UNAM Open Access Journal University of Namibia
Not a member yet
612 research outputs found
Sort by
The power of a mother in Shona milieu
Get PDFMotherhood is a concept that is shunned and criticised by Western feminists as one of the root causes of a woman’s subordination, dis-empowerment, lack of freedom and independence. It is also frowned at for binding her to what are considered as insignificant feminine duties linked to, and limited to the home, with her main arena being the kitchen. Other roles associated with being a mother, such as child-bearing, breast feeding and cooking are largely criticised as closing her out of mainstream economics and hence keeping her out of positions of influence and affluence. Using the theory of Africana Womanism and examples from Shona cultural milieu, the paper argues that being a mother is not only a very important and admirable position in this society, but one associated and intertwined with great power, respect, reverence among others
Reduction of location error in GPS collar tracking data of bovine cattle by using data screening
Get PDFGlobal Positioning System (GPS) telemetry enables tracking of an individual animal over a long period of time and can provide researches with accurate information on animal movement. However, various environmental factors influence the satellite signals received by a GPS collar, potentially deteriorating accuracy of position. We tracked Caprivi Sanga cattle using Televilt Tellus Basic GPS collars in North-East Namibia in 2006 and 2007. Locations obtained during the night, when the cattle are gathered inside livestock enclosures, revealed that a significant proportion of the locations are inaccurate. We used data of seven GPS collars for testing different data screening options as a way to reduce location error. Basic analysis showed that simple measures of accuracy like dilution of precision (DOP) and figure of merit (FOM) are not sufficient to remove erroneous locations from the data. We removed the inaccurate locations with the following condition: 2D location with DOP >6 or 0< altitude <850 m or altitude >1050 m or DOP ≥10 or FOM ≥10 or walking speed of the animal over 4.5 km/h. This data screening option eliminated 75% of the most erroneous locations (>300 m from the livestock enclosures) retaining 97.2% of the locations correctly located inside the livestock enclosures. Before data screening, 95% (1372) of the night-time locations that were located outside the livestock enclosures were located 71-406 m from the enclosures. The maximum error was over 10 km. After data screening, 95% (485) of the locations were 54-298 m from the enclosures; the maximum error was 4.4 km
Violation and the inscription of opposites in The Homeric Hymn to Demeter and Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Get PDFPart of the power of myths and symbols is held to lie in their capacity to encompass opposites. This paper proposes that the mythologem of a male violation of a virginal female victim is inscripted to represent the opposites of fertility and infertility in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which represent the rape of Persephone by Hades and the vampiric attack on Lucy Westenra by Dracula, respectively. The opposition emerges partly in the fate of the victim. In the Homeric Hymn, Persephone is taken from above ground to the underworld by Hades, an allegory of the planting of the corn seed, which further symbolizes the cycle of fertility in which life emerges from death, as indicated by Kerényi (2002a). In Dracula, Lucy Westenra does not make this journey. When she dies after Dracula’s attack, she is not truly dead, neither above nor below, but trapped in the middle, as one of the Undead. This version of the mythologem may thus be said to represent infertility. This conclusion may be sharpened in the light of a common reading of Dracula as refl ecting the anxieties of Bram Stoker’s Victorian society about women’s sexuality. Lucy’s transformation into a vampire is accompanied by an increased sexual boldness towards the men around her. This voluptuousness suggests unchastity, the “fate worse than death”, represented by the fate of being undead. Unchastity in this light is opposed to, not fertility perse, but to socially sanctioned fertility
Conflict resolution mechanisms between postgraduate mentors and their mentees
Get PDFThis paper examines different supervisory approaches. The discussion has been limited to two approaches, namely the master/apprentice approach and the laissez-faire approach. This is followed by a documentation of the typical problems that arise between supervisors and research students. These problems include: conflicting or unrealistic expectations of each other, poor feedback, tensions or conflicting perspectives from within the supervision panel, supervisor’s lack of knowledge and experience in research and supervision. Each problem is followed by a discussion of possible conflict resolution mechanisms
Processing methods of Oshikundu, a traditional beverage from sub-tribes within Aawambo culture in the Northern Namibia
Get PDFFermented beverages have a long history in Africa and fermentation is the cheapest, oldest form of food preservation. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) has been at the for-front of the traditional food and beverage processing technology. Oshikundu is a Namibian cereal based fermented beverage brewed with water, brans, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) flour locally known as mahangu and malted sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) flour. Oshikundu is brewed in many households among Aawambo and part of Kavango region.It is a perishable beverage with a shelf life under six hours. Oshikundu is brewed for many generations among Aawambo, which the brewing process have adopt and evolved over time. The traditional art of brewing Oshikundu has been passed orally from generation to generation. The knowledge of brewing and interest is declining over time especially among young people. Rural women have taken advantage of the locally available raw materials with their IK for their livelihood by selling Oshikundu. The traditional methods have potential to incorporate the modern biotechnology to control, optimise and standardise the organoleptic quality of Oshikundu
(Inter) cultural investigation: Kenya in German crime fiction
