Aftercare of inward foreign direct investment: A case study of South Africa

Attraction of new inward foreign direct investment (FDI) globally, especially in the developing countries, is problematic. Economic development practitioners have recently started to prioritise the retention and growing of existing investments to enhance their economic development agenda. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and investigate the relationship between inward FDI and investment aftercare in South Africa (SA). Only a few studies have been carried out on the topic at the global level and none on SA as far as could be ascertained. A structured questionnaire was used to collate data, and 30 face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 investment aftercare practitioners and 14 executives from the investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in seven of the nine provinces of SA. The main finding of the study is that although investment aftercare services are essential, they receive limited funding, staff and attention, and have not yet been developed in SA.

Migration and urbanization : some theories and applications for South Africa

ThesisIn this thesis migration is assumed to be practically -·~ tantamount to urbanization. After setting out the nature of the study to be pursued in Chapter 1, the thesis analyses various theories of migration/urbanization in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3 the. major demographic and economic features of the migration/urbanization process in the presently developing countries are compared with those of the developed countries in the past. The general evidence on migration/urbanization trends in South Africa, and for selected towns, is examined in Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 6 is a summary of the main findings of the study and finally, Chapter 7 contains some policy implications. conclusions on migration or South Africa in particular. largely as a result of The thesis draws some tentative urbanization in general, and for Thus, cities which are growing rural-urban migration have a very different character to those that are growing largely on account of natural population increase . Moreover, differentials between urban and rural incomes are generally greatest where urban growth has been very rapid. It would seem that migration or urbanization have had an equilibrating effect on income distribution in the developed countries, whereas the corresponding effect is generally disequilibrating in developing countries. Migration/urbanization is also a disequilibrating process in \ most developing countries or communities as far as geographical population distribution is concerned . This has generally also been the case in South Africa which in many ways represents a microcosm of the world as a whole. The migration/urbanization process has clearly been disequilibrating among the various race groups in south Africa. However, the process has generally had an equilibrating effect on the income distribution within the various population groups. In the case of the black population group, in particular, the effect on income distribution has been disequilibrating, while urbanization has had an equilibrating effect on the geographical distribution due to stringent control measures. The urbanization process in South Africa is of a dual nature : nearing saturation in the case of white people but far from complete for black people

Credit extension in South Africa: a business cycle perspective for the period 1985 to 2009

This paper investigates and quantifies the relationship between the macroeconomic business cycle and bank-granted credit in South Africa for the period 1985 to 2009. The main question that this research seeks to answer is what role do banks play in amplifying the business cycle and what is the impact of this on the macroeconomy? The outcomes of the econometric model support the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between bank-extended credit and the business cycle. The vector autoregression technique was used to prove the relationship between credit and the underlying cycle. The analysis shows that a two-way relationship exists between credit and the coincident indicator, credit and insolvencies and credit and prime. Results from the vector error correction model show a significant short-run relationship of equilibrium in the cointegrating equation between credit and the coincident indicator. This corroborates the underlying theory that credit is a unifying variable that rapidly responds to shocks emanating from the dynamic interaction of cointegrating variables in the economy

Mild hypohydration increases the frequency of driver errors during a prolonged, monotonous driving task

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of mild hypohydration on performance during a prolonged, monotonous driving task. Methods: Eleven healthy males (age 22 ± 4 y) were instructed to consume a volume of fluid in line with published guidelines (HYD trial) or 25% of this intake (FR trial) in a crossover manner. Participants came to the laboratory the following morning after an overnight fast. One hour following a standard breakfast, a 120 min driving simulation task began. Driver errors, including instances of lane drifting or late breaking, EEG and heart rate were recorded throughout the driving task. Results: Pre-trial bodymass (P=0.692), urine osmolality (P=0.838) and serumosmolality (P=0.574)were the same on both trials. FR resulted in a 1.1±0.7% reduction in bodymass, compared to−0.1±0.6% in the HYD trial (P = 0.002). Urine and serum osmolality were both increased following FR (P b 0.05). There was a progressive increase in the total number of driver errors observed during both the HYD and FR trials, but significantly more incidents were recorded throughout the FR trial (HYD 47 ± 44, FR 101 ± 84; ES = 0.81; P = 0.006). Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that mild hypohydration, produced a significant increase in minor driving errors during a prolonged, monotonous drive, compared to that observed while performing the same task in a hydrated condition. The magnitude of decrement reported,was similar to that observed following the ingestion of an alcoholic beverage resulting in a blood alcohol content of approximately 0.08% (the current UK legal driving limit), or while sleep deprived

