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In Zimbabwe, the ZAZIC consortium employs two-way, text-based (2wT) follow-up to strengthen post-operative care for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). 2wT scaled nationally with evidence of client support and strengthened follow-up. However, 2wT uptake among healthcare providers remains suboptimal. Understanding the gap between mobile health (mHealth) potential for innovation expansion and scale-up realization is critical for 2wT and other mHealth innovations. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study with the objective of identifying 2wT program strengths, challenges, and suggestions for scale up as part of routine VMMC services. A total of 16 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with diverse 2wT stakeholders were conducted, including nurses, monitoring & evaluation teams, and technology partners–a combination of perspectives that provide new insights. We used both inductive and deductive coding for thematic analysis. Among 2wT drivers of expansion success, interviewees noted: 2wT care benefits for clients; effective hands-on 2wT training; ease of app use for providers; 2wT saved time and money; and 2wT strengthened client/provider interaction. For 2wT scale-up challenges, staff shortages; network infrastructure constraints; client costs; duplication of paper and electronic reporting; and complexity of digital tools integration. To improve 2wT robustness, respondents suggested: more staff training to offset turnover; making 2wT free for clients; using 2wT to replace paper VMMC reporting; integrating with routine VMMC reporting systems; and expanding 2wT to other health areas. High stakeholder participation in app design, implementation strengthening, and evaluation were appreciated. Several 2wT improvements stemmed from this study, including enrollment of multiple people on one number to account for phone sharing; 2wT inclusion of minors ages 15+; clients provided with $1 to offset SMS costs; and reduced SMS messages to clients. Continued 2wT mentoring for staff, harmonization of 2wT with Ministry e-health data systems, and increased awareness of 2wT's client and provider benefits will help ensure successful 2wT scale-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically explores the use of satire and humour by fast-foods outlets in South Africa and Zimbabwe to advertise and market their menu through digital media platforms, Facebook and Twitter. Using Nando's South Africa and Mambo's Chicken, in Zimbabwe, as case studies, we examine how satire and humour are used as advertising strategies, and as a reflection of these countries' economic and political environments. Consumers are overwhelmed with information coming from different sources such as Television, radio, newspapers and Internet. The paper's theoretical approach is gleaned from advertising and satire. We argue that through their encounter with food, consumers tend to understand the reason behind their 'empty stomach', and mediate on prevailing socio-political and economic issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative research is a critical analysis of news media reports, political debates, and political and family behaviours to interrogate the centrality of death, corpses, funeral and mortuary rituals in African politics by using the death of Zimbabwe's former President, Robert Mugabe as a case study. At death, it became clear what a polarizing and yet unifying figure Mugabe was. His dead body became a contested political asset. The paper explores how Mugabe's family resisted President Mnangagwa's attempts at gaining control of Mugabe's dead body for political expediency after he disposed of him in a military coup in 2017. The paper concludes that, true to Mugabe's wife's assertions that he will rule Zimbabwe from the grave, Mugabe, as a dead man, caused some considerable political tensions between his family and ruling magnifying the coup architects' legitimacy challenges and his power in Zimbabwean politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While on paper Zimbabwe has a comprehensive child protection legal framework, the occurrence of child sexual abuse (CSA) is high. Drawing from findings of a qualitative study, a case study design, and a research population consisting of a forum of organizations providing CSA interventions: the Victim Friendly System, this paper presents how some cultural myths, cultural practices, cultural rites, and religious practices may contribute to CSA in Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling was used to select 38 professional working in the VFS, 4 key informants, 17 VFS monthly meeting minutes, and 300 court files of tried and sentenced CSA cases from Harare and Gokwe. CSA is a gross child and human rights violation that places some religions, myths, beliefs, and cultural practices at crossroads with social work principles. Various social work interventions are suggested as ways to navigate the paradox: shaped by cultural, traditional, religious, and mythical factors contributing to CSA and legal frameworks to address CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a follow-up to the research conducted in 2021 titled James Anta: missionary, martyr, and the unsung hero of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The paper was a reconstruction of Anta's life, ministry, and martyrdom. The research found out that although the blood of Anta was the seed of Methodism in Zimbabwe, the church was reluctant to honour him. The research also noted that the Wesleyan Methodist church created a biased history of African cultural epistemology, which has no place for people who die young and unmarried. The paper concluded with a call for the Wesleyan Methodist church to rewrite its historiography, giving space to its martyrs like Anta. After reading the 2021 publication, the Wesleyan Methodist church leadership made urgent actions towards the re-historicization of Methodism in Zimbabwe with Harare West District dubbing its April 2022 Synod as James Anta Synod. The Synod further resolved to name the school they were intending to build after Anta. Moreover, Kadoma District agreed to rename Banket Circuit (where Anta was assassinated) as James Anta Circuit. The Wesleyan Methodist church further erected a monument of Anta and made the site a pilgrimage shrine. The fast responses by the church to honour Anta in 2022 justify their zeal to rewrite their history after 136 years of reluctancy. This paper used both primary and secondary sources to gather data. The paper concludes by challenging missionary churches to honour African agents whose history and sacrifice were seldomly considered and yet they were the key people in the Christianisation of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living in social contexts characterised by poverty and inequality, street young people have limited access to healthcare, water sanitation and hygiene services; exacerbating effects of ill health, infections, lack of nutrition and substance abuse that undermine their wellbeing. In Harare, Zimbabwe, they are also excluded from Social Protection Programmes (SPPs) which potentially assist other impoverished Zimbabweans, two-thirds of whom live below the poverty line (WFP 2019. Zimbabwe Annual Country Report 2019. World Food Programme). In this paper, we propose a reassessment of SPPs, in particular the Assisted Medical Treatment Order (AMTO), identifying barriers to access, and benefits for extending access to street young people. Drawing on secondary analysis of data from Growing up on the Streets, this paper re-conceptualises Ingrid Robeyns' (2005. "The Capability Approach: A Theoretical Survey." Journal of Human Development 6 (1): 93–117. ) model of capabilities and applies it to the reversal of street youth exclusion and the application of government-targeted initiatives which have failed to reach those in the most vulnerable situations. In so doing, we propose an adapted model which recognises how the capabilities of street young people are enhanced when they are integrated into SPPs. This adapted model can be replicated and applied to relevant interventions for other groups of marginalised people in across contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the photographic representation of former Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, with the aim of understanding memories that were produced following his death in September 2019. Mugabe was in power for 37 years before being dethroned through a military coup in November 2017. His rule divided opinion with some viewing him as a liberator and African icon, while some view him a dictator and tyrant for his role in disregarding human rights. This paper seeks to explore the role of photography in memory with particular interest being on commemorating contesting figure like Mugabe. We analysed photographs used by The Herald and NewsDay to commemorate Mugabe's death. Photographs remain one of the under researched genres in communication, especially in the Global South, yet scholars have argued that contemporary societies have, through the use of photographs, turned their citizens into 'image junkies' and created 'the most irresistible