scholarly journals An investigation into the ethical standards and values of registered property valuers in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 853-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Currin ◽  
Nompilo Msibi ◽  
Tsebang Chuene ◽  
Andre Kruger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Unethical Behaviour ◽  
Property Valuation

Ethical issues and standards of property professions are being scrutinised. To date, no research has been carried out on the ethical standards in the property valuation profession in South Africa. This research compared the content of codes of ethics and professional conduct of the South African property valuation profession to international standards, and investigated the ethical standards and moral values held by registered valuers in South Africa. A self-administered survey, administered to 611 professional and professional associate valuers, was used. It measured five constructs of unethical behaviour layered into a survey adapted from Hoyt, Wright and Croft (2002). No statistically significant differences were found between different demographic factors in the ethical beliefs of South African valuers. A literature review comparing South Africa’s codes of conduct with those in the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand showed that the standards of ethics and professional practice in South Africa are not in line with international standards. South African valuers appear to be ethical and resist external pressures which could lead to unethical behaviour.

ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN TEACHING INFORMATION LITERACY IN ZIMBABWEAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinashe Mugwisi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Information Skills ◽  
The University

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet have to a large extent influenced the way information is made available, published and accessed. More information is being produced too frequently and information users now require certain skills to sift through this multitude in order to identify what is appropriate for their purposes. Computer and information skills have become a necessity for all academic programmes. As libraries subscribe to databases and other peer-reviewed content (print and electronic), it is important that users are also made aware of such sources and their importance. The purpose of this study was to examine the teaching of information literacy (IL) in universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the role played by librarians in creating information literate graduates. This was done by examining whether such IL programmes were prioritised, their content and how frequently they were reviewed. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to 12 university libraries in Zimbabwe and 21 in South Africa. A total of 25 questionnaires were returned. The findings revealed that IL was being taught in universities library and non-library staff, was compulsory and contributed to the term mark in some institutions. The study also revealed that 44 per cent of the total respondents indicated that the libraries were collaborating with departments and faculty in implementing IL programmes in universities. The study recommends that IL should be an integral part of the university programmes in order to promote the use of databases and to guide students on ethical issues of information use.

Research Ethics Committees’ Oversight of Biomedical Research in South Africa: A Thematic Analysis of Ethical Issues Raised During Ethics Review of Non-Expedited Protocols

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blessing Silaigwana ◽  
Douglas Wassenaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
South African ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Financial Contracts ◽  
Scientific Validity ◽  
Participant Selection ◽  
Education And Awareness

In South Africa, biomedical research cannot commence until it has been reviewed and approved by a local research ethics committee (REC). There remains a dearth of empirical data on the nature and frequency of ethical issues raised by such committees. This study sought to identify ethical concerns typically raised by two South African RECs. Meeting minutes for 180 protocols reviewed between 2009 and 2014 were coded and analyzed using a preexisting framework. Results showed that the most frequent queries involved informed consent, respect for participants, and scientific validity. Interestingly, administrative issues (non-ethical) such as missing researchers’ CVs and financial contracts emerged more frequently than ethical questions such as favorable risk/benefit ratio and fair participant selection. Although not generalizable to all RECs, our data provide insights into two South African RECs’ review concerns. More education and awareness of the actual ethical issues typically raised by such committees might help improve review outcomes and relationships between researchers and RECs.

scholarly journals Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Mpinganjira ◽  
Mornay Roberts-Lombard ◽  
Goran Svensson ◽  
Greg Wood
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sampling Frame

Background: Many organisations develop codes of ethics to help guide business conduct. However, not much is known about the contents of codes of ethics. Objectives: This article aims at investigating the code of ethics content construct and its measurement properties using a sample of firms from South Africa. Method: The study followed a quantitative research approach. The sampling frame consisted of the top 500 companies in South Africa. A structured questionnaire was administered using the telephone survey method. The respondents consisted of company secretaries and heads or managers responsible for ethics in the respective companies. At the end of the data collection period, a total of 222 usable responses were obtained. Results: The findings show that South African top companies have comprehensive codes of ethics as evidenced by the high mean values obtained from all of the content items under investigation. The findings also support the notion that the code of ethics content construct is multidimensional. Seven different dimensions were confirmed in the analysis. The measurement model of the ethics content construct was found to be valid as evidenced by the goodness-of-fit measure and measures of validity. Conclusion: The study shows that the code of ethics construct is multi-dimensional in nature. The framework provided in this study can also be used in developing, evaluating and strengthening existing codes where such need arises. This study contributes to theory on business ethics and presents the first tested measurement model of the code of ethics construct in South Africa.

scholarly journals First Report of Leaf Rust of Blueberry Caused by Thekopsora minima on Vaccinium corymbosum in the Western Cape, South Africa

Plant Disease ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 478-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mostert ◽  
W. Bester ◽  
T. Jensen ◽  
S. Coertze ◽  
A. van Hoorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Water Solution ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccinium Corymbosum ◽  
Tween 20 ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
First Report

