Academy of Science of South Africa
The World Academy of Sciences - Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa (TWAS-ROSSA)Not a member yet
325 research outputs found
Sort by
Annual National Scholarly Editors’ Forum (NSEF) Meeting
Full text linkASSAf’s Scholarly Publishing Programme (SPP) hosted its annual National Scholarly Editors’ Forum (NSEF) two-days meeting on 10 and 11 November 2021. The NSEF annual meeting is an opportunity for scholarly journal editors to interact on issues pertaining to scholarly journal publishing in South Africa.This year’s meeting was themed ‘The future of scholarly publishing in South Africa’.Welcome by Prof Keyan Tomaselli Visit https://youtu.be/XUlkagQvfvcReport back on SAJS Associate Editors Mentee Programme by Prof Leslie Swartz Visit https://youtu.be/50iuW8slqjQProgress report on SPP activities by Ms Susan Veldsman Visit https://youtu.be/JYiOvnjn7VoReport back on completed Peer Review Panels by Dr John Butler-Adam & Prof Tilman Dedering Visit https://youtu.be/PLgmNpnI2VQDefinition of a South African journal by Prof Robin Crewe Visit https://youtu.be/Qmm97H-mCPEInterpretation of the ASSAf Code of Best Practice by Prof Elizabeth Henning Visit https://youtu.be/Sc3EYRr_9dEUnpacking whether research can be fun or not, by Prof Warren Maroun, Prof Caroline Ncube, Prof Keyan Tomaselli Visit https://youtu.be/oP-Cs0stzIUCombatting predatory academic journals and conferences by Prof Asfawossen Asrat, Prof Stefan Eriksson, Ms Susan Veldsman Visit https://youtu.be/HlErrnYy1kMResearch Quality Framework for scholarly outputs in SA by Prof Johann Mouton, Mr Chief Mabizela Visit https://youtu.be/Ck37JarteeoNegotiating publisher agreements that facilitate a transition to Open Access for South Africa Ms Ellen Tise, Mr Glenn Truran Visit https://youtu.be/H7RkvhDjlTcPOPIA Code of Conduct for Research by Ms Eleni Flack-Davison & Closing https://youtu.be/OgoajcOixT
Future careers: developing skills for the job market and job creation
Full text linkMP4 Video: Duration: 01:20min.; Size: 752MBPlease cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Future careers: developing skills for the job market and job creation. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/219Presentation by Prof Maximus Sefotho on 12 November 2021.
Klaus Schwab, the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) was the first to introduce the phrase Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to a team of scientists developing a high-tech strategy for a German government in 2015. In 2016 the WEF annual meeting theme was “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, in Davos, Switzerland. The 4IR has seen the developments in artificial intelligence, genetics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, biotechnology and smart systems, to name but a few that are amplifying and supporting each other. This has lay a very strong foundation for a more comprehensive and all-inclusive revolution than ever imagined. The introduction of smart- homes, farms, grids, and cities make service delivery to be easier, faster, and efficient even in dealing with problems beguiling the system. It allows people to share the economy and monetize everything. While there are positive gains, there are negatives as well. The patterns of production, consumption and employment created by the 4IR pose major challenges that require adaptation and adoption of new ways of doing things. The 4IR brings with it broader socio-economic, demographic, and geopolitical drivers of change whose intersectionalities influence and intensify each other. There is a need for industry adjustment and personal skills development to prepare for the opportunities availed by this change and to avoid career dislocation. Career-guidance is one of the important bridges between the labour-market and the educational sphere. This webinar begins a conversation about career development in general and how young people can be guided and supported to make decisions that are tune with the needs of the 4IR. It begins a conversation what young people need to consider as they prepare for the 4IR and the contribution they are mostly going to make if they prepare well in advance
Pandemic ethics: how have we fared?
