A model for assessing and reporting network performance measurement in SANReN
- Authors: Draai, Kevin
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Computer networks -- Evaluation Network performance (Telecommunication) , Computer networks -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16131 , vital:28326
- Description: The performance measurement of a service provider network is an important activity. It is required for the smooth operation of the network as well as for reporting and planning. SANReN is a service provider tasked with serving the research and education network of South Africa. It currently has no structure or process for determining network performance metrics to measure the performance of its network. The objective of this study is to determine, through a process or structure, which metrics are best suited to the SANReN environment. This study is conducted in 3 phases in order to discover and verify the solution to this problem. The phases are "Contextualisation", "Design",and "Verification". The "Contextualisation" phase includes the literature review. This provides the context for the problem area but also serves as a search function for the solution. This study adopts the design science research paradigm which requires the creation of an artefact. The "Design" phase involves the creation of the conceptual network performance measurement model. This is the artefact and a generalised model for determining the network performance metrics for an NREN. To prove the utility of the model it is implemented in the SANReN environment. This is done in the "Verification" phase. The network performance measurement model proposes a process to determine network performance metrics. This process includes getting NREN requirements and goals, defining the NRENs network design goals through these requirements, define network performance metrics from these goals, evaluating the NRENs monitoring capability, and measuring what is possible. This model provides a starting point for NRENs to determine network performance metrics tailored to its environment. This is done in the SANReN environment as a proof of concept. The utility of the model is shown through the implementation in the SANReN environment thus it can be said that it is generic.The tools that monitor the performance of the SANReN network are used to retrieve network performance data from. Through understanding the requirements, determining network design goals and performance metrics, and determining the gap the retrieving of results took place. These results are analysed and finally aggregated to provide information that feeds into SANReN reporting and planning processes. A template is provided to do the aggregation of metric results. This template provides the structure to enable metrics results aggregation but leaves the categories or labels for the reporting and planning sections blank. These categories are specific to each NREN. At this point SANReN has the aggregated information to use for planning and reporting. The model is verified and thus the study’s main research objective is satisfied.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Draai, Kevin
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Computer networks -- Evaluation Network performance (Telecommunication) , Computer networks -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16131 , vital:28326
- Description: The performance measurement of a service provider network is an important activity. It is required for the smooth operation of the network as well as for reporting and planning. SANReN is a service provider tasked with serving the research and education network of South Africa. It currently has no structure or process for determining network performance metrics to measure the performance of its network. The objective of this study is to determine, through a process or structure, which metrics are best suited to the SANReN environment. This study is conducted in 3 phases in order to discover and verify the solution to this problem. The phases are "Contextualisation", "Design",and "Verification". The "Contextualisation" phase includes the literature review. This provides the context for the problem area but also serves as a search function for the solution. This study adopts the design science research paradigm which requires the creation of an artefact. The "Design" phase involves the creation of the conceptual network performance measurement model. This is the artefact and a generalised model for determining the network performance metrics for an NREN. To prove the utility of the model it is implemented in the SANReN environment. This is done in the "Verification" phase. The network performance measurement model proposes a process to determine network performance metrics. This process includes getting NREN requirements and goals, defining the NRENs network design goals through these requirements, define network performance metrics from these goals, evaluating the NRENs monitoring capability, and measuring what is possible. This model provides a starting point for NRENs to determine network performance metrics tailored to its environment. This is done in the SANReN environment as a proof of concept. The utility of the model is shown through the implementation in the SANReN environment thus it can be said that it is generic.The tools that monitor the performance of the SANReN network are used to retrieve network performance data from. Through understanding the requirements, determining network design goals and performance metrics, and determining the gap the retrieving of results took place. These results are analysed and finally aggregated to provide information that feeds into SANReN reporting and planning processes. A template is provided to do the aggregation of metric results. This template provides the structure to enable metrics results aggregation but leaves the categories or labels for the reporting and planning sections blank. These categories are specific to each NREN. At this point SANReN has the aggregated information to use for planning and reporting. The model is verified and thus the study’s main research objective is satisfied.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A model to address factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates
- Mabece, Thandolwethu, Thomson, Kerry-Lynn
- Authors: Mabece, Thandolwethu , Thomson, Kerry-Lynn
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Information technology -- Security measures , Computer security , Cyber intelligence (Computer security)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7355 , vital:21339
- Description: The fact that information is ubiquitous throughout most modern organisations cannot be denied. Information is not merely used as an enabler in modern organisations today, but is also used to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. Thus, information has become one of the most important business assets. It is, therefore, imperative that organisations protect information assets as they would protect other business assets. This is typically achieved through implementing various security measures.Technological and procedural security measures are largely dependent on humans. However, the incorrect behaviour of humans poses a significant threat to the protection of these information assets. Thus, it is vital to understand how human behaviour may impact the protection of information assets. While the focus of much literature is on organisations, the focus of this research is on higher education institutions and the factors of information security, with a specific focus on influencing the information security behaviour of computing graduates. Typically, computing graduates would be employed in organisations in various careers such as software developers, network administrators, database administrators and information systems analysts. Employment in these careers means that they would be closely interacting with information assets and information systems. A real problem, as identified by this research, is that currently, many higher education institutions are not consciously doing enough to positively influence the information security behaviour of their computing graduates. This research presents a model to address various factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates. The aim of this model is to assist computing educators in influencing computing graduates to adopt more secure behaviour, such as security assurance behaviour. A literature review was conducted to identify the research problem. A number of theories such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Protection Motivation Theory and Social Cognitive Theory were identified as being relevant for this research as they provided a theoretical foundation for factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates. Additionally, a survey was conducted to gather the opinions and perceptions of computing educators relating to information security education in higher education institutions. Results indicated that information security is not pervasively integrated within the higher education institutions surveyed. Furthermore, results revealed that most computing students were perceived to not be behaving in a secure manner with regard to information security. This could negatively influence their information security behaviour as computing graduates employed within organisations. Computing educators therefore require assistance in influencing the information security behaviour of these computing students. The proposed model to provide this assistance was developed through argumentation and modelling.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mabece, Thandolwethu , Thomson, Kerry-Lynn
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Information technology -- Security measures , Computer security , Cyber intelligence (Computer security)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7355 , vital:21339
- Description: The fact that information is ubiquitous throughout most modern organisations cannot be denied. Information is not merely used as an enabler in modern organisations today, but is also used to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. Thus, information has become one of the most important business assets. It is, therefore, imperative that organisations protect information assets as they would protect other business assets. This is typically achieved through implementing various security measures.Technological and procedural security measures are largely dependent on humans. However, the incorrect behaviour of humans poses a significant threat to the protection of these information assets. Thus, it is vital to understand how human behaviour may impact the protection of information assets. While the focus of much literature is on organisations, the focus of this research is on higher education institutions and the factors of information security, with a specific focus on influencing the information security behaviour of computing graduates. Typically, computing graduates would be employed in organisations in various careers such as software developers, network administrators, database administrators and information systems analysts. Employment in these careers means that they would be closely interacting with information assets and information systems. A real problem, as identified by this research, is that currently, many higher education institutions are not consciously doing enough to positively influence the information security behaviour of their computing graduates. This research presents a model to address various factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates. The aim of this model is to assist computing educators in influencing computing graduates to adopt more secure behaviour, such as security assurance behaviour. A literature review was conducted to identify the research problem. A number of theories such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Protection Motivation Theory and Social Cognitive Theory were identified as being relevant for this research as they provided a theoretical foundation for factors that could influence the information security behaviour of computing graduates. Additionally, a survey was conducted to gather the opinions and perceptions of computing educators relating to information security education in higher education institutions. Results indicated that information security is not pervasively integrated within the higher education institutions surveyed. Furthermore, results revealed that most computing students were perceived to not be behaving in a secure manner with regard to information security. This could negatively influence their information security behaviour as computing graduates employed within organisations. Computing educators therefore require assistance in influencing the information security behaviour of these computing students. The proposed model to provide this assistance was developed through argumentation and modelling.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A moderate elevation in [CO 2] results in potential hypervirulence on SABBIErica
