bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fumonisins production potential of Fusarium verticillioides isolated from Serbian maize and wheat kernels
Authors: Krstovic Sasa , Jaksic Sandra , Bocarov-Stancic Aleksandra , Stankovic Slavica , Jankovic Snezana , Jajic Igor
Published: January 2018

The production of fumonisins by potentially toxigenic Fusarium
verticillioides isolates originating from Serbian maize and wheat kernels
was tested in vitro. A total of six F. verticillioides isolates were
incubated on yeast extract sucrose medium (YESA) for 4 weeks at 25 ?C in the
dark. Their toxin production potential was tested by applying a modified
HPLC method for determination of fumonisins in cereals, since the TLC method
gave no results. Analyses were performed on a HPLC-FLD system after sample
extraction from YESA and extract cleanup on a SPE column. Although the
isolates were tested for fumonisin B1, B2 and B3, only fumonisin B1 was
detected. The results showed that all tested isolates had toxigenic
potential for fumonisin B1 production. The average fumonisin B1 production
of the isolates ranged from 7 to 289 ?g/kg, thus indicating a highly
variable toxigenic potential among the isolates. Isolate 1282 expressed the
highest toxigenic potential for fumonisin B1 production (289 ?g/kg), while
isolate 2533/A showed a questionable potential for fumonisin production (7
?g/kg).
Disruption of Mitochondria-Associated Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane (MAM) Integrity Contributes to Muscle Insulin Resistance in Mice and Humans
Authors: Tubbs Emily , Chanon Stéphanie , Robert Maud , Bendridi Nadia , Bidaux Gabriel , Chauvin Marie-Agnès , Ji-Cao Jingwei , Durand Christine , Gauvrit-Ramette Daphné , Vidal Hubert , Lefai Etienne , Rieusset Jennifer
Published: January 2018

Modifications of the interactions between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, defined as mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs), were recently shown to be involved in the control of hepatic insulin action and glucose homeostasis, but with conflicting results. Whereas skeletal muscle is the primary site of insulin-mediated glucose uptake and the main target for alterations in insulin-resistant states, the relevance of MAM integrity in muscle insulin resistance is unknown. Deciphering the importance of MAMs on muscle insulin signaling could help to clarify this controversy. Here, we show in skeletal muscle of different mice models of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) a marked disruption of ER-mitochondria interactions as an early event preceding mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance. Furthermore, in human myotubes, palmitate-induced insulin resistance is associated with a reduction of structural and functional ER-mitochondria interactions. Importantly, experimental increase of ER-mitochondria contacts in human myotubes prevents palmitate-induced alterations of insulin signaling and action, whereas disruption of MAM integrity alters the action of the hormone. Lastly, we found an association between altered insulin signaling and ER-mitochondria interactions in human myotubes from obese subjects with or without T2D compared with healthy lean subjects. Collectively, our data reveal a new role of MAM integrity in insulin action of skeletal muscle and highlight MAM disruption as an essential subcellular alteration associated with muscle insulin resistance in mice and humans. Therefore, reduced ER-mitochondria coupling could be a common alteration of several insulin-sensitive tissues playing a key role in altered glucose homeostasis in the context of obesity and T2D.
Risk of Hypoglycemia Following Hospital Discharge in Patients With Diabetes and Acute Kidney Injury
Authors: Hung Adriana M. , Siew Edward D. , Wilson Otis D. , Perkins Amy M. , Greevy Robert A. , Horner Jeffrey , Abdel-Kader Khaled , Parr Sharidan K. , Roumie Christianne L. , Griffin Marie R. , Ikizler T. Alp , Speroff Theodore , Matheny Michael E.
Published: January 2018

OBJECTIVE

Hypoglycemia is common in patients with diabetes. The risk of hypoglycemia after acute kidney injury (AKI) is not well defined. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk for postdischarge hypoglycemia among hospitalized patients with diabetes who do and do not experience AKI.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We performed a propensity-matched analysis of patients with diabetes, with and without AKI, using a retrospective national cohort of veterans hospitalized between 2004 and 2012. AKI was defined as a 0.3 mg/dL or 50% increase in serum creatinine from baseline to peak serum creatinine during hospitalization. Hypoglycemia was defined as hospital admission or an emergency department visit for hypoglycemia or as an outpatient blood glucose <60 mg/dL. Time to incident hypoglycemia within 90 days postdischarge was examined using Cox proportional hazards models. Prespecified subgroup analyses by renal recovery, baseline chronic kidney disease, preadmission drug regimen, and HbA1c were performed.

