Perceptions of principals and teachers on the implementation of Inclusive Education: A case study of three primary schools in the Amathole West Education District.
- Authors: Magwa, Nondumiso
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Eastern Cape -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11264 , vital:39039
- Description: This research study investigated the perceptions of principals and teachers on the implementation of inclusive education in three primary schools in Amathole West Education District. The investigation took place in rural and in urban areas to fulfil the completion of the study. The people who participated in the study were three principals and six teachers from primary schools. The researcher used interpretivism paradigm for this study. A case study was also used to get closer to participants by visiting their workplace so that she could know their living experiences, thoughts and feelings about the implementation of IE in three primary schools in AWED. The study used qualitative approach. Data was collected using semi - structured interviews and document analysis so as to get rich information. Results of the study revealed that the implementation of Inclusive Education was not effective in primary schools in the AWED as it is expected by the DBE. For effective implementation of IE recommendations included the following: mainstream principals and teachers must be encouraged to read and understand the documents on implementation of IE; mainstream principals and teachers must be encouraged to further their studies and capacitate themselves especially in the aspects of inclusive education; DBSTs must have regular visits to mainstream schools to support teachers on monthly basis; follow - ups and monitoring must be done by district officers frequently to all mainstream schools; remedial classes must be introduced in mainstream schools so that learners can get enough time to be assisted on areas concerned; more workshops and in - service training must be organised to support teachers so that they could get more information about inclusive education.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Magwa, Nondumiso
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Inclusive education -- Eastern Cape -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11264 , vital:39039
- Description: This research study investigated the perceptions of principals and teachers on the implementation of inclusive education in three primary schools in Amathole West Education District. The investigation took place in rural and in urban areas to fulfil the completion of the study. The people who participated in the study were three principals and six teachers from primary schools. The researcher used interpretivism paradigm for this study. A case study was also used to get closer to participants by visiting their workplace so that she could know their living experiences, thoughts and feelings about the implementation of IE in three primary schools in AWED. The study used qualitative approach. Data was collected using semi - structured interviews and document analysis so as to get rich information. Results of the study revealed that the implementation of Inclusive Education was not effective in primary schools in the AWED as it is expected by the DBE. For effective implementation of IE recommendations included the following: mainstream principals and teachers must be encouraged to read and understand the documents on implementation of IE; mainstream principals and teachers must be encouraged to further their studies and capacitate themselves especially in the aspects of inclusive education; DBSTs must have regular visits to mainstream schools to support teachers on monthly basis; follow - ups and monitoring must be done by district officers frequently to all mainstream schools; remedial classes must be introduced in mainstream schools so that learners can get enough time to be assisted on areas concerned; more workshops and in - service training must be organised to support teachers so that they could get more information about inclusive education.
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The scope of environmental protection under the legal framework of the World Trade Organisation : an evaluation of the issues and implications for developing countries
- Authors: Umenze, Nnamdi Stanislaus
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Environmental protection -- Developing countries Environmental law -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10802 , vital:35762
- Description: Over the years, the extent to which the legal framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) makes provision for environmental protection has been a major issue within the organisation. While trade liberalisation and environmental protection are fundamental objectives of the WTO to be pursued in line with the sustainable development goals as enshrined in the Preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement, the organisation does not have a specific agreement on the environment. Moreover, efforts by the member states of the WTO to reform the environmental protection regime of the global trading system have achieved little. Nevertheless, under the current legal framework of the WTO, members are allowed, subject to a number of conditions, to adopt trade-related measures aimed at protecting the environment. Employing documentary research methodology, this study critically evaluates the relationship between trade and the environment, the provisions made for environmental protection in selected WTO agreements and the extent to which trade-related environmental protection measures are permissible under the legal framework of the WTO. It also evaluates the implications of unilateral and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA)-based environmental trade measures as well as the possibility of a clash of policy objectives between the WTO Agreements and the MEAs, given that some of the MEAs contain environmental trade measures prohibited by the WTO free trade rules. The findings made in this study suggest that states generally prefer to enforce unilateral environmental trade measures against foreign goods. This has allowed states, in some instances, to hide under the guise of environmental protection to pursue protectionist’s interests, eco-imperialism, etc., leading to the trade and environment-related disputes at the WTO. Moreover, the WTO is made up of member states that are at different levels of development and possess different environmental protection standards. Hence, there is concern from developing countries, on