form of mental pollution'. The findings demonstrate that photographs are being used to give a 'testimony' about the contested legacy of Mugabe. Mugabe is framed as a liberator, Pan-African. On the contrary, he is seen as a tyrant and ruled by an iron fist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports on a study that was conducted to explain the state of Curriculum Studies in Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Data were collected from 51 articles published in three local education journals and semi-structured interviews with 18 authors selected through convenient, purposive and stratified sampling, across three academic staff categories of professor, senior lecturer and lecturer. Issues focused on in the articles, the manner in which they are discussed and the authors' views on these aspects were studied. The concept of knowledge democracy was employed to explore how the articles contributed to the field of Curriculum Studies. The findings highlight how authors attempted to strike a balance between the use of international theories and local discourses. We argue that the perspectives used by the authors should be understood as being both survivalist and tactical. Significant shifts from, for example, Western theories and discourses mainly indicated the influence of the post-independence politics and educational ideals within Zimbabwe. The paper concludes that writing about indigenous knowledge, alongside other contextual and cultural issues points to possibilities for the realisation of knowledge democracy in the field of Curriculum Studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory paper uses online ethnography to analyse how fake news on social media shaped perceptions and cognitions about Covid-19 vaccines in Zimbabwe. It explores the emergence of social media as an important space for instilling vaccine hesitancy in the context of Covid-19. The paper focuses on how memes, jokes, fake news stories and reports that were shared and consumed on platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube shaped the health-seeking behaviour of people in the context of Covid vaccines in Zimbabwe. The findings show that most people do not trust the government or health institutions. This distrust means they turn to unofficial online sources of information that fuel myths, conspiracies, rumours and gossip and cause fear, panic and vaccine hesitancy. Most citizens resorted to social media to update each other on the efficacy of vaccines and the pros and cons of getting inoculated, highlighting the scepticism surrounding Covid-19 vaccines in Zimbabwe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This opinion paper discusses the impact of the Library and Information Science (LIS) course/program accreditation, and implications for graduating students when it excludes an international element. The case study describes the accreditation status of Zimbabwe's LIS training and qualifications, while also gathering insight from international practices. Results reveal the need for a solid support system to the LIS profession from various constituents including LIS curriculum developers, library associations, and an environment that encourages library and information professionals to possess qualifications relevant to their respective markets and innovation. The paper concludes with a recommendation for international accreditation practices, principles and standards that produce well-equipped, versatile LIS professionals. In exploring the process and implications of international accreditation and recognition of library science qualifications in Zimbabwe, the paper holds promise for informing other situations beyond Zimbabwe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of language in the scientific study of politics. Conceding that politics is naturally an arena of heated disputation, it examines linguistic manifestations of factional polarisation by interpreting words, phrases, and sentences used by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) politicians during the party's acrimonious splits of 2005 and 2014 and subsequent re-union of 2017. I contend that the use of vituperative, exclusionary and inflammatory language fuelled personality clashes; ethnic chauvinism; sexism; racism; ideological discord and intraparty violence. This often derailed attempts to reconcile the party's bickering factions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ever-increasing focus from policymakers on the potential of vocational education to provide skills for livelihoods and sustainability in the rural economy, this study set out to investigate attempts at curriculum reform by agricultural technical and vocational education and training providers in the context of the dual crisis – 'climate and economic' – in Zimbabwe. The question addressed is: How should the agricultural vocational education and training curriculum respond to the climate and economic crisis to ensure sustainability? The paper highlights enablers and barriers to curriculum responsiveness. Moll's model of curriculum responsiveness provided analytical lenses for the study. Data collection was through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, document analysis and observations, and analysed thematically. The study revealed that the climate crisis in Zimbabwe has affected both government and non-government vocational training centres in several ways. However, the curriculum was 'one-size fits all', focused on the needs of a formal labour market. Such a labour market has been decimated by the economic crisis and climate break down. Hence, providers of agricultural vocational education in rural areas ought to consider re-engineering the curriculum to be more responsive to a range of drivers, including climate change, especially within the rural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorghum grain yield is constrained commonly by soil nutrient deficiency and water stress in semi-arid areas across Africa. Grain yields ranges from 500 to 650 kg ha−1 in some parts of African and even below 500 kg ha−1 in some countries like Mozambique and Zimbabwe without using any nutrient amendments. The use of mineral fertilizer supply nutrients readily in the soil and increasing their availability to crops and improve crop yields. Farmers in rural communities are resources constraint and not able to buy adequate mineral fertilizers and they need to amend mineral it with manure. Application of manure improves soil physiochemical properties and nutrient availability which play an important for plant growth and increasing yields. However, cattle manure commonly used by smallholder farmers is rich in plant residues and require decomposers to use a lot of mineral nitrogen as sources of energy for decomposition hence nitrogen becomes unavailable to plants. Combining mineral fertilizer and manure has a potential of improving yields from 500 to 5000 kg ha−1 depending on soil type and rainfall received in the area. However, semi-arid regions are associated with low and erratic rainfall which causes soil water stress and reduce yields. There is need to combine water management with mineral fertilizer, and organic manure to create a sustainable sorghum production in marginalized areas. This paper reviews the effects of mineral and organic fertilizer in improving sorghum production in semi-arid region and come up with way forward to meet food demand in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the wave of democratisation some decades ago, related practices have emerged not only to ride on that wave but also to foster and enhance its movement. One such practice has been collaboration in governance, whereby governments have been creating collective forums with non-state actors and citizens to generate consensus on decisions affecting them. Against this background, the objective of this paper is to assess the extent of preparedness of the Zimbabwean civic space for a mode of governance that openly calls for public participation in decision-making. This comes in the wake of the Government of Zimbabwe’s publicised adoption of participatory decision-making as one of its core values. The paper makes use of a qualitative research methodology that takes the form of extensive documentary reviews of literature focusing on the theme of governance politics in Zimbabwe. The study findings reveal the deep-seated constraints in the current Zimbabwean civic space that are practically serving as a barrier to the take-off of collaborative governance in its real sense. Key challenges observed include the government’s long-standing track record of exclusionary governance, mainly made possible by an array of repressive and restrictive laws that collectively produce the effect of constricting participation space for citizens and civics. These aspects further validate scholarly narratives characterising the Zimbabwean state as authoritarian and predatory. Considering these findings, the paper concludes that collaborative governance will not take off without the necessary reforms of repressive laws governing conduct in the public sphere and a genuine return to constitutionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency of El Niño occurrences in southern