The Groenkloof Nature Reserve to the immediate south of the city is potentially an environmental treasure on Pretoria’s doorstep. Apart from the indigenous flora and fauna and rich history of the reserve, there are existing but poorly-used facilities for recreation, education and adventure sports. At present the huge potential of this area is by no means fully realised. This ambitious design project aims to change this by creating an Interactive Centre in the reserve. Its objective is to design an exciting blueprint for enhancing existing facilities and introducing new ones. The focus of this bold, holistic approach is one of blending, and at times juxtaposing, elements of design in order to harmonise the interior and exterior architecture with the natural landscape. / Dissertation (MInt(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Architecture / unrestricted

No description available.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree Doctor of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology. 2014. / The South African automotive sector is often plagued with complex and competitive business challenges owing to globalisation, economic uncertainty and fluctuating market demands. These challenges prompt business leaders in South Africa to improve their operations and to enhance innovations in processes, products and services in a very reactive manner. Literature shows that one such initiative that can assist the automotive sector to compete with the rest of the world where productivity, quality and operational costs reduction are crucial for economic success is the adoption of the integrated Lean Six Sigma tool. The automotive sector, which purports to be at the forefront of best industry manufacturing practices in South Africa, is certainly lacking in this area. The purpose of this thesis was to assess Lean and Six Sigma techniques as standalone systems, the integration of Lean and Six Sigma as a unified approach to continuous improvement and to develop a proposed Lean Six Sigma framework for the automotive component manufacturing organisations in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Due to the nature and complexity of this project, it was decided to adopt the action-based research strategy and include both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the research. The study was confined to the greater Durban region in KZN, which formed the target population of forty two organisations within the Durban Automotive Cluster (DAC). A survey questionnaire was designed in measurable format to gather practical information from the sample organisations on the status of their existing business improvement programs and quality practices. This information was necessary to critique the sample organisations for Lean and Six Sigma requirements and compare it to the literature in terms of the KZN context. A pilot study was conducted with senior management at five automotive manufacturing organisations to determine if the participants encountered any problems in answering the questionnaire and if the methodology adopted would meet the objectives of this project. The results of the pilot study indicated high reliability scores which were sustainable for the main study. The survey questionnaire was reviewed by Lean and Six Sigma Experts, Academics and members of the DAC executive team to ensure the validity of the questionnaire to the KZN context. The logistics of the main study followed a similar format as the pilot study and the questionnaires were distributed within the DAC over a three month period. A census sample was used in the field study to collect primary data. A response rate of 75% was achieved. The results of the empirical findings revealed that the sample organisations had a very low success rate of Lean and Six Sigma adoption as standalone systems. The sample organisations only practiced certain Lean and Six Sigma tools and techniques as they found it difficult to maintain the complete transition from theory to practice. The synergies that emerged from the study of Lean and Six Sigma that affect manufacturing performance suggested that they complemented and supported each other by tailoring the deficiencies to the given environment. This information was translated into practical considerations for constructing the proposed Lean Six Sigma framework from a KZN perspective. The conclusion of the main study was that if an organisation wants improvement to happen on an ongoing basis, it needs to recognise that there are significant interactions between their management system and the improvement technique. When the organisations understand the characteristics of the environment in which they operate, they will be able to configure appropriate follow up processes to sustain their management systems. The study demonstrated that Lean Six Sigma integration repackages the stronger focus areas of Lean and Six Sigma to create its own unique approach on improving an organisation’s performance. It is anticipated that organisations which implement the proposed Lean Six Sigma framework could contribute significantly to the growth of the South African economy in terms of increased productivity, improved international competition and job creation. The value of this research is that the proposed Lean Six Sigma framework affords the KZN automotive sector a unique opportunity to create its own brand of quality that compliments its management style and industry demands. Future research should focus on testing the applicability of the proposed Lean Six Sigma framework in a real case scenario to ensure that the critical outcomes are adequately ingrained to achieve perceived organisational performance. Lastly, it is recommended that a list of performance evaluators is developed and follow up procedures to monitor the progress of the Lean Six Sigma technique is implemented.