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Introduction
Get PDFThis volume contains articles that were developed from a study contacted in Botswana to establish how religious beliefs impact health seeking and health provision behaviours among Batswana and, from the findings, to propose review of theological, medical and health education for the purposes of promoting holistic health through the integration of medical, traditional and faith healing. The study was conducted between July 2018 and 30 September 2019. The editors and the whole team of researchers are grateful to the Templeton Religion Trust for funding the project and to the Nagel Institute of Calvin University, Michigan, United States of America for administering the funds and the general running of the project
Botswana Health Policies and Alternative Health Services: Implications for Holistic Health Services Provision
Get PDFThis article reviews the policies and guidelines that govern medical practice in Botswana with the aim of establishing implications for holistic health services provision in the country. Based on both review of literature and fieldwork findings from health experts, the article established that although many Batswana make use of alternative health systems, there are no policies to regulate the practice of alternative medicine and, especially, to allow collaboration of both medical and alternative health practitioners. The article recommends that Botswana should establish policies and guidelines to govern the practice of alternative health systems guided by World Health Organisation recommendations
Religion and Spirituality in Health and Medical Education: Batswana Medical Practitioners’ Views
Get PDFThis paper discusses Batswana medical practitioners’ views on the impact of religion and spirituality on health and medical education. The paper relies on the fieldwork research findings on the impact of beliefs on health seeking and health provision behaviors in Botswana. Additionally, the paper is a product of internationally published literature sources on the importance of religion and spirituality in healthcare provision. In terms of methodology, the paper used a variety of data sources. Primary data was collected through fieldwork using questionnaire and interview guides as instruments for collecting data. Secondly, a desktop approach was used for collecting secondary data. Documentary analysis and review of varied literature sources also produced data for this paper. The paper established that religion and spirituality are essential aspects of patients’ life which ought to be addressed by medical practitioners during healthcare provision in Botswana. These are part of alternative medicine important for holistic healing of illness. The study found out that spirituality and religion should be part of medical education in Botswana
Guest Editor\u27s Note
No full textThis special issue entitled Religion, Peace and Conflict in Contemporary Africa is a collection of selected papers presented at the international conference Religion, Peace and Conflict in Contemporary Africa held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on May 14-15, 2016. This conference is part of a postdoctoral project funded under the Volkswagen Stiftung Founding Initiative: Knowledge for Tomorrow Cooperative Research Projects in Sub- Saharan Africa Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities in Sub-Saharan and North Africa
Kumalo, Simangaliso, 2013, Religion and Politics in Swaziland: The Contributions of Dr JB Mzizi
No full textThis book is an anthology of a decade (1995-2005) of short and long essays by the late Dr Joshua B. Mzizi, a former Senior Lecturer at the University of Swaziland. Some of these papers were written for formal academic conferences, where they were delivered, but the majority of them were written for the two big newspapers in Swaziland, Times of Swazliand (www.times.co.za) and The Observer. Mzizi was a dedicated liberation theologian and he used his knowledge and skills of this sub-discpline to reflect on the religio-politcal dynaics of his country of birth, Swaziland
Church’s Role in Prevention, Care and Management of HIV and AIDS in Western Kenya: Case of Vihiga and Busia Districts
Get PDFThe mandate of this essay is two-fold. First, it pays attention to the role of the Church in the care of persons living with HIV and AIDS and the affected. Secondly, it examines the efforts of the Church in prevention and management of HIV and AIDS in Western Kenya. The strategies used by the Church in achieving these two facets therefore forms the basis of the discussion. The viability of these approaches has been discoursed analytically as a basis for providing suggestions that might inform the church leaders and members to rethink the strategies relevant in responding to HIV and AIDS. The discussions are framed under the concept of holistic care and development for humanity. Primary data is sourced from two purposively sampled districts: Vihiga and Busia in Western Kenya. 52 randomly sampled churches provide the sample size from which examples were drawn. As a way forward, given the numerous challenges that the churches face while responding to HIV within communities, we advocate for an integrated approach where churches can borrow strategies that work best from their counterparts
Religion Behind Bars: Faith-based Programs in the Rehabilitation of Offenders in the Medium B Westville Correctional Center, Durban
