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Focuses on the cultivation of a selected sporophore-only-producing strain of the edible and medicinal mushroom, Pleurotus tuberregium (Fr.) Singer (Agaricomycetideae) on waste paper and plantation peelings. Element considered suitable substrate for the low-cost mass production of the mushroom; Use of Pleurotus tuberregium in West Africa; Benefits from the sporophores and sclerotia of the mushroom.

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction is provided to various articles in the issue on topics based on the work of historian David Henige including Henige's impact on the discipline of history, the relationship between literacy, oral traditions and historiography, and African archives.

This article examines the history of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in general including their establishment in Africa. Using examples from three countries - Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa - it critically analyses the promotional and protective mandates of these institutions in Africa and then argues that their experience over the years in promoting human rights in their domains can similarly be useful in advancing adolescents' sexual and reproductive rights. In doing this, NHRIs may face some challenges including poor funding, undue interference from the executive, shortage of personnel and so on. Therefore some of these challenges are discussed and subsequently some suggestions for the way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the state of structural transformation, industrialisation, and development in Africa against the backdrop of decades of pursuing sustainable growth and development on the continent. To meet this objective, the author analysed the share of the manufacturing sector to the total economic output, the technological density of the manufactured exports, and other relevant statistics as measures of this process. The secondary sources deployed to meet the article's objective include relevant journal articles and books. This paper maintains that while regional integration was correctly identified as a vehicle for the continent's economic emancipation, there has been a shortfall in translating that overwhelming consensus into action. The failure to implement this critical agenda explains the continent's current poor state of industrialisation and development. This paper contends that this objective will not be realised until the African states are restructured to be deliberate and intentional about the continent's industrialisation by adopting a developmental approach to regional integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, after extensive consultations with stakeholders, the African Union (AU) adopted Agenda 2063 to address underdevelopment and coloniality in Africa. Agenda 2063 is a continental strategic framework that seeks to attain inclusive economic growth, integration, peaceful Africa, and self-determination and is underpinned by Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism is an ideology set to attain national liberation, economic independence, and a united African continent. Therefore, Agenda 2063 seeks to attain the objectives of Pan-Africanism and calls for Africa's right to development. However, as per the Second Continental Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 (2022), there is minimal implementation of Agenda 2063's First Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2014-2023) by AU members. Therefore, the paper seeks to critically analyse Agenda 2063 as a continental development programme. The analysis is twofold: on the one hand, it determines whether the aspirations of Agenda 2063 are realistic and attainable; on the other hand, it determines whether the implementation of Agenda 2063 will lead to attainment of Pan-Africanism. The paper uses a qualitative and analytical-explanatory approach to collect data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response to the paper Language Policy and Planning in the New South Africa. This paper is eloquent and argued with a blend of passion and erudition that is difficult to resist. In fact, the author find himself in substantial agreement with its main thrust, namely that in a nation-building context the schools have got to be multi-lingual or multi-medium. There are, however, several statements and claims made en route to that conclusion which perhaps should not be allowed to slip by unchallenged. The author find much to agree with in this paper, but he urge caution as to the way in which a multilingual policy is introduced in schools where the basic skills of literacy and numeracy are still at risk, and he recommend a massive and well-thought-out community education program to be devised and implemented to promote a sense of worth, dignity and pride in the indigenous languages, while not obscuring the usefulness, albeit for an interim of indeterminate length, of such languages as English for all the reasons which, the author of the said paper cites in his challenging and provocative paper.

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the effects of the real effective exchange rate on economic growth in 11 African countries from 1990 to 2022 using linear and nonlinear panel ARDL estimators. The linear panel ARDLPMG results indicate that broad money supply and general government consumption positively impact economic growth in the short and long term, while the real effective exchange rate has an insignificant effect. The negative and statistically significant error correction term (ECTt-1) suggests a long-term relationship between the variables. Similarly, the nonlinear panel ARDL-PMG results show that broad money supply and general government consumption have positive and significant effects on economic growth in both the short and long term. Negative shocks in the real effective exchange rate hinder economic growth in the short and long term, while positive shocks do not significantly affect economic growth. The paper discusses the policy implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Africa Spectrum is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the effect of economic and non-economic factors on international tourist arrival in Nigeria. Annual data on tourist arrival from 53 countries and explanatory variables from 2010-2016 were analyzed using the dynamic panel data regression technique. Results suggest that travel cost, internet use, political stability and number of hotel rooms are the main determinants of tourist flows. The income of tourist-origin countries outside Africa negatively and significantly affects tourist arrival. Travel cost has a robust negative effect on tourists from within and outside Africa. The number of hotel rooms and urbanization rate positively influence tourist arrival, indicating