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Exploring the use of internal communication channels in the South African Police Service (SAPS): Inanda police station post covid-19
Get PDFThe study investigated the use of internal communication channels within the South African Police Services (SAPS) at Inanda Police Station post-COVID-19, to highlight the potential for successful use and identify the particular fault lines within these channels, specifically the use of excessive number of internal communication channels that are unproductive resulting in wasteful expenditure, insufficient information sharing, inadequate feedback mechanisms and communication barriers between different levels of authority, which can result in clutter, delays, unproductivity, and unsuccessful service delivery. A paucity of studies exist focusing on internal communication channels in government institutions, including SAPS – Inanda Police Station. Thus, the overall aim of the study was to investigate the use of internal communication channels by the SAPS – Inanda Police Station to facilitate internal communication within the context of the government institutions.
The study was conducted at the SAPS – Inanda Police Station, M25 Curnick Ndlovu Highway, Amatikwe, Inanda 4309. The study population comprised the management and subordinate employees. Quantitative methodology was used for the study, with a survey questionnaire as the method of data collection, administered to 197 respondents. In this regard, a random stratified probability sampling was used. Of the 197 administered survey questionnaires, only 141 (72%) were returned, of which five (3%) usable responses were discarded, which resulted in 136 (69%) valid questionnaires that were analysed. A 69% response satisfies the recommendations of several scholars, despite the fact that there is no mutual consensus regarding the minimum response rate. The study deployed quantitative analysis. The collected data were entered into an SPSS data matrix to be quantified. After data were completely quantified and entered into an SPSS program, data analysis commenced in the form of univariate analysis. Frequency distributions (tables and graphs) were used to summarise and make sense of the data.
The findings of the study provided a better understanding of the use of internal communication channels in the context of the government institutions and contributed to the identification and development of the most successful ways of using internal communication channels to enhance internal communication. Among the main findings emanating from the study were that the SAPS – Inanda Police Station were using several internal communication channels, 10 in total that were not productive, only to realise that employees preferred five channels: face-to-face meetings, organisational email, telephone, social media – WhatsApp, and noticeboards. Despite the majority of employees showing a positive response regarding the functions of internal communication channels at the organisation some varied perceptions were also identified. The findings also indicated that there were different perceptions regarding the flow of information in the organisation. At some level, the overall findings support the notion held by many scholars that government institutions are lagging behind with respect to investing resources in internal communication.M.A. (Communication Science)Communication Scienc
A personal information privacy perceptions model for university students
Get PDFThis study aims to address the lack of personal information privacy policies in Zimbabwean universities by proposing and validating a Student Personal Information Privacy Perception (SPIPP) model. The model helps institutions understand and implement data privacy principles based on students' perceptions. The students’ perceptions were determined for the following privacy constructs: privacy awareness; privacy expectations; and student confidence in the university's data privacy practices. In this study, a quantitative research method using a cross-sectional survey with a closed-ended questionnaire was adopted to collect data from 284 student participants. To refine the preliminary instrument, an expert review and pilot study were conducted. The privacy model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). Seven new factors emerged from the validation of the instrument: university confidence; practice confidence; individual awareness; privacy awareness; external awareness; privacy expectations; and correctness expectations. SEM showed a good overall match between the suggested conceptual model and the empirically derived model. The validated questionnaire that was developed can be used by universities to ascertain students’ perceptions of privacy to create a culture of privacy and to protect student data in line with regulatory requirements and best practices.School of Computin
A risk culture maturity framework for the South African public higher education sector
Get PDFText in EnglishTimely, perhaps, this study is completed as the country inches closer to the threshold of marking 30 years of democracy. Expectedly, whilst celebrating the milestones achieved over the last three decades, South Africans’ reflections will also focus on challenges engulfing the higher education sector. Specific, amongst those challenges, is how to elevate this critical sector, which serves as a reservoir of innovative thinking and undeterrable explorative co-solution-seeking, onto a more competitive plane. Hence, the theory of transitions served as a point of departure for this research study.
The purpose of this study was to contribute towards deepening risk culture within public HEIs, and doing so through developing a risk culture maturity framework that incorporates key phases of a typical higher education institution value chain. Broader than enterprise risk management, the framework incorporates strategic management, institutional culture, external environmental scanning, and touches on both management and oversight structures. Significant about the study is the fact that it recognises the crucial role played by HEIs in relation to the socioeconomic transformation of societies that such HEIs serve. Necessarily, enhanced organisational agility, in the midst of a highly competitive landscape, enables these HEIs have to strengthen their sense of relevance to the market. Tapping on a mixed-research methodology, both a quantitative content analysis and in-depth interviews were conducted on six case studies. Thus, serving as a basis for the research results, and leading to the development of the risk culture maturity framework.
