Memory and history: Oral techniques in the East African context

Some historians have always erred in ignoring oral history methods, as it is always assumed wrongly that the only reliable and trustworthy source of history is the written word. The aim of this article is to underscore the nature and significance of oral histories, which rely on the memory of the narrators. In the case of both Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s and Wole Soyinka’s literary works, their respective childhood experiences are well captured, as they employ both the use of postcolonial and autobiography theories in their theoretical frameworks. In its methodology, this article relied heavily on extensive literature review, oral interviews and archival sources. In seeking to demonstrate the significance of oral history for the preservation of memory and for the writing of history in Africa, the author intends to build from both the above literary works and other theohistorical materials so as to convey the message that the methodology used in chronicling East African oral history, the history of Christian doctrines, Church history or social histories will require us to go beyond postcolonial theory and the theory of autobiography in order to harvest the rich and forward-moving historiographies that remain unexplored and/or unpublished altogether. Contribution: Memory as a critical tool that moves humanity forward is the main subject of this article. The article is relevant to the journal HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies and the world of scholarship as it undertakes a multidisciplinary approach in engaging literary works with theo-historical works in order to build the case for oral techniques in modern scholarship

The Role of Principals in Predominantly African-American Urban Middle Schools With Low Suspension Rates.

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of the principals in predominantly African American urban middle schools with low suspension rates. The basic research questions were: How do the perceptions of principals in predominantly African American urban middle schools that have low suspensions rates compare with perceptions of other principals in predominantly African American urban middle schools; and what alternatives to suspensions do principals use in predominantly African-American urban middle schools that have low suspension rates. I approached this study using a mixed methodology strategy, using quantitative and qualitative techniques. Survey items of 54 principals from seven urban middle schools in Louisiana showed significant differences in the way principals responded to various survey items. Four independent variables had significant effects on dependent variables. The four independent variables were: principal\u27s teaching experience, ethnicity, number of years served in the same school and the size of the school. Four principals from predominantly African-American urban middle schools were selected for case studies. They were observed and interviewed in the fall of 1995. They were compared on the basis of how they perceived and interpreted the district\u27s discipline policy, how they perceived and interpreted the district\u27s suspension policy and how they administered discipline and suspension in their schools. The findings indicate that principals in these schools perceived their district suspension policy as a guide. They followed the district suspension policy but with a contingent approach to discipline, making changes depending on the circumstances. The findings also reveal that the four principals had salient characteristics that were prevalent across the four cases studies. All the principals were reluctant to suspend students, and therefore used other alternatives to suspensions, supported teachers and involved parents in school activities. They also cared and were concerned about students, had an established routine which they followed consistently and had maintained a structured environment in which there were few opportunities for misbehaving. Principals\u27 responses to the interview questions lead to implications for theory development, for practitioners and for further research

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationMany studies present climate change as the principal cause of the most prominent shifts in depositional environments in the Omo-Turkana Basin (eastern Africa) during the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs. For example, some studies relate the development of major lake sequences to presumed high precipitation during Milankovich's eccentricity maxima. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that major shifts in depositional facies in the basin took place only when tectonic activities allowed, including the development of at least four of the basin's most prominent lake sequences at about 4.0 Ma, 3.5 Ma, 3.2 Ma, and 2.0 Ma. Corroborating field evidence includes pronounced changes in the basin's depositional facies in association with tectonic-related features such as prominent syndepositional faulting and local to basin-wide basaltic volcanism about 4.0 Ma, 3.2-3.3 Ma, and 2.02-2.18 Ma. A distinction between climatic and tectonic influences on ancient habitats in the Omo-Turkana Basin is critical in paleontological and paleoanthropological studies because the sedimentary record of this basin and associated fossils and archeological artifacts are widely cited as among the best examples of the role of climate in the evolution of modern African mammals and humans at large. The hypothesis presented in this dissertation illustrates geographic location and tectonic-related physiography as significant factors in the Omo-Turkana Basin in addition to regional and global climate. This dissertation submits that substantial deposition of Pliocene and Pleistocene strata in the Omo-Turkana Basin was initiated and sustained primarily by rift tectonics. The Omo River, with headwaters in the Ethiopian volcanic highlands, is presented as the main supplier of both sediments and water in the basin since the Early Pliocene. The geologic record shows that the river has remained perennial, regularly draining outside the basin, even reaching the Indian Ocean, and at times flooding the basin to form expansive tectonic lakes. Precession- to eccentricity-scale astronomical forcing of climate seems to have played a subordinate role in modulating the sediment supply and the formation of extensive lakes except for second- to third-order fluctuations in lake levels-a rise by a few tens of meters possibly for a few thousand years

Effects of Capital and Technology on the Performance of SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector in Kenya - Case of selected firms in Thika Municipality

