African Sector Research Articles

Bioenergy done right for jobs and economic growth in Africa: dealing with land, biofuels and food security issues

A few years ago many analysts became aware of the bioenergy production potentials of the African agricultural sector to foster economic growth and create jobs. Unleashing such potential however requires stakeholders to deal beforehand with issues related to land, biofuels, food, and environmental policies. The objective of this study is to explore the conditions under which African countries can reap the benefits of the new bio-economy without jeopardizing food security and environmental quality. The study shows that land policies that set land rental at its marginal cost to businesses, biofuel policies that create demand through biofuels’ mandate, and environmental policies that encourage best management practices must be first put in place. Subsequently, African countries must participate to the capital investment in the biofuel sector.

Drivers for the effective management of HIV and AIDS in the South African construction industry — a Delphi study

Different industries manage the threats presented by HIV and AIDS in different ways. The construction industry is particularly vulnerable to the pandemic because of its large unskilled labour force, high labour turnover and the migratory nature of the workforce. The study reported on in this paper, the first of its kind in the South African construction industry, aimed to identify the important drivers needed for the effective management of HIV and AIDS and to understand their impact on the construction industry. The aim was achieved in two stages. The first stage involved an extensive literature review to determine the factors that drive corporate response in the management of HIV and AIDS in the South African construction sector. Six drivers, namely legal requirements, social pressures, business costs, voluntary regulation, visibility of the disease, and individuals within companies with a total of 87 items were identified. An iterative Delphi technique with a panel of experts was used to validate the factors identified in the literature review and formed the second stage of this research. The Delphi method was used as it provided a systematic approach to achieve consensus on the six drivers for effective management of HIV and AIDS management in the construction industry. An expert panel responded to three iterations of questionnaires to achieve consensus. The experts reached consensus on 56 items categorised under the 6 drivers. This study found that the legal driver was considered most important but only second in terms of impact. The second most important driver was the visibility of the disease and was regarded as the driver with the highest impact. Internal agents ranked third in terms of importance and impact. This study can be used for further research to assist the construction industry in helping fight HIV and AIDS.

Developing a mentorship programme for junior lecturers working with student tutors at a South African university: Emerging shifts in pedagogy and identity

AbstractJunior lecturers are entry-level academic staff who, despite their junior position and lack of experience, are often given the responsibility of developing student tutors. This frequently leads to insecurity about how best to approach the task. In response to this, a collaborative mentorship programme was developed in order to provide an enabling context in which junior lecturers could explore various aspects of tutor development. This article reports on participants' responses to the programme, in terms of the personal and pedagogical shifts experienced. It locates the mentorship programme within the context of some of the key challenges in the South African higher education sector. Action research was used to explore how the programme affected junior lecturers' perceptions of themselves in the context of their disciplines and their understanding of innovative tutor development. In order to understand their responses fully, it was also necessary to consider the ways in which the junior lecturers ...

The evolution and consolidation of the timeshare industry in a developing economy: The South African experience

The timeshare industry is one of most under-researched aspects of tourism accommodation. Within existing scholarship most writings pertain to industry development and challenges in the USA and Europe. This paper provides an examination of the evolution and consolidation of the timeshare industry in South Africa from the 1980s to the present-day. The South African timeshare industry is revealed as one of the most mature in the international timeshare economy. Historically, the industry confronted parallel challenges to those in developed countries in respect of adapting the product to local conditions and confronting a tarnished image from the impact of unscrupulous developers. Currently the South African timeshare sector faces different challenges including service management and consumer dissatisfaction, marginalization within the tourism economy, and the need to address the emerging Black middle class market.

Green economy transitioning of the South African power sector: A system dynamics analysis approach

Modelling approaches are utilised to understand complex and dynamic issues, which are characteristic of the South Africa power sector, especially since the sector has been at the centre of green economy debates. This paper thus draws on a system dynamics approach that captures and represents the dynamic behaviour of transforming the power sector with a green economy framework. This was done utilising the South Africa Green Economy Model and investigating whether current policies and strategies can improve economic growth, while at the same time reducing the impact on the environment and providing more employment. In general, the paper shows that green economy investments in the power sector provide opportunities for achieving the diversification of the energy mix, job creation, as well as CO2eq emissions reduction. However, more aggressive investments are necessary if all of the targets, as laid out in the National Development Plan, are to be achieved.

