11 research outputs found
Investigating the Impact of Social Media Marketing Activities on University Brand Preference and Word of Mouth Communication
No full textInvestigating the Impact of Social Media Marketing Activities on University Brand Preference and Word of Mouth Communication
No full textThis study investigates the influence of social media marketing activities on university brand preference in South Africa. With the rapid proliferation of social media platforms, universities are increasingly leveraging these channels to enhance their brand presence and engage with students. The effectiveness of such endeavours in shaping brand preferences remains underexplored, particularly in an emerging market context where unique socio-economic factors may influence consumer behaviour. A total of 268 responses were collected from university students in South Africa through an electronic self-administered survey. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data. The findings of this study revealed that social media marketing activities have a positive impact on brand attitude. Furthermore, brand attitude was proven to have a positive impact on university brand preference and word of mouth. However, the findings revealed an insignificant relationship between university brand preference and word of mouth. The study sheds valuable insights into the mechanisms through which social media engagement impacts brand perception and preference, shedding light on the strategic implications for universities seeking to leverage digital platforms to enhance their competitive positioning in emerging markets
Implications of the use of cannabis in the South African workplace
No full textAbstract: The study entitled: “Implications of the use of cannabis in the South African workplace”, is a comparative study, situated within the labour law fraternity. This area of law regulates the “employer-employee relationship” which often comes into conflict. The author casts light on the conflicting interests of the employer to ensure safety in the workplace, against the employee’s right to privacy. On the one hand, employers’ have an overarching duty to enhance workplace safety by putting in place of drug testing policies. On the other spectrum, employees may challenge drug testing policies on the ground of the right to privacy. This conflict arose after the Constitutional Court legalised “private use” of cannabis in Prince. The concern is, inter alia, that urine drug test detects cannabislong after it has been consumed. It only discloses presence of drug metabolites and not the likelihood of impairment at the time of the test. Therefore, employees may be dismissed even though their actions took place in private and could in no way affect their ability to perform duties safely. In light that Prince legalised the private use of cannabis, the study questions whether dismissal is an appropriate sanction following a positive drug screening, where an employee had used cannabis privately at home. It is not clear how our courts should construe the LRA by weighing the conflicting interests of the employer (to ensure safety) and employees (privacy) to reach the balance required by “fair labour practices”. The case of Mthembu is subject to constitutional scrutiny for upsetting a “fair” balance, as the CCMA upheld dismissal as an appropriate sanction following a positive drug screening. Mthembu is a totally misleading judgment for ignoring that urinalysis has the disadvantage of showing past impairment. This policy is declared unjust by foreign courts. A comparative legal analysis is utilised to examine how the US, Canada and German courts assess reasonableness to ascertain which drug testing policies may be declared reasonable, and those which constitutes a prima facie unlawful invasion of privacy. Foreign courts argue that the limitation (testing policy) must rationally be capable of achieving its purpose (ensuring safety). Therefore, a testing method which detects current impairment is capable of achieving safety, as opposed to that which shows past impairment. The study argues that South African courts may seek guidance from foreign case law to positively influence our legal system, to maintain equilibrium between the conflicting interests of employer(s) and employee(s). This promotes the achievement of social justice in the workplace and a shift towards a transformative society.LL.M. (Labour Law
Development of city logistics maturity model for municipality performance measurement
No full textMunicipalities play an important role in tackling city logistics related matters, having many instruments at hand. However, it is not self-evident that all municipalities use these instruments to their full potential. A method to measure city logistics performance of municipalities can help in creating awareness and guidance, to ultimately lead to a more sustainable environment for inhabitants and businesses. Subsequently, this research is focused on a maturity model as a tool to assess the maturity level of a municipality for its performance-related city logistics process management. Various criteria for measuring city logistics performance are studied and based on that the model is populated through three focus fields (Technical, Social and Corporate, and Policy), branching out into six areas of development: Information and communication technology, urban logistics planning, Stakeholder communication, Public Private Partnerships, Subsidisation and incentivisation, and Regulations. The CL3M model was tested for three municipalities, namely, municipality of Utrecht, Den Bosch and Groningen. Through these maturity assessments it became evident the model required specificity complementary to the existing assessment interview, and thus a SWOT analysis should be added as a conclusion during the maturity assessment.Transport and Logistic
