bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A transformative educational framework in tourism higher education through digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors:   Faculty of Administrative Economic and Social Sciences, Department of Tourism Management, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece, Kallou Sofia , Kikilia Aikaterini ,   Faculty of Administrative Economic and Social Sciences, Department of Tourism Management, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
Published: June 2021

The rapid development and the integration of emerging technologies are changing the perceptions in all aspects of education. As the current tourism education is considered traditional, changes in learning environments, educational methods, and curricula are required. Additionally, the latest COVID- 19 pandemic developments have led to a new perspective of education through digital technologies, changing how universities perceive the teaching and the learning process. As a result of these circumstances, the transformation of higher tourism education is more than ever a current issue preparing students to face the new challenges that arise. This paper proposes an educational framework using the Transformative Learning Theory and digital technologies, providing a contemporary learning design, and offering flexible use of many digital technologies and tools, leading to the development of tourism students according to the needs of modern society. It can also lead to the transformation of dysfunctional beliefs and assumptions of tourism students to be more functional and thrive. Implementing the educational framework can lead to the upgrade of the provided tourism education and its transformation, leading to a higher quality of the tourism services.
The short-term and long-term effects of industrial pollution on human health in China
Authors:   1. School of Public Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China, Xiang Huali ,   2. Center for Environment and Migration Studies, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China,   3. Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA, Yang Jun ,   1. Center for Environment and Migration Studies, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China; 2. Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA; 3. School of Information and Safety Engineering, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China, Zhang Youye ,   School of Public Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Published: June 2021

The impact of environmental pollution on human health has become a consensus. Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2002 to 2017, this paper analyzes the impact of industrial wastes on human health. With respect to human health, average annual frequency of physician visits per capita (AAFPV) is used as a measure for the short-term human health; all-cause mortality is used to illustrate the long-term human health. The results show that in the short term, with the level of industrial smoke dust increasing every 1 percentage, AAFPV would increase by 0.24 percentage. This effect is significant in East China and West China. Central China is affected by industrial waste water, with a rate of increasing AAFPV by 0.12 percent for every 1 percent increase of chemical oxygen demand per unit area. In the long term, water pollution is the main influencing factor of all-cause mortality.
Evaluasi Penyelenggaraan Angkutan Udara Lebaran 2009 di Bandara Internasional Sultan Hasanuddin Makassar
Authors: Yuliana Dina , Agustini Endang Dwi
Published: June 2021

The number of passenger air transport movements during Lebaran 2009 in Sultan International Airport Makassar reached 126,907 passengers, or up 126.91% from the previous year. Institutions associated with the implementation of transport Lebaran is Adbandara, PT. Angkasa Pura I (Persero), Police, TNI-AU, Public Health, Security and Scout. Problems in implementation include the supervision of the airlines to travel agents about searching Seat -is very weak resulting in user satisfaction lack of air transport services with information assurance seats, the plane delays still occur either because of technical and operational factors, waiting lists, Check in Counter.
Fasilitas Peralatan dan Sumber Daya Manusia (SDM) Terhadap Keamanan Bandar Udara Ahmad Yani Semarang
Authors: Siahaan Juanda
Published: June 2021

The success of airport operators in providing services to passengers is closely related to the provision of security for passengers. It has to be a major concern for every airport operator because airport security is a process to provide aviation safety. There are several things that have to be considered in creating quality and quantity of security equipments including security facilities and human resources as well. Aviation security personnel consist of 52% core personnel (employees of PT Angkasa pura), of outsourcing personnel and 37% of army personnel.
Alternatif Skema Pembiayaan Dalam Pembangunan Infrastruktur Bandar Udara di Indonesia
Authors: Yuliawati Eny
Published: June 2021

The availability of infrastructures is very important to support and determine the level of efficiency and effectiveness economy activities of a country. The availability of infrastructures is necessary for development. Thus, at the early stage, infrastructure development in a country is fully supported by the Government through the National Budget. However, along with economy growth of a country, demand on infrastructure service is also increasing. The problem is that those demands are not balanced with government’s ability in providing the infrastructures. Development of air transportation infrastructures has to be done faster in accordance with the increasing number of passengers. Therefore, it is necessary to look at business aspects in order to be feasible and economical. Various chances in model of Public Private Partnerships, project financing and chances in the use of both international proiect financing and domestic capital market for developing airports need to be considered in the future concerning the limited government's ability in financing.
Indigenous Narratives as Experimental Cinematic Texts in Nigerian Films
Authors: Usman Joshua
Published: June 2021

