bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IMPLIKASI RATIO DECIDENDI HAKIM MAHKAMAH KONSTITUSI DALAM PUTUSAN NOMOR 2/PUU-XX/2022 TERHADAP HAK POLITIK MANTAN NARAPIDANA PSIKOTROPIKA
Authors: Herlina Mery
Published: September 2022

Persyaratan calon kepala daerah dan wakil kepala daerah dalam Pasal 7 UU No. 10 Tahun 2016 tentang Perubahan Kedua Atas Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2015 tentang Penetapan Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2014 tentang Pemilihan Gubernur, Bupati, dan Walikota Menjadi Undang-Undang, telah ditentukan sejumlah 20 (dua puluh) persyaratan. Adapun tujuan persyaratan tersebut sebagai seleksi awal untuk menyaring dan mendapatkan calon pimpinan daerah terbaik dalam kontestasi pemilihan kepala daerah (pilkada). Di antara ke 20 persyaratan, terdapat persoalan konstitusionalitas norma pada salah satu persyaratan calon kepala daerah yaitu Pasal 7 ayat (2) huruf i UU No. 10 Tahun 2016 terkait dengan frasa “tidak pernah melakukan perbuatan tercela yang dibuktikan dengan surat keterangan catatan kepolisian”. Dengan adanya persyaratan tersebut hak konstitusional mantan narapidana psikotropika yang telah menjalani masa pidananya terhalangi untuk dapat mencalonkan diri dalam pemilihan kepala daerah dan wakil kepala daerah (pemilihan gubernur/wakil gubernur, walikota/wakil walikota, dan bupati/wakil bupati). Berkaitan hal itu beberapa waktu lalu melalui judicial review ke Mahkamah Konstitusi dengan perkara No 2/PUU-XX/2022  telah dilakukan pengujian UU No. 10 Tahun 2016 pada Pasal 7 ayat (2) huruf i dan berimplikasi terhadap hak politik mantan narapidana psikotropika yang dapat mencalonkan diri dalam pemilihan kepala daerah sepanjang mantan narapidana tersebut mengakui pernah dijatuhi pidana penjara, telah menjalani hukuman, jujur dengan terbuka mengakui segala latar belakang jati dirinya kepada publik.
PENEGAKAN HUKUM LINGKUNGAN MELALUI UPAYA HUKUM NON PENAL MENURUT UNDANG-UNDANG NOMOR 32 TAHUN 2009 TENTANG PERLINDUNGAN DAN PENGELOLAAN LINGKUNGAN HIDUP
Authors: Herlina Nina , Duana Rima
Published: September 2022

Undang-undang Nomor 32 Tahun 2009 tentang Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup mengatur mengenai penegakan hukum lingkungan melalui upaya Penal (hukum pidana) maupun Non Penal (diluar hukum pidana), sedangkan penggunaan sanksi pidana adalah sebagai sanksi subsider atau sebagai ultimum remedium atau sebagai obat terakhir. Dalam penegakan hukum lingkungan melalui upaya hukum non penal, terdapat beberapa kelemahan antara lain pada umumnya proses perkara perdata rełatif memerlukan waktu yang cukup lama karena besar kemungkinan pihak pencemar akan ngulur-ulur waktu sidang atau waktu pelaksanaan eksekusi dengan cara mengajukan banding atau kasasi sementara pencemaran terus berlangsung dengan segala macam akibatnya, jangka waktu pemulihan sulit dilakukan dengan cepat karena memerlukan waktu yang cukup lama, dengan tidak menerapkan sanksi pidana, tidak menutup kemungkinan pelaku pencemaran atau pencemar lain yang potensial untuk tidak melakukan deterren effect (efek pencegahan), dan penerapan sanksi administrasi dapat mengakibatkan penutupan perusahaan industri yang membawa akibat kepada para pekerja, pengangguran akan menjadi bertambah, dapat menimbulkan kejahatan dan kerawanan sosial ekonomi dalam masyarakat.
PENGAMANAN ASET BERUPA TANAH MILIK PEMERINTAH KABUPATEN CIAMIS
Authors: Sukarman Hendra , Prasetiya Wildan Sany
Published: September 2022

