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This study examines the long-run relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and institutional quality within the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), focusing on Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia over the period 2002–2019. Drawing on institutional theories of FDI, the analysis employs governance indicators such as political stability, control of corruption, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and rule of law to assess their influence on investment dynamics. Using panel unit root and cointegration tests, the study confirms the existence of a stable long-term equilibrium among the variables. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) estimator is applied to quantify these relationships. Empirical results indicate that control of corruption, political stability, and regulatory quality exert significant positive effects on FDI inflows, even after accounting for macroeconomic controls. Conversely, government effectiveness and rule of law show no statistically significant impact in the presence of the macroeconomic control variables. These findings underscore the critical role of institutional quality in shaping the investment climate of AMU economies. Policy implications suggest that targeted reforms such as strengthening anti-corruption frameworks, enhancing political stability, and improving regulatory governance can bolster institutional credibility, mitigate investment risk, and attract sustainable FDI to the region.  

This study explored whether centralising human resource management (HRM) for SMS appointments can improve recruitment efficiency, enhance transparency, and curtail patronage, while examining the broader implications for public sector governance and service provision. A qualitative, secondary data-driven systematic review was conducted following an adapted PRISMA protocol, with 16 peer-reviewed and governmental documents (2014 – 2024) retained. Thematic analysis proceeded through open, axial and thematic coding, generating four overarching themes: (1) Control vs autonomy, (2) Equity vs effectiveness, (3) Political legitimacy vs technocratic efficiency, and (4) Hybrid governance potential. The findings revealed that three interrelated challenges dominate the current centralised model: (i) Bureaucratic delays and capacity constraints; (ii) Loss of departmental autonomy; (iii) Contextual insensitivity. Conversely, centralisation delivers standardisation, fairness, and merit-based safeguards, providing a transparent platform for oversight and reducing overt patronage. The study proposes a calibrated hybrid architecture. Implementing the hybrid model aligns with constitutional mandates for merit, equity and accountability, while preserving departmental flexibility essential for effective service delivery. It offers a pragmatic pathway to break the "politicised hiring" cycle, improve vacancy-to-fill rates, and restore public trust in senior appointments across the health, education, water, and fiscal management sectors. By synthesising institutional theoretical perspectives with empirical evidence from South Africa and comparative BRICS cases, this research advances understanding of how centralised HRM can be re-engineered to balance technocratic efficiency with contextual responsiveness. The proposed governance framework provides a replicable blueprint for public-sector reform in resource-constrained, highly politicised environments.

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is recognised as a fundamental human right in South Africa.  The study explores the underlying reasons and motivations for service hesitancy among youth in Mutale Village, even when they are aware that those services are available.  This study analyses the knowledge, perceptions and experiences of young people in Mutale Village, Thulamela Municipality. Utilising a mixed-method approach, the study employed both snowball and purposive sampling to gather data from 126 participants via semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Qualitative data underwent thematic analysis while quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statics via SPSS version 19.0. key findings reveal young people encounter numerous challenges accessing SRH services due to minimal awareness of available options. Service use is significantly hampered by prevailing social norms, religious beliefs that view SRG as improper for youth, and misconceptions regarding contraceptives side effects (e.g. fear of infertility). Furthermore, the negative attitude of local healthcare workers was found to discourage young people from using the facilities. The concludes that social barriers and healthcare worker attitudes are major impediments to the utilisation of essential SRH services. The study recommends that clinics in rural areas should expand youth-friendly corners with trained staff who respect confidentiality and provide non-judgmental services. Regular refresher training for healthcare providers on adolescent SRH needs is essential

