Gendered vulnerabilities to climate change: insights from the semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia

Emerging and on-going research indicates that vulnerabilities to impacts of climate change are gendered. Still, policy approaches aimed at strengthening local communities’ adaptive capacity largely fail to recognize the gendered nature of everyday realities and experiences. This paper interrogates some of the emerging evidence in selected semi-arid countries of Africa and Asia from a gender perspective, using water scarcity as an illustrative example. It emphasizes the importance of moving beyond the counting of numbers of men and women to unpacking relations of power, of inclusion and exclusion in decision-making, and challenging cultural beliefs that have denied equal opportunities and rights to differently positioned people, especially those at the bottom of economic and social hierarchies. Such an approach would make policy and practice more relevant to people’s differentiated needs and responses

Promoting Entrepreneurship amid Youth in Windhoek’s Informal Settlements: A Namibian Case

Considering the high unemployment rate among Namibian youth and a lack of job opportunities, the promotion of entrepreneurship has gained wider attention in the country. A number of initiatives have been started such as entrepreneurship trainings and workshops, business idea competitions, etc. All these aim to inspire young people to think of alternative income sources. As part of a two-year funded community outreach research and development (R&D) project, we have investigated participatory approaches to engage marginalized youth into conceptualizing their own context, imparting skills, and deriving new career paths. This article reports and reflects on one of the interventions we have recently concluded with a group of youth in Havana, an informal settlement in the outskirts of Windhoek. We conducted what we entitled “The Havana Entrepreneur”, a series of interactions inspired upon the model of the American reality game show “The Apprentice”. Over a number of weeks two youth groups were given challenges to tackle by means of competing against one another. After completion of each challenge, groups were rated by a number of judges on skills demonstrated such as marketing, presentation, reflection and creativity among others. We observed an increase in, and improvement of skills revealed along tasks’ completion, besides an openly expressed self-realization and discovery of abilities by participants. Moreover, the youth are currently engaged in the continuation of activities beyond the initial entrepreneurial interactions. Thus we suggest replicating “The Havana Entrepreneur”, including the recording on camera of it by the youth themselves as a new mode to instigating a wider entrepreneurial spirit in informal settlements

Citizen wellbeing and GDP: Towards more appropriate measures of Namibia\u27s success and progress

Developing nations like Namibia are aiming to industrialize much like developed nations and use the gross domestic product to measure their progress. However, this development path has been largely unsustainable. For Namibia to develop into a sustainable society, a different approach is needed. This study aimed to find entry points toward such an approach. Surveys were conducted in Windhoek, Namibia\u27s capital, to measure human well-being. Generally, as is expected in a developing country, well-being correlated positively along the income line. However, the indicators did illustrate that a more holistic measure would go a long way toward more effective development planning in Namibia. This study provided an entry point from which further work will be undertaken

Why climate resilient rural development / climate compatible development?

The presentation provides an introduction to what climate resilient pathways look like in terms of governance and regional climate adaptation initiatives in Africa. The pursuit of climate-resilient pathways involves identifying vulnerabilities to climate change impacts; assessing opportunities for reducing risks; and taking actions that are consistent with the goals of sustainable development, as well as incorporating analyses of climate change impacts into development planning in a given country or community. Climate resilient development includes alignment of non-governmental organizations and subnational actors such as regional councils

Promoting Grade 9 mathematics teachers’ TPACK development through planning algebra lessons that integrate technology in Oshakati education circuit

The revised curriculum in Namibia highlights the integration of digital tools to help learners understand mathematics better. For this purpose, teachers need to possess Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to utilize technology effectively. However, using technology by itself does not guarantee better learning rather, it requires an understanding of how to integrate technology in teaching mathematics. Therefore, this case study explored Grade 9 mathematics teachers’ TPACK development through planning algebra lessons that integrate technology. An interpretive paradigm, supported by a pragmatic paradigm, underpins the study, and a qualitative case study approach was employed. The study purposively engaged ten Grade 9 mathematics teachers from four schools in Namibia. Demographic questionnaires, Semi-structured interviews, Reflective journals, notes from discussions, focus group interviews and document analysis were used to gain teachers’ insights on TPACK development. The study was guided by two educational theories: Bernstein's Sociology of Education (1971) and Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain (1956). Also, Mishra and Koehler’s TPACK framework (2009) was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that mathematics teachers had a positive view of technology integration in mathematics lessons and TPACK development through technology-integrated lesson planning, but they lacked the knowledge for planning lessons that integrate technology. Taking part in the intervention improved the selected mathematics teachers' understanding of TPACK, making them more confident about using technology in their teaching. The study also found different strategies to help teachers incorporate technology into their lessons, along with having a strong grasp of the subject and effective teaching methods. Based on these findings, it is suggested that in-service mathematics teachers take part in interventions focused on integrating technology into lesson planning. These interventions should demonstrate how technology can improve mathematics education and how it fits with both content and teaching methods. It is also recommended that these interventions emphasize the importance of Bloom's Taxonomy in using technology for mathematics education. The study concludes by suggesting further research on how planned lessons can be implemented in actual mathematics classrooms.Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 202

