Can Themba: The Legacy of a South African Writer

The article seeks to explore the world of Can Themba, a foremost literary figure during the era of apartheid. Through an examination of a selection of his short stories we realise that writers often found sub- textual ways of confronting that pernicious system. This article argues that Themba did just that. Finally it also seeks to make problematic issues of labelling and [email protected] Harold Crowe holds a PhD in the Psychology of Education. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but brought up and educated in London, UK. He has worked in many countries (the UK, USA, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Jamaica and Zimbabwe) as a teacher, lecturer and principal. His last position was that of Dean in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Africa University in Zimbabwe. His research interests include an exploration of South African writing during the Apartheid era with special reference to the literary ways of critiquing the regime. He has published extensively on ways that exploit labelling and notions of superiority in downtrodden communities.Africa University Mutare, ZimbabweBenson, E. and Conally, LW. (eds.) 2005. An Encyclopaedia of Post- Colonial Literatures in English. Second edition. London: Routledge.Chapman, M. 1989. “Can Themba Storyteller and Journalist of the 1550’s: The Text in Context”, English in Africa 16 (2): 19 – 29.Gikandi, S. 2001. “Chinua Achebe and the Intervention of African Culture”, Research in African Literatures Vol. 32 No. 3 Fall 2001.Hannerz, U. 1994. Sophia Town: The View from Afar. Journal of Southern African Studies. 20(2): 181 – 193.Patel, E. (ed.) 1985. The World of Can Themba. South Africa: Raven Press.Snyman, M. 2007. Can Themba: The Life and Work of a Shebeen Intellectual. MA Thesis, Department of English, The University of Johannesburg.Themba, Can. 2006. Requiem for Sophia Town. London: Penguin Books.13-199 (2/2015)131

The relationship between selected affective factors and achievement in English of secondary school students in Zimbabwe

Academic achievement in the context of the school necessarily involves a whole range of factors. The education system and schools in particular, have assumed the primacy of cognitive attributions in the learner over that of any other factors in the shaping and honing of individual academic achievement. However, the literature revealed that the learning process within the school environment feeds on a plethora of explanations for academic success or otherwise. Much work by researchers has focused on factors other than the cognitive, in an attempt to explain good or weak academic achievement. Certainly the separation of the cognitive from the affective in terms of achievement is impractical, as revealed by the literature. However the literature also contradicts received wisdom which suggests the omniscience of the cognitive as an explanatory tool for academic performance. This investigation focused on factors other than the cognitive in order to seek reasons for academic success. Three important affective factors were selected from the literature in order to ascertain whether these factors played a role in academic achievement or indeed if there was a relationship between these factors and scholastic success or otherwise. An empirical investigation was conducted which consisted primarily of a questionnaire for form four students in English classes. The questionnaire consisted of four sections with a total of 81 items. It was completed by 271 students attending five schools in Mutare Zimbabwe. Statistical analyses revealed that the affective factors attitudes towards English, self-concepts of academic ability and student perceptions of their teachers of English correlated significantly. The analyses also revealed that the selected factors took up 33% of the variance and that within that 33% the area in which students lived was the most important factor contributing to academic achievement whilst I.Q. and student self-concept of academic ability followed closely. The results of the literature study and the empirical investigation demonstrated that there are factors other than the cognitive which are important in terms of academic success in school As a result recommendations were made regarding school based programmes where the aim is to enhance affective factors and therefore achievement.Educational StudiesD.Ed. (Psychology of Education

Recommendations for effective documentation in regional anesthesia: an expert panel Delphi consensus project

Background and objectives: Documentation is important for quality improvement, education, and research. There is currently a lack of recommendations regarding key aspects of documentation in regional anesthesia. The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for documentation in regional anesthesia. Methods: Following the formation of the executive committee and a directed literature review, a long list of potential documentation components was created. A modified Delphi process was then employed to achieve consensus amongst a group of international experts in regional anesthesia. This consisted of 2 rounds of anonymous electronic voting and a final virtual round table discussion with live polling on items not yet excluded or accepted from previous rounds. Progression or exclusion of potential components through the rounds was based on the achievement of strong consensus. Strong consensus was defined as ≥75% agreement and weak consensus as 50%-74% agreement. Results: Seventy-seven collaborators participated in both rounds 1 and 2, while 50 collaborators took part in round 3. In total, experts voted on 83 items and achieved a strong consensus on 51 items, weak consensus on 3 and rejected 29. Conclusion: By means of a modified Delphi process, we have established expert consensus on documentation in regional anesthesia

Moulines, La Philosophie des sciences: l’invention d’une discipline (fin XIXème – début XXIème siècle)

ABSTRACT To determine the spatial-environmental characteristics of the districts which reported the largest number of homicides in Bogotá during the second semester of 2011, we undertook a descriptive-observational study within the framework of environmental criminology. The Questionnaire of Environmental Observation for the Spatial-Temporal Analysis of homicide in Bogotá was applied to 51 focal points of crime. The results show the predominance of spatial-environmental factors in the occurrence of homicide, backed by variables of the theory of disorder, territoriality, routine activity and the defendable space. As a consequence, the physical conditions seem to have facilitated the occurrence of crime and the perception of the potential murderer who is about to the commit one. These findings have enabled us to obtain empirical evidence for the development of strategies for the situational prevention of crime, and in particular, design defendable spaces, based on the implementation of differential multi-dimensional actions in the territory.RESUMO Para estabelecer as características espaço-ambientais de áreas que, durante o segundo semestre de 2011, registraram o maior número de homicídios em Bogotá, realizou-se um estudo descritivo-observacional, focado na criminologia ambiental. Aplicou-se o Questionário de Observação Ambiental para a Análise Espaço-temporal do Homicídio em Bogotá em 51 pontos de concentração do crime. Os resultados refletem a predominância espaço-ambiental na ocorrência do homicídio, apoiado em variáveis da teoria da desordem, de territorialidade, de rotina de atividade e do espaço defendível. Em consequência, condições físicas parecem facilitar o delito e a percepção do potencial homicida para cometê-lo. As constatações permitem obter evidência empírica para o desenvolvimento de estratégias de prevenção situacional do delito e, em particular, o desenho de espaços defendíveis, apoiados na intervenção do território com ações multidimensionais diferenciais.RESUMEN Para establecer las características espaciales-ambientales de zonas que durante el segundo semestre de 2011 registraron el mayor número de homicidios en Bogotá se realizó un estudio descriptivo-observacional, enmarcado en la criminología ambiental. Se aplicó el Cuestionario de Observación Ambiental para Análisis Espacio-Temporal del homicidio en Bogotá, en 51 puntos de concentración del crimen. Los resultados reflejan la predominancia espacial-ambiental en la ocurrencia del homicidio, soportados en variables de la teoría del desorden, de territorialidad, de rutina de actividad y del espacio defendible. En consecuencia, condiciones físicas parecen facilitar el delito y percepción del potencial homicida para cometerlo. Los hallazgos permiten obtener evidencia empírica para el desarrollo de estrategias de prevención situacional del delito y, en particular, el diseño de espacios defendibles, sustentados en la intervención del territorio con acciones multidimensionales diferenciales