Group Discussion Participants Research Articles

Health Extension Postnatal Care Services Utilization and Associated Factors Among Mothers in Kindo Didaye District, Southern Ethiopia: a Community-Based Mixed-Method Study

Background: Postnatal care is care provisions being delivered during postnatal period. Lack of care in this period may result in death or disability as well as missed opportunities to promote healthy behaviors affecting women, newborns, and children. We need to understand the level and factors affecting health extension postnatal care services utilization. Objective: To determine the prevalence of health extension postnatal care services utilization and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last year in Kindo Didaye district, Southern Ethiopia, 2017. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional mixed-method study was conducted from March 1-30, 2017 to get the final sample size of 645 mothers. Descriptive statistics were used to describe study participants. Binary logistic regression was used to identify associated factors among the explanatory variables at P < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of utilization of Post-natal care services is 32.8%. Having husbands attended secondary and above education, having at least one Antenatal care attendance, last delivery in the health institution, planning to utilize services, visitation, and notification of delivery by Health extension workers were factors to utilize services. The majority of Focus group discussion participants said that Health extension workers were not visiting at their homes and hence mothers might not be encouraged to attend health extension Post-natal care services. Conclusion: The prevalence of mothers who utilized health extension Post-natal care services in the district was very low. Thus, focusing on the identified factors could improve and sustain Post-natal care services from rural Health extension workers.

Socio-cultural beliefs and practices during pregnancy, child birth, and postnatal period: A qualitative study in Southern Ghana

Despite investments in interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, progress has been slow, especially in developing countries. Socio-cultural beliefs in communities often lead to the adoption of certain practices during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal period. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify these beliefs and practices and how they affect maternal and child health care services. Purposive sampling was used to select focus group discussion participants (13) among community members, pregnant women whose gestation was at least 6 months, and women with babies less than 6 months of age. In addition, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted among health workers at district, subdistrict, and community levels. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. With the aid of NVivo 11, the data was analysed thematically. The study’s findings showed that socio-cultural beliefs and practices are widespread covering antenatal through childbirth to the postnatal period. Both harmful and harmless practices were identified. Protecting pregnancy from evil forces resulted in the practice of confinement and consequently late initiation of antenatal care. The use of herbal preparations to augment labour was reported and this practice favoured home delivery and use of Traditional Birth Attendant. The study concludes that socio-cultural beliefs are common and transcend the entire peripartum period. Some of these social practices tend to affect utilisation of some essential maternal and child health practices. However, accepting harmless social practices during labour will improve trust and cater for community’s worldview about childbirth and foster skilled delivery.

Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making among Parents in Southern California.

Adolescent COVID-19 vaccination has stalled at 53% in the United States. Vaccinating adolescents remains critical to preventing the continued transmission of COVID-19, the emergence of variants, and rare but serious disease in children, and it is the best preventive measure available to return to in-person schooling. We investigated parent–adolescent COVID-19 vaccine decision-making. Between 24 February and 15 March 2021, we conducted surveys and 12 focus groups with 46 parent–adolescent dyads in Southern California. Parents and adolescents completed a survey prior to participation in a focus group discussion, which focused on exploring COVID-19 vaccine acceptance or uncertainty and was guided by the 5C vaccine hesitancy model. Parents uncertain about vaccinating adolescents expressed low vaccine confidence and high COVID-19 disease risk complacency. Parents who accepted COVID-19 vaccination for adolescents expressed high confidence in health authority vaccine recommendations, high perceived COVID-19 risk, and collective responsibility to vaccinate children. Additionally, unique pandemic-related factors of vaccine acceptance included vaccinating for emotional health, resuming social activities, and vaccine mandates. Among parents, 46% were willing to vaccinate their adolescent, 11% were not, and 43% were unsure. Among adolescents, 63% were willing to vaccinate. Despite vaccine availability, 47% of adolescents remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. Factors associated with vaccine uncertainty and acceptability inform health care practitioner, school, community, and public health messaging to reach parents and adolescents.

