Black economic empowerment in the South African mining industry : a case study of Exxaro Limited

The original publication is available at http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/busmanThis paper explores some of the key challenges and opportunities in the implementation of the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) deal of Kumba Resources, which subsequently led to the formation of Exxaro Limited, a large black-owned mining conglomerate in South Africa. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with a sample of 11 leaders involved directly in the deal. The data were content-analysed and the findings suggested that BEE transactions faced numerous challenges, including finding sustainable funding, securing suitable investors, merging various cultures, dealing with fronting and leadership, and planning management and leadership succession. The study concluded that the deal led successfully to both the equitable transfer of ownership and management and to the control of financial and economic resources to a wider base of the black population. However, several malpractices were identified which may have impeded the process of achieving the intended outcomes. The article provides recommendations, indicates limitations and proposes a way forward.Publishers' versio

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of seeds oils and fruit juice of Opuntia Ficus Indica and Opuntia Dillenii from Morocco

peer reviewedThis study provides basic information on the mineral composition of the seeds and antioxidant activity in seeds oils and fruit juices of cactus belonging to two species Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii, from Morocco (Oujda), in order to evaluate the nutritional value of the Opuntia extracts. Minerals determined from dry seeds of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii were: calcium 480.93 and 408.28; phosphorus 1417.59 and 970.15; potassium 304.51 and 201.96; magnesium: 316.59 and 240.30; sodium: 48.33 and 18.18; zinc: 70.77 and 78.26 mg/100g respectively. The main fatty acids of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii seed oil were respectively: linoleic acid: 58.79 and 79.83%, Palmitic acid: 11.18 and 13.52%. The antioxidant activity of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii seed oils and fruit juices were assessed by means of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay and ascorbic acid test. The results showed that the antioxidant activities of Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia dillenii seed oil (IC50 = 19.79 ± 0.023 and 27.21 ± 0.075 μL/mL) are higher than that of the reference ascorbic acid (IC50 = 16.56 ± 0.019 μg/mL). However, the Opuntia dillenii juice presents antioxidant activity more important than this of Opuntia seed oil and ascorbic acid. It possessed strong antioxidant activity (IC50 = 8.18 μL/mL). The antioxidant activity of the seed oil and juice were also found to be concentration-dependent

Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for the cardioprotection

The present invention relates to methods and pharmaceutical compositions for cardioprotection of subjects who experienced a myocardial infarction. In particular, the present invention relates to a ligand of the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway for use in the cardioprotection of a subject who experienced a myocardial infarction

Origin of symbol-using systems: speech, but not sign, without the semantic urge

Natural language—spoken and signed—is a multichannel phenomenon, involving facial and body expression, and voice and visual intonation that is often used in the service of a social urge to communicate meaning. Given that iconicity seems easier and less abstract than making arbitrary connections between sound and meaning, iconicity and gesture have often been invoked in the origin of language alongside the urge to convey meaning. To get a fresh perspective, we critically distinguish the origin of a system capable of evolution from the subsequent evolution that system becomes capable of. Human language arose on a substrate of a system already capable of Darwinian evolution; the genetically supported uniquely human ability to learn a language reflects a key contact point between Darwinian evolution and language. Though implemented in brains generated by DNA symbols coding for protein meaning, the second higher-level symbol-using system of language now operates in a world mostly decoupled from Darwinian evolutionary constraints. Examination of Darwinian evolution of vocal learning in other animals suggests that the initial fixation of a key prerequisite to language into the human genome may actually have required initially side-stepping not only iconicity, but the urge to mean itself. If sign languages came later, they would not have faced this constraint

Using conceptual metaphor and functional grammar to explore how language used in physics affects student learning

This paper introduces a theory about the role of language in learning physics. The theory is developed in the context of physics students' and physicists' talking and writing about the subject of quantum mechanics. We found that physicists' language encodes different varieties of analogical models through the use of grammar and conceptual metaphor. We hypothesize that students categorize concepts into ontological categories based on the grammatical structure of physicists' language. We also hypothesize that students over-extend and misapply conceptual metaphors in physicists' speech and writing. Using our theory, we will show how, in some cases, we can explain student difficulties in quantum mechanics as difficulties with language.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. ST:PE

Grip Force Reveals the Context Sensitivity of Language-Induced Motor Activity during “Action Words

Studies demonstrating the involvement of motor brain structures in language processing typically focus on \ud time windows beyond the latencies of lexical-semantic access. Consequently, such studies remain inconclusive regarding whether motor brain structures are recruited directly in language processing or through post-linguistic conceptual imagery. In the present study, we introduce a grip-force sensor that allows online measurements of language-induced motor activity during sentence listening. We use this tool to investigate whether language-induced motor activity remains constant or is modulated in negative, as opposed to affirmative, linguistic contexts. Our findings demonstrate that this simple experimental paradigm can be used to study the online crosstalk between language and the motor systems in an ecological and economical manner. Our data further confirm that the motor brain structures that can be called upon during action word processing are not mandatorily involved; the crosstalk is asymmetrically\ud governed by the linguistic context and not vice versa