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The Economic Impact of Road Traffic Accidents in the eThekwini Municipality
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Business Administration, in the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025This study investigates the economic impact of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) in the eThekwini Municipality, with a particular focus on the influence of key economic variables. The economic variables include the eThekwini GDP, inflation, road infrastructure investment, unemployment and traffic volume. The research assesses how these economic variables contribute to the likelihood of RTAs in the municipality and the impact RTAs have in society. The research employs econometric modelling techniques using EViews software, analysing data from 2009 to 2023. A multiple linear regression model was used to estimate the relationship between the independent variables (eThekwini GDP, inflation, road infrastructure, traffic volume, and unemployment) and the dependent variable (RTAs). Diagnostic tests such as the Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey test for heteroskedasticity, the Durbin-Watson test for autocorrelation, and Variance Inflation Factor analysis for multicollinearity were conducted to validate the model's accuracy and robustness. The research findings indicate a significant negative relationship between eThekwini GDP and road traffic accidents, while road infrastructure investment shows a negative correlation with RTAs. This suggests that improvements in infrastructure are associated with a reduction in road traffic accidents, as better road conditions and increased safety measures can help mitigate the risk of accidents despite potential increases in traffic flow. Additionally, traffic volume is positively associated with the number of RTAs, highlighting the role of congestion in road safety. Inflation and unemployment, however, exhibit weaker correlations, indicating that while they play a role, their direct impact on RTAs may be more nuanced. The results emphasise the significance of making strategic investments in road infrastructure and traffic management as essential steps to reduce road traffic accident rates. In conclusion, the study's findings suggest that economic policies and planning should give top priority to improving infrastructure and managing traffic volume to promote road safety and preserve the city’s economic burden as results of road traffic accidents. The belief is that these insights provide useful information for policymakers and stakeholders in developing effective measures to tackle road traffic accidents in the eThekwini Municipality and improving the quality of life of eThekwini Municipality households.MM202
TwoStep inertial projection and contraction method for variational inequality with quasimonotonicity
No full textA study of the second-order dynamical systems for variational inequalities
No full textDissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, to the Faculty of Science, School of Mathematics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025The purpose of this paper is to study the variational inequality problem through a second order dynamical system. The dynamical system is a second-order dynamical system that involves the asymptotic vanishing of damping and Hessian-damping terms. Our approach primarily uses the asymptotic dynamics of the inertial system and the geometric characteristics of the damping factors. The asymptotic vanishing damping is directly linked to the method of the Nesterov accelerated gradient. The geometry of the Hessian damping term is in this form d dt(y(t)−w(t)), where y(t) is the generated trajectories by our proposed dynamical system, w(t) = PC(y(t)−Qy(t)) and Q is our operator which is strongly monotone. The Hessian term assists with the neutralisation of the oscillation. This combination forms a damping force that assists with controlling the convergence speed of dynamical systems, stabilizing the system, and mostly ensuring we have a controlled velocity over time. As a main result, we establish the existence and uniqueness of the generated trajectories using the Cauchy-Lipschitz theorem. We give two numerical non-Hilbert examples. We construct a Lyapunov function to achieve weak convergence, assuming that the underlying operator is Lipschitz continuous and monotone. By considering the strong monotonicity of the operator, we establish exponential convergence. Furthermore, we given two numerical examples to show the applicability of our results. Finally, we conduct numerical experiments to show the performance of our dynamical system. The results presented in this paper build upon and significantly enhance recent findings in the existing literature.Energy Mobility Education Trust (EMET)MMM202
Strategic Analysis of Nuclear Energy for Industrial Resilience in South Africa
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Business Administration, in the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025This study investigates the strategic role that nuclear energy can play in solving South Africa's perpetual energy problems and strengthening industrial resilience. Confronted with increased energy costs, load shedding, and aging coal-fired power infrastructure, the manufacturing sector needs reliable baseload energy to stabilise operations, sustain economic growth, and support environmental sustainability. Using both a theoretical framework of Critical Systems Heuristics, the results of a comparative analysis involving South Korea's highly successful nuclear program, the potential of nuclear energy for its contribution to a low- carbon, dependable source to diversify South Africa's energy mix is reviewed. Data collection was through interviews with experts and policy document reviews, focusing on opportunities, barriers, and strategic implications. These findings point to nuclear energy's potential in reducing power outages, carbon emissions, increasing job creation, and driving innovation in technology. Yet, it faces critical challenges: public scepticism, regulatory hurdles, and financial constraints. Drawing on international best practices and adopting open and inclusive approaches, South Africa can overcome these obstacles and place nuclear energy at the heart of its energy strategy to meet national development objectives and contribute towards global sustainability.MM202