the one hand, that their economic interests are being frustrated by the stringent application of unilateral environmental trade measures in the developed countries, and, on the other hand, that the environmental burden of international trade is being shifted to the developing countries as the developed countries tighten their environmental standards. The study concludes that the environmental protection regime of the WTO as it stands is not adequate to guarantee the balance of trade and environmental protection objectives as well as the balance of interests between the developed and developing countries. The study, therefore, recommends reform in the environmental protection regime of the WTO to ensure that the environmental protection measures are adequately provided for and that balance of interests between the developed and developing countries is maintained in order to ensure sustainable global trade. It further recommends that a mutually reinforcing relationship should be established between the WTO and the MEAs to avoid a possible clash of policy objectives.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Umenze, Nnamdi Stanislaus
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Environmental protection -- Developing countries Environmental law -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10802 , vital:35762
- Description: Over the years, the extent to which the legal framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) makes provision for environmental protection has been a major issue within the organisation. While trade liberalisation and environmental protection are fundamental objectives of the WTO to be pursued in line with the sustainable development goals as enshrined in the Preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement, the organisation does not have a specific agreement on the environment. Moreover, efforts by the member states of the WTO to reform the environmental protection regime of the global trading system have achieved little. Nevertheless, under the current legal framework of the WTO, members are allowed, subject to a number of conditions, to adopt trade-related measures aimed at protecting the environment. Employing documentary research methodology, this study critically evaluates the relationship between trade and the environment, the provisions made for environmental protection in selected WTO agreements and the extent to which trade-related environmental protection measures are permissible under the legal framework of the WTO. It also evaluates the implications of unilateral and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA)-based environmental trade measures as well as the possibility of a clash of policy objectives between the WTO Agreements and the MEAs, given that some of the MEAs contain environmental trade measures prohibited by the WTO free trade rules. The findings made in this study suggest that states generally prefer to enforce unilateral environmental trade measures against foreign goods. This has allowed states, in some instances, to hide under the guise of environmental protection to pursue protectionist’s interests, eco-imperialism, etc., leading to the trade and environment-related disputes at the WTO. Moreover, the WTO is made up of member states that are at different levels of development and possess different environmental protection standards. Hence, there is concern from developing countries, on the one hand, that their economic interests are being frustrated by the stringent application of unilateral environmental trade measures in the developed countries, and, on the other hand, that the environmental burden of international trade is being shifted to the developing countries as the developed countries tighten their environmental standards. The study concludes that the environmental protection regime of the WTO as it stands is not adequate to guarantee the balance of trade and environmental protection objectives as well as the balance of interests between the developed and developing countries. The study, therefore, recommends reform in the environmental protection regime of the WTO to ensure that the environmental protection measures are adequately provided for and that balance of interests between the developed and developing countries is maintained in order to ensure sustainable global trade. It further recommends that a mutually reinforcing relationship should be established between the WTO and the MEAs to avoid a possible clash of policy objectives.
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The use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in labour relations in the workplace in South Africa
- Authors: Rwodzi, Night Tafadzwa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Dispute resolution (Law) -- South Africa Mediation and conciliation, Industrial -- South Africa Industrial relations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Law
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10907 , vital:35962
- Description: Disputes are part and parcel of human nature and always manifest everywhereincluding the employment arena. It is this inevitability of disputes that warrantsmeasures to be in place so as to effectively and without delay, resolve them in order to realise industrial peace. This study is prompted by the way industrial disputes have been handled in the past and the contemporary era. South African legal system provides Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms to the use of adjudication by the ordinary courts in resolving workplace disputes. However, a set of methods made up of conciliation, mediation and arbitration have not been effective in resolving labour disputes owing to a variety of factors. Failure to provide a speedy resolution of disputes, large number of referrals to the Commissioner for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and a large number of review applications lodged at the Labour Courts are some of the contributory factors that delay matters in bringing to finality. It is therefore the aim of this study, to proffer plausible recommendations that intends to cure and provide a silver bullet to the lacuna which exists in the current labour dispute system. To achieve the above stipulated aim, a general background of the study, accompanied by the chronicles of dispute resolution statutes and mechanisms is deliberated. Thereafter, South African compliance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions is discussed to assess the efficacy of labour dispute mechanisms. A critical analyses of the effectiveness of ADR within the scope of Labour Relations Act (LRA) 66 of 1995 will then follow. Although there are some limitations to this study, it should be noted that relevant legislation passed by parliament, cases, together with international and regional conventions ratified by the government, scholarly articles, journals and books are used to strengthen arguments and provide guidance in achieving the aims and objectives of the study.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Rwodzi, Night Tafadzwa
