Trade & migration: the impact of mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on developing countries in the midst of a skills shortage and brain drain

Abstract The reach of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has gone beyond its traditional spheres of trading in goods to influencing the mobility of skilled labour and thus having an impact on migration patterns. The growing influence of the WTO has led to the enforcement and implementation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which calls for the liberalisation of services, including the movement of ‘natural persons’ for the purposes of providing services in member states of the WTO under mode 4 of the Agreement. Globalisation, liberal market economies and the increased mobility of skilled labour have led to a merging of the trade and migration communities globally. With fears running high of a skilled exodus from developing countries to developed countries, known as a brain drain, questions arise as to who the brain drain benefits, what the purpose of mode 4 is, and whether developing countries can use mode 4 to solve their brain drain as its emphasis is on the movement of skilled labour on a temporary basis. The rapid changes globally have been fueled by a shift in major industrial economies from industrial economies to knowledge based economies; these rely heavily on highly skilled labour for economic growth and wealth creation, this process has also been aided by the growing capacity of developing countries to produce skilled labour. Using South Africa as an example, the following thesis will assess what impact mode 4 of the GATS will have on developing countries in the midst of a skills shortage and brain drain. It will provide a general understanding of what the GATS is, while also showing what effect the brain drain, immigration policy, neo-liberalism and globalisation will have on mode 4 negotiations within the WTO

Systems Approach to the operational challenges in marine services within the port of Durban.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Modern problems are complex and are characterized by the existence of multiple actors, multiple perspectives, conflicting interest as well as key uncertainties. This dissertation aims to explore the operational challenges of marine services in the port of Durban. The researcher was interested in exploring marine operational challenges and their impact on the maritime industry as well as stakeholder benefits from the operation of marine services. The purpose of employing systems thinking was to recognize relationships and interconnectedness between elements at play in the marine services operations. Understanding behavior of marine services systems was critical for gaining insight into the behaviors and patterns underlying these complex systems. The research questions related to the operational challenges being experienced within the port of Durban; the stakeholders who are impacted by these challenges; and the recommendations that can be made to mitigate the impact of these challenges. The research objectives aimed to explore the dynamics of the marine services’ system. Furthermore, the research aimed to look at how the current levels of offering can be improved within the port of Durban. The research problem statement presented the level of connection between the South African economy and the port of Durban, acknowledging that the port of Durban is the gateway to international markets. Marine systems are complex and dynamic requiring the system thinking approach to understand the structure of the problem situation. A conceptual model of a dynamic marine service system was developed by employing a qualitative paradigm. Data was collected via interviews and observations from purposive marine employees who possessed knowledge and expertise of the global maritime industry. Using a thematic analysis the findings indicated that investment in infrastructure is the main marine services operational challenge confronted by the department. The volume of cargo triggers ship evolution where ship builders begin to build bigger size vessels to cater for volume throughput in international ports. The ship size evolution leads to the gap in the shipping industry and port infrastructure which require huge investments to close the gap

The ilobolo Debacle in the Postcolonial Era: A South African Township Context

This article uses historical evidence to track the invention of traditions in particular spheres of South African society since the late 1600s. Presently the ilobolo wedding ritual practice aligns with a colonially defined social transaction based on a monetary value system. This challenges the promise to “heal the divisions” brought about the colonial injustices of the past. The data were collected employing a case study, which enabled the researcher to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Theoretical thematic analysis was used to interpret the findings. The participants’ narrative revealed that prevailing socioeconomic conditions limit prospects for the development of an authentic family structure in the post-apartheid era in South Africa. In particular, it focuses on challenges such as the status of vulnerable men, a lack of access to natural capital (land) and a shift from the traditional establishment of receptive social relationships. It recommends that relevant stakeholders, such as traditional leaders, community members, and government agencies, should formulate strategies and policies to facilitate the restoration of the indigenous cultural values behind the principle of ilobolo and to remove the limits imposed by the consumerist tendencies that hover over the black African family structure

Reflections on expropriation-based land reform in Southern Africa

The South African media mainly reports on the division that the land debate is creating in the country, with some fearing that South Africa could be  the next Zimbabwe and others anticipating a long-awaited new dawn. The land debate in South Africa is thus ongoing. However, the implications  that may affect the country have not been pursued in great detail. South Africa may learn lessons from other Southern African countries, namely  Zimbabwe and Namibia, that had similar land processes. Making use of a semi-systematic literature review, the article considers land redistribution  in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia through content analysis, by analysing land in terms of transition to democracy/transition to independence;  land reform, and expropriation land reform, in order to reflect on the implications that expropriationbased land reform has had in these countries. The article considers the lessons learnt from Zimbabwe that have raised concerns by those who are against land expropriation without  compensation, and those who believe that it will not result in a new dawn for the country. However, the 2019 Draft Expropriation Bill contextualises land expropriation and compensation in South Africa that is aligned with the Property Clause of the Constitution. Hence, the evaluation of South African legislation that accommodates expropriation-based land reform and planning legislation that could be utilised to address the land issue and spatial inequality. This highlights that proper legislation and effective spatial planning can be considered, in order to address land reform in South Africa.&nbsp

