Invertebrate communities in northern Lake Victoria, with reference to their potential for fishery production

The zooplankton and macrobenthic communities of Lake Victoria were sampled by lift net and Ponar grab, respectively. The zooplankton comprised copepods and cladocerans, rotifers and aquatic insect larvae. Most taxa exhibited wide distribution in the lake, with the exception of rotifers which were rare in deep offshore waters. The main components in the macro-benthos were chaoborid and chironomid larvae and molluscs. Caridina nilotica (Roux) and other groups were rare in the samples. Zooplankton density ranged from 100000 or more to 4 million ind. m2 and increased from the shallow inshore to deep offshore waters. Numerical dominance of cyclopoids and nauplius larvae was a common feature at all stations sampled. Most macrobenthic taxa were also widely distributed, although chaoborid and chironomid larvae were rare in the samples. Rastrineobola argentea (Pellegrin) and larval Lates niloticus (L.) ate mainly cyclopoid copepods, while cichlids showed a strong preference for adult insects. High ecological stability of the cyclopoids, and the zooplankton community in general, despite radical ecosystem changes in recent years, coupled with what appears to be high predation pressure, offers good prospects for the pelagic fishery in the lake

Does Multiple Intelligence Improve Performance? Evidence from a Case at Kampala International University

This study reports the findings of a study that investigated the relationship between multiple intelligence (MI) and academic performance in higher education. It addresses one question: does MI improve academic performance? Taking the case of the finalist cohort of the university’s Faculty of Education of the academic year 2009/2010, data were collected on students’ MI and performance. Subsequently, the data were subjected to linear regression analysis. The findings were that the relationship between MI and students’ academic performance was not statistically significant. Accordingly, the study lends credence to the traditional conceptualization of the concept of intelligence. Therefore, the paper recommends that higher education institutions continue paying attention to the factors that have traditionally been known to influence academic performance.Keywords: Pedagogical innovation; Student-centred curriculum; Intelligenc

Teaching Practice In The Greater Vaal Triangle Area: The Student Teachers Experience

Teaching Practice as observed by (Ngidi and Sibaya 2003) forms an integral part of teacher training. It exposes the students to a teaching environment in which they will contextualise their theoretical knowledge gained during their training. It also grants student teachers experience in the actual teaching and learning environment. Given the importance of teaching practice, the researcher sought to investigate the experiences of student teachers doing their teaching practice. This paper examines of the positive experiences and challenges faced by Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Post Graduate Certificate Education (PGCE) student teachers (n=24) during their 10 week teaching practice in the Vaal area. A qualitative research design was followed. Semi-structured interviews with all student teachers were used to collect the data while content analysis was used to identify themes and analyse the data. The research established that despite the enriching experiences during teaching practice, student teachers experienced many challenges which significantly affected their ability to fully achieve the desired outcomes from the exercise. Based on the findings of this study, measures were suggested on how to improve teaching Practice in order to enable the student teachers to accrue maximum benefits/ outcomes from the experience

Diagnostic utility of pericardial fluid pH in diagnosing infectious pericardial effusions among patients with moderate and large effusions undergoing pericardiocentesis at Groote Schuur Hospital: a subs-study of the IMPI trial

