Tourism policy and destination marketing in developing countries: the chain of influence

Tourism marketers including destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and international tour operators play a pivotal role in destination marketing, especially in creating destination images. These images, apparent in tourist brochures, are designed to influence tourist decision-making and behaviour. This paper proposes the concept of a “chain of influence” in destination marketing and image-making, suggesting that the content of marketing materials is influenced by the priorities of those who design these materials, e.g. tour operators and DMOs. A content analysis of 2,000 pictures from DMO and tour operator brochures revealed synergies and divergence between these marketers. The brochure content was then compared to the South African tourism policy, concluding that the dominant factor in the chain of influence in the South African context is in fact its organic image

Can deliberate efforts to realise aspirations increase capabilities? A South African case study

This paper takes up Appadurai's suggestion that aspirations could be used as a key to unlock development for people who are economically marginalised, and that their capabilities could be increased by this approach. The notion of “aspirations” is theoretically and conceptually framed, and then Amartya Sen's use of the term capabilities as the space within which development should be assessed is explored. I subsequently describe a five-year programme in which economically marginalised women in Khayelitsha near Cape Town were assisted in voicing and attempting to realise their aspirations, while being assisted with access to some resources. Capability outcomes and constraints are described and analysed, and the question of adaptive preferences is addressed. I conclude that deliberate efforts to realise aspirations, accompanied by some facilitation, can increase capabilities, but that there are also structural constraints to capability expansion for these women that frustrate their aspiration of class mobility.International Bibliography of Social Science

African herbal medicines in the treatment of HIV: Hypoxis and Sutherlandia. An overview of evidence and pharmacology

In Africa, herbal medicines are often used as primary treatment for HIV/AIDS and for HIV-related problems. In general, traditional medicines are not well researched, and are poorly regulated. We review the evidence and safety concerns related to the use of two specific African herbals, which are currently recommended by the Ministry of Health in South Africa and member states for use in HIV: African Potato and Sutherlandia. We review the pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacokinetics of these herbal medicines. Despite the popularity of their use and the support of Ministries of Health and NGOs in some African countries, no clinical trials of efficacy exist, and low-level evidence of harm identifies the potential for drug interactions with antiretroviral drugs. Efforts should be made by mainstream health professionals to provide validated information to traditional healers and patients on the judicious use of herbal remedies. This may reduce harm through failed expectations, pharmacologic adverse events including possible drug/herb interactions and unnecessary added therapeutic costs. Efforts should also be directed at evaluating the possible benefits of natural products in HIV/AIDS treatment

‘We create our own small world’: daily realities of mothers of disabled children in a South African urban settlement

Parents of disabled children face many challenges. Understanding their experiences and acknowledging contextual influences is vital in developing intervention strategies that fit their daily realities. However, studies of parents from a resource-poor context are particularly scarce. This ethnographic study with 30 mothers from a South African township (15 semi-structured interviews and 24 participatory group sessions) unearths how mothers care on their own, in an isolated manner. The complexity of low living standards, being poorly supported by care structures and networks, believing in being the best carer, distrusting others due to a violent context, and resigning towards life shape and are shaped by this solitary care responsibility. For disability inclusive development to be successful, programmes should support mothers by sharing the care responsibility taking into account the isolated nature of mothers’ lives and the impact of poverty. This can provide room for these mothers to increase the well-being of themselves and their children

Professor Joubert Botha's seven deadly sins

[No abstract available]Articl

SCHUMPETERIAANSE ENTREPRENEURSKAP IN DIE LANDBOUSEKTOR VAN DIE NUWE SUID-AFRIKA

Schumpeter claims that the entrepreneur - who occasionally succeeds with a new bundle of innovations to set a process of Creative Destruction in motion - is in effect responsible for the dynamic character of capitalism. He was, nonetheless, of the opinion that entrepreneurial capitalism cannot survive its own success because it produced by virtue of its very success social and cultural by-products which will create circumstances that in the long run will not be conducive to providing that kind of protection, support and acknowledgement the entrepreneur needs. Because of the rise of large-scale corporative enterprises, the agricultural sector is today one of the few sectors in which the business form of owner-entrepreneur is still commonly in use. South Africa is at present experiencing a powershift toward a new dispensation. In the next 10 or 20 years a pluralistic network of power blocks must be brought about with the capacity to have a countervailing effect on one another. If this can be accomplished it will not only give structure and stability to the situation, but can also create CIRCUMSTANCES that will be conducive to the deployment of Schutnpeterian entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. Even if such favourable conditions could be created for agriculture, it will still demand high standards of resourcefulness, adaptability and farsightedness of the entrepreneur if he really wants to succeed

Characterisation, Dissolution and Recovery of Critical Materials in Lithium-ion Battery Cathodes

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are one of the most utilised form of electrochemical energy storage around the world. In recent years, the use of LIBs has extended from portable electronics into electric vehicles (EV). As the number of EVs on the road increases, recycling of these batteries must be addressed. Many of the materials utilised in these batteries have significant monetary and industry value. The cathodes used in commercial LIBs contain critical materials such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, and aluminium. Cobalt and nickel in particular are of the highest monetary value, but are also widely utilised in many industrial applications. Therefore, it is important that these cathode materials are effectively recovered in order to go back into LIBs or be a feedstock for other applications. This thesis covers the characterisation, dissolution, and recovery of LIB cathodes. Firstly, cathode composite structures are visualised through the use of multi-modal AFM imaging to understand the mechanical properties of the composite. Agglomeration of the binder and conductive carbon was revealed as the binding mechanism for the cathodes studied. This will feed into developing new methods for separation of cathode black mass from the current collectors. In addition, electrochemical dissolution of cathode metal oxides is studied. Selective dissolution using electrochemistry is explored in order to purify cathode waste streams by separation of different metals. This has been studied for several relevant cathode metal oxides in simple electrolytes. Selective dissolution of lithium from LCO and NMC was achieved, demonstrating the ability to purify waste streams of critical metals. Finally, recovery of two critical metals, nickel and cobalt, is reported. This has been done by electrodeposition of the two metals as an alloy. Deposition properties such as morphology and alloy composition have been studied as an effect of factors such as electrolyte additives, metal ratios, and current densities applied. This was done with model electrolyte solutions. Deposition from real leachates was also investigated, and good alloy deposits were obtained that have little influence from manganese present in solution.</p