Towards a working model for the effective participation of women in national politics in Zimbabwe

Master's Thesis in Public AdministrationAORG351MASV-PUBA

The Value of Continuous Assessment Strategies in Students’ Learning of Geography in Senior High Schools in Ghana

This survey investigated the views of geography teachers and students on the value of continuous assessment strategies in students’ learning of geography in senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis and Cape Coast North District within the Central Region of Ghana. Data were collected with the use of two sets of questionnaires from 20 geography teachers and a random sample of 198 geography students. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that although there are various kinds of continuous assessment strategies, geography teachers most often used take-home assignment, written test and recap exercise to assess how geography students learn geography. It was found that the use of continuous assessment helps students to understand difficult areas as well as master the content of geography. Continuous assessment also makes students more confident and ready for final examinations. Therefore, it was recommended that geography teachers need more assistance in devising the rubrics for using the various kinds of continuous assessment strategies. Key concepts: Assessment, continuous assessment, value, students’ learning and continuous assessment strategie

The Involvement of People Living With Disabilities in Peace Building Initiatives in Zimbabwe

This study sought to investigate the involvement of people with disabilities in peace building initiatives in Zimbabwe. The stratified random sampling method was used to select sixty respondents who constituted the sample group. A sample of 20 PWDS and 40 able bodied people were chosen as respondents. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from the respondents. The study revealed that most people with disabilities are not involved in peace building initiatives in Zimbabwe because they are regarded as incapable people. Government policies on disability and culture do not give a level playing field for people with disabilities to be actively involved in peace building initiatives in the country. Lack of suitable equipment and facilities to use affect the involvement of people with disabilities (PWD) in peace building initiatives (PBI) in the country. The government should have a clear policy on PWD and domesticate these policies. A quota system should be used by Government to ensure that in every peace building initiative, PWDs are involved. Government buildings and all public places should be accessible to PWDs to enable them to participate fully in national issues including in peace building (PBIs). Key words: People, disabilities, peace-building, involvemen

An analysis on institutional preparedness to bus route tendering in the context of a fragmented liberalized market: case study of Harare, Zimbabwe

In many cities of the developed world, the previously public owned and subsidized bus operators which provided services with minimal exposure to competition have been deregulated. Literature suggests that deregulation especially uncontrolled deregulation has resulted in an unprecedented proliferation of minibus operators, both registered and unregistered. The oversupply of vehicles inevitably leads to a reduction in round trips and reduced profits to operators. In order for operators to remain afloat in business, their drivers have developed dangerous driving behaviors typified by tailgating, picking up and dropping off passengers at undesignated sites, establishing and operating from incidental bus termini (along major roads). This behaviour is both a road capacity and safety concern. In 2012, the Government of Zimbabwe published their first National Transport Policy, which identified route tendering as one option among others, to address some of the operational challenges emanating from a deregulated urban public transport market. The objective of this paper is to interrogate whether the intention to implement bus route tendering augurs well with awareness of what route tendering entails. The following questions will be addressed: What are the views of stakeholders on competitive tendering? What benefits can accrue? What pre-conditions are necessary for the successful implementation of route tendering? Is the prevailing urban public transport institutional framework conducive and prepared for route tendering? These are pertinent questions as the country has no experience of route tendering and there are very few examples in Africa to learn from.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

A Review of the Geography One Aspect of the 2010 Geography Syllabus for Senior High Schools in Ghana

