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Background: South Africa is reporting higher rates of adolescent pregnancy as compared to other countries. There are different types of interventions that are in place to address teenage pregnancy. However, these interventions were developed using top-down strategy without the inclusion of different stakeholders and adolescents which makes it hard to implement those interventions particularly in countries like South Africa. Hence, this study aimed to develop strategies to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province of South Africa. Methods: The research design of this study will be Co-operative Inquiry.The study will take place in Vhembe District in Limpopo province of South Africa through collaborating with a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO). The study population will be the teenagers and all the different stakeholders caring for teenagers in their areas of specialization. Purposive sampling will be used to sample the targeted participants of the study. The data collection method will be done in phases and focus group discussions will be used to collect data. Content analysis will be used to analyse data. Discussion: This study will add to the body of knowledge regarding the strategies that maybe used to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many South African municipalities suffer servicedelivery problems that can usually be ascribed to inadequate management, skills, and budgets. The reasons for these, in turn, invariably include weak economic base, unwise spending of available funds, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled staff. The White Paper on Local Government of 1998, to which Valli Moosa, the then Minister for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development, referred as "almost [being] regarded as a 'mini- Constitution' for local government", together with the Municipal Demarcation Act of the same year, spelled out the framework in terms of which the local government system would be transformed. Municipalities, covering the entire country "wall-towall", were thereafter established and powers and functions were assigned to them. After more than two decades, there can no longer be any doubt that many municipalities are, to a significant extent, failing in their primary duty of delivering services. The author sought to investigate to what extent this failing is due to flaws in the 'mini-Constitution'. By examining aspects of the performance of municipalities, the article assesses key assumptions made by the drafters of the White Paper in respect of a number of key attributes for service delivery. These attributes include sufficient skills and funding, prudent budgeting and effective spending, good leadership, adequate systems and data, stability of the senior leadership, and the presence of trust and credibility. The article finds that many of the assumptions were flawed, with severe consequences for service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this position paper by the South African Academy of Family Physicians (SAAFPs) is to inform decision making on human resources for health policy in South Africa and the placement of family physicians (FPs) in the district health system. National policies have been marred by misunderstanding of the roles and contribution of FPs; and there is unhelpful variability in how FPs are positioned in the health services between provinces. In the private sector, medical aid schemes have discriminated against FPs by failing to remunerate them as specialists and to recognise their scope of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rapid reviews have emerged as an approach to provide contextualized evidence in a timely and efficient manner. Three rapid review centers were established in Ethiopia, Lebanon, and South Africa through the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization, to stimulate demand, engage policymakers, and produce rapid reviews to support health policy and systems decision-making. This study aimed to assess the experiences of researchers and policymakers engaged in producing and using rapid reviews for health systems strengthening and decisions towards universal health coverage (UHC). Methods: Using a case study approach with qualitative research methods, experienced researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with respondents from each center (n = 16). The topics covered included the process and experience of establishing the centers, stimulating demand for rapid reviews, collaborating between researchers and policymakers, and disseminating and using rapid reviews for health policies and interventions and the potential for sustaining and institutionalizing the services. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Major themes interacted and contributed to shape the experiences of stakeholders of the rapid review centers, including the following: organizational structural arrangements of the centers, management of their processes as input factors, and the rapid reviews as the immediate policy-relevant outputs. The engagement process and the rapid review products contributed to a final theme of impact of the rapid review centers in relation to the uptake of evidence for policy and systems decision-making. Conclusions: The experiences of policymakers and researchers of the rapid review centers determined the uptake of evidence. The findings of this study can inform policymakers, health system managers, and researchers on best practices for demanding, developing and using rapid reviews to support decision- and policymaking, and implementing the universal healthcare coverage agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa participated in the electronic version of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (ePIRLS) in 2016 but faced many challenges during implementation. Accurate databases on information and communication technologies (ICT) capacity of schools were not available for sampling in Gauteng, many schools had old and/or non-functional hardware and half of the schools had not used their computer laboratories in the last 3 years. Consequently, South Africa was excluded from the international report as the study requirements could not be met. In this paper we examine the implications of the problems experienced in the ePIRLS multiple case study, conducted in 9 schools (n = 277) in Gauteng. Multilevel models were built using data from the nationally representative Grade 4 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data from 2011 (n = 15,744) and 2016 (n = 12,810). In the 2016 national study, principals and teachers reported fewer computers and libraries being available for learners than were reported in 2011. Computers and paper-based libraries being available were not significant predictors of reading literacy. Instead, the medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase, school location, gender, and socioeconomic composition of the school predicted reading literacy achievement. The ePIRLS results show no significant difference between paper-based and online reading. While issues of poverty, gender inequality, and historical disadvantage persist, Grade 4 learners may lack adequate opportunities to acquire paper and digital reading skills. We conclude that the most disadvantaged learners have increasingly insufficient opportunities and resources available to attain basic reading skills and this will have negative long-term consequences for South Africa's educational sector and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Basic palliative care teaching should be included in training curricula for health care providers (HCPs) at all levels of the health service to ensure that the goal set by the South African (SA) National Policy Framework and Strategy for Palliative Care, to have an adequate number of appropriately trained HCPs in South Africa, is achieved. Furthermore, palliative learning objectives for nurses and doctors should be standardised. Many SA medical schools have integrated elements of Palliative Medicine (PM) teaching into undergraduate medical training programmes for doctors; however, the degree of integration varies widely, and consensus and standardisation of the content, structure and delivery of such PM training programmes are not yet a reality. Aim: This joint position paper aims to describe the current state of undergraduate medical PM teaching in South Africa and define the PM competencies required for an SA generalist doctor. Setting: Palliative Medicine programme leads and teachers from eight medical schools in South Africa. Methods: A survey exploring the structure, organisation and content of the respective medical undergraduate PM programmes was distributed to PM programme leads and teachers. Results: Responses