{"title":"Corporate tax avoidance: Is South African society negatively affected by chartered accountant CEOs?","authors":"Pieter Van Aardt Van der Spuy, Phillip de Jager","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/15549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/15549","url":null,"abstract":"Corporate tax avoidance can impede governments’ spending towards social and economic initiatives that can increase infrastructure development, economic growth, and equality, and reduce poverty. Yet, why some companies avoid more tax than others is not adequately understood, and, in particular, research regarding the influence of CEO-characteristics on tax avoidance, is lacking. This study is an empirical investigation into the influence of a CEO’s tax knowledge and tax awareness, construed as a ‘CEO effect’, on corporate tax avoidance, using data from the 112 largest listed companies on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange between 2004 and 2018. We found that the CEO effect, not measured before, does not have an observable influence on the level of corporate tax avoidance. This finding assuages possible concerns that chartered accountants, and particularly chartered accountants in the top leadership positions in large companies, are more shareholder oriented, to the detriment of the interests of society, as suggested in the literature.","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"517 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shedding light on the vexed question of science and uncertainty","authors":"Jonathan Jansen","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/16549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/16549","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139209859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kate Ekama, David Ikumi, Christopher J. Brouckaert
{"title":"George Ekama (1949–2023): A man of faith, humility and integrity and a world leader in wastewater treatment","authors":"Kate Ekama, David Ikumi, Christopher J. Brouckaert","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/16907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/16907","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139210678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Science and language, knowledge and power","authors":"Kirstin Wilmot, M. Iqani, N. Madondo","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/16909","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/16909","url":null,"abstract":"as language, becomes laden with ‘norms’ and values of a discipline. Language becomes the signifier of what counts in a discipline – for example, the use of first person versus passive objectivity. In other words, the language we use is not arbitrary. It is determined by the disciplinary context in which we work and the value system that shapes that context. When we start to interrogate these discursive choices we can begin to appreciate that no scientific knowledge is neutral and that language plays a role in embedding power within knowledge practices.","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139211822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Postgraduate students and publishing in academic journals","authors":"C. Boughey","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/16908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/16908","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139214430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Distinguishing the genuine from the fake in South African universities: Scholarly awards, books and academic credibility","authors":"Robert Morrell, Neil Roos","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/16491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/16491","url":null,"abstract":"maintaining universities as places of enquiry, debate and engagement rather than as mass-production factories. We argue that the scholarly book acts as a counterweight to quick and cynical practices. Its production takes time but it is a goal available to all scholars in all disciplines. The scholarly book offers an alternative, we would argue the supreme, form of research validation. In this short piece we reflect on the production of one sort of scholarly output, the book. We ask specifically what the ethnographic life of the book tells us about how seriously a university takes questions of academic credibility and the robustness of an academic culture at a university. We also consider how individual academics approach the question of producing this most time-and energy-consuming of academic outputs in the light of the incentives offered for quicker easier forms of output. Moreover, we ask whether the emergence of a book from a university, the","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Occurrence, quantification and removal of triclosan in wastewater of Umbogintwini Industrial Complex in KwaMakhutha, South Africa","authors":"S. Mhlongo, L. Sibali, P. Ndibewu","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/14743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/14743","url":null,"abstract":"We report on the detection of an organic pollutant mostly found in local streams and wastewater treatment plants, specifically on triclosan detected in the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex (UIC), located on the south coast of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Triclosan was successfully extracted from effluent samples using molecularly imprinted membrane adsorbents (MIMs) before quantification and removal using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This was done through fabrication of a polyvinylidene fluoride polymer using selective microparticles and molecularly imprinted polymers by means of phase inversion and an immersion precipitation method which results in enhanced hydrophilicity and membrane performance. The optimisation of experimental parameters – i.e. contact time and sample size – was performed through different stages of analysis. The synthesised MIMs exhibited an outstanding adsorption efficiency of 97% for triclosan in relation to those of non-imprinted membranes (NIMs) and pristine membranes at 92% and 88%, respectively. The analytical method employed had limits of detection and quantification of 0.21 and 0.69 parts per billion (ppb or μg/L) in wastewater effluent, respectively. The obtained efficiency results show great potential for future use of membrane and molecular imprinting technology, and that MIMs can be adopted as adsorbents for water treatment. The fast and highly selective methodology presented in this work could also be employed for the examination of persistent organic pollutants in the future to combat water scarcity in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Herbicide resistance cases in South Africa: A review of the current state of knowledge","authors":"Mulweli M. Matshidze, Vhuthu Ndou","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/15228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/15228","url":null,"abstract":"Herbicides play a major role in weed management worldwide. However, herbicide resistance is a global challenge that threatens weed management and sustainable agriculture. In South Africa, over 36 years, ten weed species have evolved resistance to five modes of action. In this review, cases of herbicide resistance that were published in scientific journals, proceedings of congresses, theses or dissertations, and in the international survey of herbicide-resistant weeds, were included to give national and international scientists’ perspectives on the current status of herbicide resistance in South Africa. Since the last review was published in 2010, there have been new insights and novel techniques to document the molecular mechanism of herbicide-resistant weeds. Most cases of herbicide resistance in South Africa involved monocot and dicot weeds which are problematic in various cropping systems such as Lolium spp. (annual ryegrass), Phalaris spp. (canary grass), Avena spp. (wild oats), and Raphanus raphanistrum L. (wild radish). Understanding the extent of herbicide resistance and the molecular mechanism involved in herbicide resistance is paramount to developing novel techniques to manage herbicide-resistant weeds.","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139215007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The long walk to STI policy coherence","authors":"Michael Kahn","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/15423","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/15423","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dirk Brand, Jerome A. Singh, Annelize G. Nienaber McKay, Nezerith Cengiz, K. Moodley
{"title":"A response to Thaldar et al. (2023): Data sharing governance in sub-Saharan Africa during public health emergencies","authors":"Dirk Brand, Jerome A. Singh, Annelize G. Nienaber McKay, Nezerith Cengiz, K. Moodley","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2023/16896","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/16896","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":"92 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139213598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}