University news from Africa

AFRICA: New initiative to boost science
Three networks of universities in sub-Saharan Africa have been named as the first to benefit from a new partnership initiative to build scientific capacity in Africa. The Regional Initiative in Science and Education, RISE, will provide grants - each worth $800,000 - over two-and-a-half years to the three networks which are based in South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania but also involve universities in eight African countries.

ALGERIA: More universities, more freshers, fewer teachersAs Algeria completes a five-year university expansion plan, more than half the candidates who took the baccalauréat this summer passed the examination which entitles them to a place in higher education.

SENEGAL: Minister promises university increased funds Moustapha Sourang, the new Minister for Higher Education, visited the University of Ziguinchor this month with promises of substantially increased funding - but found himself greeted by the boos of protesting students, according to several sources. Meanwhile, three of Dakar's higher education institutions have signed an agreement to harmonise research and develop teacher exchanges.

BURKINA FASO: Student hardship after housing closed Students in Ouagadougou faced severe hardship following sudden eviction from their halls of residence and closure of canteens at the end of June, reported L'Observateur Paalga and Le Pays of Ouagadougou. Dangers to which they were exposed included criminal attack, disease, hunger, rain and being forced into prostitution.

CÔTE D'IVOIRE: Bouaké teachers work to rule Teachers at the University of Bouaké have gone ahead with their decision to work to rule, and are demanding back payments owed to them since 2006-07 before they will resume extra teaching duties, reported Notre Voie of Abidjan (see "Academics feeling the pinch", University World News, 6 July 2008).

University News from the West

Here is a snapshot of university news from around the US, UK and Europe:



THE PROFS THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
Will the retirement of aging baby boomers usher in an era of moderate politics on campus?
ALREADY GONE
Sick of mediocre students and feeling stuck on the job, a professor turns to music to self-medicate.
WE'RE NOT YOUR NEW COLLEAGUES
Why adjunct faculty members don't feel they are part of their academic departments.
UNDISCIPLINED
The trend of teaching masters of Western thought, like Freud, Hegel, and Marx, outside their home disciplines represents a flight from history, writes Russell Jacoby.
STUDENTS UNDER WATCH
Online-education institutions are trying new technologies to ensure that the people enrolled in their courses are the ones doing the work.
BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE
In online education, students and professors can lose important connections to each other, writes Suzanne M. Kelly.
WHAT THEY'RE READING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A list of the best-selling books.
SHIFTING SANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Two campuses in the United Arab Emirates, one successful and one not, offer examples and warnings to American institutions on setting up branches abroad.


I can help you change your life
No, not the claim of many a self-help guru, but increasingly the mantra of modern academics. Matthew Reisz finds out why they are dipping their toes in the genre, despite its lack of scholarly kudos
After the gold rush
Ireland's economic boom brought equally impressive growth in higher education enrolment. But in a chillier fiscal climate, what awaits the Celtic Tiger's universities? Hannah Fearn reports
Wondrousgames of logic
Mathematician Robin Wilson's enthusiasm for Lewis Carroll stems from a shared delight in the brain-teasing and magical world of numbers. Matthew Reisz reports



GLOBAL: Future of higher education research/Diane Spencer
Higher education around the world has expanded massively in recent decades so that its character and performance have significant implications for all members of society, not only economically but for social cohesion, equity, mobility and integration, says a new report by the European Science Foundation. The report says more needs to be known about how universities and other higher education institutions are changing in the 21st century. It says that expansion of the sector has implications locally, nationally and globally, as well as how it shapes the lives of individual citizens.

EUROPE: Higher education's global role/ Alan Osborn
As a demonstration of how the top higher education people from across the world can meet, debate, agree and disagree without ever losing sight of their common goals as academic leaders, you would find it hard to better the four-yearly conference of the UNESCO-based International Association of Universities.

EUROPE: First Mediterranean university launched/ Keith Nuthall
A new Euro-Mediterranean University based in Slovenia has been launched with higher education courses that will focus on issues of importance to European, African and Levantine countries bordering the sea. Creation of the new institution was part of a joint declaration issued by heads of state and government from 43 countries at a Paris summit establishing a Mediterranean Union organisation.

EUROPE: Raising education standards/ Alan Osborn
The 27 EU member states will have to speed up their educational progress if they are to meet a range of self-imposed targets deemed necessary if the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs is to be successful by 2010. A report by the European Commission* acknowledges that progress has been made in five key areas (though not in low achievement in reading) and that long-term reform processes have been launched. "Although progress towards... targets is slow, it is mostly going in the right direction," said Ján Figel, Commissioner for Education. "But much work still needs to be done," he warned.

