The consequences of a hypothetical economic boycott on South Africa

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented November 1977By a boycott we mean the refusal by persons to deal with one or more other persons. The purpose of the boycott is generally to punish, or induce abandonment of a course of action, by economic pressure. Likewise, an international boycott refers to the refusal of citizens of a state to trade, or enter into other economic relations with the citizens of another state, in order to manifest resentment or bring pressure. A boycott is to be distinguished from measures of economic retortion such as reprisals, sanctions, embargoes or blockades, which are initiated by a government to bring pressure upon a state guilty of unfriendly, reprehensible or illegal behaviour. Boycotts, however, merge into such official procedures if they are encouraged or organized by government....As far as South Africa is concerned, there has been a notable tendency for an increase in the calls for an economic boycott.... An articulate demand for an investment boycott was made last year in a joint statement issued by Chief Gatsha Buthelesi and Dr. C.F. Beyers Naude.... It is not the purpose of this paper to assess the validity of the theologians' reasoning. Suffice it to say that social and economic devastation is a most unlikely scenario from which South Africa will emerge as a peaceful multi-racial society. In my opinion it is rapid economic growth, and NOT the enforced abandonment of prosperous international economic links, which is best suited effectively to further the case of the South African Black. Be this as it may, let us look now at the consequences which a hypothetical economic boycott would have for South Africa

On-the-Job Training on the Assembly Plant of a South African Motor Vehicle Producer: a Case Study

A RJE study on in-house job training at an automobile assembly line in the then white ruled South Africa.It is the purpose of this paper to report the findings of a study into on-the- job training on a South African motor vehicle assembly-line. The data reported in this paper were collected during the months July, August and September, 1972, when the writer spent some seven weeks on the premises of a major motor car producer of the Eastern Province. In order to preserve the anonymity of those who freely supplied information—managers, workers, and informed outsiders—the plant in question has been called Company X. More than 50 per cent of Company X’s employees are Non-White (both Coloured and Bantu). Among the Non-Whites of the whole region there prevails what one might refer to as a vicious circle of poverty, and before the specific theme of this paper is developed more fully, it appears appropriate to discuss briefly some features of the typical social environment from which Company X draws its Non-White employees

A study in the dual labour market of a South African plant

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented July 1974Legal and customary barriers of racial employment patterns prevent South African companies from optimizing labour input relationships. The result of these barriers is imperfections in the internal labour market which manifest themselves as follows : i) The marginal rates of substitution of White for Black workers do not equal the ratios of the wage rates of the two factors; (ii) Relative to their occupational abilities, Whites are overrepresented in high-graded jobs, while Blacks are overrepresented in low-graded jobs. During the process of the growth of the firms, there are certain intermediate occupations where the replacement of Whites by Blacks does actually take place. This process of replacement has certain elements of inertia. Abrupt and visible changes would be looked upon as being contrary to the ‘South African way of life’ (1). In the past, Black occupational advance in South African manufacturing industries was cut off, by and large, at the level of operative machine minding. During recent years, Blacks have also advanced into certain clerical, sales, supervisory and control positions. With large employers of Blacks, clerical personnel administration' for Non-Whites is largely nowadays done by Blacks themselves. (iii) In the intermediate occupations, Whites tend to be paid wages in excess of their marginal value product, and Blacks below. Racial pay discrimination also percolates into the areas of fringe benefits, such as health protection, annual leave, and into every-day communication. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the factors which prevent the attainment of equilibrium in the labour markets under conditions of South African- racial discrimination. The data were collected during the months October and November, 1972, when the writer spent some weeks on the premises of a bottling plant in the Transvaal. (2) In order to preserve the anonymity of those who freely supplied information - managers, workers, and informed outsiders - the plant in question will be called Company X

How Wounding via Lasers Has Potential Photocarcinogenic Preventative Effects via Dermal Remodeling

As the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is increasing, there is a growing need to identify effective preventive strategies. A recently proposed hypothesis states that NMSC photocarcinogenesis is tightly linked to insufficient insulin growth factor-1 expression by agglomerated senescent fibroblasts in geriatric dermis. This paucity of IGF-1 expression in senile skin allows basal keratinocytes to mitotically propagate their UVB-altered genome and potentially initiate an actinic neoplasm. Here we review the role of the dermal microenvironment in NMSC pathogenesis, describe the impact of fibroblast senescence on this process and discuss how laser-induced dermal wounding can be effectively used to prevent NMSC development in geriatric patients

Translational Repression Protects Human Keratinocytes from UVB-Induced Apoptosis through a Discordant eIF2 Kinase Stress Response

