10 research outputs found
Knowledge management practices in academic libraries : the case of Victoria University of Wellington Library
No full textKnowledge is a key organization asset. When managed well it gives an organization a competitive advantage to enhance the efficiency of its performance. Academic libraries have a key role to play in managing the knowledge of their organization. This study has utilized case study approach to explore the Knowledge Management (KM) practices in VUW Library. The ways in which staff of the VUW Library can improve their services by engaging with KM has been examined.
All library staff as identified from VUW library website are 163. Questionnaires were distributed to 117 and eighteen returned. A low response was associated to the fact that many staff took summer leave and others were working part time and difficult to access. Five participants were interviewed. Given the small number of participants, this survey is not meant to be a representative of VUW Library as a whole but instead as indicative of perceptions, interests and activities of those who responded. Two documents were analysed. The findings show that there are no formal initiatives primarily about KM in this library. However it has been discovered that there is a potential readiness for library staff to embrace KM at VUW Library. The existence of KM practices has been demonstrated by the respondents. The KM tools exist. It is suggested that VUW Library should consider implementing KM
The appellate division has spoken - sequestration proceedings do not qualify as proceedings to enforce a credit agreement under the National Credit A ct 34 of 2005 : Naidoo v ABSA Bank 2010 4 SA 597
No full textThis case note aims to analyse the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Naidoo v ABSA Bank 2010 4 SA 597 (SCA) and to spark some debate as to whether being under debt review in terms of the National Credit Act (NCA) should bar sequestration proceedings in the form of an application for the compulsory sequestration of a consumer's estate. This decision held that a credit provider does not need to comply with the procedure provided for in section 129(1) of the NCA before instituting sequestration proceedings against a debtor, as such proceedings are not proceedings to enforce a credit agreement. The main issues discussed in this article are whether the court was correct in its interpretation of the relevant provisions of the NCA and whether this decision that allows a creditor to sequestrate a debtor who is attempting to meet his / her obligations under debt review, without informing him / her, is consistent with the principle urging consumers to satisfy all of their financial obligations under the NCA.
It is submitted by the author that the court was correct in its interpretation of the relevant provisions of the NCA, but may have overlooked how this decision may impact the principle of satisfaction by the consumer of all of his / her financial obligations. It is suggested by the author that amendments be made to force the creditor to give a section 129 notice to the debtor before seeking sequestration of his / her estate. The author also suggests that once debt restructuring has been granted, credit providers should not be allowed to proceed with sequestration proceedings against the debtor.http://www.puk.ac.za/fakulteite/regte/per/index.htm
Opportunity Costs of REDD+ to the Communities of Mufindi District, Iringa, Tanzania
No full textalso available at http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Opportunity+Costs+of+REDD%2B+to+the+Communities+of+Mufindi+District%2C+Iringa%2C+Tanzania&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5The study was done to assess the opportunity costs of REDD+ to the communities of Mufindi District which is located in the
SouthernHighlands of Tanzania. The specific objectives were, to identify and assess the economic value of alternative land uses, the
aboveground carbon stock of Idewa Forest Reserve (IFR), and the profitability of each land use as compared to REDD+ incentives.
Data were collected using questionnaire survey, key informant interview, and forest inventory and data were analyzed using the
Excel programme. Results showed that themain land uses were agriculture and tree planting with economic values of 3272.94 per ha per year, respectively. The total aboveground carbon was 39.23 t/ha (143.97/ha).The opportunity costs of REDD+
was varying depending on the price per ton of carbon.The opportunity costs of REDD+ will be profitable if the price per tCO2e will
be at least $23. It can therefore be concluded that there is no general unit price per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), as it depends on REDD+ opportunity costwhen compared with alternative land useswithin a particular place.Thereforewe recommend
opportunity costs of REDD+ to communities be used to guide decision making on unit prices of carbon.First of all, one of the authors thanks the Almighty God for
his grace and mercy which kept them up to this moment.
The author would like to express their sincere thanks to the
Climate Change Impact Adaptation andMitigation Program
(CCIAM) for the financial support in this study. Appreciations
are also extended to the Mufindi District Council for
allowing them to conduct our research in the district without
forgetting the District Forest Officer (DFO) Mr. Shabani
Adha for his assistance in obtaining important documents,
accommodation, and organizing transport to the study site
and indeed introducing them to the village leaders. They
would also like to thank all the village government leaders
for introducing them to the villagers. Furthermore they
would like to thank all respondents for their cooperation.
