Does Relative Position Matter in Poor Societies? Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Rural Ethiopia

We investigated attitudes toward positionality among rural farmers in northern Ethiopia, using a tailored two-part survey experiment. On average, we found positional concerns neither in income per se, nor in income from aid projects among the farmers. These results support the claim that positional concerns are correlated with absolute level of income of a country.Ethiopia, relative income, positional concern

Health and Welfare Assessment of Working Donkeys in and around Axum Districts, Tigray Regional State Northern Ethiopia

Across-sectional study was conducted from October 2011to April 2011 with the objective of assessing the health and welfare status of working donkeys in and around Axum. A total of 384 donkeys were subjected to direct animal based assessment. Out of the total 384 donkeys, 56(14.59%) of the donkeys had poor body condition score that showed a statistically significant different (p<0.05) and 34.9% of them demonstrated abnormal demeanor. Additionally, 7.81% of the examined donkeys had varying degrees of lameness which was significantly associated (p <0.05) with the presences of wound on the leg of animals. 29.69% of the examined animals  were with either healed or active wounds dominated by back sore, older and thin donkeys were prone to develop back sore (p<0.05). Moreover, other skin problems (3.125%), abnormal mucous membrane (3.12%), ophthalmic problems (3.90%), parasitic disease (2.1%) were also encountered. Out of the 384 animals, 80(20.8%) donkeys had varying degrees of dehydration. Indirect assessment about the welfare problem of donkeys demonstrated that poor attitude to donkeys (24.16%), limitation of access to health care (21.6%) and lack of vaccination compared to other animals (11%), among others. As a remedy, the community suggested awareness creation for the owners, provision of feed and water, improvement of access to veterinary care equivalent to other animals. It is, therefore, recommended that public awareness toward the value. Management and health care provision for working donkeys should be enhanced in the study area. Keywords:  Donkey welfare, Axum 

Swedish FES-related policy

Paper 1 There is a trend towards intensification of forest use in many European countries, fuelled by an increased demand for forest products and services, driven by the global population, income growth and an increasing per capita consumption of forest products and forest ecosystem services, and politically promoted by a shift towards a bio-based economy. Based on the assumption that decisions on forest management relate to synergies—e.g. using forest residues for bioenergy and climate mitigation—synergies should be identified and promoted. Most countries have national legislations to safeguard the provision of forest ecosystem services. However, it is unclear to how legislations for different ecosystem services are integrated. The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish policy objectives and regulatory frameworks regarding climate, energy, nature conservation and forest policy are integrated, and if environmental aspects are prioritized. A qualitative thematic analysis of Swedish policy objectives and the regulatory framework was performed, guided by theories on policy integration and environmental policy integration. Policy is traced from the national to the local forest management level, where synergies and trade-offs in achieving objectives are analysed interdisciplinarily. There are several conflicting objectives between the policy areas which could hinder goal achievement on a national level. The results indicate that only nature conservation policies achieve both a high level of integration and strong environmental policy integration.Det märks en trend av intensifierad skogsanvändning i många europeiska länder, driven av en ökad efterfråga på skogliga produkter. En växande befolkningsmängd, i kombination med en höjd levnadsstandard gör att efterfrågan på skogliga produkter växer. Det är pådrivet av en strävan mot en grön, biobaserad ekonomi. Baserat på antagandet att beslut om skoglig förvaltning styrs av synergier, eg. skogliga restprodukter kan användas som bioenergi för en minskad klimatpåverkan, bör dessa synergier identifieras och främjas. De flesta länder har idag en nationell lagstiftning för att styra tillhandahållandet av skogliga ekosystemtjänster. Det är dock oklart hur regelverk och mål för skogliga ekosystemtjänster är integrerade. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur Svenska nationella mål och regelverk inom policyområdena klimat, energi, naturvård och skog är integrerade, och i vilken utsträckning miljöaspekter prioriteras. En kvalitativ analys av svenska politiska mål och regelverk kopplade till skogliga ekosystemtjänster har utförs, med stöd i teorier om politisk integrering (PI) och miljöpolitisk integrering (EPI). Regelverk och strategier undersöks, från en nationell nivå, ner till lokala policys, där synergier och avvägningar för att uppnå mål analyseras. Det finns flera motstridiga mål mellan policyområdena, vilket försvårar måluppfyllnaden på nationell nivå. Resultaten indikerar att endast policyområdet naturvård uppnår en hög grad av att prioritera miljöaspekter.Paper 2 Sweden has a long tradition of forestry and forest policy, with the first Forestry Act in 1903 aiming to secure forest regeneration. The Forestry Act was revised multiple times during the twentieth century, ensuring sustainable use of the forest resource. However, until the 1990s, the main focus of forest use was production. As the demand for different goods and services from the forest grew (e.g. climate mitigation, bio-based products and energy, recreation, biodiversity), the concept of forest ecosystem services (FES) was introduced when discussing forest use. With the extensive revision of the Forestry Act in the 1990s, the challenge of balancing forest production and environmental issues came into focus. This resulted in e.g. two main goals of forest production and environmental issues, set to be considered equally important. With this, the Swedish forest policy increased the freedom under responsibility to achieve the two objectives. This meant that the responsibility to achieve goals such as a sustainable forests management, making trade-offs and synergies of FES became even more the responsibility of forest owners. With the further increasing needs of FES, and an increasing number of stakeholders, the forest became connected to several different activities, resulting in goal conflicts. Looking at forest policy in Sweden, there are several national objectives regarding the provision of FES. In this paper, we study the factors that affect forest actors’ policy responses and land use strategies, and how these actors assess trade-offs and synergies regarding the usage of FES. The results show several trade-offs in the usage of FES according to the actors. The regulations need to be clearer to ensure that the objectives set for FES and sustainability can be reached and implemented, and to safeguard the provision of FES.Sverige har en lång tradition av skogsbruk och således skogspolitik, initialt med den första skogsvårdslagen från 1903, som syftade till att säkra den skogliga föryngringen. Skogsvårdslagen reviderades ett flertal gånger under 1900-talet, för att säkerställa ett hållbart brukande av skogsresursen. Fram till 1990-talet var skogsbrukets primära fokus på produktion. I samband med att efterfrågan på olika, diversifierade varor och tjänster från skogen växte, e.g. flertalet biobaserade produkter utöver sågtimmer och massaved, bioenergi, rekreation och biologisk mångfald, myntades begreppet skogliga ekosystemtjänster när man diskuterade skogsbruk. Med den omfattande revideringen av skogsvårdslagen på 1990-talet stod utmaningen att balansera produktion och miljöfrågor i fokus. Det resulterade bland annat i två likställda huvudmål, ett produktionsmål och ett miljömål. Det skapade en större ”frihet under ansvar” för skogsägarna att säkerställa att de två likställda målen uppfylls. Det innebar även att ansvaret för att uppnå mål, som hållbar skogsförvaltning, att göra avvägningar och synergier av FES, lades ännu mer på skogsägarna. Den ökade efterfrågan på skogliga ekosystemtjänster, och de ökade antalet aktörer och intressenter skapar intresse- och målkonflikter. Den svenska skogspolicyn innehåller ett stort antal mål rörande tillhandahållandet av skogliga ekosystemtjänster. I denna studie undersöks vilka faktorer som påverkar skogliga aktörers förståelse för, och användning av nationell skogspolicy, samt vilka synergier och avvägningar de upplever sig behöva göra beträffande nyttjandet av skogliga ekosystemtjänster. Resultaten visar på att aktörerna upplever konflikter i nyttjandet av skogliga ekosystemtjänster, och att regelverken behöver förtydligas för att underlätta stödet från, och implementeringen av dem. Detta för att skapa bättre förutsättningar för att nationella mål rörande skogliga ekosystemtjänster ska kunna uppnås, och säkerställa tillhandahållandet av skogliga ekosystemtjänster