the importance of tourism infrastructure. Government and policymakers must provide an enabling business environment, infrastructure, and policies to improve the country's global competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of democratic waves in African societies prompted critical efforts to rehabilitate Africa and her people, who had previously been marginalised by the colonial administration. Despite the reclamation of independence, prejudice against the black identity still prevails, and today, it manifests as colourism--discrimination against persons with dark skin tones, usually among people of the same racial identity. This paper, which employed a qualitative exploratory design, aimed to explore the impacts of colourism on Africanism. It argues that colourism is a brainchild of colonialism that rears its ugly head in the democratic period. Questionnaires were administered to ten purposively sampled female students at the University of X. Data were further presented and analysed through thematic content analysis to authenticate and conclude that the predominance of colourism, among other things, handicaps African development as it engenders maladies that invalidate Africanism such as skin whitening, hair straightening, Negrophobia, xenophobia, and racism. The aforementioned phenomena devalue Africanism and deter the democratic mission of harmonising Africa and promoting oneness, equality, human rights, and Ubuntu. The paper recommends that a variety of mechanisms, such as advertisements, campaigns, scholarly lectures, and conferences, be employed to revive the aboriginal characteristics of Africanism, such as the black identity, and re-conscientise the world about their value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides robust evidence of financial development and international trade liberalization on deregulation in some developing economies. Specifically, it investigates the effect of financial development and international trade liberalization on deregulation in 45 African countries in a panel set between January 1, 1980, to December 31, 2017. It employed the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) panel data estimation to address potential endogeneity concerns. Demir and Dahi (2011) showed that system GMM can effectively deal with any endogeneity issue originating from unobserved country-specific effects, and bias. The study found a robust positive effect of financial development and international trade liberalization on deregulation. The key finding was that technological impact is observed when private credit is regressed on market capitalization on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It found that both GDP and gross per capita negatively impact financial development, conceivably causing the selected African countries' markets to be insulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pan-Africanism is a well-thought-out crusade that entails a dedicated process of economic rebirth involving rebuilding Africa's institutions, structures, and conditions that ensure sustainable economic development. These efforts are considered critical to any development process. However, their efficacy remained less effective in solving the continent's daunting multifaceted challenges because they are largely directed at institution building for enhanced continental peace, security, cooperation, and integration, as shown by the Pan- African ideal of "the 'new' African agenda". The new idea of African renaissance directed at awareness creation for African re-birth, unity, development, and advancement of African history, culture and values is one of the attestations to the failure of Pan-Africanism. This is not to claim that no attempts at several regional and sub-regional integration programmes and efforts have been made. Some of these remained inadequate to realise the objectives of both Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance. The challenges, however, lie specifically in the extent to which African history, culture, and values can be utilised to drive the process of economic reconstruction. The absence of this analysis provides a gap in the literature and challenges Pan Africanism and Africa's drive towards economic reconstruction. Therefore, the paper, using qualitative data, descriptive analysis, and thematic analysis, aims to interrogate how AIK, a totally neglected resource in Pan Africanist ideals, can be innovatively and strategically utilised for Africa's sustainable economic development agenda. The study found that underlying any economic development agenda is the effective understanding, recognition, and integration of people's history, culture, heritage, and shared values, on which efforts must be directed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critiques the study of Gibson, Hoffman, and Jablonski (2015) on the relationship between technical assistance and patronage spending in sub-Saharan Africa after the Cold War. It identifies errors in the authors' methods, including severe collinearity, exclusion of available data, undue use of the logarithm transformation, and missing values in key variables. After making the necessary corrections, the paper finds that technical assistance was positively and significantly related to political concession, as originally claimed by the authors, but negatively and insignificantly associated with the proxies for political patronage. This suggests that while technical assistance may have promoted political concession, it cannot be confidently held that it reduced patronage spending in the region post-Cold War. This raises concerns as the authors' conclusion in this regard is central to the belief, in both literature and aid projects, that technical assistance from donors and institutions contributed to reducing political patronage in sub-Saharan Africa post-Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to conceptualize intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship and provide evidence of its impact on intra-African trade and economic development. Immigrant entrepreneurship is often regarded as a key driver of international trade and economic development around the world; yet very little is known about intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship and its role in intra-African trade and economic development in Africa. Methodology: This paper applied a systematic review of literature methodology to provide insights into the role of intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship on trade and economic development of boThhost and home countries. Recommendations on how intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship can be used to promote intra-African trade and economic development are reviewed. Results: Policy guidelines that may increase the positive impact of immigrant entrepreneurs