FRANCE: More super-campuses announced/ Jane Marshall
Valérie Pécresse, Minister for Higher Education and Research, has announced the four remaining locations for Operation Campus - a plan aimed at making French universities internationally competitive through substantially increased funding for a selected few. While Paris was conspicuously absent among the first six projects chosen at the end of May, three of the four new campuses will be situated in the capital or the surrounding Ile-de-France region. But a decision has been postponed on which of two inner Paris proposals will go ahead.

FRANCE: Big budget increases - and big job cuts/ Jane Marshall
Academics and researchers reacted with alarm to an announcement by French Higher Education and Research Minister Valérie Pécresse that their institutions faced significant losses of tenured posts next year. They accused the government of endangering French research by replacing permanent jobs with short-term contracts, and of striking "heavy blows" against scientific employment.


AUSTRALIA: International quality assurance / David Woodhouse*
As universities around the world internationalise their curricula and their research links, or offer courses abroad or enrol foreign students, these activities should be subject to internal quality assurance. By the same token, external quality assurance agencies must be able to assess the nature and effect of these internal processes. This is the "QA of internationalisation".

The Future of Media

Each year Future Exploration Network runs the Future of Media Summit, linking Silicon Valley and Sydney with video and crosscontinental discussions, and launches an accompanying report. The Future of Media Report 2008 is now available.

Highlights include that SA is one of the fastest growing advertising markets; the seven driving forces shaping media; the Future of Media Lifecyle (with an explanation here) and some strategy tools (incl. scenario planning, flow economy framework and game theory).

University News from Africa

NIGERIA: Nearly 300,000 denied university places /Tunde Fatunde
More than a million N igerian youngsters wrote qualifying tests conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, hoping to clinch a university place. But universities can accept only 153,000 out of 448,000 successful candidates, meaning that 295,000 qualified would-be students will be denied admission to higher education when the 2008-09 academic year begins in October.Full report on the University World News site

ZIMBABWE: Students look east /Clemence Manyukwe
Zimbabwean students are turning to Asian universities following Australia’s decision to deport eight youngsters whose fathers are accused of propping up the government of President Robert Mugabe – and more students might yet be deported. The United States has also said five students involved in “anti-democratic” activities would be deported, but has not said when or given their names. Unlike in the past, local papers are now awash with advertisements offering students places at Asian universities, mostly in Malaysia.Full report on the University World News site
Student faces death for alleged coup plot /Clemence ManyukweA University of Zimbabwe student appeared in the Harare High Court last week on charges of plotting a coup against the government of long-time ruler President Robert Mugabe. Rangarirai Mazirofa, 21, a second year agriculture student, was arrested in May last year with six other men for allegedly plotting to assassinate the ageing despot with the help of the security forces. He has been tortured in prison. The men all face a death sentence.Full report on the University World News site

MOZAMBIQUE: New research institutions planned / Charles MangwiroMozambique is planning to increase the number of scientific institutions as part of a strategic bid to enable better use of trained staff and to fight grinding poverty currently affecting half of its 20 million people. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Heath have formalised a five-year memorandum of understanding aimed at promoting science and technology research. Full report on the University World News site

EGYPT: Research plagued by plagiarism / Ashraf Khaled
Mohamed Abdel Moneim, a lecturer in the faculty of commerce at the southern Egyptian University of Beni Sueif, was shocked when he came across a book carrying the name of a fellow lecturer – it had the same title as a book he had authored dealing with purchase and warehouse management. “That was not all. The alleged author had plagiarised a large chunk of my book,” Moneim recalls. His case was one of many instances of plagiarism that have been uncovered in recent years, and which experts say have come to plague research in Egypt.Full report on the University World News site

World Trade Report 2008: Trade in a Globalizing World

The World Trade Organisation released the World Trade Report 2008 last week.

The theme of this year's Report is “Trade in a Globalizing World”. The Report provides a reminder of what we know about the gains from international trade and highlights the challenges arising from higher levels of integration.

It addresses a range of interlinking questions, starting with a consideration of what constitutes globalization, what drives it, what benefits does it bring, what challenges does it pose and what role does trade play in this world of ever-growing inter-dependency.

The Report asks why some countries have managed to take advantage of falling trade costs and greater policy-driven trading opportunities while others have remained largely outside international commercial relations.





