The University of Zambia Journals
Not a member yet
787 research outputs found
Sort by
Establishing the Implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Selected Primary Schools of Zambia from 2014 – 2018
Get PDFDespite the full-scale implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Zambia’s primary schools, behavioural related health problems among adolescents persist which include early and unprotected sex, sexual abuse, early marriages and teenage pregnancies. This study aimed at examining the implementation of CSE in selected primary schools of Kabwe, Lusaka and Choma districts. The study utilised mixed method design with a pupil population drawn from 15 selected primary schools. The sample size of the study was 700 adolescents (aged 12 – 17 years) and 42 key informants among educationists (i.e. headteachers, teachers, guidance and counseling teachers, and Ministry of Education and health senior officials). Simple random sampling was utilised to select pupils while purposive sampling was employed to select key informants. Interview guides, questionnaires and focus group discussions were employed to collect statistical and narrative data. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and thematic analysis. Findings of the study demonstrated statistical evidence of the implementation of CSE in the selected primary schools. There was above a 90% extent of the implementation of CSE in the selected schools and average frequency of 71.8% of it being taught predominantly in classroom environments. The study indicated a commencement period of grade five with teachers being trained and oriented in the integration of CSE in carrier subjects. The finding revealed that dominant topics in CSE were puberty, reproduction, HIV and AIDS. The study further identified challenges in the implementation of CSE in primary schools which included limited materials on CSE, religious indoctrination and cultural barriers, CSE being a low impact programme and a lack of inclusion of school gender-based violence in the taught lessons. With these challenges, the study noted that in spite of CSE being implemented, there is a continuation of sexual maladies that distract adolescents from attaining an education. The study therefore recommends more capacity building in the pedagogy, teacher training, production of CSE teaching and learning materials and resources. It is further recommended that effective integration of CSE should be coordinated within the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health
From Pandemic to Endemic COVID-19; Rethinking Omicron and What Policy Moving Forward
Get PDFBecause of Omicron, we are at a tipping point where we are likely to have a paradigm shift from pandemic to endemic COVID-19. Omicron springboard us into a hyperdrive tsunami of COVID-19 cases. And for the first time during the pandemic, the world reported more than 1 million confirmed cases per day. This may simply mean that we are going to have our fifth regular circulating coronavirus that doesn’t cause severe disease, but infects everybody pretty much every year, regardless. Given this background, what is the best science we have gathered so far and going forward, how will Omicron affect policy shifts of COVID-19 mitigations strategies
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT TO THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF LITERACY IN SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF LUSAKA DISTRICT IN ZAMBIA
Get PDFThis article advances the contribution of the physical environment to the teaching and learning of literacy skills among Grade Two pupils in selected primary schools of Lusaka District of Zambia. As a descriptive qualitative research design, data was collected through face-to-face interviews and observation using the observation checklist and an interview guide. The targeted population was all primary schools, Grade Two pupils, and early grade teachers of Lusaka District. The sample size was four (4) primary schools and one hundred and twenty (120) Grade Two learners and thirty (30) primary school teachers handling early graders. Findings of the study revealed that the teaching and learning environment played a significant role on the teaching and learning of reading. Diverse factors in classes such as location of the school, print environment, class size, sitting arrangement, design of the class, and nature of materials contributed to the teaching and learning of literacy in the targeted schools. The researcher recommended that head teachers and class teachers should ensure that early grade classroom environments have rich print environment, the Ministry of Education should build library facilities in every primary school to encourage a culture of reading in Zambia. The government should shut down bars and drinking places located near schools
Social Distancing in the Context of Covid-19 in Selected Christian Denominations in Mulungushi Community of kapiri-Mposhi District
No full textThe article examines Christian attitudes towards social distancing in the context of contagious diseases in places of worship. It is situated in the context of the imposed measures such as practicing social distancing in places of worship in selected Christian denominations in the wake of COVID-19 in the Mulungushi community of Kapiri-Mposhi District in Zambia. The article employs Kurt Lewin’s theory of change in order to examine how change was espoused on Christian churches in the face of COVID-19. The study was qualitative and used a case study design to capture the views and attitudes of adherents in selected churches towards social distancing to contagious diseases. Semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions were the main methods of data collection. The article shows that Christians were fully aware of contagious diseases that call for restrictions to both the infected and affected in society and that the practice of social distancing in houses of worship was appreciated. The article concludes that the Christians in the selected churches generally had positive attitudes towards social distancing in ways which affirm the change processes postulated in the theory of change
Imagining A Relevant Religious Education in Modern Day Zambia
No full textThe title of this article implies that Religious Education (R.E.) in Zambia has become irrelevant and outdated. This is true. There has not been any real change in our R.E. syllabuses since the 1977 Educational Reforms. As a result, our R.E. is no longer relevant and modern. Therefore, we should not be surprised if there is no more R.E. in our primary schools; and if in our secondary schools R.E. is compulsory only in the junior academic pathway! However, England which has inspired Zambia’s curricula, R.E. is compulsory there in all primary and secondary schools. Why is there such a big difference between England and Zambia? This article provides an understanding of what has happened to RE in England from which lessons can be learned. This article is based on three books. The first one comes from the Commission on Religious Education in England (CoRE); the other two were published in Zambia. The article is divided into three sections. Section one tries to answer the question, why is there such a difference between England and Zambia in terms of R.E.? Sections two and three offer some good suggestions how to make R.E. in Zambia relevant again and even compulsory like in England
AN EXPLORATION OF THE CONTENT IN POLITICAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN SONGS:
Get PDFThe period of political electioneering is one of the most heated and divisive moments in Zambia’s political landscape. This article draws upon and reports the findings of a qualitative study which collected, interrogated, and using content and discourse analysis, analysed the content of 28 election campaign songs prior to the 2016 Presidential and General Elections. Specifically, the content of 14 pieces from each of the two political parties, which were aligned to the two political heavyweights, Edgar Chagwa Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front and Hakainde Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development, were analysed. The article reveals that the content of the songs supporting various candidates running for political office mixed past achievements, campaign promises with messages focused on personalities such as derision for the opposing political opponent, and hero-worshipping of their preferred candidates. In this context, the songs analysed in this article meet the criteria for typical political election campaign songs according to the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse
Gastric Ulceration and Gastritis in Three Wild Temminck’s Ground Pangolins (Smutsia temminckii) Under Rehabilitation in Zambia
Get PDFWild rescued pangolins are known to adapt poorly in their captive environment, where many die under rehabilitation. Gastrointestinal disease and pneumonia are the most common causes of death in pangolins. However, literature on the pathology of gastric ulcers is rare.
