39 research outputs found
Effects of the social cash transfer support programme as an economic empowerment tool for women in Zambia: a case study of Mwanachingwala.
No full textDegree of Master of Arts in Development StudiesThis study aimed at investigating the effects of the SCT programme as an economic empowerment tool for women, using a case of Mwanachingwala. The objectives that guided this study were: to establish the associated outcomes of the SCT programme on the beneficiaries; to find out the beneficiary’s economic undertakings; and to establish the challenges that have arisen in the process of implementation. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify the beneficiaries, being intentionally interested in the SCT women beneficiaries. A sample size of thirty women and six key informants was used. The qualitative approach was also used and data was collected using a questionnaire and an interview guide. The key findings of this study reveal that the SCT programme has had positive associated outcomes for beneficiaries in terms of increased access to food, health and education services; and improved dignity, respect, self-esteem and decision making. All 30 respondents and 6 key informants agreed that the programme atleast helps to meet the most basic consumption need of food. In terms of economic activities being undertaken, the women are mainly engaged in subsistence farming, rearing small livestock and engaging in small businesses. One of the major challenges of the programme is that it does not work to deliberately empower women economically in its design and implementation. Another is that the programme has limited funding, which has had an impact on the beneficiaries in that there are limited investments, expansion and diversification in and of the business ventures. This study has concluded that the programme has the potential to promote women’s economic empowerment if changes that met the specific needs of women in this aspect were made in terms of policy formulation, planning and effective implementation. This study therefore recommends that the SCT programme considers the inclusion of the viability aspect which will deliberately empower women economically through its policy design and implementation. It should also consider adjusting the amount given to beneficiaries.
Key words: Women, Social Cash Transfer (SCT), Women’s Economic Empowerment, Income Generating Activities (IGAs
Church and Politics in Zambia 1950-1991
No full textThe study is an investigation on how the Church was involved in the creation of democratisation of politics in Zambia up to the end of UNIP era. The term Church in this study represented the three Church mother bodies; the Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC). Politics refer to the political governing bodies in the history of Zambia that used their power in public life to influence decisions which affected country; the colonial government, United Independence Party’s Government and its Central Committee leadership and Parliament.
The study first focused on the introduction and historical background to the study and reviewed works by different scholars which were relevant to the study. It then went on to discuss the characteristics and activities of the colonial Church in the face of nationalism in the last decade of the colonial era before looking at how the Church-State relations changed after the attainment of independence in 1964. How the Church responded to the social (introduction of the ideology of Humanism), economic (Nationalisation/Zambianisation) and political (the introduction of one-party rule) challenges brought about by black majority rule and to the crisis brought about by the Lumpa uprising have also been taken into account.
Lastly the study argued that the Church put up spirited fights when faced with challenges and brought to light the fact that the Church was a visible player in Zambia’s political history and as a force behind Zambia’s changing social, economic and political landscape from 1950 – 1991
ICT in Zambia – Green Informatics on Strategies and Technological Innovations
No full textThe concept of Green Strategies in the management of the environment has taken center stage world over. Zambia has not been left behind as it has ratified and adopted the concept of 'green economy' or 'green growth' through the declared priority theme for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 (Rio+20) (Banda &Bass, 2014:3). The definition of green growth adopted by Zambia is "development that makes sustainable and equitable use of Zambia's natural resources within ecological limits through reinforcing the three cornerstones of sustainable development" (UNCSD, 2012: 46). The cornerstones or pillars of sustainable development are the economy, social welfare and environment. In its simplest expression, a green economy is low-carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. It is based on a model which underscores both economic growth and social and natural resources development as opposed to the 'brown' economic model which emphasizes economic growth over social and natural (Chileshe & Moonga, 2019). The concept of Green Economy applies much to the ICT sector as ICTs are a major contributor to environmental waste and pollution. The report of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Global E-Waste Monitor 2020 reported that a record 53.6 million metric tons (Mt) of e-waste - discarded products with a battery or plug such as computers and mobile phones - is reported generated worldwide in 2019, up 9.2 Mt in five years. Toxic and hazardous substances such as mercury, brominated flame-retardants (BFR) or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are found in many types of electronic equipment and pose severe risk to human health and the environment if not handled in an environmentally sound manner. (...
To Bid or not to Bid: that is the Question: Relating Contractor Bid Decisions to Tender Design Related Attributes
No full textThe construction industry has always been an important driver of the economy. An important part of the projects in this industry is commissioned by public entities. However, recently a trend can be observed in which the procurement process fails more often than before. Due to the current times of economic expansion in the Netherlands contractors are more selective in project selection. Failed procurement processes are however undesirable since the transaction costs and time invested in such a process can mount up. Many scholars have investigated the bid decision of contractors (Bagies & Fortune, 2006; Shokri-Ghasabeh & Chileshe, 2016). Yet, in order to contribute to solving the issue mentioned above not all considerations of contractors are relevant. Therefore, this research specifically focused on those considerations, or decision attributes, that a client can influence during the tender design phase. Resulting in the following research question: “What tender design related attributes are key decision drivers in the contractor’s bid decision and how do these key decision drivers influence the bid decision in economic times of expansion for publicly procured non-residential construction projects in the Netherlands?”Civil Engineering | Construction Management and Engineerin
Challenges and advocated solutions for environmental protection legislation for building infrastructure projects in developing countries: Evidence from Zambia
No full textEnvironment protection legislation is often inadequate and poorly implemented in Africa even though literature shows that it is important for environmental protection. Furthermore, there is a paucity of studies which examine the catalytic role of legislation in the building infrastructure sustainability agenda. Therefore, to bridge that knowledge gap, this study examined the adequacy of environment protection legislation for building infrastructure projects in Zambia and their associated challenges and solutions. The study used an exploratory qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders on environment protection. The study theorises that environment protection legislation in Zambia is fairly adequate but with inadequacies in its implementation, some with omitted content, and poor understanding of the importance of environment protection. Solutions include increasing the level of implementation of the legislation and championing awareness of the importance of protecting the environment. The findings have implications for sustainability transitioning in Africa
Educational services for children with special educational needs in Zambia : a human development and capability approach
No full textChildren with special educational needs (CSEN) are exceptional learners. They are not handicapped, but merely living with a disability of one kind or the other. Handicaps are the disadvantages faced when society does not enable them to fulfil their lives. Idioms such as children are the future generation or the leaders of tomorrow are common and overly used today, hence the need for greater and more nuanced effort in preparing them for future responsibilities. Implementing education services for children with special education needs in Zambia comes with challenges. The predicament of diversity among various learners in Zambia is evident as the results of this study illustrate. The lack of a child database, nature of disability and distance from school, apt learning materials and choice of school placement are some of the issues educationalists and parents have to deal with in making education participation possible for exceptional learners. Informed by the transformative philosophy and the theory of Social Inclusion, this qualitative desk study has been carried out purposefully to examine the factors hindering the implementation of services for CSEN at all levels of their education and / but more specifically, beyond their primary schooling. In the paper, the use of content and thematic analysis has enabled the author to understand the identified views emerging from the study which have then been classified and arranged according to themes. The themes, based on the findings are further analysed through the lens of Amartya Sen’s Human Development and Capability Approach. The findings of the study indicate that education implementation dilemmas in Zambia are multi-dimensional. Hence, the argument presented here is that building the capacities of children by providing arange of educational opportunities and choices opens doors to many other necessaries of life such as employment. Using the Human Development and Capability Approach as a tool for analysis, the paper evaluates the functioning of the education system, the well-being of children and how they fit into the social arrangements of society. Put simply, the process of social inclusion is introduced and highlighted as a significant process in the overall development of CSEN
Educational services for children with special educational needs in Zambia : a human development and capability approach
No full textChildren with special educational needs (CSEN) are exceptional learners. They are not handicapped, but merely living with a disability of one kind or the other. Handicaps are the disadvantages faced when society does not enable them to fulfil their lives. Idioms such as children are the future generation or the leaders of tomorrow are common and overly used today, hence the need for greater and more nuanced effort in preparing them for future responsibilities. Implementing education services for children with special education needs in Zambia comes with challenges. The predicament of diversity among various learners in Zambia is evident as the results of this study illustrate. The lack of a child database, nature of disability and distance from school, apt learning materials and choice of school placement are some of the issues educationalists and parents have to deal with in making education participation possible for exceptional learners. Informed by the transformative philosophy and the theory of Social Inclusion, this qualitative desk study has been carried out purposefully to examine the factors hindering the implementation of services for CSEN at all levels of their education and / but more specifically, beyond their primary schooling. In the paper, the use of content and thematic analysis has enabled the author to understand the identified views emerging from the study which have then been classified and arranged according to themes. The themes, based on the findings are further analysed through the lens of Amartya Sen’s Human Development and Capability Approach. The findings of the study indicate that education implementation dilemmas in Zambia are multi-dimensional. Hence, the argument presented here is that building the capacities of children by providing arange of educational opportunities and choices opens doors to many other necessaries of life such as employment. Using the Human Development and Capability Approach as a tool for analysis, the paper evaluates the functioning of the education system, the well-being of children and how they fit into the social arrangements of society. Put simply, the process of social inclusion is introduced and highlighted as a significant process in the overall development of CSEN
Exploring constraining factors for use of private sector finance in delivery of public sector infrastructure in Tanzania: A qualitative study
No full textWhile governments remain accountable for the delivery of infrastructure services, given the paucity of public resources, studies have recommended the use of private sector finance (PSF) as an alternative approach to delivering sustainable infrastructure both in developed and developing economies. Despite the recommendation, there has been very little use of PSF in delivering public projects, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study explores the constraining factors for the use of PSF in the delivery of public infrastructure in Tanzania and proposes recommendations. A total of 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders delivering public infrastructure services. Interviewees were purposefully selected. Data were analyzed through conceptual content analysis. The findings reveal that the top five constraining factors were inadequate knowledge and skills, lack of policy to support or suffice PSF, bureaucracy or delays of approvals, lack of proper models for PSF, and lack of skilled people or existence of a big national skill gap. Thus, the identified constraints provided useful insights and were used as a road map for suggesting appropriate solutions to enhance the use of PSF. Furthermore, this is the first study to empirically explore the constraining factors for PSF in delivering infrastructure projects in the Tanzanian context
Association of Myocardial Infarction Among Cervical Cancer Patients
No full textIntroduction: Increased risk of myocardial infarction has been validated for several cancers, but limited study evaluated this risk in cervical cancer patients. Our study aimed to evaluate the risk of myocardial infarction in cervical cancer patients.
Method: This study using systematic review that search using keyword myocardial infarction and cervical cancer in Google Scholar and PubMed.
Result: After final screening the author analysize 2 articles.
Conclusion: These study demonstrated cervical cancer patients had a higher risk of myocardial infarction than the general population, especially in younger patients. Most cancers were associated with an increased risk of MI during the first 6 months after diagnosis. MI risk was related to the presence of metastates. Cancer patients may need a more aggressive treatment of classical MI risk factors. Strategies to reduce this risk should be assessed
