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The Role of Support Services for Children (0-5 Years) Growing up in Rural Zimbabwe
No full textThe study aimed at identifying forms of support services and service providers for children 0-5 years obtaining in rural Zimbabwe. The study was carried out in the context of the Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC). Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed. Participants included children, parents, teachers and district level administrators. The rural Zimbabwean communities were Hwange, Binga, Zaka, Bulilima and Mangwe. The study found that support services for children 0-5 years included health, hygiene, education, nutrition and protection. According to parents, teachers and administrators; support was satisfactory in health, nutrition and protection. This was through efforts by government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Support was relatively limited in hygiene and ECD education services. This was due to lack of resources, limited parental knowledge and negative cultural practices. Consequently, parents required to be conscientised on the practices detrimental to child development and activities that strengthen their capacity to draw upon resources for the well-being of their families. There was need for government to offer holistic ECD programmes that provide high quality integrated care, building on parenting skills and advocacy for children. Such programmes cater for the children’s school readiness skills, nutrition, health and psycho-social development
Experiences of Parents with Senior School Children Engaged in Online Learning During the COVID-19 Related Lockdown in Zimbabwe
No full textThe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a considerable shift in commonplace life worldwide. Since the government of Zimbabwe declared a twenty-one day lockdown on the 30th March 2020, schools have only been allowed to open intermittently until March 2021. This has resulted in many schools adopting an online curriculum to enable children to continue with their syllabus uninterrupted. This study sought to explore the positive and negative experiences of families with children engaged in online learning, in an effort to equip parents with coping mechanisms for future lockdowns. A qualitative approach was conducted for this study, specifically making use of the document analysis design. Data was collected using interviews carried out over Zoom and WhatsApp social media platforms. Online learning presented challenges as well as opportunities for growth. The prime challenges were the inordinate amount of time children spent on their screens, the lack of social interaction with peers, lack of exercise and a tendency to snack on food throughout the day. The main positive experiences were family bonding time, parents’ newfound respect and appreciation for the role of teachers, the opportunity to engage in new hobbies, and learning to appreciate each day. This study highlights the need for practices such as mindfulness, a healthy diet, physical activity and understanding the tenets of resilience and positive psychology to aid with the challenges of online learning during a pandemic
The Impact of School Head and Teacher Relations: How Relationships Shape Teachers’ Attitudes towards Work in Schools
No full textThis qualitative study used a purposefully selected sample and some interviews to generate data. The data revealed strategic instructional leadership and classroom practices used by school heads to influence teachers to use relationships that facilitate effective instruction to implement the competence-based school curriculum. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) theory formed the framework for understanding management of curriculum implementation. Throughout data generation, I asked participants to describe best practices appropriate for implementing the competency-based curriculum. Participants revealed best practices applicable to the Zimbabwean context. Key findings revealed that project-based learning best promotes student-to-student relations that guarantee safe social conditions for learners to share ideas. I concluded that implementing competency based instruction requires instructional leadership modelled around project-based learning (child-centred) as opposed to teaching (teacher-centred) instruction. Facilitation includes developing trust, active listening skills, leaner-grouping and relationships among teachers and learners. Sustained school-based professional development is critical for the success in implementing the competency-based curriculum
Covid 19: Determinants and barriers to infection prevention and control practice among residents in Bonny Island, Rivers State
No full textBackground: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which was declared a pandemic and described as a disease of public health emergency caused worldwide disruption of business activities, education, tourism and health challenges including death. Prevention is a viable strategy to contain the pandemic, including the use of vaccines. However, evidence abound which reveals that majority of people do not comply with proposed health and safety measures recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) and their respective country health authorities. This study identified socio-demographic and other variables which may influence compliance to practice of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures.Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at zonal hospital Bonny. All eligible respondents who visited the hospital for Medicare were included into the study until sample size was achieved. Pretested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents. Multinomial regression analysis was used to analyze data with statistical significance set at 0.05. Ethical clearance, permission for the study and informed consent were derived from relevant authorities and respondents respectively.Result: Compliance to good IPC measures was 73.9%. There was statistically significant compliance to good practice among public servants, respondents aged 31-40 years and females.Conclusion: Good IPC measures was high among respondents, COVID 19 vaccine acceptance was poor, while factors such as inability to procure personal protective equipment and non-availability of water were responsible for poor compliance
Evaluation of musculoskeletal pain, health and safety measures among workers at construction sites in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
