Thesis (MTech(Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / Pharmaceuticals have been formulated to influence physiological systems in humans, animals, and microbes but have never been considered as potential environmental pollutants by healthcare professionals. The human body is not a barrier to chemicals, but is permeable to it. Thus after performing their in-vivo functions, pharmaceutical compound introduced into the body, exit mainly via urine and faeces. Sewage therefore contains highly complex mixtures of chemicals in various degrees of biological potency. Sewage treatment works including those in South Africa, on the other hand, are known to be inefficient in removing drugs from sewage and consequently either the unmetabolised pharmaceutical compounds or their metabolites emerge in the environment as pollutants via several trajectories. In the environment, the excreted metabolites may even undergo regeneration to the original parent molecule under bacterial influence, resulting in “trans-vivo-pharmaceutical-pol ution-cycles”. Although all incinerators are known to generate toxins such dioxins and furans from the drugs they incinerate, all the medicines disposed by the hospitals under research, were incinerated, as the preferred option of disposal. The incineration process employed was found to be environmentally unsafe. Expired and unused medicines which the general public discard as municipal solid waste become landfilled. Because many landfill sites are not appropriately engineered, the unwanted drugs landfilled therein, leach into the surrounding ground water, which is the influent source of water treatment plants. Water treatment plants, including those in South Africa, are also inefficient in eliminating pharmaceutical compounds, releasing them in sub-therapeutic concentrations into potable tap water as pollutants, the full effects of which are yet to be determined.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Construction Management (Facility Management) Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying In the Faculty of Engineering At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Universities generally have low budgets for building maintenance and this reality, often aggravated by further reductions, results in a decline in the condition and performance of buildings. This particular research investigated the current building maintenance strategies of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The aim of the research was to develop improvement, prioritisation and involvement strategies to guide the maintenance of the performance parameters of the lecture theatres to ensure a performance level that meets the satisfaction of students, thereby promoting their learning experience. A mixed research design was used for the main study. A “case study” approach was adopted. CPUT was selected and three lecture theatres were selected as the cases for the research study. An exploratory study was carried out at the initial stage of the study, helping to formulate the research question and objectives for the main study. Observations, interviews and questionnaires were used to collect the primary data for the main study. A total of 430 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 283 representing a response rate of 65.8% were duly completed and returned. Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) model together with both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the performance of lecture theatres affects learning experience, and that all identified performance parameters were important to students’ learning experience. However, lighting, structural safety, ventilation and cleanliness were more highly ranked than fire safety & exit and aesthetics. It also became evident that, while all the performance parameters appeared to be underperforming, the performance of structural safety and lighting seemed satisfactory in all the lecture theatres, whereas ventilation, temperature, fire safety & exit (particularly old lecture theatres) and sound control were clearly underperforming. Furthermore, the study revealed that students are not involved in the maintenance management process of the lecture theatres whereas their involvement could ensure their satisfaction. Students perceived that instituting maintenance coordinators would be the most effective way of ensuring their involvement, followed by placing suggestion box in the department, or possibly organising forums at departmental level. To achieve better lecture theatre performance, the CPUT maintenance department needs to improve on the HVAC system (ventilation and temperature), fire safety & exit (particularly old lecture theatres) and sound control but without neglecting the other performance parameters. A further study to include teaching staff, additional lecture theatres and more parameters is highly recommended as it will provide a broader perspective to further help the CPUT maintenance department better maintain the lecture theatres.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Prof. R. Tzoneva Co-supervisor: Prof. P. Petev 2013 / Busbars are the most important components in the distribution networks. Faults on the busbar are uncommon, however an occurrence of a busbar fault can lead to a major loss of power. Busbars are the areas in a substation where the levels of current are high and therefore the protective relay application is very critical. In order for the protection scheme to be successful it is important to carry out the following specifications: Selectivity, Stability, Sensitivity, and Speed. To meet all of the above requirements protection must be reliable, meaning that the protection scheme must trip when called up to do so (dependability) and it must not trip when it’s not supposed to (security). The thesis focuses on the reverse blocking busbar protection scheme with aim to improve the speed of its operation and at the same time to increase operational reliability, flexibility and stability of the protection during external and internal faults by implementation of the extended functionality provided by the IEC61850 standard-based protective IEDs. The practical implementation of the scheme by the use of IEC 61850 standard communication protocol is investigated. The research analyzes in detail the reverse blocking busbar protection scheme that is used at the moment in the power systems and it develops an improved IEC 61850 based reverse blocking busbar protection scheme for a distribution network. The proposed scheme is designed for a radial type of a distribution network and is modeled and simulated in the DigSILENT software environment for various faults on the busbar and its outgoing feeders. The results from the simulations are used further for implementation of the designed protection scheme. A laboratory test bench is build using three compliant with the IEC 61850 standard ABB IEDs 670 series, CMC 356 Omicron test injection device, PC, MOXA switch, and a DC power supplier. Two ways of the reverse blocking signals between the IEDs implementation are considered: hard wired and Ethernet communication by using IEC 61850 standard GOOSE messages. Comparative experimental study of the operational trip response speed of the two implementation shows that the performance of the protection scheme for the case of Ethernet communication is better The thesis findings and deliverables will be used for postgraduate studies of other students, research, short courses, and solution of industrial problems. Keywords: Busbar, Power system, reverse busbar blocking scheme; IEC61850; Distribution, Protection relays, IEDs, GOOSE message, laboratory test bench

