The aim of the study was to explore the effects of the absence of an overarching national information policy on information services in Malawi. The objectives of the study were to: find out the effects of the absence of an overarching national information policy on information access in Malawi; establish factors impeding the development of an overarching national information policy in Malawi; find out the extent to which the absence of an overarching policy has affected capacity building in information services in Malawi; and identify the legal and regulatory framework implications of the absence of such a policy in Malawi. The study adopted an exploratory research design. Data were collected using document analysis, observations and in-depth interviews. Eighty-two face-to-face interviews were conducted with policy makers in government, Members of Parliamentary committees on legal and media issues, information scientists, information service providers, academicians, legal experts and information users. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. An interview guide comprising closed and open ended questions was used to interview respondents. Data were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings of this study may be used by Government in developing relevant national information policies that would enhance free access and utilisation of information. Furthermore the study is significant in identifying factors that may impede the development of a national information policy. The study revealed that Malawi has a brittle national information policy framework for the provision of information services. Malawi doesn’t have an overarching policy framework for the sector and as a result, there is no policy guidance to drive the development of sectoral policies and supporting legislation. Policy development in Malawi is more reactive to issues than systematic and very slow. Consequently, access to and utilization of information is low; capacity building is low in terms of competencies and infrastructure and; the legal and regulatory framework for information services is weak. The study also revealed that factors impeding the development of an overarching national information policy include: motivation for the development of sectoral information policies; lack of an institutional framework to guide the development of policy; lack of finances and technical capacity; lack of sustained political will; level of economic development; existence of overarching government development plans; international trends; and the diverse nature of the information sector. The general recommendation emanating from the findings of the study is that Malawi needs an overarching national information policy which would articulate and address issues regarding access to information, capacity building in terms of skills and infrastructure, and the legal and regulatory framework. Information is a cross-cutting issue requiring an all-encompassing policy. However, specific recommendations from the findings of this study are that government should expedite the development of policies and enactment of relevant pieces of legislation which are not yet in place to enhance free access and utilisation of information and ICTs; government should speed up the introduction of information literacy in the school curriculum starting from primary school level to university; government should develop a library policy to promote the development of school libraries in both primary and secondary schools, and public libraries in all towns, district assemblies and rural growth centres which should be well resourced including Internet facilities; and government should constantly review and harmonise policies and legislation in the information sector so that they are in line with current trends.

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Stroke is a worldwide medical emergency, and the trend in its incidence is rising. Stroke leads to activity limitation and participation restriction among stroke clients. However rehabilitation of stroke disability has been found as lacking emphasis on reintegration issues, resulting into stroke clients facing different barriers to reintegration in the community after discharge. There is limited information about experiences of stroke clients in the communities after discharge from rehabilitation centers in Malawi. The current study was conducted to explore the barriers to reintegration experienced by the clients post discharge from a rehabilitation center in Malawi. A qualitative research was adopted to explore the perceived barriers to reintegration at Malawi Against Physical Disabilities (MAP) Kachere rehabilitation centre in Blantyre. In-depth interviews were utilized to capture data from perspectives of eight stroke clients, eight caregivers and seven service providers. The data was analyzed by means of content analysis. The findings of this study show key barriers that challenge community reintegration at two levels: individual and environmental. At individual level the barriers include impairments mainly depression and anxiety and physical weakness; and personal characteristics such as denial, gender and comorbidity. At the environmental level stroke clients experience attitudinal barriers by people in different settings of the community, poor terrain, long distance to places of interest, inaccessible structures and poverty. From the findings, therefore, stroke client experience wide range of barriers in both the activity and participation domains of community reintegration.Based on the key findings, recommendations have been made along three broad lines. To decrease barriers to reintegration, service providers could use the findings to consider equally addressing the potential negative contextual factors to reintegration when managing stroke clients, a shift from purely medical model approach to management of stroke. To increase rehabilitation services the government of Malawi could address the problem of limited funding to rehabilitation organizations and put measures to increase number of rehabilitation personnel at community, district and national levels. Further research in the area of community reintegration and development of a model of stroke care and rehabilitation in the country has also been recommended with view to improving stroke care and enhanced community reintegration post stroke in the country.

