UWCScholar
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The processes of reintegration and reintegration experiences of trafficked women survivors: narratives from Lagos Nigeria and Cape Town South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Oyebanji, Fisayo Kemi
The effects of human trafficking are complex, cutting across all stages of trafficking from pre- trafficking to post-trafficking. Tackling this issue is challenging, due to the ongoing increase in the movement of people from one place to another. Responses to human trafficking are multifaceted, with its hidden nature making such responses a difficult task. After exiting trafficked environments, survivors face complexities that influence their return to their communities and their ability to live a normal life. The success of reintegration programmes is crucial for human trafficking survivors, yet this area has been under-researched. This study used a qualitative feminist framework to explore the complexities of the reintegration experiences of young women survivors of human trafficking from Nigeria and South Africa between the ages of 18 and 45 Using snowballing and convenience sampling methods, repeated unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with five survivors of human trafficking from Nigeria and five from South Africa. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. The findings show that multiple intersecting factors shape the reintegration experiences of these young women. Their narratives reveal how gender and other factors played a role in their reintegration experiences. Survivors reported that the rehabilitation processes at safe houses and rehabilitation centres were very strict, posing challenges for those undergoing these programmes. While nearly all the interviewed survivors expressed a desire to be assisted in returning home to their loved ones, only one participant was successfully reunited with their family. The reintegration process showed the importance of forgiveness, reconciliation and acceptance within the family for the successful reintegration of trafficking survivors. Additionally, feelings of shame and guilt and limited financial resources hindered successful reintegration into communities. Interestingly, for some survivors, the decision not to return home to their families emerged as a coping and survival strategy. This study sheds light on the often overlooked voices of women survivors of trafficking regarding their reintegration, a perspective that is frequently absent in trafficking research. Importantly, findings from this study will be critical for policy and intervention purposes.
Assessing the readiness of micro-businesses in the Cape metropolitan to adopt data analytics software
(University of the western cape, 2024) Munga, Watiri
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) particularly, micro-businesses, have access to an increasing volume of data generated through their daily operations. However, their low rate of adoption and integration of data analytics software into business operations hinders their ability to make effective data-driven decisions. This limits their potential for growth and success because of not maximising the potential of their data. Additionally, they also have limited knowledge and understanding of the factors that determine to their readiness to adopt and integrate data analytics software. Without a means to assess their readiness, many SMEs, specifically micro-businesses will continue to hold the misconception that they are incapable of incorporating data analytics software into their business processes. This study therefore developed an assessment instrument to help micro-businesses evaluate their readiness for adopting and integrating data analytics software into their businesses. The study drew on four models and frameworks namely the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), Resource-Based View (RBV), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to develop the key criteria of this instrument. The data for this study was collected through face- to-face, semi-structured interviews with a sample of 21 micro-businesses. This approach allowed for an in-depth analysis of each sub-criterion based on their daily real world business conditions, the ease of answering the questions within the proposed instrument, and participants understanding of the key concepts surrounding data analytics software adoption. The response helped. assess and determine the applicability of the proposed data analytics software assessment instrument. Thereafter, the data was analysed using qualitative content analysis to code and synthesise the responses of micro-business which provided significant insights into the identified dimensions and its sub-criterion. This led to a further refinement of the draft instrument. The findings revealed that Data accessibility, data availability, data quality, cybersecurity awareness, skilled personnel, organisational training, hardware, software, finance, infrastructure, relative advantage, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, complexity and social influence were relevant for inclusion in the assessment instrument. A final evaluation of the practical utility of the instrument was undertaken by applying it among three micro-enterprises. During this exercise it was found that the questions in the final data analytics software readiness assessment instrument were understandable and easily answered. by all three micro-businesses which allowed them, to successfully assess their level of readiness to adopt and integrate the data analytics software
Data driven neural network approaches for pricing options
(Elsevier B.V, 2025) Patidar, Kailash; Tarla, Divine; Nuugulu, Samuel
This paper presents two data driven approaches, the purely data driven (PDD) and physics informed neural network (PINN) approach for solving asset pricing problems. The PDD approach relies purely on available data and does not require any governing partial differential equation (PDE) to solve a pricing problem. On the other hand, under the PINN approach, the pricing is done by solving a governing PDE. Both models are calibrated to observed market prices, and their implied volatilities are compared to those derived from market data and the classical Black–Scholes model. The absolute errors and maximum absolute errors metrics relative to observed implied volatilities and prices and the prices obtained from the classical Black–Scholes model were used in measuring the goodness-of-fit of the two proposed techniques. Several hyperparameter tuning techniques were employed to optimize the performance of the two methods. In addition, we analyze the probability density functions (PDFs) derived from each method and verify that they are valid by demonstrating positivity and proper normalization. Theoretical results, including propositions and theorems, are presented to establish conditions under which the PINN, trained using the Adam optimizer and initialized via the Xavier method, converges to an optimal solution, i.e., a set of trainable parameters that minimize the loss function. In further extensions, the PINN approach was applied to pricing European put options under a Heston stochastic volatility model (HSVM) model. While both methods exhibit competitive performance when calibrated, our empirical findings indicate that the PINN approach yields superior accuracy and stability.