within the context of intra-African trade include immigration policies that attract high impact entrepreneurs, nondiscriminatory support for high impact immigrant entrepreneurs as well as policies to strengthen the role of free trade agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Conclusion: We conclude that African regional integration to promote intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship development is a conduit for Africa's long-term and sustainable economic development. Evidence of the positive impact of intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship on intra-African trade and economic development is scant. At the same time, the notions of intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship are not well documented in the literature. This paper provides arguments for the promotion of intra-Africa immigrant entrepreneurship as a tool to increase intra-African trade and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is particularly affected by climate change due to its exposure to climate hazards, high vulnerability, and low adaptive capacity. Yet, Africa is also a continent rich in Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) that has a long history of informing responses to climatic variability and change. This paper explores the extent to which ILK has been used in climate change adaptation in Africa. It deploys a bibliometric analysis to describe the connections between ILK and climatic change adaptation in Africa, complemented by an analysis of ILK literature and case studies. We consider four key dimensions of ILK, 1) type, 2) contexts of application, 3) value for adaptation, and 4) outcomes and effects in responses to climate change in Africa. Examples drawn from 19 countries across Africa highlight ILK systems are closely connected with biocultural relationships associated with observed patterns of climate change and where adaptation can be more effective when informed by ILK. This body of knowledge is critical to the delivery of climate change adaptation in Africa. The paper suggests some measures through which ILK may be more widely leveraged, both for improved adaptation outcomes, as well as enhancing the biocultural heritage value of ILK systems across Africa. The study commends the remarkable value of ILK in Africa for climate change adaptation and its value for supplementing climate services, particularly in areas with limited access to modern climate and weather forecasts as well as the encouragement of Indigenous communities to develop senses of ownership and active contribution to the sustainability of the future interventions. • Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation in Africa. • The study commends the remarkable value of ILK in Africa for climate change adaptation. • its value for supplementing climate services particularly in areas with limited access to modern climate. • the paper concludes outlining measures through which ILK may be more widely leveraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In keeping with the 2021 IACR Conference theme (Re) Envisaging Emancipatory Research, Science and Practice, this paper reviews over fifty instances of critical realist research in Africa which have sought to establish emancipatory research praxis by using critical realism to underlabour a range of applied studies in a diversity of disciplines and countries. The initiators of this research have been drawn to critical realism for several reasons, most notably its return to ontology, its interest in transformed, transformative praxis, and its potential for addressing knowledge and experiences exclusions. The paper ends with a reflection on 'What's in a Conference Theme', returning to the earlier 2012 IACR conference hosted in Africa, and the 2021 conference's focus on emancipatory research. It argues both for the deepening of conversations between critical realism and Africana Critical Theory; and for the grounding of these conversations in the voices and power of the people in our communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of implementing a new Arabic language learning software Test Survey for Students (TSFS) developed by the researchers and marketed as brain training software for primary students on language skills using Science, Technology, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) subjects. The teaching of Arabic language via computer-assisted language learning (CALL) takes place for the first time in Qatari schools specifically for primary students. The researchers included a theoretical analysis of current trends in CALL and Arabic language skills. Reading skills, learning word and sentence skills, and dictation skills were the three Arabic basic skills tested to measure the effectiveness of developing these skills and improve achievement for third-grade students using CALL in STEAM subjects. Mixed models analyzed using the statistical software for social sciences suggest that teaching Arabic language skills with STEAM topics using educational software is effective and has a promising potential to be extended to the whole of middle east and north Africa region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We begin our reflection in this paper with the cursory observation that most of the major variants of the SARS CoV-2 virus were deciphered in the Global South, namely, alpha (China), beta and omicron (South Africa). This underappreciated fact demonstrates that independent capabilities in frontier sciences in the South contributed fundamentally to global efforts to minimise the human cost of the pandemic. However, while the more efficient vaccines primarily emerged from research and development (R&D)-based capabilities in the Global North, some novel vaccines, secondary innovation in the form of manufacturing and the innovative deployment of preventive measures were also salient in the Global South. Thus, rather than starting with the 'deficit model of development' that is implicit in several policy discourses on the Global South, we argue that innovation concepts should instead be anchored in the rich civilisational heritage of such societies themselves. Theoretical notions such as secondary innovation, which emerged from Chinese efforts at economic catch-up, endogenous development, which seeks to ground Africa's advancement in its own historical antecedents, and grassroots innovation from the Indian subcontinent, guide our South–South dialogical exchange in this article. Consequently, we propose a contextually rooted conceptual framework on endogenous innovation that could better inform socially transformative efforts and highlight some implications for medicinal innovation and astronomy beyond COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a corpus of knowledge on the challenges of regional integration (RI) in Africa, and