Latest news with #Ott
The Citizen
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Middelburg reenters industrial-age with aid from continued foreign investment
Foreign investors are all looking at Middelburg to capitalise on value for their money. This was the unambiguous message echoed by all speakers at the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry's annual Eco-Industrial Zone Investment Conference, which was hosted at the banquet hall yesterday. The highlight of the summit was the signing of an investment deal between Nkangala Energy and Hyundai. The deal is worth R5b in forex influx. Nkangala Energy has plans to construct a gas power plant with a capacity of 860MW. The Steve Tshwete Local Municipality will receive the direct investment of R5b from the project. Approximately R120m will be invested by Nkangala Energy in skills development and training. Nkangala Energy plans to aid in the shift from coal to renewable energy, generating 1 200 temporary jobs during construction and 520 permanent jobs in the value chain. The investment signals ongoing foreign interest in the town, with Veralogix saying the Indian manufacturer of Mahindra has already committed to establishing a Mahindra assembly plant in town. The conference was held in partnership with Columbus Stainless, Absa, the Veralogix Group, and the Steve Tshwete Municipality. The event focused on exploring investment opportunities and driving sustainable industrial growth. Chamber CEO Anna-Marth Ott said the conference marks a shift towards the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Middelburg, where businesses in such zones take responsibility to package and promote their respective zones, wherein funds, skills and materials can be shared to boost the zones, and amplify foreign and domestic investment. Ott invites all local businesses to register with the chamber to form part of the planning committee for SEZ establishment. The chamber has already done all the necessary research, including draft by-laws, to forge ahead with SEZ establishment. Buy-in from local businesses is, however, crucial to ensure the momentum of the project. A pre-conference tour on Thursday offered participants a chance to visit Columbus Stainless and Duvha Power Station. Other speakers included Absa executives, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Mhlonishwa Masilela's office was represented by MMC Grace Mathibela. • More details on the summit will be published in next week's Middelburg Observer.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners running back room among the best in the nation
There's a lot to like about the Oklahoma Sooners' offense heading into 2025; at least on paper. They have one of the more exciting backfields in the nation after adding John Mateer and Jaydn Ott through the transfer portal. But it goes beyond Ott, who was voted to the All-SEC second team; the Oklahoma running back room is deep. Pro Football Focus college football analyst Max Chadwick believes the Sooners have one of the top 10 running back rooms in the nation going into 2025. It starts with Ott. He had a 1,300-yard season back in 2023 and has the game-breaking ability to create big plays for the Sooners' offense. The running back workload won't be completely on Ott as Oklahoma brings back Jovantae Barnes, Xavier Robinson, and Taylor Tatum as well. Barnes had 700 total yards and six touchdowns for the Sooners last season. His effort and energy gave Oklahoma a boost in the second half of the season, leading the way for an offense that was mostly stagnant last year. The Sooners have high expectations for their second-year running backs Xavier Robinson and Taylor Tatum. Both showed flashes of being big-time producers at the collegiate level despite an offensive line that struggled for much of the 2024 season. Then there's true freshman Tory Blaylock, who was a four-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. He's just a true freshman, but his speed, agility, and balance could force the Sooners to put him on the field. Fall camp is going to provide some interesting competition for the running back hierarchy, but it looks like DeMarco Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners have a lot of talent to work with. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Trio of Oklahoma Sooners make preseason All-SEC Team
With the conclusion of the 2025 edition of SEC Media Days, the league unveiled its All-SEC Team ahead of the season. Week 1 will begin in six weeks, with fall camps the only thing separating us now from the 2025 college football season. Three Oklahoma Sooners made the team, although none of them were selected for the first team. Senior running back Jaydn Ott, a spring transfer portal window transfer from California, was selected to the second team. On the defensive side of the ball, senior defensive end R Mason Thomas, who represented OU at SEC Media Days, also made the second team. Redshirt junior long-snapper Ben Anderson made the third team, giving Oklahoma some special teams recognition on the all-conference team. Ott was a breakout star in 2023 for Cal before an injury-plagued 2024 season. Head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy liked what they saw in Ott, making him a priority in the spring portal. His arrival gives the Sooners a dynamic, proven threat at running back. Thomas has been a Sooner since 2022, but he dealt with injuries until his breakout year in 2024. He led Oklahoma in sacks and was a closer for OU in games against Tulane, Auburn, and Alabama, helping seal those wins in the fourth quarter. He decided to stay in school under Venables' tutelage for one more year instead of jumping to the NFL. Anderson has also been at Oklahoma since 2022, and this year will be his third straight season starting as OU's long-snapper following his initial redshirt season. Plenty of Sooners should feel like they were snubbed from the All-SEC team, especially on defense, where OU has game-wreckers at every level. They'll hope to show the SEC what they got wrong once the season begins. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
Otago Daily Times
16-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Resource written to help autistic workers, jobseekers