The global concern about the persistent stagnation and even decline in economic growth accompanied by chronic unemployment, poverty and its resultant problems has led to increased search for strategies which could stimulate economic activity in many economies. Small business development has been at the centre stage of these efforts based on the notion that small businesses form the context within which entrepreneurial activity takes place. Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been found to have a higher potential for job generation because of a lower cost per job created. The study was prompted by the fact that a large number of SMEs in the manufacturing sector have not been performing well while others have closed shop yet they are expected to enable the government of the Republic of Kenya to achieve its 2030 vision. The study particularly sought to find out those key factors that contribute to the failure of small businesses in order to enlighten the entrepreneurs about them so as to avoid them. The main factors investigated includes: capital, technology, management, franchising, product diversification, and government policies.  This paper however concentrates on capital and technology. The study was carried out using a descriptive research design. The sample under study was collected through stratified random sampling technique in selecting the respondents. The data was the collected through interviews and questionnaires. Data was analyzed and presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that capital is vital for superior performance and increase of competitiveness of the firm.  Technology was also found to be important though the SMEs are mostly manual driven.  The recommendation are to have policies governing the finance sector and particularly in regard to collateral. Government can assist the SMEs by acting as their guarantor having carried out the risk analysis and mainstreaming the SMEs identification.  Higher learning institutions could also be used for technology driven information incubation, dissemination and implementation by the SMEs. Key terms: Collateral, Finance, Competitiveness, Incubation, ICT, Industrializatio

Beyond Narrow Confines: Special Education Leadership for Ethnically Diverse Urban Learners

Human frailties exist in everyone. There are some things that we know and some that we do not know

Jesse Mugambi's pedigree : formative factors

Peer reviewedThe article sets out to retrieve Jesse Mugambi’s life history as it surveys the key concepts of liberation and reconstruction in his works. In so doing, the study acknowledges that he became a household name in the African theological fraternity after his presentation to the General Committee of All Africa Conference of Churches when the erstwhile President of the All Africa Conference of Churches, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the General Secretary at the time, the Rev Jose B Chipenda invited him to reflect on the “Future of the Church and the Church of the Future in Africa”i in the Nairobi Meeting of 30 March 1990. This was a month after Nelson Mandela had been released on 2 February 1990 and Namibia had attained her independence on March 21 of the same year. And it is in this meeting that Mugambi suggested that the post-apartheid or the post-cold war African Christianity must shift her theological gear from the paradigm of liberation to that of reconstruction. To do this, the study will first attempt to trace his pedigree and then move on to survey his main theological thought. The material in this article is drawn from both the library research and the fieldwork research where certain individuals were consulted.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

The early attempts at ecumenical coorperation in East Africa : the case of the Kikuyu conference of 1913

Peer reviewedKikuyu 1913 was the first fully fledged conference on the unity of the Church in what was then British East Africa – today’s Kenya. Although there were other meetings, such as Maseno 1908, Kijabe 1909 and Nairobi 1911, the Kikuyu Conference of 1913 was the most significant, because it had the potential to abolish spheres of influence that confined the missionary societies in their various geographical zones. Characteristically, the Conference was marred by theo-doctrinal controversies. At the top of the list was the so-called Westonian controversy (Bishop Frank Weston of the Church Mission Society, Zanzibar, protested against any attempts to administer the Eucharist to non-Anglicans). Other doctrinal controversies included questions concerning the sacrament of baptism. So how successful was Kikuyu 1913 in its bid to promote ecumenical cooperation in British East Africa? Does this Conference have any real legacy? How relevant is the Kikuyu Conference of 1913 to our contemporary situation in Africa? In its methodology, this article attempts to analyse various issues in order to assess the success of this important conference in the history of the ecumenical movement in East Africa and beyond.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

Reading John Calvin in the African context: any relevance for the social reconstruction of Africa?

Peer reviewedThe article sets out to demonstrate that even though John Calvin, the great reformer of the 16th century CE, was grossly misinterpreted by neo-Calvinists, especially with regard to the African context, he nevertheless deserves our attention as we mark 500 years since his birth (1509–2009). In other words, postcolonial Africa has to learn from his reforms in the socio-religious and educational sectors, among others. In the era of reconstruction, can his reforms be seen as reconstructive? Were the proponents and pioneers of an African renaissance like Marcus Garvey and WEB Dubois driven by Calvinism when they advocated “Africa for the Africans”? Was Calvinism misinterpreted in the Afrikaners’ sense of divine destiny in apartheid South Africa? To this end, the article will build on the hypothesis that our quest for an authentic and holistic liberation and reconstruction of postcolonial Africa will require us to revisit the gallant efforts of John Calvin’s reforms, as his was an applied and pragmatic theology that is relevant in our African context today. Reading John Calvin in the African context thus calls us to reexamine society in general and address areas that beg for reforms. In turn, this will invite us to act with decorum and with a sense of urgency.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

Environmental management and African indigenous resources: echoes from Mutira Mission, Kenya (1912-2012)

Peer reviewedUnlike other elements of culture, European missionaries did not explicitly dismiss home-grown ways of environmental conservation as “fetish” as in the case of cultural practices such as female circumcision. Indeed, they appreciated local resources in environmental protection as “other” ways. To this end, the article sets out to show the contribution of African indigenous resources in environmental preservation with particular reference to Mutira Mission of Kirinyaga County, central Kenya, during and after the missionary era (1912-2012). In turn, the geographical area that constitutes Mutira Mission in Mount Kenya region is dominated by the largest ethnic group in Kenya, the Gikuyu, anglicised as the Kikuyu. They constitute 22% of the entire Kenyan population of about 40 million people. In its methodology, the article uses Kikuyu cultural practices such as proverbs, riddles, rituals and so forth to demonstrate African indigenous ways of environmental preservation. The problem statement being unveiled is: How unique is the African use of indigenous resources in environmental preservation; and how does the missionary era compare with the pre-missionary era? The theoretical framework in this article is informed by John S Mbiti’s view of natural phenomena, where he contends that traditional Africans live in a religious environment where the cosmos is intimately associated with God. The materials in this article are largely gathered through oral interviews and archival sources.Research Institute for Theology and Religio