scholarly journals South African consumers’ perceptions of front-of-package warning labels on unhealthy foods and drinks

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257626
Author(s):  
Makoma Bopape ◽  
Lindsey Smith Taillie ◽  
Tamryn Frank ◽  
Nandita Murukutla ◽  
Trish Cotter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
White Background ◽  
Warning Label ◽  
Warning Labels ◽  
Black Triangle ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Almost All

Front-of-package labeling (FOPL) is a policy tool that helps consumers to make informed food choices. South Africa has not yet implemented this labeling system. The aim of this study was therefore to explore adult South African consumers’ perceptions of front-of-package warning labels on foods and non-alcoholic beverages (referred to as drinks in this paper) and their insights into features that could influence the effectiveness of the warning label. Using a qualitative approach, the study purposively selected consumers diversified by urbanization, gender, socioeconomic status, and literacy. We collected data from a total of 113 participants through 12 focus group discussions. Data were systematically coded and divided into five themes namely, positive attitudes toward warning labels, perceived benefits of warning labels, perceived behavior modification, perceived beneficiaries of warning labels, and effective attributes of warning labels. Almost all participants from all socio-economic backgrounds were positive about warning labels, reporting that warning labels concisely and understandably educated them about the nutritional composition of foods. Other perceived advantages were that warning labels warn of health implications, are easily understandable and could benefit child health. Some participants anticipated that warning labels would reduce their purchases of unhealthy foods, while others thought the labels would have no effect on their purchasing habits. Participants found the warning labels attention grabbing and stated that they preferred a black triangle placed on a white background (referred to as a holding strap henceforth), the words “high in” and “warning” in bold and uppercase text, an exclamation mark, and an icon depicting the excessive nutrient. In South Africa warning labels may improve consumer understanding of nutrition information and assist consumers in determining the nutritional quality of packaged foods and drinks.

Effective Planning for Rural Development in A Democratic South Africa: The Prospects of Rural Cooperatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
France Khutso Lavhelani Kgobe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Rural Cooperatives ◽  
The Government ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Effective Planning

This paper explores the potency of rural cooperatives for the effective planning and implementation of rural strategies to address poverty. Rural cooperatives function as a participatory approach that provides the potential to equip and empower people in rural areas with various skills. Hence, rural cooperatives represent the means and strategies to unshackle rural people from the vicious circle of poverty. The contestation about a deadlock of rural development has become pertinent in the recent and ongoing political transformation in South Africa. This paper is grounded on the social capital theory and its ideals. As such, it depends on a literature review for its premise, argument, crux and purpose, as well as drawing up results and conclusions. The paper gathers information in respect of various scholars’ notions on rural cooperatives and rural development from related articles, journals and books. The paper reveals that where the South African government is confronted and characterised by some form of upheaval and service delivery challenges, so rural cooperatives are fit to capacitate citizens to avoid depending on the government for scarce resources. The paper further reveals that rural cooperatives are deemed to ameliorate the long-standing patterns of developmental backlogs in almost all South African municipalities. The conclusion that can be made from this paper is that the authentic promotion of rural development in the formulation of a well-informed legislative framework, that is clear and unambiguous, can deal effectively with the challenges of rural cooperatives.

scholarly journals The influence of bank employees on bank customer relationship management

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Rootman ◽  
M. Tait ◽  
J Bosch
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Bank Employees

Purpose: Despite extensive research in services marketing, much is still unknown to specific service providers on the influence of their employees on their services. This paper attempts to address this limitation and investigates the influence of employees on the customer relationship management (CRM) of banks. The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of selected independent variables, namely attitude and knowledgeability, on the CRM of banks.Design/Methodology/Approach: An empirical investigation was conducted with a structured questionnaire with items that related to banks' CRM in terms of attitude and knowledgeability. The sample consisted of 290 banking clients in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area and the response rate was 91.03%. Findings: Significant positive relationships exist between both the knowledgeability, and attitude of bank employees and a bank's CRM. These relationships imply that more extensive knowledgeability and more positive attitudes of bank employees lead to improved, maintained relationships between a bank and its clients. Employees play an important role in banks’ client relationships. Implications: Banks should focus on increasing their employees' knowledgeability and improving their attitude to ensure higher levels of CRM. This paper provides strategies for banks and could create greater awareness among South African banks of the advantages of CRM, how their employees influence their CRM, and ways to adapt to these influences. Originality/Value: No study has focused exclusively on CRM within banks in South Africa. Prior research focused on customer service and service quality; both possible results of superior CRM. However, this research differs, as it identifies the variables influencing CRM in banks in South Africa. It is proposed that this paper will be beneficial for South African banks, as the recommendations may be used to ensure higher levels of CRM in banks.

