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Content coverage in local government authority websites in Tanzania: a web content analysis
No full textUniversity of Dar es Salaam Library Journal, Vol 14, No 1 (2019), pp 82-97This study assessed the content coverage on local government authority websites in Tanzania
to establish an understanding of their ability to serve as useful platforms for informing and
communicating with the public. Specifically, the study has determined the thematic areas
covered by web contents, identified the forms and types of web contents, and determined the
intended audience and aims of the web contents on local government authority websites.
Content analysis was used to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts
within the 11 randomly selected local government authority websites. The study’s findings
indicate that content coverage on local government authority websites is very low. Moreover,
most of the web contents were in less rich media and were specifically for providing news
and alerts on current events rather than providing knowledge and complementing experts in
the provision of services to local communities. The study concludes that with the low level of
content coverage, local government authority websites cannot serve as one-stop information
centres. It is recommended that local government authorities should generate more web
contents for complementing their services rather than concentrating on news provision
Livelihood strategies and household food security of vegetable street vendorsiIn Morogoro town, Tanzania: an empirical analysis
No full textA Dissertation 2019The study attempts to examine the livelihood strategies and household food security of
vegetable street vendors in Morogoro town, Tanzania. Specifically, the study sought to:
(1) To document the nature of the institutional environment in which vegetable street
vending business is taking place, (2) To identify the type and extent of livelihood assets
owned by individuals working as vegetable street vendors, (3) To measure household food
security and dietary diversity of vegetable street vendors and (4) To identify strategies
employed by vegetable street vendors to cope with food shortage. A cross sectional study
design with mixed methods of sampling was employed whereby data were collected from
a total of 234 respondents between February and May, 2018. The study used both
quantitative and qualitative data. Semi structured questionnaire, in-depth interviews and
focus group discussions were used to obtain the data. Descriptive, inferential, and content
analysis methods were used for data analysis. The results showed that respondents own
various livelihood assets categorized as human, natural, physical, social and financial
capitals. On the other hand, the prevalence of household food insecurity was high (55.5%)
among respondents and most of them consumed between 5-9 different food groups
(moderate 50.5%) diverse diet. Several factors were identified to influence household food
security. These include land size (p<0.000), type of ownership of land (p<0.005), house
ownership (p<0.019), motorcycles ownership (p<0.005), bicycles ownership (p<0.005),
relative distance to selling point (p<0.011), membership in community Organisation
(p<0.000) and type of social Organisation (p<0.035). Others were access to credit
(p<0.003), receiving remittances (p<0.000) and training received (p<0.014). Using binary
regression model it was found that ownership of the house (p<0.038), membership of
community Organisation (p<0.032), and type of transport used (p<0.000) were
determinant of food security. It was noted that respondents employ a number of coping
strategies during food shortages, which include selling labour, borrowing from relatives,diet change and getting support from relatives were common in the study area. The study
concludes that food insecurity is still a problem in the study respondents. It is
recommended that LGAs and NGOs support the sector through provision of training on
business skills or entrepreneur, low interest credits, formulation of favourable policies to
support vegetable vendors and empowering them by forming an association
Seroprevalence of circulating taeniid antigens in pigs and associated risk factors in Kongwa district, Tanzania
No full textJournal articleThe aim of this study was to investigate exposure to porcine cysticercosis (PC) and associated
risk factors in the Kongwa District, eastern-central Tanzania. For the first time a
cross-sectional investigation of the seroprevalence in pigs using a commercial genus
specific cysticercosis enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (apDia Ag-ELISA) was undertaken
in eastern-central Tanzania. Moreover, the identity of suspected T. solium cysts from
pigs in the study area were confirmed by sequencing parasites’ mitochondrial cox1 gene.
Structured questionnaires and direct observations were used to investigate risk factors
associated with parasite transmission. A total of 102 pig-keeping households were surveyed
during the dry season between July and August 2017 and 126 households in the
rainy season between March and April 2018. Of the 447 examined pigs, 77 (17%, 95% C.I.
