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Predicting the Attitude Towards Electronic Banking Continued Usage Intentions Among Rural Banking Customers in South Africa
Get PDFPublished ArticleBackground: The proliferation of electronic banking has revolutionised the delivery of
financial services across the globe. E-banking services offer substantial benefits, such as
reduced costs to transact, convenience and flexibility. Despite the considerable penetration
of e-banking in South Africa, it remains unclear whether customers are willing to continue
using these services, particularly given the safety concerns, because of the high incidence of
cybercrime.
Objectives: Owing to the paucity of research on customers’ attitude towards continued usage
intentions of e-banking services, the aim of this study is to investigate the formation of attitude
towards e-banking continued usage intentions among rural banking customers.
Method: The study was underpinned by a positivist paradigm, and a descriptive design
was employed. Primary data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires,
which yielded 139 valid responses. Regression analysis was utilised during the analysis for
hypothesis testing.
Results: The results revealed that e-banking attitude is mainly driven by perceived ease of use
and perceived usefulness. Furthermore, the results showed that e-banking attitude strongly
predicts continued usage intentions.
Conclusion: The empirical evidence presented in this study adds value to the existing research
on e-banking, particularly in the context of rural banking customers, an area which is largely
under-researched in South Africa
Improving Management Practices of Emerging Cattle Farmers in Selected Areas of the Eastern Cape Province: The Role of Agricultural Extension
Get PDFPublished ArticleThe study was conducted to determine cattle production and management practices of developing cattle farmers in two selected districts (Amathole and Chris Hani) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study mainly focused on beef cattle farmers that are farming on leased or private land. From both districts, 60 respondents (30 per district) were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Results showed that 33% of the study sample had low levels of education while only 15% (n=10) had tertiary education qualifications. Cattle management activities were performed by almost all the respondents except deworming which was done by only 33%. The respondents were mostly vaccinating for diseases such as Black quarter (42%), Redwater (40%), and Anthrax (30%). The assessed farmers were controlling parasites with many different methods, however, pour on was found to be the most frequently used method (52%), followed by plunge dipping (33%) and hand spray (32%). There were farmers that planted cultivated pastures (35%) and some that were also using supplements (licks) for their herds (77%). As bush encroachments were not a problem in some farms, most farmers were not taking any actions, but 24% were using fires when reducing moribund. Breeding monitoring activities (birth observation, pregnant test and bull futility testing) were conducted by the respondents (78%, 15% and 12% respectively). It is recommended that agricultural extension play an imperative role in linking possible role players and farmers
Cost Effective Remote Energy Monitoring Using the ESP8266 NodeMCU
Get PDFPublished ArticleEnergy monitoring is critical to ensure the sustainability of a renewable energy system. It further makes possible the introduction of energy conservation, reduction and optimization. To achieve this for an off-grid system, or for numerous research sites, requires the use of remote energy monitoring where various parameters may be visually reviewed from anywhere and anytime using an operational internet connection. Various commercial products exist to fulfil this need that may prove expensive and cumbersome to use. The purpose of this paper is to present a cost-effective remote energy monitoring system using the ESP8266 NodeMCU. The research site was the city of Cape Town that is known for its Mediterranean climate. Results indicate that a simple data logging interface circuit, a ESP8266 NodeMCU, an ADC, a 3.3 V regulator, a LED lamp and a reliable WiFi network is all that is required to monitor the energy yield of a pico-solar system along with the ambient temperature. Watt Hours per day produced over a 6-month period by a 10 W PV module is shown along with the cloud cover percentage. Average Watt hours per day for July and August was 39,3 Wh/day and for October and November it was 51,8 Wh/day. It is recommended that more of these cost-effective remote energy monitoring systems be deployed across a number of research sites to enable the collection of reliable empirical data that can be used to optimize the design of off-grid solar energy systems
Utilization of small conduit hydropower generation for domestic loads
Get PDFThesis (Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2019The growth in the world’s population has led to an increased energy demand. Today and in the near future, renewable energy should be widely implemented, to meet the growing demand for energy. In all various renewable energy technologies, hydropower generation is the most established. A portion of small hydropower generation can be obtained by recovering the energy within water supply systems.
Investing in water energy recovery is of utmost importance, considering the unsustainable use of water on the world level. Therefore, the process of energy recovery should be part of the water cycle. Many countries have begun with the development of this technology, although not much is exploited. The exploitation may contribute to the cost reduction of water supply systems, increasing feasibility.
The current study focused on developing a simulation tool that may be used for conduit hydropower generation. This will assist the conduit hydropower developers to quantify the available energy and evaluate the viability of the conduit hydropower projects. The main findings revealed that the developed model responded effectively under variable pressure. The system was solely active when excess pressure was available. This was due to the pressure difference between PRV pre-set pressure and the system pressure. When the inlet pressure was greater than that of the pressure setting at PRV, the energy recovery turbine utilized the pressure drop to drive the PMSG. Various output voltages and currents were obtained; the generator did not generate when the pressure drop was zero.