The paper seeks to consider the employment of folkloric tales (traditional stories) in indigenous Nigerian films as stimuli for establishing a definitive film industry. The integration of oral features into Nigerian films dates back to the era (1980–1990s) of early films in Nigeria: consider Ajani Ogun (1976), Daskin da Ridi (1990), Egg of Life (2003), Festival of Fire (1999) etcetera. Studies on Nigerian film and oral culture established that the strong narratives of Nollywood films are drawn from indigenous folk stories; indeed, the films are mostly adaptations of folktales. This article demonstrates Nigeria’s cultural history through investigating the role of culture as a strong contributor to media development in Nigeria. The research is based on textual analysis of three Nigerian films, namely The Fish Girl (2016), Hypocrisy (1992) and Daskin da Ridi (1990) as primary texts. The methodology is primarily textual. The study draws on a textual analysis of selected Nigerian films to determine their sources. The study adopts the African film theory which juxtaposes the pre-modern with modernity where the oral tradition and filmmakers are fused together, as highlighted by Tomaselli (1992). The hypothesis is that traditional folktales play an important role in the development of the Nigerian film industry (Nollywood). The study reveals that folktales and other oral genres set a footprint for film texts in Nollywood movies. Therefore, this indicates that there is a clear (although thus far, often ignored) bond between indigenous folk narratives and modern Nigerian films.
Indigenous Pottery Embedding Worldviews in Limpopo Province, South Africa
Authors: Motsamayi Mathodi
Published: June 2021

This article applies a culture-sensitive approach to an exploration of three topics related to African pottery: first, the core culture that constitutes a specific worldview, second, the socio-historical contexts of clay pots whose names are associated with verbal expressions that have been anthropologically analysed and found to be pertinent to communality, and, third, selected indigenous South African pottery mentioned in local Northern Sotho and Vhaven?a proverbs that convey local knowledge. Through interviewing potters and heritage practitioners and applying an emic view, I seek to contribute to a more accurate interpretation of African pottery meanings by emphasising the need for documentation processes to take into account indigenous languages in order to recognise the epistemological significance of indigenous pottery productions and their meanings in their respective cultures. I argue that the use of Western models to evaluate and understand local pottery meanings is problematic. A method needs to be developed to integrate African knowledge systems into mainstream knowledge production to address challenging aspects of theories currently used to describe and formulate pottery names and meanings.
Children and Childhood in Shona Proverbs
Authors: Makaudze Godwin
Published: June 2021

Childhood is not a neatly definable concept as it differs among cultures. Among the Shona, a child and childhood are defined in terms of age, marital status, behaviour and also relations to other members in society. The Shona, like other ethnic groups, have a plethora of ways through which their worldview is fashioned and conveyed, and these include songs, folktales, riddles and proverbs, among others. In this article, Shona proverbs are analysed in terms of how they present Shona people’s perception and conceptualisation of childhood. Afrocentricity is used to analyse the content of proverbs selected from the anthologies Tsumo Chimbo neMadimikira (Zvarevashe 1984) and Tsumo-Shumo (Hamutyinei and Planger 1987). Among its findings, the article observes that Shona childhood falls into two main categories: early childhood and mid-cum-adult childhood. Children are perceived as an integral component of any Shona marriage, and society is ambivalent regarding who is more important between the boy and girl child. Also, early childhood is perceived as a very precarious and critical stage that can either make or break a child, thus warranting responsible shepherding from parents and society. Child behaviour is also believed to be largely modelled after that of parents and so it is important that parents behave responsibly so as to positively influence their children. It also emerges that it is quite common for children to disappoint their parents, but that should not lead the parents into despair. While all stages show that childhood is considered a position laden with responsibilities, which should be carried out for the good of all, the mid-cum-adult childhood stage is viewed as one where one should start moving towards or even exercise total independence and self-reliance. Overall, it emerges that the Shona people’s perception and conceptualisation of children and childhood have a lot of positives that can be drawn from for the good of today’s humanity.
Manche Masemola: Rebel or Revolutionary? Resistance and Subversion in the Manche Masemola Narrative
Authors: Mokgoatšana Sekgothe
Published: June 2021

Manche Masemola’s narrative is predominantly a portrayal of a strong-willed character who faces brutal attacks for her commitment to her faith. She is described as a martyr, and eventually a saint. Her struggle to project her voice and willingness to make her own decisions are largely reported from one side, that is, from the perspective of the Church recounting how she defied her parents and community to accept the Christian religion. Commentators on this narrative miss Manche’s willingness to defy the same Church that was ready to promote her as a martyr. The purpose of this article is to argue that although Manche was described as an Anglican martyr, she was a revolutionary, and resisted the same Empire that hoped to colonise and Christianise her. She resisted colonial enslavement and continued to be initiated into koma, and refused to be baptised with Western clothing. Manche should be seen as a model for resistance against colonialism and female struggles against masculine dominance clothed in Christian education and conversion. The article uses archival records and secondary analysis to describe Manche’s pursuit to die for her commitment to her Sepedi culture. I will begin by examining Manche’s ritual journey to adulthood using koma, and conclude by discussing the pertinent question of why she was finally not baptised.
Assessment of the Financial Reporting Quality of South African and Indian Listed Companies
Authors: Haarburger Carla , Yasseen Yaeesh , Omarjee Irfaan , Varachia Zakiyyah
Published: June 2021

