War and the debt burden in the Great Lakes region

Paper for a conference organised by The Department of Political Science Makerere University, held in Entebbe 10-12 July 2000.The task of this paper is to advance the view that the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) of Great Lakes Region would do better to endeavor and resolve political disharmony using peacemaking strategies rather than engaging in wars which are horribly expensive and largely counter-productive. Many African nations, as the case of the Great Lakes region illustrates, have a propensity to resort to war first and foremost and only remembering negotiated peace afterwards

Financial policies and performance of line managers in Universities in Uganda

This study analysed the effect of financial policies on the performance of line managers in Ugandan Universities. The field research was carried out in private and public universities. Every university had a financial policies so their line managers were expected to perform their duties effectively. The objectives of the study were to: assess the relationship between financial policies and departmental budgets; analyse the effect of budgets on the performance of line managers; and evaluate the influence of financial policy on the performance of line managers. The influence of financial policies on budgeting was established at 31%; the relationship between the budget function and performance was established at 18 %; and the effect of financial policies on the performance of line managers was established at 48%. The total causal effect was 54%. Therefore, the study recommended adoption of financial policies enhancing the performance of line managers.Keywords: Financial policy; Line managers, Performance managemen

Assessment of Radiation doses of Staff of Nuclear Medicine Unit at Mulago National Referral and Teaching Hospital

The paper presents the assessment of radiation doses of staff in the Nuclear Medicine Unit of Mulago National Referral and Teaching Hospital. The doses received by staff are compared with the dose limits recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Health Organization (WHO) and International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Doses of occupational workers in the Nuclear Medicine unit were monitored for a period of 5 months. Personal radiation doses were determined using two chip LiF TLD-100 dosimeter badges. The TLD badges and reader were calibrated using a standard 90-Strontium radiation source. The mean monthly effective radiation doses for the staff ranged from 0.78± 0.05mSv/month for nursing officers to 0.08± 0.05mSv/month for the nuclear medicine physician. These mean monthly effective radiation doses were projected to the annual effective radiation doses received by staff. The mean annual radiation doses were, 9.29±0.60mSv/yr for Nursing Officers, 2.79± 0.60mSv/yr for Medical Physicist and Radiographer, 6.46 ±0.60 mSv/yr for Radioimmunoassay Technologists, 1.71 ± 0.60 mSv/yr for Nuclear Medicine Technologist and 0.91±0.60 mSv/y for Nuclear Medicine Physician. The results of this study show that effective radiation doses received by the Nuclear Medicine staff of Mulago National Referral and Teaching Hospital are within the recommended dose limits for occupational workers. Key words: Effective Radiation Doses, Dose Limits, Occupational Worker, Thermoluminescent Dosimeter

A Model for Scaffolding Traditional Distance Learners in Africa for Constructivic Online Learning

How can we solve the lull in uptake and usage of online learning amongst traditional distance learners in Africa? Several online learning initiatives are taking place in Africa, but a critical assessment of their impact in terms of increasing access to higher education through distance learning indicates, in most cases, lack of value for money. A few distance learners use online learning management systems and other online resources in those institutions. How then do we interest and motivate the majority of traditional distance learners in Africa to adopt and uphold online learning practices? This paper provides a model that can be used to scaffold traditional distance learners in Africa for constructivistic online learning. The framework is built based on experiences derived from a survey of third year Bachelor of Commerce distance learning students at Makerere University who participated in an online learning pilot. The students were,for their very first time, asked to undertake three out of ten modules of an Information Technology course using an online learning mode. This course had previously been tutored using traditional face to face and print based materials methods. The three online modules were tutored using the BlackboardTM Learning Management System. The model is important for managing change from traditional distance learning delivery methodsto online delivery methods and ensuring that distance learners in Africa uphold online learning practices

Integration of ICT in teaching and learning: a review of theories

The integration of ICT in teaching and learning (IITL) brings about powerful learning environments and helps students to deal with knowledge in active, self-directed and constructive ways. Thus, all avenues to foster it should be explored. One such avenue is to isolate the factors underpinning IITL. In deriving these factors, several theories can be considered. This paper reviews six of these theories, namely, Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The review is chronological. Though the paper may be of interest to researchers working on innovation adoption, it arose as part of a study on higher education.Keywords: ICT; Pedagogy; Innovation adoptio

Harnessing the senga institution of adolescent sex education for the control of HIV and STDs in rural Uganda.

Senga (father's sister) is a traditional channel of communication about sexual behaviour for adolescent females in rural Uganda. We evaluated a modification of this approach as an intervention for HIV and STDs in a pilot study in two intervention villages and one control village over 12 months. Eleven adult women and three adolescent girls were chosen and trained to become sengas. Adolescent girls were encouraged to visit the sengas for sexual health information. Adult sengas saw an average of 21 clients; adolescent sengas saw five. Adolescent girls made 45% of visits. The expected reasons for attending the sengas accounted for 51% of visits. Knowledge about HIV/AIDS, sexual communication skills, consistent condom use and family planning service use increased in the intervention group of girls over the study period and compared to control girls. Symptomatic STDs decreased in the intervention group. This intervention was readily accepted by the community; members of all ages and both sexes attended for a wider variety of reasons than anticipated. Adolescent girls in the intervention group showed improved knowledge, attitudes and practices related to HIV and STDs. This promising intervention warrants further testing in larger studies and other settings