were received from seven medical schools. Through a process of iterative review, competencies were defined and further grouped according to suitability for the preclinical and clinical components of the curriculum. Conclusion: Through mapping out these competencies in a spiralled medical curriculum, the authors hope to provide guidance to medical curriculum designers to effectively integrate PM teaching and learning into current curricula in line with the goals of the SA National Policy Framework and Strategy on Palliative Care (NPFSPC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ropalidia amabala sp. nov. is described and compared to the known African species of this genus. In addition, the nest and nesting habits are described. This species demonstrates the nesting pattern previously recorded only in Madagascar, which includes nesting directly on a tree trunk and using lichen as the nest-building source material to blend in with the surrounding lichen patches. In contrast to the Malagasy species, which clean the nesting area of lichen, this new South African species constructs the nest in a clear area of the trunk between patches of lichen. This provides excellent visual concealment of the nest and suggests that visually driven predators are the primary selective factor. The morphology for both sexes of this species disagrees with known Malagasy species, suggesting that they are separate evolutionary lineages and hence that this nesting behaviour evolved independently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several new classes of drugs have recently been developed for the management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). In response, updated international guidelines have been published providing recommendations on how to incorporate these agents into existing treatment algorithms. Recent approval of these new therapies in South Africa has however raised many questions on how they should best be used in a local setting. Since no formal guidance is available, the South African Gastroenterology Society (SAGES) has put forward, in the present position paper, guidance on the best use of both existing and novel drug therapies in the management of IBD in the South African setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interrogating the White Paper 3 of 1997 which upholds academic freedom, institutional autonomy and public accountability, I make the case for justice through higher education using public accountability. I argue that the higher education system in South Africa is capable of fulfilling such a role in the context of extreme injustices but not without a critical engagement of the extent and causes of these injustices and an understanding of their implications for academic curricula, practices and deeply embedded conceptions of knowledge. A redefinition of higher education institutions' public accountability in terms of responsibility to their 'institutional locale' or community (the populations whose needs they should be meeting) can be an effective 'proactive tool' with which higher education can redress social injustices. This requires an interrogation of the social, political and economic conditions of possibility that either inhibit or aid educational desire and attainment. An investigation of this nature entails a rigorous reappraisal of all three of the key principles within which higher education systems operate—academic freedom, institutional autonomy and public accountability—if they are to guard against the continued perpetuation of epistemic and social injustices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper sludge samples collected from recycling mills exhibited high ash content in the range of 54.59%–65.50% and glucose concentrations between 21.97% and 31.11%. Washing the sludge reduced the total ash content to between 10.7% and 19.31% and increased the concentration of glucose, xylose and lignin. Samples were screened for ethanol production and fed-batch simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was optimised for the washed samples that resulted in highest and lowest ethanol concentrations. Maximum ethanol concentrations of 57.31 g/L and 47.72 g/L (94.07% and 85.34% of the maximum theoretical yield, respectively) was predicted for high and low fermentative potential samples, respectively, and was experimentally achieved with 1% deviation. A generic set of process conditions were established for the conversion of high ash-containing paper sludge to ethanol. Techno-economic analysis based on three different revenue scenarios, together with Monte Carlo analysis revealed 95% probability of achieving IRR values in excess of 25% at a paper sludge feed rate of 15 t/d. Feed rates of 30 t/d and 50 t/d exhibited a cumulative probability of 100%. This study presents the technical feasibility and economic viability of paper mills expansion towards bioethanol production from paper sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of highly cited papers (HCPs) to assess research excellence (RE) is widespread but the emergence of alternative metrics for assessing research impact has ignited debates on their role in measuring RE. This paper undertakes an altmetrics analysis of South Africa's highly cited papers with a view to assessing the extent of online attention to these papers; the correlation between citation and altmetrics data and nuances in research fields, using conventional and altmetrics data. The Web of Science's (WoS) Incites Essential Science Indicator (ESI) database was used to extract the metrics of HCPs while the online portal altmetric.com was used to obtain the altmetrics data for each HCP. The Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between citation data and altmetrics of the HCPs. The results indicate that clinical medicine posted the highest number of HCPs but was behind Space Science and Molecular Biology & Genetics in terms of citations per paper. Only six fields recorded more than 100 HCPs. Overall, South Africa's HCPs have the highest altmetrics presence in Dimensions followed by Mendeley, Twitter, Facebook, News Outlets and Blogs. However, each research field exhibited different patterns as far as online attention of their papers is concerned. The implications of the plausibility of using altmetrics in assessing RE in South Africa are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this research was to evaluate long-term user acceptability of menstrual cups in a student population in South Africa. A cohort of female students aged 18–24 years attending 10 further education institutions including 22 campus sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were offered menstrual cups after receiving education and training in their use. The students were followed for up to 12 months to assess menstrual cup acceptability, user experiences and continuation. A total of 509 students were enrolled. Disposable pads were the primary menstrual hygiene product used in the 3 months prior to the baseline interview (95.5%, n = 486), and 8.1% (n = 41) of students reported that they had used toilet paper or newspapers. Of the 463 (91%) students interviewed at 1 month follow-up, 86% reported that they had tried to use the menstrual cup. There was mixed reporting on ease of insertion and removal on first use. Of those who attempted use, half (49.5%, n = 197) reported that inserting the menstrual cup on first use was very easy or quite easy. Of those who did not find it easy, 80% reported that two to three insertions were required to achieve comfort. A maximum of five insertions was mentioned to achieve comfort. The majority who had used the cup (>90%) reported they would continue to use it at each follow-up visit. The menstrual cup was well accepted among this student population and should be considered as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable option in menstrual health management initiatives in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is rapidly obliterating its cultural resources and indigenous values. Particularly, this is the case in rural South Africa where manifestations of socio-economic declensions are evident. However, a number of the policies that are meant to enhance rural development lack a cohesive strategy that is based on culture-based theoretical frameworks. The paper argues that the conspicuous disregard to address rural development and its concomitant socio-economic challenges in the Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture, and Heritage, 2017, by the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), now (DSAC); poses a great threat to sustainable rural development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is signatory to international protocols that secure migrant rights to healthcare. Its national health policy prohibits discrimination. Pregnant women and children under six years ostensibly enjoy access to free healthcare, irrespective of migration status. What is clear “on paper,” however, becomes considerably more opaque when experienced by those who do not “have papers.” We explore this in Giyani, South Africa, an important migrant destination. Despite a progressive healthcare policy and immigrant rights regime, migrant women’s lack of proper documentation precludes them in practice from accessing state-provided reproductive healthcare. The result is twofold. Women who are entitled to public healthcare prefer to make use of private healthcare, despite the costs, and they make recourse to a range of extra-state relations for healthcare. We focus on one unexpected consequence: that the same healthcare providers who have formally refused access to state institutions may be available to migrants through personal networks, such as in churches. Here, medical care is seen as taking place in a religious register. The difference between what is “on paper” and “what papers migrants have” is critical but may be mediated by access to other realms of the social. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically explores the use of satire and humour by fast-foods outlets in South Africa and Zimbabwe to advertise and market their menu through digital media platforms, Facebook and Twitter. Using Nando's South Africa and Mambo's Chicken, in Zimbabwe, as case studies, we examine how satire and humour are used as advertising strategies, and as a reflection of these countries' economic and political environments. Consumers are overwhelmed with information coming from different sources such as Television, radio, newspapers and Internet. The paper's theoretical approach is gleaned from advertising and satire. We argue that through their encounter with food, consumers tend to understand the reason behind their 'empty stomach', and mediate on prevailing socio-political and economic issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland delineation in South Africa incorporates soil form and soil wetness indicators, requiring formal soil classification and description of soil redox morphology. The current wetland definition used administratively in South Africa focuses on saturated (hydric) soil signatures within plant root zones. Saturated soil horizons deeper than plant root zones fall outside the 50 cm criterion in the local approach as well as the accepted zone in USA literature. The field of hydropedology accommodates the classification of the various hydrologically active horizons and provides a tool for the handling of horizons with ephemeral wetness. This approach has been variably accepted by mandated authorities in South Africa. The South African soil classification system has evolved through three editions over the past 50 years while retaining the same redox morphology understanding. However, despite the concepts and context of redox morphology having been thoroughly technically adopted by soil scientists, this is not the case within the wetland research and management environment. This especially because the classification system is structured differently from other international systems, and the South African landscape is geologically ancient with mature soils, introducing challenges to resource assessment specialists who rely on international norms and approaches for wetland assessment. This paper reviews the various components of soil classification and redox morphology based on Fe and Mn minerals within the context of the South African soil classification system, the field of hydropedology and wetland delineation indicators. We provide a qualitative correlation between the various diagnostic horizons and materials in the system and their related redox morphology contexts that are relevant to wetland assessment, delineation, and protection in South Africa. This paper therefore aims to serve as a reference point for the description and correlation of various soil hydrological parameters used in formal assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the efficiency and potential of indirect freeze crystallization (IFC) as a valuable resource-recovery technology in wastewater treatment, particularly focusing on acid mine water and hazardous material wastewater-treatment plants. Wastewater treatment poses challenges to recovering valuable resources effectively, enforcing the need for sustainable and resource-efficient technologies like freeze crystallization. Through a thorough examination of IFC principles and mechanisms, this paper aims to highlight its applications, advantages, and limitations. The investigation includes a comprehensive literature review and detailed methodology from one of the IFC pilot plants, as well as a critical analysis of the environmental and economic implications of IFC. By addressing scaling challenges in reverse osmosis and proposing an environmentally friendly brine disposal method through IFC, this paper contributes to reducing the environmental footprint associated with wastewater treatment. Additionally, this paper highlights the importance of extracting valuable resources from highly saline water and emphasises the potential economic and environmental benefits of resource recovery, particularly focusing on the promising technology of IFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of intense conflicts over land belonging to indigenous communities is a pressing issue in South Africa. This would resonate even more with the lived experiences of mine communities that are often having to grapple with the collateral socio-economic hardships and impoverishment effects. Matters can get even worse when the State has weak legal and institutional frameworks to regulate the use and possession of such highly contested lands. This paper explores the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); its relevance and significance to South African extractive sector; its possible bottlenecks and implementation challenges; and suggestions for practical interventions and policy advances to facilitate its incorporation into law and policy. Displacement is the limited context within which this exploration is undertaken. The paper argues that the FPIC – as an envisaged future for the country's extractive policy – is more desirable than a mere duty to consult as currently framed in the empowering legislation namely, the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Act (MPRDA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The land question is an emotive issue across the world. At independence, erstwhile colonies adopted land reforms to address colonial imbalances in landholding. South Africa is one such country that has embarked on land reforms with the view to correcting economic imbalances created by the apartheid past. However, land reform in South Africa has not only been slow but has failed to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. Using qualitative research design and neoclassical theory, this paper investigates South Africa's land reforms under the auspices of radical economic transformation. The paper argues that the wholesale expropriation of land without compensation does not fit into the obtaining (neoliberal) economic blueprint that has dominated the country over the years. The call for a radical transformation of landholding rights in the country without structural changes in macroeconomic management remains political rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature on health inequalities often overlooks the nuanced dynamics, particularly among vulnerable children with chronic diseases and disabilities and fails to consider regional disparities within countries like South Africa. This paper asserts the necessity for a more granular analysis in South Africa, recognizing the varied health outcomes for children across different economic segments and geographical settings. Specifically, the health trajectories for children differ markedly between rural formal areas, regions under traditional authorities, formal urban areas, and informal urban settlements. Addressing the generalizations common in prior research, this study takes a precise, regionally focused approach to socio-economic-driven disparities in chronic illness or disability. It distinguishes between rural formal areas, traditional authority areas, formal urban areas, and informal urban areas, unveiling the intricate layers of health disparities. Using data from the National Income Dynamics Study, concentration indices, and the Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition method, the paper analyzed health inequality trends from 2008 to 2017. The results uncover significant inequalities, with alarming trends, particularly among children with chronic illnesses and disabilities in traditional authority regions and informal