The Funding of a Public Service Broadcaster in View of Competition: a South African Perspective

The South African public service broadcaster (SABC) was transformed significantly by the Broadcasting Act 4 of 1999. Since the transformation, there have been many developments that have had an impact on the broadcasting industry, in particular public service broadcasting. The developments in the broadcasting industry left the SABC with serious financial problems. It also had to contend with other problems such as management and the issue of focusing on its mandate. This triggered intervention from the government in an effort to rescue the SABC from the disaster. There is currently a high rate of non-payment of television license fees. Further, the public service broadcaster is competing with commercial broadcasters which make it difficult for the SABC to focus on its mandate. In view of these problems, it is important to explore some of the issues which could resolve some of the problems faced by the public broadcaster. Most recently, the Department of Communications made an announcement about a discussion paper which will focus mainly on reviewing the Broadcasting Act, restructuring and shaping of the SABC.Â

Analysis of the Relationship between Inflation, Economic growth and Agricultural growth in Swaziland from 1980-2013

While there is an on-going debate on the nexus between economic growth and inflation, with some authors arguing a positive relationship and others arguing a negative relationship, policymakers are faced with the need to balance economic growth with low inflation. Although monetary policies have been undertaken to curb inflation in Swaziland, its economic growth remains slow. This study investigated the relationship between inflation, agricultural growth and economic growth in Swaziland for the period 1980 to 2013. The existence of long-run relationship and causality were tested. The study also determined the inflation threshold in Swaziland. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ADRL) model, a long-run relationship between these variables was found to exist. Granger causality results show that, in 1980-2013, there was uni-directional causality in Swaziland that flows from economic growth to inflation, no causality was detected between economic growth and agricultural growth, and between inflation and agricultural growth. Using the non-linear model, Swaziland’s inflation threshold was estimated at 12.56% with respect to economic growth and 10.36% with respect to agricultural growth. The elasticities from the long-run and short-run regressions showed that inflation has a negative impact of about 2% in the long-run on the economy and  impacts positively by about 0.05% in the short-run. In the short-run, the agricultural growth has a positive relationship with the economic growth in Swaziland, with an influence of 15% on economic growth.Based on these findings it is recommended that the Government promote the agricultural sector and that the monetary authorities in Swaziland Government pay more attention to the inflation trend and pursue policies that will ensure single digit inflation. Keywords: Agricultural growth, ARDL, GDP, economic growth, inflation, threshol

Sensitivity of selected organ dissection to diagnose Taenia solium cysticercosis in pigs from endemic areas

Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm, is a neglected zoonotic parasite which is endemic in many developing countries, including Zambia. The tapeworm causes two disease conditions in humans: (1) taeniosis, which is the intestinal tapeworm infection, obtained after consumtion of raw/undercooked infected pork; and (2) cysticercosis, which is the metacestode larval stage infection, obtained after ingestion of tapeworm eggs. A human tapeworm carrier can excrete high numbers of eggs with the stool (100 000 eggs per day) and is thus an important source of environmental contamination. The transmission of cysticercosis is thus enhanced with poor sanitation and the lack of clean drinking water. After ingestion of the eggs, oncospheres hatch in the intestine and disseminate to several body tissues, including the central nervous system. Infection of the central nervous system with cysticerci is called neurocysticercosis, which is a major cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide

Nonlinear Supersymmetry as a Hidden Symmetry

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Oral cholera vaccine in cholera prevention and control, Malawi

Problem With limited global supplies of oral cholera vaccine, countries need to identify priority areas for vaccination while longer-term solutions, such as water and sanitation infrastructure, are being developed. Approach In 2017, Malawi integrated oral cholera vaccine into its national cholera control plan. The process started with a desk review and analysis of previous surveillance and risk factor data. At a consultative meeting, researchers, national health and water officials and representatives from nongovernmental and international organizations reviewed the data and local epidemiological knowledge to determine priority districts for oral cholera vaccination. The final stage was preparation of an application to the global oral cholera vaccine stockpile for non-emergency use. Local setting Malawi collects annual data on cholera and most districts have reported cases at least once since the 1970s. Relevant changes The government’s application for 3.2 million doses of vaccine to be provided over 20 months in 12 districts was accepted in April 2017. By April 2018, over 1 million doses had been administered in five districts. Continuing surveillance in districts showed that cholera outbreaks were notably absent in vaccinated high-risk areas, despite a national outbreak in 2017–2018. Lessons learnt Augmenting advanced mapping techniques with local information helped us extend priority areas beyond those identified as high-risk based on cholera incidence reported at the district level. Involvement of the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors is key to ensuring that short-term gains from cholera vaccine are backed by longer-term progress in reducing cholera transmission

Vacuum-Ultraviolet Photoionization and Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Lignin Monomers Coniferyl and Sinapyl Alcohols

