Digital Commons Network^™

Tanzania Polytechnic College Classroom Buildings Update 2019, Thomas Fowler, Iv, Kevin Dong

Architecture

The work in this publication is a summary of ongoing work that started in 2014, when architecture and architectural engineering students starting developing the master plan for the proposed Polytechnic University in Same, Tanzania, Africa, working directly with ARUP’s David Lambert and the Mbesese Initiative for Sustainable Development. Since this time we have had 200 plus graduate and undergraduate students who have provided research and design input into the development of this project.

This work in 2019 provides an update to the classroom building designs for the Polytechnic College master plan.The Design Collaboratory is an award winning (NCARB Prize, Auto …

The Validation Of Swahili Version Of The International Prostate Symptom Score Questionnaire, Miten Ramesh Patel

Master of Surgery

Background: Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common condition encountered in men who are 50 years and above, presenting in hospitals for evaluation of lower urinary tract symptoms. The International Prostate Symptom Score is one of the questionnaires used to assess these symptoms. However, this questionnaire has not yet been validated among patients with Benign Prostate Hypertrophy in the Tanzanian setting. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to assess the validity of the Swahili version of the IPSS questionnaire among patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Methods: We employed a cross-sectional study design in patients that presented at the Aga …

Pick’S Disease And Subdural Haematoma: A Diagnostic Red Herring, Philip Adebayo, Funmilola Taiwo, Fatma Bakshi, Sunham Nur

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), otherwise known as Pick’s disease, is a clinically heterogeneous group of sporadic and familial neurodegenerative diseases. These conditions are characterized by dementia, behavioural and language dysfunction and loss of executive skills resulting from the degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes. Although reversible causes of dementia are always sought during the evaluation of patients with progressive cognitive decline, the occurrence of a reversible aetiology may distract from evaluating for neurodegenerative causes of dementia. This report is about a 66-year old man with features of FTD and superimposed chronic subdural haematoma.

Negative Appendectomy Rate And Associated Factors In Urban Referral Hospitals In Tanzania, Masawa Klint Nyamuryekung’E

Master of Medicine in General Surgery

Background: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. In atypical presentation, making a clinical diagnosis is difficult leading to delays with high perforation rate or misdiagnoses and high negative appendectomy rates. In the urban referral hospitals in Tanzania the baseline perforation rate, negative appendectomy rate, and factors that drive it are unknown. These could serve as measures of performance, and as evaluation parameters of future interventions aimed at improving acute appendicitis case management in Tanzania. Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the negative appendectomy rate and associated factors among patients undergoing emergency appendectomy for suspected acute appendicitis …

Prevalence And Outcome Of Asymptomatic Cryptococcal Antigenemia In Art Naive And Art Experienced Hiv Patients In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Charles Mandela Makakala

Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine

Introduction: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a highly fatal disease and contributes to about 20% of all-cause mortality in HIV/AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa is facing substantial challenges in the treatment of the disease; the focus has been shifted towards prevention of the condition in ART-naive patients with CD4 counts of less than 100 cells/μL. Most studies and interventions have been conducted on ART-naive HIV patients despite there being cases and deaths due to cryptococcal meningitis among ART-experienced patients. Recent studies have shown that although there is an increase in ART coverage among HIV patients, this has not affected the incidence of cryptococcal …

Rubagabaga Village : Empowering Villages Center And Agricultural Training Center, Jenna M. Williams, Julia R. De Hart

Architectural Engineering

By partnering with non-profit organizations such as Journeyman International and Empowering Villages, undergraduate students can engage in senior projects that have far reaching humanitarian impacts. Journeyman International is well known for creating powerful teams of students who tackle design challenges in developing countries. This paper details the work of two architectural engineering students from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo on a design for the Empowering Villages Center (EVC) and Agricultural Training Facility (ATF) in Rubagabaga Village, Rwanda. The EVC and ATF project was proposed by Empowering Villages, an organization that aims to bring electricity and socioeconomic growth to …

