A Review of the Siyakhula Living Lab’s Network Solution for Internet in Poor Communities
- Authors: Muchatibaya, Hilbert , Terzoli, Alfredo , Dlodlo, Nomusa
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474279 , vital:77698 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9577006"
- Description: Changes within ICT over the past decade required a review of the network solution deployed in the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL), a joint venture between the Universities of Fort Hare and Rhodes, focused on finding blueprints for sustainable e-infrastructure in poor communities. The review found that the topology used in the SLL’s network is still viable but WiMAX is now outdated. Also, the in-network cache, Squid, is no longer effective, given the switch to HTTPS, the strong presence of advertising, and the data weight of current web pages. The solution to the first issue is outdoor Wi-Fi, a proven solution easily deployable in grass-roots fashion. The second issue can be cured leveraging Squid’s ‘bumping’ and splicing features; deploying a browser extension to make picture download optional; and using Pi-hole, a DNS sinkhole. Hopefully, the revised solution could become a component of South African Government’s broadband plan, “SA Connect”.
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- Date Issued: 2021
Exploring the Integration of Blockchain Technology and IoT in a Smart University Application Architecture
- Authors: Mjoli, Siphamandla , Dlodlo, Nomusa
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474342 , vital:77703 , xlink:href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3459104.3459153"
- Description: The ecosystem inherent within currently deployed Internet of Things (IoT) systems is that of low-powered devices equipped with sensors that consume data. The data these devices collect is then stored in use-case specific applications, which are connected through application layer gateways that allow these devices to connect to third party cloud storage platforms for further processing. This stratified architecture has created data silos that introduce complexities such as limited user control and lack of solicitation regarding the usage of user data. The constant proliferation of IoT devices deployed in smart cities which include smart university campus (SUC) has resulted in the need for the development of IoT architecture models which are data-centric. In this paper a blockchain- based architecture model, and specifically, the distributed ledger inherent within the Ethereum blockchain, combined with the Proof Of Authority (POA) consensus mechanism, are proposed as a potential solution to developing a proof of concept architecture model that is data-centric. The proposed architecture model will be tested against with application specific use-cases in a simulated environment within the context of a SUC which is subsumed by a smart city.
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- Date Issued: 2021
Exploring the use of IoT and blockchain technology in a 3rd generation bicycle sharing platform within a smart University campus
- Authors: Mjoli, Siphamandla , Dlodlo, Nomusa
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474353 , vital:77704 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0073337"
- Description: The functioning of a smart city relies upon six key factors, which are smart governance, environment, living, people and mobility. This paper focuses on the smart mobility factor, within the context of a smart university which is a surrogate of a smart city. A proof of concept transport system will be developed. The transport system will consist of a third-generation bicycle-sharing platform, which will explore the usage of several technology paradigms such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology. The transportation system will consist of a permissioned Proof Of Authority (POA) blockchain network of docking stations, which users of the smart university campus will interact with through a mobile application to rent and dock bicycles.
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- Date Issued: 2021
LTSP Client Image Maintenance: Utilising a Virtualisation Player to Support Educators to Directly Manage Classroom Applications
- Authors: Zvidzayi, Tichaona , Terzoli, Alfredo , Dlodlo, Nomusa
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474364 , vital:77705 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9576935"
- Description: This paper reports on the work done in the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) schools, a joint project between the Universities of Rhodes and Fort Hare. The computing infrastructure in SLL is based on the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP), which allows client computers to boot from a centralised server and in some cases offload the computation to the server. Most SLL educators find it difficult to manage classroom applications using the GNU/Linux tools directly. So, educators had to rely on others to add applications for their classroom activity, reducing their sense of being in control and making processes longer and less flexible. A recent development in LTSP has introduced the possibility of setting the boot image for the clients within a virtual machine. This paper explores this option in detail and proposes that educators switch to a virtualisation player to manage applications they want to use in the classroom.
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- Date Issued: 2021
Enabling Semantic Interoperability of Regional Trends of Disease Surveillance Data for Namibia Through a Health-Standards-Based Approach
- Authors: Angula, Nikodemus , Dlodlo, Nomusa , Mtshali, Progress Q
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474331 , vital:77702 , xlink:href="10.54646/BIJSCIT.005"
- Description: The Ministry of Health and Social Services in Namibia under the division of epidemiology uses a manual paper-based approach to capture disease surveillance data through 5 levels of reporting which include the community level, the health facility level, the district level, and the national level. As a result, this method of communicating and exchanging disease surveillance information is cost and time consuming, which delay disease surveillance information from reaching the head office on time. The current method that is being used to exchange and communicate disease surveillance data is a manual process which very time consuming due to the fact that surveillance officers have to organise and store the files and hunt down the information when it is needed and this can take time. Therefore, the study developed a prototype that aggregates disease surveillance data from the 14 regions in Namibia and can thus enable the disease service office to capture disease surveillance data through the use of mobile devices. The functionality of the prototype would allow a disease surveillance office in one regional office to access disease surveillance data of other regional office in real time. The method used to communicate disease surveillance data is through the excel spreadsheet (IDSR) which is called the integrated disease surveillance and response. Furthermore, the excel file will be sent to the relevant authority through email. However, we still do not have a web based system to report cases of diseases, instead this is a process starting from the intermediate hospital disease surveillance data which is captured then sent to the regional office and from the regional office the information is sent to the district office and then sent to the national office and from the national office the information is further sent to the WHO and other development partners as well as to the top management or to the highest authority. So it does not end at the national level but goes to management such as the Permanent Secretary, and the data is used to inform the development partners and the national surveillance office prepares official letters to the management as a form of reporting disease surveillance data. The symphonic surveillance office helps to detect a particular disease. The doctors send an investigation case form to the laboratory for testing the disease that has been identified.
