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Evaluation of managerial tools for preventing and controlling cyber-loafing among administrative staff : a case study of a selected municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
No full textOrganizations have implemented systems to address cyber-loafing, but these measures are often insufficient to completely prevent employees from engaging in such activities. Consequently, the role of managers in mitigating cyber-loafing becomes crucial. However, the specific strategies employed by managers to reduce and control cyber-loafing remain unclear. This paper aims to evaluate the tools used by managers to prevent and control cyber-loafing among administrative staff in the workplace. The paper proposes effective measures to mitigate this phenomenon. The study employed a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Purposive sampling was utilized, with a sample size of 156 administrative staff for the quantitative study and 11 managers and supervisors for the qualitative segment. The quantitative data revealed that administrative staff use company internet and computers to perform cyber-loafing activities. Managers and supervisors can apply various tools, including software monitoring systems, internet policies, and employee monitoring, to control cyber-loafing activities. The General Deterrence Theory (GDT) framework was used to explain the tools used to curb cyber-loafing in the study under investigation. Additionally, other deterrent mechanisms and organisational control measures are identified and discussed in specific instances. This research contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the role of managers in addressing cyber-loafing and proposes practical tools and strategies that can be implemented by organisations to effectively mitigate this phenomenon. By enhancing managerial approaches to cyber-loafing, organisations can improve productivity and ensure a secure work environment
Homoeopathic perceptions of gut dysbiosis as a clinically significant obstacle to cure
No full textDissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the master's degree in technology, Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2024.Echoing Hippocrates' notion that “All diseaes begin in the gut”, recent scientific research strengthens the connection between gut microbial health with overall well-being. This study delves into how South African homoeopathic practitioners address gut dysbiosis, a microbial imbalance within the gut linked to various chronic conditions. Homoeopaths interviewed for this study observed a rise in gut dysbiosis, attributing it to factors like lifestyle choices and medication use. Their treatment approach emphasizes individualized remedies and therapies tailored to each patient's unique physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. Treatment plans often incorporate dietary modifications, alongside the use of probiotics and prebiotics to support gut health. The study reveals gut dysbiosis as a significant obstacle to cure in homoeopathic treatment. The high cost of stool analysis tests restricts their use in assessing gut health, making it challenging for the interviewed homoeopaths to arrive at a diagnosis. Participants expressed a strong need for more comprehensive education on gut dysbiosis and bowel nosodes within the South African homoeopathic training curriculum. In conclusion, this study suggests that gut dysbiosis presents a clinically significant obstacle to cure in homoeopathic treatment for chronic conditions. A holistic approach combining homoeopathic remedies with dietary and lifestyle changes appears to be effective. Further research is warranted to enhance homoeopathic education on gut health and its impact on chronic diseases.
Safety of journalists from a gendered perspective : evidence from female journalists in Ghana’s rural and peri-urban media
No full textThis study sought to explore the safety risks female journalists working in Ghana`s rural and peri-urban media encounter while doing their work, how safe they feel and how they are coping with safety breaches. Thirteen semi-structured interviews with female journalists employed by Ghanaian broadcast media outlets in rural and peri urban areas were undertaken. Guided by Braun and Clark’s (2006) six steps for qualitative data analysis, interview transcripts were thematically analysed. It was found that physical and emotional security threats; poor working conditions were the main threats to female journalists working in Ghana’s rural and peri urban media. While there are generally bad working conditions, some participants believe that men receive more benefits and opportunities for professional growth than women. Compared to their male peers, females are occasionally ridiculed and refused training and professional opportunities. When there are safety violations, employers generally offer little assistance. Female journalists cope with violations and insecurities by self-censoring, avoiding working during specific hours of the day, and steering clear of reporting conflicts, politics, and elections as a safety measure. The study recommends that to avoid maladaptive actions by journalists, media organisations address the safety needs of their female journalists. Journalists themselves should look out for personal security initiatives to enhance their skills. </jats:p
Chiropractic manipulation and mobilization for postpartum low back pain : a systematic review
No full textDissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology, Chiropractic at the Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2024.Background: Prior research has documented empirical support for the effectiveness
of chiropractic treatment for postpartum low back pain (PLBP), mostly in pregnancy
but very few in postpartum. Nevertheless, the trustworthiness and calibre of the
evidence from these studies has not been adequately scrutinised to authenticate their
conclusions and determine whether clinical efficacy or effectiveness is present.
Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the current evidence in the
literature about the therapeutic effectiveness of chiropractic manipulation and
mobilisation for chronic lower back pain/pelvic girdle pain in postpartum women.
