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Assessment of Idiosyncratic Income Shocks and Food Insecurity during the COVID‑19 Pandemic in Mozambique: An Endogenous Ordered Probit Model
Full text linkJournal Article, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science, North-West University-- Mahikeng CampusCOVID-19 was a pandemic that exposed households worldwide to various idiosyncratic shocks, significantly affecting the Mozambican economy through widespread job and income losses, with far-reaching impacts on economic growth. This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the effects of idiosyncratic income shocks on food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mozambique. Data for the study were collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from a total of 3,975 households across two non-longitudinal waves. Descriptive statistics and an endogenous ordered probit regression were used for the analysis. The results showed that 51.92% of respondents experienced at least one type of idiosyncratic shock, while 33.83% of households did not engage in any form of farming. The probability of exposure to income shocks was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the provinces of Inhambane, Manica, Maputo and Niassa, while household incomes were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in Gaza, Inhambane, Maputo, Sofala and Zambezia. Food insecurity was significantly reduced only in Gaza, Inhambane, Tete and Zambezia provinces. Exposure to income shock significantly increased food insecurity, whereas higher household incomes reduced it. Notably, access to social assistance was found to have no significant impact on food insecurity, while engagement in crop and livestock farming reduced food insecurity but heightened exposure to idiosyncratic shocks. It is recommended that future initiatives prioritise enhancing household incomes through job creation and human capital development. Additionally, mitigating income shocks requires a focus on revamping existing social assistance programmes, with a nuanced understanding of the distinct vulnerabilities across provinces
Dataset for Siswati: Parallel textual data for English and Siswati and monolingual textual data for Siswati
Full text linkJournal Article, Faculty of Humanities, Unit for Languages and Literature In The SA Context-- Potchefstroom CampusThis data article presents a dataset for Siswati, a Bantu lan- guage of the Nguni group that is one of the eleven official South African languages and the official language of Eswa- tini (together with English). The dataset contains parallel tex- tual data between English and Siswati as well as monolingual data for Siswati and was developed for use as training data for machine translation systems, specifically the Autshumato machine translation project. Both corpora can also be used for development and evaluation of Natural Language Process- ing (NLP) core technologies for Siswati. In addition, the data lends itself for corpus linguistic studies. The article describes how the data was collected, what type of texts it contains and what clean-up was done. It also provides an overview of the number of words contained in the datasets.Acknowledgments
This research was made possible with the support from the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR). SADiLaR is a research infrastructure established by the Depart- ment of Science and Innovation (DSI) of the South African government as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR)
Coping with COVID-19 using traditional medicine: perspectives from Joe Morolong, Northern Cape
Full text linkJournal Article, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science, Potchefstroom CampusBackground: Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) have long been central to African communities, providing critical solutions to health and disaster challenges. Traditional medicine, a significant component of IKS, continues to play a vital role in addressing health needs, especially in rural areas.
Aim: This study sought to gain insights on the use of traditional medicine to address the COVID-19 pandemic in five rural villages in the Joe Morolong Local Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa.
Setting: The study was conducted in Joe Morolong Local Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa.
Methods: By adopting a qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach, the study investigated participants’ lived experiences. Focus group discussions were conducted with 100 participants, conveniently sampled based on availability. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, uncovering key themes and patterns.
Results: Findings revealed that most participants and their households relied on traditional medicine to treat COVID-19 symptoms. This study identified seven key medicinal plants commonly used in the community and their detailed preparation and administration methods. The findings demonstrate the essential role of traditional medicine in fostering community resilience during the pandemic, complementing conventional healthcare services.
Conclusion: This study underscores the potential of IKS, particularly traditional medicine, in addressing biological hazards such as COVID-19.
