scholarly journals THE TRUST AS SPECIAL-PURPOSE INSTITUTION

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eben Nel ◽  
Vivienne Lawack ◽  
Adriaan van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Structured Finance ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
Business Structures ◽  
To Come ◽  
Risk Protection

The trust figure has undergone interesting developments in South African law during the last century. Due to its flexibility and multi-functionality it has developed as the legal institution of choice for many holistic business structures: from estate-planning and risk-protection, to financial-instrument entity. Particular financial innovations, such as securitization, required regulators to come up with fresh solutions within existing legal and regulatory systems. The traditional role of the inter vivos trust as a family wealth-transfer device became rather trivial as the importance of the financial and corporate roles of trusts increased. Trusts are not only prevalent in securitization and other investment roles, but also fulfil an increasingly important role in organizational law, which includes a variety of business-legal fields. The evolutionary process of the trust as collective investment-scheme vehicle to that of a legal entity in structured-finance programmes,such as a special purpose instrument, matured without any resistance in South Africa. It is submitted that, in the trust-development process, South Africa should not necessarily find its inspiration solely in developed nations, but should rather position itself in its real context of a developing Southern African democracy, with the potential of becoming an important financial innovator in a world of economic turmoil.It is submitted that a sound legal and regulatory framework for the application of trusts in the financial sphere is crucial. International best practice requires a definite and effective regulatory environment for economic expediency. It is submitted that a hybrid system, as found in South Africa, is better suited to adapt to the challenges of an ever-changing legal and economic reality. It is submitted that legislative interventions should be limited to the bare minimum and a holistic approach should be adopted, including the ratification of The HagueConvention on Trusts and some focused soft-law interventions. 

scholarly journals Telecommuting academics within an open distance education environment of South Africa: More content, productive, and healthy?

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deon Harold Tustin
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Work Productivity ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Academic Setting ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Impact

<p>Outside an academic setting, telecommuting has become fairly popular in recent years. However, research on telecommuting practices within a higher education environment is fairly sparse, especially within the higher distance education sphere. Drawing on existing literature on telecommuting and the outcome of a valuation study on the success of an experimental telecommuting programme at the largest distance education institution in South Africa, this article presents discerning findings on telecommuting practices. In fact, the research builds on evolutionary telecommuting assessment methods of the direct or indirect effect (work based) and affective impact (emotional) on multiple stakeholder groups. This holistic approach allowed for comparative analysis between telecommuting and nontelecommuting academics with regard to the impact of telecommuting practices. The research reveals high levels of support for telecommuting practices that are associated with high levels of work productivity and satisfaction, lower levels of emotional and physical fatigue, and reduced work stress, frustration, and overload. The study also reveals higher levels of student satisfaction with academic support from telecommuters than nontelecommuters. Overall, the critique presents insightful findings on telecommuting practices within an academic setting, which clearly signal a potential for a shift in the office culture of higher distance education institutions in the years to come. The study makes a significant contribution to a limited collection of empirical research on telecommuting practices within the higher distance education sector and guides institutions in refining and/or redefining future telecommuting strategies or programmes.</p>

Field hockey from the performance analyst’s perspective: A systematic review

2021 ◽  
pp. 174795412110089
Author(s):  
Felicity Lord ◽  
David B Pyne ◽  
Marijke Welvaert ◽  
Jocelyn K Mara
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Field Hockey ◽  
Sport Science ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Temporal Variables ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Field hockey is an evolving sport, but it is unclear whether performance analysis techniques are reflective of current best practice. The objective of this review was to identify performance analysis methods used in field hockey, assess their practicality, and provide recommendations on their implementation in the field. A systematic search of the databases SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE and PubMed was performed. Key words addressed performance analysis methods and field hockey, with all other disciplines of sport science excluded. A total of 8 articles were identified from the systematic review. Three studies explored patterns of play in relation to goal scoring opportunities, two articles examined penalty corner strategies and three compared specific actions in hockey. The limited performance analysis research in field hockey has focused on game actions in patterns of play. However, greater insights may be gained by analysing hockey using a holistic approach that incorporates spatio-temporal variables and player-opposition interactions. There is an opportunity to employ novel performance analysis techniques in hockey which provide more practical and effective approaches for analysing strategies and tactics.

scholarly journals Karoo fracking and the Christian faith community

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit Van Tonder ◽  
Roger Tucker
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Faith Community ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
World Population ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
To Come

One of the challenges for Practical Theology in Africa is to engage with the continent’s concerns and challenges in such a way that the kingdom of God is realised in society and is seen to be relevant to these issues by people who are outside of academia. In our article, which was first presented at the Practical Theology congress in Pretoria in January 2014, the authors seek to demonstrate how this may be accomplished by applying insights to one concern, namely ‘fracking’. The objective is to mobilise the influential Christian faith community in South Africa to begin to exercise prophetic discernment concerning fracking in the Karoo. The fracking debate is a product of the tension between the environmental degradation that its waste products may cause, on the one hand, and, on the other, the greater energy demands of a rapidly increasing world population along with its expectations of an ever-increasing standard of living. Shale gas fracking in the Karoo region of South Africa promises to make vast reserves of oil and gas available to help meet a significant percentage of the country’s energy needs for many years to come, and so thus aid development and contribute to raising the standard of living of many people. Yet the management of the waste products associated with the process is an area of serious environmental concern. The article aims to apprise the South African Christian faith community of the technology and risks involved. Theological guidelines are presented by which fracking’s benefits and dangers can be interrogated so that the community may come to an informed decision as to whether or not to support fracking.

