Entrepreneurial change in government-led development:Ethiopian universities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is answer the research question to what extent Ethiopian universities can be considered to be entrepreneurial and explains possible differences among these universities. Design/methodology/approach The paper is inspired by a mixed methods study at nine universities in Ethiopia applying the entrepreneurial university framework of the European Commission/OECD: a content analysis of university policy and educational documents, a structured survey with 203 respondents, in particular staff and students, and in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 223 people comprising university top-management, faculty, students and external stakeholders. Findings Findings indicate that entrepreneurial activities in Ethiopian universities are at their infant stage with limited differences among the universities. The universities are operating in a top-down, central governmental-led development that is not enabling entrepreneurial behaviour at the level of the individual institutions. The paper argues that within this context, leadership is the lever for an entrepreneurial turn at the universities. Social implications - Entrepreneurship development is a priority in many African countries as an instrument for employability of the predominant young populations towards which universities are expected to contribute considerably. The study highlights the tension between a strong say of the government in university operations and creating an autonomous, integrated entrepreneurial culture. Originality/value The results of this study have relevance for the higher education community in terms of understanding the complexity of transforming institutions into more entrepreneurial organisations in Africa. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no previous study that examines entrepreneurial characteristics of several universities in Ethiopia

Co-morbid mental health conditions in people with epilepsy and association with quality of life in low- and middle-income countries:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Comorbid mental health conditions are common in people with epilepsy and have a significant negative impact on important epilepsy outcomes, although the evidence is mostly from high-income countries. This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence on the association between comorbid mental health conditions and quality of life and functioning among people with epilepsy living in low- and middle income countries (LMICs). Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Global Index medicus (GID) and PsycINFO databases from their dates of inception to January 2022. Only quantiative observational studies were included. Meta-analysis was conducted for studies that reported the same kind of quality of life and functioning outcome. Cohen’s d was calculated from the mean difference in quality-of-life score between people with epilepsy who did and did not have a comorbid depression or anxiety condition. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO: CRD42020161487. Results: The search strategy identified a total of 2,101 articles, from which 33 full text articles were included. Depression was the most common comorbid mental health condition (33 studies), followed by anxiety (16 studies). Meta-analysis was conducted on 19 studies reporting quality of life measured with the same instrument. A large standardized mean effect size (ES) in quality of life score was found (pooled ES = −1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) − 1.70, − 0.63) between those participants with comorbid depression compared to non-depressed participants. There was significant heterogeneity between studies (I 2 = 97.6%, p < 0.001). The median ES (IQR) was − 1.20 (− 1.40, (− 0.64)). An intermediate standard effect size for anxiety on quality of life was also observed (pooled ES = −0.64, 95% CI − 1.14, − 0.13). There was only one study reporting on functioning in relation to comorbid mental health conditions. Conclusion: Comorbid depression in people with epilepsy in LMICs is associated with poor quality of life although this evidence is based on highly heterogeneous studies. These findings support calls to integrate mental health care into services for people with epilepsy in LMICs. Future studies should use prospective designs in which the change in quality of life in relation to mental health or public health interventions across time can be measured

Invasive Water Hyacinth Challenges, Opportunities, Mitigation, and Policy Implications: The Case of the Nile Basin

Many lakes and rivers all over the globe are experiencing environmental, human health, and socio-economic development issues due to the spread of invasive water hyacinth (WH) weed. WH is regarded as one of the world’s most destructive weeds and is nearly impossible to control and eliminate due to its rapid expansion and ability to double its coverage area in 13 days or fewer. However, most people in developing countries appear to be hoping for a miraculous cure; there are none and never will be. In this regard, this chapter aims to give an insight to raise awareness, research its biology and challenges, management options, and potential prospects on integrated control-valorization and its policy implications. WH biomass has demonstrated potential as a biorefinery feedstock for bioenergy and biofertilizer production, heavy metal phytoremediation, handicraft and furniture making, animal feed, and other applications. As a result, large-scale integrated control and valorization is an economically viable strategy for preventing further infestation through incentivizing WH control: providing a sustainable environment, increasing energy mix, increasing fertilizer mix, increasing food security, reducing GHG emissions, boosting socio-economic development, and creating new green jobs for local and riparian communities. Therefore, it is a leap forward in addressing global sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) nexus