It also considers who the winners and losers are from trade and what complementary action is needed from policy-makers to secure the benefits of trade for society at large.





In examining these complex and multi-faceted questions, the Report reviews both the theoretical gains from trade and empirical evidence that can help to answer these questions.

Information on the Beijing 2008 Olympics

If your students are looking for information on the Beijing 2008 Olympics (or background information on the Olympics) refer them to the InfoPlease Olympics 2008 pages.

Included are such topics as:

History of the Olympic Torch, Flame, and Relay From symbolism of fire to criticisms and protests
Beijing Controversies Tibet, Darfur, pollution, and the general destruction of Beijing
Summer Games: Gold Medals A round-up of the major competitions
Olympics Highlights Day-to-day news from Athens
Olympics Timeline From ancient Greece to the present day
Modern Olympic Symbols Flames, doves, oaths, and more
Ancient Olympic Traditions The Olympics draws on traditions of war, religion, economy
Olympic Fun Facts Poland's "Stella the Fella" and other amazing trivia
Paralympics-Spirit in motion
U.S. Olympic Training Facilities-Where Olympians live and train
Olympic Athletes-The sponsorship behind the athletes
The Olympics and Greece
The First Modern Olympics: Athens, 1896
Fourteen nations participated in the first modern Olympics
The Olympics of Ancient Greece
The first ancient games are believed to have begun in 776 B.C.

The official Beijing 2008 site is also extremely useful.

Economic Assessment of SA

The OECD’s first Economic Assessment of South Africa has been released on Tuesday 15 July and it looks at the reforms needed to create jobs, tackle poverty and allow growth to catch up with the most dynamic emerging economies.

Unfortunately UJ is not subscribed to the OECD databases, however A Policy Brief with the main conclusions of the survey is freely accessible in pdf format (in English and French) on the OECD’s web.

Here are some of the highlights of the Economic Assessment of SA:
Chapter 1: Achieving Accelerated and Shared Growth for South Africa
This Chapter presents an assessment of South Africa’s development strategy, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA).

Chapter 2: Reforming goods and services markets in South Africa
This chapter examines the potential role of competition policy in enhancing long-term productivity growth in South Africa. It also investigates the role of regulatory and institutional reform in reducing barriers to entry, exit and growth. More precisely, it uses the OECD's methodology to calculate an indicator of Product Market Regulation (PMR) to assess the degree to which government regulation in markets for goods and services promotes or inhibits competition.

Chapter 3: Realising South Africa's employment potential
Unemployment in South Africa is extremely high and very unevenly distributed, being concentrated among young less-skilled blacks. The sharp increase in unemployment in the 1990s was driven by a surge in the supply of less-skilled labour, accompanied by a failure of labour demand to keep pace. Growth of the working-age population and the release of pent-up pressures for labour force participation in the majority black population explain the big increase in the supply of less-skilled labour, while negative demand shocks in labour-intensive sectors were an important factor in the slow growth of demand. The combination of these factors means that market-clearing would have required a substantial fall in real wages in the decade after 1994, especially for less-skilled workers.

Earlier in the year the OECD has also released their African Economic Outlook 2008 report which focuses on Technical Skills Development. It also presents a comprehensive analysis of the economic, social and political developments on the continent.

Stats SA response to Investec's allegations on CPI

VS

A storm is brewing between StatsSA and Investec regarding the interest rates & CPI:

"Investec Asset Management, South Africa's second-biggest private money manager, said yesterday [July 15]the May inflation rate of 10.9 percent is overstated by 2.2 percentage points because the statistics office delayed reweighting product categories in the consumer price index by two years. The office today denied that it delayed the process, adding that updating the index had taken longer than in previous years because it was being cautious." Bloomberg Africa

It didn't take StatsSA long to reply to the allegations:

"Recent press reports based on an analysis of consumer price inflation by Investec Asset Management suggest an error in the calculation of the CPI, resulting in an overstatement of the annual inflation rate.

The difference between Stats SA’s official inflation rate and Investec’s estimates arises from the reweighting and rebasing of the CPI to be implemented in 2009. It is important to note that there is no error in Stats SA’s CPI calculations. Any difference in the rate of inflation given the old and new weights is not the result of errors but of a careful and logical process of keeping up with current changes in the economy as far as practically possible.

Reweighting and rebasing in many advanced economies take place with intervals of 3 to 10 years. In most cases, South Africa included, base-period weights are used in the CPI, which implies that the weights always refer to a previous period and inevitably introduce a measure of bias. While no CPI is free of biases, Stats SA strives to minimise such biases."

