Download or read book The Scientific Imagination in South Africa written by William Beinart and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An innovative three hundred year exploration of the social and political contexts of science and the scientific imagination in South Africa.

Download or read book Inventors Bright Minds and Other Science Heroes of South Africa written by Engela Duvenage and published by Penguin Random House South Africa. This book was released on 2021-07-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book you will read all about inventors, bright minds and other brilliant science heroes of South Africa. You’ll read the stories of people who made medical breakthroughs. Stories about people who love animals and plants. Stories about people who try to understand the secrets of the sky. Stories about people who made interesting discoveries about fossils, the earth, water and the climate. This is a truly South African book that will inspire all readers to question, to explore and discover, and to create.

Download or read book Science Communication in South Africa written by Weingart, Peter and published by African Minds. This book was released on 2020-01-18 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do we need to communicate science? Is science, with its highly specialised language and its arcane methods, too distant to be understood by the public? Is it really possible for citizens to participate meaningfully in scientific research projects and debate? Should scientists be mandated to engage with the public to facilitate better understanding of science? How can they best communicate their special knowledge to be intelligible? These and a plethora of related questions are being raised by researchers and politicians alike as they have become convinced that science and society need to draw nearer to one another. Once the persuasion took hold that science should open up to the public and these questions were raised, it became clear that coming up with satisfactory answers would be a complex challenge. The inaccessibility of scientific language and methods, due to ever increasing specialisation, is at the base of its very success. Thus, translating specialised knowledge to become understandable, interesting and relevant to various publics creates particular perils. This is exacerbated by the ongoing disruption of the public discourse through the digitisation of communication platforms. For example, the availability of medical knowledge on the internet and the immense opportunities to inform oneself about health risks via social media are undermined by the manipulable nature of this technology that does not allow its users to distinguish between credible content and misinformation. In countries around the world, scientists, policy-makers and the public have high hopes for science communication: that it may elevate its populations educationally, that it may raise the level of sound decision-making for people in their daily lives, and that it may contribute to innovation and economic well-being. This collection of current reflections gives an insight into the issues that have to be addressed by research to reach these noble goals, for South Africa and by South Africans in particular.

Download or read book One Virus Two Countries written by Steven Friedman and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2021-11 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Has South Africa ‘done well’ at limiting illness and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic? Academic and political commentator, Steven Friedman, thinks not. While the country’s mainstream media believes it has, in his view the evidence tells another story. South Africa has experienced by far the most cases and deaths in Africa – at one point as many as the rest of the continent combined. One Virus, Two Countries: What Covid-19 tells us about South Africa offers a searing analysis of government and expert scientists’ responses to the pandemic. Friedman argues that South Africa is two societies in one – a ‘First World’ which resembles Western Europe and North America, and a ‘Third World’ which looks much like the rest of Africa or South Asia. The South African state, the media and the scientific community have largely tried to deal with the virus through a ‘First World’ lens in which much of the country was either invisible or a problem – not a partner. Friedman argues this approach prevented the country from responding in a way which would have protected most citizens. This is why case numbers and deaths are so high: South Africa has done worse than the rest of Africa not despite the fact that it has a ‘more developed’ health system, but because it does. One Virus, Two Countries is a controversial book that will rouse much needed debate about South Africa’s health and economic system in a context of serious inequality.

Download or read book Political Science in South Africa written by Peter Vale and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2024-10-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book describes and evaluates the state of the discipline of political science and international relations in South Africa. Fourteen South African political scientists present their own appraisals of various aspects of the study of Politics in South Africa, in the 20th year of the country's post-Apartheid existence. This book

Download or read book Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences written by Angelo Flynn and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social science researchers in the global South, and in South Africa particularly, utilise research methods in innovative ways in order to respond to contexts characterised by diversity, racial and political tensions, socioeconomic disparities and gender inequalities. These methods often remain undocumented – a gap that this book starts to address. Written by experts from various methodological fields, Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences is a comprehensive collation of original essays and cutting-edge research that demonstrates the variety of novel techniques and research methods available to researchers responding to these context-bound issues. It is particularly relevant for study and research in the fields of applied psychology, sociology, ethnography, biography and anthropology. In addition to their unique combination of conceptual and application issues, the chapters also include discussions on ethical considerations relevant to the method in similar global South contexts. Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences has much to offer to researchers, professionals and others involved in social science research both locally and internationally.

Download or read book Biological Invasions in South Africa written by Brian W. van Wilgen and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 972 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access volume presents a comprehensive account of all aspects of biological invasions in South Africa, where research has been conducted over more than three decades, and where bold initiatives have been implemented in attempts to control invasions and to reduce their ecological, economic and social effects. It covers a broad range of themes, including history, policy development and implementation, the status of invasions of animals and plants in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments, the development of a robust ecological theory around biological invasions, the effectiveness of management interventions, and scenarios for the future. The South African situation stands out because of the remarkable diversity of the country, and the wide range of problems encountered in its varied ecosystems, which has resulted in a disproportionate investment into both research and management. The South African experience holds many lessons for other parts of the world, and this book should be of immense value to researchers, students, managers, and policy-makers who deal with biological invasions and ecosystem management and conservation in most other regions.

Download or read book Scientific Racism in Modern South Africa written by Saul Dubow and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1995-06-30 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of the history of intellectual and scientific racism in modern South Africa.

