Rethinking institutional excellence in Ethiopia: adapting and adopting the balanced scorecard (BSC) model

This paper intends to outline an academic scorecard that serves as a strategic framework for measuring institutional performance in Ethiopia. It gives major emphasis for producing initial portfolio of key performance indicators that will serve as a springboard for measuring performance in academic institutions. The study relied on meta-analysis of existing BSC-related literature in business and mission-driven organizations across the globe with an intention of benchmarking the best practices in the area. A comprehensive analysis and synthesis of an extant literature resulted in an architectural blueprint of BSC for academic institutions operating in Ethiopia. This has been built around five strategic themes that serve as pillars of excellence for HEIs (viz., academic excellence, diversity of student community, outreach and engagement, resource management, and networking and partnership) and four perspectives, which are different views of what drives the institution and those which provide a framework for measurement of its performance. The identified perspectives include the stakeholders, the internal business process, financial stewardships, and learning, innovation and development (LID). A number of strategic objectives and measurement metrics have been forwarded under each perspective in line with the HEI’s mission. The researcher expects that such BSC framework will arouse a great deal of interest in opening discussions and debates among academics, HEIs officials, policy makers, reform consultants and others in a way they serve as a good ground for developing common understanding and outlining a skeleton of academic scorecard to be standardized for more or less uniform application in the Ethiopian HEIs. Keywords: Balanced Score card (BSC), Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions, excellence in service provision

Deterrents to the Success of Micro and Small Enterprises in Akaki-Kality Sub-City

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) are driving forces for economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction in developing countries. Cognizant of this fact, Ethiopia is one of the countries which have taken measures to enhance the operation of MSEs. However, there are MSE’s in the country that have shown deteriorating performance and have been experiencing huge stumbling blocks with no significant graduation from one enterprise level to the next. This study was conducted in some selected districts of Akaki-Kality Sub-city with the purpose of analyzing the challenges confronting MSEs' successful operation. To this end, a mixed research design was applied that involved quantitative (descriptive survey) and qualitative (exploratory research) methods. For this study, 89 questionnaires were distributed and 81 of them were successfully completed and used for analysis. The participants were selected using a combination of purposive, stratified and simple random sampling methods. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 sub-city and district officials and experts; and 9 MSE’s owners through semi-structured interview questions. The quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics while the qualitative data were analyzed by using content analysis and narration approach. As a result, the study revealed that the MSEs in the study area had created considerable employment opportunities for unemployed youth and contributed their part in boosting the incomes of households as well as personal savings. On the other hand, MSEs have been confronted with a number of challenges that obstructed their successes. In particular, the study had pinpointed inadequate infrastructure facilities, inadequate finance, poor managerial and technical skills, and inadequate working premises as the major challenges of MSE’s successful operations followed by marketing problems, low support from respective institutions, inadequate supply of raw materials, and regulatory issues. In line with the findings obtained from this study recommendations to respective governmental bodies and MSE’s owners/managers have been forwarded. Key terms: Challenges, micro and small enterprises, performance, and success

Molecular genetic diversity study of Lepidium sativum population from Ethiopia as revealed by inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers

Lepidium sativum L. (family Brassicaceae), is an underutilized medicinal plant with worldwide distribution. In Ethiopia, L. sativum occurs in all regions and agro-ecologies at different altitudinal ranges. The study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity of L. sativum population from Ethiopia using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker. Molecular data generated from ISSR bands recorded was used for computing gene diversity, percent polymorphism and Shannon diversity index and AMOVA. Moreover, the ISSR data was used to construct unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and principal coordinated analysis (PCO) plot using Jaccard’s coefficient.  Tigray and Amhara population showed higher gene diversity (0.24) and Shannon information index (0.35). All UPGMA, neighbor-joining (NJ) and PCO analysis showed very weak grouping among individuals collected from the same regions. Generally, Tigray and Amhara regions showed moderate to high diversity in ISSR analysis. Different geographical regions of Ethiopia, showed different level of variation; thus conservation priority should be given for those regions that have high genetic diversity. This result also indicates the presence of genetic diversity that can be exploited to improve the productivity of L. sativum in Ethiopia.Keywords: Genetic diversity, ISSR, Lepidium sativum

Building Innovation System for the Diffusion of Renewable EnergyTechnology: Practices in Ethiopia and Bangladesh

