THE PREVALENCE OF SELF-MEDICATION PRACTICE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT LIRA UNIVERSITY, LIRA DISTRICT. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background: The study aims to determine the prevalence of self-medication practice among undergraduate students, at Lira University, Lira district. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students, at Lira University. The study was conducted at Lira University. The university is located in Ayere village, Barapwo parish, Lira sub-county, Erute County in Lira district. It covers a total area of 621 acres (251.3 hectares). Lira University has 3 faculties i.e. faculty of Management Sciences, Health Sciences, and Education and it runs 17 programmes, with a total enrolment of 976 students (531 males and 445 females) by the academic year 2018/2019. The study population was all students enrolled in undergraduate programs at Lira University, Lira district. By use of the purposive sampling technique, Lira University undergraduate students were chosen. Stratified random sampling was used to divide the study population into strata of gender (male or female). Simple random sampling was used finally to identify the participants that were involved in the research from each stratum. Results: Out of those who participated in the study, 129(45.42%) were females and 155(54.58%) were male. The prevalence of self-medication was 82.95%. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-medication among undergraduate students was found to be 82.95% which was considerably high. Recommendations: National guidelines and policies on medical access should be developed, need for public medical insurance for all people in the community, needs to be investigated more on student-related factors

Barriers and factors affecting personal protective equipment usage in St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Northern Uganda

Background: To protect health workers (HCWs) from risky occupation exposure, CDC developed the universal precautions (Ups) including Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). However compliance to it by HCWs has remained poor even in high-risk clinical situation. The objective of this study was to identify and describe the factors that influence a HCWs’ decision to wear PPEs and the barriers that exist in preventing their use Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in all the wards to collected quantitative information as well as qualitative and observational data on PPE use Results: Out of the total 59 respondents, 2% do not know the purpose of PPE, 23.7% do not know how to don and doff PPEs, 13.6% do not use PPE even when indicated and 10% are not using an appropriate PPE. The main barriers relates to poor fitting and weak domestic gloves, few of aprons, frequent stock out and inadequate PPE as well as lack of training in PPE Conclusion: This study provides a baseline for measuring the effectiveness of interventions to improve compliance

College Biology Students\u27 Conceptions Related to the Nature of Biological Knowledge: Implications for Conceptual Change.

Adequate understanding of the nature of science is a major goal of science education. Understanding of the evolutionary nature of biological knowledge is a means of reinforcing biology students\u27 understanding of the nature of science. It provides students with the philosophical basis, explanatory ideals, and subject matter-specific views of what counts as a scientifically-acceptable biological explanation. This study examined 121 college introductory biology and advanced zoology students for their conceptions related to the nature of biological knowledge. A 60-item Likert-scale questionnaire called the Nature of Biological Knowledge Scale and student interviews were used as complementary research instruments. Firstly, the study showed that 80--100% of college biology students have an adequate understanding of scientific methods, and that a similar percentage of students had learned the theory of evolution by natural selection in their biology courses. Secondly, the study showed that at least 60--80% of the students do not understand the importance of evolution in biological knowledge. Yet the study revealed that a statistically significant positive correlation exist among students\u27 understanding of natural selection, divergent, and convergent evolutionary models. Thirdly, the study showed that about 20--58% of college students hold prescientific conceptions which, in part, are responsible for students\u27 lack of understanding of the nature of biological knowledge. A statistically significant negative correlation was found among students\u27 prescientific conceptions about basis of biological knowledge and nature of change in biological processes, and their understanding of natural selection and evolutionary models. However, the study showed that students\u27 characteristics such as gender, age, major, or years in college have no statistically significant influence on students\u27 conceptions related to the nature of biological knowledge. Only students\u27 depth of biological knowledge or course was found to have a statistically significant influence on students\u27 conceptions related to scientific methods, the scope and limits of biological knowledge, the importance of evolution in biology, and students\u27 understanding of homologous and analogous structural features as products of divergent and convergent evolutionary processes. Findings of this study have implications for college biology teaching, student learning, and conceptual change among college biology students

Food and Commensality in Non-state Armed Groups: The Case of the Lord\u27s Resistance Army in northern Uganda, 1987-2008

