Who uses Adwords in overnight accommodation establishments?

Google AdWords has become a prevalent e-marketing tool in the growing online marketing platform. Google AdWords is an accessible tool of e-marketing, it is also easy to use, measurable, and enables marketing within a predetermined budget. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the use of Google AdWords as an e-marketing tool. A research study was conducted in 2016 with the aim to ascertain the extent to which Google AdWords is used among the Western Cape’s star-graded overnight accommodation establishments. A self-administered web-based survey was conducted to collect data and a total of 278 fully completed and usable responses were received. The study revealed that the majority (67%) of respondents were aware of Google AdWords and that 41% of respondents that are aware of Google AdWords also make use of Google AdWords. It was found that the use of Google AdWords is dependent on the type and the star-grading of overnight accommodation establishment. It can be concluded that Google AdWords is a worthwhile e-marketing tool for stargraded accommodation

Long-term vegetation dynamics (40 yr) in the succulent Karoo, South Africa : effects of rainfall and grazing

QUESTIONS : Vegetation change in arid regions with a coefficient of rainfall exceeding 33% usually displays non-equilibrium dynamics, where abiotic factors override internal biotic controls. Irreversible changes have nonetheless also been described for arid regions. What are the contributions of internal/equilibriumvs external/non-equilibriumfactors to vegetation dynamics and can degradation due to overstocking be reversed after removal of livestock? LOCATION : Goegap Nature Reserve, Namaqualand, South Africa. METHODS : The descending point method was conducted annually from 1974 at two transects. Vegetation change was assessed in terms of vegetation cover, species composition, life-form composition, range condition, species richness and diversity. Principal coordinates analysis was used to illustrate the trajectories in floristic data, and the effects of stocking density and rainfall were examined with redundancy analysis. RESULTS : Vegetation cover, species richness and Shannon-Wiener index of diversity showed an increase and range condition improved with time. These positive changes could be related to the removal of high numbers of livestock and low wildlife numbers in the first years of survey. A gradual decline in the rate of increase in some of these parameters could be related to high grazing pressure during the later monitored years. There was a notable increase in nonsucculent chamaephytes, but the initial increase in succulent chamaephytes was not sustained. The directional change evident in perennial species composition, supports the equilibrium concept, whereby the negative changes induced by heavy grazing were partially reversed. Within the directional change, four quasi-stable states could be distinguished, which could be reconciled with the state-and-transition model. The annual component showed no directional change, but displayed event-driven, non-equilibrium dynamics by fluctuating in reaction to the timing and quantity of rainfall. CONCLUSIONS : The vegetation change displayed elements of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium dynamics, and demonstrated that the effects of heavy grazing in the Succulent Karoo were reversible. Overall, the recovery process proceeded slowly and was primarily detected in the perennial component of the vegetation. The increase in wildlife numbers in the later studied years and decline in perennial vegetation cover stress the need for active management of animal numbers to avoid vegetation degradation.University of Pretoria, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the BIOTA South Project and the National Research Foundation (Grant no. 61277).http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1654-109X2016-04-30hb201

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Agroecological transformation for sustainable food systems : Insight on France-CGIAR research

This 26th dossier d’Agropolis is devoted to research and partnerships in agroecology. The French Commission for International Agricultural Research (CRAI) and Agropolis International, on behalf of CIRAD, INRAE and IRD and in partnership with CGIAR, has produced this new issue in the ‘Les dossiers d’Agropolis international’ series devoted to agroecology. This publication has been produced within the framework of the Action Plan signed by CGIAR and the French government on February 4th 2021 to strengthen French collaboration with CGIAR, where agroecology is highlighted as one of the three key priorities (alongside climate change, nutrition and food systems)