A. ASSAf Consensus Study Reports
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In order for ASSAf to fulfil its science advisory role regarding key challenges facing the nation, a variety of consensus and assessment studies are undertaken. Activities are aligned closely with government’s strategic goals. The in-depth Consensus Study Reports are either commissioned by an external funder or generated by a Standing Committee on a specific topic. ASSAf has Standing Committees on Health; Scholarly Publishing in South Africa; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education; Biosafety and Biosecurity; Humanities; and Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality.
Peer-Review Status: Peer-Reviewed
Enquiries: Susan Veldsman
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Item A Review of Research, Development and Innovation of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technologies in South Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2023) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This report supports the high-level agreement between South Africa (through the DMRE) and the IAEA by providing a solid foundation upon which a national strategic framework on peaceful uses of nuclear technologies in South Africa can be built. The objectives of the study were to review relevant current and historical national policies, plans and strategies; review the national landscape of existing and emerging RDI role players and activities in the country; develop baseline information around the nuclear technology landscape to assist with targets and indicators for monitoring and evaluation; review the Country Programme Framework (CPF) between South Africa and the IAEA and make recommendations on how the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme could be leveraged to strengthen the nuclear technology sector in South Africa; and make proposals on how to define a South African nuclear technology RDI flagship programme. Characterisation of the needs and gaps contains the following elements: • a brief explanation of the need setting out the context in terms of the severity and relevance. • a strategic objective to be achieved; and • an indicator, or indicators, for the proposed objective. The study was divided into six broad areas, namely: • agriculture and food security, • human health, • radiation protection, • water and environment, • energy and industry, • nuclear safety, security and safeguards.Item Consensus Study on the State of the Humanities in South Africa: Status, Prospects and Strategies(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The purpose of this study was to provide evidence-based advice on the status and future role of the Humanities in South Africa to government and other stakeholders (such as science councils, the department of education, universities) as a contribution towards improving the human condition. Everywhere, the Humanities is judged by many to be in “crisis.” The reasons for this, in South Africa, include the governmental emphasis on science and technology; the political emphasis on the economically-grounded idea of “developmentalism;” the shift of values among youth (and their parents) towards practical employment and financial gain; and the argument that the challenges faced by our society are so urgent and immediate that the reflective and critical modes of thinking favoured in the Humanities seem to be unaffordable luxuries. The Report provides invaluable detail about the challenges and opportunities associated with tapping the many pools of excellence that exist in the country. It should be used as a guideline for policymakers to do something concrete to improve the circumstances faced by the Humanities, not only in South Africa but also around the world. Amongst other recommendations, the Report calls for the establishment of a Council for the Humanities to advise government on how to improve the status and standing of the Humanities in South Africa. It also calls for initiation, through the leadership of the Department of Basic Education, considered measures to boost knowledge of and positive choices for the Humanities throughout the twelve years of schooling, including progressive ways of privileging the Arts, History and Languages in the school curriculum through Grade 12.Item Diversity in Human Sexuality: Implications for Policy in Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2015) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)ASSAf, in collaboration with the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, undertook a consensus study on Diversity in Human Sexuality: Implications for Policy in Africa in 2015. The topic of sexual and gender diversity has elicited very different reactions in African countries and amongst scholars in Africa. Same-sex activities are becoming more visible in African populations, yet the subject is consistently avoided or the practice denied or criminalised. Although it has been regularly and widely claimed that homosexuality is “un- African”, reputable studies by historians and anthropologists have found same-sex relationships to have been prevalent since the pre-colonial period in Africa. Thirty-eight of fifty-three African nations criminalise homosexuality, thereby imposing varying degrees of legislative restrictions on sexual preference and practices, and on the fulfillment of human rights of individuals and affected groups. Furthermore, the stigmatisation and criminalisation of homosexuality has made public health interventions, particularly with respect to HIV prevention and treatment, difficult to effectively implement.Item Evaluation of Alternative Telecommunication Technologies for the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE)The National Research Foundation (NRF) requested the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), on behalf of South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), to undertake an independent and objective evaluation of potential alternative telecommunication technologies for the areas of the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Areas (KCAAA). The study encompasses regulatory, public sphere, and technical dimensions to explore options for maintaining the functionality of the telescope while, at the same time, delivering appropriate connectivity solutions for local communities.Item First Biennial Report to Cabinet on the State of Climate Change : Science and Technology in South Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2017) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This report aligns with the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) of the government of South Africa, which in turn stems from the work of the National Planning Commission and its National Development Plan (NDP). Outcome 10 of the MTSF calls for a report on the state of climate change science and technology in South Africa to be provided to Cabinet by the DST and the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) every two years. This is the first such report. The report aims to: • provide a critical assessment and comparative overview of climate change scientific research and related technological innovations; • identify any gaps or barriers in research and technology development value chains; • suggest ways to improve the current situation and maximise opportunities for South Africa.Item HIV/AIDS, TB and Nutrition: Scientific Inquiry into the Nutritional Influences on Human Immunity with Special Reference to HIV Infection and Active TB in South Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2007) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The availability of highly effective drugs to control HIV/AIDS and cure tuberculosis has tended to downplay the potential benefits that may accompany appropriate supportive measures, designed to complement or precede pharmacotherapy, to arrest progression from infection to disease (TB), or to delay the rate of progression of the earlier phases of the illness, before specific medicinal interventions are indicated (HIV). Nutritional support is one such potentially valuable measure. Clearly the clinical efficacy of nutritional intervention is likely to be dependent on the extent to which individual infected subjects suffer from functionally significant nutritional deficiencies prior to nutritional intervention. The same argument is generally pertinent to interventions at population level – populations of infected subjects with a high prevalence of nutritional deficiency, such as those in developing countries, are more likely to benefit from health policies aimed at eradicating or diminishing nutritional deficiencies than are populations in developed countries, from where much of the reported research has emanated. It is important to bear in mind that the pre-antibiotic phase of dealing with TB was characterized by intense concentration on strengthening the immune defenses of infected subjects with diets, improved and altered environmental conditions and every other conceivably helpful measure. After the discovery of effective drugs, this aspect of TB therapy quickly became secondary and largely uncontroversial. Because HIV infection cannot be cured but only controlled, with drugs being applied at particular, serious stages of progressive disease (according to current guidelines, at least) the emphasis in the management of infected people during the phases prior to drug administration is still on general, non-pharmacological support, especially as for many reasons it is highly desirable to postpone the introduction of specific antiretroviral therapy for as long as possible. This background has motivated the current study, which has analyzed the relevant scientific literature, concentrating on regionally relevant studies, with a view to providing the best possible, evidence-based advice for South African policymakers. The over-arching conclusion from this analysis is that there is a lamentable paucity of relevant, solid data on which to base sound policies for this country. Recognizing the dire need to deal optimally, right now, with an existing health crisis, this study has evaluated the current nutritional guidelines from the World Health Organization, the national Department of Health, and the Southern African HIV/AIDS Clinicians Society, in the light of what scientific evidence is available. Broadly, these guidelines are endorsed in the current analysis as being generally close to the best possible in the prevailing circumstances. The study, having identified serious gaps in our knowledge, has compiled a set of critical research questions, guided by evolving understanding of the relevant basic science. The panel urges that the answering of these questions should be given high priority by research policy makers in the hope that the insights thereby gained will provide the kind of solid evidence on which refined policies for the practice of healthcare can safely and effectively be based in future.Item Human Genetics and Genomics in South Africa: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) & Department of Science and Technology (DST), 2018) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Department of Science and Technology (DST)This study aims to address the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of genetics and genomics work, as it relates to research, health service provision and forensic applications (medical and legal) in South Africa. The study was undertaken by a 13-member panel appointed by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The deliberations in this report are centred on the broad philosophical approach of Ubuntu, a philosophical notion that refers to the essence or quality of being human. The report describes the benefits to be derived from genetic and genomics work, the need for boundaries to be clearly defined and adherence monitored to ensure that benefits are shared by all and that no harm is done. The report is divided into three thematic areas: Building Relationships, Respect for Persons and Good Stewardship. Each section is followed by recommendations which are ethically and legally sound, culturally appropriate, feasible, enforceable and sustainable, given the resources within the country, and balanced against competing national priorities.Item Humanities Part 1: Literature Group Classics, Literature and Languages(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2015) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The peer review report entitled Humanities Part 1: Literature Group: Classics, Literature and Languages is the sixth in a series of discipline-grouped evaluations of South African scholarly journals. This is part of a scholarly assurance process initiated by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The process is centered on multi-perspective, discipline-based evaluation panels appointed by the Academy Council on the recommendation of the Academy’s Committee