RESULTS

We identified 65,151 propensity score–matched pairs with and without AKI. The incidence of hypoglycemia was 29.6 (95% CI 28.9–30.4) and 23.5 (95% CI 22.9–24.2) per 100 person-years for patients with and without AKI, respectively. After adjustment, AKI was associated with a 27% increased risk of hypoglycemia (hazard ratio [HR] 1.27 [95% CI 1.22–1.33]). For patients with full recovery, the HR was 1.18 (95% CI 1.12–1.25); for partial recovery, the HR was 1.30 (95% CI 1.23–1.37); and for no recovery, the HR was 1.48 (95% CI 1.36–1.60) compared with patients without AKI. Across all antidiabetes drug regimens, patients with AKI experienced hypoglycemia more frequently than patients without AKI, though the incidence of hypoglycemia was highest among insulin users, followed by glyburide and glipizide users, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

AKI is a risk factor for hypoglycemia in the postdischarge period. Studies to identify risk-reduction strategies in this population are warranted.
THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF SKHOTHANE ON YOUTHâ€™S (UNDER)DEVELOPMENT AT EKURHULENIâ€™S TO WNSHIP(S) OF SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Tshishonga Ndwakhulu
Published: January 2018

This article examines the socio-economic implications that the controversial sub-culture of skhothane has on the development or underdevelopment of youth at Ekurhuleni and surrounding townships. It interrogates skhothane within the post-modern expressive youth culture. In the township(s) of Ekurhuleni, skhothane is regarded not only as a controversial sub-culture but also as a lifestyle whereby young people compete in acquiring material goods with the ultimate purpose of destroying them. This practice co-exists alongside youth unemployment and underdevelopment which is exacerbated by poverty, rising unemployment and gross inequalities. The author argues that the practice of skhothane sub-culture does not only undermine the policies and programmes aimed at the socio-economic upliftment of young people, but turns the youth into materialistic consumers. In this article, young people are viewed as victims of post-modern lifestyles who are socialised under an intergenerational culture of poverty and underdevelopment. It uses primary data from selected interviews with skhothane members and general members of local communities and secondary sources from books, accredited journals and newspapers.
NURTURING OF CHILDREN THROUGH DRAMA AND THEATRE: THE CASE OF INTWASA KOBULAWAYO PERFORMANCES
Authors: Matiza Vimbai Moreblessing
Published: January 2018

Dramatic and theatrical performances have a long history of being used as tools to enhance development in children and youth. In pre-colonial times there were some forms of drama and theatre used by different communities in the socialisation of children. It is in the same vein that this article, through the Intwasa koBulawayo performances, seeks to evaluate how drama and theatre are used to nurture children and youth into different developmental facets of their lives. The only difference which this article will take into cognisance is that the performances are done in a different environment, which is not the one used in the pre-colonial times. Although these performances were like this, the most important factor is the idea that children and youth are socialised through these performances. It is also against this backdrop that children and youth are growing up in a globalised environment, hence the performances should accommodate people from all walks of life and teach them relevant issues pertaining to life as they live it now. Thus the main task of the article is to spell out the role of drama and theatre in the nurturing of children and youth through socio economic and political development in Intwasa koBulawayo festivals.
MUSICIAN AS CULTURE HERO: EXPLORING MALE-FEMALE RELATIONS IN PACHIHERAâ€™S AND SIMON CHIMBETUâ€™S SELECTED SONGS
Authors: Tembo Charles , Maganga Allan T. , Nenduva Aphios
Published: January 2018

This article is a comparative exposition of positive male-female relations in lyrical compositions of selected Zimbabwean singers. Particular attention is on one female voice, Pah Chihera and a male voice, Simon Chimbetu. The argument avowed in this article is that the selected musicians are sober in their appreciation of gender relations in African ontological existence. It further argues that, unlike feminists who view male-female relations as antagonistic, the two musicians celebrate cordial and mutual cohesion, which is part of Shona or African heritage. Against that background, the musicians are regarded as â€˜culture heroesâ€™ who connect Shona and other peoples of Africa with their rich and life-furthering heritage. We therefore advance the view that the selected artistsâ€™ social vision reflects women who are family centred and in concert with males in struggle, which is to provide a platform for promoting solidarity rather than schism. Critical appreciation of the music renditions of the selected musicians is guided by and oriented towards the Africana womanist paradigm.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES: A NKANGALA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY CASE STUDY
Authors: Ngubeni Steven P.
Published: January 2018

Municipalities by design are at the grassroots and the gateway for providing direct development interventions to the masses of the people of South Africa. There is, however, evidence that success in implementing youth development programmes is limited, owing mainly to the lack of performance management application at the local government level. Nkangala District Municipality (NDM) was used as a case to explore the extent to which municipalities apply the prescripts and principles of performance management to the youth development programmes. The study sought to establish whether municipalities have performance management frameworks and systems, and whether youth development matters are included in the same. Evidence from the study shows that there are still gaps to be addressed in NDM. Finally, the study suggests a Youth Development Performance Management Framework, which will also integrate youth participation, monitoring and evaluation.
IDEOLOGIES AND THEORIES FOR YOUTH PRACTICE WORK
Authors: Hlagala Ramadimetje Bernice , Delport Catharina Sophia
Published: January 2018

