Exploration technology prioritization

A series of outlines and graphs describing NASA's Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) technology prioritization are presented. Prioritization criteria and preliminary critical technology priorities for a first lunar outpost and a Mars and permanently-manned lunar mission are addressed

Regional Competitiveness: Some Conceptual Issues and Policy Implications

As the notion of competitiveness itself arises many doubts regarding its meaning and interpretation, so does the notion of regional competitiveness. The important problem is that the conceptual issues related to the regional competitiveness have been translated to the regional policy level. They have implied many failures that the regional policy ¾ seeking to achieve competitiveness and consequently sustainable economic growth and well-being of its people ¾ has been experienced world-wide. The paper focuses upon what is meant by äregional competitivenessö. Through an analysis of this it tries to analyze some of conceptual issues that may be potentially misleading for regional policy consideration and action.competitiveness, regional competitiveness, regional policy.

Free Zone - the Source of Socio-Economic Benefits

Practice in developed and developing countries indicates the existence of numerous and heterogeneous free zones as well as the different role which they have in the economic development of countries that have implemented them. The main objective for start-up of a modern free zone with industrial characteristics is to attract those investors who will build the industrial infrastructure for the production of goods aimed for exports. Consequently, free zone will contribute, inter alia, to the increase in national exports and decrease in deficit of the country’s current account, to the creation of new jobs and new added value, to the increase in the dynamics of economic activities and generation of new entrepreneurial opportunities, to the transfer of new technologies, knowledge, skills, good organizational and managerial business practice, as well as to the reduction of regional imbalance. Experiences of former transition countries indicate that a free zone represents an important policy instrument for the attraction of foreign direct investment, especially the greenfield ones. Furthermore, experiences of developed countries indicate that free zone can act as a policy instrument for promoting regional development and development of a country as a whole. The main purpose of this paper is to consider the benefits that free zones can have on economic and social development of the area where they are located. The Osijek free zone is in the centre of this consideration.free zone, benefits, costs, Osijek free zone

Learning Support Effectiveness in Mathematics at a Tennessee University

Every year thousands of students graduate from high school and move on to higher education, but many of them are not yet prepared for college level courses. The Tennessee Board of Regents does not currently allow 4-year institutions to teach courses that are below college level, so many institutions are using programs such as learning support courses to assist a growing population of underprepared students. The purpose of this study was to determine if the 1-term and 2-term retention rates for students with the same ACT mathematics subsection scores were different between students who took a regular section of Probability and Statistics and students who took a learning support section of the course. The subjects of this study were students who enrolled in a Probability and Statistics class (either regular sections or learning support sections) at a 4-year institution from the 2013 summer semester through the 2014 fall semester. The criteria used for selecting subjects included: (1) enrolled in a section of Probability and Statistics, (2) had a valid ACT mathematics subsection score on file with the institution, and (3) recorded a final grade in the course. Students were then grouped by ACT mathematics subsection score and type of course (learning support or regular). When students were grouped by matching ACT mathematics subscores there were no real significant differences in 1-term retention, 2-term retention, or final course grade between students who took a 4-hour learning support section of probability and statistics and students who opted to take a regular 3-hour version of the same course, with one exception. Of students who scored a 17 on the ACT mathematics subsection, the students enrolled in a regular course had a 1-term retention rate that was significantly higher than the learning support course

Non-performing Loan and Its Management in Ethiopia: A case study on Dashen Bank Mekelle Area Bank, in Tigray

Loan portfolio forms a substantial amount of the assets of banks and it is the predominate source of interest income. However, when loans become non-performing, they tend to have some serious effects on the financial health of banks. In view of the critical role banks play in the economy of a country, it is worth finding out the causes of non-performing loan. The study was carried out to identify the impact of non-performing loan on loan interest income, and lending fund, focusing on Dashen Bank Mekelle Area Bank. The study also looked at the trend of non-performing loans during the five-year period under review and the factors that account for non-performing loan from both borrower and lending institution side. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. Primary data gathering tools such as structured questionnaires and personal interviews were used. Regarding secondary data, client’s files, report directives, and annual reports of the bank were used. The findings showed that the bank recorded huge amount of non-performing loan during the period under consideration (2005-2009). It was identified that the non-performing loan negatively affected the financial performance of the bank through reduction in loan interest income and lending funds. The study identified ineffective loan monitoring and poor credit appraisal as the major factors accounting for non-performing loan from the lending institution side and lack of proper education on business area, lack of sufficient income, absence of sufficient infrastructure, lack of sufficient supervision from the bank, lack of saving account, high consumption expenditure and high interest charge were identified as the causes for non-performing loan from the borrower side. To improve on the quality of the bank’s loan portfolio, the management commonly uses loan rehabilitation. Some measures have been recommended to management of the bank to minimize the existing burden of non-performing loan those are Credit training programs, effective loan monitoring i.e. giving good on sight supervision to client, full filling required credit staff and giving awareness to clients to present adequate collateral and advising clients to have good knowledge on the business area they engaged

The Assessment of Causes and Consequences of Medical Staff Absenteeism and Turnover in Arba Minch General Hospital

