Browsing by Author "Rivett, Ulrike"

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    Adapting and responding to ICTs - a study of two municipalities in rural South Africa
    (2016) Jacobs, Carl; Rivett, Ulrike
    The post - apartheid restructuring of South Africa's water sector has left the responsibility of planning, access and provision of water with local government. Local municipalities, which lack the " financial and human resources to deliver on their constitutional and legal mandate and on citizen expectations" (Department of Co - operative Governance and Traditional Affairs [CoGTA] , 2009) , constitute 71% of South Africa's local government . This means that a large proportion of South Africa's local government does not possess sufficient capacity to fulfil their legal responsibilities. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the potential for improved capacity they provide is not a new concept, especially to the fields of education, health and governance. For instance, South Africa's Local Government Association (SALGA) developed a guide and roadmap f or successful ICT governance in local municipalities. They recognised the importance of aligning governance and ICTs to improve the role of local municipalities , and while many examples of ICTs successfully improving capacity do exist , there are also many other examples where they failed to do so Literature identifies the reasons for failure and suggests ways to address them so that ICTs have the maximum possible impact on improving capacity , however , many ICTs still fail, especially in developing contexts. This is because most studies in the field of ICTs focus on the impact they have on capacity and not vice versa. Not many studies research the impact that existing capacities have on ICTs, and especially not when the ICTs have already been designed to overcome those challenges usually associated with failure in developing contexts. In view of this, the purpose of this study was to assess what impact rural local municipalities ' existing conditions and capacities have on the implementation and use of ICT s and hence the change in capacity ICTs seek to bring about in the first instance . Additionally, the study assessed whether ICTs bring about any measurable change in low - capacity environments. Two local municipalities in rural Eastern Cape of South Africa , which were looking to improve their capacities to resolve issues of water and sanitation service delivery and maintain customer relations , were identified as the study sites. An ICT system, which sought to address and improve upon the challenges associated with each municipality's customer relations and management of complaints, was co - designed and implemented using best practices, so as to overcome the challenges usually associated with ICT failure in developing contexts. Using the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (Gupta, Termeer, Klostermann, Meijerink, Van den Brink, Jong, Nooteboom, & Bergsma, 2010) , a comprehensive comparative analysis between the pre - and post - ICT implementation capacities of each municipality was undertaken ( both to resolve issues of water and sanitation service delivery , maintain customer relations , and to adapt and respond to the change the ICT system sought to bring about ) . The results showed that the existing conditions and capacities of each municipality did impact the implementation and use of the ICT system. Despite the ICT system being co - designed with the municipalities and their communities to best suit their current conditions, financial and human resource challenges still resulted in each municipality adapting the use of the system to their particular environment. While the adaptations in use benefitted the municipalities, by improving their complaints management and resolution, it negated any benefits the system offered citizens and, as a result, impacted customer relations negatively. The results also showed that ICTs do result in measurable change in low - capacity environments. They are not always the changes expected or designed for, but can, from certain perspectives, end up being the most important. Overall, it is hoped that this study contributes to the discourse of ICT4D implementations in low - capacity environments in relation to the assumption that ICTs inevitably improve capacity. It also highlights the importance of an ongoing debate to rethink the various definitions of ICT for development
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    Assessing knowledge-transfer in sanitation projects to promote sustainable VIP latrine provision
    (2016) Ngobeni, Lulama Ntombana; Rivett, Ulrike
    The aim of this study was to assess how knowledge transfer through community engagement and public participation can be used to support the sustainability of VIP latrines, and hence address the negative perceptions that people have of the VIP latrine. In South Africa, the basic minimum acceptable level of sanitation is a lined Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine. Some sanitation projects utilising VIP latrines have, however, been unsuccessful as a result of the poor construction and design practices, and insufficient buy-in from latrine users. Successful VIP latrine sanitation projects have shown to use effective knowledge transfer through community engagement. The study comprises of a review of literature on community engagement, public participation, sustainable sanitation, VIP latrines and the transfer of knowledge in sanitation projects. The fieldwork study was a comparative assessment of two VIP sanitation projects implemented in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality: a project coordinated by an NGO appointed by the Department of Human Settlements as part of the Rural Household Infrastructure Programme; and another where the project was run by a project management firm appointed by the local municipality which used funding from the municipal infrastructure grant. For the NGO co-ordinated project, a community engagement approach was adopted, whilst the Project Management Firm co-ordinated project used a public participation approach. The projects were implemented in two villages both situated 10km North East of the town of Bushbuckridge. The comparative assessment was two-fold: an assessment of the sustainability of the VIP latrines, using the Integrated Assessment of Sustainable Development which was developed by Krajnc and Glavic (2004), and a Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH-developed by Ulrich in 1983) (Reynolds, 2007) analysis of the public participation and community engagement methods used in both projects.