Zero-Emission Zone (ZEZ) Maturity Model: First Results
No full textWith the approach of the zero-emission zone implementation in 30-40 cities mandated by the Dutch climate agreement in 2025, comes the need to determine whether the SMEs located within these zones are aware of the coming changes. The zero emission zones are set to change how city logistics is currently being executed with the aim of decreasing emissions in the city centre by transitioning to zero emission vehicles and optimizing deliveries to create less flows. However, it is currently unclear whether small to medium businesses located within these zones know about the new regulations within their local municipalities. This article delves into the initial results of The Zero-Emission City Logistics Maturity QuickScans which are used to facilitate the determination of the maturity of small to medium enterprises in light of zero-emission city logistics operations.Transport and Logistic
Lactones from Unspecific Peroxygenase-Catalyzed In-Chain Hydroxylation of Saturated Fatty Acids
No full textγ- and δ-lactones are valuable flavor and fragrance compounds. Their synthesis depends on the availability of suitable hydroxy fatty acid precursors. Three short unspecific peroxygenases were identified that selectively hydroxylate the C4 and C5 positions of C8-C12 fatty acids to yield after lactonization the corresponding γ- and δ-lactones. A preference for C4 over C5 hydroxylation gave γ-lactones as the major products. Overoxidation of the hydroxy fatty acids was addressed via the reduction of the resulting oxo acids using an alcohol dehydrogenase in a bienzymatic cascade reaction.BT/Biocatalysi
Reading Motivation and Comprehension: Using iSTART-3 to Improve Comprehension in South Africa
No full textabstract: The purposes of the study are to: 1) investigate how students' motivation towards reading is related to their reading comprehension skills, and 2) assess the impact of using an Intelligent Tutoring System to improve comprehension. Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking-3 (iSTART-3) is a game-based tutoring system designed to improve students' reading comprehension skills. The current study was conducted in South Africa with 8th and 9th graders between the ages of 14 and 18. These students are multilingual and they learn English as a First Additional Language (English-FAL). Firstly, we predict that students who are highly motivated to read will have high comprehension scores than those who are slightly or not at all motivated to read. Secondly, we predict that the use of iSTART-3 will improve students' reading comprehension, regardless of their level of reading motivation, with better results for those who are more motivated to read. Counter to our predictions, the results did not reveal a relation between reading motivation and reading comprehension. Furthermore, an effect of iSTART-3 on reading comprehension was not found. These results were likely influenced by the small sample size and the length of the intervention
Experimental study and ANFIS modelling of the thermophysical properties and efficacy of GNP‑Al2O3 hybrid nanofuids of different concentrations and temperatures
No full textDATA AVAILABITY STATEMENT: The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.This study delves into an extensive investigation of the thermophysical properties and heat transfer efficacy of a
hybrid nanofluid incorporating graphene nanoplatelets and γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles dispersed in deionised water. The
nanofluids were characterised for their viscosity (µ), thermal conductivity (λ), and electrical conductivity (σ) over
a 15–40 °C temperature range for varying nanoparticle loading (0.1–0.4 volume%). The experimental results revealed
notable enhancements in µ, λ, and σ with increasing nanoparticle concentration, while µ decreased at elevated
temperatures as λ and σ increased. At the highest concentration (0.4 vol%), µ increased by 21.74%, while λ and σ
exhibited peak enhancements of 17.82% and 393.36% at 40 °C. An Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)
model was devised to enhance predictive precision by meticulously optimising the number of membership functions (MFs) and input MF type. The ANFIS architecture that exhibited the most remarkable agreement with the
experimental data for µ, λ, and σ was found to utilise the Product of Sigmas, Difference of Sigmas, and Generalized
Bell MFs, respectively, with corresponding input MF numbers being 2–3, 3–2, and 3–2. The optimal ANFIS model
for µ, λ, and σ exhibits a higher prediction accuracy with an R2
value of 0.99965, 0.99424 and 0.99995, respectively.
