Clement Makamure

Open educational resources are a new paradigm that is hugely impacting and changing the mode of scholarly communication the world over. The paradigm is based on the notion and belief that the web is the largest library on earth, offering a wealth of useful and accessible resources in a variety of disciplines and fields. The web has revolutionalised how information is accessed, making knowledge available to millions of people who would normally not have such access due to lack of libraries and the costliness of textbooks and reference materials. Budget cuts in library expenditure in many colleges and universities have deprived students of badly needed educational resources. Rather, open educational resources have modified existing pedagogical models and strategies in higher education. Wheeler (2010) argues that the enormity of accessible learning resources will eventually force academics to reinvent the way teaching- learning strategies are conceived in colleges and universities. Bil...

The growing awareness of environmental crisis has led to widespread religious reflection on the human relationship with the environment. After perceiving the goodness of the world that he had created, God created humanity in his own image. The perfectly created human being was placed in harmony with the world and was told to subdue it. Human beings were asked to rule and not to destroy the world. This implies that God placed the duty of Stewardship upon humanity. It is the role of humanity to preserve the environment. Genesis 1:27 clearly asserts that God created human beings and this is fundamental to environmental justice which affirms the social and economical right as well as environmental self determination . The basic assumption of this paper is that, environmental justice is the spring board for sustainable development. The researcher of this paper has seen to it that deforestation is devastating the environment, good arable land is eroding, streams are getting polluted or dr...

Open educational resources are a new paradigm that is hugely impacting and changing the mode of scholarly communication in Zimbabwe. The paradigm is based on the notion and belief that Scientists, scholars and academicians need to publish their findings and have them disseminated as widely as possible so that mankind can benefit from their research efforts. It is a paradigm that aims at enhancing knowledge and information sharing at unprecedented levels. As economic hardships continue to pierce into every sector of life in Africa, the need to learn while earning has rocked the hearts of many and this has created a fertile ground for the expansion of open educational resources in teacher education movement. This paper seeks to assess the importance of open educational resources in teacher education focusing on Zimbabwe Open University. Zimbabwe Open University is believed to be the largest university in Zimbabwe. This has been caused by its emphasis in the promotion, sharing and use ...

Issues relating to homosexuality are one of the primary topics of moral debates in Africa. This is necessitated by the different perceptions that Africans have towards homosexuality. Some African societies condemn it while others embrace it with open hands. In Zimbabwe, gays and lesbians have been seen as chaos being unleashed by the profane Western society which is endeavouring to unseat governments and replace them with fiefdoms in the name of human rights. So, the challenges presented by homosexuality in different cultures of the world assume various degrees but in Africa, the phenomenon has raised issues that have proved to be a thorn in the flesh. The view of this paper is that there is moral danger if we base our moral values on the rights-based approach to homosexuality in Zimbabwe. To achieve this, the authors of this article used the qualitative approach which included interviews, published documents and internet sources to glean data. The paper argues that homosexuality is...

Marginalization means being disregarded, ostracized, harassed, disliked, persecuted, or generally looked down upon. Marginalized people often include women and children, the poor, the disabled, sexual, religious, or ethnic minorities, refugees. The marginalized are those who are socially, politically, culturally, or economically excluded from main-stream society. In history, the Church in Zimbabwe has played a role in improving the lives of the marginalized, but what is religion, especially Christianity, doing for the marginalized now? Although religion is also implicated in marginalisation, the contributions in this volume did not address this angle as they focused on the role that religion can and should play to fight marginalization. The chapters come from two conferences (2012, 2014) that were held under the flag of ATISCA. The contributions have been updated to include later developments and publications.

Disability among the traditional Shona societies was perceived with mixed attitudes and feelings. At one time the Shona would view disability with an abusive and denigrating attitude while at other times they would discourage the abuse and ill-treatment of people with disability. The Shona may view people with disabilities with suspicion because it is generally agreed that such mishaps are related to certain actions or non-actions by parents or family members. The punishment and retribution of vadzimu (ancestors) can be manifested in the form of deformities in the children of the offending persons. Disability is also blamed on the works of jealous witches who do not want to see a certain family having able-bodied children. The diversity of Shona people’s attitudes towards people living with disability has been and is exhibited through taboos and folktales. It is in light of this view that this paper is set to reflect on the rich legacy of traditional Shona taboos and folktales and...

Issues relating to homosexuality have ignited endless debates in the fields of religion, theology, politics and human sexuality. Throughout history, various moralists have condemned homosexuality as immoral and many societies have outlawed it. Philosophers have insisted for centuries that homosexuality is immoral. The bible proclaimed that it is an abomination (Lev 18v22), politicians call homosexuals the festering figure; the courts send them to jail. In our time, some nations have repealed laws discriminating against homosexuals and others have given legal recognition to homosexual relationship basing on human rights. Other communities have denounced homosexuality as unAfrican. In Zimbabwe homosexuality is widely seen as a result of the moral decadence that has gripped society and as originating in promiscuous sexual behaviour. It is in light of this background that this paper has explored the Traditional Karanga people's attitude towards homosexuality. The paper interrogated and examined the stance and the basis of moral position of the Karanga people in relation to homosexuality. The paper managed to find out that the practice is not rooted in Karanga tradition hence it emanated as a new phenomenon from other cultures. Homosexuality though it could have been prevalent among Karanga societies, it was not tolerated Documentary analysis and interviews and focus group discussion were used to glean data for this paper.

