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Revitalising the healing tradition - health tourism potential of thermal springs in the Western CapeBoekstein, Mark Simon January 2011 (has links)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Technology: Tourism Management
Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / There are 11 thermal springs in the Western Cape, seven of which have been developed into eight resorts. Only one of these resorts has a focus on health and wellness, with appropriate facilities, with the others functioning primarily as family leisure resorts. Internationally there has been a move by traditional thermal spring resorts to begin offering a combination of health (medical and wellness) services in combination with leisure activities. In light of current international trends, as well as perceived domestic needs, it appears that the Western Cape‟s thermal spring resources are not being optimally utilized as tourist attractions, neither for domestic nor for international tourist markets.
This research sets out to evaluate the potential for health tourism development of thermal springs in the Western Cape. It analyses relevant aspects of both the supply and demand sides of thermal spring tourism in the Western Cape. A database is compiled of thermal spring resorts and undeveloped thermal springs in the Western Cape, which includes facilities and services, and relative locations with respect to tourist attractions and tourism routes. The mineral and radon gas contents of the respective thermal waters are measured and discussed in relation to known medicinal properties.
A questionnaire-based survey was undertaken, involving 383 respondents at six resorts, and activity-based market segmentation was carried out using k-means cluster analysis. A four-segment user profile (typology) of current visitors, based on activity preferences, was compiled. It was found that there is considerable potential for the development of thermal spring health (medical and wellness) tourism products in the Western Cape, based on available resources. A framework for thermal spring health tourism product development in the Western Cape is proposed, and recommendations are made for future development and marketing. Key recommendations include the development of balneological treatments, and radon therapies, at certain resorts, and investigating of the availability of local resources that could be incorporated into medical or wellness tourism products.
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The use of the information skills process as a teaching methodology: a case study at the Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyMoll, Michiel Erik January 2011 (has links)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Education
In the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / Becoming information literate has been an educational concern that has been spurred by the change in information technology in the last twenty years. The school has been seen as the main player in allowing the learner to achieve this state of information literacy. Nonetheless, within the teacher-training offered at pre-service level (PRESET) in South Africa, information literacy has become to be seen as something needed by the student teachers for their own studies. This study looks at how the student teachers can be brought to an understanding of the relevance and importance of information literacy and the Information Skills Process, not only as a means of attaining the educational goals and aims as expressed in prescribed curricula, but also as a teaching methodology. A look at the literature on information literacy and its applicability in schools places particular emphasis on the process as described in key models. The rationale for choosing the Big6 model of Eisenberg and Berkowitz as the vehicle for the research is explained, and the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) as well as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) of the South African national department of education (initially the Department of Education, but later changed to the Department of Basic Education) analysed in terms of information literacy. This analysis, together with interviews of lecturers involved in the training, was followed by an action research process with six students. The results of the analysis of the documents, together with an analysis of the answers by the lecturers in the interviews of the lecturers, and an analysis of the students’ reflections on the process, enabled conclusions and recommendations to be made. In particular, they confirmed the important place that information literacy, the information literacy skills and the Information Skills Process should play in both school-based education, and the training of student teachers.
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Work-integrated learning in Civil Engineering: an activity theoretical studyBronkhorst, Joseph Victor January 2013 (has links)
THESIS
submitted in fulfilment of the degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
in the
Faculty of Education and Social Sciences
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
2013 / The aim of this research is to present recommendations for knowledge and practice relations between Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and Civil Engineering (CE) workplaces, and to present a work-integrated learning (WIL) model that could assist with the preparation of CE students for the workplace.
Recently, FET colleges have been under the spotlight in terms of student preparedness for the CE workplace. Many questions have been posed by students studying at FET colleges and by CE workplace supervisors in respect of whether the current CE curriculum adequately prepares students for the workplace, or whether the curriculum has become obsolete in terms of knowledge and practice relations. The CE industry is of the opinion that students are insufficiently prepared in terms of skills and knowledge. In the light of this uncertainty, I researched the learning taking place at FET colleges and CE workplaces. I examined similarities and differences in the learning environment of the students.
The research provides a theoretical overview of Activity Theory (AT) and its principle of contradictions. The lens of AT and its contradictions provide a versatile tool to enquire into various aspects of WIL, taking into account individual and institutional perspectives, as well as changes over time. Activity Theory and its principle of contradictions provide insights into how transformation may occur within Activity Systems (ASs) in a CE context.
