Hydro-climatic Variability and Trend Analysis of Modjo River Watershed, Awash River Basin of Ethiopia

Climate change and variability is expected to trigger changes in temperature and precipitation series. This study aimed at assessing variability and trend of hydro-climatic variables at Modjo River watershed. Long-term climate data of 5 representative stations with in the watershed (1981-2010) and streamflow data of Modjo gauging station (1983 -2010) were used. Rainfall variability was analyzed using Coefficient of variation (CV), Precipitation concentration index (PCI) and Standardized anomaly index (SAI). Climate trends were evaluated using Sen’s slope estimator and Mann–Kendall trend test methods. The study revealed Most of the stations showed low variation in annual rainfall (CV% <20) while the main (Kiremt) and short (Belg) season rainfall exhibited CV ranging from low to high. Both annual and seasonal rainfall showed a non-significant trend at all stations for the past 30 years. However, majority of stations showed an increasing trend in annual daily average temperature ranging from 0.2 to 0.6ºC per decade. Following increases in temperature and the subsequent rise in evapotranspiration, streamflow has shown a high significant declining trend. The temporal decline in streamflow at Modjo watershed could likely affect downstream Koka dam water reserve. Thus, any watershed management strategy that can optimize water conservation for sustainable crop production and option that can improve flow to the reserve is vital. Keywords: Climate change, Climate variability, Hydro-climate, trend, Modjo river watershed DOI: 10.7176/JEES/11-9-04 Publication date:September 30th 202

Success Factors for Integrating Digital Technologies in the Norwegian Banking Industry - A Case Study of Sparebanken Vest

This thesis investigates the factors contributing to the successful integration of digital technologies within the Norwegian banking industry, focusing on Sparebanken Vest. The study is driven by the rapid evolution of digital technologies and their growing significance in banking. The master’s thesis addresses the key factors for succeeding with the integration of digital technology, through examination of drivers, challenges, digital maturity, and information system success models. Through a case study, data were collected from three informants in Sparebanken Vest. The research is based on three in-depth interviews, with informants holding different positions in the bank, providing us with insights from various perspectives, which has been beneficial for the study. Previous studies highlight the need for further research in the field, given the limited research conducted on digital transformation. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the digital transformation process as a holistic journey, as well as increase understanding of the factors that contribute to a successful integration. The study aims to answer the following research question: “What factors contribute to the successful integration of digital technologies within the Norwegian banking industry?” The study suggests that digital transformation is driven by both internal and external factors, including technological advancements, customer expectations, and the need for organizational development. Furthermore, the study identified some success factors for Sparebanken Vest to succeed with digital transformation. These factors build upon the importance of a holistic approach that incorporates supportive leadership, a strong organizational culture, effective technology integration, and active employee engagement. These elements collectively drive the organization towards achieving digital maturity and maintaining a competitive edge in the banking industry. Keywords: Digital Transformation, Digital Maturity, Information System Success, Leadership

Assessment of knowledge and practice of gynecology/obstetrics residents and midwives towards essential newborn care At Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Background: A time-bound and chronologically ordered series of medical interventions that a baby receives at birth are referred to as the "essential newborn protocol." This period of immediate care is critical for the babies' subsequent well-being and adaptation. However, there are still reports of health workers lacking good knowledge and practice with newborn care, which was not investigated in our hospital. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in TASH with 114 selected gynecology and obstetrics residents and midwives. Using the SPSS version 25 software package, continuous data were described using the mean and standard deviation, while categorical data were de-scribed using frequency and percentage. To identify factors related to knowledge and practice, multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used. Result: Eighty-eight residents and 26 midwives were included. Nearly a quarter (24.6%) of participants had good knowledge about essential newborn care. Regarding knowledge level by profession, 31.8% of the residents had good knowledge of essential newborn care, and all the midwives had poor knowledge. The odds of having good knowledge of ENC were 96.3% lower for first-year residents and 90.5% lower for second-year residents as compared to year four. Untrained participants had an 84 percent lower chance of having good knowledge of essential newborn care than trained participants. Regarding practice level by profession, more than two-thirds of 68 (77.3%) residents and 21 (80.8%) midwives had sufficient skill in essential newborn care. Conclusion: A substantial number of healthcare providers lacked essential newborn care knowledge and practice. The availability of service or on-the-job training, as well as the year of residency, were factors influencing newborn care knowledge. In-service training, encouraging supervision, and provisions should be reinforced to improve newborn care activities

Women\u27s Entrepreneurship Development In Ethiopia A Case Study Of Women in Self Employment (WISE)

The objective of the study is to assess the level of effectiveness and impact of a civil society organization in addressing challenges of women’s entrepreneurs in the informal sector in Ethiopia, particularly in the city of Addis Ababa in their efforts to grow their businesses. A qualitative case study of a civil society organization named Women in Self Employment Organization (WISE) was used. Desk reviews of the organization’s strategic plans and reports including evaluation reports are made. Questionnaire was administered to the organization’s executive director as a context builder. This is critically examined against theories on gender and development particularly Moser’s theoretical framework, a study made by ILO on Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Development Interventions for Women Entrepreneurs and lastly a study commissioned by International Center on Research for Women on Business Development Services for Women’s Business Growth to compare practices and assess its effectiveness. Finally, organizational effectiveness is examined. The result of the study found that WISE’s integrated intervention approach mainly through economic empowerment was highly effective, has changed the socio economic status of its targets both at the household level and the community. The principles and its approaches are in conformity with studies on effectiveness of interventions on entrepreneurship development and gender and development theories