Diagnosis of infectious pericardial disease has been challenging in the developing world despite improvement of treatment modalities. The diagnostic utility of pH in diagnosing infectious pericardial fluid is unknown, yet this concept is well studied in pleural fluid. This cross-sectional diagnostic study evaluated the diagnostic utility of pH in infectious compared to non-infectious pericardial effusions in a high-burden setting. Methods: Patients of 18 years with moderate to large effusion between the 1st February 2016 and 31st May2018 were enrolled at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. After safe pericardiocentesis, pH was measured with a blood gas analyzer. Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture and/or gene Xpert for TB and/or bacteria culture and/or microscopy served as the reference standard for definite infectious pericardial effusions. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, negative and positive likelihood ratios for an a priori pH cut off of 7.35. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used for selection of ideal pH cut off. RESULTS Using a set sensitivity of 70% we estimated that we needed to recruit a sample size of 149 subjects for a 95% confidence interval and power of 80%. We screened 200 patients, and excluded 60 because they did not meet the appropriate exclusion criteria. The prevalence of infectious pericarditis was 27.1% (n/N=34/140) as confirmed by the reference standard. We found the median pH (IQR) was 7.30(7.20-7.30) for definite infection, 7.30(7.30-7.35) for probable infection and 7.50(7.40-7.55) for non-infectious effusions p value <0.01 (test for trend). At a cut off or <7.35, the sensitivity was 89.5(95%CI: 75%.5-97.1%) and the specificity was 72.5% (95% CI: 62.8%-80.9%). The ideal ROC- determined cut off for pH that would give maximum sensitivity and specificity was ≤7.30 and the maximum sensitivity and specificity at optimum cut off are 86.8% (95% CI:71.9 - 95.6) and 86.8% (95% CI:71.9 - 95.6), respectively. The area under the curve at this cut-off point is 0.86 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.9), p<0. 001. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, pericardial PH offers diagnostic utility for infectious causes of pericardial effusions using both a PH of 7.35 and an ideal cut-off of 7.30. We recommend that given the simplicity of the test it should be adopted in evaluation of patients with pericardial effusions

Emotional Competence and Leadership Styles of Managers in Private Universities in Uganda

This short paper, a part of a wider study on the effectiveness of university managers in Uganda, reports on the emotional competence and leadership styles of managers in private universities in the country. Using data elicited from 240 respondents drawn from eight (8) private universities in the country, the paper reports a direct relationship between the emotional competence and leadership styles of the managers. However, the paper also observes, capacity building for the university managers has not paid due attention to the need to enhance the managers’ emotional competence. Accordingly, the paper recommends that efforts to enhance the managers’ effectiveness should endeavour to enhance their emotional competence.Keywords: Emotional competence; Governance; Human resources development

A study on factors undermining the incorporation of green principles into the Design Development Stage of building projects in the Gauteng Province of South Africa

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Property Development and ManagementDesign development is a stage of the construction procurement process where the requirements of a project are specified including the technical and performance specifications. Thus the design development stage provides a significant opportunity in construction to incorporate green principles into building procurement to achieve energy efficiency, resource efficiency and environmental friendliness in the life cycle of built assets thus producing green buildings. However, this does not always happen in practice and in South Africa some of the reasons underlying this problem have not yet been fully researched and understood. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to conduct a study into factors that undermine the incorporation of green principles into building projects at the Design Development Stage. This research aims to examine the factors in the Design Development Stage in projects that undermine it from producing green buildings in South Africa’s construction industry, the Gauteng province being the focus of the study. The study investigated what is required from procurement processes generally to result in green buildings, then further narrowed down what is specifically required from actions undertaken at the Design Development Stage of projects to produce green buildings. Actions undertaken by the main practitioners involved in the Design Development Stage in Gauteng was then investigated in order to determine the factors within the Design Development Stage that undermine it from producing green buildings. Based on the critical review of the literature, six factors were systematically identified to facilitate each phase of the Design Development Stage producing green buildings, namely; “green concepts”, “green design”, “green specifications”, “green cost systems”, “green financial viability systems” and “green programmes”. Based on the knowledge acquired from the literature about the processes involved in the Design Development Stage, questions were developed to enable semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey to be conducted. The questionnaire was designed and administered online to architects and quantity surveyors using the Qualtrics software which also supports the analysis of data provided by respondents. Data collection for the study was restricted to the Gauteng Province of South Africa which contains the country's largest city, Johannesburg, its administrative capital, Pretoria, and a population of around 13 million. Hence there is a significant concentration of building projects and professionals in this Province to provide a useful setting for the collection and analysis of data to achieve the study objectives.Results flowing from the analysis of information collected from 25 architects and 20 quantity surveyors indicate that the main factors undermining the incorporation of green principles in the Design Development Stage are “Green cost systems”, “Green financial viability systems” and “Green Programmes”. The six factors identified that facilitate the Design Development Stage producing green buildings were as follows; “Green concepts”, “Green design”, “Green specifications”, “Green cost systems”, “Green financial viability systems” and “Green programmes”. Although the findings indicate that the incorporation of green principles at the Financial Planning Phase and Project Programme Phase are the main hindrance towards producing green buildings; this must be looked at with care as the Design Phase offers the greatest chance to produce green buildings. It is recommended that further research to other provinces with a larger sample size and frame is undertaken to gain a more accurate depiction of South Africa’s construction industry. Furthermore a study to why these factors are underperforming and how they can be configured to work to green buildings is recommended