No full textBackground: Musculoskeletal disorders constitute a major health challenge for construction workers and the general population. The study evaluated musculoskeletal pain, health and safety measures among workers at construction sites in the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, and two of the flyover bridges sites in the last quarter of 2021.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among workers at construction sites in the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital and two flyover-bridges in Port Harcourt Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to obtain data that was analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.Results: A total of seventy-five (75) respondents were involved I n the study. More than half (50%) of respondents had pain at the neck, shoulder, waist, and wrist/fingers not allowing them to hold objects firmly. Twenty-nine (38.7%) respondents had undergone training for safety measures before start of work at the construction site. Sixty-three (84.0%) had worked in awkward positions at site. Forty-one (54.7%) respondents opined that PPEs were not provided, and 47 (62.7%) did not use PPEs at work. Complaints of injury was often taken seriously at some construction sites as declared by 32 (42.7%) respondents; however, 20 (26.7%) respondents had a contrary opinion.Conclusion: Musculoskeletal pain is a common problem affecting most construction site workers following workplace tasks or injuries sustained. There was no uniformity in training and conduct on health and safety issues. There is need for a regulatory framework to ensure compliance with health and safety measures at construction sites
An assessment of the implications of gravity reduction methods on local geoid modelling over Ado Ekiti
No full textThere are several gravity reduction approaches that are available for use in geodetic applications. More so, with the rapid rate at which gravimetric geoid models are being incorporated into Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) solutions, the need for precise regional models is becoming increasingly relevant. The two chosen gravity reduction approaches (Bouguer and Residual Terrain Model (RTM)) were used to reduce gravity anomalies over Ado town. The reduced anomalies were then used to compute a local geoid for the study area using the conventional Stokes integral in the Remove Compute Restore (RCR) technique. Comparison of the computed geoid by both methods with GNSS Levelling data at selected locations show that the RTM reduced anomalies produce a better geoid model than the Bouguer reduced anomalies over the study area with a RMSE of 83.2cm and 83.5cm respectively
An android based home automation system with Internet of Things
No full textHome automation is the introduction of technology within the environment to provide convenience, comfort, security and energy efficiency to its occupants. The management and control of our home appliances is germane to living and having a better quality of life, hence the need to design a system that automates the control of home appliances to ease the stress of having to manually control household appliances. An Android based home automation system with Internet of Things (IOT) was designed and implemented to control electrical appliances The hardware module consists of the power and control sections. The system draws power from the mains outlet and is converted to 5V by the AC-DC converter circuit. The software section comprises of the ESP8266 WiFi Microcontroller code, the Android application which controls the microcontroller wirelessly, the web server and WiFi connection. The designed home automation system was effective in remotely controlling electrical appliances. It also displays the weather information in the application in digital format. The system is portable and practicable due to its compact size. The system can be used to ensure efficient usage of electrical energy as well as maintain a good atmospheric condition
A review of Information Communication Technology (ICT) methods for road infrastructure monitoring
No full textRoad infrastructure is critical to a country's economic growth because it supports other infrastructural developments. The high cost associated with building new roads has caused a shift in focus to the effective maintenance of road assets in many developed countries. This has not been the situation in many underdeveloped countries, where roads have been allowed to deteriorate and road infrastructure monitoring is still carried out manually. Due to the cost, time, subjective nature, and other biases of human inspectors, the manual approach to road infrastructure monitoring has proved insufficient. Information communication technology (ICT) monitoring methods make use of the facilities provided by ICT and its tools to provide monitoring in chosen domains. The mobility and penetration of mobile-based information and communication technology (ICT) devices make them ideal for monitoring infrastructure. In this paper, we review ICT-based road monitoring methods and provide an overview of the current community-based infrastructure monitoring approach using mobile phones
Identification of orbital arteries by means of stamp-pad ink on embalmed cadavers
No full textVascular identification is an effective way of analysing the vascular system from large to very small blood vessels in cadaveric studies. A variety of vascular injection products have been utilised over the past decades to facilitate and demonstrate dissection of the blood vessels. The coloured dye used to demonstrate the branching patterns of the vascular system was introduced by Jean Riolan (1580 to 1657) (Doomernik et al., 2016). Although different identification techniques are available, only a few can be used on the specimens during dissections. A total of 118 human eyes from 59 bodies were dissected and all blood vessels were exposed. The ophthalmic artery (OA) and its branches were identified by means of fine dissections. The aid of a lighted magnifying glass made fine dissections of small blood vessels possible. After removing the orbital fat around the blood vessels, the arteries were then smoothly painted with the red stamp-pad ink and a paintbrush. Specimens were then allowed to dry at room temperature before photographic capturing and recording of the OA and its branches in each of the specimens were made. An accurate identification of the arterial system was possible as the arteries were followed intraorbitally from the point where the OA emerged from the optic canal on course with the optic nerve. All branches of the OA that were present were identified and recorded. The application of stamp-pad ink as a dye is useful in the marking and identification of anatomical structures and can be used in the anatomy training for both undergraduate and postgraduate students
Impacts of Illegal Fishing and Ocean Dependence on the Livelihoods of Coastal Fisherfolk in Ghana
No full textThis paper investigates illegal fishing practices and their impacts on the livelihoods of small-scale coastalfisherfolk. A qualitative case study approach was employed, consisting of 53 semi-structured interviews withfisherfolk and key stakeholders in the fisheries industry. The results reveal that the use of unapproved nets,chemicals, explosives, detergents, and light fishing, are the main illegal fishing practices. These illegal fishingactivities have resulted in overfishing, decline in fish catch, and the destruction of the marine ecosystem.Fishermen's intensification of light fishing together with the application of chemicals and explosives as alivelihood strategy to avoid decreasing fish catch and low income are unsustainable. Illegal fishing activitiesthreaten the sustainability of coastal fisheries and the livelihoods of fishing households. The implications of thefindings relate to the necessity of reducing illegal fishing practices and rebuilding coastal livelihoods. Werecommend the strict enforcement of fisheries laws related to illegal fishing and the provision of complimentaryjobs during lean fishing season