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The thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences.
No full textThe prevalence of non‐communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) has rapidly
increased over the years and has exerted a major burden on health systems worldwide. T2D is one of
the top ten leading causes of global mortality driven by various T2D‐related complications such as
cardiovascular disease (CVD) and altered hepatorenal function. Notably, hypertension (HTN) is the
most common comorbidity in T2D, with both being independent risk factors for CVD. Although the
underlying pathophysiological mechanisms for this bi‐directional relationship are multifactorial,
chronic inflammation is implicated in the progression of T2D and the pathogenesis of its associated
complications. Since HTN is at least in part, an immune‐mediated inflammatory disorder, this study
aimed at investigating its compounding effects in T2D on inflammation, cardiovascular risk and
hepatorenal function
A pedagogical stylistic evaluation of literature studies at Onawa Senior Secondary School, Omusati Region
No full textTHESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS
STUDENT NUMBER: 220003378
NOVEMBER 2021
SUPERVISOR: PROF. Haileleul Zeleke WOLDEMARIAM
CO-SUPERVISOR: DR Elina ITHINDIThis study examined the difficulties, importance, and methods of pedagogical stylistics in literature teaching and learning. The goals of this study were to assess the linguistic difficulties that arise when learning literature in an ESL environment, to determine the linguistic significance of literature in an ESL context, and to evaluate the linguistic approaches that can be used to address some of the difficult linguistic issues encountered when learning ESL literature at the senior secondary level in Namibia.
Data collection techniques that were qualitative and quantitative were employed. The interpretative paradigm served as the study's intellectual foundation because it used the pragmatic technique as its methodology. To further emphasise their significance in teaching and learning through pedagogical stylistics, the study was supported by a variety of techniques for the analysis and interpretation of the data that were gathered.
The investigation was conducted in the Omusati region at a secondary school. At Onawa Secondary School, the study's sample included 950 students and 5 ESL instructors. The individuals were purposefully chosen via random convenient sampling. Four teachers who were in charge of instructing literary studies to students in grades 10 through 12 at Onawa Secondary School made up the sample sizes for this study. Using a simple random sampling approach, 30 students (from Grades 10, 11, and 12) were selected for sampling. Teachers were interviewed using the interview guide and students who received the test item as questionnaires were given to collect data, and selected texts used for analysis were also used. After coding the data, the researcher searched for overarching concepts that manifested themes, tables, and patterns.
According to the objectives, the data's findings show that there is not a cohesive approach to teaching and studying literature at all. For teaching literature prescribed texts that are not matched to any style forms, L2 teachers lack some pedagogical stylistics skills. Although there is evidence that literature is important for students' linguistic and academic development, literal texts are presented in a way that is not consistent with pedagogical, semantic, pragmatic, feminist, or other literal device approaches. In essence, the study finds that the significance of literal text selections to types of stylistic approaches of analysis—which L2 teachers are intended to reinforce during teaching and learning of literature texts chosen—were misaligned in the curriculum and syllabus. As a result, the curriculum was created without the most helpful suggestions from ESL teachers. Furthermore, neither the curriculum nor the scheme of work specifies the genres to be emphasised in literary studies, and some genre writings are not officially permitted or included in the language policy
Trauma, music and resilience in Butterfly Burning, Crocodile Burning and Dog Eat Dog
No full textTHESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ENGLISH AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS AT THE
NAMIBIA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (NUST)
Supervisor: Professor Sarala KrishnamurthyThis study critically examines how traumatised characters in the selected novels Butterfly
Burning, (Vera, 1998), Crocodile Burning (Williams, 1992), and Dog Eat Dog (Mlongo, 2004) have
experienced resilience as a coping mechanism to deal with trauma using music as therapy on
their own. Two theories; trauma and resilience were used as a way of accounting for the
challenges, realities and hopes faced by the characters in the selected novels. This thesis argues
that using trauma and resilience theories could provide a rich insight into the novels. African
literature may genuinely represent the painful reality of life and how ordinary people resiliently
tackle these obstacles by balancing these two ideas. The research found that the selected novels
Butterfly Burning, (Vera, 1998), Crocodile Burning (Williams, 1992), and Dog Eat Dog (Mlongo,
2004) clearly capture the different forms of trauma endured by the characters. Furthermore, the
research revealed the characters' resilience ability in dealing with the terrible events they
encounter
Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences..
