The development, manufacture and assessment of solid dispersions of gliclazide

Expected release date-April 202

Phase-Only Digital Encryption

Abstract—We study then-dimensional deconvolution prob-lem associated with an impulse response function and an(additive) noise function that are both characterised by thesame phase-only stochastic spectrum. In this case, it is shownthat the deconvolution problem becomes well-posed and has ageneral solution that is both exact and unique, subject to are-normalisation condition relating to the scale of the solution.While the phase-only spectral model considered is of limitedvalue in general (in particular, problems arising in the fieldsof digital signal processing and communications engineering,specifically with regard to the retrieval of information fromnoise), its application to digital cryptography has potential.One of the reasons for this (as discussed in this paper),is that it provides a method of encrypting data where thediffused plaintext can be effectively embedded in a (phase-only)cipher (subject to the floating point precision used for dataprocessing), thereby fully dissipating the statistical signatureof the plaintext in the distribution of the cipher. Further,a decrypt can be generated that is computationally efficientsubject to the usual cases of sender and receiver havingaccess to identical algorithm(s) and key(s), deconvolution beingequivalent to decryption in the context of the (phase-only)encryption model that is considered. For the two-dimensionalcase, this approach has a potential weakness in terms of a‘correlation attack’ using phase retrieval algorithms and asolution to this problem is provided by introducing a (stochastic)amplitude weighting function. Prototype MATLAB functionsare provided in the Appendices that accompany this paper togive readers the opportunity to repeat the computational resultspresented and extend them further. The functions constitute asymmetric algorithm for encrypting and decrypting full colourimages in which the key(s) have been exchangeda priori. In thiscontext, the final part of the paper considers the applicationof phase-only encryption for key exchange using a Three-way Pass Protocol for which a further prototype MATLABfunction is provided for validation and further development ofthe approach by interested readers

Managing Road Traffic Accidents Using a Systems Approach: Case of Botswana - Empirical Review.

Road traffic accidents are a menace to human deaths and a single life lost on Botswana roads is one too many. The road traffic injuries have long been considered to be inevitable and caused by random, unpredictable events; documented success stories in road safety are needed to demonstrate that road traffic accidents need not be inevitable and unpredictable, but are avoidable. The systems approach to road traffic accidents (RTAs) acknowledges that there are three factors that contribute to road accidents and these are; road users, vehicles and road system. Specifically, the C-3 systems approach with three phases (creation, cultivation, and conduct) was adopted as a theoretical framework underpinning the study. The major findings from this study indicates that most RTAs are caused by road users through speeding, unlicensed driving, using cell phones whilst driving, alcohol and drug abuse, bad state of mind and healthy, non-use of safety belts and deliberate failure to observe road regulations amongst others. The findings also indicate that mechanically faulty vehicles, unmaintained vehicles, old vehicles, and tyre blowouts are vehicle related factors causing RTAs. Road system conditions involve potholes, stray livestock and road design attributes amongst others. The study employed the desktop research approach. The study came up with a number of recommendations which are important to reduce RTAs and these include educating the public on safe driving habits at both basic education and tertiary education levels as well as punitive policies on road users breaking road traffic laws and regulations has been identified as another recommendation. Stringent measures must be taken against livestock owners who leave stock straying in highways and public roads. In addition, regular road maintenance and vehicle maintenance were found to be of paramount importance in reducing RTAs in Botswana. Key words: Road traffic accident, Casualty, Traffic safety, Botswana, Drunken driving, Systems approach DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-10-21 Publication date:May 31st 202

Exploring the perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers regarding access to mental health services in Zimbabwe: a case study of Tongogara refugee camp

