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The Female Face of Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textThis paper examines the female face of migration in sub-Saharan Africa. In the last two decades, there has been an increasing amount of research on feminization of migration, which has begun to fill the gap created by the earlier focus on male labour migration. Women in earlier migration research were seen as companions to men, passive non-decision-makers in the migration process. Currently, Sub-Saharan Africa market demand influences who migrates. The article seeks to put in perspective the recent developments in female migration and to readdress the question of stereotypical female migrants. To understand the dynamics of these female migrations, the paper focuses on causes and changing configurations of emerging female migratory flows. More women are now migrating independently and as main income-earners instead of following male relatives. Further, women’s migration experiences often differ significantly from men’s. Female migrants are disproportionately young and single. There is less availability of work for women. Women particularly the younger ones from rural areas are migrating to work as domestics. Service jobs such as domestic work, child care, elder care, health care, are female-coded jobs in sub-Saharan Africa. Their wages are low and not subject to regular laws of supply and demand. The majorities are clustered in certain types of industry – particularly manufacturing and empirical evidence seems to indicate that some move into this sector from the domestic service and the informal sector. Women migrants are found to have more social and economic ties to places of origin. The paper suggests that Sub-Saharan African governments should pursue policies that empower migrant women, promote pro-poor employment strategies that favour informal and formal labour markets and those which take into account women’s changing role in migratory flows and reflect the needs and priorities of migrant women.Â
The Influence of Motivation on Secondary School Students\' Performance in English Language
No full textRethinking the Justification of Teaching Morality: Review-Based Evidence
No full textThis article aims to stimulate dialogue on the urgent need to teach morality as an integral part of life-long learning. The article is premised on the claim that moral responsiveness and conduct can only be achieved through moral education. Based on a critical analysis of relevant documents, the article attempts a justification of teaching morality. Specifically, it seeks to answer the question of whether or not morality can be taught in both formal and informal situations. It goes deeper into the inevitability of teaching morality, raising scholars’ views on the moral concerns inherent in the teaching enterprise. Furthermore, the article grapples with the issue of whether teaching is a moral undertaking, the aspects in which teaching is a moral enterprise, and the extent to which the role of the teacher is implicated in moral education provision. In conclusion, the review confirms that, like academic disciplines, morality can be taught as well as learned and that the teaching of morality is not limited to school or college premises only. Finally, the article contends that the teaching of morality is not an obligation of just professionals in the teaching sector but of all and sundry
Roles of Gender on Forest Management in Unguja, Zanzibar: A Case Study of Chaani and Pete Villages
No full textThis paper focused on roles of gender on forest management in Chaani and Pete villages, in Unguja, Zanzibar. The paper examined the roles of women and men in the management of forest resources. In total, 200 people were interviewed where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Information and data on gender involvement in forest conservation and management were procured through interviewing respondents using questionnaires and interview guides. Focus group discussions and observation were also used in data collection. The results of this study indicated that people interviewed participated effectively in forest management through tree planting, establishing tree nurseries and woodlots, participating in campaigns on tree planting and forest committees among others. Further, the findings indicated that illegal forest products harvesting, wildfire, uncontrolled grazing and charcoal making are challenges facing forest management in Pete and Chaani villages. The study recommended that, enforcement of laws, by-laws and policies will increase involvement of men and women on the management of forests.Â
Management of Medical Wastes: Public Awareness and Associated Health Risks
No full textA study was carried out in 49 institutions involved in the provision of health care services in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. The aim was to assess the common practices with respect to the management of medical waste. Awareness of workers in the institutions on the public and environmental health risks associated with improper management of medical waste was also assessed. The results showed that the most common types of wastes include sharps, waste blood and fluids, and anatomical and pathological wastes. About 91.8% of the facilities separated medical wastes depending on their types although 77.6% of the facilities did not treat the wastes before disposal. The commonest method for disposal of solid wastes was land filling (57.1%) while for liquid wastes; most facilities drained them into the municipal sewage system (85.7%). Large proportions of interviewed workers were aware of the environmental (59.2%) and public (69.4%) health risks caused by improper management of medical wastes although some of them violated the regulations related to waste management. It can be concluded from this study that although the generation of medical wastes is increasing, there is still lack of health education on proper methods for waste management among workers in health care institutions. This calls for the need of awareness programmes and enforcement of legislation on proper medical waste management in order to prevent hazards and risks to the public and environment
Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Learning: The Approach of National Universities Commission of Nigeria
No full text The origin of distance education at the university level in Nigeria dates back to 1974 with the transformation of what used to be correspondence studies to distance education by the existing conventional universities thereby making them become Dual-Mode institutions. While a single mode open and distance learning at the university level was introduced in 1983, it became functional in 2001. However, the issue of quality assurance was not in place until 2009 when the National Universities Commission (NUC) in charge of the quality assurance in Nigerian universities established a unit to ensure quality in open and distance learning. Although NUC is specialised in regulating the activities of conventional universities, the unit convened a stakeholders workshop to develop guidelines for open and distance learning in Nigerian universities with resource persons from the Open University, United Kingdom. The outcome of the workshop was the development of programme evaluation form for open and distance learning programmes.    This paper critically analyses the evaluation procedure by comparing it with critical areas that any framework for managing open and distance learning quality should address as proposed by the Common Wealth of Learning. The strengths and weaknesses of the NUC evaluation procedures were determined and suggestions were offered on how to improve the evaluation procedures by taking into cognisance of Nigeria’s present technological and infrastructural challenges