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the quality of financial reporting in South Africa and India. The accounting profession has been placed in the spotlight as a result of the high number of public failures and corporate collapses. The importance of high-quality financial reporting has been demonstrated not only by past corporate failures, but also due to the scarce level of capital that is required to be allocated within capital markets.
Design/methodology/approach: The study employed a 21-index scorecard developed by Beest, Braam, and Boelens (2009) to score the application of the qualitative characteristics in the financial statements of 50 entities from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The entities were selected based on the highest market capitalisation entities for the 2017 year-end.
Findings: The main finding of this study is that South African companies apply the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting to a higher degree than Indian companies. However, timeliness was a characteristic where India outperformed South Africa.
Originality/value: Studies have focused on the type of information presented in annual reports rather than on the quality of information. The need for high quality information is imperative, given the role played in capital allocation particularly in emerging economies. As such, the study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding the quality of financial information with a focus on emerging economies.
Gendered and Ecological Struggles in Southern Africa: Land and Seed
Authors: Andrews Donna
Published: June 2021

Situating feminist investigations of food in Southern Africa within a broader discussion of the ecological crisis and the appropriation of nature reveals important connections between ecological and women’s struggles. This article draws on ecofeminist scholarship regarding ecological struggles pertaining to land and seed in order to explore the politics of food and its relation to women, nature and society in Southern Africa. It highlights that inherited and assumed ideas of nature have a direct bearing on the dominant conception of food. The article emphasises that feminist agencies are often silenced in food struggles and food scholarship despite the gendered nature of foodwork and women’s defence against nature’s appropriation. In concluding, the article invites us to see food in its totality and develop a new food logic.
Trapped in Debt: Gendered Life and Western Cape Farms
Authors: Andrews Mercia
Published: June 2021

This article draws on interviews with women farm workers and trade union organisers as well as my observations as an activist working with farm workers in post-apartheid South Africa. It highlights women farm workers’ entrapment in past and present cycles of disempowerment, drawing attention to the paradox that the producers of food are often those who have least access to the most basic human rights, including the right to food. Poor working conditions and low wages create indebtedness and a dependence on farm owners and therefore perpetuate powerlessness. The article highlights the complexities of how these farm workers navigate worlds of food production and food purchasing.
Embracing Humanity and Reclaiming Nature: Neglected Gendered Discourses in the Struggles of Western Cape Farm Workers
Authors: Swanby Haidee
Published: June 2021

This essay reflects on the unheeded cry from South Africa’s most marginalised people—farm workers—for recognition of their personhood and right to dignity. Their continuing struggles for decent wages and living conditions in South Africa’s neoliberal agricultural system, which primarily values efficiency and profit, risk further entrenching a dehumanising system and reproducing similar conditions of exploitation. Among other radical writers, Frantz Fanon has alerted us to the need to strive for a “universal humanity” as a way out of this paradox, while many indigenous peoples’ movements have gone further to insist that we reclaim the sacredness of all of nature and recognise that humans and their economy are derivative from and subordinate to nature. These alternative and counter-colonial traditions often implicitly or explicitly invoke ideas about the feminine and the sacred in their definitions of resisting or transcending oppression. Such movements suggest that what is needed is to reclaim our sacred attitude to nature and to one another, and to fundamentally restructure and transform the blueprints of our societies to reflect this attitude.
The “Gay” and Psychopathology: Interrogating the Sexual Theories of Homophobes
Authors: Barnard David
Published: June 2021

This article seeks to explain and interrogate the sexual theories of homophobes observable on the African continent. I begin by exploring a possible explanation for the emergence and maintenance of certain homophobic sexual theories; Donald Moss’s arguments regarding the identification or disidentification economy will serve as a possible theoretical starting point. I then investigate three possible sexual theories of homophobes when mentally preoccupied with “the gay man.” Finally, I return to economies of identification as both a colonial perpetuation (in the form of adopting homophobic sexual theories) and as decolonial opportunity (in the form of conflictual identifications). I argue that homophobia and the constituent sexual theories could ideally be dissolved (among other settings) in educational spaces. In these educational spaces, I argue, the homophobe could be identifying with the “non-homophobic” pedagogue, which could bring about the dissolution of homophobia if the identification with the educator is strong enough.
To Save Lives: The Ethical Precedent set by South Africa’s Leadership during Lockdown
Authors: Pittaway David Anthony
Published: June 2021

