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Presents an overview of the state of research and trends in biotechnology used by the pulp and paper industry of South Africa. Isolation and characterization of white-rot fungi; Biobleaching with white-rot fungi; Evaluation of xylanases; Effluent biotechnology. INSET: Lignocellulose Symposium at Biotech SA '97..

CHROMOLAENA ODORATA IS A PLANT THAT invades tropical and subtropical lands, including protected areas, commercial forests and croplands around the world. The Futululu Forest Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal is situated in the latitudinal centre of the Chromolaena infestation in South Africa. In this lowland belt, the plant is increasingly invading internationally significant protected areas and large commercial tree plantations, the latter supplying the pulp and paper export industry. The Working for Water (WfW) programme's attempts to control this pest seems the most comprehensive and well-monitored anywhere in the world. We have extracted historical pre- and post-treatment Chromolaena cover information from the WfW GIS database and these have been combined with current cover data from the same management blocks at randomized sample sites. The dataset was analysed for efficacy of the control measures with statistical methods appropriate to the data. The WfW treatment programme proved effective in reducing the cover of Chromolaena but without eliminating the weed in the indigenous forest. Recommended improvements in the current WfW control methods may increase their effectiveness. However, our results suggest that only by establishing an alternative plant cover on the bare ground created by the removal of Chromolaena could control efficacy improve substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the paper concerning higher education in South Africa. It notes that the paper has placed its emphasis on vocational training but has given little much importance to have a coherent plan to implement the necessary changes in the system. It mentions that the country is facing 3 million 18-24 years old who are neither have tertiary education nor labour market preference.

Informal waste reclaimers are a key part of South Africa's recycling economy, being responsible for around 51% of all paper and packaging waste collected in South Africa in 2017. Active in the waste and recycling landscape for more than three decades, their activity predates the earliest voluntary paper and packaging Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. However, these voluntary schemes have been instrumental in scaling South Africa's recycling economy. Investment by brand owners, retailers, converters and recyclers has helped develop local end-use markets, creating a demand for paper and packaging recyclables and a resultant increase in their collection. An analysis of tonnage and price data shows that the mean estimate of money paid by the private sector to the informal waste sector through the purchase of recyclables at intermediaries such as buy-back centres, was ZAR625 million in 2012, increasing to ZAR872 million in 2017. This private sector 'investment' in the local recycling economy has led to direct and indirect job creation and improved livelihoods, particularly for a large, well-established and effective informal waste sector, and has indirectly funded municipal waste diversion strategies, saving municipalities in both the collection and disposal of waste. Significance: * Informal waste reclaimers make a significant contribution to the diversion of paper and packaging recyclables from landfill to recycling in South Africa. * Limited information exists on the earnings of informal reclaimers. * This paper provides new insights on the annual financial payments made by the private sector to informal reclaimers tor the collection of recyclables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key global change challenge is to significantly reduce the risks of alien taxa causing harmful impacts without compromising the rights of citizens. As part of efforts to address this challenge, South Africa promulgated comprehensive regulations and lists of alien taxa in 2014. In this paper, we review how the lists developed, changed over time, and how they have been implemented. As of March 2021, 560 taxa were listed under four broad regulatory categories, and between 2014 and 2020, almost 3000 permits were issued to regulate the continued use of listed taxa. The full lists of regulated taxa, permits issued, and corresponding regulations are available in the Supplementary material. A proposed standardised, transparent, and science-informed process to revise the regulatory lists is also presented – as of 30 April 2024, risk analyses have been developed for 140 taxa using the Risk Analysis for Alien Taxa (RAAT) framework and reviewed by an independent scientific body [the Alien Species Risk Analysis Review Panel (ASRARP)] with input from taxon-specific experts. These recommendations are being considered by an interdepartmental governmental decision-making body established in March 2023 [the Risk Analysis Review Committee (RARC)]. Finally, key issues with the listing of alien taxa in South Africa that remain to be resolved are presented. As South Africa’s regulatory framework continues to develop, the process of listing and regulating alien taxa will, we believe, become more transparent, consistent, and acceptable to stakeholders, and ultimately facilitate efforts to reduce the harmful impacts of alien taxa. Significance: The regulation of alien species is a major part of how South Africa addresses biological invasions. For this process to be effective, relevant stakeholders need to be engaged and involved. This paper outlines how species have been regulated in the past, provides regulatory lists in accessible formats, and analyses how the lists have changed over time. A transparent, science-informed process to update the regulatory lists is presented and progress to date reviewed. This process aims to engage interested and affected parties in efforts to preserve the benefits of alien species while reducing the harmful impacts of invasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) is a globally recognised publication outlet for the field of Computer Science, including in South Africa. In this study, spanning from 1973 to 2022, we investigated the research participation of South African based authors in LNCS. The publication output and citation impact of these authors were compared to the global Computer Science and LNCS output. The authorship patterns and collaborative behaviour of South African LNCS papers were explored, and a keyword or topic analysis also conducted. Of the total of 518 662 LNCS papers published globally between 1973 and 2022, South African based researchers contributed 1150 papers (0.22%). The LNCS papers from South Africa exhibit a strong collaborative publication culture, with 1043 (91%) co-authored and 107 (9%) singleauthored works. Local LNCS researchers prefer institutional collaboration (43%), followed by international (37%) and national collaboration (11%). Europe emerged as the most significant collaboration partner for LNCS researchers in South Africa. Of the 1150 papers, 836 (73%) had received citations, while 314 (27%) had not. On average, papers published by South African based authors received 6.05 citations, compared to the global LNCS average of 9.49 citations per paper. A keyword analysis revealed that the majority of papers by South African authors focus on artificial intelligence. The results indicate that, although LNCS serves as a reputable dissemination platform for Computer Science research output both globally and locally, South African authors should consider publishing more journal articles to build and improve their researcher profiles. Significance: * The study shows that LNCS is the most frequent publication outlet for Computer Science researchers, globally and in South Africa. * The study offers insight into the publication output, authorship patterns, collaborative behaviour and citation impact of South African based Computer Science researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the understanding that universities play multiple social purposes, we aimed to provide an estimation of the economic impact of the public universities in South Africa. Using models described in the literature, we estimated economic benefits from four university activities -- university exports, research at universities, the production of graduates and universities as business entities. Comparative analysis shows that, as an economic sector, Higher Education contributes more to South Africa's gross value added than other economic sectors such as Wood and Wood Products, Textiles, Clothing and Leather Goods, or Paper and Paper Products. It is comparable to sectors such as Gold Mining, and Beverages and Tobacco. Taking into account a number of assumptions, which are explained in the text, for 2018 the total economic impact was estimated at about ZAR513 billion. Governmental expenditure on higher education in that year was ZAR66 billion. These figures produce a cost--benefit ratio for the sector of 1 : 7.7, considering only these four university activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a review of the literature which covered several aspects of HIV/AIDS and related diseases in South Africa. Classes of people who have not acquired the HIV infection in 1987; Population classes cited in the estimated total of HIV-infected individuals in the country in 1991; HIV prevalence rates during the period of 1995-2000.