A case for contemporary third literature: the black experience in the postmillennial fiction of three Kwela authors

This study seeks to uncover the manner in which the young black experience is constructed in three novels by Sifiso Mzobe, Kgebetli Moele and K. Sello Duiker. Young Blood, Untitled and Thirteen Cents all feature teenage narrators navigating the social milieu of South Africa in the twenty-first century. My analysis is informed by Frantz Fanon’s postcolonial theory because South Africa’s socio-economic landscape conforms to the divisions laid out in The Wretched of the Earth. I contend that post-apartheid South Africa is developing in a manner that is symptomatic of the Fanonian post-independence African state. My close reading of the novels teases out the conditions under which young black subjects must survive and express themselves. I look into the roles of the community, the government, the family, and the school in shaping this experience. Naturally, my discussion segues into questions of sexuality and gender as they intersect with race. I demonstrate how these texts fail and succeed as works of Third Literature, a genre derived from Third Cinema, which I have adapted due to its Fanonian ideological underpinning. Third Literature is a fundamentally revolutionary and activistic genre which seeks to pave the way for social change. In this regard, I concern myself with the recommendations these three authors may have for the readers of their texts. In conclusion, these texts demonstrate that racialized identities are social constructs with measurable experiential effects. However, there are ways of actively resisting or eve

Finite element model updating

This thesis focuses on engineering, specifically structural, systems that are approximated by finite element models (FEMs). Initial FEMs are found to have poor accuracies and improved or updated models are sort. From the literature we note that a common set of challenges still persists in all FEM work. These are; which aspects of the model are most uncertain, how can we efficiently update the model and finally how do we know that our chosen model is the best for the system at hand. This is the finite element model updating problem. These challenges are reinforced by the number of different FEMs that can be proposed for any one system and the difficulty of determining the best model from these. Moreover all the said challenges are applicable to all possible FEMs. To address these challenges we propose that the FEM updating problem be analyzed in a multi-model context. What is implicit in this proposal is that updating one model in isolation will not be very informative. This proposed context requires that all proposed methods in this thesis be general enough to be applicable to any set of FEMs. To address the challenge of identifying the most uncertain parameters of a FEM, we propose using an evolution based procedure; population based incremental learning (PBIL). The main assumption for this method is that a list of uncertain model parameters can be represented as a vector. PBIL then probabilistically selects and updates, from this vector, the most uncertain parameters. To verify the consistency of this PBIL method, it is tested on two different objective functions and under two different measurement datasets. The second challenge of finding an efficient way to update a FEM is also addressed via an evolution based procedure. In the proposed multi-model framework, efficiently means updating models quickly and without bias. We thus propose the updating of multiple FEMs using particle swarm optimization (PSO). This approach allows all models to be simultaneously updated and evaluated under one scheme. The result is the interaction of models as they are updated and an accuracy ordering of these. Simulations of a real beam are carried out on a number of models and two objective functions. To determine whether our chosen model is the best in the multi-model setting we propose using the Bayesian model evidence statistic. The model evidence is calculated using the Nested sampling algorithm. Jeffrey’s scale is used to evaluate the significance of model evidence differences. Simulations on two real systems, using multiple models for each, are performed. The proposed method concisely shows and justifies the model ordering

The role of human breast milk mucus and mucins in HIV-AIDS

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Milk molecules such as mucins, antibodies, bactericidal enzymes like lysozymes and fatty acids that lyse bacteria, viral particles and bacterial peptides, offer anti-microbial activity in milk. Despite human breast milk being rich in anti-microbial substances, such as mucin, that protect against pathogens and viruses, it remains a significant route of HIV transmission from mother to child. ... The objectives of the study were to isolate, purify, identify and investigate the anti-HIV-1 activity of crude breast milk particularly the human milk fat globule material (MFGM) and its purified mucin components, in HIV positive patients (n = 20) compared with those who are not infected (n = 20). This study also tested the effect that heat (80°C, 10 min) might have on breast milk which might release the milk mucins and consequently have an inhibitory effect on HIV-1