The subfield of food and eating practices has registered a significant volume of theoretical and empirical studies. However, there is very limited research targeting non-state armed groups. This article contributes to understanding the nuanced role of food and eating practices (or commensality) in conflict, and its significance in the construction and sustenance of sense of community in non-state armed groups that use particularly elaborate means of indoctrination to build a following. Drawing on the case of northern Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that thrived on mass abduction of children, youth and women between 1987 and 2008, this article argues that being a member of the LRA entailed taking part in its meticulously planned and well-structured food and eating practices. The article further argues that this was an important contributor to the transformation of recruits into followers with a strong sense of community

Captive Wives or Conjugal Slaves? The Slavery-Marriage Nexus in Northern Uganda since the Mid-Nineteenth Century

This article examines transformations in the marriage-slavery nexus in Northern Uganda from the late nineteenth century to the present. By historicising the forced marriage of abducted girls in the Lord’s Resistance Army, the article contributes to explaining why the interpretation of these circumstances has been so disputed in Uganda and internationally. It starts by examining different interpretations of the relationship between Dominic Ongwen and his forced wives. The Ongwen case is then contextualised in the history of female captivity and conjugal violence in Lango and Acholi societies. It is argued that enslavement in the form of wartime captivity was not irreconcilable with marriage in Northern Uganda in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and that this history influences contemporary Lango and Acholi perceptions of these phenomen

Estimação de parâmetros em tempo real através de filtro de Kalman com janela robusta suavizante e estimadores de estados não lineares

Os estimadores de estado, ou observadores, são técnicas que reconstroem os estados de um modelo dinâmico a partir das medidas de entrada e saída do sistema. Eles podem ser baseados na teoria probabilística (proposto por Kalman), que considera ruídos no modelo ou na teoria determinística (introduzida por Luenberger) sem a presença de ruídos. Embora, na sua gênese, o controle “moderno” tenha motivado o surgimento dessas técnicas em 1960, os estimadores de estado são hoje em dia aplicados também em reconciliação de dados, analisadores virtuais, estimação de parâmetros, gêmeos digitais e detecção de falhas. Por isso, esta tese aborda um estudo sobre filtros de Kalman e suas aplicações focado, principalmente, no uso de janela robusta suavizante. As principais contribuições do trabalho são: (1) revisão bibliográfica histórica dos estimadores de estado, abordando suas principais interligações e características, incluindo uma motivação prática de suas utilizações; (2) avaliação de cinco metodologias de filtro de Kalman (estendido - EKF, estendido com restrições - CEKF, formulação curta do estendido com restrições – CEKF2, estendido com restrições e suavizado - CEKFS, sem rastro - UKF, e de cubatura – CKF implementadas a dados industriais, mostrando a sua capacidade de aplicação em casos reais, sendo eles, na produção de petróleo offshore e em uma rede de trocadores de calor; (3) proposta de técnica de estimação de bias em casos em que o estimador não linear retorna resultados insatisfatórios; (4) avaliação de três métodos de estimadores de estado com horizonte móvel para estimação simultânea de estados e parâmetros (estimação do horizonte móvel - MHE, com horizonte retrocedido - RNK, e robusto com horizonte retrocedido - RRNK); e (5) apresentação de formulação robusta e simples para problema de otimização do RNK e RRNK utilizando programação quadrática. De modo geral os filtros de Kalman não-lineares (UKF e CKF) retornam melhores resultados para os dados industriais quando o modelo está bem ajustado. No entanto, eles possuem elevado custo computacional e desempenho insatisfatório para modelos mal ajustados, enquanto os filtros estendidos não apresentam essas desvantagens. Por isso, utilizando técnica simples da estimação de bias como uma variável através de técnica de estado aumentado, o filtro de Kalman sem rastro e de cubatura se mostraram mais acurados, mesmo em um cenário de ajuste inadequado do modelo. Para a estimação simultânea de estados e parâmetros, o RRNK exibiu as suas vantagens na redução de erros de modelagem, retornando parâmetros mais suavizados. Nesse sentido, a reformulação dos problemas de otimização do RNK e RRNK em uma formulação de programação quadrática simples e robusta obteve um custo computacional nove vezes menor que o MHE.State estimators, or observers, are techniques that reconstruct the states of a dynamical model from the input and output measures of the system. They can be based on the probabilistic theory (proposed by Kalman), which considers noise in the model, or on the deterministic theory (introduced by Luenberger) without the presence of noise. Although in its genesis, “modern” control motivated the emergence of these techniques in 1960, state estimators are nowadays also applied in data reconciliation, virtual analyzers, parameter estimation, digital twins, and fault detection. For this reason, this thesis addresses a study on Kalman filters and their applications, focused mainly on the use of a robust softening window. The main contributions of the work are: (1) historical bibliographic review of state estimators, addressing their main interconnections and characteristics, including a practical motivation for their uses; (2) evaluation of five Kalman filter methodologies (extended – EKF, constrained extended – CEKF, short formulation of the constrained extended – CEKF2, constrained extended and smoother – CEKFS, unscented – UKF, cubature – CKF) implemented to industrial data, showing their ability to be applied in real cases, namely in offshore oil production and in a heat exchanger network; (3) proposal of bias estimation technique in cases where the nonlinear estimator returns unsatisfactory results; (4) evaluation of three methods of state estimators with moving window for simultaneous state and parameter estimation (moving horizon horizon – MHE, receding nonlinear Kalman filter – RNK, and robust receding nonlinear Kalman filter – RRNK), and (5) presentation of robust and simple formulation for RNK and RRNK optimization problem using quadratic programming. In general, non-linear Kalman filters (UKF and CKF) return better results for industrial data when the model is well adjusted. However, they have high computational costs and poor performance for poorly adjusted models, while extended filters do not present these disadvantages. Therefore, using a simple bias estimation technique as a variable using an increased state technique, the unscented and cubature Kalman filter proved to be more accurate, even in a scenario of inadequate model adjustment. For the simultaneous state and parameter estimation, the RRNK showed its advantages in reducing modeling errors, returning more smoothed parameters. In this sense, the RNK and RRNK optimization problems’ reformulation in a robust and straightforwards quadratic programming formulation obtained a computational cost nine times smaller than the MHE

