Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf): Open Journal Systems
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Regulation of Video Gaming Loot Boxes: Lessons for South Africa from Abroad
No full textTo optimise income, video game developers incorporate microtransactions into their games. One such microtransaction is a loot box. This is a container that a gamer in certain instances can win or purchase to take a chance on the unknown contents in the hope of obtaining an item that may be useful in the progression of the game. In the case of tradable loot boxes, these items won can also be traded or sold for cash either during the game or on a third-party marketplace. Research has shown that loot boxes are potentially harmful to minors and that there is possibly a link between loot boxes and problem gambling. The labelling of the games seems inadequate as it does not always warn gamers and/or parents of the potentially harmful content. It has also been argued that these loot boxes are an example of the convergence between gambling and gaming in that gambling and gambling-like opportunities are becoming more prevalent in video games. Notwithstanding existing research, the industry has not been forthcoming in addressing these problems. There are some exceptions where the developers amended their games after the gaming community reacted negatively to the introduction of loot boxes or when forced to do so by regulations or other third-party service providers. The call for self-regulation by the industry to adopt a set of ethical guidelines to address these concerns has not yielded the desired results. As a result of the lacklustre actions of the industry, some jurisdictions have addressed these problems through regulation. The mechanisms used by these jurisdictions differ, ranging from the banning of loot boxes to a mere acknowledgement of the potential problems without taking any action. Even where (tradable) loot boxes fall within the legal definition of gambling in national legislation, enforcement has been inconsistent as some argue that using gambling regulatory frameworks to protect vulnerable groups is inappropriate. After discussing these debates and global developments, the article concludes with a discussion of the current South African legal situation vis-à-vis loot boxes with specific reference to the constitutional and international law imperatives, the Film and Publications Board classifications, the consumer protection legislation, and the gambling regulatory framework. It finally provides suggestions for legal changes that may be feasible considering the lessons learnt from abroad
"The Fly in the Ointment" or Simply a "Born-Again Shop Steward" Defending Workers’ Rights to Fair Representation? – The Case of Msunduzi Municipality v Hoskins 2017 38 ILJ 582 (LAC) in Retrospect
No full textAt a distance, the decision by the Labour Appeal Court in Msunduzi Municipality v Hoskins 2017 38 ILJ 582 (LAC) appears to be a typical case of dismissal for gross insubordination. However, upon closer examination Msunduzi brings to the forefront the conflict of interest between a senior employee's responsibilities as a HR manager and his controversial role in representing fellow employees who faced disciplinary charges at the municipality. Compared to the senior managers in the antecedent cases of Keshwar v SANCA 1991 12 ILJ 816 (IC) and IMATU v Rustenburg TLC 1999 20 ILJ 377 (LC), in the case at hand the managerial employee was no longer a member of a trade union. The hybrid role performed by Hoskins created tensions within management ranks and turned into a migraine for the newly appointed acting municipal manager. To cut to the chase, as an HR manager Hoskins was figuratively and literally "the fly in the ointment". His "forward approach" as a "born-again shop steward" went beyond chutzpah. Therefore, the Labour Appeal Court cannot be faulted for upholding Hoskins' dismissal. Msunduzi compels intense engagement with the all-encompassing duty of mutual trust and confidence, the breakdown of the trust relationship, the intolerability of a continued employment relationship, "non-reinstatable conditions" as embodied in section 193(2)(a)-(d) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and the effect of post-dismissal misconduct on the availability of reinstatement. Also arising are discrete questions concerning insubordination and insolence, conflict of interest and incompatibility
The role of selected pre-match covariates on the outcome of One-day International (ODI) cricket matches
Get PDFBackground: The identification of key factors that systematically influence a team’s success is important and has led to the application of statistical models in sport. Predicting the outcome of a One Day International (ODI) cricket match, using only pre-match covariates, has been minimally investigated.
Objectives: This research sought to investigate the impact that venue, toss outcome, toss decision, and match type have on the chances of winning an ODI match.
Methods: A total of 1228 men’s international ODI matches were analysed. A logistic regression model was used to identify the significance of these pre-match covariates on the result of the matches.
Results: The results varied across all teams, suggesting that there are individualised factors driving these differences and that generalising the impact pre-match covariates have in every team is unrealistic. New Zealand and India displayed a significant home advantage effect, whereas Australia had a strong tendency towards a significant disadvantage when they won the toss. However, for most teams, toss outcome, toss decision, and match type did not significantly impact the outcome of an ODI match.
