Archive for December, 2010

Acknowledging the important role the South African Diaspora can play in shaping the future of the country, Homecoming Revolution has launched an online giving community to enable South Africans living abroad to connect with thousands of good causes across the country.

The campaign, It Feels Good To Do Good, encourages South Africans around the world to give their time, money, goods or skills to various causes in South Africa.

Launched in November, the campaign portal is powered by GreaterGood South Africa, a registered non-profit and public benefit organisation with significant experience of working with givers and causes.

"One doesn't need to live in South Africa in order to contribute towards the future success of the country," Homecoming Revolution managing executive Brigitte Lightfoot said in a statement.

'A platform for giving back'

"We often get feedback from South Africans, both locally and abroad, who want to make a difference but don't know where to start; this platform provides an easy, secure and meaningful way to give back."

Rachelle Lane, a South African living in the UK, told Homecoming Revolution that she felt the need to give more back to her home country, "and I am looking into a few things that will allow us the flexibility to live here for a few years but still contribute towards building our country."

The campaign aims to capitalise on the nation-building momentum and global presence created by the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

"We've seen how the World Cup unified the nation, and we believe the time is ripe to mobilise South Africans to commit to a common purpose and to take action towards doing good", said Homecoming Revolution founder Angel Jones.

The campaign portal – www.itfeelsgoodtodogood.co.za – enables givers to:

• Connect with and give to registered causes all year round, securely.
• Post stories about giving and volunteer experiences.
• Sign up to volunteer during national campaigns like Do It Day and Mandela Day.
• Post offers and fundraise for the causes they are passionate about.
• Buy alternative gifts which really make a difference.
• Invite friends to support good causes.

'People do good in order to feel good'

According to Homecoming Revolution, a recent study by an MBA student at the Gordon Institute of Business Science sought to identify the emotions influencing the willingness of South African emigrants to transfer knowledge to people back home.

"The overwhelming sense was that emigrants who were prepared to share their knowledge did so because it made them feel good about themselves, thus adding value to their lives," the organisation said.

"Thus the evidence suggests that the South African emigrant most likely to share knowledge is a highly educated person who loves sharing knowledge generally, who left South Africa to reconnect with loved ones, and who is happy to be living abroad even though he or she still experiences some feelings of nostalgia and guilt.

"Taking these findings into consideration, The Homecoming Revolution believes there is a substantial market of South Africans abroad who are willing to share their skills, knowledge, money and time to benefit their home country."

Founded in 2003, The Homecoming Revolution is an independent non-profit organisation, sponsored by First National Bank, that encourages and helps South Africans around the world to return home.

SAinfo reporter

Two researchers at South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed a portable talking computer that "speaks" four South African languages – with more still to come – for use by blind people.

The "Notetaker for the Blind" was developed by Willem van der Walt, working with Gerhard van den Berg, as part of the National Accessibility Programme, a five-year initiative led by the CSIR's Meraka Institute to develop information and communications technology resources for people with disabilities.

According to the CSIR, the Notetaker was designed "to empower blind users in South Africa, from young children at school to university students and older people, through a single device tailored to general use such as text documents and unit conversions.

"Blind users are therefore able to get a three-in-one to take the place of a special scientific calculator, hardware and a DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) player."

Uniquely South African innovation

Van der Walt is proud of the way in which the Notetaker has taken shape as a uniquely South African innovation.

The computer's calculator has been designed for future expansion to serve as a financial calculator suited to South African requirements. It has also been built as cheaply as possible, using readily available off-the-shelf components, so that it can be supported locally.

The Notetaker has a keyboard for input and a voice synthesiser for output. By using open source software, it has been easier to localise the notetaker, giving users the option to set it to any one of four South African languages: English, Afrikaans, Sesotho sa Leboa (or Sepedi) and isiZulu.

Van der Walt, who is a member of the CSIR's human language technologies research group, is working on integrating text-to-speech resources for other South African languages into the Notetaker.

eSpeak for Afrikaans and Sepedi

It was Van der Walt who, with the help of colleagues and local and international collaborators, developed eSpeak for Afrikaans and Sepedi.

eSpeak, a compact open source software speech synthesiser for English and other languages, uses a different synthesis method from other open-source text-to-speech engines and produces clear articulation.