Implementasi Zoom Breakout Room sebagai Media Diskusi Kelompok dalam Pembelajaran Daring

Learning that must be directed online in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic situation has caused a lot of polemics in achieving active learning from students, especially in group discussions, so it is necessary to use materials that really help the learning process. From zoom meetings, jitsi meetings, edmudo, schoology, to the Kemendikbud and Google study houses, which include google (gmail) accounts, drives, google meet, google classroom, google forms, presentations, spreadsheets and documents. Zoom meeting online application is used to display group conversations. In this study, the authors used a literature review approach to collect textual materials and determine how best to use them. Students are given the freedom in the Zoom Breakout Room to speak in spoken language with the group to solve the challenges set by the teacher, and before the discussion begins, the teacher uses the Zoom Breakout Room to automatically determine the members of each group. In the case of Google Docs, this is used to communicate with group members so as to produce problem reports provided by the teacher in written language, as well as to demonstrate student participation in group discussions.

Contextual and psychological factors influencing open defecation free status: an exploratory qualitative study in rural South Western Uganda

IntroductionAchieving the Open defecation free (ODF) status remains a major challenge in Uganda, yet it contributes significantly to child health improvement. Literature on social, cultural and behavioral aspects that influence the ODF status in rural Uganda is limited. The study therefore, explored perceived factors influencing the ODF status in rural South Western Uganda.MethodsAn exploratory study employing qualitative techniques and based on deductive analysis between month December 2020 and January 2021 was conducted. Seven Focus Group Discussions (FGDs and three Key Informant Interviews (KIs) were conducted in Kabale District, southwestern Uganda. Focus Group Discussion participants were mothers and fathers having children of 2 years and below while KIIs included local community leaders and health extension workers. Data was analyzed using a categorization matrix derived from the Risks, Attitudes, Norms, Abilities, and Self-regulation (RANAS) model which is comprised of contextual and psychological factors. Text was further categorized into high and low statements for attainment of ODF status.ResultsThe contextual factors influencing the Open Defecation Free status behavior included; farming activities far from home, financial constraints, rainy seasons, collapsible soft soils, and alcohol use. Psychological factors influencing ODF status included; perceived health risk for typhoid disease, low perceived severity for lack of ODF components, negative attitude of less value attached to ODF components, and a feeling of time wastage practicing ODF status behavior. The perception that the community has the ability to attain the ODF status was high. Although, the capability to maintain ODF was low when it comes to replacement of ODF component if stolen or destroyed.ConclusionOpen Defecation Free status is influenced by contextual and psychological factors. Therefore, it’s crucial for sanitation promotors to always identify such context specific factors in order to design sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions to address the ODF free status related challenges.

Comparing strategies for active participation of students in group discussions

Providing an active learning environment and engaging students in classroom discussion could be quite challenging. This study used a quasi-experimental method to manipulate students’ incentives for participation in group discussion to investigate its impact on students’ learning outcomes. Two research methods courses taught over four years by the author were examined. Eighty samples of students’ online discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to assess the impact of four different strategies on quantity, quality, and outcome of students’ group discussions. The results showed significant differences in all aspects. The implications of the results for teachers who plan to use group discussion in their courses are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.

Strengthening Communities: A Qualitative Assessment of Opportunities for the Prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Wake of the Opioid Crisis.

The opioid crisis is a significant challenge for health and human service systems that serve children, youth, and families across the United States. Between 2000 and 2017, the number of foster care entries, a type of adverse childhood experience (ACE), attributable to parental drug use increased by 147%. Nevertheless, there is variation in the burden of opioid overdose and foster care rates across the U.S., suggesting community supports and systems to support families affected by substance use also vary. This qualitative study sampled communities experiencing high and low rates of overdose mortality and foster care entries (i.e., a qualitative comparison group) to better understand what might protect some counties from high overdose mortality and foster care entries. The sample included six counties from three states that were selected based on their rates of opioid overdose mortality and foster care entries. Using purposive sampling within counties, interview and discussion group participants included multi-sector community partners, parents whose children had been removed due to parental substance use, and caregivers caring for children who had been removed from their homes. Across all counties, prevention was not front-of-mind. Yet, participants from communities experiencing high rates of overdose mortality and foster care entries identified several factors that might help lessen exposure to substance use and ACEs including more community-based prevention services for children and youth. Both parents and caregivers across all communities also described the need for additional supports and services. Participants also described the impact of COVID-19 on services, including greater utilization of mental health and substance use treatment services and the challenges with engaging children and youth on virtual platforms. The implications for prevention are discussed, including the need to encourage primary prevention programs in communities.