14%e20%) tested positive in the ELISA. Seroprevalence was higher in pigs examined during
the rainy (21%, 95% C.I. 16%e26%) than dry (12%, 95% C.I. 7%e17%) season (p ¼ 0.019). Eight
cyst-positive-pigs were confirmed to be infected with T. solium by sequencing. Risk factors
associated with PC seropositivity included origin of piglets or pigs (OR ¼ 0.27, 95% C.I. 0.13
e0.42, p ¼ 0.001), socioeconomic factors and pig production system (OR ¼ 0.22, 95% C.I.
0.07e0.37, p ¼ 0.005) and sanitation and hygiene practices (OR ¼ 0.19, 95% C.I. 0.04e0.34,
p ¼ 0.014). This study has recorded a high Taenia spp. seroprevalence in pigs in Kongwa
suggesting the presence of people in the community carrying the adult parasite, Taenia
solium. Our findings also suggest risk of infection by T. solium to people in urban centres
and cities consuming pigs from rural areas in Kongwa. The high seroprevalence in Kongwa
calls for further studies on taeniasis and cysticercosis in the human population in order to
determine suitable control strategies
Educational quality management in public and private secondary schools under sedp ii: a case of selected secondary schools in Morogoro Region, Tanzania
No full textPhD Thesis 2019In this era of globalisation and technological revolution, education is considered as a first
step for every human activity. It plays vital roles in the development of human capital. The
Secondary Education Development Programme II (SEDP II: 2010-2015) in Tanzania, is a
continuation of Secondary Education Development Programme I (SEDP I), which was
implemented between 2004 and 2009, building on the national goals of secondary
education provision. The purpose of this study was therefore to analyze the Management
of Educational Quality in selected Public and Private Secondary Schools in Morogoro
Region. The specific objectives were to: assess schools educational quality management
based on educational input under SEDP II for years 2010 to 2013; examine schools
educational quality management based on educational output under SEDP II for years
2010 to 2013 and assess effectiveness of Public Secondary Schools (PuSS) and Private
Secondary Schools (PrSS) management tasks in the study area. Data were collected from
400 respondents‟ including: 320 students, 80 teachers and 20 key informants and various
documentary sources using questionnaires, researcher‟s diary and checklist. Quantitative
data were analysed by using SPSS computer software and “content analysis” technique
was used to analyse qualitative data. The study found that PuSS, which were involved in
SEDP II Programme had poor and insufficient inputs, educational output and educational
management tasks compared to PrSS, which were not involved in SEDP II Programme.
The study also found out that PrSS had much autonomy and decentralisation compared to
PuSS. It was concluded that the shortage of proper management of fiscal, human and
materials resource management affected the quality of PuSS. It was, therefore,
recommended that there is a need for the Central Government to allocate enough funds to
its schools to cater for all necessary inputs required. Also should employ trained
educational managers for proper financial, human and material resources management.
Further research to undertake case studies on the relative performance of public and
private secondary schools in boosting student achievement was also suggested
The role of caching in next generation cellular networks: A survey and research outlook
No full textJournal articleMobile applications and social networks tend to enhance the needs for
high-quality content access. To address the expeditious growing demand for data
services in 5G cellular networks, it is important to develop distribution techniques
and an efficient content caching, aiming to significantly reduce redundant
data transmission and, thus, improve the efficiency of the networks. In
modern communication systems, caching has emerged as a vital tool for reducing
peak data rates. It is anticipated that energy harvesting and self-powered
small base stations are the fundamental part of next-generation cellular networks.
