"A lean-led-evaluation" of infrastructure development improvement programme in South Africa
- Authors: Monyane, Thabiso Godfrey
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Construction industry -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44535 , vital:38131
- Description: A doctoral study was embarked upon with the intentions of addressing cost management problems encountered on Infrastructure Delivery Projects in South Africa. Given that poor cost performance constitute hindrance to the realization of project goals, it is imperative to eliminate it from project delivery. The prevalence of cost overrun in public sector projects is a call to all stakeholders to address cost management issues in the construction industry. The predominance of cost overruns in public sector construction projects in South Africa has been observed. With the decline of the current economic conditions in South Africa, project performance is a great concern that needs attention. In addition, ineffective initiatives to curb the abuse of the procurement processes are directly affecting the outcomes of construction projects, and if these status quo remains, the sector will continue to have a bad image and continued waste of taxpayers’ money will not cease until the public sector remove non-value adding activities in their operations. Study adopted a mixed methods designed that collected both textual and statistical data. Semistructured interviews were undertaken to determine the outcomes of current project management practices in South Africa. In terms of performance of projects, the status quo paints a disconsolate picture. Findings reveal protracted processes, and the use of unqualified and inexperienced contribute to poor performance of public sector projects. Poor performance continues to dominate the construction sector, especially in the public sector. Interviews data were contrasted with evidence from project-related documents. Based on the data, the study produces a vignette of existing cost management frameworks applied to such projects. Encompassing various stages of the project delivery lifecycle, this vignette will enable an identification of the challenges afflicting cost management on projects. Accordingly, this study identified Lean opportunities from existing cost management practices. Such opportunities will enable identification of effective cost management during project delivery. There appears a need for collaborative cost management practices. Lean tools mentioned for improvement include the 5Whys, the big room, target value design, and the integration of design and construction. A collaborative cost management framework was developed through relevant theories to improve the cost management process of public sector projects.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Monyane, Thabiso Godfrey
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Construction industry -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44535 , vital:38131
- Description: A doctoral study was embarked upon with the intentions of addressing cost management problems encountered on Infrastructure Delivery Projects in South Africa. Given that poor cost performance constitute hindrance to the realization of project goals, it is imperative to eliminate it from project delivery. The prevalence of cost overrun in public sector projects is a call to all stakeholders to address cost management issues in the construction industry. The predominance of cost overruns in public sector construction projects in South Africa has been observed. With the decline of the current economic conditions in South Africa, project performance is a great concern that needs attention. In addition, ineffective initiatives to curb the abuse of the procurement processes are directly affecting the outcomes of construction projects, and if these status quo remains, the sector will continue to have a bad image and continued waste of taxpayers’ money will not cease until the public sector remove non-value adding activities in their operations. Study adopted a mixed methods designed that collected both textual and statistical data. Semistructured interviews were undertaken to determine the outcomes of current project management practices in South Africa. In terms of performance of projects, the status quo paints a disconsolate picture. Findings reveal protracted processes, and the use of unqualified and inexperienced contribute to poor performance of public sector projects. Poor performance continues to dominate the construction sector, especially in the public sector. Interviews data were contrasted with evidence from project-related documents. Based on the data, the study produces a vignette of existing cost management frameworks applied to such projects. Encompassing various stages of the project delivery lifecycle, this vignette will enable an identification of the challenges afflicting cost management on projects. Accordingly, this study identified Lean opportunities from existing cost management practices. Such opportunities will enable identification of effective cost management during project delivery. There appears a need for collaborative cost management practices. Lean tools mentioned for improvement include the 5Whys, the big room, target value design, and the integration of design and construction. A collaborative cost management framework was developed through relevant theories to improve the cost management process of public sector projects.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
#KeepItReal: discursive constructions of authenticity in South African consumer culture
- Authors: Plüg, Simóne Nikki
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Consumer behavior Consumers' preferences -- South Africa Brand choice -- South Africa Marketing -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64973 , vital:28641
- Description: Writers as diverse as Oscar Wilde (1915), Matthew Arnold (1960), Erich Fromm (1997) and a proliferation of contemporary self-help gurus, variously assert that it is preferable for people to focus on “being”, or to value “who you are”, instead of emphasising “having” or the material possessions you have acquired. These discourses assert that individuals content with “being” are happier and more fulfilled than those involved in the constant (and alienating) motion of acquiring material goods as representations of themselves (de Botton, 2004; Fromm, 1997; James, 2007). This thesis provides an in-depth critical exploration of one of these ideal “ways of being”: authenticity. It does not seek to discover what authenticity is in an empirical sense, nor to define what it should be in a normative sense, but to map the cultural work done by changing and often contradictory discourses of personal authenticity. More specifically, this study uses a qualitative research design, social constructionist theoretical framework, and discourse analytic method to critically discuss the discursive constructions of subject authenticity in South African brand culture. The sample consisted of (1.) ten marketing campaigns of several large, mainstream brands, which were popular in South Africa from 2015 to 2017, and (2.) fifteen smaller South African “craft” brands popular in the “artisanal” context. The analysis is presented in two distinct, but interrelated, sections (namely, Selling Stories and Crafting Authenticity), where the relevant discourses of authenticity for each data set are explored in depth. Through this analysis the thesis provides a critical discussion of the ways in which these discourses of authenticity work to produce and maintain, (or challenge and subvert), subject positions, ideologies, and power relations that structure contemporary South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Plüg, Simóne Nikki
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Consumer behavior Consumers' preferences -- South Africa Brand choice -- South Africa Marketing -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64973 , vital:28641
- Description: Writers as diverse as Oscar Wilde (1915), Matthew Arnold (1960), Erich Fromm (1997) and a proliferation of contemporary self-help gurus, variously assert that it is preferable for people to focus on “being”, or to value “who you are”, instead of emphasising “having” or the material possessions you have acquired. These discourses assert that individuals content with “being” are happier and more fulfilled than those involved in the constant (and alienating) motion of acquiring material goods as representations of themselves (de Botton, 2004; Fromm, 1997; James, 2007). This thesis provides an in-depth critical exploration of one of these ideal “ways of being”: authenticity. It does not seek to discover what authenticity is in an empirical sense, nor to define what it should be in a normative sense, but to map the cultural work done by changing and often contradictory discourses of personal authenticity. More specifically, this study uses a qualitative research design, social constructionist theoretical framework, and discourse analytic method to critically discuss the discursive constructions of subject authenticity in South African brand culture. The sample consisted of (1.) ten marketing campaigns of several large, mainstream brands, which were popular in South Africa from 2015 to 2017, and (2.) fifteen smaller South African “craft” brands popular in the “artisanal” context. The analysis is presented in two distinct, but interrelated, sections (namely, Selling Stories and Crafting Authenticity), where the relevant discourses of authenticity for each data set are explored in depth. Through this analysis the thesis provides a critical discussion of the ways in which these discourses of authenticity work to produce and maintain, (or challenge and subvert), subject positions, ideologies, and power relations that structure contemporary South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A comparative study of artificial neural networks and physics models as simulators in evolutionary robotics
- Pretorius, Christiaan Johannes
- Authors: Pretorius, Christiaan Johannes
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Neural networks (Computer science)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30789 , vital:31131
- Description: The Evolutionary Robotics (ER) process is a technique that applies evolutionary optimization algorithms to the task of automatically developing, or evolving, robotic control programs. These control programs, or simply controllers, are evolved in order to allow a robot to perform a required task. During the ER process, use is often made of robotic simulators to evaluate the performance of candidate controllers that are produced in the course of the controller evolution process. Such simulators accelerate and otherwise simplify the controller evolution process, as opposed to the more arduous process of evaluating controllers in the real world without use of simulation. To date, the vast majority of simulators that have been applied in ER are physics- based models which are constructed by taking into account the underlying physics governing the operation of the robotic system in question. An alternative approach to simulator implementation in ER is the usage of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) as simulators in the ER process. Such simulators are referred to as Simulator Neural Networks (SNNs). Previous studies have indicated that SNNs can successfully be used as an alter- native to physics-based simulators in the ER process on various robotic platforms. At the commencement of the current study it was not, however, known how this relatively new method of simulation would compare to traditional physics-based simulation approaches in ER. The study presented in this thesis thus endeavoured to quantitatively compare SNNs and physics-based models as simulators in the ER process. In order to con- duct this comparative study, both SNNs and physics simulators were constructed for the modelling of three different robotic platforms: a differentially-steered robot, a wheeled inverted pendulum robot and a hexapod robot. Each of these two types of simulation was then used in simulation-based evolution processes to evolve con- trollers for each robotic platform. During these controller evolution processes, the SNNs and physics models were compared in terms of their accuracy in making pre- dictions of robotic behaviour, their computational efficiency in arriving at these predictions, the human effort required to construct each simulator and, most im- portantly, the real-world performance of controllers evolved by making use of each simulator. The results obtained in this study illustrated experimentally that SNNs were, in the majority of cases, able to make more accurate predictions than the physics- based models and these SNNs were arguably simpler to construct than the physics simulators. Additionally, SNNs were also shown to be a computationally efficient alternative to physics-based simulators in ER and, again in the majority of cases, these SNNs were able to produce controllers which outperformed those evolved in the physics-based simulators, when these controllers were uploaded to the real-world robots. The results of this thesis thus suggest that SNNs are a viable alternative to more commonly-used physics simulators in ER and further investigation of the potential of this simulation technique appears warranted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Pretorius, Christiaan Johannes
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Neural networks (Computer science)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30789 , vital:31131
- Description: The Evolutionary Robotics (ER) process is a technique that applies evolutionary optimization algorithms to the task of automatically developing, or evolving, robotic control programs. These control programs, or simply controllers, are evolved in order to allow a robot to perform a required task. During the ER process, use is often made of robotic simulators to evaluate the performance of candidate controllers that are produced in the course of the controller evolution process. Such simulators accelerate and otherwise simplify the controller evolution process, as opposed to the more arduous process of evaluating controllers in the real world without use of simulation. To date, the vast majority of simulators that have been applied in ER are physics- based models which are constructed by taking into account the underlying physics governing the operation of the robotic system in question. An alternative approach to simulator implementation in ER is the usage of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) as simulators in the ER process. Such simulators are referred to as Simulator Neural Networks (SNNs). Previous studies have indicated that SNNs can successfully be used as an alter- native to physics-based simulators in the ER process on various robotic platforms. At the commencement of the current study it was not, however, known how this relatively new method of simulation would compare to traditional physics-based simulation approaches in ER. The study presented in this thesis thus endeavoured to quantitatively compare SNNs and physics-based models as simulators in the ER process. In order to con- duct this comparative study, both SNNs and physics simulators were constructed for the modelling of three different robotic platforms: a differentially-steered robot, a wheeled inverted pendulum robot and a hexapod robot. Each of these two types of simulation was then used in simulation-based evolution processes to evolve con- trollers for each robotic platform. During these controller evolution processes, the SNNs and physics models were compared in terms of their accuracy in making pre- dictions of robotic behaviour, their computational efficiency in arriving at these predictions, the human effort required to construct each simulator and, most im- portantly, the real-world performance of controllers evolved by making use of each simulator. The results obtained in this study illustrated experimentally that SNNs were, in the majority of cases, able to make more accurate predictions than the physics- based models and these SNNs were arguably simpler to construct than the physics simulators. Additionally, SNNs were also shown to be a computationally efficient alternative to physics-based simulators in ER and, again in the majority of cases, these SNNs were able to produce controllers which outperformed those evolved in the physics-based simulators, when these controllers were uploaded to the real-world robots. The results of this thesis thus suggest that SNNs are a viable alternative to more commonly-used physics simulators in ER and further investigation of the potential of this simulation technique appears warranted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A computational analysis to decipher the pathways of stability, uncoating and antigenicity of human enterovirus capsids
- Authors: Ross, Caroline Jane
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114788 , vital:34035 , 10.21504/10962/114788
- Description: Expected release date-April 2021
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Ross, Caroline Jane
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/114788 , vital:34035 , 10.21504/10962/114788
- Description: Expected release date-April 2021
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2019
A critical analysis of the influence of media reporting on xenophobic behaviours among students in selected South African universities
- Authors: Mgogo, Quatro
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Reporters and reporting Xenophobia -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17495 , vital:41081
- Description: A number of theoretical and empirically proven studies have shown that the media exert varying degree of influence on audience members. The South African media framing and coverage of foreign nationals is a good example of this. Media critics and scholars hold that the way and manner foreign nationals are represented in South African media landscape contributes to the endemic xenophobic outbreaks in the country. (Endong, 2018; George & Aidoo, 2017). This study aims to critically analyse the influence of media reporting on xenophobic behaviours among students in selected South African universities. Part of its aim is to assert if there exist xenophobic behaviours among students learning in South African universities, which are influenced by the manner in which media reports have stigmatised foreign nationals. Therefore, this study looked at three South African universities, namely the University of Fort Hare, Alice campus, the University of KwaZulu Natal, Howard college campus and the University of Johannesburg, Soweto campus. Data for the study were collected using the qualitative methods, particularly the focus groups discussions and in-depth interviews. The findings of this study have revealed that xenophobic behaviours were evident among students, in lecture-rooms, as well as student residences. The participants also confirmed that the media’s focus and reliance on negative stereotypes and generalized information when representing foreign nationals were the main contributing factors to xenophobic behaviours, including its previous adopting of the words like Amakwerekwere, Aliens and Amagrigamba. In an attempt to discourage xenophobic behaviours, this study has therefore recommended peace journalism and Ubuntu journalism as alternative models for reporting xenophobic violence and conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mgogo, Quatro
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Reporters and reporting Xenophobia -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17495 , vital:41081