Peran Barang Milik Daerah dalam pembangunan adalah untuk menghasilkan keuntungan melalui beberapa kontribusi sesuai dengan metode pemanfaatan aset, memaksimalkan manfaat dari sumber daya barang milik daerah agar tujuan penyelenggaraan pemerintahan daerah tercapai. Konstruksi hukum yang ideal pengaturan pengelolaan aset daerah yang mencerminkan asas pemerintahan yang baik adalah substansi hukum yang harmonis dengan Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 27 Tahun 2014 tentang Pengelolaan Barang Milik Negara/Daerah sebagaimana telah diubah dengan Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 28 Tahun 2020 tentang Pengelolaan Barang Milik Negara/Daerah dengan tidak mengesampingkan kondisi khusus dari daerah setempat.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah sebagai upaya meningkatkan kualitas Pengelolaan Barang Milik Daerah dan mengoptimalkan Pemanfaatan Barang Milik Daerah Kabupaten Ciamis. Melalui pelaksanaan pengkajian Pengamanan Aset/Barang Milik Daerah Kabupaten Ciamis tersebut diharapkan pengelolaan Barang Milik Daerah dapat dikelola secara optimal, efektif dan efisien dan terdapatnya hasil kajian dan evaluasi Pengamanan Aset/Barang Milik Daerah Kabupaten Ciamis sebagai bahan masukan bagi Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Ciamis dan DPRD Kabupaten Ciamis.Hasil penelitian ini dapat bermanfaat dalam pengembangan ilmu hukum khususnya terkait dengan kebijakan pemerintah dalam pengamanan aset tanah milik pemerintah Kabupaten Ciamis.
Complicity and Responsibility in Contemporary African Writing: The Postcolony Revisited by Minna Johanna Niemi
Authors: Moolla Fiona
Published: September 2022

Book Review
Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Responses and Challenges
Authors: Wang Xuyan , Sun Xiaoyang
Published: September 2022

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant influence on all aspects of society, and it is necessary to comprehend the responses of various stakeholders as well as the challenges that higher education has encountered in the aftermath of the outbreak. This study systematically analyses the measures taken by higher education stakeholders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges faced by higher education in the post-COVID-19 era. To analyse the actions taken by higher education stakeholders and the challenges that remain, this study critically analyses government policy documents, reports from international organisations and perspectives of experts in the field of higher education, studies from Chinese journals, and international scientific literature. While stakeholders responded quickly during the outbreak, providing financial and material assistance, developing online learning, and facilitating international student mobility, the study finds that these measures are insufficient when compared to those in other sectors, and higher education stakeholders’ responses to COVID-19 have been fragmented, uncoordinated, and fraught with conflict and ambivalence. The study finds that higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic faces multiple challenges, with COVID-19 exacerbating inequities in educational access and educational achievement due to uneven educational infrastructure and resource allocation. The availability of infrastructure and the lack of preparedness of faculty and students have dimmed large-scale experiments in online education. Future international student mobility patterns may need to be restructured.
Pre-Primary English Teacher Education in Macau: Investigating a Teacher Educator’s Beliefs and Practices
Authors: Reynolds Barry Lee , Shieh Jin-Jy , Ha Xuan Van
Published: September 2022

This qualitative case study explores a language teacher educator’s beliefs and practices regarding pre-primary English teacher education in Macau. The focal participant was an experienced English language teacher (20 years) and teacher educator who is a native speaker of American English. The data were collected over five years, and include written reflections, classroom observations, course syllabi, and interviews. The findings reveal that the teacher educator held six main beliefs regarding various aspects of language teacher education for the pre-primary level, namely, beliefs about (1) the purpose of pre-primary English teacher education, (2) being a teacher educator, (3) the nature of the teaching methodology course, (4) the students, (5) pre-school learners and learning, and (6) the development of the teaching methodology course. The educator’s beliefs were largely reflected in practice, as revealed in the course design, material selection, teaching, and the design of student assignments and other forms of assessment. The educator adjusted his/her practice over time in response to students’ needs, self-awareness, and the university policies. The teacher educator’s beliefs and practices were shown to be mutually informing.
The Auditor’s Report Tests Positive for Covid-19
Authors: Cherry Caroline
Published: September 2022

Purpose/objectives: The objectives of this article are to obtain an understanding of difficulties encountered by auditors during the Covid-19 pandemic and to determine how they addressed these difficulties. This is to add to and verify the accuracy of the existing body of literature that speculates on the possible effects of the pandemic on external auditors.
Design/methodology/approach: Literature from several professional bodies, practitioners and academics is examined. The effects of Covid-19 on audits are explored through examining auditors’ reports, including the Key Audit Matters (KAMs) raised by auditors during audits conducted since the start of the pandemic.
Findings: A selection of audit reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) reveals how Covid-19 plagued the audits of 2020. The audit reports themselves confirm these concerns and reveal that Covid-19 is not only linked to a significant number of key audit matters but could also be significantly associated with the type of key audit matter raised.
Practical implications: This article aims to bridge the gap between speculations on the effects of Covid-19 on financial external audits and the actual effects of Covid-19. This provides insight into what the real challenges faced by auditors were during the pandemic and how significant they were to conduct an effective audit over this period. Through this, understanding future audits in stressed environments, such as pandemics, can be better managed.
Originality/value: To the author’s knowledge, no such research examining the actual effects of Covid-19 on external financial audits have yet been conducted and this research, therefore, adds to the current body of academic research by enhancing the value of audit reporting and adding credibility to the current speculative literature around the perceived effects of Covid-19 on audits.
Marriage and Culture within the Context of African Indigenous Societies: A Need for African Cultural Hermeneutics
Authors: Baloyi Gift Tlharihani
Published: September 2022