Health claims are considered a means to add value to food and beverages; however, it is not always evident which stakeholders benefit and to what extent they benefit. In this paper, we extend the investigation of value creation and appropriation into the domain of food, specifically food labels. Using a qualitative approach, we aimed to elucidate which forms of value can be created by legislating health claims (including those for bioactive compounds found in South African indigenous plants) on food labels. The findings reveal that health claims have the potential to advance the sustainable development agenda in South Africa, but only if structures can be put in place to appropriate human and intellectual (HI) value, as well as environmental value. Currently, there is strong evidence for economic value creation and appropriation potential, but little clear evidence that HI or environmental value will be appropriated from health claims, especially if these health claims exclude benefits from bioactive compounds found in indigenous South African plants. If we could find a means to measure the HI and environmental value creation potential of health claims, using metrics that people understand, we may be able to develop strategies to ensure that such products can benefit stakeholders beyond economic value alone (i.e. more sustainable value creation). The findings could directly impact food labelling policy formulation, considering current draft regulations to implement health claims in South Africa. Significance: The medicinal plant biodiversity of South Africa offers opportunities for economic, human and intellectual (HI), and environmental value creation through legislated health claims. Without clear metrics for the HI and environmental components, economic value creation may dominate, but the value created might not be sustainable or appropriated by the desired stakeholders. Furthermore, because the current draft legislation for health claims excludes any bioactives from indigenous South African plants, much of the economic, HI and environmental value creation potential reported as potential outcomes for this research (e.g. funds to communities, knowledge preservation or biodiversity conservation) will not materialise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) have become a suitable substitute for compacted clay liners used for prevention of leachate percolation from landfills and tailings dams into the groundwater system. The characteristics of most bentonites is improved through a process of activation by mixing with soda ash (Na2CO3). This paper presents the investigation results of the suitability of bentonites from the Imerys Mine in South Africa for use in GCLs. Both activated and non-activated bentonites were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and swell index, fluid loss, plate water absorption and Atterberg limits tests. The XRD analysis results indicate that the activated and non-activated bentonite have a smectite content of 58% and 67%, respectively. The swell index of non-activated bentonite was significantly lower than that of activated bentonite. The activated bentonite samples tested at different times subsequent to activation revealed that a minimum of 4 weeks of activation time is required to fully activate it to the ideal soda ash to bentonite ratio of 1:16. The fluid loss tests displayed results slightly above the required minimum of 18 mL because of the low swell index of the bentonites tested. The activated and non-activated bentonites have absorption capacities of 133% and 121%, respectively. The plasticity index of the activated bentonite is 101%, 15% higher than the non-activated bentonite. The overall results concluded that the Imerys bentonite is a medium-quality bentonite with borderline index properties that requires at least 4 weeks of beneficiation to achieve complete activation to suitably be used as GCLs. Significance: • The significance of this paper is the beneficiation process of bentonite in the geotextile industry. • This study is relevant to geotechnical engineers, environmental geologists, engineering geologists and other related professionals working with geosynthetic clay liners whereby bentonite is the key ingredient. • The study provides an optimum ratio of bentonite to sodium carbonate and the required time for beneficiation. • We further recommend that quality control measures should be implemented to ensure complete activation of bentonite, including the blending process of different qualities of bentonite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of landfills on the environment has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years due to the confounding effects of climate change and water scarcity. There is an urgent need to reduce from landfills the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and to provide effective treatment solutions for waste, thereby diverting it from landfills. With an estimated 80 million tonnes of plastic waste entering the world's oceans annually, the accumulation of marine plastic has become a global crisis. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health and coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change. For these reasons, there is an urgent need to explore a bioplastic biorefinery process. This review paper examines the potential of organic waste as an alternative carbon source in the efficient and feasible microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), which are precursors for bioplastic. More specifically, this paper presents a concept for a bioplastic biorefinery from a technological perspective, based on data from previous studies. Biofuel production processes are also assessed with the aim of integrating these processes to construct a bioplastic waste biorefinery. Garden refuse and food waste have been shown to be feasible feedstocks for the production of PHA and PHB in singular processes. Diverting these wastes away from landfills will significantly ease the environmental impacts currently associated with their disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a growing global population and shift to embrace the blue economy, a need for marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged in South Africa to sustainably resolve the rising conflicts over the use of marine and seabed resources and services. A well-developed marine spatial plan yields numerous ecological, social and economic benefits. These are achieved through mediating between spatially conflicting economic drivers' interests (e.g. commercial fishing, tourism, mining), preventing their activities from compromising thresholds of an environment's sustainability. Within the MSP framework, high-resolution geospatial datasets are required to document and describe the seabed in the highest possible detail. At any scale, integrated analysis of seabed geomorphology and habitats is anticipated to greatly improve the understanding of ecosystem functioning from a multidisciplinary perspective, whilst improving MSP procedures and management of marine space. South Africa is the first of few African countries to have an approved and implemented MSP framework, but is still somewhat behind globally in implementing large-scale regional hydroacoustic surveys to cover the country's vast offshore territory. The deficiency of hydroacoustic surveys is perhaps due to a relative lack of funds and poor communication about the value of multibeam echo-sounder (MBES) derived data, whilst marine geoscience remains a scarce skill in the country. This review paper presents a geological perspective of MSP and explores (1) the value that seabed mapping offers MSP specifically and (2) the need to increase seabed mapping with MBES, using a recently initiated project from the South African east coast as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten years after the conclusion of World War II, the Department of Native Affairs of the National Party government of South Africa sponsored research into the selection of African civil servants. The study was conducted by Rae Sherwood, under the auspices of the National Social Research Council, and the National Institute for Personnel Research. In 1960, Sherwood submitted the work to the University of tine Witwatersrand to obtain a PhD degree. Two government departments objected to the award of the degree. In this paper I recount the history of the research, explaining that the acceleration of the apartheid project between 1948 and 1961 played a significant role in the controversy that developed. The paper furthermore illustrates the difficulties faced by social scientific research under repressive political conditions, and the need for a more nuanced view of the psychological research of the National Institute for Personnel Research in South Africa at the time. Significance: * The history of South Africa's research organisations has been of interest for a long time. This study recalls the history of an unknown chapter in the history of the National Institute for Personnel Research, based on a PhD submission kept under embargo in the archives of the University of the Witwatersrand. The study was methodologically sophisticated. rich in data; but controversial in its findings, at least as it reflected on the policies pursued by the apartheid government after World War II. It adds another contextual element to the type ot work conducted by the Institute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are three major mollusc collections in South Africa and seven smaller, thematic collections. The KwaZulu-Natal Museum holds one of the largest collections in the southern hemisphere. Its strengths are marine molluscs of southern Africa and the southwestern Indian Ocean, and terrestrial molluscs of South Africa. Research on marine molluscs has led to revisionary papers across a wide range of gastropod families. The lziko South African Museum contains the most comprehensive collections of Cephalopoda (octopus, squid and relatives) and Polyplacophora (chitons) for southern Africa. The East London Museum is a provincial museum of the Eastern Cape. Recent research focuses on terrestrial molluscs and the collection is growing to address the gap in knowledge of this element of biodiversity. Mollusc collections in South Africa date to about 1900 and are an invaluable resource of morphological and genetic diversity, with associated spatial and temporal data. The South African National Biodiversity lnstitute is encouraging discovery and documentation to address gaps in knowledge, particularly of invertebrates. Museums are supported with grants for surveys, systematic studies and data mobilisation. The Department of Science and Innovation is investing in collections as irreplaceable research infrastructure through the Natural Science Collections Facility, whereby 16 institutions, including those holding mollusc collections, are assisted to achieve common targets and coordinated outputs. Significance: Mollusc collections are among the oldest natural science collections in South Africa, dating from just before 1900. They provide an invaluable resource of morphological and genetic diversity, with associated spatial and temporal data. They are spread across the country in three comprehensive and seven smaller, thematic collections and this paper puts together available information about these scattered and diverse collections. Each has its own strengths and specialisations, and together they cater to a variety of the country's identified research priorities. Although staff complements are small, mollusc collections are well curated and conserved, expanding, actively researched and associated data are available online or on request. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BENEFIT programme is a collaborative training and research initiative between Angola, Namibia and South Africa, and donor countries which include Norway, Germany, Iceland and France; it has been described more fully elsewhere in this issue? Seven cruises were planned for 1999, based on discussions, in January 1999 in Cape Town, between German, Namibian, South African and Angolan scientists and a representative of the Southern African Development Community. The recruitment of tutors and trainees began immediately and the first of the training and research cruises took place on board the German vessel RV Poseidon the following March. This article is a synthesis of selected research findings obtained during the various cruises and reported in the preceding papers in this issue and, in part, in a compendium of papers(n2) presented at a symposium in 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares the use of the computer-aided package SERGO to that of paper-based exercises in providing pre-matriculation examination revision in mathematics in a Computer Learning Center in KwaZulu, South Africa. Classical pre- and post-testing of experimental groups; Low level of performance by experimental and control students.

