Search results for: African heritage

Authors: Ayotunde Qudus Saka, Xin Zhang

Abstract:

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how corporate governance traits affect the financial performance of banks in the sub-Saharan African region from 2008 to 2022. Methodology/Design/Approach: The performance of a few chosen banks in Sub-Saharan Africa is examined in relation to corporate governance using static panel regression analysis. The following variables were used to present corporate governance in the study: board size (BDS), board gender diversity (BGD), board independence (BDI), number of audit committee meetings (NAM), and number of foreign members on the board (SFM). Return on assets (ROA) was employed as the dependent variable. Fixed effect (FE), random effect (RE), and common effect (CE) estimators were used with static panel data. The model estimate procedure is based on the 'Log-Lin' specification. The estimation includes eleven (11) models, ten of which relate to the individual country and one that captures the SSA countries used in this study. Finding: The RE effect estimator seems to be more efficient than the FE estimator overall. Therefore, the selected estimator used for the overall country investigation is the random effect model adopted in evaluating the connection between financial success and corporate governance, and according to the all-country specification in assessing the study's goal, the fixed effect estimator is thus selected for most of the countries except for Malawi and Zambia that common effect model worked well for showing that the banks in the aforementioned countries have similar organisational cultures and management philosophies. Consequently, the selected estimators for every country were used to evaluate the connection between financial success and corporate governance. Originality/Value: Corporate governance and bank performance topics are well grounded in literature with evidence from developed countries. However, there is a darth in developing countries particularly in the sub-Saharan African region. This study presents multi-country empirical evidence within the SSAs which gives the study more samples, this study makes use of balanced data from 2008 to 2022 being the latest data coverage from SSA, and to the best knowledge of the authors, no prior research has examined the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on bank performance in the SSA region through the use of multi-country samples.

Keywords: bank performance, corporate governance, sub-Saharan African (SSA), gender diversity, foreign member of the board, multi-country

Procedia PDF Downloads 11

Authors: Kassahun Tilahun

Abstract:

Most of the studies available on adult psychological well-being have been centered on Western countries. However, psychological well-being does not have the same meaning across the world. The Euro-American and African conceptions and experiences of psychological well-being differ systematically. As a result, questions like, how do people living in developing African countries, like Ethiopia, report their psychological well-being; what would the context-specific prominent determinants of their psychological well-being be, needs a definitive answer. This study was, therefore, aimed at developing a new theory that would address these socio-cultural issues of psychological well-being. Consequently, data were obtained through interview and open ended questionnaire. A total of 438 adults, working in governmental and non-governmental organizations situated in Addis Ababa, participated in the study. Appropriate qualitative method of data analysis, i.e. thematic content analysis, was employed for analyzing the data. The thematic analysis involves a type of abductive analysis, driven both by theoretical interest and the nature of the data. Reliability and credibility issues were addressed appropriately. The finding identified five major categories of themes, which are viewed as essential in determining the conceptions and experiences of psychological well-being of Ethiopian adults. These were; socio-cultural harmony, social cohesion, security, competence and accomplishment, and the self. Detailed discussion on the rational for including these themes was made and appropriate positive psychology interventions were proposed. Researchers are also encouraged to expand this qualitative research and in turn develop a suitable instrument taping the psychological well-being of adults with different sociocultural orientations.

Keywords: sociocultural, psychological, well-being Ethiopia, adults

Procedia PDF Downloads 548

Authors: Nairy Kechichian

Abstract:

The original Leclerc Bridge is a covered wooden bridge that is considered a Quebec heritage structure with an index of 60, making it a very important provincial bridge from a historical point of view. It was constructed in 1927 and is in the rural area of Abitibi-Temiscamingue. It is a “town Québécois” type of structure, which is generally rare but common for covered bridges in Abitibi-Temiscamingue. This type of structure is composed of two trusses on both sides formed with diagonals, internal bracings, uprights and top and bottom chords to allow the transmission of loads. This structure is mostly known for its solidity, lightweightness, and ease of construction. It is a single-span bridge with a length of 25.3 meters and allows the passage of one vehicle at a time with a 4.22-meter driving lane. The structure is composed of 2 trusses located at each end of the deck, two gabion foundations at both ends, uprights and top and bottom chords. WSP (Williams Sale Partnership) Canada inc. was mandated by the Transport Minister of Quebec in 2019 to increase the capacity of the bridge from 5 tons to 30.6 tons and rehabilitate it, as it has deteriorated quite significantly over the years. The bridge was damaged due to material deterioration over time, exposure to humidity, high load effects and insect infestation. To allow the passage of 3 axle trucks, as well as to keep the integrity of this heritage structure, the final design chosen to rehabilitate the bridge involved adding a new deck independent from the roof structure of the bridge. Essentially, new steel beams support the deck loads and the desired vehicle loads. The roof of the bridge is linked to the steel deck for lateral support, but it is isolated from the wooden deck. The roof is preserved for aesthetic reasons and remains intact as it is a heritage piece. Due to strict traffic management obstacles, an efficient construction method was put into place, which consisted of building a temporary bridge and moving the existing roof onto it to allow the circulation of vehicles on one side of the temporary bridge while providing a working space for the repairs of the roof on the other side to take place simultaneously. In parallel, this method allowed the demolition and reconstruction of the existing foundation, building a new steel deck, and transporting back the roof on the new bridge. One of the main criteria for the rehabilitation of the wooden bridge was to preserve, as much as possible, the existing patrimonial architectural design of the bridge. The project was completed successfully by the end of 2021.

Keywords: covered bridge, wood-steel, short span, town Québécois structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Ann-May Marais

Abstract:

South African higher education institutions are following the global adoption of a blended approach to teaching and learning. Blended learning is viewed as a transformative teaching-learning approach, as it provides students with the optimum experience by mixing the best of face-to-face and online learning. Although academics realise the benefits of blended learning, they find it challenging and time-consuming to implement blended strategies. Professional development is a critical component of the adoption of higher education teaching-learning approaches. The Institutional course for higher education academics offered at a South African University was designed in a blended model, implemented and evaluated. This paper reports on a study that investigated the experiences of academics on the blended approach used during the induction course. A qualitative design-based research methodology was employed, and data was collected using participant feedback and document analysis. The data gathered from each of the four ICNL offerings were used to inform the design of the next course. Findings indicated that lecturers realised that blended learning could cater to student diversity, different learning styles, engagement, and innovation. Furthermore, it emerged that the course has to cater for diversity in technology proficiency and readiness of participants. Participants also require ongoing support in technology usage and discipline-specific blended learning workshops. This paper contends that the modelling of a blended approach to professional development can be an effective way to motivate academics to apply blended learning in their teaching-learning experiences.