Role of informal institutions in Ready-to-Use-Food (RUF) supply chains in Ethiopia

Ready-to-Use food (RUF) product are nutrient dense foods given to individuals that are suffering from acute malnutrition. Currently 5.8 million children suffer from malnutrition in Ethiopia and the timely and efficient delivery of ready-to-use food products has a significant impact on the lives of these children. However, challenges exist in both the local and international production and delivery of RUF products. One of the challenges is the high transaction costs that exist in the supply chains. Transaction costs are the costs associated with searching for information regarding a product or its market, negotiating a deal and enforcing the terms of the deal. In situations where transaction costs are high due to missing or weak markets and institution, people have relied on different mechanisms including social capital (trust and information sharing) to deal with these costs and carry out business and transactions. The purpose of the study is to examine the role institutions, in particular informal institutions, play in addressing these challenges and improving the supply chain for Ready-to-use food products and chickpea marketing (which is a potential ingredient in new RUF formulations). The institutions examined in this study are mainly the non-market institutions like trust and information sharing that build social capital. Data was collected through surveys and interviews from RUF supply chain actors in Ethiopia. These include chickpea producers, RUTF producers, major demanders (humanitarian organizations and governments), transporters, beneficiaries (feeding centers and hospitals). These agents’ use of informal institutions and trust level during transactions with each other is assessed. Interviews with key informants in the value chain in Ethiopia were conducted to further inform the analysis of institutions in supply chain organization and identify areas of high transaction cost. The transaction costs that are present in the supply chains were further identified through focus group discussions with farmers and a farmer survey. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze these data. The structure equation model (SEM) was used to quantitatively analyze the data obtained from farmer survey. The study also found that trust between trading partners reduces the time farmers spent negotiating price with buyers. Trust between trading partners also increased the marketed surplus of farmers. Information sharing among trade partners positively affects trust between partners. The study finds that institutions facilitate chickpea marketing through improving trust and information sharing among trading partners. The results indicate that membership in informal institutions strengthens the trust and information sharing between trading partners and this in turn reduces the transaction costs associated with chickpea trade. In addition, the current performance of the RUF supply chain in Ethiopia is found to be relatively efficient with some issues in the availability of local and imported inputs and the failure to comply with quality standards. These results imply that existing, informal institutions in developing countries can be as effective as formal institutions so effort should be put towards their development and improvement. The RUF supply chain can also be further improved by increasing the capacity of local manufacturers to increase production and their capacity to adhere to quality standards. Stabilizing input markets to make inputs to RUF production more consistently available will also improve the production capacity and improve the price and accessibility of RUF products

A Psychoanalytical Reading of Jordi Sierra i Fabra’s Kafka and the Traveling Doll

Drawing principally on Freudian classical psychoanalysis and Nathaniel Branden’s concept of self-esteem along with Susan Forward’s notion of toxic parents and Barbara De Angelis’s idea of emotional programming, this paper aims to cast light on Jordi Sierra i Fabra’s Kafka and the Traveling Doll (2006). According to Freud, the psyche consists of three parts the Id, Ego, and the Superego, and core issues define our being fundamental. In addition, this article uses modern psychoanalysis to examine characters’ behavior, especially Kafka. It will reveal that Kafka suffers from low self-esteem, which influences his behavior throughout the novel. It will also suggest that Kafka’s traumatic experiences in childhood psychologically incapacitate him. In addition, the article highlights and discusses several passages from the novel according to psychoanalytic theories, focusing on Kafka, Dora, Elsi, and the doll.

Hinduism in Chicago: A Religion of Asia Study

Intent and mission is an essence for this organization. The mission of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is to uplift individual growth by implementing values, spirituality, and skill development. They prioritize fostering harmony amongst diverse communities and providing holistic support and humanitarian aid. For this reason, this community research explores the relationship between Hinduism and its community. Through interviews, temple exploration, and hands on learning, we can understand new views from a significant world religion

Deploying application modules over multiple clouds

Deploying and managing, in an efficient and adaptive way, complex multi-service applications over technologically dissimilar cloud environments is one of the problems that have emerged with the cloud revolution. In this work, we have studied suitable techniques to determine the distribution of application modules onto multiple available clouds while respecting QoS (Quality of Service) properties and technology requirements specified for individual application modules. For this purpose, we have proposed parametric allocation algorithm based on three selection criteria, i.e., Cost, QoS and Hybrid (Cost and QoS). In order to maximize the performance of the whole application—when the performance of the whole application is dominated by the performance of communicating modules—we have proposed the allocation of intensively communicating modules on a single provider using the same selection criteria (Cost, QoS and Hybrid)

A Giant Egg-like symptomatic Loose Body in the Peritoneal Cavity: A Case Report

Background: Peritoneal loose bodies are rare lesions that are usually found as an incidental finding during abdominal surgery. Large loose bodies, measuring more than 5 cm, are rare and only a few cases are reported in the literature. Peritoneal loose bodies are usually infarcted appendices epiploicae, which become detached and appear as a peritoneal loose body in the abdominal cavity.Case Presentation: We report here the first case, in the local Ethiopian context, of a giant “egg-like” loose peritoneal body measuring 7 × 6 cm found in a 50-year-old man who presented with a cramping abdominal pain and features of abdominal obstruction. The current hypothesis as regards these bodies and the diagnostic challenges is discussed.Conclusion: Small peritoneal loose bodies are common but giant and symptomatic ones’, like the one discussed here, are very rare and a diagnostic challenge. And, in the context of intestinal obstruction, a high index of suspicion is needed in order to diagnose them