urban environments. The paper's evidence shows that rural formal areas have experienced a decline in health disparities as opposed to the deepening divide in traditional authority-led regions. The urban analysis reveals a split: while formal urban settings often favour the wealthier, informal urban areas indicate a shift towards lower socioeconomic brackets. The decomposition analysis highlights the evolving socioeconomic elements influencing each region over time. These insights emphasize the urgent necessity for geographically tailored policy interventions. By understanding the distinct socioeconomic landscapes across various regions, we can formulate policies that resonate with each area's specific realities and challenges. Such targeted strategies are essential in reducing health inequalities and enhancing the life quality of children with chronic health conditions and disabilities, playing a critical role in South Africa's journey toward comprehensive health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role played by the National Archives of South Africa in human rights promotion and protection. The study examined the challenges that archivists encounter when undertaking archival functions, such as acquisition, appraisal and access provision, that contribute to forming documentary archives crucial for human rights promotion and protection. Design/methodology/approach: A review of literature dealing with acquisition, appraisal and access was used in this research. It was supplemented with interviews. Findings: This paper provides recommendations of benefits in the field of archives management with a focus on the areas of acquisition, appraisal and access. The transformational discourse in the jurisdiction of archives management challenges archival institutions to be active players in selecting historical and cultural archives' significance that is significant in human rights protections. However, despite judicial requirements that recommend the importance of archives, there is evidence that archival functions such as appraisal, acquisition and access are not being fully used, resulting in national archives institutions that are subject to irregularities that contribute to an unbalanced archives collection. Research limitations/implications: The paper was limited only to the National Archives of South Africa. Practical implications: The paper makes practical implications concerning the acquisition, appraisal and providing access to human rights records. Social implications: Sufficient funding resource allocation ought to be provided to advance human rights promotion. Originality/value: This paper offers informed recommendations to address the challenges of acquisition, appraisal and access provision of archive materials. The availability of archives materials reinforces the community by aiding to protect legal rights and prevent human rights violations. It was, thus, necessary to establish whether the National Archives of South Africa is actively building the archives collections that are important for human rights promotion and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) introduced the continuing professional development (CPD) system for all practitioners in 2007. The HPCSA did however identify shortcomings to the current CPD system and has proposed a maintenance of licensure (MOL) model. This article unpacks what the MOL entails in terms of clinical competence, reflection, reflective practice, and self-assessment. The MOL proposal intends to verify that each HPCSA registered practitioner maintains and improves professional knowledge, skills and performance for improved patient outcomes and health systems. Evaluation of competencies and performance through self-assessment would be required. A reflective practitioner is actively involved in their own personal development, and uses ongoing reflection-in-action and identifies development needs through self-assessment. Reference is made to other studies to analyse the implementation of reflective practice, reflection and self-assessment linked to CPD activities. In view of reflection, reflective practice and self-assessment described in the literature to self-report on CPD, it is apparent that it may or may not be the panacea to address the criteria of being 'sufficiently experienced', 'clinically competent' and a 'reflective practitioner'. Ethically, practitioners should not have to depend on any CPD model to best serve the needs of the patient and provide optimal patient-centred care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Administering patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) by text message may improve response rate in hard-to-reach populations. This study explored cultural acceptability of PROMs and compared measurement equivalence of the EQ-5D-3L administered on paper and by text message in a rural South African setting.Materials and Methods: Participants with upper or lower limb orthopaedic pathology were recruited. The EQ-5D was administered first on paper and then by text message after 24 h and 7 days. Differences in mean scores for paper and text message versions of the EQ-5D were evaluated. Test-retest reliability between text message versions was evaluated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs).Results: 147 participants completed a paper EQ-5D. Response rates were 67% at 24 h and 58% at 7 days. There were no differences in means between paper and text message responses for the EQ-5D Index (p = 0.95) or EQ-5D VAS (p = 0.26). There was acceptable agreement between the paper and 24-h text message EQ-5D Index (0.84; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.78-0.89) and EQ-5D VAS (0.73; 95% CI 0.64-0.82) and acceptable agreement between the 24-h and 7-day text message EQ-Index (0.72; CI 0.62-0.82) and EQ-VAS (0.72; CI 0.62-0.82). Non-responder traits were increasing age, Xhosa as first language and lower educational levels.Conclusions: Text messaging is equivalent to paper-based measurement of EQ-5D in this setting and is thus a viable tool for responders. Non-responders had similar socioeconomic characteristics and attrition rates to traditional modes of administration. The EQ-5D by text message offers potential clinical and research uses in hard-to-reach populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) officials 'seem to get angry with honest people', shared a Congolese immigrant from the Kivu region who now resides in Cape Town. Some DHA officials get money through illicit transactions for 'papers' and they become visibly frustrated with immigrants who try to obtain documents by lawful means. While there has been much focus on xenophobia associated with immigration in South Africa, there has been little attention paid to the illicit market in immigrant papers such as asylum seeker permits (Section 22 permits), refugee status permits (Section 24 permits), and work permits. These immigrant documents assist individuals--namely those who otherwise lack status, or 'papers', or both--to obtain abilities to work, travel safely, register themselves or their children for school, access non-emergency healthcare, and gain banking privileges. In providing an account of the market in immigrant papers, the article focuses on how these documents relate to status and survival. By purchasing papers in Cape Town, immigrants (referring to asylum seekers, refugees, and cross border migrants) aim to secure their legal status and gain productive agency in their lives. This paper is based on an ethnographic research methodology and participant observation, and shows how immigration challenges South Africa's post-apartheid, constitutionally-mandated socio-economic rights and democratic aims and has fostered an illicit market in immigrant documents. This work furthers debates on immigration governance in the global south, corruption in state institutions, and the vulnerability of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern day societies and economies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the continued erosion of the stocks and flows of essential ecosystem services. Thus, the management of complex socio-economic systems to effectively provide these essential services has become a global priority policy and academic research area. Understanding how underlying processes and functions contribute towards the provision of final ecosystem services can facilitate improved dissemination of credible, legitimate and salient information to decision-makers. This paper presents an ecosystem service value chain analysis framework that applies basic system dynamics modelling in the form of causal loop diagrams to facilitate an alternative analysis of ecosystem service value chains. A scoping application of the framework is applied to a case study for flood attenuation services in the Baviaanskloof catchment