South African universities are mandated to promote scholarship that is socially and economically responsive to local contexts. The contribution of universities to innovation is a key driver of economic and social development, but should be more effectively harnessed to address poverty and inequality. Linking Universities and Marginalised Communities examines how South African universities en…
This open access volume presents a comprehensive account of all aspects of biological invasions in South Africa, where research has been conducted over more than three decades, and where bold initiatives have been implemented in attempts to control invasions and to reduce their ecological, economic and social effects. It covers a broad range of themes, including history, policy development and …
The emergence of the Internet and the digital world has changed the way people access, produce and share information and knowledge. Yet people in Africa face challenges in accessing scholarly publications, journals and learning materials in general. At the heart of these challenges, and solutions to them, is copyright, the branch of intellectual property rights that covers written and related w…
Structural transformation in Africa has become a hot topic. One of the earliest stylized facts of development economics is that low-income countries have large differences in output per worker across sectors, and movement of workers from low- to high-productivity sectors—structural transformation is a key driver of economic growth. Between 1950 and 2006, about half of the catch-up by developi…
The importance of the pharmaceutical industry in Sub-Saharan Africa, its claim to policy priority, is rooted in the vast unmet health needs of the sub-continent. Making Medicines in Africa is a collective endeavour, by a group of contributors with a strong African and more broadly Southern presence, to find ways to link technological development, investment and industrial growth in pharmaceutic…
This book explores the impact that professional volunteers have on the low resource countries they choose to spend time in. Whilst individual volunteering may be of immediate benefit to individual patients, this intervention may have detrimental effects on local health systems; distorting labour markets, accentuating dependencies and creating opportunities for corruption. Improved volunteer dep…
ocial Work in Africa offers professors, students, and practitioners insight concerning social work in the African context. Its purpose is to encourage examination of the social work curriculum and to demonstrate practical ways to make it more culturally relevant. Drawing on her experience as a social work instructor in Ghana with field research conducted for her doctoral thesis, author Linda Kr…
This open access book utilizes new data to thoroughly analyze the main factors currently shaping the African housing market. Some of these factors include the supply and demand for housing finance, land tenure security issues, construction cost conundrum, infrastructure provision, and low-cost housing alternatives. Through detailed analysis, the authors investigate the political economy surroun…
This e-book is the result of a panel organized in the Fifth European Congress of African Studies (ECAS 5) that took place in Lisbon in June 2013. We thought of organizing this panel on “Press Freedom and Right to Information in Africa” since the question of freedom, especially press freedom, is presently extremely important in all African countries. However, it is not yet well known, both i…
This edited volume is concerned with the evolution and achievements of cooperation in research and innovation between Africa and Europe, and points to the need for more diversified funding and finance mechanisms, and for novel models of collaboration to attract new actors and innovative ideas. It reflects on the political, economic, diplomatic and scientific rationale for cooperation, while als…