Full text linkMP4 Video; Size: 528MB; Duration: 55:52Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Pandemic ethics: how have we fared?. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/224Webinar hosted on 4 May 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised profound ethical, legal and social issues set against a backdrop of global health and socio-economic inequities. The ethical issues have ranged from restrictions on personal liberties in the public interest to distributive justice in access to limited resources like ventilators and critical care beds. Many of these ethical debates have been advanced with COVID-19 vaccines - inequitable access, vaccine diplomacy and vaccine nationalism. History will judge us for how we have responded - solidarity and social justice or "catastrophic moral failure"
Dual-Use Research of Concern
Full text linkMP4 Video; Size: 867MB; Duration: 01:38:06Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Dual-Use Research of Concern. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/227Dual-Use Research of Concern (DURC) describes research (typically in the life sciences) that is intended to produce answers to legitimate research questions but may be misapplied with nefarious purposes. DURC is defined by the National Institutes of Health as follows: “DURC is life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technologies that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the environment, materiel, or national security”. The misuse of research findings, either intentionally or not, is a long-standing concern of science, but governance of the subject has been lagging. In the United States, several policies and legislation governs DURC nationally, and internationally to those that may be receiving research funding or attempting to publish research findings in US-based scientific journals. Currently, there is no policy or legislation in South Africa governing DURC (directly),other than the Acts and Regulations addressing non-proliferation. This webinar is a scientific engagement to share knowledge and experiences with DURC internationally and nationally
ASSAf Copyright Amendment Bill Workshop, 29 June 2021
No full textMP4 video; Size: 1.16GB; Duration: 2:02Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). ASSAf Copyright Amendment Bill Workshop, 29 June 2021. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/196The genesis of the Copyright Amendment Bill was in 2009, when the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) initiated various studies and impact assessments. In July 2015, the DTI published a Draft Copyright Amendment Bill for public comment. The final 2017 version of the Bill was approved by Parliament in 2019 and it was sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for action in terms of Section 79(1) of the Constitution. Section 79(1) states that “The President must either assent to and sign a Bill passed in terms of this Chapter or, if the President has reservations about the constitutionality of the Bill, refer it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration”. The President referred the Bill back to Parliament for review on 16 June 2020, on constitutionality issues. In response to the President’s reservations, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry has invited stakeholders and other interested parties to submit written submissions on certain sections of the Bill by no later than 9 July 2021.
The current copyright law is outdated and does not address the digital environment. The Academy of Science of South Africa seeks to take into account the status of the copyright legislation and the anticipated effects of the amendment Bill on different issues and thereafter, provide recommendations to the President. This webinar workshop was hosted on 29 June 2021. Access the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/embed/LBhJfAKPTN0.Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf
Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Mathematics and Science
Full text link98 pagesAcademy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Mathematics and Science. [Online] Available at: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2021/0075The peer review report entitled Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Mathematics and Science is the 12th in a series of discipline-grouped evaluations of South African scholarly journals. This is part of a scholarly assurance process initiated by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The process is centered on multi-perspective, discipline-based evaluation panels appointed by the Academy Council on the recommendation of the Academy’s Committee on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa (CSPiSA). This detailed report presents the peer review panel’s consolidated consensus reports on each journal and provides the panel’s recommendations in respect of DHET accreditation, inclusion on the SciELO SA platform and suggestions for improvement in general. The main purpose of the ASSAf review process for journals is to improve the scholarly publication in the country that is consonant with traditional scholarly practices.Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)(South Africa
The role of language in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
No full textMP4 Video; Size: 318MB; Duration: 1:08:22Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). The role of language in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/218Webinar hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) on 4 November 2021. Presented by Dr Rethabile Mawela, Rhodes University, South Africa.