No full textIn order to maintain social control and order, several authors perceive religion to be a significant aspect of societal life (Akhverdiev & Ponomarev 2008:1; Stark & Bainbridge 2012:1; Welch, Tittle, & Grasmick 2006:1605). The right to religious practice is considered vital in almost all societies. There is a body of research that suggests that a decline in religious conformity erodes the moral fabric of society and hence perceives its decline to contribute to social degeneration leaving society in a state of disarray (Nwube & Edigbo 2023; Ezeonwumelu 2021; Sekhaulelo 2021; Dick, Ede, & Chiaghanam 2020; Nikolova 2018). A deviation from religious norms and values at an individual level is known to result in anomic behavior ensuing conflict with the law. On the contrary, religious fundamentalism is also known to be contributing to hostility, violence, lawlessness, harmful behavior, and social instability (Gorur & Gregory 2021; Wright & Khoo 2019; Sulaiman 2016; VanAernum 2014). It is in this context that this article reviews religious practices and beliefs among male offenders and its role in rehabilitating their deviant behavior so that they may self-actualize to become good citizens upon release in the South African society. Notwithstanding, the study provides very little support on the notion that correctional centers’ inspired faith-based programs indeed impact prosocial behavior as offenders engage with their respective religious belief systems as individuals. This finding refutes the notion contained in the literature study that avers that correctional centers’ inspired faith-based programs do in fact yield prosocial behavior
Micro-Grid Wind Energy Conversion Systems: Conventional and Modern Embedded Technologies - A Review
No full textThis study assesses the effectiveness of an electric microgrid wind energy conversion system using both traditional techniques and contemporary embedded systems, such as artificial neural network-based control mechanisms and fuzzy logic control. The text compares and lists the advantages and disadvantages of various types of wind turbines (WTs). Moreover, this control falls into one of two groups: conventional power control or non-traditional power control. On the other side, conventional control describes methods of control such as manually controlling the turbine rotor\u27s rotation speed and using computational analysis. The current work, in contrast, investigates and evaluates contemporary embedded control techniques used in wind energy conversion systems (WECS), including maximum power point tracking, Artificially intelligent control systems, in relation to the control mechanism, provide complete control over the pitch angle, power coefficient, and tip speed ratio for the best possible wind energy extraction. This makes a direct comparison possible. Nonetheless, there are a few drawbacks and difficulties with the two widely utilized contemporary techniques for power quality extractions: artificially intelligent neural networks and their embedded control systems. However, combining contemporary technology with integrated artificial intelligence controllers may be a workable strategy to lessen and even eliminate these difficulties, as well as advantageous for upcoming studies.
Voters’ attitudes towards political parties’ communication: the case of Diepsloot voters in Gauteng, South Africa
No full textThis article investigates how South African political parties’ communication strategies influence voters’ decision-making. The study sought to understand the effects and influences of political communication approaches on voters’ decision-making processes. The election periods used for the analysis are the 1999 to 2019 general elections. The focus area of the study was Diepsloot, a densely populated township in the north of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa. Furthermore, the researchers also assessed whether Diepsloot residents understood political communication, especially during an election period. The research focused on the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). These parties were the top three when it came to electoral support in South Africa when this study was carried out. Data were gathered using open-ended telephonic interviews with voters in Diepsloot. While the study found that political communication affected a voter’s choice, it also revealed that a voter’s attitude towards these political communication interventions was one of caution. The article concludes that political communication is one of many discernible variables influencing voters when voting for a political party
Digital divide: a phenomenon of unequal adoption of technology by SMMEs in the agribusiness sector in South Africa
No full textThe digital evolution and the adoption of technology have made it possible for information access and management to improve the social and economic impacts of the tourism sector globally. Technology has undoubtedly become the prime driver of modern e-commerce. This article examines the digital divide as a barrier to the adoption of technology by small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the agribusiness sector in the city of Tshwane, South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative approach and data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The data were subsequently analysed by using descriptive statistics. The relationships between variables were compared and interpretations were made. The results showed that a digital divide is hampering the adoption of technology by SMMEs in the agribusiness sector. The results further revealed that the high cost of technology/online platforms, limited funds and a lack of technical know-how are some of the obstacles faced by SMMEs in the adoption of information and communication technologies. However, the study also established that if these obstacles could be addressed, the benefits would be substantial. It is concluded that empirical work is required to investigate the extent to which SMMEs in South Africa are adapting to the challenges posed by the digital divide.