5 research outputs found
Investigating audio classification to automate the trimming of recorded lectures
No full textWith the demand for recorded lectures to be made available as soon as possible, the University of Cape Town (UCT) needs to find innovative ways of removing bottlenecks in lecture capture workflow and thereby improving turn-around times from capture to publication. UCT utilises Opencast, which is an open source system to manage all the steps in the lecture-capture process. One of the steps involves manual trimming of unwanted segments from the beginning and end of video before it is published. These segments generally contain student chatter. The trimming step of the lecture-capture process has been identified as a bottleneck due to its dependence on staff availability.
In this study, we investigate the potential of audio classification to automate this step. A classification model was trained to detect 2 classes: speech and non-speech. Speech represents a single dominant voice, for example, the lecturer, and non-speech represents student chatter, silence and other environmental sounds. In conjunction with the classification model, the first and last instances of the speech class together with their timestamps are detected. These timestamps are used to predict the start and end trim points for the recorded lecture.
The classification model achieved a 97.8% accuracy rate at detecting speech from non-speech. The start trim point predictions were very positive, with an average difference of -11.22s from gold standard data. End trim point predictions showed a much greater deviation, with an average difference of 145.16s from gold standard data. Discussions between the lecturer and students, after the lecture, was predominantly the reason for this discrepancy
Retrospective reports of parent-adolescent communication about sex education and issues related to sexuality in a sample of female university students.
No full textThesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.Aim. The aim of this research was to explore parent-adolescent communication about sex and sexuality among university students.
Background. The rates of HIV/AIDS and pregnancy among adolescents in South Africa are very problematic issues. In the context of children and adolescents' sexual socialization, both Western studies and studies from African countries have found that families, especially parents, are crucial in influencing adolescent attitudes, decision-making and participation in sexual behaviour.
Methods. A qualitative study was conducted using focus groups to examine parent-adolescent sex education among university students.
Findings. Participants reported that parents generally avoided discussions about sex especially fathers, framed sex negatively and highlighted the negative effects of sex such as HIV/AIDS and pregnancy. The reasons participants believed that parents were uncomfortable in discussing sex were due to insufficient knowledge to explain certain aspects of sex, that sex was taboo, that by discussing sex it would be viewed as condoning or encouraging sexual activity.
Conclusion. Parents need to be educated regarding the benefits that comprehensive sex education will have for their children, in the light of the massive problem of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Education on these matters is vital for all young people
Leading employees in the automotive industry during an economic crisis.
No full textMaster of Business Administration. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville 2011.The global economic crisis in 2008 has been extremely challenging for most
organizations. It has forced organizations to reassess all aspects of its business,
including the leadership styles of its management structure. Leadership is a highly
valued commodity and people are an organization’s most valuable asset. The
purpose of this study is to ascertain if managers should adopt a specific leadership
style to manage employees during an economic crisis. A systematic literature review
of industry and management responses to the crisis, as well as various leadership
theories was completed. Data, for this study, was drawn from a web based
questionnaire, with a sample of 125 employees in two automotive suppliers, situated
in Durban, South Africa. The study demonstrates that it is not necessary for leaders
to change their leadership styles to lead their employees through an economic crisis.
It is evident that the specific actions taken to address employees’ anxiety are of more
importance than their leadership style. Management should not forget the “soft
management issues” during an economic crisis and also focus on employees’ wellbeing
Illicit financial flows: the reason Africa is debtor to the rest of the world.
No full textMasters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Multinational companies engaging in commercial transactions or activities are
responsible for 60% to 65% of illicit financial flows that leave Africa. Although on
average Africa experienced a 5% annual economic growth for the last decade, the
problem is, Africa experiences huge challenges to use domestic resources for
investments. GFI estimated that trade mis-invoicing makes up the largest portion of
illicit financial flows. The problem is that the global legal system aimed at tackling illicit
financial flows is based on the idea that the issue should be addressed by the domestic
courts. This idea is not practical since illicit financial flows consist of the acquisition
and the cross-border transfer of funds. The objective of this study is to explore the
magnitude and manner in which trade mis-invoicing contributes to illicit financial flows
and provide a solution to such problem. The study objectives will be achieved by
researching the most recent data from domestic and international sources. The
findings of this study indicates that the Malabo Protocol, which is a regional instrument
offers the most practical solution for the illicit financial flows from Africa
Carbon footprint of higher education institutions
No full textHigher education institutions (HEIs) play a fundamental role in sustainability, promoters of innovation, science, and technology. Therefore, every day more institutions are joining the fight against global warming. One of the contributions of HEIs is the carbon footprint (CF) report, to implement policies and management systems to establish strategies to reduce polluting gas emissions from their campuses. In the present study, a systematic review was carried out for 50 reports of CF, where 94% of the studies were published from 2018 to 2022. This research compiles methodologies, scope, results, and trends in Carbon Footprint calculations and provides a procedure to evaluate CF on college campuses. This research shows that the most evaluated emission sources were the consumption of electrical energy (78%), transportation (74%), and the use of fuels (64%). In addition, the HEIs with the lowest emission factors for electricity consumption are Finland, England, and Colombia. Furthermore, establishing a specific carbon footprint guideline for universities would improve reports and allow better comparisons between HEIsLas instituciones de educación superior (IES) desempeñan un papel fundamental en la sostenibilidad, impulsando la innovación, la ciencia y la tecnología. Por ello, cada día más instituciones se suman a la lucha contra el calentamiento global. Una de las contribuciones de las IES es el informe de huella de carbono (HC), que permite implementar políticas y sistemas de gestión para establecer estrategias que reduzcan las emisiones de gases contaminantes de sus campus. En el presente estudio, se realizó una revisión sistemática de 50 informes de HC, donde el 94% de los estudios se publicaron entre 2018 y 2022. Esta investigación recopila metodologías, alcances, resultados y tendencias en el cálculo de la Huella de Carbono y proporciona un procedimiento para evaluar la HC en los campus universitarios. Esta investigación muestra que las fuentes de emisión más evaluadas fueron el consumo de energía eléctrica (78%), el transporte (74%) y el uso de combustibles (64%). Además, las IES con los factores de emisión más bajos para el consumo de electricidad son Finlandia, Inglaterra y Colombia. Asimismo, establecer una guía específica de huella de carbono para las universidades mejoraría los informes y permitiría mejores comparaciones entre IE
