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This paper investigates the Opportunities to Learn (OTL) algebra that are afforded to high school learners in South Africa. It explores how differences in the OTL grade-ten algebra at three Catholic secondary schools may account for the differential performance of learners in mathematics. Using a qualitative research approach, we make the case that there is a need to redefine OTL mathematics beyond just the mastery of certain mathematical concepts and algebraic procedures. We argue that...

The paper discusses the challenges of women in Science and Technology Education in relation to reforms and development in Nigeria. These challenges, such as socio-cultural factors, can reduce and even inhibit women participation in scientific and technological fields. The study presented here adopted a descriptive survey design to sample the opinion of professional women in Science and Technology and female students studying Science and Technology presently. A representative sample of 406...

South Africa's southern coastal margin is recognised as being a highly dynamic climatic region that plays a critical role in both regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulation dynamics. Our understanding of the past dynamics of this system, however, has been limited by the number and nature of datasets available that can be used to infer changes in key climatic parameters in the region. In this paper we present new high resolution δ13C and δ15N data from two independently dated...

Objective: To compare the quality of life of people affected by leprosy living in a leprosarium and those reintegrated in communities in the southern region of Malawi. Design: A translated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) was administered among two groups of people with leprosy-related residual impairment and disability living in either a leprosarium (male 47, female 53) or re-integrated into communities (male 41, female 57). The...

Contextual factors impinge directly and indirectly on second language learning through its influence on attitudes towards, and motivation to learn, a language among learners of a target language. This paper describes language learning situation, bilingual behaviour and academic performance of some primary school pupils. It suggests that learners’ independent use of digital and literacy activities could be harnessed for multimodal teaching where digital learning facilities have not been...

The study analysed the effect of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign activities on the adoption of a community-based health insurance (CHI) scheme in Nouna, Burkina Faso. It also identified the factors that enhanced or limited the campaign's effectiveness.Complementary data collection approaches were used. A survey was conducted with 250 randomly selected household heads, followed by in-depth interviews with 22 purposively selected community leaders, group discussions...

This paper investigated how ICT skill levels of doctors deployed to rural hospitals contribute to effective usage of computer-mediated tools in hospitals in South Africa. A case study approach was used. Participants were selected from a population group of doctors. Ten doctors were selected from ten government-owned hospitals for interviews. Data was collected using semi-structured open ended interview questions. Doctors were asked to rate their knowledge on computer and e-health skill and...

In August 2011, the first cohort of students at the University of Botswana School of Medicine (UBSOM) began their third year of undergraduate medical training. As part of their 2011–2012 curriculum they each completed a 10 week rotation in Emergency Medicine (EM), involving problem based learning (PBL) sessions, maintenance of log books, case presentations, and clinical time at the Emergency Centre (EC) of the main tertiary referral hospital in Gaborone, Princess Marina Hospital. Since EM...

AbstractSouth Africa's climate is characterised by the occurrence of regular droughts. An assessment of drought mortality in KwaZulu-Natal during 1999 could not provide accurate information regarding the effect of species or planting density on mortality because of confounding species-site allocations. Thus, following the 1999 drought event a trial was established in a drought-prone area, planted to a number of genotypes that were deemed to be more tolerant to water stress than Eucalyptus...

A B S T R A C T Erratic rainfalls, heavy winds pressure and erosional processes due to El Nino floods and droughts are major causes of as far mlands degradation in the catchment, as well as Muooni dam siltation and its water storage capacity decrease. Beside, bad land management associated with excess multiple cropping of eucalyptus and other alien trees in the wetlands, as well as farmlands subdivision hampers water availability in the catchment. Put altogether, these factors affect at...

This study describes how in-service teachers in the pre-vocational sector in Mauritius adopted specific strategies to overcome the language barrier in the learning of science (Van Driel, Verloop & de Vos, 1998). Students of form III were taught few basic ideas related to Earth & Space through the use of role play and ICT. The concepts chosen for this study were 'occurrence of day and night', 'relative positions and motions of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun' and 'main constituents of our...

In this paper, I reflect on the half of my 22-year exile from South Africa teaching Political Science in Swaziland, initially on a campus which formed one leg of an unusual experiment in tertiary education, the tri-national University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS). The paper makes two main points. First is that the three national campuses which made up UBLS were in academic terms in the 1970s and 1980s equal if not superior to the better known and better resourced campuses over...

Vaginal birth after caesarean section compared to a repeat caesarean has lower complication rate for both the parturient and her infant. Ruptured uterus is a major complication of Vbac and uterine rupture in a spontaneous labour after one prior lower transverse segment caesarean section is about 0.4%. The risk decreases by 50% after the first Vbac. The overall success rate of Vbac is between 52-80%, however in the West African sub region the success rate is almost 60%. A retrospective study...

The proposal to make all basic schools practise inclusive education by 2015 in Ghana will require that teachers are supported to use equipment to facilitate the teaching and the learning process. The purpose of the study was to investigate categories of persons provide support to the teachers, types of support provided for teachers, the extent of equipment usage in the classroom and the relationship between teachers who are supported, and equipment utilization in primary school classrooms....

This article reports on an action research project to reorient forestry and natural resources higher education in Ethiopia. The study used a combination of methods, including questionnaires and secondary information, to understand the existing higher-education system in Ethiopia. Based on the initial analysis, a workshop was held to deliberate the findings and to draw up guidelines for forestry and natural resources higher education that reflect education for sustainable development (ESD)...

Drought is Africa's primary natural disaster and a pervasive source of income risk for poor households.This paper documents the long-run health effects of early life exposure to drought and investigates an important source of heterogeneity in these effects.Combining birth cohort variation in South African Census data with cross-sectional and temporal drought variation, I estimate long-run health impacts of drought exposure among Africans confined to homelands during apartheid.Drought...