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Dispute resolution (Law) -- South Africa Mediation and conciliation, Industrial -- South Africa Industrial relations -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Law
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10907 , vital:35962
- Description: Disputes are part and parcel of human nature and always manifest everywhereincluding the employment arena. It is this inevitability of disputes that warrantsmeasures to be in place so as to effectively and without delay, resolve them in order to realise industrial peace. This study is prompted by the way industrial disputes have been handled in the past and the contemporary era. South African legal system provides Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms to the use of adjudication by the ordinary courts in resolving workplace disputes. However, a set of methods made up of conciliation, mediation and arbitration have not been effective in resolving labour disputes owing to a variety of factors. Failure to provide a speedy resolution of disputes, large number of referrals to the Commissioner for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and a large number of review applications lodged at the Labour Courts are some of the contributory factors that delay matters in bringing to finality. It is therefore the aim of this study, to proffer plausible recommendations that intends to cure and provide a silver bullet to the lacuna which exists in the current labour dispute system. To achieve the above stipulated aim, a general background of the study, accompanied by the chronicles of dispute resolution statutes and mechanisms is deliberated. Thereafter, South African compliance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions is discussed to assess the efficacy of labour dispute mechanisms. A critical analyses of the effectiveness of ADR within the scope of Labour Relations Act (LRA) 66 of 1995 will then follow. Although there are some limitations to this study, it should be noted that relevant legislation passed by parliament, cases, together with international and regional conventions ratified by the government, scholarly articles, journals and books are used to strengthen arguments and provide guidance in achieving the aims and objectives of the study.
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Good governance as a key to effective and efficient service delivery in South Africa : a case of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
- Authors: Mutangabende, Shepherd
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7815 , vital:30720
- Description: In South Africa service delivery has become an everyday song as citizens are gradually questioning for a workable way out of their daily problems stimulated by the unsolved challenges of shortage of clean drinkable water, electricity, poor health facilities and poverty, housing, hunger and refuse removal among other things. All these problems are attributed to lack of accountability, transparency and participation in the manner public institutions and officials are operating. Thus, one can argue that good governance in the public sector is a key to improve service delivery because these protests “reflect very little opportunity for community participation and poor governance”. This in turn means, the crisis in service delivery is a crisis in transparency, participation and accountability because these three are narrowly inter-related as participation and transparency are a precondition for real accountability. The primary focus of this study is on accountability which is the outcome of a combination of transparency and public participation. The prevailing characteristics of governance in BCMM lack robust public participation and transparent which collaborates and empowers citizens by involving them in all the processes as indicated by missing links. The inescapable conclusion is that if good governance is to be achieved in BCMM according to its vision, public participation in service delivery, implementation, monitoring, evaluation in a transparent way and accountability has to be done like in the case of Brazil and India who have both found formidable ways of fostering accountability and improved service delivery. This study used a descriptive research design and a mixed methods approach.
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- Authors: Mutangabende, Shepherd
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7815 , vital:30720
- Description: In South Africa service delivery has become an everyday song as citizens are gradually questioning for a workable way out of their daily problems stimulated by the unsolved challenges of shortage of clean drinkable water, electricity, poor health facilities and poverty, housing, hunger and refuse removal among other things. All these problems are attributed to lack of accountability, transparency and participation in the manner public institutions and officials are operating. Thus, one can argue that good governance in the public sector is a key to improve service delivery because these protests “reflect very little opportunity for community participation and poor governance”. This in turn means, the crisis in service delivery is a crisis in transparency, participation and accountability because these three are narrowly inter-related as participation and transparency are a precondition for real accountability. The primary focus of this study is on accountability which is the outcome of a combination of transparency and public participation. The prevailing characteristics of governance in BCMM lack robust public participation and transparent which collaborates and empowers citizens by involving them in all the processes as indicated by missing links. The inescapable conclusion is that if good governance is to be achieved in BCMM according to its vision, public participation in service delivery, implementation, monitoring, evaluation in a transparent way and accountability has to be done like in the case of Brazil and India who have both found formidable ways of fostering accountability and improved service delivery. This study used a descriptive research design and a mixed methods approach.
