The shifting landscape of African-Pentecostalism in Kenya

I define African Pentecostalism as the Pentecostal thread that embraces some elements of African culture, without necessarily admitting it. It embraces some elements of the African heritage consciously or unconsciously. This research article sets on the premise that African Pentecostalism is the ideal phrase when referring to Pentecostalism in Africa. This drives us to consider the uniqueness of Pentecostalism in Africa rather than generalising its presence. This article seeks to demonstrate that African Pentecostalism in the 21st-century Kenya has undergone paradigm shifts in various dimensions, which includes leadership structuring, political orientations, modes of disciplining, eschatological concern, structural make-up, economic domain, health concern, ecumenical relations, gender relations, identity politics, theological education, poverty concern, use of science and technology, and general practices. Has the religious outfits that referred the earthly concerns as temporal tents and largely focused on the ‘eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands’ (2 Cor 5:1) appreciated the necessity of God’s kingdom and will-being ‘done on earth, as it is in heaven’ (Mt 6:10)? In light of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), has the ecclesiastical model that was too conservative become liberal in nature? The methodology includes interviews with selected people who are connected to this topic, participant observation and through an extensive review of the relevant literature.

Counter-hegemonic Computing: Toward Computer Science Education for Value Generation and Emancipation

Students’ lives, both in and out of school, are full of different forms of value. Wealthy students enjoy value in the form of financial capital; their fit to hegemonic social practices; excellent health care and so on. Low-income students, especially those from African American, Native American, and Latinx communities, often lack access to those resources. But there are other forms of value that low-income students do possess. Most examples of what we will call Counter-Hegemonic Practice (CHP) in the African American community involve some mixture of Indigenous African heritage, contemporary innovation in the Black community, and other influences. Moving between these value forms and the computing classroom is a non-trivial task, especially if we are to avoid merely using the appearance of culture to attract students. Our objective in this paper is to provide a framework for deeper investigations into the computational potentials for CHP; its potential as a link between education and community development; and a more dignified role for its utilization in the CS classroom. We report on a series of collaborative engagements with CHP, largely focused on African American communities.

Risk perception and communal coping in families affected by type 2 diabetes

Despite a recent decline, rates of type 2 diabetes remain high among older adults. Preventing and delaying the onset of the condition with lifestyle changes is key to reducing disease burden in the population. Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease, likely a result from the joint effect of genetic, socio-environmental and lifestyle risk factors that are clustered in families. As such, the prevention of type 2 diabetes is a communal coping process, where individuals communicate about risk and establish routines to facilitate one another’s health habits and compliance with therapeutics. This poster investigates how such a process is affected by one’s perception of risk based on his/her knowledge about family health history (FHH). We collected family network data from families of different racial backgrounds in the greater Cincinnati area (28 white and 17 black/ African American households; 127 participants). The analysis focuses on how the density of diabetes diagnosis in one’s FHH affects communication about shared risk for type 2 diabetes and encouragement to maintain or adopt a healthy lifestyle. Results suggest a higher concentration of diabetes diagnosis in one’s FHH is associated with a higher number of risk communication ties in all families. With regards to encouragement ties, high rates of diabetes diagnosis in FHH are associated with an increased number of encouragement ties only in families of black/African heritage. The findings highlight the need and promise of using FHH to motivate co-encouragement to maintain/adopt a healthier lifestyle in families of black/African heritage.

African Heritage Sites threatened by coastal flooding and erosion as sea-level rise accelerates

Important heritage sites along the African coast are at risk from the threats associated with rising sea levels. Here, we quantify the exposure of natural and cultural heritage sites in Africa to coastal flooding and erosion in the 21st century. We develop a comprehensive database of 284 coastal African Heritage Sites (AHS), composed of 213 natural and 71 cultural heritage sites, which is then combined with coastal flooding and erosion projections to assess exposure to coastal extreme events for a moderate (RCP4.5) and high (RCP8.5) greenhouse gas emissions scenario. We find that 56 AHS are presently at risk from a 100-year extreme sea-level event, with a total exposed heritage area of 2,222 km2. Most of the currently exposed AHS are located in Northern and Western Africa. By mid-century, the number of exposed AHS is projected to increase more than 3 times to reach 191 and 198 under moderate and high emissions respectively. In the second half of the century, the number of exposed sites stabilizes, but the median exposed area increases to 6.6 to 8.5 times the present-day value, under moderate and high emissions, respectively. Mitigation from high to moderate emissions will reduce the end-century median exposed area and number of very highly exposed sites by 20% and 25% respectively.

