Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Theology - Miscellaneous, , language: English, abstract: This book attempts to look at the R.C.I.A. formation as practiced in parish communities. Since formation of Christians is done through the R.C.I.A., the R.C.I.A. will be the focus. Through the R.C.I.A., the Christian community continues the work of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations by forming them, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet, if the R.C.I.A. is not properly followed, it is possible to baptize Christians without forming them. The study of the methodology of current R.C.I.A. practice will reveal this concern. As such, the purpose of this book is to incorporate a theology of the parish community and its actualization within the R.C.I.A. From this study, a plan will be offered on how to implement the R.C.I.A. in order to form more deeply committed Christians. Thus, the project has four aims. First, it will reveal reasons behind Catholics' lukewarm commitment to the church. Second, it will look at the role of the parish community in the R.C.I.A. and propose ways that the R.C.I.A. can positively affect the formation of Catholic Christians. Third, it will offer an operative theology for a vibrant parish community. And, finally, the project will offer a plan to implement the R.C.I.A. to form more deeply committed Christians. Thus, the discussion will not only demonstrate how the parish community initiates committed Christians but also how God's transformative presence blesses people in that community. Because there still exists tepid Christianity as practiced in some rural parish communities of Zambia, the Zambian Council of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has questioned the type of catechetical program used and have, thus, recommended following a unified approach towards Christian formation in Zambia. Many factors may cause the tepidity of Christianity such as the conflict between the Western Christian culture and the local culture, geography, terrain, climate, and poverty. While the dismissive missionary approach to the evangelization of the local culture may have prevented Zambians from fully accepting Christianity, the Zambian terrain and dangerous roads especially in the rural parts of the country have hindered priests’ availability for pastoral work.

For the past sixty years, the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement has played a major role in Zambia. In this book, Naar Mfundisi-Holloway explains the history of this development and its impact on civic engagement. She opens a discussion on church-state relations and explains how the church presented a channel of hope in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, despite having a history that eschewed civic engagement. In fact, the pandemic propelled the church to work alongside the state in the fight against the disease. Using interviews and historical analysis, this book provides valuable insight into how Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have effectively engaged matters of civic concern in Zambia dating from colonial times.

The present edition of Nature & Faune journal emphasizes the role of natural renewable resources within the framework of Africa’s agricultural transformation. Central to the transformation agenda is achieving greater prosperity which can improve peoples' lives and livelihoods. These improvements of lives and livelihoods cover their economic well-being; their environment; socio‐cultural and political sphere of influence. The conditions for modernizing Africa’s agriculture entail transforming not only production processes but also the products. This issue of the Journal highlights the unique features of Africa’s agriculture, including (i) the urgent need for improving productivity; (ii) the importance of the agricultural sector in Africa’s economies in terms of employment; and (iii) the climate-resilient opportunities within agriculture to cope with climate change challenges. It draws attention to the fact that the agriculture sector offers possibilities for increased productivity while also adapting to and mitigating climate change thus safeguarding also future production.

In contemporary discourse on China-Africa relations, there are, on the one hand, the Sino-pessimists who see China as a giant vacuum-cleaner, sucking up Africa’s resources in order to fuel its own rapid industrialization, and destroying Africa’s development potential in the process. On the other hand, the Sino-optimists see China as the ultimate savior of Africa, capable of or willing to 'develop' the continent. Between the two divergent schools of thought are those sitting on the fence for the time being, the Sino-pragmatists, who are less sanguine for sure about what Africa would gain from China-Africa relations, but are nevertheless willing to reserve judgment until the dust settles. This book is innovative in two ways: it introduces a regional approach to the study of China-Africa relations by focusing on Eastern and Southern Africa; and it puts forward a disciplinary framework- disciplinary in both senses of that term- for interrogating the burgeoning literature about China-Africa relations by conceptualizing the three schools of thought mentioned above.

This book is a must-read for every language teaching professional and researcher working in a multilingual context. Multilingualism and Education in Africa: The State of the State of the Art is an up-to-date exploration and wide-ranging review of the symbiotic relationship between multilingualism and education in Africa. The African continent is rich in languages. Most of her inhabitants are multilingual and many of the nations have embraced multilingual education. This book examines multilingualism in education from three broad perspectives: multilingualism and language in education policy in Africa; multilingualism as an educational resource in Africa; and attitudes and challenges of multilingualism and education in Africa. The book’s nineteen chapters discuss these three perspectives from East, West, Central and South Africa. All the contributors are leading authorities in multilingualism and education. The chapters combine a wide range of viewpoints based on theoretical, empirical and personal experiences. The reader is left with a deeper understanding of the unique features of multilingualism and education in Africa that have seldom been addressed by those who experience them first-hand. The book demonstrates successful practices in multilingualism and education; showing how African nations have determined what works for them without ignoring challenges such as policies on paper, attitudes towards African languages and limited resources. The benefits of multilingual education override the challenges. The book’s extensive coverage makes it an important resource for scholars and policy makers in the field of multilingualism and education. Overall, this book represents an important contribution to an important subject in education globally. The editors have provided an introductory overview to the book and commentaries on the three sections.

How should we share the truth about the environmental crisis? At a moment when even the most basic facts about ecology and the climate face contestation and contempt, environmental advocates are at an impasse. Many have turned to social media and digital technologies to shift the tide. But what if their strategy is not only flawed, but dangerous? The Truth about Nature follows environmental actors as they turn to the internet to save nature. It documents how conservation efforts are transformed through the political economy of platforms and the algorithmic feeds that have been instrumental to the rise of post-truth politics. Developing a novel account of post-truth as an expression of power under platform capitalism, Bram Büscher shows how environmental actors attempt to mediate between structural forms of platform power and the contingent histories and contexts of particular environmental issues. Bringing efforts at wildlife protection in Southern Africa into dialogue with a sweeping analysis of truth and power in the twenty-first century, Büscher makes the case for a new environmental politics that radically reignites the art of speaking truth to power.

The global financial crisis has called to attention the importance of financial development to economic growth as modern countries continue to struggle with debt, unemployment, and slow growth. However, a lack of agreement on how to define and measure financial development slows the development of global financial systems and markets. The Handbook of Research on Strategic Developments and Regulatory Practice in Global Finance creates a common framework for not only identifying but discussing the key factors in establishing a strong global market and financial system. This book will be a valuable reference for those interested in an in-depth understanding of the financial markets and global finance, including academics, professionals, and government agencies and institutions.

Cash transfers have become a key social protection tool in developing countries and have expanded dramatically in the last two decades. However, the impacts of cash transfers programmes, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, have not been substantially documented. This book presents a detailed overview of the impact evaluations of these programmes, carried out by the Transfer Project and FAO’s From Protection to Production project. The 14 chapters include a review of eight country case studies: Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, as well as a description of the innovative research methodologies, political economy issues and good practices to design cash transfer programmes. The key objective of the book is to enhance the understanding of these development programmes, how they lead to a broad range of social and productive impacts and also of the role of programme evaluation in the process of developing policies and implementing programmes.