There are many youth workers who continue to design their interventions without any theoretical basis, despite a long history of youth work as a field of practice. The aim of this article is to present selected ideologies and theoretical frameworks underpinning youth work practice. These ideologies and theories, although predominantly borrowed from other disciplines, provide insight on how youth work should be practised.Based on a thorough literature review, the authors have selected different theories and ideologies that youth workers, like other professionals, are expected to know, understand and to adapt to youth work practice. These theories are important and would serve as theoretical frameworks on which youth work interventions will be based and, thereby, provide youth workers with the means to predict and analyse the situations of young people from different viewpoints to enable the development of different strategies to address relevant problems.The article concludes that theories and ideologies should be used as reference points, and youth workers mix and match different theories and ideologies depending on the nature of problem they are addressing at that particular time.
CHILDREN AND YOUTH AS AGENTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT IN SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Lethoko Mankolo
Published: January 2018

When the democratic government came into power in 1994 in South Africa, it faced formidable problems stemming from the structural and historical inequalities and imbalances created by apartheid. Among the challenges included climate change. The release of the 2013 Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) report indicates that climate change is a reality and its effects globally are getting worse daily. However, South African youth have not been adequately educated about climate change through formal basic schooling so that they can act as change agents.This article argues that the curriculum has to include relevant and the most recent content on climate change so that children can become agents of climate change in their homes and communities. The article uses content analysis of the National Curriculum Statement (2012) to determine the relevance and currency of climate change content in the present basic schooling curriculum. The article also makes recommendations on how the present content can be revised and made relevant to South African schools.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXTERNAL WHOLE-SCHOOL EVALUATION ON UNDERPERFORMING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE MPUMALANGA PROVINCE
Authors: Mathaba Richard Siphamandla Ryan , Dorasamy Nirmala , Parker Kudayja Mohammed
Published: January 2018

The study was conducted in the Mpumalanga province and focused on a sample of 18 externally evaluated underperforming secondary schools across all four districts of the province. The schools obtained an average pass rate of less than 30% in the 2011 Grade 12 examinations. The main objectives of the study were to analyse the purpose of whole-school evaluation (WSE) from a quality assurance perspective; to investigate the significance of a key component of WSE, namely assessing the quality of teaching, learning and educator development; to analyse the Grade 12 results of externally evaluated underperforming secondary schools pre- and post-evaluation; to analyse monitoring and evaluation reports for changes in teaching, learning and teacher development, as well as to identify factors impeding teaching, learning and teacher development in underperforming secondary schools. WSE is a system of evaluating the performance of schools as a whole. Corporate contribution to improve performance is measured, rather than simply the performance of individual staff members. Furthermore, WSE is one intervention to move schools that are in a critical situation along the path to becoming effective schools. Guidelines for quality assurance in education, especially at school level, are underpinned by the nine areas for evaluation (AFEs), namely basic functionality of the school (AFE1), leadership, management and communication (AFE2), governance and relationships (AFE3), quality of teaching and learning, and educator development (AFE4), curriculum provisioning and resources (AFE5), learner achievement (AFE6), school safety, security and discipline (AFE7), school infrastructure (AFE8), and parents and the community (AFE9). The mixed methods approach was used. This approach made it easy to reconcile findings through triangulation and complementing qualitative and quantitative data (both primary and secondary). The study relied on secondary data (external WSE reports and Grade 12 results), as well as primary data obtained from questionnaires administered to school management teams (SMTs) of the sampled underperforming secondary schools. The study revealed the great level of acceptance of the external WSE process by SMTs in Mpumalanga provinceâ€™s underperforming secondary schools, as a means of quality assurance in order to achieve improvement. Furthermore, it revealed the extent to which improvement and development in the underperforming schools occurred as a result of the external WSE process. It was found that the results of seventeen of the 18 schools (94.4%) had improved. Furthermore, the study confi rmed that what was revealed in the external WSE as areas for development came as a revelation to SMTs. As a result, the manner in which teaching, learning and teacher development (AFE4) as a key component of WSE is viewed by teachers and SMTs, has been positively influenced.
EMPOWERING MUSLIM CHILDREN THROUGH QURâ€™AN STORIES: THE CASE OF â€˜THE CAMEL AND THE EVIL PEOPLEâ€™ (2010) AND STORIES OF THE SAHABAH FOR YOUTH (2011)
Authors: Essop Ghazala
Published: January 2018

The aim of this article is to explore how literary stories are used to teach Muslim children to respect the commands of Allah and the values that undergird Islamic religion. Using biblical allusions drawn from the Koran/Qurâ€™an, stories for young readers such as The Camel and the Evil People (2010) and Stories of the Sahabah for Youth (2011) entertain as well as teach young Muslim readers to appreciate the divine messages of Allah. The lessons that children get from Qurâ€™an stories help them to build character and stick to Muslim principles. They shape personality, test moral uprightness and provide children with a guide to follow the will of Allah. A critical analysis of the stories in the above-mentioned literary texts reveals the multiple layers of themes and perspectives that the texts explore to demonstrate the greatness of Allah and the submissiveness that he expects from his subjects. Through reading Qurâ€™an stories, it is hoped that Muslim children would be empowered to defend Islamic principles, and to distinguish what is right from what is wrong.
PRACTICE AND MORE PRACTICE: ITS CENTRALITY TO YOUNG PEOPLE COPING WITH THE COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES OF THE WORKPLACE
Authors: Hollis-Turner Shairn
Published: January 2018

