Social Perspective Factors Influencing Career Decision of Post Graduate Students: A case of the Open University of Tanzania

The study sought to investigate social perspective factors that influence the choice of career among post graduate students at the Open University of Tanzania. The investigation serves as a ground to establishing a career counselling section that would assist students at the Open University of Tanzania and all youth in the community at large to help students make career choice from a well-informed perspective. A survey design which was mainly quantitative in nature was used in this empirical study. A questionnaire was used in collecting data from the participants. One hundred and thirty three post graduate students participated in the study. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 calculated the percentages and mean that were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that family members, both nucleus and extended, had an influence on students’ choice of careers. The parental influence, parental education, and parental actions was rated highly as compared to other family related aspects. The study also revealed that peers had an influence on students’ choices of careers through peer advice and encouragement. However, the influence of gender on career choice was significantly rated. In other words, gender influenced students’ choice of careers since respondents agreed there were career special for men and other career special for women. Some recommendations had been made. The study recommended there is a need to orient parents on matters related to careers and youth to be close and associate with positive influential peers. Lastly, the study also recommended the improvement of career counselling chamber at the Open University of Tanzania to cover and assist students and community at large on matters relating to career decisions

Status and effects of insect pests on the cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) in southern and central zones, Tanzania

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyThis study was conducted from February to March and July to August 2019 in twenty-four (24) cashew fields located in the southern and central zones of Tanzania. In each zone, three districts were selected based on cashew production reports, and in each district, four farms were selected. In each farm, ten fully-grown cashew nut trees were randomly selected and assessed for infestation by sucking insect pests. The insect pests were assessed within quadrants of one-meter length placed at the north and south of the canopy of the cashew tree. The total number of insect pests, susceptible shoots and nuts, both clean and damaged were recorded. Insect samples were collected and identified at the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute, Arusha Tanzania. Twenty-seven (27) key informant farmers were interviewed using questionnaires and farmers group discussions in both zones. The study revealed a number of both known and first recorded insect pest’s attacks that cashew nut. The commonly known insect pests identified include Helopeltis sp, Pseudotheraptus wayi, Selenothrips rubrocinctus and Mecocorynus loripes, and newly recorded were Miphetophora sp., Plaesiorrhira sp., Diplognatha gagates, Systates sp, and Aphis sp. The incidence and diversity of these cashew sucking insect pests differed in terms of abundance and distribution within cashew fields. Most abundant insect pests were Helopeltis sp. with incidences of 46.7%. Further research is required in studying biology, ecology population dynamics and abundance of first reported and identified insect pests to determine specific periods for intervention and develop methods (species-specific) for effective pest management in Tanzania

The impact of board characteristics on the financial performance of Tanzanian firms

Purpose - This study investigates the impact of board characteristics on the financial performance of listed firms in Tanzania. Board characteristics, including outside directors, board size, CEO/ Chair duality, gender diversity, board skill and foreign directors are addressed in the Tanzanian context by applying two corporate governance theories: namely, agency theory; and resource dependence theory. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses balanced panel data regression analysis on 80 firm-years observations (2006-2013) from annual reports and semi- structured interviews were conducted with 12 key stakeholders. The study uses also a mixed methods approach and applies a convergent parallel design (Creswell, 2011) to integrate quantitative and qualitative data. Findings - It was found that in terms of agency theory, while the findings support the separation of CEO/Chairperson roles; they do not support outside directors-financial performance linkage. With regard to resource dependence theory, the findings suggest that gender diversity has a positive impact on financial performance. Furthermore, the findings do not support an association between financial performance and board size, PhD qualification, and foreign directors. Theoretical and Practical Implications - The study contributes to the understanding of board-performance link and provides academic evidence to policy makers in Tanzania for current and future governance reforms. Originality/value - The findings contribute to the literature by providing new and original insights that, within a developing setting, extend current understanding of the association between corporate governance and financial performance. This is predicated, also, on the use of uncommon mixed methods approach

