The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors influencing Mauritian consumers’ attitude towards SMS advertising. Based on the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) theory, a questionnaire was designed and administered among 277 University of Mauritius students using a survey method. Results showed a positive relationship between infotainment, credibility and SMS advertising value. Findings also revealed that advertising value had a positive impact on attitude towards SMS advertisement. Conversely, irritation had a negative relationship with the SMS advertising value. Therefore, marketing managers should present precise information to consumers in a pleasant and enjoyable way. Offensive, insulting and frustrating elements in SMS adverts that can irritate consumers should be avoided. These findings have managerial implications for marketing practitioners in creating and implementing effective SMS marketing campaigns to tap into the benefits of using mass advertising.

This study is designed to investigate the factors influencing students' intention to adopt electronic learning (e-learning) in a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) economy. The overarching theory underpinning this study is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which has been extended to include the learner's computer self-efficacy, the course flexibility and the instructor's attitude dimensions. Constructs from this extended TAM were used to design a questionnaire that was administered among 494 students using a survey method. Relevant hypothesis were formulated and tested using multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that gender, type of course, Internet experience, prior experience in e-learning/mixed mode courses and initial proficiency level in e-learning significantly impacted on student's intention to enroll for a fully online degree programme. Furthermore, computer self-efficacy, course flexibility and the instructor's attitude were found to be pertinent antecedent to the Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) while (PEOU) and (PU) were both found to be predictors of attitude towards e-learning. These results have managerial implications for higher education institutions which need to pay a close attention to the factors influencing students' attitude towards e-learning.

This study had the following objectives: To assess the level of knowledge of Mauritians aged ≥ 20 years on the health effects of Second Hand Smoke (SHS), to investigate their behaviour when exposed to SHS and to look for any association between SHS-related knowledge and behaviour towards exposure. A national cross-sectional online survey was conducted. With the total population of Mauritians above the age of 20 years being 941,719, the calculated sample size was 400. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data among respondents from all 9 districts of the island of Mauritius, with representative district-wise samples. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 19.0. Considering the findings of the study, there were 408 respondents: Two-thirds of participants showed good knowledge of the harmful effects of SHS. Participants were aware of the link of SHS to respiratory diseases, nonetheless, they were not aware of its causes for non-respiratory diseases. One out of four participants (25.5%) were not aware that maternal passive smoking causes preterm delivery. More than one-third of the participants (37.3%) did not know that passive smoking causes sudden infant death syndrome. Inadequate levels of knowledge were also revealed by authors in other developing countries. We thus recommend bold sensitization campaigns about the serious threats of SHS. We highlight the pertinence of longitudinal cohort studies with assessment of SHS-related knowledge/behaviour before and after health education campaigns, in Mauritius and other developing countries.