Tourism Migration in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60
Author(s):  
Unathi Sonwabile Henama ◽  
Portia Pearl Siyanda Sifolo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Critical Phenomenon ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Volunteer Tourism ◽  
Migration Dynamics ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Almost All

This article explores the tourism migration within the South African context, thereby focusing on the current dynamics, challenges and future prospects. Tourism and migration are significant towards globalisation. Almost all countries have jumped on the tourism bandwagon as a result of the positive economic benefits that include improving the balance of payments, attracting foreign exchange, and increasing state coffers through the taxation of non-residents. South Africa has also adopted tourism into the developmental policies. Although Africa's share of the global tourism market remains less than 10%, the continental bodies such as the African Union under the wing NEPAD recognises that tourism and migration as an important factor to societies. This paper adopts the content analysis to address the tourism migration, dynamics, challenges and future prospects as a critical phenomenon. Tourism has deep characteristics of a plantation economy that does not benefit the majority of the societies, particularly in South Africa. Despite being a geographical dispersed country, the tourism industry in South Africa faces numerous challenges such as the integration of Black South Africans as product owners; reported high rates of crimes, lack of integration of locals in the tourism industry, the lack of aviation competition, paucity of ports of entry, and most recently the cyber-crime and the visa regulations etc. However, South African tourism remains resilient as a major destination due to its fauna and flora and increasing market niches are developing such as adventure tourism, health tourism and volunteer tourism. South Africa plans to be one of the top 20 destinations by 2020; steps are in place to ensure that South Africa achieves this objective.

scholarly journals Monophyly of the species of Hepatozoon (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) parasitizing (African) anurans, with the description of three new species from hyperoliid frogs in South Africa

Parasitology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (8) ◽  
pp. 1039-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward C. Netherlands ◽  
Courtney A. Cook ◽  
Louis H. Du Preez ◽  
Maarten P.M. Vanhove ◽  
Luc Brendonck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Monophyletic Clade ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
Almost All

AbstractHaemogregarines (Apicomplexa: Adeleiorina) are a diverse group of haemoparasites reported from almost all vertebrate classes. The most commonly recorded haemogregarines to parasitize anurans are species of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908. To date 16 Hepatozoon species have been described from anurans in Africa, with only a single species, Hepatozoon hyperolli (Hoare, 1932), infecting a member of the Hyperoliidae. Furthermore, only two Hepatozoon species are known from South African anurans, namely Hepatozoon theileri (Laveran, 1905) and Hepatozoon ixoxo Netherlands, Cook and Smit, 2014, from Amietia delalandii (syn. Amietia quecketti) and three Sclerophrys species, respectively. Blood samples were collected from a total of 225 individuals representing nine hyperoliid species from several localities throughout northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Twenty frogs from three species were found positive for haemogregarines, namely Afrixalus fornasinii (6/14), Hyperolius argus (2/39), and Hyperolius marmoratus (12/74). Based on morphological characteristics, morphometrics and molecular findings three new haemogregarine species, Hepatozoon involucrum Netherlands, Cook and Smit n. sp., Hepatozoon tenuis Netherlands, Cook and Smit n. sp. and Hepatozoon thori Netherlands, Cook and Smit n. sp., are described from hyperoliid hosts. Furthermore, molecular analyses show anuran Hepatozoon species to be a separate monophyletic group, with species isolated from African hosts forming a monophyletic clade within this cluster.

