5975 research outputs found
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Unveiling voices and visibility : women’s engagement and representation in three morning prime-time radio shows in Accra, Ghana
No full textWhile women’s status in Ghanaian media has improved in terms of the beats they cover, it is important to identify how this trend is reflected in such prime-time programmes as morning shows and how it has influenced gender sensitivity in content programming. This study investigates the engagement and participation of women in the three most popular morn-ing radio shows in Accra, Ghana. We employed qualitative content analy-sis and systematically monitored and analysed the three shows over four weeks in terms of gender roles, issue representation, and the frequency and prominence of women’s participation. The results showed that there were more men than women participating in the morning shows as hosts/journal-ists or guests on a daily basis. Female co-hosts hardly ever filled in as pro-gramme hosts in the absence of male hosts. The study further established that men are more often the participants in political discussions on prime-time radio as both hosts and resource persons. We recommend that media organisations establish a culture that guarantees gender-transformative and gender-sensitive programming and representation to increase women’s participation and engagement in media projects
Development of an adaptive protection scheme for compensated transmission network with high level penetration of renewable energy sources
No full textSubmitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2024.The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States
in 2015, presents a unified framework designed to promote peace and prosperity for
individuals and the planet, both in the present and for future generations. At the heart of this
agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call for immediate action
from all countries regardless of their development status through a global partnership.
Specifically, SDG 7 seeks to guarantee access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern
energy for everyone by 2030. South Africa, recognized as one of the most developed nations
in Africa, is also the continent's largest energy consumer. The combination of a growing
population and an ongoing power crisis has resulted in heightened electricity demand and a
need for alternative energy solutions. In recent years, the country has launched various
projects focused on renewable energy sources (RESs). However, despite these investments,
the contribution of renewables—particularly wind, solar photovoltaic (PV), and concentrated
solar power (CSP)—remains limited, accounting for only 13.7% of the total energy mix, which
decreases to 7.3% when hydroelectric sources are excluded. Nuclear and diesel energy make
up 4.6% and 1.6%, respectively. The ongoing gap between energy supply and demand remains
a critical issue. Additionally, transmission line compensation techniques have emerged as a
promising method to enhance transmission capacity, minimize losses, and improve stability
within power systems.
Although these technique increases the energy availability factor, they frequently present
technical challenges in the routine functioning of power systems, especially regarding
network protection systems. Protection is crucial not only for ensuring system stability but
also for the safety of equipment and personnel. Fundamental principles of any protection
strategy encompass accuracy, selectivity, and reliability. This research introduces a machine
learning-based protection scheme tailored for a compensated transmission line within a
renewable energy network. Initially, a simple two-bus network is created, and a series
capacitor compensation method is integrated to assess the impact of transmission line
compensation on protection systems. Data is gathered and utilized across three different
machine learning detection and classification techniques: K-Nearest Neighbours (K-NN), Medium Neural Network (MNN), and Quadratic Support Vector Machine (QSVM).