- Gallagher, Sean, Hill, Jaclyn M, Murugan, N, Botha, Christiaan E J
- Authors: Gallagher, Sean , Hill, Jaclyn M , Murugan, N , Botha, Christiaan E J
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68835 , vital:29329 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2017.10.010
- Description: The Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov, 1913) (RWA) is a serious pest of grain crops and is of considerable concern in South Africa, particularly in terms of barley grown specifically for the brewing industry. This paper highlights the effect of a small (50 ppm) increase in [CO2] on the growth rate of the four South African RWA biotypes on the SABBIErica barley cultivar. Controlled environment experiments revealed that the colony growth rate for RWASA4 was significantly lower than SA1 under ambient conditions as well as significantly lower than SA1, SA2 or SA3 under elevated CO2 conditions. The unexpected difference suggested an atypical, non-preferential feeding habit on SABBIErica, for RWASA4. The small RWASA4 colonies inflicted similar morphological damage to the significantly larger RWASA1 – RWASA3 biotype populations — indicative of potential hypervirulence under elevated CO2. The continuous feeding of RWASA biotypes causes damage to the transport system as well as substantial, catastrophic damage to mesophyll chloroplasts as well as mitochondria within the host plant's leaves. The TEM study revealed evidence of sequential/systematic degeneration of chloroplasts and mitochondria with continued aphid feeding, which we suggest is an indication of potential emergent hypervirulence under elevated CO2 conditions.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Gallagher, Sean , Hill, Jaclyn M , Murugan, N , Botha, Christiaan E J
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68835 , vital:29329 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2017.10.010
- Description: The Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov, 1913) (RWA) is a serious pest of grain crops and is of considerable concern in South Africa, particularly in terms of barley grown specifically for the brewing industry. This paper highlights the effect of a small (50 ppm) increase in [CO2] on the growth rate of the four South African RWA biotypes on the SABBIErica barley cultivar. Controlled environment experiments revealed that the colony growth rate for RWASA4 was significantly lower than SA1 under ambient conditions as well as significantly lower than SA1, SA2 or SA3 under elevated CO2 conditions. The unexpected difference suggested an atypical, non-preferential feeding habit on SABBIErica, for RWASA4. The small RWASA4 colonies inflicted similar morphological damage to the significantly larger RWASA1 – RWASA3 biotype populations — indicative of potential hypervirulence under elevated CO2. The continuous feeding of RWASA biotypes causes damage to the transport system as well as substantial, catastrophic damage to mesophyll chloroplasts as well as mitochondria within the host plant's leaves. The TEM study revealed evidence of sequential/systematic degeneration of chloroplasts and mitochondria with continued aphid feeding, which we suggest is an indication of potential emergent hypervirulence under elevated CO2 conditions.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
A narrative, child-participatory study of domestic mobility within grandmother-headed households in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Women heads of households South Africa Eastern Cape , Poor women South Africa Eastern Cape , Migration, Internal South Africa , Poverty South Africa , HIV infections Social aspects South Africa , HIV infections Economic aspects South Africa , AIDS (Disease) Social aspects South Africa , AIDS (Disease) Economic aspects South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7678 , vital:21285
- Description: The movement of adults and children between households in South Africa is a tradition entrenched by apartheid state policies and fuelled by poverty and HIV/AIDS. Children affected by domestic mobility include not only orphans, but those whose families are struggling financially or are deprived of income through illness or death. One example of domestic mobility is the redistribution of children through grandmother-headed households. While domestic mobility has been researched from a number of different academic perspectives, there is scanty psychological literature on the subject, and a gap around children’s experiences of their own mobility. Children’s roles and agency in their mobility, and how these are shaped by their environments, social relations and resilience, are not considered. This research aimed to explore the meanings that domestic mobility had in the lives, identity constructions and personal narratives of South African children currently residing in grandmother-headed households in the Eastern Cape. This was achieved through a narrative approach, interested in big life-stories, as well as small stories of everyday interaction. Over the course of two years, five child participants aged between eight and 12 years constructed narrative material through participatory action research methodologies, including the mapping of time-lines and their lived environments, and photovoice. Child participants and their families were selected from the client-base of a non-governmental organisation, Isibindi (Alice). Narratives were analysed as case studies to tell detailed stories of children’s lives, and to comment on issues associated with domestic mobility, socio-economic status, gender, education, HIV/AIDS and social protection. The study found that blanket definitions of poverty and domestic mobility conceal important variations in levels of poverty and individual experiences of mobility. While children are excluded from processes of decision-making about their mobility, they perform their agency by contributing to household survival and ensuring the continuation of mutually beneficial attachment relationships. This research argues that interventions which act on various systemic levels (macro, meso and exo) add support and protection for vulnerable children. This research also argues for psychological “scaffolding” of potentially traumatic or precarious processes, such as domestic mobility and deaths in families, through caregivers preparing and consulting with children before events happen.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Women heads of households South Africa Eastern Cape , Poor women South Africa Eastern Cape , Migration, Internal South Africa , Poverty South Africa , HIV infections Social aspects South Africa , HIV infections Economic aspects South Africa , AIDS (Disease) Social aspects South Africa , AIDS (Disease) Economic aspects South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7678 , vital:21285
- Description: The movement of adults and children between households in South Africa is a tradition entrenched by apartheid state policies and fuelled by poverty and HIV/AIDS. Children affected by domestic mobility include not only orphans, but those whose families are struggling financially or are deprived of income through illness or death. One example of domestic mobility is the redistribution of children through grandmother-headed households. While domestic mobility has been researched from a number of different academic perspectives, there is scanty psychological literature on the subject, and a gap around children’s experiences of their own mobility. Children’s roles and agency in their mobility, and how these are shaped by their environments, social relations and resilience, are not considered. This research aimed to explore the meanings that domestic mobility had in the lives, identity constructions and personal narratives of South African children currently residing in grandmother-headed households in the Eastern Cape. This was achieved through a narrative approach, interested in big life-stories, as well as small stories of everyday interaction. Over the course of two years, five child participants aged between eight and 12 years constructed narrative material through participatory action research methodologies, including the mapping of time-lines and their lived environments, and photovoice. Child participants and their families were selected from the client-base of a non-governmental organisation, Isibindi (Alice). Narratives were analysed as case studies to tell detailed stories of children’s lives, and to comment on issues associated with domestic mobility, socio-economic status, gender, education, HIV/AIDS and social protection. The study found that blanket definitions of poverty and domestic mobility conceal important variations in levels of poverty and individual experiences of mobility. While children are excluded from processes of decision-making about their mobility, they perform their agency by contributing to household survival and ensuring the continuation of mutually beneficial attachment relationships. This research argues that interventions which act on various systemic levels (macro, meso and exo) add support and protection for vulnerable children. This research also argues for psychological “scaffolding” of potentially traumatic or precarious processes, such as domestic mobility and deaths in families, through caregivers preparing and consulting with children before events happen.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A national strategy towards cultivating a cybersecurity culture in South Africa
- Authors: Gcaza, Noluxolo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Computer networks -- Security measures , Cyberspace -- Security measures Computer security -- South Africa Subculture -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13735 , vital:27303
- Description: In modern society, cyberspace is interwoven into the daily lives of many. Cyberspace is increasingly redefining how people communicate as well as gain access to and share information. Technology has transformed the way the business world operates by introducing new ways of trading goods and services whilst bolstering traditional business methods. It has also altered the way nations govern. Thus individuals, organisations and nations are relying on this technology to perform significant functions. Alongside the positive innovations afforded by cyberspace, however, those who use it are exposed to a variety of risks. Cyberspace is beset by criminal activities such as cybercrime, fraud, identity theft to name but a few. Nonetheless, the negative impact of these cyber threats does not outweigh the advantages of cyberspace. In light of such threats, there is a call for all entities that reap the benefits of online services to institute cybersecurity. As such, cybersecurity is a necessity for individuals, organisations and nations alike. In practice, cybersecurity focuses on preventing and mitigating certain security risks that might compromise the security of relevant assets. For a long time, technology-centred measures have been deemed the most significant solution for mitigating such risks. However, after a legacy of unsuccessful technological efforts, it became clear that such solutions in isolation are insufficient to mitigate all cyber-related risks. This is mainly due to the role that humans play in the security process, that is, the human factor. In isolation, technology-centred measures tend to fail to counter the human factor because of the perception among many users that security measures are an obstacle and consequently a waste of time. This user perception can be credited to the perceived difficulty of the security measure, as well as apparent mistrust and misinterpretation of the measure. Hence, cybersecurity necessitates the development of a solution that encourages acceptable user behaviour in the reality of cyberspace. The cultivation of a cybersecurity culture is thus regarded as the best approach for addressing the human factors that weaken the cybersecurity chain. While the role of culture in pursuing cybersecurity is well appreciated, research focusing on defining and measuring cybersecurity culture is still in its infancy. Furthermore, studies have shown that there are no widely accepted key concepts that delimit a cybersecurity culture. However, the notion that such a culture is not well-delineated has not prevented national governments from pursuing a culture in which all citizens behave in a way that promotes cybersecurity. As a result, many countries now offer national cybersecurity campaigns to foster a culture of cybersecurity at a national level. South Africa is among the nations that have identified cultivating a culture of cybersecurity as a strategic priority. However, there is an apparent lack of a practical plan to cultivate such a cybersecurity culture in South Africa. Thus, this study sought firstly to confirm from the existing body of knowledge that cybersecurity culture is indeed ill-defined and, secondly, to delineate what constitutes a national cybersecurity culture. Finally, and primarily, it sought to devise a national strategy that would assist SA in fulfilling its objective of cultivating a culture of cybersecurity on a national level.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Gcaza, Noluxolo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Computer networks -- Security measures , Cyberspace -- Security measures Computer security -- South Africa Subculture -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13735 , vital:27303
