Current Situation and Issues of Continuous Assessment System in Mathematics Education of Nepal

Continuous Assessment System (CAS) is a formative type of student assessment carried out during teaching-learning activities in the classroom. The prime concern of this study is to identify the current situation and issues of CAS in the mathematics classroom, and if there are any issues, to indicate some remedies for them. Seventy-nine primary mathematics teachers and nine instructors were selected as samples. The questionnaires, interviews, observations, and focus-group discussions were used as data collection tools. According to the data analysis, most of the respondents mentioned that in teacher training, there is no time for discussion and practical sessions on how to make a plan and use practically CAS tools in students\u27 evaluation, in other words, how to use students\u27 evaluation information to improve their learning. It was also clarified that most teachers do not use CAS evaluation criteria (tools) and give ticks (score) to their students without any real assessment. Thus, they are possibly not able to use the students\u27 evaluation information to improve their learning. For improving the implementation of CAS in the mathematics classroom, teacher training should be practice-based and focused on how to make a plan of CAS and use its tools for students\u27 assessment and how to use assessment information to improve their learning. The government should encourage all teachers to implement CAS in classroom instruction and provide a favorable environment for teachers to share good practices of CAS

New Approaches To Heterocycle Synthesis: A Greener Route To Structurally Complex Protonated Azomethine Imines, And Their Use In 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions

1-Aza-2-azoniaallene salts are reactive intermediates that undergo [3+2] cycloaddition with many different types of multiple bonds. For the past several years, the Brewer group has studied the reactivity of these intermediates in intramolecular reactions, and have discovered that these cationic heteroallenes can react through a variety of other, mechanistically distinct, pathways to give different classes of nitrogen heterocycles. For example, prior work in the Brewer group revealed that 1-aza-2-azoniaallene salts could react in an intramolecular [4+2] cycloaddition reaction to give protonated azomethine imine salts containing a 1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocinnoline scaffold. Further study of the scope and limitations of this Diels-Alder-like reaction are described herein. These studies primarily focused on how varying the N-aryl ring and alkene substituents affected the reaction. We discovered that in several instances, the metal mediated reaction did not facilitate the cycloaddition very well, so we searched for alternative ways to facilitate the reaction. We discovered that a non-metallic Lewis acid (TMSOTf) provided very clean products with α-chloroazo compounds. I hypothesized that changing the leaving group adjacent to the azo might further improve the reaction. With this in mind, I developed a technique to prepare α-trifluoroacetoxyazo compounds by treating aryl hydrazones with trifluoroacetoxy dimethylsulfonium trifluoroacetate. This technique is compatible with all types of functional groups including nitro aryl compounds, which gave low yields of the corresponding chloroazo derivatives. Importantly, these α-trifluoroacetoxyazo compounds gave even better cycloaddition results when treated with TMSOTf, and this method is more practical, more environmentally friendly, and greener than the metal mediated technique. This process even returned sterically hindered products in high yield, and provide a dearomatized non-protonated azomethine imine salt, which further verified the proposed mechanism of the [4+2] cycloaddition. Azomethine imines are well known to undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with alkenes. We wondered if the protonated azomethine imine salts generated by the [4+2] cycloaddition could be used in a subsequent base-mediated [3+2] cycloaddition to generate structurally complex tetra- or pentacyclic products. We were pleased to find that the protonated azomethine imines indeed reacted smoothly with a variety of π-system in the presence of triethylamine to give the corresponding cycloadducts in high yields with moderate to high diastereoselectivities. In an attempt to understand the diastereoselectivity of these [3+2] cycloadditions better, I modeled them computationally