The study was conducted over a number of years with participants from three ASs, namely, the classroom, workshop/college yard and workplace. During the research, this study proposed a conceptual framework, rooted in AT, and substantiated by empirical evidence, for describing and analysing the learning taking place in the FET college sector and within the CE workplace environment. The analysis focuses on the perceptions of learning taking place in the ASs. Results reveal a knowledge and practice divide, mediated by AS elements of mediating artefacts, object, subject, division of labour, community and rules.
Through a particular focus on the contradictions of the elements of an AS which occur, the objective for this study was to determine ‘knowledge and practice relations’. The components of knowledge and practice are extremely isolated, and by bringing the argument and the empirical findings together, the findings propose:
Links between knowledge(‘the classroom’) and practice(‘the workplace’)
The surfacing of the disconnect between knowledge and practice between the FET college sector and the CE workplace supports the idea of establishing links between these two sectors. This collaboration could be the turning point in better preparing students for the workplace.
Policy formulation and implementation
The need for policy review to enhance the integration of knowledge and practice relations in the sector has become apparent. Colleges are expected to undergo a radical transformation and to make major contributions to policy. However, these institutions are new and fragile, and are based on historically weak predecessors. Much of the reform process is oblivious of the connections between college and workplace.
The research has established that both CE industries and FET colleges should ensure that they increase their involvement with and participation in the provision of adequately preparing students for the workplace in the Western Cape Province.
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Student teachers’ teaching of reading and their commitment to the public goodAlexander, Joy Charmaine January 2013 (has links)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor in Education
in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
2013 / This study investigated the intersection between student teachers’ perspectives of the teaching of reading and their public good commitment. It explored the activities and practices which they saw as supporting their teaching of reading and it investigated the student teachers’ professional capabilities for public good, which underpin their teaching of reading.
The teacher education facets which shaped the formation of their professional capabilities were investigated. Furthermore, their societal experiences which shaped the formation of their public good commitment and values were explored. This study investigated novice professionals who were about to enter the teaching profession. The teacher, as public-good professional in South African society, who continues to struggle with the legacies of apartheid, was a key concept in this study. Student teachers were selected for this study because these legacies place teacher education at the centre stage of transformation in South Africa, particularly the ways in which student teachers navigate the complexities of inequality in their roles as reading teachers.
The starting point of this study was the view that learning to read is a political issue. Learning to teach reading is a political issue which should be underpinned by public good commitment and values. A central argument of this thesis is that teacher education is well poised to form student teachers’ professional capabilities for public good which could underpin their teaching of reading towards shaping a better South African society when they enter the teaching force after their undergraduate studies.
This was a small-scale study which used a mixed methods approach. Data was collected at the beginning and the end of the student teachers’ teacher education program. Qualitative data was generated from focus group interviews and from a participatory dialogue. Quantitative data was generated from a questionnaire. Ten student teachers participated in the focus group interviews and 35 student teachers participated in the participatory dialogue and questionnaire.
Amartya Sen’s (1999) and Martha Nussbaum’s (2000) Human Development Capabilities approach structured this research theoretically. Walker and McLean’s (2010) Professional Capabilities Index provided the framework for discussing and reasoning about capabilities.
This study revealed that the student teachers’ perspectives of their reading teaching included 13 reading teaching activities and 20 reading teaching practices which were underpinned by eight professional capabilities for public good.
Three main teacher education facets were found to be influential in the formation of the student teachers’ professional capabilities for public good: Teaching Practice sessions in diverse schools, Teacher Education coursework and Other Experiences in the teacher education program.
This study found that the student teachers’ lived experiences prior to their teacher education influenced their public good commitment and values. These included disconcerting experiences as learners, grim experiences in the community, activist experiences with community engagement, non-teaching career experiences and a personal desire to enable human development.