Both oral and written communication is influential and prevalent in modern societies. This research study focused on interpersonal communication practices in a business context. The aim was to determine whether youths between 18 and 23 years of age undertaking their six-month period of internship as novice employees were adequately prepared to meet the demands of the workplace. Data were collected from the employers at organisations that employed novice employees. This provided critical perspectives on the competency of young people to cope with the communication demands of the workplace. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used. Sixty eight (68) employers completed the questionnaires. Interviews were also conducted with six randomly selected employers at the organisations where the young people were undertaking their respective internships. The findings show that workplace communication is complex and that many young people struggle to meet the challenges of communicating adequately in the workplace. Deliberate practice is fundamental to the development of communication skills and expert performance in the workplace. Recommendations are made to better prepare young people to face the challenges and demands of the dynamic workplace.
A PROPOSED EVALUATION PLAN TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FACILITATED BY THE STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGENCY (SITA) IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Menlah Maura Mbunyuza-deHeer
Published: January 2018

This article reports on a proposed evaluation plan that has been developed to assess the work done by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). The SITA programme was implemented in response to the South African governmentâ€™s call to improve the lives of the populations in some rural areas through technology. The programme was meant to address slow development in Â rural Â areas Â thatÂ  lack Â technological Â innovations Â and Â advances. Â In Â the proposed evaluation plan a review is made of secondary data, deciding how strategic priorities are to be determined, as well as analysis of the rural context environment. The researcher gives an account of how the evaluation strategies are to be piloted and rolled out thereafter. Lessons learnt are recorded and reported upon. A proposed evaluation plan will be developed, based on the lessons learnt in line with the objectives of the project.
UN-BLURRING THE MYTHS AND REALITIES OF WOMEN AND CHILDRENâ€™S RIGHTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Sithole T N , Shai Kgothatso B
Published: January 2018

Awareness of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 1979) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC 1989) is relatively high within academic and political circles in South Africa and elsewhere around the world. In South Africa, this can be ascribed mainly to the powerful womenâ€™s lobby movements represented in government and academic sectors. Women and childrenâ€™s issues have been especially highlighted in South Africa over the last few years. In this process, the aforementioned two international human rights instruments have proved very useful. There is a gender desk in each national department. The Office on the Status of Women and the Office on Child Rights have been established within the Office of the President, indicating the importance attached to these institutions. These offices are responsible for co-ordinating governmental efforts towards the promotion and protection of women and childrenâ€™s rights respectively, including the two relevant treaties. Furthermore, there is also a great awareness amongst non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in respect of CEDAW and CRC. This can be ascribed mainly to the fact that there is a very strong womenâ€™s NGO lobby and NGOs are actively committed to the promotion of childrenâ€™s rights. Women are increasingly vocal and active within the politics of South Africa, but the weight of customary practices remains heavy. The foregoing is evident of the widening gap between policy theory and practice in the fraternity of vulnerable groups â€“ children and women in particular.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LAND AND CULTURE IN SELECTED TEXTS BY CHENJERAI HOVE
Authors: Muganiwa Josephine
Published: January 2018

This article explores the significance of land in Chenjerai Hoveâ€™s stories. The setting of the stories affects the choices of the protagonists, depending on their status on the land. Hoveâ€™s selected novels, Shadows and Ancestors, explore this phenomenon in the context of the Native Purchase lands of the then Rhodesia. The cultural disruption of moving to commercial land as opposed to the land of ancestors has an impact on identity of the characters, both personally and as perceived by others. At times, such perceptions contradict each other, but they also have implications for the charactersâ€™ economic and psychological well-being. This article therefore sets out to explore the relationship between land and culture as depicted in Hoveâ€™s novels. The main argument is that, while the Native Purchase areas accorded economic status to the Africans involved, it fractured their cultural identity as they had to live by the dictates of the colonial administration. Culture refers to a way of life and includes manner of dress, food, language, social interaction and many other aspects. This in turn adds insight to how the interface of administration of land affects Zimbabwean citizens as literature here holds up a mirror to real life.Â
LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION OF RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND IDEOLOGY IN SELECTED POSTCOLONIAL NIGERIAN LITERATURE
Authors: Kamalu Ikenna , Tamunobelema Isaac
Published: January 2018

