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Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia.
No full textTuberculosis and diabetes mellitus are public health challenges globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) Global report on diabetes reiterated that diabetes is a well-known risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) and that diabetes is associated with poor tuberculosis treatment outcomes, while tuberculosis is linked with deteriorating glycemic control. Namibia is among the top 30 high TB burden countries in the world (WHO, 2016) and added to that is the increasing prevalence of diabetes among women and men of about 6% and 7% respectively as reported by National Demographic Health Survey (MoHSS, 2013). The report further reiterated that the prevalence of diabetes differs among the geographical regions as well as according to gender. The same distribution is also noted on the prevalence of TB in Namibia. This may suggest a possible connection in the prevalence of diabetes among TB cases and vice versa, which will have implications on the management of both diseases. However, no current or past surveillance data is available on diabetes and TB comorbidities in Namibia to support policy and management strategies for comorbidities of these two diseases. This study therefore aimed to assess the prevalence of diabetes among TB patients in the Khomas region and established if diabetes and TB comorbidity influences the treatment outcomes of TB patient
Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Natural Resources Management (Nature Conservation) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full textBioturbating organisms are known for their benefits to landscapes and ecosystems. Studies have to date largely focussed on invertebrates with very little known about the role burrowing mammals play, especially nocturnally active species. They are thought to be vulnerable to land degradation - such as shrub encroachment and livestock overgrazing - leading to increased negative effects on land productivity through the loss of their associated ecosystem services. The abundance and diversity of burrowing medium-sized nocturnal mammals between neighbouring livestock and wildlife land use types were compared in this study in three biomes in Namibia: north Kalahari, south Kalahari, and the Pro-Namib Desert. It postulated that bioturbation by nocturnal mammals is an important feedback mechanism leading to improved soil conditions and therefore improved vegetation productivity. The study used nocturnal road strip counts during the growing (summer) and dry (winter) seasons of 2016, 2017 and 2018 to quantify differences in medium-sized mammal population dynamics. High resolution multispectral unmanned aerial vehicle imagery was used to determine macropore abundance on the northern Kalahari sites, as well as vegetation productivity was estimated for the three study areas and years using Sentinel-2 satellite images. Rangeland productivity was investigated in the field by measuring grass biomass and moisture infiltration around burrow clusters and control sites with no burrows. On the ground burrow dimension and temperature measurements were collected to investigate the ecosystem services from bioturbation. The study found higher diversity and abundances of nocturnal medium-sized mammals and their burrows on the Kalahari wildlife reserves. Furthermore, clear seasonal patterns were observed. The Kalahari sites had more sightings during the dry season, whereas the Pro-Namib had more during the growing season. Aardwolf (Proteles cristata) and springhare (Pedetes capensis) were mostly recorded on the wildlife reserves and during the dry season, while bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) were mostly recorded during the growing season. Scrub hare (Lepus saxatilis) showed no difference between seasons and land uses, although it was the species most sighted on the Pro-Namib livestock farm. Springhare were the most prolific species recorded in the Kalahari. Importantly, benefits were indicated by areas around burrow clusters showing higher vegetative productivity (more grass and higher soil moisture). This study has revealed and supported evidence that these under-studied mammals play an important role in ecosystem functioning and environmental integrity, which leads to more stable and resilient ecosystems. Further research is needed in Namibia in general, but particularly in the Pro-Namib on bioturbators and their activities
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN INFORMATICS in the Department of Informatics at the Namibia University of Science and Technology.