This is a non-empirical article whose main focus is a review of the 2010 Geography One Teaching syllabus currently being used in Senior High Schools in Ghana. Though the 2010 SHS Geography syllabus has been structured and organized into three sections, the review has however been done on the Physical and Practical Geography aspects which constitute the Geography One domain of the syllabus. Certain principles for evaluating instructional programmes (curricula) have been used to assess the relevance of the syllabus to the Geography student in particular and the Ghanaian context in general. The review focused on a discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses in the organization and integration of content and learning experiences towards the attainment of instructional objectives. The review holds the view that the new syllabus is a comprehensive document which has used the holistic approach to address issues of interconnections, distribution linkages and patterns of geographic phenomena and processes and above all, has been able to blend all the components of content to a very high degree. In conclusion, the article suggests that the designers of the syllabus should take steps to rectify the shortcomings identified and then pass on the feedback to the classroom geography teacher for implementation. But before this is done, the article recommends the use of the new Geography One Syllabus in all Senior High Schools where geography is taught. Key Concepts: Teaching syllabus, curriculum principle, geography, evaluation, strengths, weaknesse

The impact of Inclusive Education (I.E) on the Rights of Children with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) in Chegutu

This study investigated the impact of Inclusive Education (IE) on the rights of children with Intellectual Disabilities in schools around Chegutu. The qualitative case study method was used for the research. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from schools around Chegutu. Random sampling was used to choose the sample group from a total population of 80. Thirty respondents which comprised of 10 teachers, 10 children and 10 parents from the five secondary schools constituted the sample group. The results of the study showed that inclusive education recognizes the rights of children with intellectual disabilities. However, parents complained that IE do not offer conducive learning environments of children with IDs because the infrastructure in the schools do not cater for the children with IDS. Also the children interviewed looked down upon children with IDs. They called them ZIMCARES, imbeciles or morons. This tended to violate the ID children’s rights to dignity. This study encourages the government to uphold the rights of ID children in IE. There should be an education policy to fully cater for the educational needs of learners with IDs in inclusive settings. There is a serious need for awareness campaigns to remove the stigma attached to learners with IDs. Key Terms: inclusive education, rights of children, intellectual disabilities, school

The church and the management of gender based violence in Mutoko, Zimbabwe

This study focused on the role of the church in the management and resolution of Gender Based Violence in Mutoko District. The study sample consisted of one hundred (100) respondents including church leaders, elders and lay members purposively selected from the two main church groups namely the Denominational and the Pentecostal. The study concluded that, the church was doing more awareness and advocacy of Gender Based Violence in the church than in the community, more rehabilitation activities for victims of Gender Based Violence in the church than in the community and refers more perpetrators of Gender Based Violence in the community for legal advice and to the police than for perpetrators in the church. The study however recommend that, the church should do more Gender Based Violence awareness and advocacy campaigns in the community, more rehabilitation activities for victims of Gender Based Violence in the community and  refer perpetrators of Gender Based Violence that are in the church for legal advice and to the police. Key words: church, women, violence, gender, managemen

Neuroblastoma and nephroblastoma: a radiological review.

Neuroblastoma (NBL) is the most common extra-cranial tumour in childhood. It can present as an abdominal mass, but is usually metastatic at diagnosis so the symptomatology can be varied. Nephroblastoma, also more commonly known as a Wilms tumour, is the commonest renal tumour in childhood and more typically presents as abdominal pathology with few constitutional symptoms, although rarely haematuria can be a presenting feature. The pathophysiology and clinical aspects of both tumours including associated risk factors and pathologies are discussed. Oncogenetics and chromosomal abnormalities are increasingly recognised as important prognostic indicators and their impact on initial management is considered. Imaging plays a pivotal role in terms of diagnosis and recent imaging advances mean that radiology has an increasingly crucial role in the management pathway. The use of image defined risk factors in neuroblastoma has begun to dramatically change how this tumour is characterised pre-operatively. The National Wilms Tumour Study Group have comprehensively staged Wilms tumours and this is reviewed as it impacts significantly on management. The use of contrast-enhanced MRI and diffusion-weighted sequences have further served to augment the information available to the clinical team during initial assessment of both neuroblastomas and Wilms tumours. The differences in management strategies are outlined. This paper therefore aims to provide a comprehensive update on these two common paediatric tumours with a particular emphasis on the current crucial role played by imaging