- Description: In modern society, cyberspace is interwoven into the daily lives of many. Cyberspace is increasingly redefining how people communicate as well as gain access to and share information. Technology has transformed the way the business world operates by introducing new ways of trading goods and services whilst bolstering traditional business methods. It has also altered the way nations govern. Thus individuals, organisations and nations are relying on this technology to perform significant functions. Alongside the positive innovations afforded by cyberspace, however, those who use it are exposed to a variety of risks. Cyberspace is beset by criminal activities such as cybercrime, fraud, identity theft to name but a few. Nonetheless, the negative impact of these cyber threats does not outweigh the advantages of cyberspace. In light of such threats, there is a call for all entities that reap the benefits of online services to institute cybersecurity. As such, cybersecurity is a necessity for individuals, organisations and nations alike. In practice, cybersecurity focuses on preventing and mitigating certain security risks that might compromise the security of relevant assets. For a long time, technology-centred measures have been deemed the most significant solution for mitigating such risks. However, after a legacy of unsuccessful technological efforts, it became clear that such solutions in isolation are insufficient to mitigate all cyber-related risks. This is mainly due to the role that humans play in the security process, that is, the human factor. In isolation, technology-centred measures tend to fail to counter the human factor because of the perception among many users that security measures are an obstacle and consequently a waste of time. This user perception can be credited to the perceived difficulty of the security measure, as well as apparent mistrust and misinterpretation of the measure. Hence, cybersecurity necessitates the development of a solution that encourages acceptable user behaviour in the reality of cyberspace. The cultivation of a cybersecurity culture is thus regarded as the best approach for addressing the human factors that weaken the cybersecurity chain. While the role of culture in pursuing cybersecurity is well appreciated, research focusing on defining and measuring cybersecurity culture is still in its infancy. Furthermore, studies have shown that there are no widely accepted key concepts that delimit a cybersecurity culture. However, the notion that such a culture is not well-delineated has not prevented national governments from pursuing a culture in which all citizens behave in a way that promotes cybersecurity. As a result, many countries now offer national cybersecurity campaigns to foster a culture of cybersecurity at a national level. South Africa is among the nations that have identified cultivating a culture of cybersecurity as a strategic priority. However, there is an apparent lack of a practical plan to cultivate such a cybersecurity culture in South Africa. Thus, this study sought firstly to confirm from the existing body of knowledge that cybersecurity culture is indeed ill-defined and, secondly, to delineate what constitutes a national cybersecurity culture. Finally, and primarily, it sought to devise a national strategy that would assist SA in fulfilling its objective of cultivating a culture of cybersecurity on a national level.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A netFlow scoring framework for incident detection
- Sweeney, Michael, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Sweeney, Michael , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428301 , vital:72501 , https://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/handle/10204/9693/Sweeney_19662_2017.pdf?sequence=1andisAllowed=y
- Description: As networks have grown, so has the data available for monitoring and security purposes. This increase in volume has raised significant chal-lenges for administrators in terms of how to identify threats in amongst the large volumes of network traffic, a large part of which is often back-ground noise. In this paper we propose a framework for scoring and coding NetFlow data with security related information. The scores and codes are added through the application of a series of independent tests, each of which may flag some form of suspicious behaviour. The cumulative effect of the scoring and coding raises the more serious po-tential threats to the fore, allowing for quick and effective investigation or action. The framework is presented along with a description of an implementation and some findings that uncover potentially malicious network traffic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Sweeney, Michael , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428301 , vital:72501 , https://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/handle/10204/9693/Sweeney_19662_2017.pdf?sequence=1andisAllowed=y
- Description: As networks have grown, so has the data available for monitoring and security purposes. This increase in volume has raised significant chal-lenges for administrators in terms of how to identify threats in amongst the large volumes of network traffic, a large part of which is often back-ground noise. In this paper we propose a framework for scoring and coding NetFlow data with security related information. The scores and codes are added through the application of a series of independent tests, each of which may flag some form of suspicious behaviour. The cumulative effect of the scoring and coding raises the more serious po-tential threats to the fore, allowing for quick and effective investigation or action. The framework is presented along with a description of an implementation and some findings that uncover potentially malicious network traffic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A new synthetic approach for preparation of Efavirenz
- Authors: Chada, Sravanthi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Antiretroviral agents , Asymmetric synthesis , Enzyme inhibitors , HIV (Viruses) -- Enzymes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15512 , vital:28265
- Description: Efavirenz, a drug that is still inaccessible to millions of people worldwide, is potent non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), is one of the preferred agents used in combination therapy for first-line treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). NNRTIs attach to and block an HIV enzyme called reverse transcriptase, by blocking reverse transcriptase; NNRTIs prevent HIV from multiplying and can reduce the amount of HIV in the body. Efavirenz can't cure HIV/AIDS, but taken in combination with other HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day helps people with HIV live longer healthier lives. Efavirenz also reduces the risk of HIV transmission and can be used by children who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. All the above therapeutic uses of efavirenz prompted us to identify the novel and hopefully cost efficient synthetic methodology for the preparation of efavirenz. In this thesis a new synthetic method for asymmetric synthesis of efavirenz is described. This route started from commercially available starting materials and it is first established in traditional batch chemistry and further the parameters transferred to a semi continuous flow protocol for optimization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Chada, Sravanthi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Antiretroviral agents , Asymmetric synthesis , Enzyme inhibitors , HIV (Viruses) -- Enzymes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15512 , vital:28265
- Description: Efavirenz, a drug that is still inaccessible to millions of people worldwide, is potent non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), is one of the preferred agents used in combination therapy for first-line treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). NNRTIs attach to and block an HIV enzyme called reverse transcriptase, by blocking reverse transcriptase; NNRTIs prevent HIV from multiplying and can reduce the amount of HIV in the body. Efavirenz can't cure HIV/AIDS, but taken in combination with other HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day helps people with HIV live longer healthier lives. Efavirenz also reduces the risk of HIV transmission and can be used by children who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. All the above therapeutic uses of efavirenz prompted us to identify the novel and hopefully cost efficient synthetic methodology for the preparation of efavirenz. In this thesis a new synthetic method for asymmetric synthesis of efavirenz is described. This route started from commercially available starting materials and it is first established in traditional batch chemistry and further the parameters transferred to a semi continuous flow protocol for optimization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A normative study of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices for South African children with cognitive barriers to learning
- Authors: August, Justin Oswin
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Children -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19419 , vital:28869
- Description: With the changing landscape in South Africa to a full democracy, increased research has been undertaken in the psychometric field on local and national normative studies regarding various assessment measures. The Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) is one of the measures that have already been extensively normed throughout the world for various population groups. In South Africa, local norms for normal populations of children have been developed by groups of researchers in the Grahamstown (Eastern Cape) as well as the Bloemfontein (Free State) areas. With a South African school educational system that focuses on Inclusive Education, there is a growing need for mainstream schools to identify learners who are at risk for learning disabilities in order to develop appropriate supportive intervention plans. The research aimed to establish psychometric normative screening data based on the Raven’s CPM, and to compare these with the established and published international and local Raven’s CPM norms. In addition, the researcher developed pilot classification scores for the early screening and detection of at risk learners in order to encourage the potential role and use of the Raven’s CPM in the identification of cognitive learning barriers. The sample consisted of 388 primary school learners identified as having cognitive barriers to learning. Archival data was used that was gathered from a Psychological clinic that provided screening services to schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. The results of the study indicated that there was a proportional relationship between age and test performance. Gender differences were found where the males in this study outperformed the females. There was a significant difference in the Raven’s CPM test performance with respect to the grade levels of the learners. The study developed a special set of norms with cognitive classification scores that will aid in the early identification of learning disabilities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: August, Justin Oswin
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Children -- Intelligence testing -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19419 , vital:28869