Africa surpasses the norm, resulting in erratic weather patterns that significantly impact food security, particularly in Zimbabwe. The effects of these weather patterns posit that El Niño occurrences have contributed to the diminished maize yields. The objective is to give guidelines to policymakers, researchers, and agricultural stakeholders for taking proactive actions to address the immediate and lasting impacts of El Niño and enhance the resilience of the agricultural industry. This brief paper provides prospective strategies for farmers to anticipate and counteract the El Niño-influenced dry season projected for 2023/24 and beyond. The coefficient of determination R2 between yield and ENSO was low; 11 of the 13 El Niño seasons had a negative detrended yield anomaly, indicating the strong association between El Nino's effects and the reduced maize yields in Zimbabwe. The R2 between the Oceanic Nino Index (ONI) and rainfall (43%) and between rainfall and yield (39%) indirectly affects the association between ONI and yield. To safeguard farmers' livelihoods and improve their preparedness for droughts in future agricultural seasons, this paper proposes a set of strategic, tactical, and operational decision-making guidelines that the agriculture industry should follow. The importance of equipping farmers with weather and climate information and guidance on drought and heat stress was underscored, encompassing strategies such as planting resilient crop varieties, choosing resilient livestock, and implementing adequate fire safety measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying sound strategies to manage climate risks requires understanding complex systems, characterised by; a large number of potential factors that interact; multiple stakeholder constituencies with diverse values, deep and dynamic uncertainties. This paper assesses the general understanding and dominant narrative regarding climate change in particular societies in order to track the trends regarding the management of climate risk. In this regard, this paper considers climate risk from a Zimbabwean perspective between 1980 and 2021. The assessment of climate risk in Zimbabwe took cognisance of the fact that climate change is a subject that has received a considerable amount of attention in Zimbabwean focused literature. As such, secondary data were used to understand the dominant narratives regarding climate risk in Zimbabwe. The climate risk discussion in Zimbabwe has significantly grown over past four decades nonetheless, it is evident that the dominant narrative is biased towards climate change adaptation particularly on aspects of agricultural and livelihoods sensitivity from a water scarcity perspective. Other adaptation components such as the exposure to hazards, indigenous knowledge systems, ecological and infrastructure vulnerability, communication and gender dimensions of climate change also form the bulk of issues that dominate the adaptation centred narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the effects of migration-induced male absence on the upbringing of children in selected communities of Zimbabwe. We argue that migration scholarship places more emphasis on the economic benefits of migration such as remittances and imported innovation, but is largely silent on the emotional hardships it causes for the family, especially the children who are left behind. We locate this work in the context of Zimbabwe where men from Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces have traditionally migrated to South Africa in search of employment in the gold mines and agricultural farms. We use the case of Tsholotsho district in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe to explore the impact that the physical absence of fathers had in the socialization of children. Taking a historical narrative angle, the paper uses family histories gathered in Zimbabwe and South Africa over a 12-month period to explore the lived realities of families with migrant fathers. We use data from in-depth interviews with the affected children, the absentee fathers and the women who stayed behind to take care of the children. We observe that there are many children who grew up without their fathers and other male figures because of historical labour migration to South Africa. We conceive the migration-induced absence of fathers and other male relatives as the "missing masculinities", although we are cognisant that masculinities and masculine roles are not entirely constituted by the presence of men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how musicians sympathetic to MDC appropriate, exploit, and ultimately seem to fall victim to the narrative traps present in Chimurenga music and its role in Zimbabwe's political history. In this paper MDC's Chimurenga music videos and songs are analyzed to bring out deep lying meanings and placed in a historic context. The paper analyses how the visual and lyrical content contest the 'authorized' version of Chimurenga to the extent of creating a new understanding of Chimurenga discourse and Chimurenga music. The selected video text helps identify lines of appropriation and contamination/mutation as it traces and contextualizes the evolution of the MDC war song up to a point it generically becomes similar to the traditions of Chimurenga established in the 70s. It is crucial to look at how a sense of 'memory' is 'extracted' as well as how it is re/packaged, re/distributed and received or contested in the service of MDC's counter hegemonic propaganda. In this vein, we do not seek just to point moments or points of appropriation but also instances of mutation/violation that the MDC music videos usher into the narrative of the Chimurenga discourse especially in a post-colonial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pentecostalism has experienced massive growth and evolution, both within Africa and beyond, as is evident through the emergence of dynamic neo-Pentecostal movements, including independent, prophetic, and charismatic churches. However, all its establishments have been primarily characterized by problematic governance. While neo-Pentecostal founders and leaders often asserted that they were breaking away from regressive bureaucracy and supposedly "cold" spiritual practices to embrace a more dynamic approach that advances the missio Dei and missio ecclesiae through expressive and demonstrative ministries, they paradoxically ended up becoming similarly, if not more, regressive. Rather than being focused on serving others (being other-centred), they became self-centred in their actions and priorities. Drawing on missional ecclesiology, extensive engagement with relevant literature, and in-depth phenomenological observation, this paper undertook a qualitative examination of their polities. It interpretively and descriptively assessed and explored the fact that all ecclesial governments exhibit both strengths and weaknesses. In light of this analysis, the paper argues and proposes that churches should integrate their predominant governmental systems with inclusive and empowering principles from other polities. By doing so, they can transform their administrative structures and enhance their missionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the risk of climate change increases, robust fire monitoring methods become critical for fire management purposes. National-scale spatiotemporal patterns of the fires and how they relate to vegetation and environmental conditions are not well understood in Zimbabwe. This paper presents a spatially explicit method combining satellite data and spatial statistics in detecting spatiotemporal patterns of fires in Zimbabwe. The Emerging Hot Spot Analysis method was utilized to detect statistically significant spatiotemporal patterns of fire occurrence between the years 2002 and 2021. Statistical analysis was done to determine the association between the spatiotemporal patterns and some environmental variables such as topography, land cover, land use, ecoregions and precipitation. The highest number of fires occurred in September, coinciding with Zimbabwe's observed fire season. The number of fires significantly varied among seasons, with the hot and dry season (August to October) recording the highest fire counts. Additionally, although June, July and November are not part of the official fire season in Zimbabwe, the fire counts recorded for these months were relatively high. This new information has therefore shown the need for revision of the fire season in Zimbabwe. The northern regions were characterized by persistent, oscillating, diminishing and historical spatiotemporal fire hotspots. Agroecological regions IIa and IIb and the Southern Miombo bushveld ecoregion were the most fire-prone areas. The research findings also revealed new critical information about the spatiotemporal fire patterns in various terrestrial ecoregions, land cover, land use, precipitation and topography and highlighted potential areas for effective fire management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses a poorly studied outcrop of orbicular granite from the Matopos granite batholith in the Diana's Pool area, Zimbabwe. Historical samples from Diana's Pool exhibit