Hasil untuk "African languages and literature"

Caroline Story

This paper aims to investigate the neocolonial implications of mission language planning, particularly how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (LDS Church) mission program relates to postcolonial African language policies. Beginning with a conceptual overview of Anglophone linguistic hegemony engrained in African language planning, the investigation covers a detailed inquiry into the LDS Church’s mission operations through contemporary missionary language training and practices. Mixed methods analysis of the languages of instruction reveals a Eurocentric bias in the selection of languages within the LDS Church's Missionary Training Centers, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive and contextually relevant approach to language planning and assignment. Interviews conducted with members of the Church, having served missions on the African continent, further support this conclusion. The implications of conducting mission operations in Africa from an Anglocentric perspective relate to postcolonial discourse on power and exclusion in multilingual ecologies. Considerations for future studies include further documentation of the perspectives of speakers of African languages engaged in mission-related practices within the LDS Church. 

Michèle Cros

Cet article s’appuie sur une étude ethnographique réalisée au Burkina Faso pour analyser la représentation de la chauve-souris à l’intersection des récits mythologiques, des crises sanitaires, et des transformations écologiques liées à la déforestation et à l’exploitation minière. En intégrant les savoirs oraux recueillis principalement auprès du peuple Lobi, l’article met en lumière le rôle complexe de cet animal dans le contexte des enjeux sanitaires mondiaux actuels. Accusée d’être au cœur des zoonoses émergentes (Ebola, COVID-19), la chauve-souris, également capable d’héberger des virus sans en être affectée, peut également être perçue comme un être liminal, porteur d’une sorte de sceau prémonitoire de déséquilibre au sein du monde vivant, où les humains et les non-humains sont interconnectés, souvent sans le savoir ni le vouloir. Les récits locaux, tant cosmogoniques qu’étiologiques, attribuent à sa posture inversée et à sa vie nocturne la marque d’un ancien conflit avec le Dieu du Ciel. Elle incarne la révolte, la loyauté, la mémoire, tout en offrant une forme de résistance au malheur, qu’elle peut parfois contrer en tant qu’assistante thérapeutique de certains guérisseurs-devins. L’intégration des cadres symboliques auxquels il est soumis dans une approche de ‘santé planétaire’ enrichit – et en même temps complique – notre compréhension de nombreuses afflictions actuelles à l’aube de la crise climatique. 

Adeniyi S. Basiru

Ayako Kohno, Teeranee Techasrivichien, Teeranee Techasrivichien et al.

In this study, we synthesized findings from qualitative studies to identify the key factors that influence child marriage. We used a meta-ethnographic approach coupled with thematic synthesis. We searched literature from nine databases, which were in English language, covering areas in public health, psychology, and social science between 2008 and 2018. Twelve studies were included in the synthesis. We identified six main themes: human insecurity and conflict; legal issues; family values and circumstances; religious beliefs; individual circumstances, beliefs, and knowledge; and social norms. Our findings highlight the impact of human insecurity and conflict, as well as legal issues. In spite of global progress scaling up legislation against child marriage, the legal framework is insufficiently enforced in many settings. Most of the included studies were from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Studies from other parts of the world such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, which have the highest rates of child marriage, are needed.

G. Carreras, A. Lugo, S. Gallus et al.

Our aim was to provide a systematic review of studies on the burden of disease due to second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure, reviewing methods, exposure assessment, diseases causally linked to SHS, health outcomes, and estimates available to date. A literature review of studies on the burden of disease from SHS exposure, available in PubMed and SCOPUS, published 2007-2018 in English language, was carried out following the PRISMA recommendations. Overall, 588 studies were first identified, and 94 were eligible. Seventy-two studies were included in the systematic review. Most of them were based on the comparative risk assessment approach, assessing SHS exposure using mainly surveys on exposure at home/workplaces. Diseases more frequently studied were: lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and breast cancer in adults; lower respiratory tract infection, otitis media, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome and low birth weight in children. The SHS exposure assessment and the reported population attributable fractions (PAF) were largely heterogeneous. As an example, the PAF from lung cancer varied between 0.6% and 20.5%. Moreover, PAF were estimated applying relative risks and SHS exposures with no consistent definitions or with different age classes. The research gap on the SHS exposure burden is shrinking. However, estimates are not yet available for a number of countries, particularly the Middle Eastern and African countries, and not all diseases with the strongest evidence of causation, such as sudden infant death syndrome, have been explored. Moreover, in some cases the applied methodology revealed relatively low quality of data.

