A framework for grain commodity trading decision support in South Africa
- Authors: Ayankoya, Kayode Anthony
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Grain trade -- South Africa Commodity exchanges -- South Africa Food industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11437 , vital:26925
- Description: In several countries around the world, grain commodities are traded as assets on stock exchanges. This indicate that the market and effectively the prices of the grain commodities in such countries, are controlled by several local and international economic, political and social factors that are rapidly changing. As a result, the prices of some grain commodities are volatile and trading in such commodities are prone to price-related risks. There are different trading strategies for minimising price-related risks and maximising profits. But empirical research suggests that making the right decision for effective grain commodities trading has been a difficult task for stakeholders due to high volatility of grain commodities prices. Studies have shown that this is more challenging among grain commodities farmers because of their lack of skills and the time to sift through and make sense of the datasets on the plethora of factors that influence the grain commodities market. This thesis focused on providing an answer for the main research problem that grain farmers in South Africa do not take full advantage of all the available strategies for trading their grain commodities because of the complexities associated with monitoring the large datasets that influence the grain commodities market. The main objective set by this study is to design a framework that can be followed to collect, integrate and analyse datasets that influence trading decisions of grain farmers in South Africa about grain commodities. This study takes advantage of the developments in Big Data and Data Science to achieve the set objective using the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology. The prediction of future prices of grain commodities for the different trading strategies was identified as an important factor for making better decisions when trading grain commodities and the key factors that influence the prices were identified. This was followed by a critical review of the literature to determine how the concepts of Big Data and Data Science can be leveraged for an effective grain commodities trading decision support. This resulted in a proposed framework for grain commodities trading. The proposed framework suggested an investigation of the factors that influence the prices of grain commodities as the basis for acquiring the relevant datasets. The proposed framework suggested the adoption of the Big Data approach in acquiring, preparing and integrating relevant datasets from several sources. Furthermore, it was suggested that algorithmic models for predicting grain commodities prices can be developed on top of the data layer of the proposed framework to provide real-time decision support. The proposed framework suggests the need for a carefully designed visualisation of the result and the collected data that promotes user experience. Lastly, the proposed framework included a technology consideration component to support the Big Data and Data Science approach of the framework. To demonstrate that the proposed framework addressed the main problem of this research, datasets from several sources on trading white maize in South Africa and the factors that influence market were streamed, integrated and analysed. Backpropagation Neural Network algorithm was used for modelling the prices of white maize for spot and futures trading strategies were predicted. There are other modelling techniques such as the Box-Jenkins statistical time series analysis methodology. But, Neural Networks was identified as more suitable for time series data with complex patterns and relationships. A demonstration system was setup to provide effective decision support by using near real-time data to provide a dynamic predictive analytics for the spot and December futures contract prices of white maize in South Africa. Comparative analysis of predictions made using the model from the proposed framework to actual data indicated a significant degree of accuracy. A further evaluation was carried out by asking experienced traders to make predictions for the spot and December futures contract prices of white maize. The result of the exercise indicated that the predictions from the developed model were much closer to the actual prices. This indicated that the proposed framework is technically capable and generally useful. It also shows that the proposed framework can be used to provide decision support about trading grain commodities to stakeholders with lesser skills, experience and resources. The practical contribution of this thesis is that relevant datasets from several sources can be streamed into an integrated data source in real-time, which can be used as input for a real-time learning algorithmic model for predicting grain commodities prices. This will make it possible for a predictive analytics that responds to market volatility thereby providing an effective decision support for grain commodities trading. Another practical contribution of this thesis is a proposed framework that can be followed for developing a Decision Support System for trading in grain commodities. This thesis made theoretical contributions by building on the information processing theory and the decision making theory. The theoretical contribution of this thesis consists of the identification of Big Data approach, tools and techniques for eradicating uncertainty and equivocality in grain commodities trading decision making process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
A framework for mobile SOA using compression
- Authors: Saunders, Evan
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Service-oriented architecture (Computer science)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10459 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1500 , Service-oriented architecture (Computer science)
- Description: The widely accepted standards of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) have changed the way many organisations conduct their everyday business. The significant popularity of mobile devices has seen a rapid increase in the rate of mobile technology enhancements, which have become widely used for communication, as well as conducting everyday tasks. An increased requirement in many businesses is for staff not to be tied down to the office. Consequently, mobile devices play an important role in achieving the mobility and information access that people desire. Due to the popularity and increasing use of SOA and mobile devices, Mobile Service-Oriented Architecture (Mobile SOA) has become a new industry catch-phrase. Many challenges, however, exist within the Mobile SOA environment. These issues include limitations on mobile devices, such as a reduced screen size, lack of processing power, insufficient processing memory, limited battery life, poor storage capacity, unreliable network connections, limited bandwidth available and high transfer costs. This research aimed to provide an elegant solution to the issues of a mobile device, which hinders the performance of Mobile SOA. The main objective of this research was to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Mobile SOA. In order to achieve this goal, a framework was proposed, which supported intelligent compression of files used within a Web Service. The proposed framework provided a set of guidelines that facilitate the quick development of a system. A proof-of-concept prototype was developed, based on these guidelines and the framework design principles. The prototype provided practical evidence of the effectiveness of implementing a system based on the proposed framework. An analytical evaluation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the prototype within the Mobile SOA environment. A performance evaluation was conducted to determine efficiency it provides. Additionally, the performance evaluation highlighted the decrease in file transfer time, as well as the significant reduction in transfer costs. The analytical and performance evaluations demonstrated that the prototype optimises the effectiveness and efficiency of Mobile SOA. The framework could, thus, be used to facilitate efficient file transfer between a Server and (Mobile) Client.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
A framework for the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in higher education
- Authors: Scholtz, Brenda
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Curriculum change , Enterprise resource planning.