closely packed orbicules in a granitic matrix. They are 9 to 14 cm in diameter and are characterised by different types of orbicules containing coarse-grained felsic cores, fine-grained and alternating ferromagnesian and feldspathic shells, and a coarse-grained matrix. The orbicules are generally spherical to ellipsoidal in shape, however, some appear to be abraded and deformed. The compositions and grain sizes of cores and the matrix are comparable. Both the matrix and the cores are medium- to coarse-grained and dominated by plagioclase (the matrix probably in slightly lesser proportions), microcline (in variable proportions, and seemingly absent in some cores), quartz, biotite and accessory hornblende and magnetite. Contrary to the cores and matrix, shells are fine-grained and exhibit polygonal textures. In addition to this, the shells are dominated by biotite and magnetite; however, they do not contain hornblende. Plagioclase shows an almost complete overlap of An contents, x̅ = 26 ± 2.3 (core), x̅ = 24 ± 0.9 (shell) and x̅ = 25 ± 2.0 (matrix). Biotite composition in the shells is significantly less magnesian (x̅ = 16 ± 2.4) than in core (x̅ = 27 ± 2.2) and matrix (x̅ = 25 ± 2.2), whose compositions overlap. Average initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios from plagioclase in all the analysed shells (x̅ = 0.70226) are slightly more radiogenic than in the matrix (x̅ = 0.70193) and cores (x̅ = 0.70187). Cores are autoliths, which are plagioclase-rich, cumulate, or rim fragments reworked by new magma inputs or injections. Heterogeneous nucleation leading to the formation of orbicular shells around the cores is attributed to adiabatic decompression of magma pulses ascending in dykes, leading to superheating and resorption of early solids, and volatile exsolution, inducing undercooling, supersaturation, and shell crystallisation. The coarse-grained matrix crystallised later, after the orbicules formed, creating the groundmass and locking the orbicules in place. The deformation of shells and cores suggests that the orbicules continued to evolve in the presence of a melt (matrix material). As part of the Matopos Hills World Heritage Site, the Diana's Pool orbicular granites present a unique and noteworthy petrogenesis, which should be preserved as part of the region's important geoheritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is an emerging public health concern among children and adolescents in developing countries. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with being underweight and overweight among adolescents. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 adolescents across 10 high schools in Harare. A questionnaire was used to collect data and weight for height-z-scores were used to compute body mass index. Pearson's Chi-Square and multinomial logistic regression were used to test for associations and explore factors associated with being underweight or overweight at (p < 0.05). (3) Results: The median and IQR range for the participants was 16 (14–19) years. There were more girls 53.2%, than boys 46.8% (p = 0.002), and more 14–16-year-olds 54.1%, than 17–19-year-olds (p = 0.070). More boys 10% than girls 9.1% were underweight, whereas more girls 21.8% than boys 9.3% were overweight and obese (p = 0.002). By age, more 14–16-year -olds were underweight 12.7% than 17–19-year-olds 5.9%, whereas more 17–19-year-olds 16.2% were overweight than 14–16-year-olds (p = 0.070). Significant factors associated with being underweight were inadequate balanced nutrition knowledge [OR = 1.49 (0.139–0.997), p = 0.049], being in the 14–16 years age group [OR = 2.56 (1.137–5.779), p = 0.023], having formally employed [OR = 2.34 (1.008–5.428), p = 0.048] and unemployed [OR = 5.17 (1.263–21.116), p = 0.022] household heads. Significant factors associated with overweight were being a girl [OR = 0.32 (0.168–2.561), p < 0.001, and having formally employed household heads [OR = 2.00 (1.044–1.206), p = 0.037]. The employment status of the household head (being formally employed) was the only factor which associated with both underweight and overweight statuses. (4) Conclusions: Although underweight and overweight statuses co-exist, among adolescents, those who are overweight appear to be more than those who are underweight. Significant factors associated with being underweight were inadequate nutrition knowledge, being 14–16 years old, and having formally employed or unemployed parents. While being a girl and having formally employed parents were significant determinants of the overweight status. This paper calls for more awareness of DBM and context-specific interventions targeting obesity in a country where undernutrition has been traditionally prioritized at policy and program levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of self-centering devices and structural systems have been proposed and investigated in recent years to eliminate or reduce postearthquake repair, but so far their applications are still very limited. This paper reports the seismic resilience enhancement of an irregular space structure by using friction-damped self-centering tension braces (FSTBs). First, the configuration, performance, and numerical model of FSTBs are introduced, and then a seismic design procedure for enhancing the seismic capacity of a torsional irregular structure is proposed. Taking the terminal building at the Harare Airport, a lifeline project in Zimbabwe, for example, unidirectional and three-dimensional nonlinear dynamic analyses were conducted on the building designed with and without FSTBs. The result shows that FSTBs can significantly reduce both story drifts and residual story drifts of the bottom reinforced concrete frame and displacements of the steel roof. To this end, the field assembly of FSTBs is briefly reported. The presented study provides references to the use of self-centering devices in seismic resilience upgrades of important engineering projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2019 to 2020, Zimbabwe experienced severe food insecurity. This paper explores the causes and drivers of the food crisis, policy, and programming response failures. Informed by primary data gathered through observations and secondary data, it argues that the food insecurity cannot be ascribed to the current agrarian structure alone. Instead, climate shocks, misgovernance of social security, politicization of food assistance, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impacts and economic implosion deepened food insecurity. To prevent its recurrence, government must reconsider the land tenure system to promote productivity, support climate resilient agriculture, curb economic implosion, depoliticize social security system, and food transfer programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to probe the practicality of ethical school leadership amid socio-political and economic turmoil. This was necessitated by the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy in 2000 up until 2009 when they abandoned their currency due to hyperinflation. The downturn of the economy has not been abated to date, and education, together with other social services has been affected tremendously. The objective of this study is to find out the practicality of school leadership amid social, political, and economic turmoil, such as the one prevailing in Zimbabwe. Based on the findings, the study aims to suggest ways of dealing with ethical school leadership in such an environment. A qualitative study was conducted involving two primary and two secondary schools, where four school heads and sixteen teachers constituted the sample. Semistructured interviews and focus group interviews were conducted. The findings indicated that school heads and teachers are finding it very difficult to practice ethical school leadership in the environment prevailing in Zimbabwe. This paper proposes that ethical leadership be promoted in these schools through engaging the 'reusable past' from their African Indigenous Knowledge and additionally applying a multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral intervention strategy to bring sustainable and practical change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiologists and other health practitioners increasingly recognize religion as a social determinant of health. This paper is part of a bigger study that examines how religion and tradition influence the health of young people living with HIV in a highly religious society like Zimbabwe. An analysis of 67 interviews and 10 focus group discussions with a phenomenological approach revealed that religious and traditional beliefs influenced the meaning and perception of HIV and the choice of treatment. Study participants consulted religious, traditional, and conventional health practitioners in parallel. Together the three health systems potentially provide a holistic approach that responds to the social, spiritual, psychological, and physical needs of people living with HIV. However, the findings point to a lack of cooperation between stakeholders of the three health systems that led to conflicting approaches that compromised the physical and mental health of study participants. Thus, the findings endorse