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Appraisal of the stability of a road tunnel based on microfracture distribution and total displacement of the rock mass
Get PDFAppraisal of the stability of a road tunnel based on microfracture distribution and total displacement of the rock mass.
In tunnelling, instability is always a major concern for the safety of people and equipment. Tunnels are designed to maintain a specific profile; however, deterioration tends to occur over time due to factor such as age and wear, water infiltration, chemical attack, ground movements and poor maintenance.
The main objective of this thesis was to predict the effects of fracturing on road tunnel stability. This was achieved through the application of finite element modelling approaches and linear regression analysis technique. A predictive model was developed using supervised machine learning algorithm. This was done to predict the fracturing along the road tunnels using the Hendrik Verwoerd tunnels as case studies. The predictive model showed that shallow tunnels can be classified into three zones based on the fracturing intensity. For road tunnels, the middle portion is characterised by little or no fracturing (Zone 1). The intensity of fracturing increases when moving outside of the tunnel. Moderately fractured zone was referred to as Zone 2 and highly fracture zone was referred to as Zone 3 in this thesis.
The effect of fracturing for each zone was analysed and support lining was proposed to cater for the three zones. According to the suggested support lining strategy, zone 1 inside a new road tunnel should have lining that is 0.3 meters thick if the overall lining for the tunnel is intended to be 0.3 meters thick. Zones 2 and 3 should have linings that are respectively 0.4 (i.e., 0.3 + 0.1) and 0.5 (i.e., 0.3 + 0.2) meters thick. Each zone was assessed individually, and support capacity diagrams were used to validate the proposed support.College of Engineering, Science and Technolog
Corporate social responsibility perspectives and impacts : exploring the rationale for hybrid sustainable organizations in Southern Africa
No full textContextualizing relevant corporate social responsibility(CSR) perspectives of business scholars and practitioners in Southern Africa could usher in improved and optimized business-led sustainable development programs within the bloc, as well as promote responsible business practices (Madime and Gonçalves 2022:17), since such perspectives are instrumental in assessing the level of CSR impacts generated by a diversity of pivotal business establishments. This study investigated these CSR perspectives and related them to the sustainable development impacts in the context of different categories of organizations inclusive of non-profit organizations(NPOs),social enterprises and for-profit organizations(FPOs). Further, it probed the ratiocination of hybridizing such entities either organically or through synergistic alliances.
Both empirical and conceptual approaches were adopted using a multimethod qualitative inquiry. The secondary method harnessed peer-reviewed articles from databases, journals and books collected through a systematic literature review involving all articles relevant to the research problem, questions, and objectives. It targeted a population of business articles written by indigenous scholars for local context and narrowed on a sample of twenty-five articles. The categorized findings generated the perspectives of the scholars, which were subsequently used as propositions linked to the themes of the empirical study. The primary investigation was undertaken with management at Africawide (AFW), an indigenous organization with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa , as well as subsidiaries in Zimbabwe and Botswana. It targeted a population of various business leaders in the group, ultimately recruiting a sample of nine consultant managers. In-depth interviews were conducted with a smartphone which accomplished the data collection process.
The study uncovered an inclination by business scholars and practitioners towards scaling up CSR impacts through conception of sustainable business models with reliable funding. Further, the need for evidence of independent financial and non-financial auditing, social justice and environmental preservation were also underscored. This paper argues that hybridization could provide a varied mix of such viable models which could potentially accomplish numerous sustainable development goals (SDGs).M.B.L. (Business Administration)Graduate School of Business Leadershi
The simultaneous impacts of gender, age, and culture: an intersectional perspective on Botswana stem leadership
No full textThe aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the intersection of gender, age, culture,
and industry dynamics on the lived experiences of women in Botswana Science Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) leadership. The problem statement was inspired by the
continued underrepresentation of women in STEM senior leadership positions and the paucity
of local intersectional studies on the topic. Intersectionality was used as a key conceptual
framework in this interpretivist qualitative study, creating meaning from the rich thick data
from the interviews. The study recognised the contextual uniqueness of each participant’s
interpretation of her own experiences and acknowledged that that truth might not be
generalisable, though transferable to similar contexts. Data were gathered through
constructivist grounded theory semi-structured interviews. Twenty participants (19 in middle
and senior management positions and 1 in a non-managerial position) were selected using
purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The findings of the study showed that age,
culture, and gender simultaneously impacted women leaders’ experiences in the Botswana
STEM sector. The broader socio-cultural context and STEM industry culture emerged as
having the strongest impact on the women leaders’ experiences of marginalisation.