The 4IR as a concept can only be meaningful if articulated in a language that is familiar to the reader. The concept 4IR, for instance suggests that there were three other revolutions before it, and that each ended when the next one began. Language lands itself at the centre of both the articulation and analyses of these revolutions and what they mean to society. The 4IR has seen the developments in artificial intelligence, genetics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, biotechnology and smart systems, to name but a few that are amplifying and supporting each other. This has lay a very strong foundation for a more comprehensive and all-inclusive revolution than ever imagined. The introduction of smart- homes, farms, grids, and cities make service delivery to be easier, faster, and efficient even in dealing with problems beguiling the system. It allows people to share the economy and monetize everything. While there are positive gains, there are negatives as well. The patterns of production, consumption and employment created by the 4IR pose major challenges that require adaptation and adoption of new ways of doing things. The 4IR brings with it broader socio-economic, demographic, and geopolitical drivers of change whose intersectionalities influence and intensify each other. There is a need for industry adjustment and personal skills development to prepare for the opportunities availed by this change and to avoid career dislocation.
To fully participate in the 4IR, individuals need to access information in a language they feel comfortable with and competent in to engage and understand. In this webinar we will initiate a conversation of language as an enabler and a positive supporter of 4IR through deep understanding of text that supports the creation of meaning and personalisation of information for meaningful involvement. The opposite is also true - technology and innovation can be used to understand and master language. This webinar explores the extent to which language is a boon or bain to the 4IR
Why environmental management must become the new normal (4/4)
Full text linkMP4 Video; Duration: 1:35:42Please cite as: Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), (2021). Why environmental management must become the new normal (4/4). [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/215SAGE hosted a webinar series in partnership with ASSAf, SAYAS and INR on “Why environmental management must become the new normal”. The series aimed at raising awareness on the importance of emergency risk mitigation in the context of environmental management. The series sought to answer the following questions: 1. How can we prevent future pandemics and human-driven environmental emergencies? 2. How should we manage the environment in a more pro-active and integrated fashion? The fourth webinar focused on the following topics: 1. Harnessing urban systems for planetary health equity. 2. A holistic approach to pandemic preparedness.SAGE is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Newton Fund, South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), and Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ)
Webinar Two of a Three-part Series: How to Fund Interventions to Reduce Poverty in South Africa?
Full text linkMP4 video, Size: 1.83GB; Duration: 2:32The ASSAf Standing Committee on the Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality (SCSfRPI) has been mandated by the ASSAf Council to focus on poverty and inequality in respect to the pandemic, and to consult interdisciplinary science in the consideration of how to reduce poverty and inequality. In response, the SCSfRPI conceptualised a webinar series that will delve into the following themes:1. What to do to reduce poverty and inequality?
2. How to fund interventions to reduce poverty?
3. What must be done if the state is to be capable of poverty and inequality reduction?The notion of evidence-based advice received great attention in 2020 as the pandemic spread across the globe, and scientists and decision-makers alike grappled with information and uncertainties in equal amounts. Therefore, the intention of this webinar series is to present on the research findings, options and the debates associated with the webinar theme, with a focus on how to bridge knowledge/praxis gaps. Emphasis will be placed on ways in which scientific endeavour concerning poverty and inequality reduction, largely generated from the social sciences and the humanities, can assist all spheres of government as well as society as a whole.South African society continues to battle with the large injustice of poverty and inequality. For many years we failed to actively fund critical poverty alleviation programmes. The poverty and inequality problem has therefore increased as more and more people lost their jobs as the economy stalled due to the lack of investment and confidence in the leadership. At the same time COVID-19 provided a further blow to an already damaged economy. The pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities that was already prevalent, including access to services such as water, healthcare and food. We now need to urgently find ways to fund potential interventions.The question remains, however, how do we fund these key interventions with government debt already at almost 90% of GDP and large budget deficit. What are South Africa’s fiscal constraints and can we afford to increase the national debt to pay for this. What are the funding options?• A wealth tax
• Consumption taxes on high value items such as luxury cars
• Increase in sin taxes
• Increase the deficit
• Cooperation with civil society and the private sectorAcademy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and Bureau for Economic Research (BER
