University Botswana Journals
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PATTERSON’S PORNOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS: A DECONSTRUCTION OF THE SEX SCENES IN THE NOVEL THE CHILDREN OF SISYPHUS
Get PDFThe literary depiction of sex, and by extension pornography, in early modern Caribbean literature has been neglected by literary academicians. Using Susan Sontag’s theorisation of the pornographic imagination, this paper analyses sex scenes in Orlando Patterson’s The Children of Sisyphus in order to determine whether or not they could be labelled as ‘pornographic’. The analysis is done with reference to other pornographic texts and novelists from various time periods. The link between literature and pornography is discussed and its relevance to the novel under discussion explained. The sex scenes assessed are pornographic because of the gratuitous nature of the sexual details which amount to a deliberate attempt at sexually arousing the reader. Such gratuitous detail is evident in the obsessive descriptions of the sex scenes, the use of fetish, and literary foreplay
FACTORS AFFECTING PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ LEVEL OF AWARENESS ON SAFETY, HEALTH MEASURES AND RISK MANAGEMENT DURING SCIENCE LABORATORY PRACTICAL
Get PDFScience laboratory practical work is part of the secondary school curriculum. However, it is critical that the pre-service science teacher is provided with knowledge, skills and competencies that allows teachers to have the requisite level of awareness on safety, health measures, and to be able to manage risks, associated with science laboratory practical work. This study aimed to determine pre-service secondary school science teachers’ level of awareness on safety and health measures and the resultant risk management application in science practical work based on selected variables. The study design includes descriptive and cross-sectional survey methods. A sample of 84 pre-service science teachers picked using random sampling responded to a study questionnaire. Results showed that 58% of respondents were formally trained on safety and health measures and the Friedman test showed statistical differences in respondents’ rankings depending on sources of safety information used. The results also showed medium levels of awareness on safety and health measures (44.60%); general laboratory practices (39.80%); practical risk management (50%) respectively. The results of t- test showed significant difference based on training. A positive low to medium correlation found between awareness on safety health measures and risk management. The study recommends the inclusion of safety and health module in the training of secondary school science teachers
PARENTS-TEACHERS RELATIONSHIPS IN REMOTE AREA DWELLER SETTLEMENT PRIMARY SCHOOLS: AN EDUCATIONAL DILEMMA
Get PDFBased on utopian perspective, parents and teachers should cooperate on matters of teaching and learning that enhance pupils’ learning, but there seems to be a dearth of such cooperation in Remote Area Dweller Settlements primary schools. Thus, this paper examines the nature of relationships between parents and teachers in primary schools in selected Remote Area Dweller settlements of Botswana. The paper is an outcome of the revelation by some teachers that most parents from ethnic minority groups showed lack of interest in their children’s education. This study adopted a qualitative approach and it used an open ended questionnaire, classroom observation, and interviews and field notes to investigate how the language-in-education policy was implemented in linguistically and ethnically diverse situations. The concept of early socialization was used to guide this study. The findings indicate that most parents do not cooperate with teachers in regard to their children’s education, and possible contributory factors were language barrier, ignorance, different cultural practices, illiteracy and poverty. This study concluded that parents and teachers working relationships need to be redressed in order to simultaneously achieve both learners’ academic growth and educational goals
FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN BOTSWANA
Get PDFYouth unemployment rates in Botswana remain extremely high and usually exceed the national and adult unemployment rates. This is in spite of Botswana’s famed overall economic growth. This study investigates factors that contribute to youth unemployment in Botswana and how unemployed youth are positioned as agents amidst these. It is based on the analysis of secondary data as well as individual interviews and focus group discussions with unemployed youth in Gaborone and Mogoditshane. Some of the highlights of this research are that poor performance at secondary school, a disconnect between education and labour market, precarious employment, weak networking skills, gender stereotypes, and lack of youth engagement in policy making contribute to youth unemployment. In this case, unemployment cannot solely be understood as the absence of jobs. The youth perceive the labour market conditions as overwhelming their agency. Their strength lies in the potential to articulate ideas that policy makers could use to bring about change. The research suggests, among others, putting in place strategies to create an environment for decent work, motivate students to learn, initiate educational and work programmes to change gender attitudes, and strengthen platforms for youth engagement