Alcohol is a major contributing factor to the burden of road traffic crashes and injuries in South Africa. There has been an increase in political interest and engagement on the issue of drink-driving in recent months following government restrictions on the sale and public consumption of alcohol during the COVID-19 lockdowns along with proposed zero-tolerance drink-driving legislation. In this paper, we critically examine global research and experiences with the adoption of zero-tolerance approaches to drink-driving along with key South African contextual considerations to provide evidence-based and contextually relevant recommendations for advancing zero-tolerance drink-driving legislation in the country. There is significant evidence to support the adoption of zero-tolerance legislation but at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold limit for the general driving population set at 0.02 g/100 mL (rather than the zero-BAC limit proposed through the Road Traffic Amendment Bill) to allow for variance in testing. Recommendations centre on the proposed legislation incorporating a gradualist approach and its location within a broader zero-tolerance approach that includes other complementary interventions to enable implementation. Significance: • The recommended blood alcohol level of 0.02 g/100 mL is lower than the best practice limit recommended by the World Health Organization of 0.05 g/100 mL, following consideration of the road safety and general alcohol consumption challenges in South Africa and evidence of success from other similar country contexts. • Broad principles and recommendations are presented to support the sustainable adoption of zerotolerance drink-driving legislation in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic waste (e-waste) recycling presents an opportunity to reclaim materials trom a secondary resource and to create jobs and other economic opportunities. E-waste consists of various materials such as metals, plastics, glass, and other chemical substances. Some of these materials are hazardous if processed or disposed of improperly. Therefore, e-waste is classified as hazardous in South African law up until the hazardous components are removed. With the appropriate infrastructure and technology, a large portion of materials contained in e-waste can be reclaimed, and any adverse impacts of irresponsible management prevented. The private sector has played a proactive role in shaping the South African waste economy, and the government is taking strides to draw up enabling regulatory frameworks. Through a literature review and stakeholder engagements, this paper unpacks the organisation of the South African e-waste recycling industry. We consider whether the legal environment drives a common vision for a circular e-waste economy and probe the barriers to e-waste recycling across the value chain. The findings indicate that the development of the e-waste recycling sector in South Africa is dependent on a robust collection network and the enabling of local end-processing, refining, and manufacturing capacity. The availability and quality of input material and the development of local refining and manufacturing capacity are co-dependent and should be addressed simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition towards a circular economy is becoming a priority in many countries globally. However, the circular bioeconomy has received relatively less attention. In South Africa, the valorisation of organic waste is a priority area as demonstrated by national goals to divert organic waste from landfill. To support the growth of the organic waste value chain it is important to gain an understanding of the different value chain actors and their activities. Through a series of semi-structured interviews across the industry, this paper unpacks the organic waste value chain including the roles of different actors and the interlinkages amongst them. Interviewed actors were those involved in the waste treatment sector, including consultants, composters and technology providers and installers. The value chain is characterised by a number of partnerships, including sub-contracting and outsourcing, which enable value chain actors to offer services that they do not necessarily have the in-house skills or capacity to deliver on their own. The majority of actors were not directly engaged in activities related to the treatment of waste, with many of them engaging in support activities to facilitate the treatment of waste. This finding may be attributed to the fact that support activities have relatively lower barriers to entry. This has the potential to create a bottleneck, in which there will be limited capacity for waste treatment as new entrants opt for engaging in support activities. Greater investment is needed from both private and public sources in the waste treatment sector, including support for new entrants. This investment will help enable the country to meet its goals for organic waste diversion whilst contributing to job creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article identifies microbial contaminants of used and new banknotes in circulation in the Venda region of Limpopo Province, South Africa and highlights the implications for public health in this locality. Results show that bacteria and/or fungi were isolated from 96% of the used banknotes, and none from the new (control) notes. The study also reveals that the low-denomination notes were the most contaminated. The researchers notes that infected currency is identified as a potential public health hazard, as pathogens can be spread by circulating banknotes. Through handling of contaminated currency, immunocompromised persons stand the risk of acquiring opportunistic infections.