Keywords: blended learning, professional development, induction course, integration of technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Rika van Zyl

Abstract:

South Africa’s racial discrimination past has led to the drafting of the Constitution with the Bill of Rights for the people of South Africa. The Bill of Rights prohibits the state from unfairly discriminating directly or indirectly on certain grounds, one of which is race and another is gender. This has forced changes to the law of succession. The customary law rule of male primogeniture was abolished to ensure that women were not excluded from the intestate succession of the male head of the family in 2005. It was said that this rule cannot be reconciled with the notions of equality and human dignity contained in the Bill of Rights. The freedom of testation has further come under fire in South Africa, where it was found to be unfair discrimination and against public policy to exclude a specific gender (women) from inheriting in a private will. Although no one has the right to inherit in South Africa, any person with an interest can approach the court alleging that a right in the Bill of Rights has been infringed. A will that is found inconsistent with the South African Bill of Rights then cannot be enforced. Recent case law found that to leave out a specific gender (women) from a will, based entirely on the fact that they are of said specific gender, is in contravention of the Constitution and should, therefore, be declared invalid. It was said that the courts should take a transformative constitutional approach when equality rights are affected. Otherwise, the historical and insidious unequal distribution of wealth in South Africa will continue along the fault lines such as gender. This decision has opened the debate on the extent to which the state can interfere with the private autonomy of an individual who is deceased. Some of these arguments will be discussed, including the ambit of public policy in this regard.

Keywords: equality, discrimination, succession, public policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Lesibana Rafapa

Abstract:

Accounts exist of circumcision-anchored cultural initiation in central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, North Africa, and West Africa -straddling states like Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This attests to the continent-wide spread of this cultural practice. In this paper, the writer relates the cultural aspect of circumcision-subsuming initiation among black African cultural groups across the continent to the notion that African cultures are varied yet subscribe to a common central concept. The premise of the paper is that the common practice of initiation for both male and female children that have to be initiated by adults to the tradition and customs of a people coincides with such a central concept. The practice of traditional initiation is as broad as to encompass aspects of spirituality, morality, and social organisation, in the nature of the central concept of which it is a trans-sectional part. Cultural initiation, sometimes referred to as traditional circumcision, constitutes culture-determined rites of passage for the initiates. The study’s aim, the findings of which are presented in this paper, was to probe gender equality in the development and promotion of the cultural practice of initiation. The researcher intended to demonstrate how in South Africa, female circumcision is treated equally or marginalised in efforts of the democratic government to regulate and strengthen the practice of circumcision as part of its broader liberation programme meant to reverse politico-cultural bondage experienced during apartheid rule that the present black regime helped bring to an end. It is argued that the failure to regard female circumcision as equal to its male counterpart is a travesty of the black government’s legislation and policies espousing equality and the protection and empowerment of vulnerable and previously marginalised population groups that include black women. The writer did a desk-top study of the history and characteristics of female circumcision among the black Northern Sotho, VaTsonga, and VhaVenda cultural groups of the Limpopo Province, stretching north to the border of South Africa with Zimbabwe, as well as literature on how political and other authorities exert efforts to preserve and empower the practice. The findings were that male initiation is foregrounded and totalised to represent the practice of initiation as a whole, at the expense of its female counterpart facing marginalisation and unequal regard. It is outlined in this paper how such impoverishment of an otherwise woman-empowering cultural practice deprives hitherto black cultures that suffered brutal repression during apartheid of a fuller recovery much needed in the democratic era. The writer applies some aspects of postcolonial theory and some tropes of feminism in the discussion of an uneven status of cultural circumcision at the hands of present day powers that be.

Keywords: African cultures, female circumcision, gender equality, women empowerment

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Lawan Adamu, Aminu Maidala

Abstract:

Heat stress exerts a high deteriorating impact on the poultry industry which could be ameliorated by dietary incorporation of synthetic vitamin C. Certain herbs either alone or in combination thereof are also a rich source of ascorbic acid in natural form. Gashua is located in the semi arid zones with temperature ranges of 38-43oC especially in the months of March up to June/July which make survival and production much difficult to poultry especially broilers chickens as it was found that high ambient temperatures above 380C feed consumption, growth rate, feed efficiency, survivability, egg production and egg quality tends to decline. In order to address the problem of heat stress, an experiment was conducted in the month of March/April to determine the effect of synthetic ascorbic-acid (vitamin C), natural ascorbic from baobab, African locust bean and prosopis africana pulp was administer in drinking water and basal diets adlibitum. 300 day old marshal breed chicks were used for this experiment which was divided into five treatment group with 20 birds per replicate which designated as zero, synthetic ascorbic acid 40g/L, baobab pulp 40g/L, African locust pulp 40g/L and iron wood pulp 40g/L for T1, T2 T3 T4 and T5 respectively. The experiment was lasted for eight weeks (four weeks each for the starter and finisher). Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS 2002 soft wire and significant difference observed means were separated using Duncan multiple range test. The result revealed that bird on control diet were significantly (p<0.05) lowered in terms total and daily weight gain and feed efficiency but significantly (p<0.05) higher in terms feed intake, water intake, rectal temperature and mortality. This study concluded that ascorbic acid increased broiler performance and reduced mortality under high temperature thereby maintain the sustainability of broiler production to bridge the gap of animal protein deficit in the hot arid zone.

Keywords: ascorbic acid, heat stress, broiler, performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 29

Authors: Yue Sun, Yuan Wang

Abstract:

The Grand Canal of China has been in use for more than two thousand years. It runs through the central and eastern regions of China and communicates with the five major river systems of Haihe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River from north to south. It is a complex, systematic and comprehensive water conservancy project in the period of agricultural civilization and includes the three parts of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the Sui and Tang Dynasties Canal and the Eastern Zhejiang Canal. It covers eight provinces and cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan and Anhui. The Grand Canal is an important channel connecting the Central Plains and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, and it is also an important waterway trade channel. Nowadays, although the Grand Canal no longer bears the burden of communicating water transportation between the north and the south, the site of the Grand Canal is still a “historical museum” of the lifestyle of people who lived on the canal from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China. By means of literature reading and field investigation, this paper compares the different protection strategies of the Grand Canal in the region between the ancient villages of Huaxian and Xunxian, which witness the vicissitudes of canal water transport, to explore whether the protective renovation of historical and cultural routes is “protection” or “destruction”, and puts forward some protection suggestions.