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10485 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015961
- Description: Information Communication Technology (ICT) practitioners and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) specialists are highly sought after globally and in South Africa. In order to address this need for ERP specialists, several studies propose that ERP systems should be adopted in the Information Systems (IS) curricula in higher education institutions (HEIs) for instructional purposes. Whilst many HEIs in the United States, Australia and Europe have successfully adopted ERP systems into their curricula, less than 30% of South African HEIs have followed this trend. The adoption of ERP systems is a challenging process as such systems are resource-intensive, costly, complex, and have a steep learning curve. Educators are faced with resource problems and a dearth of options relating to the adoption process. In addition it is critical that the skills and knowledge competencies attained in these courses are industry-relevant. Several education frameworks have been recommended to assist educators with the process of adopting an ERP system in the curriculum, but these frameworks are not comprehensive since they do not consider all the factors relating to the adoption of an ERP system. In addition existing frameworks are not based on industry-relevant competencies but rather on educational objectives. This has resulted in a difference between the competencies required by organisations and those produced by higher education. Whilst there are several research studies on ERP education, empirical studies on frameworks supporting the adoption of ERP systems in HEIs for instructional purposes are limited, particularly on the impact of these frameworks on educational outcomes. The impact of the usability of the ERP system on educational outcomes has also not been fully explored. A survey of ERP consulting organisations in South Africa confirmed that these organisations struggle to obtain ERP specialists with the appropriate competencies. The survey results also contributed to a standardised, comprehensive, set of industry-relevant ERP competencies. The competency set forms part of a comprehensive Competency Framework for ERP System Adoption in IS Higher Education (ERPEd), which can assist educators with the decisions relating to the adoption of an ERP system into the IS curriculum. It includes all the categories of competencies relevant to industry and maps these onto a recommended ERP system adoption approach, an ERP learning tool, as well as the appropriate level of adoption. The application of the ERPEd framework to a case study, the Management Information Systems (MIS) course at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), resulted in the adoption of the SYSPRO medium-sized ERP system into the MIS course with the hands-on approach. The empirical results of the evaluation of the case study revealed that the hands-on use of a medium-sized ERP system, SYSPRO, can successfully contribute to the attainment of educational outcomes. These outcomes were mapped to the three core competencies addressed by the MIS course, which were ERP Theory and Concepts, ERP Transactions and Business Process Management (BPM). The educational outcomes evaluated were the measures of performance, self-efficacy and usability. Self-efficacy included satisfaction with the adoption approach. The results were positive in terms of all the metrics of performance, and all three competency categories had positive post-intervention self-efficacy ratings. In terms of growth in self-efficacy from pre-intervention to post-intervention, BPM was the only competency category that did not show a significant growth, however the satisfaction data indicated that students found that the use of SYSPRO improved their competencies in business process understanding. Usability was evaluated in terms of navigation, presentation and learnability. Learnability was the only usability measure in the neutral range, with the other measures falling in the positive range. This confirms related studies reporting that ERP systems are not designed for learning. Overall the students enjoyed the practical application of the theory by using SYSPRO. Several positive and negative features of the user interface were provided which can be used in the design of improved ERP systems for instructional purposes. The results of this investigation can assist in narrowing the gap between industry requirements and IS education programmes. The ERP competency set provides a standardised list of skills and knowledge which is the starting point for any skills improvement program. The ERPEd framework can improve the quality of ERP courses and the competencies of IS graduates. This in turn, can benefit the business community since it will improve the chances of ERP project success. This research is a major contribution to both government and academic initiatives in South Africa to address both the ICT skills problem as well as the need for ERP specialists.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
A framework for the management of environmental information in Higher Education Institutions
- Authors: Jonamu, Blessing Tapiwa
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainability , Universities and colleges , Environmental management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10492 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020620
- Description: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are not immune to the global environment problems. An increasing awareness of the environmental responsibilities of HEIs has led researchers to investigate the role of environmental information and Environmental Management Information Systems (EMISs) in HEIs. EMISs play a major role in environmental management and environmental decision making in HEIs. Internationally, an increasing number of HEIs are embracing the concept of ‘sustainable HEIs’ by undertaking green campus initiatives. HEIs often use diverse information systems, some of which are manual systems, proven to be inefficient and this gives rise to redundant and inconsistent databases which result in non-compliance with regulations, confusion and lack of co-ordinated effort. There is therefore need for an integrated, comprehensive software system and framework which can assist with the efficient management of environmental information at South African HEIs. This study fills a gap in the field of environmental sustainability at HEIs as the evaluation of existing sustainability programs has shown common weakness such as: Failure to effectively set baselines, flaws in data acquisition and management and missing documentation. The aim of this study is to propose a framework for Environmental Information Management (EIM) in HEIs. The framework includes guidelines related to the components of the framework which can also be used to perform a gap analysis to facilitate the improved design of effective and efficient EIM processes and data stores. The Design Science Research (DSR) methodology is the research methodology used in the development of the two artifacts of this study namely: The EIM framework for HEIs and an EMIS prototype to serve as proof of concept. Problem identification and motivation was the first activity of the DSR which was done through a rigorous literature review and an investigation and evaluation of extant systems. This resulted in the design of an initial EIM framework for HEIs. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) was the HEI used as the case study. The EIM framework was applied at NMMU and this enabled the researcher to understand the current As-Is EIM processes at NMMU and this resulted in clear objectives of a solution. The EMIS prototype (data warehouse) was then designed and implemented based on the theoretical framework. Three sets of evaluations were done to determine the acceptance of the EIM framework for HEIs and the performance of the EMIS prototype. The EIM framework was generally positively accepted and minor suggestions were made. An updated version of the EIM framework was proposed and evaluated. The experimental evaluation results showed that the EMIS prototype was efficient and effective. The contribution of this study is an EIM framework for HEIs and an implementation of an EMIS (EnviroDW) at NMMU that could be utilised by other HEIs.
