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Mechanical properties of aluminium reinforced with crushed gravel and coconut shell ash for various applications
No full textxv, 102 p. : ill. (col.) ;This work investigated the mechanical characteristics of Aluminium reinforced with coconut shell-ash and crushed gravel powder because pure Aluminium presents limitations due to its low tensile strength of less than 90 N/mm² under annealed conditions. To fabricate the composite, the present work utilized weight percentages of 4, 5, 7.5 and 10% for coconut shell ash powder (CSAp) and 5, 6, 7, and 7.5% for crashed gravel (CGp). The chemical analysis of the reinforcement materials was carried out using the scanning electron microscope coupled with the Energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX). The aluminium matrix composite was produced by a stir casting process at a firing temperature of 650 0C. These composite samples were prepared and subjected to microstructural and mechanical properties tests using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the universal testing machine (UTM). Microstructural analysis revealed the presence of significant voids that were identified with dark patches within all the samples and the presence of striations that resulted from the irregular and non-uniform distribution between the matrix and the reinforcement materials. The mechanical property test results revealed that the composite sample S5 only reinforced with 5 wt% of crushed gravel exhibited the highest tensile strength of 157.5 MPa but with the smallest compressive strength of 111.13 MPa. Sample S2 which was reinforced with equal 7.5 wt% of crushed gravel and coconut shell ash produced the highest Rockwell’s hardness of 117 HRB with the least value of 66 HRB produced by sample S1. Sample S4 that was reinforced with 5 wt% of coconut shell ash only, produced the highest compressive strength of 355.83 MPa. Additionally, sample S3 exhibited the maximum elongation among the tested samples, with a value of 9.59%. With the exception of AMC sample 4, all other fabricated AMCs exhibited tensile strengths above that of pure Aluminium (90 MPa), hence the fabricated AMC can be used for various structural applications in the building and construction industries
The Effect of Teamwork on Employee Performance among Small and Medium Enterprises in Kampala. A Case Study of Exquisite Solution Limited
No full textP. (1-12) ;This study focused on the effect of teamwork on employee performance among Small and Medium Enterprises in Kampala.
A case study at Exquisite Solution Limited. The objectives of the study were; to establish if effective communication in teams has an impact on the employee performance at ESL, to identify the effect of leadership in teams on the employee performance at ESL and to analyze the role of reward management in teams on employee performance at ESL. The study employed a descriptive research design since the analysis unit was based on only one firm. A case study design was used to select a sample size of 50 respondents and Purposive and Simple random sampling procedures were used. Secondary data was collected and it’s what was used to explain the research phenomenon. The study concluded that the worker productivity increases when there is effective communication among the teams and within the organization. Besides many other things the communication within the organization helps the employees to perform their tasks well, to have information about the duties they have to perform, and about the goals of the organization. They argue that existence of communication within the organization lead to the effective decision making. The study concluded that the worker productivity increases when there is effective communication among the teams and within the organization. The study examined and evaluated the effect of teamwork on Employee Performance among Small and Medium Enterprises in Kampala, a case study of Exquisite Solution Limited. Based on the findings, there is a positive and significant relationship between effective communication and employee performance. Therefore, effective communication in the entertainment industry is an essential tactic that has been performed which can extract the ultimate of the employee to help the both organization and the employees to achieve their ultimate goal. Level of trust has a positive and significant relationship with employee performance as referring to the findings.
Building trust is building the confidence in each other’s competencies and reliabilities, thus, the existence of trust among team
members constructs synergy in the organization and a better performance of its employees as trust in based on the reliability and
the competencies
Leader-member exchange and job performance of academic staff at Kyambogo university
No full textxi, 79 p.The focus of this study was to examine the effect of Leader-Member Exchange on job performance of academic staff at Kyambogo University. A critical review of literature was conducted to identify and address gaps in previous studies, informing the current study. The study made use of cross sectional research design and targeted a population that included assistant lectures, lectures, senior lectures, associate professors, and professors. A sample size of 200 academic staff was identified through stratified random sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and means, correlations, and regression analysis were employed for data analysis. Study findings established that loyalty, affect, professional respect, and contribution significantly predict job performance. The study established correlations between loyalty, affect, professional respect, contribution, and job performance. Based on these findings, the study recommended team-building activities, transparent and open communication, emotional intelligence training, and continuous professional development programs for academic staff at Kyambogo University. The study suggested that further research should examine; the long term effect of LMX on job performance; how integration of technology and learning, and administrative tasks affects LMX and job performance; and the role of factors such as funding availability, government policies, and societal expectations on the effect of LMX and job performance
School-based welfare and teacher affective commitment in secondary schools in Kaliro district, Uganda
