When comparing numerous educational advantages of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the slow integration of GIS practice within education globally, results are confounding. This paradoxical development is also found within South Africa. In fact, GIS has been included in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase by the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) since 2006. However, following the same global trend, curriculum development in South Africa has outpaced educational GIS software research. In addition, the e-learning White paper of SA also urges software development. Barriers hindering GIS practice include the lack of suitable curriculum-aligned GIS software within the South African digital divide context. A need therefore exists for further research regarding educational GIS practice applications within South Africa. Bearing this in mind, a case study was done investigating the viability of an educationally orientated Interactive-GIS-Tutor (I-GIS-T) application within FET phase in Geography. The study was conducted with the grade 11 Geography learners of a secondary school in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as with their Geography teacher and two other Geography teachers of the same school. These three teachers have different ICT/GIS abilities and years of teaching experience. Furthermore, the study aimed to identify the main GIS educational barriers, globally and locally, as well as to investigate the viability of the I-GIS-T in relation to these identified barriers. The strategy followed was a case study evaluation, with a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis, supported by quantitative data, since this was most suited to the research questions and context. Pragmatism was therefore the underpinning philosophy within this case study. One-on-one semi-structured teacher interviews were conducted to identify the main barriers of GIS education within the FET phases. Data collection by means of questionnaires, individual interviews, focus group interviews, video recordings and field notes provided a thick description regarding the viability of the I-GIS-T within the natural class setting. ATLAS.tiTM and SPSS software were utilised with analysis of qualitative and supportive quantitative data. Attitudinal tests provided supportive quantitative data. Findings indicated that main GIS practice barriers, globally as well as in the school of study, were the lack of preparation time, a full curriculum, lack of GIS support, complex educational GIS software and the teacher‟s lack of ICT skills. The grade 11 Geography teacher and most of the learners evaluated the I-GIS-T as workable. The I-GIS-T also surmounted the main GIS practice barriers. Furthermore, GIS attitudinal tests revealed an overall positive shift on all the attitudinal questions. The combination of lack of basic computer skills and language (where English is not the mother tongue) were the main reasons why some learners suggested that they struggled with the software. Future I-GIS-T development recommended incorporation of a multi-language choice component, as well as exploratory activities. Within this case study, learners who have mastered basic computer skills found the I-GIS-T effective and workable and therefore a viable GIS software application option within the FET phase Geography. In order to be able to generalise statistically, further quantitative research is suggested. In fact, future quantitative research, employing SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) within the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) might prove the I-GIS-T to be a viable option within FET schools throughout SA, as well as in other developing countries. / Thesis (MEd (Curriculum Development))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The aim of this study was to evaluate the "beautification of schools" programme as an environmental management tool with a view to facilitating the improvement thereof wherever necessary. An in-depth literature review on theoretical perspectives in environmental management indicated that these partially addressed the problem of the study, namely, to comply with some principles of environmental management system, but not to implement them fully. The theory developed from the literature review facilitated the development of an empirical research. Qualitative research was conducted to evaluate the "beautification of schools" programme as an environmental management tool with a view to facilitating the improvement thereof wherever necessary. It emerged from the findings of the research, that some schools do not have environmental policies. Those schools with environmental policies lack environmental policy objectives. They do not have time frames according to which environmental programmes of action need to be reviewed. Although some schools have used the environmental management strategies in the "beautification of schools" campaign as a management tool, they have never taken proactive measures to better manage the environment of their schools. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Due to the fact that the function of dispensing is not the exclusive practice of a single profession, there is much conflict surrounding the issue: it forms the crux of the pharmacy profession but it also forms part of doctors’ scope of practice. Separation of the acts of prescribing and dispensing would prevent the interest of the doctor, who has the potential to profit from selling medicines, being placed above the interest of the patient. It would, however, also affect the essential services that many dispensing doctors provide to pensioners, unemployed patients, those not covered by a medical scheme and those in rural areas. The implications of doctor dispensing are not clear as conflicting evidence suggests that dispensing doctors prescribe more medicine items, injections and antibiotics while preferring certain brand names on the one hand but on the other, evidence shows that dispensing doctors dispensed less expensive medicines compared to other health care providers. The main objective of this study was to analyse the prescribing patterns of dispensing doctors and other medicine providers in a section of the private health care sector of South Africa for 2005 to 2008 by using a medicine claims database. A retrospective drug utilisation review was conducted by extracting data from a medicine claims database for a four–year period, from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2008. The results revealed that dispensing doctors had a lower cost per prescription compared to other health care providers (R112.66 ± R4.45 vs. R258.48 ± R23.93) and also had a lower cost per medicine item (R39.62 ± R2.18 vs. R112.43 ± R7.56) for the entire study period from 2005 to 2008. Dispensing doctors provided more items per prescription compared to other health care providers (2.85 ± 0.05 items vs. 2.30 ± 0.06 items) but other health care providers claimed more prescriptions per patient per year (7.50 ± 1.15 prescriptions vs. 3.29 ± 0.07 prescriptions). A higher percentage of generic medicine items were provided to patients visiting dispensing doctors. Dispensing doctors treated a majority of patients aged above 19 to 44 years of age while other health care providers treated a majority of patients above 59 years of age. Both dispensing doctors and other health care providers treated a majority of female patients and issued a majority of medicine items to treat acute conditions. The results also revealed that dispensing doctors generally provided relatively inexpensive medicine items, including generic and innovator items, for female and male patients of all ages while other health care providers showed the opposite trend and issued relatively expensive medicine items to these patients. However, when analysing the top twelve pharmacological groups claimed, dispensing doctors had relatively higher costs compared to other health care providers for nine of the pharmacological groups (central nervous system, analgesic, cardio–vascular, ear, nose and throat, dermatological, urinary system, antimicrobial, endocrine system and cytostatic). The pharmacological groups contributing to the highest number of medicine items and highest medicine cost contribution were the antimicrobial group for dispensing doctors and cardio–vascular group for other health care providers. / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

BACKGROUND: The research deals with the effect of the Student Rag Community Service's (SRCS) Pick–A–Leader programme on adolescents in a disadvantaged community. The SRCS has been in existence for 30 years and the Student Representative Council of the North–West University: Potchefstroom Campus, has authorised them to promote voluntary ativities for charity in Potchefstroom and its surrounding areas. The SJGD annually presents various programmes to communities in Potchefstroom; however, these programmes have not thus far been formally evaluated. One of these projects is the Pick–A–Leader (PAL) programme which focuses on leadership– and skills development for adolescents in a disadvantaged community. This study concentrates on the evaluation of the PAL–programme. AIM: The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of the PAL–programme on the adolescents in a disadvantaged community. METHOD: The nature of the investigation was exploratory and descriptive. Mixed methodology was applied in this study. A quasi–experimental design was used in the form of a comparative pre– and post–test design. Focus groups and a number of measuring instruments were used to gather data. Participants in the experimental groups consisted of 45 grade 11 learners from 3 schools in a disadvantaged community of Potchefstroom. Members of the comparative groups also numbered 45 and were grade 11 learners from the same 3 schools as those in the experimental groups. RESULT: It was concluded that the SRCS PAL–programme had an effect on the adolescents. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Due to the fact that the function of dispensing is not the exclusive practice of a single profession, there is much conflict surrounding the issue: it forms the crux of the pharmacy profession but it also forms part of doctors’ scope of practice. Separation of the acts of prescribing and dispensing would prevent the interest of the doctor, who has the potential to profit from selling medicines, being placed above the interest of the patient. It would, however, also affect the essential services that many dispensing doctors provide to pensioners, unemployed patients, those not covered by a medical scheme and those in rural areas. The implications of doctor dispensing are not clear as conflicting evidence suggests that dispensing doctors prescribe more medicine items, injections and antibiotics while preferring certain brand names on the one hand but on the other, evidence shows that dispensing doctors dispensed less expensive medicines compared to other health care providers. The main objective of this study was to analyse the prescribing patterns of dispensing doctors and other medicine providers in a section of the private health care sector of South Africa for 2005 to 2008 by using a medicine claims database. A retrospective drug utilisation review was conducted by extracting data from a medicine claims database for a four–year period, from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2008. The results revealed that dispensing doctors had a lower cost per prescription compared to other health care providers (R112.66 ± R4.45 vs. R258.48 ± R23.93) and also had a lower cost per medicine item (R39.62 ± R2.18 vs. R112.43 ± R7.56) for the entire study period from 2005 to 2008. Dispensing doctors provided more items per prescription compared to other health care providers (2.85 ± 0.05 items vs. 2.30 ± 0.06 items) but other health care providers claimed more prescriptions per patient per year (7.50 ± 1.15 prescriptions vs. 3.29 ± 0.07 prescriptions). A higher percentage of generic medicine items were provided to patients visiting dispensing doctors. Dispensing doctors treated a majority of patients aged above 19 to 44 years of age while other health care providers treated a majority of patients above 59 years of age. Both dispensing doctors and other health care providers treated a majority of female patients and issued a majority of medicine items to treat acute conditions. The results also revealed that dispensing doctors generally provided relatively inexpensive medicine items, including generic and innovator items, for female and male patients of all ages while other health care providers showed the opposite trend and issued relatively expensive medicine items to these patients. However, when analysing the top twelve pharmacological groups claimed, dispensing doctors had relatively higher costs compared to other health care providers for nine of the pharmacological groups (central nervous system, analgesic, cardio–vascular, ear, nose and throat, dermatological, urinary system, antimicrobial, endocrine system and cytostatic). The pharmacological groups contributing to the highest number of medicine items and highest medicine cost contribution were the antimicrobial group for dispensing doctors and cardio–vascular group for other health care providers. / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

BACKGROUND: The research deals with the effect of the Student Rag Community Service's (SRCS) Pick–A–Leader programme on adolescents in a disadvantaged community. The SRCS has been in existence for 30 years and the Student Representative Council of the North–West University: Potchefstroom Campus, has authorised them to promote voluntary ativities for charity in Potchefstroom and its surrounding areas. The SJGD annually presents various programmes to communities in Potchefstroom; however, these programmes have not thus far been formally evaluated. One of these projects is the Pick–A–Leader (PAL) programme which focuses on leadership– and skills development for adolescents in a disadvantaged community. This study concentrates on the evaluation of the PAL–programme. AIM: The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of the PAL–programme on the adolescents in a disadvantaged community. METHOD: The nature of the investigation was exploratory and descriptive. Mixed methodology was applied in this study. A quasi–experimental design was used in the form of a comparative pre– and post–test design. Focus groups and a number of measuring instruments were used to gather data. Participants in the experimental groups consisted of 45 grade 11 learners from 3 schools in a disadvantaged community of Potchefstroom. Members of the comparative groups also numbered 45 and were grade 11 learners from the same 3 schools as those in the experimental groups. RESULT: It was concluded that the SRCS PAL–programme had an effect on the adolescents. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Formål:Hensikten med studien er å undersøke hvilken effekt det lovbaserte legefordelingssystemet, som var aktivt i Norge fra 1.1.1999 til 30.6.2013, har hatt, og hvordan ordningen har påvirket utviklingen i legestillinger i primærhelsetjenesten og spesialisthelsetjenesten i Norge. Studien kan gi myndighetene et bedre kunnskapsgrunnlag om statlig regulering av legestillinger. Metode: Forskningsspørsmålene er i hovedsak belyst gjennom kvantitative deskriptive analyser av registerdata og tilgjengelig statistikk. Saksdokumenter og vedtak om tildeling av legestillinger er gjennomgått, og det er gjennomført en kvalitativ analyse av bakgrunnsdokumentene ved innføringen av ordningen. Den teoretiske rammen for studien er folkehelsearbeid, organisasjonsteori og resultatkjeden som et styringsverktøy ved gjennomføring av evalueringer. Resultat: Studienviser at nye legestillinger i primærhelsetjenesten har vært prioritert i hele perioden. Dette kan ha bidratt til å redusere sosiale ulikheter i helse. Antall ubesatte legestillinger er i perioden 1.1.1999 