Method: This study employed a qualitative evidence synthesis methodology,
specifically utilising the Cochrane systematic review strategy. The literature was
sourced via an electronic literature search (e.g. Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline,
ProQuest Health, etc). The key search terms used were ‘low back pain’, ‘pelvic girdle
pain’ together with ‘postpartum’, ‘chiropractic’, ‘manipulation’, and ‘mobilisation’. In
addition to the key terms listed above, the search strategy for postpartum low back
pain encompassed the following terms: ‘post-natal mechanical low back-ache’ or
‘sacroiliac syndrome/dysfunction’ or ‘sacral subluxation’ or ‘sacral pain’ or
‘lumbopelvic’ or ‘lumbar facet syndrome’. For manipulation and mobilisation, the
search encompassed ‘sacral adjustment’ or ‘spinal manipulative therapy’ or ‘manual
therapy’.
A total of 2127 articles were identified, however 8 were suitable for
inclusion. Data was extracted from each included study onto a prepared data
extraction sheet. There were 4 reviewers that reviewed the 8 (4 RCTs and 4 CRs)
articles included. The independent reviewers only reviewed the 4 RCTs. For Critical
Appraisal and Quality of Evidence, Rev Man “Risk of Bias” was used tool for
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and for case reports (CRs), the Joanna Briggs
Institute Critical Appraisal Tool (JBICAT) was selected was used. The GRADE
(Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) system
was used to rank the evidence on various levels of clinical strength in relation to
treatment outcomes. Results: While 3 of the 4 RCTs demonstrated no significant evidence to support a
superior effectiveness of chiropractic manipulation and mobilisation in postpartum low
back pain, Pritchard (2001) showed statistically significant evidence in supporting the
improvement chiropractic manipulation and mobilisation provided in this demographic.
The outcomes in all 4 CRs showed large degrees of favourability to the effectiveness
of chiropractic manipulation and mobilisation. However, the quality of the evidence
was low to moderate at most, thus affecting the extent to which generalizability can
be made, in to relation to postpartum low back pain.
Conclusion: This study highlighted a dearth in literature and the need for conducting
research of higher quality within this demographic. There were also discrepancies in
the utilisation of the LBP term and its clinical scope. It is highly important that these
discrepancies are resolved by establishing a more concrete and deliberate guideline
or definition of this phrase. The production of more RCTs with larger sample sizes that
include a variety of demographic characteristics (race, socioeconomic status, age,
etc.), was recommended.
An exploratory study of compliance with patient radiation safety standards amongst radiographers in Eswatini public hospitals
No full textThesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Radiography at the Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2024.Background
The consequence of non-compliance with patient radiation safety standards is increased
unnecessary radiation exposure with high chances of harmful biological effects. Somatic
effects may take up to 40 years to manifest, which may cause radiographers to be
careless with radiation protection compliance when used. Radiographers performing
these procedures are trained to use the minimum amount of radiation necessary by
observing the radiation safety standards. The study aimed to explore compliance with
patient radiation safety standards by radiographers in Eswatini public hospitals in order
to recommend appropriate compliance standards to the Eswatini Ministry of Health.
Methodology
The research questions were derived using a qualitative exploratory descriptive design,
and constructivism paradigms. The data collection process consisted of in-depth one-on
one interviews. The sample was selected based on a purposive sampling approach. This
study was conducted in the public hospitals in four regions of Eswatini. Study participants
were radiographers employed in public hospitals with working experience of at least two
years. Data saturation was achieved with 13 participants. After the data were collected,
they were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Three themes emerged from the data analysis, namely: a) Participants' attitudes towards
compliance with radiation safety standards; b) radiographers’ subjective norms; and c)
perceived behavioral control factors. This study has revealed a gap in compliance with
patients' radiation safety standards amongst radiographers employed in Eswatini public
hospitals.
Conclusion
The study demonstrated awareness and knowledge of patient radiation safety standards
amongst radiographers in Eswatini public hospitals. However, compliance with the
standards remained a personal decision because radiographers are not obliged to comply. Moreover, other factors contributing to non-compliance included defective lead
protective devices; unavailability of all the lead protective designs; inappropriate design
of the department building; and unauthorized staff making unjustified x-ray requests. The
establishment of a self-regulatory body may assist in improving the situation through the
introduction of radiation safety officers who will establish national Radiography policies
and guidelines and ensure that radiographers follow them.
Integration of an autoencoder model with an actor-oriented system
No full textTraditional machine learning frameworks often struggle with scalability, modularity, and efficient resource management, especially when dealing with vast data. Actor-Oriented Systems offer a robust framework for building such scalable systems, allowing concurrent processing and efficient handling of large datasets. This study investigated the integration of Autoencoders (AE), which are pivotal in unsupervised learning, with Actor-Oriented Systems to enhance the modularity, scalability, and maintainability of the model training process. The study seeks to leverage the capabilities of AE and Actor-Oriented Systems to achieve high-quality image reconstruction and efficient processing. The study also attempted to understand the underlying patterns in the data, assess the performance of the model, and demonstrate the benefits of modular and scalable systems. Key findings from the results showed significant improvements in training efficiency and performance of the model, especially when using Actor-Oriented Systems. The training time was reduced from 16.96 seconds to 14.21 seconds, and the validation loss improved from 0.2768 to 0.2100, indicating better generalisation and learning. Data augmentation techniques further enhanced the robustness of the model, leading to more accurate reconstructions of the test images. Actor-Oriented Systems facilitated concurrent processing, improved modularity, and enabled the system to scale efficiently with increasing data volume. This study also highlighted the practical benefits of integrating AE with Actor-Oriented Systems, providing valuable insights into building more robust, maintainable, and scalable machine learning workflows
The changing landscape of teaching and learning : how adult students view online approaches at a university in South Africa
Get PDFAs university lecturers of an education program, we aim to enhance community college
lecturers' social and economic well-being, empowering them with skills for employment and
community development. We respond to the need to train lecturers and prospective Adult and
Community Education lecturers in South Africa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our traditional
content delivery method has shifted to online teaching and learning. This shift can negatively and
positively impact adult students' learning processes. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the
perceptions of students involved in online teaching and learning approaches. To achieve this, we
adopted a qualitative approach and an experimental design, collecting data from 22 students deemed
information-rich. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data collected, and the results
positively reflected the relevance of the education program and online teaching and learning. Based on
the emergent results, we recommend proper funding and close monitoring of the entire education
programme to ensure quality delivery using online approaches
A resource provisioning framework overview for a Joint Optical/Wireless Transport Network (JOWTN)
Get PDFAs data traffic levels surge globally, research is
intensifying toward designing high-capacity Data Transport
networks that will maximally utilize photonics-electronics con vergence. The focus is mainly on defining appropriate architec tures and net-work services to accommodate the diverse traffic
types with consistent performance objectives such as provision ing ultra-high capacity, high connectivity, and extremely low
latencies for critical mission delay-sensitive services. Thus, we
define an appropriate modern JOWTN and propose a joint
resource allocation scheme considering 5G/7G scenarios. A
model for dimensioning the available resources in the wireless
and optical domain sections is also overviewed. Finally, the
proposed scheme’s performance is validated by way of simulation
A cognitive analysis of consumer literacy training and financial capability improvement among South Africans : a cross-sectional study
No full textBy using quantitative and descriptive research approach via a cognitive analysis, this article investigated the influence of consumer literacy training as a tool to improve financial capability among South Africans. Data was gathered from 10300 consumer literacy trainees from Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa and purposively and conveniently sampled. The use of pre- and post-test questionnaire surveys, employing a Likert scale, was identified as crucial for gathering data on cognitive improvement. The collected data underwent analysis through descriptive statistics and regression analysis. To ensure the reliability of the results, robustness analysis was conducted using SPSS version 28 and STATA. Empirical findings from this research study have statistically demonstrated that consumers enhanced their knowledge and skills related to financial capability after receiving consumer financial capability training. This study contributes significantly to the existing literature by addressing a critical gap and substantially enhancing the knowledge of financial capability among the study’s participants. These results carry potential implications for various stakeholders, including donors, consumers, policymakers, financial literacy educators, and finance practitioners, all of whom can play a pivotal role in promoting consumer financial education, particularly in the South African context. The study suggests that the theoretical models developed thus far have primarily focused on the driving forces behind consumer financial capability success. However, these findings also hold substantial promise for academia, policymakers, banks, and other key players in the field of consumer financial capability training, including short courses within South Africa. Furthermore, this study provides a solid foundation for future research aimed at enhancing consumer protection and shedding light on the various factors that may hinder low-income individuals from achieving their financial goals through financial institutions.</jats:p
Digitalization of phosphorous removal process in biological wastewater treatment systems : challenges, and way forward
No full textPhosphorus in wastewater poses a significant environmental threat, leading to water pollution and eutrophication. However, it plays a crucial role in the water-energy-resource recovery-environment (WERE) nexus. Recovering Phosphorus from wastewater can close the phosphorus loop, supporting circular economy principles by reusing it as fertilizer or in industrial applications. Despite the recognized importance of phosphorus recovery, there is a lack of analysis of the cyber-physical framework concerning the WERE nexus. Advanced methods like automatic control, optimal process technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and life cycle assessment (LCA) have emerged to enhance wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) operations focusing on improving effluent quality, energy efficiency, resource recovery, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Providing insights into implementing modeling and simulation platforms, control, and optimization systems for Phosphorus recovery in WERE (P-WERE) in WWTPs is extremely important in WWTPs. This review highlights the valuable applications of AI algorithms, such as machine learning, deep learning, and explainable AI, for predicting phosphorus (P) dynamics in WWTPs. It emphasizes the importance of using AI to analyze microbial communities and optimize WWTPs for different various objectives. Additionally, it discusses the benefits of integrating mechanistic and data-driven models into plant-wide frameworks, which can enhance GHG simulation and enable simultaneous nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) removal. The review underscores the significance of prioritizing recovery actions to redirect Phosphorus from effluent to reusable products for future considerations