National Research Database of Zimbabwe
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An investigation into women’s perception on voluntary medical male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy in Cowdrypark, Bulawayo.
No full textVarious studies have been done and provided compelling evidence that male circumcision protect against the acquisition of HIV. This started from South Africa. This study investigated the perceptions of women on male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy in Cowdrypark Township. A sample of 40 women was selected in order to examine the perception they have about male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy. This was assessed through their knowledge levels on male circumcision, attitudes towards male circumcision and contribution they make towards the uptake of male circumcision programme. The researcher used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to collect data. The study found out that women have high knowledge of male circumcision, but they still have misconceptions which emanate from confusing medical male circumcision with traditional circumcision. The study also found relations between knowledge of male circumcision and religion. Some religious beliefs do not allow room for the uptake of male circumcision. These include Guta RaMwari, Seventh Day Adventist and Apostolic sect. The study also found out most women have positive attitudes towards male circumcision and make contributions to the uptake of the programme as they are influential stakeholders. Thus, most women have good perceptions about male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy
An Investigation of the Effects of Informal Settlements on the Health of Children under the Ages of Five: A Case of Ngonzi Mine Informal Settlement, Bulawayo
No full textThe study had three objectives on the effects of informal settlement on the health of children under the age 5 years, the case of Ngozi Mine Informal Settlement. The household for respondents were selected using probability sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and observations. Pilot study was done two weeks before the study. Findings of the study were that the income was too little for them to access health care services. It was noticed that environmental factors are the root cause of a significant number of diseases amongst children in informal settlement, several factors like source of drinking water, sanitation, used tyres, appliances from the dumping pit can threaten the health of children. The housing environment has been acknowledged as the main setting that affect children health in informal settlements, their homes were built from plastics, asbestos, thus inadequate housing poses serious health hazards to children because they are mostly likely to be bitten by mosquitos. Recommendations were made to Bulawayo City Council to provide alternative affordable housing for the poor
An Investigation in to the Effectiveness of Urban Agriculture as a Source of Livelihood in Matshobane
No full textUrban agriculture is a strategy that can be adapted by low income households in Matshobane to meet their food and monetary requirements. The practice is a basis upon which poor families can enhance their incomes by producing part of their food needs, hence saving money for use on other livelihood obligations. This study discusses the importance of urban agriculture as a method easily available to low income families residing in Matshobane to access food and incomes. Urban agriculture is examined in the context of poverty alleviation. A descriptive and quantitative assessment of the salient variables of the practice in the area is attempted in order to give an insight of the potential role the sector can play in eliminating poverty and enhancing incomes. The study shows that participation in urban farming can impact significantly on poverty conditions and improve livelihoods. Findings from this research outline that the practice of urban agriculture can be used as an instrument of poverty alleviation. Moreover, from the research findings, it is evident that woman are the ones playing a major role in the practice
Gender, External Migration and Rural Livelihoods in Mangwe District: A Case of Empandeni Ward 1
No full textThe study seeks to establish the consequences of male migration to South Africa and Botswana on the livelihood and reproductive lives of women in Empandeni area. Focus is on the remittance behaviour and its implications on the household well-being as well as the gendered implications of migration on decision making. The study uses a qualitative case study design so as to get detail on the experiences of women on the matter. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews and face to face interviews are used for data collection purposes. In the study 10 percent of the total number of households is purposively sampled to form the sample size. It emanates from the study that male migration is driven by economic factors such as unemployment, lack of education and crimes. The study reveals that male migration alters gender roles. Specifically, women are now doing traditionally male dominated gender roles as a result of migration. The findings of the study reveal that the continued devaluation of the South Africa Rand has reduced the purchasing power of remittances in the area. Migration also increases vulnerability of women to HIV infection and other Sexually Transmitted Infections. However migration is still broadly acknowledged as one of the most important sustainable livelihood strategies adopted by individuals, households or communities to enhance their well-being. Given the collapse of rain fed agriculture in sustaining the livelihoods of households in the area, there is need to expand irrigation schemes in the area so as to improve household food security and purchasing power. There is also need by government and non-state actors to promote livelihoods diversification in the area into activities that do not necessarily demand rainfall like crops. It is also integral for researchers to focus on rural women and livelihoods in the context of migration and HIV/AIDS. This will play a cardinal role in generating context specific information that may go far in the formulation of pro-rural women policies