D. Garrick, Lucia De Stefano, Winston H. Yu et al.

Background: Competition for freshwater between cities and agriculture is projected to grow due to rapid urbanization, particularly in the Global South. Water reallocation from rural to urban regions has become a common strategy to meet freshwater needs in growing cities. Conceptual issues and associated measurement problems have impeded efforts to compare and learn from global experiences. This review examines the status and trends of water reallocation from rural to urban regions based on academic literature and policy documents. Methods: We conduct a systematic literature review to establish the global reallocation database (GRaD). This process yielded 97 published studies (academic and policy) on rural-to-urban reallocation. We introduce the concept of reallocation ‘dyads’ as the unit of analysis to describe the pair of a recipient (urban) and donor (rural) region. A coding framework was developed iteratively to classify the drivers, processes and outcomes of water reallocation from a political economy perspective. Results: The systematic review identified 69 urban agglomerations receiving water through 103 reallocation projects (dyads). Together these reallocation dyads involve approximately 16 billion m3 of water per year moving almost 13 000 kilometres to urban recipient regions with an estimated 2015 population of 383 million. Documented water reallocation dyads are concentrated in North America and Asia with the latter constituting the majority of dyads implemented since 2000. Synthesis: The analysis illustrates how supply and demand interact to drive water reallocation projects, which can take many forms, although collective negotiation and administrative decisions are most prevalent. Yet it also reveals potential biases and gaps in coverage for parts of the Global South (particularly in South America and Africa), where reallocation (a) can involve informal processes that are difficult to track and (b) receives limited coverage by the English-language literature covered by the review. Data regarding the impacts on the donor region and compensation are also limited, constraining evidence to assess whether a water reallocation project is truly effective, equitable and sustainable. We identify frameworks and metrics for assessing reallocation projects and navigating the associated trade-offs by drawing on the concept of benefit sharing.

Hiba Abu Suhaiban, L. Grasser, A. Javanbakht

Civilian war trauma and torture rank among the most traumatic life experiences; exposure to such experiences is pervasive in nations experiencing both internal and external conflict. This has led to a high volume of refugees resettling throughout the world with mental health needs that primary care physicians may not be screening for and prepared to effectively address. In this article, we review the literature on demographics, predictors, mental health outcomes of torture, and integrated care for the mental health needs of refugees. We searched PubMed and PSYCINFO databases for original research articles on refugees and mental health published in the English language between 2010 and present. Nine percent of 720 adults in conflict areas in Nepal, with predominance of literate married males, met the threshold for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 27.5% for depression, and 22.9% for anxiety. While, PTSD rate has been documented as high as 88.3% among torture survivors from Middle East (ME), Central Africa (CA), South Asia (SA), Southeast Europe (SE). Depression was recorded as high as 94.7% among 131 African torture survivors and anxiety as high as 91% among 55 South African torture survivors. Torture severity, post-migration difficulties, and wait time to receive clinical services were significantly associated with higher rate of mental health symptoms. Mental health screening is not a standard component of initial physical exams for refugees, yet these individuals have had high trauma exposure that should inform clinical care. Integrated care models are lacking but would greatly benefit this community to prevent progression to greater severity of mental health symptoms.

Jill R. McTavish, M. Kimber, K. Devries et al.