The extent of benchmarking in the South African financial sector

Benchmarking is the process of identifying, understanding and adapting outstanding practices from within the organisation or from other businesses, to help improve performance. The importance of benchmarking as an enabler of business excellence has necessitated an in-depth investigation into the current state of benchmarking in South Africa. This research project highlights the fact that respondents realise the importance of benchmarking, but that various problems hinder the effective implementation of benchmarking. Based on the research findings, recommendations for achieving success are suggested.

Banking Regulatory and Market Framework in South Africa

This paper examined and discusses banking regulation and market framework in the South African context. In South Africa, the principal legal instrument which seeks to achieve credibility, stability and economic growth, is the Banks Act, No. 94 of 1990 (the Banks Act). Further, South Africa has 17 registered banks, two mutual banks, 12 Branches of international banks in the Republic of South Africa, 43 representative offices and 15 controlling companies. The dominant banks in the South African banking landscape where outlined as the Standard Bank of South Africa, ABSA Bank, FirstRand Bank and Nedbank. It was observed that the reason for the increased market share by the big four banks in South Africa was seen as caused by the decline of confidence levels in the small banks as a result of Saambou’s Bank failure. Due to the dominance of four banks, using the HHI it was exhibited that the level of concentration in the South African banking sector was high at 0.187 in 2011. This paper concluded that South Africa has a developed and well regulated banking system which compares favourably with regulatory environment applied by the developed countries. However, it was cautioned that further regulation such as the recently announced ‘Twin Peaks' approach to financial regulation could result in unintended consequences, such as driving a larger share of activity into the shadow banking sector.

Large-scale ionospheric irregularities occurrence at Ilorin, Nigeria

Ionospheric irregularities are a regular occurrence at the equatorial latitude during the postsunset hours especially during high-solar activity. These irregularities could pose serious challenges to satellite-based navigation and positioning applications by causing fading and degradation of transionospheric signals passing through these irregularities. We have investigated large-scale ionospheric irregularity occurrence at Ilorin, Nigeria (latitude = 8.48°N, longitude = 4.67°W, dip = 4.1°S), a station located within the equatorial region in the African sector. The index used in this study is the rate of change of total electron content (rate of change) derived from 30 s receiver-independent exchange data obtained using a dual frequency GPS receiver (i.e., NovAtel GPStation-2). The study covers a period of 4 years (2009–2012). The results obtained showed that large-scale irregularities occur between March and November and are more pronounced between 1900 LT and 2400 LT. The irregularities were observed to show two peaks: one in March and the other in September. Solar activity trend was also observed. The irregularity level around the peaks seems to increase with solar activity. Although the study covered a period of 4 years, the period could be regarded as the increasing phase of the solar cycle 24.

The longitudinal variability of equatorial electrojet and vertical drift velocity in the African and American sectors

Abstract. While the formation of equatorial electrojet (EEJ) and its temporal variation is believed to be fairly well understood, the longitudinal variability at all local times is still unknown. This paper presents a case and statistical study of the longitudinal variability of dayside EEJ for all local times using ground-based observations. We found EEJ is stronger in the west American sector and decreases from west to east longitudinal sectors. We also confirm the presence of significant longitudinal difference in the dusk sector pre-reversal drift, using the ion velocity meter (IVM) instrument onboard the C/NOFS satellite, with stronger pre-reversal drift in the west American sector compared to the African sector. Previous satellite observations have shown that the African sector is home to stronger and year-round ionospheric bubbles/irregularities compared to the American and Asian sectors. This study's results raises the question if the vertical drift, which is believed to be the main cause for the enhancement of Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability growth rate, is stronger in the American sector and weaker in the African sector – why are the occurrence and amplitude of equatorial irregularities stronger in the African sector?

