When the Traditional Justice System is the Best Suited Approach to Conflict Management: The Acholi Mato Oput, Joseph Kony, and the Lord\u27s Resistance Army (LRA) In Uganda

The majority of Acholi recognize that most combatants in the Lord \u27s Resistance Army (LRA) were fo rcibly abducted and have themselves been victims. This creates a moral empathy with the perpetrators and an acknowledgement that the formal justice system is not sufficiently nuanced to make the necessary distinctions between legal and moral gu ilt. This has generated a remarkable commitment to reconciliation and a peaceful settlement of the conflict rather than calling for retribution against the perpetrators of serious abuses. The Acholi religious, cultural. and local government leaders have advocated for traditionally- based ritual processes for war-related justice, reconciliation, and reintegration, particularly mato oput, the ritual climax of an Acholi justice process bringing reconciliation in the wake of a homicide within the communit

Short Term Effects of the Retrenchment Exercise on Individual and Organisational Performance in the Uganda Civil Service: Part I

This study set out to assess the short-term effects of a retrenchment exercise on individual and organisational performance in the Uganda civil service. In all, 247 senior and lower rank employees from 6 civil service ministries were administered a questionnaire that measured individual performance, factors hindering employee performance and suggestions on how performance could be improved, and organisational performance factors. The majority of participants reported retrenchment had positive or unknown effects on individual performance. Factors hindering employee performance were inadequate funding, lack of motivation, work overload, and lack of tools--to mention but a few. Providing a living wage, improved incentives, and training were some of the factors identified that could lead to improved performance. The majority of participants also reported that retrenchment had positive or no effects on organisational performance. Specific recommendations are given in the text

NGOs as software providers in Uganda: lessons from Kichwamba pilot project, Kabarole district

In a bid to improve the competence, efficiency and effectiveness of PAF funded programmes, leading to accelerated and quality delivery of services to the end user in the water sector, Government sought out the involvement of NGO’s/CBO’S and the private sector in the development of the rural water and sanitation sector. This is envisaged to entrench the current gains, thereby maximizing benefits from the water sector through strengthening the software component of rural water and sanitation projects. Under this strategy, through HEWASA programme involvement, government implemented a pilot software component project on the Kicwamba gravity flow scheme whose findings are documented in this paper

Bridging the Food Gap: Addressing the feasibility and applicability of three key traditionally Western food preservation techniques to improving household food security and reducing malnutrition in Uganda.

Food wastage is the leading cause of food insecurity and malnutrition in the world today. A huge amount of food gets wasted along the food supply chain from the time it is harvested to the time it gets to our plates. A significant amount of the food wasted happens in the home as well as on farms, in restaurants and supermarkets across the globe. In Sub-Saharan Africa, many families and communities are facing severe food shortages due to lack of electricity for refrigeration, poor storage facilities and limited access to markets. However for many centuries, different cultures around the world have devised ways to preserve food and make it available for longer periods of time and in times of need. These techniques have helped sustain many communities through wars, droughts and periods of scarcity, while at the same time providing much needed nutrients for a healthy diet throughout the year as well as providing a source of income. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of three key traditionally Western food preservation techniques, i.e canning, pickling and fermenting, which if applied in the Ugandan context can significantly reduce food wastage and help improve household food security, nutrition, health and income

Sexual Abuse in School Environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Case of Uvira Town, South Kivu Province

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of sexual abuse, to determine the teachers’ share and give expression opportunity to the victims. The assumption was that young girls are victims of sexual assault in schools. A questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate students of 3 colleges between February and May 2018 to assess the abusive sexual experiences of childhood, the age of the victim, the type of abuse perpetrators and the opinion of the victims. 277 students voluntarily agreed to participate with 263 respondents (94.9%). 76.8% reported sexual abuse during their schooling, 30% before the age of 16, the average age was 13. Sexual abuse involved 12% of rape, 15% of attempted rape, 36% of sexual touching and 14% of insistent solicitation. 50.5% of sexual abusers were teachers, 33.7% of schoolmates, 13.3% of school headmasters and 2.5% of school principals.   Among 86, 1 % of extra-curricular abuse, 56% was intra-family mainly perpetrated relatives, and 67.8% extra-familial in which 57% perpetrated by friends.  Among 45.2% of girls who had given in to the abusers, 39.5% was for gifts and money, and 37.7% for the promise of marks and 26.8% for fear of sanctions. To end to the phenomenon, 86% of girls had suggested the education of boys to respect women, 81% to promote denunciation, 74% to punish the perpetrators, 47% to end the amicably arrangement and for 32% the castration of rapists. These results confirm the initial hypothesis and call for the introduction of a program to prevent sexual abuse in schools

Knowledge retention in national agricultural research organisations: the case of Uganda

