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The aim of this study was to examine how sign language policies are being implemented in special schools for the Deaf in Zimbabwe. It employed in-depth interviews to solicit data from 29 participants who were four district school inspectors, four educational psychologists, four school heads and 17 grade one to three specialist teachers. Data were analysed using deductive thematic analysis at the semantic level. The study revealed inconsistencies in sign language policy implementation as consequences of ambiguity of policy goals and conflict of the means of achieving the policy goals. The study further revealed that government officers were not proficient in sign language and so could not monitor policy implementation. Several other factors influenced the implementation of sign language policies in the special schools. Policy implementers were not aware of the meaning of sign language policies and how the policies were supposed to be implemented. There were, therefore, misunderstandings regarding how policies were to be implemented. Schools used various forms of sign language as a way of implementing the policies. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that policymakers ensure that they formulate sign language policies whose goals and means are not ambiguous to avoid conflict in the way the policies are implemented. It was also recommended that the Ministry of Education provides capacity development opportunities to sign language policy implementers starting from those at national, provincial, district and down to school levels where classroom teachers need to be taught how the sign language policies can be implemented.

This study analyzed the influence of resource availability on inclusion of children with various disabilities in rural early childhood development centers in Zimbabwe. A qualitative descriptive design utilizing questionnaires and interviews was used to collect data from 36 teachers, 12 school-heads and 24 parents of children with disabilities who were purposefully sampled. Deductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes emerging from open-ended questionnaire items and interviews. The study revealed that disability-friendly commercial resources were unavailable, and this negatively influenced the inclusion of children with disabilities who were unable to freely participate in play activities and so were isolated to a large extent. This is despite widely available indigenous resources that were not utilized as inclusive supports. The study's findings are utilized to build a case for a heritage-based model of inclusive education.

Wildlife has the potential to support people’s livelihoods and economic development in many African countries. The objective of the review was to evaluate the potential contribution of wildlife to people’s livelihoods and economic development in Africa. Several databases were searched to identify articles that have explored the contributions of wildlife to people’s livelihoods and economic development. The results indicate that wildlife contributes both consumptive and non-consumptive resources towards people’s livelihoods, with bush meat being the greatest consumptive contribution and employment the greatest non-consumptive contribution. Revenue collected from tourists, trophy hunting, and game viewing have been used for infrastructure and rural development. However, wildlife has declined in many African countries due to land redistribution, drought, habitat fragmentation, human population growth, and illegal hunting. Setting up law enforcement agents and creating community-based wildlife management could restore the benefits of wildlife.

To what extent are contemporary classrooms communities and what is the place of the learner and the teacher in this set-up? This article offers a critical exploration of the notion of a community of inquiry in the context of Lipman's Philosophy for Children (P4C). We debate the place of the community of inquiry characterised by a lack of indoctrination, reciprocity of respect and a willingness to reason as pedagogy and an essential ingredient of doing P4C in contemporary classroom practices by using the conception of community from an African perspective. We argue that the ukama (relationality) ethic can add a new dimension to a novel understanding of the community of inquiry as a pedagogical framework for doing P4C in the 21st century.

The aim of this study was to examine how sign language policies are being implemented in special schools for the Deaf in Zimbabwe. It employed in-depth interviews to solicit data from 29 participants who were four district school inspectors, four educational psychologists, four school heads and 17 grade one to three specialist teachers. Data were analysed using deductive thematic analysis at the semantic level. The study revealed inconsistencies in sign language policy implementation as consequences of ambiguity of policy goals and conflict of the means of achieving the policy goals. The study further revealed that government officers were not proficient in sign language and so could not monitor policy implementation. Several other factors influenced the implementation of sign language policies in the special schools. Policy implementers were not aware of the meaning of sign language policies and how the policies were supposed to be implemented. There were, therefore, misunderstandings regarding how policies were to be implemented. Schools used various forms of sign language as a way of implementing the policies. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that policymakers ensure that they formulate sign language policies whose goals and means are not ambiguous to avoid conflict in the way the policies are implemented. It was also recommended that the Ministry of Education provides capacity development opportunities to sign language policy implementers starting from those at national, provincial, district and down to school levels where classroom teachers need to be taught how the sign language policies can be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quinolizidine alkaloids matrine and its N -oxide oxymatrine occur in plants of the genus Sophora. Recently, matrine was sporadically detected in liquorice products. Morphological similarity of the liquorice plant Glycyrrhiza glabra with Sophora species and resulting confusion during harvesting may explain this contamination, but use of matrine as pesticide has also been reported. The detection of matrine in liquorice products raised concern as some studies suggested a genotoxic activity of matrine and oxymatrine. However, these studies are fraught with uncertainties, putting the reliability and robustness into question. Another issue was that Sophora root extracts were usually tested instead of pure matrine and oxymatrine. The aim of this work was therefore to determine whether matrine and oxymatrine have potential for causing gene mutations. In a first step and to support a weight-of-evidence analysis, in silico predictions were performed to improve the database using expert and statistical systems by VEGA, Leadscope (Instem®), and Nexus (Lhasa Limited). Unfortunately, the confidence levels of the predictions were insufficient to either identify or exclude a mutagenic potential. Thus, in order to obtain reliable results, the bacterial reverse mutation assay (Ames test) was carried out in accordance with OECD Test Guideline 471. The test set included the plate incorporation and the preincubation assay. It was performed with five different bacterial strains in the presence or absence of metabolic activation. Neither matrine nor oxymatrine induced a significant increase in the number of revertants under any of the selected experimental conditions. Overall, it can be concluded that matrine and oxymatrine are unlikely to have a gene mutation potential. Any positive findings with Sophora extracts in the Ames test may be related to other components. Notably, the results also indicated a need to extend the application domain of respective (Q)SAR tools to secondary plant metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife has the potential to support people's livelihoods and economic development in many African countries. The objective of the review was to evaluate the potential contribution of wildlife to people's livelihoods and economic development in Africa. Several databases were searched to identify articles that have explored the contributions of wildlife to people's livelihoods and economic development. The results indicate that wildlife contributes both consumptive and non-consumptive resources towards people's livelihoods, with bush meat being the greatest consumptive contribution and employment the greatest non-consumptive contribution. Revenue collected from tourists, trophy hunting, and game viewing have been used for infrastructure and rural development. However, wildlife has declined in many African countries due to land redistribution, drought, habitat fragmentation, human population growth, and illegal hunting. Setting up law enforcement agents and creating community-based wildlife management could restore the benefits of wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how vocational and professional perspectives of teaching deaf learners may influence teaching and learning in residential special schools for the Deaf in Zimbabwe. We argue in this paper that it is the hearing pedagogues' responsibility and obligation to reflect on how their vocational and professional dispositions may have a bearing on teaching practice and learning outcomes. We believe that an understanding of the influence of these dispositions on personal practice is essential if Deaf education is to move forward in these schools that were established as asylums within a charitable colonial ethos.