This article discusses the challenges which the institution of marriage faces within the African indigenous societies. Marriage is understood to be one of the most vital mechanisms in maintaining the consistency of all societies on earth. Scholars, such as John Mbiti, understand marriage to be a drama in which everyone becomes an actor or actress and not just a spectator. While this sounds truly ideal, the reality is that most Africans understand marriage to be an institution primarily knotted within African cultural norms and traditions with disparity roles between the couple. The article argues that such an imbalance unleashes toxic masculinity and manhood ideologies which are chiefly designed to deny women the rights to be fully actresses in the theatre of marriage. It also argues for the need of liberative frameworks within which to challenge the dominative traditional and cultural dogmas which are creating disparities between men and women in marriage. Musimbi Kanyoro’s cultural hermeneutics model is employed to suggest a way forward to create an equal partnership between men and women in marriage.
Neither White nor Black: The Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the Colour Issue (1881–1982)
Authors: Fortein Eugene Andre
Published: September 2022

This study investigates the role and understanding of race, particularly “Coloured” identity on the formation and life of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church. Particular focus is given to how the DRMC has dealt with and responded to the colour issue since its inception. An attempt is made to indicate how the history of the DRMC and “Coloured” identity in South Africa are inextricably bound up together. More emphasis is placed on “Coloured” being perceived as neither White nor Black and how the initial critique from the DRMC comprised of “Coloureds” being “less” than White, but superior than Blacks. The study concludes with the influence of Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement on the DRMC.
Gender Inequality in the Church: Addressing Patriarchy within the Liturgical Spaces in the Johane Masowe Chishanu Church in South Africa
Authors: Musoni Phillip
Published: September 2022

This article discusses gender inequality in the Johane Masowe Chishanu Church (JMCC), a Zimbabwean church that has established branches in South Africa. The article reports on a study that grappled with the question of how the JMCC addresses patriarchal structures that have pervaded and replicated in most African Indigenous Churches (AICs). Using an African cultural hermeneutics theory, the current study sought to build on the valuable inputs of the late Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel (1959–2020), who dedicated her work to the cause of gender inclusiveness and the eradication of social injustices. Plaatjies-Van Huffel, whose extensive contribution as an academic and a minister in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), is revered throughout theological and academic settings, particularly in southern Africa. Accordingly, the study found that although the JMCC has celebrated 90 years of its existence, women and girls have not been given an equal opportunity in officiating the sacraments and other liturgies. Hence, the study recommends that the time is right for women and girls in the JMCC to follow in the footsteps of Plaatjies-Van Huffel in the struggle to liberate themselves from traditions and cultural bondage. Further, the study recommends that some religious and cultural traditions, which forbid women from occupying these sacred spaces simply because they are female, must be addressed. The data for the study was collected through conducting interviews and consulting secondary sources, such as published books and journals.
Laughing Along Racial Lines: Humour in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Authors: Donian Jennalee
Published: September 2022

South Africa’s transition to a democratic state in 1994, with its liberalised free-speech policies and race-based reforms, had an immediate and transformative effect on comedy. There was a massive increase in the establishment of comedy clubs and festivals, the production of comic media-like sitcoms and films, and more recently, the expansion of new forms of online and digital humour (via YouTube channels and podcasts), as well as the racial diversification of comic talent. Amid this comic revolution, this article identifies the specific, distinctive character of post-apartheid comedy in South Africa, exploring the ways in which the content, style and delivery of humour produced by Black comics differ from those constructed by White comics. It contends that, while the former increasingly engage with issues of race, culture and politics with unprecedented candour, such taboo-breaking moratorium is antithetical to (most) contemporary White comics, whose performances—across various platforms—are marked by jocund humour and political (albeit not always socio-cultural) disavowal. Furthermore, it explores the extent to which these race-based comic trends are influenced by, respond to and negotiate both the vestiges of the past and current racial-social-political discourses. Albeit in a vastly distinct way, this article concludes that the humour produced by these comics—irreverent and subversive versus conservative and facetious—nevertheless allows them (and by extension society) to negotiate the vestiges of the past and the disquiets of the present in order to serve the overarching drive of promoting social cohesion and healing.
Quality Maternity Care: Implementation of the Guidelines for Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnant Teenagers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors: Shongwe Zwelihle Blessing , Shakwane Smangele
Published: September 2022