the importance of strengthening the efforts of everyone involved in HIV care to reach out to other stakeholders and to negotiate a way of collaboration that mitigates negative consequences of disparities and seeks to endorse what is life affirming and leads towards the end of the AIDS pandemic by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While debates about its morality continue among states and conservatives, migration is taking place in Africa. In previous decades, migration was dominated by men. Increasingly, in Zimbabwe, women are taking centre stage in this process. Using the case study of Chivi District in Zimbabwe which is now considered an established 'donor' of migrants, we examine how access and control of remittances by migrant men and women determines patrimony. This paper argues that migration and remittances have given birth to new rights and entitlements to daughters who were previously marginalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zimbabwe has a tainted media history under Mugabe replete with examples of state orchestrated repression, draconian legislation, harassment of journalists and violation of their work premises. The post-November 2017 coup period is a critical reference point to understand the political economy of alternative media under the so-called 'New Dispensation' of President Mnangagwa with its promises of prodemocracy reforms. Using political economy as a theoretical approach that analyses media systems in a holistic manner by linking them to politics, economy, legislation and technology, this study assesses the extent to which the 'New Dispensation' has implemented political economy reforms that impact alternative media. Drawing from interviews with selected alternative media journalists and proprietors, the findings reveal that alternative media in Zimbabwe remain entrenched in repression and are in a crisis caused by an exacerbation of the same structural factors that existed before. The 'New Dispensation' has instead led to the entrenchment of a new dictatorship by the military junta. Undue political interference, a fragile economy and state orchestrated repression continue to constrain the democratic functions of alternative media. By teasing the continuities and discontinuities of alternative media repression during the Mugabe era and under the 'New Dispensation', the paper contributes to ongoing debates about the consequence of the 2017 coup and the need for genuine democratic reforms in Zimbabwe post-Mugabe epoch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of gender inequality has existed as long as the human race but surprisingly, it has persisted in modern society. This paper sought to explore culture as a context in which female school leaders exercise their roles and how it influences their practice. Studies were identified through carefully defined eligibility criteria. A thematic analysis was conducted through the use of mind maps to deduce four common themes. There was evidence that culture has an impact on how female school leaders lead as cultural values are constructed in the family and infiltrate into other institutions outside family boundaries. The treatment of women leaders is influenced by patriarchal attitudes transferred from the home to the workplace. Gendered social role constructs describe what women should be, prescribe how they should behave which devalues their performance, inhibits their success, and categorises them as incompetent. The analysis recommended the intensification of the interrogation of structures and sites where social constructs are reproduced and supported. Socially constructed identities have been confirmed as the source of gender inequalities. In conclusion, society is unlikely to be sensitive to the importance of gender equity until the formal structures and processes that support inequality are transformed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child marriage is a global crisis underpinned by gender inequality and discrimination against girls. A small evidence base suggests that food insecurity crises can be both a driver and a consequence of child marriage. However, these linkages are still ambiguous. This paper aims to understand how food insecurity influences child marriage practices in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. Methods: Mixed methods, including participant-led storytelling via SenseMaker® and key informant interviews, were employed to examine the relationship between food insecurity and child marriage within a broader context of gender and socio-economic inequality. We explored the extent to which food insecurity elevates adolescent girls' risk of child marriage; and how food insecurity influences child marriage decision-making among caregivers and adolescents. Key patterns that were generated by SenseMaker participants' interpretations of their own stories were visually identified in the meta-data, and then further analyzed. Semi-structured guides were used to facilitate key informant interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, and transcribed and translated to English, then imported into NVivo for coding and thematic analysis. Results: A total of 1,668 community members participated in SenseMaker data collection, while 22 staff participated in interviews. Overall, we found that food insecurity was a primary concern among community members. Food insecurity was found to be among the contextual factors of deprivation that influenced parents' and adolescent girls' decision making around child marriage. Parents often forced their daughters into marriage to relieve the household economic burden. At the same time, adolescents are initiating their own marriages due to limited alternative survival opportunities and within the restraints imposed by food insecurity, poverty, abuse in the home, and parental migration. COVID-19 and climate hazards exacerbated food insecurity and child marriage, while education may act as a modifier that reduces girls' risk of marriage. Conclusions: Our exploration of the associations between food insecurity and child marriage suggest that child marriage programming in humanitarian settings should be community-led and gender transformative to address the gender inequality that underpins child marriage and address the needs and priorities of adolescent girls. Further, programming must be responsive to the diverse risks and realities that adolescents face to address the intersecting levels of deprivation and elevate the capacities of adolescent girls, their families, and communities to prevent child marriage in food insecure settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African Pentecostalism remains the fastest growing form of Christianity on the African continent. Scholarship on Zimbabwean Pentecostalism has noted how the emergence of New Pentecostal Movements (NPMs), specifically Prophetic Pentecostalism (PP), has increased this growth. Apart from other attracting factors, such as the Holy Spirit, claims of faith healing, deliverance and prophecy, among others, African Pentecostalism is known for its emphasis on faith as a major anchor of any Pentecostal Christian. Hebrews 11, with its emphasis on faith, is, therefore, a central scripture in this Christian tradition. However, the emergence of NPMs at the height of the Zimbabwean crisis from the year 2008 to the present, has challenged Zimbabwean Pentecostal Christians from their sole dependency on faith. The crisis called for much more than faith could stand on its own. Hence, NPMs responded to this need by infusing indigenous religious practices with biblical ones as a way of strengthening believers through the crisis. Prophetic Pentecostal Movements (PPMs) in Zimbabwe introduced touchable objects such as anointed towels, handkerchiefs, wrist bands, stickers, oils and even condoms. While this appears to be sophisticated syncretism, a critical analysis of the practices shows how steeped they are in the African indigenous religious worldview. This article, therefore, seeks to examine the religious encounters between indigenous African religious practices and Pentecostal practices as practiced in the NPMs in Zimbabwe. The focus of this paper is to establish the resilience of indigenous religious practices within a Christian tradition that claims to have totally broken from the past. It further argues that the fast growth of PPMs depends on the 'Christianization' of indigenous religious practices, which are presented to believers as 'purely biblical'. This is largely a desktop research project in which secondary sources were used as sources of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about a 'place' that effectively no longer exists - in the sense of being a recognisable unit of territory. 