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    Assessing public participatory mechanisms in the water and sanitation sector in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa
    (2018) Chibota, Runyararo; Rivett, Ulrike
    Public participation is considered fundamental in the management of water and sanitation. In the view of the South African government public participation is pivotal to addressing service delivery challenges in the country. However, despite investment in various participatory mechanisms, there is some reluctance from rural citizens to engage with municipalities. According to the National Policy Framework for Public Participation 2007, public participation is meant to be an “open, accountable process through which individuals and groups within selected communities can exchange views and influence decision-making. It is further defined as a democratic process of engaging people, deciding, planning, and playing an active part in the development and operation of services that affect their lives”. Thus, resistance by rural citizens to working collaboratively with the municipalities defeats the purpose of the public participation process. Preliminary literature reveals a dearth of research into the cause of the lack of interest in the public participation process from citizens. Existing literature indicates that there is dissatisfaction in the way the public participation process is being conducted, and that more examination is needed. The paucity of research is what triggered the author’s decision to analyse the participatory mechanisms being used by municipalities in the water and sanitation sector of the Eastern Cape. The study was, therefore, an assessment of participatory mechanisms and takes into account the perspectives of rural citizens whose views are thus stakeholder views. The objective was to determine the possible reasons for the dissatisfaction with the process in order to identify the factors that could be taken into account to improve the public participation process in the Eastern Cape. The main research question was: What are the South African rural publics’ perceptions on whether the participatory mechanisms used in the water and sanitation sector achieve the intended goals of public participation? The study assessed the participatory mechanisms used in the water and sanitation sector in the rural communities in South Africa. Two local municipalities in the province of Eastern Cape were used as a case study. Rural citizens’ perspectives on various participatory mechanisms were explored to establish if the mechanisms used are promoting the intended outcomes of public participation.
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    Assessing Stakeholder Perceptions in Participatory Infrastructure Upgrades - a Case Study of Project Silvertown in Cape Town
    (2018) Kumbirai, Shamiso; Wolmarans, Nicky; Rivett, Ulrike
    This study articulates the perceptions and expectations stakeholders involved in sanitation infrastructure projects in informal settlements have to determine the implications their contrasting views have towards strengthening participatory processes. It involves the critical identification of stakeholder groups and their perceptions of the roles and responsibilities that the identified groups play. The investigation was conducted using the single case study of Project Silvertown, the project that led to the controversial 2010 “toilet war saga” in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha Township. Documentary resources on the case study were used to gather secondary data on stakeholder groups and analysed using Critical Systems Heuristics, a systems thinking-based framework. The key findings in this study were that • there were disjunctions within the spheres of government relating to policy interpretations; • there were known disjunctions on project vision and outcomes between stakeholder groups that were not resolved; • there were disjunctions relating to stakeholder expectations of community participation and decision making • there was poor capacitation of community members in the participatory process • there was illegitimate representation of the residents by community leaders Findings of the conflicts between stakeholders in a given system can contribute towards identifying what stakeholder assumptions ought to be considered and built into planning public infrastructure projects to reduce participatory project failures
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    Bayesian networks for spatio-temporal integrated catchment assessment
    (2010) Dondo, C; Rivett, Ulrike; Chevallier, LP; Potgieter, Anet
    In this thesis, a methodology for integrated catchment water resources assessment using Bayesian Networks was developed. A custom made software application that combines Bayesian Networks with GIS was used to facilitate data pre-processing and spatial modelling. Dynamic Bayesian Networks were implemented in the software for time-series modelling.