Additionally, the network is expanded to incorporate both solar and wind energy sources to
evaluate performance with the inclusion of renewables. The classifiers are then tested and
fine-tuned for enhanced performance. Performance metrics, including confusion matrix
analysis, precision-recall curves, and ROC curves, are employed to assess the effectiveness of
each machine learning approach. The results indicate that the accuracy and reliability of
protection are influenced by the application of these techniques, as evidenced by the rate of
fault misclassification. Moreover, machine learning methods show promise in enhancing the
protection scheme's performance for a network architecture that includes a compensated
transmission line and renewable energy sources. Among the classifiers, the SVM has emerged
as the most effective machine learning classifier, achieving an average accuracy of 99.2%
Experimental investigation of epoxy-based foam composites for buoyancy applications
No full textA thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Engineering: Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2025.Selection of appropriate materials for composite design is very crucial in critical engineering
applications such as aerospace, marine and automobile industries. This study focused on
developing lightweight hybrid-filled foam composite panels with enhanced mechanical and
thermal properties. Hollow glass microspheres (HGM) and nanoclay were the fillers used in the
foam core. The HGM content was varied from 1wt.% to 3wt.% in foam composites panel while
nanoclay content was varied from 1wt.% to 5wt.% in each of the HGM-filled series of foam
composites panel, these foam composite panels were fabricated using a conventional resin
casting method. These hybrid-filled foam panels were also reinforced with banana fibres as
facesheet in the sandwich composites. Comprehensive characterization was carried out on the
foam composite panels, this involve investigating their physical properties. The results obtained
showed that tensile and flexural strength improved by 12% and 23.1% respectively with the
infusion of hybrid fillers content of 3%wt.HGM+1%wt.clay and 1%wt.HGM+1%wt.clay into
the epoxy when compared to neat epoxy. Thermal strength was optimum with infusion of
1%wt.HGM+5%wt.clay into the epoxy while the buoyancy results revealed that the sample
with 3%wt. hollow glass microspheres concentration has the highest buoyancy due to the low
density of the HGM used which is 0.19 g/cm3
and because sample 3%wt.HGM has the highest
concentration of HGM with the respect to series of samples considered in this study. Similar
trend of improvement in mechanical properties and physical properties was observed when the
fabricated hybrid-filled foam panels was used as core in the sandwich composites developed
which resulted to 22.11% and 29.53% improvement as flexural strength and tensile strength
while there was 32.26% improvement in the impact energy. Also, there was 8.61% reduction
in the water uptake. Furthermore, the tensile and flexural results was validated numerically by
using finite element method and abaqus® 6.13 software and this revealed that most of the
modelled samples are stronger than the experimental tested samples with up to 9% increase
from experimental values obtained because of limitation in some parameter estimation of the
numerical model such as the thermal properties, perfect contact and linear failure criteria.
Since the improvement in mechanical and thermal properties has been established, the
composite panels developed are suitable for applications in manufacturing ship propellers.
Future studies aims to improve the fire retardation of sandwich composites for marine
applicationsDurban University of Technology
Reducing youth violence : an action research project in Masisi, The Democratic Republic of Congo
No full textSubmitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration: Peace Studies, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2025.For more than six decades now, Masisi District in the Democratic Republic of Congo has
been undergoing deadly conflicts. These conflicts have resulted in thousands of deaths,
destruction, people displacements and hatred among people, in particular the youths.
Furthermore, these conflicts were characterised by violence. The purpose of this thesis is to
determine how to reduce violent behaviour among the youth in Masisi. The study first
establishes the motivations behind youth involvement in violent acts and the impact of
violence on the youth themselves and the communities. Then it provides solutions for the
way out of violence by suggesting locally designed projects to promote peace among the
youth and their communities. The main goal is to understand the youth behaviours and try to
reduce violence. Specifically, the study aims at exploring the nature, extent, causes and
consequences of violence in Masisi and to evaluate the impact of violence on the
communities. In addition, the study aims at assessing the current initiatives put in place for
conflict transformation. Finally, it provides suggestions for strategies and how to implement
them in order to reduce prejudice; stereotypes and misunderstanding among the youths while
evaluating the outcomes of the implemented interventions in order to improve the
relationships and to curtail violence in Masisi. These strategies resulted from the conflict
transformation theory as suggested by Jean Paul Lederach, the intergroup contact theory and
the theory of change. This research is qualitative. Data collection was done through
interviews with various actors and was coupled with observation and archival research.
Therefore, primary and secondary data was used and was related to the situation in Masisi.
The findings revealed that young people inherited historical conflict and that violence in
Masisi has had serious and long-term repercussions. In addition, acts of violence and
criminality are quite often hidden because of the inaccessibility of the district, therefore
making it difficult to document the acts of violence or to eliminate them. Among other causal
factors of violence, the findings identified the geographical setting and isolation coupled with
an isolated population, youth unemployment, manipulation and exploitation among the
motivations for violence. Moreover, the study established from the informants’ narratives that
violence is both a business and a game; there is a leadership vacuum and lack of role models
with manipulation or exploitation adding to poverty in Masisi. In addition, the results indicate
that the youths’ voices are not heard; there is a strong feeling of hypocrisy among
communities and a lack of social cohesion. The study found also that there is unfinished
business on the youths’ side and a need for peaceful cohabitation. Ethnic rivalry, discrimination and exclusion are also among the causes of violence. Thus, efforts need to be
made to reduce violence and bring about peaceful cohabitation, to improve the relationships
among young people and put in place mechanisms to transform conflicts and change
behaviours. This will help stakeholders to understand the youths’ attitude and how to respond
to their grievances and expectations. The study resulted in the creation of a youth association
involved in farming activities and peace circles for the young people who act as peacemakers.
