Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Horticulture in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (CFSF) is one of the most poorly conserved vegetation types in the Cape Floral Kingdom, and a large proportion of unconserved land is degraded, primarily as a result of transformation by agricultural, urban developments and invasion by alien plants. Fynbos restoration is one of the most important management interventions, both within the current conservation areas and in any future land remnants acquired for conservation. Many extant remnants are fragmented and isolated, and if successful restoration protocols are found, it may be possible to improve the conservation targets for this critically endangered vegetation type. On old fields, where indigenous soil seed banks have been lost due to alien plant invasion and anthropogenic action, it is essential to reintroduce the longer-lived fynbos components that contribute to vegetation structure, in order to facilitate the progress of the ecosystem on a more natural trajectory. This research is built on an earlier study of optimal ground-preparation treatments for restoring Sand Fynbos to old fields. This former study indicated that fossorial mammals (molerats and gerbils) may occur in dense colonies on old fields and present an obstacle to successful seedling establishment. The project aims to provide protocols for the establishment of indigenous seedlings from harvested seed onto old fields, in order to restore Sand Fynbos vegetation. Different pre-sowing treatments and sowing techniques were tested on large field plots to determine the most efficient protocol. The objectives of the research were: a) to investigate optimal pre-sowing treatments of indigenous seed for restoring degraded Sand Fynbos vegetation in old field sites; b) to investigate optimal sowing techniques on large field plots for restoring degraded Sand Fynbos vegetation in old field sites with depleted indigenous seed banks; c) to provide guidelines and disseminate information on optimal sowing protocols, and their costs, for restoring Sand Fynbos vegetation in degraded areas and old fields. A further component of the research was to calculate the costs of all treatments on a per hectare basis in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the different options. Several different seed treatments may potentially increase the germination rate and promote fynbos restoration. These are scarifying, smoke, smoke water, chemical, light and temperature pre-sowing treatments. In order to keep the number of treatments (including their interactions) to a manageable level, only soaking in smoke water extract and seed coat scarification with course sand and grit were tested. A seed sample of each species was x-rayed at the Millennium Seed Bank in the United Kingdom, to test for viability in the seed samples, 52 % of the seed collected were empty, a typical indication of wild harvested seed. All species were germinated at 10/25 °C and 16/8 hours light/dark respectively. Scarification had a larger overall germination success, smoke water had very little effect on CFSF species, it is rather that germination is related to temperatures during a fire that result in seed coat splitting. It was recommended that further investigation using more species across the Sand Fynbos vegetation be conducted on pre-germination effects of heat and scarification. The study site had been cleared of woody invasive alien vegetation and additional site preparation included the application of a systemic herbicide to kill undesirable herbaceous weeds, prescribed fire to clear the site of woody debris and destroy weed seeds, and the local control of fossorial mammals (gerbils and molerats) by placing raptor perches and owl nesting boxes around the site. This research found that the use of herbicide shortly after the prescribed fire and once again prior to sowing was successful in controlling herbaceous weeds and the indigenous grass Cynodon dactylon. The challenge to using prescribed burning on old fields was low fuel loads, which resulted in a cool patchy. It is suggested that cutting and spreading of alien plant biomass is tested as a solution, however, the material must be evenly spread across the site and not stacked into piles which can cause excessively hot fires and scorching of the soil. In order to better understand soil conditions across the site, soil samples were collected prior to sowing, to analyse for soil macronutrients, organic matter and pH. It was established that all the excess nutrients added to the site from agriculture and pasturage over the years had leached from the soil. However, the organic matter content of the soil was extremely low and research needs to be done on the organic carbon content of the soils, how these relate to soil micro biota (which species are present and their relationship with CFSF species) and how best to enrich the site with humic matter for restoration and establishment of Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. The field trial was set up in the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve, a random split-plot block design, was replicated five times and used to investigate the selected seedbed preparation and sowing techniques, namely: broadcast sowing onto unprepared seedbed, broadcast with plank embedding of seed onto disked seedbed, broadcast onto disked seedbed and hydro-seed with disked seedbed. Results from the research found that the most successful methods for sowing seeds were the hydro-seeding and broadcast with plank embed. These methods may have provided better contact between the soil and seeds and better protection from predation and wind. Economically the broadcast and embed was better as machinery was more efficient and effective than manual labour. This study recommended that these two methods be combined with the additional planting of rare and threatened species in clumps to determine the benefits and interactions of each technique over the long term.