Measuring Service Quality in South Africa Higher Education: Developing a Multidimensional Scale

Increased competition in the educational environment has contributed to the growing importance of service quality measurement at higher education institutions. This paper investigates aspects of service quality in higher education as a step towards developing a standardised scale for its measurement. Using structured questionnaires, survey data was collected from students (n = 391) from two South African universities. Findings indicate that the service quality in higher education scale is a multidimensional construct loading on 13 factors with reasonable reliability coefficient and some construct validity. Significant relationships were found among a number of study variables. Some further research directions were suggested and policy implications discussed

Why Select and Remain in my University: Re-examining Higher Education in South Africa

Tertiary institutions have a major role in providing relevant education that best meets the needs of the various constituencies served. To meet these needs an assessment of factors that influence their choices becomes imperative. As a result of the governments' policy to transform higher education in South Africa and the challenges brought about by globalisation and internationalisation, tertiary institutions are facing new challenges. Attracting quality students in a highly competitive education environment is crucial as the numbers of students' dropping out especially call attention to wastage in government funding. This paper examines some of the criteria used by South-African students, when choosing or evaluating a tertiary institution. The main findings include a significant positive link among trust in management, satisfaction with transport, perception of readiness for change and overall satisfaction with the university. These variables have indirect relationship with satisfaction with transport and living arrangement of students. Practical implications, limitations and suggestions for future studies were articulated

Gender Disparities and Socio-Economic Factors on Learning Achievements in Agricultural Science in Rural and Urban Secondary Schools of Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria.

To contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by the United Nations on the promotion f gender equity, the researchers sought to empirically verify the existence  or otherwise   of  gender   inequality   in   the   agricultural • science achievement of urban and rural,  male and female students in Ogbomoso North Local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria; and whether parental socio-economic status and school location, taken independently, are significant factors in the achievement of the students. By simple random sampling, 240 students (50% males, 50% females) were selected from three schools each in urban and rural settings of the secondary schools and a 30-itrm four option multiple choices agricultural science achievement test (ASAT)   was   constructed   and   administered. Two validated instruments were used to collect the data while descriptive and t-test statistics were employed for data analysis. The findings indicated that gender, schools location and socio-economic status have effects on students' performance in agricultural science as a subject. A major implication of this study is that collective efforts of the governments and other educational stakeholders should be put in place

Knowledge of physiotherapy in the prevention and treatment of soccer injuries among managers of amateur soccer teams

This study was designed to evaluate the knowledge of physiotherapy among managers of amateur soccer teams in preventing and treating soccer injuries.A total of 32 amateur soccer team managers from Kano State, Nigeria were purposively recruited to participate in this study. Thereafter, a questionnaire seeking information on physiotherapy was administered. Data retrieved from the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages.The results of the study revealed that the average age of the participants was 47±8 years. The results also indicated that the majority (94%) of the participants were male, and 63% had post-secondary school qualifications. Working experience was generally low, mostly between one and two years. All the participants demonstrated good knowledge of the role of physiotherapy in preventing injuries (warm up and cool down exercises), as well as the means (use of exercise therapy and massage), indications (sprains, strains and back pain) and the modalities (ice sprays, exercise modalities and bandages). The major areas where lack of knowledge was evident were in the use of strapping (43.7%), the role of physiotherapy in health education (43.7%), and the use of electrical currents in physiotherapy (68.7%). The overall results showed that the average knowledge of the participants regarding the role of physiotherapy in preventing and treating soccer injuries was high (86.5%).It was concluded that a significant proportion of the managers of amateur soccer teams in Kano State have good knowledge of the use of physiotherapy in preventing and treating soccer injuries.Keywords: team managers, amateur soccer, knowledge, physical therap

Exploring the role of religion in consumer decision-making processes:perspectives on developing nations

The literature is replete with postulations around consumer decision making process. Essentially, the core argument in this issue is that Irrespective of the market offering involved, the consumer pass through a number of stages which begins with need recognition. Conventionally, this is followed by search for information, evaluation of alternatives, decision, and post-purchase evaluation. A number of scholarship efforts have provided variants of this vis-à-vis various decision models that do not necessarily conform to the rational model depicted in the highlighted process. This chapter presents a critical overview of this discourse. Moreover, in view of its all-encompassing form, the chapter offers an eclectic submission on each of the stages in this conventional process in relation to how religion reflect in them to influence consumption in developing nations. A good number of cases and illustrations are presented to accentuate this as relevant to developing nations as the contextual platform for the chapter

