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Librarians’ book selection practices and budget fluctuations in the City of Cape Town, South Africa
(Universty of the Western Cape, 2025) Chanderdeo, Kerisha
One of the main purposes of a library is to disseminate information to the community it serves. Collection development, which is the process of building and maintaining a library’s collection is, thus an essential part of library services. The selection of materials that align with community needs and interests is an especially important aspect of collection development. With reference to the Helen Haines theory of book selection which is community-centred and highlights the role of lifelong learning in book selection, this research investigated the book selection practices of librarians from the City of Cape Town Library and Information Service. It assessed the role of the current Collection Development Plan (CDP) in book selection; it gathered insights on selection tools utilized by librarians performing book selection and explored how declining library budgets have affected the book selection process. This research utilized a two-pronged mixed methods approach. Firstly, electronic questionnaires were distributed to 75 libraries to gather the initial research data. Interviews were then conducted with 5 librarians to gain a more in-depth look at the book selection process. This research found that book selection librarians within the City of Cape Town are highly experienced and that the selection process is a highly consultative one, which involves both staff and communities. Another key finding was that participants considered the CDP to be outdated. Finally, the data suggest that book selection for community libraries are more affected by budget fluctuations than regional or city-wide libraries. The study thus recommends that the CDP should be updated in consultation with the different levels of library staff for whom it is intended. Another recommendation is that the methods in which budgets are allocated to the different library tiers need to be re-evaluated to ensure that community libraries are not unfairly disadvantaged as a result of budget cuts.
Value-adding effect of foreign direct investment inflow on manufacturing: evidence from South Africa
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2025) Tita, Anthanasius Fomum; Obalade, Adefemi A; Mano, Moreblessing Muneyinazvo
The manufacturing sector drives economic growth and structural transformation by fostering job creation, innovation and exports. Achieving and sustaining high-income status is challenging without manufacturing development, except for oil-rich nations and small financial hubs. Existing studies have overlooked the relationship between foreign direct investment and manufacturing value-added in emerging markets such as South Africa. This investigation examines the influence of foreign direct investment on manufacturing value added in South Africa. We utilised annual data from 1970 to 2020 and analysed them using linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL and NARDL) models to account for possible asymmetric effects. The ARDL analysis reveals that both foreign direct investment inflow and domestic investment negatively impact manufacturing value added in the short and long runs. Under asymmetry analysis, adverse shocks to foreign direct investment negatively affect manufacturing value added more than positive shocks. Positive and negative shocks in trade openness significantly boost MVA, highlighting globalisation’s role in economic growth. These findings underscore the nuanced dynamics between investment flows, trade openness and manufacturing performance. By incorporating asymmetric effects, our study provides new insights for policymakers. The results suggest that strengthening domestic resources mobilisation can support manufacturing growth, reduce reliance on external capital inflows and mitigate vulnerabilities linked to geopolitical risks.
Constructing pentagonal topological defects in carbon aerogels for flexible zinc-air batteries
(Wiley-VCH GmbH, 2025) Iwuoha, Emmanuel; Huang, Yongfa; Li, Tingzhen
In the context of energy conversion, the design and synthesis of high-performance metal-free carbon electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial. Herein, a one-step nitrogen doping/extraction strategy is proposed to fabricate 3D nitrogen-doped carbon aerogels (NCA-Cl) with rich pentagonal carbon topological defects. The NCA-Cl electrocatalyst exhibits superb ORR activity, displaying a half-wave potential of 0.89 V vs RHE and 0.74 V vs RHE under alkaline (0.1 m KOH) and acidic (0.1 m HClO4) media, respectively, thanks to the balanced *OOH intermediate adsorption and desorption induced by the pentagonal carbon topological defects and nitrogen dopants. The aqueous zinc-air battery (ZAB) equipped with the NCA-Cl cathode delivers a peak power density of 206.6 mW cm−2, a specific capacity of 810.6 mAh g−1, and a durability of 400 h, and the flexible ZAB also performed convincingly. This work provides an effective strategy for the formation of topological carbon defects for the enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity of carbon-based catalysts.
Longitudinal impact of past-year reproductive coercion on contraceptive use dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from eight population-based cohorts
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Omoluabi, Elizabeth; Wood, Shannon N; Thomas, Haley L
Background: Reproductive coercion (RC) is a type of abuse where a partner intentionally attempts to interfere with fertility through deception or violence, often by manipulating one's contraceptive use or reproductive decision-making. Cross-sectional studies on the magnitude of RC across sub-Saharan Africa have noted associations with contraceptive use. No studies have longitudinally examined RC experiences as related to future contraceptive dynamics, including discontinuation or forgoing use altogether. Methods: Two rounds of longitudinal population-based cohorts across eight sites in sub-Saharan Africa, from November 2020 to January 2023, were used to prospectively examine past-year RC's impact on future contraceptive dynamics (discontinuation and switching vs. continuation for contraceptive users at baseline; adoption vs. continued non-use for contraceptive non-users at baseline) using bivariate and multivariable multinomial and logistic regression. Findings: Minimal differences in women's past-year RC experiences were observed over a two-year period. In many settings, RC prevalence decreased. Only in Uganda did past-year RC increase between rounds (15.8% to 17.8%). RC's impact on contraceptive dynamics over one year differed by setting. In Burkina Faso, women with past-year RC had a three-fold increased risk of discontinuing contraception, as compared to continuing (RRR = 2.63; 95% CI = 1.28–5.42; p<0.01). In Uganda, past-year RC was marginally associated with reduced odds of contraceptive adoption, compared to continued non-use (p<0.1). Interpretation: In this first longitudinal study of RC, trajectories varied across settings, as did RC's impact on contraception, affirming the importance of context. Future work should clarify RC trajectories and drivers thereof. Providers must be aware of RC leading to potential discontinuation. Contraceptive provision must be flexible and reflect women's life circumstances, including partner dynamics. Funding: This work was supported, in whole, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [ INV-046501 and INV-009639]. Under the grant conditions of the Foundation, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License has already been assigned to the Author Accepted Manuscript version that might arise from this submission.
Towards cosmography of the local universe
(National University of Ireland Maynooth, 2024) Adamek, Julian; Clarkson, Chris; Durrer, Ruth
Anisotropies in the distance–redshift relation of cosmological sources are expected due to large-scale inhomogeneities in the local Universe. When the observed sources are tracing a large-scale matter flow in a general spacetime geometry, the distance–redshift relation with its anisotropies can be described with a geometrical prediction that generalises the well-known Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker result. Furthermore, it turns out that a finite set of multipole coefficients contain the full information about a finite-order truncation of the distance–redshift relation of a given observer. The multipoles of the distance–redshift relation are interesting new cosmological observables that have a direct physical interpretation in terms of kinematical quantities of the underlying matter flow. Using light cones extracted from N-body simulations we quantify the anisotropies expected in a Λ cold dark matter cosmology by running a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis on the observed data. In this observational approach the survey selection implements an implicit smoothing scale over which the effective rest frame of matter is fitted. The perceived anisotropy therefore depends significantly on the redshift range and distribution of sources. We find that the multipoles of the expansion rate, as well as the observer’s velocity with respect to the large-scale matter flow, can be determined robustly with our approach.