Fiscal Policy and Debt Dynamic: Evidence from Tanzania

This paper investigates fiscal policy and debt dynamics in Tanzania by using time series data for the period 1970 to 2011. The methodologies adopted include unit root tests, cointegration tests and fiscal reaction function. The three approach employed validate similar results that fiscal policy for Tanzania has not been sustainable for the annual sample period 1970-2011. The unit root tests report that the data generating process of debt follow non-stationary process. Alternatively, in testing the null  hypothesis of no-cointegration, our results show that there is weak  cointegration between government expenditure and revenue which make fiscal policy to be unsustainable. In supporting the ensuing findings, the fiscal reaction function provides evidence that there is negative linear relationship between primary balance and debt relative to GDP. This is additional evidence that fiscal policy has not been sustainable, and the government is advised to take corrective measures to counteract the accumulation of debt.Keywords: -Ponzi game, Inter-temporal budget constraint, Transversality condition, Fiscal reaction function

TEACHERS’ CONCEPTION TOWARDS THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A TOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THE CASE OF DODOMA MUNICIPALITY, TANZANIA

The study sought to assess teachers’ conception towards the use of social networks as a tool for professional development in Tanzania government secondary schools in Dodoma Municipality. Thus, the specific objectives of this study were to assess teachers’ conception on the available social networks opportunities that can support professional development, and to examine the limitations that hinder teachers’ use of social networks available for professional development. The paper is guided by the social-cognitive theory which stresses that learning takes place in a social environment. A cross-sectional  research design  was  used  to  collect  data  that  involved 84  teachers  from  ten secondary schools, six heads of schools, three quality assurers and one respondent from District education office. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and quantitative data were descriptively analyzed through SPSS Version 20 of which the mean score was obtained. The survey results indicated teachers had positive conceptions towards the use of social networks as a tool for professional development. Furthermore, the findings revealed that teachers faced several challenges which include lack training on how to integrate SNs in TPD and high costs of the internet bandwidth, just to mention a few. Finally, the researchers recommend that, teachers should be exposed to professional development programmes that empower them to develop various pedagogical skills and understand a variety of learning environment that can improve their practice through collaborative online social networks. Again, teachers should be provided with opportunities to use the available SNs to create professional learning networks in their local context and globally.  Article visualizations

A Case of Celiacomesenteric Trunk in a Tanzanian Man.

Variation in the branching patterns of the three major arteries that supply the digestive system may occur due to different embryological mechanisms. The present case report describes the celiac artery and the superior mesenteric artery originating from the abdominal aorta through a common trunk. The celiac artery in turn gave rise to the splenic artery and a common trunk for common hepatic and left gastric artery. The superior and inferior mesenteric arteries had normal branching patterns. Awareness of these variations on the part of the surgical team before surgery can help avoid iatrogenic arterial injury

Hydrogeophysical characterisation of shallow coastal aquifers in the Western Cape, South Africa

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Environ & Water Science)Coastal aquifers present a key groundwater resource for freshwater supply in many coastal zones of Africa, and its availability is largely driven by the physical hydrogeological properties. An understanding of the aquifer properties in coastal areas is fundamental in that these aquifers present unique resource largely controlled to a very large extent by its geological and hydrological features and process. This study thus analysed information of resistivity variation of formations, drilling samples, water levels and slug test data, in an attempt to characterise aquifers in the coastal region of the Heuningnes Catchment, Western Cape. This was in an effort to address the issue of limited knowledge on key hydrogeological properties of aquifers in coastal regions. Resistivity survey results indicated that the shallow aquifers in the study area were limited in extent, had a poor potential, with resistant layers occurring below shallow, high conductive formations. The long profile of the wellpoints revealed that the area is underlain by various layers of material of consolidated to unconsolidated form. The hard rocks formations are overlain by sandy materials of fluvial origin, and clay material with marine deposits (mollusc shells). This findings were in agreement with the results of the resistivity models. In addition, the findings indicated that the saturation thickness of the aquifers was also small. The findings of the study on aquifer properties indicated that, hydraulic conductivity (K), transmissivity (T) and borehole yields were generally poor and small. Estimates of K and T ranged from 0.0030 to 0.2856 m/day and from 0.0008 to10.993 m2/day accordingly, while average borehole yields were at 0.55 l/s, with productivity of the aquifers classified as low to moderate. These were indicative of a low permeability environment, with low yielding formations. An updated conceptual groundwater flow model developed in this study, revealed a rather compacted groundwater flow systems, in which local and intermediate flows were dominant. These findings in this study support the view that aquifers in coastal regions were predominantly characterised by shallow depth, patchy distribution and low potential

ESTABLISHMENT OF BOREHOLE DRILLING PROJECT FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISYESYE VILLAGE, ITEZI WARD, MBEYA CITY COUNCIL, MBEYA