Vertical representation of gender in the Ghanaian broadcast media
No full textThe gender gap in media organizations has drawn research attention in recent years. This study, through the lens of the glass ceiling concept, draws on interview data to explore how gender is represented in managerial positions within Ghanaian broadcast media. The study’s findings indicate that, despite progress towards gender equality, men continue to dominate top managerial positions in Ghana’s broadcast media. The absence of institutional policies specifically targeting gender representation perpetuates these inequalities. Further, informal efforts by some media firms to ensure fair representation lack the effectiveness of formal guidelines and accountability mechanisms. Thus, women in the Ghanaian broadcast media experience the “glass ceiling” effect and are excluded from managerial decision-making processes. The study highlights the importance of promoting gender equity and diversity in leadership within the Ghanaian broadcast media
The role of public relations in enhancing competitiveness of the Durban Film Industry
No full textSubmitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree: Masters in Management Sciences: Public Relations and Communication, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2025.The Durban film industry possesses great potential, however, the lack of adequate
infrastructure, poor marketing and public relations, insufficiency of resources, and lack of
exposure, among other concerns, have undermined this sector and invariably analysts have
perceived this as a missed opportunity. As mentioned, the local film industry cannot generate
enough volume on its own, it needs more public relations efforts to help it succeed and without
these factors, it could be very difficult for the industry to achieve its objectives. There is a gap
in the knowledge base as to what public relations (PR) can do to enhance competitiveness of
the Durban film industry (DFI). Therefore, this study sought to explore the role of public
relations in enhancing the competitiveness of the Durban film industry. A qualitative research
methodology was used. A sample size of 16 participants was selected using purposive
sampling. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was
conducted to deduce themes. The study found that the performance of the Durban film industry
is not as competitive as other national and international film industries. Public relations play a
significant role in promoting local films, raising awareness, developing and maintaining
relationships as well as seeking support from sponsors and other related stakeholders.
Furthermore, the study found that there are PR-related challenges that are hindering the role of
PR in enhancing the competitiveness of the DFI, including lack of global awareness, poor
networking, poor reputation, perceptions of the people, poor relationship with local people and
international audience, as well as lack of sponsorship. Therefore, the study recommended that
PR in DFI should be provided with adequate financial resources, to undertake campaigns,
awareness road shows and engage in collaborations with other stakeholders from the national
and international film industry. This will lead to successful progress of the DFI, providing them
with a competitive advantage.
The impact of COVID-19 on the work-life balance of portering staff at Inkosi Albert Luthuli in Durban
No full textSubmitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Philosophy in Management Sciences specialising in Human Resource Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2025.This study used a qualitative research method to investigate the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on the work-life balance of portering staff at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital in
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative research design within the interpretative paradigm was
employed to explore the lived experiences of portering staff. Data was collected through semistructured interviews conducted in English and isiZulu with fifteen participants, selected using
purposive sampling to ensure relevance to the research objectives. Thematic analysis was used
to identify and interpret key themes emerging from the data systematically.
Healthcare practitioners in South Africa faced immense challenges during the peak of the
COVID-19 pandemic (Robertson et al., 2020). The emergence of COVID-19 also brought
about significant increases to the work scope of all healthcare workers, alongside an increased
demand for the volume of staff needed and the precautionary sanitationmeasures needed (Singh
& Subedi, 2020). As such, hospital staff, including Chief Albert Luthuli, had to adapt to a new
working environment.