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology:Electrical Engineering in the Faculty ofEngineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor:Prof MTE KAHN Bellville December 2013 / The work presented in this thesis consists of the simulation of a cooling plant for a future mobile satellite ground station in order to minimize the effects of the thermal noise and to maintain comfort temperatures onboard the same station. Thermal problems encountered in mobile satellite ground stations are a source of poor quality signals and also of the premature destruction of the front end microwave amplifiers. In addition, they cause extreme discomfort to the mission operators aboard the mobile station especially in hot seasons. The main concerns of effective satellite system are the quality of the received signal and the lifespan of the front end low noise amplifier (LNA). Although the quality of the signal is affected by different sources of noise observed at various stages of a telecommunication system, thermal noise resulting from thermal agitation of electrons generated within the LNA is the predominant type. This thermal noise is the one that affects the sensitivity of the LNA and can lead to its destruction. Research indicated that this thermal noise can be minimized by using a suitable cooling system. A moveable truck was proposed as the equipment vehicle for a mobile ground station. In the process of the cooling system development, a detailed quantitative study on the effects of thermal noise on the LNA was conducted. To cool the LNA and the truck, a 2 kW solar electric vapor compression system was found the best for its compliance to the IEA standards: clean, human and environment friendly. The principal difficulty in the development of the cooling system was to design a photovoltaic topology that would ensure the solar panels were always exposed to the sun, regardless the situation of the truck. Simulation result suggested that a 3.3 kW three sided pyramid photovoltaic topology would be the most effective to supply the power to the cooling system. A battery system rated 48 V, 41.6 Ah was suggested to be charged by the PV system and then supply the power to the vapor compression system. The project was a success as the objective of this project has been met and the research questions were answered.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: in Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Dr Ephias Ruhode Cape Town campus December 2013 / The use of ICTs such as computers, electronic databases and other technologies have been in use for a number of years within the public sector to organise, manage and disseminate information to the public as well as to facilitate day-to-day communication in government offices. In this context, the value of the use of ICTs has been to assist and streamline government operations. The technological development in South Africa has opened up the possibilities of the use of ICTs in the democratic and governance process. E-democracy has been defined as a tool for abandoning the representative system for one with more direct citizen engagement. This study sets out to explore the challenges of the current electoral process, and also determine the factors that could influence the adoption and diffusion of e-voting technologies within the South African context. Literature has shown that countries such as Brazil and India have successfully implemented electronic voting systems and other countries are at various piloting stages to address many challenges and problems associated with manual paper based system such as costs of physical ballot paper and other overheads, electoral delays, distribution of electoral materials, and general lack of confidence in the electoral process. It is in this context that the study also seeks to determine whether the South African electoral management body can leverage on the opportunities that e-voting presents. However, with all the benefits that e-voting presents, there are countries such Germany, the Netherlands etc. that have tried and tested e-voting systems and decided to abandon these system to go back to the manual paper ballot voting systems because of various reasons ranging from cost, security and verifiability. This research is exploratory in nature and adopts qualitative research approach and it is within the interpretivism paradigm. Survey and interview strategies were used to collect data. A purposive sampling method was used to select the participants for the survey. To gain an understanding of the views of voters and electoral management body (IEC) about the current electoral process and e-voting technologies, literature was explored, a questionnaire was distributed online to voters and an in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted with the IEC. The study targeted voters who had access to the internet since the survey questionnaire was distributed online. The analysis is based on thematic analysis and diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory was also used to provide an analytical framework for the study. Through this framework the aims and objectives of the study were conceptualized around three constructs from the theory (relative advantage, compatibility and complexity). The findings of the study revealed that the three constructs from the DoI framework are important factors that may influence the adoption process of e-voting technologies. The findings also revealed other factors such as availability of ICT enable infrastructure and resources, digital divide, trust in technology, awareness of the technology and environment could that also influence the adoption process. The contributions of this research are anticipated to be a better understanding of the adoption of e-voting technologies in South Africa. For the electoral management bodies, the contribution of this research is that the research to some extent portrays factors that could influence the adoption of e-voting technologies in South Africa. Therefore, findings such as availability of ICT infrastructure and accessibility of these infrastructures should be taken into consideration before introducing e-voting technologies. Keywords: DoI (diffusion of Innovation), e-voting (electronic voting) technologies, E-governance, e-participation.