No full textPrehospital emergency care is an ever-evolving profession that requires constant review and improvement of services delivered. The evaluation of quality service delivery in the Namibian EMS setting has never been studied before. With the current changes in the international medical sphere, the measurement of quality delivery has become ever more so pertinent in the prehospital field. The aim of the study was to develop a quality assurance system for Namibian EMS service delivery.
A comparative analysis was conducted on international quality assurance systems to identify quality indicators for the Namibian EMS industry. Furthermore, a three iteration Delphi study was conducted to get consensus from a group of experts on the proposed quality indicators. Finally, the investigator conducted a pilot study, following a cross-sectional quantitative design to evaluate the quality indicators to the current emergency services operation at two emergency services within Windhoek.
The comparative analysis yielded n=67 quality indicators used by first world countries. The non-clinical domain (n=39) consisted of n=18 structure, n=18 process and n=0 outcome indicators; the clinical domain (n=28) consisted of n=0 structure, n=26 process, and n=2 outcome indicators. Experts reached consensus on n=42 quality indicators following the three iteration Delphi study (iteration 1: n=13, iteration 2: n=12, iteration 3: n=17). In the pilot study, company X had 50% (n=21) compliance on indicators, n=8 non-clinical, and n=13 clinical indicators. Variation was 50% (n=21), n=12 non-clinical, n=9 clinical indicators. Company Y had 36% (n=15) compliance on indicators, n=5 non-clinical, n=10 clinical. Variation was 64% (n=27), n=15 non-clinical, and n=12 clinical respectively.
The study assisted in the extrapolation of quality indicators for the Namibian EMS service delivery quality assurance system. The pilot study has shown some compliance with the proposed quality indicators however, requires further evidence-based investigation to improve patient outcomes
A Thesis submitted in ful lment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia.
No full textIn this thesis the Gaussian plume model is proposed as a method for solving problems
related to the transportation of pollutants due to advection by wind and turbulent dif-
fusion. The idea of advection and di usion is fundamental to this thesis as well as its
mathematical derivations from the initial principles to the explanation of the governing
partial di erential equation. Dimensional analysis technique has been employed as well
as Fick's rst and second law of di usion. The concentration distribution of a pollutant
freed into the atmosphere may be de ned by the advection-di usion equation which is a
second-order partial di erential equation of parabolic form.
Assumptions underlying the model in this thesis have been explained, their origin
from advection di usion equation and the important properties of the plume solution
in the atmosphere. The results are then applied to solving problem in which emission
rates are strongminded in a given power plant. We demonstrated our outcomes with an
application for ongoing research of emission from diesel power plant (Anixas Power Plant,
Walvis Bay)
Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Natural Resources Management at the Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full textThe Iona Skeleton Coast Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA), straddling the border between
Angola and Namibia, has suffered through decades of civil war and poaching. While this
history has been detrimental to the community of large mammals in the TFCA, data collected
on the mammal populations are insufficient to enable effective management. Survey methods
such as aerial counts and community-based monitoring have various shortcomings. Therefore
camera trapping, which has become important in surveying wildlife worldwide, could become
an essential monitoring tool also for the TFCA. However, camera traps tend to capture large
numbers of images over short periods of time. The cost and time involved in the manual analysis
of such voluminous datasets are the major limiting factors in camera trapping.
Deep learning-based computer vision methods proposed to date to address this problem were
found unsuitable for application to camera trapping in the TFCA, being computationally too
expensive, requiring specialised hardware and large training datasets, focusing on only one
species per photograph or relying on static backgrounds between sequential images. On the
other hand, the method developed in this study requires only an entry-level computer and
relatively few training data while handling multi-species photos with changing backgrounds. It
is able to detect and distinguish between humans, vehicles and four large mammal species of
importance in the TFCA, namely giraffe, impala, oryx and zebra.
Trained on images sourced from the web and applied to 4 000 camera trap photos, the system
yielded a recall rate of 85.7% in detecting human-related object classes and 59.1% in detecting
the presence of animals in camera trap photos. Its precision in detecting animals was 100% while
its precision in distinguishing between the four large mammal species was 96.8%. Furthermore,
frequency distributions of photographs inferred by computer roughly correlated to published
diel activity levels for each of the four mammal species investigated. The method did not prove
useful for the monitoring of rare species, however.
Based on the results, the method could be used to filter for photos containing human-related
objects as well as animals, and to label or pre-label photos by species. This may makeuseful to monitor anthropogenic disturbance, aid in compiling species inventories, document
animal migration, map species distributions and pick out images of species for which population
densities are to be estimated. Further work would be needed to test the reliability of computer
vision inference as an index of activity levels as well as to develop the ability to monitor rare
species successfully.
