UNAM Open Access Journal University of Namibia
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A preliminary description of the syntax and morphology of interrogatives in the Shona language
Get PDFThis article describes some idiosyncratic properties of interrogative particles in the Shona language from the view point of their morphological and syntactic behaviour. This arises out of the observation that in syntactic structure, there are instances in which interrogatives can substitute for the nouns about whose enquiry they are made. It would make an interesting study to determine the extent to which interrogatives can stand as surrogate nouns. Shona marks for interrogatives using both segmental and supra-segmental strategies. The following are examples of segmental interrogative markers: sei ‘why’, ko? ‘Why/how come’, saka? ‘so?’, -ei? ‘why?’, chii? ‘what?’, ani? ‘who?’, -i? ‘what/when/which?’, ngani? ‘How many?’. Supra-segmentals generally use the strategy of placing high tone marking on specific segments. Moreover certain interrogatives can simultaneously combine within the same interrogative sentence, chiefly for emphasis. At the same time, there are some interrogatives that are not compatible with each other. In addition, interrogatives seem to have semantic features that are generally associated with [±Human], [±Count], [±Affirmation], etc., in addition to the common feature [+Interrogative]. This paper sought to examine how these features influence the syntax of interrogative sentences in terms of the compatibility and incompatibility properties of certain interrogative particles as well as determine how the same features pro-actively and ‘intelligently’ select the range of potential answers in the Shona language
Influence of media convergence on newspaer readership in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFFears about the imminent death of the print newspaper in the face of the ongoing digital revolution have been widespread for some time. But with miniaturized media tools and hand-held, internet-ready communication technologies offering unlimited on-the-go access to the news via multiple online platforms, prognostications to the effect that the hard copy newspaper may go extinct in the nearest future seem no more an idle speculation. Indeed, print media financiers, publishers, editors, and practitioners have not hidden their concern about the drastic effects of technology. This study comes on the heels of the widespread speculations that the emergence of digital media gadgets that enable online news access would deplete the economic viability of print newspaper houses by pushing news readers online. The situation became increasingly worrisome when some emerging scholarship reported that younger newspaper readers were abandoning the print copy newspaper for electronic and online news sources, which they believed offered greater ease and convenience. A survey (n=431) of respondents drawn from mass communication educators, practicing journalists and civil servants in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Results showed that though the industry faces a significant economic decline, predictions that convergent, digital technology will compel readers to completely abandon print newspapers for digital news sources are not yet a reality, even though print’s business model is seriously strained. Survival strategies already adopted include cover price increase, headlines-online-details-in -print, collapse and merger of beats, downward review in wage bill/pay cuts and print run cuts. The study recommends that publishers and editors invent creative and engaging print contents and other strategies such as inserting interactive DVDs in some of their print issues, as had been experimented at some point. Results could be tremendous where such newspaper contents also focus primarily on their immediate surroundings, giving local readers exactly what they want – such news stories that are either not readily available on the web or are routinely overlooked by the mainstream media
Learning in the most marginalised contexts. Namibian teachers' folk pedagogy in pre and lower primary classrooms
Get PDFThis paper describes a qualitative study of Namibian teachers’ understanding of children’s learning in the most marginalized contexts. Interviews of nine teachers from three schools revealed the complex ways in which teachers predict development and make pedagogical decisions to support learning. The findings suggest that teachers rely on their folk pedagogies in solving dilemmas emerging at the intersection of theory and practice. Neither pre- nor in-service teacher training equips teachers to situate new knowledge in the living context that poses complex problems in marginalized contexts. The study concludes that learning in the most marginalized contexts may be hindered by teachers’ limited competence to mediate points of congruence between seemingly contradicting cultural and social norms. Enhancing competence in meta-cognition and cultural mediation to teachers’ professional development may help in providing more just and equal early education in the most marginalized context
Enhancing work engagement of teachers through organisational commitment, organisational justice and psychological conditions in Namibia
Get PDFConsidering the high failure rate of learners coupled with harsh working conditions and limited resources, teachers are likely to become disengaged. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between work engagement and its antecedents amongst primary and secondary school teachers in the Omaheke, Oshana and Oshikoto regions (n=288). A cross-sectional design was used for the data analysis employing Pearson-product moment correlation and multiple regression analyses. All variables reported positive relationships with work engagement. The significant predictors of work engagement are psychological meaningfulness, psychological availability and normative commitment. This study proposes incentives such as equitable benefit packages, career advancement opportunities, and work resources thus teachers would feel valued. This, in turn, would increase their levels of work engagement. Fair and respectable interactions between teachers and supervisors would foster psychological meaningfulness, organisational justice, commitment and work engagement
The causes of low school attendance of grade 5 and 6 learners at a primary school in the Zambezi Region
Get PDFThe low school attendance of learners is one of the major causes of learners’ poor academic performances. Absenteeism affects learners’ ability to get higher scores in the examination which may result in the learner failing, and repeating the same grade. This paper investigated the reasons for the low school attendance of learners at a selected school in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. The main objective was to find out factors that were causing the low school attendance of learners and the most effective strategies that the school was using to improve the school attendance of the learners. A one on one interview strategy was employed whereby prepared questions were asked to the participants. Open-ended questions were used throughout the interview. The answers provided during the interviews were recorded as per participant in the study. The attendance registers for the selected school and the selected grades which are grade 5A to D and grade 6A to D were collected and reviewed. These attendance registers only covered term one to show the attendance of learners for that specific term. The findings revealed that factors influencing school attendance broadly include; school conditions, homebased behavioral issues, peer issues, psychological issues, school-based behavioral issues, family background, illnesses, as well as lack of motivation or lack of interest in school