Keywords: The Grand Canal, heritage conservation, cultural route, ancient villages, strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Kenneth O. Otasowie, Matthew Ikuabe, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

Abstract:

Construction project cost are not only made up of production costs. This cost comprises of many other elements such as the preparation of a bidding document, cost estimations, drafting contractual agreements and monitoring that contractual obligations are met. Several studies have stressed the need for transaction costs (TC) to be defined in a way that covers all phases of a project and not only the pre-contract phase. Hence, this study aims to appraise transaction cost in South African (SA) construction projects by assessing what constitutes transaction cost, influencing factors and possible optimisation measures. A survey design was adopted. A total number of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to quantity surveyors, procurement managers and project managers in Guateng Province, SA and seventy-two (72) were returned and found suitable for analysis. Collected data was analysed using percentage, mean item score, standard deviation, one-sample t-test. The findings show that external technical interaction, uncertainty, human factors are the most significant constituents of TC in SA, while technical competency, experience in similar project type and project characteristics are the leading influencing factors. Furthermore, understanding project characteristics, clear communication and technically competent project teams are most of the significant measures for optimising TC in SA construction projects. Therefore, this study recommends that a competent project team and a clear communication are fundamental to proper management of TC in SA construction projects.

Keywords: construction projects, project cost, South Africa, transaction cost

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Lethola Tshikose, Munyaradzi Katurura

Abstract:

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a critical role in improving daily healthcare processes. The South African healthcare organizations have adopted Information Systems to integrate their patient records. This has made it much easier for healthcare organizations because patient information can now be accessible at any time. The primary purpose of this research study was to investigate the best practices that can be applied to enhance patient security and confidentiality when using e-health systems in South Africa. Security and confidentiality are critical in healthcare organizations as they ensure safety in EHRs. The research study used an inductive research approach that included a thorough literature review; therefore, no data was collected. The research paper’s scope included patient data and possible security threats associated with healthcare systems. According to the study, South African healthcare organizations discovered various patient data security and confidentiality issues. The study also revealed that when it comes to handling patient data, health professionals sometimes make mistakes. Some may not be computer literate, which posed issues and caused data to be tempered with. The research paper recommends that healthcare organizations ensure that security measures are adequately supported and promoted by their IT department. This will ensure that adequate resources are distributed to keep patient data secure and confidential. Healthcare organizations must correctly use standards set up by IT specialists to solve patient data security and confidentiality issues. Healthcare organizations must make sure that their organizational structures are adaptable to improve security and confidentiality.

Keywords: E-health, EHR, security, confidentiality, healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 62

Authors: Robert H. Bradley

Abstract:

Many minority adolescents in the United States live in adverse circumstances that pose long-term threats to their well-being. A strong sense of personal control and self-efficacy can help youth mitigate some of those risks and may help protect youth from influences connected with deviant peer groups. Accordingly, it is important to identify conditions that help foster feelings of efficacy in areas that seem critical for the accomplishment of developmental tasks during adolescence. The purpose of this study is to examine two aspects of the home environment (modeling and encouragement of maturity, family companionship and investment) and their relation to three components of self efficacy (self efficacy in enlisting social resources, self efficacy for engaging in independent learning, and self-efficacy for self-regulatory behavior) in three groups of minority adolescents (Native American, African American, Latino). The sample for this study included 54 Native American, 131 African American, and 159 Latino families, each with a child between 16 and 20 years old. The families were recruited from four states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Oklahoma. Each family was administered the Late Adolescence version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory and each adolescent completed a 30-item measure of perceived self-efficacy. Three areas of self-efficacy beliefs were examined for this study: enlisting social resources, independent learning, and self-regulation. Each of the three areas of self-efficacy was regressed on the two aspects of the home environment plus overall household risk. For Native Americans, modeling and encouragement were significant for self-efficacy pertaining to enlisting social resources and independent learning. For African Americans, companionship and investment was significant in all three models. For Latinos, modeling and encouragement was significant for self-efficacy pertaining to enlisting social resources and companionship and investment were significant for the other two areas of self-efficacy. The findings show that even as minority adolescents are becoming more individuated from their parents, the quality of experiences at home continues to be associated with their feelings of self-efficacy in areas important for adaptive functioning in adult life. Specifically, individuals can develop a sense that they are efficacious in performing key tasks relevant to work, social relationships, and management of their own behavior if they are guided in how to deal with key challenges and they have been exposed and supported by others who are competent in dealing with such challenges. The findings presented in this study would seem useful given that there is so little current research on home environmental factors connected to self-efficacy beliefs among adolescents in the three groups examined. It would seem worthwhile that personnel from health, human service and juvenile justice agencies give attention to supporting parents in communicating with adolescents, offering expectations to adolescents in mutually supportive ways, and in engaging with adolescents in productive activities. In comparison to programs for parents of young children, there are few specifically designed for parents of children in middle childhood and adolescence.

Keywords: family companionship, home environment, household income, modeling, self-efficacy

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Alamrew Eyayu, Abebe Getahun, James Last Keyombe

Abstract:

Demand for fish continued to grow worldwide while production from capture fisheries has decreased. In the Eastern African Region (EAR), the open-access nature of capture fisheries has resulted in illegal fishing. Within communities engaged in fishing, small-scale fisheries support food security strategies and sustain livelihoods. Despite the role of fisheries in EAR, inland fisheries are vulnerable to loss, and management solutions authorized for inland fisheries are inadequate. This review investigates production potential, challenges, opportunities, and management of inland fisheries in the EAR. It is therefore expected that in aquaculture promising areas, the EAR will turn to depend more on aquaculture to meet the extended needs and supply gaps created as a result of capture fisheries shortfalls. However, aquaculture is still in its infant stage in the region, and there exists no adequate aquaculture policy framework and funds in some EAR (e.g., Ethiopia, Somalia). Stakeholders at all levels should entertain the importance of fishery-based activities for food security in EAR. As a result, easily implemented and community-oriented fisheries legislative documents need to be prepared for advancing sustainable fisheries management. Legislative documents might consider techniques of continual catch statistics (consider small water bodies as much as possible) of inland fisheries and enforcing existing laws to manage illegal fishing activities to accustom sustainable development of inland capture fisheries.