In terms of main findings emanating from the study, it’s a paradox. Despite higher education institutions being centres of learning, hosting experts in the fields of enterprise risk management and organisational strategy, including institutional culture, leadership dynamics, and organisational agility, charity does not begin at home. Despite public HEIs’ keen interest in initiatives such as international university rankings, collaborations at both local and global platforms, their learning organisation posture seems inadequate. Despite priding themselves of expert analysts and/or the finest researchers who are amid their staff complement, public higher education institutions remain largely oblivious to some of the key emerging trends shaping the competitive external environment.
Finally, informed by the literature review and reflective perspectives of research participants, the last chapter touches on some of the contributions the study brings, viz. to the body of knowledge, to practice, and to the transitions theory which is the lens through which the study was conducted. The study then points to 4 areas of future research, viz. the possibility of private HEIs turning out to be Black Elephants, in terms of risk; the feasibility of Councils elevating their bar; the influence of HEIs on the ERM landscape; and how the notion of continuous improvement plays itself out.D. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)Centre for Accounting Studie
Models and Frameworks applicable to ODeL contexts
Get PDFInstitute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL
Prophethood of all believers in early Christianity and its implication for Neo-Pentecostal prophecy : a pneumatological imagination approach
Get PDFContrary to the individualistic contemporary practices of prophecy, the practice of prophecy in early Christianity, particularly the Pentecost narrative in Luke-Acts, was a function of all believers. This approach is framed here as the prophethood of all believers using a pneumatological imagination. The approach is relevant to address the challenges of the individualistic approach in the contemporary practices of neo-Pentecostal prophecy. These challenges are highlighted here to point out abuses of prophecy in the twenty-first century. The Pentecost narrative in the early church in Luke-Acts is introduced as the background to this study. The article demonstrates that the pneumatic experiences including prophecy which come through the baptism of the Holy Spirit are experienced by all believers. This is a ground for the prophethood of all believers in early Christianity in Luke-Acts. However, the contemporary practice of prophecy in African neo-Pentecostalism is more individualistic than inclusive. The aim of this article is to propose an inclusive approach as was the practice of the early Christians in Luke-Acts.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiolog
Forecasting daily patient arrivals at an Emergency Department of Specified Academic Hospital
Get PDFThe hospital Emergency Department (ED) has become the main point of entry for patients
in modern hospitals, resulting in frequent overcrowding; as a result, hospital management
is increasingly paying attention to the ED to provide better quality service to patients.
This study seeks to build time series (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) and
machine learning (XGBoost, Gradient Boosting Regressor and Voting Regressor) regressor
models, evaluate the performance of each and use the best model to forecast daily
attendance. A comprehensive analysis of data related to patient arrivals at a hospital, focusing on different times of day is performed. The study was conducted in the Emergency
Department of a specified South African public hospital. A dataset of patient arrivals
from May 2019 to November 2021 has been collected, with a total of 47 461 observations
used for the analysis. A time series model and three machine learning regressor models
were investigated.
Detailed statistical and exploratory analyses, time series plots, model training, and
model validation efforts are carried out. The study delves into various aspects such as
stationarity testing, normality testing, and the use of different transformation methods to
achieve stationarity. Machine Learning algorithms are employed, with a hyperparameter
tuning phase to obtain optimal coefficients. The evaluation matrices Mean Absolute
Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE),
Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Mean Percentage Difference (MPD). Lastly, the
chosen model is used to forecast Normal Hours and After Hours.