Read the whole reply here

Higher Education news

Here is a brief snapshot of HE news from around the world:

Short Subjects
KNOCKOUT POETRY In Japan, a scholar of communications, in the hope of getting people to talk with one another, holds "boxing" competitions in which the blows are thrown verbally, in verse.

THIS PROF GETS GOOD MILEAGE: Among the vehicles in Grand Theft Auto IV is a car called the Karin Dilettante, apparently named for a psychology professor who has been critical of video-game violence.

SOMETHING AFOOT: Police investigators in Canada have turned to academe for help in solving the mystery of five human feet, clad in running shoes, that have washed ashore in the past year.

The Faculty
A LINGERING INFECTION Federal charges against a professor who uses bacteria in his artwork have been dismissed, but he and his colleagues warn that the episode may have a chilling effect on academic and aesthetic freedom.
YOUR FIRST REAL TASTE OF ACADEMIC CULTURE No better preparation for the tenure track exists than a graduate assistantship; here's how to make the most of it.
HOW NOT TO EVALUATE YOUR DEPARTMENT HEAD Go ahead, submit a long, gossipy rant against your chairman, but prepare to be ignored.

Information Technology
SPINNING A NEW WEB A nationwide effort to redesign the Internet will now involve economists and social scientists in hopes of designing a more adaptable network

International
IN AFRICA, FOR THE LONG TERM Groups of American colleges and foundations strive to create lasting partnerships with universities in African countries.
KNOCKOUT POETRY In Japan, a scholar of communications, in the hope of getting people to talk with one another, holds "boxing" competitions in which the blows are thrown verbally, in verse.

ONE-WAY TRAFFIC: The U.S. ambassador to India has criticized what he sees as a trade imbalance in higher education between the two countries.

More

National power generators The Scottish Government is eager for universities to lead the nation to renewed prosperity and, ultimately, independence. Tariq Tahir asks if the sector is up to the challenge and what its response could mean for the rest of the UK

One tongue, very tied In decades of linguinsania, Deirdre McCloskey has tried to learn a second language - everything from French, Greek and Latin to German, Scots Gaelic and Sanskrit - with no success. But she's still not resigned to monolingualism

Public face of a private faith Mona Siddiqui, one of the UK's leading commentators on Islam, is driven by intellectual curiosity, religious belief and a desire to engage.

Working with PowerPoint Lecture and conference talks can be enhanced by PowerPoint , but unless it is used with thought it can overwhelm your audience.

Ethical issues in research Avoid delays to your research project by providing your institution’s ethics committee with enough information to properly assess your undertaking

Spending research grants wisely Getting the most from your research grant with the help of the procurement department

Make a video of your screen

Daniel Socco from DailyBlogTips recently posted some information on free open source software you can use to make a video of your screen.

It's the free version of CamStudio and here is what you can do with it:
- You can use it to create demonstration videos for any software program
- Or how about creating a set of videos answering your most frequently asked questions?
- You can create video tutorials for class or training
- You can use it to record a recurring problem with your computer so you can show technical - support people
- You can use it to create video-based information products you can sell
- You can even use it to record new tricks and techniques you discover on your favourite software program, before you forget them

I have not had time to download and play around with CamStudio, but seems to be quite promising and I can already see the use of it with regards to my training session, perhaps it will be useful to you?

Explore everything business under one roof

On Wednesday 3rd September 2008, leading business schools and affiliated institutions from across the country will converge at the annual SABSA Business School Expo in Sandton, Johannesburg.

For managers, executives and entrepreneurs aspiring to get ahead, and companies wanting to invest in their human capital, this represents an ideal platform to accelerate leadership, management, career and business development.

Why Attend?
Apart from the various MBA and Executive Education programmes that are available nationally, the business schools will be presenting a number of short courses, bursaries, scholarships, competitions, giveaways, value offerings, career initiatives... the list goes on.

Business Schools: Meet with faculty, admissions staff and alumni from across the country at one venue, on one day

Explore: Everything you need to know about MBA programmes, executive education and short courses

Funding: Find out about bursaries, scholarships and funding options

Prizes & Giveaways: Over R200 000 worth of business school prizes and giveaways up for grabs

Value Offerings: Business school value offerings available to both individuals and companies.

Register
In order to gain free entrance to the SABSA Business School Expo, register online . Alternatively, pay R50 when registering at the event.
Venue: Sandton Sun

Date: Wednesday, 3 September 2008

Times: 12h00 to 20h00

Call for papers - SAAIR

The Southern African Association for Institutional Research is awaiting papers on the following theme:

Institutional Research responding to the changing Higher Education Environment

Presenters are encouraged to make use of the Forum 2008 section of the SAAIR website for submission of abstracts and outlines. You can also use ciruclar 2008-346 on the UJ Intranet for more detailed information.

Format for abstract:

• English only
• A maximum of 150 words
• No illustrations, graphs or references to be included.
• This should be pasted into the"Abstract" text box for web submissions

Format for outline:

Please submit your outline as a document in the following format:

• Type of presentation
• Title of presentation Text (500-600 words)
• This should be submitted as a separate document for web submissions.
• Do not add the author’s name or any other identifying information to the outline.

Submission due date: 30 July 2008.

E-mail the documents as file attachments to Ms Carin Strydom . Alternatively, fax the documents to Ms Strydom, at +27 12 429 2295.

Presenters will be notified by 15 August 2008 of acceptance of proposals.

Just for the fun - Enjoy this semesters classes!

Trade fair with Kenya

The Kenya trade fair will bring together over 200 exhibitors displaying products and services produced and manufactured in Kenya. This initiative will open doors for Kenyan businesses to market their products in South Africa.

The exhibition will include products and services in the following categories

• Textile and Apparel
• Tourism
• Art, Craft and Gifting
• Chemical and Allied products
• Food and Agricultural products
• Cabling
• Leather products
• Paper and paperboard
• Plastics and Rubber
• Timber and Wood
• Mining
• ICT
• Construction & Property Development
• Banks

The trade fair will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre starting on 19th September 2008 until the 21st September 2008.

It will provide a gateway for Kenyan businesses to expand their market and form partnerships with the South African business community to pursue opportunities that are of mutual benefit.

World Cup online

Tournament sponsor FNB recently launched Shine 2010 in an effort to spread the good news about SA and 2010.

Shine 2010 includes a blog, podcast interviews with stakeholders,a Facebook group, a channel on YouTube and a public good news newspaper section. There are also various graphics you can download as well as a countdown timer.

.

Changes made at StatsSA

Website facelift
StatsSA have revamped their website recently to reduce the clutter and make it easier for you to find information. Main changes were made to the Find Statistics section, left menu bar and News section .

Find Statistics
The Find Statistics section has been tidied up by moving the keyword search function to the left menu bar and they have added links to Census 2011 information and the Community Survey data.

Left Menu bar
The keyword search function has been moved here and a new link has been added: Major Project Subsites. This button links to all the special projects that have mini-sites. These sites may also be accessed through the Events calendar under Recent events.

News Section
A Current Events section has been included with News. When an event or current project has passed, these links will be moved to the Major Projects Subsites section or to Recent events under the Events calendar.

I like this cleaner version of StatsSA's website and (hopefully) it will be easier to navigate and find information.

Census 2011
StatsSA is also busy with preparation for Census 2011 and has released a survey where members of the public can suggest questions to be added as well as the level of geography that the census should cover.The contributors’ details will be kept confidential and no person’s identity will be released.

Launch of the new Labour Force Survey
As of August 2008 the LFS will be released quarterly, instead of six-monthly.
QLFS results for the first and second quarters of 2008 will be published on 28 August 2008.

The historical continuity with previously published labour market results will be facilitated. At the August 28th launch, Stats SA will also publish revised key labour market indicators for previous March surveys as far back as the year 2000. These indicators will be based on link factors computed using the QLFS first quarter results (January to March 2008) and the LFS conducted in parallel in March 2008.

Track the popularity of topics

Trendpedia finds trends in social media. You choose the topics, enter the keywords, and click “Search Trend”, Trendpedia then finds the articles online that talk about your topics.

It organizes the articles in a trendline that shows the popularity of the topic over time — you can track a topic’s trendline from three months ago up to today. Click on the trendlines to find the articles about your topic posted on the date of choice.

You can track a single topice e.g. Soccer world cup 2010 or compare topics: mobile marketing vs internet marketing

New issues in SAePublications

1. Management Today Vol 24, Issue 5 (June 2008)
2. Juta's Business Law Vol 15, Issue 4 (2007)
3. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol 21, Issue 4 (2007)
4. Bulletin of Statistics Vol 42, Issue 2 (June 2008)
5. Acta Academica Vol 40, Issue 1 (2008)
6. International SportMed Journal Vol 9, Issue 2 (2008)

Welcome back to the rat race!

