The Strategic Application of Alternative Grading to Improve Retention and Enhance Equity (Spring 2023)

Universities across the United States have been using the Pass/Fail grading system for a variety of reasons and in many different ways. There are so many uses of the system as there are universities. In general, universities have used the Pass/Fail grading system to: help reduce stress and pressure on students; provide more flexibility in course selection and encourage students to explore and pursue interest without fear of damaging their GPA; reduce perceived discrimination and bias in grading, providing more equitable opportunities for all students regardless of race, socioeconomic status or prior academic background; and to improve retention rates by reducing the risk of failing a course and being unable to complete a degree or program. The case is made for a Pass/Fail grading system and suggested options are identified.https://thekeep.eiu.edu/think_tank_reports/1000/thumbnail.jp

Colorectal Anastomosis Leak: Rate , Risk Factors and Outcome in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, a Five Year Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND: Anastomotic leakage is a morbid and potentially fatal complication of colorectal surgery. Determination of perioperative risk factors for colorectal anastomosis leak helps to identify patients requiring increased postoperative surveillance.METHODS: Institution based retrospective study was done to determine colorectal anastomosis leak rate and risk factors associated with it at a teaching hospital in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Patients operated from January 2013 to December 2017 G.C were included. Univariate analysis followed by a multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the influence of patient factors and operative events on postoperative anastomotic leakage.RESULTS: Inclusion criteria were met by 221 patients. Mean age of patients was 46.44(SD=19.1) with range of 1 to 85 years. Male accounted to 166 (74.8%) of the patients. Anastomotic leakage occurred in 12 (5.2%) of the patients. Mean time to diagnosis was 9.55 days (95% CI, 7.2-11.8) after surgery. Univariate analyses showed high preoperative level of creatinine, ASA score III and IV, emergency operation, operative time more than three hours, and malignant diseases were associated with colorectal anastomosisleak. Multivariate logistic regression model failed to show an association. Colorectal anastomosis leak increased the inpatient mortality rate by 50%. Median length of hospitalization in colorectal anastomosis leak group was 27.5 days, versus 7 days in patients without leak.CONCLUSION: Colorectal anastomosis leak remains common problem after colorectal surgery resulting significant post-operative mortality and morbidity.

Improving efficiency, scalability and efficacy of adaptive computation offloading in pervasive computing environments

As computing becomes more mobile and pervasive, there is a growing demand for increasingly rich, and therefore more computationally heavy, applications to run in mobile spaces. However, there exists a disparity between mobile platforms and the desktop environments upon which computationally heavy applications have traditionally run, which is likely to persist as both domains evolve at a competing pace. Consequently, an active research area is Adaptive Computation Offloading or cyber foraging that dynamically distributes application functionality to available peer devices according to resource availability and application behaviour. Integral to any offloading strategy is an adaptive decision making algorithm that computes the optimal placement of application components to remote devices based on changing environmental context. As this decision is typically computed by constrained devices and may occur frequently in dynamic environments, such algorithms should be both resource efficient and yield efficacious adaptation results. However, existing adaptive offloading approaches incur a number of overheads, which limit their applicability in mobile and pervasive spaces. This thesis is concerned with improving upon these limitations by specifically focusing on the efficiency, scalability and efficacy aspects of two major sub processes of adaptation: 1) Adaptive Candidate Device Selection and 2) Adaptive Object Topology Computation. To this end, three novel approaches are proposed. Firstly, a distributed approach to candidate device selection, which reduces the need to communicate collaboration metrics, and allows for the partial distribution of adaptation decision-making, is proposed. The approach is shown to reduce network consumption by over 90% and power consumption by as much as 96%, while maintaining linear memory complexity in contrast to the quadratic complexity of an existing approach. Hence, the approach presents a more efficient and scalable alternative for candidate device selection in mobile and pervasive environments. Secondly, with regards to the efficacy of adaptive object topology computation, a new type of adaptation granularity that combines the efficacy of fine-grained adaptation with the efficiency of coarse level approaches is proposed. The approach is shown to improve the efficacy of adaptation decisions by reducing network overheads by a minimum of 17% to as much 99%, while maintaining comparable decision making efficiency to coarse level adaptation. Thirdly, with regards to efficiency and scalability of object topology computation, a novel distributed approach to computing adaptation decisions is proposed, in which each device maintains a distributed local application sub-graph, consisting only of components in its own memory space. The approach is shown to reduce network cost by 100%, collaboration-wide memory cost by between 37% and 50%, battery usage by between 63% and 93%, and adaptation time by between 19% and 98%. Lastly, since improving the utility of adaptation in mobile and pervasive environments requires the simultaneous improvement of its sub processes, an adaptation engine, which consolidates the individual approaches presented above, is proposed. The consolidated adaptation engine is shown to improve the overall efficiency, scalability and efficacy of adaptation under a varying range of environmental conditions, which simulate dynamic and heterogeneous mobile environments

