A Geographic Information System Based Physical Land Suitability Evaluation to Cereal and Pulse Crops in Guang Watershed, Highlands of Ethiopia

Land suitability mapping and analysis is a prerequisite to achieving optimum utilization of the available land resources. The main objective of this study conducted in 2014 wasto spatially evaluate land suitability for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), soyabean (Glycine max L.) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) crops in the Guang watershed, Ethiopia based on FAO guidelines. Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques were used to develop land suitability map of the study watershed. Land characteristics (LC) and crop requirements were used as criteria for crop suitability analysis were soil (depth, texture and pH), slope and temperature. The crop suitability map of the study watershed was made in an area of about 2500 ha by matching between reclassified LC of the watershed with crop requirements using GIS model builder. The land use suitability analysis indicated that the watershed was highly (S1), moderately (S2), marginally (S3) and not suitable (N) for barley, sorghum, soyabean and chickpea were in an area of 756.75 ha (30.27%), 1441.8 ha (57.67%), 1540.5 ha (61.62%) and 703.75 ha (28.15%), respectively. Keywords: physical land suitability evaluation; crop; GIS; Guang watershed; highlands Ethiopi

Determinants of contraceptive use among urban youth in Ethiopia

Abstract: Population and family planning interventions are generally accepted as important components of the general development package. The use of contraception by young married couples for either limitation or birth-spacing may slow down the existing high fertility in the country .For the adolescents who are involved in premarital sexual activity , contraceptive use will avoid the risk of pregnancies and the concomitant health hazards, social disapproval and parental support for children born out of wedlock. This paper will attempt to shed some light on the determinants of contraceptive use, reasons for non-use, and knowledge and practice of contraceptives among the urban youth. The data used for analysis is extracted from a household sample survey of 55 urban centers in Ethiopia, undertaken by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs [MLSA] to study the adolescent fertility and employment status of the urban youth. [Ethiop. I. Health Dev. 1996;10(2):97-104

Inverse Liability of the State of Wisconsin for a de facto Temporary Taking as a Result of an Administrative Decision: Zinn v. State

This Note examines Zinn v. State, a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, which held that plaintiff stated a claim for inverse condemnation against the State of Wisconsin when, as a result of an erroneous quasi-judicial decision by the DNR, plaintiff lost the use of her property for a little longer than a month. This Note takes the position that Zinn represents the growing tendency among courts to enlarge the scope of fact situations in which they will find a taking. Given this tendency, and given that the substantive test in Wisconsin of what constitutes a taking is identical whether a taking occurs as a result of the police power or power of eminent domain, this Note argues that the remedy of inverse condemnation should also be extended to police power takings when the latter produce the same benefits to the Government and cause the same harm to the property owner as would have occurred if the Government had used its power of eminent domain

Ethnic Federalism: Its Promise and Pitfalls for Africa

A salient characteristic of most sub-Saharan African ( SSA ) states is ethnic heterogeneity. In most of these states, the constituent ethnic groups not only view themselves as being different from other ethnic groups but also identify themselves with particular regions of the country. Even now at the dawn of the new century and forty years after independence from colonial rule, ethnic differences continue to pose serious challenges for achieving national integration and political stability. In the past, the vast majority of African states have carefully avoided coming to terms with the heterogeneity of their ethnic make-up. In particular, they have avoided giving ethnic identity any institutional or official expression, preferring instead to pursue policies and practices aimed at supplanting their citizens\u27 ethnic identities with overarching national identities. To that end, they have utilized unitary structures and political institutions, including single party systems and even military forms of government. These formulas for nation-building and political stability, however, have neither avoided ethnic conflict nor engendered feelings of belonging to a broader national community. Ethiopia \u27s new constitution purports to offer a sounder formula for accommodating ethnic differences. Much of its appeal and promise comes from the fact that it accords constitutional recognition to the claims of ethnic groups to constitute themselves as self-governing polities within their own regions, within a federal framework In theory, this arrangement would satisfy the desire of ethnic groups to be different, while at the same time remaining a part of the broader national community. This Article considers the normative and instrumental arguments that might be advanced to justify such a formula for ethnic accommodation. While there is some merit in these arguments, the Article ultimately concludes that the marriage of ethnicity with territorial sovereignty for ethnic groups is an unworkable and even perilous enterprise. The Article argues that such a system of government is more prone to exacerbate than to mitigate the difficulties that constitute the core of SSA states\u27 predicament: lack of national unity, sluggish economic development, and violation of human rights. Accordingly, the Article suggests that while federalism should serve as a starting point in the search for a solution, a workable system will require a weighing of a number of factors, including the need to promote national unity and state integrity, economic interdependence, human rights, and the wishes of the people

Comparative Study of Local Seed Business and Public Seed Supply Systems’: The case of Atsbiwemberta Woreda