Southern highbush blueberry plants (Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrids) showing rust-like symptoms were observed in July 2006 in Porterville in the Western Cape (WC), South Africa. Diseased plants were also found in Villiersdorp and George in the WC in 2007. In 2008, symptoms were observed in George, and in 2009, in all the previous reported areas. Cvs. Bluecrisp, Emerald, Jewel, Sharpblue, and Star were infected. Reddish-to-brown spots appeared on the adaxial surface of leaves and developed into yellow-to-orange erumpent uredinia with pulverulent urediniospores. Uredinia were hypophyllous, dome shaped, 113 to 750 μm wide, and occasionally coalescing. Urediniospores were broadly obovate, sometimes ellipsoidal or pyriform, with yellowish orange content, and measured 19 to 27 × 12 to 20 μm (average 24 × 15 μm, n = 30). Spore walls were echinulate, hyaline, 1 to 1.5 μm thick, and with obscure germ pores. No telia or teliospores were observed. Voucher specimens were lodged in the South African National Fungus Collection in Pretoria (PREM 60245). The isolate was initially identified as Thekopsora minima P. Syd. & Syd., based primarily on the absence of conspicuous ostiolar cells characteristic of Naohidemyces spp. (3). Genomic DNA was extracted from urediniospores. Approximately 1,400 bp were amplified spanning the 5.8S, ITS2, and 28S large subunit of the ribosomal DNA (1). The sequence (GU355675) shared 96% (907 of 942 bp; GenBank AF522180) and 94% (1,014 of 1,047 bp; GenBank DQ354563) similarities in the 28S portion, respectively, to those of Naohidemyces vaccinii (Wint.) Sato, Katsuya et Y. Hiratsuka and Pucciniastrum geoppertianum (Kuehn) Kleb, two of the three known rust species of blueberry (2). Although no sequences of T. minima were available for direct comparison, phylogenetic analyses of the 28S region strongly supported the South African blueberry rust as congeneric with T. guttata (J. Schröt.) P. Syd. & Syd. (GenBank AF426231) and T. symphyti (Bubák) Berndt (GenBank AF26230) (data not shown). Four 6-month-old cv. Sharpblue plants were inoculated with a suspension (approximate final concentration of 1 × 105 spores per ml) of fresh urediniospores in a water solution with 0.05% Tween 20. After incubation at 20°C for 48 h under continuous fluorescent lighting, the plants were grown in a glasshouse (18/25°C night/day temperatures). Identical uredinia and symptoms developed approximately 3 weeks after inoculation on the inoculated plants, but not on two control plants of cv. Sharpblue sprayed with distilled water and kept at the same conditions. The alternate host hemlock (Tsuga spp.) is not endemic to South Africa and not sold as an ornamental plant according to a large conifer nursery. Hosts of T. minima include Gaylussacia baccata, G. frondosa, Lyonia neziki, Menziesia pilosa, Rhododendron canadense, R. canescens, R. lutescens R. ponticum, R. prunifolium, R. viscosum, V. angustifolium var. laevifolium, V. corumbosum, and V. erythrocarpon (3). Visual inspection of possible hosts in the gardens in close proximity of Vaccinium production areas did not show any rust symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. minima on blueberries outside of Asia and the United States (2). References: (1) M. C. Aime. Mycoscience 47:112, 2006. (2) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases. Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. Online publication. USDA-ARS, 2009. (3) S. Sato et al. Trans. Mycol. Soc. Jpn. 34:47, 1993.

scholarly journals Fully Automatic Treatment Planning for External-Beam Radiation Therapy of Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer: A Tool for Low-Resource Clinics

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Kelly Kisling ◽  
Lifei Zhang ◽  
Hannah Simonds ◽  
Nazia Fakie ◽  
Jinzhong Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Treatment Planning ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ct Scans ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
Fully Automatic ◽  
Automatic Treatment

Purpose The purpose of this study was to validate a fully automatic treatment planning system for conventional radiotherapy of cervical cancer. This system was developed to mitigate staff shortages in low-resource clinics. Methods In collaboration with hospitals in South Africa and the United States, we have developed the Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA), which includes algorithms for automating every step of planning: delineating the body contour, detecting the marked isocenter, designing the treatment-beam apertures, and optimizing the beam weights to minimize dose heterogeneity. First, we validated the RPA retrospectively on 150 planning computed tomography (CT) scans. We then tested it remotely on 14 planning CT scans at two South African hospitals. Finally, automatically planned treatment beams were clinically deployed at our institution. Results The automatically and manually delineated body contours agreed well (median mean surface distance, 0.6 mm; range, 0.4 to 1.9 mm). The automatically and manually detected marked isocenters agreed well (mean difference, 1.1 mm; range, 0.1 to 2.9 mm). In validating the automatically designed beam apertures, two physicians, one from our institution and one from a South African partner institution, rated 91% and 88% of plans acceptable for treatment, respectively. The use of automatically optimized beam weights reduced the maximum dose significantly (median, −1.9%; P < .001). Of the 14 plans from South Africa, 100% were rated clinically acceptable. Automatically planned treatment beams have been used for 24 patients with cervical cancer by physicians at our institution, with edits as needed, and its use is ongoing. Conclusion We found that fully automatic treatment planning is effective for cervical cancer radiotherapy and may provide a reliable option for low-resource clinics. Prospective studies are ongoing in the United States and are planned with partner clinics.

