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Decision Support Systems in Forest Management: An Integrated Approach
No full text Decision making process - especially in natural resources management, encounters myriad of challenges to objective decisions, significant decision depends on amount of information and capability of decision makers to handle massive data. In forest management, these challenges such as lack of enough data and cost associated with obtaining insitu spatial data, have been minimised with the use Geospatial Decision Support System (GDSS). GDSS has shown great capability of capturing, storing, analysing, retrieving and manipulating data for aiding spatial decisions. This technology proliferates quickly and as a result decision makers overlook other systems for forest governing. Following this situation, people living adjacent to forests have found it difficult to accessing forest resources - and their livelihoods, which depends on forests have been compromised. The continuing degradation of forest resources despite existence of different management strategies - such as (community based forest management and joint forest management), has made it necessary to assess decisions on forest conservation. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) strategy was applied to capture extent of use of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) and GDSS in forest management decisions, observation was applied to implicitly relate the narration from FGD and the reality while interview method was applied to forest officials to capture use of ILK in forest decision making. The results revealed that ILK related to forest management; however the uncovered ILK has been insignificantly used together with GDSS in making decision for conservation. This paper establishes the ignorance on ILK as one among other factors behind the continued forest cover depletion despite existence of conventional conservation strategies. The developed framework integrates GDSS and ILK to aid forest decisions which will ensure sustainable forest conservation and serves for forest needs of the communities adjacent. Â
Detection Rats Technology for Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in High-Risk Populations
No full textPrevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in prisoners in Tanzania and other subSaharan African countries is considered to be higher than in other populations thus prisons are important source of TB transmission. Control of TB in prisons through appropriate screening and diagnosis is challenging in most low-income countries such as Tanzania that is among world’s 22 countries with high burden of TB. Commonly used TB diagnostic test (smear microscopy) have low sensitivity, and most advanced GeneXpert method is rather expensive for developing countries. SUA-APOPO TB detection rats’ technology is most promising and increases TB case detection by over 40% in hospitals in Dar es Salaam Tanzania and Maputo Mozambique. This paper reports on improved TB detection in a selected prison in Tanzania using TB detection rats. Sputum samples (n = 11,424) were collected from 5,840 patients whom 3,491 were men, 2,349 were women. Of these, 386 patients were children altogether seeking diagnosis of TB at Ukonga prison dispensary from January 2013 to October 2015) and Keko prison dispensary from February to October 2015). Samples were routinely examined by Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) staining and later tested by rats APOPO TB laboratory, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro. Rats’ positive samples were concentrated and confirmed by fluorescent microscopy (LED-FM) or ZN microscopy. A total of 709 individuals (12%) were diagnosed as smear-positive TB by the prison hospital, whereas rats detected an additional 302 TB patients. This increased the case detection in the prison population by 43%. The use of rats’ technology increased the prevalence of smear-positive TB in prisons from 12% to 17.3% (n = 1,011) that is higher than prevalence reported in prisons elsewhere using microscopy. This finding shows that detection rats’ technology can help reduce the burden of TB in developing countries. There is need to expand application of this technology to other risk populations including miners. This technology can improve workforce, livelihood and socio-economy by reducing TB related expenses. Â
Regional Specialization inPerceiving and Using the Senses of Polysemes
No full textThe scrutiny of four polysemes: safari (n), perception (n), meanwhile (adv.) and store (n) in Tanzanian and American corpuses of Englishes suggests an existence of a specialization in perceiving and using senses of polysemes by region. The present study found out that Tanzanian English users normally mean different by the terms „safari‟ and „store‟ to what American English users normally mean by the same terms. At the same time, the perception and the use of the polysemes, „perception‟ and„meanwhile‟ , revealed a distinctive pattern of use between American and Tanzanian Englishes. The study further discovered that some senses of these polysemes – otherwise discernible from the contextual clues in the corpora – were not registered in either the Longman or the Oxford dictionaries. The discovery suggests that the excluded senses of the polysemes are the regional senses that are not yet standard enough to qualify for entry in these Standard English reference books. Â
New Findings on Epidemiology and Management of Rice Yellow Mottle Virus Disease in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania
No full textThree studies were conducted at Kyela district with the objective of adding knowledge on epidemiology and management of rice yellow mottle virus disease. The contribution of different weed management practices on disease transmission and effectiveness of Alvirus (C14H21O3N2), a botanical pesticide in disease control were each evaluated in a randomized complete block experimental design with three replications under two lowland and one upland rice cultures. Twenty elite rice genotypes were also evaluated for resistance to the virus and farmer acceptance in the same sites and on station at Kikusya upland ecology. The results indicated that the first hand weeding in seed broadcasted plots (farmer practice) led to 90% increase in disease incidence compared to 6% and 2% with hand hoe weeding in row planting and use of herbicides (Rilo 250EC 1.5l/ha and 2-4Damine 4l/ha) respectively. Use of the latter resulted in 70 – 90% reduction of disease incidence and yield increase of 1.3 to 1.8t/ha or monetary gain of Tsh 614,000/= per hectare on average. Alongside capacity building, these practices were recommended to primary stakeholders. Alvirus achieved 100% disease control when used to soak seed 24 hours prior to planting followed by spraying 14 and 21 days after emergence or where only spraying was used. This new finding was useful for research purposes but warranted further studies to enhance applicability. Existence of differences in pathogen strains was evident between the locations where the genotypes were planted but nine appeared resistant across locations out of which 5 were new, highly acceptable and required promotion to farmers. Â
Agricultural Productivity, Co-Operatives and Organisational Innovations: A Case of Selected Coffee Production Communities in Mbinga District Tanzania
No full text Agriculture is the backbone of the majority of developing countries accounting between 30 and 60 percent of their Gross Domestic Product. Studies indicate that presence of cooperative societies, institutional support and other organisational linkages can enhance productivity and increase farmers’ income by bringing financial services closer. The study objectives aimed at establishing coffee production level in the last farming season; examining the contribution of cooperative societies in the production of coffee; and determine organisation innovations existing in coffee production. Methodologically, the study made use of cross section research design and data were collected from five villages namely Utiri, Mtama, Mahumba, Mahande and Iringa located in Mbinga District. Key respondents were the coffee smallholder farmers located in the aforementioned villages who were also members of Kimuli Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Society (AMCOS) and Muungano Savings and Credit Co-operative Society - a SACCOS. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select five villages and smallholder farmers were obtained through systematic random sampling. Results indicate that smallholder farmers own small land sizes which limit their productivity where the average land size per household is 7 acres and average yield was 1145.14kg per household. The cooperatives had a great contribution to the production of coffee as they enabled members (smallholder farmers) to get inputs at reasonable prices, provide extension services, provide credits at reasonable interest rates, provide coffee processing as well as finding markets on behalf of farmers at regional, national and international levels. Also, coffee farmers were able to innovate a new structure for harmonising the institutional linkages between their cooperative societies (AMCOS and SACCOS) which is called “integrated co-operative modelâ€. The model proves to be one among the key organizational tools for revamping and sustaining agricultural productivity while improving rural smallholder farmer’s livelihoods.   Â
Factors that Affect Academic Performance of Students Living with Disabilities in Inclusive Schools in Tanzania: The Case of Temeke District Inclusive Schools
No full textThe purpose of the study was to investigate on the factors leading to poor academic performance of children living with disabilities in inclusive schools in Temeke District, Dar es Salaam Region. A sample of 259 students and 67 teachers from both primary and secondary schools was obtained through stratified, simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Both secondary and primary data was collected through documentary search for secondary data; interview, Focus Group Discussion and Observation methods were used for primary data. Data was analyzed both qualitatively through content technique and quantitatively through SPSS Programme for providing percentages. The findings revealed that the government has both provided a policy that aims to ensure equal access to quality education for children living with disabilities and related guidance to ensure these children are not isolated in learning process, hence the introduction of inclusive schools. The government has provided hearing gadgets, brailles, typing machines, walking sticks, books and related materials and teachers have been trained to teach and handle such children. However, the buildings are yet to be renovated to cater for the students with special needs especially the removal of steps, creation of classrooms with ample space, special toilets; train adequate teachers, increase books and teaching aids; improve teaching methods to become friendly; increase assistive gadgets and other facilities and specific to their needs. Lack of necessary requirements was closely related to the poor academic performance among children with disabilities. It is recommended that; the government should adhere to its policy on disability education goals of providing equal opportunities and quality education to people with disabilities. Therefore, it should provide adequate funds to renovate infrastructure in inclusive schools, procure proper assistive gadgets and adequate instructional materials, train all teachers in inclusive schools to handle the students.  Â