The Prevalence and Factors Associated with Mental Distress among College Students in Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Although mental health problems affect the general population, students are highly vulnerable to psychological disorders. Mental distress among students is a cause of concern as it may impair their behavior and diminish learning, which could negatively affect their academic performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and the factors associated with mental distress among college students in Southern Ethiopia.METHODS: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 regular students of Hawassa College of Health Sciences. Mental distress was measured using a Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). The data were entered into Epi-Info version 3.5.4 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Multivariable logistic analysis was performed following bivariate analysis to adjust for the effect of confounders.RESULT: The prevalence of mental distress among the study subjects was found to be 59 (22.30%). Female students were 2.08 times more likely to have mental distress as compared to male students (AOR =2.08 [95% CI: 1.14-3.82]). The odds of mental distress among third-year students was 60% lower compared to second-year students [AOR = 0.40; 95 % CI, (0.19, 0.87)]. Students who were from Amhara ethnic group were 3.37 times more likely to have mental distress as compared to students from Sidama ethnic group [AOR=3.37;95%CI (1.13-10.09)]. Moreover, students who had Grade Point Average of below 60% were 4.69 times more likely to be mentally distressed as compared to those students who scored Grade Point Average of greater or equal to 60% (AOR= 4.69; 95%CI,[ 2.46, 8.96).CONCLUSION: The finding suggests the importance of providing mental health counseling support for students as part of the teaching and learning process. More research to further explore the multiple factors influencing students’ mental health condition should also be conducted

Spawning migration of Labeobarbus species to some tributary rivers of Lake Tana, Ethiopia

Spawning migration of Labeobarbus species was studied from August to December 2013 in some tributary rivers (Qimon, Guanta, Shini, and Chibirna) of Lake Tana. Fish specimens and physico-chemical parameters were measured bimonthly in August and September but monthly from October to December. Adult fish specimens were caught using 6 and 8 cm stretched mesh size monofilament gillnets and 6, 8, 10 and 12 cm mesh size multifilament gillnets. A total of 933 adult Labeobarbus specimens were collected during the study period. Labeobarbus intermedius was the most abundant species followed by L. brevicephalus. The peak spawning season of L. intermedius was from fourth week of August to end of September and for L. brevicephalus it was from fourth week of August to beginning of October. Both species were found to spawn in all sampling rivers. However L. truttiformis spawned only at Guanta and Qimon Rivers during August while L. nedgia in Shini and Chibirna Rivers at the end of September. This implies the presence of micro-spatial segregation among species. Pair-wise comparison of Labeobarbus species showed temporal segregation in all sampling months, except L. brevicephalus and L. nedgia. The present findings showed that small tributary rivers and streams are the main spawning grounds for Labeobarbus species of Lake Tana. Therefore, main spawning grounds or routes should be protected from the deleterious effects of anthropogenic activities like illegal fishing, irrigation and sand mining for wise use of the fish resources.Keywords: Fecundity, Fish, Migration, River, Spawnin