The fragmentation mechanisms of monolignols under various energetic processes are studied with jet-cooled thermal desorption molecular beam (TDMB) mass spectrometry (MS), 25 keV Bi3+ secondary ion MS (SIMS), synchrotron vacuum-ultraviolet secondary neutral MS (VUV-SNMS) and theoretical methods. Experimental and calculated appearance energies of fragments observed in TDMB MS indicate that the coniferyl alcohol photoionization mass spectra contain the molecular parent and several dissociative photoionization products. Similar results obtained for sinapyl alcohol are also discussed briefly. Ionization energies of 7.60 eV ? 0.05 eV for coniferyl alcohol and<7.4 eV for both sinapyl and dihydrosinapyl alcohols are determined. The positive ion SIMS spectrum of coniferyl alcohol shares few characteristic peaks (m/z = 137 and 151) with the TDMB mass spectra, shows extensive fragmentation, and does not exhibit clear molecular parent signals. VUV-SNMS spectra, on the other hand, are dominated by the parent ion and main fragments also present in the TDMB spectra. Molecular fragmentation in VUV-SNMS spectra can be reduced by increasing the extraction delay time. Some features resembling the SIMS spectra are also observed in the desorbed neutral products. The monolignol VUV-SNMS peaks shared with the TDMB mass spectra suggest that dissociative photoionization of ion-sputtered neutral molecules predominate in the VUV-SNMS mass spectra, despite the extra internal energy imparted in the initial ion impact. The potential applications of these results to imaging mass spectrometry of bio-molecules are discussed

Cost Benefit Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Crop Production Systems: A Case of Mpolonjeni Area Development Programme (ADP) in Swaziland

Prolonged drought and floods as a result of climate change are a serious problem for households at Mpolonjeni ADP because their livelihood is mainly rainfedfarming. This is evident as there is high level of food insecurity, crop failure, poverty and hunger, which has forced many households to abandon farming and survive by food aid. The study was a descriptive survey aimed to identify private adaptation strategies to climate change and conduct a cost benefit analysis for the identified adaptation strategies. A stratified random samplingtechnique was used to select 350 households. Personal interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cost benefit analysis where net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) were used as decision rules. Adaptation strategies used were; drought resistant varieties, switching crops, irrigation, crop rotation, mulching, minimum tillage, early planting, late planting and intercropping. Switching crops had the highest NPV, where maize (E14.40) should be substituted with drought tolerant crops such as cotton (E1864.40), sorghum (E283.30) and dry beans (E292.20). The study recommends that households should grow drought tolerant crops such as cotton, sorghum and dry beans instead of maize. The government should provide irrigation infrastructure, such as dams, strengthen extension services and subsidise farm inputs in order to improve crop production

The Impact of Credit on Technical Efficiency Among Vegetable Farmers in Swaziland

Access to credit is regarded as an important intervention for improving the incomes of the rural population, mainly by mobilizing resources to more productive uses. Production of vegetables by smallholder farmers in Swaziland is inconsistent and lower than the national demand, hence the gap is filled by imports from South Africa. The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of credit on technical efficiency of smallholder vegetable farmers in Swaziland. Data were collected in 2013 from farmers through a structured questionnaire, which was administered using personal interviews. A two-stage sampling procedure was used by stratifying the vegetable farmers in the Hhohho region according to the four Rural Development Areas (RDAs). This was followed by a simple random sampling technique used to select the number of vegetable farmers from each stratum. A sample size of 120 farmers was selected from a population of 289. The Stochastic Frontier production function was used to analyze the data using the STATA program (version 12). The results revealed that credit had a negative effect on technical efficiency of cabbage and green pepper farmers, while it had a positive effect on the technical efficiency of tomato, and beetroot farmers. The technical efficiency of tomatoes and cabbage farmers was affected by age, education level, farming experience and access to credit (p <0.01), while beetroot and green pepper was affected by farmer’s age, and off-farm income. (p<0.05). The study recommended that vegetable farmers should increase the amount of seeds, fertilizer and chemicals used in order to improve yields. The Government of Swaziland should subsidize farming inputs and financial institutions should make credit more available to agribusinesses in order to improve the efficient use of input resources

The Critical Analyses of Propaganda of the Terrorism Deed

This paper analyses the propaganda of the terrorism deed as the form of terrorism that is different from mainstream terrorism.&nbsp; The propaganda by the deed is underpinned by specific political action which is meant to serve as a catalyst for revolution and terrors groups have over the decades used the propaganda by the deed to expand their operations and seek sympathizers.&nbsp; The concept became consolidated in the late 19th and early 20th in Europe when proponents were driven by violence which included bombings and assassinations, targeted at the ruling class. The aim was to entrench the spirit of revolt, to consolidate the observation that the state was not omnipotent and by offering hope to the downtrodden, and also to expand support for anarchist movements as the state grew more repressive in its response. This paper argues that modern-day terrorism has greatly made use of the propaganda by the deed to carry out its violent missions. Therefore, this paper examines the use of propaganda by the deed by modern-day terror groups, it reflects on how terrorism has evolved not only to be linked to non-state actors but also observes how states have become sponsors of terrorism to advance their interests, finally, the paper how examines how terrorism has emerged to become a global security concern in a globalized era.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp

Sensitivity of selected organ dissection to diagnose Taenia solium cysticercosis in pigs from endemic areas

Taenia solium, also known as the pork tapeworm, is a neglected zoonotic parasite which is endemic in many developing countries, including Zambia. The tapeworm causes two disease conditions in humans: (1) taeniosis, which is the intestinal tapeworm infection, obtained after consumtion of raw/undercooked infected pork; and (2) cysticercosis, which is the metacestode larval stage infection, obtained after ingestion of tapeworm eggs. A human tapeworm carrier can excrete high numbers of eggs with the stool (100 000 eggs per day) and is thus an important source of environmental contamination. The transmission of cysticercosis is thus enhanced with poor sanitation and the lack of clean drinking water. After ingestion of the eggs, oncospheres hatch in the intestine and disseminate to several body tissues, including the central nervous system. Infection of the central nervous system with cysticerci is called neurocysticercosis, which is a major cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide.</p