Southern Africa in particular. What emerges from this body of knowledge is that the key issues pertaining to RI are not uniformly addressed, and they are largely framed from state-centric thinking, which is mostly rooted within a Westernised worldview. This paper argues that civil society has a significant role to play in the realisation of the full potential of RI in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The authors concede that there are numerous challenges to the envisaged role of civil society. As such, they use the findings of the research for this paper to propose solutions for consideration by policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages the issue of "African renaissance," which remains an intense discursive theme that lacks consensus on African developmental strides. It particularly considers the place of local autonomy to promote developmental renaissance. Although a robust citation of political economy works of literature on objectifying African renaissance exists, there is a paucity of rigorous researches that associate the issue with the incapacitation of local autonomy in the policy-programme matrix of African countries. The paper contends that the thorny problem of cementing the African renaissance lay in the non-appreciation of the local autonomy-sustainable development nexus. It argues that the theoretical postulations meant to uphold the African renaissance for actualization of optimum development tend to give little consideration to how subordination of local autonomy in intergovernmental relation processes undermines the continent's developmental reawakening. Africa's development-building may not be realizable if the following dimensions persist: (i) absence of constructive local governments' input in development plan policymaking, implementation/administration and feedback evaluation; (ii) emphasis on top-down development schemes rather than a bottom-up approach, and (iii) disregard for optimal grassroots development. Therefore, deriving from the abovementioned dimensions, the consensus that African policymakers in the higher tiers fail to appreciate local autonomy's structure-agency potential for the sustainable developmental rebirth of the continent is somewhat accurate. Hence, this paper proposes a model constructed from the Nigerian context that can galvanize cum instigate realpolitik that will accentuate Africa's developmental renaissance from the bottom-up, including attenuating factors that hamper the development of African grassroots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This account uses performance and critical analysis to investigate the entangled histories and multidirectional memories that entwine African colonialism and the Holocaust in Santa's Story by Aviva Pelham. The paper spotlights the intersections between the memory of the Holocaust and colonial Africa by focussing on the memory of women survivors and children of survivors on the African continent. Drawing on Marianne Hirsch's notion of 'postmemory' the paper interrogates the gendered intergenerational transmission of Holocaust and colonial memory through performance to address three interrelated concerns. First it responds to the limited scope of theatre and performance work produced and staged in Africa and elsewhere that engage with the memory and experience of Holocaust survivors on the African continent. Secondly this account responds to the dearth in critical commentary about the performance works created about women Holocaust survivors. Lastly, this dearth extends to creative works by Holocaust survivors' children born and raised on the African continent who explore what it means to 'perform' as their parents on the world stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African Government has for the past two decades spent significant resources on introducing smallholders to Genetically Modified (GM) maize with the aim to make agriculture a way out of poverty. However smallholder farming continues to decline and poverty is on the rise in the country. The present paper aims to explain this failure of the government to support its smallholders by describing the intra-actions between maize, politics and technological development in South African history. Importantly maize is understood here as an agent in that its materialities are not only being impacted by, but are also having impact on the outcome of farming practices and wider political economies. The paper describes how maize, as a result of intra-action between maize biology and choices made by farmers, politicians and breeders during the colonial era and apartheid, developed in parallel as a commodity serving the settler farmers, and an anti-commodity, or escape crop, providing subsistence to marginalised smallholders. While South Africa today is a democracy that spends significant resources on improving smallholder livelihoods, recent technological development and market concentration have increased rather than decreased the gap between commodity- and anti-commodity maize. As a result new GM and hybrid maize varieties introduced to smallholders today are badly equipped to facilitate a crop led New Green Revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the electricity access rate to measure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal target for universal access to electricity by 2030, about 580 Millions African people lack electricity access. However, globalization offers technological innovation, financial resources and international cooperation opportunities to achieve universal electricity access. This paper investigates whether increasing globalization levels can help achieve the goal of expanding access to electricity services in Africa. The analysis is based on panel data of 36 African countries over the 2000–2017 period and system GMM for empirical estimations. Our findings indicate that economic, social, and political globalization matters for increasing access to electricity. We also find that economic globalization reduces disparities in access to electricity. Further decomposing of economic globalization indicates that financial globalization, FDI and trade openness increase access to electricity. Furthermore, while financial globalization and FDI widen disparities in access to electricity, trade openness negatively affects disparities. The results also indicate that economic growth is one of the important channels through which globalization enhances electricity access. Finally, we carry out sub-regional analyses and find that these patterns are robust across Sub-Saharan African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current energy structure of most economies must be upgraded to a renewable energy source (RES) to help mitigate ecological dilapidation and achieve sustainable development goals. The transition to RES has recently