Value Chain Analysis of Large Cardamom in Taplejung District of Nepal

This study assessed the value chain analysis of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb) in Taplejung district, Nepal and explored the functional linkage and upgrading strategies among the key value chain actors. One hundred and sixty farmers were surveyed purposely along with 5 local and district level traders, 5 regional level traders and exporters and 5 enablers who were sampled using rapid market appraisal in March 2018. The study presents a comparative analysis among large holders (n=72) and smallholders (n=88) large cardamom farmers using SPSS and MS-Excel. The majority of farmers used suckers as propagating materials which was a major source of disease conduction. 62.5% of farmers adopted traditional dryers for curing, which reduced the quality of large cardamom whereas about 30% of them used improved dryers for curing that enhanced quality. The majority of farmers had not adopted value addition practices like tail cutting, grading and packaging which were carried out at trader level. Large cardamom prices were normally determined by the export market of India. The average land area of large cardamom per household was 21.56 ropani with 36.74 ropani for the large landholder farmers and 9.14 ropani for the smallholders. The key problems faced by farmers and traders were high price swing, lack of disease-free propagating materials, reliance on the Indian market, aged orchards, shrinking productivity, and minimal collaboration among the chain actors. Therefore, adoption of Good Management Practices (GMPs)- upgraded bhattis, transfer of tail cutting technology and storage management, along with value addition activities like grading (color and size), tail cutting and packaging need to be adopted with strong adherence to export quality. This study revealed that necessary action needs to be taken to maintain a high level of collaboration among the value chain actors thereby increasing the value chain efficiency of Nepalese large cardamom

Cost-benefit analysis and resource use efficiency of rice production system in different agriculture landscapes in Chitwan district, Nepal

The study was conducted to determine the cost-benefit analysis and resource use efficiency of the rice production system in different agriculture landscapes in the Chitwan district in 2018. The sample size of 102 rice-growing farmers out of 600 farmers, having an area of farm size greater than 0.5 hectares, was determined using Raosoft Inc. Software. A simple random sampling technique was used to collect 102 rice-growing household information in four municipalities (2 in plain and 2 in hilly area) using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and statistical tools including Cobb-Douglas production function. Results showed that the use of inputs like seeds, chemical fertilizer and machinery like tractor were found significantly higher in the plain area whereas the use of inputs like labor, farmyard manure (FYM) and bullocks was found in higher in the hilly area. The costs of fertilizer, machinery, pesticide, and transportation were found higher in the plain area whereas the costs of seed, FYM, labor and bullocks were significantly higher in the hilly area. Production of rice per household was 1.87 ton whereas productivity was 5.2 ton/ha, gross profit was NRs. 41435and benefit-cost ratio was 1.59 in the plain area which was found significantly higher than the hilly area. The return to scale was found to be 0.48 which revealed that inputs used in rice production were ineffectively utilized in which organic fertilizer and labor resource were overused and seed, fertilizer, machinery and bullocks, pesticides and transportation were underused resources. The optimal allocation of these resources will increase the profitability of rice farming

Economics of fish production at Chitwan district, Nepal

A study was conducted in 2016 to analyze the economics of fish production at Chitwan District of Nepal. Three study sites: East, West and South part of Chitwan were selected purposively. A total of 90 households, 30 from each study site were selected randomly and were interviewed by using pre-tested semi structured questionnaire. Secondary data needed for the study were obtained from DADO, MOAD, NARC and other related organizations working on fisheries and aquaculture sector. Descriptive statistics and extended Cobb Douglas production function was used to accomplish the study objectives for which MS-Excel and SPSS 16 were used. The B/C ratio is obtained dividing the gross return by total variable cost incurred. The total cost of production per ha of the pond area was Rs. 743798 per year with 79 and 21 percent variable and fixed cost components, respectively. Feed cost (28 %) was largest cost item followed by cost for labour (25 %), fingerlings (10 %), maintenance (6 %), manure cum fertilizers (5 %), fuel cum energy (3 %) and limestone and others (2%). The average gross return and net profit realized per ha were Rs. 1223934 and Rs. 480135 respectively. The cost, return and profit were calculated to be highest for east Chitwan with highest B/C ratio followed by west Chitwan and south Chitwan. The B/C ratio for the district was found to be 1.63. The return to scale was found to be decreasing with value of 0.654 indicating that 1 percent increment in all the inputs included in the function will increase income by 0.654 percent. Production function analysis, including five variables, showed significant effect of human labour, fingerlings and fuel cum energy cost but feed and manure cum fertilizers cost were insignificant

Feminization of Agriculture in Nepal and its implications: Addressing Gender in Workload and Decision Making

The study assesses the two approaches of feminization: labor and managerial, and explores the implication of feminization in agricultural production in Gorkha and Chitwan district of Nepal. We examine the degree to which men, women or men and women jointly make agriculture-related decisions, and discuss the labor feminization and managerial feminization using five domains of the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), relative to the degree to which women’s decision-making power relates to the feminization of agriculture leading to women empowerment and food security. The results revealed that the average workload for women (86.50 hours/week) was more than that for men (55.52 hours/week). Workload was found significantly affected by the total cultivated area (ha), gender of household head, occupation, number of livestock holdings, number of children, number of elders and household location.All aspects of operational and strategic decision making were dominated by jointly made decisions, except in the case of income utilization where female showed dominance. The implication of feminization in agriculture is reflected by reduction in cropping cycle, lower productivity of cereals and vegetables which led to food insecurity by own production. The income from remittance was observed to be mainly used for consumption purposes to ensure food security. It appears that the feminization of agriculture leads to women playing not only important role in decision-making but also more responsibilities and heavier workloads without necessarily resulting in empowerment and improvement in well-being