- Description: A number of theoretical and empirically proven studies have shown that the media exert varying degree of influence on audience members. The South African media framing and coverage of foreign nationals is a good example of this. Media critics and scholars hold that the way and manner foreign nationals are represented in South African media landscape contributes to the endemic xenophobic outbreaks in the country. (Endong, 2018; George & Aidoo, 2017). This study aims to critically analyse the influence of media reporting on xenophobic behaviours among students in selected South African universities. Part of its aim is to assert if there exist xenophobic behaviours among students learning in South African universities, which are influenced by the manner in which media reports have stigmatised foreign nationals. Therefore, this study looked at three South African universities, namely the University of Fort Hare, Alice campus, the University of KwaZulu Natal, Howard college campus and the University of Johannesburg, Soweto campus. Data for the study were collected using the qualitative methods, particularly the focus groups discussions and in-depth interviews. The findings of this study have revealed that xenophobic behaviours were evident among students, in lecture-rooms, as well as student residences. The participants also confirmed that the media’s focus and reliance on negative stereotypes and generalized information when representing foreign nationals were the main contributing factors to xenophobic behaviours, including its previous adopting of the words like Amakwerekwere, Aliens and Amagrigamba. In an attempt to discourage xenophobic behaviours, this study has therefore recommended peace journalism and Ubuntu journalism as alternative models for reporting xenophobic violence and conflict.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A critical assessment of the implementation of community development projects in mitigating youth unemployment: A case of Mashonaland West province Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mafa, Dennyford
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- Evaluation Poverty -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17473 , vital:41079
- Description: The aim of the study was to critically assess the implementation of community development projects in mitigating youth unemployment in Mashonaland province of Zimbabwe. The study used the mixed method which dwells beneath a social phenomenon in order to draw substantiated findings. Data was collected using three method and these include, individual face-to- face interviews, focus group discussion and questionnaire administered to youth, government officials and the local authorities. The study was underpinned by the asset based community development theory and sustainable livelihood approach. Findings highlighted that the participants and the respondents meet the characteristics and criterion for selected community development projects aimed at mitigating youth unemployment. The study revealed that there has been lack on youth involvement in the planning and initiation of the youth community development projects which aim to mitigate youth unemployment and poverty eradication. It has been found out that the implementation process of the youth community development projects was surrounded by lack of knowledge and lack of the involvement of the youths, which resulted in the failure of mitigating youth unemployment and eradication of poverty. Although accessibility (to youth) of these community development projects was for all the community youth who were unemployed, it emerged that the access was not as indicated due to factors like, lack of funding, partisan distribution of resources. The study also realized that due to lack of involvement and proper implementation, the youth community development projects were not sustainable, which was evidenced by the high rate of youth unemployment and poverty levels. Furthermore, the study revealed that effectiveness of youth community development projects in v alleviating youth unemployment in the province has also been marred with pitfalls. Thus, there has been an increase of youth unemployment and poverty. Last but not least, the findings of the study revealed that there were a couple of challenges, which are rooted in partnerships, lack of youth inclusion and involvement, as well lack of involvement of other stakeholders with expertise on implementation of youth community development projects to eradicate poverty and alleviate youth unemployment. Regardless of the brilliant ideas and strategic interventions, the government lacks the practicality of the implementation of these intervention strategies. The study found that interventions were there. However, intervention entails a process which has different facets and obligates the government to function systematically to avoid default in the process of service delivery. It is recommended amongst others that the government and various stakeholders should take cognizance and develop mechanisms and strategies for poverty alleviation, growth, development and employment creation for the youth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mafa, Dennyford
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- Evaluation Poverty -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17473 , vital:41079
- Description: The aim of the study was to critically assess the implementation of community development projects in mitigating youth unemployment in Mashonaland province of Zimbabwe. The study used the mixed method which dwells beneath a social phenomenon in order to draw substantiated findings. Data was collected using three method and these include, individual face-to- face interviews, focus group discussion and questionnaire administered to youth, government officials and the local authorities. The study was underpinned by the asset based community development theory and sustainable livelihood approach. Findings highlighted that the participants and the respondents meet the characteristics and criterion for selected community development projects aimed at mitigating youth unemployment. The study revealed that there has been lack on youth involvement in the planning and initiation of the youth community development projects which aim to mitigate youth unemployment and poverty eradication. It has been found out that the implementation process of the youth community development projects was surrounded by lack of knowledge and lack of the involvement of the youths, which resulted in the failure of mitigating youth unemployment and eradication of poverty. Although accessibility (to youth) of these community development projects was for all the community youth who were unemployed, it emerged that the access was not as indicated due to factors like, lack of funding, partisan distribution of resources. The study also realized that due to lack of involvement and proper implementation, the youth community development projects were not sustainable, which was evidenced by the high rate of youth unemployment and poverty levels. Furthermore, the study revealed that effectiveness of youth community development projects in v alleviating youth unemployment in the province has also been marred with pitfalls. Thus, there has been an increase of youth unemployment and poverty. Last but not least, the findings of the study revealed that there were a couple of challenges, which are rooted in partnerships, lack of youth inclusion and involvement, as well lack of involvement of other stakeholders with expertise on implementation of youth community development projects to eradicate poverty and alleviate youth unemployment. Regardless of the brilliant ideas and strategic interventions, the government lacks the practicality of the implementation of these intervention strategies. The study found that interventions were there. However, intervention entails a process which has different facets and obligates the government to function systematically to avoid default in the process of service delivery. It is recommended amongst others that the government and various stakeholders should take cognizance and develop mechanisms and strategies for poverty alleviation, growth, development and employment creation for the youth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A critical realist exploration of the culture of resistance in educational technology integration practices at a South African university
- Authors: Tshuma, Nompilo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Critical realism , Educational technology -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Effect of technological innovations on -- South Africa , College teachers -- South Africa , College teaching -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72318 , vital:30033
- Description: This thesis seeks to address a number of troubling concerns related to research and practice in the field of educational technology in South African higher education. Firstly, educational technology research has been criticised for a lack of theoretical rigour resulting in perspectives that are tightly focused mostly on practice but fail to adequately interrogate the socio-political complexities of integrating educational technology. Secondly, while research in the field has been criticised for failing to adequately contextualise the study of educational technology, it also fails to interrogate the impact of colonial legacies and Western-developed technologies on integration practices. Thirdly, there seems to be a disconnect between academics’ practices and choices with educational technology, and the expectations and assumptions of educational technologists. As such, this thesis predominantly follows inductive reasoning where literature and theory are applied to the empirical situation retrospectively in order to avoid the potential influences and biases of mostly Western-driven discourses on educational technology integration practices. Critical realism is used to ‘underlabour’ this study. This meta-theory asserts that there are multiple perspectives of an independent reality, and the work of research is to use these perspectives to draw closer to an understanding of that reality. As such, it allows me to interrogate my perspectives firstly, and secondly those of my research participants, about factors that constrain educational technology integration in the South African context through the use of theory (abstract concepts) and data (research participants’ multiple perspectives). However, critical realism is somewhat cautious in how to access this reality. Therefore, a critical ethnographic epistemology is employed to strengthen critical realism’s aim of accessing knowledge. A critical epistemology emphasises exposing hidden power structures, value judgements as well as self-knowledge and reflexivity. The thesis thus shows how a critical realist ontology could be complemented by a critical ethnographic methodology, particularly in critically-orientated research that has an emancipatory focus which seeks to uncover the socio-political context within which educational technology practices take place. A key argument is that critical realism can be employed as an ontological underlabourer for critical research because of: 1) its immanent critique of traditionally-accepted philosophies, 2) its emphasis on critique of our knowledge claims and value judgements, 3) its insistence that knowledge of the social world necessarily precedes emancipation, and 4) its different conceptions of power (oppressive power and transformatory power). This critical ethnographic research is conducted in a South African university with eight female academics. Data collection is in the form of interviews, observations and reflections, as well as informal and work-related interactions. At each data collection moment, I have had to be reflexively aware of my positionality as an educational technologist, the impact of a colonially-motivated methodology and an ethically-aware approach that seeks to put the needs of the research participants first. Critical ethnography’s meaning-making and critical realism’s abduction and retroduction are used to analyse and make sense of the data. In my attempt to contextualise the study’s findings, I first uncover structural forces and their impact on the academic role before attempting to correlate this with educational technology practices. The study’s findings point to two main structural forces in the socio-political context of South African higher education: the teaching/research tension and the elevation of one dominant culture. In terms of the teaching/research tension, the female academics in this study have to balance the urgent teaching function with the valued research function. They struggle to find this balance because of ambiguous messages from different structures, their passion for teaching, oppressive departmental dynamics and the pressures of their career trajectory. The elevation of one dominant culture is demonstrated through both oppressive cultural practices and untransformed curricula. The study shows that academics mitigate these structural constraints mostly through subtle every day resistance that seeks to mitigate their effect on both the academics and, where applicable, their students. Archer’s morphogenetic/morphostatic cycle is used retrospectively, in response to fieldwork, to conceptualise why this resistance comes about. A resistance framework developed using Archer is then used to understand educational technology choices and practices. The results of the research show that while academics are often pictured as resistant to technology as a response to different barriers, they actually often employ technology to resist structural forces. That is, with this thesis I show that there is a focus on resistance with technology rather than resistance to technology. The study shows how the research participants resist structural forces (teaching tension and dominant culture) by using technology to create safe and responsive learning spaces. As such, this thesis challenges educational technologists to re-think the way they support academics by recommending support strategies that acknowledge both the structural forces in the South African higher education context, as well as the culture of resistance, both of which impact academics’ educational technology choices and practices.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Tshuma, Nompilo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Critical realism , Educational technology -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Effect of technological innovations on -- South Africa , College teachers -- South Africa , College teaching -- Sociological aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72318 , vital:30033
- Description: This thesis seeks to address a number of troubling concerns related to research and practice in the field of educational technology in South African higher education. Firstly, educational technology research has been criticised for a lack of theoretical rigour resulting in perspectives that are tightly focused mostly on practice but fail to adequately interrogate the socio-political complexities of integrating educational technology. Secondly, while research in the field has been criticised for failing to adequately contextualise the study of educational technology, it also fails to interrogate the impact of colonial legacies and Western-developed technologies on integration practices. Thirdly, there seems to be a disconnect between academics’ practices and choices with educational technology, and the expectations and assumptions of educational technologists. As such, this thesis predominantly follows inductive reasoning where literature and theory are applied to the empirical situation retrospectively in order to avoid the potential influences and biases of mostly Western-driven discourses on educational technology integration practices. Critical realism is used to ‘underlabour’ this study. This meta-theory asserts that there are multiple perspectives of an independent reality, and the work of research is to use these perspectives to draw closer to an understanding of that reality. As such, it allows me to interrogate my perspectives firstly, and secondly those of my research participants, about factors that constrain educational technology integration in the South African context through the use of theory (abstract concepts) and data (research participants’ multiple perspectives). However, critical realism is somewhat cautious in how to access this reality. Therefore, a critical ethnographic epistemology is employed to strengthen critical realism’s aim of accessing knowledge. A critical epistemology emphasises exposing hidden power structures, value judgements as well as self-knowledge and reflexivity. The thesis thus shows how a critical realist ontology could be complemented by a critical ethnographic methodology, particularly in critically-orientated research that has an emancipatory focus which seeks to uncover the socio-political context within which educational technology practices take place. A key argument is that critical realism can be employed as an ontological underlabourer for critical research because of: 1) its immanent critique of traditionally-accepted philosophies, 2) its emphasis on critique of our knowledge claims and value judgements, 3) its insistence that knowledge of the social world necessarily precedes emancipation, and 4) its different conceptions of power (oppressive power and transformatory power). This critical ethnographic research is conducted in a South African university with eight female academics. Data collection is in the form of interviews, observations and reflections, as well as informal and work-related interactions. At each data collection moment, I have had to be reflexively aware of my positionality as an educational technologist, the impact of a colonially-motivated methodology and an ethically-aware approach that seeks to put the needs of the research participants first. Critical ethnography’s meaning-making and critical realism’s abduction and retroduction are used to analyse and make sense of the data. In my attempt to contextualise the study’s findings, I first uncover structural forces and their impact on the academic role before attempting to correlate this with educational technology practices. The study’s findings point to two main structural forces in the socio-political context of South African higher education: the teaching/research tension and the elevation of one dominant culture. In terms of the teaching/research tension, the female academics in this study have to balance the urgent teaching function with the valued research function. They struggle to find this balance because of ambiguous messages from different structures, their passion for teaching, oppressive departmental dynamics and the pressures of their career trajectory. The elevation of one dominant culture is demonstrated through both oppressive cultural practices and untransformed curricula. The study shows that academics mitigate these structural constraints mostly through subtle every day resistance that seeks to mitigate their effect on both the academics and, where applicable, their students. Archer’s morphogenetic/morphostatic cycle is used retrospectively, in response to fieldwork, to conceptualise why this resistance comes about. A resistance framework developed using Archer is then used to understand educational technology choices and practices. The results of the research show that while academics are often pictured as resistant to technology as a response to different barriers, they actually often employ technology to resist structural forces. That is, with this thesis I show that there is a focus on resistance with technology rather than resistance to technology. The study shows how the research participants resist structural forces (teaching tension and dominant culture) by using technology to create safe and responsive learning spaces. As such, this thesis challenges educational technologists to re-think the way they support academics by recommending support strategies that acknowledge both the structural forces in the South African higher education context, as well as the culture of resistance, both of which impact academics’ educational technology choices and practices.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A development method for deriving reusable concurrent programs from verified CSP models
- Authors: Dibley, James
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: CSP (Computer program language) , Sequential processing (Computer science) , Go (Computer program language) , CSPIDER (Open source tool)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72329 , vital:30035
