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Knowledge and perception of birth and emergency preparedness among pregnant adolescents in Ndola district, Zambia.
(The University of Zambia, 2019) Kachimba, Juness
The risk of maternal mortality and complications in pregnancy is highest for adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa and is a leading cause of death among adolescent girls. In Zambia, adolescent pregnancy rate is high and stands at 28.5% and maternal mortality rate is at 398 per 100 000 live births. Despite adolescents’ high risk for pregnancy-related complications antenatal care (ANC) uptake is believed to be low among adolescents as they start attending antenatal care late or never. Studies have shown that most adolescents do not attend the recommended ANC visits hence missing out on birth and emergency preparedness (BEP) messages. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of knowledge and perception of birth and emergency preparedness among pregnant adolescents in Ndola District, Zambia. A descriptive cross-sectional study that employed a quantitative approach was conducted in four (4) urban Health Centres in Ndola District, Zambia between October and November, 2018. A total of 124 pregnant adolescents aged between 10 to 19 years were selected by simple random sampling method. A semi-structured interview schedule was employed for data collection. Pregnant adolescents were interviewed one at a time. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0, Excel and Stata version 14 were used for data analysis. Chi-square tests was done to examine associations between variables. P-values < 0.05 was considered significant at 95% confidence level. Overall, 66.13% of the pregnant adolescents had low levels of knowledge of Birth and Emergency Preparedness, 33.87% had medium knowledge, and unfortunately none among pregnant adolescents had high levels of knowledge of BEP. About perception 74.2% of the pregnant adolescent mothers had a positive perception of BEP. ANC visits, parity and BEP key components were the predictors for knowledge and perception of BEP among adolescents as they had statistical significant association with BEP (p-value =0.001, 0.014 and ˂0.0001) respectively. Knowledge of BEP in the study area was found to be low among pregnant adolescents. It would have been preferred that majority were knowledgeable of BEP. There is need for corrective measures to address the low levels of knowledge of BEP among pregnant adolescents to help reduce neonatal and maternal morbidity and mortality burden in the country.
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Thin layer drying of cob maize using a natural convection solar tunnel dryer.
(The University of Zambia, 2019) Mukuwa, Mukwangole
A semi- cylindrical natural convection Solar Tunnel Dryer (STD) was used for experiments to dry partially field- dried maize cobs with a moisture content of about 30 % wet basis to a safe storage moisture content of 12.5 % wet basis. Air temperatures ranging from 15.8 oC to 20.8 oC above ambient temperature were recorded in the collector unit. The presence of Aflatoxins was investigated for maize dried in the Solar Tunnel Dryer (STD), Open- Sun Drying (OSD) and partially field dried maize gotten Straight From the Field (SFF). The chimney performance was also evaluated. Drying time was examined with moisture content ratio as exponential and polynomial correlations. Fourteen different mathematical models available in literature were compared using their coefficient of determination to estimate solar drying curves. Based on statistical analysis results, Midilli drying model has shown a better fit to the experimental drying data of maize with a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.99912 as compared to other models. The Aflatoxins concentration levels was 8.37 parts per billion (ppb) for maize dried in STD and 11.57 ppb for OSD maize, respectively. The maize which was partially field- dried and tested for Aflatoxins had a concentration of 8.63 ppb. In Zambia, Aflatoxins concentrations above 10 ppb are not allowable. Acceptable Aflatoxins concentrations in the USA is 20 ppb whereas in the European Union countries concentrations of 4 ppb are allowed for ready to eat corn and 10 ppb for corn destined for further processing. In one of the experiments, it took 30 hours to obtain a moisture content of 12.57 % from an initial moisture content of 20.98 % wet basis as compared to 46 hours for OSD. In this experiment, the results show that the designed STD reduced the drying time of maize by 16 hours as compared to OSD. For air movement to take place, the buoyant pressure head in the chimney should be positive. Average values of buoyant pressure head ranged from 0.24645 Nm2 , 0.44859 Nm2 and 0.10819 Nm2 for all the experiments carried out.
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The procedure of grant of mineral exploitation rights and the sustainable development of the copper mining industry in Zambia: a case study of Lumwana and Kansanshi mines.
