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A Structuralist Analysis of Income Distribution and its Influence on the Macroeconomy
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD in Economics , in the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025This study undertakes a comprehensive structuralist analysis of income distri- bution and its macroeconomic implications, framed through three distinct but interrelated essays. These three essays aim to generate novel, theoretical modelling contributions to macroeconomic literature, prior to testing these contributions empirically for 7 countries. The first essay investigates the role of income distribution in maximising real GDP and evaluating cycles in the labour share around some GDP-optimising value, proposing a novel, parsimonious single-equation model to estimate the GDP-optimal labour share without reliance on Cobb-Douglas production functions. Employing Nonlinear Least Squares (NLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) techniques, the essay demonstrates that the relation- ship between the labour share and output is non-linear and time-dependent, with substantial variations across the seven countries analysed. The second essay explores the dynamic interplay between output, household debt, and the labour share (using the abovementioned novel specification to identify labour share cycles suggested in the first essay) positing that deviations between the actual and GDP-maximising labour share influence both business and financial cycles. Generating a two-equation structuralist framework, the study finds (through employment of a Structural Vector Autoregression - SVAR - approach) that income distribution shocks have asymmetric effects on debt accumulation and output, with wage-led economies in the sample under analysis (Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) exhibiting larger increases in household debt volatility and accummulation, than profit-led economies. The final essay extends the structuralist model found in Flaschel and Krolzig (2003) to an open macroeconomy, integrating wage and price Phillips Curves, monetary policy, and exchange rate dynamics. Employing a large SVAR approach, prior to conducting a stability analysis and utilising a novel, income distribution-sensitive monetary policy rule, the study establishes that shifts in income distribution can exacerbate macroeconomic stability. The findings suggest that structuralist-informed monetary policy frameworks can serve as effective tools for stabilising economies exposed to income distribution shocks. The study concludes by highlighting the policy implications of the findings, advocating for income distribution-sensitive approaches to macroeconomic management.MM202
When Knowledge is Held Hostage Examining KnowledgeSharing Hostility in South African National Government Departments
No full textFactors Affecting Students’ Acceptance of Gamified Learning (SAGL)
No full textGamification is commonly used for improving student learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors that influence the acceptance of gamification in learning. The paper employs a meta-analysis approach to identify the factors that affect students’ acceptance of gamified learning. The benefit of meta-analysis is its ability to synthesize and utilize the results obtained from various primary research papers to discover the critical factors that influence the acceptance of game design elements in online courses. The PRISMA protocol was used to analyze the meta-analysis. While much research has been done on gamified learning, there is a lack of meta-analysis research on the acceptance of gamified learning elements. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that performance expectancy, student satisfaction, and social interaction are the critical factors influencing the acceptance of gamified learning. These results are beneficial because they not only focus on learning but also provide an opportunity for industry experts to be aware of the critical factors that influence the acceptance of gamified learning. This paper’s novelty lies in its analysis of statistical heterogeneity, effect size, and publication bias across research that employed various statistical techniques
Partial Data Offloading with Mobile Edge Computing to Address Joint Challenges in Latency and Energy Efficiency
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science, in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025This study focused on partial data offloading with mobile edge computing over a fifth-generation mobile network, using optimisation techniques to address joint latency and energy efficiency challenges, focusing on Internet of Things devices. Computational offloading was explored in this study to understand the factors that enable Internet of Things devices to offload complex computational tasks using edge computing. More research on computational offloading for fast data transfer to and from the cloud, specifically in the fifth-generation/telecommunications context, needs to be done. Limited research focuses on joint latency and energy efficiency optimisation to offload data to the cloud versus process data at the Internet of Things device. A literature review discovered various aspects of studying mobile edge computing and computational offloading was provided. A review of the literature identified several aspects of researching mobile edge computing and computational offloading. The edge computing technique used is mobile edge computing. A multi-objective optimisation problem incorporating computational offloading via latency and energy usage is utilised to solve the situation using the Lagrange function. The model is structured around minimising the energy for uplink transmission, local computation, and downlink transmission, which are the significant factors in energy and latency. The simulations are simulated on MATLAB and compared to existing research models, and conclusions are provided. This model encompassed the data transmitted as a function of the equation as a multi-objective optimisation problem focusing on latency and energy efficiency utilising overall energy usage, latency in edge execution, iii transmission/upload lag, queuing latency, download latency, and local processing duration. The solution is analysed and compared against leading papers in the field. The model demonstrates the efficient means of transmitting partial data from mobile edge computing to the cloud in the fifth generation of mobile networks using minimal latency and the highest energy efficiency, which yield similar results to papers compared whilst increasing accuracyMM202
Lerodalcibep and evolocumab for the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia with PCSK9 inhibition LIBerateHoFH a phase 3 randomised openlabel crossover noninferiority trial
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Bioinoculants in climatesmart agriculture Adaptation strategies for stress mitigation and crop productivity
No full textLipid NanoparticleEncapsulated TALENEncoding mRNA Inactivates Hepatitis B Virus Replication in Cultured Cells and Transgenic Mice
No full textAn Employer’s Liability in the Context of Sexual Harassment
No full textA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Laws, in the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management, School of law, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025The legal measures taken to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace, are all to ensure that there is employment equity and that the rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (‘the Constitution’), are upheld. This paper aims to determine the scope of employers' vicarious liability for acts of sexual harassment. To achieve this goal, the paper will be divided into two separate sections, the first will canvas the historical development of vicarious liability of employers in connection with cases of sexual harassment together with the applicable common law principles. This will be followed by an analysis of the employer's statutory vicarious liability particularly the changes that occurred between the Code of Good Practice on the Handling of Sexual Harassment Cases in Workplaces GEN N 1357 Gazette 27865 dated August 4, 2005 (‘the Old Code’) and 2022 the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace GN. R1890 Gazette 46056 dated March 18, 2022 (‘the New Code’). In this analysis, cases and hypotheticals will be used to illustrate the aspirations of the changes in the Codes together with the practical implications. The key findings of the research are that in reality the aspiration of the New Code will most likely not be achieved from a substantive aspect, as the scope of vicarious liability has not been extended beyond that which it was under the Old Code, because the fundamental principles of vicarious liability which are the cornerstones of the Employment Equity Act in section 60, make it practically impossible to hold an employer liable for acts of persons other than those governed under the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (‘EEA’). Regarding the procedural aspect, there appears to be far more onerous obligations placed upon the employer, which would increase liability for employers. In conclusion, the legislature had great intentions concerning the substantive scope, but it was not well executed and needs to go back to the drawing board and possibly develop ways to convert the New Code into binding legislation together with dealing with the treatment of misconduct and discrimination separately but whilst balancing the rights of both parties. Unfortunately, the New Code has failed to achieve the goals we had all hoped for.MM202