The government of a country is responsible and accountable for the provision of quality healthcare services to its citizens. Teenage pregnancy and its complications occur worldwide. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) are considered the third leading cause of maternal mortality in South Africa. The current study investigated the implementation of the 2016 Department of Health Guidelines for Maternity Care in South Africa for HDP in teenagers. A retrospective quantitative research design was used. A sample of 173 maternity records of pregnant teenagers diagnosed with hypertension were systematically sampled from the period of January 2019 to December 2019 in six district hospitals and one community health centre in one district in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The respondents were aged between 13 and 19 years. A pretested structured checklist was used to record the data. The Social Sciences Statistics Software IBM SPSS version 26.0 was used to analyse the data, and simple descriptive statistics to present the findings. The findings revealed that maternity care for pregnant teenagers with hypertension was not implemented according to the prescribed GMCSA. None of the pregnant teenagers received aspirin as prophylaxis against the development of hypertension; 82% were not assessed for oedema during the initial visit; and 90.17% were not assessed during antenatal care (ANC) periods. Mental state assessment was done on only 1.7% of the pregnant teenagers. The study found discrepancies in the implementation of the GMCSA for HDP, compromising maternity care among teenagers. Strategies for improving the quality of maternity care for pregnant teenagers are deemed necessary.
Health-related Quality of Life of Men on Hormonal Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Authors: Maree Lize , Jansen van Rensburg Jacoba , Sichinga Tikondwe
Published: September 2022

Irrespective of the fact that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in South African men, little is known about the lives of men living with prostate cancer. This study aimed to describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of men treated with hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. A cross sectional design, calculated sample size and convenience sampling method were used to recruit 113 men (n=113) treated at a tertiary hospital in the Gauteng Province. The EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-PR25 questionnaires were used to collect the data. The data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics, and the Kruskall-Wallis H-test was used to compare the mean responses (p≤0.05). The ages of the sample (n=113) ranged from 52 to 96 years, with a mean of 68.8 years (SD±7.3). Overall health had the highest mean score (M=61; SD±19.1), compared to global health (M=60.5; SD±18.8), and HRQoL (M=60; SD±24.2). Social functioning was the domain that scored the lowest (M=72.6; SD±30.8), while hot flushes was the hormonal treatment-related symptom with the highest mean (M=46; SD±40.4). Hormonal therapy affected all the HRQoL domains of the men in our sample. However, the group 50 to 59 years of age and those in the first year of treatment had a better HRQoL compared to those 60 years and older and those in the second year of treatment. Nurses can enhance the HRQoL of these men through questioning, assessment and timely intervention.
A Quantitative Study to Explore Clinical Competence of Newly Qualified Registered Nurses in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
Authors: Mugerwa Pumla , Iwi-Jaja Chinwe , Jordan Portia
Published: September 2022

Newly qualified registered nurses (NQRNs) are expected to work independently and be competent in applying the decision-making and problem-solving skills gained during their training. However, there are certain factors in the clinical environment that hinder their clinical competence. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the relationship between clinical learning environmental factors and the clinical competence of NQRNs. Data were collected from 176 registered nurses working in the medical and surgical units of two public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. These data were collected using an adapted version of a pre-existing structured questionnaire called the Competency Inventory for Registered Nurses (CIRN). Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The majority of participants were older registered nurses whose highest education was a diploma in nursing. This study showed that there is a significant association between clinical environmental factors and cognitive, affective and psychomotor competencies. The study also revealed that the development of clinical competence is reliant on both the individual and context. Our findings suggested that managers and educators should enhance the type of clinical training and support offered to improve clinical competence.
The effect of a Maternal Mentoring Programme on Pregnancy Readiness among Indonesian Women: Results of a Cluster Randomised Control Trial
Authors: Nurunniyah Siti , Nurdiati Detty Siti , Julia Madarina , Lewis Emma Clare , Hadi Hamam
Published: September 2022

Many Indonesian women are not properly prepared for pregnancy prior to conception. The goal of the present study was to test the effect of a maternal mentoring programme on Indonesian women’s pregnancy readiness before conception. The maternal mentoring programme was expected to increase pregnancy readiness among this population. A cluster randomised control trial (CRCT) involving preconception women was conducted in three sub-districts of Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. There were 122 clusters with a total of 384 eligible participants who were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (n = 189) or the control group (n = 195). The maternal mentoring programme provided preconception health education; health monitoring; and text message reminders for the intervention group. The control group received standard care. Pregnancy readiness was measured using a pregnancy readiness score consisting of 15 indicators adapted from the National Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire including: pregnancy readiness, age, parity, level of education, employment status, income, body mass index (BMI) and time spent preparing for pregnancy. Statistical tests included the independent t-test, and multilevel mixed effects logistic regression was used to measure effect of the programme. The results demonstrated that the intervention group had a significantly higher average pregnancy readiness score change from pre-intervention to post-intervention (4.5) than the control group (1.0) (p < 0.005). The intervention group was almost 12 times more likely (OR = 12.5; 95% CI: 6.6–23.6) to be prepared for pregnancy compared to the control group adjusting for age, parity, employment status, level of education, BMI and income. The study concluded that the maternal mentoring programme improved readiness for pregnancy among a cluster sample of Indonesian women.
Technical Municipal Radius Clause Interpretations to Avoid Coronavirus Liability and Perspectives from the OECD and Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969—Guardrisk Insurance Limited v Café Chameleon CC (case no 632/20) [2020] ZASCA 173
Authors: Kilian Neels
Published: September 2022