- Description: With the changing landscape in South Africa to a full democracy, increased research has been undertaken in the psychometric field on local and national normative studies regarding various assessment measures. The Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) is one of the measures that have already been extensively normed throughout the world for various population groups. In South Africa, local norms for normal populations of children have been developed by groups of researchers in the Grahamstown (Eastern Cape) as well as the Bloemfontein (Free State) areas. With a South African school educational system that focuses on Inclusive Education, there is a growing need for mainstream schools to identify learners who are at risk for learning disabilities in order to develop appropriate supportive intervention plans. The research aimed to establish psychometric normative screening data based on the Raven’s CPM, and to compare these with the established and published international and local Raven’s CPM norms. In addition, the researcher developed pilot classification scores for the early screening and detection of at risk learners in order to encourage the potential role and use of the Raven’s CPM in the identification of cognitive learning barriers. The sample consisted of 388 primary school learners identified as having cognitive barriers to learning. Archival data was used that was gathered from a Psychological clinic that provided screening services to schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. The results of the study indicated that there was a proportional relationship between age and test performance. Gender differences were found where the males in this study outperformed the females. There was a significant difference in the Raven’s CPM test performance with respect to the grade levels of the learners. The study developed a special set of norms with cognitive classification scores that will aid in the early identification of learning disabilities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A participant-focused sociological analysis of Beedz, a Grahamstown skills training project for women
- Authors: Bobo, Azola Benita Dorothea
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Beedz (Makhanda, South Africa) , Feminist theory -- Developing countries , Training -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Occupational training -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5686 , vital:20964
- Description: This research looked at a participant-focused sociological analysis of Beedz, a Grahamstown skills training project for women. Beedz is run by the River of Life Church and aims to equip women with the necessary skills to participate in the economy, either as entrepreneurs or as employees. Using third world feminist theory, this research explored the experiences of women who have participated in the Beedz programme, what they went through, and whether the programme benefited them or not. In particular, this research explored how the participants experienced Beedz as a programme for women without an exclusive focus on traditional feminist issues. This research was qualitative in nature; with in-depth, semi-structured interviews being used as a means of data collection. Data was analysed using key themes emerging from the interviews. The key findings of this research were that it is important to include women in training projects, as by including them you create spaces and enabling environments for women to empower themselves. Secondly, although Beedz does not deliberately work from the third world feminist theory, it could be argued that it fits in this framework as this programme facilitates skills training through looking at women as a whole, taking into account not only their gender, but also their class and race. Recommendations were made on how the Beedz programme may be improved, based on the information gathered from the participants from the interviews conducted during the research, with the key recommendation being that the organisers of the programme need to create a space for the participants’ voice to be heard, so that the programme can be relevant and beneficial to them.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Bobo, Azola Benita Dorothea
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Beedz (Makhanda, South Africa) , Feminist theory -- Developing countries , Training -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Occupational training -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Women -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5686 , vital:20964
- Description: This research looked at a participant-focused sociological analysis of Beedz, a Grahamstown skills training project for women. Beedz is run by the River of Life Church and aims to equip women with the necessary skills to participate in the economy, either as entrepreneurs or as employees. Using third world feminist theory, this research explored the experiences of women who have participated in the Beedz programme, what they went through, and whether the programme benefited them or not. In particular, this research explored how the participants experienced Beedz as a programme for women without an exclusive focus on traditional feminist issues. This research was qualitative in nature; with in-depth, semi-structured interviews being used as a means of data collection. Data was analysed using key themes emerging from the interviews. The key findings of this research were that it is important to include women in training projects, as by including them you create spaces and enabling environments for women to empower themselves. Secondly, although Beedz does not deliberately work from the third world feminist theory, it could be argued that it fits in this framework as this programme facilitates skills training through looking at women as a whole, taking into account not only their gender, but also their class and race. Recommendations were made on how the Beedz programme may be improved, based on the information gathered from the participants from the interviews conducted during the research, with the key recommendation being that the organisers of the programme need to create a space for the participants’ voice to be heard, so that the programme can be relevant and beneficial to them.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A participatory action research approach to engaging peer educators in the prevention of teenage pregnancy
- Authors: Hendricks, Farah
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Peer teaching -- South Africa Teenage pregnancy -- South Africa , Sex instruction for teenagers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16011 , vital:28306
- Description: The phenomenon of teenage pregnancy among school-going youth is on the increase in South Africa, despite the existence of a number of intervention programmes. Although both curricular and co-curricular awareness programmes targeting this phenomenon are currently employed within South African schools, these programmes have patently not met with much success, since the problem remains acute. It was the question why these programmes are not succeeding in alleviating the problem that prompted my interest in undertaking this study. Based on literature that suggests that those programmes that are successful in reaching the youth are designed through participatory processes, rather than being designed by outside experts, my thesis proposes that prevention programmes that are designed and implemented by the youth for the youth may be more successful in helping them to make healthy decisions in terms of their sexual behaviour. This study attempted to engage youth in a participatory way in identifying and exploring their perceptions of teenage pregnancy and using the knowledge thus gained to design, implement and evaluate prevention strategies in their school. The study is informed by social learning theory and adopted a participatory action research (PAR) design, which is located in a critical paradigm. I purposefully recruited twenty-four youths (14 females and 10 males) to participate. The primary research question that guided this study was: “How can peer educators be engaged to create prevention strategies to reduce teenage pregnancy and its impacts?” The following sub-questions were identified from the primary research question: What do learners themselves know feel and experience with regard to the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy How might a participatory methodology help learners to create relevant and contextualised strategies for addressing teenage pregnancy? How can such strategies be implemented in a school system? What recommendations could be made for addressing teenage pregnancy in a contextualised way? The research was conducted in two cycles. In Cycle One, data was generated through two focus group discussions, led by a young researcher from the community to encourage openness and honesty. In addition through snowball sampling, six teenage mothers and two teenage fathers agreed to be interviewed individually. The same questions were asked in the two discussions and the individual interviews, namely: “What do you know, feel and think about teenage pregnancy?” In the first cycle, I responded to my first sub-research question. Interviews, drawings and focus group discussions were used to generate data. Three themes emerged from the data to provide insight into how the youth at the school perceived the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy. The findings from this cycle revealed certain tensions between what youth said they needed and what adults, such as teachers and parents, thought they needed to know. The participating teenagers regarded themselves as sexual beings, while the adults in their sphere of influence preached abstinence, moralised or merely cited the facts, without entering into any discussion of how young people could deal with social pressures and better protect themselves against unplanned pregnancy. The participating youth were clearly aware of how to prevent pregnancy, but the social barriers to using condoms or contraceptive pills were a stumbling block. They possessed knowledge of the potential consequences of risky behaviour, but this did not stop them from engaging in such behaviour. In the second cycle of the research, the participants used the findings of the first cycle to develop prevention messages and strategies to convey these messages to their peers. They used participatory visual methods to accomplish this. The findings from this cycle revealed that a peer education approach helped participants to increase maturity in sexual decision-making, had a positive effect on the learning and acquisition of new skills, and improved critical thinking relating to sexuality. The study also had a positive impact on other learners’ knowledge and the attitudes displayed by both learners and teachers, and also led to improvements in school policies related to sexuality education. It is contended that the study contributed important theoretical and methodological insights. Knowledge generated from the study could make a contribution to the field of sexuality education and how it should be approached in schools, particularly in communities facing social and economic adversity. The methodological contribution of this study provided guidelines and theory on how participatory action research and participatory methods can be implemented in schools to enable youth to influence change in their schools, not only regarding teenage pregnancy, but also other social issues.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Hendricks, Farah
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Peer teaching -- South Africa Teenage pregnancy -- South Africa , Sex instruction for teenagers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/16011 , vital:28306
- Description: The phenomenon of teenage pregnancy among school-going youth is on the increase in South Africa, despite the existence of a number of intervention programmes. Although both curricular and co-curricular awareness programmes targeting this phenomenon are currently employed within South African schools, these programmes have patently not met with much success, since the problem remains acute. It was the question why these programmes are not succeeding in alleviating the problem that prompted my interest in undertaking this study. Based on literature that suggests that those programmes that are successful in reaching the youth are designed through participatory processes, rather than being designed by outside experts, my thesis proposes that prevention programmes that are designed and implemented by the youth for the youth may be more successful in helping them to make healthy decisions in terms of their sexual behaviour. This study attempted to engage youth in a participatory way in identifying and exploring their perceptions of teenage pregnancy and using the knowledge thus gained to design, implement and evaluate prevention strategies in their school. The study is informed by social learning theory and adopted a participatory action research (PAR) design, which is located in a critical paradigm. I purposefully recruited twenty-four youths (14 females and 10 males) to participate. The primary research question that guided this study was: “How can peer educators be engaged to create prevention strategies to reduce teenage pregnancy and its impacts?” The following sub-questions were identified from the primary research question: What do learners themselves know feel and experience with regard to the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy How might a participatory methodology help learners to create relevant and contextualised strategies for addressing teenage pregnancy? How can such strategies be implemented in a school system? What recommendations could be made for addressing teenage pregnancy in a contextualised way? The research was conducted in two cycles. In Cycle One, data was generated