Application of Biblical Worship Principles in the New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nairobi, Kenya

Problem. The New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church has practiced the traditional style of worship since its establishment in 1986. In this style of worship, reverence is expressed through silence, and both emotional expression and congregational response are discouraged. Neither clapping of hands nor applauding ministers is acceptable. Seemingly, the new generation of members has embraced the opposite. As a result, the church is experiencing a conflict as to which style of worship should be observed. Methods. A literature review of contemporary authors, the Bible, historical Adventist writings, commentaries, and relevant articles concerning style of worship were examined. A questionnaire was developed and administered to ascertain the attitude of members in the New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church relative to traditional and contemporary worship, and to how the conflict could be resolved in a biblical way that would enhance church unity. Results. The results gathered from the questionnaires that were administered in the New Life SDA Church indicated that there was general support for contemporary worship across age differences. Many who indicated strong or very strong support for contemporary worship also reported satisfaction with the traditional model. Overall, 66% of the church indicated support for the contemporary model, which leaves 34% either neutral or favoring the traditional model, thus revealing the possibility for significant conflict over the issue of worship style in the New Life SDA church. Conclusions. For the New Life SDA Church to adhere to its missional purpose and maintain church unity while understanding what the Bible speaks about true worship, there is an urgent need for education and intervention by means of a seminar on the biblical worship principles to establish a theological foundation for the practice of worship

Neighbourhood deprivation and adult adiposity in South Africa

Over the past three decades there has been a significant increase in adiposity - prevalence of accumulation of excess fat around some human organs - globally. This has been characterised by an increase of body mass index (BMI) among men and women. In Sub-Sahara Africa, South Africa has one of the highest prevalence of obesity and the country currently experiences some epidemiological transitions. Excess adiposity is a major risk factor for a number of non-communicable diseases creating a burden for individuals, families, the health care system and society at large (Colditz, 1999). Therefore, there are both direct and indirect costs that can be averted by effectively controlling the obesity epidemic. Still this can only be achieved when there is a good understanding of its determinants. This study sought to investigate association between neighbourhood deprivation and adult adiposity (a combination of body mass index and waist circumference), the association of neighbourhood deprivation and body mass index and waist circumference individually and to examine individual and household level determinants impacting adult adiposity. The study utilised the South African National Income Dynamic Survey (NIDS) 2012 (wave 3) and the ward level South African Index of Multiple Deprivation 2011 (SAIMD 2011) produced by Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) and the Southern African Social Policy Research Institute/Insights (SASPRI) respectively. Individuals with high body mass index (BMI ≥ 25kg/m²) and an expanded waist circumference (WC ≥ 102cm for men and WC ≥ 88cm for women) were considered as having high adiposity. Multilevel logistic regression was used for data analysis due to hierarchical nature of the data to allow simultaneous examination of the impact of some socio-economic factors influencing adiposity. The results showed that individuals that were living in districts that are in quintile 3 (OR= 0.659; 95% CI 0.461, 0.942) of the multiple deprivation score had significantly lower odds of having high adiposity as compared to those living in the least deprived districts. Those living in districts that are in quintiles 3 (OR= 0.652; 95% 0.449, 0.945) and 4 (OR= 0.621; 95% 0.393, 0.983) of the multiple deprivation score were at significantly lower odds of having high BMI as compared to those living in the least deprived districts. When the analysis was stratified by gender the results showed that women living in districts in that are in quintiles 3 (OR= 0.654; 95% 0.450, 0.951) and 4 (OR= 0.624; 95% 0.394, 0.986) of the multiple deprivation score were at lower odds of having high adiposity as compared to women living in the least deprived district. The results for men on the other hand showed no association between adiposity and district level deprivation. Our results show that individual level characteristics and neighbourhood level deprivation regardless of how far distal has an impact on adiposity. Neighbourhood affluence seems to be a buffer that promotes weight gain. The impact of neighbourhood deprivation on adiposity is stronger among women as compared to men. However, further studies that employ a smaller area metric of analysis (preferably ward level) are required to better inform policy prescriptions of neighbourhood deprivation and adiposity

Modelling public transport mode choice for low-income residential suburbs in Harare, Zimbabwe

Modern-day life in developing urban cities is structured around the need to access goods and services outside the vicinity of residential areas, and transportation facilitates access to such services. Like many other African cities, most of the residents in Harare sorely rely on public transport, and while the government of Zimbabwe acknowledges the need for efficient public transportation systems in the country's urban environments, insufficient commitment and political will have been directed towards developing strategic plans with clear and well-defined objectives. The development of public transport plans and policies requires a good understanding of the passengers' service quality needs and willingness to pay for service quality improvements. In this study, we use stated choice preference data collected from five high-density suburbs in Harare (n = 361) to investigate the influence of service quality indicators to travel mode choice decisions. Multinomial, mixed, and latent class logit models are developed under the random utility maximisation framework and compared to identify the best model. The model is used to evaluate the willingness to pay indicators for public transport service improvements and outline the contributions of the findings to possible policy directives. The results suggest that latent class models better explain observed choices than mixed and multinomial logit counterparts. With regards to public transport mode choice behaviour, the study classifies the population into two distinct groups on the basis of gender, income, employment status, and location. The willingness to pay indicators shows a substantial difference in the value of all the public transport attributes between the groups, except for waiting time. The willingness to pay for improvements in waiting time, which relates to service frequency, is standard at Z$65 per hour. Noteworthy is the classification of the suburbs between the groups; the posterior analysis indicates that Chitungwiza residents have the highest willingness to pay and Budiriro, the least. This research is of value to ZUPCO and other potential private players in identifying service quality deficiencies and understanding the requirements of public transport service provision at the suburban level. The strong inertia towards kombis emphasises the general dissatisfaction with ZUPCO service quality levels while providing insights into lagging areas that future policy deliberations could address. The research presents a potential performance framework to the Harare city council against which the public transport service provision can be assessed. Most importantly, the findings might be useful in further understanding the public transport landscape in other cities in Zimbabwe, similar to the high-density suburbs used as study areas in this research

