Using mobile phones to disseminate health information to students is a useful, convenient, and cost-effective health-promotion strategy. This research has contributed to the body of knowledge concerning the applicability of the UTAUT framework to study the adoption of technology and provided useful information to guide future research and implementation of mHealth initiatives.
Orientation: Details of applicants’ secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be a useful screening tool when processing large applicant pools. Here, the relationships between secondary education (incorporating subject choice) and the reasoning and visual perceptual speed components of the Differential Aptitude Test are explored.Research purpose: The objective of the study was to determine whether type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be used as a substitute for reasoning (verbal and non-verbal) and/or visual perceptual speed aptitudes in the selection of operators for an automotive plant in South Africa.Motivation for the study: The motivation for this study arose from the evident gap in academic literature as well as the selection needs of the automotive industry.Research design, approach and method: This research adopted a quantitative approach. It involved a non-probability convenience quota sample of 2463 work-seeking applicants for an automotive operator position in South Africa. Participants completed a biographical questionnaire and three subtests from the Differential Aptitude Test battery. The Chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) and selected cognitive aptitudes.Main findings: The study’s findings revealed statistically and practically significant relationships between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice), verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and visual perceptual speed. Broad performance levels in the three aptitude subtests employed in this study were significantly associated with the type of matriculation certificate held by applicants. The findings specifically indicated that the secondary education types that included the subjects mathematics or both mathematics and science were associated with higher levels of performance in the three aptitudes. This had consequences for these applicants’ success in the screening process which could lead to enhanced chances of employability.Practical and managerial implications: Applicants’ type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be regarded as a key criterion in human resource selection and be instructive in the screening process. This could reduce the candidate pool prior to more costly psychometric assessments.Contribution or value-add: The findings are specifically relevant to the South African automotive industry in terms of their human resource selection practices. The insights gained from the findings may also be used as a guide to human resource practitioners in the selection of similar level employees in other working contexts. The study makes a case for a multiple-hurdle approach to selection.
The relationship between type of secondary education and subject choice with technically oriented aptitudes for automotive operators.
Remaining relevant to customers and retaining customers who could consider booking online, requires travel agents to modify their marketing strategies. Travel agents need to find new ways to add value for customers and suppliers to reinstate their roles in the travel distribution process and ultimately retain their customers. A total of 600 travel agencies in South Africa participated in the study through the completion of an online survey. The data analysis technique used for the study was path analysis. The findings stipulate that travel agency owners and managers believe that providing differentiated products to their leisure customers, is the key to winning back lost customers and keeping existing customers. Travel agency owners and managers further indicated that this is an existing reintermediation strategy that they plan to practise in the future as well. It is therefore recommended that travel agents focus on delivering high-quality service to win back lost customers and thus reintermediate their businesses.
Orientation: The rapid development of information communication technology (ICT) has changed much of contemporary society. ICT’s influence extends to the working context with ramifications not only for employees but also for the entire organisation.Research purpose: The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the behavioural intention of a sample of employees at a traditional higher education institution to make use of social media within the workplace.Motivation for the study: Social media has become a common tool within society for communication and networking purposes. An understanding of the factors that influence behavioural intention to use social media within the workplace can assist the organisation to better manage social media usage within the workplace.Research design, approach and method: The research adopted the positivism paradigm with a quantitative research approach. The data were analysed making use of exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. A traditional higher education institution was chosen as the research site for the study, relying on a convenience sample (n = 134) and data gathered using the work-related social media scale and behavioural intention to use scale.Main findings: Although most employees make use of social media for problem-solving and communication purposes already in the workplace, organisations should allow their employees to help manage their reputation on social media.Practical and managerial implications: An understanding of the factors that influence behavioural intention to use social media within the workplace can serve as a useful precursor for both employee and organisational-specific interventions. This study has specific relevance to the use of ICT platforms, such as social media, in traditional higher education institutions in South Africa. The study’s results are therefore useful to both employees as end-users and managers as drivers of such interventions in the workplace.Contribution: This study is one of the first within a South African work context to investigate social media usage in a traditional higher education institution and proposes a workplace social media usage framework (WSMUF) that helps not only employees but also the entire organisation to predict intention to use social media in the workplace.
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