I trust this will be a fruitfull (if hectic) semester for you and remember it's only 7 more weeks and then it is Spring break!

Enjoy the winter recess and watch out for the potholes!

Blackwell Synergy is merging into Wiley InterScience from 30 June 2008

1. All journal content on Blackwell Synergyis merging into Wiley InterScience.
   From June 30th 2008 the journal content currently available on Blackwell Synergy will be delivered through Wiley InterScience due to the merger of Wiley-Blackwell's online journal systems.

This is a first step in the development of a next generation online publishing platform, arriving early 2009, which will deliver Wiley-Blackwell journals, online books, reference works, databases, protocols and other electronic resources through one integrated service.

• The benefits will begin immediately after June 30th:

One-stop access to a dramatically expanded range of relevant material:

• approximately 3 million articles
• 1400 journals
• 5000 online books, reference works and databases

Information for Registered Users of Blackwell Synergy

No action is necessary — all active accounts will be migrated automatically. If you already have a Wiley InterScience account your information will be combined. You may be requested to accept new terms and conditions the first time you log in after June 30th.
Blackwell Synergy will close at the end of June 27th. During the transition weekend of June 28th and 29th Wiley InterScience will be unavailable for a period. Look out for notes on this website nearer the time for more details.
Journal content pages will look slightly different but you can still find them if you have bookmarked the page. You will be redirected to the equivalent page where it exists on Wiley InterScience or to the journal issues page. Once in Wiley InterScience we would suggest you re-save your bookmarks for your favourite journals.

Access to articles and most functions will continue uninterrupted, although you will notice small differences in design and terminology. For a short period between 13 June - 1 July it will not be possible to register for new table of contents email alerts or save searches.

The changes ...

• Journal content pages — will look slightly different but still be accessible at their current URL.
• Table of contents email alerts — for your selected journals will continue. The sender will appear as "Wiley InterScience" instead of the journal title.
• My Synergy — your personalized settings such as favorite journals, table of contents email alerts will now be stored in My Profile. Access to My Profile will be using your existing username and password.Search alerts and saved searches — these can not be moved to your new Wiley InterScience My Profile area but if you re-run your searches on Wiley InterScience from 30th June you will get results not from 1400 journals but also over 5000 online books and reference works.
• Online early articles — papers published online in advance of the print version will be available in the Early View section of the journal content page.Searching — searches in Wiley InterScience will be across title, abstract and keywords. Full text searching will be temporarily unavailable until the launch of Wiley-Blackwell's new platform in early 2009.A glossary of changes to terminology (PDF) is available for you to download.

Emerging Technologies impacting on YOUR classroom

The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the NMC’s Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education.

The report tracks the emerging technologies and their impact over a 5 year span. So, expect more of the following in your classrooms in the next ...

year:

• Grassroot Videos - Custom branding has allowed institutions to even have their own special presence within these networks, and will fuel rapid growth among learning-focused organizations who want their content to be where the viewers are.
• Collaboration Web - The newest tools for collaborative work are small, flexible, and free, and require no installation. Colleagues simply open their web browsers and they are able to edit group documents, hold online meetings, swap information and data, and collaborate in any number of ways without ever leaving their desks

2-3 years:

• Mobile Broadband -New displays and interfaces make it possible to use mobiles to access almost any Internet content—content that can be delivered over either a broadband cellular network or a local wireless network.
• Digital Mashups - custom applications where combinations of data from different sources are “mashed up” into a single tool— offer new ways to look at and interact with datasets that will transform the way we understand and represent information.

These are evident in organizations at the leading edge of technology adoption, and are beginning to appear at many institutions.

4-5 years:

• Collective Intelligence - In the coming years, we will see educational applications for both explicit collective intelligence—evidenced in projects like the Wikipedia and in community tagging—and implicit collective intelligence, or data gathered from the repeated activities of numbers of people, including search patterns, cell phone locations over time, geocoded digital photographs, and other data that are passively obtained.
• Social Operating Systems - The essential ingredient of next generation social networking, social operating systems, is that they will base the organization of the network around people, rather than around content. This simple conceptual shift promises profound implications for the academy, and for the ways in which we think about knowledge and learning.

To paraphrase the movies ... Horizon Reports has seen the future, and the future is now.