More recently, Van der Walt ported eSpeak on Symbian, the operating system used by certain mobile phones, which has made the localisation of voices possible in the mobile domain.

Anyone interested in discussing the Notetaker's technical details with a view to taking the product to market can Van der Walt on wvdwalt@csir.co.za or Hina Patel of the CSIR Meraka Institute on hpatel@csir.co.za.

SAinfo reporter

24 December 2010

For those of us who enjoy our daily rooibos cuppa, a good flavour is all-important. However, for the uninitiated it is only possible to distinguish basic flavour characteristics.

Now, with the help of a newly developed rooibos flavour wheel, anyone can identify a full spectrum of tastes and aromas of this uniquely South African – and internationally popular – tea.

The rooibos flavour wheel was developed by a group of South African researchers headed by Stellenbosch University (SU) Masters student Ilona Koch, who worked with Professor Elizabeth Joubert of the Agricultural Research Council and SU lecturer Nina Muller.

"We thought it was time that someone developed a rooibos flavour wheel," says Joubert. "We want producers, processors, grading experts, marketers, flavour houses, importers and consumers to all speak the same tea language."

Koch, who completed a BSc in Food Science at SU, was approached by a lecturer to get involved in the project. "I thought rooibos would be an interesting product to work with," she says.

The three-year project is jointly funded by the South African Rooibos Council and the Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme.

The rooibos wheel isn't the first of its kind in the food and beverage industry. Products such as brandy, honey, wine and whisky already use flavour wheels, and the research team now hopes that the rooibos version will be a useful tool to help the industry assess rooibos flavour and aroma using a selection of specific descriptors.

Koch says the flavour wheel is also important for the industry as many people drink rooibos because of its taste. "I like the taste and I think that this is what draws people to it. It is also not as strong and astringent as black tea."

The wheel offers 27 descriptive attributes, of which 20 describe the flavour and seven the taste and mouth-feel. Joubert says that just as the wine industry talks about an area's viticulture terroir, or the sensory attributes of wine in relation to the environmental conditions where grapes grow, so too the growing area affects rooibos flavour nuances.

Diversity of rooibos flavours

According to Koch, the research team carried out numerous experiments on rooibos tea to find out which sensory characteristics are typically associated with its flavour.

The researchers, along with a panel of nine judges, spent a lot of time tasting rooibos tea. Koch says that most of the judges had prior experience with descriptive analysis of numerous products, but analysing the sensory qualities of rooibos tea was a first for them all.

The team studied 69 distinct rooibos samples from 64 plantations in a number of production areas. Selecting samples from different production areas was important as rooibos flavour is influenced by where the crop grows, the soil type, rainfall and weather. Processing also plays a role, as the time taken to process tea leaves can cause the flavour to become watery or sour. "All these factors affect the taste, quality and composition of the tea," says Joubert.

The selected samples were graded from A to D, representing the highest to the lowest tea quality. "The tasters compiled a long list of the flavours they picked up," Joubert says. The list was then reduced to the final selection. "We chose those descriptors that were found to be most useful to assess a tea."

Both negative and positive descriptors were recorded on the wheel. One half contains categories of positive sensory qualities such as sweet, fruity, floral, woody and spicy. Each category lists a few sub-descriptors such as honey, citrus or cinnamon. The negative descriptors are grouped in the same way and contain qualities such as dusty, sour, sweaty and rubbery.

The tea tasting process

It was important that the tasting and tea-brewing process remained scientific and consistent at all times, to ensure that only the most accurate flavour descriptors made it onto the short list. The tea was brewed in 300g of boiling, deionised water, which was poured onto 5.8g of dry tea leaves and infused for five minutes.

