Using election registration data to measure migration trends in South Africa

Migration is critical for policy agendas and government planning as it changes the demographic composition of towns, cities and regions – this requires adjustments to service and infrastructure provision. To develop suitable policy responses, reliable, comparable and timely information is required. Obvious sources of migration data are the national census and household and labour surveys. Socio-economic data have not dealt well with migration. A recent CSIR research project, Spatial and Temporal Evidence for Planning in South Africa1 (StepSA), explored the use of voter registration information as an alternative source of migration data. Anonymised voter registration data were provided by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa for several consecutive elections covering a 12-year period. The data, once spatialised (and related to a single set of voting districts), could then be processed to extract movement trends between different election periods. This article describes the process applied and the initial analyses conducted

Self-managing individual wellness for the health professional : A somatology perspective

Abstract: Health professionals play a vital role in the stability and sustainability of any healthcare system. However, the well-documented long working hours, lack of wellness support structures, regular occurrence of burnout and low retention rates are concerning. Aim: The aim of this research study was to understand how a group of therapists self-manage their own individual wellness, to provide insight on how other health professionals, working in a demanding environment, could potentially address their individual wellness more effectively. Setting: The research was conducted in a private room at the place of participant employment, in two metropolitans in Gauteng, South Africa..

Spatial trends in tourism within South Africa : the expected and the surprising

Abstract: Several researchers have highlighted the spatial imbalances of the tourism sector in South Africa. It has been noted that this sector is highly concentrated spatially in terms of its distribution and in relation to its potential local impacts across the country. Although it is broadly understood that the tourism sector is geographically uneven, the lack of sector comparative data at municipal level may inhibit the wide spread use of geographically comparative analyses of the contribution of the various dimensions of tourism in the South African space economy. The aim of this paper is to provide an indication of the value of such comparative analyses of the spatial trends and impacts of the tourism sector in local economies in South Africa. The discussion of the tourism space economy is based on an analysis of a local tourism database which contains details of the tourism performance of all local authorities in the country focussing on the period from 2001 to 2011. Whilst the study confirms the important role of metropolitan areas, secondary and coastal cities and typical tourism destinations in the tourism space economy, it also highlights the significance of some local places/economies that are not traditionally associated with tourism, as well as illustrating the significance of tourism spend in the local economies of a range of municipalities that might not be part of the ‘top’ tourist destinations in South Africa

Feed size distribution feedforward control for a grinding mill circuit

This paper proposes a method to measure and reject disturbances caused by changes in the ore distribution of the feed to a grinding mill circuit. A computer vision system is presented to measure the fraction of rocks in the feed, using only basic equipment and algorithms. A feedforward controller is designed to reject the measured feed size disturbance within the mill before causing further disturbances downstream. The feedforward controller is implemented in simulation to control a nonlinear mill model, and is compared to conventional feedback control. The allowable plant-model mismatch and practicality of feedforward control for industrial applications are investigated. It was found that feedforward control has a noticeable advantage over feedback control if well tuned. The most significant disturbance is the efficiency of the mill to break ore into fine material. Since this is not currently measured in real-time, it limits the performance of a feedforward controller in practice.https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ifac-papersonlinepm2020Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

Spatial, temporal and source contribution assessments of black carbon over the northern interior of South Africa

After carbon dioxide (CO2) aerosol black carbon (BC) is considered to be the second most important contributor to global warming. This paper presents equivalent black carbon (eBC) (derived from an optical absorption method) data collected from three sites in the interior of South Africa where continuous measurements were conducted, i.e. Elandsfontein, Welgegund and Marikana, as well elemental carbon (EC) (determined by evolved carbon method) data at five sites where samples were collected once a month on a filter and analysed offline, i.e. Louis Trichardt, Skukuza, Vaal Triangle, Amersfoort and Botsalano. Analyses of eBC and EC spatial mass concentration patterns across the eight sites indicate that the mass concentrations in the South African interior are in general higher than what has been reported for the developed world and that different sources are likely to influence different sites. The mean eBC or EC mass concentrations for the background sites (Welgegund, Louis Trichardt, Skukuza, Botsalano) and sites influenced by industrial activities and/or nearby settlements (Elandsfontein, Marikana, Vaal Triangle and Amersfoort) ranged between 0.7 and 1.1, and 1.3 and 1.4 ae gm 3, respectively. Similar seasonal patterns were observed at all three sites where continuous measurement data were collected (Elandsfontein, Marikana and Welgegund), with the highest eBC mass concentrations measured from June to October, indicating contributions from household combustion in the cold winter months (June-August), as well as savannah and grassland fires during the dry season (May to mid-October). Diurnal patterns of eBC at Elandsfontein, Marikana and Welgegund indicated maximum concentrations in the early mornings and late evenings, and minima during daytime. From the patterns it could be deduced that for Marikana and Welgegund, household combustion, as well as savannah and grassland fires, were the most significant sources, respectively. Possible contributing sources were explored in greater detail for Elandsfontein, with five main sources being identified as coal-fired power stations, pyrometallurgical smelters, traffic, household combustion, as well as savannah and grassland fires. Industries on the Mpumalanga Highveld are often blamed for all forms of pollution, due to the NO2 hotspot over this area that is attributed to NOx emissions from industries and vehicle emissions from the Johannesburg-Pretoria megacity. However, a comparison of source strengths indicated that household combustion as well as savannah and grassland fires were the most significant sources of eBC, par-ticularly during winter and spring months, while coal-fired power stations, pyrometallurgical smelters and traffic contribute to eBC mass concentration levels year round.Peer reviewe

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

Martin Gerber

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Petrus Nicolaas Smith

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