Objective To systematically search for research about the effectiveness of mandatory reporting of child maltreatment and to synthesise qualitative research that explores mandated reporters’ (MRs) experiences with reporting. Design As no studies assessing the effectiveness of mandatory reporting were retrieved from our systematic search, we conducted a meta-synthesis of retrieved qualitative research. Searches in Medline (Ovid), Embase, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Sociological Abstracts, Education Resources Information Center, Criminal Justice Abstracts and Cochrane Library yielded over 6000 citations, which were deduplicated and then screened by two independent reviewers. English-language, primary qualitative studies that investigated MRs’ experiences with reporting of child maltreatment were included. Critical appraisal involved a modified checklist from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme and qualitative meta-synthesis was used to combine results from the primary studies. Setting All healthcare and social-service settings implicated by mandatory reporting laws were included. Included studies crossed nine high-income countries (USA, Australia, Sweden, Taiwan, Canada, Norway, Finland, Israel and Cyprus) and three middle-income countries (South Africa, Brazil and El Salvador). Participants: The studies represent the views of 1088 MRs. Outcomes Factors that influence MRs’ decision to report and MRs’ views towards and experiences with mandatory reporting of child maltreatment. Results Forty-four articles reporting 42 studies were included. Findings indicate that MRs struggle to identify and respond to less overt forms of child maltreatment. While some articles (14%) described positive experiences MRs had with the reporting process, negative experiences were reported in 73% of articles and included accounts of harm to therapeutic relationships and child death following removal from their family of origin. Conclusions The findings of this meta-synthesis suggest that there are many potentially harmful experiences associated with mandatory reporting and that research on the effectiveness of this process is urgently needed.

Elize Vos, Nadine Fouché

Language is a contextual factor of an education system as it determines the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). In order to provide for diversity in South Africa, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, makes provision for 11 official languages and the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) promotes respect for not only these official languages, but languages in general as well as the preservation of cultural diversity by means of multilingualism. Having measures like these in place creates the assumption that different languages are used as LOLT. However, mother tongue education is not fully realised in South Africa. A large percentage of learners’ LOLT is not their home language. This lack of mother tongue education may cause poor reading ability. South Africa’s government and Department of Education (DoE) has certain strategies available to promote reading, however, the feasibility of these strategies is questionable when the poor reading performance of South African learners is taken into account. To find a solution for the above-stated problem, due to the fact that reading plays an important role within an education system, and the integral part it forms in nation-building, we conducted a literature study to identify current national and international reading strategies. In this article we present a synthesis of these strategies, which we refer to as a reading motivation framework, outlining the responsibilities of various social role players.

Kọ́lá Abímbọ́lá

Are there universal principles, categories, or forms of reasoning that apply to all aspects of human experience—irrespective of culture and epoch? Numerous scholars have explored this very question from Africana perspectives: Kwasi Wiredu (1996) explored the philosophical issue of whether there are culturally defined values and concepts; Hallen and Sodipo (1986) examined the question of whether there are unique African indigenous systems of knowledge; Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1994) evaluated the role of colonialism in the language of African literature; Oyerò nkẹ ́ ́ Oyěwumi (1997) argued that “gender” is a Western cultural invention that is foreign to Yorùbá systems of sociation; and Helen Veran (2001) argued that even though science, mathematics, and logic are not culturally relative, “certainty” is nonetheless derived from cultural practices and associations. Building on these and other works, this essay argues that: (i) incommensurability of “worldviews,” “perspectives,” “paradigms,” or “conceptual schemes” springs from deeper, more fundamental cognitive categories of logic that are coded into natural languages; and that (ii) consequently, as long as African reflective reasoning is expressed solely (or predominantly) in European languages, the authenticity of the “African” in African philosophy is questionable.

