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Tense in Proto-Bantu
Get PDFThe focus of this chapter is the appearance of tense in Proto-Bantu (PB). Most Niger-Congo (NC) languages are aspect-prominent, having no tense contrasts, and the same is generally assumed for ancestral Proto-Niger-Congo. PB emerged from part of an eastern subgroup of NC to which we refer as Bantoid. Some 5000 years ago or earlier, tense was innovated at an early stage in a region along and to the east of the Cameroon Volcanic Line. This means that tense is not unique to PB but is inherited by PB from its forebears. We propose two lines of verbal development for Narrow Bantu (NB) based on the verbal phenomena we traced. The data did not always allow us to base our analysis on the strict application of the Comparative Method to the exponents of tense and aspect, but examination of specific systematic features of the verbal systems in NB and parts of Bantoid led us to infer plausible paths of verbal development to explain the data
Software Sustainability Institute 2023 Fellowship Application
Get PDFThis is the application for Software Sustainability Institute 2023 Fellowship Application. I explained my plans for the fellowship as follows:
To develop bioinformatics and computational genomics course
To develop short courses in areas of data science using R & Python
To develop short training modules about preprints and open science, I would like to be part of the SSI fellowship because the SSI community highly compliments my own goals and passion to promote Open Science and develop the capacity of our local scientists, computationally
Open Peer Reviewers in Africa Module III Assignment Template doc
No full textThis template document, available both in .pdf and .docx format, was developed in the context of a Wellcome Trust funded project to pilot a three-part workshop series called Open Peer Reviewers in Africa. This document is meant as a template for facilitators to share with workshop participants as asynchronous assignment following the journal club in the context of Module III of the workshop - Module I template slide deck available here; Module II template slide deck available here. Details about the workshop and information about how to run your own version of the workshop can be found in the Trainer Guide
Assessing OpenStreetMap roads fitness-for-use for disaster risk assessment applications in developing countries: the case of Burundi
No full textEvidence is showing how disasters caused by extreme weather events are surely becoming more frequent at all latitudes, and are definitely representing an ever growing risk in the floods- and landslides-prone territory of Burundi. The still present inequalities of its society and the vulnerable economy make this African country a very relevant and particularly complex case for hazards risk management. A fundamental step in this task is so correctly map the so-called exposure elements to risk, which most notably comprise the population and households, the critical infrastructure, and the transportation network. In relation to this latter exposure element, this article explains in details the analysis that was undertaken in order to estimate the fitness-for-use of the publicly available OpenStreetMap (OSM) roads network database in the context of a recent multi-hazards risk assessment and mapping exercise on behalf of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Edges And Extraction: Evidence From Chichewa
No full textA growing body of work argues that Agree has the effect of “unlocking” certain domains (phases) such that otherwise illicit extraction from them becomes permitted. However, existing proposals disagree on whether Agree is in fact always required to Unlock phases for extraction, or only required for extractions that would otherwise bypass the phase edge. We argue that constraints on extraction from DP in Chichewa reported in Mchombo (2004, 2006) provide evidence for the latter theory, which privileges phase edges. We go on to show that this theory makes correct predictions about Dinka, the language Van Urk & Richards (2015) originally argued provides evidence for the opposite conclusion
Decolonising Knowledge: Enacting The Civic Role Of The University In A Community-Based Project
Get PDFThe need to work in partnership with communities in a meaningful and impactful way has become a core part of university planning, in many countries around the world. In the Global South, the potential for the Eurocentric knowledges and power structures to dominate such partnerships is pervasive. This article reports on findings of a participatory action research project conducted with community members in a socio-economically disadvantaged community in South Africa who had identified a need to improve school-community cooperation in educating local children. Analysis of our findings, framed against broader cultural and historical contexts, suggests that when the role of university-based ‘experts’ is one of facilitation rather than ‘delivery,’ then not only is participation more effective, but, also, the process and products of knowledge democratisation can be realised more effectively. We thus provide unique insight into the way relationships between the university and the community can be reconceptualised, from a position of knowledge and epistemic hierarchy to one of epistemic democracy. We discuss the (civic) role of the university in enabling this co-construction of knowledge, and in developing the shared meanings and understandings that promote decolonisation and enable social change
Advocacy and Capacity Building in Open Access (OA) and Open Science (OS) to top management staff in African Higher Education Institutions, in Egypt
Get PDFDay 1 Recording
https://africarxiv.pubpub.org/pub/41o17vxi#day-1-recording
Day 2 Recording
https://africarxiv.pubpub.org/pub/41o17vxi#day-2-recordingThis was the second of a series of workshops on Advocacy and Capacity Building in Open Access & Open Science to top management staff in African Higher Education Institutions by the AAU and supporting partners PLOS and TCC Africa. It was hosted by the British University in Egypt
The Uptake Of Wildlife Research In Botswana: A Study Of Productive Interactions
Get PDFRelated resources:
- https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14392991
- https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14392988