None of the lockdown decisions made by governments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic can be considered to be self-evident outcomes of objective data. Executive members of each nation’s government considered the particular pandemic circumstances that they deemed to be important and relevant, and decisions were made based on limited epidemiological data in combination with a variety of contingent socio-political and economic variables. These kinds of decisions fall partly into the philosophical category of ethics, and they can be summarised under the umbrella question: What should we do? The precautionary principle must have played a large role in the decision-making process, considering the conspicuous lack of reliable data on which to base decisions. In this article, I turn to South Africa as a case study, and I tease out some of the precautionary factors that may have, in part, driven many major decisions prior to and during the South African lockdown. I argue that if the precautionary principle can be used as part of the justification for large-scale government interventions to save an unknown number of lives, then consistent use of the principle should warrant concerted responses by government to a variety of potential threats and problems in South Africa. I also argue that for government’s focus on saving lives to be consistent, preventative action in response to phenomena that take worryingly large numbers of lives annually, is necessary.
Solidarity at Issue: Pandemics and Religious Belief
Authors: Giddy John Patrick
Published: June 2021

A global pandemic such as that of the 2020 Covid-19 corona virus, causing great suffering and loss of life, brings home the difficult conditions that make for our fragile human life. But the question that religious belief poses, about “natural evil” in a world created by a loving God, satirised by Voltaire in the 18th century, masks the more existential problem, the possibility of greater human solidarity. In the background is the Deist view of God complementing the “polite society” of mutual benefit and guaranteeing the latter’s benevolent outcome. It is a worldview, as Charles Taylor (2007) explains, that has put aside the premodern idea of human transformation, that was symbolised by religious virtuosi, saints, theophanies, and so on, now looked upon with suspicion by modernity. But the possibility of transformation, of a generous human response to suffering, is what is called for in a pandemic. In Camus’ novel, The Plague, we see the more authentic response that resists being boxed in by religious enthusiasts to a constricted and ideological affirmation of a cosmic picture that obscures the fault-lines of bourgeois society.
Covid-19, Philosophy and the Leap Towards the Posthuman
Authors: Lamola Malesela John
Published: June 2021

A discursive canon around transhumanism and posthumanism as beliefs in the efficacy and necessity of technology as the beneficial transformer of human life “for the better” is well-established in the Western philosophical tradition. However, none of the theorists and protagonists of this technological reconfiguration of humanity could ever have predicted that what they envisaged would be propelled into manifestation with as dramatic and phenomenal momentum such as has been ushered in by the mainly technology-driven interventions introduced in various measures globally to curb the SARS-CoV2 virus. The effect of these responses to the pandemic, it is here demonstrated, have set humanity into a technogenesis, a transformative ontological process headed towards a machinistic and de-anthropic life idealised by posthumanists. Apropos, a set of three intertwined tasks are here executed. Firstly, I explicate my foregoing claim, namely, how at the helm of the variety of measures to control Covid-19 is a discernible socio-scientific movement that is directed at inaugurating and regularising a posthumanist consciousness and de-anthropic modes of sociality. Secondly, I venture a critical understanding of “the Covid-19 moment” that exposes the quadripartite alliance of a postmodernist Western philosophy, technoscience, commercial interests, and politics as the systemic drivers of this technocratic philosophical anthropology. Thirdly, or rather concurrently, taking the work of Nick Bostrom as the theoretical heuristic advocating human technological transformation, I normatively alert of the ramifications of this emerging human ontology.
Experiencing the COVID-19 outbreak socially: On some recent philosophical contributions
Authors: Alloggio Sergio
Published: June 2021

The coronavirus outbreak is currently scrutinised by professional philosophers from different traditions and geographical areas. By focusing on several contributions from European academic philosophers, this article assesses whether such philosophical works manifest and reproduce, consciously or unconsciously, neocolonial and Eurocentric understandings of the Covid-19 pandemic. Particular attention will be given to Agamben’s and Žižek’s interpretations to show the role played in their analysis by reductionist and regressive constructions of the social world. I will then draw on several contributions from African and Africana philosophers (Gqola, Asante, More, West and Outlaw), to set up a theoretical space in which the social experiencing of the coronavirus outbreak, as well as the self-understanding of academic philosophers, could be positively reconceptualised. This act of resignification has its aim in promoting adequate forms of institutional analysis and professional engagement, and it points to the emancipatory task philosophy embodies in the global South
A Gap Analysis of the Quality of Student Support Services in an Open Distance Learning Institution
Authors: Aberra Tsige GebreMeskel , Booyse Johan J.
Published: June 2021