‘Parakarungu chishovoonzi’: The Politics of Toponymy in the Chobe District, Botswana
Get PDFThis paper examines the etymologies and the historical and cultural significance of, and changes overtime in toponyms or place names in the Chobe District in northern Botswana. Drawing largely on oralinterviews, the paper reveals that the construction of toponyms in general, and the Chobe District inparticular, speaks to local communities’ lived experiences and subsequent understanding and appreciationof the intricate interconnectedness between people, the ecology, natural landscapes, and the economy. Itargues that besides being practical navigational tools in the people’s geo-locational system, toponymsare also tropes of significant historical contestations which have shaped communities’ socio-economiclivelihoods and their spiritual wellbeing. As such, most toponyms also serve as repositories of historicalevents in and around the district, and cultural heritage which continue to be cherished by these ripariancommunities. Other than being denotative and connotative in function, toponyms are also contested spaces,resulting in toponymic warfare which can be confrontational or symbolic, where major ethnic groups wantto leave their ethnonyms imprinted all over the country
Exploring the Terrain and Challenges of Youth Entrepreneurship Development in Ramotswa, Botswana
Get PDFThis study seeks to explore the terrain of youth entrepreneurship development in Botswana. It was carriedout in Ramotswa in 2016. The objectives were to examine challenges faced by youth entrepreneurswith the view of proposing possible permanent and sustainable solutions. A cross-sectional descriptiveresearch design was adopted. The data was collected using questionnaires containing structured andsemi-structured questions. Data analysis was conducted, and the results were presented using descriptivestatistics. Purposive sampling was applied to select study respondents. The study findings show that youngentrepreneurs face challenges requiring further research to understand the attendant dynamics of fundingin other parts of Botswana. The study recommends increase of funding by the government of Botswanafor capacity building and to support training and development of young entrepreneurs through relevanttargeted programmes
THE DEMONSTRATIVE COPULATIVE IN NDEBELE
Get PDFThis paper discusses the morphophonology of demonstrative copulatives in Ndebele. The focus of the study is on the internal structure of demonstrative copulatives and the phonological processes that are involved in the formation of demonstrative copulatives. There are no studies known to present researchers that examine the internal structure of demonstrative copulatives and the phonological processes that are involved in the process. The bulk of the data used in this study was collected from grammar textbooks and a few examples are generated by the authors. In this paper, we contend that Ndebele demonstrative copulatives consist of four morphemes: the demonstrative copulative base na-, the copula –n(i)-, the subject marker and the positional morpheme. We examine the phonological processes that involve the copula and the subject marker. We maintain that the complex sounds /ᵑ, ᵑk’, mp’, nt’, ns, nz/ are a result of several phonological processes that apply simultaneously in the formation of these complex sounds. These processes include labialisation, velarization, nasalisation, plosivisation, fricativisation, devoicing, ejectivisation, and alveolarisation
Interactions in a Border Zone: Conflict and Cooperation in the Northeastern Kalahari, 1849-2021
Get PDFThe northeastern Kalahari (also called Kgalagadi) border zone between the Bangwato and the Ndebele innorthern Botswana and western Zimbabwe was the scene of intense interactions among a variety of differentgroups, including pastoralists, farmers, and hunter-gatherers. The border area saw conflicts, cooperation,cattle raiding, trade (for example, of salt from the Nata River Delta), exchanges of wild animal meat forceramics, domestic foods, and iron tools, and shifting alliances in late prehistoric and early historic times.There was competition in the area over grazing land, livestock, high value plants, salt, iron, and copper.There were also struggles over rights to utilize the services of people, including the Tshwa San in the regionwho the Bangwato and Ndebele defined as ‘servants’ (bolata, izinceku, isisebenzi) in a system of hereditaryservitude that lasted until well into the 20th century. We draw on archaeological, ethnoarchaeological,and ethnohistoric data in order to assess the evidence relating to the complex socioeconomic interactionsamong the various people who resided in this heterogeneous landscape