Picturing Adoption of Below-Ground Biodiversity Technologies among Smallholder Farmers around Mabira Forest, Uganda

Faced with a multitude of soil and water amendment technologies, farmers have the task of choosing the technologies to adopt for ensuring subsistence and income sustainability. In 2008, a study to characterize the farmers was conducted around Mabira Forest, to assess the adoption of soil technologies fostering Belowground Biodiversity (BGBD). Eighty-four households (38 participating and 46 non-participants) from four villages were randomly selected and interviewed. Results showed that the adoption pattern was significantly driven by farm size, labor, household size, age and wealth status of the house. Also important were farm location, gender of household head, primary occupation, soil and water conservation technologies training, land tenure, and social capital. For the few current adopters, there was a perceived increase in labor demand but overall productivity was higher, partly resulting from increased crop productivity due to soil fertility enhancement and soil structure modification. It is therefore concluded that, around Mabira forest, BGBD technologies will be adopted by farming households with sufficient land, labor and social capital

Rwanda, Burundi, and Their Ethnic Conflicts

This paper demonstrably dispels the assumption that ethnic conflict in Rwanda and Burundi is a chronic endemic phenomenon. It emphasizes the consolidation of the caste system during the colonial era, intra regional disparities within the two communities, high population densities, very weak economic bases, poverty, and international interference as some of the cardinal dynamics behind the current deadly contentions within the two states. An analysis behind the genocidal tendencies in the two countries is well illustrated, with special emphasis on the Rwandese tragedy of 1994 as well as its parallels and divergences with the Nazi Holocaust

PERSPECTIVE ON FIRMS’ RESPONSES TO ECONOMIC CRISES

This paper analyzes how firms respond to emerging economic crises. A firm’s response to crisis is a mechanism for survival. It normally evolves out of the impact of the crisis, and it is linked to the strategic goals and operational objectives of the firm. Firms normally pursue one or more of three lines of responses to crises; retrenchment, investment and ambidextrous responses. Responses of firms to crisis are far from predictable or systematic and usually vary from firm to firm. They are predetermined by specific contexts of the firm’s existence. These contexts range from the firm’s size, ownership, sector of operation, history in business, country dynamics and resource capabilities. There is also a tendency for firms to move from one type of response to another during the course of the crisis. Retrenchment is the most preferred form of response, although investment responses tend to have long-term advantages. The study recommends that firms consider ambidextrous responses to realize the synchronized benefits of retrenchment and investment responses to crises. It is also recommended that studies on firms’ responses to crisis should examine firms on a case-to-case basis, identify the particularities of their responses

IMPACT OF ECONOMIC CRISES ON FIRMS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

This paper examines literature that analyzes how economic crises affect firms. Eighty-five studies were examined with the overall aim of finding out the impact of crises on firms. Studies published between 1805 and 2018 were sampled purposively through digital database searches, to establish the most recent literature on the impact of crises on firms. Consequently, the majority of the work assessed focuses on the global economic crisis of 2007 and its effect on firms in a different country and regional contexts. The literature demonstrates that economic crises affect firms negatively and positively with a tendency for crises to affect firms more negatively. Negative impacts include a decline in demand, fall in profitability, debt problems, operational challenges, bankruptcy, loss of goodwill or public image, uncertainty, and scale down of operations. Positive impacts comprise stimulation of efficiency, and improved performance for strategic firms The review further establishes that the impact of crises on firms varies from firm to firm, which requires that to examine the impacts of economic crises on firms requires that the firms are studied on a case-to-case basis.                                         

Isolation of chlorophyll a from spinach leaves

An efficient method for separating chlorophyll a from spinach leaves by column chromatography and solvent extraction techniques has been developed. The purity and identity of the chlorophyll a have been confirmed by UV-Vis, IR and mass spectrometry. Yields from 100 g of freeze-dried spinach were 23 – 24 mg of chlorophyll a. KEY WORDS: Chlorophyll a, Spinach leaves, Separation, Column chromatography, Solvent extraction, Pheophytin a  Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2008, 22(2), 301-304

Exploring Teacher Learning Experiences in one Open University in South Africa: a Training Framework

Abstract: This paper explores how academics in one South African Open University, experience learning in order to hasten the impact of their innovative teaching and student learning. It also aims at the formulation of a training framework to guide teacher learning. A qualitative phenomenological research design as advocated by Giorgi and Giorgi (2009) was adopted for this study. The research questions posed were: How do academics experience academic development and which teacher learning framework could be used to enhance academic development for ODL teachers to teach innovatively? The study found that the university introduced an academic training programme to the participants (orientation).The orientation prepared them for practical training (learning). Through learning, they were empowered with skills and competencies (skills acquisition) that enabled them to work (performance) as online teachers. The participants further noted that for a training programme to be successful, it must be long in duration, evaluated and have the support of University management. All the participants learning experiences and concerns were synthesised into a training framework. It was recommended that academic development programmes run for longer durations and should be supported by institutional leadership. An evaluation mechanism should be introduced and adhered to, to ensure achievement of all objectives in every training phase.Keywords: Academic development, Open University, training frame work, Innovative teachin