Conducting meta-reviews of government programmes has become common practice. In South Africa, the national Department of Human Settlements and the national Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation recently commissioned a team to review the extent to which the Housing Subsidy Programme had provided assets to municipalities and the poor and whether these assets had helped poor households escape from poverty. A realist approach was employed to conduct the review. We argue that, given the complex nature of housing programmes, the realist review methodology was an appropriate approach to follow in answering the review questions. We explored how the realist review method allowed us to work with the uneven and contested nature of the housing literature and how the review nonetheless enabled elucidation of the factors that had contributed to the expected outcomes. Because this case was the first time that this method was used in a government-commissioned evaluation of housing, there were some practical challenges involved in its use. Some of the challenges were related to the nature of the questions that were asked. At the time of the review, the Department of Human Settlements was in the process of reviewing the 1996 White Paper and, to inform this process, the Housing Subsidy Programme review included a copious number of questions set by the Department of Human Settlements and Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, which made the review rather large and, in some cases, complicated the analysis. In some cases, because the Departments wanted clear-cut answers, the commissioners perceived the theoretical strength of the method, such as offering explanatory instead of conclusive judgement, as a weakness. The paper reveals some limitations of the realist review method for evaluating the multifaceted outcomes of a complex programme, particularly the practical difficulty of dealing with large quantities of data. We do however consider this method to have potential for further reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly of the fatal accidents occurring on South Africa's roads. The cost of human lives indisputably equates to 'the ugly' and the economic cost of accidents associates with 'the bad'. 'The good' relates to the reduction of both these costs that may result from the entrance of self-driving cars into the South African market as well as awareness campaigns like the Arrive Alive National Road Safety Strategy. The general contribution of this paper is to raise awareness of the effects of accidents, more specifically fatal accidents. Current trends in terms of human factors as well as road and environmental factors involved in the fatal accidents on South African roads are summarised. This paper also serves as a preliminary investigation into possible factors influencing these accidents, which ought to be of interest to a very broad readership, more specifically those focusing on risk analysis, and certainly is of interest to any citizen of South Africa. Significance: • Awareness is raised of the effects of fatal accidents on South African roads. • Current trends in terms of human factors as well as road and environmental factors on road accidents are reflected upon. • The futuristic effect of self-driving cars is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of South Africa's National Research Foundation's (NRF) activities is to award ratings to academics who apply according to predefined categories. Explicitly or not, these ratings are part of submissions academics make for promotions and for employment in South African universities. As such, methodological assessment of the validity of this system is important. This paper seeks to conceptually evaluate certain characteristics of this system against certain general principles of reliability and validity. On the basis of the results of this evaluation, it is argued that assumptions that the NRF rating system is always valid or reliable as a differentiator of individual academics cannot be made unconditionally. Using Management Science as an example of a social science field that draws from multidisciplinary theoretical and methodological frameworks, this paper identifies certain validity issues associated with the current NRF rating system and makes recommendations for improvements. Significance: • Certain validity issues are highlighted and arguments are made to improve the methodology used by the NRF to rate researchers. • Issues related to multidisciplinarity and mode two knowledge production are considered. • Technological advances that have made it possible for scientific measurement of research productivity and impact are discussed. • Problems with subjective methodologies are identified, together with their ethical consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent shifts in natural resources management have highlighted the need for an integrated approach that draws upon the expertise of scientists in different disciplines. However, it has been said that effective interdisciplinary collaboration is one of science's missing links. This issue is of importance to many projects, which are increasingly dependent upon successful interaction of scientists from several disciplines. A project, which formed part of the Kruger National Park Rivers Research Programme, focused on linking changes in catchment hydrology, sedimentation and geomorphology to the responses of the fish and riparian vegetation of the Sabie River through the development of simulation models. The completion of this project was dependent on successful interdisciplinary collaboration between an hydrologist, an engineer, a botanist, an ecologist and a geomorphologist, all of whom were based at different institutions and separated by wide geographical distances. In this paper, we describe the potential obstacles that may affect similar interdisciplinary projects and the extent to which these affected, and were resolved in, the Kruger Park project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although HIV infection rates in South Africa have been high and rising for nearly a decade, the epidemic of HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality is just beginning. As South African adults start to sicken and die, concern is mounting about the potential costs to companies of HIV/AIDS among employees. When a business recognizes the threat posed by HIV among employees, it can pursue three basic response strategies for mitigating short- and long-term financial consequences: (1) try to prevent new infections; (2) avoid or reduce the costs associated with existing and future infections; and (3) provide treatment and support for infected employees to extend their productive working lives and thus postpone the costs of infection. This paper assesses the potential benefits to South African businesses of the third strategy. We describe an approach and methods for analysing the benefits of interventions that extend the working life of employees and demonstrate such an analysis using published data on the costs of HIV/AIDS to companies. The analysis indicates that the benefits to companies of investments in treatment and care are likely to exceed the costs for some existing interventions. Further work is needed to identify effective and affordable interventions, assess the benefits to companies of implementing the interventions, and bring these benefits to the attention of business and government leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on an investigation of the state of academic science in South Africa in terms of papers published from 1981-1994. Need for the regular assessment of the national scientific performance; Disciplinary priorities and trends; Factors affecting the scientific system.