The Impact of budgeting and budgetary control on performance of Great Zimbabwe University
No full textThe study sought to analyze the impact of budgeting and budgetary control systems being incorporated at Great Zimbabwe University. Great Zimbabwe University is a state-owned institution which has been defied with adverse variances for the past three years up to date. The study revealed that these adverse variances was as a result of the nature of a poor budgeting system currently employed by the organization. The researcher used a descriptive research design and GZU as a case study in this research. A sample of twenty respondents was selected using a judgmental sampling approach. Gathering of data with the aim of confirming the existence of a problem was done through the use of questionnaires and interviews. Twenty out of twenty respondents filled and returned the questionnaires and three respondents were interviewed. The gathered data was presented and analysed in the form of graphs, tables and pie charts. Moreover, the gathered information was interpreted and compared to the existing literature in an attempt to confirm the existence of the problem. The results showed that there is inflexible budget structure, lack of lower level participation in budget process, poor supervision from management and ineffective implementation of budgets. The research recommends that the organization should adopt a flexibility budget structure, allow participation of low level managers in budget processes and effective implementation of budgets. The research strives to unleash that the budgeting approach used by the organisation has some loopholes which gave rises to unfavourable variances. Other budget techniques like zero based budgeting was surfaced so that the organization may adopt in order to curb the recurrence of adverse variances
Influence of a family’s socio-economic status on early childhood education learners’ cognitive development in Zvishavane District.
No full textThe study sought to investigate the influence of socio-economic status on Early Childhood Education learners’ cognitive development. The study was motivated by the variance in learners’ cognitive abilities even though learners are of the same age. The researcher therefore looked at factors that influenced the learners’ cognitive development and the relationship between the learners’ socio-economic background and their cognitive development. The problem was that some pupils were lagging behind the others and if given homework they were not doing the homework, or the homework would not be correctly done. A critical literature review was done which revealed that there are various factors that affect the cognitive development of children such as poverty, low level of education from parents, parent-child interaction, lack of exposure to cognitive stimulating materials, the size of the family among other factors. The accessible population comprised of seven schools and a sample of two schools was chosen by stratified random sampling technique. This gave each school equal chances of being chosen. Ten Early Childhood Education teachers responded to questionnaires while twelve parents were interviewed. The study employed the descriptive research design. The findings revealed the children from low socio-economic backgrounds are negatively impacted which affects their cognitive development. It was therefore concluded that the parents should be educated on the importance of the cognitive development of their children, hence they should be active participants in stimulation of their cognitive development despite lack of resources. Teachers are encouraged to improvise in schools. Other factors that affect cognitive development can be tackled by other researchers
Analysis of how feminists’ views have affected fashion and dress: a case of female students at a tertiary institution in Gweru
No full textThis research sought to find out how the views of feminist female students at a tertiary institution in Gweru affected their choice of fashion and dress as well as how to minimize friction resulting from female students’ freedom of choice of dress being infringed upon. It aimed to establish the underlying reasons for students’ views that affected their dress, in answer to the main research question which was, “How have feminists’ views affected dress and fashion?†It also meant to come up with strategies for minimizing any friction on views on dress and fashion, in answer to the second research question – “How can freedom of dress and fashion be made more acceptable by female students at a tertiary institution in Gweru?†The study adopted the Interpretivist paradigm and the qualitative approach and employed a case study design. The eclectic theoretical framework encompassing the cognitive, the symbolic interactionist and feminist theories on dress informed the review of literature related to the study. Eight hundred and forty female students at the campus comprised the population (N=540) from which a convenience sample of eighty-two (n=82) participants was drawn. A questionnaire with both open-ended and closed questions was self-administered. The findings were analyzed thematically, without software. The study revealed that feminist female students’ views regarding patriarchy, power, identity, self-expression and freedom of expression affected their choice of dress in varying degrees. It revealed that friction on views on dress and fashion could result from meanings attached to dress, since dress communicates information about the wearer. It also emerged that increasing awareness on human rights, as well as providing androgynous styles could help ease the tension on views on dress and fashion. The research concluded with recommendations to educators to include WHO Life Skills such as communication, self-awareness, self-management and self-esteem, into the syllabus. In addition, Emotional Intelligence modules could also be taught from an early age to instill conflict-management skills into both males and females. Respect for human rights also needs emphasis. Fashion designers need to come up with unisex designs to cater for females who need the power they view is associated with masculine dress. Lastly, the researcher hopes that the study may stimulate interest in other researchers to carry out a comparative study on how male views have affected fashion and dress and if men also feel that their freedom of choice of dress is in anyway infringed upon, and how any such friction may be alleviated