Corruption in Educating Accounting and Finance Students as Root to Financial Crimes in Africa

This paper examines the corrupt practices that are noticeable in the African tertiary educational institutions offering accounting and finance programmes, with a view to ascertaining how the identified stakeholders to the African education sector are involved in the corruption that breeds financial criminology in the African continent and the role they could play in combating the menace. Being a literature review type, the paper reviews the challenges of corruption in Africa, in general, and the higher education sector, in particular; the various dimensions of corruption in the education sector; and the role expected to be played by the stakeholders in the sector for a successful fight against corruption and avoidance of financial criminology in the African continent and beyond. It is the conclusion of the paper that all the identified stakeholders- teachers, students, parents, community and the government- are involved in the corrupt practices that are skewed to the education sector, and that each of the five stakeholders has a role to play in combating it for the production of ethical accountants and financial experts that would build financial crime-free African economies. It is recommended that governments of the countries in Africa, being the most powerful of all the stakeholders, should exercise the powers available to them in implementing appropriate preventive measures against corruption in the course of educating accounting and finance students, and in taking appropriate disciplinary measures against any teacher/lecturer or school/university administrator found to be corrupt, if the continent is to make any headway in producing ethically sound world class accountants and financial experts.

The Effect Of Higher Wages On Production Cost And Mechanization: A South African Maize Sector Study

The South African labor market was recently characterized by violent and hostile labor strikes by workers demanding exorbitant wage increases. These demands and violent protests overflowed to the agricultural sector, followed by an announcement of a 51% increase in the agricultural minimum wage. Labor costs form an integral part of a producers production costs and labor increases will therefore directly affect the profitability of producers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect higher wages have on the South African maize sector. Furthermore, to determine whether there is a relationship between higher labor cost and increased mechanization in the maize sector. Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were utilized to address the research problem. The findings of the study include that the higher wages do not have a significant effect on the maize sector as it is less dependent on manual labor and therefore more tolerant to wage increases. Furthermore, it was determined that there is a relationship between the maize sectors level of mechanization and the impact of higher wages. It was found that the maize sector is more developed and mechanized than other agricultural sectors. Notwithstanding, it is recommended that the sector should maintain the investment in mechanization to increase global competitiveness.

Investigation of ionospheric response to two moderate geomagnetic storms using GPS–TEC measurements in the South American and African sectors during the ascending phase of solar cycle 24

The responses of the ionospheric F region using GPS–TEC measurements during two moderate geomagnetic storms at equatorial, low-, and mid-latitude regions over the South American and African sectors in May 2010, during the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, are investigated. The first moderate geomagnetic storm studied reached a minimum Dst value of −64nT at 1500UT on 02 May 2010 and the second moderate geomagnetic storm reached a minimum Dst value of −85nT at 1400UT on 29 May 2010. In this paper, we present vertical total electron content (VTEC) and phase fluctuations (in TECU/min) from Global Positioning System (GPS) observations from the equatorial to mid-latitude regions in the South American and African sectors. Our results obtained during these two moderate geomagnetic storms from both sectors show significant positive ionospheric storms during daytime hours at the equatorial, low-, and mid-latitude regions during the main and recovery phases of the storms. The thermospheric wind circulation change towards the equator is a strong indicator that suggests an important mechanism is responsible for these positive phases at these regions. A pre-storm event that was observed in the African sector from low- to the mid-latitude regions on 01 May 2010 was absent in the South American sector. This study also showed that there was no generation or suppression of ionospheric irregularities by storm events. Therefore, knowledge about the suppression and generation of ionospheric irregularities during moderate geomagnetic storms is still unclear.

Signatures of strong geomagnetic storms in the equatorial latitude

Ionosonde data from two equatorial stations in the African sector have been used to study the signatures of four strong geomagnetic storms on the height – electron density profiles of the equatorial ionosphere with the objective of investigating the effects and extent of the effects on the three layers of the equatorial ionosphere. The results showed that strong geomagnetic storms produced effects of varying degrees on the three layers of the ionosphere. Effect of strong geomagnetic storms on the lower layers of the equatorial ionosphere can be significant when compared with effect at the F2-layer. Fluctuations in the height of ionization within the E-layer were as much as 0% to +20.7% compared to −12.5% to +8.3% for the F2-layer. The 2007 version of the International Reference Ionosphere, IRI-07 storm-time model reproduced responses at the E-layer but overestimated the observed storm profiles for the F1- and F2-layers.

