Towards a sustainable framework for application of the systems engineering approach (SEA) in non-traditional implementation areas: A model tailored for SMEs in the South African manufacturing sector

This research is centred on designing a framework for application of systems engineering in non-conventional application areas. It uses the manufacturing – small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a framing case. The system engineering approach (SEA) application and the value it brings is greatly appreciated in the traditional application areas like defence and aerospace industries, however, the SEA application in other industries particularly manufacturing has been very low. This has led to the mind-set that the formal systems engineering approach application is more practical and viable in high technology systems. The research focused on exposing the structural elements of the SEA combining the two systems engineering extremes (soft and hard systems) and proposing a framework tailored to the sophistication levels of the targeted manufacturing SMEs. The aim of the study was to illustrate that the SEA can be applied in other non-conventional applications areas. The Delphi study was used as the front-end primary research instrument to get input to build the conceptual framework. This involved a pilot study and a two round Delphi iteration exercise. Sixteen (16) expert‟s participated in round 1 while twelve (12) participated in round 2. This represents a response rate of 20% in the first round and 80% in the second round. An acceptable convergence of opinion of over 67% was achieved on most of the proposed SEA process activities targeted for the manufacturing SMEs. The tools required to validate the conceptual framework and frame the final implementation framework were then extracted. The study then proposed a conceptual implementation framework targeting the low to medium technology manufacturing SMEs. A sustainable hybrid SE framework is proposed in Chapter 7 which acknowledges the limitations and the constraints in the manufacturing SMEs in particular. This study adds to the body of knowledge of systems engineering by showing that a methodical approach can be followed in structuring a hybrid SEA for specific applications. The report concludes by recommending validating the proposed framework in pilot case study companies to provide useful comments and applicability levels within the targeted SMEs context

Infectious ideas: modelling the diffusion of ideas across social networks

Will the practice of collecting wild honey wearing no clothes become a widespread practice in Zimbabwe? Or will beekeeping take over as the main way that people acquire honey? Both practices impact on forest resources; how can the foresters influence the uptake of these ideas?. This paper describes an exploratory modelling study investigating how social network patterns affect the way ideas spread around communities. It concludes that increasing the density of social networks increases the spread of successful ideas whilst speeding the loss of ideas with no competitive advantage. Some different kinds of competitive advantage are explored in the context of forest management and rural extension

South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development: stastistical report 2011/12

Commisioned by the Department of Science and Technology, MarchThis report presents selected data tables of the 2011/12 South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D survey). The tables in this report cover the main dimensions of R&D statistics in terms of expenditure and human resources

Chinese engagement of Zimbabwe and the limits of elite agency:

This article contends that Zimbabwe’s agency in its engagement with China has been limited and at best circumscribed. This owes to factors such as indifference by state authorities to cooperation with civil society actors in negotiating with Chinese actors, the desperation of the The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front regime in the face of isolation by erstwhile partners as well as the opacity and secrecy that characterizes significant areas of the Zimbabwe–China relationship. The pressing need for critical institutions such as parliament to play independent oversight roles as well as the creation of space for civil society watchdog functions are highlighted as key enablers if Zimbabwean agency is to generate positive gains from the country’s engagement with China

Valuing the Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit Clause with Partial Withdrawals

In this paper, we give a method for computing the fair insurance fee associated with the guaranteed minimum death benefit (GMDB) clause included in many variable annuity contracts. We allow for partial withdrawals, a common feature in most GMDB contracts, and determine how this affects the GMDB fair insurance charge. Our method models the GMDB pricing problem as an impulse control problem. The resulting quasi-variational inequality is solved numerically using a fully implicit penalty method. The numerical results are obtained under both constant volatility and regime-switching models. A complete analysis of the numerical procedure is included. We show that the discrete equations are stable, monotone and consistent and hence obtain convergence to the unique, continuous viscosity solution, assuming this exists. Our results show that the addition of the partial withdrawal feature significantly increases the fair insurance charge for GMDB contracts.Variable annuities, guaranteed minimum death benefit (GMDB), viscosity solution, impulse control, fully implicit penalty method,