Competitive Advantage Threats and Opportunities in the South African Clothing, Textiles, Leather, and Footwear (CTLF) Industry

Despite the employment and competitive advantage decline experienced in previous years, the South African clothing, textile, leather, and footwear (SACTLF) industry is still a significant contributor to the country’s manufacturing sector. To restore employment figures last seen a decade ago in the industry, the SACTLF has to explore competitive advantage threats and opportunities, among others. To explore competitive advantage threats and opportunities in the SACTLF industry, a leading SACTLF retail group and two leading clothing manufacturers’ associations (representing over 100 CTLF organisations) were purposefully sampled and interviewed. Emerging from the transcripts is that the low rate of innovation and lack of access to manufacturing inputs are the main competitive advantage threats. Strengthening quick-response time and localisation emerged as competitively advantageous opportunities. This article’s findings show that the SACTLF industry has the potential to develop a competitive advantage. The findings of the study contribute new knowledge to the literature. Received: 27 July 2021 / Accepted: 7 October 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

Loneliness and Well-being among Working, Married and Unmarried Women in Pakistan

This study was set forth to find out the relation of loneliness and wellbeing among working, married and unmarried women in Pakistan. Overall, 210 working, married and unmarried women were recruited for this study through purposive sampling. A self-constructed questionnaire comprising demographic characteristics and loneliness scale Schmidt and Sermat (1983), and wellbeing scale developed by Warwick – Edenbrug (2006) were used to collect the data. Results showed that there is an inverse relationship between loneliness and well-being among working married and unmarried women. Further, the analysis revealed that working unmarried women feel more loneliness and working married women enjoy more wellbeing. All subscales of loneliness confirmed that wellbeing was negatively associated for both working married and unmarried women. It is concluded that loneliness has significant contributor of low wellbeing among unmarried working women.

ROLE OF ICT IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE OF COMMERCE EDUCATION

The education sector is considered to be a significant contributor to the global economy faced a severe blow with the onset and progression of COVID-19. With the turmoil that had been created, the educational concerns and administration who had long resented the introduction of technology in the designing and implementation of the curriculum, were left with no option but to walk on the path they had dreaded for long. The sudden shift from conventional system of schooling to the web-based system of instruction did present a variety of conundrums for both the educators and the pupils, however, it was the prospects, and particularly those brought by the use of ICTs that made this shift a lucrative option in pedagogical sphere. Despite the fact that there have been innumerable studies on the students and teachers perceptiveness of the virtual pedagogy, there are still some areas that have not been explored to their full potential, one of them being the amalgamation of the ICT trends and commerce education. This study intends to find out the efficacy, utility and the future of the ICT tools, especially in commerce education.

Interrelated Attributes of Project Feasibility

Feasibility consists of inter-related questions. Often, organizations place a narrow technical focus on the technical feasibility of a preferred option (Lucae et al. 2014; Samset 2009). Hence, many frameworks, including TELOS, have been developed to encourage more holistic feasibility appraisal (Bause et al. 2014; Burch 1992). Poorly considered feasibility studies are a significant contributor to project failure, loss of reputation, lost opportunity, excess sunk costs, loss of morale, and litigation (see Sahu 2014).

Internal GIG Ecosystem in IT/ITeS Organisations for Non-linear Growth

The Indian IT/ITeS industry is a significant contributor to India’s GDP and has had an impressive growth trajectory. However, it continues to be plagued with talent shortages, managing employee satisfaction, growth aspirations and reducing attrition. COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented opportunity for IT service organisations to transform the established paradigm of working. The industry has been exploring non-linear growth models that address the talent demand-supply gap. With skilled talent shortage continuing to limit the industry growth, non-linear initiatives of growth are urgently required. We propose a model of ‘Internal Gig’ worker (I-GIG) for the IT services industry. The new I-GIG workforce would be providing non-linear outcomes without increasing costs significantly. We also argue that this model would be motivational for employees who opt for it, with commensurate reward motivations to engage them. Additionally, this model would enable the workanywhere, anytime and leverage talent availability on a global scale.