OERs as an Opportunity to Improve Students’ Completion Rates at The Open University of Tanzania
No full textThe study assessed the attitudes and experiences the students and lecturers of the Open University of Tanzania have over the use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in assisting the students to complete their studies on time. The maximum allowable durations are five years for the postgraduates and eight years for the undergraduates. This study used sixty four respondents composed of the students and the OUT lecturers, drawn from the regions of Kagera, Mwanza, Kigoma, Moshi, Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Dodoma. Interviews and focus group discussions were used as the major methods for data collection. The findings of the study showed that though there were some respondents that elicited bad experience with the use of OERs, majority of the respondents were positive about the use of OERs in assisting students to complete their studies in time. Some factors such as lack of skills in using OERs was reflected. It was also found that the rural students were not enjoying the OERs as their fellow students did in urban locations. The study makes some recommendations which include the university to increase training opportunities among students and staff on the use of OERs. Another recommendation was that the university should sustain support to the student union (Open University Students Organisation, OUTSO) to facilitate students to access computers, and lastly the university should extend the construction of local and wide area networks with enhanced wireless access in the remaining Regional and Coordination Centres. Â
The Role of ICT in Examinations Integrity and Security: Experiences from The Open University of Tanzania
No full textCheating in examinations at all levels of education is a global concern. It is unfortunate that it is possible to use ICT for both cheating as well as preventing it. The extent of monitoring and controlling ICT misuse so as to maintain examinations integrity and security is crucial. The objective of this study is to analyse the role of ICT in handling examinations at OUT. The Basic Classical Ethnographic research method was used through the present writer’s participant observations of 15 years. The observations revealed that the current use of ICT in examinations processing, administration and result dissemination at OUT has increased the examinations integrity and security to a larger extent than in the manual examinations era. The students get their results earlier than when hard copies were used to disseminate results. The study has come up with a model of ICT deployment for ensuring examinations integrity and security. It is recommended that it should be used by Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions in Africa in order to boost the quality of graduates. It is also recommended that all students who are about to graduate should be closely assisted so as to increase the number of graduates who study through ODL mode. E-examinations like Examinations on Demand (ODEX) should be used effectively. Â
On Demand Examination Innovation Practice as an Educational Assessment at The Open University of Tanzania: Potentials and Challenges.
No full text:This study intends to assess the potentials and challenges of On Demand Examination innovation of the Open University of Tanzania. Specifically, the study intends to identify the reasons for students decision opting to do On Demand Examination, identifying potentials of the On Demand Examination on students in attaining their goals, exploring challenges students encounter on ODEX innovation Practice. A total number of 65 degree students were involved in this study. Purposeful and random samplings were used in this study to have the population needed. Data were collected through questionnaire and Focus group discussion (FGD). Data were analysed through SPSS 16 version. The findings revealed that individual or performance goal structure include the reason for the student opting to sit for On Demand Examination. Potentials of On Demand Examination are on the favour of the students studying under Open and Distance Model. Moreover, students face challenges from the On-Demand Examination innovation as an strategy of Educational assessment, these include financial concern, administrative as well as. Thus, the examination should rectify and making sure that all courses accredited under the institution to be in the On-Demand Examination data Bank.Â
Questioning the Patrimonial Issue in RentSeeking Debates
No full textThe contemporary debate in rent-seeking and corruption-related activities in Sub-Saharan Africa has focused so much on the so-called patrimonial question. According to scholars who have advanced this argument, African corruption is characterised by the notion of ‘neopatrimonialism’, which describes a resurgence of ethnic and tribal mutual support ties that work along traditional lines, thus exacerbating corruption. In this paper the author contends that the patrimonial argument is flawed as an explanation of African corruption and it seems to be advanced with the aim of eschewing contributory responsibility of forces in the developed world. A more viable outlook of rent-seeking and corruption should therefore focus on greed as a factor and be more inclusive by focusing on the culpability of all parties and groups