'Chishanga' has always been a term of contestation, referring more or less tenuously to a stretch of ground across which struggles for authority, power and identity have taken place. In tracking and examining these struggles using oral history techniques, the paper draws attention to the fallacies of a chiefdom-based approach to pre-colonial African history. At the same time, it emphasises the significance or the real and imagined geographies around which identities revolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increase in interest in the use of green finance as a strategy for urban climate finance and climate adaptation. However, limited discussions have focused on the use of green finance, particularly in addressing climate change-induced urban displacements. This study addresses this research gap by examining green finance as a climate adaptation instrument for responding to climate-induced urban displacements in Zimbabwe. The research adopts a qualitative approach, using literature reviews and document analysis as data collection methods. The paper explores Zimbabwe's response strategies, policies, and institutional frameworks through a case study approach. The research finds that green finance can be a viable strategy for achieving climate justice for people in urban areas displaced due to climate change. However, the analysis also highlights some challenges and opportunities associated with using green finance as a climate adaptation strategy for dealing with urban displacements. The paper recommends strengthening green finance mobilisation at the local government level to reduce dependency on multilateral funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article ostensibly underscores the interpretation of gender, structural inequalities and violent identity-interplay in selected novels in Zimbabwe. It vigorously examines the effects of the state of disaster on Zimbabwean's post 2017 experience. A plethora of themes ranging from the entangled past, stunted memories of the present were exemplified in the article. The paper epitomises how trends in the novels emanate from African literature, with specific reference on the fictional writings in Zimbabwe delineating and it depicts social issues of both the past and present which have haunted Zimbabwean social constructs. After Zimbabwe's independence on 18 April 1980, Zimbabweans anticipated euphoria that independence would usher in the desired peace. The political ruling class from the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) promised a strong political framework and commitment to the course of women's liberation. The achieved independence did not bring about the anticipated freedom but promoted the dichotomy among women and men and also, that of Black and White that had earlier preoccupied the defunct Rhodesia. Relying mainly on female novel writers, the paper hinges on Tsitsi (1988) Nervous Conditions, Vera's (2002) The Stone Virgins and other works in passing to delineate trends in the constructions of characters' responses to identities created by masculine stereotypes. This article explores Butler's theory of performativity to argue that there is an ambiguous link between the past and present, the depiction of gender violence and structural inequalities in the postcolonial Zimbabwean literary space which were largely demonstrated in Zimbabwean novels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper unpacks the discursive construction of black Zimbabwean identities through multimodal WhatsApp status update posts by Zimbabweans on the WhatsApp social media platform. Cognisant that WhatsApp constitutes part of the public sphere where public discourses are generated and shaped, it explores and interrogates how status update content provoke and inspire identity discourses that perpetuate unequal racial relations that we argue are rooted in colonialism and its legacies. It deploys netnography to collect data through online participant observation over a one-year period. Theoretically, the data analysis deploys Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis and Coloniality to demonstrate that the analysed posts generate meaning through interactions across multiple modes and that racial stereotypes articulated in the data texts are rooted in notions of Western colonial hegemony. The paper argues that the WhatsApp status posts constitute semiotic modes that articulate and disseminate ideological value-positions that ridicule blackness and extol white racial supremacy. It is concluded that hidden in the status posts are white racial hegemony and negative attitudes against black racial identity, widely consumed and which, if left unchallenged, undercut what anti-colonial struggles sought to correct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to examine the institutional and legal frameworks supporting the digitisation of records and archives at two selected state universities in Zimbabwe. The digitisation of records and archives has become a de-facto process at all state universities around the world as the move from paper-based to cloud-based records storage takes centre stage. In Zimbabwe, state universities, apart from their own legislative Acts, operate under the statutory requirements of the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 25:06) of 1986 as amended by Act 22 of 2001. It is a fact that the digitisation of records and archives is a new concept to most records officers and archivists at state universities. This paradigm shift of moving from paper-based to digitised records management has been coded as a revolution which--whether we like it or not--has dominated and challenged traditional paper record-keeping systems. The first objective of the study is to find out the institutional obligations of state universities in digitising records and archives. The second objective is to ascertain the legal framework for the digitisation of records and archives. The study adopts a qualitative research design. It draws data from interviews with key participants at the two selected state universities. Qualitative data were organised into broad themes, and the content was reported in a narrative form. The study used an emergent framework to code and categorise the data and group them into themes. A myriad of challenges was unearthed, which were found to potentially inhibit the digitisation of records and archives. The study, therefore, concludes that although state universities have taken steps towards supporting the digitisation of records and archives, more still needs to be done for an effective digitisation process. It recommends that state universities should first address issues of legislation, policies and skills for the effective digitisation of records and archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008, in the midst of a deepening political-economic crisis, Zimbabwe's ZANU(PF) government introduced 'Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment' as a policy framework to guide the domestication of foreign firms then dominating the formal economy. At the same time, debates around resource nationalism were emerging in the country's extractives sector, which was booming in the wake of a global surge in minerals prices. The intersection of indigenisation and resource nationalism as two powerful poles of policy-making established the terrain for key extractives-sector reforms in the 2000s under the banner of indigenisation. Drawing on case study evidence from the indigenisation of a large foreign-owned mine and the experiences of community trusts set up to manage mining assets, the paper argues that indigenisation was primarily tailored to accommodate the needs of local elites and foreign-owned mining companies. While indigenisation offered opportunities for elite participation and enhanced ruling party legitimacy, it abjectly failed to transform ownership stakes in the large-scale mining sector. In contrast, local mining communities for whom indigenisation promised a stronger decision-making role were largely marginalised from participation in local mining. Five years after the 2018 scrapping of its enabling laws, indigenisation is seen as having fulfilled a performative political function benefiting the ruling ZANU(PF) at a time of political crisis. The paper concludes that any alternative, inclusive resource nationalist strategy will need to look beyond indigenisation's narrow framing to be transformational and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to frame and examine the structuring of labour struggles from the precarious subject position of theatre workers, without isolating these struggles into the occupational sector of the creative industries in the Zimbabwean context between 1980 and 1999. In this article, I frame theatre practitioners as 'art – workers' and collectives such as the NTO and ZACT as mobilising and organising agencies operating within the postcolonial Zimbabwean theatre industry. On the one hand, the NTO controlled and administered purpose-built theatres, provided funding as well as organised affiliates into a unity. On the other hand, ZACT organised multi-racial Zimbabwean theatre groups into a collective, providing and mobilising financial and organisational support towards the creation of a 'national theatre' narrative. Deploying resource mobilisation and rational choice theories, this paper submits that NTO and ZACT mobilized and coordinated their stakeholders towards addressing the precarious work conditions in the sector. This paper argues while attempts, through theatre associations, have been undertaken to organise the creative sector, this paper submits that the precarious nature of the work, employer-employee non-distinction, lack