Managing the complexity of doing it all : an exploratory study on students' experiences when trained stepwise in conducting consultations

Background: At most medical schools the components required to conduct a consultation, medical knowledge, communication, clinical reasoning and physical examination skills, are trained separately. Afterwards, all the knowledge and skills students acquired must be integrated into complete consultations, an art that lies at the heart of the medical profession. Inevitably, students experience conducting consultations as complex and challenging. Literature emphasizes the importance of three didactic course principles: moving from partial tasks to whole task learning, diminishing supervisors' support and gradually increasing students' responsibility. This study explores students' experiences of an integrated consultation course using these three didactic principles to support them in this difficult task. Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with 20 pre-clerkship and 19 clerkship students in total. Discussions were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed by Nvivo using the constant comparative strategy within a thematic analysis. Results: Conducting complete consultations motivated students in their learning process as future physician. Initially, students were very much focused on medical problem solving. Completing the whole task of a consultation obligated them to transfer their theoretical medical knowledge into applicable clinical knowledge on the spot. Furthermore, diminishing the support of a supervisor triggered students to reflect on their own actions but contrasted with their increased appreciation of critical feedback. Increasing students' responsibility stimulated their active learning but made some students feel overloaded. These students were anxious to miss patient information or not being able to take the right decisions or to answer patients' questions, which sometimes resulted in evasive coping techniques, such as talking faster to prevent the patient asking questions. Conclusion: The complex task of conducting complete consultations should be implemented early within medical curricula because students need time to organize their medical knowledge into applicable clinical knowledge. An integrated consultation course should comprise a step-by-step teaching strategy with a variety of supervisors' feedback modi, adapted to students' competence. Finally, students should be guided in formulating achievable standards to prevent them from feeling overloaded in practicing complete consultations with simulated or real patients

Opportunities and Challenges of Harnessing Biomass Wastes for Decentralized Heat and Energy Generation and Climate Mitigation via Fluidized-bed Gasification Pathway

Biomass wastes offer immense potential as a renewable energy source, holding the promise to replace fossil fuels for heat and energy generation, in particular for decentralized power production. Furthermore, the utilization of biomass promotes circular economy by enabling the conversion of local resources into useful products and energy. However, the conversion of biomass into end-use products and heat/energy is a complex process with multiple pathways, such as fluidized bed gasification, a well-established and efficient method for converting coal and biomass into heat. Despite its merits, this process is currently limited to industrial applications and encounters certain limitations and obstacles. Notably, the low energy density of biomass wastes and downstream pipe contamination from tar and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) growth poses significant technological challenges. Nonetheless, a roadmap has been developed to guide the widespread adoption of fluidized bed gasification of biomass for decentralized power generation and climate mitigation. This book chapter delves into the opportunities and challenges of fluidized bed gasification as a viable option for decentralized power generation and climate mitigation through biomass waste conversion. The significance of well-crafted policies supporting renewable energy sources and optimizing fluidized bed gasifiers to achieve desirable end products are also emphasized

Survey of Faba Bean («Vicia faba» L.) Virus Diseases in Ethiopia

Surveys conducted in 1996 and 1997 to assess the status of virus diseases affecting faba bean in the major growing areas of Ethiopia indicated that leaf yellowing, rolling, necrosis and stunting were the most common disease symptoms. The highest visually-observed disease incidence in a field was 85%, recorded in the Wello region (north-eastern Ethiopia). When 3049 symptomatic samples collected from 211 fields from all over Ethiopia were tested by the tissue blot immunoassay (TBIA) for 14 viruses, 1592 samples (52.2%) were found to be infected with at least one virus. Faba bean necrotic yellows virus (FBNYV, genus Nanovirus) was the most frequent (63.2%), followed by luteoviruses (28.5%) [such as Beet western yellows virus (BWYV, genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae) and Bean leaf roll virus (BLRV, family Luteoviridae)] and Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CCDV, genus Mastrevirus, family Geminiviridae) (3.1%). Mosaic/mottling symptoms were observed in some fields but incidence was always very low