Increasing participation of rural youth in Agriculture in Iganga district, Eastern Uganda

According to the 2024 population census, Uganda’s population is comprised of a high and increasing cohort of young people, over 70 percent of the population is below the age of thirty. Evidence reveals that youth engagement in agriculture is declining amidst rising youth unemployment. This may have implications on food security, unemployment, and underemployment and may undermine the government efforts to drive economic growth through agriculture. This capstone provides insights into the determinants of youth participation in agriculture, challenges and constraints inherent to the youth in agricultural production, in Iganga district, Eastern Uganda. The findings reveal that young farmers are concentrated more in agricultural production. a relatively lower percentage of youth involve in input supply and marketing and trade. Main constraints to youth involvement in agricultural value chain were inadequate capital, bad weather, lack of land, poor access to extension services and poor access to quality inputs, poor access to markets and pests and disease. Such constraints occur at the production/farming and marketing & trading nodes of the agricultural value chains in which majority of youth are involved. With such challenges, productivity is likely to remain low and constrain the youth to subsistence farming. Youth are disenfranchised in the ownership and management of critical assets in agricultural production, especially land which continue to impede many youths from engaging in agriculture. In addition, the results point to the fact that the youth are less likely to access credit, extension services and social capital all key factors in agricultural transformation

Dynamic Capabilities in Microfinance Innovation: A Case Study of The Grameen Foundation

Dynamic Capabilities in Microfinance Innovation: A Case Study of The Grameen Foundation by Sarah Elizabeth Kayongo May 2020 Chair: Lars Mathiassen Major Academic Unit: Executive Doctorate in Business The purpose of this research is to understand how microfinance organizations innovate their products, services, and processes to improve financial inclusion. The research approach used is a retrospective, longitudinal, qualitative case study (Yin, 2014) of how Grameen Foundation, a global non-government organization that partners with various microfinance institutions to provide micro loans, savings, and other financial and professional services innovated. Applying Dynamic Capability Theory (Teece, 1997, 2012 & 2014) highlighted the unique ways in which Grameen Foundation innovated its products, services, and processes through the three concepts of (1) sensing, (2) seizing, and (3) transforming. We conducted a total of twelve semi-structured interviews with staff and supplemented the interviews with publicly available materials, impact reports, press releases, trade journal articles, and website information. Our findings provide a detailed empirical process account of how Grameen Foundation has consistently been a leader at creating financial linkages through innovating its various programs and the activities within those programs over a ten-year period 2009 – 2019. We found the usefulness of Dynamic Capabilities Theory concepts of sensing, seizing and transforming applicable to studies of innovation in microfinance in the non-government sector; however, our analysis revealed elements of the theory’s core concepts that were not directly applicable. For instance, rather than create Valuable Rare Imperfectly Imitable and Non-substitutable resources, Grameen’s philosophy of creating open-sourced market-based solutions that they shared with industry resulted in “Valuable,” “Rare,” “Diffusible,” and “Non-substitutable” resources that were “transferrable” and “imitable”, hence we concluded that in the context of innovating in non-government microfinance organizations, this concept translated into Transferrable, Valuable, Imitable and Non-substitutable or “TVIN” resources. We offer a resource guide to microfinance institutions, non-government organizations, and governments of five insights that characterized how Grameen Foundation innovated its products services and processes to improve financial inclusion based on: 1) Sensing country-specific needs; 2) Seizing opportunities to use existing technology; 3) Funding projects that drove innovation overtime and creating financial linkages through multi-sectorial partnerships; 4) Adopting a business model that enabled innovation transfer to attain transformative scale; and 5) Strengthening the internal capabilities of how performance was measured, monitored and evaluated for program outputs in order to sustain the scaling of outcomes. Single case studies tend to suffer from limited generalizability, but details of this study will benefit microfinance practitioners in assessing the transferability of our findings to other contexts (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). We emphasize that in complex and ever-changing economic environments, it\u27s increasingly harder to predict the effects that unforeseeable circumstances such as health pandemics would have on global financial markets. We recognize that such changes are likely to produce different outcomes for innovation in microfinance organizations and their beneficiaries. Future studies will benefit from applying experimental design methods and theories that focus on innovation with inbuilt resiliency and capabilities to withstand such extreme but unforeseeable circumstances. Still, we provided a detailed empirical analysis of how a global microfinancing organization consistently innovated its products, services, and processes through four programs and twenty activities overtime, and across countries at an in-depth level that few studies have done. Lastly, we have demonstrated that Dynamic Capabilities Theory is very adaptable to studies of innovation in microfinance

Why do software developers practice test-driven development?