received attention from energy experts, international bodies and environmental scientists. However, there is contrasting evidence on what factors affect the evolution and deployment of RES, especially from the perspective of emerging African economies. Hence, the current analysis sought to explore the influence of economic development (ECD), carbon emission (CEM), human capital (HUC), financial development (FID), and the country's risk factors, such as political risk (POR) and institutional quality (INQ) on the development of RES. The research employed a panel dataset from 1990 to 2020 and used the newest estimation approach of Cross-Sectional Augmented autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) to establish the long-run connection among the variables. The study confirmed the prevalence of the "energy-led ECD hypothesis". In addition, the empirical findings indicated that RES deployment could be facilitated through ECD, CEM, FID and HUC. Moreover, the country's risk factors, which include POR and INQ, had an inverse connection with the deployment of RES. Lastly, there is a unidirectional causality between CEM, FID, HUC, INQ and RES, while a directional causality exists between ECD, POR and RES. The paper highlights a variety of policy angles to help with the expansion of RES in emerging regions. • The study confirmed the prevalence of the "energy-led ECD hypothesis. • RES deployment could be facilitated through ECD, CEM, FID and HUC. • POR and INQ, had an inverse connection with the deployment of RES. • A directional causality exists between ECD, POR and RES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The adoption of robotics and automation (R&A) within the construction industry has been adjudged as slow, despite the possibility of it reducing the high risk posed on the health and safety of humans by the activities of the industry. The call for research and development in this area of technology to improve its adoption in the delivery of construction projects is evident in past studies. Thus, this paper aims to conduct a review of R&A in constructionrelated fie to reveal the area of focus of past studies. Research Methodology: A bibliometric approach was adopted for this study, and the data used were gathered from the Scopus database. Keywords such as "robotics", "automation" and "construction" were used to extract papers from the database. VOSviewer was used to prepare a co-authorship and co-occurrence map based on the bibliographic data gathered. Results: The results revealed that focus is placed on construction automation, industrial robots and application, robots' systems and designs, robotics in earthworks, and robots' control and information system. Furthermore, currently, research focus in this area is tending towards a more digitalised application of R&A especially in the areas of 3D manufacturing. Limitations: The findings of this study are limited due to the use of a single database. Contribution: Despite its limitations, the results open a knowledge gap that can be explored in developing countries particularly in Africa to improve construction delivery in the continent through R&A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface between Climate Changes and Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) has been standing out in the sustainable development agenda since the early 1990's. Since then, studies show that climate changes have negative effects on the FNS, aggravated by poverty and social inequality. The purpose of this paper is to perform a review evidencing the relationships between climate changes and FNS. The research was carried out in PubMed using the descriptors "climate change and food security" on the headline, selecting only papers in Portuguese, Spanish, and English languages, and with a direct relation to the themes. The main impacts of climate changes on the FNS were related to the access, production, nutritional quality, and volatility of food prices. The studies also indicated mitigation/adaptation strategies to the effects of climate changes on the FNS, as well as a geographic panorama of the publications with fields of study in Africa and Asia, continents marked by social inequality and poverty. Climate changes affect the dimensions of FNS, especially in poorer populations in situation of social inequality. The relevance of the themes raises concern on the urgency of higher investments in public policies, studies, and research on the subject around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used to improve the quality of many people's lives. However, heavy reliance on ICT can lead to technostress, causing health and productivity problems. Technostress has been analysed in organisations, but not in a university context, especially under remote learning during COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to provide an explanatory contribution to knowledge regarding university students' experiences of technostress and how it impacts their academic productivity and performance. The data for this paper was collected using an online questionnaire among the students of one leading research university in Africa and used to test hypotheses related to a technostress theoretical model. The data was gathered from a convenience sample of 100 student responses. A technostress model (based on transaction theory of stress) was formed for hypothesis testing. Some hypotheses were not supported, but those that were indicated that universities should ensure that techno-complexity is reduced, and remote learning environments are improved. It was also found that technostress has a negative impact on academic productivity and performance, and that coping mechanisms can moderate the relationship between technostress and academic productivity and performance. The findings related to student remote learning environments and the moderating effect of student coping mechanisms are unique to this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of International Affairs (04866096) is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Theories in the domain of healthcare service quality have evolved over time. To consolidate the healthcare service dimensions, there are various studies illustrating measurement models for the healthcare industry. The objective of this paper is to review various SERVQUAL models and practices in the domain of the healthcare industry. The nature of the paper is conceptual with a review of various SERVQUAL models referred fromsecondary databases. The findings from the review conclude that Western contexts and models are different from the healthcare context of developing countries especially in Africa as a result of the cultural background and socio-economic variations. The healthcare service quality measurement model needs to be explored further in terms of its operationalization