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Access status: Open Access ,
Future climatically stable habitat of a vulnerable medicinal tree, Warburgia salutaris (Pepper-bark tree), overlaps with some protected areas in southern Africa
(Universidade Estadual da Paraiba/Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco., 2026-06-10) Jinga, Percy; Manyangadze, Tawanda
Climate change will affect the distribution of medicinal plant species in sub-Saharan Africa, with potential negative consequences to especially rural and poor communities that depend on them for traditional medicines. The aim of the study was to determine future climatically stable habitat of Warburgia salutaris, a commonly used vulnerable medicinal plant species. An ensemble species distribution model (SDM) was built from eight algorithms and used to estimate the current and future distributions of the species. Six environmental variables and 146 occurrence records were used to calibrate individual SDMs before combining them into the ensemble SDM. The ensemble SDM was projected to 2041‒2060 and 2081‒2100 under two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), namely SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5. The projections were made under three general circulation models (GCMs), which were CanESM5, IPSL-CM6A-LR and MIROC6. Results show that the current suitable habitat of the species occurs in South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Under both time periods and SSPs, the suitable habitat of the species will markedly contract, especially under SSP5-8.5 in 2081‒2100 (CanESM5 = -79 %, IPSL-CM6A-LR = -87 %, MIROC6 = -71 %). Climate refuges that overlap with the future suitable habitat of W. salutaris were identified in protected areas (PAs), such as Malalotja Nature Reserve (Eswatini), Itala Nature Reserve (South Africa), and Nyanga National Park (Zimbabwe). The climate refuges in PAs may be priority areas to introduce the species.
Access status: Open Access ,
Prevalence, knowledge and awareness of computer vision syndrome among students in a tertiary academic institution
(Springer Nature, 2026-07-09) Kwarteng, Michael Agyemang; Tagoh, Selassie; Chisayinyerwa, Vongai Carol; Chashamba, Rutendo Enia; Masiwa, Lynett Erita
Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is a common oculo-visual problem reported among active screen users. This study reports the prevalence of CVS among university students in a tertiary institution in Zimbabwe. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design with eligible participants recruited using convenience sampling. Data was collected using a self- administered online questionnaire comprising three sections: socio-demographic information, verified prevalence of computer vision syndrome (CVS-Q), and knowledge and awareness of CVS. Data was collected from 374 undergraduate students, the majority of whom were from the Faculties of Science and Engineering (30.7%) and were in their second year (32.1%). The prevalence of CVS was 35.6% (n = 133), with a slightly higher prevalence among females (38.7%) compared to males (31.5%, p = 0.158). Most affected students reported moderate symptoms, with headaches, dryness, and blurred vision being the most frequent complaints. Although 48.4% of participants had heard of CVS, detailed knowledge remained limited. While significant associations were found between CVS symptoms and several variables tested, using a digital device (p = 0.009) and a history of refractive errors (p = 0.010) were the main independent predictors of CVS knowledge. A considerable number of university students experience CVS with various common symptoms. The presence of limited knowledge and common modifiable risk factors among these students underscores the importance of targeted education and ergonomic interventions, in addition to routine vision screening within university settings, to mitigate the burden of CVS.
Chatikobo, Monica
Access status: Open Access ,
An Adaptation of a macroscale methodology to assess the direct economic losses caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe
(AOSIS, 2022-09-26) Mavhura, Emmanuel; Aryal, Komal R.
Tropical cyclones are among the costliest disasters in the world, with reported losses amounting to billions of US dollars on an annual basis. To reduce the impact of disasters including cyclones, Zimbabwe signed the Sendai Framework whose Target C is aimed at reducing the direct economic losses of disasters. Under the direction of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), an open-ended intergovernmental expert working group (OIEWG) developed a simple methodology for estimating direct disaster-economic loss. Therefore, this study tested the applicability of the OIEWG methodology in assessing the direct economic losses induced by Tropical Cyclone Idai (TCI) in Zimbabwe. The results revealed that TCI inflicted huge losses in most sectors of the economy, notably the housing, agriculture and the critical infrastructure. The sectoral analysis approach of the OIEWG methodology worked well in distinguishing direct and indirect loses as well as in underlining the need to adopt and effectively implement adequate risk reduction strategies in the built environment. Strengthening such strategies such as the ‘build back
Access status: Open Access ,
Model of quality management systems adoption in the hotel industry: A case study of hotels in Zimbabwe
(De Gruyter, 2022) Mwenje, Judy; Bhasera, Vitalis
The article is the construction of a model of quality management system (QMS) adoption in the hotel industry grounded on a case study of multiple hotels in Zimbabwe. QMSs in the hotel industry are adopted to guarantee that certain levels of quality required by customers are achieved. Achievement of certain levels of quality can result in better customer satisfaction, which is important to ensure sustainable operations for hotels. The study was concerned with the late adoption of QMSs in the hotel industry due to a number of internal and external factors. This study is an extract from a PhD project, which investigates external and internal factors affecting QMS adoption in hotel industry. To attain the objectives, interviews were conducted with hotel managers and key stakeholders, while focus groups were conducted with hotel staff to outline the factors affecting the adoption of QMSs and to get general enablers for adopting these systems. Directed content analysis and NVivo 12 were used to analyse data. The Eisenhardt’s Model of developing theory from case studies was used. The study draws upon QMSs from 1970s to 2020s. The main factors affecting adoption of QMSs were established and their interrelatedness established. The BASERA-MWENJE model of QMS adoption was developed. The model has not been tested, besides some parts of it, during work. Model differences and similarities were identified from literature to fortify the BASERA-MWENJE model of QMSs adoption. This model will be offered to the hotel industry and other industries in general to simplify and improve the adoption of QMSs under Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS) to realise Vision 2030 ‘Towards a Prosperous and Empowered Upper Middle-Income Society’.