University Botswana Journals
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The Dynamics of Cattle Farming, Bovine Disease and State Intervention in North West District of Botswana, 1966-2000
Get PDFAt independence in 1966, livestock formed the basis of Botswana’s rural economy with many Batswana dependent on it for their subsistence. Thus, on the eve of their departure, the British colonial authorities had drawn up a Transitional Development Plan which strongly recommended that the incoming independence administration embark on massive development of the cattle industry. This article analyses the historical development of the cattle industry in the animal disease prone North West District or Ngamiland. It points out how modernising institutions created by the post independence government transformed the industry and how, conversely, this development trajectory impacted on the small holder farmers, contributing to widening the enduring class disparities between cattle barons and subsistence cattle farmers in the area
Botswana College of Agriculture becomes an University
Get PDFStaff and students were ecstatic about the announcement of transforming BCA into a university, considering the prospects of new and good things to come. The mandate of the university would be expanded from merely training and researching agriculture to encompass natural resources. It was on this basis that new university was named Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN)
ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF ANGLICAN AND ROMAN CATHOLIC BILATERAL RELATIONS FROM A THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Get PDFThis paper is a critical examination of Anglican-Roman Catholic bilateral relations from a theological perspective. The main argument of the paper is that while the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches consider themselves to be in a special relationship as a result of a number of theological agreements reached over the past forty years aimed at bringing them closer together than ever before, they are far from achieving visible church unity. The achievements made over the years, in the form of agreed theological texts have, from time to time, been derailed by subtle theological differences between the two church traditions. This can best be described in the words of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin “One step forward, two steps back”. The paper concludes that given the small amount of progress, which is pushed back by a large amount of setbacks, church unity is unattainable
PAID IN FULL? JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS ON JUSTICE, PUNISHMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS AS MANIFEST IN THE STORY DEATH CONSTANT BEYOND LOVE (1978) AND IN THE NOVEL CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD (1982) BY GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
Get PDFUsing a textual analytical framework and spousal murder and honour killing as fictionalised by García Márquez in Death Constant Beyond Love (1978) and Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1982), the article examines the question of punishment framed within Judeo-Christian teachings and human rights. Honour killings and spousal murders are usually premised on the desire to control female sexuality. In these narrative works García Márquez displays anxieties over due punishment for transgressors and the non-redemptive nature of colonial prison systems and is critical of adherence to irrelevant and morally conflicted social scripts. It is evident from the narratives that whatever religious teachings and laws governing these homicides, they do not always discourage the transgressions and thereby fail to reduce instances of such crimes. Thus García Márquez raises the fundamental question of the right to life, justice and punishment
READING THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN THE LIGHT OF BOTSWANA’S 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES
Get PDFThe Book of Esther presents readers with an intriguing story of two women: Vashti and Esther. It is a story of hope for women who find themselves suffering at the hands of cruel and dangerous patriarchal homes, systems, institutions and cultures. Using the case of Botswana, this essay explores how the struggles of the two women in the book of Esther compare with the lived experiences of many African women, and Botswana’s in particular. The point I make is that the life of both Esther and Vashti resonates with the struggles of Botswana women who continue to toil and suffer from a complexity of challenges amongst them HIV and AIDS, drought and poverty. The main question I explore is what similarities and lessons, if any, can the story of Esther and Vashti offer concerning the challenges of HIV and AIDS and the declining socio-economic conditions
THE USE OF SESOTHO LANGUAGE IN COMMUNICATING PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO THE AIDS PANDEMIC IN LESOTHO