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Migration and Displacement) by Coursework and Research Report, August 2017In Zimbabwe, the past two decades have been characterized by a growing flow of refugees into the country from other parts of the continent such as Burundi, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Somalia. Drawing from the biomedical model, prevailing discourses about mental health posit that after going through traumatic experiences in the wartorn regions of the world, refugees and asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable to developing mental health problems and are, therefore, in need of counselling and psychosocial services. This assumption has guided, and has subsequently been supported by, several studies conducted in the Global North, and there is generally a lack of local literature and research that either confirm or challenge the assumption in Southern Africa. This research was prompted by such a substantial research gap and therefore seeks to examine the perceptions of refugees regarding mental health and access to care. The study identified Tongogara Refugee Camp as the study site and targeted adult individuals aged 18 and above, residing in the camp, as well as officials from the Zimbabwean Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Christian Care, Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), clinic officials as well as faith-based leaders. The access to health care framework (McIntyre, Thiede, & Birch, 2009), was used as the basis and theoretical framework for this research to explore the various factors determining availability, affordability and acceptability. The overall methodology employed was the qualitative approach and the case study research design. Respondents were recruited through the purposive sampling method and semi-structured interviews were used for data gathering. Thematic content analysis yielded participants’ perceptions of mental health and access to care through their descriptions of pre-migration trauma and post-migration stress as the major causes of mental illness, and expressions of mental illness such as sadness, worrying, wandering aimlessly through the camp, talking too much and violence. The study sheds light on the problems of medicalizing distress and human suffering, particularly the limitations of the biomedical model of mental health treatment. Camp residents mainly rely on spirituality and social support for coping with mental health. Several issues, relating to all the dimensions of the concept of access were identified, including language barriers, temporary solution to a permanent problem, lengthy waiting times, as well as ill-treatment at the camp clinic. Recommendations include the key need to be cautious about the importation of Western biomedical approaches, the need to pay more attention to the prevention of mental health problems and the promotion of mental health through action on the social determinants of health, the need for language interpreter services at the camp clinic, the need for improved engagement with refugee families, and the need for resettlement. Such information may help add to the body of available literature on refugee and asylum seekers’ access to health services and to literature that is exploring the development of appropriate responses to mental wellbeing in the Southern African context.XL201

Alleviating Urban Traffic Congestion: Case of Gaborone City

Cities in the developing world have not been spared from the congestion problems due to economic growth and subsequent increase in vehicle ownership by both private and public owners. Traffic congestion is a major challenge in Gaborone, especially in the Western by pass road of the city resulting in massive delays, a decrease in productivity, an increase in environmental pollution, and an increase in travel time. The objective of this paper is to analyse urban transportation congestion, identify causes and proffer solutions through engaging road user perceptions, transport planning authorities and transport policy makers in Botswana. The study employed an exploratory design to sample 208 respondents through the administration of questionnaires. Quantitative data were used and analysed using SPSS v 21. The study revealed that there is massive influx of motor vehicles in the city, inadequate urban infrastructure, poor infrastructural planning, poor or no urban transport policy framework, and Road Traffic Incidents  were the main causes of traffic congestion. The effects of traffic congestion are higher transport costs, massive delays, pollution, decreased productivity and stress to motorists as a result of longer travelling time. The study recommends improvement of road infrastructure especially intersections with traffic circles, implementation of mass transit system in transporting public within the city, public education on effects of congestion, implementation of smart urban transportation, mobility technologies (transport intelligence systems) and implementation of non-motorised mobility. Keywords: congestion, Gaborone, urban transport, Botswana, mass transit, Main Mall, central business district. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-8-06 Publication date: April 30th 202

A contextual asset-based community development approach : mitigation by the Southern African church of the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.This thesis begins by outlining the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the Southern African region, together with the challenges it poses to the Church in Southern Africa. The thesis will therefore reflect on a selected number of complex social issues related to the retrovirus. These issues include poverty, gender, the breakdown of family systems, orphans, stigma and discrimination. Also included is a theological reflection to the HIV/AIDS pandemic together with the related social issues. As the thesis builds up, I will develop a contextual approach to the HIV/AIDS crisis which I will also pose as a challenge for the Southern African Church to consider in its strategies in the battle against the retrovirus. In developing this contextual approach indigenous resources and assets which includes talents, skills, gifts, and values, especially those embedded in the ubuntu-hunhu way of life will be considered. Guiding this reflection and exploration into the capacity of ubuntu-hunhu way of life together with the resources and assets embedded in it and the development of the contextual approach will be the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model