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Indigenous forests level of deforestation, forest dependency and factors determining willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation: evidence from resettled farmers of Shamva, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Chivheya, Renias V
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Forest conservation -- Zimbabwe Forests and forestry -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe Deforestation -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2370 , vital:27786
- Description: This study first explored the rate of forest deforestation in Shamva resettlement areas. It then identified and estimated the extent to which these resettled farmers depend on forest for their livelihoods. Evaluation of farmer perceptions on management issues and willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation and the socio-economic and institutional factors which affect their willingness to participate were also done. Finally the study sought to identify incentives for forests conservation. The study was conducted in Shamva district in Mashonaland Central province. And the respondents were stratified into three groups: A1, A2 and Old resettlement models. The three models differ on how they were implemented and supported which might render them to have different deforestation rates, livelihood strategies and forest dependency. A total of 247 respondents were surveyed, consisting of 98 A1 farmers, 50 A2 farmers and 99 Old resettled farmers. The data was collected using GIS and remote sensing, structured questionnaire interviews and direct observation. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, KAP analytic framework and binary logistic regression analysis. The land cover/changes results revealed that both deforestation and afforestation are taking place in Shamva resettlement. Woodland and bushland were decreasing, croplands were also decreasing. However woodland dense and grasslands were increasing. Deforestation was found to be as a result of the resettled farmers’ livelihood strategies which were found to be diverse and agriculture being dominant in all models. All the farmers depended on the forest but at varying levels of 19 percent for Old and 14 percent forA1 and 0.02 percent for A2 resettle farmers. 84 percent of the interviewed farmers however, indicated that they are willing to conserve forest with A1 farmers being the highest followed by A2 86 percent and lastly Old resettled farmers at 76.8 percent. Results of the binary regression model revealed that the significant factors which explain willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation are age, marital status, education, gender, institution, culture and belief, employment and household size. The highest preferred incentive was the provision of free seedlings and the lowest was out grower scheme. The study recommends that GIS and remote sensing should be used to monitor deforestation, off farm projects be encouraged, exotic and indigenous trees be promoted and forest conservation education be promoted in resettlement areas.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Chivheya, Renias V
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Forest conservation -- Zimbabwe Forests and forestry -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe Deforestation -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2370 , vital:27786
- Description: This study first explored the rate of forest deforestation in Shamva resettlement areas. It then identified and estimated the extent to which these resettled farmers depend on forest for their livelihoods. Evaluation of farmer perceptions on management issues and willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation and the socio-economic and institutional factors which affect their willingness to participate were also done. Finally the study sought to identify incentives for forests conservation. The study was conducted in Shamva district in Mashonaland Central province. And the respondents were stratified into three groups: A1, A2 and Old resettlement models. The three models differ on how they were implemented and supported which might render them to have different deforestation rates, livelihood strategies and forest dependency. A total of 247 respondents were surveyed, consisting of 98 A1 farmers, 50 A2 farmers and 99 Old resettled farmers. The data was collected using GIS and remote sensing, structured questionnaire interviews and direct observation. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, KAP analytic framework and binary logistic regression analysis. The land cover/changes results revealed that both deforestation and afforestation are taking place in Shamva resettlement. Woodland and bushland were decreasing, croplands were also decreasing. However woodland dense and grasslands were increasing. Deforestation was found to be as a result of the resettled farmers’ livelihood strategies which were found to be diverse and agriculture being dominant in all models. All the farmers depended on the forest but at varying levels of 19 percent for Old and 14 percent forA1 and 0.02 percent for A2 resettle farmers. 84 percent of the interviewed farmers however, indicated that they are willing to conserve forest with A1 farmers being the highest followed by A2 86 percent and lastly Old resettled farmers at 76.8 percent. Results of the binary regression model revealed that the significant factors which explain willingness to participate in indigenous forest conservation are age, marital status, education, gender, institution, culture and belief, employment and household size. The highest preferred incentive was the provision of free seedlings and the lowest was out grower scheme. The study recommends that GIS and remote sensing should be used to monitor deforestation, off farm projects be encouraged, exotic and indigenous trees be promoted and forest conservation education be promoted in resettlement areas.