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    Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool
    (2003) Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt; Rivett, Ulrike
    This research presents a proposal for the assessment of technology to manage antiretroviral treatment. The system called Cell-Life has been successfully tested at a pilot site in Gugulethu, Cape Town from September 2002 till date and offers a cost-effective solution for adherence monitoring, side effect management, effective home based care and reducing pill count dependence at the clinic. With the aid of the Cell-Life SIM card menu (please see Appendix A, page 63) on a cell-phone the therapeutic counsellor is equipped with a live-link to the clinic or doctor while visiting patients. The menu allows entering data about the patient's drug adherence, side effects and symptoms, scheduling visits to the clinic and alert messages. The data is sent using short message service (SMS) and stored in a database, which can be accessed via the Internet by a doctor who will receive a complete report on the patient's status quo. The main benefits of the system lie in creating a communication link between the clinic/doctor and the therapeutic counsellor at minimal cost. Another benefit is the collection of reliable data relating to drug adherence and the minimising of human error through preset menu options on the phone. The pilot study has shown that management of anti-retroviral therapy is possible in resource-constraint urban settings. But for a provincial or national rollout of the Cell-Life system, the challenge is the lack of the required infrastructure, technology, personnel and logistics for effective operation of the Cell-Life systems specifically in the rural areas of South Africa. This research investigated the availability of the Cell-Life requirements in the Western Cape. The findings showed that the Cell-Life systems could be implemented in the health regions investigated across the Western Cape. It was also shown that an in depth needs assessment study is required before implementing the Cell-Life system in any community.
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    Data management and reporting for drinking water quality monitoring in community-managed supplies
    (2007) Loudon, Melissa; Rivett, Ulrike
    Water Service Authorities, which may be district municipalities with hundreds of community-managed supplies under their jurisdiction, are legally responsible for ensuring the quality of water supplied to all consumers. Without the assistance of communities, this requirement, which would involve regular testing in many remote and inaccessible supplies, is extremely difficult to fulfil. Water Service Authorities also struggle to respond timeously to problems in remote supplies, as they are often unaware of the problem for some days. Two-way communication between the Water Service Authority and the Community-based Water Services Provider is therefore essential to an effective monitoring programme. Information and communication technologies, particularly mobile phones on the cellular network, offer potential solution to the challenge of supporting community-managed supplies. Following an investigation into the information needs of various stakeholders in community management, a prototype drinking water quality information system for community-managed supplies was developed.
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    The design of a geographical information system for promotion of intergrated planning of transport and spatial affairs between all spheres of government
    (2007) Burger, Lizelle; Vanderschuren, Marianne; Rivett, Ulrike
    With the common goal of improving Gauteng's transport sector in mind, the Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Public Transport, Roads and Works, concluded his recent budget speech by declaring " .... an unwavering commitment from my Department and I (sic), to accelerate our pace of delivery, improve our provision of services and generally contribute to creating the necessary environment for Gauteng to Work Better." (Jacobs, 2006) Strategically, this thesis is concerned with the primary responsibility and increased efforts of the Gauteng Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works (GPTRW) to obtain and manage the legally required datasets.
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    The detection of wetlands using remote sensing in Qoqodala, Eastern Cape
    (2003) Gibson, Lesley Anne; Rivett, Ulrike
    This dissertation aims to establish the possibilities of mapping wetlands in Qoqodala, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, using Landsat and/or Aster imagery. The methodology for mapping wetlands using Landsat imagery, proposed by Thompson, Marneweck, Bell, Kotze, Muller, Cox and Smith (2002) is adapted and applied to the study area. The same methodology is modified for use with Aster imagery and applied to the study area. In addition, the possibilities of treating Aster as a hyperspectral image are investigated, and a methodology using hyperspectral processing techniques is implemented.