on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa (CSPiSA). This detailed report presents the peer review panel’s consolidated consensus reports on each journal and provides the panel’s recommendations in respect of DHET accreditation, inclusion on the SciELO SA platform and suggestions for improvement in general. The main purpose of the ASSAf review process for journals is to improve the scholarly publication in the country that is consonant with traditional scholarly practices.Item Improved Nutritional Assessment of Micronutrients(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2013) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The purpose of this consensus study on improved nutritional assessment of micronutrients was to optimise our approach to the assessment of nutritional status of individuals, specific groups of people and the population in all settings. Information on nutritional status is necessary for recommendations to be used in the design and implementation of research and interventions that will address malnutrition in order to improve human well-being and performance. The study selected the six micronutrients, viz. vitamins A, D, and folate; and the inorganic elements or minerals, selenium, iron and zinc that have been shown in a previous consensus study1 by ASSAf to have a potential impact on the major epidemics of malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and TB in South Africa. Because the bowel microflora are currently under intense scrutiny as co-determinants of the whole-body physiology and pathophysiology of micronutrients, a further chapter on this topic is included. It is, however, acknowledged that other micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in South Africa, and that these should also be addressed.Item Mental health and the role of traditional healers(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2022) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The provision of treatment, care and rehabilitation services for people with Mental, Neurological and Substance use (MNS) disorders is a multisectoral responsibility and affects various communities in South Africa and other challenged economies in Africa. MNS disorders are common, often disabling and associated with increasing premature mortality. Traditional healers have a unique role to play in MNS disorders especially in resource-limited settings. It was estimated that there are about 200,000 traditional healers as compared to 975 registered psychiatrists - who mostly practise in urban areas and the private sector. Traditional healers are highly accessible and accepted as health practitioners in Sub-Saharan countries. Traditional healers and those linked to faith-based organisations play a significant role in providing services for people with MNS disorders and are often an entry point into systems of care. These providers, therefore, could play a significant role in identifying people with such disorders, and in some cases, have worked co-operatively with health services in providing for the mental health and spiritual needs of individuals. There is a need to understand the role of traditional health practitioners in mental health care. This webinar sought to understand the role, knowledge, attitude, and practice of traditional healers in mental health care with the aim of encouraging their participation in terms of the treatment, care and rehabilitation of people with MNS disorders.Item The PhD Study: An Evidence-based Study on how to meet the Demands for High-level Skills in an Emerging Economy(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2010) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This is the first comprehensive report on PhD training in South Africa and identifies the barriers and opportunities for effective training and high-level outputs at the doctoral level. It was produced by an expert study panel and combines quantitative and qualitative data on doctoral students, doctoral training programmes, doctorate-producing institutions, and employers who hire doctoral graduates. These varied but integrated sources of data are used to give an account of the status of the PhD in South Africa and specific recommendations on what needs to be done to scale up the numbers of doctoral graduates produced in the country. Amongst other recommendations, the Report calls for immediate action to strengthen the quality of the school system at its foundations, ensuring that literate and numerate students with greater confidence in their own learning proceed to high school. It also calls for the creation of innovative programmes that attract and retain larger numbers of post-baccalaureate students into masters and doctoral studies.Item Preventing a Tobacco Epidemic in Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2014) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)In April 2013, the Network of African Science Academies convened a committee of experts to discuss the evidence, obstacles, and opportunities for implementing and enforcing tobacco use prevention and control policies in Africa. The committee, consisting of 16 experts drawn from 8 countries in Africa, met for 3 days in Kampala, Uganda, with funding administered by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Each distinguished committee member was selected for his or her in-depth tobacco-specific knowledge in areas including agriculture, policy, economics, social science, health, and the environment. The committee reviewed and assessed the evidence on the state of tobacco use and tobacco production and their detrimental health, economic, and environmental effects in Africa. The committee also reviewed efforts currently under way to prevent and control tobacco use, including the status of adoption and ratification of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Based on this evidence, the committee reached consensus on actions that African leaders and other stakeholders should take to combat this growing threat. This report presents the committee’s evidence-based recommendations for tobacco control in Africa. It outlines strategies that should place tobacco control policy on the African leadership agenda, and also calls upon other groups, such as civil society organizations, to share in the responsibility of protecting those most vulnerable to misleading and deceitful messaging by the tobacco industry.Item Provider core competencies for improved Mental health care of the nation(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This