The New Public Management (NPM) has brought a trend toward the government to administer the performance of government personnel to enhance government performance and the distribution of government services. In 1998, in accordance with the White Paper on Local Government, in South Africa Performance Management (PM) was brought in to improve the performance of government employees and ensure a successful distribution of public services. PM led to the establishment of the Municipal Performance Management Systems (MPMS). However, currently, there is little information on the effectiveness of the usage of MPMS to ameliorate the delivery of municipal services. The study evaluated the fruitfulness of MPMS through exploring the perceptions of municipal employees towards MPMS, and the ability of MPMS to foster positive change in South African municipalities through lessons gained from practices. To address the questions posed by the study, a qualitative method of research was employed drawing heavily on secondary data to expand knowledge of the usability of MPMS in the local government of South Africa. Subsequently, the findings of the study show that the effectiveness of MPMS is affected by various issues such as insufficient information and knowledge concerning MPMS, lack of monitoring and evaluation, poor financial administration, lack of participation from all municipal employees, data accuracy & the reliability of performance indicators, and shortage of skills. In short, the study concluded that the usage of MPMS in South Africa is not 100% effective and could be enhanced through establishing training workshops, monitoring, and evaluation, incorporating all municipal personnel to take part in the MPMS, and offering financial and non-financial incentives to motivate employees.

Since the conclusion of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has witnessed notable economic growth; however, poverty and income inequality continue to be widespread issues. Despite economic growth, poverty and income inequality remain prevalent, with millions of South Africans living below the poverty line and encountering substantial obstacles to economic opportunities. This research examines the connections among economic growth, poverty alleviation, and income inequality in South Africa, utilising data from 1993 to 2023. This study employs various econometric models, specifically Vector Error Correction (VECM), Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL), and Generalised Method of Moments (GMM), to examine the relationships among economic growth, poverty reduction, and income inequality in South Africa. The findings indicate that economic growth has a positive effect on poverty reduction, while simultaneously exerting a negative influence on income inequality. The research indicates that employment and access to electricity are essential determinants in alleviating poverty and income inequality. This study recommends that policymakers prioritise investments in education, job training, and infrastructure development, especially in rural areas, to foster inclusive economic growth and mitigate poverty and income inequality. Policymakers should enact measures to enhance electricity access and foster employment opportunities within the formal sector.

The research investigates the correlation between socioeconomic characteristics and HIV-related mortality in South Africa, a nation with one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV-AIDS globally.  This work employs a pooled mean group estimator and a viable generalised least squares approach to analyse provincial data from 1993 to 2023. The findings demonstrate that socio-economic determinants significantly influence HIV-related mortality in South Africa, although the connection differs by province and over the long term. The study identifies economic disparity, youth and adult unemployment, and household income as major predictors of HIV-related mortality in certain provinces, whereas the labour force correlates with decreased HIV-related deaths in others. The research indicates that an increase in household wealth may not inherently result in enhanced health outcomes and could potentially worsen the issue of HIV-related mortality in South Africa. The study's results have ramifications for policy and practice. Policymakers must evaluate the unforeseen repercussions of augmenting household income on HIV-associated mortality and implement a comprehensive strategy when developing policies connected to socio-economic determinants and HIV-related fatalities in South Africa. The report advocates for the mitigation of income disparity and unemployment, enhancement of labour force participation, formulation of province-specific policies and interventions, improvement of educational access, and the pursuit of further research as effective measures to reduce HIV-related mortality in South Africa.

