UNAM Gā-aisib Repository (University of Namibia)
Not a member yet
3204 research outputs found
Sort by
The impact of micro-finance on poverty alleviation: A case study of Swakopmund youths
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master in business administration- FinanceThis study investigated the impact of microfinance on poverty alleviation, using a sample of
100 participants drawn from 3 microfinance institutions in Swakopmund. In addition, the study
employed a descriptive case study as a research design for quantitative research. The SPSS
software was used to analyse the quantitative data that was collected from the field research.
Income, education, consumption spending, health care, nutrition, non-land asset holdings,
social empowerment and housing conditions were among the eight variables used to measure
the impact of microfinance on household welfare. Furthermore, three business indicators were
utilised to assess the impact of microfinance on firm growth. Sales, profits, and capital are
examples of these.
The impact of four microfinance variables on household welfare was also estimated in this
study. The overall value of microfinance loans, the length of participation in microfinance
programs, the total number of microfinance loans, and the average yearly interest rate were all
factors considered in the study. It is important to note that longer participation in microfinance
programs improves the likelihood of perceived improvements in income, consumption
spending, and social empowerment, according to the logistic regression results. Furthermore,
raising the total quantity of microfinance loans raises the chances of better-perceived health care access. Higher interest rates reduce the odds of better-perceived income, education,
consumption expenditure, social empowerment, and living conditions whereas higher
cumulative value of microfinance loans reduces the odds of better-perceived income,
consumption expenditure, education, and health care. The study's major recommendations are
aimed at policymakers, international organisations, and non-governmental organisations
(NGOs). Microfinance is not an effective poverty alleviation strategy at this time, as seen by
the circumstances on the ground, and alternative initiatives aimed at producing jobs for the
poor are required. In terms of policy impact, the government of the Republic of Namibia ought
to ensure that social assistance programs reach the needy and that public goods are of high
quality until a successful poverty-alleviation program is established. Moreover, it can also
foster sustainable, market-based microfinance by reducing unfair competition from
governmental institutions; implementing regulatory reform; and finally strengthening the
business climat
Clinical learning experiences of nursing degree students at public training hospitals in the Khomas region, Namibia
No full textA research thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Nursing ScienceClinical placement provides an opportunity for students to be socialised into the health system, achieve clinical skills in a real-life setting and observe the delivery of care by other healthcare professionals. Despite the obvious benefits of placements for students, poor relationships with the supervising nurse, environments that fail to promote belongingness and a lack of supervision hinder learning in the clinical setting. The purpose of the study was to assess the clinical learning experiences of nursing degree students practising in general wards at public training hospitals in the Khomas region of Namibia. The objective of the study was to explore and describe the clinical learning experiences of nursing degree students in general wards at public training hospitals in the Khomas region. The study aimed at answering the following central question: “What are your experiences during placement in general wards of the training hospitals in the Khomas region? The researcher selected a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. Fifty-one participants from the undergraduate second, third and fourth years were recruited. Data collection included eleven (11) individual face-to face interviews and eight (8) Focus Group Discussions. Data was coded and analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Four themes emerged from the exploration and description of nursing students ‘clinical learning experiences, namely, a non-conducive learning environment, negative staff attitude, communication barriers and shortage of staff. The results show that there were indeed constraints to learning in the clinical setting across all the years of study. Recommendations were made to the Nursing Education Institution, the training hospitals and the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Further research is needed on the clinical learning experiences of nursing students in other regions, the clinical learning experiences of male nurses and the lecturers’ experiences on clinical accompaniments
The development of an educational programme to enhance the utilisation of cervical cancer services among women of reproductive age in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia
No full textA dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing ScienceThe aim of the study was to develop an educational programme to enhance the utilisation of cervical cancer services among women of reproductive age in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia. Cervical cancer is among the top ten most common causes of cancer-related deaths among women globally. The setting of this study is the Otjozondjupa region, which is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. The study was conducted in four phases as follows: Phase one entailed the situational analysis which described the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the reproductive aged women regarding the prevention, screening, and treatment of cervical cancer in the Otjozondjupa region. Phase two of the study entailed the development of a conceptual framework of the study. Phase three was concerned with the process of developing the educational programme, and Phase four focused on identifying the guidelines for the implementation and evaluation of the educational programme interventions. The guidelines were identified in terms of the objectives and activities based on the cyclic curriculum development model. The study applied a quantitative approach with descriptive and cross-sectional designs to address the aim and specific objectives of the study in Phase one. A study population of 37066 women was divided into four strata representing four districts in the Otjozondjupa region and the sample was proportionally distributed to each stratum. Sample power calculation was done to determine the study sample size (381) using the Rao software programme. Multistage stratified random sampling was used in this study. Stage one: All four districts were included in the study and considered as strata. Stage two: All health centres and clinics were selected from each stratum for the study. Stage three: Proportionate stratified random sampling was used to select the clinics and respondents for the study at the facility level. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions using the 5 level Likert scale questions for the respondents to indicate their level of agreement to a statement as well as dichotomous questions. The quantitative data were analysed descriptively using Statistical Package for Social Science version 25. Chi-square statistical analysis was applied to establish the association between demographic data as the independent variable, and knowledge, attitude and practices as the dependent ii variables. Pearson correlation was used to determine the correlations between the study variables. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents (86.7%) scored low on knowledge regarding prevention, screening, and treatment of CC; 90.8% scored neutral level of attitudes regarding screening, prevention and treatment of CC and 32% scored low in terms of the uptake of cervical cancer screening. A conceptual framework was developed using the framework of the Practice-Oriented Theory by Dickoff et al., (1968). Subsequently, an educational programme to enhance the utilisation of cervical cancer services among women of reproductive age living in the Otjozondjupa region, Namibia, was developed. This was done according to the programme development process by Meyer and Van Niekerk (2008), the Cyclic curriculum development model of Nicholls and Nicholls (1972) as well as Kolb’s four stage model experiential learning theory (1984). Knowles’s learning theories will be used to facilitate teaching and learning during the implementation of the educational programme to the reproductive aged women regarding screening, prevention, and treatment for cervical cancer in the Otjozondjupa region. Finally, guidelines to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of the educational programme activities to enhance the utilisation of cervical cancer screening services among women of reproductive age in Otjozondjupa region were identified. Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, practices, screening, prevention, treatment, cervical cancer, reproductive and wome
Investigating the role of financial literacy in the financial sustainability of micro-businesses at Bokamoso Entrepreneurial Centre in Namibia
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master in business administration- FinanceThis study investigated the role of financial literacy on the financial sustainability of
micro-businesses at the Bokamoso Entrepreneurial Centre in Namibia. Data was
collected from 18 micro-business owners operational in the Centre. The study
employed a qualitative method using an interview guide to conduct face-to-face
interviews. Results show that 89 percent of micro-business owners are financially
illiterate and this affects the financial sustainability of micro-businesses. Furthermore,
the study revealed that all micro-businesses in the centre do not have access to funds
in the formal financial market. This may be caused by micro-business owners’ low
level of financial literacy that reduces their confidence to participate in the formal
financial market and this influences their financial decision-making. It was also
revealed that politics, high collateral and lack of information are some of the major
factors that prevent micro-businesses from accessing funds. The study also revealed
that 78 percent of micro-business owners have bad financial attitude. As a result, the
study recommends for financial education to be introduced in schools from primary
school level. There is also a need for major players in the financial market to conduct
seminars to create awareness and make information available to the micro-business
owners
Appropriateness of the UNAM Bachelor of Pharmacy honours Degree curriculum and its implementation, to meet the perceived health needs of Namibia
No full textA research thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Pharmacy (Pharmacy Practice)Since Independence in 1990 Namibia has struggled with a chronic shortage of pharmacists. To address this, a Bachelor of Pharmacy honours degree (BPharm) was developed and the first intake of BPharm students at UNAM was in 2011. This study is the first formal assessment of the appropriateness of the curriculum to the health needs of Namibia. A cross-sectional survey was shared with all registered pharmacists in Namibia, requesting them to rate the appropriateness of the BPharm modules to their field of pharmacy practice. Additionally, respondents rated the competence of UNAM BPharm graduates, if they had worked with them and made further comments on the appropriateness of the current curriculum. Internship assessment marks for 2016-2019 were also analysed. The survey was completed by 210 of 610 pharmacists registered in Namibia (34%). The mean appropriateness rating for 37 different modules ranged from 3.7 to 4.7 (scale: 1- not appropriate at all to 5-very appropriate). The mean rating of graduates’ perceived competence for the different domains ranged from 2.8 to 3.7 (scale: 1-not competent at all to 5-highly competent). Respondents’ comments suggested several enhancements to the current curriculum, with the most frequent suggestions being to strengthen business, management and leadership training. In relation to professional examinations, interns trained at UNAM performed better on the Legal assessment compared to interns trained elsewhere, but there was no significant difference between the two groups for the Calculation or Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) assessments. Results suggest that the current BPharm curriculum is appropriate for Namibia’s health needs, though more emphasis needs to be placed on some key areas. It is recommended that the results of this study guide the UNAM BPharm curriculum transformation. This study also demonstrates a cost-effective method for critical assessment of health professions training curricula that can be utilised in resource-limited settings