Organisation knowledge attrition continues to gain attention due to the increasing mobility of organisational employees. Employees leave organisations due to retirement, resignation in search for better employment opportunities, termination of employment contracts, indisposition, unofficially leaving employment, and death. When they leave organisations, they take with them tacit knowledge. Attrition of tacit knowledge leads to loss of intellectual assets and erosion of organisational memory which negatively affect learning and innovation. The knowledge can be subject matter expertise, organisational memory of why certain decisions were made, experience of past research and development projects and the social network in terms of from whom they sought out for answers or collaborated with in executing their tasks. Knowledge attrition is common in many organisations in different sectors. The literature does not show any framework that addresses knowledge attrition right from the time an employee is recruited into an organisation to when he or she leaves it. The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated knowledge retention framework for minimising organisational knowledge attrition. This was achieved by investigating how loss of organisational tacit knowledge can be minimised. The research adopted a single case study design with a concurrent parallel mixed methods research strategy informed by pragmatic philosophical assumptions. It was conducted in Uganda in a large national agricultural research organisation. Data was collected from 36 focus group discussions involving 161 participants, review of organisational documents, 35 interviews, 205 online surveys and a validation workshop by 16 top managers. The main contribution of this research is the novel framework for knowledge retention that comprehensively addresses knowledge attrition from an organisation. The framework comprises two categories of components. The first is the organisational behavioural components comprising knowledge sharing, capturing and documenting knowledge, and knowledge exploitation. This category constitutes the core components of the knowledge retention strategy. The second category is the organisational environmental components. It comprises creating organisational learning environment, having knowledge-oriented governance and leadership, providing necessary capacities and conditions, and providing strategic guidance - planning for knowledge retention. Environmental components have moderating effects on the behavioural components. In addition, it has contributed to the theoretical existing body of knowledge from the framework that was developed. This complements the reviewed literature which uncovered three conceptual categorisations of the knowledge retention strategies based on the timing of capturing knowledge from an individual. The three categories are: Reactive (short-term), Containment (medium-term) and Preventive (long-term) knowledge retention strategies. Although the concept of knowledge retention is not new, this research has contributed to the existing body of literature. Additionally, the study provides a deeper understanding of knowledge retention and opens new research areas. Perhaps this is the first study of its kind in the agricultural sector specifically focussing on agricultural research

Towards understanding factors that govern fertilizer response in casave: lessons from East Africa

Information on fertilizer response in cassava in Africa is scarce. We conducted a series of on-farm and on-station trials in two consecutive years to quantify yield responses of cassava to mineral fertilizer in Kenya and Uganda and to evaluate factors governing the responses. Average unfertilized yields ranged from 4.2 to 25.7 t ha-1 between sites and years. Mineral fertilizer use increased yields significantly, but response to fertilizer was highly variable (-0.2 to 15.3 t ha-1). Average yield response per kg applied nutrient was 37, 168 and 45 and 106, 482 and 128 kg fresh yield per kg of applied N, P and K, respectively in 2004 and 2005. Fertilizer response was governed by soil fertility, rainfall and weed management, but was not influenced by variety, pest and disease pressure and harvest age. Relative N and K yields were positively correlated to SOC and exchangeable K, while response to fertilizer decreased on more fertile soils. Still, fertilizer response varied widely on low fertility soils (e.g. on soils wit

Prevalence of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases-Producing Microorganisms in Patients Admitted at KRRH, Southwestern Uganda

The emergence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase- (ESBL-) producing pathogenic bacteria at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital (KRRH), located in southwestern Uganda, is of great concern: a phenomenon that worries clinicians and other healthcare workers due to the serious threat they pose to patients. This current study aimed at determining the phenotypic detection of ESBL-producing strains of E. coli, Klebsiella sp., and Proteus sp. isolated from clinical specimens and their prevalence in patients admitted at KRRH. We used combined disc diffusion technique to detect and establish the presence of ESBLs-producing bacteria. Of the 100 tested bacterial isolates, 89 (89%) were identified as ESBL-producing bacteria. Klebsiella sp. predominated in the samples (46 (52%)), presenting the highest frequency of ESBLs producing followed by E. coli (39 (44%)) and Proteus mirabilis (4 (4.5%)) from the combined disk diffusion

Integrating ICT into the teaching practice of academics at a university

Many universities have significantly invested in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. This has been done as a clear manifestation of the confidence that they have in ICT being an enabler to transform the way in which universities conduct their core business. These ICT investments have been informed by the perceived advantages that technology brings to the process of knowledge construction, management, teaching and research. Accordingly, this study utilises Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theoretical framework to explore how academics have been integrating ICT into their teaching and learning practice at a university in Uganda. This research adopted the qualitative research strategies of case study and narrative inquiry. Qualitative methods were employed to capture the data through a mix of methods, namely, interviews, observations, document analysis and a researcher journal. The garnered data was analysed using the content and thematic analysis methods. The principle participants constituted academics who were selected from seven faculties at the university. In investigating academics’ integration of ICT into their teaching and learning practice, the research findings are as follows. Firstly, the formal academic use of ICT at the university was limited. Secondly, ICT was predominantly used as a tool for preparing and delivering course material, for record management and for networking with academics. Thirdly, these academics also believed that students exhibited increased enthusiasm and interest to learn when ICT was used for teaching and learning. Fourthly, even though there were substantial efforts and positive attitudes from the academics toward the use of ICT in their pedagogical practice, the process of technology integration at the university was inhibited by contextual challenges that impeded the integration into thereof into their teaching and learning practices. Fifthly, and most significant finding is that academics shifted from using the university’s ICT Learner Management Systems (LMS) to using Web 2.0 tools, and specifically social media as a means of enhancing their teaching practices.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.Science, Mathematics and Technology EducationPhDUnrestricte