The Voting Regressor emerged as the most reliable, showing consistent performance
across both training and test datasets, whereas models like ARIMA and XGBoost struggled
with autocorrelation issues and peak predictions, respectively. Overall, while the
Gradient Boosting Regressor performed well on training data, it exhibited potential overfitting, suggesting the Voting Regressor as the preferable model for handling the complex patterns of patient arrivals.M. Sc. (Operations Research)Researc
Hybrid wrapper feature selection method based on genetic algorithm and extreme learning machine for intrusion detection
No full textAbstract
Intrusion detection systems play a critical role in the mitigation of cyber-attacks on the Internet of Things (IoT) environment. Due to the integration of many devices within the IoT environment, a huge amount of data is generated. The generated data sets in most cases consist of irrelevant and redundant features that affect the performance of the existing intrusion detection systems (IDS). The selection of optimal features plays a critical role in the enhancement of intrusion detection systems. This study proposes a sequential feature selection approach using an optimized extreme learning machine (ELM) with an SVM (support vector machine) classifier. The main challenge of ELM is the selection of the input parameters, which affect its performance. In this study, the genetic algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the weights of ELM to boost its performance. After the optimization, the algorithm is applied as an estimator in the sequential forward selection (wrapper technique) to select key features. The final obtained feature subset is applied for classification using SVM. The IoT_ToN network and UNSWNB15 datasets were used to test the model's performance. The performance of the model was compared with other existing state-of-the-art classifiers such as k-nearest neighbors, gradient boosting, random forest, and decision tree. The model had the best quality of the selected feature subset. The results indicate that the proposed model had a better intrusion detection performance with 99%, and 86% accuracy for IoT_ToN network dataset and UNSWNB15 datasets, respectively. The model can be used as a promising tool for enhancing the classification performance of IDS datasets
Psychosocial support for counselors working with HIV-Serodiscordant couples
Get PDFLiving in HIV serodiscordant relationship poses psychosocial challenges
to couples. These necessitate proper counseling. This paper
explored the psychosocial support for counselors working with HIVserodiscordant
couples at a regional hospital. The study used descriptive
and exploratory approaches, underpinned by an interpretative
phenomenological analysis design (IPA). Participants were selected
using a non-probability snowball sampling technique. A total of nine
participants took part in the study. Data were collected using an indepth
interview guide and analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological
analysis framework. Three themes emanated: knowledge deficiency
on serodiscordancy among the counselors, limited/lack of
support and ways to recommend HIV-serodiscordant couples services.
The findings indicates that there is need to enhance, strengthen, and
provide comprehensive psychosocial support services to discordant
couples. To support and improve the knowledge, confidence and skills
of counselors, the following should be implemented: provision of
training, introducing debriefing sessions to reflect on discordant
cases, follow-up on discordant couple’s post diagnosis to offer psychosocial
support services, and establishment and strengthening of
the support groups.Health Studie
Investigating factors that lead to contracting reading performances of grade fives in the Ekurhuleni district
No full textHaving adequate reading skills is a catalyst for other spheres of life. This dissertation dealt with a contrast in reading that is experienced by learners in the same grades. It is always confusing that learners in the same grade depict differing reading abilities. This dissertation investigated this phenomenon, and various variables were determined and addressed. Through qualitative data-generating instruments, the participants were able to respond regarding their perceptions, knowledge, experiences, and emotions about the research phenomenon. The sample was selected purposively, which denotes that the researcher utilised the purposive sampling approach to select the participants. The researcher investigated the phenomenon of reading contrast because he acknowledges the importance of learners’ acquisition of learning and reading knowledge and skills. The research aimed at identifying the contrasts that occur when learners manifest their reading skills where some learners outperform others in this regard. Some of the objectives of this study were to eliminate the gaps regarding reading differences and to provide strategies to elevate the reading and learning performances of learners. The sample was selected purposively since were acquainted and experienced the reading occurrences in their schools. Utilising qualitative data-generating instruments, namely, interviews, observations, and questionnaires, the research results were generated and transcribed, and the recommendations were reported which were determined by the findings. Based on primary data and secondary data that contributed to this project, one can be assured that the learning and reading of learners will be optimised. Every school year end, learners are expected to accumulate their learning and reading knowledge and skills. Therefore, stakeholders involved in the education system must ensure that learners are motivated and supported to develop their literacy skills since there is no doubt that this skill oversees other subjects across the curriculum.M.A. (Comparative Education)Educational Studie
Search for neutral long-lived particles that decay into displaced jets in the ATLAS calorimeter in association with leptons or jets using pp collisions at s = 13 TeV
No full textAbstract A search for neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) decaying in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter using 140 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV delivered by the LHC is presented. The analysis is composed of three channels. The first targets pair-produced LLPs, where at least one LLP is produced with sufficiently low boost that its decay products can be resolved as separate jets. The second and third channels target LLPs respectively produced in association with a W or Z boson that decays leptonically. In each channel, different search regions target different kinematic regimes, to cover a broad range of LLP mass hypotheses and models. No excesses of events relative to the background predictions are observed. Higgs boson branching fractions to pairs of hadronically decaying neutral LLPs larger than 1% are excluded at 95% confidence level for proper decay lengths in the range of 30 cm to 4.5 m depending on the LLP mass, a factor of three improvement on previous searches in the hadronic calorimeter. The production of long-lived dark photons in association with a Z boson with cross-sections above 0.1 pb is excluded for dark photon mean proper decay lengths in the range of 20 cm to 50 m, improving previous ATLAS results by an order of magnitude. Finally, long-lived photo-phobic axion-like particle models are probed for the first time by ATLAS, with production cross-sections above 0.1 pb excluded in the 0.1 mm to 10 m range