Extended diffuse radio emission in galaxy clusters

Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound systems in the universe which grow through mergers with other clusters, galaxy groups, and accretion of gas. The mergers generate shocks and turbulence in the intra-cluster medium (ICM). Along the shock edges, particles are accelerated to relativistic energies through multiple crossings at the shock front. The extended diffuse emission sources formed as a result are commonly classified as radio halos and radio relics. The precise nature and origin of the relativistic particles is nevertheless not well understood. We study the nature of the radio relic candidate in Abell 115. We obtain it's spectral properties using radio continuum observations at 150\,MHz with LOFAR, 610\,MHz with the GMRT, and 1.5\,GHz with the VLA. We confirm it's nature as a radio relic. Polarization analyses suggest that part of the large scale synchrotron source is embedded in a region of high ICM density. We show that the galaxy cluster A1430 hosts a two-component radio halo using observations at 150\,MHz with LOFAR. We obtain the spectral index of the radio halo and derive estimates of the radio power at 1.4 GHz. We also show that a part of the radio halo could be produced via turbulence and the rest lies in a region compressed by the merger via adiabatic compression. Using a 100-m single dish radio telescope, we observe the galaxy clusters PSZ1-G108, Abell 746, 0809+39, and Abell 1367. We detected the polarised flux at 4.85 GHz in all the sources that were previously labelled as radio relics. The radio spectra of the integreted emission below 4.85 GHz can be well fitted with a single power law for all the radio relics. Polarisation observations of radio synchrotron sources offer a method of measuring the strength and geometry of the shock front. The observations of the galaxy clusters PSZ1-G108, Abell 746, 0809+39, and Abell 1367 show that radio relics' spectral properties are well represented by a single power-law below 5GHz.Synchrotronstrahlungsquellen, die in bisher 100 verschmelzenden Galaxienhaufen beobachtet worden sind, werden als Radiorelikte und Radiohalos klassifiziert. Viele Details der Beschleunigung von Elektronen im Haufengas auf relativistische Energien und der Ursache der Magnetfelder in Galaxienhaufen sind noch unverstanden. In dieser Arbeit stellen wir Beobachtungen mehrerer verschmelzender Galaxienhaufen mit dem 100-m-Radioteleskop in Effelsberg bei 4,85 GHz, dem Very Large Array (VLA) bei 1,5 GHz, dem Giant Metrewave Telescope (GMRT) bei 610 MHz und dem Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) bei 150 MHz vor. Die Untersuchungen wurden mit Archivdaten des Röntgensatellits Chandra ergänzt. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die Eigenschaften und den Ursprung solcher großräumiger Synchrotronemission in Galaxienhaufen besser zu verstehen. Wir bestätigen das Radiorelikt in Abell 115 anhand seiner Spektralindex- und Polarisationseigenschaften. Unsere Analyse weist darauf hin, dass dieses Radiorelikt durch eine nicht-axiale Verschmelzung erzeugt wurde und dass ein Teil des Radiorelikts in einer Region des Haufengases mit sehr geringer Dichte liegt. Wir zeigen auch zum ersten Mal, dass der Galaxienhaufen Abell 1430 einen Radiohalo mit mindestens zwei Komponenten beherbergt. Die Morphologie der Röntgenemission im Vergleich zur Radiohaloemission zeigt, dass die westliche Komponente des Radiohalos durch Turbulenz erzeugt werden kann. Die östliche Komponente befindet sich zwischen den Haufenzentren und könnte durch Kompression des Haufengases im Zuge der Verschmelzung des Galaxienhaufens erzeugt worden sein. Wir haben Polarisation in den Radiorelikten in PSZ1-G108, Abell 746, Abell 1367 und 0809+39 bei 4,85 GHz entdeckt. Die Spektren aller Radiorelikte unterhalb von 4,85 GHz zeigen ein Potenzgesetz. Unsere Polarisationsbeobachtungen erlauben auch die Messung der Stärke und Geometrie der für Radiorelikte mutmaßlich ursächlichen Stoßfronten