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- Date Issued: 2014
A framework to measure human behaviour whilst reading
- Authors: Salehzadeh, Seyed Amirsaleh , Greyling, Jean
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Computational intelligence , Machine learning Artificial intelligence Neural networks (Computer science)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43578 , vital:36921
- Description: The brain is the most complex object in the known universe that gives a sense of being to humans and characterises human behaviour. Building models of brain functions is perhaps the most fascinating scientific challenge in the 21st century. Reading is a significant cognitive process in the human brain that plays a critical role in the vital process of learning and in performing some daily activities. The study of human behaviour during reading has been an area of interest for researchers in different fields of science. This thesis is based upon providing a novel framework, called ARSAT (Assisting Researchers in the Selection of Appropriate Technologies), that measures the behaviour of humans when reading text. The ARSAT framework aims at assisting researchers in the selection and application of appropriate technologies to measure the behaviour of a person who is reading text. The ARSAT framework will assist to researchers who investigate the reading process and find it difficult to select appropriate theories, metrics, data collection methods and data analytics techniques. The ARSAT framework enhances the ability of its users to select appropriate metrics indicating the effective factors on the characterisation of different aspects of human behaviour during the reading process. As will be shown in this research study, human behaviour is characterised by a complicated interplay of action, cognition and emotion. The ARSAT framework also facilitates selecting appropriate sensory technologies that can be used to monitor and collect data for the metrics. Moreover, this research study will introduce BehaveNet, a novel Deep Learning modelling approach, which can be used for training Deep Learning models of human behaviour from the sensory data collected. In this thesis, a comprehensive literature study is presented that was conducted to acquire adequate knowledge for designing the ARSAT framework. In order to identify the contributing factors that affect the reading process, an overview of some existing theories of the reading process is provided. Furthermore, a number of sensory technologies and techniques that can be applied to monitoring the changes in the metrics indicating the factors are also demonstrated. Only, the technologies that are commercially available on the market are recommended by the ARSAT framework. A variety of Machine Learning techniques were also investigated when designing the BehaveNet. The BehaveNet takes advantage of the complementarity of Convolutional Neural Networks, Long Short-Term Memory networks and Deep Neural Networks. The design of a Human Behaviour Monitoring System (HBMS), by utilising the ARSAT framework for recognising three attention-seeking activities of humans, is also presented in this research study. Reading printed text, as well as speaking out loudly and watching a programme on TV were proposed as activities that a person unintentionally may shift his/her attention from reading into distractions. Between sensory devices recommended by the ARSAT framework, the Muse headband which is an Electroencephalography (EEG) and head motion-sensing wearable device, was selected to track the forehead EEG and a person’s head movements. The EEG and 3-axes accelerometer data were recorded from eight participants when they read printed text, as well as the time they performed two other activities. An imbalanced dataset consisting over 1.2 million rows of noisy data was created and used to build a model of the activities (60% training and 20% validating data) and evaluating the model (20% of the data). The efficiency of the framework is demonstrated by comparing the performance of the models built by utilising the BehaveNet, with the models built by utilising a number of competing Deep Learning models for raw EEG and accelerometer data, that have attained state-of-the-art performance. The classification results are evaluated by some metrics including the classification accuracy, F1 score, confusion matrix, Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, and Area under Curve (AUC) score. By considering the results, the BehaveNet contributed to the body of knowledge as an approach for measuring human behaviour by using sensory devices. In comparison with the performance of the other models, the models built by utilising the BehaveNet, attained better performance when classifying data of two EEG channels (Accuracy = 95%; AUC=0.99; F1 = 0.95), data of a single EEG channel (Accuracy = 85%; AUC=0.96; F1 = 0.83), accelerometer data (Accuracy = 81%; AUC = 0.9; F1 = 0.76) and all of the data in the dataset (Accuracy = 97%; AUC = 0.99; F1 = 0.96). The dataset and the source code of this project are also published on the Internet to help the science community. The Muse headband is also shown to be an economical and standard wearable device that can be successfully used in behavioural research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A Functional Data Analysis approach to understand patterns imbedded within various data types
- Authors: Mangisa, Siphumlile
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Gqeberha (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , Data mining
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52091 , vital:43426
- Description: The thesis investigates the use of the novel Functional Data Analysis (FDA) methods in tackling various data types. Strong motivation is provided for the use of interesting opportunities offered by FDA to analyse not only economic data, but generally, data from any domain. The use of these methods is illustrated using three unique self-contained case-studies from econometrics. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 2021
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2021-04
A gatherer's paradise? Early humans and plant foraging on the cape south coast, South Africa
- Authors: Gummow, William Thomas
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Soil amendments , Plants -- Nutrition Plant physiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/39687 , vital:35348
- Description: South Africa is a semi-arid country that is experiencing population growth and the associated pressure of producing sufficient crops to sustain the population. Furthermore, poor land management has also led to increased degradation of valuable arable land. To improve poor soil quality and possibly avoid or reverse degradation and ultimately desertification, it was suggested that soil amendments are a potential solution to some of these problems. Although soil amendment is a relatively well-known practice to improve soil quality, the use of rubber crumb as a soil amendment is not well studied. Rubber crumb is produced from end-of-life tyres that have been ground up to fine particles and as such can be used as a secondary resource to replace the use of virgin materials. Rubber crumb has been used in an array of industries, however, the present study investigated the possibility that rubber crumb might be used as a soil amendment to alleviate various forms of soil degradation, specifically soil compaction and crusting, and potentially improve crop establishment and growth.To determine this, a soil that is prone to crusting and compaction was amended with rubber crumb at rates of 5%, 15% and 25%. Various soil physical characteristics, such as bulk density, particle density, porosity, field capacity and penetration resistance were investigated and it was determined that as the percentage rubber crumb increases in the soil, so do the beneficial characteristics of the soil. Furthermore, the rubber crumb was also treated in various ways in order to determine how the treatments might affect the chemical properties of the soil, as well as the amount of zinc that is leached from the rubber crumb. It was found that washing the rubber with a weak acid or even water prior to adding it to the soil resulted in more desirable chemical condition compared to untreated rubber crumb. Lastly, maize (Zea mays L.) was used to determine whether amending soil with pre-treated rubber crumb in different percentages had an influence on the germination success and growth rate of maize. In terms of germination success, amending soil with rubber crumb does not seem to have a significant influence, however, growth rate decreased as the percentage rubber crumb increased, while treating the rubber with a weak acid or water prior to adding it to soil had the most positive effect on plant growth. It can therefore be concluded that rubber crumb amendment rates between 5% and 15% resulted in the most desirable soil physical properties and plant growth amongst the amendments. However the best plant growth was still seen in the control soil, to which no rubber crumb had been added.