Keywords: aquaculture, capture fisheries, East Africa, fisheries management

Procedia PDF Downloads 29

Authors: Cagdas Agirdas

Abstract:

Background: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires non-grandfathered private insurance plans, starting with plan years on or after September 23rd, 2010, to provide certain preventive care services without any cost sharing in the form of deductibles, copayments or co-insurance. This requirement may affect racial and ethnic disparities in preventive care as it provides the largest copay reduction in preventive care. Objectives: We ask whether the ACA’s free preventive care benefits are associated with a reduction in racial and ethnic disparities in the utilization of four preventive services: cholesterol screenings, colonoscopies, mammograms, and pap smears. Methods: We use a data set of over 6,000 individuals from the 2009, 2010, and 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS). We restrict our data set only to individuals who are old enough to be eligible for each preventive service. Our difference-in-differences logistic regression model classifies privately-insured Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians as the treatment groups and 2013 as the after-policy year. Our control group consists of non-Hispanic whites on Medicaid as this program already covered preventive care services for free or at a low cost before the ACA. Results: After controlling for income, education, marital status, preferred interview language, self-reported health status, employment, having a usual source of care, age and gender, we find that the ACA is associated with increases in the probability of the median, privately-insured Hispanic person to get a colonoscopy by 3.6% and a mammogram by 3.1%, compared to a non-Hispanic white person on Medicaid. Similarly, we find that the median, privately-insured African American person’s probability of receiving these two preventive services improved by 2.3% and 2.4% compared to a non-Hispanic white person on Medicaid. We do not find any significant improvements for any racial or ethnic group for cholesterol screenings or pap smears. Furthermore, our results do not indicate any significant changes for Asians compared to non-Hispanic whites in utilizing the four preventive services. These reductions in racial/ethnic disparities are robust to reconfigurations of time periods, previous diagnosis, and residential status. Conclusions: Early effects of the ACA’s provision of free preventive care are significant for Hispanics and African Americans. Further research is needed for the later years as more individuals became aware of these benefits.

Keywords: preventive care, Affordable Care Act, cost sharing, racial disparities

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Mareli Fischer, Kevin G. F. Thomas

Abstract:

Although Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent childhood neurobehavioural disorders, little empirical research has been published on its clinical presentation in Africa, and, globally, few studies evaluate ADHD intervention programs that emphasize parent training. Hence, Stage 1 of this research programme aimed to describe the functional impairment of South African children with ADHD, and also sought to investigate the influence of sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex, age, socioeconomic status, family environment) and clinical variables (e.g., ADHD subtype and comorbidity) on the degree of that impairment. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents as a diagnostic tool, and the Child Behavior Checklist, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Impairment Rating Scale as measures of functional impairment. Results from this stage of the research indicated that South African children and adolescents who meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD experience most functional impairment in the school domain, as well as in the area of social functioning. None of the measured sociodemographic variables had a significant detrimental or protective effect on how ADHD symptoms impacted on functioning. In terms of comorbidity, the presence of Major Depressive Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder were all associated with significantly impaired overall functioning. Stage 2 of the research programme aimed to design, implement, and evaluate a child-specific intervention that targeted the primary areas of impairment identified in Stage 1. Existing literature suggests that a positive parent-training programme, in the group format, is one of the best options for cost-effective and successful ADHD intervention. Hence, the intervention took that form. Parents were taught basic behaviour analysis concepts within a supportive group context. Evaluation of the intervention’s efficacy used many of the same measures as in Stage 1, but also featured semi-structured interviews with participants and naturalistic observation of parent-child interaction. We will discuss preliminary results of that evaluation. Studying functional impairment and designing intervention plans in this way will pave the way for evidence-based treatment plans for children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD.

Keywords: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, children, intervention, parenting groups

Procedia PDF Downloads 433

Authors: Samuel McLennan, Tane Moleta, Andre Brown, Marc Aurel Schnabel

Abstract:

The development of Ecclesiastical buildings within New Zealand has produced some unique design characteristics that take influence from both international styles and local building methods. What this research looks at is how procedural modelling can be used to define such common characteristics and understand how they are shared and developed within different examples of a similar architectural style. This will be achieved through the creation of procedural digital reconstructions of the various timber Gothic Churches built during the 19th century in the city of Wellington, New Zealand. ‘Procedural modelling’ is a digital modelling technique that has been growing in popularity, particularly within the game and film industry, as well as other fields such as industrial design and architecture. Such a design method entails the creation of a parametric ‘ruleset’ that can be easily adjusted to produce many variations of geometry, rather than a single geometry as is typically found in traditional CAD software. Key precedents within this area of digital heritage includes work by Haegler, Müller, and Gool, Nicholas Webb and Andre Brown, and most notably Mark Burry. What these precedents all share is how the forms of the reconstructed architecture have been generated using computational rules and an understanding of the architects’ geometric reasoning. This is also true within this research as Gothic architecture makes use of only a select range of forms (such as the pointed arch) that can be accurately replicated using the same standard geometric techniques originally used by the architect. The methodology of this research involves firstly establishing a sample group of similar buildings, documenting the existing samples, researching any lost samples to find evidence such as architectural plans, photos, and written descriptions, and then culminating all the findings into a single 3D procedural asset within the software ‘Houdini’. The end result will be an adjustable digital model that contains all the architectural components of the sample group, such as the various naves, buttresses, and windows. These components can then be selected and arranged to create visualisations of the sample group. Because timber gothic churches in New Zealand share many details between designs, the created collection of architectural components can also be used to approximate similar designs not included in the sample group, such as designs found beyond the Wellington Region. This creates an initial library of architectural components that can be further expanded on to encapsulate as wide of a sample size as desired. Such a methodology greatly improves upon the efficiency and adjustability of digital modelling compared to current practices found in digital heritage reconstruction. It also gives greater accuracy to speculative design, as a lack of evidence for lost structures can be approximated using components from still existing or better-documented examples. This research will also bring attention to the cultural significance these types of buildings have within the local area, addressing the public’s general unawareness of architectural history that is identified in the Wellington based research ‘Moving Images in Digital Heritage’ by Serdar Aydin et al.