scholarly journals Offering choice in female condoms: The South African experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 985-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mags Beksinska ◽  
Bongiwe Zulu ◽  
Phumla Nkosi ◽  
Zonke Mabude ◽  
Jenni Smit
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Female Condom ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Early Introduction ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Female Condoms ◽  
Almost All ◽  
And Training

South Africa (SA) has an integrated male and female condom (FC) programme. Since 2014, the programme has introduced two new FC brands. This study evaluated the early introduction of the availability of new FCs. Twenty-three sites participating in the National SA Female Condom Evaluation were included. Providers and clients completed interviewer-administered questionnaires assessing FC brand availability, length of distribution, how clients are informed about new FCs and reactions to the choice of more than one FC. A total of 55 providers and 51 clients were interviewed. Although all 23 sites reported they had distributed new FCs, only one had all three types available. Almost all providers (96%) thought it was important to increase choice, although some (27%) worried that having different FCs may confuse clients. Almost all clients (96%) felt it was important to increase the choice of FCs, and most women (80%) felt that using one type of FC would make it easy to use another type. Providers called for more brand-specific Information, Education and Communication (IEC) training for themselves and the community. Providers and clients seem to be very positive about the choice of FCs. Providers recommended more support in the form of IEC materials and training to assist in the provision of the expansion of FC brands.

scholarly journals Restricting the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children in South Africa: are all nutrient profiling models the same?

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (12) ◽  
pp. 2150-2159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariaan Wicks ◽  
Hattie Wright ◽  
Edelweiss Wentzel-Viljoen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Food Marketing ◽  
Nutrient Profiling ◽  
Composition Table ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Marketing To Children

AbstractThe WHO has called for governments to improve children’s food environment by implementing restrictions on the marketing of ‘unhealthy’ foods to children. Nutrient profiling (NP) models are used to define ‘unhealthy’ foods and support child-directed food marketing regulations. The aim of the present study was to assess the suitability of the South African NP model (SANPM), developed and validated for health claim regulations, for child-directed food marketing regulations. The SANPM was compared with four NP models specifically developed for such regulations. A representative list of 197 foods was compiled by including all foods advertised on South African free-to-air television channels in 2014 and foods commonly consumed by South African children. The nutritional information of the foods was sourced from food packaging, company websites and a food composition table. Each individual food was classified by each of the five NP models. The percentage of foods that would be allowed according to the different NP models ranged from 6 to 45 %; the models also varied considerably with regard to the type of foods allowed for marketing to children. The majority of the pairwise comparisons between the NP models yieldedκstatistics >0·4, indicating a moderate agreement between the models. An almost perfect pairwise agreement (κ=0·948) existed between the SANPM and the UK Food Standards Agency model (United Kingdom Office of Communication nutrient profiling model), a model extensively tested and validated for such regulations. The SANPM is considered appropriate for child-directed food marketing regulations in South Africa.

scholarly journals Spirituality as a determinant of health risk behaviour among black university students in Limpopo, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
S. Makhubela ◽  
S. Mashegoane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
University Students ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviour ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Risk Behaviours ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Health Risk Behaviour ◽  
Health Risk Behaviours ◽  
Almost All

Data from 333 Black university students in Limpopo, South Africa were used to investigate the association between the spirituality dimensions of religious and existential wellbeing (RWB and EWB) and health risk behaviours. The mean scores of almost all health risk behaviours, with the exception of the daily eating of healthy foods, varied according to the levels of RWB (p ≤ 0.05). On the other hand, with regards to levels of EWB, the analysis of physical activity produced a gender by EWB interaction only, and the results pertaining to the drinking of alcoholic beverages were marginal (p ≤ 0.10). There was a marginal gender by EWB effect for cigarette and marijuana use (p ≤ 0.10), with a 0.019 effect size (partial eta squared) for each analysis, and a gender effect for both (p ≤ 0.001 and 0.01, respectively). Effectively, there were no instances of statistically significant main effect of EWB (p > 0.05). Apparently, the type or dimensionality of spirituality used is important, and future studies should investigate varied measures of the construct to establish its relationship with health risk behaviour.

scholarly journals Sustaining small businesses in emerging economies: an examination of the pre and post startup ramifications

