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Financial inclusion in emerging economies: The application of Machine learning and artificial Intelligence in Credit Risk assessment
Get PDFAbstract: In banking and finance, credit risk is among the important topics because the process of issuing a loan requires a lot of attention to assessing the possibilities of getting the loaned money back. At the same time in emerging markets, the underbanked individuals cannot access traditional forms of collateral or identification that is required by financial institutions for them to be granted loans. Using the literature review approach through documentary and conceptual analysis to investigate the impact of machine learning and artificial intelligence in credit risk assessment, this study discovered that artificial intelligence and machine learning have a strong impact on credit risk assessments using alternative data sources such as public data to deal with the problems of information asymmetry, adverse selection, and moral hazard. This allows lenders to do serious credit risk analysis, to assess the behaviour of the customer, and subsequently to verify the ability of the clients to repay the loans, permitting less privileged people to access credit. Therefore, this study recommends that financial institutions such as banks and credit lending institutions invest more in artificial intelligence and machine learning to ensure that financially excluded households can obtain credit
Considerations for the establishment of sub-national parliamentary budget offices in South Africa
No full textAbstract: The fiscal scrutiny obligations of legislatures apply to both national and subnational contexts. Fiscal scrutiny, as a form of oversight, emanates from The Magna Carta, but remains a challenge for legislators. Public accounts committees, budget committees, and supreme audit institutions are common tools and information sources that legislators have come to rely on for their fiscal analysis. A comparatively new addition to this suite of practices and offices is the Independent Fiscal Institution (IFI). Sub-national IFIs have mandates similar to those of national offices, although their range tends to be scaled to that of their jurisdictions. Both national and sub-national IFIs share the common function of enhancing fiscal scrutiny and the decision-making environment of fiscal and economic matters. As sub-national IFIs are contemplated by jurisdictions, the article investigates how these offices should be designed and evaluated, whether the standards of practice and evaluation frameworks designed for national IFIs are suitable for sub-national ones, and to determine whether existing national offices’ experiences can inform sub-national counterparts. This article seeks to contribute to the existing literature on IFIs in terms of extending the analysis to the design of sub-national offices. Sub-national parliamentary budget offices should be underpinned by the same principles of independence, resources, operations, and trust building demonstrated by peer institutions. The methodology entails a desktop approach in terms of a literature and documentary analysis. The findings suggest that the frameworks and guiding principles, originally developed for national offices, are scalable and applicable to sub-national offices. Recognising and legislating for the appropriate mandate, resources, and the independence of an institution are crucial elements for its long-term success
Local buckling requirements of carbon cold-formed circular hollow steel sections of mild-to-high strength steel
Get PDFAbstract : This paper assess the current local buckling requirements of carbon cold-formed steel hollow sections under axial compression, using data from literature. A total of 39 circular hollow steel sections (CHSSs) are analysed, and these include 19 columns of mild steel and 20 columns of high strength steel. Variables in the study includes the length, diameter, thickness and material properties. The outside diameter-to-thickness ratio (d/t) for CHSSs of mild steel ranged from 48.72 to 249.23, while the outside diameter-to-thickness ratio (d/t) for CHSSs of high strength steel ranged from 16.15 to 46.84. The corresponding yield stress for mild steel ranged from 203.80 MPa to 622.80 MPa, while that of high strength steel ranged from 1341.00 MPa to 1405.00 MPa. A comparison with CAN/CSA-S16-09 and EN 1993-1-1, shows the limits of both standards to be too conservative. New slenderness limits are proposed to improve the design of these sections
Deep-colonising narratives and emotional labour : indigenous tourism in a deeply-colonised place
Get PDFAbstract: Sydney is an Indigenous place – Indigenous Country – infused with Indigenous stories and lore/ Law. Yet as the original site of British colonisation in 1788, Sydney today is also a deeply-colonised place. Long-held narratives of Sydney as a colonial city have worked hard to erasure Indigenous peoples’ presences and to silence Indigenous stories of this place (Rey and Harrison, 2018). In recent years, however, Indigenous-led tours on Country are emerging in the Greater Sydney region, whereby Indigenous guides share with visitors stories of place, history, culture, language and connection. We write together as Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, in conversation with four Indigenous tour operators in the Greater Sydney region to reflect on their experiences of conducting Indigenous tours in this Indigenous-yet-deeply-colonised place. We document the kinds of ‘deep-colonising’ (Rose, 1996) narratives and assumptions the operators encounter during their tours and within the tourism industry, and highlight how Indigenous tour operators facilitate many non-Indigenous peoples in taking their first steps towards meaningful interactions with Indigenous Sydney-siders. We conclude that Indigenous tour operators undertake incredibly complex, confronting and challenging emotional labours trying to change the pervasive and deepcolonising narratives and assumptions about Indigenous peoples in the Greater Sydney region. In a world where the histories of thousands of cities ‘lie in dispossession and genocide of Indigenous peoples’ (Porter, 2020: 15), we argue for further and careful analytical attention on Indigenous tourism encounters in Indigenous – yet deeply-colonised – places
Backdrop of research and innovation in South Africa: implications for fourth industrial revolution