One of the greatest threats to national development and the rights of individuals and groups in Nigeria and some parts of Africa is the growing increase in religious fundamentalism by major religions in the continent. The worsening economic fortunes of many African countries, poor and corrupt leadership, the increase in ethnic nationalism, oppression of the minority by dominant powers and ideologies, external influences from extremist groups (Islamic and Christian), among others, have been suggested as likely causes of religious fundamentalism in Africa. The postcolonial Nigerian nation has suffered calamitous losses from religious conflicts. Consequently, some of Nigeriaâ€™s 21st century writers have tried in their works to present a situation in which groups use language to construct individual and collective identities and ideologies, legitimise their actions and justify acts of violence against others. The grammatical resource of mood and transitivity employed by the writers in the text under consideration enables them to represent individual and group experiences as well as intergroup relations in social interactions. Therefore, working within the tenets of critical stylistics (CS) and critical discourse analysis (CDA), this study aims to expose the ideological motivations that underlie the expression of religious discourses in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichieâ€™s Purple Hibiscus, Chidubem Iwekaâ€™s The Ancient Curse and Uwem Akpanâ€™s Luxurious Hearses and their implications for national stability and development. The data reveal that the sociopolitical climate in postcolonial Nigeria breeds a culture of hatred, intolerance, violence, exclusion and curtailment of individual and group rights in the name of religion and these acts are expressed in diverse discourse-grammatical patterns.
â€˜THE HISTORICITY OF TEXTS AND THE TEXTUALITY OF HISTORYâ€™: A NOTE ON WHY READING ZIMBABWEAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY SHOULD BE HISTORICISED
Authors: Ngoshi Hazel Tafadzwa
Published: January 2018

Historical consciousness has always been at the centre of autobiographical narration and, through historical consciousness; the public experiences of narrating a subject are brought into the private act of narrating the self. There is, therefore, a thin line dividing history and fiction in autobiography and this demonstrates how autobiography is situated in history. This article argues that the demarcation of history and fiction by traditional scholars has to be revised in the wake of the realisation that the historian also makes use of metaphor and point of view in writing what is supposedly an objective ordering of events. Given this argument, the article proposes that the reading of Zimbabwean autobiography should be ahistoricised undertaking since the location of the autobiographical subject in the historical and political spectrum of Zimbabwean national experiences is critical to our understanding of the relationship between narrative and the context of its production. It further argues that the telling of oneâ€™s story in autobiography is a performance of historical identities, which makes the historicity of autobiographical texts central to our understanding of autobiographical subjects. It concludes that apprehending the historicity of a text and the textuality of history are necessary since autobiographical subjects congeal around history and the discursive background matters.
A battle cry against depravity: Lamenting generational dispossession in Tanure Ojaide’s Labyrinths of the Delta and the endless song*
Authors: Akingbe Niyi
Published: January 2018

Themes of despoliation of fauna and the ecosystem of the oil rich Niger-Delta in Nigeria are often embodied in the works of Tanure Ojaide. Notably, the economic pillage of the region constitutes a major focus of his poetry which draws inferences from his Urhobo oral history and tradition in order to articulate the disturbing effect of this devastation. Nevertheless, Ojaide in Labyrinths of the Delta (1986) and the endless Song (1989) devoutly criticises the deprivation and dispossession of the common men and women of the pre-colonial Niger Delta by the Ogiso and Orodje – the dreadful Bini and Urhobo traditional rulers who were eventually defeated by the masses. The paper’s overarching focus lies in its engagement with the poetic narrative of abuse of power constructed against the background of deprivation and within the context of a juxtaposition of the pre-colonial dispossession of the Niger Delta by her vicious traditional rulers against the postcolonial siphoning of her oil resources by the country’s successive political leaders. The paper adopts New Historicism as a theoretical framework to illustrate three discursive planks: to establish that tyranny is associated with the wielding of political power in pre-colonial Africa – and specifically in the Niger Delta; an effort to establish that the current economic dispossession in the Niger Delta is grounded in the faulty colonial administrative system and further reinforced by the neo-colonial forces of multinational companies. Finally, the paper succinctly states that resistance culture is inherently rooted in the African psychology, and that the transformation of post-colonial society resides in the resolve of the masses to effect a political change during a given period.
Towards a welcoming society: An examination of Stephen Alumenda’sThe girl who couldn’t dance and Anani the Albino boy
Authors: Chitando Anna
Published: January 2018

Children’s literature is a useful resource for transforming society for the better. In this study, I pay attention to Stephen Alumenda’s ideological commitment to disadvantaged children. I undertake a literary analysis of his works that focus on marginalised children in order to establish how he puts forward a proposal for a new society. The study examines how Alumenda’s children’s stories address disability and albinism. It critiques Alumenda’s approach, while appreciating his commitment to marginalised individuals and groups. The study highlights his sensitivity towards children living with disability and albinism. However, it questions his tendency of granting happy endings to his children’s stories. Overall, the study appreciates Alumenda’s willingness and cour­age to address neglected individuals and themes.
SYMBOLISM IN THE DRAMA OF JP CLARK AND FEMI OSOFISAN
Authors: Olaniyan Modupe Elizabeth
Published: January 2018

