Digital Learning Readiness of Higher Education Institutions in the 4IR Era during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case of a University in South Africa

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has brought different concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as Big data analysis. Thus, digital learning has also been introduced;it is a learning vehiculated utilizing technology. With the current COVID 19 crisis, digital learning has become the best learning method by South African institutions by excellence, but how ready are they, though? This is the question this study attempts to answer. The study follows a case study approach on a South African University located in Johannesburg. A convenience sample was used with 168 students from the faculty of engineering that took part in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire that was administered to the respondents. The questionnaire collected the respondents' demographical information, awareness of digital learning, and accessibility to digital learning tools. The data collected were captured on Microsoft Excel before being analyzed with SPSS for further results. The study revealed that most of the respondents are aware of digital learning even though it is not implemented in all modules at the University. Accessibility to essential tools to digital learning such as the internet and the devices to connect is still a big challenge for students mainly as most of them cannot afford the internet-connected devices. Although the general perspective is that higher institutions in South Africa are not yet ready for digital learning due to the infrastructure availability, many practices toward digital learning are being implemented. There are high hopes to believe in well-implemented digital learning Universities in the next decades. © 2022 IEEE.

The Application of Business Process Re-engineering at a Fashion Retailer: A Case Study

To remain competitive in a highly internationalised market, clothing retailers continuously face challenges related to sales output. With the introduction of online retailers, especially during the Covid period, consumers are able to shop from the comfort of their homes. This means that retailers are required to fulfil orders within a very short space of time, which has cost, quality and delivery implications. This research study focuses on the application of business process reengineering at a manufacturing facility, to determine the current challenges. The objective of the research is to investigate the causes of defects and delays from pre-production and online production, and to make recommendations for improving customer delivery. Data were gathered using a qualitative approach through a case study methodology, to gain insight into the fundamental causes of inefficiency in this sector. © 2022 IEEE.

An Assessment of the Impact of Covid 19 on Zimbabwean Universities Students

The outbreak of Covid-19 resulted in the immediate and unplanned closure of universities across the world. This resulted in cancellation of classes, graduation ceremonies resulting in reduced job prospects, increased uncertainties for students and in ability to cope with online lessons. An evaluation of these detailed impacts at Harare Institute of Technology in Zimbabwe indicated that serious measures in terms of fast internet, availability for electronic gadgets for learning, affordable date and ICT friendly infrastructure must be put in place. In addition, universities need to seriously review their teaching curricula so that it has both physical and online learning methods options as Covid-19 is here to stay. Furthermore, to consider virtual research groups. © IEOM Society International.