Browsing by Author "Fisher, Darren"

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    The fourth industrial revolution : a case study of the impact of the Internet of Things on road travellers in the Western Cape
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12) Fisher, Darren; Ajam, Tania; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: The research conducted for this study explored a component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), most notably the Internet of Things (IoT). The research was a case study based on the impact of the IoT on road users in the City of Cape Town (CoCT) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The 4IR is loosely premised on the flow of information across enabled devices to enable users to access a service – in this case, road users must have access to information that will enable them to make decisions on optimising their travel experience in the CoCT. An IoT system requires a critical mass of users for it to be effective. Staggered access to the IoT will result in a digital divide, which is a stymieing factor to the provision of seamless services to citizens, especially road users in the CoCT. Such digital divide can be caused by several factors that include, inter alia, the adaptability of IoT applications to an environment, the interoperability of disjointed systems and the ease of access to the system by citizens. A key aim of the research was to analyse the legislative and policy gaps that exist in the process of advancing, implementing and adapting IoT technologies for use on the roads of the CoCT. The exponential growth of the IoT has brought about a significant challenge in the way governmental and other regulatory bodies attempt to create a semblance of standardisation. A global standard has yet to be developed, not least a country strategy nor a provincial strategy. If the boundaries of the fields applicable to the IoT are not defined and made distinct, the undertaking of developing the ideal policy may prove to be arduous. Public administrators have difficulty pinpointing a direct source of law or relevant historical background on which to base decisions relating to the most appropriate approach to the IoT. There is no one piece of legislation dedicated to the IoT in South Africa (SA). There exist several diverse pieces of legislation related to information technology, disjointed elements of which can be extracted to regulate the IoT in South Africa. It is therefore a significant omission that there is no dedicated legislation regarding the IoT in South Africa. The case of the IoT in advancing transport efficiency on the roads of the CoCT provides an opportunity to assess the value that public–private partnerships (PPPs) can add. The research provides an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the IoT in relation to roads in the CoCT, in particular the minibus taxis and the MyCiTi bus coaches managed by the CoCT. Risks exist with the technology; however, the advantages outweigh the risks associated with the IoT in the case of the CoCT. The symbiotic relationship between the partners in a PPP is relative to its success. In the case of the CoCT, the goal is to provide a cost-effective, efficient transport support service. PPPs are often complex structures, the more complex the higher the associated costs. In addition, the higher the number of participants involved in the implementation of a PPP, the higher the level of complexity, hence the higher the risk of failure. The research concludes with the assertion that the presence of the IoT is better than having no IoT. There is still much that needs to be done to optimise the use of the IoT to benefit road users in the CoCT and the system requires constant updates, because nothing works together unless everything works together.