- Description: This work proposes and demonstrates a novel method for software development that applies formal verification techniques to the design and implementation of concurrent programs. This method is supported by a new software tool, CSPIDER, which translates machine-readable Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) models into encapsulated, reusable components coded in the Go programming language. In relation to existing CSP implementation techniques, this work is only the second to implement a translator and it provides original support for some CSP language constructs and modelling approaches. The method is evaluated through three case studies: a concurrent sorting array, a trialdivision prime number generator, and a component node for the Ricart-Agrawala distributed mutual exclusion algorithm. Each of these case studies presents the formal verification of safety and functional requirements through CSP model-checking, and it is shown that CSPIDER is capable of generating reusable implementations from each model. The Ricart-Agrawala case study demonstrates the application of the method to the design of a protocol component. This method maintains full compatibility with the primary CSP verification tool. Applying the CSPIDER tool requires minimal commitment to an explicitly defined modelling style and a very small set of pre-translation annotations, but all of these measures can be instated prior to verification. The Go code that CSPIDER produces requires no intervention before it may be used as a component within a larger development. The translator provides a traceable, structured implementation of the CSP model, automatically deriving formal parameters and a channel-based client interface from its interpretation of the CSP model. Each case study demonstrates the use of the translated component within a simple test development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Dibley, James
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: CSP (Computer program language) , Sequential processing (Computer science) , Go (Computer program language) , CSPIDER (Open source tool)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72329 , vital:30035
- Description: This work proposes and demonstrates a novel method for software development that applies formal verification techniques to the design and implementation of concurrent programs. This method is supported by a new software tool, CSPIDER, which translates machine-readable Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) models into encapsulated, reusable components coded in the Go programming language. In relation to existing CSP implementation techniques, this work is only the second to implement a translator and it provides original support for some CSP language constructs and modelling approaches. The method is evaluated through three case studies: a concurrent sorting array, a trialdivision prime number generator, and a component node for the Ricart-Agrawala distributed mutual exclusion algorithm. Each of these case studies presents the formal verification of safety and functional requirements through CSP model-checking, and it is shown that CSPIDER is capable of generating reusable implementations from each model. The Ricart-Agrawala case study demonstrates the application of the method to the design of a protocol component. This method maintains full compatibility with the primary CSP verification tool. Applying the CSPIDER tool requires minimal commitment to an explicitly defined modelling style and a very small set of pre-translation annotations, but all of these measures can be instated prior to verification. The Go code that CSPIDER produces requires no intervention before it may be used as a component within a larger development. The translator provides a traceable, structured implementation of the CSP model, automatically deriving formal parameters and a channel-based client interface from its interpretation of the CSP model. Each case study demonstrates the use of the translated component within a simple test development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A dynamics based analysis of allosteric modulation in heat shock proteins
- Authors: Penkler, David Lawrence
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Heat shock proteins , Molecular chaperones , Allosteric regulation , Homeostasis , Protein kinases , Transcription factors , Adenosine triphosphatase , Cancer -- Chemotherapy , Molecular dynamics , High throughput screening (Drug development)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115948 , vital:34273
- Description: The 70 kDa and 90 kDa heat shock proteins (Hsp70 and Hsp90) are molecular chaperones that play central roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis in all organisms of life with the exception of archaea. In addition to their general chaperone function in protein quality control, Hsp70 and Hsp90 cooperate in the regulation and activity of some 200 known natively folded protein clients which include protein kinases, transcription factors and receptors, many of which are implicated as key regulators of essential signal transduction pathways. Both chaperones are considered to be large multi-domain proteins that rely on ATPase activity and co-chaperone interactions to regulate their conformational cycles for peptide binding and release. The unique positioning of Hsp90 at the crossroads of several fundamental cellular pathways coupled with its known association with diverse oncogenic peptide clients has brought the molecular chaperone under increasing interest as a potential anti-cancer target that is crucially implicated with all eight hallmarks of the disease. Current orthosteric drug discovery efforts aimed at the inhibition of the ATPase domain of Hsp90 have been limited due to high levels of associated toxicity. In an effort to circumnavigate this, the combined focus of research efforts is shifting toward alternative approaches such as interference with co-chaperone binding and the allosteric inhibition/activation of the molecular chaperone. The overriding aim of this thesis was to demonstrate how the computational technique of Perturbation response scanning (PRS) coupled with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (MD) and dynamic residue interaction network (DRN) analysis can be used as a viable strategy to efficiently scan and accurately identify allosteric control element capable of modulating the functional dynamics of a protein. In pursuit of this goal, this thesis also contributes to the current understanding of the nucleotide dependent allosteric mechanisms at play in cellular functionality of both Hsp70 and Hsp90. All-atom MD simulations of E. coli DnaK provided evidence of nucleotide driven modulation of conformational dynamics in both the catalytically active and inactive states. PRS analysis employed on these trajectories demonstrated sensitivity toward bound nucleotide and peptide substrate, and provided evidence of a putative allosterically active intermediate state between the ATPase active and inactive conformational states. Simultaneous binding of ATP and peptide substrate was found to allosterically prime the chaperone for interstate conversion regardless of the transition direction. Detailed analysis of these allosterically primed states revealed select residue sites capable of selecting a coordinate shift towards the opposite conformational state. In an effort to validate these results, the predicted allosteric hot spot sites were cross-validated with known experimental works and found to overlap with functional sites implicated in allosteric signal propagation and ATPase activation in Hsp70. This study presented for the first time, the application of PRS as a suitable diagnostic tool for the elucidation and quantification of the allosteric potential of select residues to effect functionally relevant global conformational rearrangements. The PRS methodology described in this study was packaged within the Python programming environment in the MD-TASK software suite for command-line ease of use and made freely available. Homology modelling techniques were used to address the lack of experimental structural data for the human cytosolic isoform of Hsp90 and for the first time provided accurate full-length structural models of human Hsp90α in fully-closed and partially-open conformations. Long-range all-atom MD simulations of these structures revealed nucleotide driven modulation of conformational dynamics in Hsp90. Subsequent DRN and PRS analysis of these MD trajectories allowed for the quantification and elucidation of nucleotide driven allosteric modulation in the molecular chaperone. A detailed PRS analysis revealed allosteric inter-domain coupling between the extreme terminals of the chaperone in response to external force perturbations at either domain. Furthermore PRS also identified several individual residue sites that are capable of selecting conformational rearrangements towards functionally relevant states which may be considered to be putative allosteric target sites for future drug discovery efforts Molecular docking techniques were employed to investigate the modulation of conformational dynamics of human Hsp90α in response to ligand binding interactions at two identified allosteric sites at the C-terminal. High throughput screening of a small library of natural compounds indigenous to South Africa revealed three hit compounds at these sites: Cephalostatin 17, 20(29)-Lupene-3β isoferulate and 3'-Bromorubrolide F. All-atom MD simulations on these protein-ligand complexes coupled with DRN analysis and several advanced trajectory based analysis techniques provided evidence of selective allosteric modulation of Hsp90α conformational dynamics in response to the identity and location of the bound ligands. Ligands bound at the four-helix bundle presented as putative allosteric inhibitors of Hsp90α, driving conformational dynamics in favour of dimer opening and possibly dimer separation. Meanwhile, ligand interactions at an adjacent sub-pocket located near the interface between the middle and C-terminal domains demonstrated allosteric activation of the chaperone, modulating conformational dynamics in favour of the fully-closed catalytically active conformational state. Taken together, the data presented in this thesis contributes to the understanding of allosteric modulation of conformational dynamics in Hsp70 and Hsp90, and provides a suitable platform for future biochemical and drug discovery studies. Furthermore, the molecular docking and computational identification of allosteric compounds with suitable binding affinity for allosteric sites at the CTD of human Hsp90α provide for the first time “proof-of-principle” for the use of PRS in conjunction with MD simulations and DRN analysis as a suitable method for the rapid identification of allosteric sites in proteins that can be probed by small molecule interaction. The data presented in this section could pave the way for future allosteric drug discovery studies for the treatment of Hsp90 associated pathologies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Penkler, David Lawrence
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Heat shock proteins , Molecular chaperones , Allosteric regulation , Homeostasis , Protein kinases , Transcription factors , Adenosine triphosphatase , Cancer -- Chemotherapy , Molecular dynamics , High throughput screening (Drug development)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115948 , vital:34273
- Description: The 70 kDa and 90 kDa heat shock proteins (Hsp70 and Hsp90) are molecular chaperones that play central roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis in all organisms of life with the exception of archaea. In addition to their general chaperone function in protein quality control, Hsp70 and Hsp90 cooperate in the regulation and activity of some 200 known natively folded protein clients which include protein kinases, transcription factors and receptors, many of which are implicated as key regulators of essential signal transduction pathways. Both chaperones are considered to be large multi-domain proteins that rely on ATPase activity and co-chaperone interactions to regulate their conformational cycles for peptide binding and release. The unique positioning of Hsp90 at the crossroads of several fundamental cellular pathways coupled with its known association with diverse oncogenic peptide clients has brought the molecular chaperone under increasing interest as a potential anti-cancer target that is crucially implicated with all eight hallmarks of the disease. Current orthosteric drug discovery efforts aimed at the inhibition of the ATPase domain of Hsp90 have been limited due to high levels of associated toxicity. In an effort to circumnavigate this, the combined focus of research efforts is shifting toward alternative approaches such as interference with co-chaperone binding and the allosteric inhibition/activation of the molecular chaperone. The overriding aim of this thesis was to demonstrate how the computational technique of Perturbation response scanning (PRS) coupled with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (MD) and dynamic residue interaction network (DRN) analysis can be used as a viable strategy to efficiently scan and accurately identify allosteric control element capable of modulating the functional dynamics of a protein. In pursuit of this goal, this thesis also contributes to the current understanding of the nucleotide dependent allosteric mechanisms at play in cellular functionality of both Hsp70 and Hsp90. All-atom MD simulations of E. coli DnaK provided evidence of nucleotide driven modulation of conformational dynamics in both the catalytically active and inactive states. PRS analysis employed on these trajectories demonstrated sensitivity toward bound nucleotide and peptide substrate, and provided evidence of a putative allosterically active intermediate state between the ATPase active and inactive conformational states. Simultaneous binding of ATP and peptide substrate was found to allosterically prime the chaperone for interstate conversion regardless of the transition direction. Detailed analysis of these allosterically primed states revealed select residue sites capable of selecting a coordinate shift towards the opposite conformational state. In an effort to validate these results, the predicted allosteric hot spot sites were cross-validated with known experimental works and found to overlap with functional sites implicated in allosteric signal propagation and ATPase activation in Hsp70. This study presented for the first time, the application of PRS as a suitable diagnostic tool for the elucidation and quantification of the allosteric potential of select residues to effect functionally relevant global conformational rearrangements. The PRS methodology described in this study was packaged within the Python programming environment in the MD-TASK software suite for command-line ease of use and made freely available. Homology modelling techniques were used to address the lack of experimental structural data for the human cytosolic isoform of Hsp90 and for the first time provided accurate full-length structural models of human Hsp90α in fully-closed and partially-open conformations. Long-range all-atom MD simulations of these structures revealed nucleotide driven modulation of conformational dynamics in Hsp90. Subsequent DRN and PRS analysis of these MD trajectories allowed for the quantification and elucidation of nucleotide driven allosteric modulation in the molecular chaperone. A detailed PRS analysis revealed allosteric inter-domain coupling between the extreme terminals of the chaperone in response to external force perturbations at either domain. Furthermore PRS also identified several individual residue sites that are capable of selecting conformational rearrangements towards functionally relevant states which may be considered to be putative allosteric target sites for future drug discovery efforts Molecular docking techniques were employed to investigate the modulation of conformational dynamics of human Hsp90α in response to ligand binding interactions at two identified allosteric sites at the C-terminal. High throughput screening of a small library of natural compounds indigenous to South Africa revealed three hit compounds at these sites: Cephalostatin 17, 20(29)-Lupene-3β isoferulate and 3'-Bromorubrolide F. All-atom MD simulations on these protein-ligand complexes coupled with DRN analysis and several advanced trajectory based analysis techniques provided evidence of selective allosteric modulation of Hsp90α conformational dynamics in response to the identity and location of the bound ligands. Ligands bound at the four-helix bundle presented as putative allosteric inhibitors of Hsp90α, driving conformational dynamics in favour of dimer opening and possibly dimer separation. Meanwhile, ligand interactions at an adjacent sub-pocket located near the interface between the middle and C-terminal domains demonstrated allosteric activation of the chaperone, modulating conformational dynamics in favour of the fully-closed catalytically active conformational state. Taken together, the data presented in this thesis contributes to the understanding of allosteric modulation of conformational dynamics in Hsp70 and Hsp90, and provides a suitable platform for future biochemical and drug discovery studies. Furthermore, the molecular docking and computational identification of allosteric compounds with suitable binding affinity for allosteric sites at the CTD of human Hsp90α provide for the first time “proof-of-principle” for the use of PRS in conjunction with MD simulations and DRN analysis as a suitable method for the rapid identification of allosteric sites in proteins that can be probed by small molecule interaction. The data presented in this section could pave the way for future allosteric drug discovery studies for the treatment of Hsp90 associated pathologies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A gatherer’s paradise? early humans and plant foraging on the Cape south coast, South Africa
- Authors: Botha, Maria Susan
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plant remains (Archaeology) -- South Africa , Plant physiology Plant ecology Botany -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37139 , vital:34124
- Description: Humans were driven to refugia during the cold and dry glacial Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS6) (~195–125 ka); only a few places, including the Cape south coast, show archaeological evidence of continuous human occupation. It has been hypothesised that the Cape south coast provided the requisite shelter to ensure human’s earliest survival because it provided all the right ingredients. The shores offer abundant shellfish, the land a diverse array of plants, and the climate was ameliorated due to the proximity of the then exposed Palaeo-Agulhas Plain to the warm Agulhas current. The aim of this study is to determine whether the indigenous flora of this region could have provided a sufficient edible resource for early humans. Residents of the Cape south coast have genetic ancestry linking them to the Khoe-San, the original inhabitants of the area, and still have an extensive knowledge of the local edible plants. With their help, I set out to determine a) whether humans have been utilising the same plant species over time, b) what the foraging potential of the edible plants in the region is and c) how resilient these plants are to human foraging. If we know whether the plant species known and used today were the same as those that were utilised by past humans, we can then use the contemporary knowledge to make predictions about past utilisation. To answer this question, I collated two databases: archaeological (all plant species found in archaeological sites [dating 0 to 80,000 BP]) and contemporary (all plant species in the modern-day ethnographic literature [last 400 years]) that occur within the Greater Cape Floristic Region(GCFR). I found a significant number of plant species shared between the two databases, which suggests that at least some plant species have been used by humans over a long period of time. To determine the indigenous plant foraging potential of the region, I foraged for food in the Cape south coast (451 bouts) monthly over a two-year period with the help of local inhabitants. The findings show that edible plant resources are distributed patchily and focusing on specific vegetation types would greatly enhance chances of harvesting 2,000 kcal per day, which is considered the daily calorific requirements for a typical hunter-gatherer. I then sought to understand how resilient these plants [(with an emphasis on plants with an underground storage organ (USO)] would be to human foraging. To do this, I set out plots and harvested all edible foods for three consecutive years with the help of foragers. Results indicate that there was a significant reduction in edible weight only in the third year of consecutive harvesting. In conclusion, using various approaches, this study investigates the plant food potential of the Cape south coast from the perspective of early human consumers. The findings suggest that knowledge regarding useful plants dates back to at least 80,000 BP. Food resources are patchily distributed across the main vegetation types found within the Cape south coast and occur in hotspots, i.e. concentrated areas hosting high densities of edible plant foods, surrounded by areas with very low plant food densities. Foragers could have harvested their daily calorific quota more easily if they focused their harvesting efforts in specific vegetation types found in the Cape south coast. Furthermore, many USOs circumvent climatic fluctuations, herbivory or both by staggering their emergence over multiple years, which implies they have some resilience to human foraging.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Botha, Maria Susan