Magnetic storm effect on the occurrence of ionospheric irregularities at an equatorial station in the African sector

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Large-scale ionospheric irregularities usually measured by GPS TEC fluctuation indices are regular occurrence at the equatorial region shortly after sunset around solar maximum. Magnetic storm can trigger or inhibit the generation of these irregularities depending on the local time the main phase of a particular storm occurs. We studied the effect of nine (9) distinct storms on the occurrence of ionospheric irregularities at Fraceville in Gabon (Lat = −1.63˚, Long = 13.55˚, dip lat. = −15.94˚), an equatorial station in the African sector. These storms occurred between November 2001 and September 2002. We used TEC fluctuation indices (i.e. ROTI and ROTIAVE) estimated from 30 s interval Rinex data and also we used the storm indices (i.e. Dst, dDst/dt, and IMF BZ) to predict the likely effect of each storm on the irregularities occurrence at this station. The results obtained showed that most of the storms studied inhibited ionospheric irregularities. Only one out of all the storms studied (i.e. September 4, 2002 storms with the main phase on the night of September 7-8) triggered post-midnight ionospheric irregularities. There are two of the storms during which ionospheric irregularities were observed. However, these may not be solely attributed to the storms event because the level of irregularities observed during these two storms is comparable to that observed during previous days before the storms. For this station and for the storms investigated, it seems like a little modification to the use of Aarons categories in terms of the local time the maximum negative Dst occurs could lead to a better prediction. However, it would require investigating many storms during different level of solar activities and at different latitudes to generalize this modification. <br /></span></p>

Sustainability And Integrated Reporting In The South African Corporate Sector

This article aims to determine if the adoption of Integrated Reporting by large private sector companies in South Africa has led to an improvement in the quality of sustainability-related information disclosed. This was done in two stages. The first stage comprised a literature review with the aim to develop an evaluation matrix that can be used to access the quality of the sustainability-related information being disclosed within Integrated Reports. During the second stage, empirical evidence was obtained by assessing the sustainability reporting disclosures made by the best performers according to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Sustainability Index. The Integrated Reporting process is still in the development phase with many companies only now developing methodologies to measure their various impacts. The study found that, although many companies are attempting or claiming to be creating Integrated Reports, the level of integration is still very low. Few companies have incorporated or understood the importance of environmental and social sustainability in achieving long-term success. It is hoped that this research will provide an evaluation matrix to assess the information disclosed within Integrated Reports as well as provide insights into the implementation challenges experienced by the early adopters in South Africa.

Physiotherapy rehabilitation in the context of HIV and disability in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of people living with HIV (PLHIV) who had undergone a physiotherapy-led rehabilitation programme, with the aim of informing and improving future rehabilitation. Methods: The study population included patients living with HIV who were referred for physiotherapy rehabilitation at a public-funded KwaZulu-Natal hospital. Eight participants were considered for final analysis in the study. A qualitative research design was adopted using in-depth interviews to explore their experiences of their rehabilitation programme. Additionally all eligible participants were requested to complete the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule. Results: Participants presented varying activity-related challenges with mobility, self-care and life activities being the most severely affected areas. Participants showed little understanding of their health conditions, prescribed medication and in some cases therapy. HIV and disability impacted their daily lives, adversely affecting work and domestic activities. Although participants reflected positively on the rehabilitation experience they faced a number of barriers to accessing continued rehabilitation. Conclusion: PLHIV who experience disability are affected in major life areas but the current model of delivering rehabilitation provides a number of barriers to patients. A more accessible approach of delivering HIV-care and rehabilitation needs to be developed.Implications for RehabilitationPhysiotherapists and other rehabilitation professionals, particularly those working in the South African public sector, need to consider developing and implementing home-based rehabilitation interventions for patients living with HIV and disability. This will counter some of the barriers these patients face in accessing hospital-based therapy.With the increasing incidence of HIV-related disabilities as PLHIV live longer lives, rehabilitation professionals working with this patient population should keep up to date with recent literature and practical training courses related to the disease and its management.