Despite extensive research on foreign direct investment (FDI), the specific dynamics and determinants affecting FDI inflows to South-Eastern Asia remain largely unexplored.  This study using Dunning's OLI theory to identify the economic determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) and examines the correlation between FDI inflows and the ease of doing business (EODB).  This study aims to examine the effect of ease of doing business indicators on foreign direct investment inflows and the degree to which they affect the volume of FDI inflows in South-Eastern Asia.  Interest in the determinants of foreign direct investment has surged, as it is regarded as essential for capital inflows to poor countries.   This research utilises a Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) panel regression to analyse FDI flow variations among seven countries—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—during the period from 2006 to 2019.  The results indicated a substantial and enduring correlation between foreign direct investment (FDI) and the enforcement of contracts, investor protection, tax compliance, and GDP per capita.  The research underscores the significance of EODB variables in attracting FDI to South-East Asia.  Policymakers must prioritise enhancing the business environment by streamlining processes, including investor protection and tax system simplification.  By prioritising certain sectors, governments can cultivate a more conducive environment for foreign investors, leading to heightened FDI inflows.  The results suggest that targeted reforms in these critical sectors can significantly enhance South-East Asia's appeal as a foreign direct investment destination.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the importance of Teacher Professional Development in the implementation of online teaching as a tool for distance learning since the onset of COVID- 19. Before the outburst of the coronavirus pandemic, lecturers were used to face-to-face contact sessions, and most of the students did not have laptops. So, the distressing experience of COVID-19 has catalyzed the need for continuing professional teacher development. The study employed the theory of reasoned behavior and the theory of planned behaviour. The theory of reasoned action aims to explain the relationship between attitudes and behaviours within human action. It is used to predict how individuals will behave based on their pre-existing attitudes and behavioural intentions. The latter includes behavioural control as an additional determinant of intentions and behaviour. The study adopted qualitative methodology and employed the case study. The data was collected through interviews with four university lecturers, who were chosen through purposive sampling technique. The data revealed that most teachers perceived online teaching as a good intervention during the period of COVID- 19. However, teachers lacked training and experience when it comes to online teaching. This resulted in lot of uncertainty when it came to online teaching, and frustration for older teachers. In conclusion, the paper highlighted the need for teacher development in the form of in-service training and suggested that teachers should register for short courses on online learning, implementing mentorship programs by the tertiary institutions.

This study was inspired by the observation that code-switching is often discouraged in foreign language schools, where the target language and native language are strictly separated, with the target language designated as the 'official' language of instruction. The study sought to examine instances of code-switching in English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) acquisition among Sesotho native speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. Furthermore, it sought to illustrate the application of tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching in English First Additional Language (EFAL) education for Sesotho native speakers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. This paper studied a particular multilingual phenomena, code-switching. While other linguistic behaviours exist, code-switching is the most popular in additional language contexts in South Africa. This research was founded on a literature review of code-switching in additional language situations. The paper examined the three roles of code-switching: repetition, emotional, and floor-holding. It also provided instances of how tag-code-switching, inter-sentential code-switching, and intra-sentential code-switching might be utilised by Sesotho home language learners to improve their comprehension of EFAL. One finding of the study is that, similar to translanguaging, code-switching fosters a sense of belonging and ownership among learners, and it is generally more accessible for the EFAL student to acquire knowledge from familiar concepts to unfamiliar ones. Another conclusion is that learners' restricted engagement in academic activities, attributable to their inadequate language proficiency, also impacts their motivation. The study advocates for the implementation of code-switching to improve learners' classroom involvement by allowing them to utilise their native language in the acquisition of a second language. The impact of code-switching on Sesotho home language learners' comprehension of EFAL in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa remains undetermined, necessitating further investigation into this important issue.

This paper aims to examine the impact of export diversification on business formation in Africa. The study used a panel dataset comprising 10 African countries (Algeria, Gabon, Lesotho, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia) observed annually from 2008 to 2018. The model was estimated using an instrumental variable regression approach within a count data framework and the difference-in-difference method. Main findings of the study demonstrate that (i) export diversification facilitates the formation of new businesses in the sampled countries, (ii) the odds of a business start-up increase by 1.7 – 3.5 times in response to a percentage point increase in export diversification, and finally (iii) business start-ups are at least 95 percent higher in countries with high export diversification compared to countries with narrow export baskets. These findings emphasize the need for policies aimed at moving away from concentrated export baskets towards more diversified ones to leverage entrepreneurial effort in the selected African countries.