in South Africa. The framework enables the identification of forward linkages and ripple effects in individual value chains of final ecosystem services as well as the identification and assessment of challenges and opportunities within individual causal pathways. Ultimately, providing the potential to advance strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of final ecosystem service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although digital content marketing (DCM) research and industry-wide expenditure is growing very rapidly owing to the positive outcomes associated with this new pull marketing strategy, research has not completely mapped how DCM activities can be optimized in the social media brand community context. This paper seeks to understand how social media DCM activities can be optimized to achieve greater relational and monetary outcomes for different products. Design/methodology/approach: A structural equation modeling procedure was used to analyze 416 survey responses obtained from members of Facebook brand communities in South Africa. Findings: The results reveal that social media DCM consumption motives exert significant differential effects on both relational and monetary marketing outcomes in search and experience product contexts while also demonstrating the mechanism through which social media DCM consumption motives lead to contributing social media engagement behaviors. Practical implications: The study findings call for the need for firms to understand the motives that drive the consumption of DCM in social media brand communities. Specifically, marketers of search products should deploy more of hedonic contents such as images while simultaneously keeping highly textual DCM to a minimum in Facebook brand communities as this works better for experience products. Finally, more authentic SM-DCM activities that effectively address the authenticity SM-DCM consumption motive can result from the DCM activities of social media opinion leaders and genuine consumer–brand interactions in the context of Facebook brand communities. Originality/value: This paper broke new grounds in three unique directions in terms of: (1) the relative salience of SM-DCM consumption motives in enhancing WTP and different aspects of SMBE; (2) the contextual influence of product type on SM-DCM activities optimization and (3) the mechanisms that underlie the effects of SM-DCM consumption motives on contributing SMBE in the Facebook brand community context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South African white supremacy has been shaped by over 400 years of settler colonialism and white minority apartheid rule to craft a pervasive and entrenched legacy of privilege and oppression in the post-apartheid context. This paper explores the constructions of white supremacy, specifically its role in shaping the perceptions of first-generation mixed-race identity in South Africa, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Through a critical race theory and an intersectional lens, this paper unpacks the personal, political, and social impact of white supremacist structures on the identity construction of first-generation mixed-race people in post-apartheid South Africa; specifically, societal- and self-perceptions of their identity within power structures with which they interact. Moreover, this paper aims to understand how first-generation mixed-race people understand their connections to white privilege. Ultimately this paper argues that although first-generation mixed-race people experience relative privilege, their access to white privilege and acceptance within structures of whiteness is always conditional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the ambitions of Africa's first independent nonprofit school of architecture—the School of Explorative Architecture—in light of the decoloniality ideas that were galvanized by the Rhodes Must Fall protests at the University of Cape Town in 2015. The paper describes the School's three modes of teaching and learning architecture, namely the thing (professional competencies of designing a building), the shadow of the thing (theorized and critical thinking around buildings and architecture), and the painted shadow of the thing (creative acts engaging architecture in ideas and critical thinking). The paper explains the nuances of teaching and learning architecture in the South African context and the importance of teaching professional competencies while surfacing 'other' conditions through the painted shadow. The paper ends by asking if a radical spatial alterity—the folding of the thing, the shadow, and the painted shadow into each other—is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID‐19 necessitated emergency telepractice for student‐led speech‐language therapy clinical practicals in training institutions, with limited preparation and evidence‐based guidelines. Beyond the pandemic, practitioners and university training sites are likely to continue to offer telepractice necessitating thorough preparation for telepractice services underpinned by a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in online therapy. Aims: Adopting realist evaluation principles, our aim in this paper was to explore broadly what works and does not work in a set of student‐led telepractice sessions in a diverse, resource‐limited context. The broader goal of this project was to provide evidence‐based support to enhance the efficiency and success of telepractice sessions in student clinical training contexts. Methods & Procedures: We used qualitative observational methods with reflexive thematic analysis to analyse 28 video recordings and 61 observation notes of student‐led paediatric telepractice sessions from a South African university clinic as part of a pilot study. Outcomes & Results: We identified four overarching considerations for student‐led telepractice: (1) additional, specific preparation is required, (2) with greater management of technology and adaptation of tasks, especially during times of poor connectivity; (3) telepractice relies heavily on caregiver input and collaboration; and (4) promoting engagement online, holding a client's attention, building rapport and offering reinforcement are critical skills that are complicated by the lack of face‐to‐face contact. Conclusions & Implications: Our findings indicate that telepractice pedagogy needs to be explicitly taught and students require practical assistance as they learn how to use this service delivery approach effectively. There are some aspects peculiar to telepractice that require unique consideration and planning, especially in contexts where service providers and users may be unfamiliar with this form of service provision. The findings of this pilot study can be used by clinical educators and student clinicians to enhance clinical training opportunities involving telepractice. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: Many speech‐language therapy (SLT) student clinicians had to transition quickly to telepractice service provision during COVID‐19 with limited existing guidelines and support, especially in contexts where teletherapy is typically non‐existent or difficult to access. Although there is some literature available on experiences of telepractice, there is very little evidence‐based research which explores the mechanics of such sessions in real‐time and which offers practical support to student clinicians and clinical educators engaging in this mode of service delivery. What this study adds: This pilot study examined video‐recorded, student‐led, paediatric, speech‐language teletherapy sessions to understand challenges and considerations involved in using telepractice as a clinical training tool. Findings show that additional preparation for telepractice sessions is required, particularly in contexts of poor digital literacy; students must learn to manage technology, especially when connectivity poses a challenge, and adapt therapy tasks for online work with clients; telepractice relies heavily on caregiver input and collaboration, more so than in in‐person consultations, and this relationship requires careful management; and promoting engagement online, holding a client's attention, building rapport and offering reinforcement are critical yet challenging skills in telepractice. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Our findings highlight a need to teach telepractice pedagogy explicitly and support students practically in learning how to provide therapy effectively via this mode of service delivery. Observational methods for studying practices in recorded telepractice sessions can be used as part of a reflective approach to clinical training. Using already available data allowed us to unpack the 'messy reality' of clinical training using telepractice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by new feminist materialism, this paper seeks to reimagine existing knowledge of girls, sexuality and playgrounds by considering how the socio‐material reality may unlock girls' capacities for what is possible through play. Focusing on semi‐structured interviews of girls (aged 12–13), the paper draws attention to the playground as an 'assemblage' of human and non‐human matter that connect to illuminate other ways of being, feeling and doing. We argue that the assemblage not only creates spaces for girls to disrupt hetero‐patriarchal ideologies but simultaneously serves to reinforce them. Interventions require attention to the oppressive materialities that underpin play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for qualitative researchers since many countries had to implement lockdown policies to control the spread of the virus. Within the South African context, research on sexual minority identities and experiences is automatically sensitive and risky given the extent of intolerance and high regard for heteronormative ideologies and beliefs that continually exclude sexual minorities from the "normal." The sensitivity is intensified during a national lockdown since there is an excessive reliance on digital public spaces to recruit participants and conduct interviews. Based on the experience of Ph.D. fieldwork, this paper pays attention to a sexuality researcher's experience of conducting research on gay men's experiences in the South African military and police services during a national lockdown. Particular attention is given to the dilemmas posed by the government's restriction on physical movement and reliance on digital spaces, particularly social media to identify gay men who work in the two organizations and form virtual relationships of mutual trust. Ultimately, this paper holds that reflexivity is critical to feminist research on vulnerable sexual minorities when the relationships between the researcher and the researched are established and maintained through digital platforms. While digital spaces offer opportunities to reach vulnerable populations, they present some challenges that may compromise the credibility of the study if not identified by the researcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates how Sesotho translators have translated Biblical Hebrew proverbs in the 1989 Sesotho translation of the Bible. Because this 1989 translation is undergoing revision by the Bible Society of South Africa, it is important to determine the success of the translation. The orality of proverbs relates to their origin as orally transmitted sapiential sayings. In evaluating how some of the Biblical Hebrew proverbs are translated in Sesotho, the literal translation of 1909/61 will be compared to the 1989 dynamic equivalent translation. Using complexity thinking as a theoretical framework, the paper argues that the Hebrew proverbs are better translated in the 1989 version than they are in the 1909/61 version of the Bible in Sesotho in terms of numerous features of orality. In the 1989 version and its revision, proverbs are translated in a poetic format. This means that the translated proverbs in this version of the Bible, informed by the principles of orality, exhibit Sesotho poetic features or structures. The article is divided into the following components: proverbs in Hebrew and Sesotho, theoretical frameworks, how the theoretical frameworks are used to translate certain Hebrew proverbs in the 1989 version, and conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubuntu has been defined as a moral quality of human beings, as a philosophy or an ethic, as African humanism, and as a worldview. This paper explores these definitions as conceptual tools for understanding the cultural, educational, and philosophical landscape of post-apartheid South Africa. Key to this understanding is the Althusserian concept of state apparatus. Louis Althusser divides the state apparatus into two forces: the repressive state apparatus (RSA); and the ideological state apparatus (ISA). RSAs curtail the working classes, predominately through direct violence or the threat of violence, whereas ISAs function primarily by ideology, including forms of organised religion, the education system, family units, legal systems, trade unions, political parties, and media. This paper discusses the link between increasing inequality in post-apartheid South Africa and education, with specific reference to Althusser's ISAs and the abuse of Ubuntu as a subterfuge for socio-economic inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in the context of limited resources will require prioritising the most vulnerable and ensuring health policies and services are responsive to their needs. One way of addressing this is through the engagement of marginalised voices in the priority setting process. Public engagement approaches that enable group level deliberation as well as individual level preference capturing might be valuable in this regard, but there are limited examples of their practical application, and gaps in understanding their outcomes, especially with rural populations. Objective: To address this gap, we implemented a modified priority setting tool (Choosing All Together—CHAT) that enables individuals and groups to make trade‐offs to demonstrate the type of health services packages that may be acceptable to a rural population. The paper presents the findings from the individual choices as compared to the group choices, as well as the differences among the individual choices using this tool. Methods: Participants worked in groups and as individuals to allocate stickers representing the available budget to different health topics and interventions using the CHAT tool. The allocations were recorded at each stage of the study. We calculated the median and interquartile range across study participants for the topic totals. To examine differences in individual choices, we performed Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Results: The results show that individual interests were mostly aligned with societal ones, and there were no statistically significant differences between the individual and group choices. However, there were some statistically significant differences between individual priorities based on demographic characteristics like age. Discussion: The study demonstrates that giving individuals greater control and agency in designing health services packages can increase their participation in the priority setting process, align individual and community priorities, and potentially enhance the legitimacy and acceptability of priority setting. Methods that enable group level deliberation and individual level priority setting may be necessary to reconcile plurality. The paper also highlights the importance of capturing the details of public engagement processes and transparently reporting on these details to ensure valuable outcomes. Public Contribution: The facilitator of the CHAT groups was a member from the community and underwent training from the research team. The fieldworkers were also from the community and were trained and paid to capture the data. The participants were all members of the rural community‐ the study represents their priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a study on blindness discourses found in South African non-profit organisations that provide rehabilitation services to visually impaired adults. The paper investigates what the public relations materials of these organisations communicate about blindness. It also considers the ideological assumptions that blindness discourses reinforce and embed in rehabilitation practice. The primary focus is a discourse analytic review conducted on a sample of organisation public facing material. The findings comprise three clusters of assumptions, with concomitant enactments in practice. These are i) third-person alliances around the blind subject and a resulting objectification of service users ii) 'journey discourse' which prohibits the expression of complex disability experiences and iii) polarised blindness fantasies which promote othering and prescribe acceptable ways of being for blind subjects. This paper questions what might be imparted to blind persons at a symbolic level through rehabilitative practices. This article explores the ways that blindness and blind persons are represented on the websites of organisations that provide visual impairment rehabilitation services in South Africa. These representations affect the way that society views visually impaired people, and the way that visually impaired people feel about themselves. Organisation websites describe visually impaired people in ways that make it seem as though they play little active role in the rehabilitation process. The idea that rehabilitation