An Improved Model for Dynamin Assembly Revealed by Cryo-EM

Continua com: Avaluació de la qualitat de l'aire a la ciutat de Barcelon

A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index

BACKGROUND: The identification of beverages that promote longer-term fluid retention and maintenance of fluid balance is of real clinical and practical benefit in situations in which free access to fluids is limited or when frequent breaks for urination are not desirable. The postingestion diuretic response is likely to be influenced by several beverage characteristics, including the volume ingested, energy density, electrolyte content, and the presence of diuretic agents. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of 13 different commonly consumed drinks on urine output and fluid balance when ingested in a euhydrated state, with a view to establishing a beverage hydration index (BHI), i.e., the volume of urine produced after drinking expressed relative to a standard treatment (still water) for each beverage. DESIGN: Each subject (n = 72, euhydrated and fasted male subjects) ingested 1 L still water or 1 of 3 other commercially available beverages over a period of 30 min. Urine output was then collected for the subsequent 4 h. The BHI was corrected for the water content of drinks and was calculated as the amount of water retained at 2 h after ingestion relative to that observed after the ingestion of still water. RESULTS: Total urine masses (mean +/- SD) over 4 h were smaller than the still-water control (1337 +/- 330 g) after an oral rehydration solution (ORS) (1038 +/- 333 g, P < 0.001), full-fat milk (1052 +/- 267 g, P < 0.001), and skimmed milk (1049 +/- 334 g, P < 0.001). Cumulative urine output at 4 h after ingestion of cola, diet cola, hot tea, iced tea, coffee, lager, orange juice, sparkling water, and a sports drink were not different from the response to water ingestion. The mean BHI at 2 h was 1.54 +/- 0.74 for the ORS, 1.50 +/- 0.58 for full-fat milk, and 1.58 +/- 0.60 for skimmed milk. CONCLUSIONS: BHI may be a useful measure to identify the short-term hydration potential of different beverages when ingested in a euhydrated state. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN13014105

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Democracia vs. eficiência: como alcançar equilíbrio em tempo de crise financeira

Resumo A administração pública é forçada a encontrar um equilíbrio entre eficiência e democracia na definição da sua agenda e curso de ação. Uma das características da administração pública é que todas as decisões devem refletir valores democráticos, para além de serem eficientes. No entanto, a reforma administrativa, motivada por dificuldades financeiras, tende a destacar a importância do desempenho financeiro, em detrimento dos aspetos democráticos nas políticas de gestão pública. Esta pesquisa visa analisar a relação e tensão entre a eficiência e a democracia à luz da mais recente crise financeira global. O trabalho utiliza uma abordagem quantitativa e recolhe dados de governos locais portugueses para testar o argumento de uma relação linear inversa de desempenho financeiro e procedimentos democráticos. Os resultados confirmam o argumento de uma relação inversa, definida por Waldo (1948). Adicionalmente, os resultados também permitem concluir que a crise financeira evidenciou o efeito negativo dos procedimentos democráticos no desempenho financeiro