- 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
A Geochemical Comparison of Southern African Stromatolites and Stromatolite Pools
- Authors: Dodd, Carla
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Stromatolites
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48235 , vital:40527
- Description: Microbialite accretion takes place via either mineral precipitation, the trapping and binding of mineral and sediment grains, or a combination of the two. Recently, the geochemistry of carbonate deposits, including microbialites, has been used to reconstruct palaeoenvironments and infer biogenicity. Numerous modern stromatolite (layered microbialites) systems are located on the southern African coastline and are formed predominantly by mineral precipitation with minor detrital input. In order to better understand the environmental and biological processes influencing the formation of microbialites, the geochemistry of southern African coastalstromatolites is examined. This is done by a spatial comparison of the hydrochemistry as well as the major and trace element geochemistry of various coastal stromatolite systems. The influence of the underlying geology on the composition of the stromatolites forms a particular focus of the study. In addition, the effect of metazoans on the micro-fabrics and sediment incorporation into the stromatolite matrix is assessed. Finally, the trace element geochemistry of active, inactive, and ancient stromatolites is compared with a speleothem sample in order to test the validity of using trace elements as a means to determine biogenicity of deposition. Results show that the bulk geochemistry of the South African stromatolites is not a simple function of the associated bedrock lithologies, although certain parallels do exist. It was found that metazoans indirectly influence sediment incorporation by increasing porosity and thereby accommodation space for detrital input. Furthermore, trace element signatures could not be directly attributed to microbial influence in the deposition of the carbonates. Ultimately, this study provides valuable insights into the formation processes of the active South African stromatolites and the use of trace elements as a geochemical tool to investigate the evolution of life and determine past environmental conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
A geoscientific framework for the proposed site of South Africa's second nuclear power plant: Thyspunt, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Claassen, Debbie
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Geology, Structural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Geology, Stratigraphic , Geochemistry , Rock mechanics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10678 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021182
- Description: This study describes the bedrock lithologies and structure of the Ordovician to early Devonian (485-419 Ma) Table Mountain Group (TMG), the Devonian (419-358 Ma) lower Bokkeveld Group, and the Miocene to Holocene (<23 Ma) overburden sediments of the Algoa Group within an area identified by Eskom for the potential construction of South Africa’s second proposed nuclear power plant (NPP), ‘Nuclear-1’. The study area is located along the southern coastal margin of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, between Oyster Bay and St. Francis (approximately 88 km west of Port Elizabeth), and encompasses the Thyspunt site where the proposed NPP will be built. The study aims to supplement existing information about the Thyspunt area, related to the geoscientific topic ‘Geological Setting’, as outlined in section 2.5.1.1 of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) Standard Review Plan NUREG-800, which details the geological information required for review of a proposed NPP. The results obtained from geoscientific studies are used to determine geological factors that may potentially affect site specific design. Factors considered include: bedrock lithology, stratigraphic bedrock contacts, bedrock palaeotopography, thickness of overburden sediments and structural geology. Work by previous authors is combined with new data to create a GIS based 2½D model of the study area’s geology (geomodel) and on which future research or interpretations can be based. Field mapping and petrographic analyses of the TMG, comprising the Peninsula, Cedarberg, Goudini, Skurweberg and Baviaanskloof Formations as well as the lower undifferentiated Bokkeveld Group were undertaken to define the study area’s lithologies and structure. Interpretation of geophysical results and the integration of existing borehole data aided in defining the variability in overburden sediments, the identification of contacts between TMG formations beneath overburden, and the palaeotopography of bedrock. Borehole data indicates a clear N-S trend in the thickness distribution of Algoa Group aeolian and marine related sediments. Four coast-parallel trending thickness zones (zones A – D) are recognized within the study area. At Thyspunt overburden thickness reaches a maximum of 61 m, approximately 1200 m from the coastline, in areas underlain by the argillaceous Goudini and Cedarberg Formations. Overburden thickness is influenced by a combination of dune relief, bedrock lithology, palaeotopography and the area’s sediment supply. Interpolation of bedrock elevation points and detailed cross sections across bedrock reveals four NW-SE trending palaeovalleys at Thyspunt, Tony’s Bay, Cape St. Francis and St. Francis, where bedrock relief (beneath overburden) is formed to be below present day sea-level. Approximately 450 m NW of Thys Bay, a 1050 m2 (area below sea-level) palaeovalley, gently sloping SE to a depth of -15.5 m asl, is cut into strata of the Goudini Formation resulting in thicker overburden fill in that area. Structural analysis of the TMG confirms that NE-SW striking strata form part of the regional SE plunging, north verging Cape St. Francis anticline. Bedding inclination is controlled by the distance away from the fold axis, varying from a 5° SE dip along the broad fold hinge to 65° along its moderately steeper SE limb. Folds within the study area plunge gently southeastward at shallow angles, with axial planes dipping steeply SW or NE. Fold axes orientated perpendicular to the fold axis of the Cape St. Francis anticline indicate a secondary stress orientation oblique to the main palaeostress direction. The previously identified 40 km long, NW-SE trending Cape St. Francis fault occurring offshore within 17.5 km of Thyspunt show no onshore continuation within the bounds of the study area. Late jointing is pervasive within the study area and four joint systems are identified. The dominant joint set J1, trends N-S to NNE - SSW; perpendicular to bedding and has a subvertical dip. Normal right-lateral and left-lateral micro-faults dip subvertically, with a displacement that ranges from a few centimetres to <3 m. Micro-faults trend parallel to joints sets J1 and J4 (ESE-WSW). Inferred faults, identified by the Atomic Energy Co-operation (AEC), are interpreted as zones of closely spaced jointing (shatter zones), and show little to no recognizable displacement. Faults and joints do not extend into the younger cover deposits of the Algoa Group and are therefore older than 23 Ma years.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A Hall-effect study of as-grown and hydrogenerated n-type ZnO layers grown by MOCVD
- Authors: Somhlahlo, Nomabali Nelisiwe
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Hall effect , Electric currents
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10535 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/444 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012014 , Hall effect , Electric currents