through two focus group discussions, led by a young researcher from the community to encourage openness and honesty. In addition through snowball sampling, six teenage mothers and two teenage fathers agreed to be interviewed individually. The same questions were asked in the two discussions and the individual interviews, namely: “What do you know, feel and think about teenage pregnancy?” In the first cycle, I responded to my first sub-research question. Interviews, drawings and focus group discussions were used to generate data. Three themes emerged from the data to provide insight into how the youth at the school perceived the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy. The findings from this cycle revealed certain tensions between what youth said they needed and what adults, such as teachers and parents, thought they needed to know. The participating teenagers regarded themselves as sexual beings, while the adults in their sphere of influence preached abstinence, moralised or merely cited the facts, without entering into any discussion of how young people could deal with social pressures and better protect themselves against unplanned pregnancy. The participating youth were clearly aware of how to prevent pregnancy, but the social barriers to using condoms or contraceptive pills were a stumbling block. They possessed knowledge of the potential consequences of risky behaviour, but this did not stop them from engaging in such behaviour. In the second cycle of the research, the participants used the findings of the first cycle to develop prevention messages and strategies to convey these messages to their peers. They used participatory visual methods to accomplish this. The findings from this cycle revealed that a peer education approach helped participants to increase maturity in sexual decision-making, had a positive effect on the learning and acquisition of new skills, and improved critical thinking relating to sexuality. The study also had a positive impact on other learners’ knowledge and the attitudes displayed by both learners and teachers, and also led to improvements in school policies related to sexuality education. It is contended that the study contributed important theoretical and methodological insights. Knowledge generated from the study could make a contribution to the field of sexuality education and how it should be approached in schools, particularly in communities facing social and economic adversity. The methodological contribution of this study provided guidelines and theory on how participatory action research and participatory methods can be implemented in schools to enable youth to influence change in their schools, not only regarding teenage pregnancy, but also other social issues.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A perfect end: a study of syllable codas in South African Sign Language
- Köhlo, Mikhaela Demitria Katebe
- Authors: Köhlo, Mikhaela Demitria Katebe
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: South African Sign Language , South African Sign Language Phonology , Linguistics , Grammar, Comparative and general Syllable
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/36127 , vital:24492
- Description: Coda constraints are common in spoken languages. German, for example, can only have voiceless obstruents in the coda position (Lombardi 1999). Most sign language research has been on other sign languages, most notably American Sign Language (ASL). This research serves to contribute to syllable theory and has a methodology that allows for cross-linguistic research, strengthening the understanding of sign languages in general, and enhancing the description of SASL in particular. It is well known that syllables in spoken languages require a vowel nucleus to be well-formed. Sandler and Lillo-Martin (2006) provide evidence of sign languages requiring movement to be considered well-formed: even seemingly stationary signs such as WHO, which occurs at the chin, will have finger wiggling as some form of movement. It is thus natural to assume that movement is akin to vowels in syllable theory (Brentari 1998). Thus, locations are similar to consonants. However, the visual nature of sign allows for simultaneity - holds do not occur by themselves. Next to location, handshapes are phonetically complex features that may impact the constraints at coda position. To my knowledge, there is no formal research on the coda constraints of sign language syllables. The data examined here comes from a video dictionary of approximately 175 words. From this dictionary, a database of coded locations and handshapes are recorded for both the onset and the coda. From this, a consonant inventory is made and patterns are identified. Each source of data is analysed individually based on Brentari’s (1998) Prosodic Model. Patterns that are noticed are then looked at using Brentari’s (1998) framework to account for what phonological rules are dictating constraints. However, as a hearing researcher cannot claim native knowledge of a sign language, the conclusions drawn from the data will be tested using native SASL signers for negative judgement. The preliminary findings of the research suggest that there are constraints on the coda location and handshape of a sign and that this may be a result of the natural classes of handshape and location prohibiting certain onset-coda combinations. The onset and coda on monosyllabic signs mirror each other’s location, while the handshape cannot change in repeated and many monosyllabic signs. These constraints provide more understanding into the rich phonological nature of sign languages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Köhlo, Mikhaela Demitria Katebe
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: South African Sign Language , South African Sign Language Phonology , Linguistics , Grammar, Comparative and general Syllable
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/36127 , vital:24492
- Description: Coda constraints are common in spoken languages. German, for example, can only have voiceless obstruents in the coda position (Lombardi 1999). Most sign language research has been on other sign languages, most notably American Sign Language (ASL). This research serves to contribute to syllable theory and has a methodology that allows for cross-linguistic research, strengthening the understanding of sign languages in general, and enhancing the description of SASL in particular. It is well known that syllables in spoken languages require a vowel nucleus to be well-formed. Sandler and Lillo-Martin (2006) provide evidence of sign languages requiring movement to be considered well-formed: even seemingly stationary signs such as WHO, which occurs at the chin, will have finger wiggling as some form of movement. It is thus natural to assume that movement is akin to vowels in syllable theory (Brentari 1998). Thus, locations are similar to consonants. However, the visual nature of sign allows for simultaneity - holds do not occur by themselves. Next to location, handshapes are phonetically complex features that may impact the constraints at coda position. To my knowledge, there is no formal research on the coda constraints of sign language syllables. The data examined here comes from a video dictionary of approximately 175 words. From this dictionary, a database of coded locations and handshapes are recorded for both the onset and the coda. From this, a consonant inventory is made and patterns are identified. Each source of data is analysed individually based on Brentari’s (1998) Prosodic Model. Patterns that are noticed are then looked at using Brentari’s (1998) framework to account for what phonological rules are dictating constraints. However, as a hearing researcher cannot claim native knowledge of a sign language, the conclusions drawn from the data will be tested using native SASL signers for negative judgement. The preliminary findings of the research suggest that there are constraints on the coda location and handshape of a sign and that this may be a result of the natural classes of handshape and location prohibiting certain onset-coda combinations. The onset and coda on monosyllabic signs mirror each other’s location, while the handshape cannot change in repeated and many monosyllabic signs. These constraints provide more understanding into the rich phonological nature of sign languages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A perfect end: A study of syllable codas in South African Sign Language
- Köhlo, Mikhaela D.K., Siebörger, Ian, Bennett, William G
- Authors: Köhlo, Mikhaela D.K. , Siebörger, Ian , Bennett, William G
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/385295 , vital:68005 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/splp/article/view/156629"
- Description: South African Sign Language (SASL) is an understudied language with a rich and interesting phonology. For instance, while the language allows onsetless syllables, it does not allow codaless syllables, except in a small class of signs which do not include path movement. This article identifies and defines possible constraints on syllable codas in SASL. Using a video dictionary as data, we have coded handshapes at locations occurring at the onset and coda of the more common signs in the lexicon. In handshape, it has been found that the selected fingers may move to create different handshapes in the coda position, but that these coda handshapes are often [1], [5], [A], [Å] or [S], which are the unmarked handshapes of the non-dominant hand in asymmetrical two-handed signs (Sandler and Lillo-Martin 2006). Furthermore, the joint specification for the selected fingers can also vary in the coda position, but there appear to be strict limitations on which joint combinations are permitted in the onset-coda relationship. There are also constraints on coda location. The major body region can change within a single syllable, and the preferred body regions in the coda position are [body] and [H2]. It is evident not only that handshape and location constraints occur at the coda position, but that these constraints show patterns similar to coda neutralisation in many spoken languages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Köhlo, Mikhaela D.K. , Siebörger, Ian , Bennett, William G
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/385295 , vital:68005 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/splp/article/view/156629"
- Description: South African Sign Language (SASL) is an understudied language with a rich and interesting phonology. For instance, while the language allows onsetless syllables, it does not allow codaless syllables, except in a small class of signs which do not include path movement. This article identifies and defines possible constraints on syllable codas in SASL. Using a video dictionary as data, we have coded handshapes at locations occurring at the onset and coda of the more common signs in the lexicon. In handshape, it has been found that the selected fingers may move to create different handshapes in the coda position, but that these coda handshapes are often [1], [5], [A], [Å] or [S], which are the unmarked handshapes of the non-dominant hand in asymmetrical two-handed signs (Sandler and Lillo-Martin 2006). Furthermore, the joint specification for the selected fingers can also vary in the coda position, but there appear to be strict limitations on which joint combinations are permitted in the onset-coda relationship. There are also constraints on coda location. The major body region can change within a single syllable, and the preferred body regions in the coda position are [body] and [H2]. It is evident not only that handshape and location constraints occur at the coda position, but that these constraints show patterns similar to coda neutralisation in many spoken languages.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A phenomenological study of problematic internet use with massively multiplayer online games
- Authors: Bopp, Stacey-Lee
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Computer games -- Psychological aspects , Internet games -- Psychological aspects Internet addiction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13757 , vital:27305
