UNAM Open Access Journal University of Namibia
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A gendered analysis of the ‘Decade of Crisis’ in Virginia Phiri’s Highway Queen
No full textThe article is an exegesis of the discursive apotheosis of motherhood/ mothering in Highway Queen (2011). It particularly analyses the narrative’s manipulation of motherhood as a vital and strategic life-support resource in a context that, in some scholarly circles, has come to be known as the ‘decade of crisis’ in Zimbabwe. That the mother character is identified with both the search for and the application of, in a pragmatic manner, life-giving values, fi rmly locates her as the “center of life, the magnet that holds the social cosmos intact and alive” (Sofola as cited in Hudson-Weems, 1993, p. xviii). This construction of motherhood resonates with the place, status and role of the African mother in antiquity where she has always been an important part of the equation of life. Remarkably, Highway Queen accomplishes an ingenious role-reversal within Zimbabwe’s literary landscape where male characters have been depicted as exclusive avatars of agency in more tempestuous and tranquil situations alike, while women are forced to contend with the victim tag in either context. Highway Queen propagates a topsy-turvy world in which the woman is invested with more agency in a situation that threatens both genders and would normally be for the man to conquer
“In my work there is a constant conversation between the earth, nature and the sky:” Conversations inside and outside of conversations in Chenjerai Hove’s Ancestors
No full textChenjerai Hove’s novel of 1996 called Ancestors is intriguing because of its wide variety of methods of narrating that operate side by side in one novel. Sometimes the story is told by a realistic male character called Mucha. He is the immediate and major narrator who tells us his story and the story of his family from a personal and realist point of view. At another level, Mucha narrates the family story from the point of view and spiritual instruction of Miriro and to a less extent, Tariro. Then the reader fi nds out that Miriro, who remained deaf and dumb throughout her short life occasionally tells us directly from the grave about what she ‘heard’ during her lifetime! She even remembers the sounds of birds and animals, people’s songs and conversations. Miriro remembers all the things that are normally not available to those who are deaf and dumb. Therefore, a mathematical and accurate reading of this novel by one of Zimbabwe’s internationally acclaimed writers is not quite possible. To read it is an exercise akin only to moving towards an estimation of meanings
A critical analysis of using student evaluation feedback to enhance students’ experience of teaching and learning: Closing the loop
Get PDFInternationally, higher educational institutions have adopted students’ evaluation of teaching as a normative practice. Such student evaluations are normally used for ma king decisions on monitoring teaching and course quality as well as staff promotion. This paper critically reviews reports available on collecting, analysing and using student feed back to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. The review was combined with research findings from experiences and perspectives of Namibian higher education institutions. The paper established that in many higher educational institutions, there was a missing link between obtaining feedback from students and using this information to close the quality loop. The paper therefore recommends that in order to close the quality loop, there is a need for higher educational institutions to implement systematic approaches for collecting, analysing and using feedback; and for improving the communication of actions arising from results to all key stakeholders involved
The effect of tourist roads development on road-side vegetation and soils within the Etosha national park
Get PDFManagement of tourism-based protected areas is often faced with a challenge of balancing nature conservation and tourism development. Understanding such interactions is crucial for resources management in tourism-based conservation hotspots such as Etosha National Park (ENP). This study assessed how roads, being part of tourism development, impacts on conservation efforts in ENP, focusing specifically on the roadside landscape, vegetation and soils. Data was collected at at 30 selected sites in major vegetation communities within the park. Herbaceous biomass was assessed using a Disk Pasture Meter based on field calibration from ENP. Soil samples were collected using a soil auger and analyzed. Results show that a substantial network of tourist roads has been developed for Etosha National Park, translating in a road density of 0.2 km/km2. The development of this road network has left more than 180 unrestored gravel pits, or an average of one gravel pit for every 4 km. Similarly, results demonstrated that roads and related vehicular activities have significant impact on the foliage cover and biomass yield of herbaceous species adjacent to the roads, with foliage cover decreasing with increasing proximity to roads. No conclusive evidence emerged to suggest that roads and vehicular emission have a significant impact on roadside soil chemical properties. An exception is made to elevated calcium, carbonate and high cation exchange capacity which is speculated to have been sourced from the Etosha limestone. This study concluded that an unrestricted development of roads and the accompanying quarrying of gravels have a potential to degrade the landscape of Etosha National Park. As a first attempt, this study serves as a baseline for monitoring tourism related ecological disturbances in the park
Psychology and adherence of tuberculosis patients: Do illness perceptions predict poor adherence to TB management?
Get PDFTo quantitatively explore illness and medication perceptions of tuberculosis patients and to examine their impact on patient adherence to medical management. A questionnaire eliciting illness and medicines perceptions and socio-demographic data was designed. TB patients in three TB services in North East London were recruited and completed the questionnaire. Further data, including the outcome measure of clinic attendance, were collected from clinical notes. Bivariate data analysis was conducted and variables most associated with the outcome measure were entered for regression analysis. Recruited patients were characteristic of TB patients in North East London (n = 109). Patients reported perceptions of short timeline, greater personal control and treatment control over their illness, somewhat incoherent and negative emotional perceptions of their TB, and general perceptions of the benefit of their medicines. Correlations were observed between illness and medicines perceptions, and with self-reported and outcome adherence measures. Regression analysis identified that patients speaking English as a first language and patients with negative emotional representations were more likely to miss scheduled clinic appointments. Illness perceptions may present modifiable factors for use in interventions designed to promote TB patient adherence. Further research needs to clarify the relationship between illness/medication perceptions and adherence
Determination of natural radioactivity in soils of Henties Bay, Namibia.
