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Teachers’ experiences in implementing habits of mind which promote mathematics learners’ relational understanding, while operating within a community of practice
No full textThesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.Current insights into the South African education crisis suggest that emphasis needs to be
placed on developing teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKfT) through
ongoing professional development. Aiming to provide insight into teacher professional
development, this research describes an initiative undertaken by a group of Mathematics
teachers who formed a Community of Practice at their school. Through the implementation of
Habits of Mind that promotes Relational Understanding, these teachers attempt to improve
the teaching and learning of Mathematics at their school, and further their professional
development. A qualitative phenomenological design of inquiry was conducted to describe
the teachers’ experiences when implementing Habits of Mind in their teaching. Group
interviews, individual interviews and documentary sources were used to gain a rich
description of the lived experiences of these teachers during the research period. To analyse
the data a combination of Giorgi’s phenomenological model and the interconnected model of
professional growth was used. Results indicate three insights into teacher professional
development: (1) Communities of Practice promote the sharing and development of MKfT
though the mechanism of collaboration; (2) Teachers are challenged when implementing
intervention strategies as firstly their learners are challenged in their literacy ability which
limits their articulation in Mathematics lessons, and secondly they are faced with time
constraints imposed by workload demands; (3) The attempt to implement intervention
strategies within a Community of Practice, despite being challenging, encourages reflective
practice which informs individuals’ professional practice and supports ongoing professional
development
The marketability of small scale hydroponic systems for the horticultural industry in South Africa
No full textThesis (MTech (Horticultural Science))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.Hydroponics, i.e. plant cultivation in mineral-rich water is a synergy between plant, human, and machine. For decades the hydroponic garden has been offered on horticultural markets, and was repeatedly innovated to better meet consumer horticultural needs. Currently, platform convergences with electronic control systems can possibly enable more efficient products for direct consumer hydroponic cultivation. This means that, like many appliances in the home; hydroponic plant cultivation can become somewhat automated.
Marketing and product innovation can help calibrate optimal New Product Development NPD of hydroponic gardens for people. The literature review grasps how consumers are subjected to a changing environment together with changing technology such as hydroponics, plant nutrition, and even garden automation. Market research frameworks namely Morphological Analysis (MA) and Conjoint Analysis (CA) are the tools deployed here for profiling and prioritising these products for horticultural consumers.
Firstly, a qualitative analysis identifies conceptual sets for structures, inputs, and controls, which all harmonise into new intersections cultivation, hydroponics, and automation and the e-garden concepts. The MA next produces, and organises secondary data into constraints for the CA. Here, general hydroponic cultivation is first decomposed into all its many component parts which collectively describe the whole, where these parts are then classed along various attributes namely: garden plane xA, automation xB, performance xC, organics xD, and price xE So garden plane is composed of level and vertical gardens, garden automation is composed of manual and automatic gardens, garden performance is composed of casual and high-performance gardens, garden organics is composed of non-organic and organic gardens, and garden price although quantitative is simply composed of R2500 and R5000. These classes of attributed data can now become treated as categorical factors using indicator or dummy variables.