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2011 / Treatment of waste material from mining and mineral processing is gaining increasing importance as a result of the increasing demand for high purity products and environmental concerns. Supported liquid membranes (SLMs) have been proposed as a new technology for the selective removal of metal ions from a solution. This technology can be described as the simultaneous extraction and stripping operation, combined in a continuous single process unit. Theoretically, the rate of mass transfer through SLM systems could be controlled by three resistances, namely: · Resistance through the feed-side · Resistance through the strip-side laminar layers; and · Diffusion through the membrane. It has been reported that transport resistance in the feed-side laminar layer is controlling. (Srisurichan et al, 2005:186). The objective of this research was to extract copper ions in a TSLM system, evaluate the effect of the feed characteristics on the feed-side laminar layer and determine a relationship between the applicable dimensionless numbers, i.e. Sherwood, Schmidt and Reynolds numbers. A Counter-current, double pipe Perspex bench-scale reactor, consisting of a single hydrophobic PVDF tubular membrane mounted vertically within, was used for the test work. The membrane was impregnated with LIX 984N-C and became the support for this organic transport medium. Dilute Copper solution passed through the centre pipe and sulphuric acid, as a strippant, passed through the shell side. In this test work, Copper was successfully transported from the feed-side to the strip-side and through repetitive results; a relationship between dimensionless numbers was achieved.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Business Information System In the Faculty of Business At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / The South African manufacturing industry landscape has changed due to the pressures of globalisation and liberalisation of trade policy regimes. The structural shift of this industry has led to a global market in which many small businesses in the manufacturing sector find it difficult to compete with competitors for example, in Asian countries. Companies are required to improve their competitiveness by using various strategies such as e-commerce. However, these strategies are changing economics, markets, industry structure, products and services, the flow of products and services, consumer segmentation, consumer values, consumer behaviour and labour markets. An e-commerce strategy could assist small businesses in emerging markets to streamline their business processes in their respective sectors and industries, thus enabling them to enhance their business activities. Yet, literature reveals that most SMMEs do not take full advantage of e-commerce applications in their business activities. A qualitative approach using a case study methodology is used for this research. The researcher adopted models such as the Technology-Organisational-Environmental model, a value proposition model and a key assets model to collect and analyse evidence to propose guidelines for e-commerce initiatives in the selected environment. The findings indicate that SMMEs could improve their performance by establishing formal strategies and structures to increase their worth. This is done by creating e-commerce strategies to fit their organisational goals and objectives. Furthermore, manufacturing SMMEs need appropriate online platforms to transact and build strong relationships with suppliers, customers and partners. In addition, it is essential for SMMEs to establish and monitor quality standards in their e-commerce activities. It was found that the key assets needed by SMMEs in the manufacturing sector could impact their ability to sustain their business activities. Finally, manufacturing SMMEs need to deliver targeted and contextual marketing messages to help influence potential decision makers. This research contributes to the field of e-commerce by providing guidelines which manufacturing SMMEs could use as a starting point, to understand and improve their current e-commerce strategies and sustain their business growth.

To be submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF TECHNOLOGIAE: In Quality In the Faculty of Engineering AT THE CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, 2012 / Over the last decades, due to the lack of safety concern and inadequate quality management in logistical process, it caused unsafe and poor quality of maize products. Thus, this study looks into the key factors that affect maize exports from South Africa in order to improve the logistical processes and reduce the risks involved in the process. The main risks associated with poor traceability and logistical chain management of maize export, as well as issues pertaining to non-conformance to the different food safety standards were explored. Data were collected a group of food business operators (FBO) (n1=127) and food business inspectors (n2=20) through a number of interviews and a self-administered questionnaire. Data were then analysed by using the SPSS-V19 programme to generate descriptive statistical results to determine the specific needs and gaps within the current system as well as providing recommendations on the specific food safety changes pertaining to the maize export industry. The results showed that there is a lack of understanding among role-players regarding FBO legislation. In the comparison of many large companies, there is only a few small role-players adhere to the legislation pertaining to food safety and traceability. This has impacted on the quality of maize products negatively. This strongly suggested that all role-players that handle maize for export must be registered for FBO codes with Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The study also recommended that the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) should inspect and confirm the legitimacy of the FBO codes that appears on the maize export documentation. Keywords: Quality, food safety, food business operator, maize export, logistical processes, and traceability.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Mechanical Engineering 2005 / The objective of this project was to monitor the high temperature creep behaviour of 441 stainless steel. Two different alloys of 441 were investigated; the main difference between them being the Niobium content. Particularly imporlant to the project was how the Niobium content and grain size affected the creep resistance of the material. Creep tests were performed using purpose built constant load creep test rigs. Initially the rigs were not suitable for the testing procedures pertaining to this project. This was due to persistent problems being experienced with regards the reliability and reproducibility of the rigs. After various modifications were made the results produced from the rigs were consistent. Creep test data was used in order to determine the mechanism of creep that is operative within the material (at a predetermined temperature) under a predetermined load. Particular attention was paid to the resulting stress exponents. in order to identify the operative creep mechanism. The identification of the operative creep mechanisms was also aided by microscopical analysis. This analysis was also necessary to monitor how the grain size had altered at various annealing temperatures. Heat treatment was used as a method to alter the high temperature strength and microstructure of the material. Heat treatments were performed at various temperatures in order to determine the ideal temperature to promote optimum creep resistance of 441. All heat treatments were performed in a purpose designed and built high temperature salt bath furnace. The commissioning of the salt bath formed part of the objectives for this project. Sag testing was also conducted, using purpose built sag test rigs. It was necessary to design and manufacture a sag test rig that could be comparable to the industry accepted method of sag testing known as the two-point beam method, as this method is believed to produce inconsistent results. Conclusions have been drawn from the results of the data and from previous research on the subject matter.