However, uncertainties in energy are the main reason to adopt energy
efficient power control schemes to reduce SBS energy consumption and ensure
the quality of services for users. Using the edge cooperative caching such as
energy efficient design can also be achievable, which reduces the usage of the
capacity limited SBSs backhaul and the energy consumption. To support the
huge power demand of cellular network, renewable energy harvesting technologies
can be leveraged. In addition to this, power supply to the infrastructures is
themain challenge to the mobile network operators (MNOs) especially in terms
of economic optimum, sustainability, and green energy in developing countries
for the growth of cellular networks. Renewable energy–based solutions for
MNOs not only reduce the overall carbon dioxide emissions but also provide
numerous profits
Soil moisture management and fertilizer micro-dosing on yield and land utilization efficiency of inter-cropping maize-pigeon-pea in sub humid Tanzania
No full textPrincipally caused by soil water stress and declining soil fertility, low crop productivity results in both food and
income insecurity. The effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer micro-dosing with inter-row rainwater
harvesting practices for maize and pigeon-pea inter-cropping on yield and land use efciency are inadequately
documented in sub humid tropics. A feld experiment on sandy loam soils in sub humid conditions using a splitsplit plot design was conducted. Plots used in situ rainwater harvesting practices of tied ridges, open ridges, and
flat cultivation. Sub-plots were sole maize, sole pigeon-pea, and 1:1 maize-pigeon pea inter-cropping. The subsub plots were control, fertilizer (N and P) application at the micro-dose level, and recommended rates. Tied
ridges signifcantly (p < 0.001) conserved more soil moisture than flat cultivation at 30 cm depth after ten days
of rainfall. Ridges increased maize yield by 0.3 t ha−1 over flat cultivation. Fertilizer application signifcantly
(p < 0.001) increased maize yield by 1.12 t ha−1 with micro-dosing and by 1.60 t ha−1 with recommended
rates over the control. Combining tied ridges and fertilizer signifcantly (p < 0.040) increased maize yield by
132–156% compared to flat cultivation without fertilizer. Reflecting a land equivalent ratio, land use efciency
was 67–122% higher in inter-cropping than sole crop. Tied ridges conserved more soil moisture than flat cultivation, enhancing fertilizer use efciency that improved crop yields and land equivalent ratio under intercropping. This strategy could increase food availability and income generation under smallholder farming
systems in sub-humid tropic areas
Aflatoxin in peanut butter and compliance with the national food laws among SMEs in Dar es Salaam region
No full textA Dissertation 2019The aim of this study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin in peanut butter and
compliance with the national food laws among SMEs peanut butter manufacturers in
Dar es Salaam region. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess awareness on
aflatoxin contamination in peanut butter, and observation checklist was used to assess
compliance practices with national food laws among SMEs peanut butter manufacturers.
Samples of peanut butter were collected randomly from 30 peanut butter SMEs selected
from the list provided by Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO). Samples
were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence
detection. The total amount of aflatoxins detected in peanut butter samples ranged from
0.075 to 317 μg/kg of which 33.3% of the samples for AFB1 (5.1 to 277.7 μg/kg) and
26.6% of the samples for total aflatoxin (15.5 to 317 μg/kg) exceeded the TBS regulatory
limit 5 μg/kg and 15 μg/kg respectively as established by TZS 844:2014. The results
revealed that all peanut butter SMEs had knowledge on susceptibility of peanut and
peanut butter to aflatoxin while only 3.3% of peanut butter SME was not aware on
favorable conditions for aflatoxin in peanuts. These peanut butter SMEs did not register
80% of the premises and 83.3% of the products, and most 90% of the products did not
have TBS marks. Also 56.7% of peanut butter SMEs did not have business license.