How ‘Hot’ Is Too Hot? Evaluating Acceptable Outdoor Thermal Comfort Ranges In An Equatorial Urban Park, Su Li Heng, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Urban green spaces offer vital ecosystem services such as regulating elevated temperatures in cities. Less information exists, however, on how urban green spaces influence outdoor thermal comfort (OTC), which is dependent on people’s perceptions of the complex interactions amongst ambient humidity, wind and both air and radiant temperatures. In this study, we analysed an existing OTC dataset compiled within a large Singapore urban park and calibrated OTC thresholds for physiological equivalent temperatures (PET) by analysing PET against thermal perception survey responses from the park visitors (n = 1508). We examined OTC according to (i) neutral, (ii) acceptable and (iii) preferred …

From Best Fit Technologies To Best Fit Scaling: Incorporating And Evaluating Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Grain Legumes In Sub-Saharan Africa, Andrew Farrow, Esther Ronner, Greta J. Van Den Brand, Stephen K. Boahen, Wilson Leonardo, Endalkachew Wolde-Meskel, Samuel Adjei-Nsiah, Regis Chikowo, Fredrick Baijukya, Peter Ebanyat, Emmanuel A. Sangodele, Jean Marie Sanginga, Speciose Kantengwa, Lloyd Phiphira, Paul Woomer, Theresa Ampadu-Boakye, Edward Baars, Fred Kanampiu, Bernard Vanlauwe, Kenneth E. Giller

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The success of scaling out depends on a clear understanding of the factors that affect adoption of grain legumes and account for the dynamism of those factors across heterogeneous contexts of sub-Saharan Africa. We reviewed literature on adoption of grain legumes and other technologies in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries. Our review enabled us to define broad factors affecting different components of the scaling out programme of N2Africa and the scales at which those factors were important. We identified three strategies for managing those factors in the N2Africa scaling out programme: (i) testing different technologies and practices; (ii) evaluating …

Unexpected Diversity Of Wolbachia Associated With Bactrocera Dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) In Africa, Joseph Gichuhi, Fathiya M. Khamis, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Sunday Ekesi, Jeremy K. Herren

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is an important pest of fruit-bearing plants in many countries worldwide. In Africa, this pest has spread rapidly and has become widely established since the first invasion report in 2003. Wolbachia is a vertically transmitted endosymbiont that can significantly influence aspects of the biology and, in particular, the reproduction of its host. In this study, we screened B. dorsalis specimens collected from several locations in Africa between 2005 and 2017 for Wolbachia using a PCR-based assay to target the Wolbachia surface protein wsp. Of the 357 individuals tested, 10 were positive for Wolbachia using the wsp assay. …

School Constituents’ Ratings Of The Leadership Dimensions Of High-Performing Principals Based On School Regions, Disraeli M. Hutton

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The study seeks to determine school constituents’ ratings of the leadership dimensions of high-performing principals based on the regional location of schools. The application, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), generated four dimensions or factors based eight categories of performance: Personal Philosophies and Abilities, Leadership and Management, Student Support Systems, and School-Community Support and Relationship. The one way ANOVA between groups test showed that there were differences between the six regions on all four dimensions but they were very weak, thus suggesting a tendency towards similarities in the ratings of four performance areas of related to high-performing principals on a regional basis

Strategies And Challenges For Marketing Electronic Resources: A Cross-Sectional Study Of The Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy, Christian Mubofu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examined the strategies and challenges for marketing electronic resources at the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy. It was conducted at Kivukoni Campus in Dar es Salaam region. Data were collected from 60 students and MNMA library staff using self-administered questionnaires and in depth interviews. The study established that the strategies used for marketing electronic resources were: notice boards, librarians, instructional website, orientation to new users, library home page, institutional newsletters, text messages, social networks, Current Awareness Services and Selective Dissemination of Information as well as posters and brochures while the challenges for marketing of electronic resources to the library …