Keywords: digital forensics, digital heritage, gothic architecture, Houdini, procedural modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Nurtati Soewarno, Dian Duhita

Abstract:

The existence of civilization from the past is recognized by the left objects such as monuments, buildings or even a town. The relics were designed and made well, using the good quality material so it could persist a long period of time. At this moment, those relics are cultural heritage that must be preserved and the authenticity maintained. Indonesia, a country consist of various tribes with many cultural heritages, one of them is the city of Lasem. Lasem city lies in the northern part of Central Java since the Majapahit kingdom era (13th century) poses as a busy harbor city and a trading center. Lasem is one of the residences of Chinese immigrants in Java, seen by the domination of Chinese architectural building styles. The residential was built since the 15th century and the building has the courtyard which is different from other China’s building in another part of Java. This city loses ground since the trade activity experience difficulties during the Japanese colonial era and continues after the Indonesian independence time. Many Chinese people left Lasem city and let the buildings empty not maintained. This paper will present the result of observation to Chinese architectural style buildings in Lasem city which still hold out until this moment. Using typo morphology method, the case study is chosen based on the transformation type. The occurring transformation is parallel with adaptive reuse concept as an effort to revitalize the existence of the buildings. With this concept, it is expected that the buildings could be re functioned and the glory of the foretime Lasem city could be experienced again. Intervention from the local government is expected, issuing regulations, hoping the new building functions won’t ruin the cultural heritage but instead beautifies it.

Keywords: adaptive re-use, brown field area, building transformation, Lasem city

Procedia PDF Downloads 367

Authors: Zeynep Tanrıverdi

Abstract:

The Bosphorus is an international waterway in Istanbul city of Turkey connecting the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. The Bosphorus, which has formed an important part of the silhouette of Istanbul throughout history, has also influenced the design of the coastal structures built around it. The waterfront mansions, which are located on both sides of the Bosphorus by the sea, and can be generally of two or three storeys, are called “yalı”. The yalı buildings with their architectural characteristics of the traditional Turkish House are the most grandiose examples of Ottoman residential architecture. However, the classical Ottoman yalı architecture of the 18th century can only be seen in engravings, and today only the modest and smaller yalı examples from the 19th century can be seen because of their disappearance over time. The study aims to reveal the architectural conservation and restoration problems of waterfront mansions and propose solutions for them. Firstly, the development of the waterfront mansion architecture in Bosphorus was evaluated in its historical process. Secondly, the waterfront mansions and their architectural features were explained. Thirdly, the architectural conservation and restoration problems that caused the disappearance of waterfront mansions were discussed. These problems include disruptions in legal regulations and practices about the Bosphorus, dramatic changes in Turkey’s socio-cultural life from the Ottoman Empire to the present, inadequacies in economic resources, negative environmental effects, and errors in restoration works. Finally, solution suggestions were proposed for the problems that threaten the protection of waterfront mansions. In the study, literature on waterfront mansions was reviewed using historical reports, photographs, maps, and drawings in archival documents. It is hoped that this study will contribute the conservation of the “Yalı” waterfront mansions, which occupy a particular role in the cultural heritage of Turkey, and to their transmission with their authentic values to the next generation.

Keywords: bosphorus architecture, conservation, heritage, Istanbul, waterfront mansions (yalı)

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Laetitia Fourie

Abstract:

Dangerous myths and stereotypes contribute to the fact that persons living with albinism are amongst the most vulnerable groups in society. The prevalence of albinism varies around the world and the World Health Organization estimates that around 1 in 5000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa are affected by this genetic disorder. Persons who are living with the condition usually experience a lack of melanin in their skin, eyes and hair that results in possible physical impairments such as poor eyesight and skin cancers. Being affected by such disorders and consequently classified as an albino, give way for unequal treatment which ultimately requires safeguarding these persons against unfair discrimination - not only on the basis of their race and color (or lack thereof), but also on the basis of their disability. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides that everyone is equal before the law and prohibits unfair discrimination on the grounds of race, color and disability. This right is given effect to by the Employment Equity Act, which strives to eliminate unfair discrimination on similar grounds within any employment policy or practice. An essential non-discrimination measure that can be implemented in the labor market to achieve equality is the duty of reasonable accommodation that rests upon employers. However, reasonable accommodation is only introduced as an affirmative action measure in order to provide equal employment opportunities to the identified designated groups who include black people (defined to include Indians, Chinese and Colored), women and people with disabilities. Even though this duty exists, South African law does not elaborate on the scope of the duty, except for a Disability Code, which does not hold the force of law. Furthermore, in respect of applying affirmative action measures to people with disabilities, the law does not elaborate on the meaning of disability. Considering that persons living with albinism will find it difficult to show that they are black or disabled in order to be acknowledged as part of the designated groups, their access to reasonable accommodation will be limited to a great extent. This paper will aim to illustrate to which extent South African law currently fails to implement its international obligations as a State Party to the Conventions of the United Nations, and how these failures should be corrected in order to serve the needs of all South Africans, including albinos.

Keywords: albinism, disability, equality, South Africa, United Nations

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Bhargavi G. Iyer, Ojaswi Bhagat

Abstract:

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about ethnic imbalance and diversity in the international context. Arbitration is now subject to the hegemony of a small number of people who are constantly reappointed. When a court system becomes exclusionary, the quality of adjudication suffers significantly. In such a framework, there is a misalignment between adjudicators' preconceived views and the interests of the parties, resulting in a biased view of the proceedings. The world is currently witnessing a slew of intellectual property battles around cultural appropriation. The term "cultural appropriation" refers to the industrial west's theft of indigenous culture, usually for fashion, aesthetic, or dramatic purposes. Selena Gomez exemplifies cultural appropriation by commercially using the “bindi,” which is sacred to Hinduism, as a fashion symbol. In another case, Victoria's Secret insulted indigenous peoples' genocide by stealing native Indian headdresses. In the case of yoga, a similar process can be witnessed, with Vedic philosophy being reduced to a type of physical practice. Such a viewpoint is problematic since indigenous groups have worked hard for generations to ensure the survival of their culture, and its appropriation by the western world for purely aesthetic and theatrical purposes is upsetting to those who practise such cultures. Because such conflicts involve numerous jurisdictions, they must be resolved through international arbitration. However, these conflicts are already being litigated, and the aggrieved parties, namely developing nations, do not believe it prudent to use the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) already established arbitration procedure. This practise, it is suggested in this study, is the outcome of Europe's exclusionary arbitral system, which fails to recognise the non-legal and non-commercial nature of indigenous culture issues. This research paper proposes a more comprehensive, inclusive approach that recognises the non-legal and non-commercial aspects of IP disputes involving cultural appropriation, which can only be achieved through an ethnically balanced arbitration structure. This paper also aspires to expound upon the benefits of arbitration and other means of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the context of disputes pertaining to cultural issues; positing that inclusivity is a solution to the existing discord between international practices and localised cultural points of dispute. This paper also hopes to explicate measures that will facilitate ensuring inclusion and ideal practices in the domain of arbitration law, particularly pertaining to cultural heritage and indigenous expression.