Each sample was strained and stored in a stainless steel flask to keep the temperature constant. At each tasting, members of the judging panel sipped 100ml of tea. The tea sample was served in a white porcelain cup and covered with a plastic lid to prevent evaporation and loss of volatiles, also known as aroma compounds. The cups were also preheated to 70ş C, and stored in 65ş C water baths during the analysis.

The project, which is expected to run until March 2012, will keep the wheel updated with rooibos samples from later seasons. This is important, as even tea produced on the same land can vary in taste from season to season.

"With the flavour wheel, you can pick up the most subtle differences in tea flavour and taste," says Joubert.

Proven health benefits

The proven health benefits of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) are encouraging more people to drink the tea. "Consumers are becoming much more aware of healthy lifestyles, and rooibos tea is known for its many health benefits," Koch says.

The tea contains high levels of antioxidants, which help to eliminate damaging free radicals. Recently collaborating scientists from four international research facilities established clinical evidence that drinking rooibos regularly helps the body's natural defences by enhancing its antioxidant capacity. Both traditional and green rooibos produced this effect.

According to the Rooibos Council, South Africa produces approximately 12 000 tons of rooibos per year. South Africans consume 4 500 to 5 000 tons and the rest is exported.

The growing global demand for rooibos has boosted exports to more than 6 000 tons per annum, and to more than 30 countries worldwide. This includes Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, the UK, and the US, which is the biggest importer of rooibos.

First published by MediaClubSouthAfrica.com – get free high-resolution photos and professional feature articles from Brand South Africa's media service.

Quick thinking was the order of the day at the recent Moves for Life chess tournament in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. Moves for Life patron Jacob Zuma was in attendance, squaring off against some formidable youngsters – and planning the next move in taking the game to even more South Africans.

South African President Jacob Zuma, whose love for the game of strategy is well-known, had a trick or two to show the smart kids at Wednesday's tournament.

The participants came from all over KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng province. Among those in attendance were international master Watu Kobese and South African champion Kgaogelo Mosetle.

Unlocking potential

Moves for Life met with Zuma at his house in Nkandla this week to plan their next move in taking the game that teaches logic and problem-solving skills to even more South African children.

According to its website, Moves for Life helps to unlock people's potential through exposure to the game of chess, with its unique features enabling an innovative, structured programme for chess education from the lowest grades up.

"The basic analytical functions required to play chess are of the same nature as the brain functions required to tackle subjects such as maths and science," says Moves for Life. "Chess training, at any level of competence, helps people to tackle logic-based problems like those found in maths and science."

Reaching out to more places

The Moves for Life tournament is in its second year, and there are plans to make it even bigger.

"The President wants us to reach out to more places, particularly where there are previously disadvantaged people," tournament organiser Sandile Xulu told BuaNews. "Next year, we plan to move to other rural areas because people want us to, and the response has been great."

Moves for Life will also partner with KwaZulu Chess, co-founded by President Zuma, to roll out a chess programme for schools from February.

Ten schools in KwaZulu-Natal, including schools in Nkandla and Richards Bay, will be among the first targeted. Xulu said they hoped to reach still more schools in the near future.

Source: BuaNews

While there's lot of gift exchanging in celebrating at this time of year, South Africans are being reminded to give the gift of blood and help save lives over the festive season.

To support the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) in its efforts to collect blood, the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development is transporting staff members to several malls in the province this week, where blood donations will take place.

"This blood is vitally needed by hospitals, especially during the holidays as the number of people in need of surgery or blood transfusion increases due to road accidents, among other reasons," said Gauteng Health and Social Development MEC Ntombi Mekgwe.

Every unit of blood donated by a member of the public can save up to three lives.

3 000 units needed per day

According to the SANBS, South Africa needs 3 000 units of blood a day in order to meet the demands of cancer and leukaemia treatment, childbirth and gynaecological cases, surgery, research, paediatric and orthopaedic cases, malaria, blood diseases and casualties.

SANBS chief executive Ravi Reddy said the SANBS was facing increasing pressure on the supply of group-O blood stored in emergency blood fridges at hospitals.

