UWCScholar
This repository serves as a digital archive for the preservation of research outputs from the University of the Western Cape.
Communities in UWCScholar
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
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.
From whistleblowing to action: students’ narratives on combating white-collar crime in South Africa
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Maziriri, Eugine Tafadzwa; Mabuyana, Brian; Nyagadza, Brighton
This study explores the perspectives of university students in South Africa on combating white-collar crime, extending beyond traditional whistleblowing approaches. Utilizing the Gioia methodology, this qualitative inquiry adopts an inductive approach to gather in-depth insights from participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 students from a university in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This approach facilitated a detailed exploration of personal experiences and perceptions related to white-collar crime. The study revealed that students in South Africa support proactive measures to address white-collar crime, such as implementing ethics bowls, enforcing strict regulations with qualification revocation, and integrating corporate governance and business ethics modules into all degree programs. Participants highlighted the significance of establishing feedback mechanisms between academia and industry, conducting lifestyle audits, and utilizing negative reinforcement to expose students to the repercussions of unethical conduct. Moreover, students proposed the use of “mystery employees” as a tactic to uncover and probe white-collar crime within organizations. This research adds to the discussion on white-collar crime by emphasizing the perspectives of students, a group often neglected in conversations about this type of crime and its prevention. Using the Gioia methodology and analyzing qualitative data from a specific region, the study provides new insights into the efficacy of anti-white-collar crime measures and proposes potential policy and educational interventions customized for the South African context.
Exploring innovation of internationalisation effectiveness in the higher education sector: a systematic review
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2025) Udekwe, Emmanuel; Obadire, Olusegun Samson; Iwu, Chux Gervase
The government, business, and higher education sectors benefit from internationalisation. This viewpoint is articulated considering the improved academic quality and international recognition derived from faculty/student exchange programs and research partnerships, which elevate academic standards and the institution’s profile internationally. This systematic review is intended to (i) highlight the prevalence of current publications and other research-related activities that are steered towards the innovation of internationalisation in Higher Education Sector (HES), (ii) analyse and organise data on the impact of internationalisation effectiveness in the HES, and (iii) conclude with future characteristics of internationalisation effectiveness with suggestions to government, decision-makers, and institutions to achieve sustainable education sector. A search strategy was initiated through various research databases within the years 2005–2024. Of the 3865 identified papers from the database search, 3558 were excluded, and 307 were selected, of which 32 publications were utilised in the review process. The study identified several themes: transformation, factors, global nationality, international mobility, impact, curriculum and strategic framework. The study highlights the need to decolonise the HES for internationalisation effectiveness. This study also highlights future empirical research on the innovative effects of internationalisation for economic development.