Open educational resources are a new paradigm that is hugely impacting and changing the mode of scholarly communication the world over. The paradigm is based on the notion and belief that the web is the largest library on earth, offering a wealth of useful and accessible resources in a variety of disciplines and fields. The web has revolutionalised how information is accessed, making knowledge available to millions of people who would normally not have such access due to lack of libraries and the costliness of textbooks and reference materials. Budget cuts in library expenditure in many colleges and universities have deprived students of badly needed educational resources. Rather, open educational resources have modified existing pedagogical models and strategies in higher education. Wheeler (2010) argues that the enormity of accessible learning resources will eventually force academics to reinvent the way teaching-learning strategies are conceived in colleges and universities. Bill Gates (2010) in a speech at a Technomy conference said " Five years from now, on the web for free, you will be able to find the best lecturers in the world... It will be better than any single university... the best lecturer in the world will not be at hallowed institutions, reserved only for the privileged and elite, but on the web for everyone who wants access to them ". It is in light of this background that this paper seeks to assess the effectiveness of harnessing Open Educational Resources in teacher education programmes. The paper is a qualitative analysis of the effectiveness of the pedagogical methods used by the Zimbabwe Open University in teacher education. The study is informed by the contention that under current economic hardships in Zimbabwe, open and distance learning which fosters the use of open educational resources is becoming the best method in teacher education. Interviews through questioners, documentary analysis, focus group discussion and personal observations are to be used to triangulate data collection for this paper.

Disability among the traditional Shona societies was perceived with mixed attitudes and feelings. At one time the Shona would view disability with an abusive and denigrating attitude while at other times they would discourage the abuse and ill-treatment of people with disability. The Shona may view people with disabilities with suspicion because it is generally agreed that such mishaps are related to certain actions or non-actions by parents or family members. The punishment and retribution of vadzimu (ancestors) can be manifested in the form of deformities in the children of the offending persons. Disability is also blamed on the works of jealous witches who do not want to see a certain family having able-bodied children. The diversity of Shona people's attitudes towards people living with disability has been and is exhibited through taboos and folktales. It is in light of this view that this paper is set to reflect on the rich legacy of traditional Shona taboos and folktales and see the extent to which they exhibit both negative and positive attitudes of the Shona people towards people with disability. The paper will start by giving the beliefs of the Shona people on the types and causes of disability and then proceed to give Shona taboos and folktales which either accommodate or denigrate people with disability. Document and story analysis methods will be used to glean data for this paper.

ABSRACT Open educational resources are a new paradigm that is hugely impacting and changing the mode of scholarly communication in Zimbabwe. The paradigm is based on the notion and belief that Scientists, scholars and academicians need to publish their findings and have them disseminated as widely as possible so that mankind can benefit from their research efforts. It is a paradigm that aims at enhancing knowledge and information sharing at unprecedented levels. As economic hardships continue to pierce into every sector of life in Africa, the need to learn while earning has rocked the hearts of many and this has created a fertile ground for the expansion of open educational resources in teacher education movement. This paper seeks to assess the importance of open educational resources in teacher education focusing on Zimbabwe Open University. Zimbabwe Open University is believed to be the largest university in Zimbabwe. This has been caused by its emphasis in the promotion, sharing and use of open educational resources (OER). The study is premised on the understanding that it is becoming difficulty for students to get into Conventional Universities given the economic hardship we face in the country today. It is against such an understanding that the paper would want to establish the importance of vindicating open educational resources in teaching and learning in Zimbabwe. The study is also informed by the contention that in Zimbabwe, even the Conventional universities are now also opting for block release programmes so as to give opportunity to students to access education while working. Vital to note is the contention that Block release is a form of learning which call for open educational resources so as to allow a wide access to information. Be that as it may, open educational resources are growing into becoming the best mode of learning in Zimbabwe. The paper is a qualitative analysis of the importance of harnessing open educational resources in teacher education. Interviews, document analysis and personal observations are to be used to triangulate data collection for this paper. Introduction As economic hardships continue to pierce their sting into every sector of life in Africa, the need to learn while earning is rocking the hearts of many. Such a move has created a fertile ground for the expansion of Open Educational Resources in teacher education. This paper seeks to assess the importance of harnessing Open Educational Resources (OER) in teacher education with special reference to Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) which is by and large the only university in the country which stresses the use of OER in teacher education. The paper will start by giving the background of the study and then move on to the definition of OER. After this the paper will proceed to give a brief history of OER and thereafter look at how Zimbabwe Open University is using OER and the importance that is fostered by OER in teacher education in Zimbabwe. The paper will end by giving recommendations on the use of OER.