Contribution: The study highlights the importance of integrating traditional practices into disaster risk reduction strategies to enhance health and resilience in vulnerable communities
Astrospheric evolution and cosmic-ray particle transport
Full text linkDoctor of Philosophy Science with Physics, North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusThe modulation of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) in astrospheres requires knowledge of large and small scale structures and plasma parameters. These are known for the heliosphere from different spacecraft observations, but observations of all the required parameters are not generally possible or available for astrospheres. Therefore, knowledge of heliospheric conditions needs to be applied. This study presents the use of magneto-hydrodynamic models to calculate some of the plasma parameters that are needed as input for a cosmic ray modulation model. For Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) type stars, periodic variation in their stellar outflow parameters are found to have no influence on their shock structure. However, an eruptive event is able to increase the size of their astrospheres by pushing the astropause or bow shock further out. A one-dimensional stochastic differential equation (SDE) transport model is used to calculate intensities in an astrosphere of a LBV-type star and Proxima Centauri. The calculated intensities in a LBV-type star are higher than observed within the heliosphere, while intensities in Proxima Centauri are higher than reported by other studies; however, the influence of the eruptive event on GCR intensities highlighted the limitations implicit in 1D transport modelling by overestimating diffusive shock acceleration which may be reduced by 3D effects such as drifts. A three-dimensional SDEtransport model is therefore used to calculate intensities at exoplanet locations within the selected astrospheres of Proxima Centauri, Trappist-1, LHS 1140 and GJ 436. The investigation of GCR intensities pointed out the importance of the stellar rotation period and winding angle of the astrospheric magnetic field for the modulation of GCRs. For Proxima Centauri this led to counter-intuitive results based on what is known for the
heliosphere, and further emphasises the need for three-dimensional models to be used to model the transport of these particles.Doctora
Exploring risk and resilience among expectant school-going learners in the Tshwane District
Full text linkMaster of Education in Special Needs, North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusThe phenomenon of teenage pregnancy is growing worldwide, causing a lot of concern among parents, teachers and authorities in education. In South Africa, pregnant learners are allowed to continue to attend school until they give birth. However, it is not yet known how these children cope with pregnancies and school contemporaneously. Often, schools are not ready to support learners who fall pregnant. Many of them drop out of school and never return. Some of them fall pregnant again while they are out of school. The resilience of learners who are with child in schools has been less explored especially in South Africa. There is much speculation as to what puts these learners at risk of pregnancy. There are no known campaigns and programs to enhance adaptive coping in learners with child in schools in South Africa. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the resilience of expectant school-going teenagers with a view to develop guidelines for resilience-focused interventions to support them. The study was designed as a multiple case studies research, involving 31 expectant learners in schools in Tshwane. There is a call for children to be studied directly, using participatory, child-friendly methodologies. The researcher in this study headed this call. Data were generated through the draw-and-write technique and processed through inductive content analysis. Generally, the findings show that learners with child in secondary schools in Tshwane, experienced personal and socioecological resilience risks. These learners coped resiliently through a complex combination of personal and socioecological resilience resources. The findings provide caveats to parents, teachers, researchers, and mental healthcare practitioners to be woke to these risks and resilience resources. In planning resilience-focused interventions, these resilience processes should be considered. Collaboration is strongly encouraged. The findings surely inform primary and secondary intervention programmes for teenage girls.Master
Swirl-induced hysteresis in a sudden expansion flow
Full text linkJournal Article, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Material Science Innovation and Modelling (MaSIM)-- Mahikeng CampusSwirling sudden expansion flows are complex flow fields containing several coherent structures that depend on the swirl number and can exhibit hysteresis behavior between increasing and subsequently decreasing swirl levels. While these flows have extensively been studied in simple geometries, results involving special designednozzles are scarce. Therefore, this paper aims to provide insights into a more complex geometry, specifically a two-step conical expansion with a converging outlet. Experimental data is acquired for changing swirl numbers at a Reynolds number in the range of 35, 000. Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (S-PIV) is employed to characterize downstream flow structures, while Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) is used to characterize upstream structures and to determine the inlet swirl number. Several distinct flow patterns are found as a function of the swirl number and the identified flow patterns include, in order of increasing swirl, a Closed Jet Flow (CJF), an Open Jet Flow (OJF), and a Coandã Jet Flow (CoJF). A central positive axial velocity is noted for both OJF and CoJF downstream of the expansion due to the converging outlet geometry. At higher swirl numbers, Vortex Breakdown (VB) moves upstream into the nozzle until a negative axial velocity is noted in the inlet tube. For these higher swirl numbers, no hysteresis is observed in the inlet tube between increasing and subsequently decreasing swirl. However, downstream of the nozzle, it is observed that the CoJF detaches at a lower swirl number than the swirl number required for attachment, indicating a hysteresis effect between in- and decreasing swirl.FUNDING
This work was supported by ’Dienst onderzoekscoördinatie (DOC) KU Leuven’ [grant number C3/19/015]
Health justice for the global South during a global health crisis: Intellectual property, human rights, and a global health treaty
Full text linkMaster of Laws in Perspective on Laws, North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusIntellectual property rights (IPRs) refer to legal protections afforded to producers and creators for their intellectual creations and consists of a variety of exclusive rights such as trademarks, trade secrets, copyright, and patents. There are constant interactions between human rights and IPRs, and the fundamental principle at play is balancing these private, exclusivity rights with the public’s interest in both the production and dissemination of information and technology.
