A study on technology adoption in agriculture in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Keevy, Christine
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Agricultural implements -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48628 , vital:41054
- Description: arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought with it a vast array of new technologies that can be applied across many industries and various applications, to help solve many of the social, economic and environmental issues the world faces. However, it also heralds in an unprecedented rate of change. The agricultural industry is expected to be heavily affected by new technology. As they are run by smaller management teams they may need support from organisations to introduce technologies. The study aims to identify drivers and barriers to technology adoption in agriculture through a conceptual model based on the Technology Adoption Model, Diffusion of Innovation Theory, and a Technology-Organisation-Environment Model, along with a thorough industry analysis. The study obtained quantitative data from 59 respondents from the Eastern Cape farming community. The key findings include the identification of Perceived Usefulness and Industry Pressures as the variables with a significant driving influence on the intention to adopt new technologies. However, Perceived Ease of Use, Employee Knowledge and External Support Structures were found to have a negative relationship with the adoption of technology. It has been interpreted that improvements in these areas may enable farmers to adopt technology more easily but that farmers feel sufficient pressure to make them adopt technology despite the complexities and lack of required internal skills or external support. Due to the low number of respondents, it is not possible to infer the findings on the larger population of farmers. The findings can therefore only be used as exploratory findings which need to be verified in focus groups, with farmers, before any action is taken. However, the findings in the study can be used to aid the definition of frameworks for further studies and the development of action plans to support farmers in the adoption of technology.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Investigation and prediction of autoignition during hot start conditions
- Authors: Wodausch, Jens
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Automobiles -- Ignition
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9621 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/991 , Automobiles -- Ignition
- Description: This Master’s thesis discusses the investigation of autoignition (knock) of air-fuel mixtures in internal combustion engines (type EA 827; 1.6 and 1.4 l) under hot start conditions. Chapter Three comprehensively reviews literature on fuel characteristics; specifically boiling point, chemistry and the difference between the Research and Motor Octane Number (RON and MON). Furthermore different types of autoignition are discussed with regards to their detection and assessment in the chapter. The subsection on engine management looks at possible methods of altering and eliminating autoignition. Chapter Four details the equipment used to obtain data and measurements, as well as the signal conditioning of the spark and injector signal. Chapter Five discusses the actual results obtained during summer testing of the different methods of altering and eliminating autoignition in an internal combustion engine, as derived from the theories presented in Chapter Three. The summer tests finally verified the new application level and showed that only a reduction in the quantity of fuel injected can eliminate autoignition. However, a slight decrease in heat release does cause an increase in start time. In Chapter Six, based on the test results, a simulation model which calculates the probability of autoignition in a 1.4 l (Econo) engine during hot start conditions in Matlab/Simulink was developed. This simulation model satisfactorily verified test results.
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- Date Issued: 2009