til 30.6.2013 redusert til under 1% av alle legestillinger, både i primærhelsetjenesten og spesialisthelsetjenesten. I samme periode økte antall utdanningsstillinger for leger i spesialisering med 36%. I alt 54% av alle nye legestillinger i spesialisthelsetjenesten er gitt innen nasjonale satsningsområder og prioriterte spesialiteter. Av de nordiske landene har Norge hatt høyest økningen i legedekning pr 1000 innbyggere i allmennlegetjenesten. Konklusjon: Studien viser at den statligereguleringenav nye legestillinger har hatt en effekt, og at et målrettet reguleringssystem kan være et godt administrativt virkemiddel for nasjonal legefordeling og geografisk fordeling av leger. God forankring og bred deltaking er suksesskriterier. / Purpose: This study aimedto investigate the effect of the legally based system for allocating new positions for physiciansunder a policy that wasin effectin Norway between 1 January 1999 and 30 June 2013.The study also aimed to increase understanding of a government-regulated physician distribution system. Method: The primary methodology involved using quantitative descriptive analysis to review registry data and available statistics. Case documents and decisions related to theallocation of physician positions, and case and policy documents related to the original justification for the government-regulated physician distribution systemw ere also reviewed. The theoretical thesis and framework for this study is public health, organization theory, and the "result chain" as a management tool for executing evaluations and deliberations. Result: Theresults of the study show that vacant positions for physicians, both primary and specialists, decreased to less than 1% during the study period. During this same time period, 54% of all new hospital positions were assigned a priority specialty. Positions for specialist education increased 36%. Among the Nordic countries, Norway had the highest increase in coverage by primary care physiciansper 1,000 capita during the past 15 years. Conclusion:The government-regulated physician distribution systemin Norway has been effective. Robustness, consensus building, and broad participation are key conditions and ingredients in the recipe for success. / <p>ISBN 978-91-982282-2-9</p>

I dagsläget tenderar många att använda tjänster som hanteras separat. Arbetet undersöker om det är möjligt att sammankoppla ett fåtal tjänster i en gemensam webbapplikation för att underlätta kommunicering mellan tjänsterna samt att förbättra användarvänligheten. Företaget A Great Thing har i åtanke att skapa en webbapplikation som tillåter användare att med hjälp av deras applikation skapa agenter som sköter händelser från användarens begäran, exempelvis “spela upp en låt vid en viss tid”. Metodiken som tillämpats har dels varit en fallstudie och dels användarbaserade metoder i form av enkätundersökning samt ett användartest. Ytterligare undersöktes hur kommunikationen går mellan tjänsters API, och de nödvändiga parametrar som utbyter data. Slutligen evalueras den framtagna prototypen enligt vissa riktlinjer inom användarvänlighet. Examensarbetets resultat är i form av en webbprototyp med fokus på användarvänlighet, implementering av API:er, användartest på faktiska användare samt statistik på efterfrågan av tjänster. Vidare har även en marknadsundersökning utförts för att belysa ekonomiska vinstmöjligheter genom API-distribution. Slutsatsen dras att det är möjligt att sammankoppla API:er och dess tjänster för att uppnå ett användarvänligt gränssnitt samt hur nödvändiga parametrar disponeras på ett effektivt vis. Vidare är förhoppningen att utomstående läsare skapar en förståelse om hur sammankopplingen går till på ett strukturerat och informativt tillvägagångssätt. Även hur olika tekniska metoder inom användarvänlighet kan tillämpas vid konstruktion av prototyper. / Nowadays people tend to use services and appliances that are managed seperately. This thesis examines the possibility of connecting different services into one main web application to faciliate communication between these services. A Great Thing have embraced the need of connecting applications to a single device and therefore, wants to create a web application integrated with the use of agents. These agents are built to manage the events a user request. For example ”Play a song at a specific time”. The methodology applied has partly been a case study and partly user-based methods in form of a survery and a user test. Further research was conducted on communication between service API:s and the necessary parameters that exchange data. Finally, the developed prototype was evaluated according to some usability guidelines. The thesis’s results are presented in the form of a web prototype focused on usability, implementation of APIs, user test of actual users and statistics of demanded services. In addition, a market research has been conducted to highlight economic benefits through API distribution. The conclusion is drawn that it is possible to link API:s and their services to achieve a user-friendly interface and how to use different parameters in an efficient way. Furthermore, the hope is that external readers will understand how the connection between API:s works in a structured and informative approach. Also how different technical methods for usability can be applied in construction of prototypes.

