http://hdl.handle.net/10204/681 2013-05-23T04:34:03Z 2013-05-23T04:34:03Z Wall, K Bhagwan, J Ive, O Kirwan, F http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6701 2013-04-19T21:55:15Z 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z

Title: O&M of services infrastructure by social franchising partnerships Authors: Wall, K; Bhagwan, J; Ive, O; Kirwan, F Abstract: South African research finds that social franchising partnerships could address many challenges in the operation and maintenance of water services infrastructure. Franchising trains those on-site, and also provides backup off-site skills. The concept is being piloted with considerable success in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Under the guidance and mentorship of a franchisor, trainee franchisees are taking care of the routine maintenance of the sanitation facilities at several hundred schools. Municipalities in the region have also taken interest, and are taking the first steps to adopt the concept where appropriate. Description: International Water Association (IWA) Conference, South Korea, September 2012

2012-09-01T00:00:00Z Wall, K Watermeyer, R Pirie, G http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6687 2013-04-18T21:55:16Z 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z

Title: "Wagging the dog": How service delivery can lose its way in the procurement maze -- and could find it again Authors: Wall, K; Watermeyer, R; Pirie, G Abstract: Supply chain management (SCM) regulations for public sector procurement of goods and services have greatly improved the transparency of procurement procedures, increased the opportunities for alternative suppliers, and reduced the potential for corrupt procurement practices. There is evidence however that these regulations are often not implemented to best effect. In particular, it would seem that the SCM process, if allowed to be, is often the primary cause of extended delays in the appointment of contractors, leading to delays in the delivery of services. The SCM "tail" would appear on those occasions to be “wagging the dog", namely service delivery. The paper does not suggest the watering down of SCM regulations. On the contrary, it argues that municipalities’ top management should set clear timeframes for each part of the service delivery process, the SCM process included, and hold the respective officials accountable should they take longer without good reason. Because of the need to reduce service delivery delays, but also in order to improve the functionality of infrastructure services, a very good argument can be made for the procurement of capital works and professional services, which are generally very situation-specific and site-specific (and could also be community-specific), to be treated differently from the procurement of other types of goods and services. Description: Institution of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa Conference, George, South Africa, 3 September 2012

2012-09-01T00:00:00Z Komba, J Anochie-Boateng, JK Steyn, WJvdM http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6653 2013-04-11T21:55:17Z 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Analytical and laser scanning techniques to determine shape properties of mineral aggregates Authors: Komba, J; Anochie-Boateng, JK; Steyn, WJvdM Abstract: The fundamental shape attributes of aggregates used in pavements i.e., form, angularity, and surface texture have not been accurately quantified historically, because of their irregular and non-ideal shapes. This paper presents selected results using a laser-based scanning technique to determine the form of aggregates used in construction of pavements in South Africa. A three-dimensional (3-D) laser scanning system was used to scan aggregate materials from different sources, and the data were processed to reconstruct 3-D models of the aggregate particles. The models were further analyzed to determine the form properties. In this paper, two analysis approaches, based on aggregate physical properties and spherical harmonic analysis, were employed to determine the aggregate form indices. The aggregate form indices obtained from the physical aggregate properties were compared with the form indices computed based on the spherical harmonic analysis. The indices based on the physical properties include sphericity computed from the surface area and volume, sphericity computed from three orthogonal dimensions, and flat and elongated ratio computed from the longest and shortest dimensions of an aggregate particle. Good correlations were observed between the form indices obtained from the aggregate physical properties, and the spherical harmonic form index. It is concluded that laser scanning technique could be employed to better quantify the form properties of aggregate materials used in pavements. Description: The paper was presented at the Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting, Washington, 13-17 January 2013.

2013-01-01T00:00:00Z Masonta, MT Mzyece, M Mekuria, F http://hdl.handle.net/10204/6566 2013-02-21T21:55:16Z 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A comparative study of cognitive radio platforms Authors: Masonta, MT; Mzyece, M; Mekuria, F Abstract: Cognitive radio (CR) technology has become one of the buzzwords within the wireless communications community over the past 12 years. Its ability to learn, decide and adapt to the external environment made CR attractive to regulators, researchers, academia, politicians and the industry. CR promises to bring a paradigm shift in spectrum management policies from command-and-control regime to dynamic and opportunistic spectrum access. Despite more than a decade of research in the CR area, there are too little CR systems ready for the market. This lack of ready CR systems may reflect an overemphasis in the CR literature on theory and simulations with less work done in experimental-based-research and publications. In order to fast-track the real-life deployments of CR systems, the research community is now focusing on the development of CR platforms. With different software defined radio (SDR) packages and hardware available, it is confusing to decide which one to build or use. The objective of this paper is to study the design of CR platforms making use available SDR software packages and hardware. Our conclusion is that CR research should now focus on experimental-based results using real-life CR platforms in order to realize market-ready CR systems. Description: 4th International Conference on Management of Emergent Digital EcoSystems, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28-31 October 2012. Published in Research gate 2012.

2012-10-01T00:00:00Z