Levels of metals and persistent organic pollutants in traditional foods consumed by First Nations living on-reserve in Canada

Objectives First Nations may have a higher risk of contaminant exposure from the consumption of traditional foods. The objective of this study was to measure concentrations of metals and organochlorines in traditional foods commonly consumed by First Nations in Canada and estimate the risk from dietary exposure. Methods Data were collected from the participatory First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (2008–2018). Traditional food samples were collected by community members and concentrations of metals and organochlorines were measured. The population-weighted mean daily contaminant intake from traditional food items was estimated. Hazard quotients (HQs) were calculated by dividing contaminant intake with the toxicological reference values (TRVs). Results A total of 2061 food samples (different parts and organs) from 221 species were collected. The highest concentrations of cadmium were found in the kidneys of land mammals: moose kidney was the most significant contributor to intake. The meat of land mammals and birds had the highest lead concentrations and were the most significant contributors to intake. Arsenic was highest in seaweed, and prawn was the most significant contributor. Mercury and methyl mercury were highest in harp seal meat, with walleye/pickerel contributing most to intake. Harp seal meat also had the highest p,p′-DDE and PCB concentrations, and ooligan grease and salmon were the most significant contributors to intake. The percentage of adults eating traditional food who exceeded the TRVs was 1.9% for cadmium, 3.7% for lead, 13.6% for arsenic, 0.7% for mercury, and 0% for p,p′-DDE and PCBs. All median HQs, and most 95th percentile HQs, were less than 1. Conclusion These results can be used as a baseline of contaminant levels and exposure in traditional foods for future monitoring programs and to support risk assessment programs.

Hindus and Muslims in Medieval North India: Stages of Reciprocal Perception

Migrating to India and becoming a part of its population, the Muslims passed through different stages in their perception by Hindus. The article discusses these stages of this process–from alienation to familiarity, from generalisation to individualisation–as reflected in some literary texts of medieval epoch. A significant contributor to this development was the growth of Muslim population due not to migration only, but, more significantly, to the conversion of local people who, accepting the new religion, remained familiar with many aspects of regional culture and lifestyle. The other side of the process, the Muslim view of Hindus, is also studied, to demonstrate that, despite observable differences, the followers of both religions took the same direction that led to the recognition of the ‘other’ as a natural part of a socially and culturally heterogeneous entity

Vascular Calcification in Rodent Models—Keeping Track with an Extented Method Assortment

Vascular calcification is a multifaceted disease and a significant contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The calcification deposits in the vessel wall can vary in size and localization. Various pathophysiological pathways may be involved in disease progression. With respect to the calcification diversity, a great number of research models and detection methods have been established in basic research, relying mostly on rodent models. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the currently available rodent models and quantification methods for vascular calcification, emphasizing animal burden and assessing prospects to use available methods in a way to address the 3R principles of Russel and Burch: “Replace, Reduce and Refine”.

Exploring firm-level innovation and productivity in India

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the impact of innovation on the productivity of firms in India using the data from the World Enterprise Survey. This paper first classifies three different types of innovation measures then further analyses their relation with the productivity of the firms. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used for this study has incorporated the structural Crépon-Douget-Mairesse (CDM) model wherein productivity is measured using both the innovation inputs and the innovation outputs. Three main equations have been used to quantify this relation includes the knowledge intensity function, innovation function and the productivity equation. Findings Findings indicate that decision to invest in research and development (R&D) is influenced negatively by financial obstacles and trade obstacles and positively influenced by telecommunication obstacles, government obstacles and the size of the firm in India. Similarly, financial obstacles and the size of the firm are affecting the firm’s research expenditure per employee. Also, financial obstacles seem to hinder the research intensity and larger firms seem to have higher research intensity. The size of the firm contributes significantly to product innovation. However, R&D spending seems to be negatively related to the innovation outcome. The findings relating to productivity shows neither product nor process innovation outputs, independently are not contributing significantly to the productivity of firms. However, product and process innovation, together serve as innovation outputs is a significant contributor to firm productivity. On the other hand, organisational innovation contributes significantly to the productivity of the firms in a negative manner. Originality/value The findings relating to productivity shows neither product nor process innovation outputs, independently are not contributing significantly to the productivity of firms (which has been measured by sales per worker is impacted by the capital and the labour inputs). However, product and process innovation, together serve as innovation outputs is a significant contributor to firm productivity. On the other hand, organisational innovation contributes significantly to the productivity of the firms in a negative manner. The reason could be due to the fact that the definition of organisational innovation incorporates both dissolutions and mergers.