No full textVarious pagesThe study sought to investigate the relationship between School-based welfare benefits; (economic, recreational and facilitative welfare benefits) and Teacher Affective Commitment (TAC). The study involved 202 respondents (teachers) from 8 selected secondary schools in Kaliro district, Uganda. Data were collected using Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ). Data were analyzed using percentages and means for descriptive analysis. Whilst, Pearson linear correlation analysis was used to establish the relationship between School-based welfare benefits and Teacher Affective Commitment. The results showed that economic welfare benefits substantially and positively related to teacher emotional commitment (r=0.340, ρ=0.0000.05, r=0.21, ρ=0.706>005) respectively. Therefore, economic welfare benefits is still a significant positive probable prerequisite for teacher affective commitment while both recreational welfare benefits and facilitative welfare benefits are insignificant antecedents of teacher affective commitment in secondary schools in Uganda. School managers and education policymakers should prioritize strengthening economic welfare benefits for teachers through offering competitive allowances, timely incentives and professional development. Additionally, secondary schools should reevaluate and enhance recreational and facilitative welfare benefits for teachers to create a supportive school environment. Regular assessments of welfare programs, collaboration with teachers and further research would also contribute to improving teacher affective commitment in secondary schools
A studio exploration of rubber dust waste from tyres as a surface for drawing
No full textVarious pages : col.The increase in population and urbanization of cities in Uganda has led to accumulation of Solid waste which consists of plastics, textile, glass, medical waste, metal and tyres among others. Recycling methods involving incineration of such waste are highly condemned by NEMA due to health risks that may arise from air and water pollution. A recent report on waste management around Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) in May 2023 by GIZ, a Germany development agency indicates that 50% of solid waste around Kampala is uncollected or poorly disposed in unknown dump sites. Recycling methods involving art and craft practices such as material exploration may contribute towards combating poor waste disposal. This study investigated the possibilities of creating drawing surfaces out of rubber dust waste from tyres as an intervention into its poor disposal. The study was guided by three objectives; To establish the various sources leading to formation of rubber dust waste from tyres; To examine the extent to which artists have explored recycled surfaces for drawing and To produce drawing surfaces using rubber dust waste from tyres. The study adopted an exploratory research design guided by the theory of production with waste and recycling by Klaus Conrad (1997) using in-depth interviews, observation, literature review, photography and studio exploration methods to collect qualitative data. Fifteen respondents involving five casual workers from footwear cottages and ten year III students pursuing Bachelor of Art and Industrial Design were selected using purposive sampling technique to participate in this study. The findings revealed a variety of sources responsible for the production of rubber dust waste from tyres including road abrasion, tyre treading, and tyre manufacturing processes. This study was able to reveal that rubber dust waste from tyres can be manipulated to create drawing surfaces bearing different attributes such as thickness, colour, flexibility and texture as would be determined by the artist. The study recommended that artists should engage in recycling practices as an intervention into poor waste disposal and possibilities of exploring rubber dust as a drawing material to widen the scope of its reuse
Government development expenditure and economic growth nexus in Uganda
No full textxii, 38 p. ;The study investigated the direction of causality as well as cause-effect relationship between development expenditure and Uganda’s economic growth using the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model and the generalized method of movements (GMM) respectively. Quarterly data for the period 2008 quarter 3 to 2022 quarter 3 were used in the analysis. The data was sourced from Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and from Bank of Uganda. Findings from the VAR and the subsequent Granger Wald causality test results suggest that there is a uni-directional causality running from economic growth to development expenditure. Estimates from the GMM model indicate that whereas variations in development expenditure have no causal effect on Uganda’s economic growth, the variations in gross fixed capital formation and the variations in debt service had a significant influence on Uganda’s economic growth. On policy stance, we argue that Uganda’s economic growth could be enhanced from increased development expenditure if government could carefully scrutinize and prioritize public investment projects financed by development expenditure to avoid the “white-elephant” hypothesis. Additionally, Uganda’s economic growth can be enhanced through devising strategies that increase on gross fixed capital formation and strategies that enhance domestic tax revenue collection in order to cut on dent servicing
Determinants of online marketing adoption among small and medium enterprises in Nakawa industrial area, Uganda
No full textxii, 57 p.This study examined the determinants for online marketing adoption among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nakawa Industrial Area. Specifically, the study examines the relationship between perceived usefulness and online marketing adoption, perceived ease of use and online marketing adoption, as well as the moderating role of attitude in this relationship. The study adopted a cross sectional survey. The study population comprised of 246 SME firms and a sample of 150 firms were drawn using systematic sampling. Data were collected through surveys administered to SME owners and managers, and interviews were conducted with some SME owners. The study analyzed data using descriptive, correlations and regression analyses. The findings reveal that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are significantly related and influence online marketing adoption among SMEs. Additionally, it was found out that attitude plays a mediating role between perceived ease of use and online marketing adoption while for perceived usefulness, it does not have a statistically significant role. These findings underscore the importance of considering factors such as perceived benefits, ease of use, and individual attitudes in promoting the adoption of online marketing strategies among SMEs in Uganda. The study extends the following recommendations to those seeking to enhance SME competitiveness and sustainability in the digital age; prioritizing investment in digital skills development for SME owners and employees to enhance their proficiency in online marketing strategies, selecting online marketing platforms and tools that are user-friendly and intuitive to use, considering factors such as ease of navigation, simplicity of interface, and availability of support resources and reflecting on the success stories and testimonials from other SMEs that have successfully implemented online marketing strategies
