Critical Analysis of the Taxation Policy on Small Businesses and Entrepreneurial Enterprises in Uganda

The Ugandan government has been conducting tax policy reforms to create entrepreneurship conditions for the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs play a very important role in the development of economies. Taxation and tax regimes are used by government to provide means for small businesses to participate in economic growth. Therefore, the paper critically analyses the taxation policy on small businesses and entrepreneurial enterprises in Uganda. The specific objectives of this paper are: To examine tax treatment on the performance of SMEs in Uganda; To find out the influence of taxation policy on small business and entrepreneurial enterprises in Uganda; and To find out if tax payers are aware of all their tax obligations and policies. The research is primarily carried out in kampala district and it covers four markets of Nakasero in central division, Nakawa in Nakawa division, Kasubi in Lubaga division and kalarwe in Kawempe division.  The respondents were small business owners and in operation between 2005 and 2014. A mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative was employed. 50 respondents were considered out of the entire population in each market, and a total of 200 respondents selected for this paper. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS Version 17. The result of the research will benefit small business and entrepreneurial enterprises owners under study to know the defects of taxation and this will help to lobby with the government. The findings will assist the policy makers to amend the income tax law so as to make it friendly to small businesses. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, small businesses, entrepreneurial enterprises, taxation, tax policy, tax relief, tax syste

Critical Analysis of the Obstacles to Business Creativity among Small and Medium Enterprises in Rwanda

Many scholars see creativity at the heart of business. In the business world, entrepreneurs use creativity to solve everyday problems to provide products and services, and to make use of limited resources. Rwanda has a mixed economy, is faced with a major challenge of low creativity and entrepreneurial capacity, high unemployment and poverty in the country. Developing countries including Rwanda need to encourage creativity inorder to improve the quality of life of people. The respondents who are small business owners and in operation between 2004 and 2014 in Kigali, Gitarama, Butare were considered. A mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative was employed, and a total of 300 respondents were selected for this paper. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS Version 17. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse obstacles to business creativity among Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) owners in Rwanda. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, small and medium enterprises (SME), business creativit

The evaluation of a low-order propeller performance and wake prediction capability for the calculation of power effects

An analytical method was developed for the prediction of the performance of a propeller or wind turbine and the propagation of a vortical streamtube in the propeller’s wake. The combined method is a product of compatibility between Blade Element Momentum Theory and Vortex Theory. The theoretical foundation of the combined method was discussed in sufficient detail to be translated into an algorithm for solving this type of problem. The algorithm was shown to be suitable for analysing the performance and trailing wake of an arbitrary propeller if the geometry of the blade is given. Published wind tunnel test data from various research institutions was used to compare the performance determined by the prediction model to the actual performance. A comparison with wind tunnel test data of an APC 8x8 Thin Electric propeller of simplistic geometry showed the propeller model to be adept at the prediction of thrust and adequate in predicting power. Further comparison with wind tunnel test results of a complex propeller developed at the CSIR indicated accuracy limitations in the propeller model primarily relating to insufficient consideration of 3-dimensional effects and a dependence on input data that accurately represents the physical conditions. The propeller model was extended to consider the performance of wind turbines and similarly provided useful predictions of the power extraction, particularly at higher advance ratios, in comparison with experimental results. An unsuccessful attempt was made to implement the propeller performance model results into a low-order panel method program. The intended combination was through the superposition of the propeller performance characteristics on the panel method inflow to enable the evaluation of propeller-airframe interactions

Detection of Malicious Websites Using Machine Learning Techniques

In detecting malicious websites, a common approach is the use of blacklists which are not exhaustive in themselves and are unable to generalize to new malicious sites. Detecting newly encountered malicious websites automatically will help reduce the vulnerability to this form of attack. In this study, we explored the use of ten machine learning models to classify malicious websites based on lexical features and understand how they generalize across datasets. Specifically, we trained, validated, and tested these models on different sets of datasets and then carried out a cross-datasets analysis. From our analysis, we found that K-Nearest Neighbor is the only model that performs consistently high across datasets. Other models such as Random Forest, Decision Trees, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machines also consistently outperform a baseline model of predicting every link as malicious across all metrics and datasets. Also, we found no evidence that any subset of lexical features generalizes across models or datasets. This research should be relevant to cybersecurity professionals and academic researchers as it could form the basis for real-life detection systems or further research work

Clinical features and survival among children with retinoblastoma in Uganda

AIMS: To characterise the clinical features, treatment and outcome of children diagnosed with retinoblastoma in Uganda. METHODS: The study comprised a 6-year nationwide enrolment with follow-up. RESULTS: In total, 282 cases were enrolled, 26% (72) were bilateral; 6% were lost to follow-up. Almost all diagnoses in the first affected eye were International Classification of Retinoblastoma group E or worse. Histology was available for 92%; of those, 45%, had extraocular tumour at diagnosis. Enucleation of the first eye was done for 271; 94 received radiotherapy to the socket and in the last 2 years, 70 children received chemotherapy. At close of study, 139 children had died. Survival, as determined in a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, laterality and treatment era (pre or post introduction of chemotherapy), varied by extent of the tumour (p<0.001); children with only intraocular involvement were 80% less likely to die (HR=0.21, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.35) compared with children with extraocular involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic delay results in relatively high mortality among children with retinoblastoma in Uganda. There is an urgent need for more effective treatment modalities, particularly chemotherapy, and nationwide efforts to encourage earlier access to medical care

