COVID-19 Pandemic: Questioning Conspiracy Theories, Beliefs or Claims that Have Potential Negative Impact on Public Health Interventions and Proposal for Integrated Communication and Information Dissemination Strategies (ICIDS)

The COVID-19 outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 spread across the world causing a pandemic that infected and killed thousands of people globally. Countries made frantic efforts to put in place measures to curb the spread of the viral infections. The measures included social distancing, regular washing of hands with soap, applying sanitizers to hands and surfaces, use of personal protective equipment, screening, testing, isolation of suspected cases, quarantine of cases, lockdowns, treatment of cases and controlled burial of deceased cases.Almost all affected countries experienced four main hindrances to their efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic; (i) challenges in implementing preventative measures effectively, (ii) health care delivery systems that could not cope with the pandemic, (iii) limited resources, and (iv) negative socio-economic impact caused by the pandemic. One of the challenges that hindered efforts to prevent the spread of the pandemic or to manage it are various conspiracy theories, beliefs, and or unproven claims, some of which are contradictory, that were circulated across the world.2This article gives an overview of the covid-19 pandemic, some conspiracy theories, beliefs and claims that were circulated as unofficial information, and questions the unofficial information. The article ends with an outline of some potential negative impact of conspiracy theories, beliefs and claims on public health interventions aimed at controlling the pandemic. In order to counter disinformation and misinformation, the article recommends the establishment of well-coordinated Integrated Communication and Information Dissemination Strategies (ICIDS) at global, continental, regional and national levels

PERSISTENT ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF COLONIAL INSTITUTIONS AND EDUCATION OUTCOMES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Purpose: South Africa’s educational system made significant advances in financing and improving access to basic schooling since the end of apartheid in 1994. Despite these developments, the Eastern Cape province in general, and the Transkei region specifically, has experienced falling enrolment over the past two decades as thousands of students drop out of school each year. This paper investigates the long-term economic effects of colonial institutions - the Transkei Districts Councils - on primary school enrolment in Eastern Cape Transkeian magisterial districts. Methodology: This paper investigates the long-term economic effects of colonial institutions, using a fixed effects regression methodology on a panel dataset for the years 2000 to 2013. Findings: The results show a larger disenrollment trend in districts that received District Council status over a century ago, than those that did not, showing the persistent effect of these political institutions. Originality/Value: The results imply that disenrollment experienced in the Eastern Cape province is rooted in history. This highlights the importance of economic history in analyzing present day development outcomes

Macroinvertebrate Community and Temperature Changes in a Michigan Stream

As the climate warms, global biodiversity is plummeting and extinction rates are rising (Jenkins, 2003). Freshwater ecosystems specifically are experiencing huge losses in diversity (Jenkins, 2003; Ormerod et al., 2010; Collier et al., 2016). Conservation of invertebrates is particularly urgent because they are foundational to the trophic systems in streams and lakes, comprising 95% of all species on earth (Titley et al., 2017), and over 60% of biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems (Collier et al., 2016). Through analysis of both my own field measurements and historical data I seek to gain a preliminary understanding of temperature and macroinvertebrate community changes that have taken place in a small stream in Michigan, in order to develop baseline data that will aid in identifying changes in the future. I utilize data before and after the installation of a unique stream cooling modification to explore: (1) How temperature has changed over time in Pine River? (2) How the macroinvertebrate community changed over time, as compared to a 1993 baseline? and (3) What do these changes mean for the community health of this stream? I compare my own 2020 aquatic macroinvertebrate samples to a 1993 macroinvertebrate dataset and look for statistically significant changes in order level percent abundance and taxa density. I analyze temperature data and find a significant cooling trend as a result of an anthropogenic temperature manipulation. Although Pine River has cooled since 1993 the macroinvertebrate community remains quite similar, with the exception of a significant increase in Trichoptera. My research suggests that this location could provide a refuge for species in the region that are negatively affected by warming water temperatures, and highlights the need for a better understanding of the factors that influence macroinvertebrate communities

The Challenging and Empowering Elements of Doctoral Data Collection

Data collection was the most challenging aspect of my doctoral journey as an African immigrant student due to a highly unpredictable research environment. This article reports on my doctoral fieldwork experiences in one Canadian province’s public secondary schools. The purpose of the article is to highlight data collection challenges and supports in qualitative research. Several barriers to doctoral fieldwork are evidenced in the article, whose successful navigation was enabled by an empowering spiritual experience and supportive and engaging supervision. Doctoral data collection narratives may not appeal to every reader, but their academic and therapeutic significance should not be underestimated

North-south co-operation in electronic information archiving: the experience of the Institute of Marine Sciences Zanzibar

pp. 183-18

Use of ICTS for socio-economic development of marginalised communities in rural areas: Proposals for establishment of sectoral Rural Entrepreneurial Networks

Information, Communication, Technology and Services (ICTS) is increasingly being used in various fields that include agriculture, education, medicine, tourism and business. However, due to challenges caused by the digital divide and other factors, the use of ICTS and its contribution to socio-economic development is generally more intense in developed countries than in developing countries, and also more in urban areas than in rural areas. This article gives an overview of ICTS, the extent of its adoption in different fields, factors that hinder ICTS driven socio-economic development in developing countries and rural areas, and various possible ways of maximizing potential benefits that marginalised communities can derive from the limited ICTS that is accessible to them

Enhancing access to electronic publications in Tanzanian universities

pp. 135-13

The schools and colleges permaculture (SCOPE) programme in Zimbabwe

A schools programme aimed at sustainable agriculture by minimizing environmental degradation.One of the main environmental problems in Zimbabwe is that of land degradation. It is often argued that current agricultural practices worsen this problem by causing damage to the land and water resources. In response to this problem, sustainable agriculture has commonly been seen as the way forward. Our current farming practices have tended to focus on short term gains at the expense of long term production capacity. As par of a network of initiatives towards sustainable agriculture, the Zimbabwe Institute of Permaculture (ZIP) in association with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture formed a programme to promote sustainable agriculture schools. The projects is called the Schools and Colleges Permaculture (SCOPE) Programme and it was launched in 1994 as a pilot project working with 18 schools (9 primary and 9 secondary) located all over the country