Secondly, the CA determines how these attributes are most preferred by horticultural consumers at garden centre clusters. This involves measuring respondent preferences levels, to compute the part-worth utility for each attribute found in the MA. Factors such as garden organics, price, and automation hold adjusted alpha significance. Mainly, garden organics contributed to response effects, while price has negative slope and is second, while automation comes third. A combination of garden automation and organics is found to optimise consumer utility for Hydroponic Garden(s) HG.This research illuminates how horticultural consumers may prefer various HG, by understanding HG and how they can better benefit these people
The role of environmental sustainability in a design-driven fashion industry : a South African case study
No full textThesis (DTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.This thesis is an investigation into environmental sustainability in the South African fashion industry, with a particular focus on the role of design therein. The fashion and textile industry is a significant contributor to the South African economy and a major user of human and natural resources. It is through the use of resources – natural, constructed and human – that the industry is also supposedly damaging to the natural environment and the people working within it. Notable authors on environmentally sustainable design and, in particular, environmentally sustainable fashion design, seem to suggest that a holistic approach to environmental sustainability is fundamental to the implementation thereof. Design has the ability to direct change, and thus design and designers have the potential to drive holistic sustainable practices in the fashion system.The question this research therefore poses is what the role of environmental sustainability should be in a design-driven approach in the South African fashion industry; interrogated through an exploratory and descriptive case study. The case study consists of three purposively selected sub-units that operate within an environmentally sustainable focus in their fashion businesses, and that design, produce, and retail fashion products. The aim of the research was to explore, through a snapshot of the South African fashion system, the implementation of environmental sustainability in the fashion industry in South Africa, in order to determine what role fashion design practice can have in developing environmental sustainability in the fashion system.The most notable finding of the research highlights the immense difficulty of operating as a fashion business from an environmentally sustainable focus in South Africa due to the lack (and unsuitability) of resources that can be considered environmentally sustainable. The declining textile industry of South Africa makes it either almost impossible, or very costly, to work within an environmentally sustainable framework, and is a major impediment in the implementation of environmental sustainability in praxis. Therefore, those businesses that decide to operate within an environmentally sustainable framework do so because of inherent personal values and ethics.The second aspect identified in the survey of scholarship and underpinned by the findings, is a need for a transformative approach with regard to design praxis and how design praxis can influence consumer eco-consciousness. The research concludes with a recommended framework that suggests a holistic and integrated approach to design-driven environmental sustainability in the South African fashion industry, and elaborates on the role of the fashion designer in the implementation of environmental sustainability in the fashion system. The holistic and integrated approach should extend into fashion design education, requiring a fundamental shift in current fashion design education in South Africa.University of Johannesbur
Perceptions on the impact of strikes on productivity at selected mines in the mining sector of Namibia
No full textThesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.The mining sector has been the backbone of the Namibian economy since Namibia attained its independence. However, the disruptive nature of the numerous strikes that are experienced in the mining sector has prompted this study that explores the perceptions held by different stakeholders on the impact of strikes on the productivity of three selected mines in Namibia. The selected mines are Langer Heinrich mine, Navachab Gold mine and Skorpion Zinc mine. Labour disputes in Namibia’s mining sector have a long history dating back to the colonial era. A myriad of factors that include, amongst others, poor remuneration, unfair labour practices, poor social and housing amenities, perceived discrimination and harsh working conditions are major triggers for mining sector strikes. Strikes are mostly conducted by employees when they fail to amicably resolve a labour dispute with their employers. Employees are normally perceived as the backbone of any organisation. Conflicts, however, are part of human nature and can only be avoided, in most cases, if people are conscious of the consequences of their actions and reactions, hence, the need to explore the perceptions of stakeholders on the impact of strikes on the productivity of the selected mines.
Human perceptions are dynamic in nature. Irrespective of this fact, in this research questionnaires were administered to obtain the perceptions of mine management, miners and trade union members on the effects of strikes on the productivity of the three selected mines. A different questionnaire was designed to gather the views of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW) officials since in most cases they are involved in conciliating the disputing parties. Generally, strikes have negative impacts not only on the organisation concerned, but also on the Namibian economy at large. The mines selected for this research are situated in the Khomas, Erongo and Karas regions of Namibia. Most mining companies in Namibia are located in Erongo and Karas, whereas Windhoek, which is in the Khomas region, mainly houses some of these mines headquarters.