indeveloping an acceptable model reflecting on crosscultural settings and country wise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was feared that the digital divide would deny citizens in developing countries opportunities for increased participation in politics through internet-enabled communication technologies. However, the divide has been bridged by citizens through the appropriation of Western technologies like internet access through mobile phones and cyber cafes. In fact, the difference between North and South in the use of the internet to participate in politics is quickly becoming unnoticeable, especially regarding the use of social media. This paper describes the unforeseen impact of the rapid adoption of social media in Africa, a continent that has been lethargic to other Western technological advances. The paper uses Anderson's (1991/1983) theory of imagined community and Billig's (1995) banal nationalism thesis to describe the role of social media groups in building banal nationalism, a process that unobtrusively legitimises the otherwise artificial nation-state. Through analysis of the activities of social media groups, the paper describes how, besides enabling the formation of social groups, social media has created a new sense of consciousness and deep attachment to the concept of a nation-state in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are complexities of Indigeneity at different spatial scales. • Indigenous claims have become important for natural resource management. • Indigeneity has been increasing resource-related conflicts in many parts of Africa. • Climate change is intensifying human mobility and resource-related conflicts. There is considerable evidence in the literature of the nature of Indigeneity in Africa, yet few studies explore the complexity of definitions of the concept at different spatial scales. This paper builds on existing scholarship by problematizing 'Indigeneity' at both regional and national scales through a critical analysis and synthesis of contemporary literature across sub-Saharan Africa, in association with a specific case study from northern Ghana. In generating the review, the concomitant implications for natural resource management and associated conflicts are analyzed. The paper argues that the definitions and conceptualizations of Indigeneity are heterogeneous with numerous ambiguities and complexities at regional and national scales, which have contemporary implications for both acute and prolonged issues of natural resource allocation and management. Claims of Indigeneity in relation to climate change-driven migration and settlement processes are facilitating support for resource access and utilization, but also generating a myriad of problems linked to overlapping and disputed claims. The ambiguity of claims of Indigeneity by vulnerable individuals and groups also has latent implications. Political misunderstandings or conflicts over natural resources are becoming more widespread across Africa during a period of environmental change. Understanding the complexity of Indigeneity at both regional and national scales will provide important opportunities to inform effective policy for the sustainable and equitable distribution and management of resources in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The UNCRPD is an international treaty that promotes the advancement of the rights of persons with disabilities. This scoping review aimed to map the evidence on strategies employed by countries in implementing the UNCRPD in Africa and the implementation challenges faced. Method: The PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-Scr) was used in this study. Key terms pertinent to the implementation of the UNCRPD in Africa were used to search for literature. Strict eligibility criteria were set and a qualitative data extraction template developed. Two reviewers worked independently to extract and chart data into data extraction forms. An analysis of country reports was also conducted to identify relationships between the African country reports and findings from the studies included in the scoping review. Inductive reasoning enabled the generation of themes. A total of 107 sources were initially retrieved and after a process of screening and exclusion, 31 sources (11 research papers and 20 country reports) were included for inductive analysis. Results: The study revealed evidence of implementation of UNCRPD in Africa, albeit limited, especially to the area of education, and employment. However, there are unique contextual limitations in implementation of UNCRPD in Africa. The country reports reflected similar implementation issues to those identified in studies selected for this paper. Conclusion and Implications: This calls for African governments to broaden focus on implementation of other articles of the UNCRPD in order to create inclusive societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper complements the literature on the determinants of financial development by offering one of the first studies on the effect of women's political empowerment on financial development. Across a sample of 43 African countries over the period 1996–2018, the main results show the positive effect of women's political empowerment on financial development. Our disaggregated analysis shows that women's political representation promotes both components of financial development; however, with a stronger effect for financial institutions. This result remains valid when we consider the subcomponents of these two indicators. Furthermore, the analysis of transmission mechanisms shows that control of corruption, democracy and human capital are the channels through which women's political empowerment affects financial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) plays a vital role in climatological and hydrological processes. Most of the developed drought indices from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) over Africa neglected the influencing roles of individual water storage components in calculating the drought index and thus may either underestimate or overestimate drought characteristics. In this paper, we proposed a Weighted Water Storage Deficit Index for drought assessment over the major river basins in Africa (i.e., Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi, and Orange) with accounting for the contribution of each TWS component on the drought signal. We coupled the GRACE data and WaterGAP Global Hydrology Model through utilizing the component contribution ratio as the weight. The results showed that water storage components demonstrated distinctly different contributions to TWS variability and thus drought signal response in onset and duration. The most severe droughts over the Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi, and Orange occurred in 2006, 2012, 