007 is Proudly South African

I am a huge 007 fan and belong firmly in the Daniel Craig camp (even though you'll find no argument from me that Sean Connery was the best James Bond ever) so image my delight to see that Craig is Proudly South African!

Cherryflava has posted a pic (click on the image to enlarge) that clearly shows Craig walking with a South African flag as a keyring, they humorously also speculate that the entire tabloid reading United States population [will be] wondering and speculating if the keyring is a symbol of his sexual orientation or the logo of the new hybrid he's driving.

For other die-hard 007 fans - the good news is that the new movie, Quantum of Solace should be released during the course of the next month.

October is in the Pink!

October is not just the "mooiste, mooiste maand" as Leipoldt referred to it, it is also International Breast Cancer awareness month.

Breast cancer is the 4th biggest cancer cause of death of South Africans, the 2nd biggest for women and the 18th biggest for men (remember 1% of breast cancer patients are men) and has overtaken cervical cancer as the most common cancer among women in South Africa.

As a survivor of a breast cancer scare last year, when I was diagnosed with a non cancerous tumor, I want to urge all my lecturers to regularly check your body for lumps and consult with your doctors immediately, because it is the only way to get peace of mind and the necessary treatment.

Here are a few websites with more information:

• CANSA
• Breastcancer.org
• Dept. of Health

Zambian Road Rehabilitation

Copyright: danzo08

The African Development Bank has released a report on the Zambian Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Project, a $m 50 project to to stimulate economic growth and contribute to poverty reduction through appropriate investment in road infrastructure, adequate policy and institutional reforms, and enhanced road sector management.




The report outlines the Project objectives, description and location as well as the safeguarding policies and preparation plans.

New books!

For Information & Knowledge Management:

1. Semantics in business systems : the savvy manager's guide : the discipline underlying web services, business rules, and the Semantic Web / Dave McComb. San Francisco, Calif. : Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, c2004.

For Sport & Movement Studies

1. Hard work : defining physical work performance requirements /Brian J. Sharkey, Paul O. Davis. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2008.
2. Fitness professional's handbook / Edward T. Howley, B. Don Franks. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2007
3. Exercise prescription : a case study approach to the ACSM guidelines / David P. Swain, Brian C. Leutholtz. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2007
4. Antioxidants and exercise / Jan Karlsson. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c1997.
5. Expert performance in sports : advances in research on sport expertise / Janet L. Starkes, K. Anders Ericsson, editors. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2003
6. Biomechanics of musculoskeletal injury / William C. Whiting, Ronald F. Zernicke. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2008.
7. Physiological aspects of sport training and performance / Jay Hoffman. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2002.
8. Physiology of exercise and healthy aging / Albert W. Taylor, Michel J. Johnson. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2008.
9. Overtraining athletes : personal journeys in sport / Sean O. Richardson, Mark B. Andersen, Tony Morris. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2008.
10. Total training for young champions / Tudor O. Bompa. Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, c2000.
11. Powerlifting / Barney Groves. Champaign, Ill. : Human Kinetics, c2000.

As always if you want me to keep one of the titles for you, please let me know.

Operations newsletter

The newest edition of the APICS (the Association for Operation Management) newsletter is out and here is what it covers:

• Will Mexico Become the New China? View

Many companies that had relocated Mexican manufacturing operations to the Far East in order to take advantage of China’s cheaper workforce now are heading back to Mexico. Appreciating Chinese currency, rising labor costs, and soaring oil prices are driving this change, especially for those companies targeting the U.S. market.

• Firms Adapt Strategies to Counter Oil Costs View

Moving products to markets around the United States is becoming increasingly difficult as the price of oil continues to rise, challenging firm leaders to reconsider manufacturing and shipping strategies.

• Bringing Business to India Remains a Challenge View

Company leaders are hesitant to take up opportunities in India, despite the country’s booming economy and highly educated population because supply chain and logistics issues have significantly increased costs.

• Record High Costs Mark End of Cheap Logistics View

Statistics show that the cost of logistics has been constantly rising due to fuel and inventory carrying prices, American Shipper reports.

Brand magazine suspended

The board of award-winning B®AND magazine has decided to suspend publication of the print version of the title with immediate effect while founder, editor and publisher, Di Paice, takes a much needed sabbatical. The decision has been taken for personal health reasons - Di has been fighting cancer for three years.