Extraordinary thanks should go to their beloved families for
their tireless encouragement throughout the period of the
study despite the hardships they faced during their absence.
Their ethical support is extremely appreciated
Recommended from our members
Exploring perceptions of the services offered in Tanzanian sober houses: a mixed- methods study among service users and providers
No full textBackground
In Tanzania, residential treatment centers for alcohol and other drugs, locally known as “sober houses,” play a critical role in the treatment of people living with a substance use disorder (SUD), but little is known about the services they offer and service users’ and providers’ perceptions of those services. We aimed to address these gaps in knowledge and to better understand where evidence-based interventions may be able to address gaps in service provision.
Materials and methods
This study used a mixed-methods approach across four sober houses in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We conducted 48 semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample of sober house service users (n = 38) and service providers (n = 10). Eighty-six (86) service users also completed a written survey to capture demographic information and assess knowledge of HIV and willingness to use HIV preventive care. All interviews were audio-recorded, translated into English, and then coded according to constructs developed with the Recovery Capital Framework. Following coding, a thematic analysis was conducted for the qualitative data using the framework developed by Braun and Clarke.
Results
Service users were generally positive about the treatment they were receiving but identified gaps in health service provision related to HIV, as well as a lack of preparation to address the employment-related challenges they face in the community after completing treatment. Service providers largely agreed with users’ perceptions of needs and identified a lack of clinical personnel in sober houses and funding challenges as barriers to meeting these needs.
Conclusion
Sober houses provide treatment services to Tanzanians with SUD that service users largely view as positive. This evaluation identified employment challenges after treatment completion and gaps related to HIV care in the sober house. Further research is needed to investigate how interventions can be adapted to the sober house setting to meet these needs
Exploring perceptions of the services offered in Tanzanian sober houses: a mixed- methods study among service users and providers
No full textAbstract Background In Tanzania, residential treatment centers for alcohol and other drugs, locally known as “sober houses,” play a critical role in the treatment of people living with a substance use disorder (SUD), but little is known about the services they offer and service users’ and providers’ perceptions of those services. We aimed to address these gaps in knowledge and to better understand where evidence-based interventions may be able to address gaps in service provision. Materials and methods This study used a mixed-methods approach across four sober houses in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We conducted 48 semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample of sober house service users (n = 38) and service providers (n = 10). Eighty-six (86) service users also completed a written survey to capture demographic information and assess knowledge of HIV and willingness to use HIV preventive care. All interviews were audio-recorded, translated into English, and then coded according to constructs developed with the Recovery Capital Framework. Following coding, a thematic analysis was conducted for the qualitative data using the framework developed by Braun and Clarke. Results Service users were generally positive about the treatment they were receiving but identified gaps in health service provision related to HIV, as well as a lack of preparation to address the employment-related challenges they face in the community after completing treatment. Service providers largely agreed with users’ perceptions of needs and identified a lack of clinical personnel in sober houses and funding challenges as barriers to meeting these needs. Conclusion Sober houses provide treatment services to Tanzanians with SUD that service users largely view as positive. This evaluation identified employment challenges after treatment completion and gaps related to HIV care in the sober house. Further research is needed to investigate how interventions can be adapted to the sober house setting to meet these needs
Additional file 1: of Developing national strategies for reaching men with HIV testing services in Tanzania: results from the male catch-up plan
No full textInterview guide. (DOC 42 kb
Perceived benefits, challenges, and recommendations for HIV research dissemination and implementation science efforts in Tanzania: Findings from the HIV/AIDS Research Forum brainstorming session