Nutritional and physiological demands shape the gut microbiome of female world tour cyclists
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2025) Meeusen, Romain; Ampe, Toon; Decroix, Lieselot
his cross-sectional study investigated whether elite female World Tour cyclists have a specific gut microbiome compared to non-athlete female controls, potentially resulting from the unique physiological and dietary demands of high-level endurance cycling. Fourteen female cyclists and thirteen matched controls provided fecal samples during a period of reduced training (off-season cycling). The samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) quantification. The results revealed significant differences in microbiome composition. The cyclists showed a higher abundance of Bacteroidota (72.7% vs. 15.3%) and a lower abundance of Firmicutes (22.1% vs. 62.5%) compared to the controls, along with reduced alpha-diversity (Shannon index, p < 0.05). Fiber-fermenting families such as Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were depleted, consistent with a carbohydrate-focused and relatively low-fiber diet. Interestingly, fecal SCFA levels did not differ, suggesting functional adaptation of the microbiome. These findings indicate that the elite female cyclists may have developed a “performance-adapted” gut microbiome. However, due to the cross-sectional design, causality cannot be established, and the long-term health implications remain uncertain.
Healing bodies, healing communities: a community-based qualitative study of adult survivors of childhood sexual trauma in South Africa
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2025) Morgan, Leona; Nadar, Sarojini; Keygnaert, Ines
Highlights: Body-based care models respond better to long-term, intergenerational and somatic aspects of sexual trauma in survivors being historically excluded from mental health care. Co-creation of care pathways ensures culturally sensitive approaches that are responsive to lived experiences of marginalized survivors of childhood sexual trauma. What are the main findings? Relational safety and somatic engagement were foundational to trauma recovery, enabling survivors to process trauma at their own pace and integrate dissociative experiences through embodied therapeutic praxis. Recovery was relational and continuous, with participants reporting increased peace, authenticity and social connection despite structural barriers, highlighting the effectiveness of culturally grounded, non-pathologizing care. What is the implication of the main finding? Integrative Trauma-Informed Care (ITIC) offers a culturally sensitive, adaptable framework that can be tailored to diverse communities and age groups, emphasizing embodied, intergenerational and relational healing. Decolonial and feminist approaches to mental health care can bridge epistemic gaps in ITIC praxes by centering survivors’ lived, embodied experiences, promoting sustainable and inclusive therapeutic models globally. Background: While sexual trauma is inherently an embodied experience, research on psychological interventions that is cognisant of geographic and socio-political community contexts within which embodied, therapeutic interventions occur remains limited. Decolonial, African and feminist community psychologies have noted this epistemic–ethical gap. Objectives: This paper explores the co-development of trauma-informed care pathways for adult survivors of childhood sexual trauma (CST) in under-resourced communities in Cape Town, South Africa. The study aimed to integrate intergenerational community knowledge, embodied therapeutic practices and collaborative approaches into locally relevant models of care. Methods: Drawing on feminist mental health frameworks, this qualitative study engaged 13 adult female survivors who identify as “coloured”. Embodiment was central in guiding the deconstructive therapeutic praxis, informing both the co-development of care pathways and the conceptualization of integrative trauma-informed care (ITIC) beyond pathologizing, deficit-based narratives. The cultivation of trust and the situated lived realities of survivors were foregrounded to illustrate the relational dimensions of trauma recovery. Results: Establishing relational safety emerged as the foundation for therapeutic engagement, supported by non-directive therapeutic probing. Grounding practices, affective regulation and embodied awareness enabled participants to process trauma at their own pace. Somatic engagement allowed the integration of dissociative experiences while strengthening relational resilience. Recovery was a continuous process, with participants reporting increased peace, authenticity and capacity for social connection despite structural barriers to community support. Conclusions: The development of care pathways was embedded within the research process itself, offering an approach that is culturally sensitive and responsive to survivors’ lived experiences. ITIC accounted for temporal, intergenerational and embodied trauma and should be adaptable across age and community-specific needs. The ITIC approach offers a transferable framework for co-developing de-pathologizing, culturally responsive interventions that can be adapted across diverse global contexts to support sustainable trauma integration.