The Role of University-Industry linkage in Implementing Competency-based Curricula in Public Higher Learning Institutions in Ethiopia

Purpose: Policymakers are seeking to encourage Universities to become more entrepreneurial and engage more actively with the productive sector. The main objective of this article is to review the studies previously conducted with regard to the implementation of a competency-based curriculum in the higher institutions-industry linkage of Ethiopia.Method: The review is based on the qualitative systematic review approach. A total of twenty studies on the Ethiopian curriculum were reviewed which includes 14 journal articles, 3 government or non-government reports, and 2 policy issues on University-Industry linkage and 1 working paper. The studies were accessed online through the Google search engine. Result: The findings indicate that so far, the contribution of academic research in enhancing the country’s economic development is minimal. Also no attention is given to the issues of responsibilities regarding the non-implementation of the competency-based curriculum in higher education institutions of Ethiopia. Implications: The government has to do more in connecting the role of stakeholders such as Universities and business sectors, create an interlink between Universities, TVET, National Laboratories, the Financial Support Systems, Science & Technology Parks/Incubators, Businesses Enterprises and the National Quality System (NQS). Also the government or the concerned bodies need to develop a system of monitoring for the better implementation of the competency-based curriculum in higher education of Ethiopia

Examining the Effects of Cultural Dimensions on Deviant IS Use Behaviour in a Developing Economy Context

Information System (IS) tools and applications create opportunities for a positive digital change to all individuals and organizations in the global workplace to improve competitiveness and quality of work life. Recent studies have shown that the most problematic areas in IS security incidences are people-related factors. In this regard, employees are causing IS security risks and vulnerabilities as they use those resources, especially by exercising their legitimate and lawful rights, mainly because people are the weakest link on IS security matters. On the one hand, the effects of organizational sanctions are not always effective due to socio-cultural variabilities, and so far they have not been able to fully defend employee related IS misuse or misconduct. On the other hand, the use of neutralization techniques supports individuals to justify their deviant actions, but differently to people in different socio-cultural bases. To examine such a problem, therefore, culture as a moderator, criminological constructs and level of employees’ awareness to IS security as independent variables are employed to explain IS misuse intention in unison are proposed through a comprehensive conceptual research model. A positivist research paradigm using a cross-sectional quantitative survey data collection approach will be adapted to help empirically test the model. To validate the model and its constructs, the study will apply SEM-PLS data analysis techniques using Smart-PLS and SPSS with Amos. Finally, this study in progress discusses the potential practical and theoretical contributions and plans to provide scientific evidence based on its findings

The Impact of Organizational Culture on IS Implementation Success in Ethiopia: the Case of Selected Public and Private Organizations

Organizational Culture in firms or institutions is widely believed to affect organizational performance and the success of the information system (IS) implementation. This work in progress study investigates the relationships between organizational/corporate culture and management support with IS implementation success in selected organizations. Based on the organizational culture construct by Hofstede et al (1990) and the IS implementation success framework by Sharma and Yetton (2003), a structured questionnaire is developed and will be self administered to selected participants in the selected organizations. Specifically, the objective of the study is to examine the impact of organizational or corporate culture on IS implementation success in selected public and private organizations in Ethiopia. Relationship between management support and IS implementation success in organizations, which will be moderated by task interdependence, will also be examined. Thus the work in progress and future study of this paper contributes to the existing literature by providing a framework for IS implementation success in low-income countries like Ethiopia

HEALTH SPA RESORT DI KAWASAN DANAU TOBA

Masyarakat di era global mengalami banyak perubahan gaya hidup baik perubahan ke arah positif maupun negatif. Dan diantara perubahan tersebut efek negatif yang terjadi antaralain: peningkatan tekanan dan intensitas waktu dalam pekerjaan, makanan sehat yang semakin mahal dan sulit ditemui, berkurangnya ruang komunal dan ruang publik, serta kemacetan dan hiruk pikuk kota. Masyarakat hari ini cenderung hidup dalam kehidupan perkotaan yang serba cepat dan instan. Kehidupan yang serba cepat dan instan tersebut terkadang membuat manusia menjadi mudah stress akibat tekanan yang besar dalam rutinitas sehari-hari. Kota medan merupakan ibukota Provinsi Sumatera Utara dimana terdapat banyak kegiatan yang menyita waktu dan pikiran. Kekhawatiran masyarakat perkotaan akan kesehatan karena tingginya tingkat stress serta pola hidup yang tidak sehat memunculkan fenomena rekreasi dan relaksasi. Relaksasi bertujuan untuk memulihkan kembali kondisi mental dan psikis, sehingga yang didapatkan adalah penampilan lebih prima serta memiliki daya konsentrasi tinggi. Relaksasi dibutuhkan agar dapat menjalankan kembali rutinitas harian. Hal ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa masyarakat urban cenderung rela mengeluarkan biaya yang tidak sedikit untuk memulihkan kondisi mental dan psikis mereka. Danau Toba terletak di Sumatera Utara. Danau ini merupakan salah satu danau tektovulkanik terindah yang dimiliki Indonesia. Dengan luas yang mencapai 1.145 kilometer persegi, Danau Toba tampak seperti sebuah lautan yang berada di ketinggian 900 meter di atas permukaan laut. Selain disebut sebagai danau terluas di Asia Tenggara, danau yang memiliki kedalaman 450 meter ini juga menjadi danau terdalam di dunia. Dengan ketinggian hampir 1 kilometer di atas permukaan laut dan dikelilingi oleh deretan gunung berapi yang merupakan bagian dari Pegunungan Bukit Barisan membuat Danau Toba begitu sejuk dan indah. Banyak potensi dan keindahan alam Danau Toba yang dapat dinikmati, oleh karena itu kawasan Danau Toba cocok untuk dijadikan tempat wisata. Beberapa tahun mendatang Kawasan Danau Toba akan sudah dibenahi dan dijadikan salah satu objek wisata pilihan Indonesia. Pengembangan yang akan dilakukan adalah dengan membangun sarana dan prasarana termasuk infrastruktur sehingga wilayah tersebut menarik minat wisatawan lokal maupun manca negara. Potensi alam yang terdapat di Kawasan ini, salah satunya pegunungan yang menghasilkan belerang sangat cocok dimanfaatkan sebagai bahan spa alami untuk relaksasi, diimbangi dengan suasana sejuk dan elemen air yang terdapat dari danau cocok untuk fasilitas rekreasi dan tempat beristirahat

