1,720,958 research outputs found
Zimbabwean theology and religious studies during the crisis years (2000-2008) : a preliminary study
No full textPeer reviewedOne of the dominant accusations against theology and religious studies in Africa is that the discipline tends to be abstract. Critics charge that this discipline hardly addresses the lived realities of the people. Further, they assert that African theolo¬gy and religious studies do not tackle the pressing issues of the continent; particularly the issue of (mis)governance. This article, a preliminary analysis, focuses on the contribution of theology and religious studies in Zimbabwe in addressing the Zimbabwean crisis. It outlines the major themes that scholars have addressed. It proceeds to highlight some pertinent issues that must be addressed in order to ensure that theology and religious studies become more attuned to the pressing issues of the day. As research and publication in Zimbabwean theology and religious studies have expanded significantly since 2000, we have sought to highlight trends related to specific themes. A more detailed analysis of the field requires several studies.Research Institute for Theology and Religio
‘Battling for Souls: Contesting for Space’? African Traditional Religions and Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe
Get PDFThere is no doubt of the existence of religious competition and conversion in Africa. Pentecostalism has become one of the fastest growing forms of Christianity that has created a major competition for African traditional religions. This study concurs with the idea that diversity and competition are often vehicles, if not drivers, of creative change, and such innovation creates more competition. It is the thrust of this study to analyse how contemporary Pentecostalism in Harare has been forced to create innovations from African Traditional Religion as experienced through ‘rituals, symbols and practices that are usually forms of communication with the divine as well as through more contemplative practices that enhance one’s awareness of the presence of God’ (Mwaura 2008:2)
A phenomenological investigation into the effects of traditional beliefs and practices on women and HIV and AIDS, with special reference to Chipinge district, Zimbabwe
No full textThe Small Grant Scholarship for Thesis Writing,The thrust of this study is to highlight and expose the effects of HIV and AIDS on the
traditional Ndau woman in Chipinge District. This thesis emphasises how much the
woman in Chipinge has sacrificed in terms of providing care to people living with HIV
and AIDS (herein after referred to as PLWHA). Apart from examining this and the other
diverse burdens that women carry, this project highlights how Ndau women in Chipinge
have been key to the overall response to HIV and AIDS. This is achieved through
application of cultural hermeneutics of the Ndau religion, the traditional religion of
Chipinge. I apply a hermeneutic of suspicion to assess the role played by some Ndau
traditional practices which fall into the category of Harmful Cultural Practices
(HCPs).Most of these, as analysed, are embedded in most traditional marriage practices
as is explained in chapter 2. Furthermore, I employ a hermeneutic of commitment and a
hermeneutic of liberation as I argue that not all Ndau practices affect women negatively
with regards to HIV and AIDS: there is still a silver lining in the ‘not so dark’ cloud. I
look for alternative ways in which Ndau practices and custom can be re-interpreted and
contextualized in a helpful way to fight the epidemic. This purpose is achieved especially
in chapter 4. This research is motivated by feminism, and in particular, liberal feminism.
In this project I strongly argue that though most African traditional practices have been
assessed negatively, and most are known to victimise women, their liberation can still
happen within their own traditional societies. Though I do not argue against any other
means such as new religious ideologies and westernisation, my argument is that though
most Ndau traditional societies victimise women, there still exists redemptive beliefs and
practices for women within the traditional setting of the Ndaus. I look for liberating
resources that can be tapped from folklores, myths and other forms of oral literature in
Ndau religion. I argue for the silver lining in the dark cloud presented by some harmful
cultural practices (HCPs) that present African Traditional Religions (ATRs) as oppressive
and ruthless to women. In this thesis, I deliberate on how the roles of women should not
be looked down upon, and why maleness should not be a means to power if the response
to HIV and AIDS is to be effective. Ndau traditional culture presents women mostly at
the receiving end, particularly in the era HIV and AIDS. It is key to understand that this
thesis therefore becomes a microcosm of the macrocosm. What this study comes up with
can have basic information on women, HIV and AIDS, and many other traditional
societies. As such, this thesis provides a social framework on how such cultures and
customs can be contextualised, reinterpreted, remodeled, adapted and adopted in the
framework of HIV and AIDS. Apart from cultural hermeneutics as a method, sociology
of religion is key in this project. Interviews particularly snowball sampling gives results.