They are still leaving the website up in the interim for those who wish to browse back issues for free. All you need to do is register to access the magazine.

Cause related ads can raise sales by 74%

According to the 2008 Cone/Duke University Behavioral Cause Study there is a very strong link between the choices consumers make and cause related marketing.

The Study consists of a two phase research methodology. The first phase was conducted throughout October and December 2007 in a behavioral lab study at Duke University among a random sample of 182 participants, ranging in age from 18- to 62-years-old. The second phase, conducted online in July 2008, consisted of a demographically representative U.S. sample of 1,051 adults, including 625 women and 426 men.

Here are some of the highlights:

• 85% say it is acceptable for companies to include causes in their marketing (compared to 66% in 1993)
• 79% would be likely to switch brands if the other brand has a good cause associated with it
• 38% had purchased a product associated with a cause in the previous 12 months (compared to 20% in 1993)

Future trend they have identified include:

• Social Consciousness Elevation

Companies will serve as a catalyst in increasing understanding and fostering empathy among mainstream consumers about the ways in which complex, often unfamiliar global issues, such as access to clean water, human rights and gender equality, impact business and the health of society.

• Product Innovation

Companies will increasingly create new products or market existing ones with an eye toward manufacturing responsible goods that meet the everyday needs of their customers.

• Widespread Collaboration

Companies will look beyond NGOs as the sole source of their credibility halo.

• Global Customization

Multinationals will steer away from focusing on a single issue to creating global citizenship platforms, tailoring their efforts to meet the needs of key markets.

• Stakeholder Customization

To harness the passion and actions of their stakeholders and to deepen engagement, companies will identify legitimate opportunities to co-create cause efforts.

• Transparent Operation

To effectively build trust among even the most skeptical stakeholders, companies will disclose not only the details of a specific cause program, but also of the peripheral business issues that impact their actions

• Business-to-Business Translation

Business-to-business companies will become more accountable to their unique stakeholders, including employees, customers and vendors, and will brand, package and communicate their citizenship efforts.

• Measurement and Justification

Companies will be forced to redefine measurement metrics no longer based on outputs, but on the outcomes for society and their business.

Africa's top books

Africa’s 100 best books of the 20th century is an exhibition currently on display the 6th floor foyer exhibition area of the Kingsway library.

Are you familiar with top 12 authors Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt), Meshack Asare (Ghana), Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe), Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya), Thomas Mofolo (Lesotho)?

Visit our exhibition and extend your knowledge and understanding of the great wealth of fiction and non-fiction written by Africans about their lives and societies in the 20th century.

Nielsen newsletter

Nielsen Consumer Insight has just released their October 2008 newsletter covering the following:

• Honey, We Acculturated the Kids!

Trying to tap the Hispanic market? You’ll need to take nativity (country of origin), linguistic ability and the influence of children into account to shape an effective marketing campaign and media strategy...

• Welcome Back to the Live Commercial.

As the struggle continues to increase the visibility of brands, an evolution of storyline product placements where brands join shows as near “cast members” is taking place. Advertisers are reaching deep into their playbooks back to product placement’s roots—the live commercial....

• Out with the Old – In With the New.

Retail shelf space is limited. A new item in, typically means an old item out. But delisting items can lead to severe opportunity costs. Knowing which items to delist — and why — are just as important as knowing which new items to launch...

• Private Label: What’s Really Driving Growth?

Long a stalwart of budget-conscious consumers, private label goods have enjoyed a sales juggernaut during these financially uncertain times. Or so it would seem. Turns out, growth is driven more by higher commodity prices than consumers shifting away from traditional brands...

• Brazil – A Happy Place to Live.

With strong financials and a diverse population, Brazil’s optimistic consumers are looking to their huge array of retail choices to help them trade up, as the largest economy in South America expands its presence around the world...

In the Trend Index Top 10 Digitally Downloaded Songs were:
1. So What - Pink
2. Whatever You Like - T.I
3. Disturbia - Rihanna

The biggest motor show started!

The Paris Motor Show 2008 started on Saturday and traditionally brings together all the major automotive manufacturers and the main equipment manufacturers worldwide. Professionals from across the globe, from the entire industry and all specialist domains, come along to the show to meet the exhibitors.

