The current thesis tests empirically the relationship of the dimensional trait model proposed for the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders with five-factor models (FFM) of personality disorder (PD). The DSM-5 Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group proposes to diagnose the disorders largely in terms of a 25 trait dimensional model organized within five broad domains (i.e., negative affectivity, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, and psychoticism). Consistent with the authors of DSM-5, it was predicted that negative affectivity would align with FFM neuroticism, detachment with FFM introversion, antagonism with FFM antagonism, disinhibition with low FFM conscientiousness and, contrary to the authors of DSM-5, psychoticism would align with FFM openness. Suggested changes in trait placements according to FFM of PD research were also tested. Four measures of five factor models of general personality were administered to 445 undergraduates along with the Personality Inventory for DSM-5. The results of the present study provided support for the hypothesis that all five domains of the DSM-5 dimensional trait model are maladaptive variants of general personality structure, including the domain of psychoticism; however, the findings provided mixed support for suggested trait placement changes in the DSM-5 model.

The Five Factor Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (FFOCI) was developed in part to facilitate a shift from the categorical classification of personality disorder to a dimensional model; more specifically, the five-factor model. Questions though have been raised as to whether obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can be understood as a maladaptive variant of FFM conscientiousness. The purpose of the present study was to provide a further validation of the FFOCI, as well as to compare and contrast alternative measures and models of OCPD. A total of 380 participants, including 146 oversampled for OCPD traits, were recruited from introductory psychology courses at the University of Kentucky. Administered were the FFOCI, measures of general personality (e.g.,, International Item Pool, 5-Dimensional Personality Test), trait scales associated with OCPD (e.g.,, workaholism, compulsivity, propriety), and alternative measures of obsessive compulsive personality disorder. All measures were administered via SurveyMonkey, a secure online survey service. Results supported the validity of the FFOCI, but also demonstrated substantive differences among the alternative measures of OCPD, particularly with respect to their relationship with FFM conscientiousness, antagonism, and introversion.

In 2011 South Africa's main electricity supplier, Eskom, experienced a peak electricity demand of 89% of their total installed generation capacity. The high utilisation rate makes it difficult to perform essential maintenance on the system. Eskom implements Demand-Side Management (DSM) projects in various industries, in order to reduce the demand and to ensure sustainable electricity supply. The mining sector consumes 14.5% of the total amount of electricity generated by Eskom. Mine compressed air systems can consume as much as 40% of a mine's total electricity requirements. This makes mine compressed air systems an ideal target for DSM. Electricity load seems to be reduced, but many DSM savings are not sustained throughout the project lifetime. An existing project feedback method of a specific Energy Services Company (ESCo) includes the manual collection of data from the mines and manual generation of reports. These reports show energy savings of the DSM projects to help the ESCo and their clients to improve and sustain the performance of the projects. A great amount of man-hours is used which results in large time delays in the feedback-loop. In order to address this, the need for a new automatic feedback reporting system was identified. This study mainly focusses on the development and implementation of a new method to monitor DSM savings on mine compressed air systems. It includes the reliable collection of data from mines, processing and storing of the data in a central database and generating savings reports. This is done automatically on a daily basis. In order to complete the feedback-loop, the reports are verified and emailed to clients and ESCo personnel on a daily basis. The new reporting system is implemented at a number of mines. Four of these project implementations are used as case studies to measure and interpret the effectiveness and value of this system. It saves a significant amount of man-hours and proves to be of great value in the sustainability of DSM project savings. Both Eskom and mining companies benefit from the efficient monitoring of mine compressed air savings. / Thesis (MIng (Computer and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The increasing electricity demand in South Africa has lead to a shortage in electricity supply. In response to this problem Eskom has introduced multiple capacity expansion programs. Unfortunately the electricity shortage is expected to continue until Eskom’s capacity expansion programs are completed. Demand Side Management (DSM) is widely accepted as an immediate solution to the high electricity demand of South Africa. Numerous DSM projects implemented by ESCo’s have been successful, but over the years have not been sustainable. Without regular maintenance from the relevant ESCo, many projects have failed to achieve sustainable savings. After the implementation of DSM projects, all installed equipment and software becomes the property of the client. Experience