Approximately fifteen years ago, most insurers inserted a radius clause to avoid paying claims based on financial losses and/or damages resulting from bacteria or viruses—known as notifiable diseases—that originate outside the radius. Other insurers tried to regulate liability for losses as a result of bacteria or otherwise, by inserting a force majeure clause (which is not a radius clause) in their insurance contracts. In this way, the insurer was not liable to pay for business interruption claims, irrespective of where the bacteria or viruses had originated. To avoid paying claims where a virus or otherwise originated within a specific radius, many insurers in OECD member states are willing to refund all paid premiums to their policyholders. Other insurers have given technical radius clause interpretations to avoid liability (coronavirus did not originate within the specified radius) or to grant premium payment holidays to policyholders as long as Covid-19 exists. The OECD considers these radius interpretations or arguments unreasonable, and for this reason it drafted a policy on gap cover to be implemented by its members. South Africa is not yet a full OECD member, and this article investigates whether a South African court would have a similar approach to radius clauses, which are considered unreasonable. To understand unreasonableness, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, which regulates the interpretation of treaties, is also discussed in this article.
Misappropriated Development: Exploring Accountability as the Rate-determining Step to the Realisation of the Right to Development in Select African Countries
Authors: Ozoemena Rita
Published: September 2022

The right to development seeks to provide the enabling environment for the participation, contribution and well-being of persons in their freedom to enjoy their socio-economic development. The realisation of the right to development, therefore, imposes a duty on the state to ensure that the basic needs of the people are met without any impairment. The challenge in promoting the quality of life of the people as envisaged in the right to development often falls on a strong public service where accountability is a core component. Misappropriation of allocated funds, especially in the public sector, results in misgovernance of the institutions of state. Africa also struggles with the misappropriation of public funds, which hinders the provision of basic goods and quality services for the well-being of the population. Accountability, therefore, is the rate-determining step to the social, economic, political and cultural development of the people. In this article, the concept of the rate-determining step seeks to eliminate the challenges to the process of development to engender social transformation, with specific reference to Nigeria and South Africa. Rampant corruption and misgovernance in many provinces, especially the Free State, undermine South Africa’s strength in fulfilling its development plans. Nigeria is an oil-rich country, yet the region where the oil is produced remains impoverished. This article focuses on accountability as the essential element in curbing misgovernance and misappropriation and examines the development agenda of these regions and the rate-determining step to the realisation of these development objectives, with a view to advancing a development model that puts the individual at the core of its development programmes and processes.
The Obligations of Governments and Big Pharma Regarding Equitable Vaccine Supply
Authors: Mate Lyatitima Ernest
Published: September 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc the world over, simultaneously creating opportunities for some, including ‘Big Pharma.’ Governments continue to have the obligation for managing the pandemic, and many governments delegated the responsibility for vaccine supply to Big Pharma. Developed countries generously funded vaccine development, while reserving the first option to purchase the vaccines for themselves, thus being accused of vaccine hoarding. Concurrently, Big Pharma has disclaimed liability for any side effects caused by the virus, and any obligation to share its vaccine intellectual property. This left most of the world, particularly the Global South, in a precarious position regarding vaccine supply. This article discusses the obligations of governments to their own people and to the rest of the world and the obligations of Big Pharma, specifically regarding equitable vaccine supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. To articulate its arguments for vaccine equity, the author relies primarily on the right to dignity and attempts to balance this right against the seemingly conflicting interests of the Global North. The vaccine equity issue is an intersectional issue perpetuated by systemic inequalities affected by a myriad of factors including historical power imbalances. It is argued that all parties need to act to overcome the pandemic, especially states and companies in the Global North. This would be consistent with international policy and legal environment and the requirements of global justice.
Statelessness and COVID-19 in South Africa
Authors: Neluvhalani Vhonani Sarah-Jane
Published: September 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the plight of the stateless in South Africa. Statelessness is a pandemic on its own and has been regarded as ‘a forgotten human rights crisis.’ The consequence of statelessness is the inability to access internationally and democratically recognised human rights standards and protections due to a stateless person not having a nationality. The declaration of the State of Disaster in South Africa in March 2020 and the ensuing stages of lockdowns, testing and access to vaccinations have been put into place to curb the infection rate of COVID-19. Such interventions are available to nationals, non-nationals, refugees and asylum seekers, but those who are stateless encounter challenges in accessing socio-economic rights granted by the government. The inability of the stateless to access basic services such as access to health facilities, food, shelter, sanitation, vaccinations and protection have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite international and regional laws guaranteeing the protection of those who are stateless and the South African constitutional dispensation, socio-economic hardships affect the stateless who do not have a nationality. Against this background, this article outlines what statelessness is, it examines good practices in countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Kenya and Uganda in relation to statelessness and access to COVID-19 vaccinations. It suggests that in addition to good practices, ubuntu must be the basic value that underpins the transformation of nationality laws. Even though some advances have been made to provide a separate registration platform for the stateless to access vaccinations, much work needs to be done still before a permanent solution is found.
Déjà Vu: A Fictional take on the Repeated History of Pandemics and IP Law
Authors: Akram de Gama Rafia
Published: September 2022