Further research is required to address the factors not covered by this work. This include: evaluation of various turbine and generator technology to validate the model as a universal conduit hydropower model, application of various configurations of the pipeline system and incorporating it to the simulation model and a thorough analysis of the physical losses in the pipeline, in order to accurately match the measured and simulated outputs
Development Of Modified Biopolymer Adsorbents From Natural Polysaccharides For Renewal Of Abattoir Wastewater
Get PDFDissertationThe wastewater effluents produced by poultry and the red meat industries were analysed in the quest to detect the presence of heavy metals in abattoir wastewater and to establish and optimize alternative methods of purifying wastewater from Bloemfontein abattoirs in an effort to reduce water pollution. Water samples were randomly collected from two categories of local abattoirs in Bloemfontein, namely poultry and red meat abattoirs. The samples were found to contain high levels of alkali and alkaline earth metals (Ca, Mg, K and Na) at rates above 100 mg/ℓ. Other elements present in the wastewater samples that were analyzed included Cr, Ni, Cu and Pb, which are elements that have been reported to cause devastating effects in animals and the environment. Analyses of the Cr, Ni, Cu and Pb using ICP-OES showed the presence of ultra-trace levels (0.05 – 0.2 mg/ℓ) in both wastewater solutions. These elements confirmed the presence of heavy metals in the water bodies at the abattoirs. A chromatographic technique using different chitosan products as adsorbents was developed.
Some cross-linked chitosan products were synthesized from different chitin (mussel, prawn, pang and silver) products. The modified chitosan products were obtained from cross-linking the chitin with glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, epichlorohydrine, maleic anhydride, p-benzoquinone, poly (ethylene) glycol diglycidyl ether (PEG diglycidyl ether), 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dichloroaceone, acrylic acid and s-methyl-benzylamine. Characterization of these cross-linked chitosan products was performed using FTIR, SEM and viscometer assessments. The results obtained from the analyses using SEM spectroscopy revealed that the different products had different morphological structures. The results of the analyses showed significant adsorption rates of alkali and alkaline earth metals (Ca, Mg, K and Na) using shrimp chitosan that was cross-linked with maleic anhydride (J1) and shrimp chitosan that was cross-linked with acrylic acid (I2) chitosan products. The shrimp and crab chitosan starch that was cross-linked with formaldehyde (C1 and C2) was also shown to effectively adsorb the alkali and alkaline earth metals present in the waste samples. Lower concentrations of heavy metals were recovered (0.05 - 0.2 mg/ℓ) for Cr, Ni, Cu and Pb using these chitosan products. Although no complete adsorption of these elements was achieved in both the wastewater samples, the results showed a substantial improvement of the water eluted which demonstrated the effectiveness of the method using synthesized chitosan products
Retrofitting To Reduce Carbon Emissions From Existing Buildings In Bloemfontein, South Africa
Get PDFDissertationDesigning energy-efficient retrofits for buildings will bring about environmental, economic, social and health benefits. However, selecting specific retrofit strategies is complex and requires careful planning. In its contribution to resolving these complexities, the study attempts to provide insights into how building energy retrofit (BER) can be understood and addressed within a socio-technical context. The study was situated in a pragmatist paradigm in which a mixed-methods research design was adopted. The quantitative data was statistically analysed, while the qualitative data was transcribed and thematically analysed. The study identified and highlights the key elements needed in implementation of BER projects, and offered solutions with respect to the challenges highlighted in the BERP delivery process. This gave rise to an artefact that serves as a guide for innovative and proactive tools to attain efficiency in the delivery of BER projects. It was discovered that the artefact has adequate robustness to engender change in the industry. The description of the developed artefact is followed by detailed steps on how to implement it, which is easily understandable by industry stakeholders
Modelling Of An Architecture For Local Energy Generation And Distribution With Peer-To-Peer Electricity Sharing In A South African Context
Get PDFDissertationThe increasing share of variable renewable energy sources, strict targets set for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the requirements on the improvement of system security and reliability, are calling for important changes in our energy systems.
In South Africa, distributed renewable energy systems have emerged as effective ways in improving the quality of energy service.
The integration of distributed renewable energy, such as solar photovoltaic systems (PV) and micro-grids, is significantly increasing the coupling and interactions between sources and between supply and end use, at various scales, from multinational, national, and community scale, down to building level.
In a South African context, power produced from the renewable energy that is not consumed by the load, needs to be stored for later use, or discarded, as the power utility, as well as the municipalities do not generally allow the power to be sold, or shared through the national grid.
In the case where various small generation units residing on the same land (estates or a block of townhouses), the power generated from the PV may be shared between the various consumers on the same land.
