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Reproduction is expected to carry an oxidative cost, yet in many species breeders appear to sustain lower levels of oxidative damage compared to non‐breeders. This paradox may be explained by considering the intergenerational costs of reproduction. Specifically, a reduction in oxidative damage upon transitioning to a reproductive state may represent a pre‐emptive shielding strategy to protect the next generation from intergenerational oxidative damage (IOD) – known as the oxidative shielding hypothesis. Males may be particularly likely to transmit IOD, because sperm are highly susceptible to oxidative damage. Yet, the possibility of male‐mediated IOD remains largely uninvestigated. Here, we present a conceptual and methodological framework to assess intergenerational costs of reproduction and oxidative shielding of the germline in males. We discuss variance in reproductive costs and expected payoffs of oxidative shielding according to species' life histories, and the expected impact on offspring fitness. Oxidative shielding presents an opportunity to incorporate intergenerational effects into the advancing field of life‐history evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions globally are focusing on ways and means to develop businesses and an entrepreneurial culture. Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are regarded the world over as being job creators of the future and battling more and more with large corporations which are retrenching staff, and it has fallen to the SMME sector to create employment. Consequently, governments and institutions are focusing increasingly on ensuring that entrepreneurial growth takes place. One method used almost universally is business plan competitions which are aimed at stimulating interest in business and getting people with the skills to start their own businesses. There are many of these competitions in the industry but they will only succeed if the idea is evaluated positively. If it is not, the initiative might not be able to attract funding or gain access to potential suppliers and customers. This article focuses on an analysis of success factors of business plan competitions and recommends a blueprint that can be followed -with minor country or regional adjustments - to run these competitions successfully.Keywords: business plan competition, SMME, small business, South Africa, 1. INTRODUCTIONIt is commonly accepted that business plan competitions are used worldwide to stimulate and develop business growth, i.e. to encourage the creation of new business ventures, to allow participants [...]

Bayesian approaches to the modelling of ecological systems are increasingly popular, but there are competing methods for formal model comparisons. Here, we focus on the task of performing multimodel inference through estimating posterior model weights, which encompasses uncertainties in the choice of competing model structure into the inference outputs.Model‐based approaches such as reversible‐jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (RJ‐MCMC) are flexible and allow multimodel inference, but can be complex to implement and optimise, and so we translate a model‐based approach for ecological applications using Importance Sampling to estimate the marginal likelihood of the data given a particular model. This approach allows for model comparison through the estimation of Bayes' Factors or interpretable posterior model probabilities, yielding model weights that facilitate multimodel inference through Bayesian model averaging.We demonstrate Importance Sampling with two case study investigations in animal demography: censused analysis of banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) survival where missing data are uncommon, and capture–mark–recapture analysis of European badger (Meles meles) survival where data are commonly missing.We compare outcomes of the model comparison using the Importance Sampling approach to those obtained through single‐model inference approaches using Deviance information criteria and the Watanabe–Akaike information criteria. The results of the Importance Sampling method aligns with RJ‐MCMC model comparisons while often being more straightforward to fit and optimise, particularly if the competing models are non‐nested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the retail environment, customers are stimulated by the look and feel of a store and how the store is laid out. Certain store elements create a shopping experience that attracts customers to a certain store as their preferred shopping destination. Therefore, grocery stores need to ensure that customer’s shopping experience is pleasant. This article focused on determining the relationship between store elements and the in-store shopping experience of grocery store customers in the King Sabata Dalindyebo(KSD) Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study aimed to identify the relationship between various store elements and customers’ in-store shopping experience in ensuring customer satisfaction. A sample of 256 customers who frequently shopped at grocery stores in the KSD Local Municipality was used for the part of the study in which a quantitative research design was followed. A web-based questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were then analysed using regression analysis and hypothesis formulation. According to the findings of the research, there is a strong correlation between the in-store shopping experience and store elements, such as personal interaction, merchandise value, the internal store environment, merchandise variety and assortment, and the handling of customer complaints. The handling of complaints from customers was found to have the strongest relationship with customers’ in-store shopping experience, followed by merchandise variety and assortment, and the internal store environment. Furthermore, customer satisfaction was found to be affected by customers’ shopping experiences inside stores. Consequently, grocery stores ought to enhance store elements to improve customers’ in-store shopping experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaders are vital for organizations and have a significant impact on the success or failure of a business. Although there have been studies investigating the question "what makes a good leader", few studies have explicitly focused on the retail sector. The study's primary objective is to identify the qualities and characteristics a good leader should possess, in the context of the retail industry in RSA. A total of 107 respondents were interviewed and the results showed that "charisma" and "inspiration" are the most important characteristics, while "a character for integrity and honesty" and "knowledgeable and experienced" are the most important qualities of a good leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is the adoption of responsible business practices concerning economic, environmental, and social CSR, is an important topic among marketers aiming to develop market value with various stakeholder groups, including employees. Previous research is limited to developed market economies and has focused mainly on external stakeholder groups. This study explored South African retail employees' awareness of their organizations' CSR initiatives. The sample size was 229 South African retail employees, from lower-level employees up to middle and senior management. The study made use of a computer-aided self-administered survey, distributed via LinkedIn. The results indicated that lower-level employees are less aware of economic, environmental, and social CSR initiatives implemented by their organizations than those in middle and senior management, but that there was no significant difference between middle and senior managements' levels of awareness of their organizations' CSR initiatives. The results also indicated that employees have higher levels of awareness when it comes to internal economic CSR, external economic CSR, and external social CSR, as opposed to internal environmental CSR, external environmental CSR, and internal social CSR initiatives. The findings of the study can assist organizations to customize internal CSR communication strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]