This paper focuses on an investigation of the quality of student support services. The latter are important aspects in the development of a whole-person experience in any educational system. In the open distance learning (ODL) mode of education, student support services are even more important as they are the anchors of student success. Based on this, the main purpose of this paper is to observe the possible gaps between students’ expectations (the ideal standard) and their experiences (the perceptions formed) of student support services as provided by the University of South Africa (UNISA). The respondents of this paper were doctoral students of UNISA who live and work in Ethiopia. A multi-dimensional and “standardised” instrument was used as a tool to collect quantitative data. The theoretical framework adopted in analysing the results was the gaps model. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and dependent t-tests were the statistical tools employed. The findings show that there were gaps between the students’ expectations and experiences along the four dimensions of the instrument, namely Supervision Support, Infrastructure, Administrative Support and Academic Facilitation. It was therefore recommended that UNISA should focus on improving the relevant services it gives to its international students.
“Body of a Lion, Head of a Soldier”: The Grotesque in Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation
Authors: Addei Cecilia
Published: June 2021

Beasts of No Nation (2005) is a novel that invites attention to the plight of child soldiers. The protagonist of the novel, Agu, enjoyed an ideal life as a child with his family and always wished to go through traditional initiation as well as formal education before he was forcibly enlisted as a child soldier. At the battlefront, Agu engages in different types of violence and suffers various forms of abuse, which do not only cause him to lose his childhood but also his humanity, depictions of which draw the narrative into the mode of the grotesque. This article looks at how Uzodinma Iweala creates the picture of the child soldier through animal and bodily images to bring out the ambivalent nature of the child soldier as one caught between life and death, human and beast as well as between child and adult, through the grotesque, which brings up new concepts that are between life and death, fantasy and reality. The paper argues that the grotesque is of central importance to Iweala’s treatment of his central subject, namely, distorted personal development as a result of war. That is, the grotesque is not a chosen mode, but it is the inhuman depiction of the child soldier that draws the narrative into the grotesque mode.
“Born Free”? Youth Reflections on Post-1994 South Africa in Thought We Had Something Going
Authors: Tivenga Doreen Rumbidzai
Published: June 2021

The condition of being young and a “born free” South African is the central issue that young writers featured in the 2015 e-anthology Thought We Had Something Going, edited by Thando Sangqu, contend with as they make their own contributions to South African literary discourses and writings. The writers find their niche in an online media space to make personal reflections and representations on what it means to be youth in post-1994 South Africa. The focus of this article is specifically on the stories and thought pieces “Hashtag #WhiteGirlsInNyanga: An Anecdotal Reflection on Racial Affinity and Racial Identity in a Post-Apartheid South Africa,” “The Youth Is Dark and Full of Bullshit” and “Skhothane Behaviour.” I explore the paradoxes that characterise the writings and are associated with characters’ lived experiences; and drawing on the concepts of space and conspicuous consumption, I examine how remnants and legacies of apartheid continue to shape and define youth spatial, political and social experiences and lifestyles. The main contention in these writings and in this article is that the label “born free” is superficial and far from a true reflection of the conditions of being the youth in post-1994 South Africa.
National Identity and Xenophobia in Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain
Authors: Tembo Nick
Published: June 2021

Sigmund Freud describes hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness. Hatred is a form of animosity, frustration and hostility, often giving rise to a psychological descent into violence. This essay seeks to explore how Kopano Matlwa mediates notions of xenophobia in Period Pain to determine whether the narrative offers ways of reimagining relations between the “locals” and “outsiders” in South Africa. I am specifically interested in how Matlwa engages with the processes of othering in her third novel. I question how Matlwa employs language to “move people against other people.” I use the core concept of psychotraumatology to argue that the textures of hatred inscribed in Matlwa’s text are internalised echoes from apartheid culture and practices, which live out in the present social moment. Finally, I interrogate the extent to which Matlwa’s text might allow us to understand how she rewrites a new South Africa.
A Conversation with Nigerian Playwright and Public Intellectual Ahmed Yerima
Authors: Oloruntoba Albert Olatunde
Published: June 2021

The concept of the public intellectual is yet to be well engaged in Nigerian scholarship. While it has been implied in many critical works on writers, activists, journalists, lawyers, and others, the concept of the public intellectual has not been exclusively engaged to study historic and current Nigerian public figures. In this article, although much of it is an interview with the award-winning and prolific Nigerian playwright, academic, former Artistic Director of the National Troupe, and Director General of the Nigerian National Theatre, Ahmed Yerima, I briefly establish the public intellectual history in Nigeria before engaging the playwright on this subject and interrogating his status as a public intellectual or cultural critic. During the course of the interview, Yerima also touches on other subjects facing Nigeria and the intersection between one of his plays, Abobaku (2015), and Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman (1975).
When Supper was Ended
Authors: Onokpite Larry Erhuvwuoghene
Published: June 2021

