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This paper discusses the challenges that are faced by students at the University of Botswana in learning for employment. There has been a complaint from employers that the University of Botswana does not produce students who are ready for employment. Based on this problem, this study investigated learners’ views on learning for employment so as to unearth challenges that students encounter in learning for employment. This study adopted a qualitative research approach and it used the open ended questionnaires, interviews and focus groups to tease out information from the University of Botswana students. Students who participated in this study were selected from different levels (year groups). The findings indicated that learners encountered challenges at various stages of their learning. Such challenges include but are not limited to: more concentration on theory than practice, large classes, lack of job opportunities, limited time for practice in the world of work and lack of supervision in attachment placement. The study concludes that a reflection is necessary for lecturers, the university and employees in various organizations to assist learners to gain skills for employment.

This study was based on the observation that the construction and presentation of the self is a prominent feature of the life of every politician. That construction of the self is even more pronounced in male politicians, who clandestinely perceive politics as a male preserve. Because of the prevailing social order’s agitation for the sharing of power between men and women, men resort to concealing their true and embodied beliefs about gender equality and women’s empowerment by feigning support when speaking in public political spaces. Using the idea of persona, a concept that explains the presentation of the self and “masks” that people wear to construct themselves, this study explored the male dominated political system of Botswana to identify the “deceitful” and “inauthentic” acts of male politicians. The study also used persona to explore gendered political space in Botswana to identify the “true selves” hidden behind male politicians’ public selves as they engaged in political activities. The personas in this study have been uncovered through Margaret Nasha’s involvement in politics as an important agent and “driver” of the agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment. The choice to use Margaret Nasha’s political life story as a conduit to identity and explain political persona “masks” that male politicians wore was informed by the multifaceted roles she played to survive political muddles. Using document analysis and semi-structured interviewing methods, this study has unearthed that Margaret Nasha’s involvement in politics exposed her male political colleagues’ hidden selves and the influence of patriarchy in continued gender inequality in Botswana politics.

Background Enabling personal mobile device use through a bring-your-own device (BYOD) policy can potentially save significant costs for medical schools and healthcare facilities, as they would not always have to acquire facility-owned devices. The BYOD policy is also perceived as a driver for balancing user needs for convenience with institutional needs for security. However, there seems to be a paucity in the literature on BYOD policy development, policy evaluation, and evaluation of mobile device implementation projects. Objective This review explored the literature to identify BYOD policy components (issues, interventions, and guidelines) that could potentially inform BYOD policy development and implementation in medical schools and healthcare facilities. Methods A literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Ebscohost (Academic Search Premier, ERIC, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) was conducted using the following search terms and their synonyms: healthcare facilities, mobile devices, BYOD, privacy and confidentiality, and health records. We developed a review matrix to capture the main aspects of each article and coded the matrix for emerging themes. The database and hand search yielded 1 594 articles, 14 of which were deemed as meeting the inclusion criteria. Results Several themes emerging from the analysis include: device management, data security, medical applications, information technology, education and/or curriculum, policy, and guidelines. The guidelines theme seems to provide a direction for BYOD policy development and implementation while the policy theme seems to be the comprehensive solution that synergizes BYOD implementation. Conclusion Rather than an approach of ‘chasing’ issues with interventions, a more feasible approach towards achieving a safe mobile device use environment is through the development of comprehensive BYOD policies that would balance users’ need for convenience with organizational security and patient privacy. The paucity in peer-reviewed literature calls for robust research that uses socio-technical approaches to development and evaluation of BYOD policies in medical schools and healthcare facilities.

BACKGROUND The ‘culture’ or ‘habit’ of using personal mobile devices for work and learning is expected to continue growing with advances in information and communication and network technologies. Even with the benefits of users bringing their personal devices to working and learning spaces, the fluid relationship and user movement between medical schools and healthcare facilities can pose challenges for data security, particularly patient information security. The bring-your-own device (BYOD) policy is perceived as a driver for balancing user needs for convenience and institutional needs for security. OBJECTIVE This review sought to explore the literature to identify BYOD policy components (issues, interventions, and guidelines) that could potentially inform BYOD policy development and implementation in healthcare facilities and medical schools. METHODS A literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Ebscohost (Academic Search Premier, ERIC, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) was conducted using the following search terms and their synonyms: healthcare facilities, mobile devices, BYOD, privacy and confidentiality, and health records. We developed a review matrix to capture the main aspects of each article and coded the matrix for emerging themes. The database and hand search yielded 1 594 articles, 14 of which were deemed as meeting the inclusion criteria. RESULTS Themes emerging from the study include: device management, data security, medical applications, information technology, education and/or curriculum, policy, and guidelines. The guidelines theme seems to provide a direction for BYOD policy development and implementation. CONCLUSIONS A more feasible approach towards achieving a safe mobile device use environment is through the development of comprehensive BYOD policies that would balance users’ need for convenience with organizational security and patient privacy. The paucity in peer-reviewed literature calls for robust research that uses socio-technical approaches to development and evaluation of BYOD policies in healthcare facilities and medical schools. CLINICALTRIAL none