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E-learning resources in medical education: a study on the effective utilization among medical students in a private sector Medical college in Lahore, Pakistan.
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Introduction:
For centuries, teaching and learning have been an integral part of human existence, and will continue to be so. However, the field has undergone significant transformations in recent decades, with the introduction of e-learning being the latest development. Several factors have driven the growth of e-learning, including shifting student needs and behaviors, cost reduction, quality improvement, and increased accessibility. The use of e-learning tools in medical education has
grown dramatically, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. As the number of geographically dispersed learners continues to rise, and technology-based services
become more diverse, the adoption of e-learning is likely to expand in the future. Objective: To explore the resources used by medical students to keep themselves updated with the latest global changes in medical science. Material and Methods. A cross-sectional study of 262 participants was conducted at Azra Naheed College Medical College Superior University Lahore. After obtaining consent, a validated questionnaire was completed to collect data on students' demographic characteristics, academic level, and online resource usage patterns. The study involved 262 participants, of which 106 (40.5%) were male and 156 (59.5%) were female.
Results: The study finds the resources used and affecting their day to day activities by e-learning for medical students. Frequency percentage mean and standard deviation was determined. Descriptive statistics indicate that the mean for all the variables is over three indicating an overall positive response. A p value of 0.00 typically indicates that the observed result is extremely statistically significant. Conclusion: This research finds that effectiveness of e-learning rests in development of skills related to independent learning
An assessment of ‘information, communication, and technology’ adoption on revenue collection function in district councils of Zambia: a case study of Chilanga district council.
Get PDFThesis of Master of Business Administration General.Most local governments struggle to effectively mobilize and collect the local revenues needed to effectively deliver economic and social services to citizens. Using the Chilanga District Council (CDC) as a case study, the study’s objective was to assess the adoption and use of information and
communication technology (ICT) in the revenue collection process, examine current methods in use, understand current revenue collection challenges, and to ascertain whether it is feasible to adopt ICT as a revenue collection enhancement model in district councils in Zambia. The study adopted a survey design and a quantitative descriptive approach. Data collection was carried out using a quantitative method through a questionnaire survey. The Yamane (1967) formula was used to determine a sample size of 402, which consisted of 13 employees and 389 clients of the CDC. The data was analyzed using STATA version 14. The findings showed that: Majority of the clientele (82.3 % [320/389]) manually pay taxes over the counter at the CDC; bank transfers (46.2 % [6/13]) and point-of-sale(38.5 % [5/13]) are the electronic platform currently used to receive payments and clients stated that they prefer an absolute electronic revenue collection mode (92.3 % [12/13]); poor internet connectivity is the major (61.5 % [8/13]) anticipated challenge that the council would face when revenue collection is absolutely electronic, the study further revealed that Tax payer’s poor knowledge on use of digital payment platform would be another challenge (30.8 % [4/13]); and majority (84.6 % [11/13]) suggested that adoption of e-payment platform will resolve the current challenges faced in paying taxes such as high transport cost and long distance. The study also revealed other challenges, such as low client awareness of available e-payment models, poor internet access in some areas of the district and non-decentralization of payment points to remote areas of the district. Inferential statistics further revealed that perceived ease of use (β = 0.45, p < 0.01) and perceived usefulness (β = 0.50, p < 0.01) significantly predict ICT adoption in Zambian District Councils' revenue collection, with younger employees (r = 0.65, p <
0.05) showing a stronger relationship between perceived usefulness and ICT adoption. In conclusion, the adoption and use of ICT in revenue collection process at CDC is still in its infancy. Therefore, to enhance revenue collection, the council should invest more resources in the development and use of cost effective, accessible and user-friendly e-payment platforms as well as raising awareness of the existing e-payment options, and decentralizing payment points in areas where the use of e-payment models is difficult due to poor internet connectivity
Achieving accountability and quality education through assessments: a comprehensive exploration of assessment practices in Zambia.