The interpretation of literary texts in African drama has become a hazardous task for many readers (especially non-African readers). It is often difficult to go beyond the superficial literal meanings of a text. Readers often take what characters say as what they mean and do and, unfortunately, most dramatists do not usually provide explanatory notes at the end of such texts to aid the readersâ€™ understanding. Hence, the aim of this article is to embark on an analysis of the works of John Pepper Clark and Femi Osofisan (both Nigerian dramatists) to see how they have used symbolism in their plays The Raft and Another Raft respectively to convey meanings other than the surface textual meanings to the readers while trying to reflect the socio-political situation in Nigeria after independence. This will be discussed with a view to enlightening the readers on African dramatic texts about what symbols stand for in African drama, such that when reading African plays, readers will be in a position to appreciate and understand such texts better.
BODIES OF TECHNOLOGY: PERFORMATIVE FLESH, PLEASURE AND SUBVERSION IN CYBERSPACE
Authors: Dejmanee Tisha
Published: January 2018

This article contextualises the body in cyberspace, using the specific examples of the performative body and the social networking site Facebook. Technology is established as a process which continually unfolds and illuminates new understandings of subjectivity, unfurling in parallel with the performative body â€“ and gendered identities â€“ that Judith Butler articulates. Here, the author conducts a close analysis of the technological affordances of Facebook as a site that fosters the construction of a phantasmic, performative subject that Butler describes. This argument relies on an understanding of technology and the body as having their meaning dynamically constituted through mutual interconnection â€“ an understanding of interface that is taken from the theoretical work of Donna Haraway and Vicki Kirby. The purpose of seeking out the performative body in cyberspace is to explore the possibility of technologically-derived, subversive bodies. This is done by examining the emergence of pleasure in human engagement with technology. This pleasure suggests that subjects are enticed by the creative possibilities which technology offers, as it leads to regenerations that, under the right conditions, yield subversive bodies.
FROM KITCHEN TO CORRIDOR OF POWER: YORUBA WOMEN BREAKING THROUGH PATRIARCHAL POLITICS IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA
Authors: Ajala Aderemi Suleiman , Wulemat Olarinmoye Adeyinka
Published: January 2018

Since the 1990s, a number of socio-cultural agencies have played a significant role in the rise of Yoruba women in civil politics. Amongst these are the increasing value of monogamy and womenâ€™s greater access to Western education; the culture of first ladies in government; and female socio-economic empowerment through paid labour. Despite their increasing participation, women are still marginalised in elective politics. Using the ethnographic methods of key informant interviews, observation and focus group discussions and a theoretical analysis of patriarchy, this article examines gender relations in Yoruba politics and in the nationalist movement in south-western Nigeria. The rise of Yoruba women in politics in south-western Nigeria is discussed, along with the factors influencing womenâ€™s participation in civil politics. The study concludes that patriarchal politics still exists in the Yoruba political system. Factors inhibiting the total collapse of patriarchal politics in south-western Nigeria include the nature of Yoruba politics; women being pitted against women in politics; gender stereotypes and household labour. Thus, to make Yoruba politics friendlier to all, it would be desirable to create more political openings for women.
SWORN VIRGINS, MALE AND FEMALE BERDACHES: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH TO THE SO-CALLED â€˜THIRD GENDERâ€™ PEOPLE
Authors: Xhaho Armela
Published: January 2018

The phenomenon of sworn virgins in Northern Albania applies to women who, by taking a vow of celibacy, dressed and behaved as men (Young 2001). Berdache males and females are aboriginal North-American Indians1 who assumed the dress, occupation and roles of the opposite sex by changing in this way their gender status (Blackwood 1984; Schnarch 1992). This article is based on a comparative approach which looked at different cultural variations of sworn virgins, male and female berdaches. The reason for examining such practices is to show how gender and sexuality can be seen as culturally defined phenomena, embedded in society and not necessarily in biological sex. Therefore, it is important to look and think beyond labeling individuals based on Western gendered and sexual prescriptions, as is evident in the terminology. These categories do not fulfil the notion of gender normatively; they can be seen as cross-cultural gender variations that need to be analysed in greater detail.
FADE TO WHITE OR STEREOTYPE: PATRIARCHAL POLICING OF GENDER NORMS IN TELEVISION AND FILMIC REPRESENTATIONS OF CHILDBIRTH
Authors: Nall Jeffrey Allen
Published: January 2018

Drawing on the examination of five feature films, including Twilight: Breaking Dawn â€“ Part 1, and more than half-a-dozen popular television programmes, including Parenthood, The L Word and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, this work argues that dominant cultural representations foster a narrow and potentially damaging, disempowering and dehumanising depiction of childbirth. Together these works foster a dominant conceptualisation and representation of childbirth that narrowly represents childbirth, emphasising themes including â€˜bitter birthâ€™ or birth as affliction, a reproductive double bind affirming womenâ€™s fundamental procreative role while also pathologising their reproductive processes, and the trivialisation of womenâ€™s birthing agency through the broad failure to recognize maternal magnificence. This work further argues that dominant representations of maternity pervading mass media, as indicated in the examined examples, normalise patriarchal gender roles, particularly emphasised femininity, and mark gender noncomformists as deviant. The promotion of such norms is clear in contemporary cultural depictions of childbirth, including birth-related hit films such as Knocked Up and The Back-up Plan. In the last of these an important component of patriarchal gender codes is further shown to include heteronormativity.
Editorial
Authors: Van Heerden Chantelle Gray
Published: January 2018