- https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14393177
- https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14393225This study set out to identify and understand whether research carried out in or about Botswana Botswana has been focused on producing useful and used work in the area of wildlife and related natural resources, with a view to improving the management of these resources. The study investigated this by examining the interactions of researchers and stakeholders engaged in the management, conservation, and use of wildlife resources in northern Botswana. This work draws on the idea that broader societal impact of research can be estimated by following interactions of researchers with potential users of their research throughout the research process. This approach, based on the idea of productive interactions, acknowledges the difficulty of attributing the uptake, use, and impacts of research findings, and moves the focus of investigation from outcomes at the end point of investigation to all the stages and processes of research. Interactions of researchers with potential users of the research - its stakeholders - increase the likelihood of research findings being put to use. In the thesis, this process is viewed through the concept of an extended community of practice that demonstrates mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. The study used a mixed methods case study approach including literature review, surveys of principal investigators working under Government of Botswana permits and audience members of a public outreach event, interviews, analysis of document content and bibliographic records, and ad hoc participant observation to establish patterns of interaction among researchers and stakeholders working in northern Botswana, and to investigate perceptions of research use. The study found that the northern Botswana's research community of practice consists of a strong core of researchers based in academic institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) who interact with more loosely connected members of the private sector and several levels of government, and with local community members. Findings included that researchers who engage with non-academic stakeholders outside the inner core of this community of practice at early stages, and throughout the research process, are more likely to see their research applied. Their success also appears to be linked to their commitment to working longer-term in northern Botswana, which allows for more, and deeper, interactions with stakeholders. Findings of this study point to validation of the concept of productive interactions in a local community of practice, with effects that extend beyond Botswana and southern Africa. While productive interactions are already taking place in this community, many of them brokered by NGOs, increased deliberate incorporation of the productive interactions approach into the practice of government managers, researchers, and the tourism private sector is likely to increase the relevance, awareness, and uptake of the resulting findings, and to build trust and understanding among research stakeholders
Online Classes during COVID-19 Pandemic in Higher Learning Institutions in Africa
Get PDFDuring COVID-19 period students usually had to go to a physical place for learning. Nonetheless, the outbreak of the COVID-19 has birthed an array of highly creative innovations that have cut across several industries but has exposed the lack of technology in these sectors including the already fragmented education sector of African countries which needs restructuring and transforming. Many public and private Universities have had to be reactive but face steep contextual challenges in the conventional methods of creating, delivering, and capturing value in the education sector. This paper aimed to investigate online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in different universities in Africa with a focus on five universities. The study adopted the Constructivist Theory. The research was guided by three main objectives including (1) To explore the effectiveness of online education in African Universities; (2) To assess the challenges facing online classes during COVID-19 in African universities; and (3) To determine possible strategies to curb challenges facing online education in higher learning institutions during COVID-19 and post-pandemic in Africa. The study employed a qualitative and quantitative method in data collection. The targeted population is lecture students from five Universities in African countries including Tanzania. The result of the study indicated that students learned more in less time and liked their classes more when ICT-based instruction was included. Notwithstanding, the majority of the participants demonstrated that learners in higher institutions in Africa have trouble accessing the E-learning technology system
Entrepreneurship Education’s Influence on Learner’s Entrepreneurship Intention in South African Schools
No full textYouth unemployment remains a South African problem and a global concern. Entrepreneurial activity enables people to identify opportunities and start new business ventures helping in addressing Youth unemployment. This study focuses on assessing the influence of entrepreneurship education on the learners’ intention towards entrepreneurship careers in high schools. A quantitative study was conducted consisting of 240 grade 12 learners with entrepreneurship education from the three townships in the City of Tshwane namely Mamelodi, Atteridgeville and Soshanguve. A structured close-ended questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. Findings have proven a relationship between theoretical education and experiential learning with learners’ intention towards entrepreneurship, with experiential learning significantly influencing the development of entrepreneurship intention in learners. Hence, to improve effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in high school learners, there should be emphasis on experiential learning. Study further indicated that entrepreneurship as a subject has an influence on the choice of entrepreneurship as a career. It is for this reason that learners should interaction with business people globally in order to gain exposure to people who have succeeded by taking entrepreneurship as a career