Assessment of Some Major and Heavy Metal Contents in Green Pepper (Capsicum Annuum) and Beetroot (Beta Vulgaris) Grown in the Vicinity of the Industrial Area of Ejersa, Ethiopia

Treated waste water were used for irrigation purpose in the vicinity of industrial area of Ethiopia Tannery. The vegetables, beetroot (beta vulgaris) and green pepper (capsicum annum) growing in the area of the Ethiopia Tannery were tested for its heavy metal contents. For this purpose three samples of waste water from different sites along the channel of the tannery were collected and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). Similarly soil and vegetables were brought from the same area and analyzed to assess their heavy metal contamination. The concentration of heavy metal in vegetables were found that Cu 8.5 mg/Kg in beetroot and 9.5 mg/Kg in green pepper, Cd 0.96 mg/Kg in beetroot and 1.2 mg/Kg in green pepper, Zn 132.4 mg/Kg in beetroot and 100.9 mg/Kg in green pepper, Ca 3739.7 mg/Kg in beetroot and 99 mg/Kg in green pepper and Mg 6262.7 mg/Kg in beetroot and 399 mg/Kg in green pepper. It was found that Cu 0.019-0.027, Cd 0.018-0.023, Cr 3.33-7.95, Zn 0.17-0.29 mg/L and Pb below detection limit of the instrumentation in various treated waste water samples. The results are also compared with the levels of metals in the data from literature. The cadmium content obtained in vegetables showed that the level is higher than the FAO/WHO limits. Keywords: vegetables, Waste water, Heavy metals, Flame atomic absorption Spectrophotometr

Effects of Thickness on Optical and Structural Properties of Lead Sulphide (PbS) Thin Film Prepared by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD)

Nanocrystalline PbS thin films were deposited on glass substrates with various deposition times using chemical bath deposition technique. PbS thin films were prepared by using a solution of Lead nitrate and thiourea by using NaOH salt as a complexing agent and ammonia solution as a pH adjuster at 650C. The study was carried out for thickness in the range of (0.16-1.03m). The structural properties were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the films exhibit the cubic face centered structure. The crystalline sizes of the films increased with increasing film thickness. The morphological properties were studied by SEM and showed that films were well adherent to the substrate, uniform, small crystal size and covered the entire substrate surface completely. The optical properties of these films have been studied and show that PbS thin films have the values of energy gap varied between (0.88-1.34 eV) with increasing film thickness. Keywords: CBD, XRD, band gap, PbS thin film DOI: 10.7176/CMR/12-7-01 Publication date:September 30th 202

Effects of Sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea (l.) wight and arn.shrub) Encroachment on Floristic and Vegetation Structure in Semi-arid Savannah of Southern Ethiopia

Anthropogenic drivers in Protected Areas particularly overgrazing in National Parks may enable the spread of native plant species into non-encroached areas, a phenomenon witnessed with sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Weight and Arn. Shrub) in Semi-arid Savannah Plains of Nech Sar National Park (NSNP). This study was conducted in the Savannah Plains of NSNP, to investigate the effects of sicklebush encroachment on native floristic and vegetation structures. Two sicklebush encroached patches, each greater than one hectare and two adjacent non-encroached sites of the same size were selected randomly to establish sampling units. A total of 32 (10m by 10m) plots were established being eight from each of the four encroached and non-encroached sites. Five 1m by 1m quadrats were laid in each plot to collect vegetation data except for aboveground biomass. Aboveground biomass was clipped from 0.25m2 sub-quadrats of each quadrat. Species composition, richness, diversity, vegetation live cover, vegetation dead cover, bare ground cover and vegetation height and aboveground biomass were compared between encroached and non-encroached sites. A total of 46 plant species were identified in the study area, of which 27 were found only in non-encroached site and 19 were common for both sites, implying that 58.7% of the species were absent in sicklebush encroached sites. Non-encroached sites harboured a total of 18 families and 43 genera, whereas encroached sites harboured only 7 families and 18 genera. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in species richness, species diversity, species composition, vegetation live and dead cover, vegetation height between encroached and non-encroached areas, with non-encroached areas recording higher values than encroached areas. Vegetation height did not show significant difference between the compared sites for the plant growth forms but it did show for few of dominant species. On the other hand, bare ground cover record was high in encroached areas compared to non-encroached areas. This implies that the native plant species of the savannah plains of the study area were under pressure due to sicklebush encroachment unless treated properly in short term. Keywords: bush encroachment, effect, Nech Sar National Park, savannah, sicklebush encroachment Corresponding author: Bayisa Bussa Gonfa, Natural Resources Management Department, College of Agriculture Science, Bule Hora University, P.O.Box: 144, Bule Hora, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-8-01 Publication date:August 31st 202

Determination of the Concentration of Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn and Cd in the Waste Water(Effluent) Discharged from the Ethiopian Tannery

Waste water discharged from the industry were used for irrigation purpose in the vicinity of industrial area of Ethiopia Tannery.  The waste water discharged from the tannery industry were examined for its heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Cr).   For this purpose three samples of waste water from different Sites (Site 1, Site 2 and Site 3) along the channel of the tannery were collected and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS).  The concentration of heavy metals in waste water discharged from the tannery industry were found that Cu 0.019-0.023, Cd 0.018-0.023, Cr 3.33-7.945, Zn 0.17-0.29 mg/L and Pb below detection limit of the instrumentation.The results are also compared with the levels of metals in the data from previous studies. Keywords: Tannery, Waste water, Heavy metals, Flame atomic absorption Spectrophotometry