Pills, Politics and Partners: NGOs and the Management of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Eastern Cape, with special reference to the Lusikisiki Project, 2004-2014

South Africa is one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV prevalence rates remain stubbornly high.1 This trend is both concerning and difficult to explain given that South Africa is economically well-resourced with a better health care infrastructure relative to other African countries. The African National Congress identified the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a major public health threat to South Africa as early as the 1990s (Parikh and Whiteside, 2007; Gevisser, 2007). In response, international donors provided a substantial amount of financial resources to support improvements in South Africa’s health care infrastructure. The persistently high rates of HIV/AIDS in the population beg for answers to questions such as why South Africa’s political leadership has been unable to control the spread of the disease and what particular social, behavioural and economic factors have contributed to South Africa’s disproportionate share of the global HIV/AIDS burden. At this point in time, public health experts still have not been able to definitively isolate the factors that explain the severity of the HIV/AIDS disease burden within South Africa’s population. While international donor aid continues to play a central role in the social, economic and health betterment in developing nations, its political impact on local governance structures has been much debated.2 In particular, the roles played by non-government organisations (NGOs) in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa have been found to be complex, controversial, and their lasting value contested. Specifically debated is the disproportionate global investment in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in South Africa and the ways in which it has shaped intervention strategies, public and private policy, and the governance roles assumed by various national and local governmental agencies. Despite the threat of diminished financial support from international donor agencies that has loomed heavily over recipient countries in recent years, a number of key international donors have actually scaled up their global response to HIV/AIDS, particularly in South Africa.3 These donor agencies include the U.S. government’s Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, as well as non-profit humanitarian organisations such as Mèdecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF), commonly known as Doctors without Borders. This study aims to critically examine the prevailing intervention strategy used by these international donors to “push the pill;” that is, to push a public health agenda that holds antiretroviral (ARV) therapy as the preeminent solution to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the expense of other intervention strategies. While a biomedical approach remains the most compelling intervention strategy, the fight against HIV/AIDS needs to be more comprehensive in its scope taking into account local knowledge and culture. This study will discuss how political rhetoric delivered through the media and monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems has been used to embed a biomedical pill agenda into the organizational culture and intervention strategies implemented by local community-based organizations. Through a process of strategic translation, HIV/AIDS has been portrayed as the number one health problem facing South Africa today; in fact, across all of Sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Organisation 2005a, 2005b). As such, the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has justified the focus on making ARV drugs available throughout Sub-Saharan Africa at the expense of other interventions that could aim more precisely at the key social and health problems faced by the South African population which compromise health and well-being. The question about whose interests are donors and donor-funded agencies representing, and what are the intended and unintended consequences that result from these interests is the subject of this study. The study will attempt to shed light on these questions through a critical examination of the widely publicized HIV/AIDS intervention programme, the Lusikisiki Project, located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. I have drawn extensively from the development discourse literature and such scholars as Ferguson, 1990; Escobar, 1994 and 1995; Rist, 1997; and Mosse, 2005, to provide theoretical grounding for answering the questions posed.4 The study will critically analyse the social and political factors that defined this reputedly successful HIV/AIDS intervention project. Further, the study wil elucidate other cultural and behavioural factors that shaped the initiative in its battle against HIV/AIDS.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 201

Pills, Politics and Partners: NGOs and the Management of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Eastern Cape, with special reference to the Lusikisiki Project, 2004-2014

