scholarly journals Identifying accessible export opportunities for South Africa in South America

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-34
Author(s):  
Carli Jacobs ◽  
Wilma Viviers ◽  
Ermie Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
South America ◽  
High Potential ◽  
South American ◽  
Trade Barriers ◽  
Decision Support Model ◽  
Export Markets ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Product Categories

Despite the surging demand for imports in South America in recent years, South Africa’s exports to the region have shown relatively low growth. A contributing factor is the prevalence of trade barriers between South Africa and various South American countries. The aim of this study is, firstly, to measure the trade barriers to South Africa’s exports to South America and, secondly, to identify high-potential export opportunities in the form of product-country combinations that can best surmount such barriers. The investigation, which uses a reconstructed Decision Support Model (DSM), reveals that Brazil, Argentina and Chile offer the greatest potential as export markets (in US$ terms) for South Africa, while the most promising product categories are transport-related goods, minerals, vegetables and chemicals. The results of this study should be a useful guide to South Africans planning export initiatives in South America.

scholarly journals Promoting sustainable economic growth in South Africa through the production and export of low-carbon environmental goods

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoinette Van Niekerk ◽  
Wilma Viviers
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Decision Support Model ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Environmental Good

Many countries, particularly those in the developing world, are under increasing pressure to improve their growth rates in order to tackle pressing economic problems at the domestic level. Increasing export volumes can make a positive contribution to a country’s economic growth rate, but it can also endanger the environment. How to reconcile the often conflicting phenomena of increased export activity, stronger economic growth and a lower carbon footprint is the focus of this study. A core outcome of the study was the creation of a single list using a cross-section of international sources, of low-carbon environmental goods, and their ranking according to their inherent ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, South Africa’s capacity to produce them, and their economic benefits, as reflected in the export opportunities they present. These export opportunities were revealed through the application of the Decision Support Model (DSM), an export market selection tool that incorporates a systematic filtering and screening system. The results of the analysis should help guide policymakers in their strategic deliberations on which export sectors to incentivise and support with a view to encouraging more ‘green’ growth in South Africa in the years ahead. diffusion of such goods. If the production and export of environmental goods were to increase, it could have a potentially positive effect on economic and environmental objectives, such as raising economic growth rates and lowering greenhouse gas intensity, respectively. For the purpose of this study, an analysis of four existing lists of environmental goods led to the identification of 39 core environmental goods. These 39 goods were ranked according to three criteria: i) the potential environmental benefits of each environmental good, using consensus among role players as a proxy; ii) South Africa’s capacity to produce each environmental good, using the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) of each good as a proxy; and iii) the potential economic benefits of each environmental good, using the potential export value as calculated by Steenkamp (2011) in the Decision Support Model (DSM) as a proxy. It emerged that the top five low-carbon environmental goods are: photosensitive semiconductors (HS-6: 854140); towers and masts (HS-6: 730820); electrical control and distribution boards (HS-6: 853710); gearing and screws (HS-6: 848340); and static converters (HS-6: 850440). In addition, the intensive and extensive product-country export opportunities for these top five low-carbon environmental goods were identified.

New dinosaur species from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri and Lower Dharmaram formations of Central India

2010 ◽  
Vol 101 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 333-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando E. Novas ◽  
Martin D. Ezcurra ◽  
Sankar Chatterjee ◽  
T. S. Kutty
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South America ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Central India ◽  
Upper Triassic ◽  
South American ◽  
Dinosaur Evolution ◽  
Godavari Basin