"We are endeavouring to manage this situation in an equitable manner by sharing the limited stocks across the country," Reddy said, adding that the SANBS needed to maintain five days' stock of blood to ensure uninterrupted supply to hospitals.

For more information on how to donate, contact the SANBS toll-free on 0800 119 031.

Source: BuaNews

The Rainbow Nation

South Africa is a culturally diverse country, one nation made up of many peoples.

People making day visits to South Africa's Kruger National Park this festive season are advised to book their trips beforehand or to arrive very early at the gates to avoid disappointment.

South African National Parks spokesman William Mabasa said that day visitor quotas varied from gate to gate and also depended on how fully booked the Park was.

"Gates such as Phalaborwa allow 550 visitors per day, while smaller ones like Pafuri can take in only 330 people," Mabasa told journalists in Nelspruit on Thursday. "We do this to minimise the possibility of environmental damage caused by too many people and, of course, to reduce overcrowding.

"People planning a day visit should remember that entrance is granted on a first-come, first-serve basis, or they should pre-book their entrance via central reservations on (012) 428 9111."

Mabasa said an increase had been noted in day visitors using the Paul Kruger, Malalane, Crocodile Bridge and Phalaborwa gates this week.

"But once the daily visitor quota has been reached, only people with bookings are allowed in," he warned, adding that all gates were open between 5:30am and 6:30pm daily.

Unruly behaviour 'unacceptable'

Mabasa also warned visitors against unruly behaviour. "Some of the most annoying trends our law enforcement officers have noticed lately are people playing loud music in their cars and throwing out liquor bottles and trash," he said.

"Visitors come to the park to experience its beauty in peace and quiet, and these noise and litter infringements are a contravention of our rules and will not be tolerated."

Another issue was over-speeding within the park boundaries; between 1 and 15 December, a total of 160 speeding fines were issued to motorists in the park, which has a speed limit of 50km/h on tar and 40km/h on gravel roads.

Source: BuaNews

Zani Magagula

South Africa's Kruger National Park has launched a pilot project allowing local community members to harvest mopani worms in a closely monitored, sustainable way.

For a period of two weeks until 28 December, 60 community members from the Nxanatseni region, between Punda Maria and Phalaborwa, will be given permits to harvest worms for their own consumption in the world-famous game reserve.

"With high unemployment levels in the rural communities outside the park around the harvesting area, we want to contribute positively towards the well-being and livelihoods of some of those families, especially during Christmas time," said Kruger Park spokesman William Mabasa.

"Mopani worms are a great source of protein, and most people in Limpopo [province] eat them," Mabasa added.

Close monitoring

He said the pilot project would be monitored closely to assess its impact and prevent over-harvesting.

"Scientists will monitor the ecological, social and economic impact of the harvesting process before, during and after the project has taken place to ensure that it does not negatively affect the ecosystem."

Mabasa said the harvesters would be divided into six groups of 10 people each, each group being accompanied to the harvesting zone by a ranger and guide to protect them against attacks from animals.

Source: BuaNews

Ratings agency Moody's has lifted the outlook on Eskom's senior unsecured bonds from negative to stable, citing the power utility's continued shift towards cost-reflective tariffs and the strong support it enjoys from its shareholder, the South African government.

"The timing of the review by Moody's is fitting given the progress made towards resolving the concerns raised by all rating agencies," Eskom Finance Director Paul O'Flaherty said in a statement this month.

Firstly, he said, the company had posted improved financial results for the six months ended in September 2010.

"Secondly, the SA government has demonstrated its strong financial support by approving an increase in its guarantee limit from R176-billion to R350-billion and proposing an equity injection of R20-billion, which is still subject to [the] government's internal approvals."

Eskom said the rating amendment would help it meet its commitment to providing South Africa with much-needed generation capacity, while maintaining the financial sustainability of the company.

SAinfo reporter

Opportunities, incentives, regulations, assistance.

South African Brian Dames, CEO of state power company Eskom, has been appointed to the executive committee of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

"Eskom has been a member of the WBCSD for a number of years, and I am delighted to be nominated onto the executive committee of this globally renowned organisation," Dames said in a statement this month.

