70 research outputs found
Abezimu/Badimo (ancestors) and copyright law: from the Decolonial Turn to the pluriversal author
No full text"A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of Communism” is the sentence that opens Karl Marx's and Friedrich Engels' iconic text, The Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels set out what was to become the primary program of action for all communist parties in Europe. The Communist Manifesto's cardinal observation was that Communism was an epochal inevitability, and that it was the task of all revolutionaries to ensure that conditions are befitting for a Communist reality. Although in a completely different context, this thesis accepts that the spectre that is currently haunting Africa and the Global South is that of Decoloniality and Decolonisation. This thesis studiedly perceives the #MustFall moment as one that presented South Africa with a Decolonial Turn – this is an epochal inevitability that seeks to complete the incomplete task of decolonising society. To respond to the Decolonial Turn, this thesis methodologically employs decolonial theory, Black consciousness philosophy and Black Marxism to study the essence of copyright law's authorship from the perspective of people on the other side of Western modernity. The basic contention of this thesis, and its original contribution to the corpus of literature as regards authorship in copyright, is that the logical aftermath of the Decolonial Turn leads to a “pluriversal author” – this is a type of author that is reflective of the pluriversal epistemic and ontological patterns of a decolonised world. This is a world where many worlds exist. One of those worlds is inhabited by people whose epistemic traditions suggest that an author in copyright is inclusive of “Abezimu/Badimo”, that is the non-human author who is represented in an onto-triadic edifice of Being; the living, the dead and the yet-to-be-born. The thesis that is defended in this doctoral project is that Abezimu/Badimo are an author in copyright, and that this ought to be accepted, embraced, and reflected in prevailing copyright law legislative frameworks
Infrastructure and Economic Development in Africa: An Overview
No full textEvidence abounds to support the view that economy of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been growing in recent times, but there is considerable concern that the growth has not been accompanied by economic transformation. The lack of economic transformation is traceable to low level of investment in transformation activities especially raw material processing industries occasioned, at least in part, by the fact that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest cost of doing business in the world with cost of infrastructure services making up a disproportionately large part of production and trade costs. This is a reflection of serious deficit in the three dimensions of infrastructure, namely quality, quantity and access. Against this background, it was considered topical to devote the plenary session of December 2007 to the issue of infrastructure and economic development in Africa. This volume, therefore, contains the three papers presented at that plenary session. The first paper by César Calderón and Luis Servén on infrastructure and economic development in SSA focused on analysing the linkages between infrastructure and economic development pointing out that the literature on effects of infrastructure on economic development is inconclusive. Noting that physical infrastructures are rarely homogenous and analysing a large panel data for 136 countries, they found that infrastructure development is associated with both higher growth and lower inequality. They also found that while infrastructure made a large contribution to reducing inequality in East and South Asia, the impact was relatively modest in SSA due to poor quality of infrastructure. They concluded that corruption adversely affect impact of infrastructure on productivity and growth stressing, among other things, the importance of independent regulation agencies in offsetting some of the consequences of corruption on infrastructural services. Kennedy K. Mbekeani, in the second paper, presented a review of international experience in infrastructure, trade expansion and regional integration and lessons for Africa. Delving into the relationships between trade, infrastructure and regional expansion, he asserted that improvements in productivity lead to increased trade and can foster regional integration through improved intra-regional trade and industrial relocation. There is persuasive evidence that adequate infrastructure provision is a key requirement for trade liberalisation to achieve its intended objective of efficient resource reallocation and export growth. The paper concluded by providing a summary of some Africa's infrastructure programmes that have the potential to lead to trade expansion and regional integration. Finally, the paper by Mthuli Ncube on financing and managing infrastructure in Africa presents arguments on the relationship between infrastructure investments and economic growth in Africa. Infrastructure encompasses transport, telecommunications, water and sanitation, power and gas, and major water works, and also focuses on quantity versus quality of infrastructure. Ncube also found that, in the literature, the causal nexus between infrastructure capital and economic growth and development, in general, has been ambiguous. However, it does seem one thing is clear, namely that sustainable high economic growth often occurs in an environment where there is a meaningful infrastructure development, although it is not obvious which leads the other. The paper presents the various financing strategies, around Public--Private partnerships (PPPs) and examples of PPP-type arrangements in Africa. Ncube concluded the paper by exploring policy implications of the state of infrastructure and economic growth in Africa. Copyright The author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected], Oxford University Press.