2006, 2006, and 2003, respectively. The most prolonged drought of 84 months was observed over the Niger basin. This study suggests that considering the weight of individual components in the drought index provides more reasonable and realistic drought estimates over large basins in Africa from GRACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the nature and significance of belonging and its intersection with Identity and being in the world. Its primary impetus is to address the question of belonging as it arises in postcolonial multi-ethnic, language, religious and racial identities in Africa. Where does ethnic and national Identity intersect and diverge? It remains a highly politicised and contested issue. Narratives on African belongings provide insights into the shape and complexity of the contemporary African debate and illustrate how, in the presentation of belonging as having multiple and competing manifestations, what it is to belong per se is rendered indistinct. This exemplifies the critical problem where Belonging is concerned. While Belonging is invoked as an issue of crucial existential concern in public discourse and across a broad range of disciplines, there is an apparent and troubling lack of conceptual or linguistic apparatus. The notion can be grasped and critically analysed. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore and redress this problematic situation. Consideration of Belonging also involves Identity and thinking of how these two concepts are articulated together in theory. This latter question is explored by surveying the theoretical and conceptual frameworks from which 'senses' of Identity and Belonging are commonly expressed in postcolonial Africa. Belonging qua correct relation represents an entirely new way of understanding, in existential terms, what it is to belong (or not), not only in the postcolonial African context but wherever and whenever the question arises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are inherently complex. This paper contributes to the literature on co-production of knowledge at the interface of science, policy, and society in integrated, transdisciplinary research (TDR) projects. By analysing five projects of the Leading Integrated Research for Agenda 2030 in Africa (LIRA) implemented in nine African cities, the paper identifies the pathways for science-policy-society interactions (SPSI) within the TDR projects, the cross-scale and contextual dynamics influencing the interactions as well as the challenges of foregrounding the interactions. We identified four SPSI pathways: i) TDR processes, ii) explicitly conceptualising and communicating research projects in relation to mandates and policies, iii) the global sustainability agenda, and iv) relationships and networks. We argued that these pathways can be construed as important windows for foregrounding SPSI in TDR projects. Cross-scale dynamics such as the spatial scale of interactions, actors' roles, and purposes of engagement were critical determinants of the intensity and frequency of the interactions between the project actors. The analysis suggests that being context-sensitive is key to foregrounding SPSI in TDR projects. Conceptual threshold crossing, resource intensity, power differentials, discontinuity, as well as a history of academic and practice silos present formidable challenges to SPSI in TDR projects. These challenges can be addressed through the identified pathways, adequate capability development; incentivising academics and practitioners engaged in co-production of knowledge; stimulating co-production through adequate resources; building redundancies within the project teams, ideas, and processes, and paying attention to the politics of co-production of knowledge. • Context-sensitivity is crucial to SPSI in Transdisciplinary research (TDR). • Science-policy-society interactions (SPSI) is complex in TDR projects. • Intensity and frequency of SPSI interaction depends on actor's role. • The supra-system is important to understanding influence of external context. • SPSI in TDR contributes to addressing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Discretionary or ex gratia payouts are widespread in parametric insurance programs. • Payouts attempt to secure social license to operate despite contractual basis risk. • Discretionary payouts obscure and entrench insurers' market power. • Attempts at conciliation often stoke further demands from aggrieved collectivities. • Geospatial monitoring alone cannot resolve questions of post-disaster distribution. The past decade has seen the dramatic proliferation of geospatial tools to remotely monitor, measure, and transfer weather and climate risk, particularly in the Global South. These "parametric" tools are calculative market devices used to commodify risk and facilitate its distantiated exchange via insurance markets. Yet the environmental estimates they generate are frequently wrong, sometimes grossly so. This paper investigates what happens after calculative market devices fail, analyzing so-called ex gratia ("from grace") practices in which insurers make payouts to aggrieved clients even when none are due under contractual terms. Though these payments are commonly deployed to dispel discontent, these "public secrets" of the industry have gone unnoticed in insurance scholarship. This paper documents numerous ex gratia payouts in parametric programs across Africa, disputing the myth of autonomous insurance markets that function according to formal, transparent rules administered by dispassionate calculative devices. Instead, these "discretionary" monetary transfers reintroduce human decision making in informal, black-boxed ways, cloaking the inadequacy of the parametric contracts they shore up. Far from incidental, I argue that these practices have been constitutive of the parametric insurance market's persistence and expansion. Though ex gratia payments sometimes give rise to negotiations over indemnification with aggrieved collectivities, these unfold on insurers' terms, informalizing power and delegitimizing complaint. The growing emphasis on parametric insurance as a tool for climate adaptation makes it all the more important to excavate the mechanics and politics of ex gratia, and to relinquish expectations that geospatial algorithms alone can resolve questions of post-disaster redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The politics of knowledge remains a contentious issue among academics, students, politicians and society at large. While a fair amount of the literature on this subject has been generated, what emerges is that there is no uniform understanding in terms of what is responsible for the retarded state of knowledge in Africa. Accordingly, Africa contributes very little to scientific publications compared to other continents. The partial