Games as communication: an analysis of advertising in South Africa

Games as a form of communication have been examined by academics in the fields of game studies, narratology and media studies, among others, but the use of games to communicate advertising messages has not been adequately explored within the South African context. The study sought to investigate the phenomenon of advergaming, purpose-built games designed to communicate an advertising message, in South Africa, and to develop a model for the use of advergaming as a viral marketing tool in this context. Using a hybrid approach, the study examined the way that advertising agencies currently use advergames as well as the effectiveness of advergaming as a means to communicate a message. The study presents the results of a national survey of advertising agencies in South Africa, a content analysis of existing advergames and an analysis of three semi-structured group interview experiments conducted using selected advergames. The findings point to the potential of advergaming as a message communication tool, but also highlight the challenges that may hamper the widespread use of advergaming in South Africa. It proposes the use of the mobile environment as a means to reach a wider South African audience and in that way, overcome some of the obstacles to advergaming adoption. In addition, the results identify aspects of advergames that seem to correlate with the effectiveness of message communication

Games as communication: an analysis of advertising in South Africa

Games as a form of communication have been examined by academics in the fields of game studies, narratology and media studies, among others, but the use of games to communicate advertising messages has not been adequately explored within the South African context. The study sought to investigate the phenomenon of advergaming, purpose-built games designed to communicate an advertising message, in South Africa, and to develop a model for the use of advergaming as a viral marketing tool in this context. Using a hybrid approach, the study examined the way that advertising agencies currently use advergames as well as the effectiveness of advergaming as a means to communicate a message. The study presents the results of a national survey of advertising agencies in South Africa, a content analysis of existing advergames and an analysis of three semi-structured group interview experiments conducted using selected advergames. The findings point to the potential of advergaming as a message communication tool, but also highlight the challenges that may hamper the widespread use of advergaming in South Africa. It proposes the use of the mobile environment as a means to reach a wider South African audience and in that way, overcome some of the obstacles to advergaming adoption. In addition, the results identify aspects of advergames that seem to correlate with the effectiveness of message communication

Establishing a baseline of published air pollution and health research studies in the Waterberg-Bojanala Priority Area

An umbrella review study was conducted to establish a baseline of published air pollution and health research studies in the Waterberg-Bojanala Priority Area (WBPA). Forty peer-reviewed research studies were included based on the systematic search criteria. Less than ten studies considered air quality and health in the WBPA (as opposed to only air quality) and of these studies, only a few collected human health data in relation to air pollution exposure. Identified studies together showed that air quality is a problem in the WBPA, with ambient air quality levels often exceeding national ambient air quality standards. Based on the findings, we recommend that more focused health studies be conducted in the WBPA to better understand the air pollution-related health burden at the population and the individual level. Such studies will help bolster the baseline evidence of the impacts of air pollution on human health and wellbeing in the WBPA and support decision-making in the future

Recombination landscape dimorphism and sex chromosome evolution in the dioecious plant Rumex hastatulus

There is growing evidence from diverse taxa for sex differences in the genomic landscape of recombination, but the causes and consequences of these differences remain poorly understood. Strong recombination landscape dimorphism between the sexes could have important implications for the dynamics of sex chromosome evolution because low recombination in the heterogametic sex can favour the spread of sexually antagonistic alleles. Here, we present a sex-specific linkage map and revised genome assembly of Rumex hastatulus and provide the first evidence and characterization of sex differences in recombination landscape in a dioecious plant. We present data on significant sex differences in recombination, with regions of very low recombination in males covering over half of the genome. This pattern is evident on both sex chromosomes and autosomes, suggesting that pre-existing differences in recombination may have contributed to sex chromosome formation and divergence. Our analysis of segregation distortion suggests that haploid selection due to pollen competition occurs disproportionately in regions with low male recombination. We hypothesize that sex differences in the recombination landscape have contributed to the formation of a large heteromorphic pair of sex chromosomes in R. hastatulus, but more comparative analyses of recombination will be important to investigate this hypothesis further.This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.Peer reviewe

Skin cancer awareness among 1 271 Black Africans in South Africa

Little is known about levels of awareness and perceptions of skin cancer among Africans living in Africa. This study assessed skin cancer awareness among 1271 deeply pigmented South Africans. Participants (n = 642 males vs n = 629 females) were aware of skin cancer (79%) with more females than males being aware of skin cancer (P = 0.02). Majority of all participants had never checked their skin for signs or symptoms of skin cancer (90%). Palms of hands and soles of feet were the least recognized anatomic sites for skin cancer development, despite these sites being the common sites for acral lentiginous melanoma in individuals with deeply pigmented skin. Results suggest a need for targeted skin cancer awareness among population groups with dark skin on identification, screening, and early detection, professional training for healthcare personnel and content on skin cancer in deeply pigmented skin in medical curricula.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/175110972021-07-01hj2020Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog