The salutation to Ṣàngó (Yorùbá god of thunder and lightning) exemplifies the deity through the depiction of his distinguishing volatile personality. His response to ensemble music reflects the possibilities of his influence as a facilitator of musical skills at Ṣàngó festivals and plays in Yorùbáland. The intricacies of African rhythms impact Ṣàngó’s emotions through praise singing with a Bàtá ensemble in a distinctive and impulsive way. However, the process that brings about rainfall appears not to have been sufficiently documented. In this study, we investigate the artistic form that causes rainfall whenever the salutation is rendered. Data was gathered through interviews and analysis of the play Ọba kò so by Dúró Ladipọ. The study findings prove the connection between Ṣàngó, and rain through the lens of literature and traditional Yorùbá music and festivals in honour of Ṣàngó. By exploring this intersection of art, music and environmental phenomena, the study offers valuable insight into the complex relationships between humans, culture, and the natural force.
Dieudonne Uwizeye, Florah Karimi, C. Thiong'o
et al.
Background: There are low levels of research productivity among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa, a situation that is likely to compromise the development agenda of the continent if not addressed. We conducted a systematic literature review to synthesize evidence of the factors associated with research productivity in HEIs in Africa and the researchers’ motives for research. Methods: We identified 838 publications related to research productivity in HEIs in Africa from various databases, from which we included 28 papers for review. The inclusion criteria were that (i) the paper’s primary focus was on factors associated with research productivity, and motivations of doing research among faculty members in Africa; (ii) the setting was the HEIs in Africa; (iii) the type of publication was peer-reviewed papers and book chapters based on primary or secondary data analysis; and (iv) the language was English or French. Essays, opinions, blogs, editorials, reviews, and commentaries were excluded. Results: Most of the studies operationalized research productivity as either journal publications or conference proceedings. Both institutional and individual factors are associated with the level of research productivity in HEIs in Africa. Institutional factors include the availability of research funding, level of institutional networking, and the degree of research collaborations, while individual factors include personal motivation, academic qualifications, and research self-efficacy. Conclusions: Deliberate efforts in HEIs in Africa that addressed both individual and institutional barriers to research productivity are promising. This study recommends that the leadership of HEIs in Africa prioritizes the funding of research to enable researchers to contribute to the development agenda of the continent. Moreover, HEIs should build institutional support to research through the provision of research enabling environment, policies and incentives; strengthening of researchers’ capabilities through relevant training courses, mentorship and coaching; and embracing networking and collaboration opportunities.
Literature is an open concept and a creative art which expresses human history, experiences, imagination, observations, predictions and suggestions at a particular time in a given society. Either as fiction or non-fiction, literature can be rendered in both spoken and written words. It is often argued whether literature is for itself or the development of the society that produces it. This study, therefore, interrogates how the selected Francophone African novels, namely Sembène Ousmane’s Les bouts de bois de Dieu, Mariama Bâ’s Une si longue lettre, Ferdinand Oyono’s Le vieux nègre et la médaille, Aminata Sow Fall’s La grève des bàttu, Patrick Ilboudo’s Les vertiges du trône and Fatou Keïta’s Rebelle, depict the function of literature. The novelists are selected because of their inclination towards the social transformation paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to raise people’s awareness and mobilize them towards positive change. Based on close reading, the paper is built around Marxist theory which is interested in the class struggle as demonstrated in a literary text, with a view to deconstructing the existing capitalist tendencies in a given society. The findings reveal that the selected novels are focused on the poor conditions socio-politically, economically, culturally and psychologically that exist both during and after the colonial era. The paper concludes that literature helps readers to cope with the socio-cultural, political, economic, religious and other challenges of their immediate as well as remote environments through the process of self-discovery. As such, positive social change is possible through literature.
BackgroundMethylene blue (MB) was the first synthetic antimalarial to be discovered and was used during the late 19th and early 20th centuries against all types of malaria. MB has been shown to be effective in inhibiting Plasmodium falciparum in culture, in the mouse model and in rhesus monkeys. MB was also shown to have a potent ex vivo activity against drug-resistant isolates of P. falciparum and P. vivax. In preclinical studies, MB acted synergistically with artemisinin derivates and demonstrated a strong effect on gametocyte reduction in P. falciparum. MB has, thus, been considered a potentially useful partner drug for artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), particularly when elimination is the final goal. The aim of this study was to review the scientific literature published until early 2017 to summarise existing knowledge on the efficacy and safety of MB in the treatment of malaria.MethodsThis systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting on the efficacy and safety of MB were systematically searched for in relevant electronic databases according to a pre-designed search strategy. The search (without language restrictions) was limited to studies of humans published until February 2017.ResultsOut of 474 studies retrieved, a total of 22 articles reporting on 21 studies were eligible for analysis. The 21 included studies that reported data on 1504 malaria patients (2/3 were children). Older studies were case series and reports on MB monotherapy while recent studies were mainly controlled trials of combination regimens. MB was consistently shown to be highly effective in all endemic areas and demonstrated a strong effect on P. falciparum gametocyte reduction and synergy with ACT. MB treatment was associated with mild urogenital and gastrointestinal symptoms as well as blue coloration of urine. In G6PD-deficient African individuals, MB caused a slight but clinically non-significant haemoglobin reduction.ConclusionsMore studies are needed to define the effects of MB in P. falciparum malaria in areas outside Africa and against P. vivax malaria. Adding MB to ACT could be a valuable approach for the prevention of resistance development and for transmission reduction in control and elimination programs.Systematic review registrationThis study is registered at PROSPERO (registration number CRD42017062349).
ABSTRACT The combined use of linguistic, genetic and archaeological studies for establishing migration models is common in southern African research on pastoralism. According to some of these models, sheep would have diffused with Khoe-speaking people through southern Africa from around 2000 years ago. In the literature, ‘Khoe people’ and ‘herders’ or ‘pastoralists’ are often used as synonyms. Many implications follow from this and cast a shadow on the history of Khoe speakers in southern Africa. This paper critiques the correlation made between language groups, gene signatures and economies of subsistence before turning to a revaluation of the archaeological context of the early herding phase. The recent debates concerning the identification and dates of early sheep bones are discussed and integrated with the archaeological data relative to the appearance of herding practices. The use of a single model for explaining the advent and development of herding practices in southern Africa is debated and the potential plurality of actors involved in these processes is suggested.
Obesity rates are rising globally, but there is evidence that young people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are at particularly high risk. We systematically searched the literature to map the MENA region for prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, and examine the underlying risk factors and adverse effects associated with obesity in this region. Inclusion criteria were: English-language, non-basic-science focused articles that used any of the standard obesity definitions and were conducted in the MENA countries within the last five years. We searched PubMed using combinations of key terms ((childhood) OR adolescence) AND obesity) AND (MENA or each country) AND (“last five years” [PDat]). Studies demonstrated an increasing prevalence of obesity among many countries in the MENA region, especially in the Gulf area. Notably, in Kuwait, prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 25.6% and 34.8% among young males and 20.8% and 20.5% among females. A meta-analysis revealed that physical inactivity, increased screen time, and higher social status were risk factors for childhood obesity. Childhood and adolescent obesity is a major challenge facing countries of the MENA region. Further research is needed to fully investigate the role of nutrition and other specific risk factors and evaluate various interventions to manage this pervasive and growing health problem.
Background Mobile health (mHealth) video interventions are often transferred across settings. Although the outcomes of these transferred interventions are frequently published, the process of adapting such videos is less described, particularly within and across lower-income contexts. This study fills a gap in the literature by outlining experiences and priorities adapting a suite of South African maternal nutrition videos to the context of rural Burkina Faso. Objective The objective of this study was to determine the key components in adapting a suite of maternal nutrition mHealth videos across settings. Methods Guided by the principles of human-centered design, this qualitative study included 10 focus group discussions, 30 in-depth interviews, and 30 observations. We first used focus group discussions to capture insights on local nutrition and impressions of the original (South African) videos. After making rapid adjustments based on these focus group discussions, we used additional methods (focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and observations) to identify challenges, essential video refinements, and preferences in terms of content delivery. All data were collected in French or Dioula, recorded, transcribed, and translated as necessary into French before being thematically coded by two authors. Results We propose a 3-pronged Video Adaptation Framework that places the aim of video adaptation at the center of a triangle framed by end recipients, health workers, and the environment. End recipients (here, pregnant or lactating mothers) directed us to (1) align the appearance, priorities, and practices of the video’s protagonist to those of Burkinabe women; (2) be mindful of local realities whether economic, health-related, or educational; and (3) identify and routinely reiterate key points throughout videos and via reminder cards. Health workers (here, Community Health Workers and Mentor Mothers delivering the videos) guided us to (1) improve technology training, (2) simplify language and images, and (3) increase the frequency of their engagements with end recipients. In terms of the environment, respondents guided us to localize climate, vegetation, diction, and how foods are depicted. Conclusions Design research provided valuable insights in terms of developing a framework for video adaptation across settings, which other interventionists and scholars can use to guide adaptations of similar interventions.
This paper reports on a desktop review study of undergraduate and postgraduate English studies (both English literature and English language) module offerings (n = 48) of 24 English departments at 17 South African higher education institutions (HEIs) conducted in 2017. The review focused on the presence and purpose of the term, decolonisation, in these module offerings. Framed within deparochialism and a null curriculum, and employing purposeful sampling and explicit inclusion criteria common in systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the study has the following findings: (a) decolonisation has a presence in only three undergraduate module offerings and it is mentioned in only one honours module offering among the 48 module offerings reviewed. (b) All four modules are English literature modules; (c) decolonisation is a module thematic or topical component and is used for critical analytical purposes in the identified modules in varying degrees. (d) In the three undergraduate modules, decolonisation is restricted to African literature or Africa writings and (e) in the postgraduate module, decolonisation is offered as one of the four optional stand-alone modules. Finally, the paper argues for a decolonisation that deparochialises the disciplines of English studies.
This essay examines the relationship between narrative excess and narrative restraint, arguing that the bedchamber becomes a troubling surrogate for the ideologically and aesthetically hazardous journey into the torture chambers of the apartheid state. Drawing on the work of Rosemary Jolly as well as on J.M. Coetzee's "Into the Dark Chamber" and Brink's own "literature and Offence," which imagines the novel as a woman who teases the male reader with the promise of easy satisfaction, but then withholds her favours and provokes him to a heightened awareness of political responsibility, the paper proposes that Brink's pornographic descriptions of white women's bodies are intended to stage the larger seduction and political awakening of the male reader, and to substitute for the vanishing and covertly violated bodies of black men. In A Dry White Season (1979) and Rumours of Rain (1978) Brink makes the sexuality of the female body abundantly available to the reader (as well as to the men in the novels, and a host of voyeurs) precisely because he cannot risk turning the obscenity of torture into an object of aesthetic pleasure. This algebraic solution to the quandary of representing violence, in which one set of minutely-observed bodies substitutes for another in the name of ethical awakening, creates as many ideological and aesthetic problems as it resolves.
Diversity management is a young management discipline which originated out of many different historical and social issues. (Leopold and Harris 2009) posit that diversity management literature reveals the absence of a universally accepted definition of the term, “managing diversity”. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, commonly known as the Horn of Africa. It is at the cross-roads between Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country with many indigenous languages. Ethiopians are appreciated towards warm greetings, handshakes, positive body language (smile or showing a sign of happiness) and a show of respect. The study will use different types of sampling techniques to select respondents from the purposively selected three zonal towns of the region and its capital city; such as systematic random sampling to select respondents from selected banks after proportionate sampling technique is used to determine sample size of each town. Moreover, data will be gathered through simple Random sampling method. Those selected banks under this study are both public and private banks in tigray region respectively like Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Dashen Bank, Awash Bank, Wegagen Bank and Ambesa bank. In this study, we seek to extend the existing research on workplace diversity by conceptualizing and empirically examining the effects of different variables effectiveness on organizational and employee performance with the working environments of workgroups in exploring the impact of workplace diversity on organizational effectiveness.