Higher education institutions have a constitutional obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities. Although the teaching and learning of students with blindness and low vision in STEM disciplines are well documented abroad, to date, there are no published studies in South Africa on successful teaching and learning strategies for students with blindness and low vision in STEM fields, specifically in science disciplines. Therefore, in this paper, we report on how teaching, learning, and assessment were adapted to make science disciplines accessible to John, a blind student enrolled in a biological sciences degree at a research-intensive university in South Africa. Several factors contributed towards the successful completion of John's bachelor's degree. These factors include the availability of tutors who committed a large amount of time to help John understand content presented in lectures, tutorials, and practical sessions; a well-resourced and effective Disability Unit; lecturers who ensured that John was well accommodated in lectures, tutorials, and practical sessions; and, finally, John's commitment and dedication towards learning. Significance: • This is the first study to report on successful teaching and learning strategies for a blind student in the natural sciences in the South African context. • The study provides a guide that scholars, educators, university managers and policymakers can use to ensure that mathematics and science subjects are accessible to blind students and that teaching strategies allow them to perform to their potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the neglect of regional science journals and the various national incentive schemes to promote South African research. The local scientific community suffer from the reluctance of top local researchers to publish locally when the journal is published by a scientific society. The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa funds universities for articles published in accredited journals or other publications.

In this paper, we estimate the price elasticity of electricity for various industrial sectors of the South African economy from 2002 to 2011. The data used include sectoral electricity consumption data and electricity tariff data, both courtesy of Eskom as well as output data based on national statistics. The most important contribution this paper makes is that it includes the period after the sharp rises in electricity tariffs in 2007/2008 following a period of load-shedding and insecurity in electricity supply. Previous studies have included data only until 2007 and, for the most part, have found statistically insignificant, positive elasticities. However, for the period post-2007, we found statistically significant and negative elasticities for 9 of the 11 sectors considered. Our results show that the majority of industrial sectors have become much more sensitive to changes in the price of electricity following 2007/2008, indicating to policymakers that tariff restructuring might influence consumer behaviour significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across South Africa, a wide range of activities is influenced by differences in seasonality. In a South African context, there is little consensus on the timing of seasonal boundaries. Inconsistency exists through the use of ad-hoc approaches to define seasonal boundaries across South Africa. In this paper, we present one of the very first uniform statistical classifications of South African seasonal divisions on the basis of daily temperature data. Daily maximum and minimum temperature data were obtained from 35 selected South African Weather Service meteorological stations that had sufficiently complete data sets and homogeneous time series, spanning the period 1980--2015. An Euclidean cluster analysis was performed using Ward's D method. We found that the majority of the stations can be classified into four distinct seasons, with the remaining 12 stations' data best classified into three seasons, using Tavg as the classifier. The statistically classified seasonal brackets include summer (October/November/December/ January/February/March), early autumn (April) and late autumn (May), winter (June/July/August), and spring (September). Exploring the boundaries of seasons, the start of summer and end of winter months follow a southwest to northeastwards spatial pattern across the country. Summers start later and winters end later in the southwestern parts of the country, whereas in the northeast, summers start earlier and winters end earlier. Significance: * The findings contribute to the common knowledge of seasonality in South Africa. * New seasonal divisions in South Africa are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the South African log resource availability and the potential global warming impact of an increasing wood-based residential building market. We have shown that, with the use of wood resources currently exported as chips, as well as planting trees in areas that have been earmarked for afforestation, a sustainable residential building market, where all constructions are wood-based, is possible. However, in the short term, imports of wooden building components might be necessary if rapid growth in woodbased building occurs. Basic modelling analyses show that if the market share of wood-based buildings increases to 20% of new constructions, the embodied energy and global warming potential of the residential building sector could decrease by 4.9%. If all new constructions were wood based, the total embodied energy and global warming potential of the residential building sector could decrease by up to 30%. Significance: * A novel finding of this paper is that sufficient local log resource options exist to realise a sustainable all-wood residential construction market in South Africa. • The likely implications in terms of embodied energy and potential global warming impact of using wood-based materials for residential buildings compared to conventional brick and mortar or reinforced concrete buildings were also analysed and found to be favourable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the white paper `Preparing for the 21st Century,' which reflects the South African government's vision for science and technology. National system of innovation (NSI); Creation of a an Innovation Fund as part of NSI; Goals of future policies; Prevention of operational weaknesses; changes in the mechanism for funding research in the higher education; Potential contribution of the human sciences.