The growing awareness of environmental crisis has led to widespread religious reflection on the human relationship with the environment. After perceiving the goodness of the world that he had created, God created humanity in his own image. The perfectly created human being was placed in harmony with the world and was told to subdue it. Human beings were asked to rule and not to destroy the world. This implies that God placed the duty of Stewardship upon humanity. It is the role of humanity to preserve the environment. Genesis 1:27 clearly asserts that God created human beings and this is fundamental to environmental justice which affirms the social and economical right as well as environmental self determination. The basic assumption of this paper is that, environmental justice is the spring board for sustainable development. The researcher of this paper has seen to it that deforestation is devastating the environment, good arable land is eroding, streams are getting polluted or drying up and women have to go further to find ever-scarcer firewood in the rural areas. More to this people are fighting to lay their hands on gold, diamonds, silver, emeralds, ivory, petroleum and the like. All these constitute what we call environment. If people could learn to be in harmony with the environment, there will be environmental sustainability hence development. The goal of this paper is to argue that human beings were placed on this earth to maintain it and live in harmony with it. If people manage to be just to the environment then there will be peace in the world. The other basis of this paper is that the issue of environmental justice is Biblical and that human activities have an effect on the environment hence causing an imbalance in the ecosystem with no peace at all. The paper is based on Mathew 7:15-20 where Jesus talked about bearing good fruits through which God's people are recognised. This paper will suggest that we need to rethink our understanding of the relation of humanity to nonhuman nature and to develop a more adequate theology of nature for representing God's relation to the created order. This article intends to offer some biblical-theological considerations to be borne in mind in the ecological discussion. It does not deal with the practicalities of stewardship of the environment per se but suggests a framework within which that stewardship can be fostered. The article tries to raise the theology of environmental justice and see how it can help us to be just and peaceful in this world. The paper will argue that although the importance of individual action can't be overestimated, it will never solve a problem that is at heart. Until our profit-driven economies are redirected to take long-range effects into account, the earth will continue to be polluted and peace and justice will remain the words on the mouth but never achieved, practiced and cherished in human life. Book review and personal observations are going to be used to scrape together data for this paper. 1.0 Introduction The growing awareness of environmental crisis has led to widespread religious reflection on the human relationship with the environment. After perceiving the goodness of the world that he had created, God created humanity in his own image. The perfectly created human being was placed in harmony with the environment and was told to subdue it. This implies that, God placed the duty of Stewardship upon humanity. When God created the universe, all the resources were in a perfect and complete state, under the care of humankind. God gave the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve for their recreation in addition to other resources. However, today the scenario looks pathetic to an extent that human beings can no longer rely on the same resources for their fulfilment. Due to numerous factors in opposition to one another, human beings through their selfish actions have blundered the rich resources meant for their comfort thus reducing themselves to a state of destitution. It is in light of this background that this paper intends to argue that, the Biblical environmental justice is the spring board for sustainable development. In other words, there is a significant relationship between God, humanity and the environment. Today deforestation is devastating the environment, good arable land is eroding, streams are getting polluted or drying up and women have to go further to find ever-scarcer firewood in the rural areas. More to this, people are fighting to lay their hands on gold, diamonds, silver, emeralds, ivory, petroleum and the like. All these problems can be put to an end if people could learn to be in harmony with the environment and there will be environmental sustainability hence development. If there is no peace between God and humanity, the earth or environment also suffers unjustly. So, we need to rethink our understanding of the relation of humanity to nonhuman nature and to develop a more adequate theology of nature for representing God's relation to the created order if we are to achieve sustainable development. This paper will kick off by defining key terms like environmental justice and sustainable development. Thereafter we discuss the concept of environmental justice in the light of the bible. The paper will end by giving recommendations on how we can manage the environment. Biblical hermeneutics, personal observations and book review were found appropriate for this study. The methods allowed the researcher to navigate the turbulent waters of environmental justice for sustainable development from a biblical perspective.

Religions of the world view disability differently. Judaism, Islam and other Semitic religions regard it as a curse from God due to sins of either the parents or the individual. African Traditional Religion regards disability as a curse from the ancestors or the whole blame is cast on the mother of the disabled. In Hinduism, disability is believed to be linked to " karma " , sins that have been committed in past lives. It is a punishment for misdeeds in the past lives of the People with Disability, or the wrongdoings of their parents. Buddhists believe that disability is a result of having done something negative in a former life. Most religions of the world construe disability as a result of sin. Christianity today has mixed feelings towards disability. Some denominations consider it to be a result of sin while others take it as a biological issue and has nothing to do with sin. Christianity is diverse hence it has diverse views on disability. It is against this background that this paper would like to reflect on the role of Pentecostal churches in curbing the marginalisation of people with disability. The paper would assess the initiatives of Pentecostal churches in addressing the issues of disability. Documentary analysis supported by interviews and personal observations shall be used to gather data for this paper.