A critical language study of Tanzanian presidential Kiswahili political oratory

The thesis discusses the result of a critical language study (CLS) of Tanzanian Presidential Kiswahili political oratory (TPKPO). The CLS was motivted by the belief that one of the principal contributions that linguists could make to the survival and development of their societies is to adopt what Shapiro (1990:12) paraphrasing Foucault (1977) has callled "a commitment to a form of inquiry aimed at the continuous disruption of the structures of "intelligibility" upon which some of the prevailing hegemonic political prejudices and biases are based. Faifclough's (1989) ideas regarding the need for and how to conduct CLS were dapted to suit the specific goal of the curren study which was to determine the inter and intra speker vriation within contemporary Tanzanian Kiswahili political discourse taking the oratory ex-president J. K. Nyerere and tha of Prersident A. H. Mwinyi as a case in point. The results of the study, which adopted a largely ethnographic research design, permit one to make two important observations about TPKPO.

Feasibility of a solar panel-powered liquid desiccant cooling system for greenhouses

To investigate the technical feasibility of a novel cooling system for commercial greenhouses, knowledge of the state of the art in greenhouse cooling is required. An extensive literature review was carried out that highlighted the physical processes of greenhouse cooling and showed the limitations of the conventional technology. The proposed cooling system utilises liquid desiccant technology; hence knowledge of liquid desiccant cooling is also a prerequisite before designing such a system. Extensive literature reviews on solar liquid desiccant regenerators and desiccators, which are essential parts of liquid desiccant cooling systems, were carried out to identify their advantages and disadvantages. In response to the findings, a regenerator and a desiccator were designed and constructed in lab. An important factor of liquid desiccant cooling is the choice of liquid desiccant itself. The hygroscopicity of the liquid desiccant affects the performance of the system. Bitterns, which are magnesium-rich brines derived from seawater, are proposed as an alternative liquid desiccant for cooling greenhouses. A thorough experimental and theoretical study was carried out in order to determine the properties of concentrated bitterns. It was concluded that their properties resemble pure magnesium chloride solutions. Therefore, magnesium chloride solution was used in laboratory experiments to assess the performance of the regenerator and the desiccator. To predict the whole system performance, the physical processes of heat and mass transfer were modelled using gPROMS® advanced process modelling software. The model was validated against the experimental results. Consequently it was used to model a commercials-scale greenhouse in several hot coastal areas in the tropics and sub-tropics. These case studies show that the system, when compared to evaporative cooling, achieves 3oC-5.6oC temperature drop inside the greenhouse in hot and humid places (RH>70%) and 2oC-4oC temperature drop in hot and dry places (50%

The role of the English language in the context of national development vision 2025 with specific reference to agriculture in Tanzania

After thirty years of vacillation, the Tanzanian government has made a firm decision to Swahilize its secondary education system. It has also embarked on an ambitious economic and social development programme (Vision 2025) to transform its peasant society into a modern agricultural community. However, there is a faction in Tanzania opposed to Kiswahili as the medium of education. Already many members of the middle and upper class their children to English medium primary schools to avoid the Kiswahili medium public schools and to prepare their children for the English medium secondary system presently in place. Within the education system, particularly at university level, there is a desire to maintain English as the medium of education. English is seen to provide access to the international scientific community, to cutting edge technology and to the global economy. My interest in this conflict of interests stems from several years' experience teaching English to students at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Students specialise in agriculture and are expected to work with the peasant population on graduation. The students experience difficulties studying in English and then find their Kiswahili skills insufficient to explain to farmers the new techniques and technologies that they have studied in English. They are hampered by a complex triglossic situation in which they use their mother tongue with family and friends, Kiswahili, the national language for early education and most public communication within Tanzania, and English for advanced studies. My aim in this thesis was - to study the language policy in Tanzania and see how it is understood and implemented; - to examine the attitudes towards the various languages and their various roles; - to investigate actual language behaviour in Tanzanian higher education. My conclusion is that the dysfunctionality of the present study has to be addressed. Diglossic public life in Tanzania has to be accommodated. The only solution appears to be a compromise, namely a bilingual education system which supports from all cases of society by using Kiswahili, together with an early introduction of English and its promotion as a privileged foreign language, so that Tanzania can continue to develop internally through Kiswahili and at the same time retain access to the globalising world through the medium of English.

Corporate social responsibility reporting in the mining sector of Tanzania:(Lack of) government regulatory controls and NGO activism

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing debate on governance, accountability, transparency and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the mining sector of a developing country context. It examines the reporting practices of the two largest transnational gold-mining companies in Tanzania in order to draw attention to the role played by local government regulations and advocacy and campaigning by nationally organised non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with respect to promoting corporate social reporting practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes a political economy perspective to consider the serious implications of the neo-liberal ideologies of the global capitalist economy, as manifested in Tanzania’s regulatory framework and in NGO activism, for the corporate disclosure, accountability and responsibility of transnational companies (TNCs). A qualitative field case study methodology is adopted to locate the largely unfamiliar issues of CSR in the Tanzanian mining sector within a more familiar literature on social accounting. Data for the case study were obtained from interviews and from analysis of documents such as annual reports, social responsibility reports, newspapers, NGO reports and other publicly available documents. Findings – Analysis of interviews, press clips and NGO reports draws attention to social and environmental problems in the Tanzanian mining sector, which are arguably linked to the manifestation of the broader crisis of neo-liberal agendas. While these issues have serious impacts on local populations in the mining areas, they often remain invisible in mining companies’ social disclosures. Increasing evidence of social and environmental ills raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory frameworks, as well as the roles played by NGOs and other pressure groups in Tanzania. Practical implications – By empowering local NGOs through educational, capacity building, technological and other support, NGOs’ advocacy, campaigning and networking with other civil society groups can play a pivotal role in encouraging corporations, especially TNCs, to adopt more socially and environmentally responsible business practices and to adhere to international and local standards, which in turn may help to improve the lives of many poor people living in developing countries in general, and Tanzania in particular. Originality/value – This paper contributes insights from gold-mining activities in Tanzania to the existing literature on CSR in the mining sector. It also contributes to political economy theory by locating CSR reporting within the socio-political and regulatory context in which mining operations take place in Tanzania. It is argued that, for CSR reporting to be effective, robust regulations and enforcement and stronger political pressure must be put in place.

Challenging masculinity in CSR disclosures:silencing of women’s voices in Tanzania’s mining industry

This paper presents a feminist analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a male-dominated industry within a developing country context. It seeks to raise awareness of the silencing of women’s voices in CSR reports produced by mining companies in Tanzania. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and women are often marginalised in employment and social policy considerations. Drawing on work by Hélène Cixous, a post-structuralist/radical feminist scholar, the paper challenges the masculinity of CSR discourses that have repeatedly masked the voices and concerns of ‘other’ marginalised social groups, notably women. Using interpretative ethnographic case studies, the paper provides much-needed empirical evidence to show how gender imbalances remain prevalent in the Tanzanian mining sector. This evidence draws attention to the dynamics faced by many women working in or living around mining areas in Tanzania. The paper argues that CSR, a discourse enmeshed with the patriarchal logic of the contemporary capitalist system, is entangled with tensions, class conflicts and struggles which need to be unpacked and acknowledged. The paper considers the possibility of policy reforms in order to promote gender balance in the Tanzanian mining sector and create a platform for women’s concerns to be voiced.