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plant remains (Archaeology) -- South Africa , Plant physiology Plant ecology Botany -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/37139 , vital:34124
- Description: Humans were driven to refugia during the cold and dry glacial Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS6) (~195–125 ka); only a few places, including the Cape south coast, show archaeological evidence of continuous human occupation. It has been hypothesised that the Cape south coast provided the requisite shelter to ensure human’s earliest survival because it provided all the right ingredients. The shores offer abundant shellfish, the land a diverse array of plants, and the climate was ameliorated due to the proximity of the then exposed Palaeo-Agulhas Plain to the warm Agulhas current. The aim of this study is to determine whether the indigenous flora of this region could have provided a sufficient edible resource for early humans. Residents of the Cape south coast have genetic ancestry linking them to the Khoe-San, the original inhabitants of the area, and still have an extensive knowledge of the local edible plants. With their help, I set out to determine a) whether humans have been utilising the same plant species over time, b) what the foraging potential of the edible plants in the region is and c) how resilient these plants are to human foraging. If we know whether the plant species known and used today were the same as those that were utilised by past humans, we can then use the contemporary knowledge to make predictions about past utilisation. To answer this question, I collated two databases: archaeological (all plant species found in archaeological sites [dating 0 to 80,000 BP]) and contemporary (all plant species in the modern-day ethnographic literature [last 400 years]) that occur within the Greater Cape Floristic Region(GCFR). I found a significant number of plant species shared between the two databases, which suggests that at least some plant species have been used by humans over a long period of time. To determine the indigenous plant foraging potential of the region, I foraged for food in the Cape south coast (451 bouts) monthly over a two-year period with the help of local inhabitants. The findings show that edible plant resources are distributed patchily and focusing on specific vegetation types would greatly enhance chances of harvesting 2,000 kcal per day, which is considered the daily calorific requirements for a typical hunter-gatherer. I then sought to understand how resilient these plants [(with an emphasis on plants with an underground storage organ (USO)] would be to human foraging. To do this, I set out plots and harvested all edible foods for three consecutive years with the help of foragers. Results indicate that there was a significant reduction in edible weight only in the third year of consecutive harvesting. In conclusion, using various approaches, this study investigates the plant food potential of the Cape south coast from the perspective of early human consumers. The findings suggest that knowledge regarding useful plants dates back to at least 80,000 BP. Food resources are patchily distributed across the main vegetation types found within the Cape south coast and occur in hotspots, i.e. concentrated areas hosting high densities of edible plant foods, surrounded by areas with very low plant food densities. Foragers could have harvested their daily calorific quota more easily if they focused their harvesting efforts in specific vegetation types found in the Cape south coast. Furthermore, many USOs circumvent climatic fluctuations, herbivory or both by staggering their emergence over multiple years, which implies they have some resilience to human foraging.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A multi-threading software countermeasure to mitigate side channel analysis in the time domain
- Authors: Frieslaar, Ibraheem
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Computer security , Data encryption (Computer science) , Noise generators (Electronics)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71152 , vital:29790
- Description: This research is the first of its kind to investigate the utilisation of a multi-threading software-based countermeasure to mitigate Side Channel Analysis (SCA) attacks, with a particular focus on the AES-128 cryptographic algorithm. This investigation is novel, as there has not been a software-based countermeasure relying on multi-threading to our knowledge. The research has been tested on the Atmel microcontrollers, as well as a more fully featured system in the form of the popular Raspberry Pi that utilises the ARM7 processor. The main contributions of this research is the introduction of a multi-threading software based countermeasure used to mitigate SCA attacks on both an embedded device and a Raspberry Pi. These threads are comprised of various mathematical operations which are utilised to generate electromagnetic (EM) noise resulting in the obfuscation of the execution of the AES-128 algorithm. A novel EM noise generator known as the FRIES noise generator is implemented to obfuscate data captured in the EM field. FRIES comprises of hiding the execution of AES-128 algorithm within the EM noise generated by the 512 Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) from the libcrypto++ and OpenSSL libraries. In order to evaluate the proposed countermeasure, a novel attack methodology was developed where the entire secret AES-128 encryption key was recovered from a Raspberry Pi, which has not been achieved before. The FRIES noise generator was pitted against this new attack vector and other known noise generators. The results exhibited that the FRIES noise generator withstood this attack whilst other existing techniques still leaked out secret information. The visual location of the AES-128 encryption algorithm in the EM spectrum and key recovery was prevented. These results demonstrated that the proposed multi-threading software based countermeasure was able to be resistant to existing and new forms of attacks, thus verifying that a multi-threading software based countermeasure can serve to mitigate SCA attacks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Frieslaar, Ibraheem
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Computer security , Data encryption (Computer science) , Noise generators (Electronics)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71152 , vital:29790
- Description: This research is the first of its kind to investigate the utilisation of a multi-threading software-based countermeasure to mitigate Side Channel Analysis (SCA) attacks, with a particular focus on the AES-128 cryptographic algorithm. This investigation is novel, as there has not been a software-based countermeasure relying on multi-threading to our knowledge. The research has been tested on the Atmel microcontrollers, as well as a more fully featured system in the form of the popular Raspberry Pi that utilises the ARM7 processor. The main contributions of this research is the introduction of a multi-threading software based countermeasure used to mitigate SCA attacks on both an embedded device and a Raspberry Pi. These threads are comprised of various mathematical operations which are utilised to generate electromagnetic (EM) noise resulting in the obfuscation of the execution of the AES-128 algorithm. A novel EM noise generator known as the FRIES noise generator is implemented to obfuscate data captured in the EM field. FRIES comprises of hiding the execution of AES-128 algorithm within the EM noise generated by the 512 Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) from the libcrypto++ and OpenSSL libraries. In order to evaluate the proposed countermeasure, a novel attack methodology was developed where the entire secret AES-128 encryption key was recovered from a Raspberry Pi, which has not been achieved before. The FRIES noise generator was pitted against this new attack vector and other known noise generators. The results exhibited that the FRIES noise generator withstood this attack whilst other existing techniques still leaked out secret information. The visual location of the AES-128 encryption algorithm in the EM spectrum and key recovery was prevented. These results demonstrated that the proposed multi-threading software based countermeasure was able to be resistant to existing and new forms of attacks, thus verifying that a multi-threading software based countermeasure can serve to mitigate SCA attacks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A physiological study on a commercial reef fish to quantify the relationship between exploitation and climate change resilience
- Authors: Duncan, Murray Ian
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Chrysoblephus laticeps -- Climatic factors , Chrysoblephus laticeps -- Physiology , Sparidae -- South Africa -- Climatic factors , Reef fishes -- South Africa -- Climatic factors , Fish populations -- South Africa -- Climatic factors , Fish populations -- Measurement , Fish populations -- Monitoring , Fisheries -- South Africa -- Environmental aspects , Ocean temperature -- Physiological effect -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76541 , vital:30599
- Description: The persistence of harvested fish populations in the Anthropocene will be determined, above all, by how they respond to the interacting effects of climate change and fisheries exploitation. Predicting how populations will respond to both these threats is essential for any adaptive and sustainable management strategy. The response of fish populations to climate change is underpinned by physiological rates and tolerances, and emerging evidence suggests there may be physiological-based selection in capture fisheries. By quantifying important physiological rates of a model species, the endemic seabream, Chrysoblephus laticeps, across ecologically relevant thermal gradients and from populations subjected to varying intensities of commercial exploitation, this thesis aimed to 1) provide the first physiologically grounded climate resilience assessment for a South African linefish species, and 2) elucidate whether exploitation can drive populations to less physiologically resilient states in response to climate change. To identify physiologically limiting sea temperatures and to determine if exploitation alters physiological trait distributions, an intermittent flow respirometry experiment was used to test the metabolic response of spatially protected and exploited populations of C. laticeps to acute thermal variability. Exploited populations showed reduced metabolic phenotype diversity, fewer high-performance aerobic scope phenotypes, and a significantly lower aerobic scope curve across all test temperatures. Although both populations maintained a relatively high aerobic scope across a wide thermal range, their metabolic rates were compromised when extreme cold events were simulated (8 °C), suggesting that predicted future increases in upwelling frequency and intensity may be the primary limiting factor in a more thermally variable future ocean. The increment widths of annuli in the otoliths of C. laticeps from contemporary and historic collections were measured, as a proxy for the annual growth rate of exploited and protected populations. Hierarchical mixed models were used to partition growth variation within and among individuals and ascribe growth to intrinsic and extrinsic effects. The best model for the protected population indicated that the growth response of C. laticeps was poorer during years characterised by a high cumulative upwelling intensity, and better during years characterised by higher mean autumn sea surface temperatures. The exploited population growth chronology was too short to identify an extrinsic growth driver. The growth results again highlight the role of thermal variability in modulating the response of C. laticeps to its ambient environment and indicate that the predicted increases in upwelling frequency and intensity may constrain future growth rates of this species. A metabolic index (ϕ), representing the ratio of O2 supply to demand at various temperatures and oxygen concentrations, was estimated for exploited and protected populations of C. laticeps and used to predict future distribution responses. There was no difference in the laboratory calibrations of ϕ between populations, and all data was subsequently combined into a single piecewise (12 °C) calibrated ϕ model. To predict the distribution of C. laticeps, ϕ was projected across a high-resolution ocean model of the South African coastal zone, and a species distribution model implemented using the random forest algorithm and C. laticeps occurrence points. The future distribution of C. laticeps was estimated by predicting trained models across ocean model projections up to 2100. The best predictor of C. laticeps’ current distribution was minimum monthly ϕ and future predictions indicated only a slight range contraction on either edge of C. laticeps’ distribution by 2100. In order to provide policy makers, currently developing climate change management frameworks for South Africa’s ocean, with a usable output, the results of all research chapters were combined into a marine spatial model. The spatial model identified areas where C. laticeps is predicted to be resilient to climate change in terms of physiology, growth and distribution responses, which can then be prioritised for adaptation measures, such as spatial protection from exploitation. While these results are specific to C. laticeps, the methodology developed to identify areas of climate resilience has broad applications across taxa. From a global perspective, perhaps the most salient points to consider from this case study are the evidence of selective exploitation on physiological traits and the importance of environmental variability, rather than long-term mean climate changes, in affecting organism performance. These ideas are congruent with the current paradigm shift in how we think of the ocean, selective fisheries, and how they relate to organism climate resilience.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Duncan, Murray Ian
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Chrysoblephus laticeps -- Climatic factors , Chrysoblephus laticeps -- Physiology , Sparidae -- South Africa -- Climatic factors , Reef fishes -- South Africa -- Climatic factors , Fish populations -- South Africa -- Climatic factors , Fish populations -- Measurement , Fish populations -- Monitoring , Fisheries -- South Africa -- Environmental aspects , Ocean temperature -- Physiological effect -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76541 , vital:30599
- Description: The persistence of harvested fish populations in the Anthropocene will be determined, above all, by how they respond to the interacting effects of climate change and fisheries exploitation. Predicting how populations will respond to both these threats is essential for any adaptive and sustainable management strategy. The response of fish populations to climate change is underpinned by physiological rates and tolerances, and emerging evidence suggests there may be physiological-based selection in capture fisheries. By quantifying important physiological rates of a model species, the endemic seabream, Chrysoblephus laticeps, across ecologically relevant thermal gradients and from populations subjected to varying intensities of commercial exploitation, this thesis aimed to 1) provide the first physiologically grounded climate resilience assessment for a South African linefish species, and 2) elucidate whether exploitation can drive populations to less physiologically resilient states in response to climate change. To identify physiologically limiting sea temperatures and to determine if exploitation alters physiological trait distributions, an intermittent flow respirometry experiment was used to test the metabolic response of spatially protected and exploited populations of C. laticeps to acute thermal variability. Exploited populations showed reduced metabolic phenotype diversity, fewer high-performance aerobic scope phenotypes, and a significantly lower aerobic scope curve across all test temperatures. Although both populations maintained a relatively high aerobic scope across a wide thermal range, their metabolic rates were compromised when extreme cold events were simulated (8 °C), suggesting that predicted future increases in upwelling frequency and intensity may be the primary limiting factor in a more thermally variable future ocean. The increment widths of annuli in the otoliths of C. laticeps from contemporary and historic collections were measured, as a proxy for the annual growth rate of exploited and protected populations. Hierarchical mixed models were used to partition growth variation within and among individuals and ascribe growth to intrinsic and extrinsic effects. The best model for the protected population indicated that the growth response of C. laticeps was poorer during years characterised by a high cumulative upwelling intensity, and better during years characterised by higher mean autumn sea surface temperatures. The exploited population growth chronology was too short to identify an extrinsic growth driver. The growth results again highlight the role of thermal variability in modulating the response of C. laticeps to its ambient environment and indicate that the predicted increases in upwelling frequency and intensity may constrain future growth rates of this species. A metabolic index (ϕ), representing the ratio of O2 supply to demand at various temperatures and oxygen concentrations, was estimated for exploited and protected populations of C. laticeps and used to predict future distribution responses. There was no difference in the laboratory calibrations of ϕ between populations, and all data was subsequently combined into a single piecewise (12 °C) calibrated ϕ model. To predict the distribution of C. laticeps, ϕ was projected across a high-resolution ocean model of the South African coastal zone, and a species distribution model implemented using the random forest algorithm and C. laticeps occurrence points. The future distribution of C. laticeps was estimated by predicting trained models across ocean model projections up to 2100. The best predictor of C. laticeps’ current distribution was minimum monthly ϕ and future predictions indicated only a slight range contraction on either edge of C. laticeps’ distribution by 2100. In order to provide policy makers, currently developing climate change management frameworks for South Africa’s ocean, with a usable output, the results of all research chapters were combined into a marine spatial model. The spatial model identified areas where C. laticeps is predicted to be resilient to climate change in terms of physiology, growth and distribution responses, which can then be prioritised for adaptation measures, such as spatial protection from exploitation. While these results are specific to C. laticeps, the methodology developed to identify areas of climate resilience has broad applications across taxa. From a global perspective, perhaps the most salient points to consider from this case study are the evidence of selective exploitation on physiological traits and the importance of environmental variability, rather than long-term mean climate changes, in affecting organism performance. These ideas are congruent with the current paradigm shift in how we think of the ocean, selective fisheries, and how they relate to organism climate resilience.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A social realist account of constraints and enablements navigated by South African students during the four year professional accounting programme at Rhodes University, South Africa
- Authors: Myers, Lyndrianne Peta
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Rhodes University -- Students , Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Finance -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/93800 , vital:30946