Shosh Leshem, Eli Bitzer

One critical component in doctoral theses is having the readers in mind by orienting them to ‘the story of the research’. The candidate might be writing for an audience familiar with the broader content, however, when original material is explained and put in context, exceptional emphasis on clarity might be needed. Readers would therefore appreciate signposts to direct them on their journey through the work. The aim of our study is twofold: Firstly, to identify and briefly reflect on the signposts or links that make thesis texts more reader-friendly and assist the reader in understanding the text. Secondly, we selected and analysed eight completed theses in relation to three of these critical research components that play a pivotal role in creating coherence and cohesiveness in a study: conceptual frameworks, research questions and theoretical perspectives. Our primary sources were eight completed doctoral theses in education from different universities. The analysis of the selected theses identified signposting with varied measures of success: while in some studies the signposting was most helpful, in others it seemed vague, handled clumsily or over-used. The paper should alert candidates and supervisors to ways and means of making their writing more reader-friendly and thus promote their chances of positive examiner impressions.

Annelize Kruger, Monique Strauss, Marieta Visser et al.

Introduction: Assessment of in-hand manipulation is fundamental to guide treatment for children with fine motor delays. Limited literature is available on how South African occupational therapists assess in-hand manipulation. This study aimed to describe which current in-hand manipulation assessment methods are used and what the preferences of occupational therapists in all areas of paediatric practices are regarding a suitable instrument. Methods: Quantitative cross-sectional study design with a non-probability, purposive sampling method was used. Participants completed an EvaSys survey system online questionnaire. Results: Two-hundred-and-ninety-two (n=292) occupational therapists registered with the HPCSA participated. Limited familiarity (n=50; 17.1%) with the formal assessment instruments described in literature was reported. The informal assessment methods most commonly used were subjective observation of tasks (n=287; 98.3%) of scholastic tasks (n=261; 89.4%) and play tasks (n=255; 87.3%) for children between the ages of five to six years (n=273; 93.5%). Preferences supported a descriptive instrument accompanied by a user manual that is administered under 15 minutes, in multiple languages, and with attention to the quality of movements and compensatory techniques used by the child. Conclusion: Results showed that the current and preferred assessment methods used by occupational therapists might provide guidance for the future development of a contextual, relevant in-hand manipulation instrument for paediatric practices in South Africa.    

H. Schneider, Dickson R O Okello, U. Lehmann

BackgroundThere has been a substantial increase in publications and interest in community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) over the last years. This paper examines the growth, geographical distribution and programmatic orientations of the indexed literature on CHWs in LMIC over a 10-year period.MethodsA scoping review of publications on CHWs from 2005 to 2014 was conducted. Using an inclusive list of terms, we searched seven databases (including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane) for all English-language publications on CHWs in LMIC. Two authors independently screened titles/abstracts, downloading full-text publications meeting inclusion criteria. These were coded in an Excel spreadsheet by year, type of publication (e.g. review, empirical), country, region, programmatic orientation (e.g. maternal-child health, HIV/AIDS, comprehensive) and CHW roles (e.g. prevention, treatment) and further analysed in Stata14. Drawing principally on the subset of review articles, specific roles within programme areas were identified and grouped.FindingsSix hundred seventy-eight publications from 46 countries on CHWs were inventoried over the 10-year period. There was a sevenfold increase in annual number of publications from 23 in 2005 to 156 in 2014. Half the publications were reporting on initiatives in Africa, a third from Asia and 11 % from the Americas (mostly Brazil). The largest single focus and driver of the growth in publications was on CHW roles in meeting the Millennium Development Goals of maternal, child and neonatal survival (35 % of total), followed by HIV/AIDS (16 %), reproductive health (6 %), non-communicable diseases (4 %) and mental health (4 %). Only 17 % of the publications approached CHW roles in an integrated fashion. There were also distinct regional (and sometimes country) profiles, reflecting different histories and programme traditions.ConclusionsThe growth in literature on CHWs provides empirical evidence of ever-increasing expectations for addressing health burdens through community-based action. This literature has a strong disease- or programme-specific orientation, raising important questions for the design and sustainable delivery of integrated national programmes.