It is argued that IPRs have the potential to diminish the rights to health and society’s right to benefit from scientific advancements. It further restricts the free flow of knowledge and ideas, thus stifling further innovation. Counterarguments include that IPRs provide economic incentive for individuals (including juridic persons) to continuously contribute to the betterment of society through innovation. A state’s ability to ensure access to affordable medicines and to promote further medical research and innovation, as required by the rights to life, health, and science, can be negatively impacted by IPRs. The current COVID-19 pandemic serves as a good example of the free flow of knowledge and technology from the global North to the global South having been unacceptably slow and disproportionate, with vaccine and treatment shortages having driven many economies to the ground. Intellectual property (IP) today is regulated by The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, 1994 (TRIPS). TRIPS is an international agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization. It attempts to establish the minimum standards for IP regulation. But the reality of matter is that big private pharmaceutical companies dominate the market and are currently excluding poor and developing nations from accessing essential medical technologies and medicines by setting high monopoly prices for the use of their inventions. IP and public health care have been interlinked since the dawn of the IP era. This study will revisit the age-old concern of whether TRIPS could facilitate public health emergencies and more specifically the public health of developing nations. TRIPS does have certain instruments at its disposal when IPRs interfere with effective action during a public health crisis, often referred to as the TRIPS flexibilities. TRIPS flexibilities are virtually unused by countries of the global South. It would seem that they are ineffective for these countries and better suited for countries of the global North during public health emergencies. The TRIPS flexibilities, at the time of their adoption, were helpful to promote access to medicines in a time where supply chains where fairly simple and where patent barriers were the only barriers in place. But since the emergence of free trade agreements, incorporating TRIPS-Plus provisions, have overridden the use of most TRIPS flexibilities and left developing nations vulnerable while protecting the interests of developed countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa and India introduced the proposal of a COVID-19 IP-related waiver. A COVID-19 IP-related waiver would suggest that all IP protections should be temporarily waived until the pandemic is under control. This proposal was received with mixed feelings. It was felt by rich countries that this would lead to diminished incentivisation to continuously improve the vaccine portfolio, and that, even if all countries did have the freedom to produce vaccines themselves, they would lack the know-how and facilities to produce quality vaccines. But various countries of the global South do possess basic infrastructure and resources that, with some assistance from overseas, can develop their potential to replicate and even develop own vaccines. The real issue that this study attempts to address is whether a few pharmaceutical corporations in the global North should retain complete control over whether and where production occurs, and thus control supply, price, and distribution globally. The waiver proposal was eventually watered down and currently does not address the dire need to close the vaccine gap between the global North and South, which will be critically analysed. COVID-19 is not the first, nor is it the last global pandemic we will encounter. Consequently, a global solution to the COVID-19 pandemic and any other comparable future health crisis would have to establish a balance between patents on vaccines and medicines and access to these. This study asserts that a global health treaty could be the starting point to address the disparities during a global health emergency and should attempt to achieve global health justice by closing the vast gaps in global health equity between the North and South through ensuring fairer distribution of health and scientific benefits. A new health treaty that attempts to provide global access to medical countermeasures must consider the current international law limitations and the vastly different economic realities of all parties to the treaty. A pandemic treaty should promote technology transfer, require knowledge and IP sharing, and create greater transparency. Apart from a liberal use of compulsory licences, parallel imports, and competition law measures, the waiver of IP monopolies on technologies and medicines relevant to the pandemic would be the heart of the treaty-North-West University (Faculty of Law
Insights on the prevalence of phyllo-epiphytic and endophytic pathogens on leafy vegetables from farms and retails in South Africa: A review