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The impact of institutions of governance on communities’ livelihoods and sustainable conservation in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP): the study of Makuleke and Sengwe communitiesMuzeza, Darlington January 2013 (has links)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology in Environmental Health
In the Faculty of Applied Sciences
Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies
At
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Southern Africa region is experiencing a multiplicity of transfrontier conservation projects, which simply put in its metaphorical name ‘Peace Parks’. The rapid growth of transfrontier conservation areas present the fulfilment of a vision of a ‘boundless’ and ‘borderless’ Southern Africa, straddling geo-political boundaries of once colonially imposed cartography of sovereign statism. The ecological amalgamation of these vast conservation areas are underpinned by various social, political, ecological and economic fundamentals envisioned by governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region together with conservation partners to transform the life of people and enhance sustainable management of natural resources. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) that involves Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, was born out of this vision. Equally so, from its conceptualisation, the GLTP sought to achieve sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, promote economic growth, support rural development, be a building block for peace and regional economic integration. The planners also criticized inappropriate geo-political boundaries imposed by colonialism, which historically separated biospheres and the people of identical culture. The artificiality of boundaries, therefore, obstructed cultural links of communities and restricted wildlife migration as well. This affected natural dispersion of fugitive wildlife. Thus, the GLTP’s ambitious conservation plan address these issues. In so doing, the GLTP governance architecture as it stands today produced multi-level governance institutions whose approaches were found in this study to be at variance with local people’s livelihood expectations and conservation processes. It is in this view that this research sought to examine the impact of governance institutions on communities’ livelihoods and sustainable conservation of natural resources in the GLTP. Using various methods of empirical research such as interviews, household questionnaires, focus group discussions (including using the Schutte Scale), field observations and secondary data analysis, the researcher found that the current GLTP institutional configurations and its resource governance philosophy are at variance with local natural resource governance processes, and contradict local resource needs. Thus, there is inherent mistrust and conflict over skewed natural resource benefits. Most of them benefits accrue to government entities and the private companies that invested in tourism. Furthermore, it was found that the GLTP administrative governance architecture from the onset, presented complex competing environmental interests among conservation stakeholders against those of communities. The GLTP resource governance as it stands, is conspicuously not inclusive with the local communities playing a minimal role to leverage on the abundant natural resource for to support local livelihoods. One thing that came out clearly from the research is that they are not included to participate in conservation of the GLTP natural resources. This study therefore argues that there is potential to jeopardize prospects for the GLTP to achieve its objectives of sustainable conservation, promoting rural development and reduction of rural poverty. Empirically, it was also confirmed that the GLTP is at cross-purpose with the expectations of the communities. Local participation in sustainable conservation is consequentially subdued and weak. Perhaps, if the lofty aims of the GLTP are to be achieved, this study noted that the local people prefer the natural resources governance, conservation decision-making processes and conservation stakeholder relationships to be fair and acceptable to a cross-section of stakeholders. This includes ascertaining broad participation of the local people in conservation and environmental decision-making as crucial ingredients in guaranteeing local livelihoods and motivating communities to support conservation initiatives through use of wildlife proceeds for the development of communities. In addition, a concern was raised that powerful state agencies and conservation organisations are at the fore in defining institutional processes and resource governance systems with no regard to the local institutions. Thus, the envisaged win-win situation in conservation to transform rural communities is far from being realised. The GLTP governance structure forecloses the local people from participation. Consequently, local conservation morale and collaboration has adversely diminished, with overt preponderance of multi-level institutional processes over local processes in terms of natural resource management. This has tended to marginalise local institutions and prevent the local people from complementing conservation efforts. Manifestly, there is deep-seated livelihood insecurity, local environmental conservation marginalisation. This led the study to question the sustainability of the GLTP considering its exclusionary governance approach when dealing with communities.
Another major concern is that planning of eco-tourism projects are paternalistically government led processes and exclusively private sector driven than being community oriented. Concerns arise that the much-lauded and publicized promise of eco-tourism benefits to the communities, have not materialised in the last ten years since the GLTP establishment in 2002. This has led local communities to question the GLTP’s economic benefits and impact on their lives. Instead of working with communities as equal stakeholders, the GLTP governance architecture has isolated them from playing an effective collaborative role in conservation and reaping of benefits.
It was observed that the attendant GLTP governance trajectories reflect a narrow web of contesting conservation interests at variance with communities’ expectations. The heavy-handed administrative role of multi-level institutions and that of conservation agencies, have therefore, not fostered synergies for local residents’ participation in the management of natural resources. The elusiveness of the GLTP governance therefore puts it far from ensuring that
the local people are part of conservation processes, hence falling short of capturing local contributions and local buy-in. Such governance injunctions complicate guaranteeing equal opportunity of resource access and equity, and it is less enabling for communities to hold together, cooperate and collaborate in conservation. Perhaps, an ideal situation would be to have a resource governance system that prevents the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and at the same time preventing the ‘tragedy of the local common man’. In this regard, this research made proposal in chapter 8, suggesting a synergised governance, decision-making and an a cocktail of an amalgam economic framework that can be adopted to solve the problems identified. These frameworks enable local people’s resource rights to be realised and the fusion of local expectations for conservation sustainability. This study aimed at examining the GLTP governance process impact on Makuleke and Sengwe communities in terms of their livelihoods, local participation in natural resource conservation and participation in natural resource decision-making process in the governance of the GLTP.
