The global adoption of sustainable development practices is gaining momentum, with an increasing emphasis on balancing the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainability. This study aims to assess the current state of these pillars within the uMlalazi Local Municipality, South Africa, and evaluate the initiatives in place to address related challenges. The purpose is to gain a deeper understanding of how effectively these three pillars are being addressed in the context of local governance. Using qualitative research methods, the study gathered data from a sample of five key informants, including three local government officials, one councillor, and one chief information officer from the local police. Data was collected through open-ended interview questions, with responses recorded, transcribed, and analysed for thematic content. The findings reveal significant gaps in the municipality’s approach to sustainability, including the absence of formalized trading areas, limited community input in planning and decision-making, high crime rates, and persistent unemployment. These issues were found to be interlinked with other challenges, such as inefficiencies in solid waste management. Additionally, the study confirms that the three pillars of sustainability are not treated equally, with economic and social aspects often receiving less attention compared to environmental concerns. This highlights the need for the municipality to focus on formalizing trading areas, encouraging local economic growth, and enhancing public participation in governance. By implementing incentives for greater community involvement and addressing the imbalances between the sustainability pillars, uMlalazi can make significant progress toward achieving more sustainable development.
Segregating the scavenging processes from the lubrication methodology is a very effective way of improving two-stroke cycle engine durability. The application of stepped or twin diameter pistons is one such method that has repeatedly shown significantly greater durability over comparable crankcase scavenged engines together with an ability to operate on neat fuel without any added oil. This research study presents the initial results observed from a gasoline/indolene fuelled stepped piston engine ultimately intended for Hybrid Electric Vehicle and/or Range Extender Electric Vehicle application using hydrogen fuelling. Hydrogen fuelling offers the potential to significantly reduce emissions, with near zero emission operation possible, and overcoming the serious issues of range anxiety in modern transport solutions. The low environmental impact is discussed along with results from 1-d Computational Fluid Dynamic modelling. The engine type is a low-cost solution countering the financial challenges of powertrain duplication evident with Hybrid Electric and Range Extender Electric Vehicles.
This research looks into the differences in technological practices across Gen-X, Gen-Y, and Gen-Z employees in the workplace, with an emphasis on motivation, communication, collaboration, and productivity gaps. The study uses a systematic literature review to identify factors that contribute to these variations, taking into account each generation’s distinct experiences, communication methods, working attitudes, and cultural backgrounds. Bridging generational gaps, providing ongoing training, and incorporating cross-generational and technology-enhanced practices are all required in today’s workplace. This study compares the dominating workplace generations, Gen-X and Gen-Y, with the emerging Gen-Z. A review of the literature from 2010 to 2023, which was narrowed down from 1307 to 20 significant studies, emphasizes the importance of organizational management adapting to generational changes in order to increase productivity and maintain a healthy workplace. The study emphasizes the need of creating effective solutions for handling generational variations in workplace.
The food industry progressively requires innovative and environmentally safe packaging materials with increased physical, mechanical, and barrier properties. Due to its unique properties, cellulose has several potential applications in the food industry as a packaging material, stabilizing agent, and functional food ingredient. A coffee pod is a filter of cellulosic, non-rigid, ready-made material containing ground portions and pressed coffee prepared in dedicated machines. In our study, we obtained, with homogenization and sonication, cellulose micro/nanoparticles from three different coffee pods. It is known that nanoparticulate systems can enter live cells and, if ingested, could exert alterations in gastrointestinal tract cells. Our work aims to investigate the response of HT-29 cells to cellulose nanoparticles from coffee pods. In particular, the subcellular effects between coffee-embedded nanocellulose (CENC) and cellulose nanoparticles (NC) were compared. Finally, we analysed the pathologic condition (Cytolethal Distending Toxin (CDT) from Campylobacter jejuni) on the same cells conditioned by NC and CENC. We evidenced that, for the cellular functional features analysed, NC and CENC pre-treatments do not worsen cell response to the C. jejuni CDT, also pointing out an improvement of the autophagic flux, particularly for CENC preconditioning.
This study evaluated the efficiency and productivity of the manufacturing industries of Singapore. Singapore is one of the world’s most competitive countries and manufacturing giants. All 21 manufacturing industries as classified by Singapore’s Department of Statistics were included in the study as decision-making units (DMUs). Using the Malmquist DEA on data spanning 2015–2021, we found that excerpt for the Paper and Paper product industry, all industries recorded positive total factor productivity (TFP). TFP ranged from 0.977 to 1.481. In terms of technical efficiency, 14 out of 21 industries showed positive efficiency change. The highest TFP was recorded in 2020 and the lowest in 2016. By measuring and improving efficiency, industries in Singapore can achieve cost savings, increase output, and enhance their competitiveness in the global marketplace. In addition, efficiency measurement can help policymakers identify potential areas for improvement and develop targeted policies to promote sustainable economic growth. Given these benefits, performance measurement is inevitable for industries and policymakers in Singapore to achieve economic objectives. Manufacturing industries need to find ways to manage the size and scale of operations as we flag this as an area for improvement.
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