understanding generated in this regard largely focused on the soft impediments. Against this backdrop, this paper drew from qualitative materials to identify and critically analyse some of the often downplayed key issues avoided by critics in grappling with the question of the retarded state of knowledge in South Africa compared to that of its peers in the Global South and elsewhere. While the list elaborated below is not exhaustive, the research for this paper points to a cauldron of controlled circulation of literature, academic bullying and sabotage, administrative inefficiencies, and the nature of the employment contract as the hard issues responsible for the failure of universities to correct the sad state of knowledge in South Africa. Yet, these issues have not received adequate scholarly attention in prevailing discourses about this academic and policy conundrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several African countries are experiencing problems with overcapacity in their energy sectors on a scale that cannot be explained or justified with reference to the volatility of supply alone. This constitutes a paradox in contexts where many people do not have access to modern energy. Based on a review of the scant existing literature, this paper provides an overview of existing explanations for overcapacity and discusses its potential implications. It identifies three general explanations whose relative weight, however, differ from one country to another, namely the quality of planning and management, national ideology and political interests, and the role of donors and private investors. Among the potential implications are not only the increasing deficits and debts of public utilities, higher tariffs and reduced access to energy, but also delays in energy transitions. This has policy implications for energy-sector planning, including the role of bureaucracies and experts, the management of public utilities and debt, and tariffs, as well as for procurement and contracting. Overall, more research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to present the general characteristics and representative species of the genus Pronolagus. The genus Pronolagus, commonly known as red rock hares, represents a group of lagomorphs endemic to southern Africa. Comprising several species, this genus is characterized by its distinctive reddish-brown fur and its preference for rocky habitats. The genus includes four species, each adapted to specific environmental niches. Red rock hares exhibit unique behavioral patterns, including nocturnal activity and intricate burrow systems within rocky crevices, providing them with protection from predators. These lagomorphs are herbivores, relying on a diverse diet of grasses, herbs, and shrubs. Their feeding habits contribute to seed dispersal and plant regeneration in their habitats. Populations of red rock hare appear stable. However, their populations face challenges due to habitat loss, human encroachment, and potential predation by introduced species. Efforts to protect and conserve red rock hares should prioritize habitat preservation and restoration, along with measures to mitigate the impact of invasive species. Collaborative initiatives involving local communities, conservation organizations, and governmental bodies are crucial for the effective conservation of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of misinforming policy direction is undoubtedly high when factors determining foreign direct investment (FDI) are haphazardly selected owing to the diverse nature of the underlying FDI theories, thus leading to model uncertainty. To resolve the econometric and policy concerns, this paper re-investigates the determinants of FDI for 53 African economies for which comprehensive data are available using the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) technique over the period 1984–2018. Interestingly, unlike the previously conducted studies on FDI determinants, variables such as gross fixed capital formation, trade openness, exchange rate, secondary school education, democratic regime type, and mobile subscriptions per 100 people take preeminent positions over other explanatory variables for the continent. However, government consumption expenditure, inflation, GDP per capita, capital openness, and credits to the private sectors constitute the major deterring factors of FDI into the continent. These variables remain the substantive predictors of FDI in the African continent out of the 23 explanatory variables used. Similarly, differences are observed in the determinants of FDI across the regions of the continent. Thus, assuming the general policy framework to region-specific concerns may not be an efficient policy menu for attracting foreign capital flows. In light of the preceding, understanding the salient African-wide determinants as well as each region's idiosyncratic details regarding the determinants holds a promising path to tread in attracting foreign direct investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a strong wave of Eurobond issuances by Africa's frontier market economies since the start of the century. But it is not clear how these issuances have affected economic performance. This paper uses synthetic control experiments to conduct comparative case study analyses of the impacts of Eurobond issuances on economic growth, debt sustainability, and domestic capital markets. Ex post, we compare the trajectories of the relevant macroeconomic outcomes against their synthetically constructed business-as-usual counterfactual in an environment with no Eurobond issuance. The results show that, on average, sovereign Eurobond issuances have led to improvements in per capita GDP in Africa by about 10 percent above the counterfactual, business-as-usual scenario. Although most issuances were within 3 percent of GDP, they potentially led to about 13 percentage point acceleration in the debt-to-GDP ratios after ten years, compared to the counterfactual. Public capital accumulation is, on average, faster in the first two to three years following an issuance in countries with positive correlations. • Eurobond issuances by African sovereigns surged in the 2000s, with over 125 instruments issued by 21 African sovereigns. • We conduct synthetic control experiments, comparing relevant macro-outcomes with their counterfactuals under no issuance. • Eurobond have had a noticeable positive effect on incomes, about 10 percent annual improvement above the counterfactual. • But debt sustainability risks from Eurobond issuances are heightened by 13 percent above the counterfactual within 10 years. • Downside risks from Eurobonds should be actively managed to remain a useful source of financing and development in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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