Analysis Of South Africa Research Articles

First Clinical Experience with Retrospective Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) Analysis in South Africa: Characterizing Glycemic Control with Ambulatory Glucose Profile.

In 2014, an innovative blinded continuous glucose monitoring system was introduced with automated ambulatory glucose profile (AGP) reporting. The clinical use and interpretation of this new technology has not previously been described. Therefore we wanted to understand its use in characterizing key factors related to glycemic control: glucose exposure, variability, and stability, and risk of hypoglycemia in clinical practice. Clinicians representing affiliated diabetes centers throughout South Africa were trained and subsequently were given flash glucose monitoring readers and 2-week glucose sensors to use at their discretion. After patient use, sensor data were collected and uploaded for AGP reporting. Complete data (sensor AGP with corresponding clinical information) were obtained for 50 patients with type 1 (70%) and type 2 diabetes (30%), irrespective of therapy. Aggregated analysis of AGP data comparing patients with type 1 versus type 2 diabetes, revealed that despite similar HbA1c values between both groups (8.4 ± 2 vs 8.6 ± 1.7%, respectively), those with type 2 diabetes had lower mean glucose levels (9.2 ± 3 vs 10.3 mmol/l [166 ± 54 vs 185 mg/dl]) and lower indices of glucose variability (3.0 ± 1.5 vs 5.0 ± 1.9 mmol/l [54 ± 27 vs 90 ± 34.2 mg/dl]). This highlights key areas for future focus. Using AGP, the characteristics of glucose exposure, variability, stability, and hypoglycemia risk and occurrence were obtained within a short time and with minimal provider and patient input. In a survey at the time of the follow-up visit, clinicians indicated that aggregated AGP data analysis provided important new clinical information and insights.

Communicating South Africa’s soft power: Agents, instruments and recipients

ABSTRACTNew scholarly literature that focuses on the currency of soft power is emerging in the analysis of South Africa’s foreign policy. This nascent strand of discourse seeks to capture the nexus between the ideational value of soft power and Pretoria’s foreign policy. Despite pockets of literature in this regard, there has been little analysis of the communicative settings and adaptations of soft power in the South African context. Within this analytical context, this article aims to contribute to existing discourse on South Africa’s soft power by probing the agents, sources and subjects involved in its cultivation and unpacking the links between these communicative environments. These issues are critical, given the recent emphasis on the role and utility of soft power for achieving South Africa’s foreign policy ambitions. The article stresses that, in the long term, the deepening of South Africa’s soft power capability and influence will depend largely on the extent of the strategic calibration between the communicative realms of actors, instruments and recipients.

Towards a New Capital Formation Series for Machinery in South African Agriculture

ABSTRACTData limitations lead to the use of assumptions that compromise studies on the measurement of capital in the national accounts and its impact on productivity analysis in South Africa. In the estimation of physical capital such as machinery and implements, a possible approach is to use the ratio of the value of tractor sales to overall expenditure to impute overall machinery sales. The use of a constant ratio over an extended period results in increasingly incorrect estimates and fails to reveal the changing nature of mechanisation. In this article, the problems with such an approach are highlighted through an analysis of the historic share of tractor sales to overall machinery sales in South Africa. This article establishes that the current methods have led to underestimation in the overall value of machinery and implements sales in South Africa by approximately a billion rand per annum for recent years. An alternative method is suggested and the implications of a new capital formation series are discussed.

An historical geographical analysis of South Africa's system of accumulation: 1652–1994

This paper attempts to reconceptualise from an historical perspective South Africa's regional political economy. Adopting a broadly materialist approach, this paper illustrates how South Africa's relationship with the region can be understood as a system of accumulation based on what may be called a government–business–media (GBM) complex. The analysis follows a critical rewriting of South Africa's regional relations until the attainment of democracy, as seen through the concept of the GBM complex. By so doing, this paper seeks to lay the foundations for an alternative understanding of South Africa's political economy, but also aims to contribute to the literature on, and theorisation of, ‘complexes’.

Triple return on investment: the cost and impact of 13 interventions that could prevent stillbirths and save the lives of mothers and babies in South Africa.