of legal rights knowledge and fierce inter-and intra-organisational competition complicates the process of re-mobilising and organising creatives in Zimbabwe [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The language question is topical in Africa because of colonial hegemonies by colonial and languages of global communication such as English, French, and Portuguese. English hegemony in dominant domains fosters the coloniality of language in liberated territories such as Zimbabwe. Part of the decolonising agenda in Africa was to rename the public space so that it reflected the character and heritage of the liberated Africans. This paper establishes the coloniality of culture as expressed through language and heritage displayed in toponyms. The research argues that the renaming process in Zimbabwe did not produce equality or African bias on names used to name and re-name towns, suburbs, and airports. While some elements of the Zimbabwean linguistic landscape were renamed as a decolonising process most of the new names still bear colonial forms as colonialism affected even African identities that are used in the renaming. Renaming in Zimbabwe was biased towards correcting names than changing them, and this process has concentrated on Shona names at the exclusion of other languages and cultures. Conclusions from the paper are important for policymakers as they seek to decolonise names through re-naming. The nexus between toponyms and identity opens up opportunities for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that talk about racism produced by UK residents from Zimbabwe during life history interviews conducted in 2011 should be regarded as occasioned linguistic practice rather than a means of accessing their experiences or views about racism. Firstly, I show that interviewees downplayed racism in the UK to emphasize that Zimbabwe has a far greater problem with forms of structural inequality. This was part of a broader attempt to construct Zimbabwe as an undesirable place and thereby justify their presence in the UK. Secondly, I explore ways interviewees tried to ensure their talk about racism did not position them as victims. This paper focuses on appropriated oppression, a dimension of racism neglected by scholars, particularly those studying migrants. It seeks to demonstrate that appropriated oppression is a form of mediated action rather than a psychological state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how graduates' perceptions of self-service technology and perceived job performance can be used to assess university service quality. Also, this study examines the mediating role of perceived job performance on the effect of university service quality on graduates' satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative methodology was adopted where university graduates' perceptions of self-service technology and job performance were used to assess the level of the university's service quality. Through a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 280 university graduates employed in Chinhoyi town, Zimbabwe, during the period between August and December 2021. Findings: This study's findings indicate that self-service technology influences university service quality which in turn impacts on graduates' perceived job performance, satisfaction and loyalty. Graduates' perceived job performance was also found to partially mediate the effect of university service quality on satisfaction and loyalty among graduates. Research limitations/implications: This study's results are instrumental to enable university's management in developing economies to adopt and improve self-service technologies as this enhances university service quality and graduates' perceived job performance, satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value: This paper provides new insights, that is, the incorporation of graduates' perceptions of self-service technology and job performance in assessing the university's service quality. This research further clarifies the function of graduates' perceived job performance in mediating the effect of university service quality on graduate satisfaction and loyalty. This study further adds to our understanding of tools, criteria and methods for assuring university service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Feasibility studies are often a helpful prelude to constructing fundable research proposals. Where the intended research is in a foreign country, focuses on a vulnerable population, and is aggravated by political and pragmatic challenges, feasibility studies become essential. Albinism, a genetic condition of reduced melanin synthesis, is a major public health issue in southern Africa. Whilst much is known about the health needs of children with albinism, little is understood about how to address these effectively in low income countries. Further, the child care and protection needs of children with albinism are largely unexplored. Zimbabwe''s current political and economic climate presents additional challenges to research on the topic. Method: The technical, economic, legal, collaborative, operational, schedule and political feasibilities (acronym TELCOSP) to undertaking a study on children with albinism in Zimbabwe were explored over a six week period of fieldwork in the country. Results: Using the TELSCOSP framework allowed a deconstruction of each challenge to provide innovative solutions. The economic and legal feasibility aspects presented some difficulties that will require flexibility and perseverance to overcome. Conclusion: With the assistance of the local communities and people with albinism in Zimbabwe, the obstacles appear surmountable. The feasibility study provided a productive framework for addressing potential challenges in studying the needs of Zimbabwe''s children living with albinism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focused on the provision of an affordable and less weight prosthetic arm for the Zimbabwe an population. There search concentrated on improving the amputees' living standards by means of providing them with a useful artificial arm which can perform tasks as a normal human arm. The literature review was thoroughly done by investigating the latest prostatic arms available in the market. The V model o revolutionary prototyping was used in there search project to account for every component of the prosthetic limb. The V-model is a type of software development life cycle (SDLC)paradigm where processes run sequentially in a V-shape. The Ruoko bot is flexible and affordable thanthe current artificial prosthetic available. The prosthetic limb has an Arduino board which allows the useof an artificial intelligence algorithm to determine which signal of the brain's waves should be translated into bodily motion by anEEGheadband. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for higher and tertiary education in Africa is now high, and as a result, public institutions are enrolling many students, a phenomenon now called massification (Pillay, 2020; Noui, 2020). The term massification is defined as the increase in the enrollment of students without a proportionate boost in resources (Adetiba, 2019; Mohamedbhai, 2016). Zimbabwean universities are enrolling many students to fund operations since government funding has dwindled (Garwe, 2016; Madzimure, 2016). The provision of quality education is becoming a challenge due to the high lecturer-student ratio, especially on courses that are highly practical in nature (Adetiba, 2019). There is a lack of proper management and engagement of students in very large classes, and as a result, students resort to memorizing content learned instead of engaging in critical thinking (Madzimure, 2016; Lee, 2016). Literature points out that if students develop self-regulated learning strategies, they will overcome challenges brought by massification. The purpose of this paper was to develop and evaluate the impact of a multimedia teaching tool in assisting students to develop selfregulated learning strategies so that they improve their performance while learning computer programming in a large class setup. Purposive sampling was used in this study, and the researcher adhered to design science research methodology.Students enrolled in introduction to computer programming used the multimediaClearn teaching tool that was developed hencepurposive sampling was used in this study.One class (BITH131) was the control group and students enrolled in BSIT 131 were the experimental group. Results obtained indicated that students who used the Clearn teaching tool performed better in a programming test as compared to students in the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve inclusive growth, and poverty and inequality reduction, African countries should enhance labour-intensive agricultural production due to their abundance of natural resources and labour. In this paper, we examine the impact of agriculture on the economic growth of Zimbabwe using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ardl) model employing data covering the period 1970 to 2019. The results show that agricultural production has a significant positive impact on economic growth in the short runwhile showing no