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- Date Issued: 2020
Private blockchain networks: a solution for data privacy
- Authors: Ncube, Tyron , Dlodlo, Nomusa , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474375 , vital:77706 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9334132"
- Description: The widespread adoption of blockchain technology has had a big impact on how people transact in the digital world. Individuals can transact in an anonymous but transparent manner. Their identities remain hidden but the records of their transactions are publicly available. This has had its benefits in certain application areas but might not be suited for transactions where it is important to know who you are dealing with and in circumstances where the data in the blockchain might be confidential. Private blockchain networks are better suited for such transactions as only authorized users can transact on the network. Sensitive data can also be stored on the blockchain as it is possible to restrict the users that can see the details of the transactions. This paper describes how to create a private blockchain network and how other users can join the network. It also details the benefits of using a private blockchain network with regards to data privacy as opposed to a public network.
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- Date Issued: 2020
An internet of things-based system integrated with blockchain to manage patient data in the healthcare sector
- Authors: Muofhe, Mulalo , Dlodlo, Nomusa , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474290 , vital:77699 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8908221"
- Description: Health is the biggest challenge to a majority of citizens regardless of age group and with the shortage of major components in the healthcare sector, life expectancy tends to reduce due to a lack of facilities. Technology on the other hand is reaching out to meet some of the demands that the healthcare will continuously require in order to deliver their services on time. One such technology is known as the internet of things (IoT). IoT has already proven its great potential towards the healthcare domain. IoT has the ability to allow patients to be monitored from the comfort of their homes through sensors equipped within devices deployed to perform specific tasks. The other technology is none other than the Blockchain which was introduced to deliver its capabilities in the financial ledger. The Blockchain helps to keep track of all the transactions being recorded, which in healthcare sector the need for Blockchain can be transformed to keep a trace of patient records. Since the IoT devices have the capability to monitor vital signs in the human body, it will be of a great achievement to integrate it with the Blockchain to keep an efficient system of healthcare records. The approach of this work is presented based on an Blockchained-IoT system to improve challenges of storing patients’ data captured by wearable IoT devices to help medical caregivers to make more informed decisions based on the efficient healthcare record-keeping. The design science approach will be proposed in our research to run the full experiment of our work.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An RFID flock management system for rural areas
- Authors: Nyakonda, Tanaka , Tsietsi, Mosiuoa , Terzoli, Alfredo , Dlodlo, Nomusa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474303 , vital:77700 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8908190"
- Description: Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, is interested in prototyping various software solutions to get non-commercial farmers to integrate into the agro-processing industry, particularly in the wool and fiber industry. The work reported in this paper proposes one of such software solution. It an initial implementation of a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID)-based flock management system. The project started with a review of existing RFID solutions for livestock as well as RFID technology itself. Then it designed, built and performed initial testing of the prototype of an Android mobile application which is supported by a backend application server called TeleWeaver. The application will allow testing the hypothesis that ICTs can help non-commercial farmers better manage their livestock to improve the quantity and quality of wool products produced. The research has paved the way for future work in the field of RFIDs for livestock control in marginalized rural areas.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Enabling semantic interoperability of crowdsourced disease surveillance data for namibia through a health-standards-based approach
- Authors: Angula, Nikodemus , Dlodlo, Nomusa , Mtshali, Progress Q
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/474316 , vital:77701 , xlink:href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8764830"
- Description: The government of Namibia has invested significantly in Health Information Systems (HIS) for the purposes of quality healthcare. Despite the huge investment in HIS in the Namibian health sector, the challenge of interoperability remains a problem due to the fact that the silo HIS in the Namibian health environment are not integrated in order to exchange and communicate disease surveillance data with each other. The challenge is the HIS are heterogeneous systems with unstructured data, different data formats, developed by different vendors and are running on different software. One source of disease surveillance data is provided by communities in a phenomenon normally referred to as crowdsourcing. As a result, the objective of this study was to develop a prototype that allows crowdsource users to utilise their mobile devices to access, exchange and communicate disease surveillance data in real time directly to the District Health Information Systems (DHIS-2) in regional offices and the national office of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) in Namibia for semantic interoperability. The current method used for communicating disease surveillance information between the MoHSS, and its agency, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and public health institutions is a manual system which is not appropriate as it causes delays in the exchange of information among them. The prototype is grounded on health standards, such as Health Level Seven (HL7), and Integrated Health Exchange (IHE).
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- Date Issued: 2019