Research Articles (Institute for Technological Innovation (ITI))

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/3209

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An assessment of the economic impact of South Africa’s public universities
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2023-09) Bawa, Ahmed C.; Pouris, Anastassios
With the understanding that universities play multiple social purposes, we aimed to provide an estimation of the economic impact of the public universities in South Africa. Using models described in the literature, we estimated economic benefits from four university activities – university exports, research at universities, the production of graduates and universities as business entities. Comparative analysis shows that, as an economic sector, Higher Education contributes more to South Africa’s gross value added than other economic sectors such as Wood and Wood Products, Textiles, Clothing and Leather Goods, or Paper and Paper Products. It is comparable to sectors such as Gold Mining, and Beverages and Tobacco. Taking into account a number of assumptions, which are explained in the text, for 2018 the total economic impact was estimated at about ZAR513 billion. Governmental expenditure on higher education in that year was ZAR66 billion. These figures produce a cost–benefit ratio for the sector of 1 : 7.7, considering only these four university activities. SIGNIFICANCE : The South African public higher education institutions form a very significant economic sector within the national economy. In terms of the gross value added, it is very similar in size to the gold mining industry. Taking into account four activities of universities, this sector contributes about ZAR500 billion annually to the economy, which is likely to be an underestimate of the actual contribution. This finding opens the way for policymakers to understand the importance of the sector as an area of investment. Recognising the potential limitations of the use of the modelling developed for other economies, our study indicates the importance of further work to indigenise the economic modelling for local conditions.
Analysis of patents and citations for selected areas of the bioeconomy in South Africa
(NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group), 2024) Bambo, Thabang Lazarus; Pouris, Anastassios
The South African bioeconomy strategy did not clearly articulate the measurement framework to monitor the implementation of the strategy. This paper provides an analysis of bioeconomy patents, the most prolific organizations and citations at the EPO and USPTO for South Africa, BRICS, Egypt and Nigeria during the Ten-Year Innovation Plan 2008–2018. The terms ‘biotechnology’, ‘medical technology’, ‘pharmaceuticals’ and ‘selected environment-related technologies’ were used to search for patents. The OECD patents by technology, the EPO PATSTAT and the USPTO PatFT databases were used to map patents and citations. The results show that South Africa ranked last in the BRICS group but produced a higher number of patents than Egypt and Nigeria. The number of patents generally decreased for the selected countries except for China. The total citations for the selected countries was generally inconsistent. The important innovators for South Africa in the bioeconomy are mainly universities and public research institutions. A new fiscal approach to encourage knowledge application in bioeconomy in South Africa is required. Incentives from government that encourage collaboration between research institutions and industry to direct research with industry application are required. The study contributes to the development of metrics to monitor the bioeconomy in South Africa.
Letter to the Editor : FHIR RDF - Why the world needs structured electronic health records
(Elsevier, 2022-12) Turki, Houcemeddine; Rasberry, Lane; Taieb, Mohamed Ali Hadj; Mietchen, Daniel; Ben Aouicha, Mohamed; Pouris, Anastassios; Bousrih, Yamen; anastassios.pouris@up.ac.za
This comment discusses the benefits of representing and reusing the information in Electronic Health Record databases as knowledge graphs in the RDF format based on the FHIR RDF specification. As a structured representation of clinical data, FHIR RDF-based electronic health records allow a simpler and more effective integration of biomedical information using semantic alignment, queries, interoperability, and federation to provide better support for health practice and research.
International patent applications and innovation in South Africa
(South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 2021-12-17) Schmoch, Ulrich; Pouris, Anastassios
BACKGROUND: Experts recommend support to patents for stimulating innovation. Also, the South African government supports patents, in particular, international patents. In this paper it is examined how this strategy can be designed to successfully trigger economic progress AIM: The present South African activities in patents are investigated in this paper and areas identified where an intensification of patenting looks promising for economic progress SETTING: The patent activities since 1985 are analysed and compared to the annual export-import balance from 2009 to 2018, in order to identify starting points for improving economic structures. The data are linked to current suggestions to the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) for future technologies METHODS: The analysis of patents is performed, using the international patent database PATSTAT, as well as the analysis of the export-import balance at the WITS database of the World Bank RESULTS: The patent analysis reveals a low level of South African domestic patents, with a focus on less complex goods and a stagnation period of 35 years. The data on the export - import balance show negative figures for consumer goods and even more so for capital goods CONCLUSION: Economic progress can be accelerated by stimulating patent and economic activities to produce more complex consumer and capital goods. However, it may be necessary to focus on certain areas at the beginning in order to achieve a sufficient critical mass of competence and international competitiveness. In any case, the support of patents is only successful when it is closely linked to a strategy regarding technology.