Healthcare workers were responsible for providing direct care to all incoming patients infected
with COVID-19 while also giving attention to patients who had non-COVID-19-related
illnesses (Hussain, 2021). Workers often had to work longer shifts to adequately attend to all
patients (Iyengar et al., 2022). Responses from participants in this study highlighted the
difficulties encountered by healthcare workers in maintaining a balance between home and
work safety, resulting in emotional tension and the imminent risk of burnout.
Adaptive mechanisms surfaced as a vital aspect of the participants' accounts. These
mechanisms encompassed strict adherence to safety protocols, active involvement in self-care
routines, and acquiring emotional support from colleagues and family members. These insights
imply that porters regard themselves as unacknowledged heroes, traversing the intricacies of
their tasks with unwavering dedication and determination.
This research presented crucial learnings for hospital administrators and governance, alike.
These involved: implementing flexible timetables to accommodate the demands of the porters’
roles whilst allowing for essential personal time; providing consistent mental health aid
services to prevent burnout; and initiating recognition schemes to enhance morale and job
contentment. These proposals highlighted the necessity for proactive management plans to
cultivate a supportive and harmonious workplace, addressing the pandemic's immediate challenges and ensuring a sustainable working milieu for portering staff in the long term.
An exploratory study on research ethics at the interface of health sciences amongst postgraduates at a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal
No full textSubmitted in fulfilment of the requirement of the Degree of Master of Health Science at the Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2025.Research ethics are essential in terms of safeguarding research participants and
maintaining the integrity of the scientific inquiry. It includes principles and guidelines
designed to protect participants' rights and welfare while promoting ethical behaviour
among researchers. In the Health Sciences, research ethics are crucial in terms of its
direct impact on human health and the well-being of participants.
Despite the importance of research ethics, there is a significant lack of research and
literature related to the readiness of postgraduate students in South Africa to address
ethical challenges in their research. No studies have explored this readiness at the
selected University of Technology.
This study investigated how postgraduate students conceptualised research ethics in the
Health Sciences. Using a qualitative research design, data was collected through online
interviews with fifteen postgraduate students from various disciplines within the Faculty
of Health Sciences at the University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal, in 2022.
The findings indicated that postgraduate students had a reasonably good understanding
of research ethics in health science research. However, the study revealed that these
students faced challenges in addressing critical ethical issues in their research.
Additionally, there were varied experiences regarding supervision during the research
process and differing perspectives on the training received in research ethics. The
findings suggested a critical need for a dedicated research ethics module to be included
as part of the postgraduate curriculum
E-business developments and skills requirements in the retail sector
No full textThe article summarises the findings of an international study among retailers as to the state of e- business in the international retail sector and the skills required by the sector to cope with the changing technologies. The research methodology consists of three steps. Firstly, a comprehensive literature review was done; secondly, qualitative interviewing of experts in e-business, information technology and management was conducted; and thirdly, in-depth interviews with retail experts took place. The future success of retailers depends heavily on their abilities to take advantage of the technological developments. Therefore these companies have an increasing demand for employees who combine quantitative technological and statistical skills with expertise in qualitative fields. Retailers already report difficulties in obtaining the workforce they need. The situation is expected to become more problematic in the near future. Companies need to prepare themselves. Increasing the qualifications of employees is strongly recommended
Multicomponent synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial evaluation of pyrazole derivatives
No full textSubmitted in fulfilment for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Chemistry, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2024.People have been ailing regularly nowadays and conventional antibiotics have become less
potent due to drug resistance. The molecular architecture of the antibiotics issued to patients
has only marginally changed since their discovery, thus this has caused microorganisms to
adapt or survive the repeated administration of the same drugs over time, causing medication
to be less effective, and people becoming sicker because the lack of new, different and potent
antibiotic structures has enabled bacteria to mutate. This presented the pressing need to develop
pyrazole compounds because they suit the category of being structurally different and have
been reported to exhibit excellent antibacterial activities. To obtain pyrazole derivatives,
Microwave-Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS) was utilized to synthesize ten novel
compounds of (4Z)-4-arylidene-4,5-dihydro-3-methyl-5-oxopyrazole-1-carbothioamide
derivatives (4a-4j) by a one-pot multicomponent reaction (MCR) methodology that is ecofriendly and adhering to green chemistry principles, occurring by catalyst-free in a waterethanol solvent system. The methodology to access novel pyrazoles (4a-4j) in this study is
superior to conventional pyrazole synthesis because it requires harsh reaction conditions and
expensive catalysts, which deviates from green chemistry. All synthesized compounds (4a-4j)
were fully characterized and confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 2D NMR, FTIR and TOF-MS.
