https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JLSS/issue/feed 2024-05-31T20:13:21+00:00 Dr. Cheela Chilala jlss@unza.zm Open Journal Systems The Journal of Law and Social Sciences is a quarterly publication of The University of Zambia (UNZA). Although the name suggests that the journal focuses on articles on law and the social sciences, it also publishes articles from the fields of education and humanities. The journal, therefore, welcomes article submissions that meet the criteria of excellence, significance and contribution of new information to the scholarly world. https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JLSS/article/view/1205 2024-05-31T20:13:21+00:00 Ignatius Chukwumah ignatiusc@fuwukari.edu.ng

Nigerian narratives, from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) to contemporary ones, have always resorted to the technique of realism by which they seek to make art correspond to life. These narratives were, therefore, metonymic, Roman Jakobson’s manner of describing language standing in for a state of reality. This circumstance persisted until Ben Okri’s mature novels deviated from it through being metaphoric and the deployment of unfamiliar characterisation, settings, action and language. By this deviation, Okri’s narratives seem to have ruptured the metonymic and the concretising literary language traditional to Nigerian narratives, an issue that has remained largely overlooked. Using Roman Jakobson’s linguistics and sundry descriptive methods (since Jakobson’s thought relevant to this study does not exceed metaphor and metonymy), this article teases out the variegated dimensions through which the literary language of Ben Okri’s latter works undermine and complicate the conventional literary language of Nigerian narratives. Focusing on this language, this article analyses, first, the metonymic – the tendency in the language of Nigerian literature and Okri’s earlier narratives to evoke a familiar reality; second, the metaphoric; third, the redefinition of human actions; fourth, the dissonance between the signifier and the signified in signs signifying institutional concepts; fifth, paradoxes; and last, parallelisms. It concludes that with the language of Okri’s later works so tied to his will- to-narrate in a way subversive of the technique of realism, while representing perceived resemblances through related poetic elements and features, he breathes fresh and rich energies into Nigeria’s existing realistic literature as well as flustering critics’ expectations.

2024-05-26T00:00:00+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JLSS/article/view/1201 2024-05-27T11:24:40+00:00 Erastus M Mwanaumo erastus.Mwanaumo@unza.zm Mulenga Kafuta erastus.Mwanaumo@unza.zm Ethel Tembo-Mwanaumo erastus.Mwanaumo@unza.zm Bupe Mutono-Mwanza erastus.Mwanaumo@unza.zm

The nature of the construction contract administrator’s role from project commencement to completion is multifaceted and complex. Additionally, successfully performing the role, requires various skills. Different perspectives exist on what contract administrators do and what competencies are necessary for the day-to-day administration of a construction contract. The aim of the study was to determine contract administrators’ key roles in the Zambian construction industry. This study provides literature that gives an understanding of what role contract administrators should fulfil. Having this knowledge will enable them to carry out their functions effectively and this will foster completion of construction projects within the stipulated conditions of the contracts. This research shows the key roles of a contract administrator at the various stages of construction that are categorised depending on a particular stage of construction. These roles include risk-related, cost, schedule, procurement, integration and resource-related roles.

2024-05-26T11:51:16+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JLSS/article/view/1202 2024-05-27T11:24:45+00:00 Cheela Chilala c.chilala@unza.zm

The old Shakespearian rhetorical question, 'What's in a name?'’' comes to the fore when we examine the names given to programmes by Zambian radio and television stations. While most people are not bothered by such names and would argue that it is the content of the programmes that is paramount, not the names thereof, it may be argued that the names are worth analysing from the perspective of onomastics, which is the scientific study of names and naming systems. No study has been conducted on the names of radio and television programmes in Zambia, and this is the lacuna that this study is concerned with. The study is qualitative in nature and analyses names of programmes in both public and private media houses. More specifically, the study concerns itself with the language used in the naming – that is, whether local names are used apart from English names and if so, which Zambian languages are the local names associated with. The findings reveal that none of the media houses selected for the study has a formal or written policy on language use. The naming of programmes tends to follow a linguistic pattern similar to what obtains with regard to the use of language: the public media has more programmes with names in local languages than the private media. Ultimately, however, the findings of this study underline the fact that there is no formal language policy guiding the affairs of the nation. It may be concluded, therefore, that the situation cannot be corrected or ameliorated without a clear language policy at national level.