The Role of Giving Feedback for Academic Achievement, A Case of Bule Hora University, Ethiopia

Feedback is an essential component in all learning contexts and without feedback of any kind; we would end up doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. This study was aimed to explore the importance of feedback for academic achievement at Bule Hora University, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Management Department. Quantitative and qualitative research design was employed in the study. Qualitative research design was used to explore the perception of respondents toward their educational status and quantitative research design was used to quantify some numerical data that percent and frequency, which was collected in the study college. A total of 47 respondents were used for the study by using the formula recommended by Kather (1985). The study findings indicated that the majority of respondents reflected the importance of feedback 31(65.9%). According to the finding, requirement of feedback was essential on given assessment types even though vary based on types of assessment. Since feedback is highly correlated with time, instructors are enforced to give feedback on time and students should award more about the values and mechanisms to enforce their instructors. The big problem of feedback was in appropriate follow up time by concerned body in that the department conducts teachers’ efficiency at the end of each semester that need to be modified soon. Keywords: Feedback, Perception, Academic, Achievement DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-16-01 Publication date:June 30th 202

Corporate social responsibility practices and financial performance of manufacturing firms in special zone, administration of Oromia surrounding Finfinne: a case of Sebeta and Gelan Town

The paper examine attitude of managers, employees and local communities towards CSR practices. We used structured questionnaire to secure data from respondents. We find that manufacturing firms surveyed have not properly carried out CSR activities especially in waste management. Public owned manufacturing firms are found to be more responsive to communities CSR activities than foreign owned and private owned firms in the study area. Furthermore, larger firms are more responsive to CSR than smaller ones and socially responsible firms are found to be financially successful than others. The more manufacturing firms exert responsibility on CSR the better their financial performance.Jimma Universit

Concept for Ecotourism Industry: Over View from out to in (Ethiopia). A Review Articles

Ecotourism is an important and rapidly growing “niche market” within the global tourism industry, which can contribute to environmental conservation, socio-economic and gives value to the maintenance of local traditions and culture. The evolution of the concept of ecotourism could be traced from the 1980s, which coincides with the grounding of the concept of sustainable development. Although it has been difficult to calculate the size and growth rate of ecotourism, a range of estimates indicate that it has become the fastest growing sub-sector of the tourism industry. The contribution of ecotourism to rural livelihoods and livelihood diversification has received significant research attention and taken as determinants of livelihood outcomes. Ethiopia is a country of land of multiple tourist attractions and a visitor friendly people who are conscious of its historical, cultural and natural heritages in its regions. Even though it possesses a plethora of tourist attractions, yet tourism infrastructure, tourist products and marketing are at its infancy. The sector has direct, indirect and induced impact on the country’s economy, environment and cultural resources. To sustain sustainable development for the long run from the sector, balancing those impacts and giving attention towards peace and security as well as infrastructure development is crucial as the ecotourism industry mainly depend on them. Keywords: Ecotourism, Community, Tourism, Impact DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/51-02 Publication date:October 31st 202

A comparative perspective of academic brain drain at selected universities in Ethiopia and South Africa.

Doctoral Degree, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The aim of this study was to examine the possible factors contributing to the intention of scholarly staff to withdraw at three sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) universities, specifically at Addis Ababa University (AAU), Haramaya University (HU) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The information was gathered from 596 scholastic staff individuals and 29 purposively chosen key sources who are senior scholarly individuals who have been working in different managerial positions as dignitaries, scholarly pioneers or heads of offices, deputy-vice chancellors and vice presidents at the three universities. The investigation comprised a mixed methods research approach whereby the quantitative information was gathered by means of surveys and the qualitative information was by means of face-to-face personal meetings. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilised to break down quantitative information using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programming version 24, while thematic analysis was utilised to dissect subjective information. Examination of the data demonstrated that selected demographic factors predicted the intention of scholarly staff to depart from the two Ethiopian universities whereas none of the factors predicted this at UKZN. Notwithstanding the above findings, the impact of selected factors on the scholarly staff’s intention to withdraw uncovered that the job-related attributes of the quality of work life (QWL_JC), procedural justice (OJ_PJ) and rewards and benefits (R&B) dimensions were noteworthy for AAU. The examination of subjective information demonstrated that compensation, poor working conditions and poor maintenance approaches and systems are of the key reasons why academic scholars intend to leave their institutions. On the contrary, the job characteristics dimension of QWL, leader-subordinate relationship (LMX) and R&B were found to be significantly influencing academic staff’s propensity to leave Haramaya University. In this regard, subjective outcomes demonstrate that aspects such as compensation, poor working conditions, poor retention policies and strategies, politics and legislative issues, lack of appropriate technology and infrastructure, a sentiment of dissatisfaction, absence of adaptable guidelines and structures, and geographic setting of the university were the reasons causing academic staff to depart at HU. In contrast to this, only R&B were found to be significant at UKZN. In addition, analysis of qualitative information revealed that remuneration, poor working conditions, dissatisfaction, and retirement are the main reasons for the propensity of academic staff to depart. Based on the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, conclusions have been drawn and key recommendations have been forwarded to help the institutions retain their academics