This short story engages with the urgency around violence against women. It tells the story of Enita, a 14-year-old girl who finds herself in a web of sexual and physical abuses in places where she should gain protection. She is raped by her Parish priest, Fr Xavier, who her mother had willingly allowed her to go help with settling into his new rectory. Her boyfriend's brother, Siomanu, caught Fr Xavier raping her. Siomanu would rape her too in exchange for keeping Fr Xavier's rape as a secret.
Reading Jeremiah 14:1–10 Theologically and Ecologically Minded
Authors: Wessels Wilhelm J.
Published: June 2021

Jeremiah 14:1–10 is about a great drought. In this article, the response of the Judeans, a lament (14:2–6 and 7–9), is analysed and discussed. Verse 10, contra to what is expected, contains a negative response by Yahweh to their lament. Read in the broader context of Chapter 14, the passage forms part of Yahweh’s rejection of his people because of their transgressions and disloyalty. The article has a twofold aim, namely addressing theological and ecological interests. The article discusses the theological concerns raised by the drought as well as the theological and psychological benefits of the practice of lament. Reading 14:1–10 from an ecological interest, the issue of the importance of water, and its conservation, is considered.
Power to the People? Right of Access to Electricity in South Africa
Authors: Qasaymeh Khaled , Van Wyk Jo-Ansie Karina
Published: June 2021

The provision and distribution of and access to electricity are not only technical and economic matters. Access to electricity is a highly political and ideological issue and has consequences for public policy and human development. Since 2000, South Africa has experienced power outages (euphemistically called load-shedding) and the country has not kept up with increased electricity and socio-economic demands. Globally, access to electricity is increasingly regarded as a basic human right and an important contributor to socio-economic development. However, the position towards and the practice regarding access to electricity by the post-apartheid South African government are contradictory. Although both the South African Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 refer to fundamental human rights, the matter of access to electricity as a human right is not clearly spelled out in these documents. This article outlines international and African norms in respect of the right of access to electricity in the context of the international socio-economic development debate. It proceeds to examine the South African context, policies, legislation and constitutional court judgments in respect of socio-economic development with a special focus on access to electricity—a matter which is closely linked to political, public policy and development issues such as housing and the environment in South Africa. The article calls for the right of access to electricity to be declared a basic human right and to be legislated as such in the South African legal regime.
The Contradictions of “Party Supremacy”: Lessons from Nigeria’s Eighth National Assembly
Authors: Odubajo 'Tola , Ologbenla Derin
Published: June 2021

As one of the critical elements of democracy, a functional political party plays major roles in the political process of a state. One such role is the provision of a platform by which its members emerge as elected officials in government. A critical dimension of Nigeria’s democratic experience in the Fourth Republic is the issue of conflict of interests among party oligarchies and party members elected to political office. This article attempts to interrogate the causal factors of this development by analysing the triggers of divergences within political parties whose members supposedly share similar ideological leanings. Specifically, the article considers the causes and effects of the issues thrown up in the aftermath of the emergence processes of the principal officers in the two chambers of parliament of the eighth National Assembly. This it does in the context of the normative interpretation of “party supremacy”.  As samples, we isolate three cases, after which the qualitative method is employed to elaborate on the data gathered from secondary sources.
The Impact of Perceptions of Tribalism and Ethnicity on Public Administration in South Africa: A Case Study of the Vuwani in the Vhembe District
Authors: Musitha Mavhungu Elias , Mafukata Mavhungu Abel
Published: June 2021

This study investigated the impact of perceptions of ethnicity and tribalism on public administration in South Africa with reference to the protests of Vuwani communities in 2016 against their area being re-demarcated to fall under the LIM 345 municipality (later named the Collins Chabane Local Municipality) dominated by Xitsonga speakers. The study adopted qualitative and exploration designs and used a literature review and key informant interviews in order to obtain secondary and primary data respectively. This study revealed that Vuwani communities feared domination by the Xitsonga-speaking majority in the proposed new municipality. The council of the proposed new municipality consisted of 72 councillors, 74 per cent of which were Xitsonga-speaking councillors and a mere 26 per cent were Tshivenda-speaking councillors. It also found that perceptions of ethnicity and tribalism in Vuwani had rendered public administration ineffective, thus bringing service delivery to a halt for several months. The study recommended that policy-makers should abolish majority representation based solely on regionalism and should seek to forge national unity. It concluded that the establishment of public institutions based on ethnic homogeneity had the potential of bringing about peace and stability in areas characterised by ethnic disparities.
Dimensions of Governance and Child Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Subnational Analysis
Authors: Heaton Tim , Amoateng Acheampong Yaw
Published: June 2021

