NTN sends ripples through the blogosphere

I believe there is a journalist term for when you report on yourself, as the journalist. Self-gratification and ego-building are common terms, but I can't remember the formal term.

However, I thought some NTN readers might be interested in the following news items:

1. An educational blog for teachers, http://www.instructify.com/ , contacted me and asked to report on the NTN as well as Tristan's blog. The editor is a brother of an SNR graduate student. You can go here to read the article.

2. The School of Natural Resources' science writter, Kelly Smith, added a 'SNR blog role' to our SNR web site--look in the lower right corner here. We have at least two faculty blogging, and I would guess both of us would tell you that 6 months ago, we had not considered this as a way to communicate with masses.

Kelly tells me she has a couple blogs ready to post, in response to massive requests for me to quiet down and let her talk about her experiences. We are enjoying the unique conversations we've had with many of our friends and family over the blog. Keep the comments coming.

Namibia's newest geologist

It's school photo time, and this year we'll have to share photos of our handsome young man via the internet. So, here he is. All 11 years of him.

If you're wondering how Tristan is doing, never fear. He continues to be resilient, and with the exception of a couple of moments of hungering for home and friends from Randolph Elementary and our other local haunts, Tristan is fully engaged with what we've thrown at him.

Recently, he has decided that maybe he'll live in Namibia when he grows up. Another reason for us to retire here. The country needs scientists, and Tristan now believes he may be a geologist.

In fact, Namibia is 122nd of 125 nations ranked in order of the 'availability of scientists and engineers'. So, the number of people running around with advanced degrees is pretty small. It manifests itself in odd places. Like, they have rules that they must hire Namibians, if possible. But, if there are no Namibian experts in a certain field, do you hire a Namibian of less experience or a foreign scientist? The new class of faculty at Polytechnic includes about 50% foreigners. Just not enough people in country.

Many people at our Fulbright orientation told us that Namibia is "Africa for beginners" when we heard we were heading this direction. And, it's true that the lights stay on in Namibia. There is decent internet access. The water is clean. You don't have to bleach your vegetables before you eat them. So, the mystery is how a country can keep the lights on, but still rank below almost every other African country in terms of people that know how to design the bulbs. Sometimes, I think that perhaps they expect more out of people with less training that we do in the US. Our Polytech students get thrown into some significant positions with only a 3-year National Diploma (not a bachelor's degree). Maybe it's the continued help from the outside that keeps everything humming. I'm not sure I know the answer yet--it is something to keep thinking about.

The recent change in political administrations in the US is an encouraging step for the use of science in decision-making that affects the nation and the world (see my University of Nebraska colleague's interesting blog on this subject, however). If you want to vision [warning: impending vague editorial comment] what a hypothetical country might look like if it has a gap between science and decision-making, Namibia isn't a bad place to turn. In Namibia's case, it's not that it's ignoring its scientists or twisting their research, it's that it doesn't have many to turn to. There are so many ecological areas and species in Namibia that are poorly studied. So many schools that need teachers with more background. So many HIV programs that need people in place who understand the problem. So many problems that need some creative thinking.

Namibia: Africa for beginners? Hardly. It's just Africa with lights whenever you want them. Still Africa, and struggling to keep up in many cases. If you're a scientist (and I'm not just talking about those wearing white coats and safety goggles), I'd encourage you to think about how you can help countries like Namibia. It may take a village to raise a child. Or something like that.

So, if Tristan wants to be a geologist in Namibia someday, great. They need him worse than we do in the US. I just hope he doesn't mind some company. He is a handsome guy, isn't he?!

Held hostage by my own stupidity

Today's blog is a short story, with a happy ending.

Readers of NTN keep asking for the nitty-gritty of life in Namibia. Well, one interesting facet of the constant security concerns (which are less than almost anywhere else in Africa, but still are omnipresent) is that everything is locked. A prime example is the toilets (here, toilet refers to the entire room, not the fixture) in my office building at Polytechnic. I was given a key to the toilet on my floor. If I'm on another floor and nature calls, too bad...have to go all the way up to my floor (top floor).

What about the students that have class in our building? We have to give them a key, if we want to let them use the facilities. Our choice. Otherwise, they have to go to a different building.

And, the other piece of information you need--many of the keys in Namibia are 'skeleton' keys--the old-style keys that look like they should open an antique trunk, or a city gate. And, without too much foreshadowing to ruin the plot, these keys tend to break--I've already broken two of them trying to unlock doors in our house.

So, to set the stage for one of my most embarrassing moments, I had attended several pre-semester meetings/workshops where faculty were told and told and told to be on time for class. Polytechnic is trying to distance itself from other institutions where faculty may never show up for class. So, I've got it--come to class on time.

During the first week of classes, I was covering Plant Studies (don't ask...) and Ecology (much better) for another professor who was on a research mission in the North. These are first-year students, and I was on edge to make sure they started their first semester with someone who was on time.

On Friday, I had Plant Studies from 7:30-9:00 a.m. Very early for me. Then, Ecology at 9:30-10:30. So, I took a break between classes--went to my office to get my notes for Ecology, and visited the men's room. Now, I figure that if they give us a key, we're supposed to use it. Thus, when I went in, I locked the door behind me so that some rogue student couldn't come in while I was busy, thwarting the precise security system.

