Residents' attitudes to proposed wind farms in the West Coast region of South Africa: A social perspective from the South

The West Coast Region (WCR) of the Western Cape Province in South Africa is earmarked for 13 onshore wind farm projects totaling approximately 700 wind turbines. The developed world debate about the social acceptance of wind farm projects has impeded and illuminated a number of these developments. This paper is aimed at understanding people's reaction to proposed wind farm projects in the WCR – a region of a developing country – and to investigate whether the reasoning behind opposition to or acceptance of wind farm projects is similar to the discourse on the topic by scholars in the developed world. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect primary data by semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey. A spatial dimension was added through a map-based approach. Reactions by WCR residents to the wind farm projects were mainly positive, although some opposition was detected. International scholarship holds that place attachment serves as a reason for opposition to wind farm projects. Although most of the WCR residents had strong place attachments to their region, most of the respondents also supported the proposed wind farm projects.     

Technology adoption and the challenges of inclusive participation in economic activities: Evidence from small scale oil palm fruit processors in southwestern Nigeria

The lack of technology adoption has been mentioned as a source of lack of inclusive participation of low income groups in economic activities leading to income disparity in developing countries. The study utilized an input-process-output framework to develop a set of indicators to inform the development of policies and practices to ensure the participation of low income groups in economic activities. The input element consists of technology adoption influencing factors such as socio-economic characteristics and innovating units and institutions that provide support for innovation activities. The process and output elements consist of the level of technology adoption in production processes and productivity measures respectively. Focusing on small-scale oil palm fruit processors in Nigeria, the study revealed that inadequate funding of the input processes lead to inadequate technology adoption in specific unit operations of palm oil production. Utilising selected physicochemical properties of palm oil as indicators of productivity, the samples of palm oil assessed were found to be unsuitable for industrial use and may limit the processors from participating in formal sectors of palm oil production. The study recommends policy levers that will enhance input factors through adequate funding to improve the technological base of the small-scale oil palm fruit processing.     

Small-scale portable photovoltaic-battery-LED systems with submersible LED units to replace kerosene-based artisanal fishing lamps for Sub-Saharan African lakes

A technical simulation and economic model was developed for a floating photovoltaic (PV)-battery system powering a submerged light emitting diode (LED) lighting system. The system was designed to provide around the equivalent of 1000 lumens (lm) of light of the existing light fishing technology (a floating pressurised kerosene light) for artisanal light fishers to use for 8 h per night on Lake Victoria and other lakes in the region (Tanganyika, Rukwa, Mweru, Kivu, etc.). The net present cost (NPC) of a technically appropriate PV-battery-LED system was calculated as US$280 over 5 years, five-times less than the existing solar-based technology, a PV-battery-compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) system, and around ten times less than the baseline pressurised kerosene-based technology over the five years. Fishers owning the new PV-battery-LED system outright will likely recoup their initial investment within a year relative to the cost of alternatives, although the upfront capital cost of the new system was higher than the pressurised kerosene and PV-battery-CFL, and found to be practically unaffordable to the subsistence fishers without microcredit. Nonetheless, the technical simulations found that the new system was also able to provide additional lighting services during the day and evening, with little (if any) electrical impact on the system when in use for light fishing during the small hours of moonless nights. This research also demonstrates that the high cost of operating pressurised kerosene lamps precludes them for use in other applications within the community, including in homes. This research suggests that facilitated local development of appropriate new light fishing technology configurations will require training of local individuals to sensitise fishing communities to the new technology, and sustain wider adoption of the more efficient, cost-effective, and safer alternative.     

Seasonality of meningitis in Africa and climate forcing: aerosols stand out

Bacterial meningitis is an ongoing threat for the population of the African Meningitis Belt, a region characterized by the highest incidence rates worldwide. The determinants of the disease dynamics are still poorly understood; nevertheless, it is often advocated that climate and mineral dust have a large impact. Over the last decade, several studies have investigated this relationship at a large scale. In this analysis, we scaled down to the district-level weekly scale (which is used for in-year response to emerging epidemics), and used wavelet and phase analysis methods to define and compare the time-varying periodicities of meningitis, climate and dust in Niger. We mostly focused on detecting time-lags between the signals that were consistent across districts. Results highlighted the special case of dust in comparison to wind, humidity or temperature: a strong similarity between districts is noticed in the evolution of the time-lags between the seasonal component of dust and meningitis. This result, together with the assumption of dust damaging the pharyngeal mucosa and easing bacterial invasion, reinforces our confidence in dust forcing on meningitis seasonality. Dust data should now be integrated in epidemiological and forecasting models to make them more realistic and usable in a public health perspective.     

