Comparing electronic short books from the USA and the UK to South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-521
Author(s):  
Jana Moller
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Book Industry ◽  
Trade Book ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the electronic short books phenomenon from the USA and the UK which has spilled over to South Africa. By looking at the benefits these short books have for readers and authors, and the possible reasons for their success, the aim is to determine whether or not these books can be as successful a venture in South Africa as it has been elsewhere. Design/methodology/approach – Information about electronic short books, or e-singles, is gathered from various sources, including press releases and sales results. Information is gathered to determine the receptiveness to electronic short books of the South African trade book reading market, the way South African publishers are presenting e-singles to the market and what the future for e-singles may be. Findings – The findings of this paper make it clear that e-singles have found a gap in the market, providing various benefits to authors and readers, which may have contributed to their success. In South Africa, the success of e-singles faces unique obstacles, like a weaker reading culture and a poor awareness of e-books. Publishers need to make a bigger effort to become visible in the eyes of their readers and need to think about better distribution strategies. Research limitations/implications – With comparisons, accuracy is dependent on information provided by organizations (on their Web sites). Originality/value – This paper offers information about a new publishing trend – only a few months in South Africa. It offers a look into the state of the trade book industry in South Africa, how e-singles may function in it and what publishers of e-singles may do to ensure more success. It predicts the future of e-singles in South Africa based on its unique situation, pointing out what obstacles there may be to their uptake.

CSR disclosure in developing and developed countries: a comparative study

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aparna Bhatia ◽  
Binny Makkar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Developed Nations ◽  
Developing And Developed Countries

Purpose This paper aims to examine and compare the nature and extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices of companies in developing (BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa]) and developed (the USA and the UK) countries. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis is conducted on the annual reports and websites of 325 companies listed on stock exchanges of developing markets and of developed markets (Brazil – IBrX 100, 46 companies; Russia – Broad Market Index, 50 companies; India – BSE 100, 50 companies; China – SSE 180, 29 companies; South Africa – FTSE/JSE All Share index, 50 companies; the USA – NYSE 100, 50 companies; the UK – FTSE 100, 50 companies). Descriptives are used to calculate company wise and item wise scores. T-test analysis is applied to check for significant differences between mean scores of developing and developed countries. Findings The findings of the study reflect that developed countries have higher CSR disclosure scores than developing countries. Overall, mean CSR disclosure score of developed countries is 53.5%, followed by that of the developing countries at 49.4%. Developed countries take lead in CSR disclosure for all the five categories, namely, human resources, community, environment, customer and product and others. The results of independent sample T-test suggest that mean disclosure score of developing nations is significantly different from developed nations. Practical implications As suggested by the results, the gap in the CSR disclosure scores between developing and developed group of countries is not an alarming one. However, developing countries should practice CSR in spirit and not just in letter. Focus should not be on just filling the pages in black and white, rather the essence of CSR should be attained for balanced development of the country. For instance, though developing country like India has high score of CSR disclosure in contrast to each of the developed country taken in the sample, yet the country is still battling with several issues such as poverty, over-population, corruption, poor standard of working conditions for the employees and environmental conservation. Sustenance should focus upon renewable sources of energy; efforts of employees should be acknowledged offering flexible working hours; consumer trust should be built by communicating authentic and accurate information about the product. As developing countries encounter several social and environmental problems, companies must endeavor to build a healthy nation keeping in mind the welfare of all stakeholders by practicing CSR. Originality/value This study overcomes the limitations of prior cross-country studies by taking a better representative sample with greater number of countries belonging to identifiable group of “developing” and “developed” nations and thus attempts to improve generalization and authenticity of results.

scholarly journals Perceptions, expectations, apprehensions and realities of graduating South African optometry students (PEAR study, 2006)

2007 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. O. Oduntan ◽  
A. Louw ◽  
V. R. Moodley ◽  
M. Richter ◽  
P. Von Poser
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Response Scale ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Graduating Students ◽  
Optometry Students