(The University of Zambia, 2019) Masase, Pamela Malama
Sustainable development in the mining industry requires, among other things, saving and reinvesting in the industry an amount equal to what has been extracted and sold. In Zambia, the economic benefits from the mining projects are not equitably distributed among the stakeholders due to lack of involvement of all stakeholders in the process of granting mineral exploitation rights to would be investors. The stakeholders were identified as: the mining companies; the government and the host community (local authorities and local community), using the stakeholder framework and a theory of access.The main objective of the research was to evaluate whether the method of granting mineral exploitation rights influences the equitable distribution of economic benefits among the stakeholders from mining projects. The research design was a case study of Lumwana and Kansanshi Mines of the North-Western Province in Zambia. A qualitative method of study was employed. The study evaluated the following: the extent to which the current way of granting mineral exploitation rights affects the equitable distribution of economic benefits among the stakeholders from a mining project; whether a grant of mineral exploitation rights through negotiations among the stakeholders before the commencement of a mining project would be capable of bringing about the equitable distribution of economic benefits among the stakeholders; and whether there are other factors which may impinge on the equitable distribution of economic benefits from the mining projects other than the method of granting mineral exploitation rights. Data was collected by way of in-depth interviews with key informants, who consisted of employees of the two mining companies, local authorities and the central government under the Ministry of Mines. These respondents were selected purposively. Further, six focus group discussions were held with each group consisting of ten respondents drawn from the local communities. The sample size for the community members was selected using cluster sampling. Data was analysed thematically. The study revealed that the current procedure for granting mineral exploitation affects the equitable distribution of economic benefits to a great extent. The study also revealed that the equitable distribution of economic benefits was achievable through negotiations with all stakeholders before granting mining licenses. Furthermore, the study revealed that there are other factors that affect the equitable distribution of economic benefits. The study concluded by recommending that the government should revise the procedure for grant of mineral exploitation rights to include all stakeholders in a negotiation before a mining licence is granted.
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Entrepreneurial orientation and it’s effects on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s) business performance in Lusaka district.
(The University of Zambia, 2020) Chota, Malama Chola
Empirical studies have shown that Entrepreneurial Orientation is an important catalyst in the process of improving firm performance and growth . This study analyses Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) dimensions (autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, innovativeness, pro-activeness, and risk taking) on the business performance of Micro, Small and Medium Business Enterprises. The study employed a structured questionnaire and involved four hundred (400) Micro, Small and Medium Business Enterprises situated in Lusaka’s central business district. With the help of SPSS Software, data collected was analyzed by using multiple regression analysis. The findings obtained showed that only competitive aggressiveness and autonomy in relation to business performance, had a significant influence on MSME business performance and pro-activeness, innovativeness and risk taking had an insignificant relationship to business performance. This study contributes to the limited amount of literature in Zambia in the field of Entrepreneurial Orientation and enhances the knowledge of Entrepreneurial Orientation dimensions on the performance and growth of business ventures
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Challenges and opportunities in developing off-grid mini hydropower projects in Zambia.
(The University of Zambia, 2019) Mkumba, Edmond
Mini hydropower plays a critical role in providing energy access to remote areas through mini grids. However, the development of mini hydropower sites has lagged in Zambia with the country only witnessing the construction of two off-grid mini hydropower stations namely, Zengamina and Shiwan’gandu Mini Hydropower Stations in Ikeleng’e and Shiwan’gandu Districts respectively in the last 30 years. The research was undertaken to identify the challenges and opportunities including development of a strategy for implementing off-grid mini hydropower projects in Zambia. The research was designed in such a way that both qualitative and quantitative data were captured. The sampling method used was purposive sampling where experts mainly from the energy sector were targeted representing policy makers, developers, implementing agencies, consultants and regulators among others. Critical challenges identified included high initial investment cost, limited funding, long procedures for obtaining the necessary permits and licenses, low electricity tariffs to encourage private sector participation, lack of skills in the local Zambian contractors and limited market for the power generated. Opportunities included Zambia’s relatively stable political climate, availability of significant hydropower potential, government’s willingness to migrate towards cost reflective tariffs and presence of the required institutional and legal frameworks. High initial investment cost was the most critical challenge in developing off-grid mini hydropower projects in Zambia while the greatest opportunity was the presence of the relatively stable political climate followed by the presence of significant hydropower potential. Following the challenges identified and the opportunities that exist, a strategy for implementing off-grid mini hydropower projects was formulated with integrated planning as the starting point of the strategy. It is also recommended that the government through the institutions overseeing mini hydropower development embraces integrated planning and develop a mini framework and master plan to guide the actual development of such projects in Zambia. Development of off-grid mini hydropower projects would contribute to increasing the electricity access rate in rural areas which stands at 4.4% as at 2015.