The rapid growth of e-commerce in South Africa has increased the demand for efficient last-mile delivery. Motorcycle delivery drivers play a crucial role in the last-mile delivery process to bridge the gap between retailers and consumers. However, these drivers face significant challenges that impact both logistical efficiency and their socio-economic well-being. This study critically analyzes media narratives on the safety and working conditions of motorcycle delivery drivers in the e-commerce sector in South Africa. The thematic analysis of newspaper articles identified recurring themes. This study reveals critical safety and labor vulnerabilities affecting motorcycle delivery drivers in South Africa’s e-commerce sector. Key findings include heightened risks of violence, hijackings, and road accidents, exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure and safety gear. Coupled with low wages, job insecurity, and limited benefits, these conditions expose drivers to significant precarity. Policy interventions are urgently needed for driver safety and sustainable logistics. By integrating insights from multiple disciplines, this study offers a comprehensive understanding of the complex challenges within this rapidly growing sector.

Industrial plastics have seen considerable progress recently, particularly in manufacturing non-lethal projectile holders for shock absorption. In this work, a variety of percentages of alumina (Al2O3) and carbon black (CB) were incorporated into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to investigate the additive material effect on the consistency of HDPE projectile holders. The final product with the desired properties was controlled via physical, thermal, and mechanical analysis. Our research focuses on nanocomposites with a semicrystalline HDPE matrix strengthened among various nanocomposites. In the presence of compatibility, mixtures of variable compositions from 0 to 3% by weight were prepared. The reinforcement used was verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used for thermal property investigation. Alumina particles increased the composites’ thermal system and glass transition temperature. Mechanical experiments indicate that incorporating alumina into the matrix diminishes impact resistance while augmenting static rupture stress. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a consistent load distribution. Ultimately, we will conduct a statistical analysis to compare the experimental outcomes and translate them into mathematical answers that elucidate the impact of filler materials on the HDPE matrix.

This study was conducted to evaluate job satisfaction and problems encountered by sales consultants at ADESE shopping stores in Konya Province. The sample size was determined to be 189 participants, utilizing a non-clustered simple random sampling method by the main population rates. The research analyzed several key factors, including the demographic characteristics of the sales consultants, internal communication, teamwork and satisfaction within the unit, social and physical work environments, management style, decision-making processes, employee participation, rewards and motivation, relationships with managers, general job satisfaction, and perceptions of job-related problems. To analyze the factors affecting job satisfaction among the sales consultants, logistic regression analysis was employed. The results indicated that improvements in internal communication, social work environment, relationships with managers, management style, decision-making, and perceptions of participation had a positive influence on job satisfaction, whereas an increase in job-related problems was found to negatively impact job satisfaction.

Land use as for human-circumstance interaction is as we all know changed the global land surface sharply and continuously. Farmland abandonment is the phenomenon of going extreme of marginal of land use, which exert positive and negative impacts on our living circumstances. In order to map the extent of farmland abandonment of Zhejiang Province, we try to use the geo-big data analysis platform to perform the massive data preprocessing and map the extent of farmland abandonment of the study area based on multi-source land use and land cover data. Then we execute landscape pattern analysis using landscape pattern analysis software and spatial auto-correlation (Moran's I) analysis based on ArcGIS and Fragstats software. We found that the area of farmland is about 16.32% on account of all land use types, which is 1.89104 km2. While the whole area of FA is 1.72 × 108 m2, and the farmland abandonment ratio is 1.65%. AF's area is about 1.95 × 109 m2, and the continuous cultivation ratio is 18.69%. The landscape fragmentation, landscape aggregation and landscape diversity of FA, AF and FL are different. At the same time, the spatial auto-correlation of FA and AF are dominant high congregation and low discrete. At last, we compared our calculated results with the existed research results which demonstrate our research does scientific convincible. We also make futural prospects prediction and show the research deficiency as well as bring out some policy implications based on our research, which means build proper land use management regulation and decrease the farmland abandonment on account of the premise of suitable land use policies.

Potassium is an essential macronutrient for living creatures on earth and in plants, it plays a very significant role in determining the overall health of the plants. Although potassium is present in the soil, it is present in a form that is inaccessible to the plants, and hence synthetic harmful non-eco-friendly potassium fertilizers are used. To overcome this problem, the use of eco-friendly potassium-solubilizing bacteria comes into play. The goal of the present study was to assess the potassium-solubilizing bacteria that inhabit the farm rhizosphere, which demonstrate the presence of enzymes associated with plant growth promotion and antagonistic properties. A total of thirty-four isolates were isolated from the rhizosphere. All these isolates were subjected to a potassium solubilization test on Aleksandrov agar medium, out of which fourteen were found to possess potassium solubilizing ability. On the basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the most potential potassium-solubilizing bacterium was identified as Proteus mirabilis PSCR17. The plant growth promoting abilities and production of biocontrol enzymes of this isolate were evaluated, and the results indicated, in addition to potassium solubilization, the isolate was positive for indole acetic acid production, hydrogen cyanide production, amylase, catalase, cellulase, chitinase, and protease. The use of potassium fertilizers is harmful to the environment and ecosystem; hence, this study concludes that P. mirabilis PSCR17 can be used as a substitute for chemical potassium fertilizers to improve the growth and biocontrol traits of the plants in a sustainable manner after further research.