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Perspectives of Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students on the effectiveness of school based mentoring
- Authors: Baartman, Nomakhaya
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Mentoring in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Student teachers -- Supervision of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5641 , vital:29354
- Description: Effective mentoring is essential for the development of student-teachers. A sequential explanatory mixed method study was conducted in order to analyse the perspectives of Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students on the effectiveness of school based mentoring. Thirty-six (36) PGCE students from a higher education institution in the Eastern Cape participated in this study. Firstly, quantitative questionnaires were used to gather data from all the participants followed by qualitative semi–structured interviews from a purposive sample of five (5) participants in order to enrich the study. This study analysed PGCE students’ perspectives of mentor teacher practices. In doing so the study evoked Hudson and Peards’ Five Factor Mentoring Model. This model includes Personal Attributes, Systems Requirements, Pedagogical Knowledge, Modelling and Feedback. From the findings, PGCE students reported that Teaching Practice (TP) is a stressful period full of anxieties, excitement and fears, hence they need to be guided and supported by knowledgeable and specialist teachers (mentors). Mentors play a significant role in supporting and guiding student-teachers during TP. From the analysis of PGCE students’ perspectives, the research suggested that those who were supported and guided by their mentors experienced positive mentoring during TP. Those who experienced negative mentoring reported limited time for mentoring and unavailability of the mentors as the causes. They further expressed that they wished mentors were understanding, good models who treated them as teacher candidates not as students and gave them constructive feedback. Finally, they indicated that the partnership between host schools and the university needs to be improved.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Baartman, Nomakhaya
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Mentoring in education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Student teachers -- Supervision of -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5641 , vital:29354
- Description: Effective mentoring is essential for the development of student-teachers. A sequential explanatory mixed method study was conducted in order to analyse the perspectives of Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students on the effectiveness of school based mentoring. Thirty-six (36) PGCE students from a higher education institution in the Eastern Cape participated in this study. Firstly, quantitative questionnaires were used to gather data from all the participants followed by qualitative semi–structured interviews from a purposive sample of five (5) participants in order to enrich the study. This study analysed PGCE students’ perspectives of mentor teacher practices. In doing so the study evoked Hudson and Peards’ Five Factor Mentoring Model. This model includes Personal Attributes, Systems Requirements, Pedagogical Knowledge, Modelling and Feedback. From the findings, PGCE students reported that Teaching Practice (TP) is a stressful period full of anxieties, excitement and fears, hence they need to be guided and supported by knowledgeable and specialist teachers (mentors). Mentors play a significant role in supporting and guiding student-teachers during TP. From the analysis of PGCE students’ perspectives, the research suggested that those who were supported and guided by their mentors experienced positive mentoring during TP. Those who experienced negative mentoring reported limited time for mentoring and unavailability of the mentors as the causes. They further expressed that they wished mentors were understanding, good models who treated them as teacher candidates not as students and gave them constructive feedback. Finally, they indicated that the partnership between host schools and the university needs to be improved.