Awareness, Accessibility And Factors Hindering Utilization E-Journals At The Institute Of Finance Management, Tanzania, Christian Michael Mubofu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study focused on the awareness, accessibility and factors hindering the utilization of e-journals at the Institute of Finance Management. Specifically the study sought to identify the level of awareness, accessibility and factors affecting students and academic staff in utilizing the e-journals. To achieve these objectives the study employed mixed method research designs in which in-depth interviews and questionnaire were used to collect data from a sample of 141respondents i.e. 100 students and 41 academic staff. The surveyed data has been analysed by using SPSS (20.0) and content analysis for quantitative and qualitative data has been undertaken respectively. Table presentations …

Trends In Collection & Collection Development Practices In University Libraries With A Particular Reference To India And Other Developing Countries: A Review Of Literature, Sumaira Jan, Shabir Ahmad Ganiae

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Purpose – The paper intends to investigate and ascertain the contributions to the literature available about trends Collection & Collection Development Practices in University libraries.

Design/methodology/approach – A deep scan of literature was conducted to find substantial works that have been published regarding various facets related to Collection Development Practices in University libraries. In this regard diverse search terms like “Collection”, “Collection Development”, “Collection Management”, “Collection Development in University Libraries”, “Collection Development Polices”, “User need Assessment”, “Selection of information resources”, “Evaluation of collection” etc. were used for retrieving the literature from a variety of sources viz; books, print journals, …

Use Of Electronic Resources By Science Faculty And Researchers In Selected North Indian Universities, Anil Kumar Siwach, Satish Kumar Malik

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigates the use of electronic resources by the science faculty and research scholars in five universities of North India. Survey method was employed and the data was collected using a comprehensive questionnaire. The results obtained from 668 respondents indicated that the usage was highest for e-journals in comparison to other e-resources. Preference is given to search engines in finding information which is chiefly used for research and related purposes. The use of advanced search strategies like Boolean, proximity, wildcards and truncation was found to be low. Science Direct, Springer Link, Taylor & Francis and Wiley Blackwell were the …

Percieved Impact Of Newspaper Usage On Academic Performance Of Students Of Federal University Of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benedict Okike, Esther W. Oyeniyi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper examines the perceived impact of newspaper usage among University of Agriculture, Makurdi students and its impact on their academic performance. The overall objective is to assess the level of newspaper usage and students’ perception on the availability and accessibility of newspaper in the library. This study also highlights some of the challenges students face in using newspapers and proffer workable solutions. The population was made up of 150 students of University of Agriculture, Makurdi, comprising of undergraduates and postgraduates. The survey research method was adopted. The respondents were selected through random sampling of registered users the library at …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Skilled Birth Attendants On Using A Newly Developed Strap-On Electronic Fetal Heart Rate Monitor In Tanzania, Sara Rivenes Lafontan, Hussein Kidanto, Hege L. Ersdal, Columba Mbekenga, Johanne Sundby

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background: Regular fetal heart rate monitoring during labor can drastically reduce fresh stillbirths and neonatal mortality through early detection and management of fetal distress. Fetal monitoring in low-resource settings is often inadequate. An electronic strap-on fetal heart rate monitor called Moyo was introduced in Tanzania to improve intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring. There is limited knowledge about how skilled birth attendants in low-resource settings perceive using new technology in routine labor care. This study aimed to explore the attitude and perceptions of skilled birth attendants using Moyo in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Methods: A qualitative design was used to collect …

Magnitude Of Screening For Gestational Diabetes Mellitus In An Urban Setting In Tanzania, Akampa Mukuve

Master of Medicine in Family Medicine

Background: Medical screening detects risk factors for disease or presence of disease in otherwise well persons in order to intervene early and reduce morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy it is important to detect conditions which may harm the mother and fetus during antenatal care (ANC). Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one such condition which causes adverse effects during pregnancy, acutely and in the long term. There is lack of consensus on uniform screening and diagnostic guidelines for GDM both internationally and locally. Furthermore, there is evidence that recommendations in antenatal care guidelines are not routinely performed by health care providers …