has illustrated that some mines did not always have the expertise or available resources to monitor and maintain the projects. As a result the electrical energy savings of the project would gradually deteriorate. A feasibility study was conducted to determine whether the re-instatement of redundant and debilitated mine DSM projects could be marketed as the “low hanging fruit” of the industry. A key driver for this study, was the fact that costs involved for re-instatement of such DSM projects are generally considerably lower than those of new projects, yet still producing lucrative electricity savings. Three major mining entities discussed in this dissertation have neglected to realise a collaborative cost saving of R 55,5 Million per annum. This loss of opportunity can mainly be attributed to a lack of maintenance and monitoring of operational DSM projects on their mining sites. Three DSM projects related to the water reticulation system of the mine were investigated. It was discerned in all three cases that the successful re-instatement of DSM projects are indeed possible, but only when subjected to continuous monitoring. The maintenance performed on two of the three projects, respectively realised approximately R2,7 Million and R 750 000. This was achieved through the process of load shifting, over a period of one year. Maintenance on the third project realised approximately R1,5 Million through energy efficiency over a three month period. This dissertation illustrates that attractive savings in electricity and cost can be realised when re-instating redundant DSM projects in the mining industry. It also demonstrates the cost and time effectiveness of implementing such projects, compared to the focus on new DSM installations. / Thesis (MIng (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Economic and environmental objectives are traditionally seen as mutually exclusive, especially in terms of higher economic growth rates that are coupled with higher greenhouse gas emissions. The first aim of this study is to find a possible creative solution, in which higher economic growth can be coupled with lower greenhouse gas emissions, also known as low-carbon growth. The literature review shows that the economic growth aspect of low-carbon growth can be achieved by increasing exports. The other part of low-carbon growth, namely lower greenhouse gas intensity, can be achieved by diffusing low-carbon technologies (or environmental goods). The World Trade Organisation also encouraged the liberalisation of environmental goods. Therefore, low-carbon growth could be achieved by promoting the production and exports of low-carbon environmental goods. Although the World Trade Organisations has encouraged the liberation of environmental goods, there is no official list of environmental goods. Therefore, the second aim of this study is to derive a list of low-carbon environmental goods from existing lists of environmental goods. Thirty-nine lowcarbon environmental goods are identified for the purpose of this study. The Decision Support Model (DSM) is used to identify realistic export opportunities for these environmental goods. These low-carbon environmental goods were ranked based on three criteria: i) their potential environmental benefits, ii) South Africa’s capacity to produce these goods, and iii) their potential economic benefits. The five low-carbon environmental goods that ranked the highest are photosensitive semiconductors (HS-6: 854140), towers and lattice masts (HS-6: 730820), electrical control and distribution boards smaller than 1kV (HS-6: 853710), gearing, ball screws, speed changers, torque converter (HS-6: 848340), and static converters (HS-6: 850440). The exact environmental uses, producers, intensive and extensive export opportunities of the top five goods were discussed. The best overall intensive export opportunities according to potential export value are HS-6: 854140; photosensitive semiconductors (USD 922,362,000) to Germany and HS-6: 853710; electrical control and distribution boards smaller than 1kV, to the United States (USD 838,671,000). The best overall extensive export opportunities according to their potential export value are HS-6: 854140; photosensitive semiconductors to China (USD 953,255,000) and HS-6: 854140; photosensitive semiconductors to Hong Kong (USD 363,505,000). The results of this study will enable policy-makers to make optimal decisions regarding which environmental goods to produce and export. / Thesis (MCom (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Growing demand for electricity forces suppliers to expand their generation capacity. Financing these expansion programmes results in electricity cost increases above inflation rates. By reducing electricity consumption, additional supply capacity is created at lower costs than the building of conventional power stations. Therefore, there is strong justification to reduce electricity consumption on the supplier and consumer side. The mining and industrial sectors of South Africa consumed approximately 43% of the total electricity supplied by Eskom during 2012. Approximately 10% of this electricity was used to produce compressed air. By reducing the electricity consumption of compressed air systems, operating costs are reduced. In turn this reduces the strain on the South African electricity network. Previous energy saving projects on mine compressed air systems realised savings that were not always sustainable. Savings deteriorated due to, amongst others, rapid employee turnover, improper training, lack of maintenance and system changes. There is therefore a need to improve projects