Determinants of Fertility Rate among Reproductive Age Women (15-49) in Gonji-Kollela District of the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

AbstractBackground: The low levels of education associated with low use of contraceptive methods are the major factors for high fertility rate in many developing countries including Ethiopia. Ample research works indicated that nearly two million people are added to the population of Ethiopia each year. The implication is that uncontrolled fertility rate affects the socio-economic, demographic and environmental situations of the country. The general objective of the study was to identify demographic and socio-economic determinants of fertility among reproductive-age women in Gonji-Kollela district of the Amhara Region.Methods: The study employed survey research design of a quantitative approach. Multi-stage sampling techniques were employed to select the required sample for the study. The data were collected using structured questionnaire and presented with the help of frequencies, percentages, and tables. SPSS version 20 was employed for data analysis. Multiple linear regression model was applied to identify determinant factors affecting the number of children ever born in the study area.Results: The total fertility rate (TFR) in the study area was 5.3 children per woman, which is higher than the TFR of the country (4.1 children per woman).The study pointed out that the total fertility rate of women with no education was 7.0 against 3.6 with secondary educational level. This means that respondents with no education have a large number of children ever born (CEB) than those who have some formal education. The marital status of the respondents revealed that 47% and 22.4% established marriage less than 15 years and 15-17 years of age, respectively. The study noted that fertility was the lowest among mothers who do not worry about sex preference. The results of the linear regression model also evidenced that sex preference, age at first birth, low educational levels of mothers and age at first sexual intercourse were the determinant factors for a high number of children ever born in the study area.Conclusions: The study found out that early marriage, low level of formal and informal education, parents motive to have a large number of children and inaccessible in the use of contraceptive methods were the major factors for high fertility rate in the study area. Hence, continuous awareness creation about the negative consequences of early marriage has to be promoted by the district health offices, Region’s bureau of women affairs and other stakeholders. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2018;32(3):000-000]Keywords: Fertility determinants, contraceptive use, children ever born, sex preference, reproductive age, total fertility rate, Amhara Regio

Genetic divergence analyses in tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) landraces based on morpho-agronomic traits

Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is a gluten-free cereal crop mainly grown in Ethiopia. Knowledge of the nature and magnitude of variation that exists in breeding materials is of great importance for effective breeding. This study was designed to assess the genetic divergence of tef landrace collections using quantitative and qualitative traits and to investigate the important trait in discriminating the tef landraces. The experiment was carried out at Adet Agricultural Research Center during the rainy season in 2019. Sixty-two landraces and two improved varieties were laid out in an 8×8 simple lattice design. Data were collected on 12 quantitative and three qualitative traits. The analysis of variance detected significant (P≤ 0.05) variation for panicle length and biomass yield, and highly significant (P≤ 0.01) differences among the tef landraces for the rest 10 traits, indicating the existence of appreciable genetic diversity that can be exploited in future tef breeding programs. Cluster analysis using the average linkage method grouped the 64 tef genotypes into four clusters. The highest inter-cluster distance was recorded between clusters III and IV; as a result, the tef genotypes from these clusters could be used as parents for future crossing programs. Principal components analysis revealed that the first four principal component axes accounted for 75.12% of the total variation among landraces, indicating that the traits considered were appropriate to detect the variation. The finding also demonstrated that grain yield, harvest index, days to heading, culm length and lodging index are higher contributors to the diversity of the tef landraces. These traits were most important in the discrimination of the landraces. Overall, the present study confirmed the presence of substantial diversity among the tef landraces

The Practice of Entrepreneurship Education through Extracurricular Activities in Higher Education: Students Perspective

Abstract  This study was aimed at investigating the practice of entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities in higher education from students perspective. To achieve this objective descriptive survey research design was used. Data were collected from university students. Accordingly, four universities were selected as sample universities by using simple random sampling technique. From these sample universities departments that give entrepreneurship course with all its students were taken as sample of the study. Data were collected by using questionnaire and interview from the participants. The result shows that  students have participated in extracurricular  activities  and have a willingness to participate if they get an opportunity. However, students did not participated in business plan competition outside the university, company visit, competition events between students and external stakeholders, seminars and workshops. The major challenges identified are lack of  funding available to support the entrepreneurship education,  lack of support from the top management and the government  and  lack of teachers support and encouragement of students practice of entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities.&nbsp

Impact ionization dynamics in silicon by MV/cm THz fields

We investigate the dynamics of the impact ionization (IMI) process in silicon in extremely high fields in the MV/cm range and at low initial carrier concentrations; conditions that are not accessible with conventional transport measurements. We use ultrafast measurements with high-intensity terahertz pulses to show that IMI is significantly more efficient at lower than at higher initial carrier densities. Specifically, in the case of silicon with an intrinsic carrier concentration (~1010 cm−3), the carrier multiplication process can generate more than 108 electrons from just a single free electron. The photoexcited carrier density dependence of the IMI rate shows that with decreasing initial carrier density the rate increases and approaches the fundamental Okuto limit imposed by energy conservation

Community Participation in Preschool Education of Ethiopia: the Case of South West Shewa Zone

The objective of this study was to examine the state of community participation in preschool education and factors affecting their participation in selected woredas of South West Shoa Zone. Survey research design was used. Data were collected from 192 preschool teachers, 58 preschool principals, 12 cluster supervisors 4 woreda education expert,   and 58 PTA members by using questionnaires, interview and focus group discussion. The findings of the study revealed that the participation of the community in preschool education is very low; the most common areas of community participation are cash contribution and participation in a meeting for the improvement of student behavior. Finally, the major factors identified are lack of awareness, failure to attend the meeting and failure to send their children to preschools. It is suggested that the preschools should be designed effective strategies of cooperation to work with the community in supporting preschools. In addition, continuous efforts should be made by preschools in the orientations and reorientation of community members about the objectives, scopes, principles, methods, and activities of preschool education