Information Systems and Technology in South Africa

2005 ◽  
pp. 1497-1502
Author(s):  
Anesh Maniraj Singh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Informal Activity ◽  
Formal Economy ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
First World ◽  
South African Cities

South Africa, like most of its African neighbors, has a dual economy that sees formal and informal trading taking place side by side. Walking down many of the main streets of South African cities, one can immediately see the informal traders conducting their trade on the doorsteps of established retailers. Many of the formal traders complain about the informal activity and its impact on their businesses. However, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship that ensures their peaceful coexistence. For many foreigners, there is the perception that South Africa is a jungle with lions and tigers running around the streets and wind-up telephones as a means of communication. This is, however, far from the reality. Technology in the formal economy is almost as good as and sometimes better than it is in the United States and other first-world countries. Cellular telephone technology is one generation ahead of the United States. However, like the economy, a technology divide exists, where some parts of the population have access to technology, while others do not. This article will examine the trends in technology, outlining the use of technology in South African industry. The digital divide will also be discussed, looking at the problems and how the State in partnership with the private sector can bridge the gap.

Strategic and Ethical Issues in Outsourcing Information Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 232-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall C. Reid ◽  
Mario Pascalev
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
External Vendors ◽  
Outsourcing Contracts

Outsourcing of information technology (IT) is the transfer of a company’s information technology functions to external vendors. Ordinarily, such transfer is considered only with regard to its strategic and economic impact on the organization. However, as the recent practice demonstrated, cost-benefit considerations and other strategic considerations are not sufficient to analyze an outsourcing case. Important ethical concerns relating to fiduciary responsibilities, insiders’ bidding for outsourcing contracts, and the like, are also pertinent to the analysis of outsourcing. This chapter will identify major ethical problems and will propose guidelines for ethical conduct in the process of outsourcing IT. Such guidelines could have broad practical implications for the practice of outsourcing. The chapter will analyze literature on outsourcing models and professional ethical standards. It will have the following structure. First, the benefits and models of outsourcing information technology will be discussed. Second, ethical literature in general and professional organizations’ codes of ethics in particular will be considered. Third, a recent case of IT outsourcing will be presented and analyzed. The ethical standards established in the thesis will be applied to the case. Finally, generalized ethical guidelines will be suggested for outsourcing models.

Internal auditor’s compliance to code of ethics

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor Furzanne Alias ◽  
Anuar Nawawi ◽  
Ahmad Saiful Azlin Puteh Salin
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Internal Auditor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unethical Behaviour ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
Practice Guide ◽  
Unethical Practices ◽  
High Level

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the professional competency levels acquired by internal auditors in detecting unethical behaviour, to evaluate the position of internal auditors on objectivity and integrity in dealing with unethical behaviour and to examine the extent of their awareness on ethical issues in government-linked companies (GLCs). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via questionnaires that were randomly distributed to the internal auditors of the selected GLS in Malaysia. These questionnaires were constructed from the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Examination Paper and The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Competency Framework. Findings This study found that internal auditors of the GLCs had a high level of competency in performing audit engagements and were able to detect unethical practices in the companies. The majority of the internal auditors also had a high level of objectivity and integrity when faced with unethical behaviour during audit engagements. Research limitations/implications This study provided strong evidence that the internal auditors of Malaysian GLCs strongly complied with IIA Code of Ethics. Besides, they were also aware of the unethical behaviour which occurred within their organizations. However, this study is limited to the internal auditors in GLCs, while the questions of the survey instrument are restricted to the elements of integrity, objectivity and professional competencies of internal auditors. Practical implications This study highlights the level of internal-auditor competency and adherence to the IIA’s International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (ISPPIA) and IIA’s Practice Guide to identify unethical behaviour within the Malaysian GLCs. Originality/value This study is original as it focusses on GLCs which did not get much attention from previous researchers, particularly the GLCs that operate in a developing country such as Malaysia.

Introduction: human blood and social policy

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Richard M. Titmuss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Human Blood ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the study of the beliefs, attitudes, and values concerning blood and its possession, inheritance, and use and loss in diverse societies. The study originated and grew over many years of introspection from a series of value questions formulated within the context of attempts to distinguish the ‘social’ from the ‘economic’ in public policies and in those institutions and services with declared ‘welfare’ goals. As such, this book centres on human blood: the scientific, social, economic, and ethical issues involved in its procurement, processing, distribution, use, and benefit in Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, South Africa, and other countries. Ultimately, it considers the role of altruism in modern society. It attempts to fuse the politics of welfare and the morality of individual wills.

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