concentration was varied from 0.02 M to 0.10 M. The UV-visible absorbance results show that an increase in precursor concentration leads to a red shift of both the peak absorbance and edge wavelength of the CuO/TiO2/FTO absorbance spectra. This phenomenon is believed to be caused by the presence of CuO, which exhibits active absorption in the visible spectrum. As evidenced by the study, the continued increase in precursor concentration does not result in a further widening of the absorption band. This is demonstrated by the example of a CuO/TiO2/FTO sample decorated with a 0.2 M precursor. The second was the effect of SILAR immersion cycles on the properties of the CuO/TiO2/FTO nanostructure developed. The increase in the number of immersion cycles led to a notable progression in the adsorption cupric oxide on the TiO2/FTO samples. A redshift in the absorbance peak and edge wavelength is observed in the UV-visible spectra of CuO/TiO2/FTO photoelectrode. The efficacy of the SILAR technique in modifying the absorption band of nanotubular TiO2 thin films has been conclusively demonstrated through comprehensive analysis and correlation of the relationships between the structure and optical properties, as evidenced by the XRD patterns, Raman spectra, SEM, TEM micrographs, and UV-visible absorbance spectra. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-04
Synthesis, characterization and in vitro biological studies of cholesterol-based carriers as potential therapeutic agents
- Authors: Ruwizhi, Ngonidzashe
- Date: 2021-03
- Subjects: Drug delivery systems , Cholesterol
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/20708 , vital:46443
- Description: Malaria, cancer and bacterial infections are numbered among the highest causes of fatalities. Most of the drugs used to combat these diseases suffer from resistance, poor absorption and bioavailability and high toxicity. Therefore, delivering a drug requires an excellent drug delivery system that must provide the medication at the site of action in the minimum time possible. Cholesterol is a sterol that is abundantly found in the human body and forms a part in the structure and organization of cell membranes. Many researchers have used cholesterol, especially in organic synthesis, because of its ready availability, low cost and functional groups that can be readily derivatized. In this research, different therapeutic agents (anticancer, antimalarial and antibacterial) were conjugated to cholesterol, and the synthesized compounds were characterized using FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR, Mass Spectroscopy, 2D 1H-13C, HSQC NMR and tested for in vitro biological activity. Thirteen compounds were successfully synthesized. CHS-Cur was the most effective against all Gram-positive bacterial strains, while CHS-Cur, CHS-ZD and C-CAC-ZD were effective against all the bacterial strains. C-CAC-Pyr showed good antiplasmodial activity with 97.75 and 97.83% inhibition at 20 and 10 μg/ml concentrations, respectively. The biological activity of some of the compounds was increased by the conjugation of cholesterol, while others displayed reduced biological activity. In vitro cytotoxicity of the synthesized compounds on HeLa (cervical cancer) cells showed that compounds 2 (7.559 μg/mL), 3 (5.840 μg/mL), 5 (1.44 mg/mL), 7 (4.308 μg/mL) and 11 (3.295 μg/mL) exhibited some good anticancer activity with IC50 values of less than 10 μg/mL. Treating T3T fibroblast cells with compounds 2, 4, 5, 6, and 10 did not reveal a cytotoxic effect on the normal cells when compared to the control, cisplatin. , Thesis (MSc) (Chemistry) -- University of Fort Hare, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-03
Composition portfolio
- Authors: Moss, Keith
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193724 , vital:45390
- Description: Whitacre's music is primarily diatonic with subtle modulations, where the new key is always preserved diatonicaliy as well. I refer to this style as expanded diatonicism. Examples in my work of expanded diatonicism within this portfolio are to be found in navem ad somnium, Wynken, Blynken and Nod, as well as Hymn for Brass. My applications of expanded diatonic practices within each of these works are discussed in a separate appendix within the body of this portfolio. That these works are vocal or have a vocal inspiration (Hymn for Brass) reveals the extent of my initial reaction to Whitacre's music during a choral rehearsal. Furthermore, in my vocal compositions especially I chose texts which frequently gravitate towards ideas related to water, the ocean and ships. Whilst water has a soothing and inspiring influence upon me, presumably evidenced in my expanded diatonicism, it also represents my journey and investigation into the sound work of Whitacre in particular. It may be noticed that many of my works in this portfolio have religious orientated themes. I am a Christian, and belong to a Berean 2 Congregational Church. Whilst I am not Catholic or Anglican, I nonetheless have made use of texts from the liturgy of these denominations, as they emphasise the basis of my Christian faith. Why I chose Hymn for Brass as a title could possibly be construed as a religious reference, however it was named after the piece was written, and had no theological connotations in its inception save for the hymnody style of the orchestration. Providence and The Eventide both have a Christian philosophical foundation which is explored in depth in the accompanying appendix. The latter work explores an extension of my expanded diatonic style through incorporating aspects of chromaticism. The rationale for this is dealt with in my discussion of this work. This portfolio represents an overview of my compositional activities to date and displays my growing confidence with the technical aspects of composition as well as my yearning for experimentation with new ideas and manners of expression. , Thesis (MMus) -- Faculty of Humanities, Music and Musicology, 2007
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- Date Issued: 2007
"Burnout" in children's home houseparents
- Authors: Bath, Peter John
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Burn out (Psychology) , Children Institutional care , Houseparent , Foster parents , Child care workers Mental health
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193118 , vital:45300
- Description: Aimed at replicating the results of an American study into "Burnout" in Group Home houseparents, this research had the following aims: 1) To ascertain the validity and reliability of the instrument used in the original study and presented as a "useful measure of burnout”. 2) To establish whether this line of research, within a highly problematic research field, can at present offer any guidelines in the resolution of the current staffing crisis faced by South African children's homes. 3} To describe more closely the burnout syndrome. 4) To study possible etiological factors within a local context. Sixty three houseparents completed questionaires and three independent measures of burnout were obtained. The results were regarded as having failed to replicate those of the original study. The reason for this was found to be the low validity of the original instrument. The main conclusion drawn was that the line of research adopted in the original study can offer only very tentative guidelines towards the resolution of the staffing crisis faced until such time as valid and reliable instruments to measure burnout have been developed. Many of the suggested relationships between situational variables and ones of personal characteristics were confirmed for the local population of houseparents. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1983
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- Date Issued: 1983