AbstractThe diffusion of renewable energy technologies (RETs) has been progressing very slowly in global scope, particularly in developing countries where the diffusion challenges for renewable are greater. Among potential actors in the promotion and diffusion of rural-based renewable energy innovations, NGOs and NPOs have been mentioned as promising actors. However, empirical studies that show the role of the actors and the way they can besystem builders by diffusing existing technologies have been very rare. This paper discusses the practices of an NGO in Ethiopia (Solar Energy Foundation) and an NPO in Bangladesh (Grameen Shakti) and showshowlocal technological innovation systems can be built bykey actors in the context of developing countries. The studysheds light on the process of system building for accelerated diffusion of RETs in the context of developing countries. Using a theoretical framework, we compared the approach, technology adoption trend (solar home systems diffusion), and common challenges facing both actors in their respective countries. The two empirical cases which are in different geographical contexts provided lessons on thesimilarities and differences of system building practices and emerging innovation systems for diffusion of RETs in developing countries

Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis of Ethiopian white lupine (Lupinus albus L.)

White lupine (Lupinus albus L.) collected from two zones (West Gojjam and Awi) of Amhara region and one zone (Metekel) of Benishangul - Gumuz regional state of Ethiopia were studied using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers in an attempt to assess the genetic diversity. Four ISSR primers of which three were dinucleotide repeats and one, a penta nucleotide repeat amplified a total of 39 clear and reproducible bands. Both unweighted pair- group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) phenograms and a neighbor joining (NJ) trees were constructed for the individuals and populations using Jaccard’s similarity coefficient. The dendrogram clearly indicated four distinct groups/populations based on the area of origin. The principal coordinates (PCO) analysis also recovered UPGMA and neighbor joining tree groups, although Amhara region white lupine were intermixed with each other. The genetic diversity among white lupine population considered in the present study indicated that Merawi was the highest (0.223) followed by Addis Kidam, Sekela and Wembera with genetic diversity of 0.198, 0.189 and 0.167, respectively. Generally, Amhara region white lupine (0.203) population shows higher genetic diversity than white lupine population of B-Gumuz region (0.167). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) in both grouping and without grouping revealed larger genetic diversity within the populations (74.6%) than among populations (25.4%). Shannon’s diversity index also confirmed the existence of higher genetic diversity in Amhara region lupine populations than in Benishangul-Gumuz. Furthermore AMOVA demonstrated highly significant (P = 0.00) genetic differences among populations within groups, among groups and within populations. Of the total variation, 64.64% was attributable to within populations, 27.23% to among groups and the least, 8.13% to among populations within groups. Generally, on the basis of samples of 39 bands in the four populations, ISSR was able to reveal moderate to high levels of genetic diversity within and among Ethiopian white lupine population.Keywords: Amhara, Benishangul - Gumuz, Ethiopia, genetic diversity, ISSR, white lupine.Abbreviation: ISSR, Inter simple sequence repeats; UPGMA, unweighted pair- group method with arithmetic average; NJ, neighbor joining; PCO, principal coordinates; AMOVA, analysis of molecular variance; RAPD, random amplified polymorphic DNA; AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphism

Delay in initiating tuberculosis treatment and factors associated among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in East Wollega, Western Ethiopia

Background: Delay in treatment is also likely to be associated with a greater number of secondary cases per index case. Objective: to assess the length of patient and health system delays; and identify factors influencing these delays among pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 13 selected government health facilities that provide both diagnostic and treatment services using Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) program. Data were collected from pulmonary TB patients aged 15 years and above during their intensive phase of DOTS treatment using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The median total delay was 90 days; with 28 days patient delay and 42 days health system delay. A large proportion (63%) of the overall total delay was contributed by health system delay. Patients from urban areas were 46% more likely to present to health care providers than patients from rural areas, adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) of 1.46 (95% CI: 1.10 - 1.95). Patients from urban areas were 54% more likely to be diagnosed and start treatment earlier than patients from rural areas, AHR of 1.54 (95% CI: 1.15-2.07). Female patients were more delayed to present to health providers than their male counterparts with AHR of 0.63 (95%CI: 0.47–0.84) but had shorter health system delay than male patients with AHR of 1.51 (95% CI: 1.1-22.04). Conclusion: A greater proportion of the overall total delay was contributed by health system delay. The health system should be more accessible for the unmet need. New approaches to make health services more accessible to those in greatest need (rural and women) should be designed and developed.The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 21 (2) 2007: pp. 148-15