Cost Efficiency in the UK Life Insurance Industry in the Post-Global Financial Crisis Period

The aim of this research project is to adopt a two-stage approach for empirically measuring and determining the level of cost efficiency in the UK Life Insurance industry during and after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Stage one employs a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique with Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) to estimate the cost efficiency scores for the whole UK Life Insurance Industry for the period 2007 to 2015. In the second stage, a panel Tobit regression technique is used to examine the effects on cost efficiency of a set of determinants that are largely drawn from the recent literature on Financial and Risk Management (FRM). The findings suggest that the average cost efficiency in this period was lower than the level previously reported in the literature, but, by 2015, a clear improvement is noted. The findings also suggest that some potentially effective measures to improve operational efficiency include the reduction of the use of reinsurance, increasing firm size and relocation of office space away from Central London

Healthy spaces, facilitating health: rethinking the role of healthcare facilities

Thesis submitted in the fulfilment of Master of Architecture [Professional] to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017In light of the new National Health Insurance scheme being implemented in South Africa, there is a need for new healthcare infrastructure to be developed to ensure the National Health Insurance healthcare is accessible to the people of the country. This thesis explores: (1) what value a holistic healthcare approach can have on healthcare services, (2) what architecture can be beneficial to patients and staff members in healthcare facilities and (3) what impact advances in medicine have on healthcare design and healthcare practice. The architectural aim of this thesis is to create healthier healthcare spaces for patients and staff members, but to extend the healthcare infrastructure to create healthier spaces within the communities they serve. Furthermore, the thesis explores ways that healthcare facilities can incorporate solutions to help communities with their long term health needs, verses short term health needs.MT201

The use of information and communication technology in supervising open and distance learning PhD students

Even though open and distance learning (ODL) using Information and Communication Technologies can be applied across disciplines and at various levels, this paper focuses on the supervision of PhD students studying through the Open and Distance Learning mode of education using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Taking into account the fact that higher education institutions are always striving to increase the quality of supervision and throughput of doctoral programmes, the study highlights how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can mitigate these challenges. The study was carried out in 10 Zimbabwean universities to evaluate the levels of preparedness of universities, supervisors and PhD students in using information and communication technology during their studies. Purposive sampling was used focusing on PhD students studying through ODL, local universities offering PhD programmes experienced, PhD supervisors, the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education officials and officials from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development. Students, universities and supervisors were not fully prepared to do their work using ICTs due to various reasons. Some of the reasons given were that some universities did not have the required infrastructure and facilities in place. Some of the supervisors and students lacked basic computer skills and this affected the quality of supervision and slowness in giving feedback. The lack of internet availability and poor connectivity were also cited as challenges especially with the prevailing load shedding. The study recommends universities to invest in ICTs infrastructure since higher education transcends geographical boundaries

Post-primary educational and training opportunities for adults in Harare

A study to ascertain the post-primary school training and educational opportunities for adults in Harare, Zimbabwe.The analysis was undertaken to find out the situation regarding opportunities for post primary education and training for adults in Harare. Specifically the analysis sought to establish what institutions offered these opportunities, ownership of the institutions, where the institutions are physically located, fields of study offered, institutional capacity and gender balance among teachers and students. Data were collected on 175 Harare-based institutions. The major findings of the analysis were that: (i) out of the 175 institutions studied 104 (59.43 %) are physically located in the city, 48 (27.43%) are in the low and23(13:14) in high density areas; (ii) computer studies was found to be the most popular field of study in Harare-based institutions; (Hi) only 38.8% of the teaching staff in these institutions were in possession of a diploma or university degree

The role of Assistive Technology (AT) in Enhancing the Educational Experience of Students with Special Needs in Higher Education: A Case of University of Zimbabwe Library

The study examined how assistive technology (AT) is being used to enhance the educational experience of learners with special needs at the University of Zimbabwe. Using a case study design, primary data were collected mainly through questionnaires from a sample of 82 respondents comprising students with visual impairment and albinism registered with the University of Zimbabwe Disability Support Services Library, a branch of University of Zimbabwe Library. The study results demonstrated that AT provides freedom by enabling respondents to complete academic activities that they were previously unable to do, such as studying, reading, writing, researching, web browsing, emailing, communicating with lecturers, taking notes, communicating with peers about academic work, and preparing for exams. The study showed that AT enables students with special needs to do academic tasks more effectively and obtain academic material relevant to their studies, as well as improve social interactions, self-confidence, and peer-to-peer engagement. Overall, the study supports the notion that using AT can improve academic engagement and social interaction. Key recommendations for optimising AT usage by students with special needs at the University of Zimbabwe include partnering with organisations and experts in the AT sector to provide more robust training in digital accessibility concepts for personnel, negotiating with the parent ministry to make AT more affordable in higher education, promoting the manufacturing of appropriate AT devices at the University of Zimbabwe through a new faculty, producing experts in the teaching of students with special needs, as well as adopting low-cost AT products