Complementary Feeding Practices And Their Determinants In Infants And Young Children On Follow Up At A Private Tertiary Hospital In Nairobi, Catherine Muthoni

Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: More than a third of all deaths in children under five years of age worldwide, are linked to maternal and child under-nutrition. Appropriate complementary feeding is one of the interventions with the greatest potential for reduction of nutrition-related diseases and mortalities, yet uptake of the recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) infant and young child feeding practices in Kenya remains low. Despite provision of nutrition education at Aga Khan University Hospital- Nairobi (AKUH-N), both growth faltering and over-weight trends have been observed, pointing to both under- and over-nutrition. Objectives: This study investigated caregivers' knowledge , attitude and practice (KAP) of …

Data Visualization Of Treatment Outcomes For Tuberculosis Patients, Joy Jenkins

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease, and different treatments have been discovered over the years. However, patients may develop various drug resistance levels that affect the likelihood of becoming cured or dying. In this study, we sought to employ data visualization to explore the relationship between treatment trajectory, as indicated by smear and culture results in the follow-up tests and patient outcomes. A large sample of patients have been broken down by demographics including age, gender, and drug resistance status. Sankey diagrams were used to visualize the pathway progression of the patients over time split between two time periods- months 0-6 …

Mobile Money And Socioeconomic Development: A Cross-Country Investigation In Sub-Saharan Africa, Wenxiu Vince Nan

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Over the past decade, mobile money, as a disruptive financial services innovation, has been widely adopted in Sub-Saharan Africa where the majority of population was financially excluded. Despite the transformative role of mobile money, the macro-level socioeconomic implications have been weakly examined so far. To fill the research gap, this paper explores the theoretical and empirical links between mobile money and socioeconomic development. Drawing on the theory of technology affordances and the emerging mobile money literature, this paper argues that mobile money, when adopted on a massive scale, has the potential to lead to socioeconomic development at the societal level. …

Reprocessing Protocol Validation For Medical Devices Used In Low-Resource Settings, Sarah Zemitis

All Theses

The World Health Organization acknowledges that single-use medical devices (SUDs) are commonly reprocessed and reused beyond their intended life to deliver patient care in low-resource settings. SUDs originally intended for use on one patient for one procedure are “reprocessed” in such cases, which involves cleaning, disinfection or sterilization, and functional testing before they are reused in hospitals. Studies have shown that reuse of SUDs in countries where reprocessing is unregulated can be safe if stringent standard operating procedures are followed.

The broad objective of this thesis was to validate a reprocessing protocol for the bag-valve-mask (BVM), a single-use device commonly …

The Migration Of Indians To Eastern Africa: A Case Study Of The Ismaili Community, 1866-1966, Azizeddin Tejpar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of the Ismaili settlement in Eastern Africa, together with several other immigrant communities of Indian origin, took place in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. This thesis argues that the primary mover of the migration were the edicts, or Farmans, of the Ismaili spiritual leader. They were instrumental in motivating Ismailis to go to East Africa. Although there were other Indian groups from the general geographical area of Western Indian and Gujarat who also migrated to East Africa, the crucial factor in the migration of Ismailis were the edicts or Farmans of the Imams. My thesis argues …

Modeling Driver-Pedestrian-Infrastructure Interactions At Signalized Midblock Crosswalks, Boniphace Kutela

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cities and metropolitan areas are increasingly facilitating pedestrians’ movement by the provision of pedestrian walking facilities. As pedestrian traffic increases, the risk of crash involvement increases, especially at midblock locations, where pedestrians are exposed to unsafe interactions with vehicular traffic. To improve pedestrians’ safety at midblock locations, various countermeasures are provided, which include signalized crosswalks. Several studies have analyzed driver-pedestrian interactions, as well as pedestrian-infrastructure interactions at signalized midblock crosswalks. However, more in-depth studies are necessary, due to shortfalls of study assumptions, which have led to the application of improper statistical models, as seen in the literature. Improved models are …