“Traditional” Venḓa Women’s Beadwork Accessing the Contemporary Tourist Market in South Africa

Beads and beadwork have played a role in South Africa’s Limpopo Province dating back to the pre-colonial times. Whether the beads were produced locally or imported via trading networks, the region already had a rich tradition of constructing beadwork before the arrival of Europeans. Today, this tradition is continued by new generations of women beaders. It has been found that literature on contemporary Limpopo beadwork produced by Vhavenḓa women is scarce. This article addressed this imbalance. It is vital to state that, during the last decade and in the context of South African heritage and tourism, there has been a steadily increasing number of scholarly studies on Nguni beadwork. This study offered new insights into contemporary beadwork traditions. It also contributed to an understanding of Vhavenḓa beading by drawing on the knowledge and experience of beadworkers, identifying influences from the past, and countering some stereotypical perceptions of beadwork production.

Inculturation Methodology as the Medium towards the Formulation and Establishment of an African Ecclesiology of Ubuntu.

The emergence of ecclesiology scholarship in recent theological discourse has exposed the various approaches that ecclesiology has been studied as a distinctive discipline. The traditional ecclesiological approach has prioritized the scholarship of ecclesiology from the perspective of specific denominational orders. There has also been an approach of ecclesiology that revolves around the perspective of some renowned theologians on the basis of their affiliation to their respective church organizations. The most recent approach has been the global ecclesiology that prioritizes the concept of contextualization while looking at ecclesiological discourse from distinct sociocultural-geographical contexts. Three geographical regions hold a wealth of significance by virtue of the global trajectory of Christianity towards the global South: Asia, Africa and Latin America. African ecclesiology plays a critical role in this arrangement and is a major contributor to global ecclesiology. In this understanding, it is imperative for the pursuit of an African ecclesiology to appreciate the concept of Ubuntu as a definitive expression of the African identity. The problem is the methodology of ecclesiological scholarship in Africa that ignores the significance Ubuntu has and resultantly births a foreign ecclesiology to the indigenous African population. It is important to acknowledge that the approach of ecclesiology that will thrive in Africa is nothing less than an Ubuntu ecclesiology that prioritizes community and relationships reminiscent of our traditional African portrait as foundational pillars for her establishment. The formulation and establishment of an African friendly ecclesiology of Ubuntu can only be facilitated by the usage of the inculturation method of theology. This methodology accords due consideration to the African heritage with regard to their culture, spirituality and religious background emphasizing the values from traditional Africa that are helpful to Christian life and condemning those practices that are non-Christian in nature.

Health-Related Associates of Negative Affect among Latinx and Black Adults with Psychiatric Disorders

Negative affect levels (NA) are associated with psychosocial stress and poor behaviors among individuals of Latinx and African heritage (Black) backgrounds. Little is known for potentially modifiable associates of these psychiatric disorders. However, there is a significant association between NA levels, psychosocial stress, and cigarette smoking - as an increase consequence of stress-related smoking. According to Díaz-García et al. (2020), modifiable research for NA indicates health care providers related psychosocial stressors clinical interventions, behaviors, family and work stress to reduce NA levels and improve outcomes for diverse patients. This study aims to establish research as the first NA examination for 95 adult participants diagnosed with psychosocial stress disorders. Additionally, the study will identify adult cigarette smoking among individuals of African heritage (Black) and Latinx background to identify behaviors of adults diagnosed with NA.