- Description: A series of as-grown ZnO layers have been electrically characterised by the temperature dependent (20 – 300 K) Hall-effect technique. The ZnO layers were grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) on glass substrates under various growth conditions. The temperature dependent Hall-effect technique produced mobility and carrier concentration measurements. These measurements were found to be reproducible and reliable. The carrier concentration data for the layers was fitted by the charge balance equation to accurately determine the donor level and corresponding donor concentration as well as the acceptor concentration for each sample. The measured donor levels were found to vary from sample to sample and there is evidence from the results that the variations are related to the differing growth conditions of the layers. The mobility data was also fitted to establish the dominant electron scattering mechanisms in the layers. The dominant scattering mechanisms were found to vary from sample to sample. For most of the layers studied, the dominant scattering mechanism was found to be both the ionised impurity scattering at low temperatures (20 – 100 K) and grain boundary scattering at higher temperatures (100 – 300 K). The effects of exposing the ZnO layers to hydrogen plasma were also investigated by the temperature dependent Hall-effect technique. Findings indicate that hydrogen is readily incorporated in ZnO, leading always to an increased carrier concentration. It was further noted that incorporating hydrogen into ZnO in some layers increased the mobility while in other layers it caused a decrease in the mobility. The hydrogenated samples were subsequently annealed at 600 °C for 1 hour in argon ambient resulting in the carrier concentration reducing to its original value. This effect is attributed to hydrogen diffusing out of ZnO.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
A hybrid approach to beach erosion mitigation and amenity enhancement, St Francis Bay, South Africa
- Authors: Anderson, Dylan Rory
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Beach erosion -- South Africa -- St Francis Bay , Shore protection -- South Africa -- St Francis Bay , Restoration ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10611 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008192 , Beach erosion -- South Africa -- St Francis Bay , Shore protection -- South Africa -- St Francis Bay , Restoration ecology
- Description: The St Francis Bay beach has experienced chronic erosion over the past three decades. This erosion can largely be attributed to the stabilisation of a large coastal dunefield which contributed +/- 80 percent of the sand supply to St Francis Bay. Stabilisation began in 1975 initially using plant cuttings and followed by the development of the Santareme holiday suburb resulting in complete stabilisation by 1985. Effects were felt from the late 1970‟s and since then the beach has retreated at between 0.5 - 3 m.yr-1. Erosion has encroached on beachfront properties since the early 1990‟s, leading to the placement of 3-4 m high unsightly rock revetments along much of the beach. Where properly maintained these structures have proved successful in protecting the properties behind, however exacerbated erosion of areas in front and adjacent to these structures is evident. Currently no dry beach is present at high tide for most of the year, leading to a significant reduction in beach amenity value. Several technical studies to investigate remediation of this beach erosion problem have been conducted since the early 1990‟s. This study includes investigations into the processes and dynamics of the existing environment and evaluation of the effectiveness and impacts of several elements of a hybrid approach to coastal protection and amenity enhancement for St Francis Bay beach. This proposal incorporated: Multi-Purpose Reefs (MPR‟s) offshore, for coastal protection and amenity enhancement in terms of surfing; beach nourishment with sand from the Kromme Estuary and dune rehabilitation with appropriate native sand binding species. Extensive fieldwork and data collection were conducted, this included: a series of bathymetric surveys; diving surveys and a helicopter flight; sediment sampling; beach profiling and deployment of a wave/current meter. Analysis of these data provided a greater understanding of the existing environment and dynamics of St Francis Bay and provided reliable inputs for numerical modelling. Numerical and physical modelling was conducted to assess the existing processes and conduct MPR design testing. In addition calibrated hydrodynamic modelling of the Kromme Estuary was conducted in order to assess the impacts of sand extraction from the large sand banks within the mouth of the Kromme Estuary for use as beach nourishment. Comparison of bathymetric survey data collected by the author in 2005/06 with survey data collected by the South African Navy Hydrographic Office (SANHO) in 1952 suggest a major loss of sand from the bay, with a volume difference of some 8.8 X 106 m3 calculated. Greater losses were measured between 10-15 m water depths, with shallow areas of +/- 5 m water depth, remaining more stable. This can be attributed to the presence of shallow reef and rocky substrate through much of the bay at this depth range. Monthly RTK GPS survey data from September 2006 to September 2007 indicates a total loss of 40 000 m3 over this period with the greatest losses measured along the northern part of the beach. The greatest losses were measured after large long period waves from a southerly to south-easterly direction occurred in conjunction with equinox tides in mid March 2007. Sediment sampling at over 100 locations within the bay indicated a high percentage of reef (26 percent) and fairly consistent grain size in the fine to medium size class throughout much of the beach, bay and large sand bank within the estuary. While the majority of the South African Coast is exposed to the predominant south westerly winds and waves, St Francis Bay‟s orientation means that waves from a south easterly to easterly direction dominate. The results of the detailed numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics agree with previous calculations and modelling results which concluded that strong unidirectional longshore currents occur along the headland due to the oblique angle of wave incidence and the close to parallel angle of wave incidence along the beach leads to weak longshore currents of variable direction. Erosion along St Francis Bay beach is a result of cross-shore erosion due to large waves from a southerly to easterly direction. Detached breakwaters are the most effective form of coastal protection in these environments and MPR‟s offer additional benefits over traditional breakwater structures. Results of empirical calculations and numerical modelling indicate that the MPR‟s will provide effective coastal protection through the processes of wave dissipation, wave rotation, salient formation and alteration of nearshore circulation. Physical modelling results allowed the MPR design to be assessed and refined in terms of surfing amenity enhancement and construction constraints. In addition numerical modelling results indicate that impacts due to the extraction of up to 600 000 m3 of sand from the lower Kromme Estuary result in highly localised velocity reduction, mainly limited to the extraction areas. The calculated rate of sediment influx into the lower Kromme Estuary indicates that limited extraction, in the order of 20 000 – 40 000 m3 per year, should be sustainable in the long term. Sedimentation of the lower estuary over recent years has had negative recreational and ecological impacts, through reduced navigability and water exchange respectively. Therefore both the estuary and beach systems prove to benefit from this approach. Although not investigated in detail as part of this study, evidence from numerous projects worldwide indicates that foredunes help to trap wind-blown sand on the beach and form a buffer to storm erosion, therefore dune rehabilitation with native sand-binding plant species was recommended as the third element of the proposed remediation of St Francis Bay beach.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