Full text linkArticle, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management)-- Northwest University, Potchefstroom CampusLeafy vegetables are a highly variable group of perishable food that broadly can be defined as vegetables grown for their edible leaves. This study was conducted to investigate the safety of commodities grown at farms and those sold in various retails globally, cascading to South Africa, and to determine the identification and characterization of the microbiota. Therefore, the authors conducted a desktop and literature review using popular trusted search engines with special keywords. For this study, the authors-maintained research material from 2010-2024, constituting research articles, reviews, book chapters, thesis, research short communications, and industrial short communications. From this study, it could be deduced that leafy green commodities differ from intact vegetables with regard to their physiology, handling, processing, and storage. In addition, various agronomic activities were identified as contributing to the contamination of leafy greens at various stages of minimal processing, including distribution. More studies have shown that various types of microorganisms are found in leafy vegetables purchased at small-scale farms and retail stores. Concerning that, characterise those that are pathogenic to human health and those that are beneficial and how to treat through antibiotics the diseases caused by those that are pathogenic to our health. Furthermore, the findings of this study revealed that some opportunistic pathogen communities in fresh leafy vegetables are diverse and can pose a health risk to consumers, leading to death. Finally, food safety and security remain a global challenge, and stunting continues to affect the majority of developing countries. Thus, future studies should focus on improving food safety management systems reducing food poisoning, recall incidents and outbreaks by controlling critical points and food security in primary horticulture production environments even at retail and determining which antimicrobials will inhibit the growth of specific bacteria causing a certain infection
Energy recovery maximisation modelling subject to constrained cooling
Full text linkJournal Article, Faculty of Engineering, Unit for Energy and Technology Systems-- Potchefstroom CampusThe primary heat rejection cycle, which is critical for the stability and integrity of the metal production process and equipment, involves the transfer of heat from flue gas to a fluid circulated through a gas-cooler. The rate of heat transfer from the flue gas is influenced by several parameters, including the temperature of the cooling fluid. Heat transfer rates that are too high or too low can negatively impact equipment’s life, emphasising the need for a temperature operational envelope in the cooling fluid prior to entering the gas-cooler. Rejected heat is used for power generation, transferred to the environment, or both. This study examines the impact of control philosophies on both temperature and power generation, while maintaining the exit temperature within the desired range as the highest priority. A more advanced philosophy that combines bypass control with feedforward parameters can maintain temperatures within safe operating limits at all times, while improving the power generation, compared to a typical works approach which is used as a baseline. This study presents a formulation that increased power generation from an average of 6.11 MW for a typical works philosophy to 10.68 MW, while maintaining the temperature within the operating temperature envelope.Author Contributions
Conceptualisation, J.P.B., M.V.E. and P.v.Z.V.; Formal analysis, J.P.B. and P.v.Z.V.; Investigation, J.P.B., M.V.E. and P.v.Z.V.; Methodology, J.P.B., M.V.E. and P.v.Z.V.; Validation, J.P.B. and P.v.Z.V.; Visualisation, J.P.B. and P.v.Z.V.; Writing—original draft, J.P.B.; Writing—review and editing, M.V.E. and P.v.Z.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript
Cultural Integrations for Organisational Performance: Synthesising Western Liberal, Sinocentric and Ubuntu perspectives in South African Career Management Services
Full text linkArticle, Faculty of Humanities (Afrocentric Governance of Public Affairs (AGoPA)--Northwest University, Vanderbijlpark CampusSouth African public organisations intrinsically integrate diverse cultural perspectives by embracing and promoting developmental state ideals, democratic principles of equality and fairness, and communitarianism in their governance frameworks. This embrace reveals the interplay of Western Liberal principles, Sino-centric values, and Ubuntu cultural perspectives in influencing organisational performance. This paper thus explored these dynamics by examining how conflicting and integrating perspectives affect and enhance career management practices for organisational performance. Key cultural themes, including individual autonomy, hierarchy, collaboration, societal order, and communitarianism, were reviewed at the North West Province Departments of Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs, and Human Settlements through mixed methods research. Findings revealed cultural conflicts culminating in unfairness in career management practices and a lack of collaborative efforts by role players involved. These findings underscored the necessity of weakening and integrating strong ontologies through panentheism to enhance economic and employee development, societal order, hierarchy, and communal well-being through structured governance, pluralist choice, collective fingers and societal order frameworks. This research offers practical implications for improving organisational performance in African multicultural contexts, which are valuable for career management and public administration professionals