Transfer of Swahili ‘until’ in contact with East African languages

Swahili has transformed the noun mpaka ‘boundary, border’ into a function word ‘until’, which has successfully spread to many other East African languages with locative and temporal readings. The grammaticalisation originated in a N-N construction without an associative ‘of’ interpreted as limiting the action adverbially. The main function is in the time interpretation of ‘until’. I provide an overview of this transfer in East Africa by looking at a large number of languages and argue that parallel independent grammaticalisation is not what is at stake but rather transfer of the function word and the preposition-like function.Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic

Music interventions and its importance to the lives of elderly persons

The aim of the thesis: is to explore the benefits of music interventions by caregiver in elderly care. One research question was created to fulfill the aim by conducting a literature review: What are the effects of music interventions by caregiver for elderly persons in elderly care? The theoretical frame work used was Eriksson’s lifecycle theory, which reflects the hope and wisdom as practical and sensible human strengths. Music intervention that could be singing playing instruments, listening to live music or having background music can cher-ish hope and sensible human strengths in elderly who are dependent on the caregiver. Fourteen scientific articles were collected though the search engines EBSCO, and Scien-tific direct and Google Scholar, and analyzed using content analysis. The results of using music interventions such as listening to music and singing, helped care givers to overcome difficult caring situations. It improves the mutuality of communi-cation between caregivers and elderly persons and also reduces difficult situations where challenging behaviors occur. Conclusion: Music should be used in everyday situations of elderly care and the caregivers should be aware of the barriers of not using music such as hearing loss problems, un met needs by elderly persons with functional disabilities, medications prescribed for elderly persons. Music interventions could change the elderly person’s mood as to a change for more positive emotions as well as bringing remote memories to the client. Music leisure activities can have cognitive and social benefits in functional disabilities care. The study want to encourage the nursing staff that singing is simple and that you have your own voice with you, everywhere you go, so music should be used at any time when needed for caregivers and professionals working with elderly persons in everyday care

Normanskill Hydroelectric Facility Feasibility Assessment

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of installing a hydroelectric generating facility at an existing dam of the Normanskill Reservoir in NY. Evaluation of the hydrologic, technical, economic, legal, instrumental and environmental factors led to the conclusion that the project is feasible and advantageous. The proposed project has a present worth net cost of $3,099,800. The benefit cost ratio is 2.36. It is estimated that the proposed hydroelectric generating facility at the French's Mills site, City of Watervliet Reservoir will replace approximately 6,000 barrels of foreign oil per year. (LCL

Assessment of flood routing models and data in the Ribb River, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia

Floods are one of the most frequently occurring and the major damaging of all natural disasters. Flood forecasting is an important non-structural measure in the management of flood risks, and flood routing through the channel as a component of a flood forecasting system is used to predict the magnitude, frequency, depth and the arrival time of the flood wave (hydrograph) as flow translates through a river reach. The Ribb River, which is located to the east of Lake Tana (the source of Blue Nile) in Ethiopia, flows across the Fogera floodplain, which is susceptible to flooding. Because of the high rainfall over the area of the Ribb basin, the contribution of the Ribb River to n the Blue Nile River as well as in overall Nile River is of great importance. However, there are only two operational observation sites (Addis Zemen and Upper Ribb) available in the basin that provides the required hydrological information for flow system analysis. Moreover, there is doubt as to the reliability of the data particularly the situation of uniform maximum records at Addis Zemen station. This research has two major approaches: analysis of data reliability in a data poor situation and the influence of assumptions made in models developed to understand the behaviour of the system. The main objective of the former is to assess the reliability of the available data through careful analysis and modelling by combining together hydraulic flood routing models and data from the limited observation sites. For the latter, the major influences of assumptions made in both interpreting the observed data and establishing simulation models are assessed. The flood routing models used in this study comprise a correlation and regressionmodel, a 1D and a 1D-2D hydraulic flood routing models, using both HEC and SOBEK software programs