Security research is beneficial for companies that want their system protected against threats to their business. The focus of this project is on security considerations. These considerations are with regards to when companies want to evaluate the benefits of extracting microservices from their monolithic system. The problem with this task is that extracting microservices have potential effects on security. Changing a systems design could lead to potential security risks which need to be considered. This type of problem is on a high difficulty level because of the amount of abstraction and research required to analyze the system regarding the security aspect. Since the problem requires abstractions and analysis of the system both pre and post-extraction it also becomes a big task to complete. The problem is solved with threat modeling and also by using the National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines and by measuring The Common Misuse Scoring System scores and Return Of Security Investment costs. The results show an increase in security by allowing a function to become a microservice. The increase mainly came from how access changes with the extracted service. The result also showcased that movements towards the cloud meant more security regarding access when compared to the system before a microservice was extracted. The reasoning being that cloud services could provide more access control surface for functions. With the results, the host company and companies with similar software architecture can see how a function will affect security if extracted into a microservice. Further research should be conducted upon a larger pool of microservices. These should then be examined if the trend of security increase keeps occurring. The results can be further examined with penetration testing which puts more practical work upon the theoretical work that was done in this thesis. The research also showcases the adaptability of the National Institute of Standards and Technology guides steps and how similar research regarding security comparisons can be made. / Säkerhetsforskning är essentiellt för företag som vill skydda sig emot attacker som kan skada deras affärsverksamhet. Med detta i åtanke så fokuserar detta projektet på att undersöka överväganden gällande säkerhet när det kommer till att extrahera mikrotjänster från en monolitisk struktur. Att ändra i ett företags system kan potentiellt påverka säkerheten vilket är ett scenario vars effekter måste säkerhetsklassas. Detta säkerhetsproblemet är ett svårt problem att tackla på grund av mängden abstraktion som behövs göras och även på grund av perspektivet som behövs appliceras på abstraktionen. Då abstraktioner behövs göras på företagets system innan och efter en extraktion är utförd innebär det också att problemet är tidskrävande. Rapporten tacklar problemen genom att använda sig av hotmodellering, specifikt National Institute of Standards and Technology guide i hur man utför hotmodellering. NIST har också ett system för att ge värden till attacker som kallas The Common Misuse Scoring System vilket används i projektet för att producera jämförbara mätvärden. Projektet jämför också beräkningar gällande avkastning på säkerhetsinvesteringar. Resultaten visade att molntjänster kan erbjuda mer säkerhet. Med hjälp av resultaten kan Indicio Technologies AB och företag med samma struktur se hur extrahering av en funktion kan påverka säkerheten. Liknande forskning rekommenderas att utföras på större företag där det finns flera färdiga mikrotjänster. En större mängd av mikrotjänster kan bli utvärderade med samma princip som i denna rapport för att se ifall man alltid kan se en ökning av säkerhet. Rapportens resultat kan undersökas vidare med hjälp av praktiska metoder såsom penetrationstestning där mera praktiskt arbete blir utfört på den teoretiska grund som var satt i denna rapporten. Rapporten visade också på en anpassningsförmåga för National Institute of Standards and Technology guiden.

Fuel consumption is one of the key factors in determining expenses of operating a heavy-duty vehicle. A customer may therefor request an estimate of the fuel consumption of a given vehicle. Scania uses modular design when constructing heavy-duty vehicles. The modular design allows a customer to specify which building blocks to use when constructing the vehicle, such as gear box, engine and chassis type. The many possible combinations means that the same vehicle is rarely sold twice, which can make fuel consumption measurements unfeasible. This study investigates the accuracy of machine learning algorithms in predicting fuel consumption for heavy-duty vehicles. The study is conducted at Scania. Scania has also provided the data used in the study. This study also examines the prediction power of different parameters. Performance is evaluated by reporting the prediction error on both simulated data and operational measurements. The performance of Linear regression (LR), K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and Artificial neural networks (ANN) is compared using statistical hypothesis testing. It is found that using Country as an input parameter yields a performance increase in all the algorithms. The statistical evaluation procedure finds that ANNs have the lowest prediction error compared to LR and KNN in estimating fuel consumption on both simulated and operational data. The performance of the final models is comparable to models of previous studies in both the simulated and operational estimation scenarios. / Bränsleförbrukning utgör en av nyckelfaktorerna för att avgöra hur mycket det kostar att använda tunga lastbilar. En köpare av en tung lastbil kan därmed begära en uppskattning av hur mycket bränsle ett givet fordon förbrukar. Scania använder sig av en modulär designprincip vid fordonskonstruktion, vilket ger kunden möjlighet att bestämma vilka byggnadsblock som ska utgöra ett for- don. Detta gör att det kan vara omöjligt att mäta förbrukningen av ett tidigare icke-producerat fordon. Den här studien undersöker exaktheten av maskininlärningsalgoritmer för att estimera bränsleförbrukning av tunga lastbilar. Studien genomförs vid Scania, som även tillhandahåller data. Användbarheten av olika in-parametrar undersöks. Algoritmernas prestanda utvärderas genom att rapportera det kvadrerade felvärdet uppmätt mellan det riktiga uppmätta värdet och det av algoritmen uppskattade värdet. Bränsleförbrukning estimeras för simulerad data och för uppmätta värden från fordon i bruk. Tre kategorier av algoritmer undersöks: Artificiella neurala nätverk, linjär regression och K-nearest neighbor. Jämförelsen mellan algoritmer använder statistisk hypotes-testning. Resultatet visar att parametern som beskriver vilket land fordonet registrerats i förbättrar samtliga algoritmers estimering. Den statistiska utvärderingen finner att artificiella neurala nätverk ger det lägsta felet av de tre kategorierna av algoritmer i estimering av simulerade och uppmätta värden. De slutgiltiga modellernas exakthet är jämförbar med resultat från tidigare studier.