Penetration testing and vulnerability assessment on the Namibian inter-banking system: Namswitch
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in information technologyInformation Technology (IT) has become crucial to the operation of modern
businesses. Financial service firms rely on IT to deliver services to their customers. In
the Namibian context, the Bank of Namibia and the Payment Association of Namibia
have discontinued the use of cheques as a payment method and provided Electronic
Fund Transfers, cards, and electronic money as alternative payment methods. This
means that the Namibian Payment System (NPS) now solely relies on IT in order to
deliver services to its customers. The Namibian inter-banking system, known as
Namswitch, is classified as an Information Service Provider to the NPS, enabling inter communication between Namibian financial institutions. Often, the target of
cyberattacks are financial institutions and hackers with malicious intents are
continually attempting to infiltrate their IT systems. As such, the financial services
industry has unique information security requirements, and banks in particular conduct
more stringent due diligence and due care in order to ensure the confidentiality,
integrity and availability of their services. In order to address these security challenges,
this study sought to explore ways to proactively strengthen and enhance the
cybersecurity of the Namswitch system by evaluating the system’s security posture by
proposing remedial actions, and further proposing a framework to automate and
perform routine penetration tests in order to prevent future cyberattacks. The findings
revealed the presence of vulnerabilities on the Namswitch system, some of which
posed a high severity rating according to the CVSS risk rating. An example was the
presence of default credentials on some internal systems and the use of low to medium
strength ciphers on the external systems. A malicious user can leverage these
vulnerabilities to perform attacks such as man-in-the-middle attacks. In an effort to
strengthen the cybersecurity of the Namswitch system, the study provided a
Namswitch Safe Financial Exchange (NAMSAFE) Protocol which is an algorithmic
process aimed at remedying identified vulnerabilities and improving existing
processes. It further outlines remedial strategies, risk mitigation steps, and
compensating controls for vulnerabilities that could not be eliminated. Successfully
implemented, NAMSAFE provides a prescriptive methodology for maintaining
ongoing reliability and robustness to the Namibian banking syste
An analysis of relationship between research, innovation, and teaching in higher education in readiness for the 4IR
No full textThe 2nd Biannual Conference on Innovation in Learning and Teaching in Higher EducationThe presentation is about the relationship between research, innovation, and teaching in higher education in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
Facebook usage as a community engagement tool by residents in the Sauyemwa location, Kavango East region, during COVID-19 lockdown
No full textThe purpose of this study was to investigate and explore how residents in Kavango east used Facebook as a community engagement tool during the pandemic in Kavango East region, being the region with the lowest percentage of people with access to cellphones and internet. The study also aimed at assisting different communities to create new alternative ways on how to engage with each other using social media platforms like Facebook during the pandemic. The author used a qualitative method to randomly select 10 participants (8 males and 2 females) that were interviewed using a semi-structures interview. The findings reveal that, Sauyemwa residents used Facebook to communicate with others, to share and receive trending information around the world. Moreover, residents used Facebook Messenger for commenting on posts, liking and possibly sharing, to stream and share live videos and events. This study suggests that, Sauyemwa residents should use Facebook as an alternative mode of communication during the pandemic as it allows people to connect remotel
Designing and characterizing the plant-based chitosan-modified poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for salmonella and e. coli-induced gastroenteritis
No full textA dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of PhilosophyA global mortality rate of over 1.6 million deaths was reported in 2017 due to gastroenteritis. The highest mortality rate is reported annually in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In Namibia, the national prevalence of gastroenteritis was 17% in 2014 and to date, gastroenteritis is responsible for 5% of all deaths in children under the age of 5. In the Ohangwena region, 23.8% of children were reported to have gastroenteritis from a total sample size of 530 children in 2020. Salmonella species and Escherichia coli were responsible for most bacterial gastroenteritis cases reported in Windhoek in 2018. Some of the key challenges in the management of gastroenteritis are: 1) Antibiotics and antidiarrheal agents used in the treatment of gastroenteritis have side effects in children and immunocompromised patients. 2) The high treatment doses required for the effective treatment of gastroenteritis are harmful to the beneficial microbiota within the digestive system. 3) Salmonella species and E. coli which cause gastroenteritis, have shown over 60% resistance to the available antibiotics. 