University Botswana Journals
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AN INVESTIGATION ON THE PREVALENCE OF CYBERBULLYING AMONGST UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA
Get PDFInformation and Communication Technologies are widely regarded as crucial enablers to communities andindividuals to filter and manage information that is of interest to them. Hence, academic institutions providestudents with access to the Internet. However, research has established that there is a negative side to thisaccess such as Cyber bullying. Whilst numerous studies discuss the use of social media and bullyingamongst the youth in Botswana, no study was found that investigated the prevalence of Cyber bullyingamongst undergraduate students in the University of Botswana. It is in recognition of the dearth ofinformation on this phenomenon that this study investigated the prevalence of Cyber bullying amongstundergraduate students of the University of Botswana. Furthermore, this study investigated students’involvement in collective or group cyber bullying against individuals or organizations and the reasons forpartaking in such. This exploratory study adopted a critical interpretivist approach and the research datawas obtained through semi structured interviews with undergraduate students in the University ofBotswana. The findings of the study show that Cyber bullying is prevalent amongst undergraduate students.It is hoped that tertiary institutions will in light of the research findings, develop strategies to mitigate theantisocial behavior
REFLECTIONS ON NURSING EDUCATION ISSUES IN BOTSWANA
Get PDFChanges in nursing global market environments such as shortage of nursing personnel and increasingdiversity of students and health care providers demand that nursing education be aligned with newdevelopments if it is to continue being relevant. In this paper, the authors make a reflection on thechallenges facing nursing education in Botswana in the 21st century and suggest strategies for movingforward. The challenges explored include nursing personnel shortage, the increasing diversity of nursingstudents, increasing diversity of the health human resources in the country, and the proposed merger of thehealth professions’ regulatory councils. Among the strategies for moving forward, it is obvious that workingin silos is no longer a viable strategy for health professionals and that collaboration should start right fromtraining. Although education is the main focus of the paper, practice cannot be ignored because teachingprepares students for practice
IMPORTANCE AND ASSESSMENT OF SOFT SKILLS IN SCHOOL CURRICULUM1
Get PDFThis paper analyses the importance of soft skills and provides a brief explanation of how they could beassessed in our school curriculum. It also makes some recommendation toward ensuring the assessment ofsoft skills in Botswana primary and secondary schools
FLOOD DISASTER VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN RAMOTSWA AND TAUNG VILLAGES, BOTSWANA.
Get PDFThe paper explores the spatial and physical factors that increase communities’ vulnerability to flood disasters using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The paper is derived from a 2013-2015 study which carried out a vulnerability assessment of factors that contribute to flood disasters in Ramotswa and Taung villages in the South East District of Botswana. The study adopted Turner et al (2003) vulnerability framework which uses exposure, sensitivity, and resilience as part of the vulnerability model. The study provided baseline information that could be used to explore and implement new measures to reduce vulnerability and the severity of the effects of floods on urban and peri-urban settlements. Planning interventions that could be undertaken in urban and peri-urban villages to reduce community vulnerability to flood disasters were also highlighted in the study. Botswana, an active member of the United Nations (UN), is committed to sustainable human settlements planning and development. However, the country is faced with constraints; such as inadequate financial, technical and human resources to enable sustainable human settlements’ planning and development. One of the adversely affected areas is land use planning which reduces the vulnerability of settlements and communities against flood disasters. Globally there has been a long standing recognition within the UN system of the importance of sustainable human settlements in global environmental change. For instance, in 1975 the UN established the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. In 1992 Agenda 21 was released by the UN to address human settlements issues which included sustainable land use planning and management of disaster-prone areas. More recently, in 2015 the UN adopted seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2016-2030. One of these is SDG 11, which aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” This paper contributes to the debate of issues in sustainable human settlements in Botswana
Axonopus compressus (Beauv.) used a mechanism of soil pH modification to sustain growth in heavily oil polluted soil
No full textThe objective of this study is to assess the survival of three grass species, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers, Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn and Axonopus compressus (Beauv.) in contaminated crude oil polluted soil as potential phytoremediant as well as propose a mechanistic explanation for their responses. Top soil (0-15 cm depth) was air-dried, sieved (˂2mm) and the composite sample was treated with crude oil in the following concentration, 0%, 10%, 20% (w/w) in three replicate arranged in a Complete Randomized Design. The vegetative parameters assessed were plant height, number of leaves, stem circumference, leaf length, root length and biomass. Soil pH was measured every two weeks. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content of soil samples before and after plant growth was also analysed. Bacterial species associated with the soil samples after plant harvest were determined. Result obtained showed that growth parameters of the test species were suppressed by the contaminant when compared to plants grown in unpolluted soil. These differences were significant (p<0.05). One significant finding was the ability of Axonopus compressus to thrive and sustain growth in all concentration of polluted soils with survival rate of 100% in comparison to others. The study suggests that A. compressus is able to sustain growth in 20% crude oil polluted soil by employing a mechanism of soil chemistry that modifies pH of the soil from acidic to neutral conditions