A hybrid model for managing personal health records in South Africa
- Authors: Kyazze, Michael
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Cloud computing -- South Africa , Information storage and retrieval systems -- Medical care -- South Africa , Medical records -- Management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3145 , vital:20403
- Description: Doctors can experience difficulty in accessing medical information of new patients. One reason for this is that the management of medical records is mostly institution-centred. The lack of access to medical information may negatively affect patients in several ways. These include new medical tests that may need to be carried out at a cost to the patient and doctors prescribing drugs to which the patient is allergic. This research investigates how patients can play an active role in sharing their personal health records (PHRs) with doctors located in geographically separate areas. In order to achieve the goal of this research, existing literature concerning medical health records and standards was reviewed. A literature review of techniques that can be used to ensure privacy of health information was also undertaken. Interview studies were carried out with three medical practices in Port Elizabeth with the aim of contextualising the findings from the literature study. The Design Science Research methodology was used for this research. A Hybrid Model for Managing Personal Health Records in South Africa is proposed. This model allows patients to view their PHRs on their mobile phones and medical practitioners to manage the patients’ PHRs using a web-based application. The patients’ PHR information is stored both on a cloud server and on mobile devices hence the hybrid nature. Two prototypes were developed as a proof of concept; a mobile application for the patients and a web-based application for the medical practitioners. A field study was carried out with the NMMU health services department and 12 participants over a period of two weeks. The results of the field study were highly positive. The successful evaluation of the prototypes provides empirical evidence that the proposed model brings us closer to the realisation of ubiquitous access to PHRS in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
A hybridisation technique for game playing using the upper confidence for trees algorithm with artificial neural networks
- Authors: Burger, Clayton
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Neural networks (Computer science) , Computer algorithms
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3957 , vital:20495
- Description: In the domain of strategic game playing, the use of statistical techniques such as the Upper Confidence for Trees (UCT) algorithm, has become the norm as they offer many benefits over classical algorithms. These benefits include requiring no game-specific strategic knowledge and time-scalable performance. UCT does not incorporate any strategic information specific to the game considered, but instead uses repeated sampling to effectively brute-force search through the game tree or search space. The lack of game-specific knowledge in UCT is thus both a benefit but also a strategic disadvantage. Pattern recognition techniques, specifically Neural Networks (NN), were identified as a means of addressing the lack of game-specific knowledge in UCT. Through a novel hybridisation technique which combines UCT and trained NNs for pruning, the UCTNN algorithm was derived. The NN component of UCT-NN was trained using a UCT self-play scheme to generate game-specific knowledge without the need to construct and manage game databases for training purposes. The UCT-NN algorithm is outlined for pruning in the game of Go-Moku as a candidate case-study for this research. The UCT-NN algorithm contained three major parameters which emerged from the UCT algorithm, the use of NNs and the pruning schemes considered. Suitable methods for finding candidate values for these three parameters were outlined and applied to the game of Go-Moku on a 5 by 5 board. An empirical investigation of the playing performance of UCT-NN was conducted in comparison to UCT through three benchmarks. The benchmarks comprise a common randomly moving opponent, a common UCTmax player which is given a large amount of playing time, and a pair-wise tournament between UCT-NN and UCT. The results of the performance evaluation for 5 by 5 Go-Moku were promising, which prompted an evaluation of a larger 9 by 9 Go-Moku board. The results of both evaluations indicate that the time allocated to the UCT-NN algorithm directly affects its performance when compared to UCT. The UCT-NN algorithm generally performs better than UCT in games with very limited time-constraints in all benchmarks considered except when playing against a randomly moving player in 9 by 9 Go-Moku. In real-time and near-real-time Go-Moku games, UCT-NN provides statistically significant improvements compared to UCT. The findings of this research contribute to the realisation of applying game-specific knowledge to the UCT algorithm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
A linear model for valuating preferences of freshwater inflows into forty selected estuaries along the South African coastline
- Authors: Smith, Melnick Jurgen
- Subjects: Estuaries -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Mathematical statistics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10581 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020916
- Description: According to the National Water Act of 1998, an estuary is an enclosed body of water that is either periodically or permanently open to the ocean. Within an estuary, the seawater is diluted to a measurable degree, creating a unique aquatic environment for animals and plants. Estuaries are environmental and economic assets to the population. The health status of our local estuaries, however, is being compromized due to a steady decrease in the freshwater inflow and supply. Tides and climatic conditions do have an impact upon the dynamics of an estuary, but these factors remain relatively constant throughout each year. The freshwater inflow and supply, however, are highly variable and are directly influenced by human involvement. Upstream abstraction for industrial and domestic use, for example, could lead to mouth closure where the ocean meets the river. The National Water Act of 1998 was established to address the lack of research and predominant mismanagement of freshwater inflow into South Africa’s estuaries (Allanson and Baird, 1999). To ensure proper water resource management, different water allocation costs and benefits need to be compared and analyzed to secure an optimum solution (Mlangeni, 2007). Like many environmental services yielded to man, estuary services are not traded in any markets. Alternative markets are thus sought to allow the estimation of the values of such services. Among the available valuation techniques are the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), Travel Cost Method (TCM) and Hedonic Pricing Method (HPM). The involved benefits of water allocations are predicted in this study by use of the CVM which elicits respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) towards predetermined changes in freshwater inflow into estuaries. The CVM was applied throughout the Water Research Commission’s (WRC) Project K5/1413 from 2000 to 2008 (Hosking, 2010). Each individual study employed specialized surveys which ideally created a close correspondence between the answers provided by respondents to the supposed scenarios and their voluntary exchanges in markets should money actually have been handled (Mlangeni, 2007). Much criticism has been directed towards the CVM, but careful use and application of the method has been shown to produce