528 research outputs found
Report of the Special-purpose Committee on Virtual Participation in the Nomenclature Section
The Special-purpose Committee on Virtual Participation in the Nomenclature Section was established by the XIX International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Shenzhen, China in 2017, with the mandate "to investigate the possibility of and mechanisms for virtual participation and voting in the Nomenclature Section of an International Botanical Congress via the internet" and to report to the XX IBC. The wide access to the World Wide Web and availability of software for virtual meetings makes the possibility for virtual (online) attendance and voting at a Nomenclature Section seem attainable and advisable. In order to make informed recommendations, we discussed various aspects of online attendance and voting, such as: who should be able to observe?; what would qualify a person to cast institutional votes and personal votes?; if the accumulation of institutional votes should be allowed by an online voter; registration of online voters; how costs would be covered; and recommendations for online attendees. This report provides a synthesis of our discussions and is necessary for interpreting the proposals of this Special-purpose Committee to change aspects of Div. III (Provisions for governance) of the Code (Landrum & al. in Taxon 70: 1397-1398. 2021). This report and those proposals should be consulted together.Peer reviewe
Understanding corruption in Zimbabwe’s land sector: A structural breaks approach
This study provides an understanding on whether land reform policies pursued by the government of Zimbabwe post-independence (1980) have an effect on the corruption in the land sector. Agriculture and corruption data from 2000 to 2017 were obtained from World Bank and Ibrahim Index of Governance website respectively. The Bai and Perron multiple structural break tests were employed to establish the break years. Structural breaks in time series assist in understanding factors affecting the dynamics of a series. Three breaks were found in agriculture series namely 2004, 2009 and 2011 while for corruption series one break was found in 2013. A negative effect was found in agriculture for break year 2011. We noted that Zimbabwe land policies were inefficient and unsustainable and left room for manipulation and corruption. We recommend technological innovation and adoption, inclusivity in policy formulation and political will in dealing with corruption in the land sector. Keywords:
(127-135) Proposals to add new Provisions and Recommendations to Division III of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants related to virtual participation in the Nomenclature Section Special-purpose Committee on Virtual Participation in the Nomenclature Section
Non peer reviewe
Development of a database of mine planning and peripheral software used in the South African mining industry
The mining industry uses computers for major administrative tasks, common to most industries, along with a range of applications highly specific to mining where the computer speed, accuracy and ability to cope with large volumes of data present the opportunity for optimal solutions to problems. However, the nature and extent of the software utilisation in the South African mining industry has never been evaluated. The aim of this research therefore was to collate and analyse the current utilisation of software in the South African mining industry. This was done through the development of a database of mine planning and peripheral software utilised in the South African mining industry.
The database is expected to help at least 13 educational institutions with decisions on facilities and training vital to the education of geologists, surveyors, mining engineers, metallurgists and other professionals who are directly involved in planning across the mine value chain. Exploration, mining, mineral processing and consulting companies will benefit from information relating to availability of software solutions. There are about 1 200 mining companies exploring for, extracting or processing more than sixty different mineral commodities at more than 1 600 sites in South Africa. At least 50 consulting companies and at least 20 software providers were identified. The database will also enable software providers to have a better understanding of their market share.
Snowball sampling was used to collect the data because the industry is diverse and software utilisation is fragmented across and within sectors of the mining industry. The data was then organised into distinct categories so that the information from a variety of sources could be evaluated on the same basis. The database was designed to reflect this categorisation and relationships between the data entities.
The major result of this research is a web-based database of mine planning software in use in the South African industry. The information can be accessed through a user-friendly frontend platform which is available online at http://db.mining.wits.ac.za. One may browse through the data to see which companies are included in the database and at same time view the associated sites and mineral commodities. Software provided by a company is also listed when one browses to the page that shows information on the company. A utility for searching through the database for software based on certain criteria has been included. Depending on the privileges granted to the user, he may also view where the software solutions are
installed. Functionality has also been included to analyse the data relating to adoption of software solutions and their relative market share.
An analysis of the data collated in this research shows that about 73% of the users are mining companies, 21% are consulting companies, 4% are mineral exploration companies and the rest being other providers, educational institutions, mineral processing companies. The software in use in South Africa is largely provided by Gemcom Software, MineRP Solutions and MRM Mining Services. CAE Mining is widely accepted as a major software supplier in South Africa, however, due to certain limitations and constraints, data from them had not been obtained at the time of submission of the dissertation
A Lifetime-based Garbage Collector for LISP Systems on General-Purpose Computers
Garbage collector performance in LISP systems on custom hardware has been substantially improved by the adoption of lifetime-based garbage collection techniques. To date, however, successful lifetime-based garbage collectors have required special-purpose hardware, or at least privileged access to data structures maintained by the virtual memory system. I present here a lifetime-based garbage collector requiring no special-purpose hardware or virtual memory system support, and discuss its performance
Slogging and Stumbling Toward Social Justice in a Private Elementary School: The Complicated Case of St. Malachy
This case study examines St. Malachy, an urban Catholic elementary school primarily serving children traditionally marginalized by race, class, linguistic heritage, and disability. As a private school, St. Malachy serves the public good by recruiting and retaining such traditionally marginalized students. As empirical studies involving Catholic schools frequently juxtapose them with public schools, the author presents this examination from a different tack. Neither vilifying nor glorifying Catholic schooling, this study critically examines the pursuit of social justice in this school context. Data gathered through a 1-year study show that formal and informal leaders in St. Malachy adapted their governance, aggressively sought community resources, and focused their professional development to build the capacity to serve their increasingly pluralistic student population. The analysis confirms the deepening realization that striving toward social justice is a messy, contradictory, and complicated pursuit, and that schools in both public and private sectors are allies in this pursuit
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