Download or read book Soils of South Africa written by Martin Fey and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-16 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soils of South Africa is the first book in seventy years that provides a comprehensive account of South African soils. The book arranges more than seventy soil forms into fourteen groups and then provides, for each group: • maps showing their distribution and abundance throughout South Africa • descriptions of morphological, chemical and physical properties • a detailed account of classification and its correlation with international systems • a discussion of soil genesis which includes a review of relevant research papers • appraisal of soil quality from a land use perspective as well as for its ecological significance • illustrative examples of soil profiles with analytical data and accompanying interpretations. There is also a fascinating account of the special relationship that exists between South African animals and soil environments. Soils of South Africa should interest students and researchers in the earth, environmental and biological sciences, as well as environmental practitioners, farmers, foresters and civil engineers.

Download or read book National Park Science written by Jane Carruthers and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-17 with total page 563 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the changing philosophies and permutations in research and management of South Africa's national parks during the twentieth century.

Download or read book The Next Generation of Scientists in Africa written by Beaudry, Catherine and published by African Minds. This book was released on 2018-11-23 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young scientists are a powerful resource for change and sustainable development, as they drive innovation and knowledge creation. However, comparable findings on young scientists in various countries, especially in Africa and developing regions, are generally sparse. Therefore, empirical knowledge on the state of early-career scientists is critical in order to address current challenges faced by those scientists in Africa. This book reports on the main findings of a three-and-a-half-year international project in order to assist its readers in better understanding the African research system in general, and more specifically its young scientists. The first part of the book provides background on the state of science in Africa, and bibliometric findings concerning Africa’s scientific production and networks, for the period 2005 to 2015. The second part of the book combines the findings of a large-scale, quantitative survey and more than 200 qualitative interviews to provide a detailed profile of young scientists and the barriers they face in terms of five aspects of their careers: research output; funding; mobility; collaboration; and mentoring. In each case, field and gender differences are also taken into account. The last part of the book comprises conclusions and recommendations to relevant policy- and decision-makers on desirable changes to current research systems in Africa.

Download or read book Transforming Science in South Africa written by R. Sooryamoorthy and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is essential for anyone interested in knowing how science works nationally and internationally in the contemporary world. It offers a comprehensive analysis of scientific collaboration and its relation to development and the productivity of scientists, with specific reference to South Africa in both the past and the present.

Download or read book Science Education and Curriculum in South Africa written by Oscar Koopman and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2018-06-23 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the impact of the socio-historical, political, and economic environment in South Africa, both during and after Apartheid. During this time, the South African education system demonstrated an interest in a specific type of knowledge, which Koopman refers to as ‘a science of government’. This ‘science of government’ leaves the learners with a blurred understanding of science that is disconnected from external nature and human nature, and is presented as a series of abstract concepts and definitions. The book also investigates the dialectical tensions between the science curriculum and the role of the teacher as an active implementer of the curriculum. The book draws on the work of various phenomenological scholars, namely Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Max van Manen to discuss these tensions.

Download or read book Revisiting South Africa s Nuclear Weapons Program written by David Albright and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-09-24 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1989, South Africa made the momentous decision to abandon its nuclear weapons, making it the first and still the only country that has produced nuclear weapons and given them up. Over thirty years, the apartheid regime had created a remarkably sophisticated capability to build nuclear weapons-both the nuclear warhead and advanced military systems to deliver them. The program was born in secret and remained so until its end. The government initially sought to dismantle it in secret. It hoped to avoid any negative international consequences of possessing nuclear weapons. The apartheid government's strategy did not work, because too many intelligence agencies knew about South Africa's nuclear weapons. Faced with intense pressure, South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk reversed course and adopted a policy of transparency in 1993. However, he decided to hide many of its aspects. Nonetheless, most of the remaining secrets emerged over the ensuing 25 years. Revisiting South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Program draws on previously secret information to provide the first comprehensive, technically-oriented look at South Africa's nuclear weapons program; how it grew, evolved, and ended. It also finds lessons for today's nuclear proliferation cases.

Download or read book South Africa in Focus written by C. C. Wolhuter and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1994, South Africas image in the world changed instantaneously from the polecat to that of being a model. The intensity of the societal conflict in the run-up to 1994, and the nature of the post-1994 societal reconstruction focused the attention of the whole world on South Africa. The societal changes have been of a social, economic, political and educational nature; the foundation of which had been laid by a Constitution and a Bill of Human Rights widely hailed as one of the most progressive in the world. After almost two decades, the time is ripe for an assessment. This book offers nine essays written by scholars who are recognised authorities in their fields of expertise, critically surveying some aspects of that societal reconstruction project.

Download or read book Building a New South Africa written by Nelson Mandela and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic research, economic analysis, policy making, training, capacity building, institution building, foreign aid, mission reports.

Download or read book Remapping Africa in the Global Space written by Edward Shizha and published by Brill. This book was released on 2014 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the benefits and risks for Africa's participation in the globalisation nexus? Remapping Africa in the Global Spaceis a visionary and interdisciplinary volume that restores Africa's image using a multidisciplinary lens. It incorporates disciplines such as sociology, education, global studies, economics, development studies, political science and philosophy to explore and theorise Africa's reality in the global space and to deconstruct the misperceptions and narratives that often infantilise Africa's internal and international relations. The contributions to this volume are a hybrid of both 'outsider' and 'insider' perspectives that create a balanced critical discourse that can provide 'standard' paradigms that can adequately explain, predict, or prevent Africa's current misperceptions and myths about the African 'crisis' and 'failure'status. The authors provide a holistic, and perhaps, anticolonial and anti-hegemonic perspective that can benefit a wide spectrum of academics, scholars, students, development agents, policy makers in both governmental and non-governmental organisations and engage some alternative analyses and possibilities for socio-politico and economic advancement in Africa. The book provides up-to-date scholarly research on continental trends on various subjects and concerns of paramount importance to globalisation and development in Africa.