that have already been implemented on mine compressed air systems. The continuous improvement of equipment (such as improved control valves) and the availability of newer technologies can be used to improve existing energy saving strategies. This study provides a solution to reduce the electricity consumption and operating costs of a deep level mine compressed air system. This was achieved by modernising and improving an existing underground compressed air saving strategy. This improvement resulted in a power saving of 1.15 MW; a saving equivalent to an annual cost saving of R4.16 million. It was found that the improved underground compressed air DSM project realised significant additional electrical energy savings. This resulted in ample cost savings to justify the implementation of the project improvements. It is recommended that opportunities to improve existing electrical energy saving projects on surface compressed air systems are investigated. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In 2011 South Africa's main electricity supplier, Eskom, experienced a peak electricity demand of 89% of their total installed generation capacity. The high utilisation rate makes it difficult to perform essential maintenance on the system. Eskom implements Demand-Side Management (DSM) projects in various industries, in order to reduce the demand and to ensure sustainable electricity supply. The mining sector consumes 14.5% of the total amount of electricity generated by Eskom. Mine compressed air systems can consume as much as 40% of a mine's total electricity requirements. This makes mine compressed air systems an ideal target for DSM. Electricity load seems to be reduced, but many DSM savings are not sustained throughout the project lifetime. An existing project feedback method of a specific Energy Services Company (ESCo) includes the manual collection of data from the mines and manual generation of reports. These reports show energy savings of the DSM projects to help the ESCo and their clients to improve and sustain the performance of the projects. A great amount of man-hours is used which results in large time delays in the feedback-loop. In order to address this, the need for a new automatic feedback reporting system was identified. This study mainly focusses on the development and implementation of a new method to monitor DSM savings on mine compressed air systems. It includes the reliable collection of data from mines, processing and storing of the data in a central database and generating savings reports. This is done automatically on a daily basis. In order to complete the feedback-loop, the reports are verified and emailed to clients and ESCo personnel on a daily basis. The new reporting system is implemented at a number of mines. Four of these project implementations are used as case studies to measure and interpret the effectiveness and value of this system. It saves a significant amount of man-hours and proves to be of great value in the sustainability of DSM project savings. Both Eskom and mining companies benefit from the efficient monitoring of mine compressed air savings. / Thesis (MIng (Computer and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The increasing electricity demand in South Africa has lead to a shortage in electricity supply. In response to this problem Eskom has introduced multiple capacity expansion programs. Unfortunately the electricity shortage is expected to continue until Eskom’s capacity expansion programs are completed. Demand Side Management (DSM) is widely accepted as an immediate solution to the high electricity demand of South Africa. Numerous DSM projects implemented by ESCo’s have been successful, but over the years have not been sustainable. Without regular maintenance from the relevant ESCo, many projects have failed to achieve sustainable savings. After the implementation of DSM projects, all installed equipment and software becomes the property of the client. Experience has illustrated that some mines did not always have the expertise or available resources to monitor and maintain the projects. As a result the electrical energy savings of the project would gradually deteriorate. A feasibility study was conducted to determine whether the re-instatement of redundant and debilitated mine DSM projects could be marketed as the “low hanging fruit” of the industry. A key driver for this study, was the fact that costs involved for re-instatement of such DSM projects are generally considerably lower than those of new projects, yet still producing lucrative electricity savings. Three major mining entities discussed in this dissertation have neglected to realise a collaborative cost saving of R 55,5 Million per annum. This loss of opportunity can mainly be attributed to a lack of maintenance and monitoring of operational DSM projects on their mining sites. Three DSM projects related to the water reticulation system of the mine were investigated. It was discerned in all three cases that the successful re-instatement of DSM projects are indeed possible, but only when subjected to continuous monitoring. The maintenance performed on two of the three projects, respectively realised approximately R2,7 Million and R 750 000. This was achieved through the process of load shifting, over a period of one year. Maintenance on the third project realised approximately R1,5 Million through energy efficiency over a three month period. This dissertation illustrates that attractive savings in electricity and cost can be realised when re-instating redundant DSM projects in the mining industry. It also demonstrates the cost and time effectiveness of implementing