No full textAlthough several international and national HIV/AIDS conferences exist, there was not a national conference in Tanzania focusing on HIV/AIDS disseminating and implementation research conducted in the country and abroad. This created a missed opportunity for researchers to share their research findings with local policymakers and HIV program implementers who can influence the adoption and implementation of promising research in public health and clinical practice settings. In response, the first HIV/AIDS D&I Research Forum designed to enhance local D&I efforts for HIV research, was organized in Tanzania in 2018. This paper explores the perceived benefits of the HIV/AIDS D&I Research Forum and potential challenges of developing similar forums and recommendation for future HIV research D&I conference in Tanzania. During the second day of the Forum, which was held in September 2018 in Morogoro, Tanzania, a 1-hour structured brainstorming session was conducted with the Forum attendees (n = 50), including researchers, medical professionals, policymakers, representatives from different ministries. Transcription of the brainstorming session was analyzed to identify benefits of the Forum, perceived challenges for organizing similar HIV/AIDS research dissemination events, and recommendations for addressing the challenges. Overall, participants perceived the forum to be beneficial because it provided opportunities for strategic collaborations between researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders and for them to discuss challenges for D&I efforts. Forum attendees also identified several potential challenges for future D&I research forums such as the abstract requirement which may deter non-researchers, costs, meeting frequencies, and lack of funding and coordination between organizations involved in D&I research efforts. To address these concerns, a recommendation was made to host a biennial national conference in order to allow more time for ethical review and feedback that can enhance contribution of the project to D&I efforts and to raise funds. The benefits identified for the Forum highlight the importance of organizing similar D&I meetings for HIV-related research at the national level in Tanzania. However, the potential challenges discussed need to be addressed in order to develop a sustainable national D&I research conference by incorporating recommendations that forum attendees proposed
Development, Implementation, and Scale Up of the National Campaign to Promote HIV Test and Treat Services Uptake Among Men in Tanzania
No full textEvidence has demonstrated that immediate HIV treatment initiation upon a positive HIV test, referred to as Test and Treat, can help people living with HIV live longer, healthier lives and prevent HIV transmission. Although Tanzania adopted the evidence-based Test and Treat strategy since 2016, men were not being adequately reached for HIV services. A national campaign was launched to promote the new HIV services with a focus on men. To inform the development and implementation of the campaign, we conducted formative audience insights-gathering (AIG) sessions to assess facilitators and barriers to accessing HIV Test and Treat services and inform the concepts and materials for the campaign. Qualitative AIG interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 54 people who were unaware or aware of their HIV status and currently or not currently on treatment, as well as health workers. Facilitators and barriers included a of testing positive, the desire to , their narratives, and themselves to achieve their dreams and live a happy life. The campaign played off a creative concept to position antiretroviral therapy (ART) as a solution to fears around what life would be like after a positive HIV diagnosis. The development and implementation of the campaign were informed by the AIG sessions and national stakeholders, leading to strong partners\u27 buy-in that supported the scale-up of the ongoing campaign from 12 to 26 regions via the collaborative efforts of government, donors, and implementing partners
The influence of energy policy on charcoal consumption in urban households in Tanzania
No full textJournal ArticleThe sustainability of energy use in the residential sector has relevance for global initiatives to achieve sustainable
development and limit climate change. Using the city of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, as a case study, we look at
how national energy policy has influenced household cooking energy use between 1990 and 2018, and how en-
ergy policy could achieve further progress to realise national and global priorities. The study involved question-
naire surveys of households, retailers, transporters and producers of charcoal; semi-structured interviews with
government officials and non-charcoal fuel suppliers; price data collection; a comparative analysis of prices
and taxes for different cooking fuels; and policy and document review. Trends in energy policy and demand
for different fuels, are compared. We find that Tanzania's national energy policies have focused on achieving
an energy transition from biomass to electricity and fossil fuels, with an increasing focus on supply-side issues.
Fiscal policy tools have been used effectively to reduce demand for kerosene, while increasing demand for lique-
fied petroleum gas. However, this has not resulted in a transition away from biomass, with most households
using multiple fuels (fuel stacking). Charcoal remains the cheapest (excluding firewood) and most widely used
fuel, reflecting the strong influence of price in consumer fuel choices. Energy policy needs to acknowledge the
continued dominance of charcoal in urban energy use. In the context of rapid urbanisation and increased energy
demand, there is a need for sustainable urban energy planning across a range of fuel types including charcoal, in
ways that balance economic, social and environmental outcomes. Greater inter-sectoral coordination is needed
to improve the sustainability of urban residential energy supplies.
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of International Energy Initiative. This is an open access
article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