The current case report describes the necropsy and histopathological evaluation of three Temminck’s pangolins that died under rehabilitation in Lusaka, Zambia. Grossly, gastric ulcerations of the fundic gland mucosae were seen in the stomachs. Inflammatory cells and erosions of fundic gastric gland mucosa were seen on histopathology. The morphological diagnosis of gastric ulceration with gastritis was attributed to stress and inappropriate diet.
The findings are expected to increase knowledge in pangolin diseases and thus, improve the conservation efforts to save the pangolin species from extinction
Kaleya River Catchment Regional Estimation of Reservoir Capacities Using Sonar and GIS Approaches
Get PDFSmall reservoirs in arid and semi-arid areas help rural communities cope with prolonged dry spells and hence, the need for their continuous monitoring and assessments. However,it is challenging to survey many reservoirs using the traditional sounding methods. In this regard, bathymetric information could be used as a tool to monitor the available surface water to provide data for water allocation decisions and sustainable management of reservoirs. Despite the availability of new remote sensing-based methods forbathymetric surveys,their utilizationin Africa in general and,Zambia in particular, remained low by the time this study was conducted.This paper presents modern bathymetric survey and analysis techniques applied for quantifying the capacities of small reservoirs, using the case of the Kaleya River Basin in southern Zambia. The objectives of the survey were to: i) create a database of reservoir storage capacities; and ii) introduce an efficient modern approach of monitoring small reservoir storage capacities. A remote-controlled Coden hydrographic survey boat equipped with a SONAR device mounted with Trimble OmniSTAR VBS providing DGPS was used to capture and record hydrographic data with a millimeter accuracy. Data was analyzed using Surfer 13 Golden software to produce contoured bathymetric maps of surveyed reservoirs. From this information, the reservoir capacities were computed, thus providing information on water stored in reservoirs in the basin. A regional model was also developed for faster and simpler estimation of reservoir capacities from their surface areas. The study concluded that the quantification of storage capacity of small reservoirs using SONAR and GIS provides a quicker and cost-effective way of obtaining accurate bathymetric data. Such data is important in guiding water allocation decisions at farm level and water permit allocation decisions at a catchment scale
FOREWORD
Get PDFWe are pleased to have these selected articles, as part of the Journal of Natural and
Applied Sciences (JONAS) special issue. On behalf of the organising committee, I
express satisfaction in the Journal’s interest in publishing outputs from our DII -2021
Conference whose focus is to support sustainable infrastructure delivery in Africa.
The DII-2021 conference is part of the DII Conference series on Infrastructure
Development and Investment in Africa. It aims to provide an international forum for
leaders, researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders in infrastructure development
to discuss and devise ways of maximising benefits from infrastructure development
in Africa, and achieve outputs that will inform policy
Application of High Precision Mining for Optimising Load and Haul Operations at Kansanshi Mine, Zambia
Get PDFMining of copper and gold at Kansanshi is done in the Main and North West pits using hydraulic excavators and a mining fleet of haul trucks. In the recent past, there has been reduced truck deployment, increased truck and shovel waiting time, reduced production and reduced grade/quality of ore delivered to crushers. Therefore, there is need to improve productivity and optimise operations in mining, loading and hauling. This paper focuses on the use of High Precision Mining (HPM) through use of Wenco’s dispatching algorithm to achieve the best utilisation of all mining equipment and maximise production.
The study involved establishing the precise bucket positioning, production rates, cycle times and monitoring the material type and quality /grade of ore delivered to the crushers. This was done by using BenchManager which relies on the motion of the Global positioning System (GPS) antenna scribing an arc as the excavator is rotated to determine the equipment’s centre of rotation by placing the bucket with the teeth flat on the ground (anywhere) and taking the rover and measuring left and right tooth on the outside of the teeth and taking note of the coordinates, first eastings then northings and lastly the elevation. With the tolerance of X=0.5m, Y=0.5m and Z=0.5m, it was noted that the events of a bucket mining out of the assigned polygon were reduced to about 50cm in distance from 34% to 15% and from 10% to 8% in terms of mismatches.
The use of precision mining has led to reduced mining cost of about 10.3$/BCM, improved fleet/production reporting, high grade of the material delivered to the crushers of about 75% from the previous 65%. These results indicate that there is a strong business case for implementation of a Wenco fleet monitoring and dispatch system at the min