No full textSocial media use within the business and branding spheres has exploded globally over the past few years. While Namibian SMEs are actively involved in social media marketing, there is a lack of deeper knowledge of audience analysis, campaign analytics and proper strategic planning for full benefit extraction. This is compounded by the relative lack of locally produced and published research within the field of social media that explicitly tackles the topic of analytics and social media strategy. Furthermore, existing frameworks present some challenges towards implementation, such as a lack of focus on contextual environmental advantages that might inform creative strategy. Through a literature review of existing platforms and research frameworks, we find that these existing frameworks do not take into account potential perceptions that may help or hamper their implementation among SMEs with differing levels of social media maturity. Guided by qualitative methods like focus groups and brand interventions, and bolstered by quantitative methods like secondary data analysis and public surveys, we find that issues of user perception, messaging presentation and placement are key themes that plague successful implementation and exploitation of social media strategy and analytics data for business intelligence. This research thus presents a better understanding of the local social media marketing and analytics environment, determines currently existing best practices among lager organizations, and uses this data to formalize a social media marketing and analytics framework for Namibian SMEs. The research takes on a pragmatic bent that complements the fast-evolving nature of social media, and theoretically contributes a novel, social-first adaptation of the popular DeLone & McLean Information System Success Model of IS research
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Informatics At the Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full textThe Ministry of Health and Social Service (MoHSS), as part of the government of The Republic of Namibia and with the help of Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs), has implemented Health Information Systems (HIS) within its different directorates to maximise the quality of care. Healthcare Information Systems offer benefits such as improving service delivery, providing real-time information, reducing organisation and personnel costs, and improving the quality of patient care. However, these benefits may not be seen in organisations where systems implementation and the adoption of policies and procedures are not adequately custom-made for systems users. Currently, the MoHSS has over 60 systems within its different directorates, with some functional and some not. Furthermore, there is no roadmap to guide the Ministry in the planning and adopting of HIS and the integration of existing systems donated by NGOs. Hence, to ensure maximised potential of the HIS, the MoHSS should have a clearly documented and ready-for-implementation roadmap that can serve as a strategic guide to the implementation of HIS.
This research provides a roadmap which will guide HIS adoption to enhance quality healthcare in Namibia. Based on the research objectives, a qualitative method approach was selected. A case study strategy was adopted for the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Interviews, documents, and questionnaires were used to collect data about the case studies.
Activity Theory (AT) was applied during data analysis. AT provided a deeper understanding about employees and technologies that could affect the development of a roadmap. The findings showed that governance, stakeholder involvement, HIS strategic plans, HIS experts and IS infrastructures are factors to take into consideration in the adoption of HIS by the Ministry.
A roadmap for the implementation of HIS was developed based on the interpretation of the data. The roadmap provides a guide for the planning, selection, implementation, and adoption of HIS to produce quality healthcare services in Namibia
Exploring Herero Genocide Survivor Narratives
No full textConference presentationContemporary post-colonial writers are increasingly, through their fiction, delineating suppressed and occluded histories which do not form a part of the dominant “Grand Narratives” of a nation. Such writing has been facilitated due to the collapse of the rigid binaries of the colonial past, both literal and ideological derived from Post colonialism and Post modernism which allow for the plurality of divergent voices. Thus, multiple competing discourses and histories provide for the excavation of hidden narratives. The German Herero war (1904-08), also called the “Herero Genocide” or the “first holocaust”, forms a part of the troubled history of Namibia leading to collective amnesia and silence on the part of the Germans on the one hand and extensive debate, discussion and demands of reparation by the Namibians on the other. There are several stories of the German-Herero war which are in the communal memory of the Herero people, but are neither recorded nor preserved for posterity. It is imperative that the narratives are collected and preserved, because the elders of the community, who are the repositories of knowledge, are dying. Our research has solicited personal narratives to provide for empirical evidence about the cause, trajectory and effects of genocide on the Herero communities in order to critically explore cultural sites where genocide is most crudely felt from an interdisciplinary perspective with a view to adding to the body of literature of this period, for purposes of preservation and analysis. Research in Genocide studies in Namibia remains Euro-centric and fragmentary. We hope to problematize Trauma theory as we examine transgenerational trauma in these narratives
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science at Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full textIndustrial Control Systems (ICS) control critical industrial processes. For example, there are ICS networks that control electricity, water distribution, food, and pharmaceutical and beverage production. Historically, ICS networks were safe from network attacks because they were not interconnected to business Information Technology (IT) networks and the Internet. However, with the passage of time, ICS were interconnected to business networks. Because traditional IT networks are built on the TCP/IP suite, ICS became susceptible to network attacks that already existed in TCP/IP networks and to ICS specific attacks.