Bibliography: pages 282-300. / The objectives of the research undertaken was to assess the role of education in stimulating 'accelerated development' in the poor countries, with particular reference being made to Malawi. The effectiveness of various educational planning models, when applied to manpower planning problems in Malawi were reviewed and evaluated. An assessment was made of early approaches to educational provision and manpower growth as evidenced in Conferences such as the Addis Ababa Conference (1961), the Ashby Report on Nigeria (1960), in addition to a reappraisal of educational planning measures which occurred in the 1970s. The structure and provision of educational facilities in Malawi was reviewed in the light of the existing severe shortages of skilled and trained manpower being experienced by the nation. Such shortages of manpower have been found to pose considerable hindrances to the development process. An assessment and review of the available educational planning frameworks was undertaken, with particular attention being given to the Manpower Planning Framework, this being the approach employed in Malawi to assess projected shortfalls and increasing demand for skilled manpower. The Thesis points to a number of limitations in the Manpower Planning approach as implemented in Malawi, and in view of such limitations, recommends the application of a Benefit Cost Analysis to educational planning, stressing the flexibility it permits in the planning process. The Benefit Cost approach was applied, in illustration, to the problem of determining how to overcome the projected shortfalls in manpower requirements experienced in one occupational sector of the economy, notably the shortages which exist in the engineering sector. The statistics utilised in this illustration were derived primarily from the Malawi National Statistical Office, in addition to the findings of a series of A.I.D. Reports on the matter. In conclusion, the Thesis pointed to the importance of co-ordinated long-term planning, and the adoption of educational planning frameworks. It was deduced that the differing educational planning approaches, in particular the Manpower Planning Approach and the Benefit Cost Analysis Approach, are rightly complementary in their application, not competitive as is commonly assumed. Hence, it is proposed that increased flexibility be built into the educational planning process.

The study set out to investigate factors influencing the effectiveness of strategic planning processes among local NGOs in Malawi. Employing qualitative methods, the study used the 'levels of complexity' and 'stages of organization development' models to analyze factors influencing the strategic planning process and the roles and responsibilities played by the board, management, donors, consultants and communities respectively in five selected local NGOs. The study revealed that the level of implementation of the strategic plans was low (46%). In comparison, the implementation was lower for organizational capacity building activities as compared to project activities. HIV and AIDS NGOs had higher levels of implementation as compared to their human rights counterparts. The major causes of the low implementation were the local NGOs' inadequate financial independence from donors to respond effectively and autonomously to the needs and priorities of their beneficiaries; and inadequate capacity for the boards, management, donors, consultants and communities to effectively go through the strategic planning process. In order to improve the strategic planning processes among the local NGOs, the study recommends that local NGOs must become less dependent on 'non developmental donor funding' through: • Making themselves and their services more relevant and therefore more needed by both the beneficiaries and the donors, • Developing skills to negotiate with donors for more 'developmental or good quality funding', • Identifying alternative sources of funding while taking care not to be distracted from their core mandate and; • Investing in the 'strategic capacity' of the board, management, donors, consultants and communities to effectively manage the strategic planning process. Finally, the study recommends that in order to ensure effectiveness of the strategic planning processes, literature or theories guiding the strategic planning processes in local NGOs need to provide guidance on the facts that most local NGOs are not financially sustainable, they do not have adequate capacity to effectively manage the strategic planning process and that they often are not accountable to the communities they serve. / Development Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

Contrary to earlier beliefs and media theories such as the hypodermic needle or magic bullet, the audience of public communication is not a passive homogenous mass that easily succumbs to media influence. The audience is active, that is, it makes an effort to interpret media content. Depending on predisposing cultural, political, religious, or economic factors the audience makes different meanings from media texts. Media messages are not wholly controlled by producers, although the producers have their preferred and expected readings. Using qualitative research techniques associated with ethnographic and cultural studies (notably focus group discussions), this study sought to explore the meanings rural people in Malawi make out of human rights and gender messages broadcast on radio and through music. Interpreted against Stuart Hall's (1974b) Encoding and Decoding model, the study concludes that while rural communities understand and appreciate the new sociopolitical discourse, they take a negotiated stance because they have their own doubts and fears. They fear losing their cultural identity. Additionally, men, in particular, negotiate the messages because they fear losing their social power over land, property and family.