Capabilities and Gaps Assessments of Urban Air Quality Manage-ment in Uganda

Today, large cities across the globe are facing a pervasive problem of air pollution.  The purpose of this study is to assess the capabilities and gaps in urban air quality management in Uganda as well as proposing strategies for curbing air pollution. This study applied face to face interviews, targeting key informants such as the environmental experts, urbanization researchers and officials from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). Results show that rapid motorization, continued dependence on fossil fuels, open waste burning, biomass burning, industrialization, bushfires and urbanization are the key causes of air pollution in Uganda. To reduce air pollution and improve urban air quality it is critical to promote non-motorised mass transport, increase electricity access, regulate open waste burning, establish laboratories, strengthen local research and training capacity, promote collaborations, introduce more fuel efficient vehicles and periodic vehicle inspection and carry out public awareness campaigns about air pollution

Opportunities and challenges for integrating dairy cattle into farms with certified organic pineapple production as perceived by smallholder farmers in Central Uganda

A study was conducted in 2013 to assess opportunities and challenges of integrating dairy cattle into organic pineapple production in Uganda. Thirty organic pineapple farmers were interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire. The main dairy cattle management systems were tethering (73%) and zero grazing (27%). Average landholding was 1.74 ± 1.06 and 3.75 ± 2.70 ha for zero grazing and tethering systems, respectively. All farms were diversified with various livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens and crops including pineapples, maize, coffee, bananas, beans, sweet potatoes, and cassava. The level of integration of dairy cattle into pineapple production depended on the distance of crop fields from the livestock enterprises. More farms (83%) with pineapple fields closer ( 0.5 km). The distance to the homestead did not influence 30% of the farmers who used crop residues for feeding dairy cattle. Farmers perceived cattle diseases and feed scarcity to be the major challenges in dairy farming. The sources of risk on the farms were perceived to be erratic rainfall, limited knowledge, and market for organic products. Majority of farmers (77%) expressed willingness to convert to organic dairy production. Availability of markets for organic dairy products (36%) and reduction of external input use (26%) were the main reasons for farmers’ willingness to convert. Integrating dairy cattle with pineapple production is an opportunity for closed nutrient cycles and income diversification. However, knowledge, access to inputs, and organized markets are needed as incentive for conversion to organic dairy production

Constraints to Urban Planning and Management of Secondary Towns in Uganda

Many towns in Uganda are growing at an unprecedented rate. By 2030 more than 50% of Ugandans will beliving in urban centres. This rapid growth of urban centres in Uganda provides for economic opportunities for manyurban residents. It also poses various challenges such as urban sprawl, emergence of informal settlements as well asurban poverty. Over 60% of the urban residents in Uganda live in the informal settlements with no basic services andinfrastructure such as piped water, decent housing, good roads, sewerage systems as well as schools and health centres.This paper aims to examine and understand the constraints to urban planning and management of secondary towns inUganda. Using an eclectic mix of research methods such as face to face interviews targeting key informants, a questionnairesurvey as well as observation, the study found that the current modernist planning approach has not achieved itsintended goal of promoting orderly urban development and improve service delivery in the secondary towns. The studyalso revealed that the urban residents are rarely involved in planning. Besides, there is an apparent mismatch betweenwhat is taught at the local planning schools and what is required in terms of planning in the secondary towns. To addressthese intractable urban challenges, it is critical that the current planning education and curriculum are reviewed to producecreative and imaginative planners that can respond more effectively to the community problems, adopt a strategyto promote strategic spatial planning that is more participatory, carry out public awareness campaigns about the need forproper planning of towns and adopt a strategy for promoting innovative funding programmes such as municipal bonds,use of the stock exchange to mobilise the required investable funds, allow the private sector to access institutional fundssuch as the employee provident fund and promote public-private partnerships