19 research outputs found
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Extent of access to information and communications technology by the rural population of South Africa
This paper investigates the trends in access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in rural compared to the urban areas of South Africa. Using data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) covering the period from 2003 to 2009, the study found that access to both the 'older' and the 'newer' forms of ICTs has remained significantly lower (P < 0.001) in rural areas compared to urban areas. The paper then examines these trends in the context of the Department of Science and Technology's (DST) policies and strategies on the diffusion of science and technology in South Africa.
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National suvey of research and experimental development: main results 2008/09
Commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology, JuneThe National R&D survey has become a regular feature of South Africa's science and technology landscape. The Survey is conducted annually by the Human Sciences Research Council's Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The South African R&D Survey collects data under
strict conditions of confidentiality from institutions in the country that perform research and experimental development (R&D). The data is then aggregated at sector level and provides essential information for planning at system and institutional level and also
provides key indicators of national competitiveness
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South African National Survey of Research & Experimental Development 2007/08
Commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology (DST)The National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D) is conducted annually by the Human Sciences Research Council's Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology. R&D surveys provide data, collected under strict conditions of confidentiality that are essential for planning at
system and institutional level and provide snapshots of key indicators of national competitiveness. The R&D Surveys involve the collection of primary data from the public and private sectors. The public sector includes universities, science councils and government department-based research institutes, and the private sector includes firms and not-for-profit organisations. Between 2001 and 2006, there was a steady increase in South Africa's gross expenditure on R&D (GERD), which rose from 0.73% to 0.95% of GDP. However, the current survey points to a slight decrease in GERD to 0.93% of GDP. Over the same period, the South African economy performed favourably, attaining a GDP growth rate of around 5% and sustained employment growth from the beginning of 2005, which peaked in the third quarter of 2008. The R&D Survey results indicate that both the investment in R&D and the growth in the number of researchers lagged behind these important developments. These observations will be carefully
analysed to identify any emerging trends and to inform appropriate policy responses that may be needed, especially if we are to attain the target of GERD reaching 1% of GDP.
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South African National Survey of Research & Experimental Development, 2007/08
Commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology, NovemberAs part of the series of the National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D Survey), the 2007/08 report has maintained the tradition both of substantively informing on national investment in scientific research activities and of providing the required data for monitoring levels of investment in R&D in South Africa. In particular, it provides the estimates of expenditure required for populating Indicator 10, expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP, in the Development Indicators 2009 publication by the Presidency. The report is also consistently aligned with the previous two R&D Survey reports (2006/07 and 2005/06), apart from minor adjustments to the sampling methodology in the not-for-profit sector. The minor adjustments involved the introduction of a short questionnaire, which was administered together with the usual long questionnaire, in order to collect the minimum information from those respondents that preferred a condensed version of the questionnaire to a long questionnaire. There are no noticeable contradictions either in the data provided or the trends between the results of the two questionnaires. The information coverage of the five sectors the business enterprise, government, higher education, not-for-profit and science council sectors is adequate.
The methodology is adequate for the purpose, pending further refinement of sampling in the not-for-profit sector with support from Statistics South Africa. Given the very small size of the not-for-profit sector, relatively negligible bias in the results can be expected
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South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development: main analysis report 2011/12
Commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology, MarchThis report provides trends and a brief analysis of the survey data of the 2011/12 South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D survey)
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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