Quantitative Easing and Bank Lending

There is a growing body of literature currently analysing the effects of Quantitative easing especially in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis as large asset purchase programmes were implemented in the USA and the UK. Traditionally, the studies analysing the effects of QE have tended to focus on its impact on the financial markets as a whole or on interest rates. However, the manner in which quantitative easing works puts banks at the centre of how they operate. Therefore it is important to understand how quantitative easing works through the bank lending channel of monetary policy. Past papers such as Bowman et al. (2011) and Joyce and Spaltro (2012) have analysed the effects of quantitative easing on bank lending however they have tended to focus more on the direct channel of Quantitative easing through the bank lending channel. This study aims to build upon their work by including other channels under which asset purchase programmes could affect bank lending. We use OLS, Fixed effects and GMM estimators to analyse data. To this end, we seek to find how quantitative easing affect banks through an increase in money supply, changes in the bank’s net interest margins and Z-score. We find slight evidence for the indirect path of Quantitative easing especially through the net interest margin. We can’t conclusively ascertain whether the direct channel worked however

Factors Affecting Employee Engagement Toward Effective Performance in Public Hospitals in Tanzania: A Case of Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute.

The purpose of this study was to assess the factors for employee’s engagement for effective performance in Public hospitals in Tanzania JKCI as a case. The research adopted a case study design with a population of 310 employees of JKCI, 80 employees were taken as sample size to the total population. Questionnaires were used to collect data after which the collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics to allow conclusion to be drawn. The research findings indicated that, factors for employee engagement contribute to organization performance mainly training and development, rewards, communication and leadership style. These factors are likely to minimize employee turnover rate when they are well managed. It was established that, employees at JKCI are highly engaged as the Institute since it was established they have only one employee who quitted because of salary. Training is the most thing JKCI consider the most to have number of qualified personnel to offer cardiovascular training in Tanzania. It was recommended that, Public hospitals should allow its employee to make inputs in decision making in the organization. Otherwise if there is a lack of communication flow in the organization between top management and employees, poor decision making and lack of employee empowerments, this would greatly affect the organization performance, employee empowerment, effective strategy formulation and monetary rewards which encourage employees should be effectively enhanced. For employee engagement to be sustainable, it should be incorporated in organizations policy such Human resource policy as well as strategic plan. Having frustrated employees, can affect the goal and objective of the health facility and as a result, the welfare of the employees must be considered at all times. The study offers significant recommendations to government, public and private sector on how to promote employee’s engagement in their organizations for effective performance. The study recommend that the management of the hospitals should also pay much emphasis to employee engagement as a management tool that can be used to enhance job satisfaction and improving employee welfare in the hospital. It also recommends that another study undertaken on the same but on different sector, or in public health sector to come up with affirmations regards to factors affecting employee’s engagements and organizational performance. In addition, other forms of employee engagement mechanisms should also be researched on in the future study since the variables used in the study as types of employee engagement practices may not be the only ones

Status of sucking insect pests in cashew growing locations of South and Central Zones, Tanzania

This research article published by the International Journal of Biosciences, 2020Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an economically important cash crop for many rural households in Tanzania. However, its production is constrained by some insect pests and diseases. As a precondition for the development of a more sustainable integrated insect pest management strategy for cashew, information on the incidence and severity of cashew sucking insect pests in a changing environment is required. Field surveys were conducted in the major and minor cashew producing areas of Tanzania in two phases, February to March 2019 during the vegetative season and July to August 2019 during reproduction season. The surveys were conducted in 24 cashew fields in six districts (Liwale, Masasi, Nachingwea, Manyoni, Kongwa and Mpwapwa) in southern and central agricultural research zones in Tanzania. Data on a number of shoots infected by sucking insect pests, i.e. black lesion, leaf damage, dieback level, pest counts and counts of natural enemies were collected from the two zones. Data showed that incidence and diversity of sucking cashew insect pests differed in terms of abundance and distribution within cashew fields in the central and southern zones. Liwale and Kongwa districts recorded higher incidence and severity followed by Mpwapwa, Masasi, Manyoni and Nachingwea districts, respectively. In general, insect pests affecting cashew production in selected locations of southern and central Tanzania have been known in terms of identity (genus level), abundance and distribution; therefore, more efforts on the study should be made on identification to species level to formulate management measures to each specie

Leptospira seroprevalence among ugandan slaughter cattle: comparison of sero-status with renal Leptospira infection

