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Organisational support and employee commitment on turnover in a high-risk occupation
No full textPurpose: Retaining automated teller machine (ATM) and cash-in-transit (CIT) employees in a CIT organisation in South Africa is challenging. Despite the belief that employees will remain with their organisation in a poor economy, ATM and CIT employees’ high turnover intentions persist. The study aimed to empirically investigate perceived organisational support (POS) and organisational commitment (OC) as predictors of turnover intentions among employees of a selected CIT company in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed an explanatory survey design, quantitative approach and convenience sampling technique to draw 151 research participants for the investigation. Hypotheses were tested through regression and correlation analyses. Findings/results: The POS showed a positive rather than negative relationship with employees’ turnover intentions, suggesting that the more managers support ATM and CIT employees, the higher their turnover intentions may be. This seeming anomaly may be explained by the high-risk working conditions in the CIT industry. Furthermore, the results indicated that affective commitment is the most critical predictor of turnover intentions, followed by normative and continuance commitment. Practical implications: As the results revealed inconsistencies, more studies should be conducted to clarify the concept of organisational support and improve safety and staffing plans, including the formulation and implementation of professional training programmes and the provision of tailored organisational support. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on employee turnover intentions in the CIT industry by generating new findings in relation to the investigation of the perceived impact of organisational support and employee commitment on turnover intentions
Revisiting radical integrated research and practice for contemporary social work
No full textThis article explores and revisits a radical research framework for contemporary social work. Our article reflects on how an integrated and enriched social analysis supports social work understanding, intervention, and an evaluation of professional practice. This framework, which includes Marxist approaches, recognizes that social work is a political profession (Reisch and Jani 2012; Cummins 2019). The profession is involved in addressing the challenges experienced by people to manage the contradictions of capitalism and are thereby also involved in sustaining the capitalist system (Tavares 2013). Consequently, the profession is caught in a conflictual position whereby it needs to meet the demands of the State, while also being committed to addressing the needs of the working class. We propose that a radical analysis of the contexts and lived reality of individuals, groups, communities, institutions, and societies within capitalist societies is necessary to understand the contemporary practice milieu, and to ensure consistent and effective professional interventions. We conclude by noting that this research framework aligns with the International Federation of Social Work social work definition and enables the profession to address social inequality, oppression, and social justice
Unlocking consumer behaviour: how satisfaction And/or delight, trust and perceived value Drive behavioural intentions
No full textBackground: Understanding the role of customer satisfaction and/or delight and trust as central drivers of behavioural responses becomes increasingly important in a complex business environment. From a relationship marketing theory perspective, satisfaction and/or delight, trust and perceived value serve as critical differentiators that strengthen customers’ future behavioural intentions in competitive service contexts.Aim: Guided by the relationship marketing theory, this study explores how service quality and customer orientation influence satisfaction and/or delight, trust and behavioural intentions in the South African cellular industry while recognising the moderating role of perceived value.Setting: This study examines South Africa’s cellular industry, characterised by high mobile penetration, steep data costs, and intense competition. In this emerging market, customer satisfaction, delight, trust, and perceived value are theorised as central determinants of behavioural intentions and loyalty.Method: An explanatory research design targeted cell phone network service provider customers in Gauteng, South Africa, using quota sampling and self-administered questionnaires. In total, 409 valid responses were analysed using SPSS 24.0 and SmartPLS 4 for measurement and structural modelling.Results: Aligned with the relationship marketing theory, the results show that customer orientation significantly enhances satisfaction and/or delight, whereas service quality does not. Both customer orientation and trust foster satisfaction and/or delight, which drives behavioural intention, while perceived value strengthens the trust–intention link but not the satisfaction and/or delight–intention relationship.Contribution: Grounded in the relationship marketing theory, this study addresses a key research gap by examining how customer delight and trust jointly shape behavioural responses in an emerging market context, an underexplored area in service literature. A central contribution highlights employee capability development, showing that equipping staff to respond proactively is a strategic requirement for fostering satisfaction, building trust and sustaining long-term relational outcomes