Antimicrobial study was performed against two Gram-negative and two Gram-positive strains
viz. Escherichia Coli (E.Coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Staphylococcus
Aureus (S. Aureus), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), respectively, and
amoxicillin was used as the reference drug.
It was found that only 4c and 4j exhibited activity against E. coli and their Minimum Inhibitory
Concentration ( MIC) values were 1.38 and 2.50 mg/mL, respectively. In contrast, Amoxicillin
displayed a lower MIC value of 0.0306 mg/mL, thereby suggesting that amoxicillin is more
effective than the synthesized pyrazoles against E. coli. Pyrazoles 4a, 4d, and 4g showed no
antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa. Compounds 4b, 4c, 4e, 4f, 4h, 4i, and 4j displayed
varying MIC values ranging from 0.212 to 0.625 mg/mL against S. aureus, 4i being 0.212
mg/mL the lowest MIC value. Amoxicillin displayed a lower MIC value than all the pyrazoles
against P. aeruginosa. Against S. pneumoniae, 4j demonstrated an excellent antibacterial
potential with a lower MIC value of 0.0156 mg/mL compared to that of amoxicillin (0.0306
mg/mL). The other pyrazoles displayed marginally higher MIC values than amoxicillin; 4g
showed no activity for S. aureus. However, 4i displayed the lowest MIC value, suggesting its potential as an antibacterial agent. It was percieved that the unsubstituted phenyl ring in 4i
contributed to its enhanced potency against test bacteria.
Molecular docking studies were performed to predict the binding sites and affinities of the
pyrazoles, revealing that they primarily target Penicillin Binding Proteins (PBPs) in the test
bacteria. Docking scores for E. coli ranged from -6.7 to -7.9 kcal/mol and compound 4f
exclusively exhibited the best docking score of -8.1 kcal/mol against E. coli better than
amoxicillin’s docked score of -7.0 kcal/mol. Docking scores for P. aeruginosa ranged from -
6.8 to -7.7 kcal/mol. Compounds 4g and 4j displayed the highest negative docking scores of -
7.7 kcal/mol, outperforming amoxicillin thereby suggesting their potential as inhibitors,
however 4b and 4f were comparable. Furthermore, in silico simulation, Molecular Dynamics
(MD) studies were conducted for 4g and 4j. Docking scores for S. pneumoniae range from -
7.2 to -8.1 kcal/mol. Compound 4j displayed the highest negative docking score. Agreement
between docking and in vitro results reinforces 4j as a potential inhibitor. The pyrazoles
exhibited docking scores between -5.5 and -6.6 kcal/mol for S. aureus with 4j showing
potential as an inhibitor. While lower than other PBPs, some pyrazoles are comparable to
amoxicillin.
Furthermor, the pyrazoles exhibited LogP (Lipophilicity) values oscillating between 1 and 2.5,
indicating better bioavailability. Amoxicillin, partitioned close to an aqueous phase, showed
by a negative LogP value of -0.29. Amoxicillin’s LD50 (lethal dose for killing 50% of the
bacteria) is 15 g/kg, suggesting non-toxicity orally. Among pyrazoles, only compound 4c
shares this safety profile as amoxicillin, qualifying 4c to be an orally administered antibacterial
agent. Other pyrazoles fall into toxicity class 4, necessitating alternative administration routes,
such as IV (Intravenous) or IM (Intramuscular). All studied compounds showed no affinity for
BBB (Blood-Brain Barrier) permeability or P-glycoprotein binding, indicating they can
traverse the system without hindrance from nonspecific enzymes or tissues. Compound 4d does
not inhibit any CYP (Cytochrome P450) isoenzymes, similar to amoxicillin. Compound 4e
selectively inhibits CYP 3A4, relevant for drug metabolism.