This paper aims to introduce into the literature a competing risks methodology that can be used to help identify some student-specific and/or institutional factors which may be influencing the type of outcome experienced by a student when they leave the university system. Focusing on the length of time that it takes students to graduate or drop out from their studies, this new methodology was applied to a database comprising all students enrolled for a degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal between the years 2004 and 2012. Financial aid and residence-based accommodation were found to help students who will eventually graduate to do so quicker in terms of the number of credit points that they have to repeat. These same factors, however, also cause someone who will eventually be excluded on academic grounds to linger longer in the system. By focusing on the number of extra credit points that it takes to reach a particular exit point, this paper introduces into the literature a new measure whose use will help to overcome some of the more obvious problems that can occur when one uses calendar time to measure the length of time that it takes to reach a particular exit point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the changes in disaster management and disaster analysis in South Africa. Examples of past and prospective natural disasters; Disaster management initiatives; Future risk reduction activities by department and sector; Evaluation of risk environments and vulnerability assessments.

In this paper, the paradoxes and difficulties attending the notion of indigenous knowledge in South Africa are reviewed and an alternative dialogue about intellectual heritage is proposed. Beginning with a survey of debates on 'indigenous knowledge' and sciences in India, Australia and Latin America, the discussion draws attention to differences in regional discussions on the subject of knowledge diversity. Turning to the South African context, the paper foregrounds contradictions in the debate on traditional medicines and the sciences in relation to HIV. The bifurcation of 'indigenous knowledge' and 'science' is argued against. Debates on both indigenous knowledge and science within the critical humanities in South Africa have been characterised by denunciation: an approach which does not facilitate the important discussions needed on intellectual heritage, or on the relationship between sciences and coloniality. In dialogue with current research on the anthropology of knowledge, strategies are proposed to broaden the possibilities for scholarship on knowledge, sciences, and different ways of understanding the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Externalities are an integral part of South Africa's electricity power generation sector as the country is highly dependent on coal as the primary fuel source. While there have been significant efforts to account for the constantly increasing externalities in developed countries, it has not been the case in the developing world. This paper attempts to observe the trend of externalities research in South Africa's power generation sector and to analyse the gaps by placing externality research in context with other studies performed internationally. A statistical analysis adjusted for currency conversions puts into perspective the range of externalities. It also provides an overview of South Africa's energy supply and demand scene, with emphasis on the role of coal in the electricity sector. The paper provides motivation to perform a revised externality analysis along international lines. The aim is to add to the body of literature on externality studies in South Africa by providing an updated comparative analysis. This will enable future research to contextualise studies that were performed during different time periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa’s record in the production of scientific knowledge in medicine is remarkable, but attempts have yet to be made to examine its distinctive characteristics. This is critical to the understanding of its nature, trends and the directions which it is taking today. Using the publication records extracted from the Science Citation Index (SCI) of the ISI Web of Science for a 3-decade period from 1975 to 2005, with 5-year windows, I have examined the salient characteristics of medical research in South Africa in terms of, (1) the number of publications, (2) type of publications (sole/co-authored), (3) collaboration (domestic/international), (4) affiliation sector of authors and collaborators, (5) regional origin of collaborators, (6) publication outlets and (7) citations, in comparison with ‘all subjects’ covered in the database concerned. This analysis shows that the contribution of medical publications to the total output of South African scholars is shrinking (25% in 1980 to 8% in 2000). Papers produced in collaboration are growing in number (increased by 17% during 1975-2005). While domestic collaboration declined by 24%, international collaboration grew from 4% of total papers in 1975 to 48% in 2005. South African medical researchers now publish more in foreign-originated journals (from 20% in 1975 to 75% in 2005) than in local journals and work mostly in universities, hospitals and research institutes; they collaborate with overseas partners from as many as 56 countries. Significantly, collaboration with Western European partners has increased 45-fold from 1975-2005. This study showed that a marked degree of internationalisation (measured in terms of international collaboration, publications in foreign journals and the number of citations) of South African medical research is taking place and that this trend is likely to continue in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boris Ivan Balinsky (1905-1997) was Professor and Head of the Department of Zoology at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa. He came to Wits in 1949 (via Munich and Edinburgh) from Kiev, where he was Professor of Embryology. As an acclaimed experimental embryologist he was especially famous for inducing a supernumerary limb in a newt when he was a 19-year-old student in Ivan Schmalhausen's laboratory in Kiev 1924. In Johannesburg he wrote his famous textbook of embryology, which influenced generations of students around the world. In addition to pioneering the application of electron microscopy to the study of early development, he tackled a variety of projects of general zoological interest. Lesser known is his latter day work, carried out during his retirement, on variation and hereditability (especially of wing colouration) in the butterfly Acraea horta, on which he published five papers from 1974 to 1986. His butterfly work showing the loose connection between the genotype and phenotype, with the genotype expressing itself in a variable way in the face of a constant physical environment, is of special interest in the current era of evolutionary and ecological developmental biology. His exposure to the stimulating evolutionary ideas of Schmalhausen during his early Kiev years no doubt provided a context for his butterfly work. Some ideas about how the 'loose connection between the genotype and phenotype' may be achieved through behavioral modification or positional information during development are addressed in this paper in the light of recent work. In his eighties Balinsky worked on the classification of microlepidoptera on which he published several papers. He died in September 1997, just short of his 92nd birthday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-authorship networks are graphs in which the nodes of the graph represent authors and two authors are connected by an edge if they have written one or more papers together. When applied to the authorship of scholarly papers, analysing the structure of a co-authorship network can provide useful insights into the way in which research is carried out in a particular field. We examine two co-authorship networks in our article, constructed from papers written on the subjects of chemistry and mathematics during the period 1990 to 2005, in which at least one of the authors was South African. Local results are compared with other studies conducted in much larger discipline-wide networks. We find that many of the same patterns exist locally, with the main difference being a far more fragmented South African mathematics network. We discuss some tentative implications of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE SURFACE POLARITY OF PULP FIBRES originating