Consumers on the same land having different load patterns as not everyone uses electricity simultaneously connecting them in a micro-grid may allow the power to flow between the different generation systems and consumers. This will decrease the size of the storage systems, as well as the amount of power dumped and lost when it is not in use. On the other hand, the reliance on the grid power will further decrease. With the increasing installation of distributed generation at the demand side, more and more consumers become prosumers, that may both generate and consume energy. The high penetration of sporadic renewable energy may cause severe problems to power systems. Therefore, in order to facilitate the self-consumption of local generation, the export price at which the prosumers sell electricity to the utility grid is usually designed to be significantly lower than the retail price at which electricity is being purchased.
This is the major motivation for prosumers to share excess electrical energy amongst each other, rather than to feed it back to the utility grid at a significantly reduced cost. The decreasing tariff rate of the feed-in tariff in most countries, does make this incentive a significantly more attractive approach.
The mathematical modelling of the operation of Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy sharing model between two dissimilar load profiles, will be discussed. These profiles are of typical commercial and residential nature. The P2P system consists of two prosumers: the residential prosumer that has a roof mounted PV system that is fixed at a 30° angle, with energy storage capabilities and commercial prosumer, with a solar tracking system.
A description of the system is discussed in detail, with all the relevant components outlined.
In order to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the hybrid system, in terms of money spent, a baseline system was established, consisting solely of energy supplied by the grid. The optimal operation of the proposed system was simulated and compared to the baseline system. A life cycle cost (LCC) analysis was conducted for a period of 20 years, for both the baseline and the optimally controlled P2P energy sharing scheme. In addition, two electrical energy storage technologies were evaluated for the proposed system. These technologies include lead acid and lithium ion energy storage configurations. Results from the analysis indicated that, if the system were to use lead acid batteries as a storage medium, the proposed system would break-even in 5.304 years, with an approximate saving of 57%, translating into savings of R 1,972,277.98. The proposed system with Li-ion battery storage, indicated a break-even point of 5.131 years, with an expected saving of 54%, translating into cost savings of approximately R 1,861,939.36 at the end of the evaluated life cycle period.
Based on the results from the study, it was observed that the optimally controlled P2P energy sharing scheme has shown to be economically feasible, in the South African context
The Impact Of Supply Chain Management Policies On Service Delivery Within The South African Police Service (SAPS) In The Northern Cape Province
Get PDFDissertationAfter multi-party democracy replaced apartheid, the Government of South Africa formulated policies and legislations to aid the renewal of the governance and administrative systems of the country. Some of these new policies and legislations are the Public Finance Management Act (Act 1 of 1999), the Batho Pele Principles that are aimed at transforming service delivery in the public sector, the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Policy, and the White Paper on Policing. As well intentioned as these policies and legislations might be, there have still been many protests around the country condemning the poor service delivery in the public sector. The South African Police Service (SAPS) in particular has received its fair share of criticism. However, the SAPS has often blamed its perceived poor performance on inadequate resources despite the existence of a SCM policy that seeks to bring efficiency in the acquisition and deployment of resources for service delivery.
Therefore, this study delved into the internal structures of SAPS in the Northern Cape (NC) to ascertain if the SCM policy has been effective in addressing the logistics needs of the personnel (i.e. the internal stakeholders). If so, then internal service delivery has been effective. In addition, the study also gave SAPS NC the opportunity to assess the public’s satisfaction with its service delivery (i.e. external service delivery). A mixed methods approach was used. Upon surveying 176 personnel, a statistical analysis of the data revealed that the SCM policy has largely enhanced both internal and external service delivery. However, the biggest challenge to implementing the policy is staffing inadequacy, as revealed by follow-up focus group discussions. In fact, about 12 out of the 15 challenges identified are attributable to the human factor. On the theoretical front, the study confirmed that performance management does enhance the effect of SCM on service delivery.
In order to deal with the challenge of the human factor, SAPS has to take a second look at its recruitment and training policies to come up with a comprehensive strategy for improving the quality and quantity of its human resource for service delivery. In terms of theory development, it is recommended that a similar study be conducted to test the possibility that performance management is a moderating variable (rather than a mediating variable) in the model used for this study
Determination Of The Fatigue Properties Of Ti6Al4V (Eli) Parts Built By A Direct Metal Laser Sintering System With Standard Process Parameters Followed By Post-Processing Treatments
Get PDFDissertationDesign of hard tissue medical prostheses is typically based on the mechanical properties of the materials used. However, apart from non-loadbearing implants, medical prostheses in use are exposed to various forms of dynamic loading. Therefore, to eventually deliver qualified medical prostheses produced through additive manufacturing (AM), it is necessary to develop a data bank on both their static and dynamic properties. This is done here with reference to the fatigue properties of Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) of Ti6Al4V (ELI) parts, produced at the Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing (CRPM) of Central University of Technology, Free State. The effect of flaws inherent in DMLS-produced specimens and their microstructure on the mechanical properties for as-built and high-temperature annealed specimens is investigated here.