Keywords: arbitration law, cultural appropriation, dispute resolution, heritage, intellectual property

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Deenadayalan Govender

Abstract:

In South Africa, similar to nations globally, the prevailing tangible link between people and the state is public infrastructure. Services delivered through infrastructure to the people and to the state form a critical enabler for social development in communities and economic development in the country. In this regard, infrastructure, being the backbone to a nation’s prosperity, ideally should be effectively maintained for seamless delivery of services. South African infrastructure is in a state of deterioration, which is leading to infrastructure dysfunction and collapse and is negatively affecting development of the economy. This infrastructure deterioration stems from deficiencies in maintenance practices and strategies. From the birth of South African democracy, government has pursued socio-economic transformation and the delivery of critical basic services to decrease the broadening boundaries of disparity. In this regard, the National Infrastructure Plan borne from strategies encompassed in the National Development Plan is given priority by government in delivering strategic catalytic infrastructure projects. The National Infrastructure Plan is perceived to be the key in unlocking opportunities that generate economic growth, kerb joblessness, alleviate poverty, create new entrepreneurial prospects, and mitigate population expansion and rapid urbanisation. Socio-economic transformation benefits from new infrastructure spend is not being realised as initially anticipated. In this context, South Africa is currently in a state of weakening economic growth, with further amassed levels of joblessness, unremitting poverty and inequality. Due to investor reluctance, solicitation of strategic infrastructure funding is progressively becoming a debilitating challenge in all government institutions. Exacerbating these circumstances further, is substandard functionality of existing infrastructure subsequent to inadequate maintenance practices. This in-depth multi-sectoral study into the state of infrastructure is to understand the principal reasons for infrastructure functionality regression better; furthermore, prioritised investigations into progressive maintenance strategies is focused upon. Resultant recommendations reveal enhanced maintenance strategies, with a vision to capitalize on infrastructure design life, and also give special emphasis to socio-economic development imperatives in the long-term. The research method is principally based on descriptive methods (survey, historical, content analysis, qualitative).

Keywords: infrastructure, maintenance, socio-economic, strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Innocent Atuhe, Babra Nalwadda, Grace Mulyowa Kitunzi, Annabella Haninka Ejiri

Abstract:

Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent and growing chronic inflammatory skin diseases in African prisons. AD care is limited in African due to lack of information about the disease amongst primary care workers, limited access to dermatologists, lack of proper training of healthcare workers, and shortage of appropriate treatments. We designed and implemented the Prisons Telederma project based on the recommendations of the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis. Our overall goal was to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners with AD through teledermatology in Uganda. We aimed to; i) to increase awareness and understanding of teledermatology among prison health workers; and ii) to improve treatment outcomes of prisoners with atopic dermatitis through increased access to and utilization of consultant dermatologists through teledermatology in Uganda prisons: Approach: We used Store-and-forward Teledermatology (SAF-TD) to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners and prisons staff with AD. We conducted a five days training for prison health workers using an adapted WHO training guide on recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin together with an adapted American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Childhood AD Basic Dermatology Curriculum designed to help trainees develop a clinical approach to the evaluation and initial management of patients with AD. This training was followed by blended e-learning, webinars facilitated by consultant Dermatologists with local knowledge of medication and local practices, apps adjusted for pigmented skin, WhatsApp group discussions, and sharing pigmented skin AD pictures and treatment via zoom meetings. We hired a team of Ugandan Senior Consultant dermatologists to draft an iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin and shared this atlas with prison health staff for use as a job aid. We had planned to use MySkinSelfie mobile phone application to take and share skin pictures of prisoners with AD with Consultant Dermatologists, who would review the pictures and prescribe appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the National Health Service withdrew the app from the market due to technical issues. We monitored and evaluated treatment outcomes using the Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) tool. We held four advocacy meetings to persuade relevant stakeholders to increase supplies and availability of first-line AD treatments such as emollients in prison health facilities. Results: Draft iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin Increased proportion of prison health staff with adequate knowledge of AD and teledermatology from 20% to 80% Increased proportion of prisoners with AD reporting improvement in disease severity (POEM scores) from 25% to 35% in one year. Increased proportion of prisoners with AD seen by consultant dermatologist through teledermatology from 0% to 20% in one year. Increased the availability of AD recommended treatments in prisons health facilities from 5% to 10% in one year

Keywords: teledermatology, prisoners, reaching, un-reachable

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Waheed O. Majekodunmi

Abstract:

Climate change is a real global phenomenon and an unquestionable threat to our quest for a healthy and livable planet. It is now regarded as potentially the most monumental environmental challenge people and the planet will be confronted with over the next centuries. Expectedly, climate change mitigation was one of the central themes of COP 28. Despite contributing the least to climate change, Africa is and remains the hardest hit by the negative consequences of climate change including poor growth performance. Currently, it is being hypothesized that the high level of vulnerability and exposure to climate-related disasters, low adaptive capacity against global warming and high mitigation costs of climate change across the continent could be linked to the recent abysmal economic performance of African countries, especially in oil-producing countries where greenhouse gas emissions, is potentially more prevalent. This paper examines the impact of climate change on the economic performance of selected oil-producing countries in Africa using evidence from Nigeria, Algeria and Angola. The objective of the study is to determine whether or not climate change influences the economic performance of oil-producing countries in Africa by examining the nexus between economic growth and climate-related variables. The study seeks to investigate the effect of climate change on the pace of economic growth in African oil-producing countries. To achieve the research objectives, this study utilizes a quantitative approach by using historical and current secondary data sets to determine the relationship between climate-related variables and economic growth variables in the selected countries. The study employed numbers, percentages, tables and trend graphs to explain the trends or common patterns between climate change, economic growth and determinants of economic growth: governance effectiveness, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability and regulatory efficiency. Results from the empirical analysis of data show that the trends of economic growth and climate-related variables in the selected oil-producing countries are in the opposite directions as the increasing share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the oil-producing countries did not translate to higher economic growth. Further findings show that annual surface temperatures in the selected countries do not share similar trends with the food imports ratio and GDP per capita annual growth rate suggesting that climate change does not impact significantly agricultural productivity and economic growth in oil-producing countries in Africa. Annual surface temperature was also found to not share a similar pattern with governance effectiveness, macroeconomic stability and regulatory efficiency reinforcing the claim that some economic growth variables are independent of climate change. The policy implication of this research is that oil-producing African countries need to focus more on improving the macroeconomic environment and streamlining governance and institutional processes to boost their economic performance before considering the adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Keywords: climate change, climate vulnerability, economic growth, greenhouse gas emissions per capita, oil-producing countries, share of renewable energy in total energy consumption