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY in the Faculty of INFORMATICS AND DESIGN at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / In this information age, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation simplifies complexities within organisational heterogeneous Information Systems (IS). Following the early era of computerisation, ERP systems were designed to provide a formal integration of the whole enterprise with a business focussed approach to the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With the advent of ERP systems, organisations in industry have invested substantially in these systems to assist and augment their ability to form more effective management of their resources across corporate walls and business functions through an integration of information and operations. In the public sector, governments at all levels have also turned to ERP systems to address their needs. As such, ERP implementation has become a new solution that many public institutions are venturing into, based on the evidence of benefits in the commercial sector. However, in the public sector, ERP systems should not be focussed on just internal organisational benefits. Due cognisance must be given, during design and implementation, to the citizen, who is the key public sector beneficiary. The benefits from ERP systems implementation and utilisation are well researched and documented by various scholars. However research has mainly focused on the private sector. Given the growing importance of ERP systems in the public sector it has become imperative to advance understanding in the arena of government with regards to public ERP system implementation and utilisation. Thus, an important question that warrants investigation is: ―What are the benefits for the citizen when ERP systems are implemented by municipalities?‖ The empirical work reported in this research investigated, via an in-depth case study, how the citizen benefits from ERP implementations in municipalities. Fifteen respondents, who are employees the City of Cape Town Municipality, were interviewed. Their interview transcripts, together with the other supporting documents they supplied and information from the City‘s website, were analysed through hermeneutical analysis. The analysis of the data was facilitated by the use of Atlas.ti, a computer-aided qualitative analysis software tool. Four key findings emanated from the analysis.  Indirect ERP-system benefits: The benefits in this category denoted those benefits that are generically found in any ERP system regardless of it being implemented in a private or public enterprise setup.  Direct citizen benefits: These are the benefits that are noticeable and directly extended to the citizens even without the knowledge of the existence of the ERP system.  Effective ERP system benefits management: This finding elaborated how the ERP system can be sustainably managed to ensure that it delivers maximum benefits to the citizens in a long term.  Efficient and effective use of public money: This finding explained the outcomes of utilising the ERP system, specifically in public enterprises, such as municipalities. The findings of this study are important in that they would assist to articulate and improve the business cases when municipalities commence with planning for ERP system acquisition. This is especially important given the high cost related to ERP system implementation. More importantly, the findings provide a basis for the identification of citizen benefits which are related to ERP system implementation. This provides municipal management a frame within which to improve the on-going management of ERP systems. The findings thus support improved ERP system benefits management and which would in turn ensure improved service delivery to the citizenry.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae: Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / South Africa can be seen as one of the most advanced democracies on the African continent. Its 1996 constitution and state institutions were developed to enable a representative, deliberative and participative democracy. The legislature is predominant and public participation is expected like the element that legitimates the institutions of the state, their decisions and their initiatives. However, despite the use of ICTs to enhance the process of public participation, there remain profound misunderstandings between the government and its communities; expressed in demonstrations, strikes and other violent protests, as dissatisfaction in public service delivery grows and confidence in the government declines. The problem is that it seems that the potential of ICTs to better the processes of public participation is not fully understood and not fully realised. The aim of the study was to seek out elements helping and hindering the use of Mobile, Web and Social media in public participation in the city of Cape Town. This research endeavour falls under eParticipation research. It considers consultation for law and policy making in the city of Cape Town. It examines its democratic, social and communicational anchors in terms of facilitation and openness to change, on one hand; and it examines Mobile, Web and Social media, in terms of adoption and use for the purpose of public participation on the other hand. The research adopted the Critical Realism philosophical paradigm for its ontology and epistemology. It set out to use existing knowledge, theories and models to work mainly with qualitative data. It followed a qualitative, exploratory, holistic, and cross-sectional approach developing a case study of eParticipation in the city of Cape Town from a triangulation of methods. Data was gathered from literature, documents, in-depth interviews, a focus group and observation of meetings. The data gathered was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The case study