This artistic work takes one into the mind of someone at the forefront of academic and activist work returning to activism.  The work explores how the past is being repeated today, yet again. The movement forward to change our laws to provide healthcare from the AIDS pandemic to the COVID-19 pandemic has been painfully slow and there is a need yet again for academic activists.
Populism, Electoral Democracy and the 2019 Presidential Election in Namibia
Authors: Kariseb Kennedy , Kasita Thomas
Published: September 2022

The last few decades have seen the revival of populism, both as an ideology and praxis of political anatomy. This is no surprise given the realities that have underscored the twenty-first century. Although momentous in the far west, populism has somewhat revealed itself distinctly in sub-Saharan Africa with the rise of socio-political movements and the use of populist rhetoric as a means of electoral traction. An evident manifestation of populism in Africa has been through elections, with populists using these democratic processes (or the opportunities that come with such electoral processes) to get their messages across to the electorate. An immediate consequence of this causality between populism and electoral processes is the uneven changes in formerly settled political establishments. Using the 2019 Namibian presidential election as a matrix, particularly the populist alterations to Namibian politics brought about by once presidential hopeful Panduleni Itula, Namibia’s first independent presidential candidate, and the emerging social movements and their use of populist rhetoric, this article seeks to analyse the impact of populism on Namibia’s electoral democracy. The article argues that populism, at least as it played out in the 2019 Namibian presidential election, serves as an indicator and consequently as a determinant of the declining political hegemony of the South West Africa People’s Organisation—the country’s leading liberation movement.
Defamation of the President of Zambia: Contextualising the Decriminalisation Debate
Authors: Phiri Christopher
Published: September 2022

The last two decades have seen a growing global movement towards decriminalising defamation. Numerous calls have been made at various levels for states to repeal all criminal defamation and ‘insult’ laws. Yet many states continue to maintain such laws on the statute books. Zambia is a case in point. This article focuses on the law that criminalises defamation of the President of Zambia, which the authorities have continued to apply with vigour. Diverging from extant judicial precedent upholding the constitutionality thereof, the article argues that that law is unconstitutional and falls foul of international standards on freedom of expression. The article culminates in a call for the decriminalisation of defamation of the President.
Compulsory Vaccinations of Minors in International Law as Discussed in Vavřička v the Czech Republic—Implications for South Africa
Authors: Dube Angelo
Published: September 2022

On 8 April 2021, the European Court of Human Rights delivered judgment in a case involving a possible violation of the right to respect for private life. This was in the case of Vavřička and Others v the Czech Republic in which the general legal duty to vaccinate children under nine years of age against diseases was challenged. This was the first judgment of the court on compulsory childhood vaccination. This judgment is very relevant to the current global legal, political, scientific, and economic climate, in light of the ongoing rollout of vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. The case naturally invokes the question of whether enforced childhood vaccinations violate the child’s right to privacy and the child’s and the parent’s freedom of religion. A further and more piquant question that flows from this enquiry is whether such compulsory childhood vaccinations in the South African context would violate the South African Constitution. Although these questions are posed in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, this article is not about the compulsory vaccination of adults. It is only limited to the compulsory vaccination of children.
Blending Behaviourism and Constructivism: A Case Study in Support of a New Definition of Blended Learning
Authors: Cronjé Johannes C.
Published: September 2022

Definitions of blended learning that refer to a combination of face-to-face and computer-mediated instruction focus on the transmission of information rather than learning. It has been argued that a definition of blended learning should provide for a blend of learning theories methods and technologies. When blending learning theories, behaviourism and constructivism should not be viewed as mutually exclusive opposites. This article presents a case of a distance learning workshop with asynchronous and synchronous learning and technologies ranging from WhatsApp to YouTube. The workshop contained a blend of direct instruction (behaviourism), construction (constructivism), an integration of the two, and an immersive experience of serendipitous learning. Various modalities of learning occurred during the same learning event. Sometimes the two modalities occurred simultaneously, suggesting that behaviourist and constructivist learning can be blended.
China’s New World Order Model of Engagement: A Critical Comparison with the Old European Colonial Powers’ involvement in Africa
Authors: Rapanyane Benjamin
Published: September 2022

