The nature, causes and effects of school violence in South African high schools

We sought to investigate the nature, causes and effects of school violence in four South African high schools. A purposive sample of five principals, 80 learners and 20 educators was selected from the four schools used in the study. A sequential mixed method approach was used in this study; both questionnaires and interviews were used. The design is divided into two phases, beginning with the collection and analysis of quantitative data, followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative data. The overall purpose of this design is that the qualitative data help explain or build upon initial quantitative results from the first phase of the study. The advantage of the design is that its two-phased nature makes it uncomplicated to implement and to report on. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods provides a better understandingof the research problem than either approach alone. A pilot study of the questionnaire was conducted in a school outside the province in which the study was done. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.72. This was a high positive coefficient and implied that the  questionnaire used was reliable. The study found that bullying, vandalism, gangsterism, indiscipline, intolerance, and corporal punishment were prevalent in schools. Furthermore, the study found that school violence had the following effects on learners: loss of concentration; poor academic performance; bunking of classes; and depression. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail.Keywords: causes, effects, nature, school violence, South Afric

Educators’ disciplinary capabilities after the banning of corporal punishment in South African schools

The escalation of learner indiscipline cases in schools suggests failure by teachers to institute adequate alternative disciplinary measures after corporal punishment was outlawed in South African schools. We sought to address the following two research questions: (a) How do educators view their disciplinary capabilities in the post-corporal punishment period? and (b) How do educators view the usefulness of alternative disciplinary measures? The study adopted a qualitative approach. A case study of three purposively selected practising junior secondary school educators was used. Data were collected through interviews. We found that educators generally feel disempowered in their ability to institute discipline in schools in the absence of corporal punishment. Educators revealed that learners do not fear or respect educators because they know that nothing will happen to them. Although educators are aware of alternative disciplinary measures, they view them as ineffective and time consuming.Keywords: corporal punishment; educator capacity; indiscipline; schools;South Afric

Mentorship of student teachers on teaching practice : perceptions of teacher mentors in Zimbabwean schools

Published ArticleMentorship as a concept in teacher training is vital in developing full professionals. It becomes even more effective if the mentors are adequately prepared for their mentorship roles. This study sought to determine: (a) the nature of training mentors had received in mentorship; (b) the extent to which they understood their role as mentors; (c) the mentors' views on the assistance they rendered to mentees; (d) the relationship between parent colleges and mentors; and (e) assess implications for teacher training in Zimbabwe. The study followed a descriptive survey design which utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A comprehensive questionnaire was administered on a purposeful and information-rich sample of 120 mentors in two provinces in Zimbabwe. Interviews were also held with some of the mentors to triangulate findings from the questionnaire. The study revealed that many mentors had not been given any formal training in mentorship; they were not really sure of their roles and while they stated that they assisted mentees to the best of their abilities assistance given to mentees differed from mentor to mentor. College supervisors did not consult mentors for mentees' progress checks and mentors had no input in the final assessment of students under their tutelage. College supervisors and mentors' input should be incorporated in the final assessment of students

Non-Communicable Diseases and Urbanization in African Cities: A Narrative Review

Rapid urbanization in Africa has been linked to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Urbanization processes have amplified lifestyle risk factors for NCDs (including unhealthy diets, tobacco use, harmful alcohol intake, and physical inactivity), especially among individuals of low and middle social economic status. Nevertheless, African countries are not keeping pace with the ever increasing need for population-level interventions such as health promotion through education, screening, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as structural measures such as policies and legislation to prevent and control the upstream factors driving the NCD epidemic. This chapter highlights the NCD burden in urban Africa, along with the social determinants and existing interventions against NCDs. The chapter concludes by offering insights into policy and legislative opportunities and recommends stronger efforts to apply multisectoral and intersectoral approaches in policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring at multiple levels to address the NCD epidemic in African cities

International legal cooperation in the management of the transboundary rivers: Zambezi river case

Transboundary watercourses constitute an important reservoir providing perhaps the most critical natural resource essential to support life all over the world. Many governments depend on rivers straddling two or more countries to provide not only freshwater for their populations, but also hydro-electric power sources, recreation and other forms of socio-economic sustenance. The article is focused on the international legal regulation of the Zambezi River as one of the most significant international watercourse. Being the forth longest river in Africa, the Zambezi is shared by eight Southern African States and evaluates a quarter of a century of close cooperation in order to realize the Southern African Development Community (SADC) founding principles

On certain products of permutable subgroups

[EN] In this paper, we study the structure of finite groups G = AB which are a weakly mutually sn-permutable product of the subgroups A and B, that is, A permutes with every subnormal subgroup of B containing A boolean AND B and B permutes with every subnormal subgroup of A containing A boolean AND B. We obtain generalisations of known results on mutually sn-permutable products.The first and fourth authors have been supported by the research grant PGC2018- 095140-B-I00 from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Spanish Government) and FEDER (European Union), and PROMETEO/2017/057 from Generalitat (Valencian Community, Spain).Ballester-Bolinches, A.; Madanha, SY.; Mudziiri Shumba, TM.; Pedraza Aguilera, MC. (2022). On certain products of permutable subgroups. Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society. 105(2):278-285. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0004972721000617278285105

Etude de la filière viande de chèvre au Zimbabwe

Cet article présente une étude du secteur caprin au Zimbabwe, et plus particulièrement dans la province de Masvingo, basée sur l'utilisation du concept de filière comme outil d'analyse. Après une brève justification du choix analytique et une présentation des outils méthodologiques retenus, deux représentations de la filière sont proposées. Le deuxième modèle, plus puissant, est ensuite commenté au vu des données comptables. En conclusion, ce type d'analyse permet d'identifier des interlocuteurs privilégiés pour la mise en place d'actions de développement visant au renforcement des circuits de commercialisation de la viande de chèvre et à l'amélioration des revenus des petits producteurs

Wearable Technologies and AI at the Far Edge for Chronic Heart Failure Prevention and Management: A Systematic Review and Prospects

Smart wearable devices enable personalized at-home healthcare by unobtrusively collecting patient health data and facilitating the development of intelligent platforms to support patient care and management. The accurate analysis of data obtained from wearable devices is crucial for interpreting and contextualizing health data and facilitating the reliable diagnosis and management of critical and chronic diseases. The combination of edge computing and artificial intelligence has provided real-time, time-critical, and privacy-preserving data analysis solutions. However, based on the envisioned service, evaluating the additive value of edge intelligence to the overall architecture is essential before implementation. This article aims to comprehensively analyze the current state of the art on smart health infrastructures implementing wearable and AI technologies at the far edge to support patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). In particular, we highlight the contribution of edge intelligence in supporting the integration of wearable devices into IoT-aware technology infrastructures that provide services for patient diagnosis and management. We also offer an in-depth analysis of open challenges and provide potential solutions to facilitate the integration of wearable devices with edge AI solutions to provide innovative technological infrastructures and interactive services for patients and doctors