Conclusion: New Zealand and Australia were the most predictable teams, whereas South Africa and Pakistan were regarded as unpredictable when pre-match covariates were used to forecast the outcome of their ODI matches
Revealing human mobility trends during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Nigeria via a data-driven approach
No full textWe employed emerging smartphone-based location data and produced daily human mobility measurements using Nigeria as an application site. A data-driven analytical framework was developed for rigorously producing such measures using proven location intelligence and data-mining algorithms. Our study demonstrates the framework at the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and successfully quantifies human mobility patterns and trends in response to the unprecedented public health event. Another highlight of the paper is the assessment of the effectiveness of mobility-restricting policies as key lessons learned from the pandemic. We found that travel bans and federal lockdown policies failed to restrict trip-making behaviour, but had a significant impact on distance travelled. This paper contributes a first attempt to quantify daily human travel behaviour, such as trip-making behaviour and travelling distances, and how mobility-restricting policies took effect in sub-Saharan Africa during the pandemic. This study has the potential to enable a wide spectrum of quantitative studies on human mobility and health in sub-Saharan Africa using well-controlled, publicly available large data sets.
Significance:
The mobility measurements in this study are new and have filled a major data gap in understanding the change in travel behaviour during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Nigeria. These measurements are derived from high-quality data samples by state-of-the-art data-driven methodologies and could be further adopted by other quantitative research related to human mobility.
Additionally, this study evaluates the impact of mobility-restricting policies and the heterogeneous effects of socio-economic and socio-demographic factors by a time-dependent random effect model on human mobility. The quantitative model provides a decision-making basis for the Nigerian government to provide travel-related guidance and make decisions in future public health events.
Open data set: https://github.com/villanova-transportation/Nigeria-mobility-COVID19-SAJ
Data sharing and data governance in sub-Saharan Africa: Perspectives from researchers and scientists engaged in data-intensive research
No full textThe data ecosystem is complex and involves multiple stakeholders. Researchers and scientists engaging in data-intensive research collect, analyse, store, manage and share large volumes of data. Consequently, capturing researchers’ and scientists’ views from multidisciplinary fields on data use, sharing and governance adds an important African perspective to emerging debates. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey and received 160 responses from researchers and scientists representing 43 sub-Saharan African countries. Whilst most respondents were satisfied with institutional data storage processes, 40% indicated that their organisations or institutions did not have a formally established process for storing data beyond the life cycle of the project. Willingness to share data was generally high, but increased when data privacy was ensured. Robust governance frameworks increased the willingness to share, as did the regulation of access to data on shared platforms. Incentivising data sharing remains controversial. Respondents were satisfied with exchanging their data for co-authorship on publications (89.4%) and collaboration on projects (77.6%). However, respondents were split almost equally in terms of sharing their data for commercial gain. Regarding the process of managing data, 40.6% indicated that their organisations do not provide training on best practices for data management. This could be related to a lack of resources, chronic institutional under-investment, and suboptimal research training and mentorship in sub-Saharan Africa. The sustainability of data sharing may require ethical incentive structures to further encourage researchers and scientists. Tangible infrastructure to facilitate such sharing is a prerequisite. Capacity development in data governance for researchers and scientists is sorely needed.
Significance:
Data sharing is necessary to advance science, yet there are many constraints. In this study, we explored factors that promote a willingness to share, as well as constraining factors. Seeking potential solutions to improve data sharing is a scientific and ethical imperative. The standardisation of basic data sharing and data transfer agreements, and the development of a Data Access Committee will strengthen data governance and facilitate responsible data sharing in sub-Saharan Africa. Funders, institutions, researchers and scientists ought to jointly contribute to fair and equitable data use and sharing during and beyond the life cycle of research projects
Breaking free from medical aid rates: empowering dentists to provide high quality dental services in South Africa
Get PDFDental care is vital to overall health and wellness. There is a myriad of challenges that health practitioners face when dealing with medical schemes/third-party funders. To address some of these challenges, some South African dentists accept medical aid rates for their services, to make their lives, and those of their patients’ lives somewhat easier. In this piece, however, we argue that dentists in South Africa should set their own fees rather than rely on medical aid rates. Initially, the price of dental care varies widely based on the necessary treatment. While calculating their rates, dental practices must account for rent, salaries, equipment, supplies, and other administrative expenses. Accepting medical scheme rates may not correctly reflect the actual cost of providing dental services, resulting in dentists getting less compensation than is necessary to maintain a sustainable practice
Is there a decline of Scientific Output in South African Dentistry: Addressing the Concerns and Nurturing Future Scientists