Determinants of Economic Growth-The Case of Zimbabwe
No full textThe paper investigated the determinants of economic growth in Zimbabwe over the period 1980 to 2017 drawing from previously identified factors as discussed in international literature which had been acknowledged as important determinants. The variables included human capital, gross fixed capital formation, unemployment, inflation and government expenditure. The study employed Unit Root Tests. The Auto Regressive Distributed Lag model was used to examine the mixed variable while the Ordinary Least Squares model and the Johansen test were used to examine all stationary and non-stationary variables respectively. In the case of co-integration, the Error Correction Model and the Causality test were run. Ultimately, the results indicated that in the long-run gross fixed capital formation has a positive influence on economic growth while human capital development has a negative influence. ECM found that in the short run there is a positive relationship between lags of economic growth, government expenditure, inflation and human capital with economic growth
Intellectual property protection for e-commerce business methods in South Africa : envisioning an equitable model for SMEs in the tourism industry
No full textIncludes abstract.includes biblioraphical references.This thesis examines the intellectual property (IP) protection of the functional aspects of e-commerce business methods, which are embedded in the methods' underlying computer programs. It considers how South Africa can achieve an equitable balance between creators' interests in securing remuneration and attribution for, and users' interests in securing affordable access to, these methods. The thesis' primary perspective is that of users, and its arguments centre on the position of small and medium sized enterprises that provide accommodation in the tourism sector (accommodation SMEs)
Occurrence of aflatoxins and aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus spp. associated with groundnut production in subsistence farming systems in South Africa
No full textAbstract: Author: Ncube, E. Flett, B.C. Waalwijk, C. Viljoen, A. Vol 27 Issue 2 Publication: 2010 Page: 195-198 : Aflatoxins are carcinogenic mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus spp. in groundnut kernels. Forty-six groundnut samples were collected from subsistence farmers in three provinces of South Africa, namely KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Mpumalanga (MP) and Limpopo (LP), in 2006 and 2007. Aflatoxin levels of groundnut kernels were quantified using an ELISA technique. The occurrence of A. parasiticus colonies was predominant and it was isolated at twice the frequency of A. flavus. Aflatoxins were present in groundnut produced in the northern parts of KZN, where aflatoxin levels of up to 131 parts per billion (ppb) were found. In Mpumalanga and Limpopo, the highest aflatoxin levels were 160 ppb and 2 ppb, respectively. In the Makhanisi and Mbazwane localities situated in KwaZulu-Natal, and in Boshoffontein in Mpumalanga, aflatoxin levels were higher than the maximum permitted level set by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA (20 ppb), the European Union (6 ppb) and the Department of Health in South Africa (10 ppb) for groundnut that is intended for direct human consumption. This study indicates the need for mycotoxin awareness campaigns and control programs to be implemented in rural areas of South Africa
Labor market policy in developing countries : a selective review of the literature and needs for the future
No full textThis paper presents a selective overview of the literature on modeling labor market policies in developing countries. It considers welfare economics, theoretical models, and empirical evidence to highlight the three general features needed in future research on labor market policy in developing countries. The author identifies desirable research components (welfare economics, theoretical modeling, and empirical modeling) and pitfalls in the literature (inappropriate use of productivity, reliance on wrong kinds of empirical studies, lack of cost-benefit analysis, attention to only a subset of the goods and bads, and fallacy of composition). The paper concludes with suggested topics and methods for future research. The author states that sound labor market policy requires sound labor market models. The paper makes a case for developing policy based on explicit evaluation criteria, specific theoretical models, and comprehensive empirical evidence.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,,Markets and Market Access,Population Policies