Reliability and Validity of Peer Assessment at Tutorless PBL Classes

Introduction: Learning behaviors in PBL and team-based learning (TBL) at Mie University Faculty of Medicine have been measured with peer assessments in addition to tutor assessments. The change in class components posed a question on reliability of peer assessments at tutorless sessions in TBL. Methods: Correlations between peer and tutor assessments in the PBL program comprised of tutor and tutorless sessions were analyzed with data from 377 students. The three domains for student’s performance, “self-learning in preparation”, “active participation in group discussion” and “cooperative attitude at group work”, were collected at 4 UNITs with the formal PBL and at 4 UNITs with the mixture of PBL and TBL. Results: No statistically significant difference between peer and tutor assessments was found in all three domains in units with the mixture of PBL and TBL. The correlation analysis between peer and tutor assessments in units with the mixture of PBL and TBL demonstrated strong positive correlations in self-learning in preparation (r=0.62) and in active participation in group discussion (r= 0.63), and a weak positive correlation in cooperative attitude at group works (r=0.35). Discussion: This study revealed that students evaluated their group-peers at the units comprised of both tutor and tutorless sessions similarly to those comprised of only tutor sessions. Peer assessments were well correlated with tutors’ assessment at the units comprised of tutor and tutorless session. Our study suggests that TBL might be expanded in the situation where teaching resource is limited.

Factors Contributing to High HIV Prevalence in Majang Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: What Lies Beneath the Tip of the Iceberg?

BackgroundDespite the tremendous efforts made, HIV epidemic has been continuing to be a public health threat and one of the leading causes of death in sub-Saharan African countries. Gambella region is a high prevalence region persistently exhibiting the highest share of HIV cases in Ethiopia. Thus, the objective of this study was to explore factors contributing to high HIV prevalence in the Majang zone of Gambella region, Southwest Ethiopia.MethodsA descriptive qualitative study was conducted in the Majang zone of Gambella region, Southwest Ethiopia from March to May 2019. A heterogeneous purposive sampling technique was employed to recruit key informants and focused group discussion participants. Eighteen key informant interviews and 9 focused group discussions were conducted (N = 90) with health professionals, youth, mothers, and community elders. An interview guide developed through an extensive literature review was used to elicit information from the study participants, and data were collected by the investigators themselves with the help of local guides. Data were audio recorded, transcribed, translated, coded, and analyzed thematically, assisted by Atlas.ti 7.5.16 software. Trustworthiness of the data was ensured through data triangulation, prolonged engagement, member checking, and inquiry audit in which findings were audited and verified by qualitative research experts. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Mizan Tepi University, and written signed informed consent was obtained from all the participants prior to conducting the interviews.ResultsA total of 90 individuals have participated in this study. Several factors appear to underlie the sustained high prevalence of HIV in the study area and were organized into five major themes: 1) government-related factors, 2) community perception towards HIV, 3) substance use, 4) socio-cultural factors, and 5) movement of people.ConclusionLow government attention towards HIV prevention and control activities, low perceived severity of HIV, substance use, socio-cultural factors, and high movement of people appear to inform the understanding of factors contributing to HIV risk in Majang zone. The sociocultural factors include the use of “Tifo Bet” and social support for polygamy. These findings loudly call for the governmental, non-governmental, and private sectors to reconsider and strengthen strategies for the prevention and control of HIV in the study area.

