Promoting Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Finance through Environmental Tax: A System Dynamics Model for Ethiopia

Ethiopia's homegrown economic policy aspires to build a climate-resilient green economy through environment-friendly policies. The target is to build an economy that can absorb carbon emissions by 64% and achieve a carbon-neutral economy in the long run. This study applied a system dynamics model to examine the nexus between environmental tax, inclusive green growth, and sustainable finance. It is built on three sub-systems: economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Four idiosyncratic policy scenarios were simulated to show the various policy implications of introducing ecotax in the Ethiopian tax system including, a zero ecotax policy, imposing ecotax and investing in a green economy, investing all the taxes from pollution into the economy and an equal split of ecotax revenue between green investment and economic growth. The implication of each policy on growth, environmental sustainability, and income equality has also been examined. The findings showed that introducing ecotax and putting all into GDP resulted in non-sustainable growth and distributing ecotax revenue between growth and green investment was found to be a better mechanism to reduce pollution emissions and maintain environmental sustainability and also promote sustainable growth.  The novelty of this study lies in its examination of the relationship between environmental tax, inclusive green growth, and sustainable finance within the context of Ethiopia's homegrown economic policy. By exploring these policy implications and their effects on various dimensions, this study contributes to the understanding of how ecotax implementation and revenue distribution can align with Ethiopia's aspirations for a climate-resilient, green economy. Keywords: Inclusive Green growth, Ecotax, Sustainable Finance, Green Economy, System Dynamic DOI: 10.7176/JESD/14-13-05 Publication date:August 31st 202

Determinants of Profitability of Teff Producer Farmers in Menjar Shenkora Worda, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

The study was conducted with the main objectives to see the Determinants of Profitability of Teff Producer Farmers in Menjar Shenkora Worda, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. In order to accomplish the stud, both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected from 350 teff producing farm households from 9 selected kebele administrations. For selection of farm households two stage random sampling technique was used. Hence, from 355 samples, 350/ (98.5 %/.) Households were willing to give all necessary information during survey.  The data were also analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The regression result reveals that Family size, education level of household head, Distance from market, number of oxen, non-farm income and total costs are statistically significant at 1 % and 5 % level of precision. According to the study findings, the significant variables are the main determinant factors for profitability’s of teff producer farmers in the study area. On the other hand, the remaining variables like farmland size, credit access, extension contacts, price determination and amounts of teff productions are found to be statistically insignificant  Thus, policy makers should work towards improving the access to more education, access to roads, supply credit to buy more oxen even there is agricultural machine at individual and group level, should create different opportunity to get alternative work or job access to teff producer farmers and some inputs should be subsidize at farm gate level to reduce their total costs of production by making different schemes in the areas. Keywords: Market Performance, Market channel, teff, actors, logistic regression model.  DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-7-04 Publication date: April 30th 202

Women\u27s Holistic Transformation and Self-Help Groups

Women in Adama City are enslaved to generational poverty due to a lack of alternative income generating means and unproductive expenditures related to spiritual practices in hopes of attaining supernatural power. A Self-Help Group is a development intervention approach that is aimed at empowering women. This research critically examines the role of SHGs in promoting holistic transformation of women in three areas: women’s economic empowerment, and socio-political empowerment, and women’s spiritual transformation with reference to the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Program. The SHG approach will be reviewed within a framework based on the concept of Christian holistic transformation. The thesis defines holistic transformation as the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through word and deeds, and the transformation of both individuals and social structures to move towards an increasing harmony with God, the world, ourselves, and the environment as God intended. The research identifies three significant contributions with regards to women’s holistic transformation: (1) Women understood the root cause of their destitution associated with traditional and superstitious practices and the need to connect with their Creator; (2) Women experienced spiritual transformation that resulted in practicing ethical values and principles in both their businesses and personal lives; and (3) Women’s income and asset building were enhanced leading to the gaining of self-esteem and decision-making powers both at home and community and increased influence in socio-political affairs. Some of the research’s key contributions to knowledge include: (1) SHGs that apply Christian spiritual factors are likely to be more effective in facilitating women’s holistic transformation than those which do not; and (2) SHGs that focus on Christian holistic transformation enable women to understand the spiritual aspect of poverty, inspire a new personality and values, and strive for their own transformation promoting God’s vision for human life and living conditions

Higher Poincare Lemma and Integrability

We prove the non-abelian Poincare lemma in higher gauge theory in two different ways. The first method uses a result by Jacobowitz which states solvability conditions for differential equations of a certain type. The second method extends a proof by Voronov and yields the explicit gauge parameters connecting a flat local connective structure to the trivial one. Finally, we show how higher flatness appears as a necessary integrability condition of a linear system which featured in recently developed twistor descriptions of higher gauge theories.Comment: 1+21 pages, presentation streamlined, section on integrability for higher linear systems significantly improved, published versio