Factors Affecting the Profitability of Smallholder Common Bean Producers in Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ቦሎቄ ከዋና ዋናዎቹ የጥራጥሬ ሰብሎች የሚመደብ ሰብል ሲሆን ለሀገሪቱ ኢኮኖሚ እንዲሁም ለአርሶ አደሩ የምግብና የገቢ ምንጭ በመሆን ከፍተኛ አስተዋፅዖ ያደርጋል፡፡ በምስራቅና ደቡብ አፍሪካ ውስጥ ኢትዮጵያ በቦሎቄ ምርት የሦስተኛ ደረጃን ትይዛለች፡፡ በ2010 ዓ.ም. ሀገሪቱ 40 በመቶ የሚሆነውን የቦሎቄ ምርት ወደ አለም አቀፍ ገበያ ልካለች፡፡ ቦሎቄ ከፍተኛ የኢኮኖሚ ጠቀሜታ ያለው ሰብል ቢሆንም ሰፊ የሆነ የተሸሻሉ የቦሎቄ ዝርያዎች ስርጭት በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ቢከናወኑም በቅርብ ጊዜ በተለይም በመካከለኛው ስምጥ ሸለቆ ያሉ አርሶ አደሮች ወደሌሎች ሰብሎች ሲያዘነብሉ ይታያል፡፡ ከዚህ ችግር ጋር በተያያዘ ሁኔታ የቦሎቄ ምርት የትርፋማነት ጥናት አለመኖር የመረጃ ጉድለት ፈጥሯል፡፡ አብዛኞቹ ከዚህ በፊት የተደረጉ ጥናቶች የሰብሉን የትርፋማነትና አዋጭነት ጥናት ያላደረጉ ሲሆን ጥናቱ ይህንን ጉደለት ለመሙላት ታስቦ የተተገበረ ነው፡፡ የአርሶ አደሩ ትርፋማነት ለማጥናት ይረዳ ዘንድ የቦለቄ አምራች በሆኑ አካባባዎች አርሶ አደሮች በተለየ የመምረቻ ዘዴ ተለይተው የቅኝት ተሳታፊ ሆነዋል፡፡ የተሰበሰበውም መረጃ ቀለል ያሉ የመረጃ ቀመሮችና እና ለአዋጭነት አስተዋጽኦ ያለቸው ምክንያቶች ትንተና ተደርጎበታል፡፡ የጥናቱ ውጤት እንደሚያሳየው ከሆነ የአርሶ አደሩ ያልተጣራ ጠቅላላ ትርፍ በአማካይ 13486 ብር በሄክታር  ሲሆን ጠቅላላ የተጣራ ገቢ ደግሞ 8127 ብር በሄክታር ይሆናል፡፡ ለቦሎቄ ምርት ትርፋማነት አስተዋዕኦ ከሚያደርጉ አበይት ምክንቶች ውስጥ አርሶ አደሩ ከዋና ገበያ ያለው ርቀት፣ የአርሶ አደሩ የእድሜ ሁኔታ፣ የቤተሰቡ ቁጥር፤ ከግብርና ስራ ውጭ ያሉ ገቢዎች እና የማዳበሪያ ማግኛ ምንጮች አስፈላጊ ሆነው ተገኝተዋል፡፡ በአንጻራዊ መልኩ ሲታይ የወንድ አባወራ አርሶ አደሮች የተሻለ ትርፋማ ሲሆኑ፤ በግብርና ስራ ያለ ልምድ፤ በገበሬ ቡድን አባል መሆንና ምርቱ የተሸጠበት የገበያ ሰንሰለት ዓይነቶች አዎንታዊ በሆነ መልኩ ተጽዕኖ የሚሳድሩ ምክንያቶች ናቸው፡፡ ስለዚህም የቦለቄ አምራች አርሶ አደሮችን ትርፋማነት ለመጨመር፤ አዎንታዊ ምክንያቶችን ከፍ ማድረግና አሉታዊ ምክንያቶችን በመቀነስ የፖሊሲ እርምጃዎችን ማቀናጀት ያስፈልጋል፡፡   Abstract Common bean is one of the major pulse crops which played an important role in the Ethiopian national economy and to farmers as food and cash income. Ethiopia ranked third in common bean production in Eastern and Southern Africa. The country exported 40 percent of its total common bean production in 2010. Despite the wide dissemination of improved common bean varieties and its economic importance, there is a dearth of information on the profitability of smallholder farmers from common bean production. Most of the previous studies on common bean did little on the profitability of smallholder bean producers. This study is designed with the aim of assessing the profitability status of smallholder common bean producers and factors correlated with it. Sample bean producers were selected randomly using simple random sampling. The cross-sectional data collected from sampled households are analyzed using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The result of the study shows that the mean common bean gross margin and net farm income was 13486 and 8127 Birr/ha respectively. Distance from the nearest market, Age, Family size, off farm income and fertilizer source are the factors influencing the profitability of smallholder common bean producers negatively. However, Gender, farm experience, group membership and target market channel had a positive significant influence on smallholder based common bean production profitability. Therefore, in order to enhance the profitability of smallholder households, among others, it is important to improve access to input and output market and collective actions by farmers. There is also a need to minimize the gender gap in the profitability through affirmative action such as the provision of special credit and access to modern technologies by female farmers.  &nbsp

Gum and resin bearing dryland forests of Somali region, Southeastern Ethiopia: Diversity, structure and spatial distribution

Despite its ecological and socio-economic contributions, the lowland dry forests of Ethiopia have been experiencing severe deforestation and degradation challenges. It is, therefore, crucial to assess the status of the dry forest resources to formulate an appropriate management strategy and its sustainable utilization. This study was formulated to determine spatial distribution, species composition, structure, and regeneration of the gum and resin species bearing dry forests in the Somali regional state of Ethiopia. The recent Sentinel-2A image was procured and used to classify the area, using a supervised Random Forest Algorithm, into different land covers and vegetation types. Inside the two key vegetation types (Acacia dominated woodland and Mixed woodland), forest inventory was conducted by establishing 30 m x 30 m size quadratic sample plots. The results revealed that the study area was divided into settlement (0.2%), bare land (6.0%), undifferentiated forest (0.5%), acacia woodland (36.3%), mixed woodland (54.1%) and scrubland (2.9%). Thirty-four woody species were identified and recorded with a Shannon diversity of 3.03. The population structure showed a lack of sufficient natural regeneration. It is, therefore, imperative to say that the forest containing the gum and resin-bearing species is not replacing itself. On the other hand, the forest has the potential to produce Oleo-gum resin in various kinds and amounts. Thus, implementing appropriate restoration measures is urgent to enhance natural regeneration. Moreover, formulating sustainable utilization while creating product market of gum and resins are important considerations for the future development of the sector. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 13(2): 6-13, Dec 202