Infectious epidemics and the research output of nations : a data-driven analysis
(Sage, 2023-04) Turki, Houcemeddine; Hadj Taieb, Mohamed Ali; Ben Aouicha, Mohamed; Pouris, Anastassios
During the last years, several infectious diseases have caused widespread nationwide epidemics that affected information seeking behaviours, people mobility, economics and research trends. Examples of these epidemics are 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in mainland China and Hong Kong, 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in Guinea and Sierra Leone, 2015–2016 Zika epidemic in Brazil, Colombia and Puerto Rico and the recent COVID-19 epidemic in China and other countries. In this research article, we investigate the effect of large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases on the research productivity and landscape of nations through the analysis of the research outputs of main countries affected by SARS, Zika and Ebola epidemics as returned by Web of Science Core Collection. Despite the mobility restrictions and the limitations of work conditions due to the epidemics, we surprisingly found that the research characteristics and productivity of the countries that have excellent or moderate research traditions and communities are not affected by infectious epidemics due to their robust long-term research structures and policy. Similarly, large-scale infectious outbreaks can even boost the research productivity of countries with limited research traditions thanks to international capacity building collaborations provided by organisations and associations from leading research countries.
Bibliometric analysis of bioeconomy research in South Africa
(Springer, 2020-10) Bambo, Thabang Lazarus; Pouris, Anastassios; anastassios.pouris@up.ac.za
This document provides an analysis of bioeconomy research in South Africa and it discusses sources of growth in the country’s bioeconomy literature in general. We performed bibliometric analysis as indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) for number of South African authored publications and citations in bioeconomy, and compared them with Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICS) and selected countries for the period 2008 to 2018. The WoS is used for research dealing with the scientific dynamic of a particular topic in most widely diffused journals and for citation analysis. The results highlight South Africa ranked last in the BRICS group in terms of number of bioeconomy publications produced in the selected period, and has a world share of 0.8%, which is higher than the national research average of 0.5%. The citations growth for South Africa bioeconomy publication increased by 6.8%, higher than Brazil, Russia and world citations during the period under review. The University of Cape Town is a leader in bioeconomy publications in South Africa followed by University of Stellenbosch and the University of KwaZulu Natal, with majority of the publications on environmental sciences ecology. South Africa collaborates the most with institutions from the United States of America in bioeconomy research, and the percent of international collaboration is similar with that of national scientific publications. However, South Africa experienced a decline in bioeconomy industry collaboration publications during this period.
Water research and collaboration in the Southern African Development Community
(Water Research Commission, 2018) Pouris, Anastassios; anastassios.pouris@up.ac.za
This article investigates water-related research in the Southern African Development Community. Water issues are part of the region’s science and technology priorities as 4countries receive less rain than the global average of 860 mm/yr – Botswana with 400 mm/yr, Namibia with 254 mm/yr, South Africa with 497 mm/yr and Zimbabwe with 652 mm/yr. Furthermore, the international literature indicates that joint or internationally coordinated research has the potential to improve the scientific–technical quality of international agreements, prevent conflict and shape the way for appropriate management of the shared resources. Scientometric analysis using the Web of Science database is employed in order to identify the state of water research and collaboration in the SADC region. The Web of Science indexes a defined set of journals worldwide and the South African Government provides incentives/subsidies for publications indexed by this database. The results show that South Africa is the main producer (80%) of research publications in the region. Similarly, in the field of water research South Africa produces 75% of the region’s research. The SADC collaboration matrix in water-related research reveals that there is minimal, if any, collaborative research on the topic. Some seed-level research exists between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The main funders of research are the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) (acknowledged in 180 publications), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (72 publications), the National Institutes of Health (64 publications) and the Wellcome Trust (60 publications). Policy implications are discussed (e.g. the establishment of SADC Common Water Research Area; research support for the region, etc.).