- Description: This dissertation is an analysis of the enablements and constraints navigated by 43 students from different academic years within the Department of Accounting, Rhodes University, in their pursuit of obtaining the postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (DipAcc) qualification. Passing this diploma year entitles students to become Trainee Accountants, which is one of the requirements for their ultimate goal of becoming a chartered accountant. In the course of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews conducted for this study, students from across the four years of the professional degree programme, shared what had helped or hindered them on their journeys to and through Rhodes University, and within the Department of Accounting at this university. Focus group discussions were then held with academics from the department, where the student participants’ experiences were shared. The responses of the members of the focus groups confirmed many of the student participants’ experiences as did interviews with representatives from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). These representatives also spoke about students’ experiences at other campuses. To determine how localised the student participants’ experiences were, selected individuals from a number of other Departments or Schools of Accounting at SAICA-accredited institutions in South Africa were also interviewed. SAICA representatives also discussed the ‘pervasive skills’ which trainee accountants are expected to acquire. The perspectives from these different groups, have provided validation of the student research participants’ experiences. Critical Realism and Social Realism were used as theoretical underpinnings while Social Realism, Bernstein’s Pedagogic Device, Legitimation Code Theory and New Literacies Theory were used as explanatory theories. Using these theories, the participants’ experiences were analysed and could be understood in a different way. This dissertation reveals how this unequal privileging of individuals as a result of the existing structures is perpetuated at university level. It is the poorer students from under-resourced schools who generally struggle with the language and the practices and ways of being required for success at university. Student participants’ experiences of constraint and enablement arose primarily in the areas of the finances required for tuition and living expenses while at university; having English as a language of learning; and difficulties experienced with taking advantage of the learning opportunities within the department. Research participants also spoke about their experiences of transformation in terms of both student protests, and a mentoring programme which assisted them in gaining access to the practises and ways of being required for the discipline. In so doing they were inducted into the discipline’s community of practice. This dissertation has assisted in providing an understanding of what has helped and what has hindered students at Rhodes University, on their journeys towards obtaining the Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting qualification. It has also provided insight into the mechanisms which lie behind these experiences. This study will provide practitioners and policy-makers with the opportunity to be better informed about students’ struggles, to contemplate their interactions with students and to identify, remove or reduce unnecessarily burdensome hurdles. Equally and perhaps more importantly, this study and the work which emerges as a result of this research, will provide students with tools to assist them in their academic journeys, to manage essential hurdles, and to eliminate or avoid unnecessary hurdles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Myers, Lyndrianne Peta
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Rhodes University -- Students , Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Social aspects -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Finance -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/93800 , vital:30946
- Description: This dissertation is an analysis of the enablements and constraints navigated by 43 students from different academic years within the Department of Accounting, Rhodes University, in their pursuit of obtaining the postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (DipAcc) qualification. Passing this diploma year entitles students to become Trainee Accountants, which is one of the requirements for their ultimate goal of becoming a chartered accountant. In the course of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews conducted for this study, students from across the four years of the professional degree programme, shared what had helped or hindered them on their journeys to and through Rhodes University, and within the Department of Accounting at this university. Focus group discussions were then held with academics from the department, where the student participants’ experiences were shared. The responses of the members of the focus groups confirmed many of the student participants’ experiences as did interviews with representatives from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). These representatives also spoke about students’ experiences at other campuses. To determine how localised the student participants’ experiences were, selected individuals from a number of other Departments or Schools of Accounting at SAICA-accredited institutions in South Africa were also interviewed. SAICA representatives also discussed the ‘pervasive skills’ which trainee accountants are expected to acquire. The perspectives from these different groups, have provided validation of the student research participants’ experiences. Critical Realism and Social Realism were used as theoretical underpinnings while Social Realism, Bernstein’s Pedagogic Device, Legitimation Code Theory and New Literacies Theory were used as explanatory theories. Using these theories, the participants’ experiences were analysed and could be understood in a different way. This dissertation reveals how this unequal privileging of individuals as a result of the existing structures is perpetuated at university level. It is the poorer students from under-resourced schools who generally struggle with the language and the practices and ways of being required for success at university. Student participants’ experiences of constraint and enablement arose primarily in the areas of the finances required for tuition and living expenses while at university; having English as a language of learning; and difficulties experienced with taking advantage of the learning opportunities within the department. Research participants also spoke about their experiences of transformation in terms of both student protests, and a mentoring programme which assisted them in gaining access to the practises and ways of being required for the discipline. In so doing they were inducted into the discipline’s community of practice. This dissertation has assisted in providing an understanding of what has helped and what has hindered students at Rhodes University, on their journeys towards obtaining the Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting qualification. It has also provided insight into the mechanisms which lie behind these experiences. This study will provide practitioners and policy-makers with the opportunity to be better informed about students’ struggles, to contemplate their interactions with students and to identify, remove or reduce unnecessarily burdensome hurdles. Equally and perhaps more importantly, this study and the work which emerges as a result of this research, will provide students with tools to assist them in their academic journeys, to manage essential hurdles, and to eliminate or avoid unnecessary hurdles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A sociological understanding of urban governance and social accountability: the case of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Sivalo, Delta Mbonisi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Municipal government -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Municipal government -- Sociological aspects-- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Municipal government -- Citizen participation -- Zimbabwe -- Harare
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71515 , vital:29860
- Description: This thesis seeks to understand the ways in which urban governance and urban-based civic participation interact with each other in contemporary Zimbabwe, with a particular focus on the factors influencing and shaping social accountability and effective citizen involvement in urban governance processes. This main objective is pursued with specific reference to Bulawayo, which is one of two metropolitan centres in Zimbabwe. The focus is specifically on questions around social accountability, citizen participation and centralised urban governance. In this regard, it is important to recognise that social accountability and urban governance need to be understood in the context of their inherent relationship and how these both shape and determine each other. In this respect, there is need to probe the foundations that shape the lived experiences of communities, through social accountability and urban governance, and how these pattern development and social change. Zimbabwe for over a decade now has gone through a series of economic and political crises which have impacted detrimentally on urban governance. With the economy in free-fall, local authorities have had to pursue a range of strategies to sustain themselves. These socio-economic conditions have forced a change in relations between the state, cities and citizens. Many studies have examined this regarding the politics of contestation between the ruling party (ZANU-PF), the state, and the main opposition party (MDC) in urban governance in Zimbabwe. However, this study zeros in on social accountability and how it is shaped by the prevailing socio-economic and political environment in Zimbabwe. At the same time, the lived experiences of communities vary and this variance influences and affects social accountability interventions and outcomes in cities like Bulawayo. Importantly, the thesis offers a longitudinal study which can map the contextual factors affecting and influencing social accountability in Bulawayo over time. Though recognising the debilitating effects of centralised urban governance on social accountability, the thesis also raises questions about the shifting, and often tenuous, relationship between the city and the central state, on one hand, and the city and its citizens on the other. In doing so, it considers the role of citizens, institutions and actors in responding to the impacts of urban governance and social accountability. In pursuing this thesis, a range of mainly qualitative research methods were used, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observation and use of documents. In the end, the thesis offers a nuanced analysis of the everyday complexities and challenges for social accountability in urban Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and thereby contributes to theorising social accountability and urban governance in Africa more broadly.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Sivalo, Delta Mbonisi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Zimbabwe -- Politics and government -- 1980- , Municipal government -- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Municipal government -- Sociological aspects-- Zimbabwe -- Harare , Municipal government -- Citizen participation -- Zimbabwe -- Harare
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71515 , vital:29860
- Description: This thesis seeks to understand the ways in which urban governance and urban-based civic participation interact with each other in contemporary Zimbabwe, with a particular focus on the factors influencing and shaping social accountability and effective citizen involvement in urban governance processes. This main objective is pursued with specific reference to Bulawayo, which is one of two metropolitan centres in Zimbabwe. The focus is specifically on questions around social accountability, citizen participation and centralised urban governance. In this regard, it is important to recognise that social accountability and urban governance need to be understood in the context of their inherent relationship and how these both shape and determine each other. In this respect, there is need to probe the foundations that shape the lived experiences of communities, through social accountability and urban governance, and how these pattern development and social change. Zimbabwe for over a decade now has gone through a series of economic and political crises which have impacted detrimentally on urban governance. With the economy in free-fall, local authorities have had to pursue a range of strategies to sustain themselves. These socio-economic conditions have forced a change in relations between the state, cities and citizens. Many studies have examined this regarding the politics of contestation between the ruling party (ZANU-PF), the state, and the main opposition party (MDC) in urban governance in Zimbabwe. However, this study zeros in on social accountability and how it is shaped by the prevailing socio-economic and political environment in Zimbabwe. At the same time, the lived experiences of communities vary and this variance influences and affects social accountability interventions and outcomes in cities like Bulawayo. Importantly, the thesis offers a longitudinal study which can map the contextual factors affecting and influencing social accountability in Bulawayo over time. Though recognising the debilitating effects of centralised urban governance on social accountability, the thesis also raises questions about the shifting, and often tenuous, relationship between the city and the central state, on one hand, and the city and its citizens on the other. In doing so, it considers the role of citizens, institutions and actors in responding to the impacts of urban governance and social accountability. In pursuing this thesis, a range of mainly qualitative research methods were used, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observation and use of documents. In the end, the thesis offers a nuanced analysis of the everyday complexities and challenges for social accountability in urban Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and thereby contributes to theorising social accountability and urban governance in Africa more broadly.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Accountability deficits in local government in South Africa: implications for social and economic development
- Authors: Sepogwane, Pheladi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Budget deficits -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa Local government -- South Africa -- Evaluation South Africa -- Economic conditions Economic development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43424 , vital:36879
- Description: Local government faces require that spheres of government provide accountable, effective, transparent, and good governance. Yet local government face challenges that compel a need for mechanisms that will improve the accountability and effective management of municipal resources. There have been concerns among scholars that development is not being coordinated by an evenly powerful formation of fitting accountability regimes (Abata, 2012; Adenuga, 2013). For this reason, the study aims to investigate to what degree and how trends towards local government policymaking and implementation have been matched by correspondent changes and innovations in accountability regimes and practices. In keeping with the distinctions made above, it undertakes research on accountability practices in two domains of politics. It entails a systematic comparative empirical research on accountability regimes surrounding: the municipal mayors, committees and managers in regular policymaking, implementation and crisis management; evaluating the effectiveness of accountability regimes as catalysts of development programmes. The Researcher observed growing concerns on the issues of accountability. Hence an exploratory study on the issue based on qualitative research methodology was undertaken. The method of research is comprised of a case study, observation and interviews that were conducted. The accountability systems that were examined include the political, bureaucratic and professional accountability systems. Yet the two accountability mechanisms that were designed highlight the challenges in the dominance, abuse of powers, non-compliance with the code of conduct, the lack of exemplary behaviour and accountability deficits. The major conclusion that is drawn from the research study is that a multi-dimensional is required to ensure effective accountability systems in municipalities. The recommendations include the enforcement of the legal instruments, codes of conduct; the impartial prosecution of violators; implementing effective policies on training and personnel management and encouraging associations and stakeholders to play a catalytic role in enforcing accountability in municipalities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Sepogwane, Pheladi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Budget deficits -- South Africa , Local government -- South Africa Local government -- South Africa -- Evaluation South Africa -- Economic conditions Economic development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43424 , vital:36879
- Description: Local government faces require that spheres of government provide accountable, effective, transparent, and good governance. Yet local government face challenges that compel a need for mechanisms that will improve the accountability and effective management of municipal resources. There have been concerns among scholars that development is not being coordinated by an evenly powerful formation of fitting accountability regimes (Abata, 2012; Adenuga, 2013). For this reason, the study aims to investigate to what degree and how trends towards local government policymaking and implementation have been matched by correspondent changes and innovations in accountability regimes and practices. In keeping with the distinctions made above, it undertakes research on accountability practices in two domains of politics. It entails a systematic comparative empirical research on accountability regimes surrounding: the municipal mayors, committees and managers in regular policymaking, implementation and crisis management; evaluating the effectiveness of accountability regimes as catalysts of development programmes. The Researcher observed growing concerns on the issues of accountability. Hence an exploratory study on the issue based on qualitative research methodology was undertaken. The method of research is comprised of a case study, observation and interviews that were conducted. The accountability systems that were examined include the political, bureaucratic and professional accountability systems. Yet the two accountability mechanisms that were designed highlight the challenges in the dominance, abuse of powers, non-compliance with the code of conduct, the lack of exemplary behaviour and accountability deficits. The major conclusion that is drawn from the research study is that a multi-dimensional is required to ensure effective accountability systems in municipalities. The recommendations include the enforcement of the legal instruments, codes of conduct; the impartial prosecution of violators; implementing effective policies on training and personnel management and encouraging associations and stakeholders to play a catalytic role in enforcing accountability in municipalities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Aiding the education agenda? the role of non-governmental organisations in learner performance and retention in Joza, Grahamstown, South Africa
- Authors: Nomsenge, Sinazo Onela
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Non-governmental organizations , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Black people -- Education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Joza Youth Hub (Makhanda) , Upstart Youth Development Project (Makhanda) , Village Scribe Association (Makhanda) , Ikamba Youth (Makhanda) , Access Music Project(Makhanda)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76468 , vital:30568