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Shakila Singh

Abstract:

This research was conducted at a selected South African university campus with women students who drink alcohol. The purpose of the study was to examine their perspectives on the role of alcohol in their lives, their understandings about women’s vulnerability to alcohol-related sexual risk and their strategies against these. The study draws on feminist principles and practices to challenge gendered inequalities that legitimate and facilitate violence against women. Recognising the danger of focusing on risk management in ways that place the burden of responsibility entirely on young women to prevent their violation, this article focuses on women students’ agency in managing risk while taking up opportunities for self-discovery. Participation was voluntary, and a student-researcher administered an open-ended questionnaire to 55 participants. The findings suggest that young women position alcohol- use as a common activity at university, and that it gives them much pleasure. They recognise that it is riskier for women and articulate valuable strategies to manage the risk to their sexual safety when drinking. These include drinking within supportive networks, avoiding financial dependence, and managing their alcohol intake. This article argues that alcohol at university is an integral part of expressions of gender and sexuality and that risk-taking is a normal part of university students’ lives. Consequently, arguments about equality need to consider risk-taking as part of young people’s lives and promote ways of managing alcohol-related risks, rather than imagining that alcohol can be avoided entirely.

Keywords: alcohol-related sexual risk, drinking at university, managing risk, women students

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Mohammad Jahangeer Warsi

Abstract:

This is, perhaps, the first linguistic study of Maithili Urdu, a dialect of Urdu language of Indo-Aryan family, spoken by around four million speakers in Darbhanga, Samastipur, Begusarai, Madhubani, and Muzafarpur districts of Bihar. It has the subject–verb–object (SOV) word order and it lacks script and literature. Needless to say, this work is an attempt to document this dialect so that it should contribute to the field of descriptive linguistics. Besides, it is also spoken by majority of Maithili diaspora community. Maithili Urdu does not have its own script or literature, yet it has maintained an oral history of over many centuries. It has contributed to enriching the Maithili, Hindi and Urdu languages and literature very profoundly. Dialects are the contact languages of particular regions, and they have a deep impact on their cultural heritage. Slowly with time, these dialects begin to take shape of languages. The convergence of a dialect into a language is a symbol and pride of the people who speak it. Although, confined to the five districts of northern Bihar, yet highly popular among the natives, it is the primary mode of communication of the local Muslims. The paper will focus on the structure of expressions about Maithili Urdu that include the structure of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. There are clear differences in linguistic features of Maithili Urdu vis-à-vis Urdu, Maithili and Hindi. Though being a dialect of Urdu, interestingly, there is only one second person pronoun tu and lack of agentive marker –ne. Although being spoken in the vicinity of Hindi, Urdu and Maithili, it undoubtedly has its own linguistic features, of them, verb conjugation is remarkably unique. Because of the oral tradition of this link language, intonation has become significantly prominent. This paper will discuss the morpho-syntactic pattern of Maithili Urdu and will go through a sample text to authenticate the findings.

Keywords: cultural heritage, morpho-syntactic pattern, Maithili Urdu, verb conjugation

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Dongqi Li, Yunjia Huang, Tomo Inoue, Kohei Inoue

Abstract:

With urbanization, urban cultural heritage is facing the impact and destruction of modernization and urbanization. Many historical areas are losing their historical information and regional cultural characteristics, so it is necessary to carry out systematic color planning for historical areas in conservation. As an early focus on urban color planning, Japan has a systematic approach to urban color planning. Hence, this paper selects five merchant towns from the category of important traditional building preservation areas in Japan as the subject of this study to explore the color structure and emotion of this type of historic area. First, the image semantic segmentation method identifies the buildings, roads, and landscape environments. Their color data were extracted for color composition and emotion analysis to summarize their common features. Second, the obtained Internet evaluations were extracted by natural language processing for keyword extraction. The correlation analysis of the color structure and keywords provides a valuable reference for conservation decisions for this historic area in the town. This paper also combines the color structure and Internet evaluation results with generative adversarial networks to generate predicted images of color structure improvements and color improvement schemes. The methods and conclusions of this paper can provide new ideas for the digital management of environmental colors in historic districts and provide a valuable reference for the inheritance of local traditional culture.

Keywords: historic districts, color planning, semantic segmentation, natural language processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Maulana Ayoub Ali

Abstract:

“Both Socialist as well as the capitalist in the economic systems have proven their failure to ensure economic justice that serves to benefit all in the society, both the rich and the poor. In particular, capitalism is currently causing a terrifying scenario by making the rich richer and the poor poorer” . In this paper, the author looks at the level of exploitation which is taking place to small and middle entrepreneurs (SME’s), government and private employees as well as large investors in East African countries who depends on interest-based loans which undermines their lives every day due to heavy monthly returns. Numbers of families have been evicted from their family premises and SME’s properties have been attached in the courts due to failure to return their loans timely. In fact, there are a lot of issues which have taken place on the ground which badly affected number of families socially and most importantly economically due to engagement in interest-based loans offered by commercial banks in East Africa. This paper looks on the alternative ways of eliminating interest-based loans to better lives of devastated Africans who are almost “dying” of heavy debts generated through higher interest loans. Reaching to that particular root the author has visited various literatures in a bid to deeply investigate and find out the best alternative mode of enabling African SME’s, businessmen and employees to benefit from the interest-free loans. The question is whether interest-free loans can be a long term solution towards poverty alleviation in East Africa generally and Tanzania in particular.