The study set out to investigate factors influencing the effectiveness of strategic planning processes among local NGOs in Malawi. Employing qualitative methods, the study used the 'levels of complexity' and 'stages of organization development' models to analyze factors influencing the strategic planning process and the roles and responsibilities played by the board, management, donors, consultants and communities respectively in five selected local NGOs. The study revealed that the level of implementation of the strategic plans was low (46%). In comparison, the implementation was lower for organizational capacity building activities as compared to project activities. HIV and AIDS NGOs had higher levels of implementation as compared to their human rights counterparts. The major causes of the low implementation were the local NGOs' inadequate financial independence from donors to respond effectively and autonomously to the needs and priorities of their beneficiaries; and inadequate capacity for the boards, management, donors, consultants and communities to effectively go through the strategic planning process. In order to improve the strategic planning processes among the local NGOs, the study recommends that local NGOs must become less dependent on 'non developmental donor funding' through: • Making themselves and their services more relevant and therefore more needed by both the beneficiaries and the donors, • Developing skills to negotiate with donors for more 'developmental or good quality funding', • Identifying alternative sources of funding while taking care not to be distracted from their core mandate and; • Investing in the 'strategic capacity' of the board, management, donors, consultants and communities to effectively manage the strategic planning process. Finally, the study recommends that in order to ensure effectiveness of the strategic planning processes, literature or theories guiding the strategic planning processes in local NGOs need to provide guidance on the facts that most local NGOs are not financially sustainable, they do not have adequate capacity to effectively manage the strategic planning process and that they often are not accountable to the communities they serve. / Development Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

Standard economic models often emphasize inputs, outputs and an examination of the structures in order to conduct an economic performance evaluation. This study applies the Institutional and Development Framework (IAD) in the broader context of New Institutional Economics (NIE) in order to examine the transaction costs of delivering Community and Home Based Care and Support (CHBC) to HIV/AIDS sufferers. For purposes of unveiling the empirical reality guiding decision making processes in the CHBC service delivery, comparative qualitative research techniques of normative variable and concept formation have been adopted to draw out the relative institutional influences from the HIV/AIDS national response partnerships. The study identifies the conflict between the predominantly standardized and more rigid formal management techniques adopted by key members of the national response and the informal cultural techniques familiar to the rural communities, and a lack of motivational incentives in the CHBC structures as the key factors against CHBC capacities to draw external funding for service delivery. CHBCs are also weakened by incoherent governance structures at the district level for facilitation of funding and information flow exacerbating the community vulnerability. Rationalization of the institutional arrangements and a clarification of roles from district to community levels, a shift of focus to facilitation of informal techniques and an integration of performance enhancing incentives are the critical policy insights envisaged to spur CHBCs to work better.

<p>This research was aimed at assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of community based targeting and self-targeting methods in the selection of beneficiaries in Safety nets programmes in Malawi. These methods have been chosen because they have been largely used for selecting beneficiaries in Safety net programmes. The focus was on assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of these methods where effectiveness refers to the ability of the methodology to reach out to the poorest while efficiency is a measure of the costs that are associated with the identification of these people. In order to objectively assessed the challenges associated with these methods, the study concentrated on Public Works Programmes, which targets relatively high number of people compared to the other programmes and have used both methods for identifying beneficiaries.</p>

Thesis (M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016. / Energy security, particularly liquid fuels, is a vital economic goal for both developed and developing nations.As a region, SADC has large coal, oil and gas reserves,and land for potential crop production for biofuels, yet access to liquid fuels is still a major constraint to economic and social development. Some coal is utilised in the region for petrochemical industries, power generation, and for heating. Crude oil reserves are largely exported due to the lack of refineries and pipelines in the region. Whilst biofuels production is in its infancy. This paper explores the challenges and opportunitiesthe SADC region faces in developing refining capacity and in investing in new CTL/GTL facilities as well as liquid fuels from renewable energy resources. A primary focus will be on Malawi and her neighbouring states, as a case study. / MT2017

This research aimed to undertake an investigation into the question of whether after divorce, in the matrilineal customary law marriage in Malawi, women's rights are severely violated. The study showed causes of divorce, how proceedings are done, how issues of property are handled, how the issue of custody of children and maintenance are also handled. All this was weighed against the constitutional provisions and international law.