Is dollarization an answer to economic crisis: evidence from Zimbabwe
No full textThis study seeks to establish the role of dollarization as a stabilisation policy in response to economic crises. Using an autoregressive distributed lag model, with data spanning the period 1980 through 2012, findings suggest that dollarization can be used as alternative monetary arrangement for economic stabilization. The results of the study indicate that the mean GDP per capita in the dollarized era is on a high side as compared to the non-dollarized period. More so, past growth contributes positively and significantly to growth in an economy and the contribution declines with space
A procedure for sizing pump-pipe systems with regard to minimising life cycle costs manageable on excel spreadsheets
No full textPump-pipeline systems are a common feature of every industry and account for about 20% of the world’s electrical energy demand. Pump and pipe selection should happen simultaneously in pump-pipe system design rather than first sizing the pipe and then finding the pump to go with the pipe. Further, proper selection of systems should go beyond just considering only the initial cost but the total cost of ownership- the life cycle cost (LCC). In this paper a spreadsheet tool is developed for pump-pipe system technical analysis with the output design parameters facilitating LCC analysis. The program can calculate the operating point of any size of pump, at any given speed and with any pipe size and by use of appropriate cost models determine the unit cost of pumping for each system. Dimensionless pump characteristic curves that are generic for all radial flow pumps are modelled by multi-polynomial equations. Dimensional similitude can then be used to determine the actual characteristic curves for any pump of given impeller diameter and rotational speed. The system resistance curve is calculated from well-known hydraulic formulae and represented by a quadratic equation. The operating point of the pump-pipe system is obtained from a simultaneous solution of the quadratic equations representing the pump and the pipe resistance curves. Best practice technical constraints, like maximum deviation from best-efficiency point (BEP), allowable net positive suction head and maximum allowable operating hours, can be set by the designer. Operating the pump-pipe system near best efficiency point is desirable since it reduces both energy and pump maintenance costs. A pump-pipe system is selected only if it falls within designer-specified best practice constraints. The life cycle cost of each system that passes the first test is then calculated using discounting techniques and the pump-pipe system with the least LCC is adopted.,Zimbabwe Institution of Engineer
Analysis of waste minimisation strategies in the informal sector of Gweru, Zimbabwe: paper presented at a conference held on the 14th-16th July 2015, Elephant Hills Resort, Victoria Fallls, Zimbabwe
No full textTheme: 1st International Research Conference On Driving Socio-Economic Development Through Value Addition And Sustainable Use Of Resources Sub Theme: Water resources management, climate change, food security and sustainable development,The aim of this study was to analyse the solid waste minimisation strategies in the informal sector enterprises of Gweru, the third largest city in Zimbabwe. The study population for questionnaire surveys comprised all the 589 organised informal sector enterprises in the market areas and high density suburbs of the city. The questionnaire administered to the home industry operators aimed at collecting information on waste reduction and recycling practices. Interviews were also undertaken with key stakeholders concerned with waste management in Gweru. Results indicated that waste minimisation practices employed in the informal sector enterprises of Gweru involved re-use, recycling and sales as forms of waste management. The amount of solid waste disposed per enterprise far outweighs the amount of waste recycled and recycling is only undertaken by those enterprises that are willing to do so. Significantly more enterprises perceived recycling to be the friendliest method of managing the solid waste (almost 50% of the enterprises) and waste minimisation as the second friendliest method. Re-use of materials was the commonly employed strategy to source-reduce waste. Other methods involved in source reduction of waste considered attitudes of the operators in their decision to buy certain raw materials. These considerations included the durability of the raw materials, whether the products package could be re-used and possibility of re-using the products. The common reasons for the enterprises willing to recycle waste were perceived to be saving resources especially in Monomotapa and Shamrock Park and this was indicated by 81% and 76% of the operators in these areas respectively. These percentages are high showing that when given the opportunity and knowledge of recycling, most enterprises would do so keenly. At Kudzanai and in Mkoba the major reason that would drive the operators to prefer to recycle solid waste was the desire to avoid waste followed by the need to save resources. In conclusion, findings showed that people have a positive attitude and think it is important to recycle waste as a way of preserving the environment. In order to encourage citizens to participate, they need to be convinced of the importance of the service they are providing. A waste management plan is also essential for any settlement because waste needs to be managed at all stages from its generation to disposal