Distance Education and Family Business Development
Get PDFDistance education over the decades has generated tremendous excitement both inside and outside higher education. For some, it offers the potential for learning new audiences; it offers the opportunity fundamentally to transform learning delivery and the competitive landscape. Distance learning benefits may outweigh the disadvantages for students in such a technology-driven society. However, before indulging into the use of educational technology a few more disadvantages should be considered. Through the years, all of the obstacles have been overcome and the world environment for distance education continues to improve. Some obstacles to distance education is the lack of direct face-to-face social interaction. However, people become used to personal and social interaction online it is becoming easier for learners to both project themselves and socialize with others. This paper is a literature review on the importance of distance education commonly known as Open and Distance Learning. The main objective of this paper was to come out with the link between distance learning and improved leadership and the businesses. The literature and empirical studies show the importance of distance learning and the family business development. Scant literature shows that, family-owned businesses have been considered in terms of training to improve leadership skills and business management skills. It is learned that, family business owners assume they do not have time to leave business and attend formal classes. The paper recommends the Open and Distance Learning in higher learning institutions to design suitable programmes for family-owned businesses towards improving and advancing knowledge and skills for business sustainability
Trends of Avicennia marina Productivity as Influenced by Climatic Seasons: A Case Study of Mbweni Mangrove Forest Ecosystem
No full textAvicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. is a salt tolerant plant that grows in the saline environment along the coastline. A study was carried out at Mbweni Mangrove Forests aimed at evaluating the effects of different climatic seasons on the productivity, growth, survival and spread of A. marina. A. marina litter falls were collected in nine litter traps set randomly at different stands of the mangrove forest where A. marina occupied at a density of 0.10 individual/m2. Monthly collected litter were sorted into separate components, i.e. leaves, stems and seeds, weighed, recorded and mean weight values were calculated. From the litter, Sodium ions were determined by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer method while Chlorine ions were determined by Ion Chromatography method. In leaf litter accumulation, the highest production was found in September with a mean weight of 78.53g/m2. For Sodium and Chlorine ions, the mean concentration started to rise during the dry season of June to September. Lowest leaf litter mean values were recorded in April with a mean weight of 7.23g/m2 and the concentration of Sodium and Chlorine ions was found lower during the wet season of April and May. For the propagule organs, data were recorded for only three months in which the highest accumulation was found in April with a mean value of 19.3g/m2. During wet season in the month of April, high rates of propagules accumulation with dispersal was accelerated by water runoff leading to establishment of new colonies. For the duration of dry season (June to August) the soils had extreme salinity due to low rainfall. The inorganic ions, sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl) started to accumulate in the plant in order to maintain the homeostatic control, turgor pressure and osmotic adjustment. Accumulation of these ions and salts resulted to high productivity of leaf litter in September as a means of removing excess ions and unwanted salts. This was facilitated by strong wind that finally brought short rains in the month of November that also resulted to new vegetation. From this study, it can be concluded that varying climatic seasons has effects to A. marina productivity, growth and survival in the salt stressed environment, indicating that mangroves have a salt tolerant characteristics
Assessing Students’ Awareness of the Blended Learning: A case Study of Open University of Tanzania
Get PDFThis paper presents the findings of the study that assessed students’ awareness of the Blended Mode of Learning (BML) in ODL context, Open University of Tanzania (OUT) as a case study. Specifically the study assessed the level of students’ awareness on BML, examined the usefulness of BML to OUT students and lastly identified challenges facing students in learning through BML. The study was mainly qualitative by nature. The study also employed a phenomenology research design. Data were collected through both telephone and face-to-face interviews. Population of this study involved all postgraduate students from Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences who pursue their studies through BML. Moreover, the study employed a sample of forty (40) continuing postgraduate students. The named sample was collected through convenience and snowball techniques of sampling. In this study, data were analyzed qualitatively by forming themes and sub-themes. The study findings revealed that most of students are not well informed of the concept BML apart from the fact that it is the mode of learning they use in their studies. However, students seem to be well informed of MOODLE as an on-line learning platform of the BML. Students credited positively the usefulness of BML as compared to other learning modes used by OUT. The findings further indicated BML meets students’ learning expectations. Moreover, findings revealed a number of challenges impeding the effective use of BML. Finally, the paper concludes that BML is useful as an instructional and learning mode in ODL context
The Influence of Parents on Students’ Academic Performance in Tanzania: The case of Ilala Public Primary Schools
Get PDFThis study investigated the way parents’ participation in school activities influence students’ academic performance in public primary schools of Ilala district in Dar es Salaam region. It also sought opinions of parents on how to improve students’ academic performance. The study involved purposive and stratified simple random sampling procedures to obtain a sample of 53 participants. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaire and documents reviews. The findings show that the ways to achieve high performance of students include increasing the number of qualified teachers, building hostels for students staying far from schools and providing adequate learning materials to students. The study reports that the influence of parents to the schooling of their children is to pay contributions, to offer guidance and counselling, to check the academic progress and to provide learning materials for their children. The results reveal that parents were not involved in various school activities because of their low awareness among themselves, daily activities and being ignored by school administration. This study recommends that the government and other education stakeholders should employ qualified teachers and improve facilities in school environment, and ensure good working conditions for teachers to enhance effective teaching