This dissertation describes research that has been undertaken to understand factors influencing software developers' intention to perform test driven development (TDD). Unit tests are a form of testing, where tests are written for small units of software being developed. TDD is a practice where these tests are written before the functionality is written, so as to guide the design of the code for the functionality, as well as to ensure test coverage for all functionality. There has been some research conducted to understand TDD by looking at its effects on both the outcomes and the practice of software development. It has been found to increase quality by decreasing defects, while also increasing the maintainability and the changeability of the code. On the other hand, some research has also found it to increase time spent on completing tasks. Despite this, to the best of the researcher's knowledge, there hasn't been research done to understand the behavioural components of TDD, and in particular, why developers choose to practice TDD. A conceptual model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is described and used as a lens to understand intention. TPB proposes that intention to perform a behaviour (TDD in this case) is influenced by three factors: attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. This dissertation seeks to build onto this model for the purpose of understanding TDD, and proposes the following determinants of the influences of intention: attitude is influenced by attitude towards time taken, differences in quality, maintainability and developer efficiency; subjective norm is influenced by the perceived perception of the environment regarding changes in quality, time taken, and maintainability of the code. Lastly, perceived behavioural control is posited to be made up of perceived difficulty of TDD, and how much experience a developer has. This model is then tested based on data collected from a n online survey distributed around the world. 779 responses were collected from developers in various countries around the world. The majority of the respondents to practice TDD, allowing us to gain greater insight into why those that practice TDD actually do so. Because the study is a psychographic study, perceptions were understood from the developers using an ordinal Likert scale. To analyse this data in order to prove the hypotheses, Chi -¬‐ square tests with contingency tables, Kruskal -¬‐ Wallis tests and ordinal logistic regression were used as statistical methods. It is found the data collected does not conform to the model, and recommendations are made for a future study to form a more comprehensive model

Genetic variation and host-parasite specificity of Striga resistance and tolerance in rice: the need for predictive breeding

The parasitic weeds Striga asiatica and Striga hermonthica cause devastating yield losses to upland rice in Africa. Little is known about genetic variation in host resistance and tolerance across rice genotypes, in relation to virulence differences across Striga species and ecotypes. Diverse rice genotypes were phenotyped for the above traits in S. asiatica- (Tanzania) and S. hermonthica-infested fields (Kenya and Uganda) and under controlled conditions. New rice genotypes with either ecotype-specific or broad-spectrum resistance were identified. Resistance identified in the field was confirmed under controlled conditions, providing evidence that resistance was largely genetically determined. Striga-resistant genotypes contributed to yield security under Striga-infested conditions, although grain yield was also determined by the genotype-specific yield potential and tolerance. Tolerance, the physiological mechanism mitigating Striga effects on host growth and physiology, was unrelated to resistance, implying that any combination of high, medium or low levels of these traits can be found across rice genotypes. Striga virulence varies across species and ecotypes. The extent of Striga-induced host damage results from the interaction between parasite virulence and genetically determined levels of host-plant resistance and tolerance. These novel findings support the need for predictive breeding strategies based on knowledge of host resistance and parasite virulence

Assessing the Use of Spaces Renovated to Support Group Work in an Academic Library

This study examined whether three renovated academic library spaces encouraged group work as intended. Hourly observations and a questionnaire documented group work use, space preferences, and suggested improvements. Compared to the three renovated spaces, significantly more group work occurred in an unrenovated space that was more open, spacious, and visible. Questionnaire results indicated that noise levels, available space and furniture, lighting quality, location, and operating hours also influenced group work space preferences. Suggested improvements included designated quiet and talkative areas, reservable space, and additional tables. Findings offer insights to inform future library group work space research, design, and evaluation

Economic Uncertainty and Money Demand Stability in Uganda during Financial Liberalization: A GARCH and ARDL Approach

This paper examines the impact of economic uncertainty on money demand stability in Uganda during financial liberalization. First, an economic uncertainty index is created using the Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity  method to measure uncertainty. Secondly, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag  methodology is used to estimate three risk-augmented monetary aggregates: base money, broad money  and broad money . The results show that economic uncertainty has no effect on real base money and real broad money  in the short run; but has a negative effect on real broad money . However, economic uncertainty negatively affects all monetary aggregates after one quarter. This is because economic agents diversify their portfolio from just holding money, into other forms like: long term accounts; foreign accounts; treasury bills and bonds; property; mortgages and land. The three money demand balances are also stable

