Academy of Science of South Africa
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Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in History, Philosophy and Politics
Get PDFCite:Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) (2020) ‘Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in History, Philosophy and Politics’ doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2021/0071The peer review report entitled Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in History, Philosophy and Politics is the eleventh 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
Humanities Book Award Ceremony 2021
No full textVideoProf Charles van Onselen was awarded the 2021 ASSAf Humanities Book Award for his book titled The Night Trains: Moving Mozambican Miners to and from South Africa, circa 1902-1955. For more than 50 years, privately operated trains travelled by night between Ressano Garcia, on the Mozambique border, and Booysens station, Johannesburg. Their ‘cargo’: human beings, Mozambican migrant workers in their thousands. The Night Trains examines the largely neglected social and political economy of these workers, bringing into focus the human suffering involved in the economic partnership between the mining houses and the railways. This was a partnership in which the brutal logic of industrial capitalism is fully exposed, working to maximise profit at the expense of the health, well-being and the very lives of its immigrant workers.
The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) awards this prize bi-annually to a scholarly publication that made a noteworthy contribution to developing a new understanding and insight of a topic in the Humanities, Social Sciences or the Performing Arts. This year ASSAf received 35 nominations with the publication dates limited to 2017, 2018 and 2019. Van Onselen is a Research Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria (UP). He holds a B.Sc. and University Education Diploma (UED) from Rhodes University, a B.A. Hons. (Wits), a D.Phil. from Oxford University and a D.Lit. (Honoris Causa) from Rhodes University.
Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf (you can add more than one here)Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf
Reimagining the national space sector
Get PDFMP4 Video; Size: 875MB; Duration: 01:16:09Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Reimagining the national space sector. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/232SANSA was launched by the Department of Science and Innovation with a mandate to: “...Provide for the promotion and use of space and cooperation in space-related activities, foster research in space science, advance scientific engineering through human capital and support the creation of an environment conducive to industrial development in space technologies within the framework of national government policy...” Significant strides have since been made by the Agency since its formative years some ten years ago. While these achievements are acknowledged and celebrated, much more work still lies ahead in terms of implementation of the new business model to enhance SANSA’s contribution to satellite development and testing, satellite navigation, human capital development and research and innovation amongst other key areas
Behind the scenes of peer review
Get PDFMP4 Video, Size: 1.05GB; Duration: 01:57:48Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Behind the scenes of peer review. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/209This webinar - presented on 22 September 2021 - gives insight into the peer review process from the perspective of various role players involved in the South African Journal of Science: Editor-in-Chief, Online Publishing Systems Administrator (Journal Manager), Associate Editor, Associate Editor Mentee, Reviewer
Launch of the Consensus Study Report on: The Root Causes of Low Vaccination Coverage and Under-Immunisation in Sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFMP4 Video; Size: 424MB; Duration: 1:30Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Launch of the Consensus Study Report on: The Root Causes of Low Vaccination Coverage and Under-Immunisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/205Despite the global availability of proven efficacious and cost-effective vaccines for the past several decades, vaccine-preventable diseases kill more than half a million children under five years of age every year In Africa –representing approximately 56% of global deaths (WHO, 2017). Sub–Saharan Africa (SSA) alone accounts for 40% of all global deaths, a phenomenon attributed to lack of access to available lifesaving vaccines (Wiysonge, Uthman, Ndumbe, & Hussey, 2012). WHO estimates that in 2019 the African region accounted for approximately 43% of unimmunised and incomplete immunised infants in the world (i.e.: 8.5 million of the global 19.4 million). Relatedly, the region scores the lowest immunisation coverage, at 76% versus the global coverage of 86% (WHO, 2020a). This is despite several documented efforts by different stakeholders to improve coverage in the region (Mihigo, Okeibunor, Anya, Mkanda, & Zawaira, 2017). Many studies have been conducted on coverage and drivers for and bottlenecks against immunisation in SSA. (Wiysonge, Uthman, Ndumbe, & Hussey, 2012), (Wiysonge, Young, Kredo, McCaul, & Volmik, 2015), (Mihigo, Okeibunor, Anya, Mkanda, & Zawaira, 2017), (Madhi & Rees, 2018) (Bangura, et al., 2020), all of which have observed that there is varied performance among the constituent countries, and also within countries over time, denoting some implicitly common underlying correlates threading through areas of higher performance; and the same is seen with the poorer performing areas.
This consensus study therefore seeks to categorise and make explicit these “root causes” and based on documented successes, to make recommendations to address the bottlenecks and harness the opportunities for reaching every child with all the recommended vaccines. The theory of change presentation style used in this report, categorising the root causes under four broad interlinked themes, can provide a common basis to rally like-minded partners around a thematic cause and thus develop multicomponent, comprehensive strategies to bring about impactful change. This is in line with the call made by the World Health Organisation Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation, which recommended that countries, regions and global immunisation partners commit to a comprehensive review of progress, impact, and implementation of the WHO Global Vaccine Action Plan to inform a post2020 strategy taking into account lessons learned. This strategy will assist with attaining the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)(South Africa); South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)(South Africa
Quest Volume 17 Number 3 2021
Get PDFCite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Quest: Science for South Africa, 17(3). [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/200MRI: Quest takes a closer look at magnetic resonance imaging - Boosting computer performance: Atsufumi Hirohata explains how spintronics allow more efficient data storage - Magnetism in accelerator-based science: Gillian Arendse reports on the relevance of magnetism at iThemba LABS - Tracking continents in deep time: Michiel de Kock reveals how the Earth’s magnetic field is recorded in rocks - Observing the Earth’s magnetic field: Pieter Kotzé discusses the role of SANSA’s geomagnetic observation network - Birds, brains and magnetic fields: Betony Adams and Francesco Petruccione share current theories of avian magnetoreception - Seeing below the ground: Francois Fourie tells us how magnetism is used to investigate the Earth’s subsurface - Maglev: Quest explores the use
of magnetic levitation in transportation systems - The innovation train: Mike Bruton pays tribute to South Africans who made train-related innovations - The IPCC’s latest assessment report: Francois Engelbrecht and Pedro Monteiro list climate change messages for southern Africa - Starting out on a STEM career: Quest explores two initiatives to develop skills in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics - The ancient African plant that captured Giorgio Armani’s attention - Animal home-building habits may provide clues to climate change adaptation - Essential facts about Covid-19 - Books - Puzzles - Subscription.Department of Science and Innovation; Academy of Science of South Afric
ASSAf POPIA Public Consultation Forum: Progress on the POPIA Code of Conduct for Research, 03 May 2021
No full textPOPIA Public Consultation Forum, 2021. Progress on the POPIA Code of Conduct for Research. [Online] Available at:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/186The Academy of Science of South Africa is facilitating the process to develop a Code of Conduct for Research under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), having hosted two stakeholder events that were attended by scientists and researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. We have set up a Steering Committee to oversee the process of developing a Code of Conduct for research, as well as a Drafting Committee who are drafting the document.
At this virtual consultation forum, presentations will be offered on the process of developing a Code of Conduct, as well as on thematic areas of interest, including consent, genomics research, information matching programmes and the use of social media data in research. Stakeholders will be given an opportunity to share insights and provide comment on the development of the Code of Conduct.Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf
Why environmental management must become the new normal (1/4)
Get PDFMP4 Video; Duration: 1:32:24Please cite as: Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), (2021). Why environmental management must become the new normal (1/4). [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/212SAGE 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 first webinar focused on the following topics: 1. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Ethics. 2. Managing and Measuring the health of Mangrove Forests in a changing world.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)