Get PDFAbstract: This study explores the opportunities for South Africa to promote economic activities in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. Hence, the study examined science, technology & innovation (STI) as the main driver of the fourth industrial revolution. Meta-analysis was conducted to elicit information from key government policy documents on STI since 1994 to check the political will of South Africa's government. Grey literature from government departments were also reviewed to examine the strength of South Africa’s Research and Innovation System. Based on the assessment of data and information gathered, the study concludes that though strong institutions characterize South Africa's research and innovation system, but the relatively low intensity of linkages and interaction among the key actors of the innovation system continues to pose a threat to South Africa taking a leadership position to significantly contribute to the fourth industrial revolution. However, strong coordination among South Africa’s financial, human, natural, physical, and institutional resources will situate the country in a position to develop the necessary capabilities for the fourth industrial revolutio
Innovative initiatives usage to improve efficiency in the City of Johannesburg Public Transportation
Get PDFAbstract: Past spatial planning practices have left developing cities such as the City of Johannesburg with sprawling low-density areas of settlement, lacking viable public transport systems. The majority of marginalized citizens in South Africa are still living on the fringes of the cities, commuting daily, often at considerable cost, long distances to access work and economic opportunities. As such, it is very critical in developing cities to trace the existing spatial patterns, economic distribution, and the envisaged mobility innovations. Thus, the aim of the paper is to explore innovative initiatives to meet the envisioned mobility network through the Spatial Development Framework, 2040 and proposed corridors of Freedoms as mobility spines from a high-level perspective within the City of Johannesburg. A mixed-method approach was used which consisted of an exploratory research design that involves an empirical enquiry using spatial and qualitative methods of data. The results reveal that the City of Johannesburg has identified key public transport corridors, consolidating growth and development opportunities around existing and future public transport nodes. The location and concentration of jobs opportunities does not match that of where people live. This job-housing mismatch significantly contributes to inequality in the city as for many residents’ access to economic opportunities is stifled by costly and distant commuting. There are also two major spatial discontinuities in the city structure that are barriers to opportunity. In interpreting the current city structure morphology, the city displays a unique structure of inverted polycentricity, inherited largely form its complex history. In conclusion, the envisioned mobility networks of the city have the potential to link citizens to mixed-use development nodes with high density accommodation supported by office buildings, retail development and opportunities for education and recreation. This will give rise to a people-centred city, where communities’ needs, their safety, comfort, and economic well-being are placed at the core of planning and delivery processes
Engaging the ‘missing men’ in the hiv treatment cascade: Creating a tailored intervention to improve men’s uptake of hiv care services in rural south africa: A study protocol
Get PDFAbstract: Men, especially young men, have been consistently missing from the HIV care cascade, leading to poor health outcomes in men and ongoing transmission of HIV in young women in South Africa. Although these men may not be missing for the same reasons across the cascade and may need different interventions, early work has shown similar trends in men’s low uptake of HIV care services and suggested that the social costs of testing and accessing care are extremely high for men, particularly in South Africa. Interventions and data collection have hitherto, by and large, focused on men in relation to HIV prevention in women and have not approached the problem through the male lens. Using the participatory method, the overall aim of this study is to improve health outcomes in men and women through formative work to co-create male-specific interventions in an HIV-hyper endemic setting in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
In memory of Edward Diener : reflections on his career, contributions and the science of happiness
Get PDFAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract
A Spatial Analysis of Property Crime Rates in South Africa
Get PDFAbstract The main objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between two types of property-related crime and some socio-economic, demographic and deterrence factors. It employs the conditional autoregressive specification to account for spatial autocorrelation that characterises property-related crime data, which are aggregated up to the level of municipality. First, the analysis confirms the presence of spatial autocorrelation in the data, which means that neighbouring municipalities exhibit similar levels of property crime rates. In addition, and most importantly, empirical findings show that internal migration, youth and education are important predictors of property-related crime across municipalities in South Africa for the period under consideration
Work Integrated Learning online enrichment intervention programme for student-teachers
Get PDFAbstract: The study is based on research conducted on work-integrated learning (WIL), also known as teaching practice during the online enrichment and intervention programme for final-year student teachers at a tertiary institution in Johannesburg. This programme was conducted from 2016 and modified in 2020 to enhance and improve the History methodology student teachers‟ Pedagogic Knowledge and Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCK), during the Corona virus pandemic using different online tools. Former students of the institution who are now teachers, school learners and a psychologist participated in the process of enhancing the student-teachers‟ WIL. The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of the online enrichment intervention programme in providing History student teachers with necessary teaching skills and to ensure readiness for WIL during the Covid -19 period. The main research question was: “To what extent can the online enrichment intervention programmes for student-teachers improve and enhance teaching practice before and during WIL in the context of covid-19?” Qualitative research methods of observation, interviews and document analysis were used with a sample of 90 Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and 4th year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students. The findings indicated that the online enrichment intervention programme improved student-teachers‟ confidence, emotional readiness before and during WIL and the unfavourable circumstances in their classrooms. Student-teachers reported better understanding of the need for proactive planning for any circumstance or situation. Despite the constraints imposed by the pandemic, they observed changes in their conceptualisation of teaching, improvement in their interaction with learners, in classroom management, in their ability to implement different teaching strategies, resources and assessment tasks
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