A Simple Way to Reduce the Risk of Being Exposed to COVID-19 Using Instruments for Children

Background. Children need to get protection during the Covid-19 pandemic, in accordance with Presidential Regulation 12/2020 on The Determination of Non-Natural Disasters. The purpose of the research is to develop non-natural disaster risk instruments for children. Research methods. This type of research is Research and Development. The participant population is divided into 3 roles, Focussed group discussion participants (20 people), instrument testing (267 respondents) and experts (methodology experts and disaster experts). Instrument development is carried out in 5 (five) stages, namely: 1) instrument evaluation; 2) development; 3) experiment; 4) socialization; 5) recommendations. The results showed that from 32 valid items, 25 items were all reliable because the Cronbach alpha value was above 0.7. Not valid for 7 items. The results of the instrument trial of 267 children, who had the potential to be exposed to Covid-19 were 69% who were not exposed to 31%. Of the 69%, strong exposure is 2%, high exposure is 15% and medium exposure is 83%. Conclusion: The developed non-natural disaster risk instrument can be used to assess disaster risk for children. The instrument works well, has efficiency, functionality and usability. Outputs: 1) disaster risk instruments for children; 2) intellectual property rights; 3) publication of international journals 4) monograph books.

The Development of a Pre-Service Teachers Model in Educational Institutions for Students in the Field of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, a Four-Year Program

The purpose of this research was to develop a pre-service teachers model in educational institutions of students in the field of physical education, Faculty of Education, a four-year program, using EDFR (Ethnographic Delphi Futures Research) techniques and focus group teaching techniques conducted by 18 experts and 12 group discussion participants with knowledge and abilities and acting as supervisors, mentors, and heads of professional experience training. The research instruments consisted of a semi-structured interview, questionnaires and group discussion guides. The statistics used in the research were median, mode and interquartile range. The results showed that the development of pre-service teachers in a four-year physical education program consisted of four themes: (a) management of the Faculty of Education, significant in the four-year format, 25 management; (b) organizing the courses, significant in the four-year format and 38 course arrangements; (c) development of students’ competency, significant in the four-year format and development of the 22 competencies; and (d) assessment and feedback, significant in the four-year format and 22-character assessment and feedback.

Determinant Factors of Access to the Internet among in-School Adolescents in Imo State, South-East, Nigeria

There are concerns from several quotas about the dangers of allowing young people especially adolescents have access to the internet. Many vices have been linked to young people’s access to the internet; some of them include cyber bullying, internet pornography, poor reading habits, internet addiction etc. The study therefore set out to find out how the socio-economic status and beliefs of parents affect their in-school adolescents’ access to the internet. The mixed method approach was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. Questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data respectively. While 500 copies of the questionnaire were administered to respondents, 493 copies were retrieved and valid for the study. Six FGD sessions took place. Multi-stage, simple random and systematic sampling techniques were used for the selection of the respondents for the quantitative method. This was because the population of the study cut across the three educational zones of the state and classes. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select participants in the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). This technique was used to select members for the study based on their relevance to the study. The study was anchored on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Findings show that socioeconomic status affect adolescents’ access to the internet while parental beliefs affect their freedom of use. Findings also show that in-school adolescents in Imo State to a very large extent have access to the internet despite the fears of their parents. Based on these findings, the researchers recommended that parents use both technical and physical strategies to monitor what their adolescent children do on the internet since it is obvious that the internet has great potentials and has come to stay and cannot be stopped.

Understanding personality traits of students and their physical activity engagement: A convergent design

The observed low level of physical activity among the students drives the curiosity to understand the dominant traits of Grade 10 students and whether these traits would associate with their physical activity engagement. Using a mixed method, convergent design, 150 student-respondents were selected from schools in the Cotabato province to respond to the survey questionnaire. At the same time, seven participants were invited to join the In-Depth-Interview and ten participants in the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The statistical tools used were frequency, mean, standard deviation, and Chi-Square Test for Association. Results revealed that agreeableness was the most dominant personality trait possessed by the Grade 10 students. Their physical activity engagement was moderate. The results further showed no significant association between personality traits and physical activity engagement among the participants. Moreover, the qualitative findings revealed five essential themes: a healthy and active lifestyle, school and home-based physical activity, positive emotion, social and physical demands, and personal belief and support. As to how participants’ physical activity shaped their values, attitudes, and commitment, essential themes such as attention focus, positive disposition, prioritized task, and trying new physical activities emerged. Finally, data integration revealed nine merging-converging, and two of them were merging-diverging in nature.