Skills ecosystems mapping An analysis of installation repair maintenance by medium small and microenterprises
No full textOptimising Blood Culture Collection Techniques to Minimise Contamination Rates in a Busy Public Sector Paediatric Department in South Africa: A Quality Improvement Project
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Medicine, in the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025Background Blood culture (BC) is the gold standard in diagnosing sepsis in hospitalised children. A limitation of BC is contamination with skin commensals, which gives rise to false positive results and may impact on health care expenses related to laboratory costs and increased hospital length of stay. We undertook a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) to evaluate BC contamination rates, laboratory costs and length of hospital stay in children admitted in the general paediatric wards at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Methods The QIP was implemented in three successive time periods each lasting two months (01 De- cember 2022 to 31 May 2023). The study population included all children aged 0-14 years from whom a BC was collected as part of routine clinical care on the day of admission. Pe- riod 1 was a pre-intervention period. During Period 2 (intervention), a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was implemented and admitting clinicians were taught how to adhere to the SOP. During unobserved BCs in Period 2, clinicians were expected to obtain BCs ac- cording to the SOP. All BCs obtained during Period 3 (post-intervention) were unobserved. Contamination rates, length of hospital stay and laboratory costs were compared between study periods. Results During Period 1 the contamination rate was 9.0% (66 of 732 BCs), compared to 5.5% (54 of 974 BCs) during Period 2; P=0.007. In Period 2, observed BCs (n=250) had a lower contamination rate compared to unobserved BCs (n=720) (3.9% versus 6.1%; P=0.253). In Period 3 BC contamination rebounded to 9.7% (71 of 732 BCs). In Period 1, the average cost of BC processing was R483.20 (IQR R483.20-R649.16), compared to R361.16 (IQR R361.16- R361.16) in Period 2 (p < 0.001). Cost increased to R480.56 (IQR R480.56-R480.56) in v Period 3. Children with contaminated BCs had longer hospital stay (median 5.0 (IQR 3.0 to 8.0) days) compared to those with negative BCs (4.0 (IQR 3.0 to 6.0) days; P < 0.001). Conclusions Implementation of a SOP significantly decreased the BC contamination rate. However, with- out reinforcement of correct technique, lower contamination rates were not sustained. Pa- tients with negative BCs had reduced hospital length of stay and laboratory costs compared to those with contaminated cultures, which demonstrates the economic burden of contami- nated BCs.MM202
The Development of a Smartphone Application for Water Monitoring in South Africa Using Machine Learning Techniques
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science, in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025Water quality monitoring is crucial in South Africa, where water scarcity and pollution present significant public health and environmental challenges. Current monitoring methods are costly, slow, and inaccessible to rural and underserved communities. This study investigates the development of a smartphone application that uses machine learning and computer vision to perform real-time, automated analysis of water quality test strips. The application focuses on six key chemical parameters: pH, total chlorine, free chlorine, total hardness, total alkalinity, and bromine, adhering to South African National Standards. By integrating convolutional neural networks into water quality monitoring, this research addresses the gap in accessible, low-cost solutions. The research employed a supervised learning approach, developing a CNN-based model trained on a dataset of water test strip images collected under diverse environmental conditions. Data pre-processing techniques such as glare removal and brightness adjustments were applied to enhance model robustness. Experimental testing was conducted in ideal conditions (laboratory settings) and non-ideal conditions. Evaluation metrics included accuracy, F1 score, and recall, with thresholds set at 90% for ideal conditions and 80% for non-ideal conditions. User testing assessed the application’s usability and adaptability. The CNN model achieved an accuracy of 92.5% in ideal conditions and 84.7% in non-ideal conditions, demonstrating its effectiveness in diverse scenarios. Key results indicated that pH and chlorine were the most accurately detected parameters, with mean squared errors of less than 0.05. User feedback highlighted the application’s ease of use, with over 85% of participants reporting satisfaction with the app interface and instructions. Findings underscore the potential of AI-driven solutions to revolutionise water quality monitoring in South Africa. The system’s performance exceeds the minimum requirements for practical deployment, though challenges such as lighting conditions and test strip variability remain. The study aligns with global trends in sustainable water management, advocating for community-driven solutions that leverage citizen science. Recommendations include scaling the application to include additional parameters, integrating geotagging features, and enhancing user training modules. This research presents a novel, accessible tool for water quality monitoring, bridging the gap between advanced technology and real-world application in resource-limited settings. The smartphone application offers a scalable model that can empower communities, improve public health outcomes, and contribute to South Africa’s sustainable development goals. Future work should focus on expanding the dataset, improving model generalisability, and exploring partnerships for widespread implementation.MM202
