From UNICEF Somalia!

Heartfelt appreciation from the people of Puntland to the people of #Botswana & @BWGovernment, presented by Vice President Abdihakim Abdullahi Omar to High Commissioner John Moreti. The generous contribution has made safe, affordable water a reality for many, especially the IDPs.
https://twitter.com/unicefsomalia/status/996801105999859712

EDUCATION MINISTER BLAMES DECLINING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ON FAILURE TO ALLOW TEACHERS TO REST DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

EDUCATION MINISTER BLAMES DECLINING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ON FAILURE TO ALLOW TEACHERS TO REST DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

Minister of Basic Education Bagalatia Arone says failure to allow teachers to rest during school holidays, has contributed to the declining academic performance of pupils.

When the Public Service Act came to effect in 2008, teachers were not allowed to rest during school holidays.

Those who wanted to travel or rest during holidays were forced to take leave days.

Arone intends to table an amendment bill in parliament that will allow teachers to rest during school holidays without applying for leave days.

Yarona FM News-The Real Story

Joseph Matshelo: The walking library: How to increase the visibility of your research?

Joseph Matshelo: The walking library: How to increase the visibility of your research?: Activities aimed at promoting research are increasingly important in researchers’ work.  By making your research visible and accessible you...

How to increase the visibility of your research?

Activities aimed at promoting research are increasingly important in researchers’ work.  By making your research visible and accessible you increase chances of your research being noticed, used and having impact, thus increasing your own reputation and chances of success in your academic work. 

Researchers are embracing a variety of activities and tools to promote work, connect with other researchers, and engage in scholarly discourse.  Increasingly, the activities related to promoting their research take place at all stages of the research process: from the discovery stage, through analysis and writing process, through to publishing, outreach, and  assessment.  101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication project from University of Utrecht (see below) provides a comprehensive mapping of traditional and newer tools to aid research process.   

In this guide you will find descriptions of six steps to increased visibility and impact of research activity, and recommendations of tools that can help in this process. 

Read more http://pitt.libguides.com/researchvisibility

Ebola Outbreak!!!

PRESS RELEASE |The public is notified that Democratic Republic of Congo #DRC has declared a new #EBOLAVirus Disease Outbreak following confirmation of 17 Ebola related deaths and 21 suspected cases on 8th May 2018. #EbolaOutbreak

Symptoms of Ebola virus disease include: Fever of acute onset (>37.50C) with unexplained bleeding tendencies from nose (Epitasis), gums, vagina, skin or eyes, bloody stools, vomiting and coughing blood, diarrhea, deterioration of vision or decreased consciousness.
https://twitter.com/BWGovernment/status/994810625065934848

Scotland has introduced a minimum unit price on alcohol

I note that Scotland has introduced a minimum unit price on alcohol with the intention to reduce alcohol related deaths and hospital admissions.

I commend Scotland for being the first country to embark upon this initiative.

It has always been a great concern for me when people lose their lives due to circumstances that could be avoided. Life is so precious, and the loss thereof is always traumatic for loved ones.

I tried to appeal for moderation for those engaging in alcohol consumption, and introduced the Alcohol Levy to try to combat the high volume of alcohol consumed in this country, to curb deaths, destruction, carnage on our roads, family feuds and suffering, it is a long list. The levy helped a lot in this regard by funding alcohol abuse awareness campaigns and education and did indeed cause a slight reduction in consumption as against the ever increasing amount being consumed previously. The levy was never designed to stop people having fun and enjoying themselves, but there is no fun and enjoyment in death either.

Read more https://www.facebook.com/Seretse-Khama-Ian-Khama-667630409972128/?hc_ref=ARSJsZOIiH8lQbeUi2UBgOZSgtZNgupuDy6MZN-DgKKBvar_FrFgBsSqhE_7F2IqdA4&fref=nf

Transboundary Data Sharing for Natural Resources Management in Africa and Elsewhere

Session Organisers: Monica Morrison

Session Description:

Sound management of water, land and biodiversity resources in Africa increasingly depends on regional cooperation. A mix of public and private sector institutions has been formed across the continent to facilitate negotiations around natural resources that cross borders. These special units of regional economic communities, river basin and lake organisations, protected area institutions, and regional research consortia must collect and process data to develop shared understanding of the natural environment and the ways it is being put to use in affected countries. This is especially important in the context of climate change that affects entire regions.

Already engaged in heroic efforts to transcend local political conditions and issues of sovereignty, many of these institutions face pressure to develop and maintain decision support systems that allow preservation and re-use of data from multiple – and diverse - sources. Disaster management, control of illegal wildlife use, agreeing about access to surface and ground water, and preventing the spread of alien invasive species, for example, require synthesis of research data from different countries and regions. This, in turn, requires harmonisation of standards and formats, and agreement about the use of terminology, as well as a high level of political sensitivity and understanding of regional, national and local legal and economic conditions. Determining ownership and responsibility for geographically related data is an important part of the process. In many cases, it is not possible to consolidate useable data in a single system that allows access to all potential users across political and administrative boundaries.

Time-limited development aid programmes and projects that include a cross-border research mandate often finish their work by handing over the data they have collected,and associated data management systems, to local institutions that often have not been thoroughly engaged in the work, may not have the capacity to maintain these resources, and that are missing the collaborative connections and history of productive interactions created by the transboundary programme. In some cases, data resources may be preserved outside their contextual environment,not easily accessible for contributing to new knowledge and insights.

Engagement processes developed to facilitate the substantive work of African transboundary institutions and programmes may have the potential to incorporate the requirements of such knowledge infrastructures. Under the theme of  A Global and Inclusive Data Revolution, this session proposes to examine the needs, challenges and enabling practices of data sharing for transboundary natural resources management through presentations of case studies from Africa.

Papers are invited from researchers, practitioners and beneficiaries with experience in negotiating joint development and application of knowledge resources to natural resources management challenges that transcend the continent’s national and regional boundaries.