UNAM Open Access Journal University of Namibia
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Self-checking impurity method in liquids
Get PDFWe propose a very simple technique for the determination of impurity in liquids based on the refractive index. This technique requires two similar gratings, two similar low power lasers emitting same wavelength and a position detector. The change in refractive index of liquid determines the impurity in a liquid
On the smoothness and the totally strong properties for nearness frames
Get PDFIn this paper we briefly explore the properties of smooth and totally strong nearness frames. It turns out that there is a relationship between them, in particular, totally strong nearness frames are smooth. We also show that the category of smooth nearness frames is coproductive, and that, as is the case with that of the totally strong ones, it is closed under completions
The archaeology of the Dome Gorge in the Daureb/ Brandberg, Namibia: Themes, content and context
Get PDFThe Ddureb' Brandberg, Namibia's highest mountain, is one of the most weJI documented rock art regions in the world. All in a/1 almost 900sites comprising of almost 50 ooo individual images were recorded in the Ddureb. However the rock engravings' which have been found in the Dome Gorge remain relatively sparsely researched. The Dome Gorge is a unique site in the sense that paintings and engravings converge and in some cases superimpose each other. The aim of this research was to understand the entire corpus of the area through conducting empirical documentation of the site. Altogether seven different types of combinations of engravings and paintings were observed in the data. The study a/so investigated the spatial patterning of the rock engravings in the Dome Gorge and established an empirical description of the distribution and Jiguration of engravings based on quantitative analysis
Praiseworthy values in President Hifikepunye Pohamba's epideictic speech marking Namibia's20th anniversary of independence
No full textThis paper provides a rhetorical analysis of President l-lejlkepunye Pohamba's inaugural speech which he delivered when sworn in for his second term of office on 21 March 2010, the 2oth anniversary of Namibia's Independence. In our analysis we unravel the praiseworthy values contained in the speech and we also look at the unsaid or implied messages which we label subtleties. By using careful!y chosen words and phrases, Pobamba's speech promoted democracy, peace, unity, dignity, accountability, transparency, honesty, patriotism and the rule of low in Q nation of diverse cultures. As is the practice in speech communication, Pohamba used Aristotle's three proofs of rhetoric, namely, pathos, ethos and logos in his ceremonial speech, to persuade the audience to identify with his goals. Identification and con.substantiality play a crucial role in rhetoric. Speakers employ identification and consubstantiality in their speeches in order to influence the audience to view things the way they (speakers) see them. We also demonstrate that a speech never comes in isolation or alone; the Speaker traced the past and present, and gave a glimpse of the future of the country. Throughout the speech we see a pious President who subscribes to the democratic value of turn-taking of the Presidency as he openly stated that this was his second and last term as President of the RepubHc of Namibia
Inequalities of nutrition: The Namibian paradox
No full textThe paradoxical coexistence of obesity with undernutrition has been we!l documented worldwide. In many developing countries, 6o % of households contain both underweight and obese individuals, a situation referred to as the "dual burden household". The Namibian population is simultaneously made up of groups of overweight and obese individuals as well as a large group of underweight individuals. Based on data collected from 2003 to 2004, 28 % of Namlbians were categorized as underweight, 11 % as overweight and 7 % as obese. Among adults, aged 30-46, 29% were categorized as overweight or obese. In a middle-income country such as Namibia, food scarcity may no longer be the driving factor behind energy intake. Instead, the availability of cheap, energy dense foods may facilitate the consumption of more calories whiJe an indoor, sedentary lifestyle would further reduce the average daily energy expenditure. Specific cultural perceptions may also encourage obesity. The 'double burden' of disease that has been created threatens to overwhelm the health services in Namibia. In this paper, we document reports on nutritional inequality internationally, and in Namibia specifically, and propose a research strategy to address the burden of the coexistence of under nutrition and obesity in Namibia. The paper documents a useful starting point for understanding the determinants of inequalities in nutritional status and provides some understanding of the causes of inequalities in nutritional status as well as the factors responsible for inequalities in health and nutritional status of individuals
A first Namibian portfolio for languages
Get PDFSince its early beginnings in the 1970’s, the communicative approach has established itself as the preferred approach in the teaching and learning of French as a Foreign Language. It has signifi cantly changed teaching and learning methods by introducing innovative concepts, notions and material – such as communicative and intercultural competence, needs analysis, authentic material, and learner-centred practices. The assessment dimension had its share of transformation especially with the introduction of learners’ selfassessment and self-awareness skills. To operationalise these new self-assessment skills, innovative tools have been developed and tested. The Portfolio for Languages (a document produced by the European Council after the publication of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in 2001, which is now used in more than 38 countries in Europe) has proven its usefulness (for the learner as well as for the teacher) in the development of self-assessment skills, and in the monitoring an individual’s language development and of understanding learning objectives. To date no African portfolio for languages is in existence. In 2010, a team of fi ve Namibian teachers of French conceived the fi rst Namibian Portfolio for Languages that will be implemented in 2013 for all Grade 8 learners taking French as a Foreign Language in Namibian secondary schools. This pilot project will be carried out until 2017. The project is aimed at testing the eff ectiveness of the portfolio as an instrument if considered as a complementary tool to provide in the communicative approach needs in the Namibian context
Practitioners’ experiences of the implementation of sustainable development in the institutions of higher learning in Namibia
Get PDFThe aim of this article reports results of the study that examined the experiences of the practitioners in Namibian Higher Education institutions on the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development. Although the article demonstrated that lecturers in the Namibian Higher Education Institutions view education for sustainable development as cross-cutting discipline that should be the responsibility of all lecturers, it seems that lecturers do not teach it collaboratively, as required by international bodies. The members of institutions’ management should inspire and motivate the idea of sustainability and environmental awareness, and actively promote the transformation of society through the adoption of a policy and action plan on education for sustainable development
Gender, culture and climate change in rural Namibia
Get PDFGender-based vulnerabilities have taken dominance in climate change adaptation and disasters risk management studies. Climate change impacts affect women’s and men’s livelihoods and cultures, thereby intensifying already existing gender inequalities. This paper examines gender differentiated impacts and vulnerability to climate change in Namibia. The paper further highlights how culture influences gender inequalities and associated implications for climate change vulnerability among different ethnic communities of Namibia. The data synthesis for this paper applied the Gender Analysis Framework (GAF) and the Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Framework (CVCA) to map out issues that cause or intensify social vulnerability to climate change in Namibia. Opportunities exist for Namibian women to participate in decision-making, leadership and community-based adaptation programmes. However, there are still feelings of hopelessness among Namibian women in rural areas. This could be caused by cultural attitudes among Namibian societies stemming from long held beliefs that women are weak and should be looked after. Access to information and ownership of technical skills increase the capacity of men and women to balance the vulnerability to impacts of climate variability and change. This paper concludes that climate change impacts are not gender neutral, men and women vulnerability to climate change is not the same and their adaptive capacities are differentiated
International joint MSC Programme: University of Namibia and Humboldt University, Germany
Get PDFThe MSc Biodiversity Management and Research Programme is a full time interdisciplinary and international postgraduate programme jointly run by the University of Namibia (Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science) and Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin, Germany. The main goal of the program is to build capacity to increase the number of postgraduate local and regional experts in the field of Biodiversity Management and Research. This program was designed to ”Build capacity to manage biodiversity and sustainable development in Namibia” as incorporated in Namibia governments ten-year strategic plan of action for sustainable development through biodiversity conservation (National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, 2001-2010). During the programme, students gain in-depth knowledge of natural-spatial features and biological diversity in Southern Africa with emphasis on Namibia, understand ecosystem functioning and human-induced impacts and the economic values and importance of biodiversity. Students also acquire skills that will enable them to design and undertake research to solve practical, relevant problems to society, using scientific methods and techniques. Graduates of the programme are employable in any biodiversity conservation and related fields including but not limited to lecturing, working for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (National Parks, Scientific Services, Tourism), ecotourism, curators of various taxa at Natural History museums, and community based organizations. Our graduates contribute to management of natural resources, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and also contribute to poverty reduction through use of natural resources to improve livelihoods of local people
On the electronic structure of AlS₂ and AlS₂⁻
Get PDFThe ground and low-lying excited states of AlS2and AlS−2have been studied using den-sity functional theory (DFT) and coupled cluster [CCSD(T)] approximations, in conjunc-tions with the 6-311+G(2df) one particle basis set. AlS2is linear with a2∏gground state.CCSD(T) predicts that the2A2state of the C2visomer is separated from the ground stateby less than 0.1 eV, while the2∏uand2∑+ustates in D∞hsymmetry are located at 0.67 eVand 1.40 eV, respectively, above the2∏gstate. The AlS−2anion possesses a1∑+ggroundstate with a very similar geometry with the neutral molecule. At the CCSD(T) level, adi-abatic electron detachment energies for the [AlS2(2∏g)←AlS−2(1∑+g)] transition is 4.03eV