South Africa is one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV prevalence rates remain stubbornly high.1 This trend is both concerning and difficult to explain given that South Africa is economically well-resourced with a better health care infrastructure relative to other African countries. The African National Congress identified the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a major public health threat to South Africa as early as the 1990s (Parikh and Whiteside, 2007; Gevisser, 2007). In response, international donors provided a substantial amount of financial resources to support improvements in South Africa’s health care infrastructure. The persistently high rates of HIV/AIDS in the population beg for answers to questions such as why South Africa’s political leadership has been unable to control the spread of the disease and what particular social, behavioural and economic factors have contributed to South Africa’s disproportionate share of the global HIV/AIDS burden. At this point in time, public health experts still have not been able to definitively isolate the factors that explain the severity of the HIV/AIDS disease burden within South Africa’s population. While international donor aid continues to play a central role in the social, economic and health betterment in developing nations, its political impact on local governance structures has been much debated.2 In particular, the roles played by non-government organisations (NGOs) in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa have been found to be complex, controversial, and their lasting value contested. Specifically debated is the disproportionate global investment in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in South Africa and the ways in which it has shaped intervention strategies, public and private policy, and the governance roles assumed by various national and local governmental agencies. Despite the threat of diminished financial support from international donor agencies that has loomed heavily over recipient countries in recent years, a number of key international donors have actually scaled up their global response to HIV/AIDS, particularly in South Africa.3 These donor agencies include the U.S. government’s Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, as well as non-profit humanitarian organisations such as Mèdecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF), commonly known as Doctors without Borders. This study aims to critically examine the prevailing intervention strategy used by these international donors to “push the pill;” that is, to push a public health agenda that holds antiretroviral (ARV) therapy as the preeminent solution to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the expense of other intervention strategies. While a biomedical approach remains the most compelling intervention strategy, the fight against HIV/AIDS needs to be more comprehensive in its scope taking into account local knowledge and culture. This study will discuss how political rhetoric delivered through the media and monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems has been used to embed a biomedical pill agenda into the organizational culture and intervention strategies implemented by local community-based organizations. Through a process of strategic translation, HIV/AIDS has been portrayed as the number one health problem facing South Africa today; in fact, across all of Sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Organisation 2005a, 2005b). As such, the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has justified the focus on making ARV drugs available throughout Sub-Saharan Africa at the expense of other interventions that could aim more precisely at the key social and health problems faced by the South African population which compromise health and well-being. The question about whose interests are donors and donor-funded agencies representing, and what are the intended and unintended consequences that result from these interests is the subject of this study. The study will attempt to shed light on these questions through a critical examination of the widely publicized HIV/AIDS intervention programme, the Lusikisiki Project, located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. I have drawn extensively from the development discourse literature and such scholars as Ferguson, 1990; Escobar, 1994 and 1995; Rist, 1997; and Mosse, 2005, to provide theoretical grounding for answering the questions posed.4 The study will critically analyse the social and political factors that defined this reputedly successful HIV/AIDS intervention project. Further, the study wil elucidate other cultural and behavioural factors that shaped the initiative in its battle against HIV/AIDS.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 201

Green Fleet Management Practices in Public Service Delivery by Urban Councils: Case of Makonde District in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe

The discussion of green fleet management has gathered much momentum in public sector organizations over recent decades. Green fleet management is broadly defined as a broad concept that includes different approaches by which companies work with their supplier and or customers in order to improve the environmental performance of their operations. Although knowledge base exists in Zimbabwean public sector on green fleet management, there has been no comprehensive studies on green fleet management which has been conducted. The government of Zimbabwe as a controller of public sector organization needs to find new ways, with limited resources, to achieve maximum efficiency in fleet management by managing available resources and related risks. The value of the research is a holistic approach to the analysis of fleet management which has never been undertaken by the public sector. The research employed a descriptive research design which comprised administering of questionnaires to the respondents. The sample was selected using non-probability technique and 80 respondents were selected from the entire District of Makonde. Findings show that there is an association between methods of practicing green fleet management and company performance as measured by sales revenue per year. Therefore, it is benefitting business wise to practice green fleet management operational principles in public service urban councils. The aim being to make sure that the fleet maximises fuel efficiency, minimise vehicle costs whilst improving the safety, welfare of employees and reducing exposure to environmental damage.  Key words: green fleet, public sector, fleet management, urban councils DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-10-20 Publication date:May 31st 202

The development, manufacture and assessment of solid dispersions of gliclazide

Expected release date-April 202