The Figure of Merit analysis using Mouromtseff Number identified an optimal nanoparticle concentration range of
0.1–0.2 volume% for enhanced heat transfer performance with a reasonable µ increase. This range guides practitioners
in utilising hybrid nanofluids effectively while managing potential drawbacks.The University Research Council of the University of Johannesburg.https://www.springer.com/journal/42452Mechanical and Aeronautical EngineeringSDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructur
Phylogenetically diverse native systems are more resistant to invasive plant species on Robben Island, South Africa
No full textAlien invasive species are problematic both economically and ecologically, particularly on islands. As such, understanding how they interact with their environment is necessary to inform invasive species management. Here, we ask the following questions: What are the main functional traits that correlate with invasion success of alien plants on Robben Island? How does phylogenetic structure shape biotic interactions on the island? Using multiple approaches to explore these questions, we found that alien invasive species flower later during the year and for longer period, although flowering phenology was sensitive to alternative starting date. Additionally, we observed that alien invasive species are mostly abiotically pollinated and are generally hermaphroditic whilst their native counterparts rely on biotic pollinators, flower earlier and are generally dioecious, suggesting that alien invasive and native species use different ecological niches. Furthermore, we found a facilitative interaction between an alien invasive legume and other invasive plants as predicted by the invasional meltdown hypothesis, but this does not influence the phylogenetic structure of plant communities. Finally, phylogenetically diverse set of native species are less receptive to alien invasive species. Collectively, our findings reveal how biotic interactions and phylogenetic relatedness structure alien invasive-native co-existence.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author
Human cytochrome P450 2B6 genetic variability in Botswana: a case of haplotype diversity and convergent phenotypes
No full textIdentification of inter-individual variability for drug metabolism through cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) enzyme is important for understanding the differences in clinical responses to malaria and HIV. This study evaluates the distribution of CYP2B6 alleles, haplotypes and inferred metabolic phenotypes among subjects with different ethnicity in Botswana. A total of 570 subjects were analyzed for CYP2B6 polymorphisms at position 516 G > T (rs3745274), 785 A > G (rs2279343) and 983 T > C (rs28399499). Samples were collected in three districts of Botswana where the population belongs to Bantu (Serowe/Palapye and Chobe) and San-related (Ghanzi) ethnicity. The three districts showed different haplotype composition according to the ethnic background but similar metabolic inferred phenotypes, with 59.12%, 34.56%, 2.10% and 4.21% of the subjects having, respectively, an extensive, intermediate, slow and rapid metabolic profile. The results hint at the possibility of a convergent adaptation of detoxifying metabolic phenotypes despite a different haplotype structure due to the different genetic background. The main implication is that, while there is substantial homogeneity of metabolic inferred phenotypes among the country, the response to drugs metabolized via CYP2B6 could be individually associated to an increased risk of treatment failure and toxicity. These are important facts since Botswana is facing malaria elimination and a very high HIV prevalence.We thank all the children in this study, and their parents and teachers, for their understanding and assistance. Furthermore, we thank all the staff for technical assistance in the blood collection and DNA extraction. We also thank Dr Gaseitsiwe S. from Botswana-Harvard Partnership (Gaborone, Botswana) for sequencing of the control genotypes included the two CC genotypes for 983 T > C polymorphism. This study was supported by Botswana Ministry of Health, the Penn Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), an NIH-funded program [grant # P30 AI 045008] and partly supported through the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE), a DELTAS Africa Initiative [grant # DEL-15-006]. The DELTAS Africa Initiative is an independent funding scheme of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS)’s Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and supported by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) with funding from the Wellcome Trust [grant # 107752/Z/15/Z] and the UK government. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AAS, NEPAD Agency, Wellcome Trust or the UK government