State of the climate in 2018

In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—continued their increase. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth’s surface was 407.4 ± 0.1 ppm, the highest in the modern instrumental record and in ice core records dating back 800 000 years. Combined, greenhouse gases and several halogenated gases contribute just over 3 W m−2 to radiative forcing and represent a nearly 43% increase since 1990. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 65% of this radiative forcing. With a weak La Niña in early 2018 transitioning to a weak El Niño by the year’s end, the global surface (land and ocean) temperature was the fourth highest on record, with only 2015 through 2017 being warmer. Several European countries reported record high annual temperatures. There were also more high, and fewer low, temperature extremes than in nearly all of the 68-year extremes record. Madagascar recorded a record daily temperature of 40.5°C in Morondava in March, while South Korea set its record high of 41.0°C in August in Hongcheon. Nawabshah, Pakistan, recorded its highest temperature of 50.2°C, which may be a new daily world record for April. Globally, the annual lower troposphere temperature was third to seventh highest, depending on the dataset analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was approximately fifth lowest. The 2018 Arctic land surface temperature was 1.2°C above the 1981–2010 average, tying for third highest in the 118-year record, following 2016 and 2017. June’s Arctic snow cover extent was almost half of what it was 35 years ago. Across Greenland, however, regional summer temperatures were generally below or near average. Additionally, a satellite survey of 47 glaciers in Greenland indicated a net increase in area for the first time since records began in 1999. Increasing permafrost temperatures were reported at most observation sites in the Arctic, with the overall increase of 0.1°–0.2°C between 2017 and 2018 being comparable to the highest rate of warming ever observed in the region. On 17 March, Arctic sea ice extent marked the second smallest annual maximum in the 38-year record, larger than only 2017. The minimum extent in 2018 was reached on 19 September and again on 23 September, tying 2008 and 2010 for the sixth lowest extent on record. The 23 September date tied 1997 as the latest sea ice minimum date on record. First-year ice now dominates the ice cover, comprising 77% of the March 2018 ice pack compared to 55% during the 1980s. Because thinner, younger ice is more vulnerable to melting out in summer, this shift in sea ice age has contributed to the decreasing trend in minimum ice extent. Regionally, Bering Sea ice extent was at record lows for almost the entire 2017/18 ice season. For the Antarctic continent as a whole, 2018 was warmer than average. On the highest points of the Antarctic Plateau, the automatic weather station Relay (74°S) broke or tied six monthly temperature records throughout the year, with August breaking its record by nearly 8°C. However, cool conditions in the western Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sector contributed to a low melt season overall for 2017/18. High SSTs contributed to low summer sea ice extent in the Ross and Weddell Seas in 2018, underpinning the second lowest Antarctic summer minimum sea ice extent on record. Despite conducive conditions for its formation, the ozone hole at its maximum extent in September was near the 2000–18 mean, likely due to an ongoing slow decline in stratospheric chlorine monoxide concentration. Across the oceans, globally averaged SST decreased slightly since the record El Niño year of 2016 but was still far above the climatological mean. On average, SST is increasing at a rate of 0.10° ± 0.01°C decade−1 since 1950. The warming appeared largest in the tropical Indian Ocean and smallest in the North Pacific. The deeper ocean continues to warm year after year. For the seventh consecutive year, global annual mean sea level became the highest in the 26-year record, rising to 81 mm above the 1993 average. As anticipated in a warming climate, the hydrological cycle over the ocean is accelerating: dry regions are becoming drier and wet regions rainier. Closer to the equator, 95 named tropical storms were observed during 2018, well above the 1981–2010 average of 82. Eleven tropical cyclones reached Saffir–Simpson scale Category 5 intensity. North Atlantic Major Hurricane Michael’s landfall intensity of 140 kt was the fourth strongest for any continental U.S. hurricane landfall in the 168-year record. Michael caused more than 30 fatalities and $25 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages. In the western North Pacific, Super Typhoon Mangkhut led to 160 fatalities and$6 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Son-Tinh was responsible for 170 fatalities in Vietnam and Laos. Nearly all the islands of Micronesia experienced at least moderate impacts from various tropical cyclones. Across land, many areas around the globe received copious precipitation, notable at different time scales. Rodrigues and Réunion Island near southern Africa each reported their third wettest year on record. In Hawaii, 1262 mm precipitation at Waipā Gardens (Kauai) on 14–15 April set a new U.S. record for 24-h precipitation. In Brazil, the city of Belo Horizonte received nearly 75 mm of rain in just 20 minutes, nearly half its monthly average. Globally, fire activity during 2018 was the lowest since the start of the record in 1997, with a combined burned area of about 500 million hectares. This reinforced the long-term downward trend in fire emissions driven by changes in land use in frequently burning savannas. However, wildfires burned 3.5 million hectares across the United States, well above the 2000–10 average of 2.7 million hectares. Combined, U.S. wildfire damages for the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons exceeded $40 billion (U.S. dollars)