from four different wood species commonly used for pulping in South Africa has been determined after various pre-treatments, and after magnesium bisulphite pulping. The presence as well as the distribution of polar groups on the fibre surface strongly affects inter-fibre bonding in paper. Bonding consists mostly of hydrogen bonds between free hydroxyl groups on the fibre surface. Surface polarity was examined by atomic force microscopy in pulsed-force mode. This technique allows the imaging of the polarity of a surface with a nanometrescale molecular resolution. It is thus sensitive to individual functional groups, mostly hydrophilic hydroxyl groups. Polarity differences between the various wood species have been observed. We compare these observations with the varying pulp quality that arises from the pulp composition. Improvement in pulp quality may be possible if fibre surface properties are used as guidance criteria for the choice of a specific pre-treatment method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF RESEARCH publications are used as benchmarks to monitor the performance of South Africa's national system of innovation. The indicators are pertinent to the policies of the Department of Education, which distributes funds for research at institutions of higher education by measuring the volume of research outputs. In this article, we present a scientometric assessment of research in South Africa in the context of the rest of Africa and in comparison with Brazil and India—two countries with which South Africa aims to develop strong scientific ties. We find that South Africa has published a significant number of papers in all 22 disciplines represented in the ISI's Essential Science Indicators. The largest numbers of journal articles in a 10-year period (1996-2005) were published in the categories Clinical Medicine, and in Plant and Animal Sciences, with over 7000 papers each. Three groupings, namely, Chemistry, Geosciences, and Environmental/Ecology, form the second cluster of disciplines in terms of the highest number of publications (2966, 2488 and 2386, respectively). In all 22 subject categories, India and Brazil are rated higher than South Africa in terms of number of publications, but South Africa is ranked above these countries in relation to citations per paper in all disciplines. Egypt outranked South Africa in three disciplines in the period 1995-2004, namely, Chemistry, Engineering, and Materials Science, as did Nigeria in Agriculture in 1996-2005. In addition to the three disciplines in the earlier period, Egypt outranked South Africa in 1996-2005 in Physics, Agricultural Sciences, and Pharmacology/ Toxicology. However, South Africa scored higher than both African countries in all disciplines in terms of citations per paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because waste water and runoff from surrounding catchments are a main source of direct and continuous input of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, the study of the effects of in-stream exposure on organisms has a high ecological relevance. However, correlating observed effects with specific pollutants or even classes of pollutants remains difficult, due to the usually unknown, complex and often highly variable composition of these source waters. By integrating multiple endpoints at different ecologically relevant levels of organization within one test organism, it is possible to gain an understanding of how different levels of organization within this organism respond to toxic exposure, and how responses at these different levels are interrelated. The use of biological markers in transplanted organisms, referred to as active biomonitoring (ABM), is demonstrated in this paper. The correct choice of bioindicator organism and suite of biomarkers makes it possible to assess the effects of wastewater and runoff water in terms of known environmental effects (such as effluents containing endocrine-disrupting chemicals or pulp mill effluent) as well as runoff water with an uncharacterized composition of contaminants (for instance storm-water runoff from industrial complexes). The applicability of ABM as a cause-effect assessment protocol is demonstrated through a case study in South Africa that relates to stressor identification within a system exposed to urban and industrial waste water. This paper proposes a multi-tiered framework that allows for the incorporation of ABM within the existing South African integrated water resources management framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two recent developments in the targeting and design of cooling-water systems using process integration. The basis of this work is the observation that true optimization of any cooling-water system, comprising a cooling tower and a network of operations that use cooling water, can be realized only by considering the system as a whole. Traditional approaches have focused separately on either the cooling tower or the operational network. Optimality, in the context of this paper, refers to minimum cooling-water flowrate to the network or maximum return temperature to the source of the cooling water (a cooling tower). Only systems with at least two cooling towers instead a single one are considered here, to highlight the complexity of a typical cooling-water system. The first exercise is based on a graphical technique in which targeting for the minimum cooling water precedes design of the cooling-water network to achieve the target. The second exercise uses mathematical modelling to optimize a superstructure that entails all possible topological arrangements of the cooling-water network. An industrial case study involving a South African explosives manufacturing plant is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of both techniques. Cooling-water savings of more than 20% were realized with modest capital investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a review of the research undertaken in the field of hydrological modelling over roughly the last three decades, concentrating primarily on South African work in an international context. The focus is on deterministic, rainfall-runoff models and addresses issues related to model design as well as to the application of models in practice. I provide a brief description of what hydrological models are and what they are used for and discuss also the following issues: • Developments in understanding hydrological process and the extent to which these have filtered down into models. • Model calibration and parameter estimation. • Trends in data availability and how these have affected model development. • Trends in computer technology and their impacts on model development. I suggest that there have been substantial developments in the science and practice of hydrological modelling, but that there remain many problems that need to be addressed to improve the ability of models to contribute to the solution of problems of water resource management. Southern African scientists have contributed to the body of knowledge on hydrological modelling, despite the limited resources available compared to resources elsewhere. Internationally, the focus has not always been on the practical issues of model application and has commonly tended towards the more theoretical and mathematical issues of model calibration. This is not a trend that has found much favour in southern Africa (particularly amongst research funding agencies), where there are many problems of water resource management that have the potential to be resolved with existing models, applied in an appropriate way. The paper concludes by suggesting that further research needs to focus on the integration of the best in international developments with the tried and tested models that have been developed locally. The context of this research should be the search for more reliable estimations of water resource availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the 40 verbal presentations and 14 poster papers from the Inaugural research symposium of the Working for Water program, held at Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, in August 2003. Papers and posters were presented under six themes hydrology [8 papers and posters], ecology (including the ecology of wetlands) [19], biological control [5], operations management [10], social development [6], and natural resource and development economics [6]. The research reported on is generally of a high standard and is highly relevant to the practical issues that managers of invasive alien