analysis followed the structure of the research conceptual model and built the story of the development of eParticipation in the city, bringing together readiness achievements in individual community members‘ perceptions and attitudes to eParticipation, and readiness achievements in local government induced social facilitation of eParticipation. These eParticipation readiness elements were considered direct determinants of individuals‘ intention to participate using Mobile, Web and Social media, and of local government democratic engagement and openness to change, constituting the city‘s intensity of e-participation. That estimate of the intensity of eParticipation provided ground to sketch out it position towards achieving ‗cultural eParticipation‘ for the city of Cape Town. This study has implications for theory, policy and practice: It develops analytical frameworks for assessing and determining the place of eParticipation; and it suggests a map of favouring and hampering elements to eParticipation in the city of Cape Town.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Biomedical Technology in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / In many developed countries worldwide the provision of safe, clean water is an expected commodity. In South Africa however, as in most developing countries, the access and supply of water safe for human consumption is challenged or complicated by pollution and more recently water availability. Point-source pollutants in surface- and groundwater are normally the most concentrated closest to the pollutant source (such as the end of a pipe or an underground injection system). Examples of point-source pollution are commercial and industrial businesses, that often discharge waste such as solvents and heavy metals from their operations. In contrast, non-point-source pollution occurs due to runoff moving across or through the ground and absorbing and accumulating pollutants which eventually end up in streams, rivers and dams. The lack of waste removal and adequate sanitation facilities results in the disposal of faecal matter and sewage into storm water drains which flow directly into the river systems contributing to the incidence of diseases such as gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and chronic lung ailments, caused by waterborne pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi. Routine water quality analysis however, does not include monitoring for viral contaminants, as this process is hampered by the lack of simple, reliable, time- and cost-effective testing methods to concentrate and detect viral pathogens. The primary aim of this study was thus to establish and optimise routine monitoring techniques for the detection of rota-, adeno- and enteroviruses in the Berg- and Plankenburg Rivers, Western Cape. Initially, various concentration and extraction methods were compared for the optimum recovery of viruses from spiked water samples. One hundred milliliter water samples were spiked with one milliliter rotavirus and two milliliters adenovirus control virions (Coris Bioconcept, Gembloux, Belgium). Optimisation testing of enterovirus was however, not completed due to the unavailability of a positive control. Four viral concentration techniques, namely the Silicon dioxide (SiO2) method, positively charged, negatively charged and the mixed-ester filters, were compared. Various nucleic acid extraction methods were also employed to establish which method would provide optimum yields for both DNA and RNA nucleic acids. The extraction techniques included the TRIzol method (Invitrogen, California, USA) for RNA extraction, the Roche High Pure PCR Template Preparation kit (Roche, Mannheim, Germany) for DNA extraction, and the QIAamp Ultrasens Virus kit (Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany) for simultaneous RNA and DNA extraction. The use of virus specific primers within the PCR technique was also optimised. In addition, gene specific primers and oligo(dT)15 primers were tested and compared to establish which primers would yield the best results since gene specific primers are said to be more sensitive than oligo(dT)15 primers (van Pelt-Verkuil et al., 2008) when synthesising cDNA (rotavirus). The SiO2 concentration method yielded variable results when it was used with the various nucleic acid extraction techniques in this study, since positive PCR results were obtained when used in combination III with some techniques, while negative results were obtained with others. Similarly, variable results were also obtained when negatively charged filters were used to concentrate virus particles, and when this method was used in conjunction with various virus nucleic acid extraction techniques to identify different viruses by RT-PCR and PCR. Results for the non-charged mixed-ester filter were comparable to the positively charged filters when used in conjunction with the various nucleic acid extraction techniques in this study. Both these techniques yielded the highest viral particle concentration from the spiked water samples. Pilot study results indicated the presence of rotavirus and adenovirus detected by RT-PCR and PCR respectively, when filtering through the positively charged filter. The positively charged filter/QIAamp UltraSens virus kit combination was found to be the optimum combination when analysing the spiked water results and was then employed for the concentration of virus particles in the river water samples collected from the Plankenburg- and Berg River systems throughout the study period. The expected PCR product of 346 bp for rotavirus was absent in all 72 river water samples analysed for both river systems. In contrast to the PCR results obtained for rotavirus, the expected product of 261 bp for adenovirus was detected in 22 (30.5%) samples collected throughout the study period. Fifteen of the 22 adenovirus positive samples were found in the Plankenburg River (distributed over all sites), while seven of the 22 adenovirus positive samples were found in the Berg River (all sites). A nested PCR was used to detect enterovirus in the river water samples collected from both river systems throughout the study period. In the first round of the enterovirus PCR 15 river water samples (at various sites for both river systems) yielded a faint 513 bp product. Further amplification by nested PCR then yielded 13 (18.1%) positive nested PCR products of 297 bp. The incidence of adenovirus and enterovirus in river waters reported in the current study and the Van Heerden et al. (2003) investigation motivates for similar studies to be conducted in drinking water, dam water used for recreational purposes as well as rainwater, which is gaining popularity as a sustainable water source.