such projects, compared to the focus on new DSM installations. / Thesis (MIng (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Economic and environmental objectives are traditionally seen as mutually exclusive, especially in terms of higher economic growth rates that are coupled with higher greenhouse gas emissions. The first aim of this study is to find a possible creative solution, in which higher economic growth can be coupled with lower greenhouse gas emissions, also known as low-carbon growth. The literature review shows that the economic growth aspect of low-carbon growth can be achieved by increasing exports. The other part of low-carbon growth, namely lower greenhouse gas intensity, can be achieved by diffusing low-carbon technologies (or environmental goods). The World Trade Organisation also encouraged the liberalisation of environmental goods. Therefore, low-carbon growth could be achieved by promoting the production and exports of low-carbon environmental goods. Although the World Trade Organisations has encouraged the liberation of environmental goods, there is no official list of environmental goods. Therefore, the second aim of this study is to derive a list of low-carbon environmental goods from existing lists of environmental goods. Thirty-nine lowcarbon environmental goods are identified for the purpose of this study. The Decision Support Model (DSM) is used to identify realistic export opportunities for these environmental goods. These low-carbon environmental goods were ranked based on three criteria: i) their potential environmental benefits, ii) South Africa’s capacity to produce these goods, and iii) their potential economic benefits. The five low-carbon environmental goods that ranked the highest are photosensitive semiconductors (HS-6: 854140), towers and lattice masts (HS-6: 730820), electrical control and distribution boards smaller than 1kV (HS-6: 853710), gearing, ball screws, speed changers, torque converter (HS-6: 848340), and static converters (HS-6: 850440). The exact environmental uses, producers, intensive and extensive export opportunities of the top five goods were discussed. The best overall intensive export opportunities according to potential export value are HS-6: 854140; photosensitive semiconductors (USD 922,362,000) to Germany and HS-6: 853710; electrical control and distribution boards smaller than 1kV, to the United States (USD 838,671,000). The best overall extensive export opportunities according to their potential export value are HS-6: 854140; photosensitive semiconductors to China (USD 953,255,000) and HS-6: 854140; photosensitive semiconductors to Hong Kong (USD 363,505,000). The results of this study will enable policy-makers to make optimal decisions regarding which environmental goods to produce and export. / Thesis (MCom (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The South African Electricity Supply Industry is one of the backbone industries in South Africa. During 2003, it became clear that the demand for electricity in South Africa was increasing at a rate that had not been predicted nor recognised before. This was a clear indication that Eskom, the national electricity supply utility, would have to invest in additional generating capacity before 2007. Eskom envisioned these problems and introduced a DSM programme, which is aimed at reducing the national peak power demand. In so doing, the immediate need for additional power generating capacity will be postponed. A major part of this program is the concept of electrical load shifting. In 2000 mining in South Africa consumed 29% of the total quantity of electricity generated, of which the gold-mining industry consumed more than half. Electricity is the exclusive power source for the application of vital health and safety-related requirements in gold mines. In some cases, these consume in excess of 55% of the total electricity used on a mine. Water-pumping systems are a major part of these important applications. This dissertation presents a study of certain aspects of real-time energy management on old gold mines, by focusing on electrical load shifting on underground water pumping systems. Old gold mines use old, proven and energy-intensive methods that were not designed to conserve energy. This study also researches the challenges associated with the implementation of energy management strategies on old gold mines. Research was done on three old gold mines to determine the potential for load shifting on the underground water pumping systems of old gold mines. Integrated simulations were used as the main method of establishing this potential as well as the financial savings potential for the client. The simulation results showed large amounts of load-shifting potential for all three case studies and substantial financial savings potential for the clients. Real-time, load-shifting strategies were implemented on the three systems analysed in the case studies. The results generated by these strategies showed that load shifting could be realised on these systems, and confirmed the potential calculated in the simulations. Further research into the results however showed that the old infrastructure in the old mines caused many problems and influenced the sustainability of these strategies. From this study, the conclusions were made that; (a) there exists a potential for energy management on old gold mines, (b) there exists large potential for the implementation of sustainable energy management strategies on old gold mines, and (c) it is feasible to implement energy management strategies on old gold mines. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007