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Effect of COVID-19 on Mental Health of Health Workers in Malawi (Policy Brief)
No full textMental health or psychological well-being is integral to an individual's capacity to lead a fulfilling life, including forming and maintaining relationships, studying, working, or pursuing leisure interests and making day-to-day decisions about these issues. Disturbances to a person's mental well-being can adversely compromise their capacity to make the right choices, leading to diminished functioning at the individual level and broader welfare losses for one's household and society. A recent analysis by the World Economic Forum estimated that the cumulative global impact of mental disorders in terms of lost economic output would amount to US$ 16 trillion over the next 20 years. The estimate marks mental health as a significant concern for public health, economic development, and societal welfare. The current study by Covid-19 and Mental Health in Malawi project has also highlighted the importance of mental health and the effects of neglecting it.This study was carried out under the Covid-19 Africa Rapid Grant Fund, supported under the auspices of the Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) and administered by South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), South Africa's Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec (FRQ), the United Kingdom's Department of International Development (DFID), United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Newton Fund, and the SGCI participating councils across 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Shaping the Future: Responsible Artificial Intelligence Use by Learners in Higher Education Institutions
No full textShaping the Future of Education and Research: The Role of ICT Policy Frameworks in Higher Learning Institutions
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Full text linkNoneThis study investigates varietal turnover dynamics in Ugandan banana farming systems by assessing diversity, examining the adoption and discontinuation rates of recently introduced varieties, and exploring the factors influencing turnover at the farm level. This addresses a critical knowledge gap in understanding the long-term retention and discontinuation factors of the improved varieties. Varietal diversity and turnover were analysed for 399 farmers using the Shannon Diversity Index (H') and the Four-Square Method, along with descriptive statistics to capture farm-level and regional variations. The results demonstrated variations in regional and farm-level banana diversity. Farmers cultivate an average of nine varieties in their fields, and farm-level diversity patterns do not mirror the regional patterns. The Shannon Diversity Index (H=2.006) and Equitability Index (EH=0.450) indicated a moderate variety range, but uneven distribution, with the Eastern and Northern regions exhibiting the highest varietal diversity and evenness. FHIA 17 was the most prevalent improved variety but experienced some decline. Regional variations in varietal turnover exist, with the eastern region leading to the introduction of improved varieties and the central region exhibiting the highest discontinuation rates. The study emphasises local contexts in banana variety management and improvement strategies, highlighting the need for breeding programs that balance agronomic performance with consumer preferences to ensure the sustainable uptake of improved varieties. We recommend implementing a varietal replacement strategy with clear targets and incentives to encourage farmers to adopt improved varieties, improve varietal tracking using digital platforms and surveys to monitor progress and inform decision-making, and strengthen the seed value chain to ensure a sustainable supply of high-quality planting materials.CGIAR SeedEqual Initiativ
Teaching language and literacy in Grade R: The value of oral storytelling.
Full text linkFurther information about the project as well as creative commons licensed resources can be
accessed here: https://www.jet.org.za/clearinghouse/projects/grade-r-maths-and-languageimprovement-project/resources or contact the developers at [email protected] low early grade reading levels of South African children have been well documented (Van Staden & Gustafsson, 2022), and recent PIRLS results highlight challenges with reading comprehension at Grade 4 level. Recent research indicates that these reading challenges begin long before Grade 4. Many children are not acquiring alphabet knowledge early in their reading trajectory, and these children are more likely to struggle with reading fluency and comprehension in later years (Wills, Ardington & Sebaeng, 2022). In addition, we know that reading comprehension has a strong base in oral language which develops from the earliest years of a child’s life (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001; O’Carroll & Hickman, 2012; Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998). Although young children are too young to read, “reading comprehension has an oral language complement, and oral language can be addressed at very early ages before children can read” (Spencer, Weddle, Petersen & Adams, 2017, p. 2). Drawing on research and best practice for teaching young children, this paper highlights the key principles that underpinned the development of materials to strengthen oral language teaching in Grade R. These materials were developed as part of a story-based Home Language programme for the Gauteng Grade R Language Improvement Project, a provincial teacher training programme targeting all Grade R teachers in public ordinary schools, special needs schools and registered ECD centres in Gauteng. This materials-development project provided a unique opportunity to develop an affordable, open-source, evidence-based programme for South African children and their teachers in the 11 official South African languages. The development team needed to ensure that the teaching and assessment activities for the project were curriculum aligned and covered the content in the CAPS Home Language for Grade R.The Grade R Language and Mathematics Improvement Project is an initiative of the Gauteng Department of Education and its key partner, the Gauteng Education Development Trust. The project is managed by the JET Education Services with Wordworks and UCT's Schools Development Unit as technical partners. The Grade R Language Improvement Programme was developed by Wordworks with generous funding from the United States Agency for International Development and the Zenex Foundation.
Wordworks is a South African non-profi t organisation that focuses on early language and literacy development in the first eight years of children’s lives. Since 2005, Wordworks has developed and shared its programmes and materials with those adults best positioned to impact on young children’s language and literacy development (www.wordworks.org.za)
كيفية بناء قاموس عربي مدرسي حديث: استغلال الموجود لتحقيق المنشود
Full text linkفي ظِلّ التطّور السريع للتكنولوجيا وانتشار استخدام الإنترنات في مختلف مجالات الحياة، أصبح بناء الموارد اللغوية الإلكترونية ضرورة مُلِحّة لتسهيل عمليات التعلُّم والتواصُل في العصر الحديث. وفي طليعة هذه الموارد، يأتي بناء قواميس اللغة العربية الإلكترونية كوسيلة أساسية لتوفير المعرفة اللغوية الشاملة والموثوقة للمستخدِمين.