Sugarcane ethanol production in Malawi: Measures to optimize the carbon footprint and to avoid indirect emissions

Sugarcane ethanol is considered to be one of the most efficient first-generation biofuels in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The carbon footprint (CF), however, increases significantly when taking into account emissions induced by indirect land-use changes (ILUC). This case study investigates sugarcane ethanol production in the Republic of Malawi, in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA); the research objectives were to identify and quantify direct and indirect emissions and to identify measures to optimize the CF. The CF has been calculated with a life cycle approach and with data obtained from the involved companies; our estimations with regard to ILUC take into account further expansion plans for sugarcane crop production. Under existing production conditions ethanol produced in Malawi leads to GHG emissions expressed as CO_2eq of 116 g MJ⁻¹ of ethanol. However, high optimization potentials exist when the vinasse is used as an input for biogas production and the harvesting switches from pre-harvest burning to green harvesting. ILUC induced by prospective sugarcane expansions in the Southern Region will, according to current planning, probably not occur since these expansions are linked to the implementation of a large-scale irrigation project. However if ILUC takes place, high levels of additional CO₂ emissions of about 77 g MJ⁻¹ of ethanol are to be expected. Although the case study results are only valid for a specific region, some of the findings, such as the high compensation potential regarding ILUC through investments in irrigation systems, may be transferable to other regions in SSA.     

Foreign firms in core or peripheral areas? The spatial dimension of job creation and wages in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper investigates the within-country location choices of a large sample of foreign and domestic firms in 19 Sub-Saharan African countries. We show that foreign firms are more likely to locate in core regions compared to domestic ones but generate significantly more jobs per productive unit in the periphery. We find some evidence that foreign firms generate relatively better jobs in peripheral areas: more skill intensive and better paid. These results highlight a fundamental role that FDI in peripheral areas might play in rebalancing the spatial distribution of economic opportunities in developing countries where highly congested megacities exercise a strong centripetal force.     

Stoves or sugar? Willingness to adopt improved cookstoves in Malawi

Malawi has set a target of adoption of two million improved cookstoves (ICS) by 2020. Meeting this objective requires knowledge about determinants of adoption, particularly in rural areas where the cost of traditional cooking technologies and fuels are non-monetary, and where people have limited capacity to purchase an ICS. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with 383 households in rural Malawi asking them if they would chose a locally made ICS or a package of sugar and salt of roughly equal value. Six months later, we assessed adoption and stove use patterns. Sixty-six percent of households chose the ICS. We find that having a larger share of crop residues in household fuel supply, awareness of the environmental impacts of woodfuel reliance, time the primary cook devotes to collecting fuelwood, and peer effects at the village-level increase the odds of choosing the ICS. Having a large labor supply for fuelwood collection and experience with a non-traditional cooking technology decreased the odds of choosing the ICS. In a rapid assessment six months after stoves were distributed, we found 80% of households were still using the ICS, but not exclusively. Our findings suggest considerable potential for wide-scale adoption of low cost ICS in Malawi.     

Showcase and window to the world: East German architecture abroad 1949–1990

For decades, German Democratic Republic (GDR) architecture was seen as parochial and dictated by the Soviets, yet increasing scholarly interest has generated a picture of debates and specific practices that were embedded in the global process of expansion and crisis of Modernism. Meanwhile, and influenced by the East-West conflict, competing concepts of modernization and national identity arose in the so-called Third World, initiating multifarious cultural transfer processes. This article analyses to what extent the architects from the GDR – a country whose building practice was increasingly shaped by the principles of industrial prefabrication – have played a part in regional contexts and construction methods. It also asks what their role was in international organizations such as Union Internationale des Architects and UNESCO, which promoted their practical engagement abroad. The subject raises issues of possible freedom of action in creative design and fusion processes, but also of bureaucratic constrictions and international relationships ending in unexpected conflicts. The examples outline the field of activities that stretches from pure blueprint delivery for a memorial competition to long-standing work on location when planning whole neighbourhoods. Furthermore, the article examines how the challenges of international planning impacted building culture within the GDR itself.     

The management of the project-based organization: A personal reflection

In this paper I make a personal reflection on my research and writings in the field of Project Management over the past 30 years. My research has primarily been about the management of the project-based organization. Within that I have researched governance, organizational behaviour, contingency, marketing, success and shareholder value.     

A tale of two Great Lakes conferences: Urging global collaboration on our largest freshwater resources

Scientific meetings and conferences are a part of the scientific process, and can facilitate collaboration, idea-sharing, and harmonization of research and management. The success of a conference can be measured using many criteria, including consistency and reoccurrence of the meetings, credibility by participation of reputable professionals, and attendance by a diverse community. In the interest of increasing the success of large-lake, freshwater science, policy, and management, this comment focuses on two recent conferences attended by the authors: the 60th annual meeting of the International Association for Great Lakes Research, in Detroit, U.S.A., and the African Great Lakes Conference, in Entebbe, Uganda. By our measures of success, we suggest that to make a larger impact on research, policy, and management of global, large, freshwater lakes that each conference can improve, either through greater diversity of experts from the global freshwater research community, or by consistently reoccurring on a regular basis.