Conceptual and technical aspects of using camera traps in combination with the proposed computer
vision method are discussed for application in the Iona Skeleton Coast TFCA. However,
the utility of the method has the potential to extend far beyond the TFCA and could be applied
to a wide range of conservation projects
Investigation on Ethical Strategies to Enhance Good Administration
No full textThis investigation sought to investigate about the ethical strategies that enhance good administration. The objectives of
the study were achieved through a descriptive survey which was used. This investigation was guided by five objectives such as: The
definition of Ethical strategies. However, respondents had different views on this statement and they described ethical strategies as
way of applying good methods to improve the organizational performance in terms of administration. The types of ethical
strategies that can enhance good administration, respondents on the types of ethical strategies to enhance good administration.
However, according to the findings majority of respondents indicated that code of conducts as the guiding principles that enables
how employees should conduct themselves in the organization it is one of the significant type of ethical strategy that can enhance
good administration, proper communication channels among different departments, recognition in terms of job well done among
employees, fair treatment of employees. The findings on the factors that can prevent ethical strategies towards good
administration, many respondents indicated that the factors are corruption, nepotism, tribalism, collusion, fraud and moral values
in the organization which prevents new developments, lack of employee motivation, lack of honesty and fairness, lack of equality in
the organisation and corruption are among the factors that can prevent ethical strategies towards good administration According
to findings on the importance of ethical strategies in administration indicated that ethical strategies builds strong relationships
with stakeholders, it attracts high qualified employees for the organisation, it enables more employees want to work for the
organisation. Based on the findings on the effectiveness of ethical strategies, it indicated that the effectiveness of ethical strategies
is to keep employees to be well informed with all information through proper relationships with stakeholders, ethical strategies
holds accountable to those who neglect the code of conducts, rules and regulations, and policies of the council, ethical strategies
are effective in a way that it helps to revise the evaluate the administration criteria
The Effect of Training on Cattle Farmers’ Productivity and Efficiency: A Case of Kunene region, Namibia
No full textDespite the importance of cattle and the enormous economic contribution to the country,
communal cattle farmers seldom earn increased return on investment because of their
adherence to their traditional system of farming. Such as outdated animal husbandry practices,
high stocking rate, high breeding ratio or no bull in the herd and the sale of old stock (10 years
and above) instead of younger cattle (heifers and tollies) that have potential to fetch premium
price from the market. The use of traditional animal husbandry practice is due to the lack of
appropriate farming knowledge and skills. Sometimes, there are financial limitations to source
required production inputs that can enhance productivity and efficiency. Therefore, this impact
not only on farmer’s sustainability but on meat supply in the country. However, this
compromises the country’s food security agenda. To this end, Developmental projects funded
by Germany Government (GIZ) and Agribank of Namibia amongst others have implemented
capacity building for farmers to complement the Directorate of Agricultural Production
Engineering and Extension Services (DAPEES). The project aim was to enhance farmer’s skills and
knowledge to enable them to upscale their farm productivity and efficiency as well as
strengthen their capacity to withstand climate change challenges (E.g. drought). Thus, this study
investigates whether training intervention improved farm productivity and efficiency and
identify ways in which the cattle farmers can improve. The study shows that a significant
number of cattle farmers that received training adopted the best cattle husbandry practices
such as appropriate tagging, castration, proper deworming and vaccination amongst others.