A five-point Likert scale was used to gather data in the survey. Specialised software called Statistical Program for Social Scientists (SPSS) was then used to analyse the data. Although the results indicate that in most cases the striking parties are aware of the adverse effects of strikes on productivity of the mines, they still opt to use strikes as a bargaining weapon. Since conflicts are always bound to arise where two or more parties interact, this study recommends that there should always be a conciliator who tries to amicably resolve disputes by sensitising each party on the consequences of strikes. The study also recommends a model which emphasises the need to thoroughly inform the mineworkers and the mine management on the ripple effects of strikes and on the need to achieve a win-win situation for all the parties that are involved in a conflict. The model emphasises that although the employees and the employers can individually and separately approach the official, which is the MLSW, such official should always provide open feedback to the feuding parties through a tripartite negotiation forum, otherwise any other type of covert feedback may be misinterpreted as bias by one of the feuding parties. The model further explains that at all times direct negotiations between employees and their employers must be kept open, as it is possible that agreements that can reduce strike action may be reached without necessarily engaging a third party
The conflict of interest between data sharing and data privacy : a middleware approach
No full textThesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.People who are referred to as data owners in this study, use the Internet for various purposes and
one of those is using online services like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and so on. These online services
are offered by organizations which are referred to as data controllers. When data owners use these
service provided by data controllers they usually have to agree to the terms and conditions which
gives data controllers indemnity against any privacy issues that may be raised by the data owner. Data
controllers are then free to share that data with any other organizations, referred to as third parties.
Though data controllers are protected from lawsuits it does not necessarily mean they are free of any
act that may be considered a privacy violation by the data owner. This thesis aims to arrive at a design
proposition using the design science research paradigm for a middleware extension, specifically
focused on the Tomcat server which is a servlet engine running on the JVM. The design proposition
proposes a client side annotation based API to be used by developers to specify classes which will
carry data outside the scope of the data controller's system to a third party system, the specified
classes will then have code weaved in that will communicate with a Privacy Engine component that
will determine based on data owner's preferences if their data should be shared or not. The output of
this study is a privacy enhancing platform that comprises of three components the client side
annotation based API used by developers, an extension to Tomcat and finally a Privacy Engine
Measurement and modelling of geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) in power lines
No full textThesis (DTech (Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.Geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) are currents induced in ground-based conductor
networks in the Earth's surface. The GIC are driven by an electric eld induced by geomagnetic
variations which are a result of time-varying magnetospheric-ionospheric currents during adverse
space weather events. Several studies have shown that there is a likelihood of technological
damage (the power grid) in the mid- and low-latitude regions that could be linked to GIC during
some geomagnetic storms over the past solar cycles. The effects of GIC in the power system can
range from temporary damage (e.g. protective relay tripping) to permanent damage (thermal
transformer damage). Measurements of GIC in most substations are done on the
neutral-to-ground connections of transformers using Hall-effect transducers. However, there is a
need to understand the characteristics of GIC in the power lines connected to these transformers.
Direct measurements of GIC in the power lines are not feasible due to the low frequencies of these
currents which make current measurements using current transformers (CT) impractical. This thesis discusses two techniques that can be employed to enhance understanding GIC
characteristics in mid-latitude regions. The techniques involve the measurement of GIC in a power
line using differential magnetometer measurements and modelling GIC using the finite element
method. Low frequency magnetometers are used to measure magnetic felds in the vicinity of the
power lines and the GIC is inferred using the Biot-Savart law. A finite element model, using
COMSOL-Multiphysics, is used to calculate GIC with the measured magnetic field and a realistic
Earth conductivity profile as inputs. The finite element model is used for the computation of
electric field associated with GIC modelling
Data policies for big health data and personal health data
No full textThesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.Health information policies are constantly becoming a key feature in directing information
usage in healthcare. After the passing of the Health Information Technology for
Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009 and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
passed in 2010, in the United States, there has been an increase in health systems
innovations. Coupling this health systems hype is the current buzz concept in Information
Technology, „Big data‟. The prospects of big data are full of potential, even more so in the
healthcare field where the accuracy of data is life critical. How big health data can be
used to achieve improved health is now the goal of the current health informatics
practitioner. Even more exciting is the amount of health data being generated by patients
via personal handheld devices and other forms of technology that exclude the healthcare
practitioner. This patient-generated data is also known as Personal Health Records,
PHR. To achieve meaningful use of PHRs and healthcare data in general through big
data, a couple of hurdles have to be overcome. First and foremost is the issue of privacy
and confidentiality of the patients whose data is in concern. Secondly is the perceived
trustworthiness of PHRs by healthcare practitioners. Other issues to take into context are
data rights and ownership, data suppression, IP protection, data anonymisation and reidentification,
information flow and regulations as well as consent biases. This study
sought to understand the role of data policies in the process of data utilisation in the
healthcare sector with added interest on PHRs utilisation as part of big health data
Strategy to enhance sustainability in affordable housing construction in South Africa
No full textThesis (DTech (Civil Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.South Africa’s government is faced with the challenge of providing housing for its citizens,
especially the historically disadvantaged population who seek job opportunities and
improvement on their life style in urban areas. To achieve this laudable goal, the South
African construction industry must be proactive in its approach to the construction of
affordable housing, and must adopt construction strategies that enhances sustainable
housing development. Born from this challenge is the need for research to establish how
sustainable development concepts could be integrated into housing construction processes,
with a view to develop strategies to achieve affordable housing that enhances sustainability,
to cater for South Africans in need of decent accommodation.