This study delineates the mechanisms by which UVB regulates protein synthesis in human keratinocytes and the importance of translational control in cell survival. Translation initiation is regulated by phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2-P) that causes decreased global protein synthesis coincident with enhanced translation of selected stress-related transcripts, such as activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4). ATF4 is a transcriptional activator of the integrated stress response (ISR) that has cytoprotective functions as well as apoptotic signals through the downstream transcriptional regulator C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP; GADD153/DDIT3). We determined that UVB irradiation is a potent inducer of eIF2-P in keratinocytes, leading to decreased levels of translation initiation. However, expression of ATF4 or CHOP was not induced by UVB as compared with traditional ISR activators. The rationale for this discordant response is that ATF4 mRNA is reduced by UVB, and despite its ability to be preferentially translated, there are diminished levels of available transcript. Forced expression of ATF4 and CHOP protein before UVB irradiation significantly enhanced apoptosis, suggesting that this portion of the ISR is deleterious in keratinocytes following UVB. Inhibition of eIF2-P and translational control reduced viability following UVB that was alleviated by cycloheximide (CHX), indicating that translation repression through eIF2-P is central to keratinocyte survival

Human keratinocyte differentiation requires translational control by the eIF2α kinase GCN2

Appropriate and sequential differentiation of keratinocytes is essential for all functions of the human epidermis. While transcriptional regulation has proven to be important for keratinocyte differentiation, little is known about the role of translational control. A key mechanism for modulating translation is through phosphorylation of the α subunit of eIF2. A family of different eIF2α kinases function in the integrative stress response to inhibit general protein synthesis coincident with preferential translation of select mRNAs that participate in stress alleviation. Here we demonstrate that translational control through eIF2α phosphorylation is required for normal keratinocyte differentiation. Analyses of polysome profiles revealed that key differentiation genes, including involucrin, are bound to heavy polysomes during differentiation, despite decreased general protein synthesis. Induced eIF2α phosphorylation by the GCN2 protein kinase facilitated translational control and differentiation-specific protein expression during keratinocyte differentiation. Furthermore, loss of GCN2 thwarted translational control, normal epidermal differentiation, and differentiation gene expression in organotypic skin culture. These findings underscore a previously unknown function for GCN2 phosphorylation of eIF2α and translational control in the formation of an intact human epidermis

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor Signaling Is Required for Optimal ATR-CHK1 Kinase Signaling in Ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated Human Keratinocytes

UVB wavelengths of light induce the formation of photoproducts in DNA that are potentially mutagenic if not properly removed by the nucleotide excision repair machinery. As an additional mechanism to minimize the risk of mutagenesis, UVB-irradiated cells also activate a checkpoint signaling cascade mediated by the ATM and Rad3-related (ATR) and checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) kinases to transiently suppress DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression. Given that keratinocytes in geriatric skin display reduced activation of the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) and alterations in DNA repair rate, apoptosis, and senescence following UVB exposure, here we used cultured human keratinocytes in vitro and skin explants ex vivo to examine how IGF-1R activation status affects ATR-CHK1 kinase signaling and the inhibition of DNA replication following UVB irradiation. We find that disruption of IGF-1R signaling with small-molecule inhibitors or IGF-1 withdrawal partially abrogates both the phosphorylation and activation of CHK1 by ATR and the accompanying inhibition of chromosomal DNA synthesis in UVB-irradiated keratinocytes. A critical protein factor that mediates both ATR-CHK1 signaling and nucleotide excision repair is replication protein A, and we find that its accumulation on UVB-damaged chromatin is partially attenuated in cells with an inactive IGF-1R. These results indicate that mutagenesis and skin carcinogenesis in IGF-1-deficient geriatric skin may be caused by defects in multiple cellular responses to UVB-induced DNA damage, including through a failure to properly suppress DNA synthesis on UVB-damaged DNA templates

Income distribution and economic growth in South Africa

It is the purpose of this study to examine the interplay of supply and demand factors for the South African economy, and to relate this to the functional, personal, and racial distribution of incomes. On the one hand, it appears that a concentration of incomes in the hands of those who possess both the ability and willingness to save, and to utilize the savings for productive investments, is a crucial determinant for the enhancement of economic growth. On the other hand, an excessive income concentration may severely limit the purchasing power of the major part of the population, thus inhibiting domestic investment. The study is developed, partly in terms of a theory of economic development, and partly in terms of a theory of economic growth. The analysis covers the period from 1918 to the present time. Periods during which the actual economic growth would have been faster had the distribution of incomes favoured work income receivers at the expense of other income receivers, are identified by employing a short-term post-Keynesian model of functional income distribution. Periods during which an acceleration of economic growth would have been achieved had the opposite condition prevailed, are also shown. An analysis is made both of the division by race of aggregate income, and of racial wage differentials in particular economic sectors. A noticeable identity between the economic growth performance and racial wage differentials is evidenced both for the mining and manufacturing sectors. It appears that in the long-term, there is regularity in respect of correlations between measures of the inequality in the size distribution of income on the one hand, and the rates of investment and economic growth on the other. From this observation, it becomes evident that inequality in the distribution of personal income has been a necessary condition for the attainment of economic growth in South Africa. It is obvious that a study of this sort necessitates the use of much statistical data. In order to avoid major disturbances in the flow of the theoretical and analytical arguments through the discussion of the statistical material, the work is submitted in two volumes, viz.,Volume 1 dealing with the Theory and Analysis, and Volume II with the Statistical Foundations