Designing a multi-component 'Stop Bullying-School Intervention Program' in Chandigarh, a North Indian Union Territory.

Bullying, a prevalent global public health issue, is proven to have an adverse impact on the physical and psychological health of school students. There are few intervention programs to prevent bullying in the South East Asian Region, and none in India. The objective of this study was to design a multi-component antibullying intervention program known as 'Stop Bullying-School Intervention Program (SB-SIP)' for school students. It was developed in five stages. Stage one was the review of existing literature on intervention studies to prevent bullying, globally. A qualitative study to explore the beliefs and perceptions of teachers, students, and parents regarding antibullying intervention programs was conducted in stage two. In the third stage, a conceptual model was framed. A consultation workshop was conducted to finalize the contents of the intervention in the fourth stage. Pretesting of the intervention was done in the fifth stage. The literature review provided evidence that a whole-school intervention program based on the socio-ecological model was the most effective. The awareness of the effects of bullying and effective strategies to prevent it in the school setting was suggested to be part of the SB-SIP by the majority of the participants in the focus group discussions. The recommendations given by the stakeholders in the consultation workshop contributed mainly to the method of delivery of the program. The five-stage process helped in recognition of the conceptual model and modifiable factors, which exerts its effects on bullying and its psychosocial outcome, through which the multi-component antibullying intervention program SB-SIP was finalized.

Land Use and Land Cover Change for Resilient Environment and Sustainable Development in the Ethiopian Rift Valley Region

Abstract Land use and land cover change (LULCC) are the result of different interacting socio-economic and environmental causes and consequences that have been known since the beginning of agriculture. The study intended to explore the implications and drivers of LULCC in the Ethiopian rift valley region of Gidabo river sub basin from 1986 to 2019. The researchers have triangulated the data from Landsat 5 (™), and Landsat 8 (OLI) with data obtained from key informants, focus groups and field observation, which is helpful to determine the interaction between the environment and the community. It is also important to mitigate environmental disaster (erosion, landslides, and climate change) and sustainable utilization of natural resources. The LULCC of the past 33 years implied that about 58.4 % of the area was changed to other Land use land cover (LULC) classes. This refers to the fact that about 14% of agroforestry, 2% of the settlement, 1.1% of the forest, and 1% of bare land were expanded at the expense of 10.3% of shrub/woodland, 6.3 % of grassland, and 1% of cropland classes. Therefore, as a result, the highest land cover (46.7%) was observed on the agroforestry system. Participants in group discussion and informant interviews attributed the expansion of agroforestry to the drivers, such as population density, cultural values (Songo, Babbo), traditional beliefs, land policy, and the insecurity resulting from climate change. Whereas, the drivers related to unproductive land, resettlement, urbanisation, and lack of agricultural inputs were considered as threats that will adversely affect the agroforestry system of the area. The study concluded that the high expansion of the agroforestry system has significant contribution to achieve a resilient environment and sustainable development, which integrates the socio-economic and environmental needs of the community. But greater attention should be given to the changes observed in shrub/woodland, grassland, and bare land to enhance environmental protection.