Correlation between the global occurrences of ionospheric irregularities and deep atmospheric convective clouds in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

To study the seeding mechanism of ionospheric irregularity occurrences, a correlation study has been carried out between the global monthly/latitudinal (m/l) distributions of irregularity occurrences and the deep atmospheric convective clouds in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) indicated by the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) measurements. Seven longitude sectors - the African, Indian, West Pacific, Central Pacific, East Pacific, South American, and Atlantic sectors - are selected to study the correlations between the two distributions. The results indicate that good correlations exist only in the South American sector and to some extent in the African sector. For the other five sectors, no correlations are found in the m/l distributions between the irregularities and OLRs. This implies that the gravity wave induced in the ITCZ cannot be the sole seeding agent for the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in the global irregularity occurrences every season. We suspect that the post-sunset ionospheric electrodynamic perturbations could be the prevailing seeds for the RT instability globally year long. Together with the favorable post-sunset ionospheric condition, the global m/l distributions of irregularity occurrences could be adequately explained.

Ionospheric imaging in Africa

Accurate ionospheric specification is necessary for improving human activities such as radar detection, navigation, and Earth observation. This is of particular importance in Africa, where strong plasma density gradients exist due to the equatorial ionization anomaly. In this paper the accuracy of three-dimensional ionospheric images is assessed over a 2 week test period (2-16 December 2012). These images are produced using differential Global Positioning System (GPS) slant total electron content observations and a time-dependent tomography algorithm. The test period is selected to coincide with a period of increased GPS data availability from the African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) project. A simulation approach that includes the addition of realistic errors is employed in order to provide a ground truth. Results show that the inclusion of observations from the AFREF archive significantly reduces ionospheric specification errors across the African sector, especially in regions that are poorly served by the permanent network of GPS receivers. The permanent network could be improved by adding extra sites and by reducing the number of service outages that affect the existing sites. Key Points Ionospheric image quality in Africa is assessed Simulated and real data are both used An extended receiver network greatly improves accuracy

Day-to-Day Variability of H Component of Geomagnetic Field in Central African Sector Provided by Yaoundé-Cameroon Amber Station

The geomagnetic data obtained from Amber Network station in Cameroon have been used for this study. The variability of H component of geomagnetic field has been examined by using geomagnetic field data of X and Y components recorded at AMBER magnetometer station hosted by the Department of Physics of University of Yaoundé (3.87°N, 11.52°E). The day-to-day variability of the horizontal intensity of the geomagnetic field was examined and shows that the scattering of H component of magnetic field variation is more on disturbed than that on quiet condition. The signatures H of geomagnetic Sq and Sd variations in intensities in the geomagnetic element, has been studied. This study shows that the daytime variations in intensities of geomagnetic elements H, Sq(H) and Sd(H) respectively are generally greater than night-time ones. This paper interests answering the two questions: 1) how can geomagnetic variations be used to study the equatorial ionosphere electrodynamics and electrojet equatorial over Africa in general and Cameroon in particular? 2) How can geomagnetic variations be used to monitor and predict space weather events in Cameroon? This paper presents and interprets the results of H component of geomagnetic field variations during magnetic storms and on quiet days.

Comparison of equatorial GPS-TEC observations over an African station and an American station during the minimum and ascending phases of solar cycle 24

Abstract. GPS-TEC data were observed at the same local time at two equatorial stations on both longitudes: Lagos (6.52° N, 3.4° E, 3.04° S magnetic latitude), Nigeria; and Pucallpa (8.38° S, 74.57° W, 4.25° N magnetic latitude), Peru during the minimum (2009, 2010) and ascending (2011) phases of solar cycle 24. These data were grouped into daily, seasonal and solar activity sets. The day-to-day variations in vertical TEC (VTEC) recorded the maximum during 14:00–16:00 LT and minimum during 04:00–06:00 LT at both longitudes. Seasonally, during solar minimum, maximum VTEC values were observed during March equinox and minimum during solstices. However, during the ascending phase of the solar activity, the maximum values were recorded during the December solstice and minimum during the June solstice. VTEC also increased with solar activity at both longitudes. On longitude by longitude comparison, the African GPS station generally recorded higher VTEC values than the American GPS station. Furthermore, harmonic analysis technique was used to extract the annual and semi-annual components of the amplitudes of the TEC series at both stations. The semi-annual variations dominated the TEC series over the African equatorial station, while the annual variations dominated those over the American equatorial station. The GPS-TEC-derived averages for non-storm days were compared with the corresponding values derived by the IRI-2007 with the NeQuick topside option. The NeQuick option of IRI-2007 showed better performance at the American sector than the African sector, but generally underestimating TEC during the early morning hours at both longitudes.