People with autism are often framed by what society thinks they are unable to do, rather than what they are good at. It is the reason why about a-third of people with autism are unemployed, and nearly half are "overqualified" and "underchallenged" in their work. University of Otago management lecturer and researcher Dr Dana Ott has come up with a solution — the Autism Employment Playbook (AEP), which provides real-world-ready practical resources to help people with autism into meaningful and sustained employment. "It's a resource for autistic jobseekers and employees, for organisations, for disability employment service providers and anybody else who is engaged in supporting autistic jobseekers. Dr Ott said she spent more than a year working alongside two University of Queensland researchers to create the AEP, which was based on people working with disability employment services providers in Australia. The research was inspired by concerning statistics which showed very low levels of employment of neurodivergent people, she said. One study from 2018 showed autistic individuals in Australia faced an unemployment rate of 31%-34%, which was significantly higher than other disabilities and the general population. Another study from 2019 revealed more than half the autistic population had never had a paid job. And of those who did, 54% were seeking a more challenging role and 45% felt overqualified in their role. She said a 2022 survey by Diversity Works NZ showed a third of neurodivergent respondents reported their condition had negatively impacted their career advancement, and more than 60% of neurodivergent employees said their employers did not know about their condition because they were actively concealing it. "About five years ago, I started doing some initial research looking at neurodiversity in organisations, and I was quite shocked about just how bad the statistics were around employment opportunities, active employment, as well as what is referred to as underemployment of people with autism. "There are people in jobs where they're definitely overqualified — they have the skills to make a bigger contribution, but they are being underemployed within organisations. "And so from there, I've worked with collaborators in Australia, and we've looked at opportunities to gain a better understanding of why that's happening, and to educate employers and organisations about how we can address or make organisations more neuroinclusive. "On a broader level, I hope the launch of the AEP will help combat misinformation about autism that persists in the community. "There's a great need to stop focusing on what we think autistic people can't do, and show what they are good at — like problem-solving, attention to detail and innovative thinking." Dr Ott said the resource was already being used by the Australian Disability Employment Services and now she aimed to get similar organisations in New Zealand to pick it up, too. "It would be great if it was a resource that becomes more widely available to organisations here, but also I think to individuals as well." She plans to reach out to organisations and human resources individuals to share the research about neurodiversity and make them aware of the simple things that could be done to make organisations more neuroinclusive.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Can Jaydn Ott put together a resurgent season for the Oklahoma Sooners?
The Oklahoma Sooners will be leaning heavily on quarterback John Mateer to lead them back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. And more than that, it's about getting the Sooners' offense back on track after struggling through the 2024 season. But Mateer won't, nay can't, have it all in his plate. As much as football can often be defined by how well a quarterback plays, it takes so much more for a team to have success. For Oklahoma's offense to be good in 2025, it's going to take a good ground game. In 2024, the Sooners averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and 155.2 rushing yards per game, which was 11th in the SEC. General manager Jim Nagy made a splash in the transfer portal by bringing in former 1,300-yard running back Jaydn Ott from Cal. After an injury-laden season in 2024, Ott's looking for a bounce-back performance before he enters the NFL draft in 2025. Now healthy, Ott will be a difference maker for the Oklahoma Sooners. With so much attention being placed on Mateer and what he'll be able to do, Ott's presence may mean just as much. Because of Mateer's ability to run the ball, teams will have to key in on him in the read-option game. At the mesh point, the quarterback must decide whether to keep the ball or hand it to the running back, based on how the defense is reacting. Because teams know Mateer can beat them with his legs, there will be better running lanes for Ott. And that's where he can create big plays. He'll be a direct beneficiary of Mateer's dual-threat ability and the amount of attention he's received this offseason. However, there will also be an inverse effect. As Ott gets going, he'll open things up for Mateer in both the read-option game and the passing game. Teams will also have to respect Ott's ability to create big plays on the ground. In 2023, Ott had 16 runs of 15 yards or more and 32 runs of 10 yards or more. By comparison, Gavin Sawchuk, Jovantae Barnes, Taylor Tatum, and Xavier Robinson combined for 31 runs of 10 yards or more and 14 runs of 15 yards or more. Ott is an electric player who is going to have a huge impact on the Sooners' offense. Mateer is what is driving a lot of the Oklahoma optimism that's palpable at SEC media days. Jaydn Ott has a chance to have a big year in Ben Arbuckle's offense and with Mateer standing next to him in the backfield. So much of college football has shifted to aerial attacks to lead the way for their offenses. But with the defense that the Sooners deploy, Oklahoma will want to be able to run the ball to milk the clock and keep their defense fresh. Ott's ability to carry a heavy portion of the workload and his experience are just what the doctor ordered for an offense that hasn't had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2022. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