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Interrogating student and lecturer perspectives of professional knowledge delivery in the initial teacher-education programmes in South Africa within a context of qualityPhillips, Heather Nadia January 2013 (has links)
Thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Education
in the Faculty of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Supervisor: Professor Rajendra Chetty
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Janet Condy
November 2013 / In South Africa, the quality of teachers working in our current education system has been put under a looking glass by the Department of Education (DoE) (2006) since the systemic results, indicating national literacy and numeracy levels in primary schools, were issued. These results place South African literacy and numeracy skills far below those of many countries in the rest of Africa. This has been viewed by the South African school sector as one of the symptoms of the breakdown in the culture of learning in the education system in our country. As a result, the South African school system has been characterised as a ‘high- cost, high-participation, low-quality system’ Taylor (2008). Taylor (2008) concludes from his research that the challenges which undermine effective teaching and learning in South African schools include the quality of teacher knowledge and teaching practices.
The relationship between teacher quality and teacher productivity is key to the development of a high-quality educational system. It is argued that teacher quality impacts greatly on student achievement, which, in turn, impacts on the development and transformation of that society. Rowe (2003) and Morrow’s (2007) key findings in their research on educational success indicate that ‘what matters most’ is the quality teacher.
The historical and social change in South Africa has pioneered transformation with regard to curriculum change and has redefined the aims of teacher education in this country. Over the last few years we have been faced with a myriad of changes in policy frameworks that are supposed to guide change within the educational system, as well as within teacher education (Guskey, 2002:381-391). This study, therefore, aims to interrogate the missing links between teacher education institutions and pre-service teachers’ experience, while incorporating school and learner needs. Since quality is the critical factor, there is an urgent need to re-conceptualise how we can prepare a generation of teachers equipped to meet the demands of the 21st-century student. The key objective in this study, therefore, is the interrogation of the following components in the initial teacher-training programmes in South Africa:
• Professional development and knowledge of teachers.
• Delivery of that knowledge from a pedagogical perspective.
• Quality of current teacher-training programmes.
This research project is geared towards understanding the challenges that face final-year teacher-training students as they prepare themselves to enter the ‘real world of teaching’. The study cross-examines the quality of learning and teaching in higher education institutions, the pedagogy applied and the degree of its success. In order to examine the initial teacher-training programmes there was a need to interrogate:
• students’ perceptions of the quality of their training;
• lecturers’ responses to the quality of training provided; and
• pre-service teachers’ notions of the quality of the ‘product’ they experience in the field during practice teaching and in their experience with newly qualified teachers.
The search for an alternative pedagogy, which aims to promote the transformation and reconstruction of education in South Africa, has placed this research project within a conceptual framework of critical pedagogy, which holds the view that learning is self-generated and not just accessible. The theoretical underpinnings were derived from the works of Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux. This project is situated within an interpretivist paradigm and is qualitative in nature. A sample of four faculties of education, nationally, has been used in the project. Semi-structured interviews and focus-group interviews were used to collect data from all the fourth-year BEd students and their lecturers at each of the four universities, as well as from in-service teachers who host students during practice teaching sessions. The interview questions were concerned with the delivery of the teacher-training programmes and whether the needs of students were being met with regard to their training. Students commented on the development of the following areas: delivery of knowledge, acquisition of adequate teaching skills, and their readiness to enter the teaching field.
The findings of this research indicate that students, lecturers and in-service teachers believe that many components within the current teacher-training programme need to be transformed. This could be attributed to, amongst others, the inadequate pedagogical practices used in knowledge delivery, lack of actual classroom experience, and the ineffective organisation and supervision of teaching practice which results in students feeling ill-equipped to enter the teaching arena. These impact the quality of teachers who are exiting the current system. Suggestions to improve the organisation of teacher experience, the on-going professional development of teacher educators, and mentorship ofteachers,as well as the development of recruitment and selection criteria for students wishing to enter teacher education are made.