تواجه عملية بناء قاموس عربي إلكتروني نفس التحديات التي واجهت في الماضي القواميس الورقية، بحيث تتطلّب اهتماماً كبيرا وتفكيراً جديدًا وإبداعًا متواصلًا لتحقيق النجاح في هذا المجال. أحد أبرز هذه التحديات يَتمثّل في تنوُّع اللغة العربية نَفسِها واحتوائها على تراث ضخم يمتدّ على آلاف السنين والذي أدّى إلى صعوبة كبيرة في اختيار المادة التي يجب عرضُها. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يبدو بأن عدم الفهم الصحيح للبنية اللغوية العربية، مثل تحديد بوضوح عدد ونوعية حروف الأبجدية، وكيفية عرض التركيب الجذري والتصريف، أدّى إلى خلط كبير في تصميم القواميس وفوضى في تنظيم محتوياتها، سواء كانت ورقية أم إلكترونية.
من الناحية التقنية، يَتطلّب بناء قاموس عربي إلكتروني استخدام تقنيات متقدمة في تصميم وبرمجة واجهة المستخدِم، خاصّةً مع التحديات الفنية المرتبطة بالعربية كلغة يتم كتابتها بخطّ مُتّصل. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يجب مراعاة ضمان التوافقية مع مختلف الأجهزة والمتصفِّحات، والتأكّد من تجربة المستخدِم السّلِسة والفعّالة.
على الصعيد التعليمي، يجب أن يكون القاموس العربي الإلكتروني مُوجَّهاً بشكل خاص، وفي مراحله الأولى، لتلبية احتياجات الطلاب والمتعلِّمين الجُدد، مع توفير محتوى تعليمي مُلائم ومُفيد يتماشى مع مناهج التعليم الرسمية والحديثة. كما ينبغي أيضاً توفير ميزات تفاعُلية، مثل الألعاب التربوية والترفيهية، التي تساعد في تعزيز فهم المفردات وتحفيز الاهتمام بالتعلُّم.الملخص:
في العصر الرقمي، شَهِدَ تطوّر الموارد اللغوية تقدّمًا كبيرًا، لا سيما في مجال صناعة المعاجم. ومع انتشار التكنولوجيا، هنالك طلب متزايد على الحلول المُبتكَرة لتلبية الاحتياجات اللغوية المتنوعة. أحد هذه المساعي هو إنشاء قواميس مُصَمَّمة خصّيصًا للمبتدئين، تهدف إلى تعزيز مهاراتهم اللغوية وتسهيل التعلُّم بطريقة جذّابة. في هذا المقال، نستكشف عملية بناء قاموس مدرسي إلكتروني باستخدام وسائل تكنلوجية متطوِّرة ومعايير حديثة. لقد تمّ تسليط الضوء على المشاكل التي تعاني منها القواميس الإلكترونية العربية الحالية وتم اقتراح حلول للكثير من التحديات التي تواجه اللغة العربية، مع تقديم طريقة لكيفية ترتيب المداخل وتصميم الواجهة الرئيسية للمعجم الإلكتروني.
الكلمات المفتاحية: قاموس مدرسي، صناعة معجمية، سكاتش إنجن، معيار LMF، لسانيات حاسوبية، لغة عربية
Abstract
In the digital age, there has been great progress in the development of linguistic resources, especially in the field of lexicography. With the spread of technology, there is an increasing demand for innovative solutions to meet diverse language needs. One such endeavor is to create dictionaries specifically designed for beginners, aiming to enhance their language skills and facilitate learning in an engaging way. In this article, we explore the process of building an electronic school dictionary using advanced technologies and modern standards. The problems facing current Arabic electronic dictionaries have been highlighted, and solutions have been proposed for many of the challenges facing the Arabic language, while presenting a method for arranging the entries and designing the main interface of the electronic dictionary.
Keywords: School Dictionary, Lexicography, Sketch Engine, LMF Standard, Computational linguistics, Arabic Languag
DRYAD - Data Sharing Best Practices for Researchers and Institutions Working with AfricArXiv
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https://africarxiv.pubpub.org/pub/v87bgk80#n15xl15cdhbThis session is part of the AfricArXiv Webinar Series on Open Science for the Discoverability of African Research
Letter to supervisor
Full text linkIn this ‘Letter to supervisor’, including a workshop presentation of an overview of his doctoral research project (appendix 1) and a letter to the Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office (appendix 2), the author shows the extent to which some in academia and foreign policy in Germany oppose resistance and hostility to the research findings indicating that it is the racist and genocidal ideology of colonial inspiration and neocolonial instrumentalization which is responsible for most episodes of post-independence violence and instability in the Great Lakes region of Africa, as well as the root cause of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda from 1959 to 1994 and currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
All of his doctoral research is carried out using a decolonial and interpretivist approach which allows him to display his positionality, to express judgments and sometimes his indignation, but always with respect and rigor with regard to the best standards of research and above all, with ethics. Because the subject affects the lives and the future of more than 14 million individuals currently living in Rwanda, and others several times more numerous in other countries in the Great Lakes region. The ultimate objective of his research is therefore neither an academic exercise disguising a bad ideology, nor the pursuit of a career, and even less doing business through research.
Although his research project is still a work in progress, the author considered it useful to share his thoughts at this stage with those who are usually interested in the Great Lakes region and the debate on how to address the colonial past. Any comments, observations, documents or new information related to the research topic are therefore welcome at [email protected]