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact that Business Process Excellence has on the innovation process to create new products and services in the software development environment. The best practices were identified in the current use of BPE in software development organisations. Subsequently, a proposal was put forward to enhance the use of BPE in the software development process to create innovative products and services. Once these products are implemented the organisation can use these products as a sustainable competitive advantage. The use of Business Process Excellence in software development creates an innovative environment for employees in order to develop innovative products that can create shareholder wealth, and increase market share. Companies want to create products that are unique to the market, and be able to offer their customers products that only they can offer in order to secure future business. Innovation is a key factor to enhance processes within the software development company. Enhancing the processes can generate new ideas that contribute to the sustainable competitive advantage of the company. The literature does not create a definite link between the use of Business Process Excellence and innovation, and the study aimed at evaluating the possibility to merge the concepts. Business Process Excellence optimises a currently implemented process, by exploring all ideas to increase the effectiveness of the system. It is a structured way to ensure that all possibilities are explored before a decision is made on how the process is structured to implement new products or services. The software development industry is a very competitive industry, and most companies do not share their competitive strategy, or make it available to the public, to ensure that they would be offering their customer something unique. These companies would only make their strategy known to the market once the new product or service is launched, and the trend is set for other companies to follow. It also creates the opportunity for companies to become the market leader within the industry, to ensure growth, and increase profits. Some key aspects were identified that companies could focus on to encourage an innovative environment. Most employees are willing to accept responsibility for the v innovative ideas, since this will benefit the company. Managers should take responsibility for their actions within the software development department, and reward employees that assist in reaching the goals set in company strategy. The software development process should always include a step for quality and reliability. This step is needed, since even the most innovative product needs to be stable and reliable, otherwise the product will not be used by customers if they are frustrated. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact that Business Process Excellence has on the innovation process to create new products and services in the software development environment. The best practices were identified in the current use of BPE in software development organisations. Subsequently, a proposal was put forward to enhance the use of BPE in the software development process to create innovative products and services. Once these products are implemented the organisation can use these products as a sustainable competitive advantage. The use of Business Process Excellence in software development creates an innovative environment for employees in order to develop innovative products that can create shareholder wealth, and increase market share. Companies want to create products that are unique to the market, and be able to offer their customers products that only they can offer in order to secure future business. Innovation is a key factor to enhance processes within the software development company. Enhancing the processes can generate new ideas that contribute to the sustainable competitive advantage of the company. The literature does not create a definite link between the use of Business Process Excellence and innovation, and the study aimed at evaluating the possibility to merge the concepts. Business Process Excellence optimises a currently implemented process, by exploring all ideas to increase the effectiveness of the system. It is a structured way to ensure that all possibilities are explored before a decision is made on how the process is structured to implement new products or services. The software development industry is a very competitive industry, and most companies do not share their competitive strategy, or make it available to the public, to ensure that they would be offering their customer something unique. These companies would only make their strategy known to the market once the new product or service is launched, and the trend is set for other companies to follow. It also creates the opportunity for companies to become the market leader within the industry, to ensure growth, and increase profits. Some key aspects were identified that companies could focus on to encourage an innovative environment. Most employees are willing to accept responsibility for the v innovative ideas, since this will benefit the company. Managers should take responsibility for their actions within the software development department, and reward employees that assist in reaching the goals set in company strategy. The software development process should always include a step for quality and reliability. This step is needed, since even the most innovative product needs to be stable and reliable, otherwise the product will not be used by customers if they are frustrated. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / This project discusses whether the British prototype questionnaire called the Assessment Experience Questionnaire (AEQ) could be standardized as a quantifier of assessment and be used at a multicultural institute such as the University of the Western Cape (UWC). This questionnaire was created in the United Kingdom to assist lecturers in evaluating and developing their assessment systems. / South Africa