"The WBCSD has played an important role in shaping Eskom's strategic direction and allows us to benchmark our performance, share best practice and access cutting-edge thinking in the sustainable development field."

Eskom, one of only two African members of the WBCSD, said that it saw the nomination of Dames onto the council's executive committee as an important step in the advancement of Africa's climate change contribution.

Commitment to sustainable development

Membership of the council is by invitation of its executive committee to companies committed to sustainable development and to promoting the role of eco-efficiency, innovation and corporate social responsibility.

The council provides a platform for companies to explore sustainable development, share knowledge, experiences and best practices, and advocate business positions on these issues in a variety of forums, working with governments as well as non-governmental organisations.

Its objectives include being a leading business advocate on sustainable development, participating in policy development to advance sustainable development, and promoting the business case for sustainable development.

SAinfo reporter

The most advanced, broad-based industrial sector on the continent.

Bongani Nkosi

South Africa's space weather centre, one of 13 in the world, has been opened in the Western Cape. There are hopes the facility will improve the country's position in the global space sector and enable it to achieve its space-related ambitions.

The centre, located at the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, was opened by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor on 10 December.

The department said the centre has been "designed to fulfil international requirements and provide a superior-class facility for space weather forecasts, predictions and warnings".

"This centre will contribute essential information for global space science and technology, as well as forecasts and predictions to protect our growing and future satellite industry," Pandor said at the opening.

The regional space weather warning centre for Africa has been running at the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory for years now, and the new centre will help it expand its services. An area within the existing observatory was renovated to the tune of R1.6-million (US$234 000) to create the dedicated space weather centre.

The National Research Foundation funded the project, which began in May 2010. "This project will position our country as a leader in space weather for the African continent," Pandor said.

Real-time space weather data will be generated from the centre's state-of-the-art server room on a 24-hour basis. The centre is staffed with three space weather scientists, including head Kobus Olckers.

Although space weather does not have a direct link to conditions on earth, it can impact on the functionality of orbiting technology, like satellites, global positioning systems like GPS devices and even mobile phones.

According to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, space weather is caused by conditions on the sun and by solar winds, which can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems. Space weather can endanger human life or health, according to the observatory.

"This centre will play a crucial role in the monitoring of conditions over Africa as we approach the next solar maximum," the National Research Foundation (NRF) said in a statement.

During a solar maximum period, the sun's magnetic field on the solar equator rotates at a slightly faster pace than at the solar poles, resulting in a type of intense storm.

The last solar maximum was in 2000, and Nasa scientists predict the next one will happen in 2012.

This upcoming burst of solar activity, anticipated to be the greatest since 1958, will most definitely affect mobile phones, GPSs and many other modern technologies on earth, according to Nasa. It will also result in Northern Lights shining at their brightest in 50 years – and they may even be visible from as far south as Rome, Italy.

Thanks to the new centre, the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory will, for the first time, be able to continuously monitor space weather data coming from its various stations.

The space weather centre was opened a day after the official launch of South African National Space Agency and the National Space Strategy, which is expected to boost the country's involvement in space activities. However, it doesn't look like South Africa will send an astronaut to space any time soon.

"The opening of the space weather centre is an additional landmark in our attempts to strengthen the space sector," said Pandor.

"We know the strengths of the local space industry. We know that we need to improve our capacity. We want to improve South Africa's global position in the space sector."

The government's goal is to establish a fully operational space programme within the next five years.

The 12 space weather regional warning centres elsewhere in the world are in the US, China, India, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Australia and Japan.

The Hermanus Magnetic Observatory

The 78-year-old observatory has grown significantly over the last decade since the NRF took ownership, with its staff of scientists growing from nine to 40. Its postgraduate programme now has 24 MSc and PhD students.

While it used to concentrate on geomagnetic studies alone, it now focuses on space physics as well.

Its data is used by global and local institutions such as the International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network, the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme, and Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape.

First published by MediaClubSouthAfrica.com – get free high-resolution photos and professional feature articles from Brand South Africa's media service.