New edition of SA Journal of Business Management available

The March 2008 edition of SAJBM is available via SAePublications:

1.Chinese business negotiations : South African firm experiences and perspectives Authors: Horwitz, F.; Hemmant, R.; Rademeyer, C.; Published: 2008From: South African Journal of Business Management, Vol 39, Issue 1, Mar, Pages: 1-13
2.Is responsible investing ethical? Authors: Viviers, S.; Bosch, J.K.; Smit, E.v.d.M.; Buijs, A.; Published: 2008From: South African Journal of Business Management, Vol 39, Issue 1, Mar, Pages: 15-25
3. Securitisation in South Africa : 2000-2007 Authors: Moyo, Z.; Firer, C.; Published: 2008From: South African Journal of Business Management, Vol 39, Issue 1, Mar, Pages: 27-34
4.The drivers influencing the relationship between sales representatives and customers and the impact this relationship has on sales volume within Coca-Cola's Western Cape region Authors: Herbst, F.J.; Forrest, C.L.; Published: 2008From: South African Journal of Business Management, Vol 39, Issue 1, Mar, Pages: 35-43
5. Towards the development of a knowledge management practices survey for application in knowledge intensive organisations Authors: Steyn, C.; Kahn, M.; Published: 2008From: South African Journal of Business Management, Vol 39, Issue 1, Mar, Pages: 45-53

Top 25 Hottest articles in ScienceDirect

Every 3 months ScienceDirect distributes a list of the Top 25 Hottest articles published with in a specific subject area.

Here is the newest list available for Business, Management & Accounting for the time period: Jan - March 2008

1. Responsive supply chain: A competitive strategy in a networked economy • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 4, 1 August 2008, Pages 549-564Gunasekaran, A.; Lai, K.-h.; Edwin Cheng, T.C.
2. A strategy for third-party logistics systems: A case analysis using the blue ocean strategy • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 4, 1 August 2008, Pages 522-534Kim, C.; Yang, K.H.; Kim, J.
3. Issues in Supply Chain Management - Don't Automate, Obliterate • ArticleIndustrial Marketing Management, Volume 29, Issue 1, 1 January 2000, Pages 65-83Lambert, D.M.; Cooper, M.C.Cited by Scopus (187)
4. The use of information systems for logistics and supply chain management in South East Europe: Current status and future direction • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 4, 1 August 2008, Pages 592-599Ketikidis, P.H.; Koh, S.C.L.; Dimitriadis, N.; Gunasekaran, A.; Kehajova, M.
5. Network design for reverse logistics • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 4, 1 August 2008, Pages 535-548Srivastava, S.K.
6. Market efficiency, long-term returns, and behavioral finance • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 49, Issue 3, 1 September 1998, Pages 283-306Fama, E.F.
7. Investor protection and corporate governance • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 58, Issue 1-2, 1 January 2000, Pages 3-27La Porta, R.; Lopez-de-Silanes, F.; Shleifer, A.; Vishny, R.
8. Liquidity and market efficiency • ArticleJournal of Financial EconomicsChordia, T.; Roll, R.; Subrahmanyam, A.
9. Supply chain management in the US and Taiwan: An empirical study • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 5, 1 October 2008, Pages 665-679Chow, W.S.; Madu, C.N.; Kuei, C.-H.; Lu, M.H.; Lin, C.; Tseng, H.
10. The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 60, Issue 2-3, 1 May 2001, Pages 187-243Graham, J.R.; Harvey, C.R.
11. The financing decisions of innovative firms • ArticleResearch in International Business and FinanceCasson, P.D.; Martin, R.; Nisar, T.M.
12. Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 31, Issue 1-3, 1 September 2001, Pages 405-440Healy, P.M.; Palepu, K.G.
13. Event tourism: Definition, evolution, and research • ArticleTourism Management, Volume 29, Issue 3, 1 June 2008, Pages 403-428Getz, D.
14. A grounded theory research approach to building and testing TQM theory in operations management • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 5, 1 October 2008, Pages 825-837McAdam, R.; Leonard, D.; Henderson, J.; Hazlett, S.A.
15. Trust in leadership: A multi-level review and integration • ArticleLeadership Quarterly, The, Volume 18, Issue 6, 1 December 2007, Pages 606-632Burke, C.S.; Sims, D.E.; Lazzara, E.H.; Salas, E.
16. Effects of knowledge management strategy on organizational performance: A complementarity theory-based approach • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 2, 1 April 2008, Pages 235-251Choi, B.; Poon, S.K.; Davis, J.G.
17. Corporate governance and pay-for-performance: The impact of earnings management • ArticleJournal of Financial EconomicsCornett, M.M.; Marcus, A.J.; Tehranian, H.
18. Project management information systems: An empirical study of their impact on project managers and project success • ArticleInternational Journal of Project Management, Volume 26, Issue 2, 1 February 2008, Pages 213-220Raymond, L.; Bergeron, F.
19. Tourism strategy making: Insights to the events tourism domain • ArticleTourism Management, Volume 29, Issue 2, 1 April 2008, Pages 252-262Stokes, R.
20. Marketing the competitive destination of the future - Growth strategies for accommodation establishments in alpine regions • ArticleTourism Management, Volume 21, Issue 1, 1 February 2000, Pages 97-116Buhalis, D.Cited by Scopus (65)
21. Customer relationship management: Finding value drivers • ArticleIndustrial Marketing ManagementRichards, K.A.; Jones, E.
22. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in financial services • ArticleEuropean Management Journal, Volume 18, Issue 3, 1 June 2000, Pages 312-327Peppard, J.Cited by Scopus (50)
23. Trust in management and knowledge sharing: The mediating effects of fear and knowledge documentation • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 2, 1 April 2008, Pages 206-220Renzl, B.
24. Customer satisfaction and loyalty in service: Two concepts, four constructs, several relationships • ArticleJournal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Volume 15, Issue 3, 1 May 2008, Pages 156-162Bodet, G.
25. The effects of brand credibility on customer loyalty • ArticleJournal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Volume 15, Issue 3, 1 May 2008, Pages 179-193Sweeney, J.; Swait, J.

