UNAM Open Access Journal University of Namibia
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Assessment of background radiation fin playgrounds of selected basic schools in the GA east municipal district, Accra, Ghana
Get PDFA study has been carried out in the play grounds of selected basic schools in the Ga East municipal district of Accra, Ghana, to determine the exposure of school children to the radiation emitted by Naturally Occurring Radionuclide Materials and trace elements. The activity concentrations of different radionuclides were determined using high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The average activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K were found to be19.8±8.7, 29.1±16.3 and119.4±97.9 Bq ·kg−1 respectively. The average annual effective dose calculated from these activity concentrations was 0.04mSv which is below the dose limit of1 mSv/year recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for public exposure control. Radiological hazard assessments were carried out and the Rn−222 concentration and exhalation rate were estimated to be 32.13 kBg ·m−3 and 0.016 Bg ·m−2 · s−1 respectively. These values are with in the world average values.
African writing, aesthetics and discursive violence
Get PDFAs a signifier “African writing” is suitably pluralistic in its potential for denotation and connotation and delimitation of thematic concern. Wearing an ambiguous qualifier such as “African” the contestable positions taken for granted for this cultural tag – which had camouflaged as incontrovertible – are mediated by the pluralism of the nominal which it qualifies. The erstwhile monolith and subject/object of literary/critical discourse fissures viscerally agreeably into fluid ethnic, linguistic and cultural heterogeneity with the result that both the literature and the study based on this literature transform into semantically elastic nondescript items in a state of unremitting variability. Which condition seems compatible with postmodernist insistence of organic connections and disconnections between the system of sound and that of reality according to Saussurean linguistics and Barthesian associative distinction between signifier, signified and sign. Calibrated synchrony deepens the complexity of a subject/concept already detached from signifier, a changing and changeable signified that is stratified and is multilingual multiracial multicultural
The use of mother tongue in public services in Namibia: A short thinking piece
Get PDFThe history of policies that include the use of mother tongue in public services in Namibia goes back to as far as the period immediately after Independence. Among such policy documents is Chapter 1 Article 3 of The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia that deals specifically with Language. In this article English is declared to be the official language of Namibia. It is further stated in Sub-Article (2) that: Nothing contained in this Constitution shall prohibit the use of any other language as a medium of instruction in private schools or in schools financed or subsidized by the State, subject to compliance with such requirements as may be imposed by law, to ensure proficiency in the official language, or for pedagogic reasons
A short story: A true friend
Get PDFTuna and Nangula were best friends, the two had been friends since the first grade. They did everything together, they were always there for each other and really got along so well. Despite the fact that Nangula’s family was really poor and lived in Ombili, whereas Tuna’s family was financially stable and lived in town, they still treated each other like complete equals and had the outmost respect for one another, little did they know their life was about to change
Responses, coping strategies and needs of primary and secondary caregivers of children with visual impairments in Namibia: teachers and parents perspectives
No full textSince becoming signatory to the Salamanca Declaration in 1994, the Namibian education system has been battling with the implementation oj inclusive education. It is taking the country a lot of efforts to move towards inclusive education approaches as the process is faced with various challenges including a lack of a commonly agreed upon conceptual understanding of inclusive education by stakeholders; lack of human and material resources and clinging to segregated approaches by stakeholders. One effort to implement inclusive education was to include learners with visual impairments in mainstream education systems. At the same time, special schools for learners with severe special needs continue to function and receive high preference from parents and caregivers. Teachers in mainstream schools do come across learners with visual impairments in their classes. In special schools into which learners with visual impairments are integrated, teachers also have the primary duty to teach all learners, including those with visual impairments even if they have not specialized in the field of visual impairment. While teachers have their own share of experiences related to their roles as teachers of learners with visual impairments, parents have experiences which influence their decisions to accord or withhold their children from education and social participation. In the current paper, which draws from two separate research exercises, one . that focused on teachers' experiences and another on parents' experiences,primary and secondary caregivers share their experiences of caring for children with visual impairments through the narrative approach. The researchers simply represent and re -tell those stories
First-generation entry into higher education : Namibia's future
Get PDFWith the changing political and socio-economical profile of previously disadvantaged Namibians, school leavers, as well as adults, increasingly decide to invest in Higher Education for an improved future. Students who come from homes where the responsible older generation was deprived of opportunities to enrol in education facilities are pioneering and positioning the world of academia for themselves. In their quest for education, they are at the same time paving the way for improved education for future generations. In a study conducted with First-Generation entrants at the University of Namibia it became clear that their general profile differs from that of First-Generation entrants in developed countries and their strengths and needs cannot be underscored by literature from developed countries. Further research into First-Generation entry into Higher Education in the African context will provide a clearer picture of the phenomenon and will allow educators to support the strengths that these entrants bring along to the tertiary institution of their choice
Diffraction grating and a plano convex lens refractometer
Get PDFThis paper describes a method of finding the refractive index of liquids using a thin plano-convex lens and a transmission diffraction grating. Light from a low power helium- neon laser is diffracted by a transmission diffraction grating and the diffracted light is received by the thin plano-convex lens L and focuses it at the image distance v. A formula is derived to calculate the refractive index of experimental liquid at a particular temperature
Language Skills for Higher Education in Tanzania
Get PDFThis paper argues that there are two radical policy options available to the higher education establishment in Tanzania with regard to the issue of the language medium of instruction. The first option requires the establishment of a strict filtering mechanism in order to exclude all applicants who do not possess the English language skills required in an English medium university. The second option seeks to develop a bilingual language policy for higher education. This would allow partial use of Kiswahili in the system e.g. in lectures, seminar discussions and examinations, even while most literature has to be accessed in English. The paper presents an account of the conditions that call for such a radical departure from current practice, showing that the much utilized ‘University of Dar es Salaam Model’ of Communications Skills courses has not had the expected impact
Shakespeare and Botswana Politics in 2014: A Case of Life Imitating Art
Get PDFShakespeare’s influence cannot be confined by subject, theme, spatial and/or temporal setting. His works transcend disciplines and geographical identity. He is a linguist, a psychiatrist, ecologist and a political, social and economic commentator. Three thousand new words and phrases all first appeared in print in Shakespeare’s plays. Through Shylock’s resolve on three thousand ducats repayment, readers of The Merchant of Venice learn about the dangers of a cash nexus on human relations. The major tragedies and tragicomedies impart knowledge about politics at both national and family levels. Julius Caesar; Macbeth; King Lear; Othello, and Romeo and Juliet each touches on the important aspect of power dynamics in the private and public spheres. This paper considers some of the major political events in the build-up to the 2014 Botswana general elections and compares them to Shakespeare’s political intrigue in Julius Caesar. The paper concludes that there is credibility in Oscar Wilde’s argument in his 1889 essay ‘The Decay of Lying,’ that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life" (Wilde, 1889, p. 11)
Eraka Lyomukondi Kapi Aligwire Pevhu
Get PDFPomukunda gwaMurayi moUkwangali pwa kere mukurukadi gedina Nangura namunwendi gomukadona Kasiku. Kasiku kwa gwene pito zokulirongera mosirongo simwe sa Afrika moNigeria. Apa sasikere siruwo sokuza kosure, ozina tava mu rekere asi, munange genda nombili noku ka sikisa mo sitambo soge esi ono kuzira, kali pore koyirwesa. Ove oka vangarare asi "mazego yisupa, marungu nyama zovantu”. Kalikunge ku ka kagura nompo domarudi gopekeaga wa dira kudiva, genda po nawa munwang