Community understanding, perceptions, and involvement in tourism development in King Nehale constituency, Namibia
Get PDFTourism is one of the rapidly growing industries in the world. The development of this sector has become a strategy for poverty alleviation and economic development for developed and developing countries. Community contributions and knowledge of tourism play a significant role in the development of tourism. This paper assesses community understanding and perceptions of tourism development in the King Nehale Conservancy. The study used both interviews guides and semi-structured questionnaires for data collection. Microsoft Excel was used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed thematically. The findings suggest that local people in the King Nehale Conservancy do not understand tourism development. Majority of the respondents are not involved in tourism activities except those who are in the conservancy and thus have negative perceptions of tourism development. Craft making/selling was found to be the essential tourism-related activity of the conservancy
Machinations of spiritual entities in some of Charles Mungoshi’s works in English
No full textThrough a textual analysis methodology of three selected texts by Charles Mungoshi, the interactions between the spirit world and ordinary Shona people are examined to unlock some of the multiple meanings to be found in these cultural artefacts. Christian values are shown as largely in conflict against the Shona spiritual world with its tendency towards the supernatural. In the selected works, the ngozi spirit has a strong presence that controls the literary lives of the persons of these works. Although the ngozi spirit affects both young and old, males and females, its influence is felt the most by young girls, single women and other females in their families. The impact on the male species seems rather minimal, perhaps reflective of patriarchal order. In Shona cosmology there is a strong belief that the panacea for ngozi is atonement. This study, therefore, explores the workings of spiritual entities in the selected works
Structure of avian communities in a mosaic of built-up and semi-natural urbanised habitats in Katima Mulilo town, Namibia
Get PDFA simplified mapping method has been employed to quantify avian assemblages in a plot with a mosaic of built-up areas (129 ha) and semi-natural or open areas (85 ha; grass, trees, shrubs) in the Katima Mulilo town, Namibia. Overall, 65 breeding bird species were recorded in the study plots (51 in the built-up areas, and 50 in the ‘open’ areas). Five of them, Rock Dove Columba livia, Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer diffuses), Dark-capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor), Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) and Blue Waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis) were classified as dominants. The cumulative dominance was 69.9% in the built-up area and 55.6 % in the ‘open’ area. The structure of the avian community in the built-up area was unexpectedly similar to that in the ‘open’ area. Almost the same number of breeding species was recorded, and almost identical diversity and evenness indices were calculated. However, the Sorensen Similarity Index was rather low (I = 0.69). Also, the overall density of all breeding birds was much lower in ‘open’ than in the built-up area. Granivorous birds were by far the most numerous feeding guild comprising in the built-up area 68.1% and in ‘open’ area 62.2 % of all breeding birds. Also, similar between the two areas compared was the proportion of granivores (17.7% vs. 19.7%) and insectivores (11.5% vs. 13.2%). These were also similar to the proportions of the main nesting guilds. Only the guild nesting in/on buildings was much higher in built-up than in the ‘open’ area. Although species richness was not high, population densities of some species were very high in the urbanised habitat. It is recommended to protect the larger specimens of marulas and other tree species in this habitat, as they play a vital role in maintaining the high population densities
Evaluation of the implementation of the University of Namibia portfolio for French as a foreign language
Get PDFNamibia is a young country which gained its independence in 1991. Before that date the educational system was based on an Apartheid regime imposing discriminative access to education among the population. After Reconciliation, Namibia had the hard task to create a new education system for all valorizing the former underprivileged children. The Ministry of Education fast considered the learner centered approach as a good alternative to reach schools new objectives. Nevertheless, this pedagogy is still encountering difficulties to be fully operational in Namibian classrooms. The Namibian Portfolio for Languages (NPL) was conceived as a practical tool promoting this approach at secondary level. NPL findings proved that it was indeed well received by pupils, learner-centered and contextualised but they also revealed that teachers faced some challenges implementing self-assessment and individual counseling with their learners. Therefore, the present paper proposes a comparative approach between NPL results and another language portfolio implemented at the University of Namibia (UNAM) with beginner levels in 2016. Findings are cross-examined to assess the benefices gained from language portfolios in general and in particular to investigate the statu quo of self- assessment and learning strategies guidance at U NAM to holdout solutions supporting teachers in secondary schools
Analysis of teacher reinforcement practices and reprimands system at the basic education classrooms: an observation study
Get PDFAccess and retention are key components of the basic education programme in Nigeria. However, despite progress in access, low retention rate remains a key issue. Addressing the retention problem re-quires a critical review of current teacher classroom management practices. While positive reinforcement (PR) and reprimands are tools used by teachers to reinforce classroom behaviour, research sug-gests that retention is enhanced when PR outweighs reprimands by a ratio of 4:1. Although research has consistently shown that the use of reprimands is prevalent in Nigerian classrooms, data regarding the level of PR emission is lacking. Using a systematic observation method, this study examined the types, rate, frequency and pattern of PR system currently in use at the basic education classrooms vis-à-vis levels of reprimands with a view to providing baseline data for decision-making. Subjects included 60 teachers drawn from 20 schools (10 primary/10 junior secondary) in Lagos, southwest Nigeria. They were observed for 4 weeks during regular classroom teaching. Data collected were coded into quantitative categories and analysed with the use of frequencies, ratios, percentages, and chi-square test. Results showed that teachers delivered a low rate of PR and a high rate of reprimands at the ratio of approximately 1:6, far below the recommended level. No significant differences were found when the data were analysed by grade level and years of teaching. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications. To boost student retention at school, the use of PR strategies needs to be more widespread in the basic education classrooms