The study developed a conceptual model through extensive review of extant literature; South
Africa housing policy and legislation, sustainable construction and development, socioeconomic
considerations for sustainable building development, and strategies for sustainable
building construction amongst other were reviewed. The study adopted a sequential mixed
method approach for data gathering, whereby an initial qualitative pilot survey was conducted
to test the existence of the research problems identified in this study and to validate the
conceptual model constructs
Support strategies used by foundation phase teachers to develop cognitive academic language proficiency
No full textThesis (MEd (Education)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.The study explores how teachers, in English medium Foundation Phase classrooms, use
support strategies to improve Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) in learners
whose home language is not English. The research design adopted for this study was an
ethnographic case study that was analysed through qualitative methods at one primary
school in the Western Cape. The participants were three teachers in their Foundation Phase
classes, chosen on the basis of the phenomenon studied.
The focus was to evaluate how successful the language support strategies are and to
determine any gaps in the strategies used. Validity was assessed by means of lesson
observations, supported by interviews and analysis of the teaching documents. Further, to
increase the trustworthiness of the study, findings were compared across these data sources
and methods to triangulate the results. Findings illuminated: (i) Factors impacting language
teaching; (ii) Strategies used by teachers; (iii) Teachers’ understanding of support strategies;
(iv) Teachers’ understanding of CALP; (v) Effectiveness of the support strategies; and (vi)
Gaps in the strategies teachers used in improving CALP. Data were intentionally analysed to
identify pervasive patterns and main themes in the data and a thematic report foreground the
voices of the research participants.
The study raised questions about the teachers’ practice in teaching CALP. Teachers taught
using familiar methods, taught to a task and lacked linguistic structures in their lessons.
Finally, the study report ended with a list of limitations and recommendations for future
research in strategies that the Foundation Phase teacher can use to improve the CALP in
South Africa’s schools
Die oordrag van leesbegripstrategieë in ‘n ondersteuningsprogram na geografie binne ‘n hoër onderwysinstansie
No full textThesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.According to the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training Act (2013), only 15 percent of students in higher education complete their studies successfully. This is well below the international standard of 25 percent for students within a three-year degree course in contact education (residential education). The challenge facing universities is to ensure a higher throughput rate. This study aims to investigate a potential solution to one of the facets of this challenge. One such an initiative is Leesnet, an academic reading comprehension programme, which was implemented within the CPUT, Wellington campus since 2010. It is a reading comprehension strategy programme which aims to promote general academic performance in all content areas. The purpose of this research study is to explore and describe the nature and extent of transfer of reading comprehension strategies from Leesnet to a content area, Geography.
A mixed method methodology was used. The qualitative research approach was used to explore and describe participants' descriptions of the nature of transfer of reading comprehension strategies and the quantitative data to explore and describe the extent of transfer of reading comprehension strategies.
The study indicated that a degree of positive transfer occurred. It comments on the nature and purpose of the Leesnet programme, but also provides valuable information on participating students' metacognitive processes, highlights the conscious use of reading comprehension strategies and the context under which reading comprehension strategies were transferred. Conclusions and recommendations were made to identify focus areas for further research, to potentially improve transfer of reading comprehension strategies in the existing programme and to offer possible guidelines for the development of similar programmes