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    Development of a success model for Water Management Information Systems
    (2019) Amoako, Gordon Nana Kwesi; Rivett, Ulrike
    The management of water resources traverses many disciplines and involves multiple stakeholders. Water Management Information Systems (WMIS) is a combination of technological resources - software and hardware - and tools implemented to enhance the roles and functions, and the decision-making processes of water resource management. WMIS have been acknowledged to be a critical actor and part of the water resources management processes. Though the water resources management literature presents substantial evidence to back this claim, there is insufficient evidence of research in the IS literature to understand factors that affect the success of WMIS implementations. More importantly, due to the complexity of managing the resource, factors surrounding the systems and organisational context of water management institutions affect its implementations. The aim of this study is thus to develop, test and validate a model for understanding WMIS success in the water resources management context. This integrated model combines the system and organisational factors to develop the success model. The WMIS success model was conceptualized and operationalised based on the principles of water resources management, specifically the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), and two IS models - HOT-Fit Framework and DeLone and McLean IS success model. The model consisted of the system and organisational factors, and a set of outcome constructs or net benefits - WMIS for Water Management Operations and WMIS for Water Management Decision-Making - that represented WMIS success. The system factors consisted of five dimensions namely; WMIS System Quality, WMIS Information Quality, Service Quality, System Use and User Satisfaction; whereas the organisation factors consisted of Leadership, Structure and Environment constructs. The model was tested and validated using cross-sectional data collected from users of WMIS from various designations of the Department of Water and Sanitation in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality in Cape Town, South Africa. The study recorded a 38% response rate. To analyse and validate the model, a Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed. Overall, the variance explained in WMIS for Water Management Operations was 53% whiles WMIS for Water Management Decision-Making was 12%. The model fit was deemed substantial. The direct, indirect and total effects showed that, for the system factors, User Satisfaction (� =0,69) had the strongest total effect on WMIS for Water Management Operations, whereas System Use (� =0,25) had strongest total effect on WMIS for Water Management Decision-Making; in the organisation dimension, Environment (� =0,12) had the strongest total effect on WMIS for Water Management Operations, whereas Leadership (� =0,19) had the strongest total effect on WMIS for Water Management Decision-Making. User Satisfaction (� =0,69) had the strongest direct and total effect on WMIS for Water Management Operations, whereas System Use (�=0,25) had the strongest direct and total effect on WMIS for Water Management Decision-Making in the human dimension. Though some of the relationships between the constructs were new to the water management context, some of the remaining relationships were consistent with finding from other systems in the IS domain. Further, the findings suggested that Service Quality, which in the contextual sense implied system and IT support staff, must be present onsite within the water management organisations to support WMIS users. Leaders in the various designations must have both and transactional and transformational characteristics. In this regard, they must ensure that they motivate users and commend them when they produce good work that affects the outcomes. Management should also ensure that they pay attention to external environmental factors like accreditation standards that affect their operations. Finally, this research has provided empirical evidence of the development of an integrated WMIS success model that is based on IS models and water resources management principles.
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    The free basic water policy of South Africa : an evaluation of its implementation
    (2014) Farrar, Lauren Judy; Rivett, Ulrike
    South Africa is still feeling the effects of the forced inequalities the apartheid system introduced and the resulting wide-spread poverty. Inequalities are particularly evident in the quality of services provided to different areas, which are in the majority still defined by race. The majority of White households have very good service provision, with water piped directly into the home. A great number of Black and Coloured households, by contrast, have very low levels of service where family members have to walk to collect water from communal taps. To this day, there are households in South Africa that do not have access to water infrastructure at all relying on rivers, streams or boreholes, with an increased risk of experiencing water borne diseases. With the end of apartheid and the beginning of democracy in 1994, the new government prioritised the redress of inequalities and sought to better the lives of the poor by providing them with improved services. This meant building or upgrading infrastructure as well as ongoing maintenance; whilst the initial costs were high, it became very quickly apparent that revenue needed to be collected in order to cover costs. Between 2008 and 2009, 26.3% of South Africans were living below the food poverty line of R305 per person, and 52.3% were living below the upper bound poverty line, and this meant that many households were not able to afford the upgraded services. In recognising this challenge the Free Basic Water Policy (FBWP) was established in 2001, which provided a limited “lifeline” supply of water to every household for free, while any additional water usage would have to be paid for. When the FBWP was conceptualised, it was designed to meet certain implementation and supply quality goals and standards. However, over time criticism rose that these goals had not been achieved and that in some cases the policy proved counterproductive. The objective of this dissertation is to examine the implementation of FBWP thus far, and to assess whether or not it is achieving the originally intended goals and standards. Quantitative data was gathered and used to compare the progress of the implementation of the FBWP to the implementation goals in order to assess whether or not the goals are being met. Overall there were six major goals for the implementation of the FBWP, with specific targets and standards pertaining to each goal. For the purpose of this study, the data for each goal was analysed and discussed so that the progress in achieving each goal could be assessed. The findings show that significant progress and improvement has been made in supplying Free Basic Water (FBW]. Although access to water supply and FBW, the level of service provided and the quality of the water have improved, there are still households who are not receiving FBW at the required standards. From the rate of progress made it can be seen that the original intention of providing FBW for all by 2014 was over-optimistic. A second finding was that the FBWP is not financially sustainable at present and that there is currently a lack of asset management and maintenance planning in many municipalities in South Africa, which has resulted in substantial revenue losses. It was also found that the monitoring of the FBWP is currently not sufficient. Aspects such as appropriateness of the allocated amount can only be resolved with improved monitoring mechanisms. The effectiveness of education programmes on water usage requires assessment in order to understand how increased awareness can impact on households’ ability to safe water.