Specifically, a patriarchal societal culture and a masculine industry culture contributed to
negative gendered experiences for women leaders. Age impacted the women leaders to a lesser
degree, and its impact was more pronounced amongst younger women and older women
leaders. Middle-aged women were transitorily spared, to an extent. While youth was associated
with inexperience for both men and women, young women’s age tended to be viewed more
negatively. Similarly, while older age was cherished for men and associated with wisdom, it
was shunned as a sign of decline for older women. The participants identified strategies for
gender transformation at the individual, familial, industry, and societal levels. The study sought
to address the paucity of intersectional studies in Botswana in general and the STEM sector in
particular. The contribution of the study is an intersectional theoretical framework that
addresses gender transformation in the STEM sector at the individual, organisational and
national levels. The framework informs a holistic approach to gender transformation in the
Botswana STEM sector. The limitations of the study, which future research can address,
include the consideration of other social identities such as social class, sexual orientation and disability, and a broader cross section of STEM stakeholders.DBLGraduate School of Business Leadershi
ChatGPT: An ever-increasing encroachment of artificial intelligence in online assessment in distance education
No full textThe use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is becoming increasingly prevalent, and its encroachment and impact on online education and assessment is a topic of interest to
researchers and lecturers. ChatGPT is one such AI model that has been trained on a large corpus of text data to generate human-like responses to questions and prompts. Using the theory of disruptive innovation as a foundation for our argument, this conceptual article explores the potential and possible disruption of ChatGPT in online assessment. This article also considers the ethical and pedagogical implications of using ChatGPT, particularly in relation to online assessment in distance education. While the use of AI in online assessment presents a myriad of limitations and possibilities, it is crucial to approach its use with caution and consider the ethical implications of academic integrity for online assessment. This article aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion and debate around the use of AI in online higher education and assessment, highlighting the need for continued research and critical evaluation of its impact.English Studie
Search for excited τ-leptons and leptoquarks in the final state with τ-leptons and jets in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
No full textAbstract
A search is reported for excited τ-leptons and leptoquarks in events with two hadronically decaying τ-leptons and two or more jets. The search uses proton-proton (pp) collision data at
s
= 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment during the Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider in 2015–2018. The total integrated luminosity is 139 fb−1. The excited τ-lepton is assumed to be produced and to decay via a four-fermion contact interaction into an ordinary τ-lepton and a quark-antiquark pair. The leptoquarks are assumed to be produced in pairs via the strong interaction, and each leptoquark is assumed to couple to a charm or lighter quark and a τ-lepton. No excess over the background prediction is observed. Excited τ-leptons with masses below 2.8 TeV are excluded at 95% CL in scenarios with the contact interaction scale Λ set to 10 TeV. At the extreme limit of model validity where Λ is set equal to the excited τ-lepton mass, excited τ-leptons with masses below 4.6 TeV are excluded. Leptoquarks with masses below 1.3 TeV are excluded at 95% CL if their branching ratio to a charm quark and a τ-lepton equals 1. The analysis does not exploit flavour-tagging in the signal region
A framework for financing small and medium enterprises in the service sector : a case for Ghana
Get PDFThe small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the services sector form the majority of businesses in Ghana and contribute significantly to the growth of the country’s economy in terms of employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). SMEs across all sectors face diverse challenges, and access to finance has been identified as a primary challenge. Financial inclusion is easy access to and use of formal financial services, including credit sources for personal and business borrowings. However, Ghana lags in achieving full financial inclusion of businesses, and the majority of businesses experience voluntary and involuntary exclusion from financial services. Despite diverse approaches, such as government interventions and frameworks to promote financial inclusion to bridge the financial gap of SMEs, this challenge persists. The literature on SMEs in Ghana has not explored a sector-specific approach involving key stakeholders to improve the financial inclusion for SMEs in the form of access to financial services and credit. Therefore, this study focused on service sector SMEs’ financial inclusion by investigating the challenges of access to finance and using the outcomes to develop a framework for the financial inclusion of this group of businesses. The study used an exploratory sequential mixed-method design where seven financial institutions were first interviewed on their SME lending decisions. Subsequently, the study surveyed 663 SMEs in the services sector to understand what influences their access to finance.