Wes Jackson And The Land Institute: Relevancy Within Sustainable Agriculture, Darren Knapp

Proceedings of GREAT Day

For the past 10,000 years agriculture has allowed the human population to grow, expand, and create civilizations that historians look back upon with awe. However, the recent industrialization of agriculture has had severe effects on nature, our society, and the farmer himself. Wes Jackson and his fellow researchers at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas have been developing for the past 30 years a form of sustainable agriculture that they hope will revolutionize the way humans produce food. Through the cultivation and harvesting of perennial polycultures, this form of food production allows humans to work with nature as opposed to …

Native Americans And The Environment: From Stereotypes To Renewable Energy, Jonathan Hoose

Proceedings of GREAT Day

I have looked at stereotypes regarding Native Americans and the environment and how those stereotypes can prove detrimental to Native Americans. One of the main reasons for this is because it removes the focus from many of the serious environmental problems that Native Americans have dealt with and continue to deal with in the United States and Canada. I have focused my research on environmental problems that many Native American communities have dealt with and are dealing with, such as uranium mining and pollution concerns. I have also researched green and renewable energy creation projects that are occurring on Native …

Immanuel Kant, John Hick, And The “Soul-Making”Theodicy, Gian Martinelli

Proceedings of GREAT Day

In his “Lectures on the Philosophical Doctrine of Religion,” Immanuel Kant considers and attempts to solve the problem of evil by combining several of the traditional theodicies. He focuses particularly on adherence to the moral law in order to work toward being worthy of happiness. For Kant, the fact that happiness becomes a labor toward peacefulness becomes a sort of indicator of God’s goodness. This strongly resembles John Hick’s “soul- making” theodicy. Hick claims that humans must deal with evil in this world in order to become stronger and more suitable for a union with God in the afterlife. In …

Black Slave Gender Roles: How They Were Changed By Emancipation, Caile Morris

Proceedings of GREAT Day

Slavery created a unique situation for those who were bound under it; the lives of African Americans were vastly different from those of their white counterparts. This situation created the opportunity for slave women to be equal if not superior in status to slave men. While all slaves worked in the fields during the day, women were also held to certain domestic responsibilities by night which gave them a wider base of experience than the men possessed. This idea that the slave community on Southern plantations may have been either gender neutral or matriarchal is very intriguing and points to …

Post-Conflict Democritization: Rwanda’S Illiberal Democracy, Alexander Berberich

Proceedings of GREAT Day

In a post-civil war setting, those in power often argue there is a choice between liberal democracy and stability. Does this trade-off actually exist? Should democratic elections be the priority for a state recovering from a civil war, or does running elections carry the risk of revived political violence? If liberalization takes a back seat to stability, how long can a ruling party continue to maintain a closed system before outsiders become radicalized, once again putting stability at risk? Should development organizations view elections as the primary feature of democracy, or is there a broader notion of democracy that must …

A French Film Study: Les Parapluies De Cherbourg, Hannah Huhr

Proceedings of GREAT Day

The presentation will detail several aspects of the French film, including the biography of the film director, the plot of the film, historical context, and personal analysis

My Husband Will Love Me More If I Give Birth To More Children: Rural Women’S Perceptions And Beliefs On Family Planning Services Utilization In A Low Resource Setting, Agnes Msoka, Eunice Pallangyo, Sharon Brownie, Eleanor Holroyd

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Introduction: Responsibility for family planning in low resource settings is almost solely delegated to women, with very low male involvement. This study investigated rural Tanzanian women’s perceptions and cultural beliefs of the barriers to family planning services utilization.

Methods: This study used a qualitative descriptive approach drawing on four group discussions with 20 purposively selected married women with two or more children. The study followed COREQ guidelines for reporting qualitative studies. Data were collected from participants at four health facilities in Bagamoyo and Kisarawe districts in Pwani, Tanzania.

Results: Participants’ occupations included housewives, small-scale farmers, and entrepreneurs. Most women were …