N/A
BEING GENDERED IN AFRICAâ€™S FLAGDEMOCRACIES: NARRATIVES OF SEXUAL MINORITIES LIVING IN THE DIASPORA
Authors: Batisai Kezia
Published: January 2018

Â Critical engagement with existing scholarship reveals that many postcolonial African states have set up legal frameworks which institutionalise heterosexuality and condemn counter-sexualities. Clearly discernible from this body of literature is the fact that non-complying citizens constantly negotiate â€˜the right to beâ€™ in very political and gendered ways. Ironically, narratives of how these non-complying citizens experience such homophobic contexts hardly find their way into academic discourses, irrespective of the identity battles they fight on a daily basis. To fill this scholarly gap, I first insert the question of diaspora into the argument made extensively in literature that gender, sexuality and homophobia are intrinsic to defining national identity in postcolonial African states. Subsequently, I capture the experiences of queer Africans that emerged out of fieldwork conducted in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, between 2011 and 2014. The focus is on the narratives of sexual minorities who migrated permanently to South Africa to flee draconian legislation and diverse forms of sexual persecution in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Nigeria. Juxtaposed with the experiences of South African sexual minorities, deep reflections of how queer foreign nationals have experienced their bodies beyond the borders of their respective homelands tell a particularly interesting story about the meaning of the postcolonial state, read through the intersections of gender, sexuality and diaspora discourses. Local and foreign sexual minoritiesâ€™ experiences are replete with contradictions, which make for rich and ambivalent analyses of what the reality of being a sexual minority in (South) Africa means. Contrary to queer Africans who construct living in South Africa as an institutionalisation of â€˜libertyâ€™, sexual minorities of South African origin frame the countryâ€™s democracy as an intricate and confusing space. Although analysed in this article, this conundrum paves the way for further engagement with the interplay between sexuality, homophobia and migration/diaspora discourses, which are often invisible to queer research on the continent.
Steps towards flipping classes in Higher Education (ESP)
Authors: Păcurar Elena
Published: January 2018

The paper investigates the gradual transition from traditional methods of language instruction to delivering teaching material in a blended format and reports on some of the findings of a research grant dedicated to measuring the impact of flipped learning on students' development of productive skills. This transition reconsiders the learning/teaching stages and aims at both reducing teachers' lecturing time in class and increasing students' speaking time, so that more emphasis is given to productive oral activities and to fostering fluency. The process of reversing the learning and teaching stages prompts changes in the curriculum planning, in restructuring part of the materials available and reconsidering the role of both language instructor and student. These aspects are submitted under the concept of flipped learning and pinpoint the first steps involved in creating video materials for students in Cultural Tourism. The author reflects on choice of material (units, topics), curriculum changes (task-based and competence-based syllabi), comparing different learning environments and also on the advantages and challenges of implementing flipped methods. The benefits of transitioning from traditional to blended-learning methods stem from several aspects regarding the educational spectrum and its stakeholders. At the institutional level, it serves the language policy of the university and its long-term strategy of developing more blended teaching corpus and of encouraging multicultural and intercultural awareness through foreign language learning and teaching. At the European level, the focus on the proliferation of blended strategies, on Open Educational Resources and on facilitating the development of transversal and cross-sector skills are proof of the changes that need to be adopted by all European universities. At the local level, students' needs and their preparation for a mobile, ever-changing labor market acknowledge the role of language instruction in formal and informal interaction, inside and outside the classroom.
Effect of Explosive Distance on Hyperbolic Cooling Tower
Authors: Shah Pooja , Patel Dipali
Published: January 2018

Cooling towers are designed to handle the heat rejected from the power plant by keeping it cool without damaging the whole structure. These are the large structures with small thickness. An attempt has been made to study the effect of blast load on cooling tower. Cooling tower has been analysed for blast load assuming fixity at base. The blast pressure is calculated using IS 4991:1968. Variable explosive distances has been taken to study the behaviour of structure. Structure is modelled and analysed in ANSYS 16.2. The effect of blast load has been analysed in terms of deflection, stresses and strain.
The Structure of Spanish Verbless Clauses
Authors: Garcia-Marchena Oscar
Published: January 2018