The objective of this study was to establish the perceptions, expectations, apprehensions and realities of South Africa optometry students completing their undergraduate studies in 2006. Copies of a questionnaire containing relevant information were distributed to all graduating students at the four Universities offering Optometry. The responses were coded and analyzed. The respondents (N=143), representing 77% of the graduating students included 27.3% males and 72.7% females, aged 20 to 37 years (mean = 23.34 ± 2.75). About a third (32.9%) of the respondents considered opening their own practice as the best way of entering into practice. Also, this mode of practice was considered as providing the greatest fulfilment for their personal (60.8%) and professional (53.8%) goals as well as offering long  term financial security (43.7%). Many (56.6%) have secured employment before graduation. Upon graduation, 43.4% would like to join a franchise.  Many (79.7%) felt that Government was not offering sufficient opportunities for optometrists. The majority, (70.6%) felt that the South African optometry profession is fastly becoming saturated and this was of great concern to many (31.5%). About half, (50.3%) have plans to go overseas to practice and the most common destinations were the UK (36.1%) and Australia (15%).  The mean minimum monthly salary expected as new graduates was between R9 500 and R11 500 in the public and private sectors respectively. On a response scale, the future of optometry in South Africa was scored as 6.59 ± 1.92. Findings in this study may be useful to all stake holders in optometric education in South Africa, as they may reflect the future of the optometry profession in the country.

scholarly journals Two Tales about Illness, Ideologies, and Intimate Identities: Sexuality Politics and AIDS in South Africa, 1980–95

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Tsampiras
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Clinical Psychologist ◽  
The Political ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Aids Activism ◽  
Personal Politics ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThis article focuses on the micro-narratives of two individuals whose responses to AIDS were mediated by their sexual identity, AIDS activism and the political context of South Africa during a time of transition. Their experiences were also mediated by well-established metanarratives about AIDS and ‘homosexuality’ created in the USA and the UK which were transplanted and reinforced (with local variations) into South Africa by medico-scientific and political leaders.The nascent process of writing South African AIDS histories provides the opportunity to record responses to AIDS at institutional level, reveal the connections between narratives about AIDS and those responses, and draw on the personal stories of those who were at the nexus of impersonal official responses and the personal politics of AIDS. This article records the experiences of Dennis Sifris, a physician who helped establish one of the first AIDS clinics in South Africa and emptied the dance floors, and Pierre Brouard, a clinical psychologist who was involved in early counselling, support and education initiatives for HIV-positive people, and counselled people about dying, and then about living. Their stories show how, even within government-aligned health care spaces hostile to gay men, they were able to provide support and treatment to people; benefited from international connections with other gay communities; and engaged in socially subversive activities. These oral histories thus provide otherwise hidden insights into the experiences of some gay men at the start of an epidemic that was initially almost exclusively constructed on, and about, gay men’s bodies.

Evaluating the readability of marketing research textbooks: an international comparison

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele Berndt ◽  
Jane P. Wayland
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Flesch Reading Ease ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Ease Score

Purpose – Locally authored textbooks are used at tertiary South African institutions to assist in marketing research studies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the readability of locally authored marketing research textbooks in South Africa and compare them with international (USA) texts. Design/methodology/approach – South African marketing research textbooks (authored locally) used at South African institutions were identified. Electronic versions of the textbooks were used and analysed using accepted readability formulae. The same procedure was used with texts produced in the USA and the findings of each were compared. Findings – The South Africa texts scored higher on the Flesch Reading Ease score than US texts, which links to the target audience of these books (undergraduate students), while also being cognisant of the reading skills of the target audience but their score still describes them as “difficult”. Research limitations/implications – The original formulae and theory tend to be dated, though there are recent studies into readability in other areas of business studies. There are also those that question the applicability of readability formulae in the tertiary environment. Practical implications – Instructors need to ensure that material is at a suitable reading level to maximise the student's learning. For publishers and authors, this means that the examples and illustrations used need to be linked to the context in which the student lives and functions, and not just focus on the English used in the text. Originality/value – While studies have been conducted into the readability of US textbooks, there is little published research into the readability of regional marketing research textbooks in other contexts to facilitate comparison.

The stock-bond nexus and investors’ behavior in mature and emerging markets

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Refk Selmi ◽  
Rangan Gupta ◽  
Christos Kollias ◽  
Stephanos Papadamou
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Quantile Regression ◽  
Stock Returns ◽  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Quantile Regression Model ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Portfolio construction and diversification is a prominent challenge for investors. It reflects market agents’ behavior and response to market conditions. This paper aims to investigate the stock-bond nexus in the case of two emerging and two mature markets, India, South Africa, the UK and the USA, using long-term historical monthly data. Design/methodology/approach To address the issue at hand, copula quantile-on-quantile regression (C-QQR) is used to model the correlation structure. Although this technique is driven by copula-based quantile regression model, it retains more flexibility and delivers more robust and accurate estimates. Findings Results suggest that there is substantial heterogeneity in the bond-stock returns correlation across the countries under study point to different investors’ behavior in the four markets examined. Additionally, the findings reported herein suggest that using C-QQR in portfolio management can enable the formation of tailored response strategies, adapted to the needs and preferences of investors and traders. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has addressed in a comparative setting the stock-bond nexus for the four countries used here using long-term historical data that cover the periods 1920:08-2017:02, 1910:01-2017:02, 1933:01-2017:02 and 1791:09-2017:02 for India, South Africa, the UK and the USA, respectively.