Technological development has witnessed tremendous and an increase in business interactions as they execute their daily business. Information technology and broadband are significant drivers of productivity and efficiency growth for small firms as they expand their market. This development has raised growing concerns as it relates to data and information security, infrastructure, and related resources  due to an increase in cybersecurity hazards faced  by Small to Medium Enterprises globally. In South Africa, although, during the first four months of 2022, cyber-attacks decreased by 13% to account for 419506 internet attacks, this statistic remains high enough for concern. To counter escalating cybersecurity risks, organizations must have a cybersecurity strategy to safeguard their operations, clients, data, and infrastructure. The threat landscape is changing over time, and despite ongoing attempts to strengthen security, they don't appear to be enough to prevent evolving cyberattacks. The study aims to identify cybersecurity threats facing Small to Medium Enterprises in South Africa by reviewing the literature and identifying key Cybersecurity challenges. It also examines the strategies, resources, and techniques used in South Africa to reduce cybersecurity threats. Lastly, the paper recommends adopting a comprehensive Cybersecurity strategy to build future-proof cybersecurity for Small to Medium Enterprises in South Africa.

This scoping review aims to explore various Deep Learning and Symbolic Artificial Intelligence (AI) models that can be integrated into explainable hybrid AI for the purpose of detecting COVID-19 based on Computerized Tomography (CT) scans. We followed the PRISMA-ScR framework as the foundation for our scoping review protocol. Our approach included a thorough search across 13 databases, complemented by an additional random internet search for relevant articles. Due to the voluminous number of articles returned, the search was further narrowed using the keywords: Deep Learning, Symbolic AI and Hybrid AI. These keywords were used because they are more visible in the earmarked literature. A screening of all articles by title was performed to remove duplicates. The final screening process centered on the publication year, ensuring that all considered articles fell within the range of 2019 to 2023, inclusive. Subsequently, abstract or text synthesis was conducted. Our search query retrieved a total of 3,312 potential articles from the thirteen databases, and an additional 12 articles from a random internet search, resulting in a cumulative count of 3,324 identified articles. After the deduplication and screening steps, 260 articles met our inclusion criteria. These articles were categorized based on the year of publication, the type of aim, and the type of AI used. An analysis of the year of publication revealed a linear trend, indicating growth in the field of Hybrid AI. Out of the five aim categories identified, we deliberately excluded articles that lacked a specified aim. It's noteworthy that 3% of the articles focused on the integration of AI models. The low percentage value suggests that the integration aspect is overlooked, thereby transcripting the integration of Deep Learning and symbolic AI into hybrid AI as an area worth exploring. This scoping review gives an overview of how a Deep Learning and Symbolic AI-based framework has been used in the detection of COVID-19 based on CT scans.

This scoping review aims to explore the various swarm technologies and how they have been used in the object classification domain with the desire to motivate the design of a generic swarm intelligence ontology based on the components of various swarm technologies. We used the PRISMA-ScR as a guide to our scoping review protocol. We conducted a search across thirteen databases and a random search as well on the internet for articles. We performed screening of all the articles by title to remove duplicates, we further on did a screening by the year of publication to ensure that all articles to be considered were published between 2012 and 2022 and we then did abstract or text synthesis. Our search query retrieved 3224 potential articles from the thirteen databases and 10 articles from a random search on the internet making a total of 3234 articles identified. Deduplication and screening were done on the identified articles and 287 articles which satisfied our inclusion criteria remained. We grouped the articles into three categories namely year of publication, swarm technology and swarm application. The year of publication showed a linear trend line which is an indication of growth in the swarm intelligence domain. Of the six categories of aims we identified we voluntarily chose to ignore articles where the aim was not specified. We noticed that 64.9% of articles were aimed at either modifying or improving.  The swarm technology category indicated that 58.54% of the included articles were based on the Particle Swarm Optimization either independently or as part of a hybrid algorithm. 83.97% of the articles used classification as their swarm application. Interesting to note was the appearance of feature selection and optimization in this category. This scoping review gave an overview of how swarm technologies have been used in the object classification domain. Further research can be done by bringing and using existing algorithms in the development of generic swarm intelligence inspired ontologies.