Does South African research output promote innovation?
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2018) Inglesi-Lotz, Roula; Pouris, Anastassios; roula.inglesi-lotz@up.ac.za
Research and development (R&D) activities that lead to innovation can contribute highly to a country’s economic growth and development. However, research output can be expressed in different forms, such as research publications and patents. Patents are considered to be closer to implemented innovation than are research publications, but research publications improve human capital and propose innovative solutions that can lead to patenting activities. So although they are two different outcomes, publications and patents can work in synergy. A recently published article entitled ‘Patents vs publications and R&D: Three sides of the same coin? Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) for OECD and BRICS countries’ in the journal Applied Economics, identified the existence of research thresholds beyond which countries can move in the next stage and increase their number of patents. The concept tested was that a minimum number of publications (as a proxy to research capacity) should be reached before a country or a region can engage in patenting activities that will eventually promote higher innovation and consequently economic growth. In that paper, we investigated the existence of thresholds in the OECD and the BRICS countries and found that the threshold of publications before patenting activity started was 11 113 for the whole sample, 9038 for the OECD countries and 9945 for the BRICS countries.
A patentometric assessment of selected R&D priority areas in South Africa, a comparison with other BRICS countries
(Elsevier, 2019-03) Makhoba, Xolani Simphiwe; Pouris, Anastassios
This study assessed the inventive activity through patents registered by South African researchers worldwide using the WIPO database. South Africa is the most prolific producer of patents in the African continent. In this study, the focus was on research priority areas documented in the South African government policy documents rather than the overall inventive output of the country. The research priority areas considered were ICT, nanotechnology, biotechnology, climate change, energy and health. Patents in the areas were compared with the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries and Egypt. The comparison was done using the revealed technological advantage sometimes referred to as the specialisation index. It is found that the two African countries have not increased their patent share significantly and are yet to find their specialisation. It was found that while South Africa is doing well in terms of patenting compared to other developing countries, the profile of inventions being patented are not necessarily aligned with the priority areas as documented in government policy.
Patents vs publications and R&D : three sides of the same coin? Panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) for OECD and BRICS countries
(Routledge, 2018-05) Inglesi-Lotz, Roula; Hakimi, Abdelaziz; Pouris, Anastassios; roula.inglesi-lotz@up.ac.za
The paper aims to define the optimal thresholds of publications and Research and Development (R&D) expenditure and to investigate their impacts on patenting in OECD and BRICS countries. To do so, we use a dataset of 25 countries divided into two country sub-samples for the period 1996–2013, employing the Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) model. The results indicate that the threshold of publications after which patenting activity is promoted is 8417 publications for the OECD countries and 20,848 for the BRICS countries, while the share of R&D in % of GDP should not exceed 1.683% for the OECD countries and 0.975% for the BRICS countries.
The contribution of copyright-based industries to the South African economy
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2017-11) Pouris, Anastassios; Inglesi-Lotz, Roula; roula.inglesi-lotz@up.ac.za
We report the results of an effort to measure the contribution of copyright-based industries to the South African economy. Following the methodology of the World Intellectual Property Organization, we identify the copyright industry’s contribution to GDP, employment, imports and exports in South Africa for the period 1970–2009. It was estimated that the sector contributed 4.1% to GDP – more than the contributions of other sectors such as agriculture and food, beverages and tobacco. Because of this quantified importance of the copyright-based industries, we recommend that relevant South African policy authorities and policymakers should monitor and publicise regularly the performance of the copyright-based industries as well as promote programmes for their development and growth. SIGNIFICANCE : • Copyright-based industries have the potential to play an important role in job creation and economic growth. • Our findings suggest that policymakers should design and promote the implementation of future policies and strategies related to these sectors.
A bibliometric assessment of energy research in South Africa
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2016-11) Pouris, Anastassios
The results of an effort to identify the performance of energy and fuels research in South Africa during the most recent period (2003–2013) are reported. Bibliometric approaches have been employed in order to assess the field of energy research. Energy research was identified to be improving over time, albeit from a small basis. The field appears to equally emphasise fossil and renewable energy research. Similarly, universities were identified to be producing a subcritical number of energy articles in comparison with international organisations. The relatively small activity in the energy field appears to affect the international collaboration of the field, which is well below the national average. International comparisons in terms of articles per GWH of electricity produced and articles per million population show that South Africa should increase substantially its effort in the field in order to be comparable with other countries. SIGNIFICANCE : • This article makes a unique contribution in scientometrics to the field of energy research in South Africa which, given its multidisciplinary nature, is a generally neglected field of study in South Africa.
