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Umgangxo wentombi
No full textThe girl's body harness is a beautiful testament to her cultural heritage and unique identity. Painstakingly crafted from flat bead strips and delicate chains, it exudes elegance and grace, serving as more than just an accessory. It symbolises her deep connection to her community and her personal journey of self-discovery. Every bead strip and chain is thoughtfully chosen and arranged to reflect her individual personality and style. As she wears this harness, she carries with her the stories of her ancestors and the traditions that have shaped her identity. It becomes an integral part of her, accentuating her beauty and grace as she confidently navigates the world. With each step, she pays homage to her heritage while carving out her own path, embodying the timeless spirit of her culture with every bead that adorns her body.Purchased from Mrs Joan BrosterForms part of: Walter Sisulu University Beadwork Collectio
Isitsikili samaMpondo
No full textThe necklace consists of 19 strings arranged in overlapping layers of green and white, red and white, and orange and white colours. It is fastened at the back with a brass button. This necklace is traditionally worn by middle-aged individuals, both men and women, belonging to the amaMpondo subcultural group within the isiXhosa-speaking community.Purchased from Mrs Joan BrosterForms part of: Walter Sisulu University Beadwork Collectio
Isitsikili samaMpondo
No full textA stunning necklace consisting of 17 strands of yellow and orange, red and white, green and white, pink and white, blue and white, and green and white strings, all varying in length and overlapping to form captivating circles. The red and white strands are adorned with delicate pearls and fastened at the back with buttons. This unique piece is traditionally worn by middle-aged men of amaMpondo subcultural group within the isiXhosa-speaking community.Purchased from Mrs Joan BrosterForms part of: Walter Sisulu University Beadwork Collectio
Ungcenge wabaThembu
No full textA traditional Thembu necklace typically consists of a vibrant red beaded string that fastens at the back and holds together 23 overlapping circular strings of beads. These beads are arranged in a pattern of white, turquoise, navy, and red, creating a visually striking and culturally significant piece of jewellery. This type of necklace is commonly worn by middle-aged men and women belonging to abaThembu subcultural group within the isiXhosa-speaking community.Purchased from Mrs Joan BrosterForms part of: Walter Sisulu University Beadwork Collectio
Isigcina ntliziyo
No full textThe keeper of the heart necklace, “Isigcina ntliziyo”, showcases an exceptional design characterized by an enlarged flat tab which is meticulously embellished with an intricate geometric motif. The adornment of this piece is further enhanced by the incorporation of eight lustrous pearl buttons, which not only add to its aesthetic appeal but also render it a versatile accessory, suitable for adornment by individuals of any gender.Purchased from Mrs Joan BrosterForms part of: Walter Sisulu University Beadwork Collectio
Computer vision as a tool for tracking gastropod chemical trails
Get PDFThe difficulties encountered in previous gastropod research with human intervention (Raw, Miranda, & Perissinotto, 2013) inspired this dissertation. More specifically the tedious task of human intervention in the tracking of gastropod chemical trails, which is a time-consuming and error-prone exercise. In this study, computer vision is proposed as an alternative to human intervention. A machine learning literature review was conducted to identify relevant methodologies and techniques for the research. Furthermore, it investigates data preprocessing techniques on a variety of different data types. This sets the stage for a deeper investigation of techniques used for pre-processing image and video data. Following that, another literature review delved deeper into the computer vision pipeline. The review is divided into two parts: data pre-processing and model training. First, it provides a deeper investigation into relevant data pre-processing techniques for use in constructing a dataset comprised of gastropod images. Following that, it delves into the complexities of training a computer vision model. The study then investigates convolutional neural networks, revealing the neural networks’ suitability in image/video processing. A convolutional neural network is selected as the foundation for the best-effort model. This serves as the foundation for the subsequent experimental research. The first part of the experimental work involves creating a labelled dataset from the video dataset provided by Raw et al. (2013). By employing data preprocessing techniques in a strategic manner, an unlabeled dataset is generated. Then a labelled dataset is generated using a simple K-Means clustering algorithm and manual labelling. Thereafter, a best-effort model is trained to detect gastropods within images using this dataset. After making the labelled dataset, the next step in the exploration is to build a prototype that can find gastropods and draw trace lines based on their movement. Five evaluation runs serve to gauge the prototype’s effectiveness. Videos with varying properties from the original dataset are purposefully chosen for each run. The prototype’s trace lines are compared to the original dataset’s human-drawn pathways. The versatility of the prototype is demonstrated in the final evaluation by generating fine-grained trace lines post-processing. This enables the plot to be adjusted to different parameters based on the characteristics that the resulting plot should have. Through the versatility and accuracy demonstrated by the evaluation runs, this research found that a gastropod tracking solution based on computer vision can alleviate human intervention. The dissertation concludes with a discourse on the lessons learned from the research study. These are presented as guidelines to aid future work in developing a gastropod tracking solution based on computer vision.Thesis (MIT) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Information Technology, 202
A skills development framework for the built environment
Get PDFThe built environment is one of the largest sources of employment and makes a significant contribution to the gross domestic product of many countries around the world. The built environment is a significant contributor to socio-economic development in every nation irrespective of the geographical difference between countries. Therefore, it is imperative that new graduates of the built environment identify key indicators of competitiveness in order to survive and ensure their success in a constantly changing market. The study was conducted by means of a review of the related literature and by conducting an empirical study. The empirical study was conducted using a quantitative statistical approach by distributing research questionnaires to members falling within the sample population. The primary objective of the study was to develop a performance framework for perceived success of skills development within the built environment. A descriptive survey was conducted among past and present Infrastructure Skills Development Grant programme graduates from the following built environment disciplines: Electrical Engineering, Construction Project Management, Architectures, Town and Regional Planners, Environmental Scientists, Chemical Scientists, Quantity Surveyors and Civil Engineering as well as past built-environment graduates of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in South Africa. The findings of the study suggested that the following variables had a positive influence on the perceived success of skills development within the built environment: Education; Transformational Decolonisation in Education; Accelerated Advanced Training; Emotional Intelligence; Self-Empowerment Skills; Research; Corporate Governance; Transformation in the industry and Project Management. In addition, the following variables in the empirical framework were identified as having an effect on the perceived success of skills development within the built environment: Education; Transformational Decolonisation in Education; Accelerated Advanced Training; Emotional Intelligence; Self-Empowerment Skills; Research; Corporate Governance; Transformation in the industry and Project Management.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 202