ABSTRACTThe beginning of dinosaur evolution is currently known based on a handful of highly informative Gondwanan outcrops of Ischigualastian age (late Carnian–early Norian). The richest Triassic dinosaur records of the southern continents are those of South America and South Africa, with taxonomically diverse faunas, whereas faunas from India and central Africa are more poorly known. Here, the known diversity of Gondwanan Triassic dinosaurs is increased with new specimens from central India, which allow a more comprehensive characterisation of these dinosaur assemblages. Five dinosauriform specimens are reported from the probable late Norian–earliest Rhaetian Upper Maleri Formation, including two new sauropodomorph species, the non-plateosaurian Nambalia roychowdhurii and the plateosaurian Jaklapallisaurus asymmetrica, a guaibasaurid and two basal dinosauriforms. The Lower Dharmaram Formation, probably latest Norian–Rhaetian in age, includes basal sauropodomorph and neotheropod remains, providing the second record of a Triassic Gondwanan neotheropod. The currently available evidence suggests that the oldest known Gondwanan dinosaur assemblages (Ischigualastian) were not homogeneous, but more diverse in South America than in India. In addition, the Upper Maleri and Lower Dharmaram dinosaur assemblages resemble purported coeval South American and European beds in the presence of basal sauropodomorphs. Accordingly, the current available evidence of the Triassic beds of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin suggests that dinosaurs increased in diversity and abundance during the late Norian to Rhaetian in this region of Gondwana.

scholarly journals Identifying New Product And Service Export Opportunities For South Africa Using A Decision Support Model

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilma Viviers ◽  
Ludo Cuyvers ◽  
Ermie Steenkamp ◽  
Sonja Grater ◽  
Marianne Matthee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Export Market ◽  
Decision Support Model ◽  
Market Selection ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Support Model

In the face of slow economic growth and development, and the perennial problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality, the South African government and business community have long recognised the importance of growing and diversifying the countrys tangible goods and services export sectors. One of the challenges in designing and implementing effective export promotion strategies is identifying the right markets, given South Africas ever-fluid skills, capacity and trading relationships. The Decision Support Model (DSM) is an export market selection tool that makes use of a sophisticated filtering process to sift through an extensive range of product-/service- and country-related data to reveal those product-/service-country combinations (export opportunities) that are the most realistic and sustainable. The DSM, which has been applied for Belgium, Thailand and South Africa, not only brings greater precision to the export market selection process, but also unveils opportunities that may not have been contemplated before thus supporting the quest for export diversification. This paper examines the role of the DSM for products and the DSM for services, respectively, and illustrates how, using the results from the application of these models, they herald the start of a new era in export market selection and promotion in South Africa.

A phylogenetic analysis of the Cryptocarya group (Lauraceae), and relationships of Dahlgrenodendron, Sinopora, Triadodaphne, and Yasunia

Phytotaxa ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 158 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Gunter Rohwer ◽  
PEDRO LUIS RODRIGUES DE MORAES ◽  
BARBARA RUDOLPH ◽  
HENK VAN DER WERFF
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
South America ◽  
South American ◽  
Precise Position ◽  
Fruit Type ◽  
Nuclear Its ◽  
Trnk Intron ◽  
Pollen Sacs

A phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ITS and plastid trnK intron sequences confirms that Dahlgrenodendron, Sinopora, Triadodaphne, and Yasunia are members of the Cryptocarya group, as expected from morphology.  Dahlgrenodendron from South Africa is sister to Aspidostemon from Madagascar.  Triadodaphne inaequitepala is nested within Endiandra (both from Australasia), and Yasunia from South America is nested among South American Beilschmiedia species.  Sinopora is a member of the Beilschmiedia clade, but its precise position is still uncertain.  Among large genera of the group, Cryptocarya is clearly monophyletic, and Endiandra appears to be as well, if T. inaequitepala is included.  Beilschmiedia is paraphyletic with respect to (at least) Potameia and Yasunia.  Most well-supported clades within genera are geographically homogeneous, except a clade including the Chilean Cryptocarya alba and two New Caledonian species.  Both Beilschmiedia and Cryptocarya have reached the Americas more than once.  Four-locular anthers are plesiomorphic in the Cryptocarya group; two-locular anthers have arisen by fusion of the two pollen sacs of a theca.  In the plesiomorphic fruit type, the ovary is completely enclosed in receptacular tissue; a superior fruit, seated free on its pedicel, is a synapomorphy of the Beilschmiedia clade.