Of course, when I went to unlock the door to leave, my key snapped. Locked in the toilet. No cell phone. Doh! Three minutes until class starts, and counting. Two. One. I'm late. One minute late. Two. Three. Four. Five. Didn't even bring a manuscript to read...

Luckily, the janitor came along to clean the toilet, and I was released unharmed. The students were very keen to remind me, when I arrived, that I was late. But, they also enjoyed the story. The lesson is--make sure you take some reading material with you when you go visit the toilet--you might be there awhile.

Now, I am experiencing another side of life here--waiting for the requisition to clear so that someone can make me a new key. Still don't have it.

A fungus among us

During the past few weeks, we've seen folks standing by the side of the road, holding fungus. That may be one thing that sets us apart from most readers of NTN. It's been raining every day, and the rainy season brings out the fungus in all of us, eh?!

In this case, the fungus is locally called "Omajoba" and they grow around the base of the large termite mounds (some 6-10 feet tall)that dot the landscape north of Windhoek. I bought one today for N$20 (US$2) from a guy near Okahandja. I had been on a field trip with a range management professor to one of his study sites--some photos of that on the photo page.

Termites and fungus have a symbiotic relationship, which you can read about at the web site where I politely borrowed the photo to the right, of the termite mound.

There is some concern (we can't have fun without concern, eh?) that the mushroom may be overharvested. Certainly many people seem to make their living at this time of year from selling the 'shrooms on the side of the road.

But, ecosystem devastation aside, I brought the lovely, large fungus home, dispatched it quickly and humanely, and cooked it up in some butter. It won't replace morels from Western Iowa in my book, but it was edible and tasted pretty good.

The value of education--preach to me!

Today (Wednesday) was the official Academic Opening at Polytechnic. Classes were canceled for 1.5 hours, and chairs set up in the biggest parking lot on campus. A stage was erected. Sun shades were unrolled. A choir showed up (I didn't know Polytechnic had a choir--they are very good).

The Rector spoke. The chairman of the Board of Directors spoke. The Honorary Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab spoke. The latter gentleman is the current speaker of Parliament. He was prime minister of Namibia from 2002-2005, and served as SWAPO's rep to the United Nations. He served as President of the UN General Assembly in 1999.

I was struck by three things during the Opening.

First, Namibians have a beautiful National Anthem. If you want to hear another crowd (not our crowd today) singing it, you can go here. But, our crowd sounded pretty much like the crowd in the video link.

Second, the students are respectful. It started to rain lightly during the Honorary Dr. Gurirab's speech. Very few people bolted for the sidelines. Umbrellas popped up, and most stayed put.

Third, Namibians value education. Each speaker made a point of talking about how Namibia was not going to join the world's economic powers through sale of their natural resources. Namibia, the speakers suggested, can only join the world through wealth creation that happens through education. Plea after plea to students to study hard and join the quest to improve the country. "It is your duty." "It is your responsibility." "It must happen for Namibia to prosper." In fact, the Poly's theme for this academic year is "Wealth Creation in the New Economy".

I couldn't agree more with the speakers--there is a massive gap between those with a lot and those with little in the country. And, education will bridge that gap to some extent. Closing that gap depends on some other political things happening, as well.

But, hearing education being touted as so critically important was so new to me. We don't preach to our students in Nebraska that their state is depending on their new ideas and contributions. And, of course, Nebraska is depending on them. Maybe not to the extent that Namibia is depending on these young people in the photo, but Nebraska (and IA and MA and TX and OH...) certainly are depending on our next generation. Especially in the field of natural resource manaement--issue after issue after issue is dependent on scientists helping to frame decisions, to support decisions with information, and to 'invent' new solutions to complex problems.

Maybe it's time for us to start preaching a bit? Do our students realize how important they are? Do they realize the magnitude of their opportunity to attend college and get a degree? After today, I'm guessing perhaps, on average, not as much as the students sitting next to me at Polytechnic's Academic Opening.

How to cap an undergraduate program

My colleagues and I at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Fisheries and Wildlife major have been struggling with a problem during the past year. We've been too successful in recruiting students, and have no new faculty to spread the workload. Two years ago, we had 110 students, and last fall (2008) the major was up to 156 students.

So, how do you cap a program? Should you? If you don't, faculty may burn out and leave. If you do, the University loses much-needed revenue (and the Deans don't like you as much). If you don't, we potentially turn out more students than can be employed in the region. If you do, other programs will probably let those students in to their program.

And, how do you cap? Best scoring students? First ones to sign up?

At Polytechnic of Namibia, Nature Conservation has set a limit on the number of students that they can accept, with the major reason being that there are only so many jobs in the country. In fact, the entire university has caps on each program. The photo at the right shows how Polytechnic administers the cap. They have a minimum score for entry into each program, and when enough students sign up, up goes the simple sign. Go home, we're full...!

As of yesterday, we hit the limit during registration. Approximately 10,000 students accepted. The Registrar sent an email today to faculty, essentially saying, "I've told the students (who were not accepted) to go home, but they are still hanging around. Maybe in a few days they will realize we are full."

My morning chuckle

I thought I'd share a sign that makes me chuckle each morning on the way to my office. Context: Namibia was once a German colony. Lots of German names here. And, elevators are called 'lifts'. Just a little word play--can you change the name of the elevator company to a major motion picture by changing 2 letters?

If you need help with the joke, click here. It helps to be a movie buff. Just makes you wonder if Oskar left Germany after WWII and came to Namibia to found an elevator company...?