Making sense of the outcome of a rehabilitation implementation trial in the intensive care unit: mixed methods
No full textBackground. Evidence for implementation of evidence-based protocols (EBPs) in resource-constrained intensive care units (ICUs) is sparse. Objectives. To evaluate a tailored best-practice multifaceted strategy for implementation of a validated physiotherapy EBP for the management of surgical ICU (SICU) patients. Also, to explore the physiotherapists’ perceptions regarding the implementation process and factors affecting protocol adherence, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Methods. A type 2 hybrid implementation study design was applied, including all adult patients admitted over 16 months to two (control and experimental) SICUs in Western Cape Province, South Africa. The physiotherapists eligible to participate in the qualitative study (N=17) were those who participated in the implementation process and worked in the experimental SICU. The Therapeutic Index Scoring System-28 (TISS-28) and four process of care indicators (POCIs) were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively, both analysed in Stata version 15. Thematic content analysis of textual data generated physiotherapists’ perceptions of the implementation process. Results. The intervention strategy did not result in protocol adherence, with no significant difference (p>0.05) in TISS-28 and POCI outcomes during and after implementation in the experimental unit and all phases of the control. Physiotherapists (71%; n=12/17) perceived that the process affected their thinking and clinical decision-making, but not the organisation of physiotherapy services, except for a more multidisciplinary approach to care in the experimental unit. Organisational factors (time constraints, workload/flow barriers) affected adherence, explaining the lack of practice change. Conclusion. The importance of organisational change and support of the physiotherapy departments providing services to ICUs while also addressing the healthcare needs of a diverse group of hospitalised patients is highlighted
Land cover, drought, and dust emission in arid succulent karoo shrublands
No full textSand and dust storms are natural environmental processes that occur at various scales and they can have significant ecological and social impacts. Globally, patterns of aeolian activities are changing, and on South Africa's west coast a marked increase in dust emission was observed during a prolonged drought lasting from 2015 to 2022. This region, dominated by Succulent Karoo shrublands, experienced a decline in vegetation cover and shifts in vegetation states due to the combined effects of drought, grazing, mining activities, and wind erosion. This review examines the transition in vegetation cover, the environmental and anthropogenic processes driving these changes, and their relationship to increased wind erosion and dust emission. Key influencing factors include rainfall variability, grazing intensity, and the degrading effects of wind erosion, shaped by broader forces such as climate change and land-use practices like mining and limited crop farming. To synthesise these dynamics, we present a conceptual State-and-Transition Model (STM) that captures vegetation responses in arid ecosystems and integrates the feedback between vegetation loss, wind erosion, and dust emission. This research furthermore summarises the broader consequences of dust events, including soil degradation, public health risks, and off-site effects on ocean chemistry and marine ecosystems. Understanding the drivers of vegetation change and the role of human and climatic pressures is crucial for anticipating future atmospheric dust loads and managing the resilience of arid landscapes
H I asymmetries in spatially resolved simba galaxies
No full textWe present a study of the neutral atomic hydrogen (H I) content of spatially resolved, low-redshift galaxies in the SIMBA cosmological simulations. We create synthetic H I data cubes designed to match observations from the Apertif Medium-Deep H I imaging survey, and follow an observational approach to derive the H I size–mass relation. The H I size–mass relation for sIMBA is in broad agreement with the observed relation to within 0.1 dex, but SIMBA galaxies are slightly smaller than expected at fixed H I mass. We quantify the H I spectral (Aflux) and morphological (Amod) asymmetries of the galaxies and motivate standardizing the relative spatial resolution when comparing Amod values in a sample that spans several orders of magnitude in H I mass. Galaxies are classified into three categories (isolated, interacted, or merged) based on their dynamical histories over the preceding ∼2 Gyr to contextualize disturbances in their H I reservoirs. We determine that the interacted and merged categories have higher mean asymmetries than the isolated category, with a larger separation between the categories’ Amod distributions than between their Aflux distributions. For the interacted and merged categories, we find an inverse correlation between baryonic mass and Amod that is not observed between baryonic mass and Aflux. These results, coupled with the weak correlation found between Aflux and Amod, highlight the limitations of only using Aflux to infer the H I distributions of spatially unresolved H I detections
The resolved and eco g3 initiative: drivers of h i content and x-ray emission in galaxy groups