Get PDFThe concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides 40K, 238U and 232Th in soil samples collected across the town of Henties Bay in Western Namibia have been determined and used to estimate a baseline natural radiation level in the town. These concentrations were measured using an HPGe detector and found to vary from 790.2±31.6 Bq kg−1 to 1039.0±38.7 Bq kg−1 with a mean of 936.1±68.5 Bq kg−1 for 40K, 36.2±2.6 Bq kg−1 to 153.4±4.8 Bq kg−1 with a mean of 62.2±20.0 Bq kg−1 for 238U and 50.4±4.5 Bq kg−1 to 323.6±12.7 Bq kg−1 with a mean of 97.1±44.7 Bq kg−1 for 232Th. The corresponding effective dose rate obtained from the radionuclides is 0.16±0.04 mSv y−1. This dose rate is well below the limit of 1.0 mSv y−1 recommended for the public by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and indicates that the town has a normal background radiation
We need new names: By NoViolet Bulawayo. London: Reagan Arthur Books, 2013; pp 290.
Get PDFThe novel captures the Diaspora experience of a young girl, Darling Nonkululeko Nkala, after experiencing hardships in the Zimbabwean economic meltdown. It is therefore a critique of moving to the Diaspora as a solution to challenges in one’s country. Darling constantly refers to the pain of missing home but stuck in the knowledge that she can never return because she has become an illegal immigrant in America. Once she visits ‘home’ she will not be allowed to come back as her papers are not in order. What intensifies the pain is the misunderstanding by those that remain in the troubled country that those in America are sitting pretty, with no worries at all. This pushes aunt Faustina and others to work double shifts so that they can send money home. The chapter “How they lived” fully captures the experience of those in the Diaspora from third world countries which gives the book a universal feel. Bulawayo writes: And the jobs we worked, Jesus- Jesus – Jesus, the jobs we worked. Low paying jobs. Back breaking jobs. Jobs that gnawed at the bones of our dignity, devoured the meat, tongued the marrow. We took scalding irons and ironed our pride fl at. We cleaned toilets. We picked tobacco and fruit under the boiling sun until we hung our tongues and panted like lost hounds. We butchered animals, slit throats, drained blood. We worked with dangerous machines, holding our breaths like crocodiles under water, our minds on the money and never on our lives. We swallowed every pain like a bitter pill, drank every fear like a love portion, and we worked and worked Every two weeks we got our paychecks and sent monies back home by Western Union and MoneyGram. We bought food and clothes for the families left behind; we paid school fees for the little ones. We got messages that said Hunger, that said Help, that said Kunzima, and we sent money. When we were asked, You guys work so hard, why do you work so hard? We smiled (We Need New Names, p. 244)
A safe sanctuary away from home: Working women's perceptions of power, gender-based violence and HIV-infection risk within intimate relationships
Get PDFIn this manuscript insight about working women’s perceptions of power, gender-based violence and HIV-infection risk within intimate relationships in an airline business is provided. The manuscript is based on the findings from a Master of Arts thesis conducted by Ms Rachel Free man, the main author of this article, in an airline business in Windhoek. Qualitative in design, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with five women employees in an airline business to explore their experience and perceptions of power, gender-based violence and the risk of HIV-infection risk. Such insights formed the backdrop to data gathering, which used a narrative approach in which women were asked to retell their experiences of power, gender-based violence and HIV-infection risk within their intimate relationships, including the significance of the presence of an employee Assistance Program (EAP) in their lives as employees of an airline business; therefore providing them a safe sanctuary away from the chaos of their home environment. This manuscript covers a brief introduction of the study; the aim and objectives; it explores the extent of the problem being investigated; it provides a theoretical perspective as well as looking at the methodology of the study; and data analysis. The manuscript concludes with specific recommendations about the relevancy and importance of work place programmes to protecting and promoting women’s wellbeing and rights
African Hybrids: Exploring Afropolitan identity formation in Taiye Selasi’s Ghana must go and Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah
No full textThis paper discusses the representation of Afropolitan identity formation in Taiye Selasi’s debut novel Ghana must go (2013), and Chima manda Adichie’s novel Americanah (2013). The aim of the paper is to discuss Afropolitan identity formation as presented in the two novels using Selasi’s (2005) essay Who is an Afropolitan? as a benchmark. Selasi blends the words ‘Africa’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ in her essay, which discusses several themes, namely: cultural hybridity, careers, identity formation, self-expression and an African bond as they relate to the Afropolitan. Although we have listed all the major themes above, this paper only focuses on the theme of Afropolitan identity formation. For example, in Ghana must go (2013) Kehinde, the twin boy struggles with his identity because of his Scottish heritage which gives him a skin complexion that is neither black nor white and he does not know what nationality to consider himself. In Americanah (2013), Dike also struggles with his identity because he expresses in a school essay that he does not know his identity and that his name is difficult to pronounce. The analysis concluded that not only do Afropolitans need to craft an identity on three levels according to Selasi (2005, para. 9) “national, racial, cultural – with subtle tensions in between”, but the experience can be traumatic and painful, both emotionally and physically. This paper contributes to knowledge of the world as a global village, but more specifically the international integration of cultures as expressed in literature, not only in the African diaspora, but in Africa as well
Students' perception of the role of school counselling
Get PDFSchool counselling is an important aspect in education. This paper evaluates students’ perception of school counselling in Cameroon using a quantitative research design (Z test) with a purposive probability sample of 150 high school students from Bamenda Sub-division. Results reveal that school counselling is an integral part of the school program me, remains vital in the education of students, and students have an opinion of what the role of counselling should be. However, the analyses also reveal that school counselling does not influence students’ educational and career choices; and that it offers little help in solving students’ psychological problems. The findings of this study reveal fundamental structural and functional limitations of school counselling in Cameroon, and highlight the necessity of re-evaluating its methods, objectives, and quality of interaction with students