Age-dependent mating tactics in male bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus)

Intra-specific variation in mating behaviour has been described for a number of taxa including arthropods, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the various mating behavioural variations observed in mammals. For example, an individual’s behaviour may be constrained by its condition or status (making-the- best of-a-bad-job strategy) or an alternative phenotype may be maintained by frequency-dependent selection influencing a genetic polymorphism (alternative strategies). In the majority of ungulates, variation in mating tactics is most likely maintained as a conditional strategy influenced by multiple internal factors like age, health or body size, as well as external factors such as population density, number of competitors and social dominance rank. In the present study, we investigated male mating tactics in a cryptic, bush-dwelling antelope from tropical Africa, the bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus (Figures.1, 2). Different mating strategies are expected to emerge, if variation in mating tactic is maintained as a conditional strategy influenced by age and / or body size: 1) Defending a territory when old and strong, what allows the owner to associating more frequently with females within the combined territory and home-range area. 2) No territory defence when young and weak, thereby associating with females less frequently and therefore sneak-mating with them

Children born of war in northern Uganda: kinship, marriage, and the politics of post-conflict reintegration in Lango society

This thesis is about the experiences of children born as a result of sexual violence in war and armed conflict. It explores how children conceived in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) are perceived and how those perceptions affect their everyday lives once they left the LRA and joined the families and communities of their mothers in post-war northern Uganda, and particularly in Lango. These children are offspring of forced wives - girls and young women who were forced into sexual relationships with LRA militiamen. Kony used fear and mysticism to manipulate his followers and control their sex life and hence, re-organise their reproductive choices. Yet Kony’s approach to sexuality and procreation was perceived as incompatible with Lango norms and institutions regulating sex, marriage and motherhood. This gave rise to tensions over the reintegration of formerly abducted women and their children. This study explores the circumstances under which these children were conceived and what happened to them when they left the LRA and joined their mothers’ natal families and communities. Moreover, it explores related fields – such as ideas and practices of kinship and gender - influencing the treatment of children conceived in the LRA