The purpose of this study is to assess the causes of medical staff absenteeism and turnover in case of Arbaminch General Hospital. In addition, it explores the consquences/ impact of absenteeism and trunover on patients care,workload on medical staff and reputation on Arbaminch General Hospital. To this end, the study employed a descriptive, correlation and regession analysis. Data was collected using closed ended structured questionnaires by applying Likert scale which were filled by full time medical staff (N= 50). The findings indicate that demographic factors such as marital status, working experiences, educational level and have significant negative correlation with absenteeism and turnover. Organizational factors such as working condition and work load have positive significant correlation with medical staff absenteeism and turnover. In contrast, all studied organizational factors such as compensation/ incentive program, promotional opportunities, managerial style, training and development and career development are significantly negatively correlated with both absenteeism and turnover. The findings also indicated that medical staff absenteeism and turnover had consequences on patient care, increasing workload on existing staff, and bad reputation for hospital. Furthermore, both absenteeism and turnover have resulted in demoralization of existing medical staff at Arbaminch General Hospital. Keywords: Demographic Variables, Job Factors, Organizational Factors, Patient Care, Demoralization, Absenteeism, Turnover DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/58-0

Review on Heterosis and Combining Ability Study for Yield and Morphological Characters of Coffee (Coffea arabica L) in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is both the center of origin and diversification of Coffee arabica. Despite the existence of high genetic diversity in coffee population that provides immense opportunities for improvement program, shortage of improved varieties (pure line and hybrid varieties) is the major one. It is obvious that research work carried out so far on coffee genetics and breeding was not adequate to address these diverse agro-ecologies of the country. Heterosis and combining ability studies are some of the basic breeding tools to address such problems. Some studies had been focused on assessment of heterosis and combining ability analysis for yield and morphological characters of coffee in Ethiopia and the presence of heterosis was reported in crosses of selected indigenous C. arabica L. varieties in Ethiopia under different set of studies mainly due to presence of diverse parental lines. These results clearly suggested that the possibility to bring significant coffee improvement through heterosis and combining ability analysis. Therefore, continuous crossing program should be required to acquire many more cross combinations for intensive and extensive evaluation to develop better performing and high yielding hybrids for Ethiopian origin coffee. Keywords: Coffee Arabica, morphological traits, yield, Heterosis and combining ability DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-7-02 Publication date:July 31st 202

The Assessment of Causes and Consequences of Medical Staff Absenteeism and Turnover in Arba Minch General Hospital

The purpose of this study is to assess the causes of medical staff absenteeism and turnover in case of Arbaminch General Hospital. In addition, it explores the  consquences/ impact of  absenteeism and trunover on patients care,workload on medical staff and reputation on Arbaminch  General Hospital. To this end, the study employed a descriptive, correlation and regession analysis.  Data was collected using closed ended structured questionnaires by applying Likert scale  which were  filled  by  full time  medical staff (N= 50). The findings indicate that demographic factors such as marital status, working experiences, educational level and have significant negative correlation with absenteeism and turnover. Organizational factors such as working condition and work load have positive significant correlation with medical staff absenteeism and turnover.  In contrast, all studied organizational factors such as compensation/ incentive program, promotional opportunities, managerial style, training and development and career development are significantly negatively correlated with both absenteeism and turnover. The findings also indicated that medical staff absenteeism and turnover had consequences on patient care, increasing workload on existing staff, and bad reputation for hospital. Furthermore, both absenteeism and turnover have resulted in demoralization of existing medical staff at Arbaminch General Hospital. Keywords: Demographic Variables, Job Factors, Organizational Factors, Patient Care, Demoralization, Absenteeism, Turnove

Factors Affecting Teff Production by Female Headed Households in Abeshege Woreda of Gurage Zone, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region, Ethiopia

The study was conducted with the aim of investigating the level of female headed household farmers’ participation in teff production and Soil and Water Conservation practices on teff farm plot and determinates of their participation in teff production of Abeshege woreda, SNNP, Ethiopia. A random sampling method was employed to select 164 participant and 70 non-participant households from purposively selected six Rural Kebeles sample respondents. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources using interview schedule, focus group discussion, semi-structured interview, key informant discussions, and observations. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were analyzed and interpreted by using descriptive statistics such as mean, range, percentage, standard deviation, t-test, chi-square and frequencies in order to draw conclusions and generalizations. The qualitative data were also analyzed and described by using qualitative methods such as narration, and generalizations. The study also employed the probit econometric model as a component of inferential statistical analysis. The study revealed that, there was a variation in the level of participation of female headed household in teff production in the study area. Further, the results of the study showed that 7.5% of the sampled respondents were under the category of low participation, 14.9% were under medium level of participation category and 62.7% of the respondents were under high participation category. The study showed that female headed household contribute 37.4% of labor for teff production and 41.6% of female headed house hold participants had a very good level of participation on soil and water conservation practices on teff producing farm plots. The estimation of the probit analysis revealed that size of family(X4), land size (X5), Average annual income (X6), and contact with development agents (X8) are significant at 1% probability levels. The implication of finding is that an increase in the level of any of the explanatory variables with positive sign i.e. in the case of marital status (X2), education level (X3), size of house hold members(X4), land size(X5) and contact with development agents(X8) have a positive effect on the participation of female headed household in teff production in the study area. According to this finding concerned body should give attention to those significant variables with care and design a better teff production  strategy  focusing  on effective supervision, and training  to enhance the female headed farmers’ participation in teff production. Keywords: Women participation, Teff production, Soil and Water conservation, Probit analysi