plants face in South Africa. The biological control, hydrology, and ecology fields are particularly strong. Although already showing much promise, resource economics In this field is still in its infancy and requires further investment to realize its undoubted potential to help improve the management of invasive alien plants. Improved research is required on the operational management and social development aspects of research in this area. It is recommended that particular attention be paid to the following in future research: (i) biodiversity consequences of invasive alien plants and of alternative management options (with a particular view to optimizing unaided ecosystem recovery following clearing), (ii) interactions between global climate change and all aspects of alien plant invasions and their control, (iii) improving the empirical base of the hydrological models of impacts arising from invasions by alien plants, and their control, and (iv) prevention of invasions. A much greater investment should be made in biological control research in order to (i) maximize the contribution of this, the most cost-effective and sustainable control technology, (ii) build on and maintain South Africa's track record of being a world-leader in this internationally transferable field, and (iii) ensure that we create a new cohort of biocontrol researchers nationally. In all fields, researchers should work closely with managers to take full advantage of the unparalleled opportunities that the massive landscape.scale clearing interventions present for elucidating all aspects of the interaction of invasive alien plants and their control with the country's natural and socio-economic systems. In turn, this should lead the Working for Water program into a truly strategic 'adaptive management' mode of operation, with research becoming an integral part of this management. Resource economics should become a key tool for translating the invasive alien plant issue into language that decision-makers understand (and for informing management decisions). However, these economic analyses will only be correct if the underlying scientific understanding of alien invasions and their impacts is sound. Investment in research on invasive alien plants will continue to give excellent returns for South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For all of the last century, the economy of South Africa, and so also of its neighbouring countries, has depended on migrant labour from rural areas. This is particularly so for the mining industry, especially hard-rock mining, and this has led to a system of 'oscillating' migration whereby men from rural areas come to live and work on the mines, without their wives or families, but return home regularly. This pattern of oscillating migration is an important determinant of health and, especially at the start of the epidemic, contributed to the spread of HIV in the region. In this paper we describe an extensive, community-led, intervention designed to develop ways to manage and limit the spread of HIV in Carletonville, the largest gold-mining complex in the world. We first consider the political and economic context within which earlier attempts to develop HIV intervention programmes were made and then show how the Carletonville project was designed to go beyond these early attempts and avoid some of the pitfalls encountered then. The Carletonville project was based on a set of assumptions. First, that HIV should not be treated as another biomedical problem to be dealt with by changing individual behaviour but rather that it must be understood within the social, cultural and normative conditions that pertain in particular communities. Secondly, that in the short to medium term the most effective interventions would involve the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and the use of community-based peer educators to promote safer sexual practices and the use of condoms. Thirdly, that for the intervention to be sustainable in the long term, it would require the full commitment of all the local stakeholders including the state, the private sector, the trade unions and local community-based organizations. Fourthly, that in order to understand the nature and pattern of the epidemic, to focus our intervention efforts so that they have the maximum effect, to make se... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IT IS UNLIKELY THAT AN EFFECTIVE VACCINE against HIV infection will be widely available in the next 10 years, and even less likely that a cure will be found in this time. Affordable therapies that can be widely used are still not available and so behaviour change remains the only viable means of limiting the further spread of HIV infection. Currently, about one in four women attending ante-natal clinics in South Africa is infected with HIV, which translates into about 10% of the entire population. Women aged 20 to 30 years are the worst-affected group in South Africa, and the incidence of infection is highest in women between 15 and 30 years of age. Studies around the world have shown that behaviour interventions including information, education and communication programmes, condom promotion and behaviour change initiatives that encourage people to reduce the number of their sexual partners can bring about a reduction in high-risk sexual behaviour. Delaying the age of sexual initiation and abstaining from sex have also met with success, specifically in young people. In South Africa, public education through mass media has contributed to high levels of awareness about HIV/AIDS. In addition, some interventions have been targeted at specific risk groups. The continuing increase in infection rates suggests that these efforts have been too limited or perhaps not effective on a broad enough scale to achieve a significant public health impact. Future efforts should target the highest risk groups, especially among women, with an emphasis on interventions that develop negotiation and decision-making skills, address gender imbalances, and locate HIV prevention in the context of people's lives. This paper reviews the available evidence concerning behaviour change programmes and evaluates their effectiveness in South Africa. Criteria are proposed for innovative behavioural prevention strategies and priorities in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the fire history of the Kruger National Park (1.9 million ha), South Africa, for different periods in the park's history, where fire protection was followed by prescribed burning and then a 'natural' (lightning) fire policy. Fires covering 16.79 million ha occurred between 1941 and 1996 (16% of the area burning each year on average). Of this area, 5.15 million ha was burnt between 1941 and 1957, when limited prescribed burning and protection from fire took place (16% burning each year on average). Between 1957 and 1991, 2213 prescribed burns covering 5.1 million ha (46.3% of the 10.98 million ha burnt during that period) were carried out. Lightning fires affected 2.5 million ha between 1957 and 1996, or 21.6% of the area. The mean fire return period was 4.5 years, with intervals between fires from I to 34 years. The distribution around the mean was not symmetrical and the median fire interval was 3.1 years. Some areas burnt more often than others, and mean fire return periods ranged from 2.7 to 7.1 years in the 11 major land systems of the park. Fires occurred in all months, but 59% of them took place from September to November. Prescribed burns were concentrated late in the dry season (September to November). Lightning fires were later, with 84.7% of the area burning between September and January. The implications of the analysis for the management of the park are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents recent progress in the hydrological sciences in South Africa as reported to the International Association of Hydrological Sciences on a 4-year basis. It covers hydrology in its broadest sense, in terms of water quantity and quality, surface and groundwater, from both a scientific and a water management perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of papers and posters presented at the 10th Biennial Congress of the South African Society for Microbiology held at the International Convention Centre in Durban on July 5-8, 1998. `Host-responsive gene expression by Agrobacterium tumefaciens,' by S. C. Winans; `The biosynthesis and regulation of bacteriocins in lactic acid bacteria,' by I.F. Nes; `Biotechnology: The Year 2000 and beyond,' by V.S. Malik.