An exploratory pilot study of the effect of modified hygiene kits on handwashing with soap among internally displaced persons in Ethiopia

BackgroundInternally displaced persons fleeing their homes due to conflict and drought are particularly at risk of morbidity and mortality from diarrhoeal diseases. Regular handwashing with soap (HWWS) could substantially reduce the risk of these infections, but the behaviour is challenging to practice while living in resource-poor, informal settlements. To mitigate these challenges, humanitarian aid organisations distribute hygiene kits, including soap and handwashing infrastructure. Our study aimed to assess the effect of modified hygiene kits on handwashing behaviours among internally displaced persons in Moyale, Ethiopia.MethodsThe pilot study evaluated three interventions: providing liquid soap; scented soap bar; and the inclusion of a mirror in addition to the standard hygiene kit. The hygiene kits were distributed to four study arms. Three of the arms received one of the interventions in addition to the standard hygiene kit. Three to six weeks after distribution the change in behaviour and perceptions of the interventions were assessed through structured observations, surveys and focus group discussions.ResultsHWWS was rare at critical times for all study arms. In the liquid soap arm, HWWS was observed for only 20% of critical times. This result was not indicated significantly different from the control arm which had a prevalence of 17% (p-value = 0.348). In the mirror and scented soap bar intervention arms, HWWS prevalence was 11 and 10%, respectively. This was indicated to be significantly different from the control arm. Participants in the focus group discussions indicated that liquid soap, scented soap bar and the mirror made handwashing more desirable. In contrast, participants did not consider the soap bar normally distributed in hygiene kits as nice to use.ConclusionWe found no evidence of an increased prevalence of handwashing with soap following distribution of the three modified hygiene kits. However, our study indicates the value in better understanding hygiene product preferences as this may contribute to increased acceptability and use among crisis-affected populations. The challenges of doing research in a conflict-affected region had considerable implications on this study’s design and implementation.Trial registrationThe trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov 6 September 2019 (reg no: NCT04078633).

Model strategies to address barriers to cervical cancer treatment and palliative care among women in Zimbabwe: a public health approach

BackgroundCervical cancer treatment and care remains limited in Zimbabwe despite the growing burden of the disease among women. This study was aimed at investigating strategies to address barriers in accessing treatment and care by women with cervical cancer in Harare, Zimbabwe.MethodsA qualitative inquiry was conducted to generate evidence for this study. Eighty-four (84) participants were purposively selected for interviews and participation in focus group discussions. The participants were selected from cervical cancer patients, caregivers of cervical cancer patients, health workers involved in the care of cervical cancer patients as well as relevant policy makers in the Ministry of Health and Child Care. Participants were selected in such as a way as to ensure different of characteristics to obtain diverse perspectives about the issues under study. Discussion and interview guides were used as data collection tools and discussions/interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using Dedoose software.ResultsSalient sub-themes that emerged in the study at the individual patient level were: provision of free or subsidized services, provision of transport to treating health facilities and provision of accommodation to patients undergoing treatment. At the societal level, the sub-themes were: strengthening of health education in communities and training of health workers and community engagement. Salient sub-themes from the national health system level were: establishment of more screening and treatment health facilities, increasing the capacities of existing facilities, decentralization of some services, building of multidisciplinary teams of health workers, development and rolling out of standardized guidelines and reformation of Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS) levy into a fund that would finance priority disease areas.ConclusionThis study revealed some noteworthy strategies to improve access to cervical cancer treatment and care in low-income settings. Improved domestic investments in health systems and reforming health policies underpinned on strong political are recommended.

Effectiveness of Multitrack Diplomacy Actors in Critical Assessment of Kenya’s Presidential Election Outcomes, 2007-2017