Otta Seals and Gravseals as Low-Cost Surfacing Alternatives for Low-Volume Roads: Experiences in South Africa

2003 ◽  
Vol 1819 (1) ◽  
pp. 338-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Oloo ◽  
Rob Lindsay ◽  
Sam Mothilal
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Low Volume Roads ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Traffic Volumes ◽  
Low Volume ◽  
To Come

The geology of the northeastern part of the province of KwaZulu–Natal, South Africa, is predominantly alluvial with vast deposits of sands. Suitable gravel sources are hard to come by, which results in high graveling and regraveling costs brought about by long haul distances and accelerated gravel loss. Most gravel roads carry fewer than 500 vehicles per day of which less than 10% are heavy vehicles. The high cost of regraveling has led to consideration of upgrading such roads to surfaced standard, even though traffic volumes do not justify upgrading. Traditional chip seals are expensive and cannot be economically justified on roads that carry fewer than 500 vehicles per day. The KwaZulu–Natal Department of Transport is actively involved in efforts to identify cost-effective alternative surfacing products for low-volume roads. Field trials were conducted with Otta seals and Gravseals, which have been used successfully in other countries, as low-cost surfacing products for low-volume roads. The Otta seal is formed by placing graded aggregates on a relatively thick film of soft binder that, because of traffic and rolling, works its way through the aggregates. Gravseal consists of a special semipriming rubberized binder that is covered by a graded aggregate. Both Otta seals and Gravseals provide relatively flexible bituminous surfaces suitable for low-volume roads. Cost savings are derived mainly from the broad aggregate specifications, which allow for the use of marginal materials.

scholarly journals Securitisation in South Africa: Historic deficiencies and future outlook

2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Saayman ◽  
P Styger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South America ◽  
Structured Finance ◽  
Future Outlook ◽  
Banking Community ◽  
Mortgage Backed Securities ◽  
Asset Backed Securities

While American investors have been able to buy mortgage-backed securities  since the late 1970s and asset-backed securities since the mid-1980s, investors  in South Africa have not become involved in this growing market.  Securitisation also spread to Europe, South America, Asia and Australia during  the 1980s. The first securitisation in South Africa was completed in 1989, but  since then only a few securitised products have been offered to the investment  community. The aim of this article is to investigate the reasons for the lack of  growth in securitisation in South Africa and to determine whether securitisation  will grow to be a significant market in South Africa. The methodology used  includes interviews held with investors, securitisation specialists and other  structured finance specialists from the banking community. Experience from  other countries is noted and included in this article

scholarly journals The co-Evolution of Equitable Tertiary Education in a Global Networked Society: The Case of the OERu

2019 ◽  
pp. 442-450
Author(s):  
Danielle Dubien ◽  
Niki Davis ◽  
Wayne Mackintosh
Keyword(s):  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Open Approach ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Sustainable Services ◽  
To Come

The continuing evolution of ubiquitous learning technologies and networks is reshaping models of learning with increasing potential for underserved populations of learners who cannot afford tertiary education. This paper presents a case study of innovative highly networked organisation called the “Open Education Resource universitas” (OERu). As the theme of EDEN 2019 conference has recognised, “Technology is with us everywhere which validates the horizontal-holistic approach for imperative questions of the period. For the transforming education landscape, challenges come increasingly from the socio-cultural-economic, structural and policy fields. Education has to be visionary to reach efficiency gains, new sources – and to offer sustainable services, reflecting the complexity of modern societies.” The OERu is on the far left of such visionary developments with a radically open approach to its equitable mission to expand higher education to come within the reach of all of students who are likely to remain underserved.Established in 2011, the OERu as an educational organisation is co-evolving with cutting edge technologies such as, micro-learning, alternative digital credentials, and implementation of an open source Next Generation Digital Learning Environment (NGDLE) (Brown, 2017). Its strategy is to evolve by scaling up with partners worldwide. Innovations already documented include a successful small mOOC (Davis Mackintosh, 2013). This case study plots the OERu in Niki Davis’ (2018) Arena Framework to clarify the complexity of the evolution of this organisation. The findings aim to support the OERu and its partners to fulfil their vision of providing affordable access to education.

scholarly journals "Neither staunch friends nor confirmed foes": New Zealand's defence diplomacy in Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Justin Fris
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Cooperative Relationships ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
To Come

<p>Read a recent Defence White Paper of any number of countries or look at the range of foreign relations one country has with others in the contemporary age, and one is likely to come across the term 'defence diplomacy'. The traditional function of armed forces has been to prepare for and undertake the use of force. As part of this role, armed forces have cooperated with those of other nations to enhance security by countering or deterring potential enemies. In the post-Cold War era however, a new form of defence relations has emerged; in contrast to, yet supplementing their traditional role, armed forces have been employed in building cooperative relationships between former and potential future foes.  This shift is explained by the concept of defence diplomacy; the concept identified by Andrew Cottey and Anthony Forster that armed forces have a peacetime role in pursuit of broader foreign and security policy goals. Recognising that defence cooperation activities have a long history, Cottey and Forster differentiated defence diplomacy between 'old', meaning those traditional defence cooperation activities aimed at allies and friendly states, and 'new', meaning defence cooperation aimed at potential or former enemies.  New Zealand, like many other countries, has used the term since the 1990s to describe those aspects of the diplomatic relationship, specifically peacetime cooperative activities, performed by the Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force with the armed forces of other nations. This thesis explores the origins of defence diplomacy and the adoption of the concept by New Zealand. It looks at the way in which New Zealand has developed and managed its 'old' defence diplomacy in Asia through examining the example of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. It then explores New Zealand’s 'new' defence diplomacy with what are considered here as “non-like-minded” states such as China, Viet Nam and Indonesia. Through these three case studies, the thesis examines key dilemmas and problems of defence diplomacy that have arisen in the development of these key relationships. The thesis then concludes with an analysis of New Zealand’s defence diplomacy according to the framework established by Cottey and Forster.</p>

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