BackgroundThe time of labor, birth and the first days of life are the most vulnerable period for mothers and children. Despite significant global advocacy, there is insufficient understanding of the investment required to save additional lives. In particular, stillbirths have been neglected. Over 20 000 stillbirths are recorded annually in South Africa, many of which could be averted. This analysis examines available South Africa specific stillbirth data and evaluates the impact and cost-effectiveness of 13 interventions acknowledged to prevent stillbirths and maternal and newborn mortality.MethodsMultiple data sources were reviewed to evaluate changes in stillbirth rates since 2000. The intervention analysis used the Lives Saved tool (LiST) and the Family Planning module (FamPlan) in Spectrum. LiST was used to determine the number of stillbirths and maternal and neonatal deaths that could be averted by scaling up the interventions to full coverage (99%) in 2030. The impact of family planning was assessed by increasing FamPlan’s default 70% coverage of modern contraception to 75% and 80% coverage. Total and incremental costs were determined in the LiST costing module. Cost-effectiveness measured incremental cost effectiveness ratios per potential life years gained.ResultsSignificant variability exists in national stillbirth data. Using the international stillbirth definition, the SBR was 17.6 per 1 000 births in 2013. Full coverage of the 13 interventions in 2030 could reduce the SBR by 30% to 12.4 per 1 000 births, leading to an MMR of 132 per 100 000 and an NMR of 7 per 1 000 live births. Increased family planning coverage reduces the number of deaths significantly. The full intervention package, with 80% family planning coverage in 2030, would require US$420 million (US$7.8 per capita) annually, which is less than baseline costs of US$550 million (US$10.2 per capita). All interventions were highly cost-effective.ConclusionThis is the first analysis in South Africa to assess the impact of scaling up interventions to avert stillbirths. Improved coverage of 13 interventions that are already recommended could significantly impact the rates of stillbirth and maternal and neonatal mortality. Family planning should also be prioritized to reduce mortality and overall costs.

Failed asylum seekers in South Africa: policy and practice

The return of failed asylum seekers has become an issue of concern for asylum states who must balance immigration control measures while upholding refugee protection obligations. The 1994 transition to democracy in South Africa saw the state establish a strong urban refugee protection framework based on individualised refugee status determination processes, freedom of movement, and local integration. The refugee protection framework, although strong on paper, has suffered from a lack of implementation and has coexisted uneasily next to immigration control imperatives. This tension is further exacerbated by the post-1994 immigration regime which promotes a restrictive immigration policy with few options for low-skilled migrants who have turned to the asylum system as a means by which to legalise their stay, thus stretching capacity and conflating immigration control and refugee protection. This article provides a general overview of these issues, as well as an analysis of South Africa's policies to address failed asylum seekers. In doing so it explores the tension between formal human rights protections found in legislation and underlying immigration enforcement imperatives. The article finds that the conditions for an effective failed asylum seeker policy are not present and concludes with a discussion of some of the issues that need to be addressed to implement a more effective and rights-based policy.

Thabo Mbeki and South Africa's African identity: a review of 20 years of South Africa's Africa policy

This article has as its objective an analysis of South Africa's foreign policy towards Africa under the presidency of Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's second democracy-era president. It examines the evolution of South Africa's foreign policy towards Africa in the context of President Mandela's term in office, and proceeds to discuss the pursuit of Africa-first interests by Mbeki in the context of domestic constraints. The main methodology to be employed is that of content analysis. The analysis proceeds on three levels: structural, ideological and personal.

Counter-Cyclical Challenges of Fiscal Policy: A Comparitive Analysis of South Africa and Brics Countries

This study analyse the consequence of counter cyclical fiscal policy after the 2008 global financial crisis. Fiscal stimulus programmes were proposed by the G20 member countries to reduce the negative impact on growth and employment of the global financial crisis. A mixed-method research methodology is followed to analyse the elevated government debt and budget deficits of developed countries and BRICS countries. The analysis of government debt in different countries pose a stark reality. Most countries do not have any scope to stimulate their economies anymore whilst the leaders of the G20 member countries propose exist strategies. This study highlights the importance of a new approach and new application of old fiscal theories to create sustained growth. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n21p251