A dissertation on establishment of bore hole drilling project for sustainable water supply is a result of the community needs Assessments (CNA) conducted in Isyesye Village, Itezi Ward, Mbeya City council, Mbeya. The conceptual framework was tested through a survey of 65 community members, 20 males and 45 females in Isyesye area at Itezi ward Mbeya City Mbeya. The survey methodologies used were both theoretical and empirical literature review, site visit, physical observation, meetings and discussions. Questionnaire survey and interview were also conducted. Results revealed that all the respondents were facing water shortage problem and all of them were willing to contribute in cash and in kind. Various social economic problem associated with water shortage which were revealed through survey were water related diseases, high work load and burden of water to women, poor hygiene at primary schools and disturbance of carrying water from home to school and low income due to high water expenditure. The study recommends capacity building to community leaders so as to gain the skills and resources, which will enable them to mobilize the community for their own economic development. The results indicated that almost all the recourses are available at the community but the main problem is lack of mobilization among the community leaders and local government leaders. The proposal prepared as a result of this study will enable the government village leaders to emphasize the borehole construction which will supply water to community members and therefore reduce poverty and diseases in the community

GIS Based Environmental Cost−Benefit Analysis of Built Environment at Dar es Salaam Coastline Metropolitan

The hypothesis of global human population growth underpins fast urbanization of global landscape in various regions. Such trends promote built environment expansion, as such the desire for more and comfortable infrastructural place and space value for work, recreation and residence. Putting in place transport and social services connectivity between places and spaces altogether account for the loss of ecological resources. Inspite of this, little information is available on net ecological value benefits of built environment, in particular, on the rapidly urbanizing metropolitan of Dar es Salaam coastline. The study applied geographical information system techniques on Landsat satellite imageries for landuse landcover changes extraction; and globally recognized ecological indexes for valuation of ecosystem services. Furthermore, the use of annual population growth rate and real estate expansion rate underlined annual modulation on input variables hence input data for the subsequent years through the study period. Nonetheless, despite rising human population, expanding built environment and declining vegetation cover experienced along the coastline of Dar es Salaam metropolitan, the study findings displayed general declining trend of net ecological value benefits of built environment with an overall positive net ecological value benefits . This suggests that the metropolitan of Dar es Salaam coastline is still resilient to built–up environment development initiatives

Kinematics and coordination of moth flies walking on smooth and rough surfaces

The moth fly, Clogmia albipunctata, is a common synanthropic insect with a worldwide range that lives in nearly any area with moist, decaying organic matter. These habitats comprise both smooth, slippery substrates (e.g., bathroom drains) and heterogeneous, bumpy ground (e.g., soil in plant pots). By using terrain of varying levels of roughness, we focus specifically on how substrate roughness at the approximate size scale of the organism affects kinematics and coordination in adult moth flies. Finally, we compare and contrast our characterizations of locomotion in C. albipunctata with previous work of insect walking in naturalistic environments

Reducing microscopy-based malaria misdiagnosis in a low-resource area of Tanzania

Misdiagnosis of malaria is a major problem in Africa leading not only to incorrect individual level treatment, but potentially the acceleration of the spread of drug resistance in low-transmission areas. In this paper we report on the outcomes of a simple intervention that utilized a social entrepreneurship approach (SEA) to reduce misdiagnosis associated with hospital-based microscopy of malaria in a low-transmission area of rural Tanzania. A pre-post assessment was conducted on patients presenting to the hospital outpatient department with malaria and non-malaria like symptoms in January 2009 (pre-intervention) and June 2009 (post-intervention). All participants were asked a health seeking behavior questionnaire and blood samples were taken for local and quality control microscopy. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to determine magnitude of misdiagnosis with local microscopy pre- versus- post intervention. Local microscopy pre-intervention specificity was 29.5% (95% CI = 21.6% – 38.4%) whereas the post intervention specificity was 68.6% (95% CI = 60.2% - 76.2%). Both pre and post intervention sensitivity were difficult to determine due to an unexpected low number of true positive cases. The proportion of participants misdiagnosed pre-intervention was 70.2% (95%CI = 61.3%-78.0%) as compared to 30.6% (95%CI = 23.2%–38.8%) post-intervention. This resulted in a 39.6% reduction in misdiagnosis of malaria at the local hospital. The magnitude of misdiagnosis for the pre-intervention participants was 5.3 (95%CI = 3.1–9.3) that of the post-intervention participants. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that a simple intervention can meaningfully reduce the magnitude of microscopy-based misdiagnosis of malaria for those individuals seeking treatment for uncomplicated malaria. We anticipate that this intervention will facilitate a valuable and sustainable change in malaria diagnosis at the local hospital

Instilling a cultutre of saving in South Africa

South Africa is pro-consumption and as a result, the level of saving has declined. This research focused on savings by household sector. The study started by assessing the reasons for the high consumption culture and a nonexistent savings culture in South Africa. The second question was to review the initiatives by government, corporate sector (especially financial institutions), and the South African Savings Institute, to encourage savings culture within South Africa. The methodologies followed were an unstructured interview with an industry expert, focus group and survey. The research concludes by highlighting the need for education on saving at basic levels, the initiatives by government to cater for all different LSMs.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte