Your search

Household air pollution ( HAP ) is a major public health problem, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa where most of the populations still rely on solid fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting. This narrative review highlights the direct and indirect evidence of the important role of HAP in cardiovascular disease, especially in sub‐Saharan African countries where highest rates of major cardiovascular disease and death are observed, and thus provides ample reason for promotion of preventive...

In the water-scarce environment of South Africa, drought-tolerant eucalypt species have the potential to contribute to the timber and biomass resource. Biomass functions are a necessary prerequisite to predict yield and carbon sequestration. In this study preliminary biomass models for Eucalyptus cladocalyx, E. gomphocephala and E. grandis · E. camaldulensis from the dry West Coast of South Africa were developed. The study was based on 33 trees, which were destructively sampled for biomass...

The need for and feasibility of a PhD degree in Creative Writing is discussed. The structure and content of PhDs in this field in the UK, USA and Australia are examined. The focus then shifts towards the content and teaching of this PhD at the four South African universities currently offering it. Recommendations are made in respect of the possible expansion of the institutionalising and teaching of this degree in South Africa.

Abstract. Middle Holocene cultures have been widely studied round the E-Mediterranean basin in the last 30 years and past cultural activities have been commonly linked with regional climate changes. However, in many cases such linkage is equivocal, in part due to existing climatic evidence that has been derived from areas outside the distribution of ancient settlements, leading to uncertainty from complex spatial heterogeneity in both climate and demography. A few high-resolution well-dated...

This research aimed to explore the working conditions teachers in the Ghana Education Service perceived as motivators in their professional practice. The research used mainly a qualitative approach and three focus groups of five members: each were organised with teacher participants drawn from the Ashanti Region purposively selected. The research revealed that the sources of motivation in the participants’ professional practice related to selfless and internal factors rather than external...

In the early 1990s, the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) enacted educational reform. It officially abandoned its English-only policy at elementary school level, in favour of community languages. In response, the Kairak community of East New Britain Province developed a vernacular literacy programme. This paper, based on original fieldwork research in PNG, assesses the viability of Kairak vernacular literacy in the context of the community's broader literacy practices. While mother tongue...

In the not-so-distant past, colonial European scholarship denied the existence of African philosophy. In reaction, indigenous African scholars assiduously strove to prove its existence. While Africans succeeded in demonstrating the existence of African philosophy, another denial—deliberate or otherwise—manifested and continues to manifest itself in the non-existence or peripheral existence of African philosophy in institutions of higher learning. It is argued in this article that African...

Sexual assault is a serious and urgent concern at university campuses. The fear of sexual assault is widespread and expressed almost exclusively by women. This briefing explores female students’ fears about sexual violence and the spaces within which they feel vulnerable while at university, with a view to planning effective interventions to address their fears. This was done by working with them towards understanding the nature and extent of sexual violence, how to deal with it when it...

The changing social and economic condition in South Africa has resulted in the rising number of middle-class Africans. These changing class dynamics have also seen the changes in the higher education environment, ensuring the intake of more African students into university. Race and class continues to mark student identity construction which has implications for social cohesion. This paper discusses how class troubles an essentialist construction of student racialised identities. We argue...

Background: Childhood anxiety presents a serious mental health problem, and it is one of the most common forms of psychological distress reported by youth worldwide. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms amongst South African youth is reported to be significantly higher than in other parts of the world. These high prevalence rates become even more significant when viewed in terms of children with visual impairments, as it is suggested that children with physical disabilities may be more prone,...

ABSTRACTThe study establishes whether government spending on private universal secondary education (USE) schools is equitable across quintiles disaggregated by gender and by region in Uganda. The study employs benefit incidence analysis tool on the Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS 2009/10) data to establish the welfare impact of public subsidy on different households. The results reveal that the richer households benefit more from the subsidy than the poor. Similar patterns are evident...

There is a prevalent shortage of experienced and qualified high school teachers in Zimbabwe particularly for sciences, mathematics and to lesser extent commercial subjects. Even though, there is a perceived general unwillingness among uncertified graduate teachers to become professional teachers. The objective of the study was to establish whether gender differences and the possession of certain types of academic degrees influence preferences by uncertified graduate teachers to train as...

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) pose significant public health challenges in school children in developing countries. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of intestinal parasites among elementary school children in Mizan-Aman town, southwest Ethiopia. Institution-based cross-sectional study involving 460 elementary school children in Mizan-Aman Town was conducted from May to June 2013. The school children were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data on...

Context: Social, economic and political factors are rapidly changing the ways that young people must prepare for adult life. These changes have enormous implications also for their sexual health and behaviors. Objective: To determine the socio-demographic factors associated with sexual risk behaviors among senior secondary schools students in Ojo military barracks, Lagos. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 400 senior secondary schools students in Ojo military...

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is being used in South Africa to provide standby power in several schools in Eastern Cape province, in a three-year project led by the SA Department of Science and Technology (DST). The project uses fuel cells in three junior and senior secondary schools in the Cofimvaba region, to support basic energy requirements such as charging stations for tablets, fax machines, and computers.