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    Identifying socio-cultural determinants to access : implications for e-governance in the water & sanitation sector
    (2016) Hill, Wesley Clifton; Rivett, Ulrike
    This study identifies socio-cultural determinants to both access to technology, as well as access to water and sanitation services, to build an understanding of how technology use and service delivery interact to either restrict or empower groups to communicate their water and sanitation needs through e-government platforms. Even though South Africa's racist apartheid laws were repealed over two decades ago, water and sanitation services in predominantly black areas of Cape Town are still effected by the structural inequalities rooted in apartheid policies. Frustration over the state of water and sanitation services in these areas frequently erupts into violent and destructive protests. A key piece to reducing these inequalities lies in the city's ability to collect data on the state of water and sanitation infrastructure, and the City of Cape Town has promoted a number of e-Governance initiatives to streamline the process of collecting information from users of water and sanitation services. Among these initiatives is an SMS based fault reporting system, which was envisioned as an inexpensive method for users to easily report service failures to the city. Additionally, the city has adopted other web-based reporting platforms based on popular social media sites and email, which can be accessed using internet enabled mobile phones. However, despite high rates of mobile phone ownership in Cape Town, little is known about how people use them. It is important to know how people use mobile phones in order to gauge whether e-Governance initiatives are accessible to poor and vulnerable populations. This analysis is particularly important for highly stratified societies such as South Africa, since it has been shown that introducing ICT into a service delivery system will not result in social change, but will simply act to amplify the underlying intents and capacities that are already present in the system. The purpose of this study was to identify socio-cultural determinants to water and sanitation access and ICT use, to gauge the capacity of groups with marginal access to water and sanitation services to advocate for improvements using mobile phone enabled fault reporting. The study was carried out as a cross-sectional analysis using chi-square tests to identify correlations between socio-cultural data that was collected during three days of interviews in the township of Imizamo Yethu. A spatial analysis was also employed to visualise geographic patterns of access to water and mobile technology. The results indicate that mobility challenged township residents face barriers to accessing water and sanitation services, and also have limited options for reporting faults using mobile phones. Additional disparities in access to services and mobile phone use were found to be based on geography, economic ability, education, as well as place of birth (foreign born vs. South African born). The results indicate that marginalised segments of the population have very limited capacity to communicate their needs to the municipal government. Therefore it seems that e-Governance in the water and sanitation sector likely perpetuates some of the existing inequalities. Hopefully the information and recommendations brought forward in this study will prove helpful to those working to undo the social fractures caused by decades of exclusionary policies.
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    Improving the efficiency of monitoring adherence to antiretroviral therapy at primary health care level: a case study of the introduction of electronic technologies in Guguletu, South Africa
    (Taylor & Francis, 2007) Wessels, Xanthe; Nattrass, Nicoli; Rivett, Ulrike
    This paper presents a case study of the efficiency gains resulting from the introduction of electronic technologies to monitor and support adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Guguletu, South Africa. It suggests that the rollout of HAART to such resource-poor communities can be assisted significantly by the introduction of modified cellphones (to provide home based support to people on HAART and improve the management of adherence data) and simple bar-coding and scanning equipment (to manage drug supplies). The cellphones have improved the management of information, and simplified the working lives of therapeutic counsellors, thereby enabling them to spend less time on administration and to devote a constant amount of time per patient even though their case loads have risen threefold. It has helped integrate the local-level primary health service provision of HAART with the kind of centralised data capture and analysis that could potentially support a national HAART rollout.
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    Improving the Efficiency of Monitoring Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy: A Case Study of the Introduction of Electronic Technologies in Gugulethu, South Africa
    (2007) Wessels, Xanthe; Nattrass, Nicoli; Rivett, Ulrike
    This paper presents a case study of the efficiency gains resulting from the introduction of electronic technologies to monitor and support adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Guguletu, South Africa. It suggests that the rollout of HAART to such resource-poor communities can be assisted significantly by the introduction of modified cellphones (to provide home based support to people on HAART and improve the management of adherence data) and simple barcoding and scanning equipment (to manage drug supplies). The cellphones have improved the management of information, and simplified the working lives of therapeutic counsellors, thereby enabling them to spend less time on administration and to devote a constant amount of time per patient even though their case loads have risen threefold. It has helped integrate the local-level primary health service provision of HAART with the kind of centralised data capture and analysis that could potentially support a national HAART rollout.
