Researcher predicts more rain

A researcher at Okavango Research Institute (ORI) Mr Oliver Moses has predicted a lot of rainfall in Botswana due to La Nino, which has affected the Equatorial Pacific region.
Mr Moses, who was presenting his research finding dubbed Current Rains and Ocean Atmosphere Interaction, during a stakeholder meeting in Maun recently, said normal to above normal rain fall was expected between January and March this year
The research’s main aim was to update stakeholders on the current rains and to explain their connection with ocean-atmosphere interactions in relation to Botswana’s climate.
Another aim was to sensitise them about how the warming and cooling of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean influenced Botswana’s climate.
Mr Moses revealed that generally, La Nina was associated with wet conditions, while its counterpart, El Nino was associated with dry conditions in Botswana. He said sometimes trade winds intensified causing an upsurge that is stronger than usual, resulting in temperatures that are colder than normal.
He explained that what happens in the oceans affects the weather in Botswana, adding that currently the country has already received more rainfall which caused havoc in some parts resulting in some buildings, roads and bridges destroyed.
Furthermore, the researcher observed that some major dams in the country are already full.
The gathering was also briefed that in Ngamiland, there was a shift as rainfall started in November while generally rain season starts in October.
 He said the shift was caused by climate change adding that this season, the district experienced more rains in January.
“We have already experienced more rain in January and yet the season is not ending which means by the end of the season, the rains will be significant. This year there is a lot of rain coming,” he added.

The acting director of ORI, Professor Joseph Mbaiwa thanked the researcher for his informative presentation noting that the stakeholders now know what will happen in the next three months in terms of rainfall. BOPA

Botswana Notes and Records vol.48, No.1 of 2016

The monumental Botswana Notes and Records (vol. 48, No. 1 of 2016), which is a  special issue on Humanities at UB and Botswana’s 50 Years of Independence, now appears Online. 

http://journals.ub.bw/index.php/bnr/issue/view/84

Just sending your CV is a waste of time by Ian Hammond

I use LinkedIn a lot!  And I notice many people asking people to review their profiles.  I have also had a lot of communication from people who presently have no job and who tell me that they have sent their CV's so often with no response.  I have advertised sales jobs a few times and the amount and (almost) invariably poor CV's that I get is truly astounding.  There are a lot of people out there who are desperate to contribute to the economy!

Posting your CV on-line, entering it into recruiter's databases, is exactly what these companies want.  One of their products is a large range of CV's to put onto a database which they can access.  Imagine a recruitment agency with about 100 or more CV's for a boilermaker or a similar work.  What will make your CV stand out?  In my view nothing.  All CV's I have read are more or less the same: School, study, work, references, black on white.

Read more here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/just-sending-your-cv-waste-time-ian-hammond?trk=hp-feed-article-title-share

University of Botswana is better than all private tertiary institutions combined!

In this column I wish to look at the position of the University of Botswana as the country’s premier institution. I argue in this column that the attacks levelled against UB are largely unfair, ill-advised and unnecessary. Instead of attacking UB, there must be a concerted effort to complement its course offerings and not an attempt to undermine its work. First, I must declare my interest since I am Associate Professor at the University of Botswana. I am however not writing to defend the UB because it is my place of work. I am writing this column to demonstrate its superiority and why it will remain a special place in the Botswana tertiary landscape.

Sir Seretse Khama, the first University of Botswana Chancellor argued in May 1970 that: “The University must be a committed institution, committed to the fulfilment of the ambitions and aspirations of the communities it was created to serve. One of these is rapid development, another is non-racialism, and the third is simply pride in ourselves and in our past, which in turn would lead to a greater degree of self-confidence, which is one of the very basic ingredients of true independent nationhood.”

read more here https://otlogetswe.com/2016/11/24/university-of-botswana-is-better-than-all-private-tertiary-institutions-combined/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog 

How open science helps researchers succeed

Open access, open data, open source and other open scholarship practices are growing in popularity and necessity. However, widespread adoption of these practices has not yet been achieved. One reason is that researchers are uncertain about how sharing their work will affect their careers. We review literature demonstrating that open research is associated with increases in citations, media attention, potential collaborators, job opportunities and funding opportunities. These findings are evidence that open research practices bring significant benefits to researchers relative to more traditional closed practices.

https://elifesciences.org/content/5/e16800

New seminar at Okavango Research Institute

I would like to invite you to a seminar (given by me) on the 9^th September 2016, at 9 am in the seminar room. This is a presentation that I will be giving at the IUCN African buffalo symposium later in September.

“Effects of divergent migratory strategies on access to resources for Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer)”

All the best

Emily

From Botswana Notes and Records

My Life in Botswana, and Observation of the Society from 1971 to 2005

Derek Hudson*

I obtained a PhD in Statistics from Imperial College, London, in 1963. After working at CERN in Geneva and at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the United States for some years, it gradually became apparent that my wife and my four elderly parents in South Africa were becoming frail and in need of

assistance. I applied to the United Nations for any statistical job in Botswana, Lesotho or Swaziland.

By extraordinary coincidence, the newly arrived expert British statistician in Gaborone found that his son was severely allergic to Kalahari dust. He suddenly had to give up the post of Botswana’s government statistician and hurriedly returned to England. This created a totally unexpected vacancy in Gaborone. I was extremely lucky to be appointed to this vacancy. I took up the post of Government

Statistician at the Central Statistics Offi ce (CSO) in Gaborone in February 1971.

Read more here http://journals.ub.bw/index.php/bnr/article/view/686/343