report is a comprehensive document reviewing current training programmes for various cadres of service providers who provide (or could provide) care for people with mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders in South Africa. The review used national mental health and disability policies to develop a vision of contextually-appropriate services using a task-shifting disability-inclusive approach as a framework for the review. The report consists of the following sections: • An introductory section including the executive summary, background to, and methodology of the study. • The body of the report consists of separate chapters for each category of service provider, with a detailed examination of current curricula measured against the core competencies identified by the researchers. Key findings are highlighted at the start of each chapter, as well in the concluding section of the report. • The concluding section of the report summarises key findings, discusses limitations of the study and makes recommendations regarding the use of the report as well as for further research.Item Recognising individual contributions to collaborative research: limitations of proportional publication counts and proposals for alternatives(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2019) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This report was undertaken to determine whether researchers in South Africa who publish within large consortia are appropriately recognised in the South African context, including the systems by which authors are evaluated and rewarded, with specific reference to multi-authored publications. The study sought to establish the current practices in South Africa and compare these with international best practice. Lastly the report provides a number of recommendations to improve this aspect of the current system.Item Reconceptualising Health Professions Education in South Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2018) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This consensus study was initiated by ASSAf as a response to the ongoing challenge of shortages of healthcare professionals. The study was conceptualised following an ASSAf workshop on the Lancet report titled Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The study aims to address the full value chain in health sciences education from student selection, through pedagogical developments, unpacking of the current bottlenecks in the system and looking at how the future health sciences education system can be financed and regulated. Objectives of the study are to provide evidence-based information and recommendations to policymakers and relevant stakeholders on how health professional education might be transformed to improve the health of the nation. This includes the various professions in health. Some of the key findings of the study include: barriers in student section; inadequate production and retention of skilled health professionals; urban-rural maldistribution of graduates; core competencies’ challenges; internship and community-service obligations and transition; and shortcomings in financing of health sciences education. Recommendations on how to address the challenges are very practical. It is envisaged that policymakers and relevant stakeholders will implement these for the revitalisation of health professions education in order to improve health of South Africans.Item The Regulatory Implications of New Breeding Techniques(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2016) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)South Africa is one of only very few African countries that has commercialised GMOs. A plethora of recent developments in genetic engineering and related technologies has necessitated the reassessment of their possible value, biosafety implications and regulation. This led the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to commission this study by ASSAf. This study had two main objectives: to make sure South African policy appropriately and adequately addresses biosafety requirements of these new techniques to ensure safe and sustainable research, development and use of their products; and to ensure the regulatory requirements are appropriate to the technologies and/or their products. This consensus report provides an overview of the so-called new breeding techniques (NBTs), as well as an overview of current global approaches to the regulation of these NBTs and then makes recommendations on: •how to assess these new and future techniques and their products regarding their possible subjection to existing GMO legislation; • how current biosafety policy and regulations may need to be amended to accommodate the varying biosafety implications of these products; • if current risk analysis frameworks and practice are sufficient to assess the biosafety of these products.Item Report on a Strategic Approach to Research Publishing in South Africa(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2006) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)Two strands of influence have affected the publication of local scholarly journals in South Africa in the recent past. The first of these was the establishment of the Bureau of Scientific Publications that subsidized the publication of a number of journals that had been established during the 20th century. The ‘Bureau journals’ were an attempt to foster academic publication in South Africa and to make their products available to an international readership – quality of material was to be coupled to quality of production. In this respect the establishment of the Bureau was mimicking a similar development in Australia and could be seen as a mechanism for fostering home-grown talent. The second influence was a new mechanism of funding universities, which rewarded them directly for the academic publications that they produced. Both of these influences had a significant impact on the development of local journals, the behaviour of individuals, the financial sustainability of learned societies that produced the journals, and the institutions that received the ‘output’ subsidy. The Bureau was recently closed, with only one journal, The South Africa Journal of Science, continuing to receive support through the Academy of Science of South Africa on the basis of its international impact. The funding for ‘outputs’ of the tertiary institutions has continued, although in a modified form that includes a reward for completed