- Description: Massively multiplayer online games (MMOG’s) are a specific form of online computer games that allow for millions of people to simultaneously play online at any time. This form of online gaming has become a huge phenomenon worldwide both as a popular past time and a business endeavour for many individuals. There are more than 16 million people worldwide who subscribe to fantasy role-playing online games. Although such games can provide entertainment for many people, they can also lead to problematic Internet use (PIU). PIU has also been referred to as Internet addiction, and can cause significant problems in an individual’s functioning. The study aimed to enhance a greater understanding of the phenomenon of male adults’ experiences PIU with MMOG’s. More specifically the study aims to identify if PIU with MMOG’s can be considered a form of Internet addiction within South Africa. Furthermore, assisting in the further development of online addiction diagnosis and treatment strategies. The study utilised an interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) and participants were purposively sampled. The data was collected using semi-structured individual interviews. Furthermore, Braun and Clarks thematic analysis was used during data analysis while incorporating the four major processes in phenomenological research, namely 1) epoche, 2) phenomenological reduction, 3) imaginative variation and, 4) synthesis. Themes that emerged from the analysis of the participants’ experiences included, initial description of use, motives for continued use of MMOG’s, consequences of PIU with MMOG’s, perceptions of PIU with MMOG’s, and treatment considerations. This study provided a thick description of South African and international literature and combines the literature with the themes that emerged from the participants experiences in order to produce discussions based on the findings of this qualitative study. Conclusions, recommendations, and limitations of this study informed future research on cyber citizenship by providing a detailed understanding of the context of South African male adults’ experiences of PIU with MMOG’s.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Bopp, Stacey-Lee
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Computer games -- Psychological aspects , Internet games -- Psychological aspects Internet addiction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13757 , vital:27305
- Description: Massively multiplayer online games (MMOG’s) are a specific form of online computer games that allow for millions of people to simultaneously play online at any time. This form of online gaming has become a huge phenomenon worldwide both as a popular past time and a business endeavour for many individuals. There are more than 16 million people worldwide who subscribe to fantasy role-playing online games. Although such games can provide entertainment for many people, they can also lead to problematic Internet use (PIU). PIU has also been referred to as Internet addiction, and can cause significant problems in an individual’s functioning. The study aimed to enhance a greater understanding of the phenomenon of male adults’ experiences PIU with MMOG’s. More specifically the study aims to identify if PIU with MMOG’s can be considered a form of Internet addiction within South Africa. Furthermore, assisting in the further development of online addiction diagnosis and treatment strategies. The study utilised an interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) and participants were purposively sampled. The data was collected using semi-structured individual interviews. Furthermore, Braun and Clarks thematic analysis was used during data analysis while incorporating the four major processes in phenomenological research, namely 1) epoche, 2) phenomenological reduction, 3) imaginative variation and, 4) synthesis. Themes that emerged from the analysis of the participants’ experiences included, initial description of use, motives for continued use of MMOG’s, consequences of PIU with MMOG’s, perceptions of PIU with MMOG’s, and treatment considerations. This study provided a thick description of South African and international literature and combines the literature with the themes that emerged from the participants experiences in order to produce discussions based on the findings of this qualitative study. Conclusions, recommendations, and limitations of this study informed future research on cyber citizenship by providing a detailed understanding of the context of South African male adults’ experiences of PIU with MMOG’s.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A political discourse analysis of social memory, collective identity and nation-building in the Sunday Mail and the Standard of Zimbabwe between 1999 and 2013
- Authors: Santos, Phillip
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/41753 , vital:25130
- Description: Although much effort has been expended on studying many sites of social memory, little attention has been directed at the media’s work of memory, especially in post-colonial Africa. The media’s work of memory is important because of its social standing as a communicative and cultural institution, and because social memory is imbricated in processes of both collective identity formation and nation-building which partly shape patterns of economic distribution, recognition, and representation in society. It is in this context that this study shows how Zimbabwe’s The Sunday Mail and The Standard newspapers used social memory to construct the country’s national identity between 1999 and 2013 in the context of a socio-economic and political crisis for the country’s poly-racial, and poly-ethno-linguistic communities. The study also explores how these newspapers worked as memory sites through their construction of Zimbabwe’s national identity during the period under study. It achieves these tasks by analysing how these newspapers reported on such issues as Zimbabwe’s colonial history, the country’s narrative of decolonisation, the Gukurahundi narrative, the land reform process, elections and independence celebrations. The study takes a critical realist approach to qualitative research, and uses Fairclough and Fairclough’s (2012) method of political discourse analysis as well as Aristotle’s approach to rhetoric for a close reading of the sampled newspaper articles. It is informed by Nancy Fraser’s Theory of Justice, Chantal Mouffe’s Model of Agonistic Pluralism, and Jurgen Habermas’s Discourse Ethics Theory. The study concludes that these two newspapers actively use social memory to construct versions of national identity for specific socio-political and economic ends. Editorials and opinions from The Sunday Mail, which construct Zimbabwean-ness in nativist terms represent the hegemonic appropriation of social memory to construct a sense of Zimbabwean nationhood. In contrast, The Standard uses social memory to construct Zimbabwean-ness in modernist terms with citizenship as the core organising principle of belonging. The political discourse analysis of The Sunday Mail’s and The Standard’s evocation of social memory shows that the two newspapers reflect the tension between indigenist and universalist imaginaries of belonging in Zimbabwe. But the newspapers’ construction of belonging in Zimbabwe is informed by justice claims as seen from each of their political standpoints. As such, their respective definitions of Zimbabweans’ justice claims in terms of their political standpoints, also propose how those justice claims should be addressed and who stands to benefit from them.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Santos, Phillip
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/41753 , vital:25130
- Description: Although much effort has been expended on studying many sites of social memory, little attention has been directed at the media’s work of memory, especially in post-colonial Africa. The media’s work of memory is important because of its social standing as a communicative and cultural institution, and because social memory is imbricated in processes of both collective identity formation and nation-building which partly shape patterns of economic distribution, recognition, and representation in society. It is in this context that this study shows how Zimbabwe’s The Sunday Mail and The Standard newspapers used social memory to construct the country’s national identity between 1999 and 2013 in the context of a socio-economic and political crisis for the country’s poly-racial, and poly-ethno-linguistic communities. The study also explores how these newspapers worked as memory sites through their construction of Zimbabwe’s national identity during the period under study. It achieves these tasks by analysing how these newspapers reported on such issues as Zimbabwe’s colonial history, the country’s narrative of decolonisation, the Gukurahundi narrative, the land reform process, elections and independence celebrations. The study takes a critical realist approach to qualitative research, and uses Fairclough and Fairclough’s (2012) method of political discourse analysis as well as Aristotle’s approach to rhetoric for a close reading of the sampled newspaper articles. It is informed by Nancy Fraser’s Theory of Justice, Chantal Mouffe’s Model of Agonistic Pluralism, and Jurgen Habermas’s Discourse Ethics Theory. The study concludes that these two newspapers actively use social memory to construct versions of national identity for specific socio-political and economic ends. Editorials and opinions from The Sunday Mail, which construct Zimbabwean-ness in nativist terms represent the hegemonic appropriation of social memory to construct a sense of Zimbabwean nationhood. In contrast, The Standard uses social memory to construct Zimbabwean-ness in modernist terms with citizenship as the core organising principle of belonging. The political discourse analysis of The Sunday Mail’s and The Standard’s evocation of social memory shows that the two newspapers reflect the tension between indigenist and universalist imaginaries of belonging in Zimbabwe. But the newspapers’ construction of belonging in Zimbabwe is informed by justice claims as seen from each of their political standpoints. As such, their respective definitions of Zimbabweans’ justice claims in terms of their political standpoints, also propose how those justice claims should be addressed and who stands to benefit from them.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A poverty alleviation strategy of Vukuzenzele gardening project in Motherwell township
- Authors: Zitho, Andiswa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Economic development -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Community development -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Poor -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13724 , vital:27302
- Description: Poverty is one of the issues that affects the development in our country. the strategies that are used differ from one to person to another. development is said to be measured through a lot of things but mostly through economic growth which influenced by poverty. the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the strategies being used to alleviate poverty in the Motherwell township, in Port Elizabeth. The study focused mainly on Vukuzenzele gardening project, where a sample of 15 participants were purposovely selected to be part of the study. Furthermore, the aim of the study was to contribute towards community development by investigating the social issues that directly influence poverty eradication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Zitho, Andiswa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Economic development -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Community development -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Poor -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13724 , vital:27302
- Description: Poverty is one of the issues that affects the development in our country. the strategies that are used differ from one to person to another. development is said to be measured through a lot of things but mostly through economic growth which influenced by poverty. the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the strategies being used to alleviate poverty in the Motherwell township, in Port Elizabeth. The study focused mainly on Vukuzenzele gardening project, where a sample of 15 participants were purposovely selected to be part of the study. Furthermore, the aim of the study was to contribute towards community development by investigating the social issues that directly influence poverty eradication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A privacy and security threat assessment framework for consumer health wearables
- Mnjama, Javan, Foster, Gregory G, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Mnjama, Javan , Foster, Gregory G , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429217 , vital:72568 , https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8251776