Successful attacks in ICS networks may compromise the ICS infrastructure, system configurations and components. ICS security standards and frameworks were drafted and approved by different organisations for use in the implementation of ICS security. ICS can be secured using these standards or any other means as recommended by ICS security experts. Even though ICS are secured using these recommended methods, they are still being successfully attacked by Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). APTs are targeted attacks which are successful because they do not attack any system that they might be in but become active in only those systems they were designed for. APTs have the ability to circumvent available security control and regular intrusion detection systems, and in addition, antiviruses are not able to detect APTs.
There is no known technique available to identify APTs that attack ICS because APTs are discovered after they have been in the system for some time and usually only after they have executed their payload. Subsequently, this means that present ICS security implementations are not capable of defending ICS when they are attacked by APTs.
By design, ICS security systems should be capable of defending ICS components from any attacks. They are likened to the biological immune system which is responsible for detecting and protecting the biological body from harmful microorganisms. The biological immune system’s most crucial function is that of preventing infections and eradicating already establishe
Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences of the Namibia University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of master’s degree in Health Sciences
No full textABSTRACT
The presence of toxic heavy metals such as Cr, Pb, Ni, As and Hg in foods constitute serious
threat to the health of consumers, particularly humans. Continual consumption of foods with
high level of toxic metals can lead to bioconcentration and bioaccumulation with long-term
health implications. This study was carried out in Tsumeb, Grootfontein and Otavi local
municipal areas in the Oshikoto region of Namibia. The focus was to assess the level,
distribution and chemical mobility of selected toxic heavy metals in soil and farm produce
from agricultural farmlands from these local municipalities. An experimental research design
was used in the process of data collection. Soil and food samples from farms were collected
over a period of two years. Samples were pre-treated and heavy metals content extracted
using mineral acid microwave assisted digestion protocol. Qualitative and quantitative
analysis of the metals was by the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy
(ICP-OES).
The mean concentration of heavy metals in soil samples across the period ranged from 0.8
mg/kg; 1513.72 mg/kg; 7.97 mg/kg; 1.21 mg/kg; 2.03 mg/kg 13.18 mg/kg and 9.36 mg/kg
from Tsumeb. The level in Grootfontein varied from 0.12 mg/kg; 1317.07 mg/kg; 7.97 mg/kg;
0.08 mg/kg; 1.61 mg/kg and 1.35 mg/kg and 8.18 mg/kg, while the concentration from Otavi
ranged from 0.41 mg/kg; 1082.9 mg/kg; 7.96 mg/kg; 0.53 mg/kg; 1.75 mg/kg 7.82mg/kg and
8.49 mg/kg for Cr, Mn, Hg, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb respectively. The mean concentration of these
toxic metals in food samples across the period also ranged from 5.8 mg/kg; 12.49 mg/kg; 0.68
mg/kg; 1.27 mg/kg; ND and ND from Tsumeb. The level in Grootfontein varied from 1.7
mg/kg; 153.5 mg/kg; 0.41 mg/kg; 1.42 mg/kg; 5.13 mg/kg and 13.22 mg/kg 2.06 mg/kg, while
the concentration from Otavi ranged from 0.64 mg/kg; mg/kg; 62.3 mg/kg; 0.65 mg/kg; 0.61
mg/kg and 7.33 mg/kg 13.87 mg/kg 4.38 mg/kg for Cr, Mn, Hg, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb respectively.
Analyzed metals were widely distributed in both soil and food samples. Metallic accumulation
factor (AF) of > 1 was obtained in Manganese, Copper, Nickel and Zinc food samples which
revealed chemical mobility of metals from labile metals fractions obtained in soil samples.