- Description: This thesis describes the network of complexities that characterise the world and work of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). It examines the ways in which organisations navigate different internal, sectoral and contextual intricacies while operating under the command of their chosen developmental mandates. This description is drawn from a sociological analysis of the internal workings of education NGOs, their external affiliations as well as the negotiations which underpin their operations and survival. Collectively, the careful illustration of these underpinnings outlines both the role that NGOs play in the performance and retention of learners in the Grahamstown-east township of Joza and also their position in the town’s basic education sector. Private and non-governmental interveners have, particularly from the closing decades of the 20th century, been conceptually and operationally deployed as panaceas of the socio-economic scarcities which continue to pervade much of the ‘developing’ world. Their involvement in the socio-economic missions of populations living in the Global South has grown both laterally and in the depth of how development is understood and defined, carried out and also measured. NGOs, as widely acclaimed institutional arms of global development imperatives, therefore assume prominent positions in framing policy and implementation models, prescribing performance benchmarks and pronouncing non-compliance. Likewise, education NGOs have obtained normative prescription status in global education policy and practice largely on the back of the Education for All (EFA) objectives, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the neo-liberal logics which have championed state retreat in favour of private sector ascendance in globalised development. This, in conjunction with the persistent struggles of educational transformation in the Global South, has given NGOs little trouble in legitimising their prominent presence in education and other sectors of socio-economic relief in these parts of the world. Little illusion remains however, in many commentary circles, of the role of NGOs in advancing development ideals, the honesty of their altruistic intents, their ideological leanings as well as their efficacy in carrying out their mandates. As such, the logics which have been used to dethrone developing state structures in order to expand the space for private intervention along with the prevailing and deepening markers of educational underperformance, have been central features of the criticisms levelled against NGOs. This thesis intervenes in these ongoing reflections by describing the role of NGOs in educational outcomes, particularly learner performance and retention in Joza. This analysis demonstrates the organisational, sector-level and broader community forces which influence not only the form which non-state interventions take on and the daily preoccupations of their carriers but broadly, the position they occupy in the town’s overall educational profile. By way of locating NGOs within Grahamstown’s educational landscape, this thesis first demonstrates, the conflicted nature of NGO operations from an international, sectoral, national, local and organisational level. The discussion then illustrates how the preoccupations of NGOs are scattered between the different communities which they occupy within these levels. Their reliance on these players demands that organisations be tactical in guarding both their survival and, at times, the conflicting allegiances which grant them different forms of legitimacy. Internal struggles which characterise this imbalance of forces results in a trade-off which often favours organisational preservation mechanisms over systemic educational overhaul. As such, while non-state interveners can be lauded for extending educational support to those who would otherwise not have such, the gains of NGO intervention are often absorbed by internal urgencies for organisational legitimacy and preservation. This, in a context which possesses a unique set of socio-economic and educational deficits that require, at the very least, radical and unbridled mediation, means that pre-existing inequalities in educational inputs and outcomes along with the resultant inequities in youth socio-economic prospects, can find refuge in the very sector whose support and intervention is sought out and justified for such. This thesis lays out the nuances of these tensions and contradictions and offers this case as a point of reference for further considerations of the persistent markers of underperformance which characterise developing communities that enjoy high concentrations of non-state educational intervention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nomsenge, Sinazo Onela
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Non-governmental organizations , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Black people -- Education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Joza Youth Hub (Makhanda) , Upstart Youth Development Project (Makhanda) , Village Scribe Association (Makhanda) , Ikamba Youth (Makhanda) , Access Music Project(Makhanda)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76468 , vital:30568
- Description: This thesis describes the network of complexities that characterise the world and work of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). It examines the ways in which organisations navigate different internal, sectoral and contextual intricacies while operating under the command of their chosen developmental mandates. This description is drawn from a sociological analysis of the internal workings of education NGOs, their external affiliations as well as the negotiations which underpin their operations and survival. Collectively, the careful illustration of these underpinnings outlines both the role that NGOs play in the performance and retention of learners in the Grahamstown-east township of Joza and also their position in the town’s basic education sector. Private and non-governmental interveners have, particularly from the closing decades of the 20th century, been conceptually and operationally deployed as panaceas of the socio-economic scarcities which continue to pervade much of the ‘developing’ world. Their involvement in the socio-economic missions of populations living in the Global South has grown both laterally and in the depth of how development is understood and defined, carried out and also measured. NGOs, as widely acclaimed institutional arms of global development imperatives, therefore assume prominent positions in framing policy and implementation models, prescribing performance benchmarks and pronouncing non-compliance. Likewise, education NGOs have obtained normative prescription status in global education policy and practice largely on the back of the Education for All (EFA) objectives, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the neo-liberal logics which have championed state retreat in favour of private sector ascendance in globalised development. This, in conjunction with the persistent struggles of educational transformation in the Global South, has given NGOs little trouble in legitimising their prominent presence in education and other sectors of socio-economic relief in these parts of the world. Little illusion remains however, in many commentary circles, of the role of NGOs in advancing development ideals, the honesty of their altruistic intents, their ideological leanings as well as their efficacy in carrying out their mandates. As such, the logics which have been used to dethrone developing state structures in order to expand the space for private intervention along with the prevailing and deepening markers of educational underperformance, have been central features of the criticisms levelled against NGOs. This thesis intervenes in these ongoing reflections by describing the role of NGOs in educational outcomes, particularly learner performance and retention in Joza. This analysis demonstrates the organisational, sector-level and broader community forces which influence not only the form which non-state interventions take on and the daily preoccupations of their carriers but broadly, the position they occupy in the town’s overall educational profile. By way of locating NGOs within Grahamstown’s educational landscape, this thesis first demonstrates, the conflicted nature of NGO operations from an international, sectoral, national, local and organisational level. The discussion then illustrates how the preoccupations of NGOs are scattered between the different communities which they occupy within these levels. Their reliance on these players demands that organisations be tactical in guarding both their survival and, at times, the conflicting allegiances which grant them different forms of legitimacy. Internal struggles which characterise this imbalance of forces results in a trade-off which often favours organisational preservation mechanisms over systemic educational overhaul. As such, while non-state interveners can be lauded for extending educational support to those who would otherwise not have such, the gains of NGO intervention are often absorbed by internal urgencies for organisational legitimacy and preservation. This, in a context which possesses a unique set of socio-economic and educational deficits that require, at the very least, radical and unbridled mediation, means that pre-existing inequalities in educational inputs and outcomes along with the resultant inequities in youth socio-economic prospects, can find refuge in the very sector whose support and intervention is sought out and justified for such. This thesis lays out the nuances of these tensions and contradictions and offers this case as a point of reference for further considerations of the persistent markers of underperformance which characterise developing communities that enjoy high concentrations of non-state educational intervention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
An analysis of the availability of and access to credit from the formal financial sector and the performance of SMEs
- Authors: Asah, Francis Tangwo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa -- Finance , Microfinance -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991-
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115138 , vital:34081
- Description: As a developing nation, South Africa faces a high rate of poverty, high levels of inequality in terms of income and a high rate of unemployment. It is officially estimated that about 27.2% of the economically active population are unemployed. SMEs are expected to be an important vehicle to address the challenges of job creation, sustainable economic growth, equitable distribution of income and the overall stimulation of economic development. SMEs in South Africa constitute 99% of all businesses, contributing to employment, income inequality and poverty alleviation (Statistic South Africa, 2018). However, despite the remarkable contribution of SMEs to the economy of South Africa, the failure rate of SMEs (at 75%) is the highest of all the efficiency-driven economies sampled by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). The World Bank affirm that the availability of and access to credit from the formal financial sector is the primary cause of the high failure rate of SMEs. Contemporary literature advance that the future survival and performance of SMEs in South Africa is pegged onto the amount of financial capital available to address their capital needs. Thus, this study sought to analyse the availability of and access to credit from the formal financial sector and the performance of SMEs from the supply and demand-side. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a sequential exploratory mixed method research design, located in the pragmatic research paradigm, was used in a two phased approach. The qualitative data collection and analysis in Phase 1 informed the quantitative data collection and analysis Phase 2. In Phase 1, in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 credit and 8 business managers representing the sampling unit of selected formal financial institutions. The qualitative data collected was analysed using the five-steps process of content analysis as illustrated by Terre Blanche et al. (2006:322-326). The main findings with regard to factors that impact on the willingness of the formal financial sector to provide credit to SMEs were collateral, annual business turnover, audited financial records, relationship with the bank, credit profile, nature of the business, economic climate, ethics, nationality, government policy, management team, valid Identity Document/permit, equity contribution, entrepreneurship education, product quality, and business intelligence. Assessing credit applications from SMEs, risk assessment, inspection of financial records, proper documentation and background checks were the different tasks performed by credit and business managers. In addition, the main challenges faced by the formal financial sector in assessing and approving credit in favour of SMEs included the following: lack of investment capital; lack of collateral; lack of proper financial records; poor managerial knowledge; poor business plan; lack of industrial knowledge; and poor legal and credit laws. Lastly, contrary to the notion that formal financial institutions are not interested in investing in SMEs, on average, 70% of SMEs that applied for credit received such credit. In Phase 2, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from formal sector owner/managers of SMEs in the city of Johannesburg. Of the 702 questionnaires distributed, 300 were returned and useable. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 24). A test for normality was performed using Shapiro–Wilks test. Reliability was tested using the Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis tested the validity of factors that prevent formal financial sector from granting credit to SMEs while Binary logistic regression was used to infer on the hypotheses. Spearman’s Rho correlation analysis was used to determine whether there was any significant relationship with factors that influence access to credit and SMEs performance. The main findings revealed that access to bank finance was the only challenge that showed a significant correlation with performance. In addition, the study revealed that the South African Identity Document and collateral were the most important factors considered when applying for credit from formal financial institutions. With regard to the reasons why formal financial institutions may refuse to grant credit to SMEs, it was revealed that there was no significant positive relationship between lack of business networking and access to credit from the formal financial sector to SMEs. Conversely, the study also revealed a significant positive relationship between collateral, business information, managerial competency, business intelligence, business ethics, entrepreneurship education, legal system and macro-economy and access to credit from the formal financial sector to SMEs. Thus, it was established that there is a significant positive relationship between access to credit from the formal financial sector and the performance of SMEs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Asah, Francis Tangwo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa -- Finance , Microfinance -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991-
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115138 , vital:34081
- Description: As a developing nation, South Africa faces a high rate of poverty, high levels of inequality in terms of income and a high rate of unemployment. It is officially estimated that about 27.2% of the economically active population are unemployed. SMEs are expected to be an important vehicle to address the challenges of job creation, sustainable economic growth, equitable distribution of income and the overall stimulation of economic development. SMEs in South Africa constitute 99% of all businesses, contributing to employment, income inequality and poverty alleviation (Statistic South Africa, 2018). However, despite the remarkable contribution of SMEs to the economy of South Africa, the failure rate of SMEs (at 75%) is the highest of all the efficiency-driven economies sampled by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). The World Bank affirm that the availability of and access to credit from the formal financial sector is the primary cause of the high failure rate of SMEs. Contemporary literature advance that the future survival and performance of SMEs in South Africa is pegged onto the amount of financial capital available to address their capital needs. Thus, this study sought to analyse the availability of and access to credit from the formal financial sector and the performance of SMEs from the supply and demand-side. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a sequential exploratory mixed method research design, located in the pragmatic research paradigm, was used in a two phased approach. The qualitative data collection and analysis in Phase 1 informed the quantitative data collection and analysis Phase 2. In Phase 1, in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 credit and 8 business managers representing the sampling unit of selected formal financial institutions. The qualitative data collected was analysed using the five-steps process of content analysis as illustrated by Terre Blanche et al. (2006:322-326). The main findings with regard to factors that impact on the willingness of the formal financial sector to provide credit to SMEs were collateral, annual business turnover, audited financial records, relationship with the bank, credit profile, nature of the business, economic climate, ethics, nationality, government policy, management team, valid Identity Document/permit, equity contribution, entrepreneurship education, product quality, and business intelligence. Assessing credit applications from SMEs, risk assessment, inspection of financial records, proper documentation and background checks were the different tasks performed by credit and business managers. In addition, the main challenges faced by the formal financial sector in assessing and approving credit in favour of SMEs included the following: lack of investment capital; lack of collateral; lack of proper financial records; poor managerial knowledge; poor business plan; lack of industrial knowledge; and poor legal and credit laws. Lastly, contrary to the notion that formal financial institutions are not interested in investing in SMEs, on average, 70% of SMEs that applied for credit received such credit. In Phase 2, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from formal sector owner/managers of SMEs in the city of Johannesburg. Of the 702 questionnaires distributed, 300 were returned and useable. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 24). A test for normality was performed using Shapiro–Wilks test. Reliability was tested using the Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis tested the validity of factors that prevent formal financial sector from granting credit to SMEs while Binary logistic regression was used to infer on the hypotheses. Spearman’s Rho correlation analysis was used to determine whether there was any significant relationship with factors that influence access to credit and SMEs performance. The main findings revealed that access to bank finance was the only challenge that showed a significant correlation with performance. In addition, the study revealed that the South African Identity Document and collateral were the most important factors considered when applying for credit from formal financial institutions. With regard to the reasons why formal financial institutions may refuse to grant credit to SMEs, it was revealed that there was no significant positive relationship between lack of business networking and access to credit from the formal financial sector to SMEs. Conversely, the study also revealed a significant positive relationship between collateral, business information, managerial competency, business intelligence, business ethics, entrepreneurship education, legal system and macro-economy and access to credit from the formal financial sector to SMEs. Thus, it was established that there is a significant positive relationship between access to credit from the formal financial sector and the performance of SMEs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
An evaluation and comparison of the plasticiser effects of p -Menthane-3,8-diol-citronellal acetal plasticiser with triethyl citrate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate on ethylcellulose films.