Radhamoney Govender, Anna J. Hugo

Background: South African primary school learners have participated in several national and international literacy (reading and writing) studies that measure learners’ achievement in different grades and at different intervals. Numerous scholars have analysed the results of these assessments. We extended their analyses by investigating the grade coverage and the aspects of literacy that were included in these assessments, as well as whether the learners’ home language impacts their results. Aim: The authors aim to determine how reliable the results of these assessments are in improving and informing policies relating to literacy teaching in primary schools and to provide recommendations to improve the administration of literacy assessments. Method: Literature on various national and international literacy studies that were conducted in South African primary schools from 2000 to 2016 was identified and analysed according to grade, province, languages in which the assessments were conducted, aspects of literacy that were included in the assessments and the accuracy of the results. Results: The analysis provides evidence that suggests that most literacy assessments target learners in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4–6) and are not available in all 11 South African official languages. Presently, there are no large-scale literacy assessments for Foundation Phase (Grades 1–3) learners. Moreover, the results of these assessments do not provide us with reliable information about literacy levels in the country because there are vast discrepancies in assessment scores. Conclusion: This article highlights the importance of obtaining reliable information in determining literacy levels in the country and in informing decisions regarding literacy-related policies.

F. M. Phaka, E. Netherlands, Donnavan Kruger et al.

BackgroundWe use taxonomy to organize the world into recognizable units. Folk taxonomy deals with the naming and classification of organisms through culture. Unlike its scientific counterpart, folk taxonomy is mostly undocumented, the Zoological Code of Nomenclature does not regulate it, and the resulting names are specific to each culture. A growing body of literature is steadily shedding light on the principles underlying this pre-scientific taxonomy. Vernacular names can be an instrument to increase participation of non-scientists in biodiversity matters. In South Africa, great strides have been made in standardizing and increasing relatability of vernacular amphibian names in English and Afrikaans. However, there is a need to achieve the same with the country’s autochthonous languages which are used by a majority of the population.MethodsThis study investigates amphibian-related folk taxonomy using a semi-structured interview process in KwaZulu-Natal’s Zululand region and  pilots methods of applying folk taxonomy principles to compile a comprehensive list of standardized indigenous frog names.ResultsFolk taxonomy in Zululand is systematic, developed, and bears similarities to other indigenous taxonomies around the world. Similarities also exist between folk and scientific taxonomy. Six uninomial indigenous names were found to be used for the 58 amphibian species occurring in the study area. The 58 species were assigned individual indigenous names using folk taxonomy guidelines supplemented with guidelines for modern taxonomies.ConclusionsThere is a gap in the documentation and investigation of amphibian folk taxonomy in South Africa. Standardization of indigenous frog names is required to increase their universality. Similarities between folk and modern taxonomies allow for supplementation of indigenous guidelines when compiling a comprehensive indigenous species list. Through this study, social inclusion in wildlife matters is increased, indigenous knowledge systems are promoted, and a contribution is made to the development of an indigenous South African language.

A. Usman, T. Fálolá

This book provides a broad, chronological history of the Yoruba that emphasizes several overarching interpretive themes useful to the general reader, students, and specialists in the i elds of African Studies, African Diaspora, Black Atlantic, Atlantic World, and African American Studies who encounter the Yoruba and lack the time to con-sult specialized works. The rich scholarly works and interpretations available on the Yoruba are often inaccessible to the general reader; we consider it timely to provide a book demonstrating the richness of Yoruba culture, especially one that combines interdisciplinary sources for understanding an African group’s entire history within a single text. The scholarly, yet accessible, language of this book assists with classroom adoption for history, archaeology, anthropology, sociology, literature, political science, and other studies dealing with Africa, African Diaspora, and World Civilization.

Sarah Mossburg, Angela Agore, Manka Nkimbeng et al.