The mean concentrations of 77.7mg/kg, 60.0 mg/kg, 17.8 mg/kg and 50.4 mg/kg for
Manganese, Copper, Nickel and Zinc respectively obtained in food samples were found to be
higher than permissible levels in foods
Engendered militancy in war time: An exploration of select female authored autobiographical writing in Namibia
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.
Supervisor: Prof Sarala KrishnamurthyAfrica was colonised and subjected to brutal colonial rule. Namibia, through South African rule was subjected to apartheid which was a localised form of colonialism tailored to oppress Africans. Namibia gained independence on 21 March 1990 after a long and costly war for freedom. Several African freedom icons have published their life narratives for different reasons, so did the three female authors whose texts are under study in this thesis.
Existing studies on the Namibian female autobiography do not necessarily approach female life writing as an intertextual narrative. This study revealed that the intertextuality of the three texts places it in a favourable position to enforce or counteract historical documentation. The three autobiographies under study are: The Price of Freedom by Ellen Ndeshi Namhila (1997), Making a Difference by Libertina Inaaviposa Amathila (2012) and Taming my Elephant by Tshiwa Trudie Amulungu (2016). The three autobiographies do not only contribute to the Namibian literary archive on the liberation struggle, but narrate private as well as public spaces that are usually neglected in narratives of a gendered space such as war. The three texts enlighten women’s contribution to the liberation struggle, their experience in exile and integration into independent Namibia. It proofs that Namibia should integrate and value the experience and knowledge of all Namibians for a better Namibia. It also illuminates the central role of art in daily life.
The trauma inflicted through apartheid manifests itself on all socio-cultural levels, therefore a wide approach that will expose the impact of trauma on all these levels and people’s response and their way of coping with trauma is necessary. This study proposes a complimentary approach of both western theories focussing on trauma as event and contemporary socio-cultural theories that regard trauma as a prolonged process to give insight into other knowledge systems in order to achieve plurality. Concepts of classical Greek theatre act as framework to enlighten how women overcomes fear and establish cultural nomos to push forward the spirit of freedom. A comparative approach between European and African literature reveals that Africans have their own concepts to enforce cultural lessons and through exploration of literature these concepts can be comprehended and applied universally.
The female authored autobiography is an important tool to illuminate matters of identity in the newly liberated Namibia. It becomes a lens through which to explore racial, tribal, gender, and class relations. All three authors testify to the discrimination they have to deal with in Namibia after independence. Their personal experiences testify to how apartheid oppressed and divided Namibians at all levels. As educated, strong-willed women they are instrumental in breaking down biases to achieve plurality.
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The positions that they occupy in an independent Namibia embodies the transformation that they fought for. Namhila qualified as in the field of Library and Information Science and held several influential positions in this field in independent Namibia. Amathila held several positions in the Namibian government, embodying dynamism and transfer, while Amulungu is active in achieving language plurality in Namibia. The authors thus become symbols of a liberated Namibia
Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia
No full textA growing population contributes to increasing demand for water. Windhoek’s water supply is based on the use of surface and groundwater. However, all potable water resources within a radius of 500 km have been fully exploited. The rainfall is uncertain and long spells of severe droughts are frequently encountered. There are four main sources of water supply to the central area of Windhoek: surface water obtained from the Von Bach, Swakoppoort and Omatako dams; groundwater abstracted from 50 municipal production boreholes; reclaimed water recovered by suitable treatment from both the New Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant (NGWRP) and the Old Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant (OGWRP).
Natural water sources which include rivers, lakes and ponds can be contaminated with microorganisms which inhabit the environment in the form of planktonic organisms and sessile biofilms. Microbial agents, associated with waterborne outbreaks, include bacterial organisms (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholera, amongst many others) as well as viruses (Hepatitis A virus, rotavirus and Norwalk virus), protozoa (Giardia and Cryptosporidium), helminths and fungi can contaminate water systems