The high level of aflatoxin found in peanut butter poses significant threats to the health of
consumers. Therefore, food regulatory authorities should encourage SMEs peanut butter
manufacturers to use clean raw material and practice required Quality Assurance (QA),
and should monitor the levels of aflatoxin in peanut butter and ensure all SMEs peanut
butter manufacturers are registered and comply with the national food laws
Occurrence and seasonal variations of lead concentrations in river water and edible vegetables grown along Morogoro River Bank
No full textProceedings of the First One Health Conference (embedding the 37 th TVA Scientific Conference), pp. 46-53Urban vegetable farming is popular in Tanzania and other countries partly due to readily
available market and reliable transport to reach consumers. River banks are usually used to
grow such vegetables due to closer proximity to water and whenever necessary use such water
for irrigation. However in urban settings river water pollution by toxic heavy metals and
subsequent accumulation of the metals in nearby grown vegetables has been reported as
among major sources of exposure to humans and animals. Heavy metals, including lead (Pb)
have many health effects to human and animals ranging from acute to chronic illnesses. This
study was conducted to assess the occurrence of lead in Morogoro river and in edible
vegetables (Amaranthus retroflexus) grown along the river bank. Water and vegetable
samples collected during dry and rainy seasons were prepared and analysed for occurrence
and levels of lead using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). It was found that
concentration of Lead in the water and vegetable samples were up to 0.95 mg/L, and 0.026
mg/Kg respectively. It was also found that 77% of the water samples and 28% of the
vegetable samples had lead levels above the WHO recommendations. The frequency and
levels of lead occurrence varied with topographical, diurnal and seasonal characteristics of
sample collection. The results of this study raise concerns on the use of water for human and
animal consumption from rivers which run across urban areas and call for further studies to
investigate for any health consequences to consumers
Development and assessment of nutritional composition, sensory profile and consumer acceptability of jackfruit seed flour buns from locally grown jackfruit
No full textMasters DissertationThe purpose of this study was to develop buns (Mandazi) based on wheat and jackfruit seeds flour and assess their chemical composition, sensory profile and consumer acceptability. Samples of jackfruit seeds were obtained from Tanga, Morogoro, Coast region and Zanzibar. Seeds were sorted, washed, pre-dried, seed coat peeled, sliced, dried and milled to flour. The developed jackfruit seed j flour from each location was blended with wheat flour at different levels of substitution (10%, 20%, and 30%) to form composite flour which was developed into buns. Factorial experimental design was used to determine variability of the response variables. Jackfruit seed flour, composite flour and the buns were chemically analysed for proximate and mineral composition. The buns were subjected to sensory evaluation both Qualitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) and consumer acceptability using 1 – 9 Hedonic scale method. Results showed that jackfruit seed flour had higher amount of protein, ash and fibre contents of 12.6 – 15, 3.3 – 3.0 and 3.7 – 5.1 respectively than their respective lower value of 8.5, 0.4 and 1.4 g/100g in wheat flour. Potassium was found to be the most abundant in jackfruit seed flour followed by phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. Substitution of wheat flour with jackfruit seed flour enhanced the nutrients content in the composite products. Sensory evaluation showed no significant differences in all attributes between control and 10% composite bun (WJB 10%). Therefore, the findings suggest that jackfruit seed flour can be in cooperated into wheat flour up to 10% to enhance nutrient contents and to improve the quality of its final products without compromising its sensory attributes.The Cereals and Other Produce Board of Tanzania (CPB
Diversity and genetic identity of pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.] in Tanzania based on microsatellite markers
No full textAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, 2018; 17(26), 811-817Pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.] is an important fruit crop cultivated in Tanzania. However, the
knowledge on genetic diversity of the pineapple cultivars grown in Tanzania is limited. This study was
aimed at determining the genetic diversity and identity of pineapple cultivars from different growing
regions in Tanzania using microsatellite markers also known as simple sequence repeat marker (SSR).
Ten of the 18 microsatellite markers were polymorphic and generated a total of 22 distinct reproducible
bands with an average of 2.2 bands per primer pair. The number of polymorphic bands detected with
each primer pair ranged from 1 to 3 with an average of 1.5 per primer pair. The polymorphic information
content (PIC) values of each primer pair ranged from 0.17 to 0.79 with an average of 0.41. Two
microsatellite loci TsuAC010 and TsuAC039 revealed PIC values higher than 0.50 thus suggesting that
such primers have high discriminatory ability. The consensus tree derived from the unweighted pairgroup
method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) revealed four different groups. Kinole-SCT subpopulation
formed a distinct group from Madeke-SCT and MD2 hybrid cultivar. Kinole-SC, Mukuranga-
SC, and Kiwangwa-SCcultivars were closely related on the cluster analysis. This study demonstrated
the existence of low genetic diversity in pineapples cultivated in Tanzania implying that a well-thoughtout
breeding strategies should be employed for genetic improvements of pineapple. Introduction of
exotic clones and employment of modern breeding strategies such as marker assisted selection (MAS)
and genetic engineering technologies is recommended. This will widen the current genetic pool of
pineapple in Tanzania