Seed is generally considered to be the most affordable external input for farmers, and many of its benefits are assumed to be scale-neutral. So investments in crop improvement potentially can reach a wide range of farmers. While many other areas are also important for agricultural development such as markets, credit supply, support institutions, and policies access to appropriate seed is clearly the first step. This study is intended for comparative study of LSB and Public seed supply systems’ of the study area; to map the actor’s linkages to identify influential factors for the smooth functioning of the system and to explore the influence of policy in providing an enabling environment in relation to the seed supply system in Atsbiwemberta Woreda. Two stages sampling were used in which both nonrandom sampling and systematic random sampling procedures were followed to select two tabia and 134 respondents. Structured interview schedule and questionnaires were used for collecting the essential quantitative and qualitative data from the sampled respondents and seed suppliers respectively. To generate qualitative data, field observations; informal interview with key informants; and discussions with separate focus groups were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools chi-square test, t-test and Logistic Regressions from inferential statistics. The major output of the study indicates that the system is highly characterized by relatively good linkage between actors and farmers in the study area. Moreover, participation in seed supply system was significantly influenced by household family size, radio owner ship, access to market, extension service and credit access. In addition to this, from the supply sector factors like skilled man power, delay of temporary loan settlement by users, policy environment, storage facilities at grass root level, efficient marketing system, timely demand claims from users, clearly defined role and responsibilities of each partner, availability of improved seeds in terms of their germination, viability and adaptability, farmers willingness to take risks and demand for improved crop varieties were some of mentioned factors that influence the system positively and/or negatively. As to the enabling policy environment, pitfalls identified were; inflexibility of rules and regulations, lack of strong quarantine measures on imported seeds and prolonged time given for variety release and registration were amongst all. Therefore, it is recommended that, the existing extension service should be strengthened in a way that working in harmony with relevant actors to bring about change for efficient and effective delivery of improved seed. Likewise, policy should account the flexibility of rules on credit provision and organization of small farmers groups in addressing resource poor farmers to ensure food self sufficiency of rural community in particular and the nation at large

Soil Loss Estimation for Soil Conservation Planning using Geographic Information System in Guang Watershed, Blue Nile Basin

This research was carried out to spatially predict the soil loss rate of Guang watershed with a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) adapted to Ethiopian conditions was used to estimate potential soil losses by utilizing information on  rainfall erosivity (R) using interpolation of rainfall data, soil erodibility (K) using soil map, vegetation cover (C) using satellite images, topography (LS) using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and conservation practices (P ) using satellite images. Based on the analysis, the mean and total annual soil loss potential of the study watershed was 24.95 tons ha-1 year-1 and 8,732.5 tons ha-1 year-1, respectively. About 147.9 ha (64%) of the watershed was categorized none to slight class which under soil loss tolerance (SLT) values ranging from 5 to 11 tons ha-1 year-1 whereas moderate to high soil loss potential covered about 202.1 ha (36%) about several times the maximum tolerable soil loss (11 tons ha-1 year-1). The study demonstrates that the RUSLE using GIS and RS provides great advantage to spatially analyze multi-layer of data. The predicted amount of soil loss and its spatial distribution could facilitate sustainable land use and management. Keywords: soil erosion; RUSLE; GIS; Guang watershed; Ethiopi

In what ways can Community Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (C-IMNCI) improve child health?

Background: In addition to access to quality health services, family child care practices play a major role in improving child health and achieving reduction in childhood mortality.Objective: To assess the effect of community integrated management of neonatal and childhood illness interventions on family practices for child care.Methods: A comparative cross-sectional survey was conducted in Dabat District, northwest Ethiopia. A total of 800 mothers or caretakers of children of under two years form the Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses intervention and non-intervention areas were selected using a multistage sampling procedure and interviewed in November 2007.Result: Three hundred thirty seven (84.3%) of the mothers from the intervention area and 358 (89.5%) from nonintervention area were illiterate. Thre vast majority (99.5%) of the fathers in each of the areas were farmers. Mothers/care takers from community IMNCI intervention areas reported better child care practices in terms of time of breastfeeding initiation (OR=9.10, 95% CI=5.45, 12.43), avoiding prelacteal feeding (OR=11.01, 95% CI=7.98, 15.43), initiation of supplementary feeding (OR=3.63, 95% CI=2.23, 5.93) compared to mothers/care takers form non intervention areas. Regarding water, personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, statistical significant differences were observed in using a safe drinking source of water (OR=6.36, 95% CI=4.49, 9.01) and availability of pit latrines (OR=43.52, 95% CI=25.46, 67.89) between the intervention and non-intervention areas. The likelihood of seeking care for diarrhea was about five times and that of fever is three times higher in the intervention areas compared to the non-intervention one.Conclusion: Community IMNCI has positive effects on child feeding, disease prevention, health care seeking practices and these practices are expected to improve child health and survival. Thus the program needs to be scaled up in other areas. Further studies may assess the actual effect of the intervention on child morbidity and mortality. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(2):143-149

Motivation and attitude towards learning chemistry

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between attitudes and motivations of first year Biology and Chemistry students to learn chemistry. The study adopted co relational research design. A total of 155 first year biology and chemistry students (95 first year Biology and 60 Chemistry students) taking chemistry in the second semester of 2017/2018 at Dire University, Ethiopia, were involved in this study. Data for this study were collected using Attitude Inventory Test and the Achievement Motivation Scale. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The results show that there is no statistically significant difference between biology and chemistry students in their attitudes and motivation towards learning chemistry. Furthermore, there is no a statistically significant relationship between attitudes and motivation of these students towards learning chemistry (i.e. there is negligible degree of relationship between attitude and motivation to learn chemistry). The relationship between attitude and motivation might be due to chance. On the basis of the results of this study, it can be concluded that there is no statistically significant relationship between attitude towards chemistry and the motivation to learn chemistry. The results did not support the expectation that there is a statistically significant relationship between attitude towards a given domain of science and the motivation to learn it. Therefore, teachers must help students comprehend basic facts, principles, concepts and theories and should encourage them apply these to solve chemistry problems and enhance the motivation. This would improve students’ ability to answer difficult chemistry questions which might appear every examination