is a journey from dependence and depression to independence and self-acceptance might make it difficult for rehabilitation service users to express ongoing feelings of grief and loss. There is a need for more focus on interdependence in rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation organisations must think carefully about what their public relations materials communicate to society about blindness and blind persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, despite the increasing poverty and inequalities, policies should be designed to deal with population heterogeneity and environmental changes. Bottom-up designs, such as the Agent-Based Model (ABM), can model these features, dealing with such complexity. HIV/AIDS has a complex dynamic of structural factors, risk behaviors, biomedical characteristics and interventions. All embedded in unequal, stigmatized and heterogeneous social structure. To understand how ABMs can model this complexity, we performed a scoping review of HIV applications, highlighting their potentialities. Methods: We searched on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus repositories following the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews. Our inclusion criteria were HIV/AIDS studies with an ABM application. We identified the main articles using a local co-citation analysis and categorized the overall literature aims, (sub)populations, regions, and if the papers declared the use of ODD protocol and limitations. Results: We found 154 articles. We identified eleven main papers, and discussed them using the overall category results. Most studies model Transmission Dynamics (37/154), about Men who have sex with Men (MSM) (41/154), or individuals living in the US or South Africa (84/154). Recent studies applied ABM to model PrEP interventions (17/154) and Racial Disparities (12/154). Only six papers declared the use of ODD Protocol (6/154), and 34/154 didn't mention the study limitations. Conclusions: While ABM is among the most sophisticated techniques available to model HIV/AIDS complexity. Their applications are still restricted to some realities. However, researchers are challenged to think about social structure due model characteristics, the inclusion of these features is still restricted to case-specific. Data and computational power availability can enhance this feature providing insightful results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) from coal to renewable energy in response to climate change mitigation policies comes packaged with social costs that these mitigation policies tend to overlook, considering their focus on carbon emission reduction. The paper argues that Social Impact Assessments (SIAs), a component of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) focused on social impact mitigation, can be a long-term approach to closing the social cost gap. Against this backdrop, the paper's arguments were informed by a literature analysis on SIAs and the Just Energy Transition, semi-structured interviews, and surveys with 230 participants, including experts, from Kriel and Carolina in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The findings point to skills development barriers such as poor school attendance, a lack of alignment between existing curriculum design and labour markets, and students' low aptitude for STEM subjects. It also identifies community sustainability issues linked to poor public participation, gender inequalities in land reform and economic participation, and culturally disruptive displacements that will intensify as the energy shift unfolds. The paper submits that SIAs, if incorporated into mainstream energy transition planning, might be a long-term approach to mitigating societal costs and can support socially responsible policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Globally, mobile technology is a significant factor influencing how libraries are changing the ways of delivering services to today's users. This paper aims to explore academic librarians' perceptions of the usefulness of mobile technology in delivering library services and the efforts required for its successful adoption. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted within an interpretive paradigm. The research objectives were underpinned by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology as a theoretical framework. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyses using NVIVO for thematic analysis. Findings: Results show that, in general, academic librarians support the use of mobile technology to provide services such as access to eBooks and Journals, Online Public Access Catalogue, Bookmyne application, information literacy consultations and training. Library managers, fellow librarians and users were identified as encouraging the adoption of mobile technology to enhance library services. The paper further confirms that the successful adoption of mobile technology requires some effort. However, due to some of the challenges presented in the study, a majority of respondents felt that their libraries are not yet ready to fully embrace mobile technology the way it is envisioned in today's world. Practical implications: The study endeavours to address the divergence between students and academic librarians' viewpoints regarding the application of mobile technology in the provision of library services. Originality/value: This paper highlights numerous ways that academic librarians could adopt and embrace mobile technology, which can benefit both academic libraries and other institutions of higher learning. The knowledge presented in this paper could assist academic librarians in assessing their institutions' vulnerabilities, challenges and strengths in using mobile technologies to provide library services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses an ongoing business-to-business (B2B) relationship perspective to establish the interrelationships between trust, commitment, and relationship satisfaction (as relational constructs) and specific assets, formalization, and opportunism (as transaction cost variables) from a buyer's perspective, framed within micro-enterprises in the business banking industry in South Africa. Data were collected via self-administered online questionnaires from 381 micro-enterprise customers of one of South Africa's major banks. We first used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the measurement model before structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to estimate the hypothesized relationships between the study constructs. The measurement and structural models fitted the data well. The research was approached using the dual theoretical lenses of relationship marketing and transaction cost theory to investigate relationship satisfaction from a buyer's perspective. The results support the notion that, in a B2B context, relationship satisfaction is an outcome of trust and commitment, with commitment being the stronger predictor. Relationship satisfaction, in turn, was positively related to both specific assets and formalization (the relationship with formalization being the strongest), and a negative relationship between relationship satisfaction and opportunism. Since our results found commitment to be a stronger predictor of relationship satisfaction than trust (contrary to much previous research that found the opposite to be true), the paper concludes with several commitment-related suggestions for banks. Although much research exists on trust, commitment, and satisfaction, to our knowledge this study is the first using dual theoretical lenses (relationship marketing and transaction cost theory) to investigate relationship satisfaction from a buyer's perspective among micro-enterprise customers in a banking context. The insights gained from our study therefore not only address this under-researched area (micro-enterprises), but also contribute toward expanding our understanding of forming (and maintaining) banking relationships with the customers of the smallest-sized businesses. [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]