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Die ontwikkeling van ’n veiligheidsmodel ten opsigte van die gebruik van persoonlike beskermende toerusting in die beroepsveiligheidsomgewing / THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SAFETY MODEL APPLICABLE TO THE USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IN THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY ENVIRONMENT (translated from Afrikaans)Schoeman, Johann Petrus January 2013 (has links)
Proefskrif ten opsigte van die voldoening aan die vereistes vir die graad:
Doctor Technologiae: Omgewingsgesondheid
in die Fakulteit Toegepaste Wetenskappe
aan die Cape Peninsula University of Technology
2013 / The economical impact of occupation-related diseases and injuries places an immense financial
burden on the inhabitants of a country and its industry. There is little doubt that the human factor
is the single most important contributing factor to critical work-related accidents. Safety measures
in the field of occupational health and safety are normally implemented according to a specific
hierarchy, whereby the use of personal protective equipment is seen as the last outcome to
protect workers against accidents and disease. However, there is little doubt that the correct use
of personal protective equipment can protect a worker against injury and even death.
The purpose of this research was to address a limitation through the development of a risk
model that is specifically aimed at the application of personal protective equipment in the field of
occupational health and safety. This model informed the factors influencing the use of personal
protective equipment, and is instrumental in the prevention of unsafe behaviour at work.
This documented method of research analysed various risk models from previous research studies
in order to develop a new model, the Factor Integration Model (FIM). This model consists of
five components each with its own specific elements that are interrelated. Each element has a
specific value that was determined by 20 local and international experts in the field of occupational
health and safety.
The 54 elements of the model were used to create an electronic Excel®-based questionnaire,
namely the Electronic Risk Categorising Package (ERK). The ERK can be utilised to categorise
the worker`s use of personal protective equipment into a low, low medium, high medium and
high risk scale. The utilisation and efficiency of ERK were tested at six different industries by
comparing the categorisation of ERK with that of the supervisors. In order to prevent research
bias, neither the researcher nor the supervisors were familiar with each other’s categorisations.
The results were compared and the ERK showed a correct categorisation of the use of personal
protective equipment in 75% of the cases. It was further found that in the cases where the prediction
was not 100% correct, the ERK noted the borderline cases and the human factor of
wrong prediction by the supervisor had to be considered.
The research concluded that the use of personal protective equipment is influenced by various
factors and should not be seen in isolation. The role of both management of a company and
human behavioural change should never be underestimated. The ERK is a useful aid to predict
risk behaviour as well as the use of personal protective equipment in the occupational health
and safety field.
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Solvent dependent growth of one-dimensional crystalline ß-FeOOH nanorodsChowdhury, Mahabubur Rahman January 2014 (has links)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
DOCTOR TECHNOLOGIAE: ENGINEERING: CHEMICAL
in the
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
at the
CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
2014 / Several authors have reported on the use of alcohols – water /or mixed solvents to synthesise metal oxide
nanoparticles. However, no systematic study has been carried out to evaluate the effect of mixed solvent
on the particle characteristics, although considerable research has been reported, a gap still exists with
regard to the effect of the alcohols as solvents on the growth kinetics of nanoparticles. To address these
issues, four different alcohols, namely, methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), propanol (PrOH) and butanol
(BuOH) were used as solvents in the synthesis of β-FeOOH particles.
The effect of organic solvents on the growth kinetics of β-FeOOH nanorods has been evaluated for the
first time in this study. Two-stage growth of akaganeite nanorods has been observed in BuOH and PrOH.
The first growth stage follows a typical power law representing Ostwald ripening (OR) kinetic. The
second stage was found to be asymptotic and obeyed oriented attachment (OA) kinetic. The proof of the
OA kinetic also comes from the HRTEM images of the synthesised particles. Simultaneous occurrence of
the two mechanisms was observed in the growth of the particles synthesised in EtOH and MeOH. The
rate constants for OR kinetic, KOR, was found to be higher than the rate constant for OA kinetic, KOA, for
different solvents used.
