The study broadly focused on examining the trade and investment relationship between South Africa and the BRIC, using both descriptive and vector autoregressive estimation approaches. Specifically, the key objective is to investigate the impact of trade shocks between South Africa and the individual countries of the BRIC bloc. The findings illustrate that South Africa’s trade was more intense with India in the review period followed by trade with China. The impulse-response outcome showed that South Africa’s GDP reverts faster to equilibrium in the event of a shock in exports to and imports from Brazil. Also, when there is a shock to GDP, South Africa’s imports from Brazil reverts faster to equilibrium. The results of the variance decomposition indicate that inflation accounted for the highest variation in South Africa’s exports to and imports from both Brazil and China. Similarly, inflation explained the greatest variation in the GDP, while the greatest variation in the domestic inflation rate is explained by its own shock. In conclusion, South Africa showed considerable trade intensity with most BRIC Countries. In policy terms, this implies that South Africa can benefit substantially from policies targeted at broadening the scope of its international trade connections with the BRIC bloc with particular emphasis on Brazil and China.   

I examine the East African common market, taken as a regional migration regime, and draw its implications for intra-regional migration and identity formation. Using desk research, I analyse the common market Protocol’s provisions and envisage the implications of its implementation for intraregional migration and identity formation. The findings indicate that the Protocol grants the right of establishment, settlement, and residence; freedom of persons’ movement, provision of labour and services; non-discrimination and equal rights between Partner States’ citizens and intraregional migrants. From these guarantees, I foresee that “open-border” implementation of these provisions may increase intra-EAC migrations. A rise in intraregional migration may increase cross-border social engagements, mingling, and establishment. This phenomenon may alter East Africans’ views and perceptions about their identity, and engender a regional sense of belonging and identity–an East African Citizenry. I recommend that EAC Partner States fully implement the common market, institute measures for handling negative consequences of increased intra-EAC migration, and deliberately encourage East African identity formations consistent with the objective of people-centred regional integration.

This paper highlights the role of gender in decision making in urban gardening in Eldoret, a medium-sized Kenyan town. It is based on a household survey of 160 urban farming households in and follow-up in-depth interviews among 24 of the surveyed households. The results show that although men generally wielded greater decision-making power at the household level, women exploited their social spaces and gender roles to (re)negotiate significant roles in decision making in urban gardening. Nonetheless, there were notable gender differences in terms of the initial decision to farm, choice of crops to cultivate, and use of crop products and income. Urban gardening was mostly the initiative of women, who showed preference for and exercised greater control over subsistence crops, and dominated decisions related to the consumption use of crop products. In contrast, men’s role was more pronounced where gardening was income-oriented and economically more visible vis-à-vis other livelihood strategies, and in decisions related to sale of crop products.

This study examined the level of academic stress among university students with disabilities and the nature of coping strategies they used to deal with stress. It also examined if there existed significant differences in stress and coping strategies among students with different disabilities and between students with and without disabilities. Data were collected from 117 students with disabilities and 103 students without disabilities by using four individually-administered scales. Results showed that students with and without disabilities experienced moderate level of academic stress and predominantly used problem-focused coping strategies. Students with visual disabilities experienced higher level of stress than students with other disabilities and without disabilities.