Pentecostal scholarship in Uganda: trends, trajectories and challenges
No full textAlthough there is a plethora of scholarly works on African Pentecostal scholarship in Uganda, there is a notable invisibility of local Ugandan scholars in the publication pages. Prominent in Pentecostal studies in this context are the works of foreign scholars such as (in no particular order) Barbra Bompani, Ben Jones, Elizabeth Bremner, Robert Gibbs, Lars H. Williams, K.T. Zemlicka and Alessandro Gusman, among others. This triggers questions that interrogate the invisibility of indigenous Ugandan scholars in the field of African Pentecostalism. This is not to discount efforts made by the few local scholars such as Paddy Musana, Moses Isabirye, Fred Jenga and Samuel Mugisa, although the focus of their studies on the phenomenon presents a different dimension of invisibility. In this chapter we interrogate the problem of invisibility—not only exposing the quantity in scholarship but also quality of works on the phenomenon by indigenous Ugandan scholars. Efforts are made to review scholarly works/terrain in contemporary African contexts, the quality of scholarly works of the Western scholars and researchers and finally examine the scholarly situation in the local context. We have also examined the scholarly landscape that informs the limited representation of indigenous Ugandan scholars in the field of study
Long-term effects on depressive symptoms among Ugandan mothers – Findings from a follow-up of a cluster-randomized education trial in a rural low-resource setting
No full textIntroduction
Depression is increasingly affecting mothers in poor countries such as Uganda. Various interventions have been implemented to tackle this problem, but their sustainability is under-researched. Here we present follow-up data on maternal depression six years after a cluster-randomized controlled maternal education trial in rural Uganda.
Methods
The intervention lasted six months and consisted of nutrition, hygiene, sanitation and child stimulation education, delivered to 511 mothers of 6 to 8 months' old children. Six years later we assessed maternal depressive symptoms using two psychometric tools; the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CESsingle bondD).
Results
For this follow-up study, data was available from 307/511 (60 %) mothers. Intention-to-treat analyses adjusting for clustering showed that the intervention mothers had non-significantly less depression symptoms (absolute score difference − 2; 95 % CI -5 to 0; p = 0.07) on BDI-II, and borderline significantly less depression symptoms (absolute score difference − 3; 95 % CI -5 to 0; p = 0.05) on CES-D compared to the controls. For categorized depression scores, the control mothers had significantly higher proportion of women classified in the worse depression categories for both BDI-II and CESsingle bondD. We did not find any baseline characteristics associated with maternal depression.
Limitations
The BDI-II and CES-D tools are both self-reported and we cannot rule out the possibility of social desirability bias in reporting of depression symptoms.
Conclusion
Six years after the maternal education trial, some benefits on maternal mental health were sustained. More studies are warranted on sustainability and scale-up of such interventions
Sensitivity of streamflow to changing rainfall and evapotranspiration in catchments across the Nile Basin
No full textThis research focuses on the complex dynamics governing the sensitivity of streamflow to variations in rainfall and potential evapotranspiration (PET) within the Nile basin. By employing a hydrological model, our study examines the interrelationships between meteorological variables and hydrological responses across six catchments (Blue Nile, El Diem, Kabalega, Malaba, Mpanga, and Ribb) and explores the intricate balance between rainfall, PET, and streamflow. Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) for calibration of the hydrological model ranged from 0.636 (Ribb) to 0.831 (El Diem). For validation, NSE ranged from 0.608 (Ribb) to 0.811 (Blue Nile). With rainfall kept constant while PET was increased by 5%, the streamflows of the Blue Nile, El Diem, Kabalega, Malaba, Mpanga, and Ribb decreased by 7.00, 5.08, 2.49, 4.10, 1.84, and 7.67%, respectively. With the original PET data unchanged, increasing rainfall of the Blue Nile, El Diem, Kabalega, Malaba, Mpanga, and Ribb by 5% led to an increase in streamflow by 9.02, 9.87, 5.38, 4.34, 6.58, and 8.32%, respectively. The research reveals that the rate at which a catchment losing water to the atmosphere (determined by PET) substantially influences its drying rate. Utilizing linear models, we demonstrate that the surplus rainfall available for increasing streamflow (represented by model intercepts) amplifies with higher rainfall intensities. This highlights the pivotal role of rainfall in shaping catchment water balance dynamics. Moreover, our study stresses the varied sensitivities of catchments within the basin to changes in PET and rainfall. Catchments with lower PET exhibit heightened responsiveness to increasing rainfall, accentuating the influence of evaporative demand on streamflow patterns. Conversely, regions with higher PET rates necessitate refined management strategies due to their increased sensitivity to changes in evaporative demand. Understanding the intricate interplay between rainfall, PET, and streamflow is paramount for developing adaptive strategies amidst climate variability. By examining these relationships, our research contributes essential knowledge for sustainable water resource management practices at both the catchment and regional scales, especially in regions susceptible to varying sensitivities of catchments to climatic conditions