Get PDFDespite its marginalised appearance in politics and economics and being reduced to crime, chaos and catastrophes, the African continent has lately featured regularly in crime fiction (Picker 2011). African crime fiction, meaning crime fiction written by African authors, but also crime fiction set in Africa and written by non-Africans, is on a rise. Kenya has been among the popular crime settings in German crime fiction since the 1970s. A number of crime novels make use of a German investigator and an African setting and feature crosscultural as well as intercultural investigation teams. This paper presents Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and analyses the German crime novels of Henry Kolarz, Detlef Wolff and the trilogy of the Swiss author Peter Höner, all set in Kenya. The paper investigates the portrayal of cultural encounters and multicultural cooperation and to what extend the novels show an intercultural investigation. Furthermore, it outlines similarities of novels in regard to the (inter)cultural set up
Namibian teachers’ understanding of education for all issues
No full textThe purpose of this study was to find out Namibian teachers’ understanding of their work circumstances, goals of education for all (EFA) and quality of education. To obtain data on these issues, a structured questionnaire was administered to a proportional representative sample of 1611 primary and secondary school teachers from six regions. Some of the study’s main findings were that several sampled teachers taught under difficult circumstances in which their schools lacked classroom furniture, electricity, water, teaching and learning materials; had problems communicating with parents of their learners; had difficulties managing overcrowded classrooms; were given heavy administrative loads that prevented them from effectively undertaking their teaching duties and that they knew little about the existence of EFA goals. These and other findings are discussed in the paper and developed into insights for enhancing educational practice in Namibia and for identifying issues on which to base further research
Urban Youth unemployment in Zimbabwe: An African-centered literary-based critique of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s The Book of Not (2006), Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope (2006) and Petina Gappah’s An Elegy for Easterly (2009).
No full textThe article analyses Zimbabwean post-2000 black female-authored novels’ depictions of urban youth unemployment against the backdrop of the socio-economic crises culminating from the post-2000 economic melt-down. The analysis uses an African-centred approach drawing from trajectories of the youth represented in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s novel The Book of Not (2006), Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope (2006) respectively and Petina Gappah’s short story collection, An Elegy for Easterly (2009). These female-authored literary narratives form an essential socio-historical record of the experiences constituting the bedrock of urban youth unemployment. Critical attention concerning the period under review has mainly focused on political polarisation and the economic meltdown, overshadowing the worst affected demographic group of Zimbabwe’s population – the urban unemployed youths. The socio-economic and historical accounts of the period under question in Zimbabwe’s embittered post-2000 experiences have also been mainly male-dominated. Thus, making it imperative to interrogate how femaleauthored fictional narratives as critical socio-historical imaginings of the same socio-economic and historical environment depict how post-independence Zimbabwe nurtures its youths for a sustainable future. In situating both texts and their criticism within the context in which they are generated and developed, this article adopts an African-centred approach in its critique. It draws mainly from Molefi Kete Asante’s Afrocentric “Location Theory”. The theory urges appreciation and analysis of writers’ creativity, including their motifs, meaning, language, attitude, direction and vision within the cultural and historical experiences of a people. Cognisant of Zimbabwean history and Zimbabweans’ aspirations, it is envisaged that this article will enhance understanding, sharpen insights and encourage readers to self-introspect on why African youths constitute the hardest-hit demographic group in terms of urban unemployment, an aspect that authors selected for this article partially focus on
Establishing a university records management programme: A case study of the University of Namibia
Get PDFRecords management is crucial to all organizations including universities. Unless records are managed efficiently, it is not possible to conduct business effectively, and to account for what has happened in the past or to make good decisions about the future. The University of Namibia (UNAM) records management project reported in this article was carried out on the notion that records need to be systematically and continuously managed throughout their life-cycle in an integrated manner. The management of institutional records throughout their life cycle is necessary in order to support strategic business objectives of the university and to preserve corporate memory. The project was an attempt to formalize record-keeping at the university in accordance with international archival standards. Starting with information gathering, the project followed some stages which included the legal and regulatory framework, resources and staffing. The investigation also covered vital functions of the university including finance, human resources, student affairs and the executive. The information gathered using the survey method paved way for the implementation of the records management programme at the university
Mission Education in the Eastern Caprivi Stripi during the Colonial Times, c1920s – ca1964
No full textThe historiography of the nineteenth century Christian mission in Southern Africa focused mainly on South Africa and then spread to Southern Rhodesia. The above assessment by (Oermanns, 1999, p.19) resulted in the cases of Mozambique and Namibia to be less known in the English-speaking world, and barely integrated in the overall debate. While there is ‘veritable renaissance’ (in Ranger’s words) of Namibian historical studies, the historiography of Christian mission in Namibia neglects, mildly put, the role of missionaries in the conquest and subsequent colonial administration of the Caprivi Strip. Focus is put on south, central and north-central Namibia, examining the role of the Rhenish Missionary Society (RMS), the Finnish Missionary Society (FMS), the London Missionary Society (LMS) and the Roman Catholic Orders, and still in the case of the latter, their involvement in the Eastern Caprivi Strip (now Zambezi Region) is often not discussed in any major significant detail