Learning Styles and Development – A Legal Analysis in South Africa

Outcomes Based Education (OBE) forms part of Curriculum 2005 and is aimed at activating the minds of young people in a way that these young people are better able to participate in the economic and social spheres of life. South Africa’s OBE system is intended to ensure that everyone is able to achieve his or her maximum ability and is equipped for lifelong learning. Attempts have been made in this paper to show the shift from traditional outcomes-based education (hereafter OBE), transitional OBE and transformational OBE. The deductive and inductive strategies are noted in this paper and the different learning styles that can be applied in the field of law. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n4p259

SOUTH AFRICA’S NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY SINCE THE TERMINATION OF ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMME

This article reports on an analysis of South Africa’s nuclear diplomacy since the country terminated its nuclear weapons programme, and explains why it has not retracted on this position. Through the skilful use of strategies typically used by middle powers in their conduct of nuclear diplomacy as niche diplomacy, South Africa has succeeded in norm construction, identity formation, and securing a niche role for itself, which resulted in material and non-material advantages for post-apartheid and post-nuclear weapons South Africa.

Healthcare service problems reported in a national survey of South Africans.

To identify common types of health service problems reported by South African adults during their most recent visit to a healthcare provider. Secondary analysis of South Africa's cross-sectional General Household Survey (GHS). Nationally representative weighted sample of households in South Africa. 23,562 household representatives interviewed during the 2010 GHS. Problems experienced during the most recent visit to the usual healthcare provider. In total, 43.8% of participants reported experiencing at least one problem during their last visit; 19.1% reported multiple problems. The most common problems experienced were a long waiting time (34.8% of household representatives), needed drugs not being available (14.1%) and staff who were rude or uncaring or turned patients away (10.1%). Of the 73.6% of participants using public providers, 54.9% reported at least one problem; of the 26.4% of participants using private providers, only 18.0% reported a problem, usually cost. Similar differences in reported problems at public and private providers were reported for all racial/ethnic groups and income groups. Black Africans reported more problems than other population groups due in large part to being significantly more likely to use public providers. Addressing commonly reported problem areas-in particular, long waiting times, unavailable medications and staff who are perceived as being unfriendly-might help prevent delayed care seeking, increase the acceptability of healthcare services and reduce remaining health disparities in South Africa.

Game ranching inter-sectoral linkages: A structural path analysis for South Africa

Unfamiliarity with the economic structure of the game ranching sector is regarded as one of the reasons why questions are raised with regard to the potential economic impact of continued growth in the sector. This study employs structural path analysis to provide a better understanding and subsequently improves the ability to conceptualise the potential economic impact of the sector. Amongst others, results revealed strong economic links between the community, social and personal, chemicals and chemical products, manufacturing and equipment, transport equipment, business services sector, and so forth, either directly or indirectly, and the game ranching sector. The same accounts for income distribution, with households receiving income from production activities in other sectors that are directly or indirectly generated by stimulus within the game ranching sector. Finally, results underline the fact that game ranching has the potential for making a meaningful contribution towards economic and socioeconomic challenges in South Africa.

2010 Fifa World Cup: An Analysis of South Africa's Decision Based on Keynes and Game Theory

2010 Fifa World Cup: An Analysis of South Africa's Decision Based on Keynes and Game Theory

The future of bioenergy and rural development policies in Africa and Asia

This special issue has presented some of the specific findings of the RE-Impact Project which was commissioned and funded by the EuropeAid Cooperation Office from 2007 until its conclusion in 2010. The project aimed to provide impact assessment frameworks and influence relevant policies through direct involvement in bioenergy projects and policy analysis in South Africa, Uganda, India and China. The papers summarised here have covered issues related to Jatropha curcas and forest-based bioenergy in these countries. Taking an overall look at the project findings we can identify a number of general conclusions relevant for the future of bioenergy and rural development in Africa and Asia. First, only local and context-specific sustainability assessment can identify the risk and responsibilities of the different groups and the exact impact on the environment. Second, many initiatives both in biofuels and forest-based bioenergy are marred by a lack of understanding of the life-cycle financial analysis. Third, careful consideration of local physical and social conditions and the economics of the production chain can identify real opportunities for rural development using bioenergy. The current global impasse in bioenergy policies could actually be advantageous to the development of bioenergy in developing countries. Without the pressure from America and Europe to develop bioenergy systems for climate change mitigation, countries in Africa and Asia may have the breathing room to shape bioenergy systems for their own internal energy supply in an orderly fashion. However, in order to avoid environmental and social impacts it will be necessary to articulate together elements of a number of measures including market-based certification, national policy formulation, national legislation, impact assessments, sustainability planning, land use planning, research, monitoring and evaluation taking into account country and project specific sustainability criteria. Unfortunately, many of the countries in Africa and Asia where bioenergy can play an important role still lack institutional structures able to articulate this sustainable development.

