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Purpose: This paper aims to present a new master's programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A transdisciplinary approach called "participatory integrated assessment of energy systems" (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of "multi-scale integrated assessment" and "science for governance", which bring innovative concepts and methods. Findings: The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes. Practical implications: Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely critical because such a holistic view cannot be achieved through engineering curricula. Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate methods from "multi-scale integrated assessment" and "science for governance" in higher education curricula to train a new breed of modern-day energy planners in charge of coming up with solutions that are shared by all relevant stakeholders. Originality/value: This paper presents an innovative higher education curriculum in terms of the attention given to energy access and energy efficiency that affect the southern Africa region and the nature of the methodology adopted to face these issues.

The security of energy services remains a challenge in poor urban Africa. Many households lack adequate energy technological devices to match modern energy carriers to fulfil their energy service needs. Females are most affected because of the culturally embedded gender roles at the household level. Despite the disproportionate gender roles in energy services, gender dimensions remain covert in the energy products innovation process. The study explored how gendered innovation augments energy innovation and addresses the problem relating to the security or fulfilment of energy services of households in poor urban environments. The study used system dynamics modelling to define the dynamic feedback loops, encompassing the security of energy services, households in poor urban environments, and gendered innovation. The results show that a gender‐sensitive, user‐centric innovation can help fulfil household energy services. The template model will be customised and applied in two poor urban environments in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an emerging scholarship that criticises the conceptualisation of urban informality from a deficit view and emphasises that informality constitutes a way of life, a practice in its own right. We argue that energy is part of the informal way of life and that energy transitions need to take into account the specificities of urban informality when used for policy. Acknowledging energy practices is necessary to improve the justice of energy transitions, including the urban poor in energy transitions without denying the legitimacy of slum dwellers' ways of life. In this paper, we analyse energy governance in informal urban settlements as implemented by national governments, municipalities and non-governmental organisations, with case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa. We develop a policy analysis framework that assesses (1) the practices of problem definition; (2) the creation of policy options and strategy; (3) the mix of capacities mobilised; and (4) the type of instruments used. The framework is applied to three case studies of energy policies in informal settlements in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. Results show a strong preference for regulation and technological fixes and do not create capacity to acknowledge and integrate the specific challenges of urban informality and informal ways of life in energy policy, hence falling short of addressing social justice in energy transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The rapid growth of urban informal settlements, or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities, however, is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in‐depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilized a multiscale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy, such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time‐use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labor to the surrounding area. Further, geographical mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, while being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal, and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research efforts using system dynamics to understand and evaluate societal and policy-related problems in Southern Africa are becoming essential. This paper undertook a systematic review to examine the extent of utilization of system dynamics in Southern Africa between 2003 and 2014. The results showed that system dynamics has been used, or referred to, in the academic literature pertaining to the themes of environment, public policy and resources. Nevertheless, focuses remain limited in its application across various industries, particularly relating to stakeholder engagement and strategy. However, some analysis of the non-academic literature suggests that commercial practice of system dynamics has a different trend, where it is mainly used for strategic and tactical projects, mostly for industry clients. Thus, the current research outputs do not necessarily reflect the industry needs. This review is then useful to facilitate further discussions on practical applications of system dynamics through the South Africa System Dynamics Chapter. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the first report of Opisthorchis viverrini infection in a domestic duck in Phu My District of Binh Dinh Province, Central Vietnam, many other cases were observed in the province. We determined the infection rate and intensity of O. viverrini infection in ducks in 4 districts of the province. A total of 178 ducks were randomly selected from 34 farms for examination of flukes in the liver and gall bladder. An infection rate of 34.3% (range 20.7-40.4% among districts) was found; the intensity of infection was 13.8 worms per infected duck (range 1-100). These findings show the role of ducks as a host for O. viverrini, duck genotype, which is sympatric with the human O. viverrini genotype in this province. It also stresses the need for investigations on the zoonotic potential and the life cycle of this parasite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction - Plant metabolomics experiments yield large amounts of data, too much to be interpretable by eye. Multivariate data analyses are therefore essential to extract and visualise the information of interest. Objective - Because multivariate statistical methods may be remote from the expertise of many scientists working in the metabolomics field, this overview provides a step-by-step description of a multivariate data analysis, starting from the experiment and ending with the figures appearing in scientific journals. Methodology - We developed a thought experiment that explores the relationship between the differences in nutrient levels and three plant developmental descriptors through photography of the greenhouse they grow in. Through this, multivariate data analysis, data preprocessing and model validation are illustrated. Finally some of the presented methods are illustrated by the analysis of a plant metabolomics dataset. Conclusion - This paper will familiarise non-specialised researchers with the main concepts in multivariate data analysis and allow them to develop and evaluate metabolomic data analyses more critically. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the first report of Opisthorchis viverrini infection in a domestic duck in Phu My District of Binh Dinh Province, Central Vietnam, many other cases were observed in the province. We determined the infection rate and intensity of O. viverrini infection in ducks in 4 districts of the province. A total of 178 ducks were randomly selected from 34 farms for examination of flukes in the liver and gall bladder. An infection rate of 34.3% (range 20.7-40.4% among districts) was found; the intensity of infection was 13.8 worms per infected duck (range 1-100). These findings show the role of ducks as a host for O. viverrini, duck genotype, which is sympatric with the human O. viverrini genotype in this province. It also stresses the need for investigations on the zoonotic potential and the life cycle of this parasite.