Educators in higher education are expected by their institutions to enhance their learning and development in order to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to keep up with the changes being presented by the external environment. Within this environment of change, educators are faced with challenges of professional development. Under certain circumstances, there are educators who will take the initiative to intervene in the learning and development of other educators in the absence of sufficient organisational support. A developmental mentoring approach is presented as a powerful intervention to enhance the learning and development of educators. Action research, utilising a self study approach to enquiry, is used to explore how mentoring practice can, from a developmental perspective, assist in enhancing the individual learning and development of educators in one Vocational Education and Training (VET) educational institution in Botswana. In this study, one mentor and two mentees undertake an innovative mentoring journey to build personal and professional capacity. Action research cycles are used in the collection of data from face-to-face conversations, personal reflective journals and focus group interviews. The findings indicate that the mentoring process contributed effectively to learning and development and enhanced the participants’ capacity to cope with the challenges facing the organisation. The intervention assisted the mentor to improve her mentoring capacities. Overall, the behavioural change that the participants gained through the mentoring process resulted in improved practices that contributed to the learning of the organisation. The value of this study lies in the fact that it provides insight into the learning and development of educators in VET educational institutions through an innovative mentoring experience and highlights how both the mentees and the mentor grew and were empowered by this experience. The individual learning of educators can influence the organisational behaviour of the VET educational institutions using mentoring. The implication of these findings points to the fact that educators need to be proactive and pursue their own professional development by making use of mentoring as an avenue to individual learning and personal and professional development. Educators who engage with more experienced colleagues in mentoring relationships contribute to organizational learning. A recommendation to VET educational institutions in Africa is to embrace mentoring as an organisational development intervention for the continuous learning and development of educators in their institutions. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an emerging and sensitive technique in food analysis providing advantages of rapid detection, simple sample preparation and on-site detection capability over GC and LC methods. Most SERS applications focus on detecting trace amount of analyte in liquid as an alternative approach to HPLC. Herein, we invented an innovative SERS-active needle which is composed with an injection needle and a gold-nanoparticles coated fiber inside the injection needle. The gold nanoparticles-coated fiber was fabricated by reducing gold (III) on a chemically etched stainless wire. The SERS needle can be used to insert into the headspace and liquid sample for simultaneous multiphase sample detection, or a soft tissue like a tomato fruit to detect the analyte inside of the tissue with minimum invasion. Using this needle, we can detect as low as 5 ppb of fonofos in the headspace of water and apple juice samples, compared with the dip method, which cannot detect lower than 10 ppb in water and 50 ppb in apple juice. The SERS needle was also applied in real time pesticide translocation study to monitor internalized thiabendazole in tomato fruit after root uptake. The SERS needle detected thiabendazole inside tomato fruits 30 days after the pesticide exposure in a hydroponic planting environment. Moreover, realizing the advantage of detecting volatile components in the headspace of food sample, we applied the SERS needle in a ground beef spoilage study to detect the spoilage biomarkers in the headspace of the raw beef. As a result, the SERS needle detected volatile spoilage compounds produced by bacteria Lactobacillus. Overall, this invention opens a new field of SERS strategy for broad analytical applications.

No description available.

The E1A gene of adenovirus 5 carries out a number of functions in infection and oncogenic transformation, including the transcriptional activation of viral and cellular genes, the repression of transcriptional enhancers, and cooperation with the adenovirus E1B gene or with the ras oncegene to transform primary cells. The purpose of this work was to investigate the mechanism of action of E1A, by determining the regions of the proteins that are required for these functions. Deletion and point mutations were made in the region unique to the larger E1A mRNA, by exonuclease digestion and deletion loop mutagenesis respectively. These mutants and a series of mutants which delete sequences spanning the entire coding region, were examined for their effect on transcriptional activation, enhancer repression, and transformation. The region which, when deleted, rendered E1A defective for transcriptional activation was found to be confined to the region unique to the 13s mRNA and the beginning of exon 2. Mutations in three regions, all within the 12s exon 1, affected repression activity. The first two, the N terminal region of the protein, and a region, CR1, conserved between adenovirus serotypes, were essential for repression activity. The third region, at the end of exon 1 of the 12s mRNA, was probably only indirectly involved in repression. Deletions in three regions of exon 1 resulted in a loss of the transforming function of E1A. The first two corresponded to the regions required for repression, suggesting that enhancer repression is a component of transformation. The third region, containing CR2, also conserved between adenovirus serotypes, is functionally distinct from the other two and appeared to affect the morphology of the transformants. These two functions did not operate efficiently when present ion separate plasmids. The 13s unique region and exon 2 were not required for transformation but the loss of the transactivation function of E1A did result in an increased adhesiveness of the transformants. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)