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    Influence of real-time information provided by a mobile phone on the management of rural water supply quality
    (2012) Wilson-Jones, Toni; Rivett, Ulrike
    In South Africa, access to safe drinking water is a human right that is explicitly stated in the constitution. Most metro municipalities are meeting the drinking water quality targets, but the smaller rural environments are failing to provide water of acceptable drinking water quality. Reasons contributing to the high incidence of unacceptable water quality are the rural municipalities' inadequate institutional capacity and lack of management and monitoring of drinking water services. This study investigates the possibilities of supporting rural water service institutions to manage their remote water supply schemes better by addressing the challenge of distance monitoring. Through the creation of real-time information flow between the water service authorities and the water supply caretakers in remote villages, it is to be tested if better information can be received and the status of the rural water supply quality can be monitored. The improvement of information flow is based on introducing a mobile phone application. The hypothesis is that through improving the information flow, decisions on water supply management will be improved. Case study research was conducted in rural municipalities situated in the Northern Cape Province and Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Four different municipalities were chosen to reveal the diverse municipal set-up and different challenges facing rural municipalities. Data was gathered through interviews conducted with the municipal mangers over a seven month period, as well as through field investigations. The findings reveal that the mobile reporting system has improved information flow from water supply caretakers to government service providers. The mobile application allowed for distance monitoring of rural water supply schemes. It has helped address the municipalities' institutional capacity problems by improving access to information relevant to decision making. Through the data records displayed on the mobile application, municipal mangers were able to track the supply caretakers' performance and subsequently hold them accountable. Through an increase in data availability, water quality failures were easily identified, resulting in improved confidence in the quality of rural water supply. The access to real-time information has improved the monitoring and communication of rural water quality. Early intervention and the management of non-compliance improved. The mobile technology provided the municipal managers with a tool to monitor their rural water supply schemes more regularly, but it also became apparent that the management of such schemes only improved if relevant action was taken based on the information received. Greater improvement was seen in municipalities where the tool was used consistently, where time was set aside to follow up on data warnings and protocols existed to follow up on non-compliance issues. Management of the resources did not improve in areas where management staff was severely overstretched and response strategies to problems were non-existent before the implementation of the tool.
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    Investigating mobile graphic-based reminders to support compliance of tuberculosis treatment
    (2017) Haji, Haji Ali; Rivett, Ulrike; Suleman, Hussein
    The phenomenon of rapid increment of the mobile phones can be utilized through supporting patients, such as those who have tuberculosis, for treatment adherence. This utilization will enable these patients to directly communicate their needs and requirements or receive health information such as reminder messages from healthcare facilities. However, the current mobile interventions, such as text messaging and speech reminder systems have limited use for people with low literacy levels. To overcome these challenges, this study proposed that the mobile graphic-based reminders be used to support tuberculosis patients to improve compliance with treatment regimens, especially for semi-literate and illiterate patients. A review of the literature and initial investigation study were carried out. The findings from the review were useful in understanding both the current practice of tuberculosis treatment regimens and the patients' needs and requirements. These findings, in addition, were referred in the choices of the components of the mobile graphic-based reminders to be implemented. A visual aid for communication theory was applied to the design and development of graphic-based reminder prototypes. An application prototype was implemented for the Android platform. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of an application prototype in supporting tuberculosis treatment. To measure the effect, the recovery rate was measured based on the effect of: (1) the graphic-based reminder group versus the control group; and (2) the graphic-based reminder group versus the speech-based reminder group. Data was collected using application event logs, interviews, field notes and audio recordings. It was found that treatment adherence of patients in the graphic-based group was higher than in the speech-based or in the control groups. It was further noted that the number of reminder responses in the graphic-based group was higher than in the speech-based group. Additionally, it was observed that patients in the graphic-based group responded sooner after receiving reminder messages compared to those in the speech-based group. The qualitative feedback also indicated that most patients not only found graphic-based reminders more useful to supporting their treatment than speech-based reminders and traditional care but believed that the application met their needs. This study provides empirical evidence that graphic-based reminders, designed for and based on patients' needs and requirements, can support the treatment of tuberculosis for patients of all literacy levels.