There is broad consensus in the literature on development that effective governance is one of the keys to development. It is against this background of the relationship between good governance and socioeconomic development that the African Union (AU), following its establishment in 2000, indicated good governance in its constitutive act as part of its policy framework for member states in line with the tenets of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The present study examined the relationship between good governance and less child deprivation using pooled data from Afrobarometer surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in sub-Saharan countries since 2000. The study examined the relationship between such dimensions of governance as democracy, voting, effectiveness and transparency as measured by trust and corruption as well as measures of child outcomes such as availability of toilet facilities, vaccinations, nutrition and mortality. The study found that the relationship between regional governance and children’s well-being was weak and inconsistent. It indicated that although a deepening of democracy might lead to improvements in the long-term outcomes of nutrition and child survival, these improvements would be relatively small. Further, results suggested that, in terms of good governance, trust was not particularly helpful and that corruption was not as harmful as many would suggest.
Human Trafficking and Security in Southern Africa: The South African and Mozambican Experience By Richard Obinna Iroanya
Authors: Dzimiri Patrick
Published: June 2021

Book Review
Women's Agency: Promoting, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in Tanzania and Kenya
Authors: Sambaiga Richard
Published: June 2021

Until recently, the participation of women in violent extremism (VE) on the one hand, and the engagement of women in efforts to prevent and/or counter violent extremism (PCVE), on the other, have largely been under-theorised. This article examines the agentic dimensions of women’s VE practices and a mechanism for preventing and countering VE in Kenya and Tanzania. It is argued that women, as actors who have agency, play multiple roles in VE and PCVE. Drawing on empirical data from Tanzania and Kenya, the article illuminates how women, as agents in their own right, can be mobilised or can actively mobilise themselves and their community to promote VE and/or PCVE practices both proactively and reactively. Contrary to essentialist and reductionist views, which bracket the nuances of women’s lived experiences with VE, this article lays bare women’s multiple roles in VE, the motives behind taking on such roles and the contexts that shape women’s social dispositions in relation to VE and PCVE.
Why They Don’t Fight: Explaining Non-violent Responses to Exclusion, Discrimination and Injustice among the Youth in Uganda
Authors: Sentongo Ashad , Muluubya Abbas
Published: June 2021

The youth has and continues to play a central role in various violent conflicts in Uganda. However, the majority of the youth does not participate in violence. This article explores factors that the youth utilises to respond to exclusion, discrimination and injustice without violence. Basing the research on grounded theory, a comparative study of participants from the Kampala and Jinja districts was conducted. Data was collected through interviews, focus group discussions and document reviews, and data analysis was conducted through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding to delineate explanations of the research problem. The findings revealed that the pursuit of self-advancement influenced the youth’s preference for non-violence to respond to exclusion, discrimination and injustice. Variations in the identity and cultural practices among victims of exclusion, discrimination and injustice notwithstanding, a range of internal and external factors combined to foster resilience and adaptation as responses to adversity among the youth who did not fight. During this process, resilience was not maintained as an end in itself but as a response undertaken to protect and pursue opportunities and pathways crafted towards self-advancement, especially of the individual and the family. Proactive action, self-regulation, problem-solving and the setting of clear expectations were found to be internal factors that facilitated resilience processes among those who did not fight. Positive peer influences, family environment, relationships with adults, education, groups and organisations that supported intellectual, emotional, moral, and behavioural competencies were some of the external factors that enabled victims of exclusion, discrimination and injustice to remain optimistic and to cope with adverse conditions. These factors can be cultivated among the youth through a range of national and community-level policies and programmes to promote non-violence and reduce youth participation in violence.
A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America
Authors: Chiguware Tendai
Published: June 2021

Book review
Folklore: A Tool for the Enhancement of Intercultural Communication Competence
Authors: Mafela M J
Published: June 2021

Foreigners can learn to speak a language, but still find it difficult to understand the culture of the speakers of the language. It is very important for one to understand the culture of the language speakers if one intends to be involved with them on a permanent basis. Knowing the vocabulary of a language is not enough for one to understand the culture of the speakers of the language. Some words are loaded with culture, which can be a stumbling block towards understanding their deeper meaning, thereby leading to intercultural miscommunication. One way of acquainting oneself with a foreign culture could be by staying with the people for some time. However, the shortest way of becoming acquainted with a foreign culture is by accessing folklore of the community concerned. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the importance of folklore as a tool towards acquiring intercultural communication competence in a multicultural society.
In the Shadow of (Mis)Understanding South African Dance by Some Tourists
Authors: Rani Maxwell
Published: June 2021