The study explores the communication challenges faced by teacher trainees in teaching deaf learners and the opportunities that they present. A critical disabilities study approach within the qualitative paradigm was employed to collect interview data from 14 trainee teachers (6 were men and 8 women) and 5 of their specialist mentors (all of them were women) at 3 special schools in Zimbabwe. The trainees were aged 28-45. Data were analyzed using theme identification methods. Results showed that all the mentors and trainees without deaf assistants tended to teach using spoken language and even though they had no prior experience with them, they were suspicious of the use of deaf assistants, whom they saw as synonymous with sign language. Scepticism about using sign language was based on the idea that it was inadequate, would interfere with spoken language development, and would not enable learners to be included in a nondeaf world. It was also established that most of the mentors and trainees with deaf assistants used spoken language to teach, although this tended to be in combination with signs. Based on these challenges, opportunities to develop the education of deaf learners are discussed and recommendations made.

Alien invasive species can have negative impacts on the functioning of ecosystems. Plantation species such as pines have become serious invaders in many parts of the world, but eucalypts have not been nearly as successful invaders. This is surprising considering that in their native habitat they dominate almost all vegetation types. Available theory on the qualities that characterise invasive species was used to assess the invasive potential of Eucalyptus grandis – a common plantation species globally. To determine rates of establishment of E. grandis outside plantations, we compared population demographics and reproductive traits at two locations in Mpumalanga, South Africa: one at higher elevation with more frost. Eucalyptus grandis has a short generation time. We found no evidence that establishment of E. grandis was limiting its spread into native grassland vegetation, but it does appear that recruitment is limited by frost and fire over much of its range in Mpumalanga. Populations at both study locations displayed characteristics of good recruitment. Size class distributions showed definite bottlenecks to recruitment which were more severe when exposed to frost at higher elevations. Generally, the rate of spread is low suggesting that the populations are on the establishing populations’ invasion stage. This research gives no indication that there are any factors that would prevent eucalyptus from becoming invasive in the future, and the projected increase in winter temperatures should be a cause for concern as frost is currently probably slowing recruitment of E. grandis across much of its planted range. Conservation implications: Eucalyptus plantations occur within indigenous grasslands that are of high conservation value. Frost and fire can slow recruitment where they occur, but there are no obvious factors that would prevent E. grandis from becoming invasive in the future, and monitoring of its rates of spread is recommended.

In Africa, game reserves have been shifting away from protectorate conservation towards integration of community participation to ensure sustainable development. Thus, this study sought to investigate the challenges faced in managing wildlife resources in the Matusadonha game park. The study used a qualitative research methodology. A semi-structuredinterview survey was conducted in Nyamhunga, Mahombekombe, Siakobvu and Mola-Kasvisva. The study results showed that all the 100 participants identified illegal killing of animal as a major challenge to the park authorities. Amongst the solutions suggested to a low effective wildlife management were, technical systems and relocation of communities was lowly ranked, with participants favoring community integration and employment creation. The major benefit of game reserve activities was maintenance of roads. Other development needs were not supported such as schools, health facilities and construction of bridges. In conclusion, the communities in the around Matusadonha game reserves realise limited benefits from the game reserve and in part this has created challenges in the sustainable management of wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]