This study investigated the level of satisfaction among consumers of special tea (Monsonia burkeana) in the Capricorn District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa. It sought to identify the factors that influenced this satisfaction. A total of 225 respondents were selected using snowball sampling, and primary data were collected through structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse consumer profiles and satisfaction levels, while multinomial logistic regression determined the factors influencing satisfaction across four categories: “Not satisfied at all”, “Satisfied”, “Not sure”, and “Highly satisfied”. The results revealed an average respondent age of 29.95 years and an average annual tea consumption of 4.684 uses, with over 50% of both male and female respondents expressing satisfaction. Regression analysis indicated that market access, cultural influences, income level, and the person introducing the tea significantly influenced dissatisfaction relative to high satisfaction. The income level was the only significant factor distinguishing “Satisfied” from “Highly satisfied”. Gender, age, marital status, and employment type were significant predictors for “Not sure” compared to “Highly satisfied”. These findings highlight the importance of developing the medicinal plant market, promoting cultural education, and implementing sustainable cultivation and conservation practices for Monsonia burkeana. Efforts to improve market access and address income disparities are also necessary to enhance consumer satisfaction and ensure the tea’s continued availability and cultural relevance.

The health of employees is so paramount for employee productivity. While emphasis is often placed on the physical health of employees, less emphasis is placed on the psychological or mental health of the employees. Similarly, it seems as if health challenges are more occurring in manufacturing industries, but the service organizations employees are as well susceptible to mental health challenges. Understanding the predictive factors to mental health challenges therefore becomes imperative. It is on this note that the present research examines how employee mental health is predicted by work safety measures like perceived workplace safety, work overload and pay satisfaction. The workplace safety variables include perception of job, co-worker, supervisor, management, and safety programs. A cross sectional survey method was adopted, using ex-post-facto research design. Data were gathered from 258 employees, including 150 (58.1%) females and 108 (41.9%) males of a non-governmental organization. Correlation and regression analyses were used to analyze data obtained from the standardized psychological scales that were administered. The results showed that mental health correlated positively with perceived job safety, but negatively with perceived co-worker, supervisor, management, safety programs and pay satisfaction. Workplace safety variables jointly predicted mental health, accounting for 23% variance, but only perceived job safety and supervisor safety were significant. The higher employees perceived job safety, the lower their mental health challenges. Similarly, the higher they perceived supervisor safety, the lower their mental health issues. Pay satisfaction accounted for 3% variance in mental health, and the higher the pay satisfaction, the lower the level of employee mental health issues. It is implied that the human resource unit of service organizations should intermittently examine their organizations to identify and prevent possible job and supervisor safety threats. Supervisors should be trained on how to be discrete in communicating safety measures to subordinates so that it will not boomerang to hamper mental health. The human resources unit should also intermittently organize workshop, training, and employee-assisted programs for younger and lower grade employees on adaptive mechanisms for reducing mental health challenges.

Public recreation hubs play an important role in enhancing physical activities, social contacts, and the health status of a community. The quality of the experience in such a setting influences user satisfaction and dedication; however, there are limited studies that can adapt well-advanced conceptual frameworks to capture unique characteristics of the public recreation feature. This study investigates user expectations and perceptions of service quality within public recreation hubs in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Data collection was obtained through a cross-section of 385 respondents using a SERVQUAL instrument from 22 recreational hubs. Various statistical analyses were performed, of which the EFA produced a nine-factor solution and not the customary five SERVQUAL dimensions. Important findings include the emergence of an intersection of the constructs of empathy and assurance, thereby suggesting that the dimensions are perceived as connected in the context of relational services. In addition, program quality and community engagement came out as two other important dimensions, representing the expectation for pluralism in provision, or inclusiveness and participation. Demographic differences were significant, gender differences existed in the perception of tangibles and reliability. It provides useful recommendations for managers of recreational hubs and policymakers. It could improve tangible factors with standard maintenance activities, improved infrastructure, and coordinated operational routines that improve its reliability. Targeted training among the staff for empathy and reassurance, and programming targeted to meet demographic needs, can be helpful in serving the various needs. Community building strategies, such as participatory planning and outreach programs, help make the people who feel included in them and loyal to facilities stay. It will not only help in offering better service delivery but also ensure that facilities within such public recreation hubs last long. This work contributes to service quality theory because it applies the SERVQUAL framework in a community-based recreational environment and shows its practical benefit in service delivery improvement of public services. Further work should adopt longitudinal methods and multi-regional analyses in the development and refinement of such findings to enhance generalisability across settings. Results have important implications for the development of user-focused, sustainable public recreation services compatible with changing community needs.

The Oued Kert watershed in Morocco is essential for local biodiversity and agriculture, yet it faces significant challenges due to meteorological drought. This research addresses an urgent issue by aiming to understand the impacts of drought on vegetation, which is crucial for food security and water resource management. Despite previous studies on drought, there are significant gaps, including a lack of specific analyses on the seasonal effects of drought on vegetation in this under-researched region, as well as insufficient use of appropriate analytical tools to evaluate these relationships. We utilized the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to analyze the relationship between precipitation and vegetation health. Our results reveal a very strong correlation between SPI and NDVI in spring (98%) and summer (97%), while correlations in winter and autumn are weaker (66% and 55%). These findings can guide policymakers in developing appropriate strategies and contribute to crop planning and land management. Furthermore, this study could serve as a foundation for awareness and education initiatives on the sustainable management of water and land resources, thereby enhancing the resilience of local ecosystems in the face of environmental challenges.