The study revealed that, in assessing SMEs for financing, financial institutions are guided by their credit policies inclined towards larger businesses, therefore placing a disadvantage on the SME loan applicant. The financial institutions, in the process of making lending decisions, assess the character of the SME owner or manager and review the financial records and collateral availability. The findings further revealed that although financial institutions are challenged in the lending process, they find SMEs valuable to their business. Therefore, they use alternative approaches such as tie lending to receivables, using lending schemes, use of grants where available, using loan insurance cover to protect the lending, bringing mobile banking to the doorstep of the SME client, and forming startup clubs to groom SMEs before lending to them. In addition, to overcome the lending challenges financial institutions face, they deepen their relationships with SME clients, reducing the information asymmetry challenges and making it easier to lend to them. Banks further develop basic financial information for the SMEs who need financial information and improve due diligence and monitoring of loans granted to SMEs to ensure repayment. The quantitative results indicated that, although most SMEs own bank accounts which is a requirement in the loan application process and an indication of financial inclusion, only a third apply for loans. Surprisingly, most of those who apply for loans get access to credit. However, the financing gap persists because less than a third of the SMEs were included in the credit dimension of financial inclusion. Using binary logistic regression analysis, the study found a firm’s balance sheet, cash flow projections and income statement were statistically significant in determining the access to
finance or the usage dimension of SMEs' financial inclusion. The influence of SME
owner/manager characteristics and collateral was insignificant in determining their access to finance, although the qualitative finding revealed otherwise. The SMEs would prefer to use angel investors and venture capital as alternative means of financing for their businesses, which will further improve their financial inclusion.
The main contribution of this study to the literature on SME financing is the development of a financial inclusion framework for service sector SMEs in Ghana based on the outcome of the mixed methods study. The framework proposes solutions for the three key stakeholders, namely, banks, SMEs and government policymakers, to implement for SMEs' financial inclusion. For financial inclusion in both the dimension of access and usage, SMEs should formalize their business, improve their competence level, avoid the diversion of funds, maintain consistency, ensure a succession plan, and maintain financial information. Government in the financial inclusion strategy, should reduce SME taxes, ban import of inferior goods, institute policies to formalize all businesses, ease land registration process, access to credit policies, and provide stable economy for SMEs to thrive. Further studies on other sectors of the economy should be done to compare with the services sector.D.B.L. (Business Leadership)Business Managemen
A positive leadership identity formation framework for women leaders towards overcoming barriers of intersectionality
Get PDFIntersectionality seems to be a barrier to the career progression of women leaders. Gender differences and work-life balance in leadership and career advancement remain more challenging for women compared to men. Despite a wealth of research and decades of implementing various equality regulations and work-life balance initiatives, the number of women progressing to leadership positions in organisations seems to remain low. The study aimed to explore the lived experiences of women leaders and how they overcame the challenges throughout their careers to progress as leaders. The primary objective was to develop a leadership framework for women leaders to support them in overcoming barriers of intersectionality and work-life conflict.
The study adopted a phenomenological interpretivist approach with a two-phased sequential qualitative research design. Phase 1 comprised 12 in-depth interviews with female leaders at management and executive levels from both private and public sectors. Thematic content analysis was conducted and in total, 18 themes within 5 categories emerged from the data. The themes describe the dynamics and the impact of family background and society's perceptions of career women, especially relating to intersectionality. Themes such as Self-leadership, Hope, Positive self-esteem, Resilience, and Positive work ethics describe the behaviour of women leader to overcome the barriers of intersectionality.
Phase 2 comprised a mini focus group with 5 female subject matter experts in organisational psychology. This phase explored the emerging themes from Phase 1 to co-construct a final leadership framework. The themes were integrated into the final framework with 3 main concepts namely Intrapersonal Capital, Interpersonal Capital, and Institutional Capital. Collectively, the positive interaction between the 3C’s may lead to Positive Leadership Identity Formation (PLIF). The framework can be used as a consulting instrument to coach and develop women leaders towards career progression.
Future research could include the development of a measuring instrument in a quantitative research design based on the PLIF framework.DBLGraduate School of Business Leadershi
The experiences of nurses who were involved in the COVID-19 contact tracing and tracking activities in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Get PDFAbstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the healthcare systems worldwide. For countries to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate its impact, contact tracing was adopted as one of the COVID-19 response strategies. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of nurses who were involved in the COVID-19 contact tracing and tracking activities in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Methods: A descriptive phenomenological design was utilised in this study. Data was collected telephonically using in-depth individual interviews between the 28th of December 2020 and 25th February 2021. Twelve participants comprising of two males and ten females with experience in contact tracing were purposively sampled and interviewed telephonically to get lived experiences. The number of females and males who were purposefully sampled depended on the proportion of this participants in the setting. Analysis followed the seven steps by Colaizzi strategies.
Results: The study findings demonstrated that the participants experienced challenges as they implemented contact tracing activities. Four themes on contact tracing emerged: follow-up and contact-tracing activities; support systems; psychosocial implications; and witnessed patients’ experiences. Fourteen sub-themes were identified: negative perceptions of the re-assigned roles; unintended outcomes; delayed COVID-19 test results; increased workload; provision of personal protective equipment; training and orientation on COVID-19; meals for providers involved in contact tracing; we want to be heard and listened to; anxiety and fear; stress; emotionally challenging moments; unable to provide a service; witnessed discomfort; and stigma and discrimination.
Conclusions: Contact tracing is key in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy has proven to be complex, with increased workload, which is emotionally draining – hence the need for an effective support system for staff conducting contact-tracing activitiesCollege of Human Science
Aba-Ntu governance and the people’s sovereignty theory as a futuristic imperative : towards restorative action in regional policy (SADC)
No full textThis transformative thesis investigates and examines Aba-Ntu Governance constitutive rules within indigenous people’s dignity can be contextualized through intellectual endeavour towards regional public policy as a futuristic imperative. This study is premised on how the affirmation of indigenous knowledge can enhance the imperatives of peace, ecology, inclusive development and indigenous leadership in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region at policy level. Overall research study methodology is meta-synthesis, supported by philosophic, geographic and data sources triangulation through a combination of conceptual frameworks and methodologies including rethinking thinking, transdisciplinarity, cognitive justice and restorative action. Meta-synthesis is used here to bring out a systemic review of UNESCO qualitative studies of Africa in the prehistoric, historic and contemporary epochs, with a focus on the dignity of indigenous people. The dignity of indigenous people comprises a new form of indigenous democracy with a transformation model, anchored in ethical leadership, ecological ethics, and sacred covenant with nature and creator. The study provides systemic review findings on the colonial and apartheid tools for the systemic negation of indigenous knowledge that went deeper than the current policies could encompass. These were: the divide and rule strategy, exclusive and undemocratic policies, poverty consciousness and patriarchy. This study proposes the Aba-Ntu Governance Theory as futuristic imperative for restorative action for indigenous dignity and sovereignty within regional policy (SADC). The research thesis further proposes the Abantu ESwatini Dignity Institute for implementation.D. Ed.Educational Studie
A Study of Online Privacy Policies of South African Retail Websites
No full textN/AConsumers today are pushing for greater transparency over the potential collection and use of their personal information (PI). It is key for organizations dealing with consumer PI to address privacy concerns and challenges. The use of an online privacy policy is one of the most effective ways of informing consumers about an organization’s use of their PI and security measures they have adopted to protect it against possible threats. The purpose of this paper is to firstly, propose a holistic set of online privacy policy guidelines and secondly, to ascertain to what extent online privacy policies, within the South African retail sphere, address the guidelines. This, in turn, also provides an indication as to whether the online privacy policies address conditions of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods were used on a sample of 18 retail websites. While it was found that all retail websites had an online privacy policy, some were still failing to meet the pro-posed guidelines and as such recommendations for improvement are provided relating specifically to access, third-parties, information quality and accountability.School of ComputingN/