Science, transformation and society: a contextual analysis of South Africa’s SANCOR-managed marine and coastal research programmes

The paper aims to describe and analyse three research programmes over the period 1995–2011 managed by the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR), namely the Sea and Coast programmes I and II and the Society, Ecosystems and Change (SEAChange) programme, in relation to the context in which they were initiated. The paper consists of two parts: the post-apartheid context and a description and analysis of the three programmes. A qualitative methodology is applied and primary documentary and oral data are analysed to provide an understanding of the programmes in relation to the national and international context. There was widespread reform of policy and legislation in the post-apartheid period in order to redress apartheid inequalities in all sectors, leading to the transformation of science infrastructure and policy. In addition, the 1990s witnessed the institutionalisation of international environmental treaties and conventions to which South Africa was a signatory, impacting the content of the SANCOR programmes. In 1995, the first marine science programme was funded through a Joint Venture Agreement between the Foundation for Research Development and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The programme visions and themes show evidence of the influence of two discourses: the national discourse of transformation and the international discourses of biodiversity conservation and resource use management. Evaluation of the programmes reveals that they were considered successful by external reviewers and interview respondents in terms of output and human capital development, but lacking in broadening the knowledge fields and shifting the domination of the white, male oligarchy in marine science. Post-apartheid policy and legislative reform resulted in more equitable funding processes, the receipt of bursaries by black and female students, the embracing of applied goals to support government mandates, and the expansion of knowledge fields. The three dominant themes apparent in the evaluation of the programmes are the shift from basic to applied research, the inadequate representation of social science in marine research, and success in human capital development. There are positive future prospects for SANCOR-funded research in the marine and coastal environment because funding is in place for a fourth programme.

Land Redistribution Law and Environmental Justice in South Africa: An Analysis of South Africa's Land Redistribution Law as a Means to Achieving Environmental Justice

South Africa’s transition to democracy was followed by an extensive programme of land reform whose major objectives were, inter alia, to eradicate injustices of racially based dispossessions; to promote a more equitable distribution of land ownership; to reduce poverty and to promote economic growth through land reform; to provide security of tenure for all and to establish a system of land management that will support sustainable land-use patterns and the rapid release of land for development. While all of these goals are important, one of the purposes of my thesis is to suggest that an effective programme of land reform, in general, and an effective programme of land redistribution, in particular, could also go a long way towards achieving another equally important goal, namely environmental justice. The achievement of this goal, it will be argued, is critical in light of a history of massive land dispossession during the colonial and apartheid eras. Such policies against black South Africans compelled them to bear a disproportionate share of the environmental hazards caused by undesirable land uses on account of their race, whilst simultaneously denying them equal access to natural resources, in general, and to land, in particular, for the same reasons. The fact that black South Africans were denied equal access to land on the basis of their race during the colonial and apartheid periods has had serious economic, environmental and social consequences for them. This is because the amount of land set aside for them during the colonial and apartheid periods was hopelessly inadequate. It simply could not support the enormous number of people forced to live in the homelands. Apart from being hopelessly inadequate, the areas set aside for black South Africans were also characterised by a lack of work opportunities. The lack of work opportunities meant that black South Africans were forced to rely on the land for their survival. The land did not, however, have the capacity to support so many people and large areas soon became environmentally degraded.The environmental degradation of the homelands led to widespread poverty. In order to survive, therefore, male family members were forced to relocate to the urban areas where job opportunities were available for unskilled labour. They were, however, not allowed to take their families with them and this lead to a breakdown in family structures. Apart from suggesting that a programme of land redistribution may go a long way towards achieving environmental justice, another, and possibly more important, purpose of this thesis is to argue that a land redistribution programme should be accompanied by a move away from the ownership orientated system of land rights that has traditionally applied in South Africa towards a more fragment use-rights orientated system of land rights.In other words, a new land rights law should promote limited use rights and the adoption of environmentally sustainable land use. By so doing, a fundamental land reform, it is argued, would go a long way towards promoting the land aspirations of contemporary South African society in an environmentally sustainable way. The two basic questions this work seeks to address, therefore, are, firstly whether a fundamental reform of the land rights law can possibly address environmental injustice in South Africa and secondly, whether the post-apartheid land rights law is sufficiently well equipped to guard against environmentally unsustainable land use that can recreate adverse and dangerous environmental burdens and hazards on land based livelihoods and rural communities.