The role and practice of secondary school principals as an instructional leader: The case of Kamashi zone secondary schools

The main purpose of this study was to assess the role and practices of secondary school principals as an instructional leader. To accomplish this purpose, descriptive survey design was used which is supplemented by qualitative research to enrich data. The study was carried out in seven randomly selected secondary schools of Kamashi zone. Then all 93 teachers in the sample schools included using census method. All 7unit leaders, 7 principals, 5 Cluster supervisors 7 Parent Teacher Associations, 5 Woreda supervisors were also involved in the study for interviewing through census and purposive sampling techniques respectively. Questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection. Document analysis & interview were also utilized to substantiate the data obtained through the questionnaire. Frequency distributions & percentage were employed in analyzing and reporting the results. Qualitative data obtained through document analysis & interview was analyzed using narration. Findings revealed that Kamashi zone secondary school principals did not successfully implemented the eight major instructional leadership roles under the study. Accordingly, principals have shown weak performance in defining & communicate school mission; managing curriculum& instruction; instructional supervision; instructional learning climate; monitoring student progress; and promote teachers professional growth etc..The major factors that affected the roles of the school principals are lack of leadership and management skills, insufficient experience in principal ship, workload, less parental involvement and lack of support from WEO, ZED, and REB. Finally based on the findings and conclusions of the study recommendations forwarded that WED, ZED and REB should regularly attend trainings organized by colleges, universities and professional bodies for principals to acquire more knowledge about their role as instructional leaders and principals should committed and competent to implement properly their roles as instructional leaders.Jimma Universit

Burnout among primary healthcare workers during implementation of integrated mental healthcare in rural Ethiopia: a cohort study