Thus, the result shows that the calving percentage and offtake rate (number of heads sold per
annum) for trained farmers exceed that of their peers (untrained farmers). This paper used a
treatment effect model to determine the causal relationship between training and farm
productivity. Estimators such as Regression Adjustment (RA), Inverse‐Probability Weighted
(IPW) regression, the Augmented Inverse Propensity Weighted (AIPW) estimator and Inverse
Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment (IPWRA) estimator were used to estimate the
treatment effects of training on offtake rate). Estimation was based on survey data obtained by
interviewing 212 cattle farmers from various districts of Kunene Region, Namibia. One
treatment level used for this study was training (Treatment is coded as one if a farmer is trained,
zero otherwise). The result shows that farmers who were trained had Potential Outcome Mean
(POM) sales of 176 cattle per annum compared to the untrained farmers who had a POM of 92
cattle. In addition, a Stochastic Frontier Analysis model (SFA) was fit to determine the factors
that contribute to inefficiencies in cattle production. The study shows that as farmers get older,
they get more experience and efficient in cattle production. However, farm type (full time or
part‐time) and family size also reduce inefficiencies in cattle production. This was attributed to
the fact that; full‐time farmers spend more time on the farm and could closely supervise and
monitor their farming enterprises. In addition, large household size tends to complete farm
activities on time using less man/days. The constant return to scale was as well determined
using capital and labour as factors of production. However, for labour, it was accepted, and
reject that of capital (capital invested in production cost) as the coefficient for capital is less than
one. This could be attributed to the multi‐purpose of farming observed in Kunene region other than for commercial reasons. Thus, family members are utilised as farmworkers, and farmers do not attach value/cost to this factor of production. Thus, farm capital could be used for other personal reasons, other than just production. Overall, the study found that as farmers age, they get more experienced, and become more
productive and efficient in their cattle production ceteris paribus
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of Masters of: Health Sciences at the Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full textPrematurity is the major cause of neonatal death world-wide, Namibia included. In Namibia, the neonatal mortality has increased dramatically from 19 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 30 deaths per 1000 live birth in 2014
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the degree of master of computer science in the department of computer science at the Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full texti
DECLARATION
I, Ndinelago T Nashandi, hereby declare that the work contained in the thesis for my Master in Computer Science, entitled ‘A Persuasive Souvenir System (PSS) to increase Namibian museums turnout using RFID Technology’ is my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it at any university or other higher education institution for the award of a degree.
I further declare that I fully acknowledge any sources of information used for the research in accordance with the rules of the Institution.
Signature: NNashandi Date: 20/01/2020
SIGNATURE OF THE SUPERVISOR
I, Prof Hippolyte N Muyingi, herewith declare that I supervised this thesis.
Signature: ______HNMuyingi_______________ Date: ___20/01/20________________
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Abstract
An advance in information technology has seen many museums in the world embarking on extensive and continuous developments that can be used to improve visitor experience. The extensive and continuous developments are done by creating an interactive environment that attracts more visitors to museums and sustains their role of imparting knowledge and cultural education (Busch & Sieck, 2015). There are abundant possibilities in addressing low museum turnout. The possibilities range from simple a written guide to a virtual and augmented reality; the increase of handheld devices is more used to enhance visitors’ experience within the museum (Hsi, 2004). Initial observation of turnout at Independence Memorial Museum suggests that very few Namibians, compared to foreign visitors, visit local museums. This information is based on statistical data provided by the Independence Memorial Museum, generated from 2015 to 2018, and data from an online questionnaire that was conducted in this study. The data shows that very few Namibian visits museums or do not repeat their visit to museums. Independence Memorial museum, whose impressive multi-story building was inaugurated on the 20th March 2014, revealed that statistics of local museums visitors are low or approximately equal to the number of foreign visitors. Windhoek city has the highest number of inhabitants in the country, with a population of approximately 400 000 (City of Windhoek, 2016). Only 5% of 400 000 Windhoek population visits the museum yearly, making it a worrisome number. The number of students’ trips to museums, organised by schools, is also low, with figures dropping from 5 583 learners in 2015 to 3 290 in 2018. This proportion is low, considering the fact that Windhoek has the highest number of schools in Namibia. This shows how Namibian citizens are far away from attaining knowledge that is preserved therein. This also threatens the sustainability of cultural institutions, including museums, as well as their mission of educating the society about their Namibia cultural heritage. This study proposed a possibility of solving this problem through persuasive technology by developing a Persuasive Souvenir System (PSS) that could attract and retain more visitors. The study posits that visitors will spend more time viewing the most attracting or interesting artefact in a museum. Thus, marking
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up this experience through a souvenir of the most visited artefact can be a trigger to attract the visitor to revisit the museum. Alternatively, by sharing the experience, the visitor would get friends or close relatives becoming interested to also visit. The system for Namibian museums was developed using C# programming language, and it makes use of identification and tracking technology, which aims to promote and boost the numbers of visitors to local museums by rewarding them with a souvenir card, consisting a photo of them, coupled with their most attracted or interested artefact and description. This system has been successfully developed through a prototyping methodology, and it has also been evaluated. However, due to limited time trial, and taking into account that there is a possibility of visitors taking longer time to decide whether they should visit the museum again or not , the study could not prove if the PSS is indeed able to convince visitors to revisit the museum or new visitors to start visiting the museum. The persuasive component evaluation is part of suggested future works, and it will need to be tested in a long term