Access to education for undocumented migrant children in South Africa remains a significant challenge. While the difficulties related to their inability to access education within the country have been highlighted elsewhere, there remains a lack of clarity on an approach to how this basic human right can be achieved. In this conceptual paper, we draw on the distinction between equality and equity, and describe the various ways in which education has been conceptualised in the South African Constitution – which in part contributes to the existing confusion on education for various groups, including undocumented migrant children. In this paper, we critically reflect on the need to develop an integrated approach for creating a platform that allows all undocumented migrant children access to education in South Africa. We argue that an integrated approach – which entails ways through which access to education can be delivered through the lens of equity – will enhance the right to education for undocumented migrant children in South Africa. We conclude that the South African government must urgently consider this integrated approach to enable access to education for undocumented migrant children, so that they can achieve their full educational potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how four major challenges in the ocean economy is linked to the 15 global challenges and the sectors that are influenced by these challenges. The ocean is becoming a focal point in the discourse on growth and sustainable development, both at national and international levels. Human aspirations and economic growth exert pressure on the ocean and the marine ecosystem and, therefore, constitute challenges for sustaining growth and ocean economy development. This conceptual paper analyses definitions of the ocean economy, the ocean economy's contribution toward world economic growth, the 15 global challenges, and specific challenges in the South African ocean economy. Four critical challenges are highlighted, firstly, pollution, which includes environmental disasters such as oil spills and dumping at sea, secondly, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, thirdly, climate change and, finally, disease events. As both private and public sectors should address these challenges, this research identifies possible reform measures for further consideration by these sectors to find possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: South African public archives have not been able to transform into active documenters of society. As a result, they cannot carry out their mandate of collecting non-public records of lasting value and national significance and recording aspects of the country's experience that have previously been ignored by archives repositories. This paper aims to discuss efforts by the Gauteng Provincial Archives to transform the archival landscape in South Africa by collecting sports memories. This is because, in democratic South Africa, the archival landscape was expected to change and reflect the nation's diversity, despite the fact that it still largely reflected the Western-dominated global mainstream. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on the authors' personal experiences with the development and operation of the Gauteng Provincial Archives. The authors are also involved in the Gauteng Provincial Archives' oral history project, which aims to build an inclusive archive by recording oral histories of sports memories across the province. Findings: The construction of the Gauteng Archives Repository has ushered in a chance to decolonise South African archives by collecting sports memories. These are windows of opportunity through which ordinary people can include their own experiences, filling in the gaps left by colonial and apartheid archives. Originality/value: This paper offers practical experience in transforming and decolonising archives through collecting sports memories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Walter Benjamin, this paper discusses the relationships between law, violence, and punishment. The main argument I make is that state punishment is BOTH a violent and logically contradictory practice and that the state's legal right to punish often spills over into extralegal penal violence, perpetrated by a range of actors against the racialized poor. I use the term penal violence to refer to all forms of violence which are aimed at enforcing law or punishing a perceived transgression of law or norms. The paper focuses on the infliction of penal violence in South Africa on/in three different scales and jurisdictions: Makwanyane and violence in prisons; police and prosecutorial violence; and extralegal civilian violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xenophobia in South Africa is often depicted as anti-immigrant sentiments and stereotypes that emanate from social, political, and economic misconceptions. This paper argues that though the causes of xenophobia are many and complex, they stem from the dashed hopes of independence and the legacy of apartheid. This narrative has over the years been overshadowed by the view that xenophobic attacks in South Africa are a product of hate and anti-migration. We argue that the failure of successive governments of the ANC to correct the wrongs of the apartheid past and make the economy inclusive has stoked the tensions between citizens and foreign nationals. To underscore this point, this paper undertakes a discussion on the pertinent implications of the political trajectory of xenophobia in South Africa and makes some recommendations on what can be done to reduce incidences of xenophobic attacks in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, a major initiative to encourage load shifting and reduce strain on the electricity grid prompted one paper mill to investigate the pumping processes at its water supply plant. In this detailed two-part case study, Graeme Harding takes us through the investigative process leading to the final solution, which has yielded a 25% energy saving since implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River systems on a global level are heavily degraded by various human activities and impacts. The Elands River in Mpumalanga is just one of these river systems that is under constant threat. The Elands River, a major tributary of the Crocodile River, rises in a gently sloping highveld zone near the town of Machadodorp. There are various anthropogenic activities in the area, including the Sappi Ngodwana Mill, situated near the confluence of the Elaads and the Ngodwana Rivers. An effluent spill in 1989 caused major fish mortalities and changed invertebrate assemblages. Other anthropogenic activities include nutrient loading (due to the inadequate treatment of the sewage), various agricultural activities and the presence of exotic fish that has either been released into the river or entering the river from the dam that has been constructed on the Ngodwana River. The aim of the study was to determine whether the fish communities of the Elands and the Crocodile Rivers are affected due to unthropogenic activities. In general, fish communities and individuals have various qualities that make them useful in biological monitoring. Fish in general have a long lifespan and would thus be able to reflect changes in the integrity of the system over long periods of time. Two sampling surveys, representing high and low-flow periods, were undertaken in March and June 2005 respectively. The habitats sampled (when present) include shallow and deep section of the river in fast and slow flowing water. Sampling techniques include the use of seine nets, gill nets and electroshocking. A medium size seine net was hauled through the pooled areas and gill nets were placed in some of these pools. The technique most commonly applied in the study was electroshocking as it proved to be the most effective. This technique was applied at all the sites in the study. Linking community structure and environmental variables are possible when enough data is available. For this particular study, enough site specific data was available to make such an assessment. Results indicate that the fish communities of the Elands and Crocodile Rivers appear to be in a largely natural state. A change in community characteristics may have taken place at some sites downstream of the Ngodwana mill, but species richness and presence of sensitive species indicate little modification. This change was brought about largely by changes in water quantity and not water quality. During both flow regimes, Barbus argenteus dominated the community structure at some sites downstream of the Mill. The fact that this species of fish is sensitive to water quality changes (based on its perceived tolerance to water quality changes) is a good indication that this species of fish does not dominate the community structure due to pollution. This further supports the assumption that changes to flow at some site may be driving the community structure. This change in flow was brought about by the increase in water quantity from springs situated near the Mill and this increase can be linked to the activities of the Mill. One of the biggest concerns regarding the fish communities sampled during the study was the low numbers of Chiloglanis bifurcus recorded in the community. This critically endangered species occurs in the Elands River and has a high preference for clean, fast-flowing water through all its life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]