Background The short-term course of burnout in healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries has undergone limited evaluation. The aim of this study was to assess the short-term outcome of burnout symptoms in the context of implementation of a new mental health programme in a rural African district. Methods We followed up 145 primary healthcare workers (HCWs) working in 66 rural primary healthcare (PHC) facilities in Southern Ethiopia, where a new integrated mental health service was being implemented. Burnout was assessed at baseline, i.e. when the new service was being introduced, and after 6 months. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and instruments measuring professional satisfaction and psychosocial factors. Generalised estimating equations (GEE) were used to assess the association between change in the core dimension of burnout (emotional exhaustion) and relevant work-related and psychosocial factors. Results A total of 136 (93.8%) of HCWs completed and returned their questionnaires at 6 months. There was a non-significant reduction in the burnout level between the two time points. In GEE regression models, high depression symptom scores (adjusted mean difference (aMD) 0.56, 95% CI 0.29, 0.83, p < 0.01), experiencing two or more stressful life events (aMD 1.37, 95% CI 0.06, 2.14, p < 0.01), being a community health extension worker vs. facility-based HCW (aMD 5.80, 95% CI 3.21, 8.38, p < 0.01), perceived job insecurity (aMD 0.73, 95% CI 0.08, 1.38, p = 0.03) and older age (aMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.09, 0.63, p = 0.01) were significantly associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion longitudinally. Conclusion In the short-term, there was no significant change in the level of burnout in the context of adding mental healthcare to the workload of HCWs. However, longer term and larger scale studies are required to substantiate this. This evidence can serve as baseline information for an intervention development to enhance wellbeing and reduce burnout

Attitudes toward Uncertainty among the Poor: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

We looked at risk and ambiguity attitudes among Ethiopian peasants in one of the poorest regions of the world and compared their attitudes to a standard Western university student sample elicited by the same decision task. Strong risk aversion and ambiguity aversion were found with the Ethiopian peasants. Ambiguity aversion was similar for peasants and students, but peasants were more risk averse. Testing for the effect of socio-economic variables on uncertainty attitudes showed that poor health increased both risk and ambiguity aversion.risk attitudes, ambiguity attitudes, poverty, cultural differences

The Causes of Glass Ceiling in Ethiopia in Profit And Non- Profit Government Organizations – the Case of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the National Bank of Ethiopia - Head Offices

More explicit understanding of women capability to be on higher level management position in an organization is very much important, but it is clearly seen that the women are undermined to be in such higher level position by different factors. This paper describes the causes of Glass Ceiling, i.e, the barrier of different factors that hinders women to be in higher level management position and to make recommendation on how to break these Glass Walls. The data was collected using open ended and closed ended questionnaires. The first one was prepared in Amharic and protested for all women employee who are 1st Degree holder and above in each three for - profit and for non - profit government organizations and the other was prepared in English and protested only for the top level and middle level managers of these organizations. From the research it is found that the causes of glass ceiling is significant on the Ethiopian for profit and non -profit government organization.Jimma Universit

Functional impairment among people diagnosed with depression in primary healthcare in rural Ethiopia:a comparative cross-sectional study

Background: There have been few studies examining the functioning of clinically-diagnosed people with depression in primary healthcare (PHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with functional impairment among people diagnosed with depression in PHC in Ethiopia as part of implementation of a task-shared model of mental healthcare.Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted. As part of the Programme for Improving Mental health carE (PRIME), PHC clinicians were trained to diagnose depression using an adapted version of the World Health Organization (WHO) mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). A total of 2038 adult consecutive PHC attendees were screened for depressive symptoms using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Those who scored five or above on the PHQ-9 (n = 131) were assessed by PHC workers. Of these, 92 were diagnosed to have depression ("PHC diagnosed cases") and the remaining 39 people were PHQ positive but considered not to have depression ("non-diagnosed controls"). PHC diagnosed cases were also compared to a community representative sample of adult healthy controls (n = 197; "community controls"). The 12-item version of the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS-2.0) was used to assess functional impairment. Multivariable negative binomial regression models were fitted to examine the association of demographic, social, economic and clinical characteristics with functional impairment.Results: No significant difference in functional impairment was found between diagnosed cases and non-diagnosed controls. PHC diagnosed cases were found to have higher depressive symptom severity and suicidality, but lower social support compared to non-diagnosed controls (P &lt; 0.05). In the multivariable model, greater functional impairment was associated with higher depressive symptoms (RR = 1.04; 95% CI 1.02, 1.05) and lower social support (RR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.95, 0.98). Diagnosed cases were found to have higher functional impairment compared to community controls (RR = 1.91; 95% CI 1.74, 2.09).Conclusion: In this study, PHC clinicians identified cases of depression with high symptom burden, suicidality and functional impairment. These findings support current initiatives to scale-up mental health services at the PHC level; and indicate that social support is an important target for intervention.</p

Comparison of different Kato templates for quantitative faecal egg count of intestinal helminth parasites

IntroductionEstimating the intensity of infection is crucial for. estimating morbidity due to intestinal helminth parasites (1) .The intensity of infection of most intestinal helminth parasites is indirectly estimated by quantitative faecal egg count which, in turn, is used for estimating the worm burden (2). Along this line, the quantitative Kato's thick smear method is the most widely used because of its simplicity , low cost, adaptability to the field and adequate sensitivity (3). However , because of the various modifications that are available (50mg, 41.7mg and 20mg templates) comparison of results have been quite difficult. The modifications are based on variations in the thickness and diameter of the template which, in turn, determines the amount of the faecal matter delivered on the slide