Tears

Very often, I have had to shed tears. As a child, 1 had to shed them for my grandmother who had to till the soil with me on her back; to scrape the earth with her bare hands and build a mud-house in which to cook for us. For my father who died when l was an infant. I shed tears too when, later, my mother informed me that when I was born my father was disappointed because he wanted a son

Continuing Professional Development for Lecturers at the National University of Lesotho: Milestones and Challenges

This article appraises efforts by the National University of Lesotho (NUL) to provide continuing professional development for lecturers. The findings of a previous study suggested that the majority of lecturers at this university were not trained as teachers, and that this could negatively impact on their teaching. The establishment of a staff academic development centre was long overdue. In April 2014, the university established the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Drawing on a constructivist perspective, a qualitative approach was adopted to explore the current situation. The findings indicate that efforts to roll out continuing professional development for lecturers have not borne any significant results. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of support from the university community as well as lecturers’ poor attendance at the staff academic development workshops hosted by the CTL. It is thus recommended that management put mechanisms in place to support the centre and ensure compulsory staff participation

Educators’ Experience of Managing Sexually Abused Learners: Implications for Educational Support Structures

The purpose of this study was to establish the personal impact that managing sexually abused learners had on primary school educators working in an East London (South Africa) community. In addition, the researchers sought to establish what support these educators felt they needed in order to help alleviate the personal impact that managing sexually abused learners might have on them. A phenomenological approach was employed to address the research questions. Using availability-sampling methods, four educators from a local primary school were interviewed and the data systematically analysed in accordance with Morrisette's (1999) seven–step procedural model. The present study confirmed the finding of Skinner (1999) and Mzamo (2003) that managing cases of sexually abused learners had a profound personal effect on the participants. What was most commonly felt was a sense of frustration with the justice system, as well as a sense of personal responsibility. In addition, the participants felt that they needed support structures to assist them in managing sexual abuse cases in the school. In particular, they felt that they needed a forum where they could share their own experiences and feelings, as well as receive guidance on how to deal with problems in their class. A need for more support from professional psychologists was also expressed, as well as a need for counselling skills training and general training in the area of child sexual abuse. It is hoped that these findings will prove useful in providing guidelines for the development of appropriate support structures for educators managing cases of child sexual abuse in South African schools. More research on the subject needs to be conducted within South Africa, however, in order to ensure that the support structures implemented address context-specific needs.Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 5, Edition 1 April 200

Creating sustainable physical sciences learning environments: A case for decolonised and transformative learning

There is an urgent need for transformation and decolonisation of teaching and learning of physical sciences. This need is evidenced by, among other factors, the alarming rate at which learner enrolment in physical sciences and science education, in general, is decreasing. Central to these causes is apparent, persistent below-expectation learner performance in science education, which, in turn, causes scepticism about the quality of teaching and learning, and questions about the quality of support given to teachers to sustain the required level of learner performance. Thus, decolonisation and transformation of teaching and learning should persistently pursue meaningful and functional knowledge creation. To this end, service-learning projects for teaching and learning physical sciences hold promise. The main reason for this consideration resides in the empowering capacity and resultant decolonising and transformative nature of the created knowledge. Thus, using service-learning projects to create knowledge that is meaningful and functional is equivalent to creating sustainable physical sciences learning environments. Bricolage’s principles of multiple perspectives and multiple theories served as a useful lens for scrutinising the diverse knowledge of the participants. Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive critical discourse analysis was pivotal for analysing, interpreting and making sense of participants’ prevalent knowledge and experiences. The principles of participatory action research and free attitude interviews were applied as an approach and technique for data generation. The major finding suggests that using service learning projects to create sustainable (physical sciences) learning environments, contributes substantially to decolonising and transforming teaching and learning

APLIKASI PELAPORAN KEUANGAN RW BERBASIS WEB (DESA CIPAGALO)