‘Highlander Ithimu yezwe lonke!’ : intersections of Highlanders FC fandom and Ndebele ethnic nationalism in Zimbabwe
No full textAbstract: Football is one of the most emotive cultural forms through which people experience and express nationalism. The study demonstrates intersections of Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League (PSL) team- Highlanders FC fandom and Ndebele ethnic nationalism in Zimbabwe. This nationalism challenges state narratives of a ‘united Zimbabwe’ and advocates for secession of Bulawayo and Matabeleland provinces to form an ‘independent Ndebele nation’. Literature on Zimbabwean football has under-theorised its interface with football discourse. The author was an observer as participant in Zimbabwean football stadia for a four- year period observing terrace rituals especially songs and chants during Highlanders FC matches. In-depth interviews were also conducted with selected fans to get clarity on observed issues. The study concludes that while discussing secession is criminalised and condemned as ‘tribalism’ in Zimbabwe, Highlanders FC fandom is a critical site where some people express feelings and aspirations towards establishment of a separate ‘independent Ndebele nation’
A Pan-African Exploration of Queer Embodiment in African Film: A Book Review of Gibson Ncube’s Queer Bodies in African Films (NISC, December 2022)
No full textGibson Ncube’s monograph produces a Pan-African archive of films that grapple with the specificities of queer embodiment in several regions on the African continent. Queer Bodies in African Films does important intra-continental theorising about what it means to be queer in Africa, or African and queer, in both North and sub-Saharan African contexts, with a corpus that maps filmed queer bodiesin selected Maghrebian (chapter one), Egyptian (chapter two), East African (chapter three), and South African films (chapter four). Throughout, Ncube centres the filmed queer body as a site where “multiple and often intersecting discourses and narratives” (Ncube 2022, p.2) contest for legitimacy within their given cultural milieus. In this frame, the author remains attentive to “how the touching of bodies and rubbing together of physical bodies produce feelings and affection and forge (dis)connections” (2). As Ncube avers, this kind of pan-African consideration of queerness is lacking in Queer African Studies, and the monograph provides a useful entry point for scholars looking to do similar intracontinental research
Prime numbers demystified
No full textThe paper is the ultimate prime numbers algorithm that gets rid of the unneccessary mystery about prime numbers. All the numerous arithmetic series patterns observed between various prime numbers are clearly explained with an elegant "pattern of remainders". With this algorithm we prove that odd numbers too can make an Ulam spiral contrary to current ""proofs". At the end of the paper this author proves the relationship between a simple arithmetic series pattern and the Riehmann\u27s prime numbers distribution equation. This paper would be important for encryption too. As an example, prime integer 1979 is expressed as 1.2.4.5.10.3.7.3.1.7.26.18.11.1. This makes even smaller primes useful for encryption as well
How to Write Parallel Programs on the T3E Using Linda
No full text: Linda 1 is a model for parallel processing based on distributed data structures. Processors and data objects communicate by means of the tuple space (TS) or Linda memory. The interaction between the tuple space and the processors is carried out by four basic operations: out, in, eval, and rd. These operations add/remove/read data objects from/to the tuple space . eval on the other hand also forks processes to initiate parallel execution. In this presentation we'll discuss the use of Linda on the T3E. KEYWORDS: Linda, Tuple Space, Memory, Programming Model Introduction Since the early 80's there have been numerous parallel computer projects [1] , such as, ICL DAP, Denelcor, Intel iPSC, NCUBE, Connection Machines, and many more. However, most applications have not migrated to parallel machines nor have they extensively taken advantage of clusters of many workstations. In part this is due to the fact that parallel programming is not easy, some algorithms currently being used by ..
- …