Get PDFHealth is one of the fundamental needs of human beings. As a result, it is important for ministries of health and other relevant authorities to effectively communicate health information to everyone in their nation in the local language. But the question is: How effective is the use of local languages in communicating health issues such as AIDS? This study takes a closer look at the use of Sesotho to communicate AIDS information to Basotho in Lesotho. The focus of the study is the communicative strategies employed by this speech community. To achieve this, a thematic content analysis of corpus collected from music, mass media, theatre for development and others such as public speaking is done. An analysis of the Sesotho speech community is made to find out communication patterns used in the coverage of the AIDS pandemic. The study reveals that Sesotho speech community employs various communicative strategies to conscientize Basotho on this pandemic. This study therefore, proposes a more intense approach to fighting AIDS especially by using local languages to reach everyone
TEACHER CENTERED APPROACHES: THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY’S INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS
Get PDFThis study is an exploration on the kind of approaches teachers use in their schools and/or classrooms to deliver instruction in inclusive classrooms particularly whether or not learners who have Learning Disabilities (LD) benefit from these approaches. Six primary schools in urban, semi-urban and rural areas were randomly selected and data was collected through classroom observations, interviews and document analysis. Fourteen participants were interviewed. The findings reveal that teachers delivery of instruction were mostly teacher centered a move which seemed to leave some learners minimally benefitting from the teaching and learning process especially learners who have LD. Although participants embrace the concept of inclusive education, this seems to be on a theoretical basis since in practice it seems that learners who have LD were not given learning opportunities which allowed them to participate in the teaching and learning process. Finally, participants identify some barriers such as an examination oriented curriculum, class sizes as the main barriers to practicing learner centred approaches. The study challenges the traditional use of authoritarian approaches of teaching as one way of perpetuating exclusionary circumstances within Botswana schools as it leaves learners who have LD with little chance of accessing the curriculum. A dynamic constructive relationship between curriculum, teachers and learners is suggested, moving from‘teaching the curriculum’ to ‘understanding and developing inclusive curricula’ within a social constructivist discourse
LESSONS FROM GROUP WORK ACTIVITIES: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Get PDFGroup work as a learning strategy is gaining currency in tertiary education. The reasons for group learning and assessment vary. They range from the need for students to develop skills such as cooperative learning, peer collaboration, team spirit and interpersonal communication, to the need for educators to use strategies that enable them to cope with teaching and assessing large classes. This paper evaluates group work from the students’ perspective, with focus on the lessons that students learn from group activities. A total of 100 final year undergraduate students from various disciplines at the University of Botswana participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interviews. Insights were drawn from the sociocultural theory and social constructivism theory in order to explore students’ perception of the merits and demerits of group work. The paper also highlights outstanding moments of students’ experiences during group work activities. Finally, suggestions on how group work could be efficiently utilized as an effective learning strategy in the tertiary classroom are made
THE TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY WITHIN A SOUTHERN AFRICA CONTEXT
Get PDFThe potential for Information Technology (IT) to transform and sustain any social sector has been remarked upon widely. The role of IT in enhancing sustainable development was recognized at worldwide forums like World Summit of Information Society (WSIS), 2007). The objective of the paper is to discuss sustained engagement by institutions and individuals in Nordic and Southern African Universities that could benefit from a stronger emphasis on IT and opportunities and challenges associated with such innovations. A welfare development methodology serves as underpinning construct to contextualize and operationalize the vision towards a progressive multilateral cooperation between developed and Southern African countries. As technology advancement continues to drive economic growth, in some cases, it unleashes disruptive change. Policy makers as well as business leaders therefore need to identify potentially disruptive technologies, and carefully consider their potential, before they exert their disruptive powers in the economy and society. Economic policies pursued by colonial governments were rather more concerned with the protection and promotion of economic interests of home country rather than the development of local economy. Such policies transformed indigenous economy and country into mere suppliers of raw materials and consumer of finished industrial products for colonial master, and did not focus on the welfare and development of indigenous communities. The paper concludes that IT integration requires careful application taking into consideration infrastructural differences between regions that could complicate or challenge the process. The paper recommends selected technologies, techniques and practices that would help organizations understand, anticipate, fulfil, and exceed the needs and expectations of their stakeholders, and thus producing lasting prosperity while preserving the natural resources for future generation