Background: While all healthcare workers are exposed to occupational hazards, workers in sub-Saharan Africa have higher rates of occupational exposure to infectious diseases than workers in developed countries. Identifying prevalence and context of exposure to blood and bloodborne pathogens may help guide policies for prevention. Objective: This systematic review examined occupational exposure rates to blood and bloodborne pathogen among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: In November 2017, a comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify studies reporting exposure of health workers in African coutnries to blood and bodily fluids. Title, abstract and full text screening were used to narrow our search. Studies more than 10 years old, or published in non-English languages were excluded. Findings: Fifteen studies reported a variety of exposures. The lifetime prevalence of needlestick injury ranged from 22–95%, and one-year prevalence ranged from 39–91%. Studies included a range of descriptive statistics of knowledge, attitudes, practice and access factors related to exposures. Two studies reported 21–32% of respondents linked poor knowledge or training with prevention of needlestick injuries. Rates of recapping needles ranged from 12–57% in four studies. Attitudes were generally positive toward occupational safety procedures while access was poor. Conclusions: The high burden of blood and bloodborne pathogen exposures demonstrated here indicates a high risk for contracting bloodborne illnesses. Although the data are sparse, implementation of preventative policies based on current knowledge remains critical to minimize risk and reduce exposure. There remains a pressing need for high quality data on occupational hazards to identify the burden of exposures and inform preventive policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additional studies are needed to determine whether differential exposures exist between professions and the associations with knowledge, attitudes, practices, and access factors to create targeted strategies to diminish occupational hazards.

Selina Defor, A. Kwamie, I. Agyepong

BackgroundThe need for locally-driven, locally-generated evidence to guide health policy and systems decision-making and implementation in West Africa remains urgent. Thus, health policy and systems research (HPSR) is a field with great potential for addressing many of the sub-region’s intransigent health challenges. This paper presents an analysis of trends and patterns of peer-reviewed HPSR publications across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to help understand trends and patterns of HPSR publication and the degree of involvement of West African researchers in HPSR evidence generation in the sub-region. Our goal was to use the findings to inform the development of a sub-regional strategy to strengthen HPSR and its use to inform development and improvement of health outcomes.MethodsA scoping review was conducted over a 25-year period from January 1990 to September 2015. Literature searches were conducted in English and French using Google Scholar, PubMed Central and Cairn.info.ResultsA total of 258 articles were retrieved. Of these, 246 were statistically analysed, with 54% having West African lead authors. Two thirds of the papers originated from three out of the 15 countries of the ECOWAS, specifically Nigeria (28.86%), Burkina Faso (21.54%) and Ghana (17.07%). Most authors were based in academic institutions and participation of authors from ministries of health, hospitals and non-governmental organisations was limited. English was the predominant language for publication even for papers originating from Francophone West African countries. There has been a progressive increase in publications over the studied period.ConclusionDespite progressive improvements over time, West Africa remains a weak sub-region in terms of peer-reviewed HPSR publications. Within the overall weakness, there is country-to-country variation. The fact that only a handful of countries accounted for nearly 70% of the total volume of publications in West Africa attests to the great disparities in individual, institutional and contextual capacities for HPSR evidence generation. Bridging the gap between lead institutions (universities and research centres) and the practice community (ministries, hospitals, non-governmental organisations) is indispensable for ensuring the practical use of HPSR evidence. There remains a major need for investments in HPSR capacity building in West Africa.

Zandra Bezuidenhout

Stephen Derwent Partington

This essay attempts a politically and ethically responsible, identity-focused reading of one of the central texts from the new generation of post-didactic Kenyan writers: Yvonne Owuor’s extended short story, “Weight of Whispers”, which deals with the post-genocide experience of a particular refugee who is the story’s narrator. The interdisciplinary essay examines the way in which this first-person narrator is constructed alongside the extra-textual, postcolonial construction of Rwanda’s “Tutsi” and “Hutu” as racialised groups, making explicit the parallels between these two “fictionalised” processes and ultimately concluding that Owuor’s ostensibly depressing story can be read optimistically as a consequence of its democratic indeterminacy, in this way empowering the reader to contribute to post-genocide dialogue.