Base excision repair AP endonucleases and mismatch repair act together to induce checkpoint-mediated autophagy

Cellular responses to DNA damage involve distinct DNA repair pathways, such as mismatch repair (MMR) and base excision repair (BER). Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, we present genetic and molecular evidence of a mechanistic link between processing of DNA damage and activation of autophagy. Here we show that the BER AP endonucleases APN-1 and EXO-3 function in the same pathway as MMR, to elicit DNA-directed toxicity in response to 5-fluorouracil, a mainstay of systemic adjuvant treatment of solid cancers. Immunohistochemical analyses suggest that EXO-3 generates the DNA nicks required for MMR activation. Processing of DNA damage via this pathway, in which both BER and MMR enzymes are required, leads to induction of autophagy in C. elegans and human cells. Hence, our data show that MMR- and AP endonuclease-dependent processing of 5-fluorouracil-induced DNA damage leads to checkpoint activation and induction of autophagy, whose hyperactivation contributes to cell death. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Towards interoperability of entity-based and event-based IoT platforms: The case of NGSI and EPCIS standards

With the advancement of IoT devices and thanks to the unprecedented visibility and transparency they provide, diverse IoT-based applications are being developed. With the proliferation of IoT, both the amount and type of data items captured have increased dramatically. The data generated by IoT devices reside in different organizations and systems, and a major barrier to utilizing the data is the lack of interoperability among the standards used to capture the data. To reduce this barrier, two major standards have emerged: the Global Standards One (GS1) Electronic Product Code Information Service (EPCIS) and the FIWARE Next Generation Services Interface (NGSI). However, the two standards differ not only in the data encoding but also in the underlying philosophy of representing IoT data; namely, EPCIS is event-based, and NGSI is entity-based. Interoperability between FIWARE and EPCIS is essential for system integration. This paper presents OLIOT Mediation Gateway, now one of the incubated generic enablers offered by the FIWARE Foundation, that realizes the required interoperability between NGSI and EPCIS systems. It also demonstrates the applicability and feasibility of the Gateway by applying it to a real-life case study of integrating transparency systems used in a meat supply chain

Spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture over Ethiopia and its teleconnections with remote and local drivers

Soil moisture is one of the essential climate variables with a potential impact on local climate variability. Despite the importance of soil moisture, studies on soil moisture characteristics in Ethiopia are less documented. In this study, the spatiotemporal variability of Ethiopian soil moisture (SM) has been characterized, and its local and remote influential driving factors are investigated. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and KMeans clustering algorithm have been employed to classify the large domain into homogeneous zones. Complex maximum covariance analysis (CMCA) is applied to evaluate the covariability between SM and selected local and remote variables such as rainfall (RF), evapotranspiration (ET), and sea surface temperature (SST). Inter-comparison among SM datasets highlight that the FLDAS dataset better depicts the country’s SM spatial and temporal distribution (i.e., a correlation coefficient r=0.95 , rmsd=0.04m3m−3 with observations). Results also indicate that regions located in northeastern Ethiopia are drier irrespective of the season (JJAS, MAM, and OND) considered. In contrast, the western part of the country consistently depicted a wetter condition in all seasons. During summer (JJAS), the soil moisture variability is characterized by a strong east–west spatial contrast. The highest and lowest soil moisture values were observed across the country’s central western and eastern parts, respectively. Furthermore, analyses indicate that interannual variability of SM is dictated substantially by RF, though the impact on some regions is weaker. It is also found that ET likely drives the SM in the eastern part of Ethiopia due to a higher atmospheric moisture demand that ultimately invokes changes in surface humidity and rainfall. A composite analysis based on the extreme five wettest and driest SM years revealed a similar spatial distribution of wet SM with positive anomalies of RF across the country and ET over the southern regions. Remote SSTs are also found to have a significant influence on SM distribution. In particular, equatorial central Pacific and western Indian oceans SST anomalies are predominant factors for spatiotemporal SM variations over the country. Major global oceanic indices: Oceanic Nino Index (ONI), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Pacific warm pool (PACWARMPOOL), and Pacific Decadal Oscillations (PDO) are found to be closely associated with the SM anomalies in various parts of the country. The associationship between these remote SST anomalies and local soil moisture is via large-scale atmospheric circulations that are linked to regional factors such as precipitation and temperature anomalies.publishedVersio