The increased use of the internet raises concerns about the security of data and other resources shared in cyberspace. Although efforts to improve data security are visible, the need to continuously explore other avenues for preventing and mitigating cyberattacks is apparent. Swarm intelligence models have, in the past, been considered in cybersecurity though there was no formal representation of the swarm intelligence knowledge domain that defines how these models fit into the cybersecurity body of knowledge. This article reviews the aspects of three swarm intelligence models that may inspire the design of the desired swarm intelligence ontology. The algorithms are particle swarm optimization, ant colony optimization, and the artificial bee colony model. In each case, we investigate the main driving features of the model, the causal aspects, and the effects of those causal aspects on the resolution of the cybersecurity problem. We also investigate how these features can be recommended as the building blocks of the desired swarm intelligence ontology. Investigations indicate that the artificial bee colony model has three outstanding aspects considered for the design of the swarm intelligence ontology and that is the quality, popularity, and communication. Foraging through pheromone deposits is an outstanding component of ant colony optimization that aids in locating threats sources more quickly by using the shortest route or tracks with high pheromone deposits. The particle swarm optimization model, on the other hand, adds alignment, cohesion, and collision avoidance aspects to the ontology to augment the ant colony and artificial bee colony algorithms.  In our view, although intrusion detection is a complex problem in cybersecurity, the power of integrated swarm intelligence models is more than the sum of the individual capabilities of each swarm intelligence model individually. The article, therefore, proposes a swarm intelligence ontology that will potentially bring us closer to resolving the general cybersecurity problem.

This study examined feedback in South African university first-year accounting classes. Teachers' complex approaches are based on their subject matter and pedagogical competence and their views about learning. Among the many approaches is feedback teaching. Feedback is providing performance-related information during or after class sessions or tasks. Feedback improves teachers and students and restructures knowledge. Accounting education found cognitively determined feedback strategies that promote information retention. Cognitivism underpins this paper. Cognitivism and accounting education share intellectualism, critical thinking, deep learning and information retention, long-term memory, and complicated problem-solving. Accounting feedback improves fundamentals. Cognitivism dominates accounting education. This work used exploratory qualitative research. This study selected three first-year accounting professors from different campuses. Participants' feedback knowledge, practices, and challenges were collected through semi-structured interviews. Participant reactions validated the findings. Thematically evaluated data. The study examined feedback comprehension, implementation techniques, and challenges. Accounting professors use feedback differently, which affects teaching and learning. Participants also listed many challenges to their practice.

Forming university exam schedules in Southern Africa has always been difficult. It is a scheduling problem with strict rules (hard constraints) and flexible ones (soft constraints). Students must take a final exam for most courses they are enrolled in each semester, held in a supervised setting. Therefore, finding a suitable time and location for each student is a common challenge. This paper proposes a solution to this scheduling problem based on the behaviour of bees, using a model called BSet, which uses simulated robotic devices to find and schedule courses. The results show that this approach is efficient and effective in creating exam schedules.

Customer loyalty is crucial in the retail banking sector, given the increasing competition within the industry and the emerging non-traditional players. This paper examines the influence of external exigencies on customer loyalty of retail banks in Nigeria. Data used in this study was collected from 424 customers of eight (8) selected banks located in Ibadan, a metropolitan city in Nigeria. The primary statistical tool used was Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in analysing data collected. The study's findings revealed that external exigencies as a construct, has a positive influence on customer loyalty with internal appearance of bank and attractive advertisement accounting for the main factors contributing to loyalty. Similarly, External Exigencies were found to have positive influence on Customer Loyalty to their banks, at significant level. The managerial implication of this study is the consideration of non-core banking factors that can enhance customer loyalty in retail banking.