The Emergence of Resources Seeking Chinese Firms’ Specific Advantages in Emerging Market

It is argued that the role of the Chinese government to support the cross-border operations of Chinese firms is to assist these firms in overcoming their limited established brands, and their disadvantages in technology and managerial resources, which were also the reasons why such firms decided to enter emerging markets instead of developed markets. This strategic choice is preferred to avoid direct confrontation with established firms from developed countries endowed with superior ownership advantages. Therefore, Chinese resources seeking firms innovate by increasing investment in developing and emerging markets to develop unique ownership advantages for sustainable market development and competitive advantage. This research investigates the ownership advantages of resources seeking Chinese firms in these markets using the OLI theory. The paper contributes to explaining the specific advantages of Chinese MNEs when entering emerging markets. The study applied a two-stage qualitative methodology to examine Chinese firms operating in Nigeria. The first stage included an exploratory study based on interviews with key informants and experts while the second stage included a case study methodology. The study focused on resources seeking Chinese MNEs operating in Nigeria

Impact of geological interpretation on reservoir 3D static model: work flow, methodological approach and delivery process

The traditional method of geologic modelling requires the interpretation of geological sections during digitization. But this traditional method has its limitations, the main limits are; it is usually time consuming and the model produced is unique to each individual geologist interpretation and may not be easily replicated by others. This study proposes an alternative workflow method for modelling, constructing and interpreting 3D geologic static model with multi-source data integration. The volume base method (VBM) was used to construct the 3D model. The combination of deterministic and probabilistic methods was used to model the facies workflow process to capture the geometrics of depositional environmental element. The truncated Gaussian simulation method was used with vertical trends option to obtain vertical transitional lithofacies in most of the reservoirs. Verification of results and detailed discussion of the proposed workflow and methodology is based on comparison with the conventional method. The saturation height function (SHF) equation applied to the water saturation model and permeability model improved the 3-D properties modelling workflow. The pillar gridding process was identified as the stage that increases the timeframe in 3-D modelling workflow. The results have proven to improve the overall timeframe and maximize the value of the field studies. The proposed method can be applied to a broad and complex geologic area. And is useful for marginal field development, by contributing economically and improving the deliverability of the entire project

Measurement Campaign on 5G Indoor Millimeter Wave and Visible Light Communications Multi Component Carrier System

European Commission on the Horizon 2020 Internet of Radio-Light IoRL (Grant Number: 761992

COMPARATIVE AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE PROPERTIES AND POTENCY OF SYNTHESIZED ORGANIC AND MINERAL SUNSCREEN MOISTURIZER

This research work aims at synthesizing two different types of moisturizers: a body butter and a lotion. Based on the methodology, three samples of the body butter and lotion was produced, by varying the percentage of zinc oxide and Shea butter, the samples were analyzed with a UV- spectrophotometer to determine the transmittance and absorbance strength which was in turn used to determine the SPF. Vaseline which is a standard organic lotion was also analyzed to determine the transmittance, absorbance strength and SPF. The results were compared. Of all the moisturizers synthesized in this research, the lotion which had 10% zinc oxide had the highest absorbance strength, and hence the highest SPF. Therefore, it was concluded that a minimum of 10% zinc oxide should be used in the production of sunscreen moisturizers to provide moderate sun protectio

Chemical Composition and Quality Characteristics of Wheat Bread Supplemented with Leafy Vegetable Powders

The study investigated the effect of supplementation of the leaf powders of Telfairia occidentalis, Amaranthus viridis, and Solanum macrocarpon on the chemical composition and the quality characteristics of wheat bread. The bread samples were supplemented with each of the vegetable leaf powders at 1%, 2%, and 3% during preparation. The bread samples were assayed for proximate composition, mineral composition, physical, sensory, and antioxidant properties using standard methods. The addition of vegetable powders significantly increased the protein (9.50 to 13.93%), fibre (1.81 to 4.00%), ash (1.05 to 2.38%), and fat (1.27 to 2.00%). Supplementation with vegetable powder however significantly decreased (p<0.05) the carbohydrate and moisture contents. Significant (p<0.05) increases were recorded for all evaluated minerals as the level of vegetable powder increased. Supplementation with vegetable powder caused significant decrease in total phenolic content, percentage DPPH inhibition, metal chelating ability, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and total antioxidant capacity. Sensory results showed that there was significant decrease in sensory qualities with increasing supplementation. This therefore suggests that bread supplemented with vegetable powder could have more market penetration if awareness is highly created