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Item The moderating effect of gender on physical activity participation and physical fitness in children(AOSIS Publishing, 2024-08-20) Gomwe, Howard; Phiri, Lesego; Marange, ChionesoBackground The level, direction or presence of the relationship between perceived physical activity (PA) participation and physical fitness (PF) in children may differ by gender and this will assist in designing gender-specific interventions to promote PA participation, which in turn improves PF levels. Aim This study aimed to establish the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between perceived PA participation and PF. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted with a cohort of 870 primary school children aged 9–14 years old. Perceived PA participation was measured using the PAQ-C questionnaire while PF levels were measured using cardiorespiratory endurance (i.e. VO2 max). Results The results showed significant gender differences for perceived PA participation levels (t = −3.40, p ≤ 0.001) and PF (t = −11.59, p ≤ 0.001), with boys reporting higher levels than the girls. Perceived PA participation had a positive, weak and statistically significant correlation with PF (r = 0.251; p ≤ 0.001). Gender significantly moderates the relationship between perceived PA participation and PF (β3 = 3.518; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.642 to 6.395; p = 0.017). Conclusion The moderating effect of gender on the relationship between perceived PA participation and PF highlights the differences in physiology as well as the societal PA associated roles played by boys and girls.Item IsiXhosa in the Digital Age: Navigating Language Preservation and Innovation: A Systematic Scoping Review(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2024-09-17) Agbeyangi, Abayomi; Jere, NobertPreserving and innovating indigenous languages is crucial for maintaining cultural heritage and facilitating community development in this digital age. Understanding the digital landscape of IsiXhosa language digitization efforts, however, remains underexplored. This systematic scoping review aims to map the existing literature on digitalization efforts for IsiXhosa language preservation and innovation. A scoping review was conducted, guided by PRISMA-ScR, on relevant literature pertaining to isiXhosa digitization, preservation, and innovations. Two databases were searched (Scopus and Web of Science), and additional articles were identified through a grey literature search (Google Scholar) to identify other relevant literature. Data were extracted in terms of title, year, country, language, digitization efforts, and summary of main findings and results related to isiXhosa language preservation and innovation. A total of 85 unique articles were included from 479 records, leading to the identification of five themes under the digitization efforts. Most studies were conducted in South Africa, accounting for about 78% of the total articles. As such, significant efforts were identified in grammar and morphology, speech recognition, and machine translation. There are unresolved gaps and challenges (such as large and high-quality datasets) that must be addressed. Nevertheless, the efforts demonstrate an increased acceptance of the significance of protecting and improving indigenous African languages, such as isiXhosa, in this era of digital technology.