2024-05-26T11:55:24+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JLSS/article/view/1203 2024-05-27T11:24:48+00:00 Julianos Masimba masimbaj@staff.msu.ac.zw Naome Rajah rajahn@staff.msu.ac.zw Edson Paul Mutema mutemaep@staff.msu.ac.zw Tanya T.N.T. Moyo moyotnt@staff.msu.ac.zw Tinashe Mukunyadze mukunyadzeth@staff.msu.ac.zw Fidelis A. Chikerema chikeremaaf@staff.msu.ac.zw Vincent Chakunda chikeremaaf@staff.msu.ac.zw

Social media is now widely used across the globe having the potential to enhance citizen participation in governance processes. Such platforms include Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp amongst others, to be interrogated in this study. The study sought to examine how these social media platforms can be used to enhance citizen participation in Zimbabwe’s urban local authorities using Bulawayo and Harare City Councils as case studies. The two local authorities have a huge footprint on social media. Theoretically, the study was informed by Arnstein’s ladder of participation to explore the use of social media in enhancing citizen participation. The researchers purposively and conveniently selected participants that included the residents, councillors and management. The researchers also reviewed and synthesised comments made on different social media accounts of the two cases. Data were analysed thematically where themes were established to deduce meaning guided by the research questions. Findings show that social media presents a huge potential if embraced to enhance citizen participation for it has a wider audience and also its ability to include young, people which is the larger population, using social media. Challenges associated with the use of social media were also established including the high cost of data in Zimbabwe. Also, these platforms do not go beyond the tokenism stage of the Arnstein ladder of Participation making them less effective. Lastly, recommendations are given on how to strengthen the use of social media in promoting citizen participation.

2024-05-26T11:58:10+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement## https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JLSS/article/view/1204 2024-05-27T11:24:52+00:00 Kachikoti Banda billkachikoti@gmail.com Erastus Mwanaumo erastus.Mwanaumo@unza.zm Bupe Mwanza erastus.Mwanaumo@unza.zm

Governance mechanisms for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) are critical to the sustainable management of waste for effective environmental management and public health. These mechanisms are dependent on management frameworks upon which they are based. This study aimed at assessing current frameworks for managing MSW in Zambia using a descriptive research design with a questionnaire being the data collection tool. Eighty purposively sampled respondents were administered and the tool had a 90 per cent response rate. Data analysis involved the use of frequency tables, percentages, bar, the mean, and standard deviation. The results were as follows; male respondents were 73 per cent as compared to female respondents at 27 per cent, respectively, while source of generation for residential areas was at 88 per cent. Public sector role in the governance of MWS 66.7 per cent, private sector (18.9%), NGOs (7.8%), with academia 2.2 per cent, others 4.4 per cent respectively. Frequency of collection was as follows: daily (45.7%), twice a week (14.9%), weekly (39.4%). Recycling of MSW by the private sector (47.2%), municipality (14.6%), and a combination of both accounted for 38.2 per cent. Management of final disposal sites by private sector (11.7%), municipalities (44.6%) and co-managed sites (43.5%). Lack of technical capacity to develop and implement policies by municipalities was 33 per cent while lack of financial resources for the waste management sector (39%). The results of the study indicate a growing and rooted challenge in the governance of MSW in Zambia. Therefore, governance mechanisms must be based on robust and effective frameworks that will ensure effective service delivery by local authorities with the involvement of all stakeholders, gender and social inclusion and also effective development and application of policies, technology and financial resources. This will result into sustainable waste management service to protect public health and the environment and ultimately implement a circular economy model.

2024-05-26T12:05:08+00:00 ##submission.copyrightStatement##