impact on economic growth in the long run. Additionally, the study confirms that inflation, government expenditure and gross fixed capital formation have a positive impact on economic growth in both the long run and short run. Although the agricultural sector plays a salient role in the early stages of economic development, it is, however, not able tomaintain sustainable economic growth over a long period in Zimbabwe. Additional macro-economic policy levers are required to compliment agricultural production and promote sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The severity of COVID-19 disease varies substantially between individuals, with some infections being asymptomatic while others are fatal. Several risk factors have been identified that affect the progression of SARS-CoV-2 to severe COVID-19. They include age, smoking and presence of underlying comorbidities such as respiratory illness, HIV, anemia and obesity. Given that respiratory illness is one such comorbidity and is affected by hand hygiene, it is plausible that improving access to handwashing could lower the risk of severe COVID-19 among a population. In this paper, we estimate the potential impact of improved access to handwashing on the risk of respiratory illness and its knock-on impact on the risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease across Zimbabwe. Methods: Spatial generalized additive models were applied to cluster level data from the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey. These models were used to generate continuous (1km resolution) estimates of risk factors for severe COVID-19, including prevalence of major comorbidities (respiratory illness, HIV without viral load suppression, anemia and obesity) and prevalence of smoking, which were aggregated to district level alongside estimates of the proportion of the population under 50 from Worldpop data. The risk of severe COVID-19 was then calculated for each district using published estimates of the relationship between comorbidities, smoking and age (under 50) and severe COVID-19. Two scenarios were then simulated to see how changing access to handwashing facilities could have knock on implications for the prevalence of severe COVID-19 in the population. Results: This modeling conducted in this study shows that (1) current risk of severe disease is heterogeneous across the country, due to differences in individual characteristics and household conditions and (2) that if the quantifiable estimates on the importance of handwashing for transmission are sound, then improvements in handwashing access could lead to reductions in the risk of severe COVID-19 of up to 16% from the estimated current levels across all districts. Conclusions: Taken alongside the likely impact on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 itself, as well as countless other pathogens, this result adds further support for the expansion of access to handwashing across the country. It also highlights the spatial differences in risk of severe COVID-19, and thus the opportunity for better planning to focus limited resources in high-risk areas in order to potentially reduce the number of severe cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the presidential announcement of Zimbabwe's harmonized 2023 electoral date, most Christian, African Traditional, and other religious leaders commendably resumed advocating for peaceful, free, and fair elections. However, as history usually repeats itself, the tables eventually turned. Some of the leaders regressively became divided, submitted to political infiltration, aligned themselves with oppressive politicians, betrayed their fellow leaders as well as God and humanity, and inadvertently supported totalitarianism. By employing Richard Osmer's practical theological methodology and engaging with the existing literature, this paper reviewed the (dis)unity and (dis)engagement between Christian and African Traditional Religious (ATR) leaders. It also endeavored to address the underlying (dis)connections in view of Jesus Christ's all-encompassing servant leadership model, diaconal mission, and the African Ubuntu philosophy. Observing that Zimbabwean religious leaders are retrogressively divided by their varying spiritualities, leadership styles, and political orientations, it is recommended to embrace inclusivity and unity amidst diversity. This can be achieved by resisting selfishness and promoting selflessness, unconditional love, generosity, hospitality, tolerance, peace-making, justice, and social cohesion. These values collectively play a role in the democratization of Zimbabwe and are imperative for its advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of past civilisations in southern Africa from AD 700 to AD 1450 has engendered unresolved debates on the social complexities and ultimate decline of these powerful states. The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of the Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe state systems in southern Africa through an environmental perspective by taking into consideration human responses to persistent droughts and dry spells. The theories underpinning this study are derived from contemporary societal responses to similar environmental hardships in the Bikita and Chivi districts of southern Zimbabwe. Using rainfall data, and interviews with chiefs, villagers, farmers and experts, this study notes that the occurrence of droughts and dry-spell experiences interfere with sociopolitical organisation. The concepts of sustainability, resilience and transformation are used to explain what could have transpired in societies in southern Africa in the second millennium AD in the face of persistent droughts and dry spells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rural doctors typically work in low resource settings and with limited professional support. They are sometimes pushed to the limits of their usual scope of practice to provide the medical care needed by their community. In a previous phenomenological study, we described the concept of clinical courage as underpinning rural doctors' work in this context. In this paper, we draw on rural doctors' experiences during the unfolding COVID pandemic to re examine our understanding of the attributes of clinical courage. Methods: Semi structured interviews were conducted with rural doctors from 11 countries who had experience preparing for or managing patients with COVID 19. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using NVivo. A deductive thematic analysis was undertaken to identify common ideas and responses related to the features of clinical courage. Results: Thirteen interviews from rural doctors during the unfolding COVID 19 pandemic affirmed and enriched our understanding of the attributes of clinical courage, particularly the leadership role rural doctors can have within their communities. Conclusion: This study extended our understanding that rural doctors' experience of clinical courage is consistent amongst participants in many parts of the world, including developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Records bear evidence of business transactions and decisions undertaken by an organisation. Good records management enables the smooth flow, efficient and effective conduct of university business. University lecturers create different types of records in the course of discharging their responsibilities. These include research and publications, student teaching, continuous assessment, and examination. However, very little is known about the extent to which lecturers are able to properly manage the records they create. There have been three recorded cases of lecturers at Midlands State University (MSU) who lost examination and continuous assessment records, and this led to their dismissal. This study examined the capabilities of university lecturers in managing the records they create. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the records management background of lecturers and to examine their capability to perform records management. This study was grounded on the interpretive paradigm and employed qualitative research approaches where convenience sampling was used. The sample of the study involved 23 lecturers and one staff member from the Central Records section at MSU. The study found that participating lecturers lacked records management knowledge, and all of them did not follow any records management system for paper-based records management. Lecturers managed coursework and examination records through the Changamire Marks Management System. Some electronic records were kept in lecturers' e-mails and personal laptops. The study established that records were susceptible to loss due to lecturers' lack of knowledge, negative attitudes, conflicts between nonteaching and teaching staff, and lack of suitable records management infrastructure. The study concluded that most lecturers who participated in the study were dismal performers of records management; hence, records are more susceptible to loss. This study provides a step by step systems approach that universities, such as MSU, can employ to effectively manage records created by academic staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]