Nursing Supervisors Perception on quality of Nursing Care in Ethiopia

Background: The problem of clarifying the nature of the core elements of the nursing profession and the limits of its scope of practice are found in many countries. Additional problem in Ethiopia which should be taken into consideration and thoroughly examined by policy-makers and nurses are the existing imbalances between the numbers, types, functions, istributions, and quality of nursing personnel, on the one hand, and on the other, the country's need for their services and ability to employ, support and maintain them. Guided by this perspective, the purpose of this study were to assess (a) any nursing imbalance and shortage and (b) the quality of nursing education and nursing care in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional approach was utilized. Health department supervisor nurse (or the equivalent) respondents (n= 70) were recruited from the 11 regional and 59 zonal and 7 special woredas'. Participants completed the Nursing Personnel Resources Survey Questionnaire (NPRSQ). The NPRSQ is a self-administered 51-items instrument for measuring the distribution of nursing personnel; the quality of nursing schools and the relevance of nursing education; the quality of nursing care (relative to a perceived standard); and the status and image of nursing in the country. Results: The most important findings shows a three dimensional nursing workforce imbalances: the numerical dimension involves under-supply compared to country needs and resources; the qualitative dimension represents a mismatch between educational preparation and requirements in the workplace; and the distributional dimension focuses on urban areas and hospitals compared to rural areas and community health care settings. Conclusion: This study does not try to address all the issues related to nursing personnel imbalance. However, regardless of the nature of the nursing situations, this study does show that nursing shortage is associated with quality of care, and quality of care with quality of education. The solution lies in a broad, country-based approach that addresses infrastructure, education, and human resources management. as an interrelated and complex aspects of human resources policy and planning.Ethiop J Health Sci Vol. 11, No. 2 July 200

Long, stitch-free slot waveguide with s-bend tapered couplers for IR-sensing applications using electron beam lithography

We use the fixed beam moving stage (FBMS) electron beam lithography technique to pattern a 10 mm long slot waveguide with s-bend tapered double-tip couplers. The fabrication method solves two major limitations of the FBMS mode, namely, the requirement for fixed-width structures and the incidence of stage placement drift for patterns involving elements of different widths. This has been achieved by fracturing the outline of the structure into fixed-width elements of gradually increasing width and creating intermediate overlap areas between the elements to mitigate the stage placement drifts

Knowledge and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adult people living with HIV/AIDS at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia

Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is necessary to achieve best virological response, lower the risk of drug resistance, and reduce morbidity and mortality. The objectives of the current study were to assess the extent of knowledge of patients on treatment plan and regimen, determine the rate of adherence and identify factors related to non-adherence to ART.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, using data from both semi-structured interview (self-report) and ART database (pharmacy refill) during the months of March and April 2013 using a total 350 participants.Results: The results indicated that 33% of the participants had good knowledge on the treatment plan and regimen. Using self-report and pharmacy refill record, 79.1% and 72.9% respectively showed adherence rate of ≥95%. Younger people were found to be less likely to adhere to ART (AOR [95%] = 0.51 [0.30, 0.85]) using pharmacy refill record. Risk factors for ART non-adherence using self-report were use of memory aids (AOR [95%] = 3.46 [1.72, 6.98]), treatment satisfaction (AOR [95%] = 2.33 [1.22, 4.07]), taking co-medication (AOR [95%] = 0.56 [0.32, 0.98]), and regimen switch (AOR [95%] = 0.41 [0.19, 0.85]). Whereas using pharmacy refill record risk factors were, knowledge on treatment plan and regimen (AOR [95%] = 2.50 [1.39, 4.51]), use of memory aids (AOR [95%] = 2.71 [1.34, 5.47]), treatment satisfaction (AOR [95%] = 3.78 [1.47, 9.71]), and regimen switch (AOR [95%] = 0.50 [0.27, 0.92]).Conclusion: Older age, good knowledge on treatment plan and regimen, use of memory aids, treatment satisfaction, and not having co-medications and regimen switch showed more adherence to ART

The Evaluation Using a Life Cycle Approach of Different Types of Road Pavement Surfacing Subjected to Climate Impact

