The role and practice of secondary school principals as an instructional leader: The case of Kamashi zone secondary schools

The main purpose of this study was to assess the role and practices of secondary school principals as an instructional leader. To accomplish this purpose, descriptive survey design was used which is supplemented by qualitative research to enrich data. The study was carried out in seven randomly selected secondary schools of Kamashi zone. Then all 93 teachers in the sample schools included using census method. All 7unit leaders, 7 principals, 5 Cluster supervisors 7 Parent Teacher Associations, 5 Woreda supervisors were also involved in the study for interviewing through census and purposive sampling techniques respectively. Questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection. Document analysis & interview were also utilized to substantiate the data obtained through the questionnaire. Frequency distributions & percentage were employed in analyzing and reporting the results. Qualitative data obtained through document analysis & interview was analyzed using narration. Findings revealed that Kamashi zone secondary school principals did not successfully implemented the eight major instructional leadership roles under the study. Accordingly, principals have shown weak performance in defining & communicate school mission; managing curriculum& instruction; instructional supervision; instructional learning climate; monitoring student progress; and promote teachers professional growth etc..The major factors that affected the roles of the school principals are lack of leadership and management skills, insufficient experience in principal ship, workload, less parental involvement and lack of support from WEO, ZED, and REB. Finally based on the findings and conclusions of the study recommendations forwarded that WED, ZED and REB should regularly attend trainings organized by colleges, universities and professional bodies for principals to acquire more knowledge about their role as instructional leaders and principals should committed and competent to implement properly their roles as instructional leaders.Jimma Universit

The Causes of Glass Ceiling in Ethiopia in Profit And Non- Profit Government Organizations – the Case of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the National Bank of Ethiopia - Head Offices

More explicit understanding of women capability to be on higher level management position in an organization is very much important, but it is clearly seen that the women are undermined to be in such higher level position by different factors. This paper describes the causes of Glass Ceiling, i.e, the barrier of different factors that hinders women to be in higher level management position and to make recommendation on how to break these Glass Walls. The data was collected using open ended and closed ended questionnaires. The first one was prepared in Amharic and protested for all women employee who are 1st Degree holder and above in each three for - profit and for non - profit government organizations and the other was prepared in English and protested only for the top level and middle level managers of these organizations. From the research it is found that the causes of glass ceiling is significant on the Ethiopian for profit and non -profit government organization.Jimma Universit

Comparative efficacy of albendazole and three brands of mebendazole in the treatment of ascariasis and trichuriasis

Objective: To evaluate the comparative efficacy of 400 mg albendazole (Smith Kline Beecham) as a single dose and three brands of mebendazole (Janssen, Unibios and East African Pharmaceuticals) at doses of 100 mg twice a day for three consecutive days in the treatment of single or mixed infections with Ascaris lumbricoides and or Trichuris trichiura in four treatment groups of school children. Design: Randomized trial. Setting: Wondo-Genet, southern Ethiopia. Subjects: School children, aged six to nineteen years. Results: The percentage cure rate and egg reduction rate obtained with albendazole and mebendazole from the three brands were not significantly different in the treatment of ascariasis. However, significant differences were found among the percentage cure rates and egg reduction rates of the four treatment groups in the treatment of trichuriasis. Comparatively, high cure rate (89.8%) and egg reduction rate (99.1%) were observed in vermox (Janssen) treated group followed by Unibios (India) treated group (53.3% and 96.53% cure and egg reduction rates, respectively), whereas low cure rate (17.1%) and egg reduction rate (69.8%) were seen in the albendazole treated group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that in areas of single or mixed infections with Trichuris trichiura and/or Ascaris lumbricoides are common public health problems and where laboratory facilities are not available to make parasite identification, mebendazole (particularly vermox, a product of Janssen laboratory) would be the drug of choice to treat trichuriasis and ascariasis. However, either mebendazole from the different brands or albendazole is effective in the treatment of ascariasis in areas where trichuriasis is not prevalent. East African Medical Journal Vol. 81 No. 3 March 2004: 134-13

