scholarly journals Enhancing a Decision-Making Framework to Address Environmental Impacts of the South African Coalmining Industry

Author(s):  
Mashudu David Mbedzi ◽  
Huibrecht Margaretha van der Poll ◽  
John Andrew van der Poll
2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mncedisi Trinity Dewa ◽  
Andre Francois Van der Merwe ◽  
Stephen Matope

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-307
Author(s):  
Fransjohan Pretorius

In investigating the reading practices of Boer combatants during the South African War, diaries, letters, and reminiscences were consulted. The state of literacy reveals a picture of a small number of highly literate men, a larger group of adequately literate men, a still larger group of semi-literates, and the illiterate. Reading matter included the Bible, newspapers, and books. Issues raised are: Did literacy (or illiteracy) influence military decision-making or troop morale? Were certain works making some impact on the battlefield? Was the practical experience the Boers had gained before the war more successful in planning strategy and tactics than literacy?


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Geoff Bick ◽  
Fezile Sidubi

Learning outcomes They are as follows: to identify strategic growth opportunities for SMEs in the South African craft beer industry; to understand the complexities associated with operating a craft beer SME in the South African alcohol sector and analyse the SME’s strategic decision-making process that happens as a result; to understand the challenges and identify opportunities for entrepreneurship and growth in an emerging economy and niche segment; to develop a differentiation strategy for a small player in a competitive market; and to impart industry-specific knowledge and insight on the craft brewing industry. Case overview/synopsis The case is centred on the challenges that Hein Swart, managing director of Mitchell’s Brewery, is facing in sustaining business operations amid heavy regulations and increasing competition from existing craft breweries. In addition, there is the entry of a different type of competitor into the South African market that did not exist previously. The case narrative broadly presents several industry themes that interact with each other and create the existing complexities. Complexity academic level This case is targeted at postgraduate business school students with some work experience who want to build their critical thinking, business management and strategic decision-making skills such as Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive MBA academic programmes, and also delegates on Executive Education programmes. The case is expected to be used as a case study for courses in entrepreneurship and strategic management; however, it can also be applied in strategic marketing courses. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship


Author(s):  
Anthony Colman

The article provides an analysis of the stakeholders involved in policy decision making on water utilization, especially during the Water Crisis of 2017–2018. It looks at this through the prism of the meetings and key informants of the South African Parliament Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, the City of Cape Town Council and the farmers of the Western Cape. It also considers the effects of the prioritization of the use of water for drinking water and sanitation over agriculture. The South Africa water policy principles set by its Constitution and the Acts of 1996–1997 provide a comparator.


Author(s):  
Shuti Steph Khumalo

The democratic dispensation elevated teacher trade unionism to unparalleled and unprecedented levels in the South African education system. The education laws of South Africa recognize teacher unions which meet the South African labor-related requirements. The three powerful teacher unions that recognize and represent thousands of teachers are the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA), and the Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU). These recognized teacher unions represent their members in decision making processes and not teachers who are non-union members. This chapter is based on an in-depth evaluation of extant literature, and further, it is interpretive in approach and employs social justice as the theoretical and conceptual framework.


2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Paterson ◽  
A. Jarre ◽  
C. L. Moloney ◽  
T. P. Fairweather ◽  
C. D. van der Lingen ◽  
...  

The present study presents an electronic decision-support tool that uses a fuzzy-logic model of expert knowledge to assist in multi-criteria decision-making in the context of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF). The prototype model integrates the multiple goals and objectives related to the evaluation of the ecosystem performance of the South African sardine Sardinops sagax fishery into a NetWeaver knowledge base and provides intuitive visual outputs to communicate results to managers and stakeholders. The software tool was developed in a consultative process with key experts and follows the hierarchical tree approach recommended in the FAO guidelines for responsible fisheries. Input variables are based both on quantitative data and expert opinion. We evaluated the model in terms of robustness to input changes, influence of system structure, and appropriateness of input scales for parameters based on expert opinion. Results show that the model is robust and conservative. The strength of the approach lies in the ability to include variables that are difficult to measure. It provides a means of rendering value judgements explicit and transparent. The tool synthesises a large amount of information and aims at improving understanding rather than achieving precision. The system has the potential to have wide application in the context of EAF.


Author(s):  
Huihui Qi ◽  
Euihark Lee ◽  
Hae Chang Gea ◽  
Bin Zheng

The Packaging industry is one of the largest industries in the world and is associated with many environmental concerns. To reduce its environmental impacts, designing sustainable packaging has been one of the top priorities in packaging industries. A common tools for evaluating the environmental impact of a package design is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) which provides information on environmental impacts for different indicators. However, making decisions based on the LCA results leaves us with major challenges. First, the LCA tools should consider various uncertainties such as measurement and data quality. Second, the LCA may give conflicting results on different environmental impact factors. To address these issues, a ranking based decision making framework is proposed in this paper. Within this framework a Probabilistic Pareto Selection method is introduced to select the Pareto Front with uncertainty first. Then, the Ranking based Rate of Substitution is implemented in the decision making process in order to select the best design options based on the trade-off of each Pareto design. Tow case studies are presented to demonstrate the functionality of this framework.


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