This article will explore the (mis)understanding of African dance by some tourists. Visitors to South Africa often look for “traditional African dancing,” and discredit the African contemporary dance forms. To understand this misperception, the author will draw from different social theories including those proposed by authors such as Hegel and Maine. Rooted in Maine’s theory, the article will explain how the Western world still perceives Africa as a traditional society whose traditions are static, unchanging, and in need of protection from Western influence. In line with what Hegel said, the generalisation of the continent of Africa as the “Dark Continent” that does not produce knowledge or has no history still influences today’s perception of culture in its countries. This article states that there is a great need for education and a shift in people’s mentality regarding how Africa and Africans are viewed and thus how its cultural components such as dance are perceived.
Impetus for Social Sustainability in South African Communities: Lessons from Social Enterprises in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
Authors: Kajiita Robert Mutemi , Kang'ethe Simon Murote
Published: June 2021

The aim of this article is to contribute to the pursuit of sustainable social development in South Africa through local empirical evidence using selected social enterprises. The article used a qualitative research approach, an interpretive paradigm and a case study research design to investigate the way in which social enterprises promote social sustainability in South Africa. Three social enterprises were purposively selected, from which eight participants were interviewed. The data were analysed using the content thematic analysis technique. The findings indicate that social enterprises invest and create value in people and for communities for a better future, facilitate and improve approaches to community interventions, provide platforms for nurturing tolerance and cohesiveness in communities, and create wealth for social change in the communities. The authors conclude that a strategic attempt by social enterprises to invest in programmes and ventures that bring long-term positive social change is a vital ingredient for social sustainability and social development.
A ABORDAGEM AFROBRASILEIRA NO LIVRO “GEOGRAFIA PARA O ENSINO MÉDIO”
Authors: Silva Alexandre Ferreira
Published: June 2021

A abordagem da ciência geográfica nas escolas é feita, em grande parte, a partir da utilização de livros didáticos, que apresentam diferentes temas em diferentes proporções. A proposta do presente trabalho é demonstrar e analisar como certos temas estão sendo tratados no livro de Demétrio Magnoli, especialmente aqueles relacionados às temáticas africana e afro-brasileira. Além disso, é feito um panorama geral sobre a abordagem geográfica, evidenciando as abordagens epistemológicas do autor e suas ponderações acerca dos assuntos.
NOGUEIRA, Natania Aparecida da Silva. As histórias em quadrinhos e a escola: práticas que ultrapassam fronteiras. Leopoldina/MG: ASPAS, 2017, 148 p.
Authors: Neto Geraldo Magella de Menezes
Published: June 2021

As histórias em quadrinhos (HQs), surgidas no final do século XIX com a publicação de The Yellow Kid nos jornais norte-americanos, teve inicialmente grande rejeição por parte de pais e educadores ao longo do século XX. Um marco importante dessa rejeição foi a publicação em 1954 de A sedução dos inocentes, do psiquiatra alemão radicado nos Estados Unidos Fredric Wertham, que denunciava os quadrinhos como uma grande ameaça Ã  juventude norte-americana, tentando provar “como as crianças que recebiam influências dos quadrinhos apresentavam as mais variadas anomalias de comportamento, tornando-se cidadãos desajustados na sociedade. (VERGUEIRO, 2012: 11-12). Essa rejeição felizmente foi diminuindo com tempo. Os quadrinhos passaram a ser vistos com grande potencial pedagógico nas escolas, contribuindo, por exemplo, na formação de novos leitores. No Brasil, várias obras foram publicadas a partir da virada do século XXI discutindo formas de utilização dos quadrinhos na escola e também no ensino de História.
documentário Dzi Croquettes (2009) e a construção de uma memória marginal, do subterrâneo e do esquecimento sobre a contracultura na ditadura civil-militar no Brasil
Authors: Chirilã Andrei
Published: June 2021

O presente artigo objetiva compreender a importância do documentário Dzi Croquettes (2009) como elemento de resgate de uma memória na historiografia da contracultura na década de 1970, buscando destacar não apenas o seu papel como elemento que retira o grupo teatral que dá nome ao filme do esquecimento, mas também como efetiva este processo de recuperação. De tal maneira, objetiva-se levar em conta não apenas como a memória e a dimensão pessoal se tornam pedras angulares na narrativa, mas como também a influenciam na forma como é transmitida ao público, destacando a posição do documentário entre uma posição de recuparação do passado e sua idealização e apreender como determinados aspectos são ignorados para se monumentalizar um passado para os espectadores.