New journal additions in ProQuest

ProQuest has recently added new journals to their ABI/Inform Global collection, they are:

1) The Tax Lawyer (full text coverage from Spring 2007)
The Tax Lawyer, the USA’s premier, peer-reviewed tax law journal, is published quarterly as a service to its members by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation.The Tax Lawyer endeavors to provide scholarly articles by notable tax attorneys and professors, key reports by Section of Taxation committees and task forces, and student notes and comments on timely topics that the editorial board believes to be of professional interest to members of the Section and the tax profession.

2) Global Outlook Online (full text coverage from January 2008) published by The Bank of Nova Scotia. This journal covers the economic growth, conditions and statistics of Canada.

3) ICIS Chemical Business (full text coverage from October 2007) published by Reed Business Information, UK and covers the chemical industry news.

4) Telecommunications (full text coverage from July 2007) published by Horizon House, goes beyond superficial news headlines and plunges deeply into the business operations of service providers, the technologies they rely on and the applications they deploy to create competitive advantage.

Launch of new CPI

On 1 July 2008 Statistics South Africa will release the new weights for the Consumer Price Index. The new weights will be released on their website and at an information session in Johannesburg, with a second information session in Cape Town.

In addition to an explanation of the new weights, Stats SA will also provide details on some methodological changes planned for the CPI. Both the new weights and the methodological changes only become effective with the January 2009 CPI release. The sessions are open to the media and other users of the CPI.

Gauteng
Date: 1 July 2008
Time: 09h30 – 13h00
Venue: Indaba Hotel, Fourways
Cost: Free

Please RSVP with STATSSA before Wednesday 25 June 2008 by emailling rsvp@statssa.gov.za, indicating which meeting (Cape Town or Gauteng) you would like to attend. (Venue details will be forwarded once your RSVP has been received.)

New Books @ the Library!

I've sent out a list of all the new titles I've received in the last few days.

As there are quite a few, please refer to my email for the individual

titles.

Alternatively, you are more than welcome to come and browse the titles @ my office.

Who owns the networks in Africa?

Forbes published an interesting article on the state of telecoms in Africa ...

Worldwide, 61% of formerly state-owned fixed network operators were in private hands by 2005, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Yet, the figure in Africa was just 44%. Almost all of Africa's governments still own some, and many own all, of what was once the national phone monopoly.
In the mid-1990s, African telecoms markets were dominated by state-owned fixed network (wireline) monopolies. African telecoms markets have been transformed since then by mobile networks. Fixed line teledensity is still under 4% and stagnant--according to latest ITU figures (published in May), 1.6% outside North and South Africa.

New mobile networks, by contrast, now cover most rural as well as urban areas:
--Continent-wide mobile teledensity has risen to 27%, with South Africa among countries achieving over 80%.
--Mobile phones now account for more than 90% of lines in most countries on the continent.It is mobile rather than fixed networks that are expected to provide the platform for African broadband.
Although many fixed incumbents have mobile businesses, this transformation has been led by private-sector competitors, mostly European, Middle Eastern and South African investors.
For more on this story, please go to Forbes or log in to Oxford Analytica