Get PDFI have received comments in general discussion with colleagues who ask me whether scientific progress in South African dentistry has declined over the last decade. Researchers and academics often point to a decline in the quantity and quality of this research, leading to concern and speculation. While there is no definitive data or statistics to support these claims, anecdotal information suggests that the quantity of dental research publications in South Africa have declined over the past few years. This decline may be due to a number of factors, including financial constraints, lack of resources, limited time available, and his recent COVID-19 pandemic, which has further strained the field. However, these are not a sufficient explanation for the decline and the dental community needs to take action to address this problem
Perceptions of oral health practitioners regarding the long-term effects of service learning; a qualitative study
Get PDFThe long-term effects of service learning (SL) have not been explored in the oral health field. Such information has the potential to provide useful feedback to dental educators regarding the effectiveness and impact of SL. This would be relevant in the South African context of inequality and poor access to care. To explore the perceptions of oral health professionals from an academic institution regarding the long-term effects of SL. A case study design was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. A total of 22 participants from the Bachelor of Dental Therapy, Bachelor of Dental Surgery, and Bachelor of Oral Hygiene participated in the study. The participants indicated that SL is a worthy activity that exposed them to the real world of dentistry and provided them with the exposure that prepared them for work actualities. Four major themes emerged; namely, personal qualities, relationship building, challenges related to SL and strategies to improve the outcomes. Participants found SL to be beneficial in their professional development and practice although they highlighted some challenges in practice. They recommended the improvement and upgrading of the SL program, as well as further research on SL approaches in other environment
Prevalence of oral impacts on daily performances among adolescents living with HIV at a tertiary paediatric hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa
Get PDFTo determine the prevalence of oral impacts on daily performance among HIV positive adolescents attending a wellness program at a Tertiary Hospital Johannesburg. A cross-sectional study design was conducted where a clinical examination was performed to determine the intra oral mucosal lesions, decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) and Significant Caries Index (SiC). The Child-Oral-Impact on Daily-Performance (Child-OIDP) questionnaire was interviewer-administered to the adolescents at the tertiary paediatric hospital. There were n=208 adolescents with mean age 15.3 years (SD: 2.19; range 9.6-19.9 years). Fifty-five percent of the adolescents were female and 32% of had unemployed parents. About 39% rated their oral health as poor. More than 70% reported not accessing dental services six months prior. The most reported oral conditions were toothache (28.4%), unwanted colour of teeth (24.5%) and bleeding gums (24.0%). The dental caries prevalence was 87%, the DMFT was 3.9 (SD: 3.2; range 0-16) and the SiC was 7.6 (range 4-16). The participants had very minimal restorations (11.7%). The most common mucosal condition identified was linear gingival erythema (27.4%). The prevalence of at least one oral impact was 82% whilst the three mostly impacted activities were difficulty cleaning teeth (53.4%) eating food (51.2%) and enjoying being with people (48.9%). The distribution of the overall impact scores was skewed .The scores ranged from 0-56 with a median of 6 and a mean score of 9.3 (SD = 10.5). The individual mean score range was, 0 to 9, the highest being ‘smiling or laughing’ at 2.8. A poor self-rated oral (p = 0.00) and not being satisfied with appearance of teeth and mouth (p = 0.05) was related to the overall impact score. There was a high prevalence of oral impacts, dental caries and the symptoms related to dental caries. The most impacted activity was cleaning teeth and eating. These activities are related to the symptoms reported. It is imperative that dental caries and the symptoms are managed well to reduce the impacts on the adolescents’ daily oral activities
Occurrence of the potato leaf miner, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and parasitoids in potato fields and natural vegetation of the Western Cape province, South Africa
No full textThe leaf miner, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is a polyphagous fly, which infests a wide range of vegetables and ornamental plants. However, scant knowledge exists of the biology and ecology of the pest in the Western Cape province of South Africa, both of which are essential components in developing an effective management programme. Several aspects of its biology and ecology were studied in two potato [Solanum tuberosum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae)] fields in the Sandveld region during both winter and summer months. The population densities of adult L. huidobrensis were monitored using yellow sticky traps, which were retrieved and counted once every two weeks (June 2019 to January 2020). The number of leaf miner adults caught throughout the summer and winter monitoring periods was significantly different. In addition, 50 randomly selected plants were assessed for leaf damage (in the form of punctures and mines) using presence/absence sampling. Leaf miner persistence within the soil was confirmed through one-time soil sampling of the two fields, one month after harvesting. Leaf miner pupae were detected in the soil samples after the potatoes were harvested. However, no adult emergence was recorded among the collected pupae under laboratory conditions. The observed trend was that the traps, in both fields, caught an increasing number of leaf miners as the crops matured. Damage occurred in both the monitored fields as early as week four, after plant emergence. Of the five parasitoid species collected, Diglyphus isaea (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was the most abundant.