The COVID‐19 Pandemic Not Only Poses Challenges, but Also Opens Opportunities for Sustainable Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and “brain gain,” and local governments' exercising authorities

Predicting Type 2 Diabetes Using Logistic Regression and Machine Learning Approaches

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common human diseases worldwide and may cause several health-related complications. It is responsible for considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic loss. A timely diagnosis and prediction of this disease could provide patients with an opportunity to take the appropriate preventive and treatment strategies. To improve the understanding of risk factors, we predict type 2 diabetes for Pima Indian women utilizing a logistic regression model and decision tree—a machine learning algorithm. Our analysis finds five main predictors of type 2 diabetes: glucose, pregnancy, body mass index (BMI), diabetes pedigree function, and age. We further explore a classification tree to complement and validate our analysis. The six-fold classification tree indicates glucose, BMI, and age are important factors, while the ten-node tree implies glucose, BMI, pregnancy, diabetes pedigree function, and age as the significant predictors. Our preferred specification yields a prediction accuracy of 78.26% and a cross-validation error rate of 21.74%. We argue that our model can be applied to make a reasonable prediction of type 2 diabetes, and could potentially be used to complement existing preventive measures to curb the incidence of diabetes and reduce associated costs

Value Chain Analysis of Large Cardamom in Taplejung District of Nepal

This study assessed the value chain analysis of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb) in Taplejung district, Nepal and explored the functional linkage and upgrading strategies among the key value chain actors. One hundred and sixty farmers were surveyed purposely along with 5 local and district level traders, 5 regional level traders and exporters and 5 enablers who were sampled using rapid market appraisal in March 2018. The study presents a comparative analysis among large holders (n=72) and smallholders (n=88) large cardamom farmers using SPSS and MS-Excel. The majority of farmers used suckers as propagating materials which was a major source of disease conduction. 62.5% of farmers adopted traditional dryers for curing, which reduced the quality of large cardamom whereas about 30% of them used improved dryers for curing that enhanced quality. The majority of farmers had not adopted value addition practices like tail cutting, grading and packaging which were carried out at trader level. Large cardamom prices were normally determined by the export market of India. The average land area of large cardamom per household was 21.56 ropani with 36.74 ropani for the large landholder farmers and 9.14 ropani for the smallholders. The key problems faced by farmers and traders were high price swing, lack of disease-free propagating materials, reliance on the Indian market, aged orchards, shrinking productivity, and minimal collaboration among the chain actors. Therefore, adoption of Good Management Practices (GMPs)- upgraded bhattis, transfer of tail cutting technology and storage management, along with value addition activities like grading (color and size), tail cutting and packaging need to be adopted with strong adherence to export quality. This study revealed that necessary action needs to be taken to maintain a high level of collaboration among the value chain actors thereby increasing the value chain efficiency of Nepalese large cardamom

Willingness to pay for livestock insurance by dairy farmers in Kavrepalanchowk district, Nepal

AbstractDairy production is one of the risky businesses, which seeks effective risk management strategies. Adoption of a livestock insurance scheme is one of the most effective risk management strategies for dairy entrepreneurs. However, in Nepal, insurance coverage is very low in the dairy sub-sector. The study aimed to assess the dairy farmer’s willingness to pay for the livestock insurance scheme. The study was carried out in Kavrepalanchowk district of Nepal in 2022. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 146 dairy farmers. Double Bounded Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation technique was used to estimate Willingness to Pay (WTP). About 93% of the respondent farmers were the member of cooperatives which was the major source of information flow for livestock insurance scheme to them. The result revealed that number of cattle reared, awareness about livestock insurance scheme, and experience of livestock loss have significant positive influences in the decision regarding the adoption of livestock insurance. Farmers are willing to pay more than the current premium rate for livestock insurance. Hence, only increasing the subsidy might not be the solution in expanding the livestock insurance adoption rate. Rather, alternative approach like mobilizing institutions (cooperative) in expanding the insurance scheme is required