National Research Database of Zimbabwe
Not a member yet
5897 research outputs found
Sort by
On a simpler, much more general and truly marvellous proof of Fermat’s last theorem (I)
No full textPublished Journal Article,English mathematics Professor, Sir Andrew John Wiles of the University of Cambridge finally and
conclusively proved in 1995 Fermat’s Last Theorem which had for 358 years notoriously resisted
all gallant and spirited efforts to prove it even by three of the greatest mathematicians of all
time—such as Euler, Laplace and Gauss. Sir Professor Andrew Wiles’s proof employed very advanced
mathematical tools and methods that were not at all available in the known World during
Fermat’s days. Given that Fermat claimed to have had the “truly marvellous†proof, this fact that
the proof only came after 358 years of repeated failures by many notable mathematicians and that
the proof came from mathematical tools and methods which are far ahead of Fermat’s time, has
led many to doubt that Fermat actually did possess the “truly marvellous†proof which he claimed
to have had. In this short reading, via elementary arithmetic methods, we demonstrate conclusively
that Fermat’s Last Theorem actually yields to our efforts to prove it
The effects of development projects on “marginal†communities: the case of Murowa diamond mine, 1997 - 2016
No full textRelocations and resettlements are largely caused by development induced projects such as mines and dams. These projects lead to substantial movement of people from their traditional lands, twisting or changing their history. Many researchers like Colson claimed that these massive resettlements lead to the destitution and impoverishment of the affected people for the next 40 years as they will be trying to improve their lost tradition, social way of life and their inheritance as a whole. Murowa diamond mine is a mine located in Zvishavane. The mine started operating in 2004. During the displacement of the Murowa community, people were given compensation depending on the property one owns. However one should not dismiss the fact that socially the Murowa people were not considered.it proved that the government was most concerned about ‘development’ not the worries of the people. My argument is that the government disadvantaged the Mazvihwa community. So it should revise its policies and make sure that after being displaced one should be left advantaged be it socially, politically or economically. The essential argument of the paper figures around the effects of the diamond mine to the community and how were they handled. In trying to figure out the situation and also coming up with the findings this paper used oral interviews and it also used a qualitative approach. In the final analysis the paper concluded that the displacement in Murowa did more harm than good considering the fact that the Murowa community group was deprived of their right
Public confidence and its impact on the performance and stability of banks in Zimbabwe
No full textThe study sought to assess the factors determining public confidence and its impact on the
performance and stability of banks in Zimbabwe. Empirical data was obtained through the
administration of questionnaires to 131 respondents. The study findings were that public
confidence in the banking sector was low and it was affected by a number of factors. The
study concluded that the low public confidence significantly impacted the performance of
banks in Zimbabwe. The study recommended the restoration of the role of the RBZ by
capacitating its regulatory, supervisory and monitoring role in the financial sector,
strengthening of corporate governance in the banking sector and the review of compensation
offered to depositors by the Deposit Protection Corporation
A contextual analysis of rules governing membership in the Methodist church in Zimbabwe
No full textThe research focuses on making an evaluation of the rules that govern membership in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, in light of the changes in the current Zimbabwean context. The nature and identity of the MCZ is characterized by the rules that moderate the social and religious life of its membership. The crafting of the rules has been largely affected by the social, economic, political and religious challenges in the society the MCZ is ministering to. The social environment in Zimbabwe has seen a radical change as we turned into the 21st century calling on the church to reform its rules to ensure it adequately responds to the challenges being faced by the society. In an environment characterized by religious competition the MCZ is challenged to reform its rules so that it responds to the social and religious aspiration of the society to ensure that it remains relevant to the environment and position itself as a church of choice. The research is focusing on bringing proposals that could help transform the rules guiding and the conduct of the MCZ to ensure the church continue to attract new members in this time and age
Challenges facing community home based caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS: case of Hope Humana Care program in Mabvuku
No full textThe researcher sought to study on the Challenges facing Community Home Based Care Givers of people living with HIV/AIDS. The research was well furnished with a couple of theories, relevant literature by other authors and previous studies that supported the research. The participants were sampled using purposive sampling. The research comprised of Hope Humana staff, Hope Humana Voluntary Caregivers and the HIV/AIDS affected individuals who made up a total of thirty two respondents who had an unequal representation of males and females. Interviews and a focus group discussion which constituted questions that were meant to highlight the challenges facing caregivers of the HIV/AIDS infected people were used. Data was analysed using qualitative descriptive methods and was presented in the form of discussion. Major findings were that caregivers of the chronically ill have been neglected in so many ways by their parent Organisations and even the Government which as a result strains them as they cope with the caregiving stresses. The study also revealed that the most common sources of stress included lack of support, financial burdens, inadequate caregiving material to do the caregiving duties, workload and lack of counselling. Recommendations to the mother project were given in order to curb the challenges faced by the caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS. The recommendations include frequent trainings and counselling, formation of support groups, provision of caregiving materials as well as incentives for motivation
Left out in the cold: Interrogating the inclusion of women employed in the informal sector in Lesotho into the formal Social Security System
No full textThe economic crisis in Lesotho has led masses in resorting to informal sector as an
alternative survival strategy to sustain their livelihoods. The author is human rights based lawyer and women activist who is agitated by the imbalances in both the application and/or enforcement of rights and distribution of resources within the citizens in the country. She was motivated by her experiential data as a daughter and dependant of an informal sector worker and by being sentientto the fact that in Lesotho the wellbeing of an informal worker or of his and/or her dependants is insignificant to the tax collector, what matters most is the proceeds accruing from the actual business itself leading to dichotomisation in both sectors and in the provision of social security social measures accorded to workers in each sector. Consequently, in the process, the inherent idea of human rights engrained in UDHR, ICSECR, ACPHR, amidst others, becomes delusional notwithstanding the fact that Lesotho is a signatory to various human rights instruments which entails promotion, protection and respect of human rights and has weaved her Constitution and labour regimes on the basis of
such instruments. Various methodologies including women law and legal pluralism approaches were utilised to get a full insight on the women’s lived realities and experiences. The research was based on the review of primary and secondary sources of data to assess discriminatory impact of the existing measures of social security system in relation to women employed in the informal sector. It was qualitative based research, using random and purposive sampling. The interviews were instigated mainly on the women themselves even though male counterparts were also interviewed. It exposed how institutions such as family commonly cut across the two systems compromising the position of women further by putting all the burden of care on
them. This paper concludes by making several recommendations and emphasis on possible reforms on the existing laws and policies.,NORA
Edge effects: impact of anthropogenic activities on vegetation structure and diversity in western Umfurudzi Park, Zimbabwe
No full text`Subjectivity' in newspaper reports on 'controversial' and `emotional' debates: an appraisal and controversy analysis
No full textThe notion of 'subjectivity' in news reports has been widely researched especially from the
media perspective. However, 'subjectivity' is realized in various forms and the varied
contexts and theoretical approaches offer new understanding of the notion. This article
departs from such media theoretic perspectives to a discourse- linguistic approach and makes
an analysis of 'controversial' and 'emotional' reports of debates informed by the Appraisal
Theory (Martin and White 2005) and Controversy analysis (van Eemeren and Garssen 2008).
