Managing Information and Communication Technology in Sudanese Secondary School

This research article is based on a larger study whose purpose was to investigate the current status and implementation of ICT in Khartoum State secondary schools. The study, adopted a descriptive survey design. Two instruments questionnaires’ and a structured interview schedule were used to collect data. The target population comprised of 320 secondary schools in Khartoum State at the time of data collection. Stratified sampling was used to select 48 secondary schools for the study. Data collected by questionnaires from 48 principals and 5 administrators were analyzed using descriptive statistic and chi square with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the analysis of data revealed that the school principals have positive attitudes regarding the use of ICT in their schools. The results also indicated that, although a significant number of schools have a policy goal to use ICT for administration and for keeping track of student data, very few schools realized these goals. Out of this study recommendations were made to the secondary schools in Khartoum State and the Sudanese Ministry of Education in general. Keywords: Computer coordinator, Khartoum State, ICT implementation, ICT management, School Principal

Chosen Peoples

Christopher Tounsel investigates the centrality of Christian worldviews to the ideological construction of South Sudan from the early twentieth century to the present

The provision of library and information services to the visually impaired (VI) users by the Msunduzi Municipal Library (MML).

Masters in Information Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2018.Public libraries have a moral obligation to make information available to all categories of users regardless of their gender, age, race, political affiliation or disability and therefore the library’s potential user group is the entire population. However, more often than not, people living with disabilities, particularly visual impairment found themselves wondering if this statement is ever be a reality. This thesis investigates the provision of library and information services to the visually impaired library users by the Msunduzi Municipal Library (Bessie Head) (MML). This study is not suggesting that the MML should divert its services towards the VI, as it is not specialised in this regard, however, as a public library MML should be able to respond to the needs of its community without discriminating against any form of disability. The study’s research questions tried to understand: when/how often do the VI users use the MML and what are the services they use and why?; what are the accessibility problems experienced by the VI users with the resources offered by the MML?; what policies does the library have in order to promote inclusivity and equality with regard to the VI?; what challenges are experienced by the MML in seeking to provide services to the VI and what, if necessary, needs to be done to improve the services?; what kind of training do the library staff receive in relation to services to VI, what kind of training is needed? The Human Rights Model of disability guided the present study. This study sought to solicit as much information/data as possible and thus qualitative research approach was employed using semi-structured interviews in order to better understand the experiences of VI users. The sample consisted of 17 VI registered library users, seven library assistants, the librarian, the senior librarian as well as the principal librarian. The main barriers to accessing the resources offered by MML are the lack of transport to and from the library, information in an appropriate format and in the preferred language, limited number of computers and outdated software. As for the MML staff, they experienced challenges when it comes to the functioning of the devices used by the VI users, lack of awareness of the service itself, and lack of skills on how to serve the VI. Workshops were conducted by representatives from the South African Library for the Blind (SALB) but the staff is still finding it difficult to serve the VI with confidence. The MML has not used/explored the platforms that are available to the library in order to market and publicize the services they have available for the VI. This study concludes by making recommendations for improving the library and information service to the VI. The MML is one of the public libraries identified by the Department of Arts and Culture to bridge the information gap thereby keeping the VI abreast of what is going on in the province, country and the world at large. Therefore, the recommendations offered in this study could be useful to other public libraries offering services to the VI

Chosen Peoples

Christopher Tounsel investigates the centrality of Christian worldviews to the ideological construction of South Sudan from the early twentieth century to the present

The secession of states as a strategy for resolving intra-state ethnic and religious conflicts in post-colonial Africa : the case of south Sudan.

Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2017.The secession of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011, after a protracted and seemingly intractable conflict which started in 1955 on the eve of the county’s independence from colonial rule; presents a pertinent question on whether secession should be considered as a viable and sustainable strategy for resolving conflicts with ethnic and religious dimensions. This comes against a background of several secessionists movements in Africa, as in Algeria (State of Kabyle), Angola (Republic of Cabinda), Cameroon (Democratic Republic of Bakassi), Comoros (Anjouan), Ethiopia (State of Oromia and Ogaden), Mali (Azawad), Nigeria (State of Biafra), Senegal (Casamance Republic), Somalia (Republic of Somalia-Somaliland), Tanzania (Zanzibar), and Zambia (Barotseland), among others. These are by grievances such as marginalization, discrimination, oppression and different forms of injustices. Five years after secession, the conflicts in South Sudan and Sudan are still raging on and even intensifying, despite commendable regional and international mediation efforts through the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU). Using the 2011 secession of South Sudan as case study, this study sought to examine the extent to which secession can be considered as a strategy to sustainably resolve intra-ethnic and religious conflicts in post-colonial African states. Methodologically, the study adopted a mixed methods research design which combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods, relying on interviews with experts, academics and researchers based in Zimbabwe as well as questionnaires administered to officials working in peacebuilding, humanitarian, media and development agencies in South Sudan. It used the Protracted Social Conflict Theory, Realist Conflict Theory and Conflict Transformation Theory as theoretical framework of analysis. The findings of the study revealed that whilst South Sudanese secession was a legal success as evidenced by the legitimate recognition and acceptance of the state as a member of the AU and the UN, there was no evidence of success of secession in South Sudan in as far as the securing of lasting peace and stability is concerned as there is continued inter-communal violence, inter-ethnic fights, unresolved border demarcation issues with the Republic of Sudan, and border disputes in Abyei, Blue Nile and South Kordofan states in post-secession South Sudan. The study concludes that secession cannot be regarded as a sustainable and viable strategy to resolve intra-state ethnic and religious conflicts as it usually over-simplify a conflict along ethnic, religious and regional identity lines thereby failing to address the underlying substantive causes of secessionist conflicts. The study further argues that at regional and continental level, the secession of states may threaten African unity and integration. However, in extreme cases where secession maybe unavoidable due to self-determination pressures, the study suggests that secession should be supported by effective transitional mechanisms accompanied by conflict transformation interventions aimed at transforming the power structures, institutions, systems, triggers of violence, attitudes of conflict actors, and transforming mindset of the elite/leadership so as to secure sustainable peace and stability. In order to sustainably resolve seemingly intractable protracted intra-state ethnic and religious conflicts in post-colonial African states, the study highly recommends that multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies should consider ‘non-secession’ alternatives such as Federalism, Consociational Democracy, Devolution, and Confederation which embrace and uphold the sacrosanct values and principles of democracy, diversity, plurality, tolerance, equal access to opportunities and fair distribution of national resources so as to promote national integration and social cohesion. The nature, form, substance and structure of these national governance frameworks should be defined and determined by national contexts and circumstances

Cultural Policy for Arts Education

Arts Education institutions and programs create an excellent framework for personality development: learning knowledge, learning skills and learning life. Their attainment requires education to be a holistic concept of advancement that includes aesthetic practice and involvement with the arts. It challenges them to use their actions to think about the meaning of life, in as much as everyone can use artistic experiences to affirm and interrogate their self-image. The Research Program of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy for the Arts in Development at the University of Hildesheim in Germany brought together experts from the Universities in Dar Es Salam, Kampala, Nairobi, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Casablanca and Tunis and further independent researchers to exchange concepts in Cultural Policy for Arts Education

African Studies Abstracts Online: number 53, 2016

ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 53 (2016). African Studies Centre, Leiden

Pretoria to Khartoum - how we taught an Internet-supported Masters' programme across national, religious, cultural and linguistic barriers

This article tells the story of the design, development and presentation of eighteen months of coursework for a Master's degree programme in Computer-Integrated education at the Sudan University of Science and Technology in Khartoum from 2002 to 2004. The focus is on what was learnt in adapting a programme presented at the University of Pretoria to cope with the challenges of teaching at an institution thousands of kilometres away, where technological infrastructure, time and policy issues; and even the weather played an often disruptive role. The data sources from which the story is constructed are field notes and preparation material, the project diary, informal discussion both physical and online; interviews and email messages with students, local facilitators, local administrators and presenters; as well as the electronic artefacts produced by the students. A comparison between a synthesis of the literature and the narrative description leads to the identification of seven assumptions that may guide the design, development and presentation of international, cross cultural Internet-supported teaching initiatives