Keywords: interest-free loans, SME’s, financial institutions, poverty, east Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: G. A. Asciak, C. Camilleri, A. Rizzo

Abstract:

The waste management in Malta is a national challenge. Coupled with Malta’s recent economic boom, which has seen massive growth in several sectors, especially the construction industry, drastic actions need to be taken. Wood waste, currently being dumped in landfills, is one type of waste which has increased astronomically. This research study aims to carry out a thorough examination on the possibility of using this waste as a biomass resource and adopting a waste-to-energy technology in order to generate electrical energy. This study is composed of three distinct yet interdependent phases, namely, data collection from the local SMEs, thermal analysis using the bomb calorimeter, and generation of energy from wood waste using a micro biomass plant. Data collection from SMEs specializing in wood works was carried out to obtain information regarding the available types of wood waste, the annual weight of imported wood, and to analyse the manner in which wood shavings are used after wood is manufactured. From this analysis, it resulted that five most common types of wood available in Malta which would suitable for generating energy are Oak (hardwood), Beech (hardwood), Red Beech (softwood), African Walnut (softwood) and Iroko (hardwood). Subsequently, based on the information collected, a thermal analysis using a 6200 Isoperibol calorimeter on the five most common types of wood was performed. This analysis was done so as to give a clear indication with regards to the burning potential, which will be valuable when testing the wood in the biomass plant. The experiments carried out in this phase provided a clear indication that the African Walnut generated the highest gross calorific value. This means that this type of wood released the highest amount of heat during the combustion in the calorimeter. This is due to the high presence of extractives and lignin, which accounts for a slightly higher gross calorific value. This is followed by Red Beech and Oak. Moreover, based on the findings of the first phase, both the African Walnut and Red Beech are highly imported in the Maltese Islands for use in various purposes. Oak, which has the third highest gross calorific value is the most imported and common wood used. From the five types of wood, three were chosen for use in the power plant on the basis of their popularity and their heating values. The PP20 biomass plant was used to burn the three types of shavings in order to compare results related to the estimated feedstock consumed by the plant, the high temperatures generated, the time taken by the plant to produce gasification temperatures, and the projected electrical power attributed to each wood type. From the experiments, it emerged that whilst all three types reached the required gasification temperature and thus, are feasible for electrical energy generation. African Walnut was deemed to be the most suitable fast-burning fuel. This is followed by Red-beech and Oak, which required a longer period of time to reach the required gasification temperatures. The results obtained provide a clear indication that wood waste can not only be treated instead of being dumped in dumped in landfill but coupled.

Keywords: biomass, isoperibol calorimeter, waste-to-energy technology, wood

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Parastou Kharazmi

Abstract:

Degradation of building materials particularly pipelines causes environmental damage during renovation or replacement and is a time consuming and costly process. Rehabilitation by polymer composites is a solution for renovation of degraded pipeline in heritage buildings and other structures which are less costly, faster and causes less damage to the environment; however, it is still not clear for how long these materials can perform as expected in the field and working condition. To study their service life, two types of composites based on Epoxy and Polyester resins have been evaluated by accelerated exposure and field exposure. The primary degradation agent used in accelerated exposure has been cycling temperature with half of the tests performed in presence of water. Thin films of materials used in accelerated testing were prepared in laboratory by using the same amount of material as well as technique of multi-layers application used in majority of the field installations. Extreme intensity levels of degradation agents have been used only to evaluate materials properties and as also mentioned in ISO 15686, are not directly correlated with degradation mechanisms that would be experienced in service. In the field exposure study, the focus has been to identify possible failure modes, causes, and effects. In field exposure, it has been observed that there are other degradation agents present which can be investigated further such as presence of contaminants and rust before application which prevents formation of a uniform layer of polymer or incompatibility between dissimilar materials. This part of the study also highlighted the importance of application’s quality of the materials in the field for providing the expected performance and service life. Results from extended accelerated exposure and field exposure can help in choosing inspection techniques, establishing the primary degradation agents and can be used for ageing exposure programs with clarifying relationship between different exposure periods and sites.

Keywords: building, renovation, service life, pipelines

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Andrew Enaifoghe

Abstract:

The study examined the role of public management development in enhancing public service delivery in the South African local government. The study believes that the ultimate empowerment of the third tier sphere of governments in South Africa remains the instrument required to enhance both national and continental development. This over the year has been overwhelmed with problems and imbalance related to ethical practice, accountability and the functional local government system and the machinery itself. The study finds that imbalances are being strengthened by a lack of understanding and unanimity as to what a public management development in a democratic system is and how it should work to achieve the dividends of democracy in delivering public goods. Studies indicated that the magnitudes are widespread corruption and misrepresentations of government priorities; both of which weaken the ability of governments to enhance broad-based economic growth and social well-being of the people. This study addressed the problem of public management and accountable local government. The study indicates the need for citizens’ participation in the decision-making process in delivering public service in South Africa and how its accountability mechanism supports good governance. The study concludes that good and ethical watersheds in South Africa have since reached such proportions that social pressure, the pressure from the government and various institutions have to re-consider where they stand regarding ethics, ethical behaviour, accountability and professionalism in delivering public goods to the people at the local municipal government.

Keywords: accountability, development, democratic system, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Jefrey Pilusa, Tumisang Seodigeng

Abstract:

This research discusses a South African case study for the potential of utilizing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) obtained from non-burn treatment of health care risk waste (HCRW) as potential feedstock for green energy production. This specific waste stream can be destroyed via non-burn treatment technology involving high-speed mechanical shredding followed by steam or chemical injection to disinfect the final product. The RDF obtained from this process is characterised by a low moisture, low ash, and high calorific value which means it can be potentially used as high-value solid fuel. Due to the raw feed of this RDF being classified as hazardous, the final RDF has been reported to be non-infectious and can blend with other combustible wastes such as rubber and plastic for waste to energy applications. This study evaluated non-burn treatment technology as a possible solution for on-site destruction of HCRW in South African private and public health care centres. Waste generation quantities were estimated based on the number of registered patient beds, theoretical bed occupancy. Time and motion study was conducted to evaluate the logistics viability of on-site treatment. Non-burn treatment technology for HCRW is a promising option for South Africa, and successful implementation of this method depends upon the initial capital investment, operational cost and environmental permitting of such technology; there are other influencing factors such as the size of the waste stream, product off-take price as well as product demand.

Keywords: autoclave, disposal, fuel, incineration, medical waste

Procedia PDF Downloads 179