The Informal Economy in South Africa: Debates, Issues and Policies

The idea of dualism in the South African economy, characterised by a ‘first’ and ‘second’ economy, has come to dominate government thinking in recent years. Using the panel component of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), we explore linkages between the formal and informal economy. Our analysis suggests that there is a high level of interaction between formal and informal work at the lower end of the labour market. At the household level too, access to stable employment in the formal economy is associated with higher levels of earning in the informal economy. Our findings have implications for poverty analysis in South Africa. Policy which views poverty as being located outside the mainstream of the economy—in the so-called ‘second economy’—is misleading. JEL Classifications: O17, O55

Assimilation of Tourism Satellite Accounts and Applied General Equilibrium Models to Inform Tourism Policy Analysis

Historically, tourism policy analysis in South Africa has posed challenges to accurate measurement. The primary reason for this is that tourism is not designated as an ‘industry’ in standard economic accounts. This paper therefore demonstrates the relevance and need for applied general equilibrium (AGE) models to be completed and extended through an integration with tourism satellite accounts (TSAs) as a tool for policy makers (especially tourism policy makers) in South Africa. The paper sets out the reasons behind the need for economic models for policy analysis and other purposes, and gives an overview of old and new approaches to tourism policy modelling. The relevance of integrated models to, specifically, tourism policy analysis both internationally and in the South African context is discussed, followed by an illustrative empirical simulation of an exogenous inbound tourism expansion of 10%, against the background of the relationship between tourism and economic development. Furthermore, the indirect effects of an input–output model are also presented for comparison. The results confirm that the integrated approach is a more accurate tool for policy analysis.

Formal-informal economy linkages: What implications for poverty in South Africa?

The idea of dualism in the South African economy, characterized by a “first” and “second” economy has come to dominate government thinking in recent years. Using the panel component of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the authors explore linkages between the formal and informal economy. Their analysis suggests that there is a high level of interaction between formal and informal work, at the lower end of the labour market. At the household level too, access to stable employment in the formal economy is associated with higher levels of earning in the informal economy. The findings have implications for poverty analysis in South Africa. Policy which views poverty as being located outside the mainstream of the economy – in the so-called ‘second’ economy – is misleading. Instead, an integrated approach which views poverty as linked to and a product of the trajectory and growth patterns of the South African economy is suggested as a more useful conceptualisation of poverty and inequality in South Africa.

The Macroeconomic Determinants of Banking Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis of South Africa Against the Rest of the World

The efficiency of a nation’s banking industry is a critical factor in the quest to realize economic growth and prosperity for its citizens. This study identifies a host of macroeconomic factors which have been shown to have a strong causal link with the efficient operation of a given banking industry. The efficiency of the South African banking industry is found to be lagging behind most of the twenty representative countries, notwithstanding the way one classifies efficiency. Only among some nations from the South American and Eastern European regions is South Africa’s banking industry efficiency profile comparable.The increase in the size of skilled and available work force, the growth in the size of real spendable per capita GDP, the wide availability of technology and computers, all positively increase the efficient operation of a banking industry. The erosion of an economy’s currency has a negative effect on efficiency but this is not found to be significant across all efficiency measures. The findings point to significant drivers, that if found to be lacking, are likely to indicate a climate of inefficiency. Finally we use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of Decision Making Units (DMU’s), in this case, individual banks. However, unlike other studies, we use it as a robustness check of the previous empirical results. These two distinct methods yield near identical results. We conclude that the major causes of inefficiency seem to be structural; the concentrated ownership of the sector, interlocking directorships on bank boards and the oligopolistic nature of the industry mean that South Africa’s customers are paying too high a price for intermediary services.