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This paper explores the role of assessments in achieving accountability and quality education provision in Zambia. The attainment of quality education is dependent upon the establishment of systems that ensure transparency, efficacy and accountability within the education system at all levels. Assessments play a crucial role in achieving accountability and ensuring quality education provision. Despite efforts to provide a comprehensive assessment system that has evaluation procedures that can assess more intellectual capacities, attitudinal and dispositional outcomes in areas of innovation, problem solving, self-initiated and selfsustaining, Zambia grapples with issues of equity and inclusivity in assessment practices which pose significant obstacles to achieving fair and meaningful evaluation of assessment system that promotes accountability and enhances quality education provision. Employing descriptive survey design and desk review of different collections of literature, policies, frameworks and reports, the study aims to illuminate both the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the current assessment practices within the Zambian context. Furthermore, the study endeavours to unearth the challenges impeding effective assessment practices, while simultaneously proposing strategic recommendations aimed at enhancing the existing shortcomings. The findings underscore the importance of robust assessments practices in augmenting accountability and ensuring quality education outcomes, providing valuable insights for policymakers, educators and stakeholders invested in advancing accountability and quality education provision through assessments. In addition, the study recommends incorporation of teacher training and all stakeholders involved in assessment practices, improve of existing infrastructure, construction and equipping of laboratories with equipment and apparatus, enhancing monitoring and supervision, re-thinking stipulated guidelines on assessment implementation and utilization of funds in schools. Additionally, reconsideration of resource allocation and material provision, coupled with feedback provision and analysis of capacities should be implemented in order for Zambia to develop a pathway towards a more equitable, inclusive and highquality education system that empowers all learners to realize their maximum potential
Sub-habitat structure preferences between built environments and regenerated forests in Lusaka National park with respect to bird species diversity, species richness and relative abundance
Get PDFThesis of Master’s Degree in Ecological Public Health.Forests play a crucial role in order to maintain terrestrial ecological diversity. In this study, two distinct forest types—built environments (Forest Reserve 27) and regenerated forests (Lusaka National Park)—in Lusaka, Zambia, are compared with respect to their bird species diversity and concentration. Predicting the bird species' preferred sub-habitat structure is another objective of this study. For the purpose of evaluating species richness and species diversity, two ecological indicator indices were employed: the Simpsons Diversity Index (D) and the Shannon Weiner Diversity Index (H'). Eight days in all, four days at each site, were dedicated to gathering data. To acquire data, an analytical experimental strategy utilizing transect formulation, georeferencing, and mapping in a naturalistic observational study. In addition, International Union for Conservation of Nature red list categories were examined, order categorization, diet, habitat type, and migration status. Forest 27 and Lusaka National Park, yielded a total of 241 individual bird sightings. These totalled 79 observations, of which 35 (at 95% confidence interval 33.6-45.6%) came from Forest 27 and 44 (55.7%) from Lusaka National Park (95% confidence interval 44.4 – 66.4%). The species richness and species diversity of Lusaka National Park were
measured at H' = 3.5 and D = 28.5, respectively, whereas Forest 27 saw H' = 3.2 and D = 23.1 for species richness and diversity, respectively. Although they highlight different facets, Simpson's and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices both quantify biodiversity. While Shannon-Wiener takes into account both richness and evenness, with higher values suggesting higher diversity, Simpson's concentrates on dominance, with higher values indicating lower diversity. It was concluded that a variety of variables; These include climate, fragmentation, noise pollution, affecting Forest 27 are probably responsible for Lusaka National Park's greater species richness and diversity. This covers government policies on the forest reserve: 1. Sustainable use – Utilization of forest resources in a sustainable manner must be the focus as well as balancing wood extraction with the preservation of ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. 2. Biodiversity Protection- forest reserves are designed for the safeguard of threatened species and important ecosystems. In regards to forest reserves and protected areas, policy re-evaluation would be advised. Conservation strategies should focus on a variety of ground-nesting, canopy nesting and insectivorous bird species that are negatively impacted by logging.
Conducting another assessment a few years from now would be recommended to further conclude whether Lusaka National Park would still compete or hold a higher amount of diversity and abundance compared to forest 27or other forest reserves in the Lusaka area
A study of the strategic responses of commercial banks to changes in the external environment in Zambia.
Get PDFThesis of Master of Business Administration Management StrategyBanking sectors play a crucial part in the growth of a country's economy. As a result, the banking sector's stability is critical to an economy's growth. However, commercial banks are faced with external environmental changes that may render negative as well as positive impacts on commercial banks. Thus, banks need to respond to such changes with strategies. Crafting strategies to suit changes in the external environment is one goal of every organisation whose aim is to remain competitive in the market, generate profits and attain growth. To that end, this study aimed at investigating the response strategies of commercial banks to changes in the external environment in Zambia. Study’s specific objectives were to; establish response strategies employed by commercial banks in Zambia to the economic changes; determine the response strategies employed by commercial banks in Zambia to technology advancements; and establish the response strategies employed by commercial banks in Zambia to social- cultural changes. This study utilized a descriptive research approach. A total number of 38 questionnaires were distributed, from this number, 20 questionnaires were returned and correctly answered. This translates into 52.6% response rate. Data was quantitatively analysed using SPSS and Microsoft excel. The percentages, averages, and means were used to represent the result values. The results revealed that commercial banks did not respond to Social-cultures changes in consumer behaviour in Zambia. However commercial banks responded to economic and technological factors, which led to closure of some branches and bank merges. To that end, commercial banks adopted various response strategies to
respond to the changes. Strategies adopted included stability and expansion while no commercial bank adopted retrenchment strategy. Study concludes that Commercial banks adopted stability to respond to economic and technological external environment changes. Study recommends that commercial banks should not only concentrate on stability strategies, but also use other strategies such as expansion and retrenchment strategies to survive the harsh external turbulence.