Customer due diligence (CDD) mandate and the propensity of its application as a global AML paradigm

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Mugarura
Keyword(s):  
Money Laundering ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Domains ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Secondary Data Sources ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – It has become customary for states or regulatory domains to come together and evolve normative regimes to deal with overlapping exigencies such as money laundering. Over the past two decades, there has been a proliferation of global AML laws designed to foster international cooperation against money laundering and its predicate crimes. In this same vein, some states have adopted domestic AML laws designed with an ethos of extra-territorial dimension as a caution against the threats posed by money laundering crimes. The paper aims to critically examine CDD to tease out the possibility of harnessing it as a global AML paradigm. Design/methodology/approach – The paper was written by critically examining primary and secondary data sources. In terms of primary data, the author has studied the relevant provision of different AML legislation such as BSA (1970), MLCA (1986), and PATRIOT (2001) Act in the USA; and FSMA (2000) and POCA (2002) in the UK. The author then evaluated these data in the context of the challenges of harnessing CDD across countries. In terms of secondary data sources, the author utilised data in academic text books, journal papers, electronic sources (web sites of AML agencies), and policy and research papers from specialist institutions such as FATF. Findings – The findings corroborate the thesis that much as CDD is an important AML measure, it needs to be streamlined and implemented with care to apply across the board. Research limitations/implications – The paper was written largely by way of library-based research. The author did not carry out interviews to corroborate some of the secondary data sources used in writing it. Carrying out interviews would have helped to minimise the potential for bias secondary data sources used was generated. Practical implications – It is anticipated that this paper can be utilised to foster desired strategic and policy changes at a multiple institutional levels. Originality/value – The paper is one of its kind to be written in its context. It will therefore make a viable contribution to the study of money counter-measures and how they are harnessed globally. It is therefore a must read!

scholarly journals From SA to the USA: Election forecasting

ORiON ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-106
Author(s):  
Jenny P Holloway ◽  
Hans W Ittmann ◽  
Nontombeko Dudeni-Tlhone ◽  
Peter MU Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Election Forecasting ◽  
Early Results ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Media ◽  
Ultimate Result ◽  
The Uk

Elections draw enormous interest worldwide, especially if these involve major countries, and there is much speculation in the media as to possible outcomes from these elections. In many of these recent elections, such as the UK and USA, however, forecasts from market surveys, electoral polls, scientific forecasting models and even exit polls, obtained from voters as they leave the voting stations, failed to predict the correct outcome. Election night forecasts, which endeavour to forecast the ultimate result before the final outcome is known using early results, were also carried out, with some more accurate than others.After successfully predicting most of the metropolitan region results correctly in the South African local 2016 municipal elections, using an election night forecasting model developed for South Africa (SA), the question of adapting the model to work outside of SA on a different electoral system was raised. The focus of this paper is to describe the results obtained for the 2016 USA presidential election, on election night, using an adapted version of the SA model. This paper also addresses the applicability of the model assumptions as well as the data issues involved in forecasting outside of South Africa. It is shown that even with many hurdles experienced in the process the model performed relatively well.

CSR maturity and motivation in the water sector

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 506-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linne Marie Lauesen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
Good Transparency ◽  
The Uk

Purpose This paper aims to examine the literature of CSR motivation and presents research results from a case study of the water sector (water companies from Denmark, the UK, the USA and South Africa) and its motivation for and maturity in its CSR work. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in this paper is first a literature review followed by research done with ethnographic methods such as participant observations, interviews and document analysis. Findings Based on a literature review and research in water companies’ motivation and maturity based on Crowther (2006) and Crowther and Reis’ (2011) CSR maturity typology, the paper suggests an extension of this into a CSR Maturity Framework by adding profit-making, legitimacy and business ethics as clusters of motives for businesses to engage in CSR work. The concrete findings of the water sector suggest it as semi-mature according to the proposed CSR Maturity Framework, because it has only reached the level of CSR reporting, but neither suggests definitions of sustainability nor shows any particularly good transparency and accountability yet. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to water companies in four regions – Denmark, the UK, the USA and South Africa – which means that such companies in other regions may differ from the findings in this paper. However, these companies are especially chosen according to their similarities, which means that it is not the point of the paper to cover all water companies in the world, but to retrieve findings from a specifically chosen type of water companies that share a specifically institutional setup. Originality/value The originality and value of the paper is based on the findings of the research in motivation and maturity in the cases of water companies, which have been used to elaborate on an existing CSR framework – the CSR maturity typology suggested by Crowther (2006) and Crowther and Reis (2011) into a CSR Maturity Framework incorporating businesses’ motives of profit-making, legitimacy and business ethics. The CSR Maturity Framework will be applicable for analyzing the CSR maturity for any business sector, and it adds value for businesses in its clarifying and suggesting themes that business sectors need to elaborate.