significant and satisfactory results (Hosking, 2010). The primary aim of this study was to collectively analyze the collated data provided by the WRC and compare the results with the findings of previous studies. Each variable was analyzed separately in order to reveal any discrepancies between the respective findings. A supplementary objective of this study was to add to the body of knowledge pertaining to South Africa’s estuaries and guide management in the distribution of freshwater towards proficient levels (Du Preez and Hosking, 2010). The associated change in the cumulative consumer surplus with an increased freshwater supply into forty selected estuaries was therefore investigated. The subsequent benefits due to a superior freshwater supply are therefore reflected (Du Preez and Hosking, 2010). The data gathered by each of the individual researchers throughout their studies (supported by the WRC) were combined to form a single dataset including all recorded information supplied by the corresponding respondents. As the investigation progressed, improvements were made upon the questionnaires posed to the considered estuary populations. Consequently, some of the data in the combined dataset were “missing”, since previous studies did not include certain questions, while later studies omitted others. Data imputation was employed to create an imputed dataset, enabling the modeling of the public’s WTP through regression techniques. A linear model was utilized in this study, also incorporating interaction between the predictor variables. The double-log functional form was implemented to estimate the public’s WTP. The population’s total willingness to pay (TWTP) was further estimated by aggregation. A summary of the respective results is displayed in in Table 1.
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A mathematical investigation of the effects of sexual orientation and HIV status on HPV transmission and vaccination
- Authors: Holtzhausen, Tresia Louisa
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Virus diseases -- Mathematical models , Cervix uteri -- Cancer -- Treatment , Sexual orientation , Immune response -- Mathematical models
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3946 , vital:20494
- Description: The effect of the inclusion of sexual behaviour, particularly three sexual orientation classes, on the transmission dynamics of HPV and cervical cancer incidence was investigated. A comprehensive literature review of mathematical models of HPV transmission and the natural history of cervical cancer was concluded. A mathematical model using ordinary differential equations was developed, which incorporated the three sexual orientation classes, and a sexual mixing algorithm for modelling the transmission dynamics. Reproduction numbers, determined through a simplified version of the developed model, indicated that the bisexual population could form a bridge between the heterosexual and homosexual population. The level of interaction is determined by the selection preferences of a bisexual individual to form a partnership with an individual of the same or opposite sex. The model was simulated, with parameters based on a South African population and HPV type 16/18, to investigate the effects of HIV status, sexual orientation and various vaccination strategies on HPV transmission and cervical cancer incidence. The results indicated that HIV status is a significant factor when determining cervical cancer incidence. The results regarding vaccination strategies agreed with results from the literature review with a two sex before sexual debut and catch up program the most effective, noting that with increased vaccination coverage of females the marginal impact on cervical cancer incidence of this approach diminished.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
A mathematical study on optimal prevention and control strategies for tuberculosis: case study for Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Authors: Zembe, Pumelela Vincent
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Prevention Tuberculosis -- Mathematical models , Tuberculosis -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12823 , vital:27124
- Description: In this treatise a SEIR model for the transmission of tuberculosis was proposed. It assumes that the latent infected individuals progress to active tuberculosis through endogenous reactivation and exogenous re-infection and that the individuals who have recovered from the disease through treatment are not immune to tuberculosis re-infection. While most features of the original model were kept, the model was modified to incorporate two control measures in the form of post-exposure tuberculosis prophylaxis for the treatment of latent individuals and tuberculosis therapeutics for the treatmentof individuals with active tuberculosis. Mathematical analysis of the modelwas done under the assumption that the two control measures are positiveconstants. The disease-free equilibrium point was locally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number was less than unity and unstable when this epidemic threshold exceeds unity. An optimal control problem was formulated and the necessary conditions for optimality were derived.The numerical results based on data from Port Elizabeth suggest that using both forms of control measures simultaneously is more effective in reducing the total number of infected individuals than applying single controls separately.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
A method for the evaluation of similarity measures on graphs and network-structured data
- Authors: Naude, Kevin Alexander
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Graph theory , Network analysis (Planning)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:10494
- Description: Measures of similarity play a subtle but important role in a large number of disciplines. For example, a researcher in bioinformatics may devise a new computed measure of similarity between biological structures, and use its scores to infer bio-logical association. Other academics may use related approaches in structured text search, or for object recognition in computer vision. These are diverse and practical applications of similarity. A critical question is this: to what extent can a given similarity measure be trusted? This is a difficult problem, at the heart of which lies the broader issue: what exactly constitutes good similarity judgement? This research presents the view that similarity measures have properties of judgement that are intrinsic to their formulation, and that such properties are measurable. The problem of comparing similarity measures is one of identifying ground-truths for similarity. The approach taken in this work is to examine the relative ordering of graph pairs, when compared with respect to a common reference graph. Ground- truth outcomes are obtained from a novel theory: the theory of irreducible change in graphs. This theory supports stronger claims than those made for edit distances. Whereas edit distances are sensitive to a configuration of costs, irreducible change under the new theory is independent of such parameters. Ground-truth data is obtained by isolating test cases for which a common outcome is assured for all possible least measures of change that can be formulated within a chosen change descriptor space. By isolating these specific cases, and excluding others, the research introduces a framework for evaluating similarity measures on mathematically defensible grounds. The evaluation method is demonstrated in a series of case studies which evaluate the similarity performance of known graph similarity measures. The findings of these experiments provide the first general characterisation of common similarity measures over a wide range of graph properties. The similarity computed from the maximum common induced subgraph (Dice-MCIS) is shown to provide good general similarity judgement. However, it is shown that Blondel's similarity measure can exceed the judgement sensitivity of Dice-MCIS, provided the graphs have both sufficient attribute label diversity, and edge density. The final contribution is the introduction of a new similarity measure for graphs, which is shown to have statistically greater judgement sensitivity than all other measures examined. All of these findings are made possible through the theory of irreducible change in graphs. The research provides the first mathematical basis for reasoning about the quality of similarity judgments. This enables researchers to analyse similarity measures directly, making similarity measures first class objects of scientific inquiry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