Phenomenological analysis of the lived experiences of academics who participated in the professional development programme at an Open Distance Learning (ODL) University in South Africa

Since online delivery of education has become a major approach to teaching in Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions, it becomes critical to understand how academics learn to teach online. This study was designed to explore the lived experiences of academics who had participated in a professional development programme aimed at moving them from traditional distance teaching to online facilitation of learning. Giorgi’s phenomenological psychological method was used to analyse and retrospectively examine the learning experiences of the participant academics in order to establish how they lived, behaved and experienced the training programme. The participants described their experiences in relation to distinct lived worlds that included the world in relation to self, others, time, and their environment. The academics’ experiences and concerns provide insight into their skills development needs and the adequacy of the programme provided in addressing these and equipping academics for online teaching. The perspectives identified could serve to guide the development and promotion of professional development programmes for online teaching and learning

A model for user requirements elicitation specific to users in rural areas

Dwesa is a rural town situated in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province that has been selected as a testing site for an e-commerce project to address some of the challenges faced by the community. These challenges include difficulties stemming from poverty, poor access to public services, unemployment and low levels of literacy. The Siyakhula Living Lab project’s aim is to develop an e-commerce platform that will 'connect' the residents with the necessary access to services and markets by providing them with the necessary tools that can help in alleviating some of their challenges. In order for the project to achieve its objectives, a deeper understanding into the needs of the prospective users is required. User requirements elicitation deals with the process of interacting with the prospective users to understand and document their needs. This research aims at evaluating existing requirements elicitation techniques and methodologies in the context of rural information technology implementations. The primary objective is to develop a model for user requirements elicitation in Dwesa. Many requirements elicitation techniques and frameworks exist, but few have been evaluated in the context of rural software implementations. Requirements elicitation techniques should not be applied simply as steps to gather information. Instead this research project proposes a model that can be applied to assimilate the contribution of knowledge regarding the stakeholders, problem and solution characteristics, and other characteristics into the software development process for the effective elicitation of requirements

Staff development for innovative teaching and learning at the University of South Africa

The evolution of technologies used for learning in open distance learning (ODL) has compelled academics to upgrade their teaching skills and competencies in order to teach in an ever-changing environment. While the earlier ODL generations were characterised by the use of written, printed texts, radio, television, print media and postal services, the current generations are characterised by the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance teaching and learning. This study explored the experiences of academics who participated in the staff development courses for innovative teaching and learning at the University of South Africa. To explore the experiences, a qualitative research design of a phenomenological genre was adopted. Using interviews, data was collected from six purposively selected academics and analysed following Giorgi’s phenomenological methods. The academics’ experiences and concerns provided some insight into their development needs and how they would have liked to have been developed for innovative teaching. It emerged that staff development provided valuable knowledge, skills and competencies, enabling and promoting innovative forms of e-teaching and learning. These experiences and concerns were synthesised into a staff development framework consisting of four phases: Orientation; Learning; Acquisition of skills and Competencies; and Performance indicating that effective staff development requires that participants are initially orientated to the training programme before exposure to authentic learning activities. Through this exposure they acquire the vital online teaching skills and competencies thereby enhancing their performance as online teachers. The staff development framework indicated further that for effective staff development to take place, the different phases should not only be supported by university management but also by an evaluation mechanism to establish whether the objectives in each phase have been achieved. It also emerged that time played an important role in staff development, as the duration of each phase and the development intervention as a whole affects how well academics are able to acquire and perfect their teaching skills.Curriculum and Instructional StudiesD. Ed. (Curriculum Studies

Crop raiding patterns of solitary and social groups of red-tailed monkeys on cocoa pods in Uganda

Crop damage by wildlife is a very prevalent form of human-wildlife conflict adjacent to protected areas, and great economic losses from crop raiding impede efforts to protect wildlife. Management plans are needed to decrease damage by raiding wildlife, yet conservation biologists typically lack the basic information needed for informed conservation strategies. Red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius) raid a variety of crops adjacent to protected forests in East Africa; however, the role of group structure on crop raiding has not been explored. Here, crop raiding patterns of solitary males and social groups were investigated during 10 months in a plantation of mature cocoa in Uganda. Monkeys gained access to the plantation via trees planted as wind breaks and shade trees, and the sighting frequency of groups was negatively related to the distance from the forest edge. In contrast, solitary males were sighted more frequently far from the forest edge and caused proportionately greater damage than members raiding in a social group. These results highlight that for social animals, crop raiding behavior can vary among types of social groupings; appropriate strategies to cope with raiding must therefore respond to this variation. Deborah Baranga, G. Isabirye Basuta, Julie A. Teichroeb, and Colin A. Chapman