AI Challenges in the current environment
No full textThis presentation was presented to the IGF 2025, 23-27 June 2025, Day 3, 26 June, (WS #110 AI Innovation: Responsible Development & Ethical Imperatives), NOVA Spektrum, Norway, 2025.Abstract not availableMMM202
A Qualitative Study Exploring Digital Transformation in the South African Public Health System
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Business Administration, in the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025INTRODUCTION: Digital transformation is the new era that ushers in the use of digital technologies to disrupt the traditional way of completing tasks in personal and workplace environments. This transformative process has affected every industry, with healthcare not being an exception. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of healthcare professionals towards digital transformation to determine the following: the extent of digital transformation within one healthcare institution, as well as the benefits and barriers to the adoption of digital transformation. METHOD: The study design was semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals from one tertiary hospital in Gauteng. The study adopted a qualitative methodology. The data was analysed using thematic analysis and the theme codes were generated manually. RESULTS: A total of 16 interviews were conducted and the standout points were that all the participants believed that digital transformation would benefit and help improve processes and operations within the institution. While digital transformation is believed to be beneficial, there is the problem of poor buy-in from the healthcare professionals as they are of the opinion that there are far more pertinent issues that need to be addressed before the focus can be on digitally transforming the public healthcare system. CONCLUSION: The study was able to determine the extent of digital transformation in that currently there is work being done to interconnect public health institutions within Gauteng to reduce duplication and gear towards continuation of care. The main barriers identified towards successful digital transformation was the lack of financial resources, lack of proper network infrastructure and lack of adequate staff training – issues which, if properly addressed, could ensure that the pathway to transformation is easier.MM202
The relationship between racism and the mental health of working Black Women and Women of Colour - a Scoping Review
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master in Public Health, in the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025Introduction Racism—both systemic and interpersonal—remains a pervasive global phenomenon with profound implications for mental health. Yet, the specific impact of racism on the mental well-being of working Black women and women of colour remains under-researched and poorly understood. This gap in the literature underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive review of global studies that examines the relationship between racism and the mental health of these women, whose experiences are shaped by intersecting systems of oppression in the workplace and beyond. Aim This comprehensive scoping review explores the intricate relationship between racism and mental health among working Black women and women of colour Methodology The PRISMA-ScR extension for scoping reviews was used to help organise the data into the context, concepts, searchable terms, inclusion and exclusion criteria and to identify the extracted data The following search terms were used Racism OR discrimination OR racial bias AND burnout OR mental health OR stress or depress* OR anxiety OR PTSD AND black women OR “women of colour” AND work OR occupation OR career OR employ* – (apply date range 2008 – 2023) in two databases, PsychInfo, and PubMed. Titles and abstracts were reviewed using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Through this approach we found 320 papers and after reviewing titles and abstract included 24 studies for final review. Results The review highlights how systemic and interpersonal forms of racism impact psychological well-being, underscoring the complex interplay between racism and mental health. It reveals that racism, both in its overt and subtle forms, adversely affects mental health outcomes, leading to heightened stress, anxiety, and depression among black and women of colour in the workplace. Studies described the impact of racial discrimination on brain function and the psychosocial effects observed in multiple workplaces. The analysis highlights significant gaps in the research, particularly the need to have more studies focusing on Black women and women of colour outside of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. While substantial research exists on the barriers faced by these groups in the workplace, there is a clear need for more global perspectives to understand how racism manifests in different parts of the world and affects mental health. v The review identifies a variety of mental health challenges like burnout, anxiety and the stressors that cause it, including work-related pressures, family dynamics, and societal challenges, with racial bias emerging as a particularly damaging factor. It discusses different coping strategies, noting that constructive coping methods, such as problem-focused and emotion-focused approaches, can mitigate stress's adverse effects on mental health. These themes underscore the necessity for understanding everyday experiences of racism and integrating this understanding into supportive practices. Conclusion: Given the pervasiveness of racism, there is a need for more focus on Black women and women of colour as this can ultimately also have an impact on their mental health as also evidenced in the research. Their experiences of racial discrimination remain under-researched and what clearly comes through in the review is the need for more research in low- and middle-income countries. Addressing this gap is essential to developing culturally responsive mental health interventions and workplace policies.MM202