Acceptability and nutritional contribution of grain amaranth recipes in Uganda

Grain amaranth is a highly nutritious crop. It is high in proteins and its proteins are of high quality. Compared to common starchy staples, grain amaranth also contains higher levels calcium, zinc, iron as well as vitamins A, E and folic acid. Grain amaranth has also been reported to exhibit nutraceutical properties. Despite its high nutritional value and nutraceutical properties, grain amaranth consumption in Uganda is low. This study was undertaken to evaluate the acceptance of grain amaranth containing recipes and to determine their potential nutritional contribution. A 24 hourrecall was conducted on a sample of 420 respondents drawn from nine sub-counties, three from each of three districts: The results of the 24 hour recall were used to calculate nutritional quality indices. The 24 hour recall results showed low nutritional quality indices for zinc, calcium, niacin, thiamin and lipids. In addition, diets for 74% of respondents were low in iron. A total of 17 recipes containing grain amaranth and other locally produced foods were then developed with the aim of producing productswith enhanced zinc, calcium, niacin, thiamin, iron and energy content. Products prepared based on the developed recipes were subjected to  proximate analysis and sensory evaluation while the recipes were assessed by farmer groups for acceptability. All the products developed were found to be highly acceptable, all scoring .7.5 on nine point scale. The presence of grain amaranth in the products enhanced the nutrient content of most foods, when compared to the traditional recipes without grain amaranth. The most marked positive changes attributable to presence of grain amaranth in the food formulations were observed in the levels of Zn, Fe and Ca. Grain amaranth markedly enhanced the nutrient content for the starchy staple dishes which dominate diets of low income households in the communities studied. These findings show that if incorporated into locally consumed dishes, grain amaranth would fill some of the dietary nutrient gaps. The high acceptability of the products containing grain amaranth and the recipes tested showed high potential for grain amaranth adoption once the recipes are disseminated.Key words: Amaranth, dietary assessment, sensory evaluatio

Breast transillumination a viable option for breast cancer screening in limited resource settings?

Background: Mammography is an established screening tool for breastcancer in high-income countries but may not be feasible for most resourcepoor nations. Alternative modalities are needed to mitigate the impact of the increasing incidence and mortality due to breast cancer. This may require the development of new technologies or reevaluation of old technologies applicable to resource limited settings.Objective: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of breast transillumination as compared to mammography and to describe featuresof benign and malignant breast lesions as seen with breast transillumination.Methods: A single group descriptive analytical study was conductedover a six month period (2011) in the breast unit of Mulago Nationalhospital. Eligible participants were consecutively sampled. Participantsunderwent Clinical Breast Examination (CBE), breast transillumination(BT), mammography (MG) and histopathological analysis of identifiedbreast lumps. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values werecalculated. Features of the masses detected by transillumination werethen described.Results: The number of participants recruited was 201 (mean age 42years, range 30-80 years). The average palpable lump size was 3.8cm (range 0.5 to 10 cm). BT had a sensitivity of 63.2% (PPV 86.8%) anda specificity of 89.5% (NPV 61.2%) with mammography as the referencestandard. Also, 73.3% of breast lumps with irregular margins and 88.5%with dense opacity at transillumination turn out to be malignant athistopathology examination.Conclusion: The Breast transillumination technique had a moderatesensitivity of 63.2%. This warrants a large scale population-basedevaluation of BT as a screening tool. This technique may not substitutemammography but to be considered an option where mammographyaccess is limited

Experience with ultrasound of the knee joint at Mulago Hospital, Uganda

Background: The knee is prone to various pathology. Mulago Hospital records of 2001/2002 show that an average of 432 patients with knee joint disorders are seen in orthopaedic and rheumatology outpatient clinics out of a total of 5400 patients annually. For a long time the only mode of radiological investigation for these patients has been x-rays of the knee joints and this meant that limited information was got about the soft tissue component of the knee. Advances in technology with high frequency transducers, power Doppler ultrasound and extended field of view function have facilitated the progressive development of musculoskeletal sonography (MS). In developing countries like Uganda, where advanced imaging modalities like MRI are unaffordable and not readily available, ultrasound U/S serves as an efficient substitute in trained hands. This study was aimed at describing the sonographic pattern of knee joint pathology at Mulago Hospital in patients with knee joint symptoms.Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study of the sonographic pattern of knee joint pathology was performed at Mulago Hospital from July 2004 –February 2005. A total of 107 consecutive patients referred to the Radiology department with knee joint pathology were studied. The patients’ socio-demographic data, clinical history and physical examination were recorded. Sonography of the knees was done using U/S machines [ATL-HDI 1500, Sonoace [Medison] SA8800 & SA9900] with high frequency linear transducers (7-12 MHz) The sonographic appearance of joint fluid, synovitis , loose bodies, bursae and cysts, tendon, mensci and ligament pathology were recorded. The data was entered in the computer using Epi-data soft ware and analysed using the SPSS version 10.Results: A total of 107 patients had their knee joints evaluated with U/S. The age range was from 2 months to 80 years. The mean age was 38.0 and median 36 years. The commonest presenting symptoms were painful swelling of the knee 55(51.4%), pain 39 (36.4%), swelling and inability to move were 6 (5.6%). Sonographic features revealed osteoarthrosis was the most frequent 22(59.5%), loose bodies were 7 (18.9%) and fractures 2(5.4%).Conclusion: U/S can ably evaluate the pathology of menisci, ligaments, tendons and muscles. The majority of the knee joint pathology disorders were as a result of the degenerative disease. In view of the fact that MRI is not readily available and is expensive, U/S goes a long way in contributing to the diagnoses of knee joint pathology in a low resourced countries like Uganda