Management of commercial banks should take advantage of advances in information and communication technology that enhances service delivery and meeting customer needs. Banks need to constantly scan the environment using various tools like SWOT, Research and Development and PESTEL in order to be aware of changes in the external environment and prepare
for it
Analysis of the effects of environmental entrepreneurship on sustainable development among small medium enterprises in Zambia: a case of Lusaka central business district (CBD).
Get PDFThesis of the Degree of Masters of Business Administration in Management Strategy.These challenges have emerged due to the profit maximization motive of the SME owners at the expense of conserving the environment and the values of society. Currently, there is a pressing need for entrepreneurs to adopt environmentally friendly strategies, technologies, and products
that will result in sustainable solutions to problems of the day. A study was adopted to analyze the effects of environmental entrepreneurship on sustainable development among small and medium enterprises in Lusaka’s CDB. A sample of 278 respondents was selected using the Cochran formula which resulted in a response rate of 91% with 252 respondents. A mixed methodology approach was used and data was analyzed through the use of SPSS from which correlation and a summary of coefficient were used to measure the relationship among variables. The overall coefficient of correlation of 0.947 from the SPSS results suggests that there is a strong positive relationship between the variables under observation in relation to sustainable development among SMEs with regard to environmental entrepreneurship strategies which are: environmental efficacy, and environmental innovation. The R-Square (coefficient of determination) of 0.897 suggests that sustainable development is influenced 89.7% by the independent variables observed
Exposure to Cinyanja digital stories and rhymes in pre-school as predictors of reading skills among grade one learners in low-resource communities in Lusaka province, Zambia.
Get PDFThesis of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology of Education.This study sought to establish the long-term effects of exposing preschool children to digital stories and rhymes on acquiring reading skills beyond alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and vocabulary skills at the end of first grade. The objectives of this study were to find out the effect of exposure to digital stories and rhymes in preschool in supporting phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge and vocabulary among grade one pupils, test whether exposure to digital stories and rhymes in preschool supports learning to read among grade one pupils; and test the difference in response to digital stories and rhymes between pupils from more and less stimulating home literacy environments and their reading skills in grade one. This study was guided by positivism; hence a quantitative approach was used. This pre test-post-test randomised controlled trial randomly sampled 241 children (mean age = 98.18 months; SD = 15.05) from 14 public preschools annexed to primary schools of Lusaka Province. The children were randomly assigned to three conditions: an intervention group exposed to digital stories and rhymes in the language of instruction (n
= 81), a control group I exposed to a non-literacy game (n = 81) and a control group II that continued with the usual classroom play activities (n = 79). Children in the intervention group attended brief digital stories and rhymes on tablets for six weeks (48 minutes/week). Follow-up assessments were conducted in grade one approximately 15 months after exposure to the digital stories and rhymes. The data was collected using rhyming and vocabulary tests, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), and the Basic Skills Assessment Tool (BASAT). Data on parental literacy levels, home
possession (a measure of SES), and home literacy environment were also collected. Data were analysed quantitatively using IBM SPSS version 23. Descriptive and bivariate correlation statistics were conducted before utilising linear mixed model regression to determine the long-term effects of the digital stories and rhymes on the reading skills of grade one pupils. The results showed that children in the intervention group scored significantly higher on reading their names (p = .025) and reading words and sentences (p =. 007) than the two control groups when parental literacy was controlled for. In addition, children in the intervention group outperformed children in the control groups in letter knowledge skills (p = .004) and vocabulary (p = .003). These findings support the hypothesis that children exposed to Cinyanja digital stories and rhymes will have better reading skills at the end of grade one. However, the digital programme did not significantly affect first-grade rhyming skills. The study recommends enriching the preschool curriculum with Cinyanja digital stories and rhymes as supplementary to the traditional curriculum materials. These may also enhance the home literacy environment with more opportunities for children to play with the language of instruction before formal schooling
Facrors influencing structural violence against female police officers in Zambia police service: a case study of Monze police station.
No full textMain articleThe purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing structural violence against women in Zambia police taking particular interest Monze police station. The study endevoured to achieve the two (2) objectives namely; to establish factors behind structural violence against women in the police service the at Monze Police station and; to examine measures to address the causes of structural violence in the police service at Monze police station. In this study, a qualitative
descriptive research design was used. The study population was drawn from among police officers based at Monze police station. Monze police station has a total population of sixty (60) police officers. Among these 35 (59%) are male officers while 25 (41%) are female officers. In this study, purposive sampling technique was used to identify respondents from the targeted population. Data was collected until a saturation point was reached. 30 in-depth interviews were
conducted on a one on one in this study with police officers drawn from Monze Police station both males and females. The data was analyzed thematically. Thematic approach was used where data was grouped according to common themes and patterns as well as differences in the participants’ responses. Thematic analysis was done after verbatim transcription of the interviews. It study revealed that structural violence against female officers in the Zambia police service has been in existence for a long time now. This has been necessitated by gender inequality which exist between men and women in most Zambian communities. Others include culture and belief that women are not ready to take risks and do not work throughout the month or year. Measures to address these from the study were found to come up with steps such as empower women, support community level transformations of social norms and practices, formulate laws and policies that will deal with the inequality between men and women and increase knowledge and sensitizations on gender equality and equity. The study recommended that measures must be taken to ensure that African cultural practices must have no influence in the Zambia police service administration and that
Laws and Policies must be established to support the current pieces of legislature to address structural violence against female police officers in Zambia police service
An analysis of the context and current training methods used in training of trainers in selected organisations in the Lusaka district.
Get PDFThesis of Masters of Education in Adult Education.Training of trainers has its origin in the field of adult education and carries along the adult learning principles. However, many practitioners tend to ignore the very core principles that underlie the methods used in training trainers. For this reason, this study sought to analyse the training methods used in the training of trainers in three selected organizations in the Lusaka District. The objectives of the study were to investigate the training methods used in training of trainers by the trainers, to establish the relevance of training methods to trainees’ learning style; and to assess the tools used by trainers to monitor the application of their knowledge and skills in their training. The study comprised 60 participants including four trainers, 54 trainees and two supervisors were purposively drawn from three organizations. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to gather and collect the data in response to the purpose of the study and the research objectives. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with trainers and supervisors and a combination of closed and open-ended questionnaires was used to collect the data from the trainees. Qualitative data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis and quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics to establish and compare the training methods used by the trainers.The study found that the (trainees, trainers and supervisors preferred methods of training which they felt addressed their needs and those of their organizations. The study also established that trainers deployed different methods when training the trainees in a bid to accommodate the diversity among the trainees. For this reason, trainers acknowledge that there was no single method that would make trainees or training sessions successful and effective. The success of a training session was based on the deployment of a variety of training methods in the training sessions. The study established that workshops employing scenario training, on-the-job training and lecture methods were among the key methods used to conduct the training in the selected organisations. These methods were selected based on the training materials and availability of resources in terms of funds and training personnel. The study also revealed that the training environment played a pivotal role in a training session because some training activities were by nature interactive and as such required an environment that would allow for such activities to take place with little or no interruptions. These methods were also reported to be relevant because they considerably helped the trainees to improve their work performance after training. The study concluded that different training methods were used but no single method was appropriate for successful training of trainers - but a combination of different methods in respect of the trainee's different training styles. There was also an implicit attempt to contextualise the training methods within the adult learning framework and principles
Maladministration and soccer: determinants of the success of the premier soccer league in Zimbabwe.
Get PDFThesis e of Master of Education in Physical Education and Sports in Primary Education.The Premier Soccer League (PSL) of Zimbabwe is one of the leading football leagues in Southern Africa, showcasing top talent and providing high-quality football entertainment to fans across the country. However, the success of the PSL is not solely determined by the performance of the players on the field, but also by the effective management and administration of the league itself. Maladministration and governance issues have been highlighted as key factors that can either propel the league to greater heights or hinder its progress. This study scrutinized the factors contributing to the underperformance of Zimbabwean soccer teams, explicitly emphasizing the often-overlooked variable of corruption. The study aimed to analyze the historical context of premier soccer league of football in development in Zimbabwe, aiming to identify the determinants of premier soccer league success. The study used qualitative method that sought to explore some athletes’ trending problem of stopping exercising after retirement and how they could be motivated to continue exercising. The resourcefulness of a nation, including financial capability, talent pool size, and experience, emerges as a crucial factor. While the impact of population size on the talent pool varies, culture and premier soccer league history played significant roles. The sample size of the study was sixty which was comparable to similar scholarly studies in the field of soccer research. The findings revealed that the Zimbabwean premier soccer league face challenges like dwindling resources and managerial aptitude. Further, Clubs express commitment, but financial incentives are limited. The recommendations of the study included urgent training, separating operational issues from strategic planning, and emphasizing strategic components. In further research need to focus on education and training, business coaching, ethical leadership, transparency, accountability, punitive measures for corruption, stakeholder engagement, and
addressing monetary concerns for grassroots soccer