- Description: Health data is important as it provides an individual with knowledge of the factors needed to be improved for oneself. The development of fitness trackers and their associated software aid consumers to understand the manner in which they may improve their physical wellness. These devices are capable of collecting health data for a consumer such sleeping patterns, heart rate readings or the number of steps taken by an individual. Although, this information is very beneficial to guide a consumer to a better healthier state, it has been identified that they have privacy and security concerns. Privacy and Security are of great concern for fitness trackers and their associated applications as protecting health data is of critical importance. This is so, as health data is one of the highly sort after information by cyber criminals. Fitness trackers and their associated applications have been identified to contain privacy and security concerns that places the health data of consumers at risk to intruders. As the study of Consumer Health continues to grow it is vital to understand the elements that are needed to better protect the health information of a consumer. This research paper therefore provides a conceptual threat assessment framework that can be used to identify the elements needed to better secure Consumer Health Wearables. These elements consist of six core elements from the CIA triad and Microsoft STRIDE framework. Fourteen vulnerabilities were further discovered that were classified within these six core elements. Through this, better guidance can be achieved to improve the privacy and security of Consumer Health Wearables.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mnjama, Javan , Foster, Gregory G , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429217 , vital:72568 , https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8251776
- Description: Health data is important as it provides an individual with knowledge of the factors needed to be improved for oneself. The development of fitness trackers and their associated software aid consumers to understand the manner in which they may improve their physical wellness. These devices are capable of collecting health data for a consumer such sleeping patterns, heart rate readings or the number of steps taken by an individual. Although, this information is very beneficial to guide a consumer to a better healthier state, it has been identified that they have privacy and security concerns. Privacy and Security are of great concern for fitness trackers and their associated applications as protecting health data is of critical importance. This is so, as health data is one of the highly sort after information by cyber criminals. Fitness trackers and their associated applications have been identified to contain privacy and security concerns that places the health data of consumers at risk to intruders. As the study of Consumer Health continues to grow it is vital to understand the elements that are needed to better protect the health information of a consumer. This research paper therefore provides a conceptual threat assessment framework that can be used to identify the elements needed to better secure Consumer Health Wearables. These elements consist of six core elements from the CIA triad and Microsoft STRIDE framework. Fourteen vulnerabilities were further discovered that were classified within these six core elements. Through this, better guidance can be achieved to improve the privacy and security of Consumer Health Wearables.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A privacy management framework for mobile personal electronic health records in South Africa
- Authors: Els, Floyd Nathaniel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Medical records -- Data processing Medical records -- Access control Electronic records -- Security measures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12733 , vital:39316
- Description: South Africa’s health status is in constant dismay, especially while under the strain of the quadruple burden of disease. The adoption of personal electronic health records (PEHRs) can be seen as a means to improve this status by empowering patients to manage their health and lifestyle better. While from the healthcare provider’s perspective, PEHRs has the ability to reduce medical errors; provide better communication channels and enhance the monitoring of patients. Despite these benefits for both healthcare providers and patients, there are three distinct information security threats relating to PEHRs. These threats refer to the individual, data in transit, and at rest. South Africa is still considered to be inexperienced with PEHRs, and consider it a relatively new concept to the healthcare system. The National e-Health Strategy and Protection of Personal Information Bill were discussed and compared to international standards in order to ascertain South Africa’s current standing on mobile healthcare privacy. However, there are no specific privacy and security controls in place to protect patients that access personal electronic health records through mobile devices. Therefore, the aim of this study is the development of a privacy management framework (PMF) to mitigate these privacy concerns. Following an interpretivistic approach to research, qualitative data was analysed from literature, and the privacy framework evaluated through expert reviews. The proposed PMF consists of 3 tiers, beginning with the top tier. The first tier relates to an organisations interpretation and understanding of data privacy laws and regulations, and in ensuring compliance with these laws. The second tier refers to two support pillars to maintain the first tier. These pillars are based on elements of operational privacy, as well as auditing and reviewing. The third tier serves as the basic foundation upon which the PMF was developed. It is mainly focused with creating privacy awareness amongst healthcare providers and patients by creating: training regimes on security and privacy threats, efficient communication standards, and constant ongoing support from top level management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Els, Floyd Nathaniel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Medical records -- Data processing Medical records -- Access control Electronic records -- Security measures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12733 , vital:39316
- Description: South Africa’s health status is in constant dismay, especially while under the strain of the quadruple burden of disease. The adoption of personal electronic health records (PEHRs) can be seen as a means to improve this status by empowering patients to manage their health and lifestyle better. While from the healthcare provider’s perspective, PEHRs has the ability to reduce medical errors; provide better communication channels and enhance the monitoring of patients. Despite these benefits for both healthcare providers and patients, there are three distinct information security threats relating to PEHRs. These threats refer to the individual, data in transit, and at rest. South Africa is still considered to be inexperienced with PEHRs, and consider it a relatively new concept to the healthcare system. The National e-Health Strategy and Protection of Personal Information Bill were discussed and compared to international standards in order to ascertain South Africa’s current standing on mobile healthcare privacy. However, there are no specific privacy and security controls in place to protect patients that access personal electronic health records through mobile devices. Therefore, the aim of this study is the development of a privacy management framework (PMF) to mitigate these privacy concerns. Following an interpretivistic approach to research, qualitative data was analysed from literature, and the privacy framework evaluated through expert reviews. The proposed PMF consists of 3 tiers, beginning with the top tier. The first tier relates to an organisations interpretation and understanding of data privacy laws and regulations, and in ensuring compliance with these laws. The second tier refers to two support pillars to maintain the first tier. These pillars are based on elements of operational privacy, as well as auditing and reviewing. The third tier serves as the basic foundation upon which the PMF was developed. It is mainly focused with creating privacy awareness amongst healthcare providers and patients by creating: training regimes on security and privacy threats, efficient communication standards, and constant ongoing support from top level management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A profile of selected enterprises and their adopted cost allocation systems in Nelson Mandela Bay
- Authors: Vellem, Masixole
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Cost accounting , Budget Business enterprises
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13568 , vital:27239
- Description: Activity-based costing is a cost allocation method which appears to have many benefits when compared to traditional costing systems. However, there is limited academic research demonstrating this superiority. There is thus a need to investigate and profile the characteristics of selected enterprises and their adopted cost allocation systems. The main objective of this study was to profile and compare the characteristics of companies in Nelson Mandela Bay that use the activity-based costing system, versus those using traditional costing methods. The research methodology used for this research study is descriptive and quantitative, using various techniques for data analysis. An electronic internet based questionnaire was distributed to companies and the response automatically recorded for analysis with the help of Nelson Mandela University statistics department. The findings of the empirical study revealed that most (38%) of the respondents use a combination of both activity-based costing and traditional costing methods, followed by traditional costing methods (35%), and purely activity-based costing (27%). Data analysis revealed that companies in construction and manufacturing seemed to prefer activity-based costing over traditional costing methods. The findings raise the question as to whether the preference in cost allocation methods is based solely on the benefits of cost allocation, lack of new knowledge, adaptability within companies, or cost of change versus the benefit.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Vellem, Masixole
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Cost accounting , Budget Business enterprises
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13568 , vital:27239
- Description: Activity-based costing is a cost allocation method which appears to have many benefits when compared to traditional costing systems. However, there is limited academic research demonstrating this superiority. There is thus a need to investigate and profile the characteristics of selected enterprises and their adopted cost allocation systems. The main objective of this study was to profile and compare the characteristics of companies in Nelson Mandela Bay that use the activity-based costing system, versus those using traditional costing methods. The research methodology used for this research study is descriptive and quantitative, using various techniques for data analysis. An electronic internet based questionnaire was distributed to companies and the response automatically recorded for analysis with the help of Nelson Mandela University statistics department. The findings of the empirical study revealed that most (38%) of the respondents use a combination of both activity-based costing and traditional costing methods, followed by traditional costing methods (35%), and purely activity-based costing (27%). Data analysis revealed that companies in construction and manufacturing seemed to prefer activity-based costing over traditional costing methods. The findings raise the question as to whether the preference in cost allocation methods is based solely on the benefits of cost allocation, lack of new knowledge, adaptability within companies, or cost of change versus the benefit.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A proposed model for enterprise resource planning benefits for SMEs
- Authors: De Matos, Paulo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa Enterprise resource planning -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14971 , vital:28107