Aplikasi Pelaporan Keuangan RW Berbasis Web (Desa Cipagalo) adalah sebuah perangkat lunak berbasis web yang digunakan untuk melakukan pendataan kegiatan, rincian penggunaan anggaran sampai pelaporan. Aplikasi ini dibangun menggunakan metode SDLC dengan model waterfall. Tekhnologi yang digunakan pada pembangunan aplikasi ini adalah Framework Codeigniter 3.xx untuk PHP 7, HTML 5 + CSS, dan XAMPP bundle. Kata Kunci: keuangan, pemerintah desa, pemerinta

Analysing the financial performance of emerging broiler farmers in Gauteng Province

Emerging broiler famers are faced with the challenge of acquiring contracts with the contract providers in South Africa. The question is, are these emerging farmers able to perform well financially regardless of the availability of contracts to their disposal. Profitability is one of the core issues to the development and sustainability of emerging broiler farmers. A well performing farmer is the one who is able to manage and improve the good financial performance of the farm in general. In order to determine the financial performance of the farm, financial ratios can be useful in determining and analyzing how a farm performs financially. In this study, four financial ratios are used to analyze and determine how emerging broiler farmers in Gauteng perform financially. This is done through a representative farm model which makes use of ten emerging farmers situated in the southern and northern sides of Gauteng. Out of ten emerging broiler farmers that took part in the study, the results show that only two of them are producing under contracts. This is an indication that emerging broiler farmers in Gauteng are characterized by both financial and production risk. This further implies that farmers who do not have contracts are likely to have a poor financial performance in as far as broiler enterprise is concerned. The study establishes the differences between the contract growers and the non contractors that form the representative farm model and this is achieved by looking the results of the financial ratios. The study further distinguishes the financial performances between the southern and northern sides of Gauteng which form the representative farm model. The results indicated that although 80% of the emerging broiler growers in Gauteng do not produce under contracts, they are still able to perform well financially. However the contract growers outperform the no contractors in terms of financial performance due to a well defined market structure.Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmentunrestricte

Gendered consciousness as watershed of masculinity: men’s journeys with manhood in Lesotho

This study explores the operations of Sesotho masculinity: its dominant ideas and practices and their effects on Basotho women and men and this latter‟s resistance to a gender-ethical consciousness gaining momentum in Lesotho. It challenges a deep running belief among the Basotho that being born male necessarily means being born into a superior social position and status that is naturally and divinely sanctioned. It investigates how the dominant postcolonial discourse called sekoele (a return to the traditions of the ancestors) and the Christian churches‟ discourses of the “true”/“authentic” Christian life, framed by the classical biblical and confessional dogmatic traditions, actually support and sustain this belief and so reinforce the imbalance of power in favour of men in the order of gender relations in Lesotho. On the contrary, through the principles of the contextual theologies of liberating praxis, social construction theory, a narrative approach to therapy, gender-ethical consciousness and participatory approach, the study argues that masculinity and ways of being and thinking about men are socially constructed through historical and cultural processes and practices. It is in these processes and practices that Basotho men have been and continue to be advantaged and privileged over women. This study has challenged this situation by tracing the existence of alternative, more ethical ways of being and thinking about men in those historical and cultural processes and practices; ways which are more open to women and children and their wellbeing in the everyday life interactions. In this way, the study argues for a gender-ethical consciousness, which, in particular, invites Basotho men to engage in a reflection on their participation in a culture and practices which oppress the other, especially women and children. It invites Basotho men to accountability and responsibility. In this sense a gender-ethical consciousness is understood as watershed of masculinity in Lesotho. The participation of a group of Basotho men who offered to reflect on their relationship with the dominant masculinities, demonstrates how Basotho men are struggling to transform yet they fill us with the hope that change is possible.Humanities Social Sciences and TheologyD. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy

Identifikasi Value Added (Nilai Tambah) Pada Usaha Abon Sapi di Kota Kefamenanu, Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur

Perubahan nilai tambah pada usaha peternakan; khususnya pada komoditas sapi potong, menyebabkan semakin banyak produk daging sapi yang mengalami diferensiasi (proses pengolahan) seperti pada produk abon. Analisis nilai tambah pada produk abon merupakan tujuan dilaksanakannya penelitian ini. Penelitian dilakukan di Kota Kefamenanu pada bulan Agustus 2022 dengan menggunakan metode survei. Sampel yang digunakan pada penelitian ditentukan secara sengaja (purposive sampling) dengan 1 sampel responden UMKM. Hasil analisis menggunakan Metode Hayami menunjukkan bahwa nilai tambah usaha abon di Kota Kefamenanu sebesar Rp 29.630,00 untuk setiap kilogram abon yang dijual kepada konsumen. Usaha abon di Kota Kefamenanu menghasilkan produk abon sebanyak 40 kg dari input 50 kg daging segar yang digunakan. Hasil analisis menggunakan Metode Hayami menunjukkan bahwa nilai tambah usaha abon di Kota Kefamenanu sebesar Rp 29.630,00 untuk setiap kilogram abon yang dijual kepada konsumen dengan keuntungan mencapai Rp 27.880,00/kg

Sensitivity of the lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan assay in ambulant adults with advanced HIV disease: data from the TB Fast Track study.

BACKGROUND: WHO guidelines recommend the lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan assay (LF-LAM) for TB diagnosis in hospitalised HIV-positive individuals. The role of LF-LAM among ambulant patients remains less well defined. We investigated the sensitivity of LF-LAM among ambulant HIV-positive adults in primary health clinics in South Africa. METHODS: We enrolled adults (aged ≥18 y) with CD4 counts of ≤150 cells/mm3 who had not received TB treatment or antiretroviral therapy in the preceding 3 or 6 mo, respectively. Research nurses performed the LF-LAM test on freshly voided urine. Results were compared with a reference standard of positive mycobacterial culture (sputum or urine). RESULTS: Of 1505 (54.5% female; median age 37 y; median CD4 count 73 cells/mm3) participants, 973 (64.7%) had a mycobacterial culture result; 105/973 (10.8%) were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. LF-LAM sensitivity was 41.9% (95% CI 32.3 to 51.9%) and 19.0% (95% CI 12.0 to 27.9%) using grade 1+ and grade 2+ cut-off points, respectively. Sensitivity increased with severe immunosuppression and in the presence of poor prognostic indicators (low haemoglobin, body mass index). CONCLUSIONS: When used as the only TB diagnostic test, LF-LAM sensitivity is suboptimal, particularly using the grade 2+ cut-off. More sensitive tests for TB are needed that can be used in primary care settings

A socially inclusive teaching strategy for fourth grade English (second) language learners in a South African school

Background: Learners from predominantly less priviledged South African schools encounter English as a language of teaching and learning for the first time in Grade 4. The transition from the use of home language to second language, namely English first additional language, is complexly related to the learners’ inability to read text meaningfully. This complexity is traceable to the reading materials, actual teaching practices and learners’ cultural underpinnings. Learners’ inability to read text meaningfully impacts negatively their academic performance in general. Aim: This article demonstrates how a socially inclusive teaching strategy is used to enhance the teaching of reading in a second additional language to Grade 4 learners. Setting: A one-teacher public school situated on a remote private property with bad access roads. Learners from neighbouring farms walked long distances to school. The teacher’s administrative work and workshops often clashed with teaching and learning that received very limited support. Methods: The principles of the free attitude interview technique and critical discourse analysis were used to generate and analyse the data. Socially inclusive teaching strategy that is participatory action research-oriented and underpinned by critical emancipatory research principles guided the study. Results: The use of socially inclusive teaching strategy helped improve reading of English text significantly. Conclusion: Socially inclusive teaching strategy can help improve learning and teaching support materials, teacher support and learning