CFD Modelling and performance evaluation of a forced convection mixed-mode solar grain dryer with a preheater.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban.Solar drying of agricultural food products as an art of food preservation has been in existence since the 17th century. In most tropical and subtropical countries, the drying process of harvested agricultural products such as grains is mainly carried out using the method of open-air drying or sun drying to preserve the harvest. With the advances of technology over time, new solar drying methods such as indirect and mixed-mode solar drying are evolving. Mixed-mode solar dryers are among the most efficient solar drying methods for improving the harvest and storage of grains. One of the advances in the development of solar dryers is the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computer-aided design (CAD) codes to model, simulate, and analyze dryer systems' performance. This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase entailed the use of CAD and CFD codes to model and simulates a forced convection mixed-mode solar grain dryer integrated with a preheater. A 3D model was developed with great accuracy using SolidWorks code and, the CFD simulation was carried out using ANSYS Fluent code. In the second phase, an experiment was conducted using an existing indirect solar dryer which was modified and converted to a mixed-mode solar dryer suitable for the study. The modeling and simulation results were validated against experimental results to evaluate the dryer system' performance. The study was conducted at various airflow speed and preheater temperatures ranging from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s and 30 ℃ to 40 ℃, respectively. The type of grains used in the experiment were corn grains whereby 72 freshly harvested maize ears/cobs were dried. The study was conducted under the weather conditions of Durban, South Africa, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. This study aimed to investigate solar drying technologies towards performance enhancement of a forced convection mixed-mode solar grain dryer that incorporated a preheater through modeling and optimization. This approach was followed in order to develop a better understanding of the effects of forced convection and air preheating on airflow distribution and temperature distribution within a solar dryer. The results from both the CFD modeling and experiment were satisfactory, resulting in a correlation with a maximum relative error of 16.3 %. The dryer system's performance results indicated a maximum thermal efficiency of 58.8 % with a corresponding drying rate of 0.0438 kg/hr. The minimum thermal efficiency for the dryer system was 47.7 %, with a corresponding drying rate of 0.0356 kg/hr. The fastest drying time of maize ears was achieved in 4 hours and 34 minutes from an initial moisture content of 24.7 % wb to 12.5 % wb. At the same time, open-sun drying yielded the slowest drying time of 15 hours from an initial moisture content of 27.3 % wb to 12.7 % wb. There was a significant improvement in the dryer system's performance, whose initial efficiency was 36 % when operating as an indirect solar dryer. These results are a clear indication that using a solar dryer system in mixed-mode operation with forced convection and the assistance of a preheater or backup heater can significantly improve drying processes and increase food preservation. The study further presents design concepts of incorporating cost-effective solar thermal energy storage systems that can be implemented to optimize solar dryers. In this case, solar energy can be harvested and stored during peak sunshine hours and made available for usage during off-peak sunshine hours

El ordenamiento territorial, un proceso en construcción en la ciudad de Barranquilla

The ordering of a territory is a public function, which implies a process of space organization to achieve a proper distribution of human resources based on economic resources and natural resources boasts. This article aims to make a review to this process taking into account a long-term vision that contributes to urban growth of the city according to the needs of the population. In addition, revising the methodology used by the district administration of Barranquilla put to consideration of the revised land use Plan for a period of 20 years, which aims to structure the physical, territorial and sustainable development of the city in order to generate urban spaces that contribute to their economic and social development. In addition, it seeks to articulate the city with the rest of the world through guidelines that allow the use of the advantages of the city and location of natural resources boasts.El ordenamiento de un territorio se constituye en una función pública, la cual implica un proceso de organización del espacio para lograr una adecuada repartición de los recursos humanos en función de los recursos económicos y naturales con los que cuenta. Este artículo pretende hacer una revisión a dicho proceso teniendo en cuenta una visión de largo plazo que contribuya a un crecimiento urbanístico de la ciudad acorde a las necesidades de la población. Se revisa además, la metodología que utiliza la administración distrital de Barranquilla puesta a consideración de la nueva propuesta de Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial para un periodo de 20 años, el cual busca estructurar el desarrollo físico, territorial y sostenible de la ciudad con el fin de generar espacios urbanos que contribuyan a su desarrollo económico y social. Adicionalmente, busca articular la ciudad con el resto del mundo mediante lineamientos que permitan el aprovechamiento de sus ventajas de localización y de los recursos naturales con los que cuenta