- Description: Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in global and national economies, both in developed and developing countries, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation. Yet, SMEs face ongoing survival issues as their limited access to resources often constrains their ability to compete and realise their potential. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are known to be a crucial component in realising benefits for any organisation and are seen as significant contributors to an organisation’s performance. However, only a portion of SMEs report that their value expectations have been met in adopting an ERP system. SMEs require a better understanding of how to extract value from ERP adoption in order to remain competitive. An on-going SME problem is a lack of low-level awareness of the benefits that an ERP system is capable of providing them. The problem is stated as “SMEs do not understand the benefits derived from the adoption of an ERP system”. The purpose of this treatise was to determine a clearer understanding of how ERP systems can be considered a technological innovation that may be exploited by an SME to deliver business value by increasing the performance of the SME and thereby increasing the SME’s competitive advantage. A literature review was conducted on ERP and SMEs which identified benefit models grounded in the theories of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Resource Based View (RBV). DOI explains the benefits derived from ERP use as the technology diffuses throughout the social organisation and RBV measures the business value extracted from ERP adoption and use. A model for ERP benefits for SMEs was proposed based on the extant literature and empirical evaluation on a sample of 107 SYSPRO ERP users in South Africa. The model was statistically assessed as to the relationships between the independent variables of ease of use, collaboration, capabilities, efficiencies, analytics, industry sector and maturity against the dependent variable of ERP business value. The variables of analytics, capabilities and ease of use together explain 68.9% of the variance of ERP business value, while analytics and capabilities explain 53.8%. No significant relationship was found for efficiencies, collaboration, industry or maturity, being a measure of length of years’ experience in ERP use. The results indicate that SMEs perceive analytics to be a valuable determinant of ERP value contributing to the competitiveness of SMEs. The higher the SME focuses on analytics, the greater the organisation’s performance increases due to the enhancement of analytical-based decisions aiding in a better decision-making process. Capabilities are the degree to which an ERP system caters for the functional needs of the SME. This treatise argues that SMEs should pay particular focus on their operational requirements and whether the ERP system is capable of providing them as customisation of the ERP is costly. Organisational personnel utilising ERP must be comfortable utilising it. Perceptions as to an ERP’s complexity and usefulness define the ease-of-use. SMEs should consider the inherent aspects of a given ERP system that support the adoption rate of their personnel of an ERP system. Practically, SMEs should assess the degree of system intuitiveness both during ERP selection and during the adoption lifecycle phases. ERP providers should focus on the provisioning of aspects both in the software and during the implementation of an ERP system at an SME in ensuring the system is intuitive, useful, easy to use, functionally addresses the SME requirements simply and surfaces meaningful analytics in support of decision-making process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: De Matos, Paulo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa Enterprise resource planning -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14971 , vital:28107
- Description: Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in global and national economies, both in developed and developing countries, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation. Yet, SMEs face ongoing survival issues as their limited access to resources often constrains their ability to compete and realise their potential. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are known to be a crucial component in realising benefits for any organisation and are seen as significant contributors to an organisation’s performance. However, only a portion of SMEs report that their value expectations have been met in adopting an ERP system. SMEs require a better understanding of how to extract value from ERP adoption in order to remain competitive. An on-going SME problem is a lack of low-level awareness of the benefits that an ERP system is capable of providing them. The problem is stated as “SMEs do not understand the benefits derived from the adoption of an ERP system”. The purpose of this treatise was to determine a clearer understanding of how ERP systems can be considered a technological innovation that may be exploited by an SME to deliver business value by increasing the performance of the SME and thereby increasing the SME’s competitive advantage. A literature review was conducted on ERP and SMEs which identified benefit models grounded in the theories of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Resource Based View (RBV). DOI explains the benefits derived from ERP use as the technology diffuses throughout the social organisation and RBV measures the business value extracted from ERP adoption and use. A model for ERP benefits for SMEs was proposed based on the extant literature and empirical evaluation on a sample of 107 SYSPRO ERP users in South Africa. The model was statistically assessed as to the relationships between the independent variables of ease of use, collaboration, capabilities, efficiencies, analytics, industry sector and maturity against the dependent variable of ERP business value. The variables of analytics, capabilities and ease of use together explain 68.9% of the variance of ERP business value, while analytics and capabilities explain 53.8%. No significant relationship was found for efficiencies, collaboration, industry or maturity, being a measure of length of years’ experience in ERP use. The results indicate that SMEs perceive analytics to be a valuable determinant of ERP value contributing to the competitiveness of SMEs. The higher the SME focuses on analytics, the greater the organisation’s performance increases due to the enhancement of analytical-based decisions aiding in a better decision-making process. Capabilities are the degree to which an ERP system caters for the functional needs of the SME. This treatise argues that SMEs should pay particular focus on their operational requirements and whether the ERP system is capable of providing them as customisation of the ERP is costly. Organisational personnel utilising ERP must be comfortable utilising it. Perceptions as to an ERP’s complexity and usefulness define the ease-of-use. SMEs should consider the inherent aspects of a given ERP system that support the adoption rate of their personnel of an ERP system. Practically, SMEs should assess the degree of system intuitiveness both during ERP selection and during the adoption lifecycle phases. ERP providers should focus on the provisioning of aspects both in the software and during the implementation of an ERP system at an SME in ensuring the system is intuitive, useful, easy to use, functionally addresses the SME requirements simply and surfaces meaningful analytics in support of decision-making process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A proposed service quality framework for multi-national supply logistics providers in the South African automotive industry
- Authors: Van Aswegen, Dawid Titus
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Business logistics -- South Africa -- Management , Purchasing -- South Africa -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Industrial procurement -- South Africa -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21307 , vital:29476
- Description: Managing a sustainable service business rests on two critical customer perceptions: Firstly, the perceived sufficiency of the value of the service, and secondly the level of value differentiation between the current service provider other service providers in the market. (DeSarbo, Ebbs, Fong & Snow, 2010; Parasuraman & Grewal, 2000) The direction for this study was prompted by the limited research available around service quality for Supply Logistics within the global automotive industry. The study identified the key factors that logistics service providers need to focus on when aligning their perceptions of service quality to that of their customers. The service gaps between customer and service provider perceptions are uncovered. Particular focus was given to: The definition gaps in service quality, The perceived level of service quality, and The size of service quality differentiation between service providers. The key finding of the study is that service differentiation is influenced by the ability of the Logistics Service Provider (LSP) to deliver a quality of service in line with the level of importance the various elements hold to the customer. The causal relationships offered a step wise understanding of improving the perceptions of customers. This perception forming process is outlined as follows: Firstly, create a common understanding of the definition of service quality and establish the comparative importance of the various elements. Having an understanding of how customers’ value service quality is a critical first step in delivering superior service. A proposed Service Quality Framework for multi-national Supply Logistics providers in the South African automotive industry Secondly, align efforts to achieve in accordance to the level of importance of the service elements. If this is achieved, LSP’s will retain positive differentiation to its competitors irrespective of the actions of those competitors. Lastly, LSP’s need to regularly review if their own perception of the service level (per element) is in line with that of the customer. The study created a service quality framework of 22 different service elements grouped in four service factors. The relative importance of these elements were uncovered. This offered insight for organizing the business around key service elements. Within Supply Logistics the operational-management-tools, engineering-skills, processes-stability and management-structure are typical elements around which customers form their perceptions. The quality of the direct staff holds the key to sustained customer satisfaction, much more so than the commercial arrangements, industry innovations and the prestige of the brand behind the service. This study laid a foundation from which future research can deeper explore the unique slant that geographical, organisational designation or customer brand lines hold on the service quality perception.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Van Aswegen, Dawid Titus
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Business logistics -- South Africa -- Management , Purchasing -- South Africa -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Industrial procurement -- South Africa -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21307 , vital:29476
- Description: Managing a sustainable service business rests on two critical customer perceptions: Firstly, the perceived sufficiency of the value of the service, and secondly the level of value differentiation between the current service provider other service providers in the market. (DeSarbo, Ebbs, Fong & Snow, 2010; Parasuraman & Grewal, 2000) The direction for this study was prompted by the limited research available around service quality for Supply Logistics within the global automotive industry. The study identified the key factors that logistics service providers need to focus on when aligning their perceptions of service quality to that of their customers. The service gaps between customer and service provider perceptions are uncovered. Particular focus was given to: The definition gaps in service quality, The perceived level of service quality, and The size of service quality differentiation between service providers. The key finding of the study is that service differentiation is influenced by the ability of the Logistics Service Provider (LSP) to deliver a quality of service in line with the level of importance the various elements hold to the customer. The causal relationships offered a step wise understanding of improving the perceptions of customers. This perception forming process is outlined as follows: Firstly, create a common understanding of the definition of service quality and establish the comparative importance of the various elements. Having an understanding of how customers’ value service quality is a critical first step in delivering superior service. A proposed Service Quality Framework for multi-national Supply Logistics providers in the South African automotive industry Secondly, align efforts to achieve in accordance to the level of importance of the service elements. If this is achieved, LSP’s will retain positive differentiation to its competitors irrespective of the actions of those competitors. Lastly, LSP’s need to regularly review if their own perception of the service level (per element) is in line with that of the customer. The study created a service quality framework of 22 different service elements grouped in four service factors. The relative importance of these elements were uncovered. This offered insight for organizing the business around key service elements. Within Supply Logistics the operational-management-tools, engineering-skills, processes-stability and management-structure are typical elements around which customers form their perceptions. The quality of the direct staff holds the key to sustained customer satisfaction, much more so than the commercial arrangements, industry innovations and the prestige of the brand behind the service. This study laid a foundation from which future research can deeper explore the unique slant that geographical, organisational designation or customer brand lines hold on the service quality perception.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017