Despite evidence of both human and animal; Leptospira; exposures in Uganda, the epidemiology of the disease is still not well-investigated. Contact with animals and their environments have been pointed out as potential source of infection with; Leptospira; species in humans; and cattle may be an important reservoir in Uganda. In this cross-sectional study, we estimated the prevalence of anti-; Leptospira; antibodies by the standard microscopic agglutination test (MAT); and associated risk factors among slaughtered cattle. We also compared the performance of the MAT used in this study against a; lipL32; based real time PCR (qPCR) assay previously conducted on the kidneys and urine of the same slaughter cattle as tested in this reported study. Of 500 cattle sampled, 27.8% (95% CI 23.9-32.0) tested positive (titer ≥ 100) to at least one; Leptospira; serovar, with the majority of seropositive cattle reacting to serovars Tarassovi (sg Tarassovi) (11.6%), Sejroe (Sg Sejroe) (7.8%), and Australis (Sg Australis) (5.2%). Older animals had 2.8 times (95% CI 1.0-8.2,; p; -value 0.055) greater odds of being seropositive than younger ones (<1.5 years). The sensitivity and specificity of the MAT over the qPCR were 65.9% (95% CI 50.1-79.5) and 75.9% (95% CI 71.7-79.7), respectively; with a negative predictive value of 95.8% and positive predictive value of 20.9%. In conclusion, slaughter cattle in this study were significantly exposed to pathogenic; Leptospira; species of mainly the Tarassovi, Sejroe, and Australis serogroups, with seroprevalence being higher among older cattle. The high specificity and negative predictive value of MAT as used in this study when compared to the qPCR assay may imply a rather strong association between seronegativity and absence of renal; Leptospira; infection. However, MAT predictability for renal; Leptospira; infection may be interpreted cautiously since predictive values of diagnostic tests are dependent on prevalence

After-action review of rabies and anthrax outbreaks multisectoral response in Tanzania, challenges and lessons

After-action review uses experiences gained from past events to adopt best practices, thereby improving future interventions. In December 2016 and late 2018, the government of Tanzania with support from partners responded to anthrax and rabies outbreaks in Arusha and Morogoro regions respectively. The One Health Coordination Desk (OHCD) of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) later coordinated after-action reviews to review the multi-sectoral preparedness and response to the outbreaks. To establish and describe actions undertaken by the multi-sectoral investigation and response teams during planning and deployment, execution of field activities, and outbreak investigation and response, system best practices and deficiencies. These were cross-sectional surveys. Semi-structured, open and closed-ended questionnaire and focus group discussions were administered to collect information from responders at the national and subnational levels. It was found that the surveillance and response systems were weak at community level, lack of enforcement of public health laws including vaccination of livestock and domestic animals and joint preparedness efforts were generally undermined by differential disease surveillance capacities among sectors. Lack of resources in particular funds for supplies, transport and deployment of response teams contributed to many shortfalls. The findings underpin the importance of after-action reviews in identifying critical areas for improvement in multi-sectoral prevention and control of disease outbreaks. Main sectors under the coordination of the OHCD should include after action reviews in their plans and budget it as a tool to continuously assess and improve multi-sectoral preparedness and response to public health emergencies

Brucellosis remains a neglected disease inthe developing world: a call forinterdisciplinary action

Brucellosis places significant burdens on the human healthcare system and limits the economic growth of individuals, communities, and nations where such development is especially important to diminish the prevalence of poverty. The implementation of public policy focused on mitigating the socioeconomic effects of brucellosis in human and animal populations is desperately needed. When developing a plan to mitigate the associated consequences, it is vital to consider both the abstract and quantifiable effects. This requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative, or One Health, approach that consists of public education, the development of an infrastructure for disease surveillance and reporting in both veterinary and medical fields, and campaigns for control in livestock and wildlife species

EN-BIRTH Data Collector Training - Handbook and Manual

The EN-BIRTH study aims to validate selected newborn and maternal indicators for routine facility-based tracking of coverage and quality of care for use at district, national and global levels. The item contains the EN-BIRTH_Trainer's Manual (14 June 2017) and EN-BIRTH_Training Handbook (23 May 2017)