An integrated model for predicting the probability of adoption of green building in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1927-1950
Author(s):  
Eric Kwame Simpeh ◽  
John Julian Smallwood
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Decision Support Model ◽  
Financial Benefit ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intention To Adopt ◽  
Support Model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictable effect of economic and non-economic factors regarded as the most important to stimulate stakeholders’ behavioural intentions to adopt green building. Design/methodology/approach The primary data was collected from 106 green building accredited professionals in both the public and private sectors registered with the Green Building Council of South Africa. The data analysis techniques adopted include descriptive and inferential statistics, namely, factor analysis and logistic regression model (LRM). Findings The LRM results revealed five predictors and two control variables made a unique statistically significant contribution to the model. The strongest predictor to enhance the intention to adopt green building was a financial benefit (FB), recording an odds ratio of 9.1, which indicates that the likelihood to adopt is approximately 9.1 times more if FBs is evident. Practical implications It is anticipated that the most significant facilitators/enablers identified by built environment stakeholders will create an enabling environment to enhance the adoption of green building. Originality/value This research has contributed to the existing knowledge by developing a decision support model. The decision support model provides predictive indicators for clients, consultants and contractors to harness their resources and identify significant parameters to improve their decision-making in adopting green building.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Black African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Realistic Conflict Theory

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

Is Xenophobic Violence and Criminality Systemic in Post-Apartheid South Africa? A Critical Analysis of Growing Denialism to 2015 Incidents

Politeia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mbekezeli Comfort Mkhize ◽  
Kongko Louis Makau
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Structural Problems ◽  
The Government

This article argues that the 2015 xenophobic violence was allowed to spread due to persistent inaction by state officials. While the utterances of King Goodwill Zwelithini have in part fuelled the attacks, officials tend to perceive acts of xenophobia as ordinary crimes. This perception has resulted in ill-advised responses from the authorities, allowing this kind of hate crime against foreign nationals to engulf the whole country. In comparison with similar attacks in 2008, the violent spree in 2015 is characterised by a stronger surge in criminal activities. The militancy showcased fed a sense of insecurity amongst foreigners, creating a situation inconsistent with the country’s vaunted respect for human rights and the rule of law. Investors lost confidence in the country’s outlook, owing in part to determined denialism in government circles regarding the targeting of foreigners. While drawing from existing debates, the article’s principal objective is to critically examine the structural problems that enable xenophobia to proliferate and the (in)effectiveness of responses to the militancy involved in the 2015 attacks. Of particular interest are the suggested responses that could be effective in curbing future violence. The article concludes that xenophobia is systemic in post-apartheid South Africa. Strong cooperation between the government, national and international organisations could provide the basis for successful anti-xenophobia measures. The article further argues that the country is obliged to find a sustainable solution to the predicament for humanitarian reasons firstly, and in recognition of the support South Africans received from its African counterparts during the liberation struggle.

SOUTH AFRICA IN THE CINEMATIC IMAGINARY: THE STORY OF A WHITE YOUTH IN SKIN

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-178
Author(s):  
Khatija Bibi Khan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Black People ◽  
White Youth ◽  
Multiple Selves ◽  
Social Imaginaries ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Rapid Production ◽  
New Critics ◽  
Good Number

The rapid production of films of diversity in post-1994 South Africa has unfortunately not been matched by critical works on film. Part of the reason is that some of the films recycle old themes that celebrate the worst in black people. Another possible reason could be that a good number of films wallow in personality praise, and certainly of Mandela, especially after his demise. Despite these problems of film criticism in post-1994 South Africa, it appears that some new critics have not felt compelled to waste their energy on analysing the Bantustan film – a kind of film that was made for black people by the apartheid system but has re-surfaced after 1994 in different ways. The patent lack of more critical works on film that engages the identities and social imaginaries of young and white South Africans is partly addressed in SKIN – a film that registers the mental growth and spiritual development of Sandra’s multiple selves. This article argues that SKIN portrays the racial neurosis of the apartheid system; and the question of identity affecting young white youths during and after apartheid is experienced at the racial, gender and sex levels.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document