Research emphasis and collaboration in Africa
(Springer, 2014-03) Pouris, Anastassios; Ho, Yuh-Shan
Scientific co-authorship of African researchers has become a fashionable topic in the recent scientometric literature. Researchers are investigating the effects, modes, dynamics and motives of collaboration in a continental research system which is in an embryonic stage and in different stages of development from country to country. In this article we attempt to provide some additional evidence by examining both patterns of collaboration at country and continental levels and the scientific disciplines emphasised. Our findings indicate that the continent’s research emphasises medical and natural resources disciplines to the detriment of disciplines supporting knowledge based economies and societies. Furthermore, we identify that the collaborative patterns in Africa are substantial higher than in the rest of the world. A number of questions related to research collaboration and its effects are raised.
On the causality and determinants of energy and electricity demand in South Africa : a review
(Taylor and Francis, 2016-08) Inglesi-Lotz, Roula; Pouris, Anastassios; roula.inglesi-lotz@up.ac.za
The purpose of this paper is to review, summarize, and critically assess the academic studies that have dealt with either the causal relationship between energy consumption and growth or the determinants of energy demand in South Africa from 2007 and outline recent forecasts for electricity demand. The results of this review aim to identify gaps in the existing research. From a policy point of view, the findings of this effort have the potential to inform the relevant stakeholders to make appropriate interventions to improve the status quo of the energy sector. The results have indicated that studies examining the causality direction between energy (electricity) consumption and economic growth have failed to reach a consensus. The main differences identified were the time periods examined, the econometric approaches, and the variables included in the estimations. Another potential reason for the results is the availability— or lack thereof—of data specific for the country. On the other side, the studies looking at the factor affecting energy (electricity) demand have agreed that economic growth or income or output are considered significant factors. The role of prices was debatable among different studies. This has become more apparent when reviewing the few forecasting efforts in the country that resulted in conflicting results.
Scientometric assessment of selected R&D priority areas in South Africa : a comparison with other BRICS countries
(Taylor and Francis and NISC (Pty) Ltd., 2016-06) Makhoba, Xolani Simphiwe; Pouris, Anastassios
A scientometric analysis of selected research priority areas in South Africa was done using the Web of Science database for a period 2002 - 2012. The performance of the country in the areas of biotechnology, energy, astronomy and palaeontology in terms of the publication output in these areas is compared using two classic scientometric indicators, the activity and attractivity indices. These are important priority areas as highlighted in various government policy documents and the aim was to identify if outputs in these field are corresponding with government policy. The study also identifies leading institutions in the country in terms of publication output while the performance is also benchmarked against that of the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group of countries as well as Egypt. It is found that the country is doing relatively well in research areas in which it enjoys geographical advantage such as astronomy and palaeontology and compares favourably with comparator countries in all areas reviewed. In terms of the institutional profile and based on publication outputs over the period considered, the University of Cape Town is a leader in biotechnology and energy, University of the Witwatersrand in palaeontology and the National Research Foundation in the area of astronomy.
A 20 year forecast of water usage in electricity generation for South Africa amidst water scarce conditions
(Elsevier, 2016-09) Thopil, George Alex; Pouris, Anastassios; george.alexthopil@up.ac.za
Being a semi-arid country with limited fresh water resources and also a fossil fuel based energy intensive country, South Africa encounters the added pressure of allocating limited water resources. Roughly 90% of electricity in South Africa is generated from coal fired power plants that are located in semi-arid areas and use a combination of wet and dry cooling techniques. The paper aims to forecast water usage within coal based electricity generation in order to facilitate water management in water deficient parts of the country. Some of the older return to service (RTS) power plants which have been brought back to operation due to electricity shortages are water intensive and are located in water constrained water management areas. These power plants should be phased out gradually and replaced by higher efficiency dry cooled power plants - that are currently under construction - by the year 2020. Total water requirements could reach 370 gigalitres by the year 2021 from current levels of 360 gigalitres. Depending on the retirement of inefficient power plants, total water usage can be reduced by roughly 14%. Results show that management of water resources in the electricity generation sector can result in informed water allocations within water management areas. Proposed gradual retirement of the RTS fleet could result in a savings of 15% of the forecasted shortfall of 234 gigalitres by the year 2025. The deficit in electricity generation output caused by the retirement of the RTS fleet will have to be compensated by the simultaneous commissioning and operation of new build power plants. Such measures will provide much required water relief to water constrained water management areas. Overall increases in water usage until 2035 can be minimised if inefficient wet cooled power plants are gradually retired and if dry cooled power plants are more prominent.