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Magister of Technology: Dental Technology In the Faculty of Health & Wellness Sciences At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / Orthodontic archwires are made from different alloys. It is now possible to match phases of treatment with orthodontic archwires according to its mechanical properties. On this basis, the titanium molybdenum alloys (TMA) in its beta phase have an excellent combination of strength and flexibility when used as archwires to apply biomechanical forces that affect tooth movement. It has recently gained increased popularity in orthodontic treatment. There are, however, disadvantages associated with the use of orthodontic archwires, such as high surface roughness, which increases friction at the archwire-brackets interface during the sliding process. The surface roughness of dental materials is of utmost importance. Properties such as desirable tensile strengths, load deflection, hardness and low modulus of elasticity and resistance against corrosion & wear determine the area of the contact surface, thereby influencing the friction. The main object of this study was to improve the strength and surface roughness of the beta-titanium orthodontic archwires (β-Ti III) and timolium archwires (TIM), taking into account of retention of the archwires strength. The following tasks were performed. Layers of Zr were deposited on the β-Ti archwires and compared with the archwire strength before and after Zr deposition. The structure of selected archwires and its composition and surface roughness was investigated before and after Zr deposition, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The force of selected archwires before and after deposition with layers of Zr by Hounsfield deflection testing was studied. Two commercially available orthodontic archwires were used in this study, namely, β-Ti III and TIM orthodontic archwires. The archwires were cut into 25 mm long specimens. In this study, the electron beam-physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD) technique was applied to deposit pure Zr (thicknesses of 5, 10, 25 and 50 nm) on selected archwires and the effects thereof were investigated using AFM, SEM and the Hounsfield deflection test. Results of SEM and AFM analysis and deflection tests showed significant differences between Zr-coated archwires compared with uncoated archwires. Zr-coated archwires (5, 10, 25 and 50 nm depositions) had reduced surface roughness compared with uncoated archwires. A high load deflection rate was exhibited by the coated β-Ti III archwires and a low load deflection rate was exhibited by the coated TIM archwires. There was a difference in load deflection rate between the coated and uncoated archwires. Deposition of 5, 10, 25 and 50 nm Zr on both types of β-Ti orthodontic archwires is recommended for even sliding mechanics due to resulting reduced surface roughness with a good load deflection rate compared with uncoated β-Ti orthodontic archwires. KEYWORDS Surface roughness Zirconium Titanium Deflection test Beta titanium orthodontic archwires Orthodontic archwires alloys Coated materials Electron beam-physical vapour deposition Scanning electron microscopy Atomic force microscopy

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Nursing In the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / The syringe driver is a battery-operated device which accurately delivers a continuous subcutaneous infusion of a combination of medication to alleviate symptoms, such as pain, nausea and vomiting, noisy moist breathing and preterminal restlessness. The researcher who works in a palliative care unit in Cape Town noticed the ambivalence and negative attitudes from family members regarding the use of the syringe driver. This gave rise to distress, conflict and ambivalence in patients and between family members. This study aimed to gain insight into the understanding, perceptions and expectations of families of terminally ill patients commenced on a syringe driver in a palliative care unit. A descriptive, qualitative research method was employed using semi-structured interviews, diaries, observation and documentation as the data collection methods. Data was coded and arranged into themes. Thematic analysis and coding were used to analyse the data during this study. This study found that the lack of education and written information were the two major contributing factors towards negative attitudes causing ambivalence in family members whose relatives were on a syringe driver. This study also highlighted the need for quality improvement control when using the syringe driver in the palliative care unit. The need for continuous education and written information and support for the immediate and extendedfamily members was evident. KEY WORDS: Syringe driver, Symptom control, Family members, Terminally ill, Palliative care unit.