China’s engagement model with Africa has received little scholarly attention from international relations scholars and practitioners in the past. Scholars who have written more about China’s engagement with Africa have far more focused on other significant aspects emanating from alternative sister disciplines of econometrics, economics, political science, and so forth. While this is the case, this paper sought to extensively delve into the subject of China’s Africa engagement model and compare and contrast China’s Africa engagement model with that of the British and French colonial models of the earlier imperial period. This paper argues fundamentally that China’s Africa engagement model—although not far different from that of the European colonial powers—advances pillars that champion a soft foreign policy stance while it hides its extensive disregard for African countries and their economies. Methodologically, this paper relied on complete interdisciplinary discourse analysis and prevailing continental relevant literature on the subject of China-Africa relations, British-Africa relations, and French-Africa relations.
An Analysis of the Development of State Capture and Its Indicator in South Africa, 2016–2018
Authors: Mamokhere John
Published: September 2022

As an international and domestic threat to countries, the phenomenon of “state capture” has suddenly gained the attention of scholars and South Africans who have an interest in political issues. Given the fundamentality of its continuity in the context of South Africa, this article solely analyses this phenomenon within the period of 2016–2018. The central aim is to understand the development of this phenomenon and its indicator in the stated period. The adoption of the periodisation approach in this article does not necessarily sideline the fact that the phenomenon of state capture is characterised by the presidency of Jacob Zuma but only gained momentum during the period post-2016. Methodologically, this article relied on a desktop research approach in the form of document review and made use of thematic content analysis to attend to the central objective of the article. Equally important was the adoption of Afrocentricity as the alternative theoretical lens to interpret the nature of this subject. The preliminary findings of this article illustrate that state capture manifests in a form of lobby and influence in government policies and operation, thus leading to poor governance policies and aggravated socio-economic developmental problems. The article recommends a strong call for transparency and effective corruption and state capture watch mechanisms.
Transformative Belief: Flight and Transcendence in Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s The Theory of Flight
Authors: Oumar Tasmiyah
Published: September 2022

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s novel, The Theory of Flight, uses the theme of flight to depict issues of self-belief, freedom, and identity in postcolonial Africa. Ndlovu portrays the importance of belief as a means of transcending and dealing with one’s difficulties. Her dislike of dualities and categorisations is evident in her unification of the natural and the supernatural in the novel, as well as the characterisation of the protagonist as a “hybrid” being. The novel’s anti-binarist stance exemplifies the divisions that have echoed and developed from colonialism, such as sexism and racism. Such issues are prevalent in modern-day South Africa owing to the dehumanising system of apartheid, and can be seen through the country’s high rate of gender-based violence and racial inequality. The Theory of Flight suggests that self-belief is humanising and allows individuals to take back their power and free themselves from racist classifications, allowing for a postcolonial society to heal and move forward. This article begins with a brief summary of events in the novel relevant to this analysis. Thereafter, the usefulness of the theoretical frameworks of spiritual realism and postcolonialism are discussed. The theme of flight in the novel is then explored, as well as its significance in the context of the text. Together with this, further links between tropes and images of flight are drawn, allowing for an in-depth analysis of the significance of flight in Ndlovu’s novel.
Popular Art and the Reconfiguration of Political Intolerance in Kenya
Authors: Kebaya Charles
Published: September 2022

Political intolerance is a recurrent feature in any general election in Kenya. The charged political atmosphere during elections has often seen heated verbal tiffs among politicians and supporters of opposing political leanings degenerate into intimidation, violence, eviction of tenants from their houses, discrimination at the workplace, denial of job opportunities, and even murder of political opponents, among many other atrocious acts. This article explores how popular artistic productions deployed by the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition in the run-up to the 8 August 2017 general elections to galvanise the electorate in its nationwide campaigns implicitly sparked intolerance among their political opponents. The article examines popular art forms such as popular songs, cartoons, memes and popular religious songs that centre on this historical period in the country and are directly associated with the NASA coalition. The article shows how these creative art forms morph into vehicles of political aspirations, codifying political visions and manifestos. They become central to political struggle and contestations over power, and when reconfigured, potentially anchor political intolerance.
African Theatre and Politics: The Evolution of Theatre in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe—A Comparative Study, by Jane Plastow
Authors: Ravengai Samuel
Published: September 2022

Book review
Red Rain
Authors: Fagbayibo Babatunde
Published: September 2022

This short story is about a Nigerian and South African couple, Lanre and Nomvula. Both met at the university and married after graduation. Their seemingly happy and comfortable middle-class life is interrupted by Lanre’s mysterious disappearance between Lagos and Johannesburg airports.
Echoes from the Global South: Reflections on the Student Public Intellectual, Hashtags and Neoliberal Themes in the #FeesMustFall Student Protests in South Africa (2015–2016)
Authors: Ismail Sooliman Quraysha Bibi
Published: September 2022