No full textAdding to the RESOLVE and ECO Gas in Galaxy Groups (G3) initiative, we examine possible drivers of group-integrated H i-to-halo mass ratios (MHI,grp/Mhalo) and group X-ray emission, including group halo mass (Mhalo), virialization as probed by crossing time (tcross), presence of active galactic nuclei (AGN), and group-integrated fractional stellar mass growth rate (FSMGRgrp). G3 groups span Mhalo = 1011−1014.5 M⊙ with comprehensive H i gas and AGN information, which we combine with X-ray stacking of ROSAT All-Sky data. We detect hot gas emission exceeding AGN and X-ray binary backgrounds confidently for Mhalo = 1012.6−1014 M⊙ and unambiguously for Mhalo > 1014 M⊙, reflecting an inverse dependence of MHI,grp/Mhalo and hot gas emission on halo mass. At fixed halo mass, MHI,grp/Mhalo transitions to greater spread below tcross ∼ 2 Gyr. Dividing groups across this transition, lower-tcross groups show elevated X-ray emission compared to higher-tcross groups for Mhalo > 1013.3 M⊙, but this trend reverses for Mhalo = 1012.6−1013.3 M⊙. Additionally, AGN-hosting halos below Mhalo ∼ 1012.1 M⊙ exhibit a broad, ∼0.25 dex deep valley in MHI,grp/Mhalo compared to non-AGN-hosting halos with correspondingly reduced FSMGRgrp. When diluted by non-AGN-hosting halos, this valley becomes shallower and narrower, falling roughly between M halo = 10 11.5 M ⊙ and M halo = 10 12.1 M ⊙ in the overall MHI,grp/Mhalo vs. Mhalo relation. We may also detect a second, less easily interpreted valley at Mhalo ∼ 1013 M⊙. Neither valley matches theoretical predictions of a deeper valley located at or above M halo = 10 12.1 M ⊙
Hers-3: an exceptional einstein cross reveals a massive dark matter halo
No full textWe present a study of HerS-3, a dusty star-forming galaxy at zspec = 3.0607, which is gravitationally amplified into an Einstein cross with a fifth image of the background galaxy seen at the center of the cross. Detailed 1 mm spectroscopy and imaging with NOEMA and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array resolve the individual images and show that each of the five images display a series of molecular lines that have similar central velocities, unambiguously confirming that they have identical redshifts. The Hubble Space Telescope F110W image reveals a foreground lensing group of four galaxies with a photometric redshift zphot ∼ 1.0. Lens models that only include the four visible galaxies are unable to reproduce the properties of HerS-3. By adding a fifth massive component, lying southeast of the brightest galaxy of the group, the source reconstruction is able to match the peak emission, shape, and orientation for each of the five images. The fact that no galaxy is detected near that position indicates the presence of a massive dark matter halo in the lensing galaxy group. In the source plane, HerS-3 appears as an infrared luminous starburst galaxy seen nearly edge on. The serendipitous discovery of this exceptional Einstein cross offers a potential laboratory for exploring at small spatial scales a nuclear starburst at the peak of cosmic evolution and studying the properties of a massive dark matter halo associated with the lensing galaxy group
Integrated water resources management for sustainable development in East and Southern Africa
No full textThe 23rd WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium was held at Sun City Conference Centre, in South Africa and online from 19 to October 21, 2022. The symposium, whose main theme was “Integrated Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development in East and Southern Africa”, drew over 400 participants from the academia, practitioners, policy makers and development partners from the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region and beyond. The symposium was jointly convened by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), AU/NEPAD Southern African Network of Water Centres of Excellence (AU/NEPAD SANWATCE), and the Local Organizing Committee led by the North-West University, South Africa, with support from the Government of South Africa
Key stakeholders’ views on the causes of medicine stock-outs in Mauritania: a qualitative study
No full textThe number of medicine stock-outs is increasing globally. In Mauritania, they are recurring, although, to our knowledge, no study has yet been conducted to determine the causes. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to explore the views of key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector to identify the main local or national causes of stock-outs. It will thus provide a common understanding and guide policy-makers towards corrective action. The study was carried out in five health districts and at the regional and central levels. The samples were purposive. Two focus groups and twenty semi-structured individual interviews were held with 38 participants, including health professionals, managers from the Central Purchasing Office for Essential Medicines and Consumables, the Pharmacy and Laboratory Department and the Ministry of Health. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. A thematic content analysis was carried out. Our findings indicate the national causes of medicine stockouts at three healthcare system levels (operational, regional, and central). They were grouped into five categories: insufficient human resource capacity (number of staff, training, retention), communication and coordination problems between stakeholders, logistical constraints (transport, storage), financial constraints, inadequate forecasting of needs, and complex procurement procedures. These causes of medicine stockouts are interconnected, and many could be addressed locally through solutions initiated and led by the Mauritanian authorities. To address medicine stock-outs sustainably, we suggest and discuss some possible actions, including reforms to improve Central Purchasing Office for Essential Medicines and Consumables’s governance and accountability and, more broadly, to strengthen the various pillars of the local health and pharmaceutical system