A 6G White Paper on Connectivity for Remote Areas

In many places all over the world rural and remote areas lack proper connectivity that has led to increasing digital divide. These areas might have low population density, low incomes, etc., making them less attractive places to invest and operate connectivity networks. 6G could be the first mobile radio generation truly aiming to close the digital divide. However, in order to do so, special requirements and challenges have to be considered since the beginning of the design process. The aim of this white paper is to discuss requirements and challenges and point out related, identified research topics that have to be solved in 6G. This white paper first provides a generic discussion, shows some facts and discusses targets set in international bodies related to rural and remote connectivity and digital divide. Then the paper digs into technical details, i.e., into a solutions space. Each technical section ends with a discussion and then highlights identified 6G challenges and research ideas as a list.Comment: A 6G white paper, 17 page

Challenges of Online Pedagogies During Covid-19 Lockdown: Reflections from Teaching Geospatial Technology for Development Planning at the University of Limpopo

Journal articles published in the 6th International Conference on Public Administration and Development Alternatives (IPADA), 06-08 October 2021, Virtual Conference.During the academic year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced institutions of higher education, especially face-to-face institutions, to adopt alternatives to conventional teaching and learning instructions and methods. As a result, online pedagogies have been unexpectedly adopted by both academics and students in these institutions, with the hope of saving the 2020 academic year. Regardless of being a desirable option compared to no teaching and learning, the abrupt change from face-to-face instruction to online pedagogies came with challenges which affected both lecturers and students in these institutions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation challenges of online pedagogies at an honours level of study (postgraduate) during COVID-19 lockdown with specific reflections from GeoSpatial Technology for Development Planning curriculum at the University of Limpopo (UL). The challenges include limited or lack thereof, of stable internet connectivity, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and gadgets and, basic ICT skills among some lecturers and students to support online teaching and learning. To achieve its purpose, qualitative research approach was adopted wherein observations and weekly teaching reports were used to solicit data. The paper revealed that "lack of institutional and curriculum support" and, "operational challenges" are the most common experienced at UL. The paper concluded that the successful implementation of online pedagogies depends on well-established ICT resources and infrastructure as well as both lecturers' and students' technological knowledge and skills

Social innovation in South Africa's rural municipalities: policy implications

HSRC Policy Brief, March

Promoting innovation for inclusive rural transformation in South Africa

HSRC Policy Brief, October

Highly Electro-Conductive Thiophene and N-methylpyrrole functionalized hyperbranched polypropylenimine tetramine-co-poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) donor materials for organic solar cells

Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) chains were grown on the surface of thiophene functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (PPI-TH) and N-methylpyrrole functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (PPI-PY) using chemical oxidation polymerization. After growing the P3HT chains on the surface of PPI-TH and PPI-PY, the properties of the resulting co-polymers were compared with those of linear P3HT as a reference. P3HT, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)-co-thiophene functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (P3HT-T), and poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)-co-N-methylpyrrole functionalized polypropylenimine tetramine (P3HT-P) were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscope (SEM), photoluminescence and electrochemical methods. P3HT-T and P3HT-P showed new imine bands on FTIR spectra, change in morphology and optical bandgaps, Stokes shifts, decrease in LUMO energy gap values, and increase in conductivity compared to P3HT. In addition, organic solar cells (OSCs) based on P3HT, P3HT-T, and P3HT-P as donor materials are discussed in this work. In comparison with P3HT-based OSC, the P3HT-T and P3HT-P based OSCs have improved performance due to an increase in VOC and FF. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel plots confirmed a reduction in charge recombination and an increase in charge transport for P3HT-T and P3HT-P devices