The research's focus is on how the Zimbabwean newspapers represent 'controversial' and
`emotional' debates balancing factuality, impartiality and objectivity. Stories from both
independent and state owned newspapers have been selected on the basis of their
`controversiality' and 'emotionality'. The study concludes that news reporting is directed at
aligning and disaligning readers with certain interpersonal meanings. Headlines of
newspapers have been argued to be attitudinal or 'emotionally charged'. It also concludes that
different language and cultural patterns have an impact on appraisal and argumentation in
news reporting
The search for peace, reconciliation and unity in Zimbabwe: from the 1978 internal settlement to the 2008 global political agreement
No full textThesis,This study is a critical examination of the complex search for peace, reconciliation and unity in Zimbabwe between the years 1978 and 2008, with a view to identify factors that have been blocking sustainable peace, national unity, reconciliation and development. It is a qualitative study which draws data from document analysis and oral interviews. The specific focus of the study is an analysis of the four peace agreements signed in this period namely; the 1978 Internal Settlement, the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, the 1987 Unity Accord and the 2008 Global Political Agreement. Its central thesis is that coloniality in its multifaceted invisible forms is largely responsible for conflicts that have engulfed Zimbabwe and for compromising the chances of success of the four peace agreements. Coloniality has produced a ‘postcolonial’ leadership that has continued to practice politics in a violent, repressive, corrupt and unaccountable manner because of interpellation by the very immanent logic of colonialism that reproduces such inimical practices as racism, tribalism, regionalism and patriarchy. Theoretically, the study deploys de-colonial epistemic perspective in its endeavour to unmask and explain challenges to peace, unity, reconciliation and development in Zimbabwe. Finally, the thesis makes a strong case for pursuit of decoloniality as the panacea to conflicts and as an approach to conflict resolution and peace building that privileges decolonization and deimperialization so that Zimbabwe’s development goals could be achieved
Assessing the rate of sedimentation of the Lubovane reservoir and the implications on the lifespan of the Lusip Project in Sphofaneni, Swaziland
No full textAn average of 19% of the reservoir storage volumes has been lost to sedimentation in Africa. The Lubovane reservoir in Swaziland, having been commissioned in 2009, is not an exception to sedimentation as all reservoirs globally lose about 1% of their storage due to sedimentation annually. The Lubovane reservoir was constructed as part of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project(LUSIP) aimed at intensifying and commercializing agriculture for smallholder farmers. The study aimed at determining the rates of sedimentation of the Lubovane reservoir, with sediment deposited from Mhlatuzane River and a canal that conveys water from the Usutu River to the reservoir. Suspended sediment concentration was determined through grab sampling 300mm below the water surface in the canal and the river. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE) combined with GIS and remote sensing were used to predict sediment yield for the Mhlatuzane micro-catchment and it was validated using data that was collected from four erosion monitoring plots. A bathymetric survey was conducted in the Lubovane reservoir to determine the sediment that has already settled in the reservoir and the annual capacity loss due to deposition of sediment. The average sediment yield was found to be 26.8, 24.3, 8.83, 29.8 and 8.99 t.ha-1.yr-1 for years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2015 respectively. Concentration of suspended sediment was found to be 2231 mg/l and 3436 mg/l for Mhlatuzane River and the Feeder canal respectively. The sediment yield of the Mhlatuzane River derived from the sediment concentration was 2.98 t.ha-1.yr-1 and the combined sediment yield from the sediment concentration monitoring, was 0.82x106m3 leading to a 0.52% of storage capacity. The bathymetric survey data showed that there has already been 14.7x106m3 of sediment that has settled in the reservoir to date, with an annual capacity loss of 1.36%. Suspended sediment monitoring underestimated the sediment loading in the reservoir since bedload was not sampled and hence, this method cannot be used to without sampling bedload toadequately monitor siltation of the reservoir. The study then concluded that if no measures are taken to reduce sedimentation and the sedimentation rates remain at this level, the reservoir life will be reduced from 100 years (design lifespan) to 81 years.The loss of storage capacity will lead to an annual loss in 20% yield of 1.23%.,WaterNe