Clinical features and survival among children with retinoblastoma in Uganda

AIMS: To characterise the clinical features, treatment and outcome of children diagnosed with retinoblastoma in Uganda. METHODS: The study comprised a 6-year nationwide enrolment with follow-up. RESULTS: In total, 282 cases were enrolled, 26% (72) were bilateral; 6% were lost to follow-up. Almost all diagnoses in the first affected eye were International Classification of Retinoblastoma group E or worse. Histology was available for 92%; of those, 45%, had extraocular tumour at diagnosis. Enucleation of the first eye was done for 271; 94 received radiotherapy to the socket and in the last 2 years, 70 children received chemotherapy. At close of study, 139 children had died. Survival, as determined in a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, laterality and treatment era (pre or post introduction of chemotherapy), varied by extent of the tumour (p<0.001); children with only intraocular involvement were 80% less likely to die (HR=0.21, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.35) compared with children with extraocular involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic delay results in relatively high mortality among children with retinoblastoma in Uganda. There is an urgent need for more effective treatment modalities, particularly chemotherapy, and nationwide efforts to encourage earlier access to medical care

Improving survival of retinoblastoma in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic delay results in relatively high mortality among children with retinoblastoma in Uganda, where treatment was limited to surgery and, for some, radiotherapy. In order to improve outcomes, a simple programme of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy was introduced. Here we report survival before and after this change to medical practice. METHODS: Affordable standard off-patent chemotherapy agents were administered by trained paramedical staff to groups of patients at the same time. Survival before and after the introduction of chemotherapy was monitored. Between 2006 and 2013 a total of 270 patients with retinoblastoma were included, 181 treated prior to chemotherapy and 89 after (beginning in 2009). We had 94% follow-up and 249 had histological verification of diagnosis. RESULTS: Using a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex and laterality, children treated after chemotherapy was introduced had a 37% lower risk of dying (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.99) compared with children treated before. Prior to the introduction of chemotherapy only 15% of children who survived bilateral disease retained vision after treatment compared with 71% after chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of chemotherapy proved safe and cost-effective in non-specialist hands and was associated with significant improvements in survival and, among bilateral cases, in preserving vision

Translation as destruction: Kezilahabi's adaptation of Heidegger's 'Being'.

Tanzanian novelist and philosopher Euphrase Kezilahabi strives to “dismantle the resemblance of language to the world” (1985: 216) through challenging the fundamental philosophical dichotomy of subject and object. The result of this dismantling will be a new “language whose foundation is Being” (Kezilahabi 1991: 69; lugha ambayo msingi wake nikuwako). This is an expression of a new relationship between humanity and Being built on a holistic epistemology of experience and embodiment. Through “kuwako”, Kezilahabi expresses in Swahili the Heideggerian concept of Sein (Being). His adherence to Heidegger, however, puts him at risk of compromising the very foundation of his own philosophy: his continued critique of essentialism. This article argues that Kezilahabi salvages his concept of “kuwako” from these essentialist pitfalls precisely through his declared “destructive rather than deconstructive stand vis-àvis the Western philosophy of value and representation” (Kezilahabi 1985: 4). The destruction is implemented on the thematic level: a phase of “vurumai” (chaos) which destroys previous traditions of philosophy is staged in Nagona. However, translation is an even more powerful device to carry out this destruction: “kuwako” is not an innocent reiteration but a radical reformulation of Heidegger’s central philosophical concept, decisively informed by Kezilahabi’s lifelong propensity for existentialism

Reframing Kurtz’s Painting: Colonial Legacies and Minority Rights in Ethnically Divided Societies

Minority rights constitute some of the most normatively and economically important human rights. Although the political science and legal literatures have proffered a number of constitutional and institutional design solutions to address the protection of minority rights, these solutions are characterized by a noticeable neglect of, and lack of sensitivity to, historical processes. This Article addresses that gap in the literature by developing a causal argument that explains diverging practices of minority rights protections as functions of colonial governments’ variegated institutional practices with respect to particular ethnic groups. Specifically, this Article argues that in instances where colonial governments politicize and institutionalize ethnic hegemony in the pre-independence period, an institutional legacy is created that leads to lower levels of minority rights protections. Conversely, a uniform treatment and depoliticization of ethnicity prior to independence ultimately minimizes ethnic cleavages post-independence and consequently causes higher levels of minority rights protections. Through a highly structured comparative historical analysis of Botswana and Ghana, this Article builds on a new and exciting research agenda that focuses on the role of long-term historio-structural and institutional influences on human rights performance and makes important empirical contributions by eschewing traditional methodologies that focus on single case studies that are largely descriptive in their analyses. Ultimately, this Article highlights both the strength of a historical approach to understanding current variations in minority rights protections and the varied institutional responses within a specific colonial government