A methodology to institutionalise user experience in a South African provincial government
- Authors: Pretorius, Marco Cobus
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Human-computer interaction , User interfaces (Computer systems) , Government Web sites -- South Africa , Web site development , Electronic government information
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10489 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019961
- Description: The number of citizens, who access e-Government websites, is growing significantly and their expectations for additional services are increasing. The Internet has become an essential instrument to distribute information to citizens. Poorly designed websites, however, can divide governments and its citizens. Consensus amongst researchers is that user experience (UX) is an important factor in designing websites specifically e-Government websites. Problems, experienced with website usability, prevent people from accessing and eventually adopting technology, such as e-Government. Countries, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, have shown increased support for UX in e-Government websites. At present, a number of guidelines and design principles exists for e-Government website UX design; however, the effectiveness of the implementation of these guidelines and principles depends on the profiles of the individuals on a website development team and on an organisation’s understanding of UX. Despite the highlighted importance of UX, guidelines and principles are rarely adopted in South African e-Government websites. Usability and UX guidelines cannot be implemented; if there is no executive support; an inadequately trained staff; no routine UX practice; insufficient budget; inefficient use of usability methodologies and user-centred design (UCD) processes. The challenge at present in the UX design field is the institutionalisation of UX, specifically at government level. The goal of this research was to propose and evaluate a methodology to institutionalise UX in South African Provincial Governments (PGs), named the “Institutionalise UX in Government (IUXG) methodology”. The research used the Western Cape Government (WCG) in South Africa as a case study to evaluate the proposed methodology to institutionalise UX in a South African PG. The IUXG methodology (1.0) was proposed from five UX methodologies, as well as from best practices found in literature. The IUXG methodology (1.1) was updated, based on results of a survey to South African PGs, a survey to WCG employees, as well as literature from the WCG. The IUXG methodology (2.0) was updated a final time, based on the case study results and on a confirmation survey with WCG employees after the implementation of the case study. The research study made use of three surveys during this research. The first survey, incorporating UX maturity models, confirmed that understanding and buy-in of UX are limited and that UX maturity levels are low at South African PG level. The second and third surveys were administered to WCG e-Government website officials before and after the implementation of the IUXG methodology. The surveys measured the UX maturity level of the WCG in the component, e-Government for Citizens (e-G4C), responsible for the WCG e-Government website. The final survey results demonstrated that, after the implementation of the IUXG methodology, the WCG improved its level of UX maturity on the identified UX maturity models. Implementation of the IUXG methodology institutionalised UX in the WCG. UX activities became standard practice in the e-Government website environment after the systems development lifecycle (SDLC) incorporated UCD. UX policy, strategy and guidelines were documented for the WCG e-Government website. The WCG constructed the first usability testing facility for a South African PG and improvements to the WCG e-Government website were implemented. The proposed IUXG methodology institutionalised UX in the WCG e-Government website environment. This research is a major contribution, to addressing the current lack of UX practices in South African PGs. South African PGs can use the proposed IUXG methodology to institutionalise UX and it will assist PG officials to develop increased UX maturity levels. The advantage of the IUXG methodology is that it provides PG officials with a step-by-step method how to institutionalise UX in a PG by following the six phases of the IUXG methodology: startup, setup, organisation, method, standards and long-term. The IUXG methodology will assist South African PGs to establish UX practice as a norm. The IUXG methodology will assist PGs with the resources, methods and tools to enable them to implement UX guidelines, which will result in an improved, more usable and more user-centric PG e-Government website.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A model for adaptive multimodal mobile notification
- Authors: Brander, William
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Mobile computing , Context-aware computing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10473 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/699 , Mobile computing , Context-aware computing
- Description: Information is useless unless it is used whilst still applicable. Having a system that notifies the user of important messages using the most appropriate medium and device will benefit users that rely on time critical information. There are several existing systems and models for mobile notification as well as for adaptive mobile notification using context awareness. Current models and systems are typically designed for a specific set of mobile devices, modes and services. Communication however, can take place in many different modes, across many different devices and may originate from many different sources. The aim of this research was to develop a model for adaptive mobile notification using context awareness. An extensive literature study was performed into existing models for adaptive mobile notification systems using context awareness. The literature study identified several potential models but no way to evaluate and compare the models. A set of requirements to evaluate these models was developed and the models were evaluated against these criteria. The model satisfying the most requirements was adapted so as to satisfy the remaining criteria. The proposed model is extensible in terms of the modes, devices and notification sources supported. The proposed model determines the importance of a message, the appropriate device and mode (or modes) of communication based on the user‘s context, and alerts the user of the message using these modes. A prototype was developed as a proof-of-concept of the proposed model and evaluated by conducting an extensive field study. The field study highlighted the fact that most users did not choose the most suitable mode for the context during their initial subscription to the service. The field study also showed that more research needs to be done on an appropriate filtering mechanism for notifications. Users found that the notifications became intrusive and less useful the longer they used them.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007