scholarly journals Some international perspectives on legislation for the management of human-induced safety risks

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Niemand ◽  
Andries J. Jordaan ◽  
Hendrik Minnaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
European Union ◽  
South African ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Technological Disasters ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Legislation that governs the health and safety of communities near major-hazard installations in South Africa is largely based on existing legislation that had been developed in the United Kingdom and other European Union countries. The latter was developed as a consequence of several major human-induced technological disasters in Europe. The history of the evolution of health-and-safety legislation for the protection of vulnerable communities in European Union (EU) countries, France, Malaysia and the USA is explored through a literature survey. A concise comparison is drawn between EU countries, the USA and South Africa to obtain an exploratory view of whether current South-African legislation represents an optimum model for the protection of the health-and-safety of workers and communities near major-hazard installations. The authors come to the conclusion that South-African legislation needs revision as was done in the UK in 2011. Specific areas in the legislation that need revision are an overlap between occupational health and safety and environmental legislation, appropriate land-use planning for the protection of communities near major-hazard installations, the inclusion of vulnerability studies and the refinement of appropriate decision-making instruments such as risk assessment. This article is the first in a series that forms part of a broader study aimed at the development of an optimised model for the regulatory management of human-induced health and safety risks associated with hazardous installations in South Africa.

How well are water companies engaged in CSR? A critical cross-geographical discourse analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linne Marie Lauesen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
Explicit Csr ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how well water companies in four different nationalities and political cultures are engaged in the CSR discourse. This question is relevant after more than 20 years of privatization of the public administration's bureaucracy and its adoption of management styles, behaviours and thinking from the private business sphere. This paper seeks to critically examine how water companies take part in the CSR discourse, by which institutional mechanisms this managerial “thinking” in terms of institutional “logics” has come about, and which adopted “meanings” lie behind. Design/methodology/approach – The paper shows a qualitatively, ethnographic investigation and discourse analysis of privatized water companies from four different political and market economy nations; small- and medium-sized water companies from the social-democratic state of Denmark; large size companies from the conservative and liberal market economy of the UK; large- and multinational companies from the USA and medium-, large- and multinationals from South Africa. Seven companies are chosen in each country from the smallest to the largest in order to obtain maximum variety and express analytical generalizations across nations and company sizes if possible. Findings – The findings of the cross-geographical, -political, -market economical study of maximum variety of companies show how institutional logics are transferring from “implicit” CSR towards “explicit” CSR through coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphism: companies that are only engaged in coercive isomorphic “implicit” CSR show a hesitant and resistant engagement, whereas companies engaging in normative and mimetic isomorphic “explicit” CSR translate their discourses in a more authentic way. However, the findings also question the credibility of this authenticity when most CSR-reports from the water companies are made without third party accreditation, without performance indicators and only through narratives that are hard to scrutinize. Research limitations/implications – The research has limitations towards the discourse analysis, which in Denmark was possible to conduct from both oral texts such as interviews, observation studies and document analysis, whereas in the UK, the USA and South Africa is based only on written texts from documents, CSR-reports, annual reports and written communications between regulators and companies. The research implications suggest a further replication of the findings from a more in-depth analysis of the institutional logics in these companies in the UK, the USA and South Africa by replication of the study from Denmark. Practical implications – The practical implications of this study suggest a transformation of political instrumentation from rule-setting to incentives making to make public water service companies even more engaged in “explicit” CSR to obtain more authenticity and a higher level of legitimacy in the field compared to the strong tradition of “explicit” CSR seen in the private business sphere. Originality/value – The originality and value of this research is shown by the empirical findings of the theoretical suggestions by Matten and Moon in how “implicit” CSR is transferred to “explicit” CSR in the privatization of public service companies in the water sector across nations, cultures, political and market economical spheres. It shows through the discourse analysis of institutional logics how institutional isomorphism is prevalent in this sector and how New Public Management systems need to conform from instrumental rule-making to incentive-making to make public service adopt CSR in a more authentic way.

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