Contextualised Inclusive Education: A Retrospective Look at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Botswana

The purpose of this paper is to intrinsically explore how inclusive education (UNESCO, 1994) can be contextualized and applied within the cultural perspective of Botho[1]. The impending issue restraining reform of inclusion policies in Botswana and other Sub-Saharan countries is failure to tailor these policies to local context (ILO, 2011; Mosalagae, 2014). The argument raised by the authors is that, conceptualized inclusion should not only have to do with responding to heterogeneous needs of learners by way of augmenting participation but also a lot to do with the necessary shift in underlying cultural values and beliefs. TVETs as custodians of formal, informal, and non-formal education need to be cognizant of the national impact contextualized inclusive education has and relentlessly work towards raising the level of awareness to this important but missing service to our nation. An interpretivist approach is found relevant in assessing the practices and experiences of other countries to help in the comprehension of inclusion from an African perspective. The findings reveal that African culture has been influential as a decisive element in shaping the challenges faced by marginalized groups[2] and in particular people with disability[3] (Munyi, 2011; Abosi, 2008). Although, the five countries under study have shown to have ratified and enacted national and international policies as a way of responding to inclusive education; the authors argue that the concept of Botho coupled with inclusion may yet prove to be key in the realization of these policies. Critical to Botho is social justice which can be adopted as a doctrine of inclusive education in order to effectively adapt it to Africa’s cultural context. Keywords: Inclusive Education, Botho, Disability. [1] derived from Tswana and signifies a social contract of mutual respect, responsibility and accountability that members of society have toward each other and defines a process for earning respect by first giving it, and to gain empowerment by empowering others (University of Botswana, 2015). [2] In essence marginalization may be on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, linguistic minority, gender, social status, health and disability to mention a few. [3] Impairments of either the mind, senses, and/or motor functioning of the body (Ingstad, 1995

Adaptive sampled-data tracking for input constrained exothermic chemical reaction models

We consider digital input-constrained adaptive output feedback control of a class of nonlinear systems which arise as models for controlled exothermic chemical reactors.Our objective is set-point control of the temperature of the reaction, with prespecified asymptotic tracking accuracy set by the designer. Our approach is based on. Our objective is set-point control of the temperature of the reaction, with prespecified asymptotic tracking accuracy set by the designer. Our approach is based on lamda-tracking controllers, but we introduce a piecewise constant sampled-data output feedback strategy with adapted sampling period. The approach does not require any knowledge of the systems parameters, does not invoke an internal model, is simple in its design, copes with noise corrupted output measurements, and requires only a feasibility assumption in terms of the reference temperature and the input constraints

Input constrained adaptive tracking with applications to exothermic chemical reactions models

"We consider input constrained adaptive output feedback control for a class of nonlinear systems which are prototype models for controlled exothermic chemical reactions. Our objective is set-point control of the output, i.e., the temperature of the reaction. In the context of chemical reactions, practical considerations lead us to work in the presence of input constraints...

Guar gum: A novel binder for ceramic extrusion

Ceramic honeycomb extrusion is a technique capable of attaining high strength, porous ceramics. However, challenges prevent the realisation of its potential. These include the design of an intricate honeycomb die and the formulation of an extrudable paste. The present study addresses the latter by using guar gum (GG) as a binder. GG was rationally selected because hydrogels thereof exhibit strong shear-thinning and high stiffness properties, which are required for extrusion. Rheological analyses demonstrated ceramic pastes with similar qualities were achieved, with hydroxyapatite (HA) used as the model ceramic. The shear stiffness modulus of HA pastes was determined as 8.4 MPa with a yield stress of 1.1 kPa. Moreover, this was achieved with GG as the sole additive, which further facilitates the overall fabrication process. The binder extraction notably occurred at relatively low temperatures when other high molecular weight polymers demand temperatures above 1000 °C; therefore the latter precludes the use of ceramics with low sintering onset. The process culminated in a porous HA scaffold with similar porosity to that of a commercial HA graft, but with higher compressive strength. Lastly, the study notes that the biological and water-soluble properties of GG can broaden its application into other ceramic fabrication processes

Structural characterisation of porous copper sheets fabricated by lost carbonate sintering applied to tape casting

In this article, we describe experimental investigations of the structural characterisations of double-layered porous copper tapes of thickness down to 0.74 mm. The porous sheets were produced by a process combing tape casting and lost carbonate sintering (LCS) to control both the porosity and pores distribution of the sheets. By varying the values of processing parameters, double-layer (porous and dense) structured tapes with open cell structure and porosities ranging from 50.0 to 81.5% are produced. Scanning electron microscopy and actual size image analysis were employed to measure the pore size and surface porosity of the porous sample. The pore size distribution was characterised using Micro-CT scanner running Skyscan NRecon software and CTAn software. A helium pycnometer was employed to obtain the bulk porosity of the porous copper samples. Statistical analysis of these measurements was used to assess the efficiency and consistency of the space holder technique used to generate porosity, as well as to draw information about the influence that different processing routes have on the resulting mesostructure of the porous copper metal, and on its properties

Resolving the tension between the section 25 Right to Property and section 26 Right to Housing The Constitutional Court of South Africa subsidiarity methodology

In this dissertation, I identify the tension between the s25 right to property and s26 right to access to adequate housing. This tension is a result of the historical narrative of the Republic of South Africa where forced evictions were a weapon in the arsenal of Apartheid and the common law right of property was practised in a discriminatory manner. With the advent of a constitutional dispensation four sources of law were created. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 as the supreme law of the nation, from which all other laws derive their legitimacy; legislation enacted by parliament; common law and to a limited extent indigenous law. Further, how the Constitutional Court deals with the different sources of law in eviction cases has an impact on the outcome of the case. The subsidiarity methodology entails that when deciding a given matter one first looks to the legislation enacted to give effect to a right in the Bill of Rights; if the matter is not adequately covered by legislation, the courts consider the common law and only if the constitutional validity of the legislation is attacked does one make direct resort to a right in the Bill of Rights. I argue that the subsidiarity methodology is the most appropriate tool to assist the courts in dealing with the various sources of law from analysing CC eviction cases from 2007 to 2015. The implications of this dissertation are the that constitutional adjudication needs to develop the subsidiarity methodology further and that academic commentary should do same.Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2015.Public LawLLMUnrestricte