Preamble
The use of a mixed solvent is a new approach in the synthesis and processing of materials. Various
researchers have stated that the surface tension of the solvent plays an important role in the formation of
uniform nanorods. However, the effect of surface tension was not correlated with the particle growth,
earlier, though the dielectric properties of the mixed solvents were only taken into account. Additionally,
no quantitative or qualitative relationship was presented between surface tension and particle growth in
the literature. In this work an attempt to correlate these two parameters (surface tension and particle
growth) with the concentration of the precursor and temperature was made, resulting in an exponential
relationship between KOR for the particle growth and surface tension of the alcohols. Furthermore, the
relationship between surface tension and particle growth was validated by an independent study using
statistically designed experiments to account for the influence of various process variables on the particle
growth. The findings in this study obtained from both theoretical and experimental work provides an
insight into the relationship between solvent surface tension and particle growth interactions, producing a
new piece of information that will further promote our understanding of the formation mechanisms of β-
FeOOH growth.
The transformation temperature of akaganeite (β-FeOOH) nanorods to hematite (α-Fe2O3) particles was
found to be solvent dependent. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were
performed to evaluate the effect of alcohol on the thermodynamic stability of the particles. Alcohol as
solvent played a significant role in the dehydration property of the synthesised particles. The percentage
mass loss of the particles at 300°C decreases linearly with increasing carbon number in the linear alkyl
chain of the solvent.
The effect of alcohol type on the particle morphology was found to be more pronounced at higher FeCl3
concentrations (>0.5M). Splitting of β-FeOOH nanorods was observed at FeCl3 concentration of 0.7M in
BuOH. In PrOH, rectangular morphologies were obtained whereas nanoribbons resulted in surfactant-free
conditions. It was found that the nature of anions (chloride vs. nitrate and sulphate) in the precursor salt
also influenced the morphology.
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Performance evaluation and improvement of grid-connected technologyRaji, Atanda Kamoru January 2012 (has links)
Dissertation (DTech(Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / The confluence of the limited resources of fossil fuels (e.g. coal, oil and natural gas), environmental degradations leading to climate change, security of supplies and fossil fuels high costs have demanded a tremendous efforts on humanity to seek for a sustainable and unlimited natural energy sources. Amongst these renewable energy sources stands out solar energy because of its ubiquitousness. Solar energy is converted to DC electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic (PV) power systems installed in commercial and industrial buildings are a good example of distributed power generation. Here the energy consumption and production match and thus electricity taken from the grid during daytime peak hours can be reduced. This is beneficial as the transmission losses in the grid are avoided and also transmission need is reduced. The cost effectiveness of a solar energy system has hindered its wide adoption and deployment in terms of the initial capital cost even though it has a zero energy cost and very minimal operating and maintenance costs. Different governments have instituted many financial incentives for fast adoption of PV systems for both residential and commercial applications. However, all these incentives are not sustainable in the longer term forecast. For PV system to attain grid parity requires more than unsustainable approach of many governments providing time limited subsidies. The technical solution to the problem is to reduce the overall system cost through technical innovations. One such method is the adoption of transformerless inverter technology as the grid interface system. Transformerless inverter topology provides galvanic isolation through innovative inverter topology and switching strategies that eliminates problems created by not employing the service of transformer.
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Modelling the optimal efficiency of industrial labour force in the presence of HIV/AIDs pandemicTakaidza, Isaac January 2012 (has links)
Thesis (DTech (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / In this thesis, we investigate certain key aspects of mathematical modelling to explain the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS at the workplace and to assess the potential benefits of proposed control strategies. Deterministic models to investigate the effects of the transmission dynamics of HIV/AIDS on labour force productivity are formulated. The population is divided into mutually exclusive but exhaustive compartments and a system of differential equations is derived to describe the spread of the epidemic. The qualitative features of their equilibria are analyzed and conditions under which they are stable are provided. Sensitivity analysis of the reproductive number is carried out to determine the relative importance of model parameters to initial disease transmission. Results suggest that optimal control theory in conjunction with standard numerical procedures and cost effective analysis can be used to determine the best intervention strategies to curtail the burden HIV/AIDS is imposing on the human population, in particular to the global economy through infection of the most productive individuals. We utilise Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle to derive and then analyze numerically the conditions for optimal control of the disease with effective use of condoms, enlightenment/educational programs, treatment regime and screening of infectives. We study the potential impact on productivity of combinations of these conventional control measures against HIV. Our numerical results suggest that increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) could decrease not only the HIV prevalence but also increase productivity of the infected especially when coupled with prevention, enlightenment and screening efforts.
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