The Journey Thus Far: Chronicling Events of the Only Medical School in Botswana
Get PDFThe University of Botswana (UB) started the only medical school in the country in 2009 in order to meet the increasing need for Batswana doctors who could deliver excellent health care anywhere in the country. Since then, the Faculty of Medicine has graduated four cohorts of locally trained medical doctors. Prior to its start, there were a series of events that played a pivotal role in the realisation of this momentous project. The nation’s health care system had long been facing a systemic problem with its medical doctor cadre. By the mid-1980s the nation’s health care system was characterized as having less than 14% of physicians who were citizens mostly working almost exclusively at the two national referral hospitals –Princess Marina in Gaborone and Nyangabgwe in Francistown respectively. No citizen doctors were employed in district clinics and primary hospitals, hence the decision in 1998 by the government to establish its own medical school. This paper chronicles the events leading to the establishment of the Medial School and its operation
Parallel Policy Structures in Botswana: From Devolution to Centralisation Under Ian Khama’s Administration, 2008-2018
Get PDFPolicy development and development planning in Botswana have been executed through a consultative process involving all relevant structures since the country’s independence from British colonial rule in 1966. However, during Ian Khama’s administration (2008-2018) this practice was abrogated in favour of a more domineering control by the country’s presidency. The high office has done this in a manner that seemed to side-line existing governing structures and establishing parallel ones to serve the same purpose without annulling the former. Policies and programmes bearing the name of the President operated in seemingly the same space and mandate that existing structures were known to function in. The paper discuss the centralisation of power and the ‘big men’ syndrome that came with Ian Khama’s administration. Using case studies, it demonstrates the ‘big men’ syndrome exhibited by the Ian Khama administrationand the pitfalls of such governance
George Winstanley
Get PDFGeorge Winstanley died, as I have recently and sadly been informed, in England on August 22 August 2014 having some time previously suffered a serious stroke. It was only in May this year that I wrote about him in this column regarding, not least, the recent mini controversy over the adoption of the national anthem. He and I had similar beginnings –he went down from Selwyn, Cambridge in 1953 and myself seven years later, in 1960. The difference was enough to mark the change from one age to another. In 1953 young graduates such as George would have been routinely recruited by the British Colonial Office to serve in Tanganyika, or Aden or Nyasaland. Five years later, with the dismemberment of the old colonial possessions, there was a sharply reduced need for those of George’s type –one of the last being, probably, Simon Gillet. So George arrived in this country in 1954 to succeed others who had similarly preceded him since the Protectorate was pronounced in 1885
DRIVING QUALITY INSTRUCTION THROUGH TEACHER CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES IN ZIMBABWEAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Get PDFThe continuous growth of professionals’ knowledge and skills is an essential part of improvement globally in all professions and teaching in particular (Boyle, Lamprianou & Boyle, 2001). Conventional wisdom dictates that engaging in teacher continuous improvement programmes (TCIPs) results in quality instruction. Despite acknowledging the improvement practices as valuable, it has been observed that teacher continuous improvement programmes are still largely under researched in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe currently there seems to be an apparent disconnect between teacher continuous improvement programmes and quality instruction. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teacher continuous improvement programmes and quality instruction. The findings of the study are based on experiences from a selected education district in Harare, Zimbabwe. In order to understand the prevailing problem, the study adopted Peter Senge (1990)’s Systems Thinking Approach. Influenced by the Interpretivist paradigm, the study utilises the exploratory case study research design. Data collection techniques included interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. One of the key findings of the study is that the models of continuous improvement programmes directly influence quality instruction. It further concludes that both institutional and personal factors significantly impact on the character of teacher continuous improvement. It is hoped that the insights drawn from the findings would significantly contribute to the implementation of quality instruction in primary schools
COMPLEMENTARITY AND DIVERSITY BETWEEN THE UN 1974 BUCHAREST WPC AND UN 1994 CAIRO ICPD WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Get PDFThe concerns of population growth had been there from time immemorial. As far back as 500 BC, the Ancient Chinese, Greeks and Roman Empire used to recognize the implications of high population growth on resources, as described by the Malthusian principle, articulating that unchecked population growth rate is faster than food supply where population manifests exponential growth trends whereas food supply to grow in arithmetic fashion.
Overtime, the Malthusian population growth notion sparked debates which gained momentum and featured into the international political agenda after the 1945 establishment of the United Nations. Accordingly, since early 1970’s, sentiments started to crop up that rapid population growth was a hindrance to development in the third world, and hence, argued by the Neo-Malthusian capitalist oriented group that direct “birth Control” had to be introduced as a panacea to enable couples to limit their fertility thereby curbing the high population growth to be covered by the available resources. However, it was counter-argued by socialist-oriented group that “development is the best contraceptive” to facilitate the acceptance of “birth control”. Our interest is, therefore, focused on looking at the complementarity/convergence and divergence in the issues raised and recommendations made by the UN 1974 Bucharest World Population Conference (WPC and the UN 1994 Cairo International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) in relation to fertility agendas