Value management in government construction projects in South Africa
Get PDFThe public sector construction industry aims to deliver infrastructure services to its client satisfactorily. However, the public sector is notorious for delivering projects that are over budget, finish years behind schedule, and are of poor quality. Value management is one way to address these challenges. This research aimed to examine the level of awareness and implementation of value management within the public sector and the benefits thereof. In this qualitative study, interviews were employed to gain insight into the level of awareness of value management within the public sector department in the Eastern Cape. A total of ten professionals in the public sector working for the Department of Public Works were purposively selected to be interviewed and the secondary data was sought through document analysis . The data was thematically analysed. The South African government requires a strategic change that will help improve awareness of value management in government infrastructure projects in South Africa which will pave the way for the full implementation of VM. The study found that the obstacle to adopting value management for public projects was the lack of knowledge and practice of value management. It was also found that the respondents were keen to implement value management and saw it as part of an important step in the planning stage of a project as it would save the department time and money. In order to improve the performance of construction projects, there is a need to adopt innovative ideas and solutions that will work for South African construction industry. Value management is one way to improve the performance of construction projects. VM should be considered at a strategic level in public sector departments to improve its applicability to meet client’s objectives. The major goal of the VM is to ensure that projects are delivered to the best function at the lowest total life cost achievable. The satisfaction of clients is a key factor of construction project success. Value Management strives to address problems which may arise such as budgetary constraints trying to decrease unnecessary costs towards the project but without causing changes to quality of the finished product. Value management is believed to be a cost-cutting exercise as perceived by many but the most importantly it focuses on function of an element or project. This means that the project is procured at the lowest possible cost by utilizing multiple cost control mechanisms without compromising the project's value and function. Value management has proven to be a practical management strategy for improving value for money, creating a better focus on project objectives, working toward more effective design, and identifying wasteful expenses due to unneeded design, material, labor, and machine. To optimise the usage of value management and to improve project performance, there is a need to adopt new concepts like value management that will work for the South African construction sector.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Built Environment and Civil Engineering, 202
Seagrasses in Mozambique: distribution, people’s perceptions and restoration best practice
Get PDFThis thesis investigated the restoration of seagrass meadows and their associated biodiversity thus contributing to their conservation and to people's well-being. A mixed methods approach was used, and results presented in five chapters. Chapter I is a general introduction to the study outlining relevant information, research objectives and hypotheses. Chapter II investigates coastal community’s perceptions on the role of seagrass ecosystems, local impacts of coastal erosion and the need for seagrass restoration in Mozambique. It showed that there is a high awareness of the studied communities to seagrass importance for their livelihoods. Communities supported restoration and identified community engagement as a fundamental component for a successful implementation of restoration projects in their area. Chapter III conducted a mapping inventory for seagrass using open access data sources and investigated change detection in seagrass extent in southern Mozambique using Satellite imagery. In addition, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) were used to map seagrass to the species level at Inhaca Island. The results showed that seagrass habitats have been losing extent in recent years mainly in Bairro dos Pescadores at northwest Maputo Bay, due to sedimentation from flooding and inappropriate gleaning / clam collection practices. Around Inhaca Island seagrass extent has changed in response to natural causes and from anthropogenic disturbance near the main village and port area. For the first time for this area drones were used to rapidly and effectively acquire high- resolution data for detailed seagrass mapping and monitoring. The different mapping approaches were critically analyzed, and a way forward discussed. In Chapter IV, two different field experiments were conducted simultaneously. One, mimicked disturbance of meadows in terms of digging to collect clams, a common practice in northeastern Maputo Bay to assess the time of natural recovery and another replanted Zostera capensis using different plug sizes. The results indicated that once anthropogenic impacts are ceased, Z. capensis meadows are restored 12 months after impact exclusion. There was a 75% survival rate for the mechanical plug restoration approach; positive implications for seagrass transplantation projects that are both time consuming and financially costly. It was clear from the study that a combination of both impact exclusion and active restoration is needed for seagrass survival. Chapter V investigated the influence of seagrass restoration on the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates. After two years of observations, replanted seagrass areas had not recovered compared to natural established seagrass beds. However, a strong linear relationship existed between the abundance of seagrasses and the quantity of associated macrofauna species. Chapter VI provided recommendations on better ways to perform seagrass restoration and management. The main findings of this thesis provide new knowledge on the mapping of seagrass on a local to a regional scale as well as on better restoration practice of the seagrass Zostera capensis, an IUCN Red List vulnerable species. Communities’ perceptions on seagrass were investigated contributing to an understanding of the socio-ecological conservation and management of these critical and yet threatened ecosystems.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 202