The student protests in South Africa (2015–2016) reflected multiple dimensions of the crisis in higher education. These included epistemic, economic, political, psychological and social dimensions, raising serious concerns about the social compact in a post-1994 South Africa. What I examine through an eclectic approach which incorporates a first-person methodology and critical discourse analysis are the nuances and meanings that surfaced when students captured specific events and then articulated the events and the unfolding experiences in a vocabulary that provided a translation for their emotions and pain. This was done by the students by both linking and challenging protest hashtags or referencing texts that had only recently become accessible to them. As they learnt, they shared, and as they shared they realised that there were others experiencing similar challenges, such as the student protests in Chile (2011–2012). Sharing experiences is an act of solidarity and the benefits of solidarity strengthened the language needed to articulate what the students encountered in specific moments. I show that the South African students echoed issues that were found in the higher education protests in Chile, whilst also drawing lines in the sand with regards to the challenges in their own lived context. What is most significant for me is that in both the South African and Chilean protests an interesting phenomenon is evident that has not been acknowledged—this is the rise of the student-academic public intellectual. This paper highlights these developments to challenge the narrative of “uncivilised” and violent black students by contextualising and animating their articulations, questions and their understanding of the ideology and system that was suffocating them.
What kind of post COVID-19 Recovery? Unpacking the World Economic Forum’s Reset 2021 report.
Authors: Patel Ashraf
Published: September 2022

The global Covid-19 pandemic crisis is the gravest global disaster of modern times. Above all it is important to reflect on the sustainability of the mode of hyper globalization of the past three decades, which was witnessed throughmultiple interconnectedness of global-regional-national-local value chains, enabled by the internet digital economy, offshoring, outsourcing, rapid urbanization and a borderless world of travel and commerce. It is Globalization that enabled the rapid ‘warp like’ spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, destroying over 2 million lives and disrupting every nation and economy.  Humanity was presented with a unique opportunity to cooperate with the United Nations (UN) around a common historical crisis. Sadly, it rapidly descended into a mostly rabid nationalistic form of vaccine nationalism and selfishness, which became the moniker of international relations, especially with regards to the Covid-19 vaccine development, starkly divided by geopolitics and mistrust
Nigerian LIS Research in the Post-Covid-19 Era
Authors: Tella Adeyinka , Enakrire Rexwhite Tega
Published: September 2022

Editorial
Assessment of ICT Competencies among Librarians in University Libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Authors: Endouware Christy Benake-Ebide , Omehia Anthonia Eghieso
Published: September 2022

This study reports on the assessment of ICT competencies among librarians in university libraries in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The reason that necessitated this study was based on the enormous range of tasks which librarians are saddled with in rendering services to users of libraries, thus requiring adequate knowledge and skills to use ICT. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A population of 72 librarians in four university libraries in Bayelsa State was used for the study. A questionnaire was the instrument for data collection, based on a five-point Likert scale used to measure the ICT competencies of respondents. Data collected were analysed using frequency distribution. Findings from the study revealed that a majority of the librarians had a basic knowledge of ICT competencies such as word processing, storing and copying data from primary and secondary storage devices, retrieving documents from storage devices, electronic presentation, internet surfing, search engines, electronic document delivery, to managing library operations, except in areas of operating systems and software. The study provided insight on how to meet the changing and evolving information needs of users through the incorporation of learning ICT skills/competencies in the digital era. The study recommends the improved implementation of in-house training regarding skills and knowledge in ICT competencies, promoting awareness of ICT competencies in organisational culture, and the acquisition of recent ICT tools, being fundamental for better serving users’ information needs.
Assessment of Library and Information Services in Support of Researchers and Librarians at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, Nigeria
Authors: Makinde Olayinka , Jiyane Velile , Mugwisi Tinashe
Published: September 2022

The study that directed this article aimed to assess the opinions of industrial researchers and librarians regarding library and information services provided by the research library of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Nigeria. The library of the modern era is expected to develop naturally, growing bigger to accommodate different kinds of information resources and services for better information provision to its users. This study set out to determine if library and information services at FIIRO were indeed answering this call. A mixed-methods design was adopted with the use of questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and observation for data collection. It was found that both groups, the industrial researchers and the librarians, were not satisfied with the library and information services offered by the institute’s library. Poor funding, lack of political will by the management and government authorities, and the lack of internet connectivity were highlighted as some of the main problems facing library fitness. In order to improve these services of information provision, the study recommends several innovations, mainly that librarians should be involved in management decisions, especially in the formulation of library policies and strategies.