Benchmark calculations for elastic fermion-dimer scattering

We present continuum and lattice calculations for elastic scattering between a fermion and a bound dimer in the shallow binding limit. For the continuum calculation we use the Skorniakov-Ter-Martirosian (STM) integral equation to determine the scattering length and effective range parameter to high precision. For the lattice calculation we use the finite-volume method of L\"uscher. We take into account topological finite-volume corrections to the dimer binding energy which depend on the momentum of the dimer. After subtracting these effects, we find from the lattice calculation kappa a_fd = 1.174(9) and kappa r_fd = -0.029(13). These results agree well with the continuum values kappa a_fd = 1.17907(1) and kappa r_fd = -0.0383(3) obtained from the STM equation. We discuss applications to cold atomic Fermi gases, deuteron-neutron scattering in the spin-quartet channel, and lattice calculations of scattering for nuclei and hadronic molecules at finite volume.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Food insecurity among people with severe mental disorder in a rural Ethiopian setting: a comparative, population-based study

Aim. In low-income African countries, ensuring food security for all segments of the population is a high priority. Mental illness is associated consistently with poverty, but there is little evidence regarding the association with food insecurity. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of food insecurity in people with severe mental disorders (SMD) with the general population in a rural African setting with a high burden of food insecurity. Method. Households of 292 community-ascertained people with a specialist-confirmed diagnosis of SMD (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) were compared with 284 households without a person with SMD in a rural district in south Ethiopia. At the time of the study, no mental health services were available within the district. Food insecurity was measured using a validated version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Disability was measured using the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Result. Severe household food insecurity was reported by 32.5% of people with SMD and 15.9% of respondents from comparison households: adjusted odds ratio 2.82 (95% confidence interval 1.62 to 4.91). Higher annual income was associated independently with lower odds of severe food insecurity. When total disability scores were added into the model, the association between SMD and food insecurity became non-significant, indicating a possible mediating role of disability. Conclusion. Efforts to alleviate food insecurity need to target people with SMD as a vulnerable group. Addressing the disabling effects of SMD would also be expected to reduce food insecurity. Access to mental health care integrated into primary care is being expanded in this district as part of the Programme for Improving Mental health carE (PRIME). The impact of treatment on disability and food insecurity will be evaluated

Using Microservices to Design Patient-facing Research Software

With a significant amount of software now being developed for use in patient-facing studies, there is a pressing need to consider how to design this software effectively in order to support the needs of both researchers and patients. We posit that a microservice architecture—which offers a large amount of flexibility for development and deployment, while at the same time ensuring certain quality attributes, such as scalability, are present—provides an effective mechanism for designing such software. To explore this proposition, in this work we show how the paradigm has been applied to the design of CONSULT, a decision support system that provides autonomous support to stroke patients and is characterised by its use of a data-backed AI reasoner. We discuss the impact that the use of this software architecture has had on the teams developing CONSULT and measure the performance of the system produced. We show that the use of microservices can deliver software that is able to facilitate both research and effective patient interactions. However, we also conclude that the impact of the approach only goes so far, with additional techniques needed to address its limitations.10.13039/501100000266-UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (Grant Number: EP/P010105/1