4) Many orally administered antibiotics and antidiarrheal agents have reduced bioavailability at the site of infection, within the alimentary canal. Extracts derived from medicinal plants are used in ethnomedicine in African countries including Namibia as alternative treatments for Salmonella and E. coli induced gastroenteritis. However, the lack of information on the presence and quantity of bioactive compounds present, their safety, and efficacy. Moreover, plant-based treatments are faced with numerous challenges within the GI tract which reduce their bioavailability and efficacy limiting their mainstream uses in treating gastroenteritis. The use of stable nano-particles that deliver plant-based medicine has attracted attention in the field of drug development. Such an approach could be an option for effectively delivering plant-based ii medicines, safely to the lower gastro intestinal tract, the site of Salmonella and E. coli with the added benefits of controlled release at this site to increase bioavailability reducing required doses. Benefits would also include reduced side effects and higher efficacy of antidiarrheal compounds from medicinal plant extracts. This study then aimed at designing and characterizing the plant-based chitosan-modified poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for Salmonella and E. coli-induced gastroenteritis. Medicinal plants used as an alternative treatment for gastrointestinal infection were collected from Iikokola village in the Omusati region in Namibia. Organic and aqueous extracts were prepared from the collected plants, screened for the present bioactive compounds, and tested for their potential in eliminating multidrug-resistant clinical and reference strains of Salmonella and E. coli that are commonly associated with bacterial gastroenteritis. The antibacterial activity against clinical and reference strains of Salmonella and E. coli and cytotoxicity to human fibroblast cells (NIH/3T3) of prepared extracts were also determined. Plant extracts with potent antibacterial activity against clinical and reference strains of Salmonella and E. coli were encapsulated into poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanocarriers coated with chitosan (CMPLGA) and characterized nanoparticles’ morphology, size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, encapsulation efficacy, and pH based in vitro release in simulated gastrointestinal tract conditions. Furthermore, the stability of the designed nanoparticles was determined by monitoring the physicochemical properties, in-vitro cytotoxicity, and antibacterial activity of lysed and un-lysed nanoparticles stored at 4 and 25 ºC for 24 weeks. As part of this study, an ethnomedicinal survey was conducted and 19 medicinal plants that are used in Iikokola village to treat gastrointestinal conditions and other diseases were iii documented. Crude extracts of five of the frequently used medicinal plants used in this study (Lantana camara, Terminalia sericea, Grewia tenax, Albizia anthelmintica, and Chorcorus trides) were used to validate the phytochemical compositions of these plants and were found to contain multiple bioactive compounds. The collected plants showed potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant clinical Salmonella and E. coli strains. Mild cytotoxicity to the mouse fibroblast cells (NIH/3T3) line was observed for the five plant extracts. All extracts showed an IC50 above 50 µg/ml. Encapsulating the selected plant extracts in CMPLGA enhanced the antibacterial properties of the plant extracts, reduced the cytotoxicity, and improved the in vitro release properties of the encapsulated extracts at pH 1.2 and 7.4. Lastly, factors such as lyophilization showed a change in the physicochemical properties of the formulated CMPLGA nanoparticles. Prolonged storage at 25 ºC tremendously reduces the efficacy of the CMPLGA nanoparticle, while storing at 4 ºC has only shown a minimal decrease in the efficacy of the CMPLGA nanoparticles. Overall, the use of CMPLGA nanoparticles enhanced the antibacterial activity of the plant extracts in this study and improved their in vitro release properties in simulations at a pH of 1.2 (stomach pH) and 7.4 (ileum pH). The use of CMPLGA nanoparticles also reduced the cytotoxicity of the extracts by over 20%. The toxicology and release properties of the formulated CMPLGA nanoparticles should be evaluated in an in vivo model as part of their development for mainstream use in treating Salmonella and E. coli-induced gastroenteritis
Feeding ecology of the African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus castelnau, 1861 in the floodplains of the Kavango river, Namibia
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Biodiversity ManagementThe feeding ecology of the African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus was investigated in the floodplains of the Kavango River, Namibia. A total of 275 samples of tigerfish were caught, using a seine and an experimental multifilament gillnet, during the annual flooding period between February and May 2020. The result of the study shows a significant ontogenetic dietary shift (P < 0.05) between size classes of tigerfish. The study also find a significant different (P < 0.05) in the diet composition of different size classes of tigerfish, where small size class tigerfish (20 mm -149 mm) fed predominately on aquatic macro invertebrates, which contributed by percentage number 94.5 % (N%), feeding mainly prey on the group of Corixidae 42.5%, Notonectidae 25.5% and Letophilebiidae 18.2%. Medium size class tigerfish (150 mm – 190 mm) fed on both portions of fish (Enteromius spp) and aquatic macro invertebrates (Trichoptera and Libellulidae)and the large size class tigerfish (200 mm - 585 mm) were predominately piscivorous (68.2 % N), feeding mainly on Cichlidae 34.9% and M. altisambesi 15.9 %. Overall, the results of the study show that tigerfish did not consume prey larger than 150 mm in total length (TL), and the predator - prey length ratio was approximately 23%. The study findings show that tigerfish on the Kamutjonga floodplains feed predominately on aquatic macro invertebrates when in the early stages of life and are piscivorous in the adult stage life. The study results provide important information in understanding the dietary requirement of tigerfish in the Kamutjonga floodplains. Such information is important in conservation measure of tigerfish. Henceforth, the study recommended multi-species modeling studies based on predator-prey interactions, in order to better understand, resource use and partitioning among species on the Kamutjonga floodplain