The development of sustainability ratios for public listed companies

Financial analysis is important when assessing a business’ financial as well as economic performance, and ratios are among the best known and most widely - used tools for financial analysis. Ratios act as a benchmarking and trend analysis tool by disclosing relationships as well as bases of comparison that reveal conditions and trends that cannot be detected by the individual components of the ratio. In addition, there is a need to measure sustainability performance as sustainability aims to radically transform how businesses understand and create value. Measuring sustainability performance can determine whether a business is moving in the right direction. This study developed a proposed set of sustainability ratios that could be used to determine the efficient and effective sustainability performance of public listed companies in South Africa. The study used a mixed methods research approach in three phases consisting of ten steps. In Phase 1 (Step 1), a secondary research in the form of a literature review was conducted. The critically evaluated secondary literature sources were used to create a theoretical framework of sustainability ratios and a ‘schedule for content analyses. In Phase 2 (Steps 2, 3, 4, 5), a quantitative content analysis of sustainability reports of FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Top 30 Index companies was performed to obtain the variables that were used to calculate the sustainability ratios in the theoretical framework. It also identified additional sustainability ratios that were used by companies in practice, but that were not included in the theoretical framework of sustainability ratios. The sustainability ratios from the theoretical framework were calculated using the variables collected from the sustainability reports. Thereafter, descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse the results. Lastly, in Phase 3 (Steps 6, 7, 8, 9), qualitative criteria were used to test the variables for the sustainability ratios that could not be calculated and to select the ratios from those calculated, reported and tested to be included in the proposed set of sustainability ratios. The purpose of Phase 3 was to test the usability, relevance, measurability, understandability and comparability of the sustainability ratios proposed in the theoretical framework as well as the sustainability ratios that were applied in the content of sustainability reports in South Africa. Step 10 represented the outcome of the study, a set of sustainability ratios was proposed. A set of 101 sustainability ratios were proposed. The proposed set of sustainability ratios linked the different sustainability issues to financial results by classifying them into four main categories, namely, (i) sustainable operational efficiency and effectiveness ratios (SOEE), (ii) sustainable risk - minimisation ratios (SRM), (iii) sustainable reputation – brand value ratios (SRBV) and (iv) sustainable innovation ratios (SI). These sustainability ratios could be used to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of a business’ sustainability strategies, its risk minimisation strategies, innovative capacities and reputation as well as brand value enhancing strategies. As the concern for business sustainability increases, the proposed sustainability ratios might satisfy the concerns of customers and stakeholders. These proposed ratios could also be refined in the future

The development of sustainability ratios for public listed companies

Financial analysis is important when assessing a business’ financial as well as economic performance, and ratios are among the best known and most widely - used tools for financial analysis. Ratios act as a benchmarking and trend analysis tool by disclosing relationships as well as bases of comparison that reveal conditions and trends that cannot be detected by the individual components of the ratio. In addition, there is a need to measure sustainability performance as sustainability aims to radically transform how businesses understand and create value. Measuring sustainability performance can determine whether a business is moving in the right direction. This study developed a proposed set of sustainability ratios that could be used to determine the efficient and effective sustainability performance of public listed companies in South Africa. The study used a mixed methods research approach in three phases consisting of ten steps. In Phase 1 (Step 1), a secondary research in the form of a literature review was conducted. The critically evaluated secondary literature sources were used to create a theoretical framework of sustainability ratios and a ‘schedule for content analyses. In Phase 2 (Steps 2, 3, 4, 5), a quantitative content analysis of sustainability reports of FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Top 30 Index companies was performed to obtain the variables that were used to calculate the sustainability ratios in the theoretical framework. It also identified additional sustainability ratios that were used by companies in practice, but that were not included in the theoretical framework of sustainability ratios. The sustainability ratios from the theoretical framework were calculated using the variables collected from the sustainability reports. Thereafter, descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyse the results. Lastly, in Phase 3 (Steps 6, 7, 8, 9), qualitative criteria were used to test the variables for the sustainability ratios that could not be calculated and to select the ratios from those calculated, reported and tested to be included in the proposed set of sustainability ratios. The purpose of Phase 3 was to test the usability, relevance, measurability, understandability and comparability of the sustainability ratios proposed in the theoretical framework as well as the sustainability ratios that were applied in the content of sustainability reports in South Africa. Step 10 represented the outcome of the study, a set of sustainability ratios was proposed. A set of 101 sustainability ratios were proposed. The proposed set of sustainability ratios linked the different sustainability issues to financial results by classifying them into four main categories, namely, (i) sustainable operational efficiency and effectiveness ratios (SOEE), (ii) sustainable risk - minimisation ratios (SRM), (iii) sustainable reputation – brand value ratios (SRBV) and (iv) sustainable innovation ratios (SI). These sustainability ratios could be used to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of a business’ sustainability strategies, its risk minimisation strategies, innovative capacities and reputation as well as brand value enhancing strategies. As the concern for business sustainability increases, the proposed sustainability ratios might satisfy the concerns of customers and stakeholders. These proposed ratios could also be refined in the future