The implementation of project work by selected grade 10 life science teachers in Namibia

Prior to independence in Namibia in 1990 the education system of the day did not encourage the majority of Namibian learners to explore and investigate the wonder of the natural and physical world. The post independence education system has nurtured the study of the sciences and has emphasized participation, problem solving and independent studies. The inclusion of projects and other independent studies has been regarded as a key vehicle to develop scientific understanding and competencies related to this understanding. However, very few studies have hitherto investigated the teachers’ understanding and implementation of projects in the Namibian context. This study investigates how Grade 10 Life Science teachers understand and implement projects in selected schools in Namibia. The study focused on two teachers in two schools, a combined and a senior secondary school in the Oshikoto educational region of Namibia. The research was conducted through an interpretive case study aiming to gain a better understanding about the implementation of projects in schools. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observation and document analysis. The findings indicate that despite the focus on projects in the Life Science syllabus and broad curriculum, policy documents do not give detailed guidelines on how projects should be planned, organized and assessed. The results revealed that knowledge about projects and their implementation is primarily informed by practical activities rather than the critical enquiries or investigations required by the Life Science curriculum policy. The study also revealed that despite the in-service training received by the two teachers participating in this study on syllabus interpretation, it is apparent from the findings that project work in these in-service programmes was neglected. This has further hampered teachers’ understanding and implementation of projects. The findings of this study point to a need for project guidelines as well as in-service programmes in this area if the stated nature and role of projects in the context of Namibian education policy is to be achieved

Developing and evaluating a community-based HIV/AIDS stigma reduction intervention in Ongenga constituency of Ohangwena Region, Namibia.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2012.Background: Namibia has been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic with infected and affected persons experience stigma at different levels. As there were no local stigma reduction intervention tools, this study aimed to develop, implement and evaluate tools at different levels in a rural Namibian community. Methods: An intervention research with a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group pre-and post-test sample plan was used, with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Four groups of participants participated: People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), their family members, community leaders and health care workers (n=224). The LINMODEL community participation and Frohlich Model informed the participant selection, and the Diffusion of Innovations theory provided the framework for justifying the use of targeted intervention tools in specific groups. Seven communities and a clinic were divided into the control (n=107) and intervention (n=117) arms. The study consisted of pre- and post-intervention questionnaires for both arms, intervention training workshops for the PLWHA and community leaders, and in-depth interviews for the community and opinion leaders. The post-intervention results showed that stigma decreased significantly in social isolation (p=0.017), workplace stigma (p=0.008) and negative self perception (p=0.006) in the PLWHA intervention arm. Verbal abuse (p=0.07) has slightly decreased but there was no statistically significant difference between the two study arms. Fear of contagion (p=0.12) has slightly increased after intervention in both arms. All mean scores (PLWHA) for the control arm increased significantly after the intervention. Regarding the family and vii community leaders results, only the household stigma score (p=0.01) decreased significantly in the intervention arm. Health care workers reported increased stigma after intervention, stigma against PLWHA (p=0.04) and associated stigma towards health care providers (p=0.005). Discussion: A comparison of the results in both arms indicated that the intervention was effective in reducing stigma in the intervention arm in three groups (group 4 excluded) with varying degrees of success. Stigma scores were significantly decreased in PLWHA from the intervention arm. The intervention was effective although it did not decrease all stigma scores significantly. This may require more time for the issues addressed in the intervention workshops to diffuse through the different groups

Determinants of sustainable coffee marketing channel choice and supply response among organic and Utz certified smallholder farmers : evidence from Uganda

Sustainable coffee certification initiatives have created a fast growing niche market that promises to ameliorate smallholder coffee producers' hardships brought about by low coffee commodity prices in recent years. The current debate has focused on whether these initiatives are accessible, especially by smallholder farmers and whether they indeed deliver on this promise, with certification costs believed to constitute an entry barrier. However, evidence has emerged that even when free certification has been given to smallholder coffee farmers, some farmers continue to sell certified coffee in the conventional coffee markets. This study uses a double hurdle model to identify those factors that shape coffee growers choice of marketing channel and sales volume decisions once a marketing channel has been selected. The study concludes that labor availability (own and hired) and the size of farm holding are the main constraints to both participation in the sustainable coffee marketing channel and the sales volume to this channel. Revenue from crop sales other than coffee is also an important determinant of participation and sales volume. Age was the only demographic factor that was found to be statistically significantly related to participation and sales volume.Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, 2010Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-65