A tribute to Ajeimai Yun

by Ambika Aiyadura

Hippocratic data sharing in e-government space with contract management

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree Master of Technology: Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015.The research reported in this dissertation focuses on seamless data sharing in e-government space because of the intrinsic complexity, disparity and heterogeneity of government information systems as well as the need to improve government service delivery. The often observed bureaucracy in government processes, especially when verifying information, coupled with the high interdependency of government departments and diversity in government operations has made it difficult to improve government service delivery efficiency. These challenges raise the need to find better ways to seamlessly share data between government to citizens, government to businesses, government to suppliers and government to public institutions. Obviously, efficient automatic data sharing is an important phenomenon that contributes to improvements in communication, collaboration, interaction and efficiency in the service delivery process because it reduces information verification time and improves reliability of information. The general applications of data sharing systems become perceptible in institutions such as banks and government establishments where information verification is highly necessary in the process of service delivery. Data sharing usually occurs between a data holder and a data requester when copies of authorized data are transported from the source databases to the requester. This data sharing process should guarantee a high level of privacy because of the confidential nature of certain data. A data integration gateway (DIG) is being proposed in this research as a methodological solution to seamlessly share data in e-government space, using Hippocratic database principles to enforce data privacy. The DIG system is a centralized web application that utilizes a lightweight database within the government data centre to hold information on data contracts, data sources, connection strings and data destinations. The data sharing policies are stated as contracts and once indentures on how to share data are established between different data publishers, it is possible to ensure a seamless integration of data from different sources using the DIG application being proposed in this dissertation. The application is malleable to support the sharing of publisher data that are stored in any kind of database. The proposed DIG application promises to reduce costs of system maintenance and improve service delivery efficiency without any change to the existing hardware infrastructure and information systems residing within different government departments.

Processing options for oxygen production from indigenous resources on Mars and on the Moon

This thesis investigates various options for the production of oxygen from resources available locally on the surfaces of Mars and the Moon. A model for the Martian Oxygen Production Plant is proposed. The option of recycling the unreacted carbon dioxide is also considered. For oxygen production on the Moon, the proposed model utilizes the reduction of Lunar Ilmenite and the subsequent decomposition of carbon dioxide to yield oxygen. Mass and power estimates are made for the various components in the systems, both for the Lunar and Martian production facilities

Wildlife conservation in India: from policy to practice

by Ambika Aiyadura

Can tigers be our brothers?: Changing human-animal relations in the Mishmi Hills, Northeast India

by Ambika Aiyadura

The multiple meanings of nature conservation: insights from Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

With increasing concerns about the degradation of forests threatening the existence of wildlife, conservation projects are seen as the need of the hour. However, conservation as a concept is often understood differently by the local community, the scientific community, and the state. A critical examination of the ongoing efforts for tiger conservation in Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, exposes the fault lines in the narrative of nature conservation as the state imposes its agenda through the establishment of sanctuaries and reserves, without considering the needs of the local Mishmi tribe and excluding their traditional conservation practices.by Ambika Aiyadura