The choice of road surfacing depends on different factors, as each type has its own use, and its suitability depends on different circumstances. The pavement surfacing in the road network plays a key role in achieving the design target in changing climate and traffic conditions. However, consideration of the potential impact of future climate change in the calculation of the life-cycle cost analysis is limited. To address this, the study aimed to compare the life-cycle costs of various bound surfaces under future climate change impacts. The objectives include developing a framework for the analysis; calibration of the HDM-4 deterioration model to local conditions; future climate change adjustments to the roughness model for the selected emission scenario; and an assessment of the climate change impact using discrete and continuous approaches on selected bound surfaces. The methodology developed in the research was used to investigate the effect of climate change on five surfacing types used in Ethiopia for three traffic levels in five different climate zones of the country. The developed framework can be applied to evaluate not only the identified surface types, but also to other pavement surfacing alternatives for different scenarios. For the considered climate change periods from 2016 to 2059, the roughness model showed environmental age coeffect adjustment from 1% to 10% to incorporate the climate change effect. The results revealed that from representative AC sections of high-traffic-volume roads, 100% in the moist and semi-arid and 75% in sub-moist climate zones were economically viable compared to DBST, JPCP, and JRCP. The maximum increment in the RUC for these emission scenarios was obtained for the DBST pavement. At the end of 15 years, the user was expected to be charged the highest additional cost (10,941.06 million ETB/km (₤269.68 million/km)) when using DBST roads with routine maintenance to correct the additional deterioration caused by the change in climate under the maximum A2 emission scenario. However, the user may be charged 10,865.66 million ETB/km (₤267.83 million /km) for AC, if compound maintenance is applied for the same deterioration caused by the climate change scenario. For the minimum A2 emission scenario, 0.024 million ETB/km and 0.029 million ETB/km (₤591.57/km and ₤714.82/km) maximum additional user costs were obtained for AC and DBST pavements, respectively. Similarly, from the AC section, 100% for the arid and sub-humid high-traffic-volume roads and 62.5% for the sub-humid medium-traffic-volume roads were also economically feasible with a positive NPV/cost ratio under future climate change. In the moist climate zone for medium-traffic-volume roads, the finding showed that 66.67% of DBST and 100% of Otta-seal sections were resilient to future climate change. The DBST sections were strong enough to resist future climate change and they were more economically suitable than AC for low and medium traffic-volume roads in all climate zones, except in moist and sub-humid zones. In addition to this, the lesser deterioration and RUC for AC JPCP and JRCP were observed when continuous climate change analysis was done for the whole 44 years than the usual one-way approach. It was concluded that the pavement surfacing selection criteria need to be supplemented with an LCCA since only 71% of the existing representative road pavement surfaces are resilient to future climate change and also economically viable

Influence of principals' leadership behaviour on school performance : a case study in the secondary schools of the Southern region, Ethiopia

This study was designed to investigate the influence of principals' leadership behaviour on school performance in Secondary Schools of the Southern Region in Ethiopia. The problems addressed in the research were the effects of principals' leadership behaviour on the school performance, the dominant leadership styles of principals' and their manifestations and the major factors that affect the performance of a school. The main research question that guided this study was: How does the principals' leadership behaviour influence the performance of government secondary schools in the Southern region of Ethiopia? A qualitative method, using a case study design was employed with analysing documents, observation and interviews as a means of data collection. Through face-to-face and semi-structured, open-ended in-depth interviews with 30 participants, the researcher uncovered personal views of principals' leadership behaviour on school performance. Principals used the autocratic as well as the democratic and laissez-faire style. With increasing educational qualifications the employees exhibit more of the democratic leadership tendencies and those who are educated less are inclined towards the autocratic leadership style. The lack of a compelling vision and mission for government schools continues to be a major obstacle in any effort to improve schools. It was developed as a strategy that the principals were well equipped with knowledge and skills in management and leadership to transform the Secondary Schools of the Southern Region of Ethiopia.Educational Management and LeadershipD. Ed. (Educational Management

Effects of source and seasonal variations of natural organic matters on the fate and transport of CeO2 nanoparticles in the environment

Natural organic matter (NOM) affects the stability and transport of nanoparticles (NPs) in natural waters by modifying their physiochemical properties. Source location, and seasonal variations, influence their molecular, physical and electrical charge properties. To understand the variations of NOM on the mobilization of NPs, large volumes of water were collected fromthe Ohio River (OR) over winter and summer seasons and dissolved NOMs were concentrated. The chemical and structural differences of these NOMs were compared with the Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA) SRHA using 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Thermal analysis and FTIR confirmed that differences in composition, structure, and functional groups are a result of SRHA fractionation compared to wholemolecule OR-NOM. The influence of OR-NOMs on the surface charge of CeO2NPs and the effects on the transport and retention in a three-phase (deposition-rinse-re-entrainment) sand-packed columns were investigated at CeO2 NPs initial concertation of 10 ppm, pH 6.8, increasing ionic strength (3, 5, and 10 mM), retention time of 1 min, and increasing NOM concentration (1, 5, and 10 ppm). The summer OR-NOM showed higher stabilization and mobilization effect on the CeO2 than the winter NOM; while their effect was very different form the SRHA. The stabilization of NPs is attributed to both electrostatic and steric effects. The differences in the chemical structure of the complex and heterogeneous NOMs showed disparate reactivity and direct impact on CeO2-NPs stability. Using SRHA to study the effect of NOMfor drinkingwater related assessment does not sufficiently represent the natural conditions of the environment