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The generalization ability of artificial neural networks in forecasting TCP/IP network traffic trends
- Authors: Moyo, Vusumuzi
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Computer Science)
- Identifier: vital:11404 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1021127
- Description: Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been used in many fields for a variety of applications, and proved to be reliable. They have proved to be one of the most powerful tools in the domain of forecasting and analysis of various time series. The forecasting of TCP/IP network traffic is an important issue receiving growing attention from the computer networks. By improving upon this task, efficient network traffic engineering and anomaly detection tools can be created, resulting in economic gains from better resource management. The use of ANNs requires some critical decisions on the part of the user. These decisions, which are mainly concerned with the determinations of the components of the network structure and the parameters defined for the learning algorithm, can significantly affect the ability of the ANN to generalize, i.e. to have the outputs of the ANN approximate target values given inputs that are not in the training set. This has an impact on the quality of forecasts produced by the ANN. Although there are some discussions in the literature regarding the issues that affect network generalization ability, there is no standard method or approach that is universally accepted to determine the optimum values of these parameters for a particular problem. This research examined the impact a selection of key design features has on the generalization ability of ANNs. We examined how the size and composition of the network architecture, the size of the training samples, the choice of learning algorithm, the training schedule and the size of the learning rate both individually and collectively affect the ability of an ANN to learn the training data and to generalize well to novel data. To investigate this matter, we empirically conducted several experiments in forecasting a real world TCP/IP network traffic time series and the network performance validated using an independent test set. MATLAB version 7.4.0.287’s Neural Network toolbox version 5.0.2 (R2007a) was used for our experiments. The results are found to be promising in terms of ease of design and use of ANNs. Our results indicate that in contrast to Occam’s razor principle for a single hidden layer an increase in number of hidden neurons produces a corresponding increase in generalization ability of ANNs, however larger networks do not always improve the generalization ability of ANNs even though an increase in number of hidden neurons results in a concomitant rise in network generalization. Also, contradicting commonly accepted guidelines, networks trained with a larger representation of the data, exhibit better generalization than networks trained on smaller representations, even though the larger networks have a significantly greater capacity. Furthermore, the results obtained indicate that the learning rate, momentum, training schedule and choice of learning algorithm have as much a significant effect on ANN generalization ability. A number of conclusions were drawn from the results and later used to generate a comprehensive set of guidelines that will facilitate the process of design and use of ANNs in TCP/IP network traffic forecasting. The main contribution of this research lies in the identification of optimal strategies for the use of ANNs in forecasting TCP/IP network traffic trends. Although the information obtained from the tests carried out in this research is specific to the problem considered, it provides users of back-propagation networks with a valuable guide on the behaviour of networks under a wide range of operating conditions. It is important to note that the guidelines accrued from this research are of an assistive and not necessarily restrictive nature to potential ANN modellers.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Moyo, Vusumuzi
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Computer Science)
- Identifier: vital:11404 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1021127
- Description: Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been used in many fields for a variety of applications, and proved to be reliable. They have proved to be one of the most powerful tools in the domain of forecasting and analysis of various time series. The forecasting of TCP/IP network traffic is an important issue receiving growing attention from the computer networks. By improving upon this task, efficient network traffic engineering and anomaly detection tools can be created, resulting in economic gains from better resource management. The use of ANNs requires some critical decisions on the part of the user. These decisions, which are mainly concerned with the determinations of the components of the network structure and the parameters defined for the learning algorithm, can significantly affect the ability of the ANN to generalize, i.e. to have the outputs of the ANN approximate target values given inputs that are not in the training set. This has an impact on the quality of forecasts produced by the ANN. Although there are some discussions in the literature regarding the issues that affect network generalization ability, there is no standard method or approach that is universally accepted to determine the optimum values of these parameters for a particular problem. This research examined the impact a selection of key design features has on the generalization ability of ANNs. We examined how the size and composition of the network architecture, the size of the training samples, the choice of learning algorithm, the training schedule and the size of the learning rate both individually and collectively affect the ability of an ANN to learn the training data and to generalize well to novel data. To investigate this matter, we empirically conducted several experiments in forecasting a real world TCP/IP network traffic time series and the network performance validated using an independent test set. MATLAB version 7.4.0.287’s Neural Network toolbox version 5.0.2 (R2007a) was used for our experiments. The results are found to be promising in terms of ease of design and use of ANNs. Our results indicate that in contrast to Occam’s razor principle for a single hidden layer an increase in number of hidden neurons produces a corresponding increase in generalization ability of ANNs, however larger networks do not always improve the generalization ability of ANNs even though an increase in number of hidden neurons results in a concomitant rise in network generalization. Also, contradicting commonly accepted guidelines, networks trained with a larger representation of the data, exhibit better generalization than networks trained on smaller representations, even though the larger networks have a significantly greater capacity. Furthermore, the results obtained indicate that the learning rate, momentum, training schedule and choice of learning algorithm have as much a significant effect on ANN generalization ability. A number of conclusions were drawn from the results and later used to generate a comprehensive set of guidelines that will facilitate the process of design and use of ANNs in TCP/IP network traffic forecasting. The main contribution of this research lies in the identification of optimal strategies for the use of ANNs in forecasting TCP/IP network traffic trends. Although the information obtained from the tests carried out in this research is specific to the problem considered, it provides users of back-propagation networks with a valuable guide on the behaviour of networks under a wide range of operating conditions. It is important to note that the guidelines accrued from this research are of an assistive and not necessarily restrictive nature to potential ANN modellers.
- Full Text:
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