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    Investigating the use of a web-based open source GIS prototype system for low-income communities in Cape Town
    (2009) Ditsela, Jeofrey; Rivett, Ulrike
    The implementation of Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA, 2000), by the South African government in the public domain gave effect to "the constitutional right of access to any information held by the state and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights; and to provide for matters connected therewith" (Arthur, 2007). The government requires every public and private organization to provide access to information users manual document as contemplated by section 14 of the PAIA of 2000 for the facilitation of easy access, affordable, relevant and understandable information to the public. Despite the effort, low-income communities at Cape Town informal settlements has limited understanding of where to go or who to contact when it comes to submitting requests for access to spatial information to the City of Cape Town Council and to publicly report locale area problems. It can be assumed that one of the factors contributing to this ignorance is the geographical distance to the relevant City Council departments and the absence of the public spatial information systems that support interaction between municipality level and community level. The Internet is a medium that can address important obstacles inhibiting information utility associated with public access to spatial information and reporting problems of concern in a society. The rise of the Internet technology has created opportunities to increase public participation in environmental decision-making by use of web-based GIS. This study aims to implement an open source web-based mapping GIS prototype system that can be used as an intermediate solution as a feasibility study for the access to spatial information rather than the manual procedure used by the City Council. It also aims to illustrate how public access to online maps can deliver improved services to lower-income communities through reporting locale problems. The web-based GIS prototype system named UCT CSIS utilize City of Cape Town Smart Cape Access Project platform at the community libraries so that it reaches a wide range of audience through internet connection.
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    An investigation into the development of a facilities management system for the University of Cape Town
    (2004) Slingsby, T P; Rivett, Ulrike
    Includes bibliographical references.
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    Open source geographic information systems: promoting access to health services information through a local and participatory development methodology
    (2007) Ricketts, Adam; Rivett, Ulrike
    The challenges associated with the provision of health services in South Africa are immense. The South African Government aims to address some of these challenges through the decentralisation of health services management. Information sharing and dissemination is seen as a critical factor in the success of such a structure. Geographic information systems (GIS) have been identified as a means through which information can be shared. The research aims to determine how GIS can aid the management of health related services through the use and sharing of information. This is based on the premise that the GIS is developed in a participatory manner and focused at the local community level. Three major steps make up the research being presented. The first aimed to determine the status quo of GIS use in South Africa. An online questionnaire was designed for this purpose. The second was the facilitation of the participatory development of an open source GIS prototype based on the results of the online questionnaire. The third step was the testing of the GIS prototype. Testing was completed using methodologies from case study research and human computer interaction (HCI), and included a case study of the Overstrand municipal area, in which usability testing of the GIS prototype was completed. The research found that GIS has a significant role to play in the sharing and use of information at a local community level. The methodology employed in the research illustrated an effective manner in which to promote participation in the development of a system. Furthermore it was determined that open source software allows for the flexibility required for such system development, in that the focus of development must be for a specific group of people, and for specific tasks to be carried out by those people.
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    Open source GIS for HIV/AIDS management
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2008) Vanmeulebrouk, Bas; Rivett, Ulrike; Ricketts, Adam; Loudon, Melissa
    BACKGROUND: Reliable access to basic services can improve a community's resilience to HIV/AIDS. Accordingly, work is being done to upgrade the physical infrastructure in affected areas, often employing a strategy of decentralised service provision. Spatial characteristics are one of the major determinants in implementing services, even in the smaller municipal areas, and good quality spatial information is needed to inform decision making processes. However, limited funds, technical infrastructure and human resource capacity result in little or no access to spatial information for crucial infrastructure development decisions at local level.This research investigated whether it would be possible to develop a GIS for basic infrastructure planning and management at local level. Given the resource constraints of the local government context, particularly in small municipalities, it was decided that open source software should be used for the prototype system. RESULTS: The design and development of a prototype system illustrated that it is possible to develop an open source GIS system that can be used within the context of local information management. Usability tests show a high degree of usability for the system, which is important considering the heavy workload and high staff turnover that characterises local government in South Africa. Local infrastructure management stakeholders interviewed in a case study of a South African municipality see the potential for the use of GIS as a communication tool and are generally positive about the use of GIS for these purposes. They note security issues that may arise through the sharing of information, lack of skills and resource constraints as the major barriers to adoption. CONCLUSION: The case study shows that spatial information is an identified need at local level. Open source GIS software can be used to develop a system to provide local-level stakeholders with spatial information. However, the suitability of the technology is only a part of the system - there are wider information and management issues which need to be addressed before the implementation of a local-level GIS for infrastructure management can be successful.