From literature, orthotropy in DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens, with reference to the three mutually orthogonal DMLS build directions, has been reported. It was attributed to the presence and orientation of the DMLS process-related pores within DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens to their loading axis, the presence and direction of the residual stresses within the DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens to their loading axis, and the direction of the prior beta () grains of DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens to the loading axis. These are all factors of growth of the layers of the DMLS process in relation to the three mutually orthogonal DMLS build directions. Therefore, in this project the first step was the non-destructive testing of DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens for the presence or lack of orthotropy. It was done by the ultrasonic testing of rectangular bars of as-built Ti6Al4V (ELI) of dimensions 60 x 11 x 11 mm built to align with X-, Y- and Z-axes of the DMLS machine, where Z is the build direction and X is the direction of movement of the recoater blade. From the data obtained, the tested DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens showed to be both homogeneous and isotropic. The high-cycle fatigue (HCF) properties of as-built and high-temperature annealed (HTA) DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) machined and polished specimens built to align with the three mutually orthogonal machine axes were investigated. This was carried out by cycling the specimens under load control, in a tension–tension fatigue testing machine. From the data collected, semi-log graphs of maximum stress (S) against life (N) of the specimens produced along the respective three build directions were plotted, and the displayed endurance limits compared. The as-built specimens aligned with the Y- and Z-axes showed the same endurance limit of 485 MPa and it was slightly higher than the 450 MPa endurance limit of the specimens aligned with the X-axis. Whereas the HTA specimens aligned with the X- and Y-axes showed the same endurance limit of 450 MPa, the specimens aligned with the Z-axis showed a slightly higher endurance limit of 486 MPa. Optical and scanning electron microscopy of the fracture surfaces were used to compare and analyse the crack initiation and propagation characteristics of the specimens. These showed that the dominating crack initiators were DMLS process-related pores. The HTA DMLS Ti6Al4V (ELI) specimens were micro-CT scanned in an attempt to relate the pores in the specimens with their fatigue properties. The micro-CT pore information from suspected crack initiation pores on the surfaces of eventually fractured specimens was used to calculate stress intensity factors, which correlated well with the decreasing cycles to failure of the fatigue test specimens for all three build directions. Three representative specimens were analysed and the “killer pore” identified in each micro-CT scan and fractographs, all which were proximal to the surface of the specimen
Optimisation Of Online Condition Monitoring To Predict Power Transformer Failures In Distribution Networks
Get PDFDissertationThe stability of any distribution network is very much dependant on the performance of the
power transformers. These transformers need to be monitored to ensure that any unwanted
conditions, including high risk defects, are detected. The previous and current transformer
failures in the Northern Cape Operating Unit show that the health status in the Plant Health
Indicator of the transformers was on category A. Category A status means the transformers
were healthy. The root causes of failure were that only some of the Dissolved Gas Analysis
parameters were monitored. The transformers were shown to be healthy by the Plant Health
Indicator at the time of the failure. Parameters such as cooling, bushings, tap changers,
operating temperatures, ageing and loss of life were not monitored. The majority of
transformer failures recorded were affected by the parameters mentioned above, of which
some are not monitored in the Plant Health Indicator.
This research study discusses the application of integrated online condition monitoring for
power transformers as one of the techniques to assess the condition of the power transformer
during operation. The integrated online condition monitoring allows for transformer
condition assessment without having to switch off the transformer, thereby minimising power
supply interruptions. The integrated online condition monitoring system is unique technology
that monitors the condition of various parameters of the power transformer such as the
cooling fans, on-load tap changer, bushings, transformer operating temperatures, dissolved
gas analysis, transformer ageing and loss of life. The research design is quantitative with data
analysis retrieved directly from the online condition monitoring server. The results from the
bushings, cooling fans, tap changer and temperatures form part of the analysis. Data analysis lead to a discussion of these parameters, which highlights the problems
currently experienced with transformer failures in the Northern Cape Operating Unit.
The research study revealed that, although Eskom is having the best maintenance practices in
power transformers, there is a need to improve and save costs, as the current maintenance
strategies of power transformers are expensive. The results of the study should be regarded as
exploratory, and provide directions to researchers for further, more in-depth studies in this
field. The cost analysis was performed over a period of ten years, as compared to the current
costs of maintenance/monitoring and asset replacement strategies of power transformers. The
total saving per year was a great benefit for tasks such as inspections/maintenance/monitoring
and asset replacement. This was validated by the results from the proposed transformer
online monitoring technology that can predict the defects which may result in catastrophic
transformer failures