A bibliometric analysis of research on Ebola in Science Citation Index Expanded
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2016-03) Pouris, Anastassios; Ho, Yuh-Shan
An unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014 claimed more than 1000 lives in West Africa and the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency. This outbreak will undoubtedly promote additional research related to the Ebola virus and will create debate related to experimental drugs. This article identified the quantum of research in the field since 1991; the scientific disciplines that contributed to the field; the countries, organisations and authors that supported such research and the most cited articles. An increasing trend in annual production during 1991–2013 was observed. Journal of Virology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Virology were the three most productive journals in the field. Similarly, the field of virology dominated the 73 categories in which the Ebola research was classified. A total of 63 countries contributed to Ebola-related research, led by the USA. The most productive institutions were the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. African countries were more likely to be involved in international collaboration than independent research. The most influential article exhibited a notable citation pattern and presented global trends in emerging infectious diseases.
The use of the intranet of the Durban University of Technology Library as a knowledge management tool
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2015) Thomas, David; Underwood, Peter G.
This paper reports an investigation of the use of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Library intranet as a knowledge management (KM) tool. The general objectives of the investigation were to establish what KM practices are used in the library of DUT; establish if and how the staff of this academic library employ the intranet as a tool for KM; identify the characteristics of a KM tool that could assist the management of the library; assess DUT Library’s intranet (Microsoft SharePoint) against the characteristics of a KM tool. The specific objective was to ascertain the extent to which it is being used for KM and to develop an understanding of the factors that contribute or could contribute to the adoption of it for KM. The target population for this study was DUT professional library staff. The study employed a qualitative approach in its research design. Data were collected from the staff by means of a self-administered questionnaire, a focus group interview with a sample of key informants, and by consulting usage statistics of the SharePoint application.
Does research output cause economic growth or vice versa? Evidence from 34 OECD countries
(Association for Information Science and Technology, 2015-08) Ntuli, Hamilton; Inglesi-Lotz, Roula; Chang, Tsangyao; Pouris, Anastassios; roula.inglesi-lotz@up.ac.za
The causal relation between research and economic growth is of particular importance for political support of science and technology as well as for academic purposes. This paper revisits the causal relationship between research papers published and economic growth in OECD countries for the period 1981-2011, using bootstrap panel causality analysis, which accounts for cross-section dependency and heterogeneity across countries. Our empirical results support unidirectional causality running from research output (in terms of total number of papers published) to economic growth for the US, Finland, Hungary, and Mexico; the opposite causality from economic growth to research papers published for Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, UK, Austria, Israel, and Poland; and no causality for the rest of the countries. Our findings provide important policy implications for research policies and strategies for OECD countries.
An assessment of South Africa’s research journals : impact factors, Eigenfactors and structure of editorial boards
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2015-03) Pouris, Androniki E.M.; Pouris, Anastassios
Scientific journals play an important role in academic information exchange and their assessment is of interest to science authorities, editors and researchers. The assessment of journals is of particular interest to South African authorities as the country’s universities are partially funded according to the number of publications they produce in accredited journals, such as the Thomson Reuters indexed journals. Scientific publishing in South Africa has experienced a revolution during the last 10 years. Our objective here is to report the performance of the country’s journals during 2009 and 2010 according to a number of metrics (i.e. impact factors, Eigenfactors® and the international character of editorial boards); to identify and compare the impact of the South African journals that have been recently added to the Thomson Reuters' Journal Citation Reports®; and to elaborate on issues related to science policy.

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