In Kenya’s last four presidential elections, election observers had been seriously looked upon by both the Kenyan voters and the international community to provide alternative but credible information on the process and outcomes of presidential elections in Kenya. This was expected to promote legitimacy of the outcomes. Given that there was a dearth of specific scholarship to address the question, this study was conducted. This paper therefore examines the effectiveness of multitrack diplomacy in monitoring Kenya’s presidential election outcomes. The study was epistemological. It was conducted in 8 of the 17 constituencies of Nairobi City County which hosts the Kenya’s largest city and its capital with a natural representation of the population of the entire country. Out of the over 4 million residents of Nairobi City County, total sample size was 441 (384 questionnaire respondents, 32 focus group discussion participants and 25 key informant interview respondents). The study reached 436 (384 questionnaire respondents, 32 focus group discussion participants and 20 key informant interview respondents) out of 4 million people. Targeted were Kenya citizens who had voted at least once for a presidential candidate in any of the presidential elections held between 2007 and 2017 for the survey; individuals working with and for government institutions in Kenya’s electoral systems especially the election management body, ministry of foreign affairs, members of parliament, the Chief Justice, pollsters, the media, non-governmental organizations, religious institutions across all faiths as to Muslims, Christians and Hindu, major political parties, former election observers and diplomatic missions. The study found that multitrack diplomacy (MTD) actors or election observer missions (EOMs) observed election irregularities to above 50%. They detected electoral fraud in the 2007 presidential elections, identified election irregularities in the 2013 and the 2017 presidential elections but could not deter nor prevent outcome fraud. The paper, based on the study, concluded that multitrack diplomacy actors that monitored the presidential elections were fairly effective, they had reasonable capacity, fairly above 50%. Overall, multitrack diplomacy is effective in monitoring of Kenya’s presidential election but inefficacious in preventing and deterring election outcome fraud. Multitrack diplomacy actors-the election observation missions (EOMs) to use enhanced technology to match the electoral systems technology, improve on their objectivity during monitoring and be granted full accesses by governments and election management bodies (EMBs) for systematic, comprehensive and accurate monitoring.

Open access in vocational education and training research: results from four structured group discussions

AimOpen Access fosters the exchange of academic research information by making publications free of charge and, wherever possible, available through open licences and without any technical barriers. Although the Open Access publication model is already well established in the natural sciences, there seems to be more resistance towards Open Access in the social sciences, including the field of vocational education and training research. The research project “Open Access in Vocational Education and Training Research” aims to uncover the conditions influencing the acceptance, dissemination and use of Open Access in vocational education and training research. The project is grounded in a sociology of knowledge approach and in media theory. It comprises of two parts. First, four structured group discussions are conducted as focus groups and analysed using a qualitative content analysis. This paper focusses on this first part of the research project, the implementation and analysis of the group discussions as well as the results thereof. The second part of the research project will be based on an online questionnaire built upon these results. The questionnaire will be sent out to authors involved in vocational education and training research in the second part of the research project.FindingsThe analysis of the group discussions reveals several thematic clusters. According to group discussion participants, the scope of their publications as well as transparent quality assurance procedures in publishing are particularly relevant. The reputation of their chosen publication medium is another central aspect. It also becomes clear that in some cases an information deficit regarding the financing of Open Access publications or accompanying licensing models exists. Finally, participants discuss changing literature research strategies and changes of work and reading practices. The latter being clearly discernible in an increasingly digitalised daily work routine of vocational education and training researchers, while academic research communication is also an important topic discussed.

EFFECTS OF FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, SKILLS ON HIGHLAND MAIZE ADOPTION IN WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Understanding farmers' indigenous knowledge is vital in hybrid maize popularization. Despite different opportunities, adoption was constrained by the failure of infusing local knowledge in the modern extension system. Hence, farmers' capabilities, preferences, and practices towards adoption were studied. Data were collected from key informants and focus group discussion participants. A cross-sectional survey was to collect data from 154 respondents. Knowledge and attitude were assessed by using a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics and econometric analyses were run to analyze data accordingly. The results indicated among demographic characteristics; family and land size, owning of ox and experience have positively affected highland maize adoption at 1 per cent significance level; while education, age, and on-farm income have positively affected highland maize adoption at a 1% significance level. However, religion and sex did not affect highland maize adoption at all. Pearson chi-square result indicated, there was a positive and significant relationship of knowledge (χ2=41.49; p=0.000) to adoption. Consequently, an increase in farmers' knowledge of favoured adoption. Finally, poor institutional support, insufficient involvement of resource-poor farmers, and lack of training were major bottlenecks hampering highland maize adoption. Hence, provision of special training, credit services, and farmers-responsive training should be in place for better adoption.