This year the show will feature:

• Manufacturers of private cars
• Manufacturers of utility and company vehicles
• Body builders and utility vehicle customisers
• Designers
• Manufacturers of minicars
• Equipment manufacturers and car parts makers
• Tyre manufacturers
• Manufacturers of navigation systems
• Commodity Suppliers
• Energy producers (oil companies, alternative fuels etc.)
• Insurance companies
• Leasing and finance companies
• Short-term and long-term rental specialists
• Service companies (motorway services, infrastructures etc.)
• Government and institutional organisations
• Training organisations
• Media
• Tuners & accessory manufacturers
• Specialists in on-board and portable audio and multimedia
• Manufacturers of quads, buggies, and karts
• Car and karting race tracks
• Race driver schools

Are Obama and McCain on Twitter?

www.placer.ca.gov
The upcoming US elections is using social media more than any other campaign, this according to a MarketingVOX report.

* Online Video
YouTube is used to present sponsored debates, campaign-oriented efforts and professional broadcasts, as well as clips submitted by users that embarrass or laud the leading candidate, eMarketer predicted YouTube would "decide" the outcome of the November Presidential elections.

If you doubt the impact, Palin's acceptance speech as Vice-President for the Republicans drew 860,469 views on YouTube, while Obama's drew 2.2 million views.

* Cell phones
Obama has used cell phones to invited users to be updated on the campaign if they provided their mobile numbers on BarackObama.com

McCain has not jet joined this type of marketing, but apparently statistics show cell phones are better for reaching Democrats than Republicans

* Search
McCain outspent Obama 22-to-1 in search advertising in August. One analysis observed McCain's search ads are generally also more targeted than Obama's, though neither did especially well.

* Social Networking
MySpace added a political channel with voting info and links to candidates' MySpace pages and blogs, while Gather.com launched Create Debate, a forum where everyday people can submit questions to candidates to answer at leisure. Not be outdone Facebook set up the 2008 Presidential Election application, with election news updates and debate groups.

Can Apple make you more creative?

Can using Apple branded merchandise make you more creative? And will the Disney brand make you more honest?

This is what a study conducted by Fitzsimons, G, Ghartrand, T and Fitzsimons, GJ set out to investigate. Their findings were recently published in Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How Apple Makes You "Think Different" in the Journal of Consumer Research; June 2008, Vol. 35(1), p21-35.

The journal is embargoed (so if you want it please request it via interlibrary loans) but here is the abstract:

This article first examines whether brand exposure elicits automatic behavioral effects as does exposure to social primes.

Results support the translation of these effects:

• participants primed with Apple logos behave more creatively than IBM primed and controls;
• Disney-primed participants behave more honestly than E!- primed participants and controls.

Second, this article investigates the hypothesis that exposure to goal-relevant brands (i.e., those that represent a positively valenced characteristic) elicits behavior that is goal directed in nature.

Three experiments demonstrate that the primed behavior showed typical goal-directed qualities, including increased performance postdelay, decreased performance postprogress, and moderation by motivation.

Cell phones and politics in Africa

Copyright: verzerk

Forbes published an article on the use of cell phones and the Internet in elections in Africa:

--During the Sierra Leonean elections of 2007, National Election Watch coordinated 500 election observers who used mobile phones to text in reports of electoral irregularities.
--In Kenya's 2007 polls, the opposition Orange Democratic Movement announced its own results--based on the party's election monitors--two days before the official results were declared, claiming that its candidate, Raila Odinga, had won by about 400,000 votes.
--In Zimbabwe's March elections, independent observers and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claimed to have figures showing that Morgan Tsvangirai had won 49% of the vote, limiting the ability of incumbent President Robert Mugabe's supporters to claim victory.

--The relatively unregulated explosion of radio stations, manned by often untrained presenters, has resulted in accusations that irresponsible broadcasts have contributed to civil conflict in such countries as South Africa, Rwanda and Nigeria. There is some evidence that callers to talk radio shows helped to fan the flames of ethnic conflict during the recent "Kenya crisis."
--Fake documents on Internet sites were used by supporters of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to discredit Odinga prior to the 2007 election. One forged document purported to record a secret agreement that committed Odinga to establish a sharia state in return for the support of Muslim leaders.
--In Zimbabwe, the ruling party "leaked" forged documents designed to taint the opposition MDC as national traitors on the Internet. The files suggested that the party was funded, and its policy priorities specified, by white farmers and the British government.