Child labor and childhood behavioral and mental health problems in Ethiopia

Background: According to ILO estimates, at least 180 million children aged 5 to 14 years are currently engaged in fulltime work in the developing countries. However, very little information exists about childhood behavioral and mental disorders in Ethiopia. Objective: The objectives of this study are to estimate the prevalence and describe the nature of behavioral and mental health problems, as well as child abuse, nutritional problems, gross physical illness and injury among child laborers aged 8 to 15 years in Ethiopia. However, only the behavioral and mental health problems of the study population are examined here. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of children aged 8 to 15 years, and who were engaged in fulltime work in different formal and informal sectors non-laborers, was conducted in four major towns of Ethiopia. The screening instrument known as Reported Questionnaire on Children (RQC) and a diagnostic instrument known as the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents ( DICA) were used to detect symptoms and signs of behavioral and mental problems in the children. br> Results: A total of 2000 child laborers and 400 non-laborers were interviewed using RQC to screen for probable cases of behavioral and mental problems. Of these, 50% of the laborers and 42% of the non-laborers were males. The mean age of the laborers was 13.8 ±1.8 years while that of the non-laborers was 12.2 ±2.1 years. More females (76.8%) were found to have been engaged in domestic labor than males. The RQC interview screened 9.4% (n=226) of the children as probable cases of mental/ behavioral disorders, (14.0% non-laborers and 8.5% laborers). The second stage DICA interview gave an overall prevalence of 5.5% (4.9% in laborers and 8.8% in non-laborers). Conclusion: The prevalence of childhood behavioral and mental disorders in this study is within the range reported in previews studies conducted on children of the same age group. However, the lower prevalence of childhood disorders in the child laborers compared to that of the non-laborers found in the current study is probably due to selection bias or healthy workers effect. Thus, further study is recommended to explain this unexpected finding. The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 20 (2) 2006: 119-12

Continuum of maternity care among rural women in Ethiopia: does place and frequency of antenatal care visit matter?

IntroductionThe ministry of health (MOH) of Ethiopia recommends 4 or more focused antenatal care (ANC) visits at health centre (HC) or at a higher level of health facility (HF). In Ethiopia, few studies investigated time dimension of maternal health continuum of care but lack data regarding place dimension and its effect on continuum of care. The aim of this study is to estimate effect of place of ANC-1 visit and adherence to MOH's recommendations of MOH for ANC visits on continuum of care rural in Ethiopia.MethodsWe used data collected from 1431 eligible women included in the National Health Extension Program (HEP) assessment survey that covered 6324 households from 62 woredas in nine regions. The main outcome variable is continuum of care (CoC), which is the uptake of all recommended ANC visits, institutional delivery and postnatal care services. Following descriptive analysis, Propensity Score Matching was used to estimate the effect of place of ANC-1 visit on completion of CoC. Zero inflated Poisson regression was used to model the effect of adherence to MOH recommendation of ANC visits on intensity of maternal health continuum of care.ResultOnly 13.9% of eligible women completed the continuum of care, and place of first antenatal care (ANC) visit was not significantly associated with the completion of continuum of care (β = 0.04, 95% CI = -0.02, 0.09). Adherence of ANC visit to the MOH recommendation (at least 4 ANC visits at higher HFs than health posts (HPs)) increased the likelihood of higher intensity of continuum of care (aIRR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.26, 1.33). Moreover, the intensity of continuum of care was positively associated with being in agrarian areas (aIRR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.29), exposed to HEP (IRR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.28), being informed about danger signs (aIRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.18) and delivery of second youngest child at HF (IRR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.20). Increasing age of women was negatively associated with use of services (IRR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.94).ConclusionCompletion of maternal health continuum of care is very low in Ethiopia, however most of the women use at least one of the services. Completion of continuum of care was not affected by place of first ANC visit. Adherence to MOH recommendation of ANC visit increased the intensity of continuum of care. Intensity of continuum of care was positively associated with residing in agrarian areas, HEP exposure, danger sign told, delivery of second youngest child at health facility. To boost the uptake of all maternal health services, it is crucial to work on quality of health facilities, upgrading the infrastructures of HPs and promoting adherence to MOH recommendations of ANC visit

Impact of integrated district level mental health care on clinical and social outcomes of people with severe mental illness in rural Ethiopia: an intervention cohort study

There is limited evidence of the safety and impact of task-shared care for people with severe mental illnesses (SMI; psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder) in low-income countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and impact of a district-level plan for task-shared mental health care on 6 and 12-month clinical and social outcomes of people with SMI in rural southern Ethiopia