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chux Gervase Iwu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Small Business ◽  
South African ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Business Startup ◽  
Growth Constraints ◽  
Small Business Growth ◽  
Almost All

Set in the Western Province of South Africa, this study is centred on a group of small business owners who received financial support from a leading South African business developer. The main aims were to obtain from the recipients what they envisaged as their main challenges, and to compare those challenges at a later stage to get a better understanding of the real challenges of small business pre and post startup. The ultimate benefit will be to report on these to inform practitioners and researchers so that every stakeholder can have a fresher insight into this phenomenon with the hope that much more concrete discussions and interventions may emerge. This longitudinal study adopted the mixed method, specifically the use of a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview schedule. This method enabled the researcher to gain a better understanding of the issues at play with respect to first time recipients of funds, as well as engage intimately with them in order to obtain salient information regarding challenges of small business pre and post business startup. Interestingly, most participants indicated that almost all the items in the questionnaire were major challenges. This study should not only generate the necessary discussions among practitioners and scholars on small business growth constraints in South Africa, but, at the same time, uncover through such discussions, some of the undocumented challenges of small businesses in emerging markets so that the chances of survival of small businesses beyond the 2-3 year mark are improved.

Attitudes towards Science of South African Northern Sotho-Speaking Pupils

2002 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-130
Author(s):  
Lily Cherian
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Northern Sotho ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes Towards Science

A face valid set of 22 highly intercorrelated items was developed to investigate the attitudes towards science of 793 Grade 12 pupils (age ranging from 17 to 24+ years) in Lebowa, South Africa. Analysis indicated the attitudes of these students towards science were neutral and hardly enthusiastic, which would encompass negative, neutral, and positive attitudes.

The Role of Health Consciousness in Predicting Attention to Health Warning Messages

1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee A. Kaskutas ◽  
Thomas K. Greenfield
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Warning Label ◽  
Warning Labels ◽  
Health Warnings ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Health Consciousness ◽  
Younger Age

Purpose. Guided by information processing theory and the health belief model, this paper considers the relationship between health consciousness among the general population and attention to environmental health warnings about alcohol consumption. Mechanisms of exposure to three dominant types of impersonal alcohol-related health messages in the environment are explored. Design. Cross-sectional survey using telephone interview data. Subjects. A representative nationwide sample of adults was interviewed in 1993 ( n = 1026), with a response rate of 63%. Measures. Key variables include exposure to warning labels on alcoholic beverages, to point-of-sale posters, and to advertisements in the media, as well as respondents' alcohol consumption, health problems (indicative of salience of health warnings), and level of health consciousness assessed by items tapping concern with nutrition and seeking information on health topics. Results. In the total sample, over a third had seen a warning label or poster and almost all had seen an advertisement about the risks associated with alcohol consumption in 1993. Survey respondents scored very high on five individual items that make up the health consciousness scale introduced here, with 69% endorsing all items. The scale demonstrated good internal reliability (alpha = .70) and was significantly correlated ( p <. 01) with not enjoying getting drunk and with usually reading product warning labels, suggesting construct validity. Yet the hypothesized strong relationships between health consciousness and attention to health warnings about drinking were not observed; nor was salience of messages a predictor of recall. Importantly, high proportions of underage drinkers and young adults at elevated risk for drinking problems are reached by container warning label messages. Mechanisms of exposure recall vary based on message source, with “container label recall” associated with heavier drinking, younger age, and purchasing patterns; “poster recall” associated with purchasing and health consciousness; and “advertisement recall” associated with heavy consumption and younger age. Conclusions. These results are contrary to predictions from skeptics of broad-based informational interventions, who argue that only the already-health conscious are attentive to health warnings about the risks of alcohol consumption. These data suggest that the label is reaching intended target audiences, especially younger people, males, and heavier alcohol consumers. Future research in predicting attention to impersonal health warnings in the environment should continue to improve the assessment of constructs such as salience and health consciousness, and should further test the applicability of available theoretical models. Subsequent research should also consider additional measures to lap mechanisms of exposure to impersonal health messages to enable a better understanding of the population that is not being reached by such public health interventions.

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