Uganda: a primary health care case study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened Uganda’s commitment to primary health care (PHC). The country’s previous experience with several epidemics and other political factors helped to shape PHC, which in turn influences its pandemic response. This case study examines PHC in Uganda in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic from early 2020 through to mid-2021.Although there were strengths in the response, public health interventions introduced to limit virus transmission had a significant impact on vulnerable individuals and livelihoods. There were also reports of stigma around the virus, which in some instances was propagated by the negative language used by authorities. Scaling up and managing critical emergency services requires efforts to strengthen public-sector governance – involving political leaders’ efforts to mobilize multisectoral networks and ensure accountability. Case study findings suggest that these efforts should not overshadow investment in technical expertise, which provides scientific evidence for decision-making. Opportunities can be harnessed to strengthen health information systems and reporting structures to help improve community diagnosis, planning, referrals and monitoring. Moreover, to reduce the health burden in Uganda and establish sufficient capacity during emergencies, public systems may need to involve the private sector to meet the needs of the population. Although Uganda’s response to COVID-19 throughout 2020 and 2021 utilized a multisectoral approach, some have noted challenges in engaging with and supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) during the early phase of the pandemic. Within the pandemic context, medical teaching universities adapted their curricula to emphasize self-directed learning, learning in small groups, and community-based learning and practice. Looking to the future, there are opportunities to explore a hybrid model of in-person and remote learning, and to review the training curricula of health workers to achieve a balance between specialization and general practice training to meet primary care needs. While community engagement initiatives were limited in initial response efforts, the National Community Engagement Strategy proved invaluable in guiding action and it is expected that this strategy will lead to the institutionalization of integrated people-centred PHC, especially for infectious disease management</p

Uganda: a primary health care case study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened Uganda’s commitment to primary health care (PHC). The country’s previous experience with several epidemics and other political factors helped to shape PHC, which in turn influences its pandemic response. This case study examines PHC in Uganda in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic from early 2020 through to mid-2021.Although there were strengths in the response, public health interventions introduced to limit virus transmission had a significant impact on vulnerable individuals and livelihoods. There were also reports of stigma around the virus, which in some instances was propagated by the negative language used by authorities. Scaling up and managing critical emergency services requires efforts to strengthen public-sector governance – involving political leaders’ efforts to mobilize multisectoral networks and ensure accountability. Case study findings suggest that these efforts should not overshadow investment in technical expertise, which provides scientific evidence for decision-making. Opportunities can be harnessed to strengthen health information systems and reporting structures to help improve community diagnosis, planning, referrals and monitoring. Moreover, to reduce the health burden in Uganda and establish sufficient capacity during emergencies, public systems may need to involve the private sector to meet the needs of the population. Although Uganda’s response to COVID-19 throughout 2020 and 2021 utilized a multisectoral approach, some have noted challenges in engaging with and supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) during the early phase of the pandemic. Within the pandemic context, medical teaching universities adapted their curricula to emphasize self-directed learning, learning in small groups, and community-based learning and practice. Looking to the future, there are opportunities to explore a hybrid model of in-person and remote learning, and to review the training curricula of health workers to achieve a balance between specialization and general practice training to meet primary care needs. While community engagement initiatives were limited in initial response efforts, the National Community Engagement Strategy proved invaluable in guiding action and it is expected that this strategy will lead to the institutionalization of integrated people-centred PHC, especially for infectious disease management</p

Rural Life Census Data Center Newsletter: Prenatal Care, Smoking During Pregnancy, and Birth Outcomes in South Dakota

The birth of a baby can be a momentous occasion, but when an infant is born prematurely and/or with low birth weight, it can place a considerable amount of financial and emotional strain on families. In addition, poor birth outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm births put financial pressure on state and federal budgets. More specifically, Cassandra O’Neill (2004) reports that Medicaid covers “40 percent of the four million annual births” nationwide. O’Neill adds that Medicaid “pays for 50 percent of hospital stays for premature and low birth weight infants.”There are a number of maternal characteristics that affect mothers’ health status and birth outcomes. In this newsletter, we focus on prenatal care, smoking during pregnancy, and birth outcomes. The medical community has identified both prenatal care and smoking during pregnancy as factors that affect birth outcomes and infant health (Mathews 2001; O’Neill 2004)

Asymmetric Effects of Exchange Rate on Monetary Policy in Emerging Countries: A Non-Linear ARDL Approach in Uganda

Many money demand studies have been carried out on Uganda, however, these studies perceive and incorporate exchange rate as a linear determinant of real money demand. Indeed, exchange rate may have asymmetric effects on real money demand; with exchange rate appreciation having different effects from exchange rate depreciation. Therefore, this is the first study to estimate exchange rate asymmetries in Uganda, for the period 2008Q3 and 2018Q4. The study uses both the linear ARDL and non-linear ARDL methodologies to accomplish its goal. This is also done by incorporating an economic uncertainty index, which is critical, especially in light of the novel global coronavirus pandemic, that has disrupted trade, movement and supply chains. The error correction terms of both models are negative and significant, with the one of the non-linear ARDL twice as much as that of the linear ARDL. Indeed, the study confirms the existence of exchange rate asymmetries on Uganda’s real money demand. In the linear ARDL model, exchange rate has a positive effect in the long run but a negative result in the short run. On one hand, the non-linear ARDL model reveals that an exchange rate depreciation of the Uganda Shillings negatively affects real money demand in the short run. On the other hand, an exchange rate appreciation positively effects real money demand. Notably, economic uncertainty has insignificant effects in both models, except for its lags in the non-linear model. The implication of these findings is that macro-economic policy management in Uganda should be cognizant of these asymmetric effects of exchange rate, for effective planning, policy and implementation