However, the overarching methodology employed in this study is phenomenology of
religion, as suggested in the topic. I gather information for this project through such ways
as mentioned earlier, but central is the idea that ‘the believer is always right’, which is
key in phenomenology. The results of my research try as much as possible to present
what the believer presents to the researcher, trying by all means to be unbiased.The
effects of HIV and AIDS on women are ruthless, but however, there are some positive
effects which are not so much talked about as the negative effects.,Council of the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, CODESRI
A Phenomenological Investigation into the Effects of Traditional Beliefs and Practices on Women and HIV & Aids, With Special Reference to Chipinge District, Zimbabwe
No full textThe thrust of this study is to highlight and expose the effects of HIV and AIDS on the
traditional Ndau woman in Chipinge District. This thesis emphasises how much the
woman in Chipinge has sacrificed in terms of providing care to people living with HIV
and AIDS (herein after referred to as PLWHA). Apart from examining this and the other
diverse burdens that women carry, this project highlights how Ndau women in Chipinge
have been key to the overall response to HIV and AIDS. This is achieved through
application of cultural hermeneutics of the Ndau religion, the traditional religion of
Chipinge. I apply a hermeneutic of suspicion to assess the role played by some Ndau
traditional practices which fall into the category of Harmful Cultural Practices
(HCPs).Most of these, as analysed, are embedded in most traditional marriage practices
as is explained in chapter 2. Furthermore, I employ a hermeneutic of commitment and a
hermeneutic of liberation as I argue that not all Ndau practices affect women negatively
with regards to HIV and AIDS: there is still a silver lining in the ‘not so dark’ cloud. I
look for alternative ways in which Ndau practices and custom can be re-interpreted and
contextualized in a helpful way to fight the epidemic. This purpose is achieved especially
in chapter 4. This research is motivated by feminism, and in particular, liberal feminism.
In this project I strongly argue that though most African traditional practices have been
assessed negatively, and most are known to victimise women, their liberation can still
happen within their own traditional societies. Though I do not argue against any other
means such as new religious ideologies and westernisation, my argument is that though
most Ndau traditional societies victimise women, there still exists redemptive beliefs and
practices for women within the traditional setting of the Ndaus. I look for liberating
resources that can be tapped from folklores, myths and other forms of oral literature in
Ndau religion. I argue for the silver lining in the dark cloud presented by some harmful
cultural practices (HCPs) that present African Traditional Religions (ATRs) as oppressive
and ruthless to women. In this thesis, I deliberate on how the roles of women should not
be looked down upon, and why maleness should not be a means to power if the response
to HIV and AIDS is to be effective. Ndau traditional culture presents women mostly at
the receiving end, particularly in the era HIV and AIDS. It is key to understand that this
thesis therefore becomes a microcosm of the macrocosm. What this study comes up with
can have basic information on women, HIV and AIDS, and many other traditional
societies. As such, this thesis provides a social framework on how such cultures and
customs can be contextualised, reinterpreted, remodeled, adapted and adopted in the
framework of HIV and AIDS. Apart from cultural hermeneutics as a method, sociology
of religion is key in this project. Interviews particularly snowball sampling gives results.
However, the overarching methodology employed in this study is phenomenology of
religion, as suggested in the topic. I gather information for this project through such ways
as mentioned earlier, but central is the idea that ‘the believer is always right’, which is
key in phenomenology. The results of my research try as much as possible to present
what the believer presents to the researcher, trying by all means to be unbiased.The
effects of HIV and AIDS on women are ruthless, but however, there are some positive
effects which are not so much talked about as the negative effects
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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