Astronomers receive ERC Synergy Grant to make colour movies of black holes and build new telescope in Africa [Forum Online, University of Namibia, December 2022]

Title:

Astronomers receive ERC Synergy Grant to make colour movies of black holes and build new telescope in Africa

 

Author:

Michael Backes

 

Published:

FORUM Online, University of Namibia, 14 December 2022

https://forumonline.unam.edu.na/astronomers-receive-erc-synergy-grant-to-make-colour-movies-of-black-holes-and-build-new-telescope-in-africa/

 

From the news article:

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a Synergy Grant, named “BlackHolistic”, of 14 million Euro to a team of Dutch, British, Finnish, and Namibian astronomers to make colour movies of black holes. They will build the first-ever African millimetre-wave radio telescope in Namibia to achieve their goal. The telescope will take part in the global Event Horizon Telescope network that became famous for making the first image of a black hole. The new grant will help to transform this network from making still images towards making movies and to understand black holes across the entire Universe.

 

Exploring Cleaner Alternative Energy Sources for hot Water [Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), April 2022]

Title: 

Exploring Cleaner Alternative Energy Sources for hot Water  

 

Published: 

Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), 1 April 2022 https://www.nust.na/?q=news/exploring-cleaner-alternative-energy-sources-hot-water-preparation   

 

From the news article: 

NUST’s Namibia Energy Institute (NEI), recently conducted two Information Sharing Workshops for residential buildings, hotels, and lodges to explore the feasibility of using solar thermal energy for hot water preparation in Windhoek and Swakopmund. This initiative forms part of the framework of Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN) project.

 

An Ancient Namibian Stone Could Hold The Key to Unlocking Quantum Computers [Science Alert, April 2022]

Title:

An Ancient Namibian Stone Could Hold The Key to Unlocking Quantum Computers

 

Author:

David Nield

 

Published:

Science Alert, 19 April 2022

https://www.sciencealert.com/an-ancient-namibian-stone-could-hold-the-key-to-unlocking-quantum-computers

 

From the article:

One of the ways we can fully realize the potential of quantum computers is by basing them on both light and matter – this way, information can be stored and processed, but also travel at the speed of light.  Scientists have just taken a step closer to this goal, by successfully producing the largest hybrid particles of light and matter ever created.

 

Note:

Research on this topic was published in Nature Materials.

 

NEW BOOK (published March 2022) - Stuart's Field Guide to National Parks and Nature Reserves of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe & Zambia

Title of Book:

Stuart's Field Guide to National Parks and Nature Reserves of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe & Zambia

 

ISBN:

9781775847205

Format:

Paperback

About the book: 

The first guide ever to document and explore the diverse parks and reserves of Africa’s ‘middle belt’, it covers Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. The region contains prized spots such as the world-famous landscapes of the Namib and Kalahari deserts, Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls and Lake Malawi, and some of Africa’s best-known conservation areas, including Etosha, Chobe, Mana Pools, Hwange, Kafue and Nyika.

 

For more information:

Penguin Random House South Africa

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/stuarts-field-guide-national-parks-and-nature-reserves-namibia-botswana-zimbabwe-zambia/9781775847205

 

Teach outside your comfort zone: A qualitative study of higher education students’ conceptions in Namibia [Cogent Education, 2022]

Title:

Teach outside your comfort zone: A qualitative study of higher education students’ conceptions in Namibia  

 

Authors: 

Elina M. Amadhila &James Guest |Lily Zeng (Reviewing editor)  

 

Published: 

Cogent Education, Volume 9, Issue 1, 20 January 2022 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2026189   

 

Abstract: 

Namibian Higher Education Institutions offer education at the levels of certificate, diploma, undergraduate degree and some other post graduate levels and each typically pursues different levels of capacity in skill and knowledge development for their graduates. However, systematic investigations of students’ conceptions of good teaching are hardly carried as the focus tend to be on teachers’ views. Qualitative data was collected through face-to-face focus group discussions and was analysed using the Noticing, Collecting and Thinking method of analysis. It was found that good teaching requires teachers who operate using the student-centred, learning oriented conception framework. Such are teachers who ensure students understand the content of the subjects, understand students’ problems, are punctual and provide opportunities for students to access learning resources. Although many of the findings from this paper may not be unique from the existing literature, the implication of the absence of unique insights is that methods of instruction and administration continue to be modified to reach students’ hearts. This study contributes to furthering knowledge about good teaching in higher education institutions and its attributes in Namibia and analyses how this is different from developed countries.

 

Canadian oil company illegally bulldozes protected land in Africa: Farms, water, and endangered wildlife are threatened as ReconAfrica expands its operations despite violations [National Geographic, 2022]

Title:

Canadian oil company illegally bulldozes protected land in Africa: Farms, water, and endangered wildlife are threatened as ReconAfrica expands its operations despite violations

 

Authors:

Jeffrey Barbee & Laurel Neme

 

Published:

National Geographic, 23 February 2022

https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/environment/article/canadian-oil-company-illegally-bulldozes-protected-land-in-africa

 

From the article:

Once, the only marks on the ground in remote northeastern Namibia were the round, flat footprints of elephants; the cloven-hoofed spoor of giraffes, elands, sable antelopes, and cattle; and the tracks of a few four-wheel drive vehicles.   

 

Now, imprints of massive tractor tires and octagonal “thumper” plates used to locate oil and gas deposits scar the fragile landscape. The newly bulldozed roads are strewn with dead trees and bushes.

 

Gamsberg Nature Reserve, Namibia - Major African radio telescope will help to image black holes

Title:

Major African radio telescope will help to image black holes

Author:

Sarah Wild

Published:

Nature, 4 February 2022

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00205-4

 

From the article:

US$25-million facility in Namibia will be Africa's first millimetre-range radio telescope.

 

SOUTH AFRICA - There’s a push for SA to protect the name 'biltong' – but Namibia could be a problem

Title:

There’s a push for SA to protect the name 'biltong' – but Namibia could be a problem

 

Author:

Lukas Bester

 

Published:

Business Insider South Africa, 16 December 2020

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/global-biltong-market-exploding-should-south-african-biltong-get-geographical-indicator-status-2020-12

 

From the article:

* Some believe South Africa should seek recognition for biltong as a uniquely South African food, in the same way rooibos and Karoo lamb have obtained geographical indication status.

 

* But that will not necessarily be easy for biltong, with its tricky history.

NAMIBIA - Number of Namibia's dead seals rises to over 7,000

Title:

Number of Namibia's dead seals rises to over 7,000

 

Source:

Xinhua News Agency

Published:

CGTN, 27 October 2020

https://newsaf.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-27/Number-of-Namibia-s-dead-seals-rises-to-over-7-000-UUM1sJ8Rqg/index.html

From the article:

The number of dead cape fur seals discovered washed ashore Namibia's Pelican Point Beach in the coastal town of Walvis Bay has risen to more than 7,000 with the numbers also including female adults, Marine Biologist said Monday.  

 

According to Ocean Conservation Namibia (OCN) Marine Biologist, Naude Dryer, they have been seeing a lot more dead female adults than seal pups but the cause of death is still unknown.

Doek! Namibia's first online literary magazine

          doek | (dʊk) | (noun): a cloth or a headscarf.

          ‘Doek | (dʊk) | (noun): Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.

          Doek! | (dʊk) | (noun): A literary magazine from Namibia.

Doek! is a free, independent, and pan-African online literary magazine produced in Windhoek, Namibia. It publishes short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art from Namibia and the African diaspora.

Website:
https://doeklitmag.com/