The variety and profusion of verbless utterances drawn from the oral corpus CORLEC has allowed to present a detailed classification of them. Verbless utterances with clausal content can be classified as clausal (non-elliptic) or non-clausal (elliptic) structures, also called fragments. Among the former, predicative verbless clauses are composed by a predicative head and the argument they select. This paper exposes the properties and structures of both verbless clauses and fragments found in the corpus, and analyses the syntactic and informational status of the NP selected by the predicative head of predicative verbless clauses.
Extracting Domain-Specific Features for Sentiment Analysis Using Simple NLP Techniques: Running Shoes Reviews
Authors: Moreno-Ortiz Antonio , Pérez-Hernández Chantal , Gómez-Pascual Cristian
Published: January 2018

This paper is a first attempt at designing a procedure to derive a domain-specific lexicon (both single words and multiword expressions) from an opinion corpus of specialized language. We use a corpus of reviews of running shoes as case study, compiled for this particular purpose. The main goal is to obtain a first approximation to the task of automatically extracting domain-specific expressions of sentiment to be used by our sentiment analysis software, Lingmotif.
Analysis of Mix Design of Concrete Using Ceramic Waste and Rice Husk Ash
Authors: Dhrolwala M Faizan , Kanani Kaushik , Patel Divyesh , Soni Dharti
Published: January 2018

This paper presents an experimental study on the properties of concrete containing ceramic wastes and rice husk ash. The ceramic industry inevitably generates wastes, irrespective of the improvements introduced in manufacturing processes, in the ceramic industry, about 15% -30% production goes as waste. In India during the milling of paddy about 78 % of weight is received as rice, broken rice and bran, the rest 22 % of the weight of paddy is received as husk, the 25 % of the weight of this husk is converted into ash during the firing process, which is known as rice husk ash (RHA). These wastes causes problem in present day society, requiring a suitable form of management in order to achieve sustainable development. In this research study the (OPC) cement has been replaced by ceramic waste powder & RHA accordingly in the range of 0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10% & 0%, 5%, 10%, 12% respectively. Ceramic aggregate has been replaced by ceramic waste aggregate accordingly in the range of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% by weight for M-25 grade concrete. Compressive Strength test was carried out on hardened concrete cubes after 7 and 28 days curing in water. Results show that concrete with partial cement and aggregate replacement by ceramic powder, RHA and ceramic aggregate has although minor strength loss but possesses increase in its durability performance. In current paper the analysis of various properties of ceramic aggregates, ceramic powder and RHA is carried out to validate adoptability of the same as normal aggregates and fine powder(cement) respectively. In both cases, sustainable efforts were made to reduce the quantity of material used in concrete. Reuse of this kind of waste has advantages in aspect of economic and environmental, reduction in the number of natural spaces employed as refuse dumps. Indirectly, all the above contributes to a better quality of life for citizens and to introduce the concept of sustainability in the construction sector.
A Suite of Monitoring Tools for Erlang
Authors: Cassar Ian , Francalanza Adrian , Attard Duncan , Aceto Luca , Ingolfsdottir Anna
Published: January 2018

Ensuring formal correctness for actor-based, concurrent systems is a difficult task, pri- marily because exhaustive, static analysis verification techniques such as model checking quickly run into state-explosion problems. Runtime monitoring techniques such as Run- time Verification and Adaptation circumvent this limitation by verifying the correctness of a program by dynamically analysing its executions. This paper gives an overview of a suite of monitoring tools available for verifying and adapting actor-based Erlang programs.
A Description of Asynchronous Online Discussions in Higher Education
Authors: Fernández-Polo Francisco Javier , Cal-Varela Mario
Published: January 2018

This study provides a preliminary characterisation of asynchronous online discussions as a learning tool in higher education (Garrison 2003; Ho & Swan 2007). Our materials consist of the written record of 16 online discussions, totalling circa 165,000 words, from a one-semester course on general English-Spanish-English translation. The participants are second-year students from different nationalities, mostly Spanish, using Spanish and less frequently Galician as lingua francas. We start by describing the various situational factors surrounding the events (including the role of the discussions in the course, the variety of participants and the nature of their relationship), which may explain some highly recurrent language and organisational features encountered in the resulting texts. Secondly, using Antconc, we carry out an exploratory analysis of the lexical and collocational patterns of the exchanges. The findings reveal a very strong interactive component (Herring 1999, Condon & Čech 2010), with two dominant functions, the creation of affiliation and the prevention of conflict. The analysis shows a widespread use of praise, hedging and other forms of politeness in the posts, and, more generally, a clear concern for the interests of other participants in the discussion and an effort to acknowledge their voices. In the paper, we also look into the evolution of the exchanges over the time-span of the course by focusing on one case study. The analysis reveals the progressive crystallisation of the genre in the student’s interventions, a process which involves a clear evolution from a rather tentative kind of post, mostly monologic, informational and author-centred, to a progressively longer post with a more complex structure, and especially a heightened awareness of the dialogic and multi-party nature of the exchanges (Herring 1996). The results of the study may have considerable pedagogical interest. We believe that computer-mediated communication (CMC), including asynchronous online discussion forums, is bound to play an increasingly significant role in the future of higher education.