- Authors: Marx, Johannes Scheepers
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plasticisers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44629 , vital:38164
- Description: In recent years, much attention has been focused on research to replace petroleumbased commodity plastics, in a cost-effective manner, with biodegradable materials offering competitive mechanical properties. The use of natural and/or biodegradable plasticisers, with low toxicity and good compatibility with several plastics, resins, rubber and elastomers in substitution of conventional plasticisers, such as phthalates and other synthetic plasticisers attract the market along with the increasing worldwide trend towards the use of bio-polymers. The main research objective entailed the behaviour of the novel bio-plasticiser PMDcitronellal acetal (PMD-CA) and its comparison with other commercial bio-plasticiser, triethyl citrate (TEC) and a non-phthalate plasticiser bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DOTP), on ethylcellulose (EC) films to evaluate whether it would be feasible to replace them with PMD-CA. The films were produced by a casting technique and were characterised by mechanical properties, thermoanalysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy, disintegration and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The addition of any of the three plasticisers to EC film increased the flexibility of the films. The plasticisers PMD-CA and DOTP added to EC formed tougher films as compared to EC films containing TEC shown by the high % elongation at break, strain and displacement. Statistically, it was proved that PMD-CA and DOTP had a more significant effect on % elongation of EC films than TEC, postulated to be due to their similar molecular size and structure. Thermoanalytical studies conducted revealed that the thermal degradation process of EC films proceeded in three basic stages, namely dehydration, depolymerisation and pyrolytic decomposition. Thermoanalytical analysis showed that unplasticised EC films had a higher glass transition value compared to the films containing any of the plasticisers and that PMD-CA and DOTP are more effective plasticisers compared to TEC due to their lower glass transition temperatures. The presence of plasticisers in the polymer matrix did change the surface morphology of polymer films. The addition of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to EC PMD-CA and EC DOTP films caused more significant globule-like bubbles which were not uniform in size on the surface of these films. Observations were made that the type of plasticiser coating with or without pore former influenced the disintegration properties of films. HPMC, as pore former, played a significant role in the drug release system matrix. EC PMD-CA and EC DOTP polymeric films controlled the disintegration of the films in the acidic and weakly acidic medium. EC and EC TEC films had less significant control on the disintegration rate of the acidic and weakly acidic disintegration media. FT-IR characterisation of the films revealed comparable peaks observed in all the polymer-plasticiser combinations and therefore it was concluded that chemical interactions did not exist between the polymers and plasticisers. Added excipients (plasticisers and pore formers) were found to be compatible with EC films. It was concluded within the scope of this research that EC films plasticised with PMDCA, DOTP or TEC outperformed film properties of those compared to unplasticised EC film. The plasticising properties of the novel bio-plasticiser PMD-CA are similar compared to DOTP, and superior to triethyl citrate and could therefore be considered as an effective bioplasticiser for enteric coating formulations in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Marx, Johannes Scheepers
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plasticisers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44629 , vital:38164
- Description: In recent years, much attention has been focused on research to replace petroleumbased commodity plastics, in a cost-effective manner, with biodegradable materials offering competitive mechanical properties. The use of natural and/or biodegradable plasticisers, with low toxicity and good compatibility with several plastics, resins, rubber and elastomers in substitution of conventional plasticisers, such as phthalates and other synthetic plasticisers attract the market along with the increasing worldwide trend towards the use of bio-polymers. The main research objective entailed the behaviour of the novel bio-plasticiser PMDcitronellal acetal (PMD-CA) and its comparison with other commercial bio-plasticiser, triethyl citrate (TEC) and a non-phthalate plasticiser bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DOTP), on ethylcellulose (EC) films to evaluate whether it would be feasible to replace them with PMD-CA. The films were produced by a casting technique and were characterised by mechanical properties, thermoanalysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy, disintegration and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The addition of any of the three plasticisers to EC film increased the flexibility of the films. The plasticisers PMD-CA and DOTP added to EC formed tougher films as compared to EC films containing TEC shown by the high % elongation at break, strain and displacement. Statistically, it was proved that PMD-CA and DOTP had a more significant effect on % elongation of EC films than TEC, postulated to be due to their similar molecular size and structure. Thermoanalytical studies conducted revealed that the thermal degradation process of EC films proceeded in three basic stages, namely dehydration, depolymerisation and pyrolytic decomposition. Thermoanalytical analysis showed that unplasticised EC films had a higher glass transition value compared to the films containing any of the plasticisers and that PMD-CA and DOTP are more effective plasticisers compared to TEC due to their lower glass transition temperatures. The presence of plasticisers in the polymer matrix did change the surface morphology of polymer films. The addition of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to EC PMD-CA and EC DOTP films caused more significant globule-like bubbles which were not uniform in size on the surface of these films. Observations were made that the type of plasticiser coating with or without pore former influenced the disintegration properties of films. HPMC, as pore former, played a significant role in the drug release system matrix. EC PMD-CA and EC DOTP polymeric films controlled the disintegration of the films in the acidic and weakly acidic medium. EC and EC TEC films had less significant control on the disintegration rate of the acidic and weakly acidic disintegration media. FT-IR characterisation of the films revealed comparable peaks observed in all the polymer-plasticiser combinations and therefore it was concluded that chemical interactions did not exist between the polymers and plasticisers. Added excipients (plasticisers and pore formers) were found to be compatible with EC films. It was concluded within the scope of this research that EC films plasticised with PMDCA, DOTP or TEC outperformed film properties of those compared to unplasticised EC film. The plasticising properties of the novel bio-plasticiser PMD-CA are similar compared to DOTP, and superior to triethyl citrate and could therefore be considered as an effective bioplasticiser for enteric coating formulations in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
An investigation into the performance of smallholder irrigation schemes in Limpopo Province, South Africa: success factors, typologies and implications for development
- Denison, Jonathan Anthony Noel
- Authors: Denison, Jonathan Anthony Noel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Irrigation projects -- South Africa -- Limpopo , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Limpopo , Land use -- South Africa -- Limpopo , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Limpopo
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92317 , vital:30709
- Description: The research aimed to determine the factors that contribute to the success or failure of smallholder irrigation schemes in the Limpopo Province. It focussed on public-schemes where farmers share the water system Limpopo Province has more than half of the smallholder irrigation schemes in the country with an equipped area of approximately 28 000 ha. The main aims of the research were to identify key factors that explain performance and to develop a contemporary irrigation scheme typology. The research intended to provide a better perspective on how to focus investments across the multiple thematic areas that are associated with sustained and profitable irrigation farming activity. A survey of 102 irrigation schemes was conducted, comprising 82% of the population of schemes greater than 20 ha in Limpopo Province. The quantitative survey complemented prior in-depth qualitative research undertaken on Limpopo schemes. Data was consolidated into five performance indicators and 13 characteristic factors that impact performance. Schemes were viewed as technical and socio-biological systems where performance was determined by the dynamic interaction of multiple factors. The analysis was done in a complex systems framework using correlation, cluster and principle component analysis. It was postulated that over-arching concepts of productivity, profitability and manageability would explain why schemes succeed or fail. The schemes were found to be relatively very small in size with three quarters (74.8%) of them falling in the 50 to 250 ha size range, and only 11 schemes larger than 250 ha. Average plot sizes were 1.34 ha with a wide range between 0.18 and 16.25 ha. There were 65 operational schemes (equivalent to 63.7%), and 37 had failed (equivalent to 36.3%). Using a criterion for success of greater than 50% cropping intensity (to align with other studies and below which schemes can be considered to have failed), the success rate of the Limpopo schemes was 58%. The result was similar to the rest of South Africa and the same as the average rate for SADC identified in other studies using the same criterion. The schemes exhibited a mixed production purpose on average, with a significant market emphasis indicating these schemes have largely evolved from ‘food schemes’ to partly market-farming. Main crops grown were summer-maize and winter fresh-vegetables and cropping intensities on operational schemes ranged widely from 10% to 175%, with an average of 94%. Failure was associated with three dominant factors: energy type; infrastructure condition; and water resource constraints. The first two factors showed that manageability of technology was important. There is strong empirical evidence that pumped smallholder schemes are vulnerable in their physical form, prone to functional and financial failure, live much shorter lives, and perform no better than gravity-canal schemes. Out of the 37 schemes that failed, 34 (91.8%) were pumped. Pumped schemes tend to collapse suddenly while young and exhibit lower cut-off thresholds in productivity that, when crossed, trigger collapse. They also have much lower resilience to factors such as water stress or low farm-profitability. Pumped schemes need higher levels farm sophistication, market-oriented farming, and operational capability to keep the pumping pressure up. Water resource constraints were widespread, considerably more so on gravity schemes. Commercialising farmers were inhibited by lack of access to knowledge. Success was associated with numerous factors, but two findings stand out; the performance of gravity systems and the prevalence of land-exchange activity; the latter enabled by institutional flexibility and reflecting a process of ‘bricolage’ at play. Increased plot size was associated with increased commercialisation and, when larger than 1.8 ha, only commercialised farming was pursued. Market proximity seemed to play a role in increased longevity and to market access in commercialisation. These findings highlighted the importance of productivity and profitability in explaining success. Gravity schemes performed much more strongly in terms of longevity (nearly four times longer-lived) and similarly to pumped schemes in terms of cropping intensity. This was achieved under much greater water stress and with considerably worse infrastructure condition. Water efficiency was determined to be high on half of the schemes that were using short-furrow irrigation; equivalent, in a basin perspective, to drip irrigation. Two of the three top performing schemes (>150% intensity) were old gravity schemes. Farmers on approximately 75% of Limpopo smallholder schemes are currently engaging in land exchange transactions in a highly insecure and un-formalised institutional setup. Land exchange prevalence longer than two years was moderately associated with cropping intensity and strongly associated with commercialisation. This result has three important implications. First, it suggests that more land is utilised on the schemes when there is vibrant land-leasing activity. Secondly, schemes with a higher prevalence of long-term leasing seem to have a strong tendency to be more commercialised. Thirdly, the duration of the lease is significant, as neither single-season, nor annual leases yielded any positive associations, while those exchanges that were two years or longer, were associated with increased performance. These findings highlight the potential for longer-term land-exchange interventions to address the widespread low land utilisation on smallholder schemes, and to catalyse more commercially-oriented farming. An irrigation scheme typology was derived from the cluster analysis and was aligned to a contemporary irrigation farming typology. The key descriptors included technology type, purpose of farming and scheme management type. By matching scheme type to the farmer typology (or typologies), strategic decisions regarding technology choices for infrastructure, land, and water institutional interventions can be better informed. All schemes demand attention to the multiple factors required to achieve performance, not least water-tenure security, irrigation management organisational development, and infrastructure modernisation. Complexity was demonstrated by the finding that multiple factors contribute to success, and that there are many dimensions that change independently and have a cascading effect through the system in ways that are difficult to predict. Agricultural systems support to achieve productivity and profitability are essential for success. The research findings lead to the recommendation that, in addition, strategic planners must also consider the implications of the dominant factors of water-technology choices so that these are manageable, and the dynamics of farm-size change based on land exchange processes, in order to harness new opportunities to maximise irrigation scheme performance in future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Denison, Jonathan Anthony Noel
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Irrigation projects -- South Africa -- Limpopo , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Limpopo , Land use -- South Africa -- Limpopo , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Limpopo
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92317 , vital:30709
- Description: The research aimed to determine the factors that contribute to the success or failure of smallholder irrigation schemes in the Limpopo Province. It focussed on public-schemes where farmers share the water system Limpopo Province has more than half of the smallholder irrigation schemes in the country with an equipped area of approximately 28 000 ha. The main aims of the research were to identify key factors that explain performance and to develop a contemporary irrigation scheme typology. The research intended to provide a better perspective on how to focus investments across the multiple thematic areas that are associated with sustained and profitable irrigation farming activity. A survey of 102 irrigation schemes was conducted, comprising 82% of the population of schemes greater than 20 ha in Limpopo Province. The quantitative survey complemented prior in-depth qualitative research undertaken on Limpopo schemes. Data was consolidated into five performance indicators and 13 characteristic factors that impact performance. Schemes were viewed as technical and socio-biological systems where performance was determined by the dynamic interaction of multiple factors. The analysis was done in a complex systems framework using correlation, cluster and principle component analysis. It was postulated that over-arching concepts of productivity, profitability and manageability would explain why schemes succeed or fail. The schemes were found to be relatively very small in size with three quarters (74.8%) of them falling in the 50 to 250 ha size range, and only 11 schemes larger than 250 ha. Average plot sizes were 1.34 ha with a wide range between 0.18 and 16.25 ha. There were 65 operational schemes (equivalent to 63.7%), and 37 had failed (equivalent to 36.3%). Using a criterion for success of greater than 50% cropping intensity (to align with other studies and below which schemes can be considered to have failed), the success rate of the Limpopo schemes was 58%. The result was similar to the rest of South Africa and the same as the average rate for SADC identified in other studies using the same criterion. The schemes exhibited a mixed production purpose on average, with a significant market emphasis indicating these schemes have largely evolved from ‘food schemes’ to partly market-farming. Main crops grown were summer-maize and winter fresh-vegetables and cropping intensities on operational schemes ranged widely from 10% to 175%, with an average of 94%. Failure was associated with three dominant factors: energy type; infrastructure condition; and water resource constraints. The first two factors showed that manageability of technology was important. There is strong empirical evidence that pumped smallholder schemes are vulnerable in their physical form, prone to functional and financial failure, live much shorter lives, and perform no better than gravity-canal schemes. Out of the 37 schemes that failed, 34 (91.8%) were pumped. Pumped schemes tend to collapse suddenly while young and exhibit lower cut-off thresholds in productivity that, when crossed, trigger collapse. They also have much lower resilience to factors such as water stress or low farm-profitability. Pumped schemes need higher levels farm sophistication, market-oriented farming, and operational capability to keep the pumping pressure up. Water resource constraints were widespread, considerably more so on gravity schemes. Commercialising farmers were inhibited by lack of access to knowledge. Success was associated with numerous factors, but two findings stand out; the performance of gravity systems and the prevalence of land-exchange activity; the latter enabled by institutional flexibility and reflecting a process of ‘bricolage’ at play. Increased plot size was associated with increased commercialisation and, when larger than 1.8 ha, only commercialised farming was pursued. Market proximity seemed to play a role in increased longevity and to market access in commercialisation. These findings highlighted the importance of productivity and profitability in explaining success. Gravity schemes performed much more strongly in terms of longevity (nearly four times longer-lived) and similarly to pumped schemes in terms of cropping intensity. This was achieved under much greater water stress and with considerably worse infrastructure condition. Water efficiency was determined to be high on half of the schemes that were using short-furrow irrigation; equivalent, in a basin perspective, to drip irrigation. Two of the three top performing schemes (>150% intensity) were old gravity schemes. Farmers on approximately 75% of Limpopo smallholder schemes are currently engaging in land exchange transactions in a highly insecure and un-formalised institutional setup. Land exchange prevalence longer than two years was moderately associated with cropping intensity and strongly associated with commercialisation. This result has three important implications. First, it suggests that more land is utilised on the schemes when there is vibrant land-leasing activity. Secondly, schemes with a higher prevalence of long-term leasing seem to have a strong tendency to be more commercialised. Thirdly, the duration of the lease is significant, as neither single-season, nor annual leases yielded any positive associations, while those exchanges that were two years or longer, were associated with increased performance. These findings highlight the potential for longer-term land-exchange interventions to address the widespread low land utilisation on smallholder schemes, and to catalyse more commercially-oriented farming. An irrigation scheme typology was derived from the cluster analysis and was aligned to a contemporary irrigation farming typology. The key descriptors included technology type, purpose of farming and scheme management type. By matching scheme type to the farmer typology (or typologies), strategic decisions regarding technology choices for infrastructure, land, and water institutional interventions can be better informed. All schemes demand attention to the multiple factors required to achieve performance, not least water-tenure security, irrigation management organisational development, and infrastructure modernisation. Complexity was demonstrated by the finding that multiple factors contribute to success, and that there are many dimensions that change independently and have a cascading effect through the system in ways that are difficult to predict. Agricultural systems support to achieve productivity and profitability are essential for success. The research findings lead to the recommendation that, in addition, strategic planners must also consider the implications of the dominant factors of water-technology choices so that these are manageable, and the dynamics of farm-size change based on land exchange processes, in order to harness new opportunities to maximise irrigation scheme performance in future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Analyses of Retail and Transport Geography of Liquefied Petroleum Products in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria
- Authors: Ajayi, Adeyinka Peter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Petroleum products
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19065 , vital:40090
- Description: This study analyzed the effects that spatial arrangement of petroleum products retail outlets and the supply chain management techniques employed for products distribution (for both intra city and intercity shipments) have on the retailing dynamism of petroleum products within built environment and peripherals of Ibadan metropolis over the years. Specifically, the study investigated the differentials in the spatial configurations of petroleum products retail outlets between the core and periurban zones of the metropolis. An attempt was made to determine the explanatory variables that influence the spatial distributional decisions of petroleum products retail outlets in the metropolis. The study equally examined how the supply chain management (SCM) techniques by the different categories of the retail outlet owners influence the efficient and cost effective distribution of petroleum products. Lastly an attempt was made to analyze the relationship between the socio-economic attributes of the haulers and the achievement of compliance to the HSE stipulations guiding the conveyance of petroleum products. The theoretical underpinnings for the research were a derivative of the amalgamation of normative and psychological theories from geography, psychology, SCM and retailing science. Specifically, Expectation Disconfirmation Theory (EDT), Distributive Justice, Central Place Theory (CPT) Theories of Urban Impact (TUI) and Theory of Constraint (ToC) were the theories utilized in the study. For the achievement of the first objective which was to investigate the possible differential in the compliance rate between spatial pattern of fuel retail outlets in the core and peripheral zones of Ibadan metropolis, the first hypothesis of the study (which examined if there was no significant difference in the rate of compliance to the planning authority stipulations guiding the location pattern of petroleum product retail outlets between those located in the built up and xxiv peripheral zones of the city), was tested through the use of buffering and proximity analyses in the ArcMap environment of ArcGIS 10.1, while inferential statistical tool of an independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare the rate of compliance to the stipulations guiding the locations of these outlets in both the core and the peripheral zones. The result from the GIS analysis indicated that 33 (15.56%) out of the 220 outlets in the core zone of the metropolis complied with the planning stipulations guiding the location of fuel retail outlets. For the peripheral zone, out of the 220 fuel retail outlets 24 (10.90%) complied with the stipulations. The result from the t- test which was employed to test the hypothesis indicated that no significant difference existed in the rate of compliance t (263) =-2.66, p = 0.08 between fuel retail outlets in the core zone (M=3.9, SD=1.4) and peripheral zone (M=4.5, SD=1.79). The alternate hypothesis which stated that ―no significant difference existed in the compliance rate between fuel retail outlets located in the two zones‖ is accepted. For the achievement of the second objective of the study which was to analyze the factors which determine the location of fuel retail outlets both in the core and peripheral zones of Ibadan metropolis. All the managers/owners of the 432 fuel retail outlets in the metropolis were sampled out of which 256 questionnaires were retrieved for the purpose of this analysis. The breakdown of the socio-economic characteristics of the sampled respondents showed that the gender distribution showed that 194 (75.78%) of the respondents were males, while 64 (24.22 %) were females. The average age of the sampled population was 33.70 years. The mixed method was employed for the achievement of the second objective of this study. Logistic Regression Model (LRM) was employed to test the hypothesis and the result revealed that the inclusion of the independent variables in the model increased the overall level of it accuracy. The overall significance revealed that the Model Chi- xxv Square, derived from the likelihood fitted is also accurate (X2 = 43.47, df=5, p>.05). The model chi-square value of 43.47 (approximately 44% ) was significant. Thus, the indication is that the model has a good fit in predicting the possibility of a fuel retail outlet being located in the core or peripheral zone of the metropolis as determined by the explanatory variables (the independent variables accounted for about 44% of possible factors which determined whether a fuel retail outlets is located either within the core or peripheral zones of the metropolis. The remaining 56% are factors not considered in the study). The result gotten from the in depth interview sessions corroborated the findings from the tested hypothesis. The third objective was to examine the effects which the supply chain technique employed (either vertically integrated model or third-party arrangement) has on the achievement of efficient and effective distribution of the products. In order to achieve this objective, all the 389 registered members of Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) association who are members of the PTD in the metropolis were sampled, 265 (around 70%) of the distributed questionnaires were retrieved and used for the analysis. In depth interview sessions were also conducted with three different managers of the three major conglomerates in the downstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum sector. The result of one-way between subjects (ANOVA) which was conducted to compare differences in the management and performances of haulage services outsourced to the 3PLS and those run under VIM showed that there was a significant effect of ownership type on management performance (F (2,262) = 60.26, p<.05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected while the alternate hypothesis was accepted. The findings from the interview sessions posted similar results. The fourth and final objective was to analyze the effect that the socio-economic attributes of the participants (haulers and managers of retail outlets) involved in the distribution of xxvi petroleum products has on the safe, efficient and cost-effective distribution of product and this was done through the use of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and incisive analysis of the interview sessions. A total number of 265 (70%) out of the 389 registered members of Petroleum Tanker Driver Association (PTDA) participated in the study. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) was used to test this hypothesis. The result from the statistical analysis show that the use of stimulant, work condition, marital status and educational attainment/literacy level have joint influence on compliance (R2 = 0.31, F (4,260) = 29.72, p<.05). On the basis of the foregoing, the hypothesis is thus accepted. The result from the interview sessions confirmed the existence of strong relationship between the explanatory variables and the hypothetical dependant variable. The study recommended a review of the planning processes guiding the establishment of fuel retail outlets. The study also advocated that retailers should endeavour to have stronger control over the supply chain of their products this could done by investing more in VIM rather than outsourcing such functions to 3PLs. This will help in better business performances. Government agencies in charge of monitoring drug abuse among haulers are advised to be more proactive by the duo of prevention and punishment strategies. This should include advocacy campaign against drug abuse. Different ranges of punishments should also be meted out for individual haulers found culpable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Ajayi, Adeyinka Peter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Petroleum products
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19065 , vital:40090
- Description: This study analyzed the effects that spatial arrangement of petroleum products retail outlets and the supply chain management techniques employed for products distribution (for both intra city and intercity shipments) have on the retailing dynamism of petroleum products within built environment and peripherals of Ibadan metropolis over the years. Specifically, the study investigated the differentials in the spatial configurations of petroleum products retail outlets between the core and periurban zones of the metropolis. An attempt was made to determine the explanatory variables that influence the spatial distributional decisions of petroleum products retail outlets in the metropolis. The study equally examined how the supply chain management (SCM) techniques by the different categories of the retail outlet owners influence the efficient and cost effective distribution of petroleum products. Lastly an attempt was made to analyze the relationship between the socio-economic attributes of the haulers and the achievement of compliance to the HSE stipulations guiding the conveyance of petroleum products. The theoretical underpinnings for the research were a derivative of the amalgamation of normative and psychological theories from geography, psychology, SCM and retailing science. Specifically, Expectation Disconfirmation Theory (EDT), Distributive Justice, Central Place Theory (CPT) Theories of Urban Impact (TUI) and Theory of Constraint (ToC) were the theories utilized in the study. For the achievement of the first objective which was to investigate the possible differential in the compliance rate between spatial pattern of fuel retail outlets in the core and peripheral zones of Ibadan metropolis, the first hypothesis of the study (which examined if there was no significant difference in the rate of compliance to the planning authority stipulations guiding the location pattern of petroleum product retail outlets between those located in the built up and xxiv peripheral zones of the city), was tested through the use of buffering and proximity analyses in the ArcMap environment of ArcGIS 10.1, while inferential statistical tool of an independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare the rate of compliance to the stipulations guiding the locations of these outlets in both the core and the peripheral zones. The result from the GIS analysis indicated that 33 (15.56%) out of the 220 outlets in the core zone of the metropolis complied with the planning stipulations guiding the location of fuel retail outlets. For the peripheral zone, out of the 220 fuel retail outlets 24 (10.90%) complied with the stipulations. The result from the t- test which was employed to test the hypothesis indicated that no significant difference existed in the rate of compliance t (263) =-2.66, p = 0.08 between fuel retail outlets in the core zone (M=3.9, SD=1.4) and peripheral zone (M=4.5, SD=1.79). The alternate hypothesis which stated that ―no significant difference existed in the compliance rate between fuel retail outlets located in the two zones‖ is accepted. For the achievement of the second objective of the study which was to analyze the factors which determine the location of fuel retail outlets both in the core and peripheral zones of Ibadan metropolis. All the managers/owners of the 432 fuel retail outlets in the metropolis were sampled out of which 256 questionnaires were retrieved for the purpose of this analysis. The breakdown of the socio-economic characteristics of the sampled respondents showed that the gender distribution showed that 194 (75.78%) of the respondents were males, while 64 (24.22 %) were females. The average age of the sampled population was 33.70 years. The mixed method was employed for the achievement of the second objective of this study. Logistic Regression Model (LRM) was employed to test the hypothesis and the result revealed that the inclusion of the independent variables in the model increased the overall level of it accuracy. The overall significance revealed that the Model Chi- xxv Square, derived from the likelihood fitted is also accurate (X2 = 43.47, df=5, p>.05). The model chi-square value of 43.47 (approximately 44% ) was significant. Thus, the indication is that the model has a good fit in predicting the possibility of a fuel retail outlet being located in the core or peripheral zone of the metropolis as determined by the explanatory variables (the independent variables accounted for about 44% of possible factors which determined whether a fuel retail outlets is located either within the core or peripheral zones of the metropolis. The remaining 56% are factors not considered in the study). The result gotten from the in depth interview sessions corroborated the findings from the tested hypothesis. The third objective was to examine the effects which the supply chain technique employed (either vertically integrated model or third-party arrangement) has on the achievement of efficient and effective distribution of the products. In order to achieve this objective, all the 389 registered members of Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) association who are members of the PTD in the metropolis were sampled, 265 (around 70%) of the distributed questionnaires were retrieved and used for the analysis. In depth interview sessions were also conducted with three different managers of the three major conglomerates in the downstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum sector. The result of one-way between subjects (ANOVA) which was conducted to compare differences in the management and performances of haulage services outsourced to the 3PLS and those run under VIM showed that there was a significant effect of ownership type on management performance (F (2,262) = 60.26, p<.05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected while the alternate hypothesis was accepted. The findings from the interview sessions posted similar results. The fourth and final objective was to analyze the effect that the socio-economic attributes of the participants (haulers and managers of retail outlets) involved in the distribution of xxvi petroleum products has on the safe, efficient and cost-effective distribution of product and this was done through the use of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and incisive analysis of the interview sessions. A total number of 265 (70%) out of the 389 registered members of Petroleum Tanker Driver Association (PTDA) participated in the study. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) was used to test this hypothesis. The result from the statistical analysis show that the use of stimulant, work condition, marital status and educational attainment/literacy level have joint influence on compliance (R2 = 0.31, F (4,260) = 29.72, p<.05). On the basis of the foregoing, the hypothesis is thus accepted. The result from the interview sessions confirmed the existence of strong relationship between the explanatory variables and the hypothetical dependant variable. The study recommended a review of the planning processes guiding the establishment of fuel retail outlets. The study also advocated that retailers should endeavour to have stronger control over the supply chain of their products this could done by investing more in VIM rather than outsourcing such functions to 3PLs. This will help in better business performances. Government agencies in charge of monitoring drug abuse among haulers are advised to be more proactive by the duo of prevention and punishment strategies. This should include advocacy campaign against drug abuse. Different ranges of punishments should also be meted out for individual haulers found culpable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019