masters and doctoral degrees. These developments raised two related questions. The first was whether it was appropriate for the state to support the publication of (some) learned journals in the interest of fostering intellectual exchange. The second question was whether all of the articles, published in journals recognized for the output subsidy of universities, deserved to receive recognition, in view of the wide variation in quality of the material produced. The Academy was commissioned in 2001 in this context by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (now the Department of Science and Technology) to undertake a study to address these two questions, with a view to making recommendations for the optimal development of policy in the future. The effect of globalization on knowledge exchange, which is mediated very largely through scientific journals being published in English, and having their origins in Europe and North America, has resulted in the neglect of regional journals. It has also led to the development of benchmarks based on bibliometric analysis of publication patterns that has resulted in global ranking of tertiary institutions. These trends are being countered in the African context, with its relatively neglected tertiary sector, by a need that is expressed by the African Academies of Science that are members of the Network of African Scientific Academies (NASAC), to consider the publication of high-quality journals that report work of significance to African scientists. The degree to which such a project is feasible, and whether it could be successfully implemented both in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent, needs to be explored after the release of this report. Although the report was prepared at the request of, and with funding from the Department of Science and Technology, in order amongst other matters to address specific questions that had been raised about the subsidy for scholarly outputs, its potential impact both in understanding international trends in scholarly knowledge production and in giving guidance to those who would like to foster the publication of indigenous journals, will be great if careful attention is given to the recommendations that are contained in this study. The report was developed and has been guided to a successful conclusion by Prof Wieland Gevers who initiated it during his tenure as President of the Academy and has now brought it to fruition as the Academy’s Executive Officer, with the invaluable assistance of Dr Xola Mati as study director. He and the authors of the various chapters are thanked for the care and attention with which they have produced a seminal analysis of South African publication patterns. They will receive their reward in full measure through the impact that this report will have on the further development of the National System of Innovation.Item Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Architecture, Built Environment and Engineering(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2018) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The peer review report entitled Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Architecture, Built Environment and Engineering is the seventh in a series of discipline-grouped evaluations of South African scholarly journals. This is part of a scholarly assurance process initiated by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The process is centered on multi-perspective, discipline-based evaluation panels appointed by the Academy Council on the recommendation of the Academy’s Committee on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa (CSPiSA). This detailed report presents the peer review panel’s consolidated consensus reports on each journal and provides the panel’s recommendations in respect of DHET accreditation, inclusion on the SciELO SA platform and suggestions for improvement in general. The main purpose of the ASSAf review process for journals is to improve the scholarly publication in the country that is consonant with traditional scholarly practices.Item Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Communication and Information Sciences(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2019) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The peer review report entitled Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Communication and Information Sciences is the ninth in a series of discipline-grouped evaluations of South African scholarly journals. This is part of a scholarly assurance process initiated by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The process is centered on multi-perspective, discipline-based evaluation panels appointed by the Academy Council on the recommendation of the Academy’s Committee on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa (CSPiSA). This detailed report presents the peer review panel’s consolidated consensus reports on each journal and provides the panel’s recommendations in respect of DHET accreditation, inclusion on the SciELO SA platform and suggestions for improvement in general. The main purpose of the ASSAf review process for journals is to improve the scholarly publication in the country that is consonant with traditional scholarly practices.Item Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Communication and Information Sciences(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2019) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The peer review report entitled Report on Grouped Peer Review of Scholarly Journals in Communication and Information Sciences is the ninth in a series of discipline-grouped evaluations of South African scholarly journals. This is part of a scholarly assurance process initiated by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The process is centered on multi-perspective, discipline-based evaluation panels appointed by the Academy Council on the recommendation of the Academy’s Committee on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa (CSPiSA). This detailed report presents the peer review panel’s consolidated consensus reports on each journal and provides the panel’s recommendations in respect of DHET accreditation, inclusion on the SciELO SA platform and suggestions for improvement in general. The main purpose of the ASSAf review process for journals is to improve the scholarly publication in the country that is consonant with traditional scholarly practices.
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