Sampling Procedure Research Articles

Pesticide Residues in Cabbage and Nile Tilapia and Implications on Human Health and Ecosystems: A Case of Fogera District in Ethiopia.

Pesticides have posed health risks to consumers and the ecosystems in different parts of the world, including Ethiopia, and researchers recommend continual assessments of pesticide residues in food items and ecosystems to know the level of risks. This study aimed to quantify the pesticide residues in samples of cabbage and fish and their risks to humans and the ecosystems. The cabbage samples were collected from April to May 2023 from 3 market centers, and the fish samples were collected in June 2023 from two fish ponds of Fogera District of Ethiopia using appropriate sampling procedures, extracted using the modified QuEChERS methods, and analyzed using a triple quadrupole GC/MS technique to quantify the pesticide residues and level the risks to humans and the ecosystems. The findings of the present study confirmed that all the samples of cabbage and fish were contaminated with pesticide residues. More than 44% and 37% of pesticide residues detected in both cabbage and fish samples were organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides, respectively. Furthermore, 92.86% of the pesticide residues and 96.43% of the maximum pesticide residues in cabbage exceeded the MRL and the TQ set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The sum total hazard indices of the pesticide residues in the cabbage (22.320) and fish (43.071) were much higher than the threshold value. Though Fogera District is a potential area for fish production in ponds, agricultural pesticides are a threat to the sector. Establishing an efficient system of monitoring for the pesticide supply chain and application procedures, choosing the appropriate pesticide types, timing in spraying, and establishing pesticide-free buffer zones are crucial steps in mitigating the negative effects of pesticides in the area.

Determinants of smallholder wheat farmers’ participation in cluster farming in Lemu-Bilbilo and Hetosa Districts of Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

AbstractDespite devoting significant efforts to develop and implement policies aimed at enhancing the sustainability of its food systems, promoting resilience, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Ethiopia encounters constraints with these approaches. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the determinants of smallholder farmers’ participation in wheat cluster farming in the Lemu-Bilbilo and Hetosa Districts of Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. The study utilized cross-sectional data and a multistage sampling procedure to select a total of 381 respondents from the two districts of Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. The study employed a binary probit regression to achieve the research objectives. The study indicates that sex of household head, farm size, household head education level, access to credit, membership in farmer’s cooperative, access to information from government extension, access to information on climate, and farmers climate perception were significant and positively affecting cluster farming participation, whereas distance from the nearest market and off-farm activities participation had a negative relationship with cluster farming participation decision. Cluster farming practices provide a practical means of lessening the effects of stresses related to climate change. Therefore, to increase participation in cluster farming, it is essential to strengthen efforts to raise awareness about climate change and its impacts among farming communities. The study also recommends that institutional and governmental support is essential in the areas of cooperatives, education, extension services, credit availability, climate-related information, and infrastructure development, especially in the area of market accessibility. Furthermore, the issue of gender differences in CF involvement should be addressed by policy and development initiatives.

Quality of care in South Sudan and its associated factors, a facility-based cross-sectional study in public health facilities in Yambio County, Western Equatoria State.

The patient's experience of care is critical in determining how satisfied the client is with the quality of health services offered by the health facility. Understanding health needs aids in identifying gaps in service provision as well as potential avenues for planning and improving health care services. The primary goal of this study was to explore the attributes of quality healthcare in South Sudan from the perspective of healthcare recipients. Nonetheless, South Sudan's health system has remained inadequate since the country's independence in 2011, with 85% of deliveries performed by unskilled health personnel, high maternal and child death rates, and a lack of vital lifesaving drugs in health facilities. Political unrest, natural disasters, poor infrastructure, and budgetary limits are among the additional factors impeding the provision of high-quality care services to the population in need. However, the South Sudan government, with the support of international health partners, continues to work towards ensuring that basic health needs are met in accordance with SDG-3 recommendations. This was a facility-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in four selected health facilities in Yambio County, Western Equatoria State, from July 1st to September 30th, 2023. A sample size of 422 was included, and a randomized sampling procedure was used, with 60% of public health facilities supported by non-governmental organizations utilizing the lottery method. Data were collected and entered into SPSS version 25 for descriptive and regression analysis. A total of 422 participants were solicited for the study, with a response rate of 99.81 percent. Of the 421 responders, 72% (303/421) were female and 28% (118/421) were male. The overall satisfaction with the experience of quality of health care delivered was 84.8%. A preliminary analysis found that the assumption of multicollinearity was met (Age, sex, feeling of having chance to fully explain a problem to care provider, physical examination, provider's technical capacity in diagnosis and treatment, provider attitude, client respect) among others, were all associated with the client's experience of care and satisfaction with the quality of health care. The clients who sought health care at the public health facilities in Western Equatorial State were quite satisfied with the quality of health services (84.8%). Provider's behaviors, attitudes, and technical skills, among other major factors, were found to be associated with the client's positive experience of care. To uphold health ethics, the study recommends including medical ethics training and client center care into continuing medical educations at health facilities.

Designing A Place Value Chart to Help Pupils In Basic Three Subtract Three-Digit Numbers

The action research conducted was about designing a place value chart to help pupils in Basic three, subtract three-digit numbers. The project was undertaken in the Nsuta R/C Primary School in the Sekyere Central District in the Ashanti Region. The targeted population for the study was Nsuta R/C Primary Three pupils. The population size was 33 pupils, made up of 20 boys and 13 girls. A sample size of 20 pupils was selected for the study, comprising 9 boys and 11 girls. Purposive sampling procedure was considered in selecting the pupils in order to give pupil who needed help the opportunity to participate in the action research. Instruments used in the collection of data included observation, and test. Related literature review on the research was conducted. Pre- Intervention tests and a post-intervention test were administered. The post-Intervention test results showed tremendous improvement in pupils’ performance. According to the results of the study, primary schools should be encouraged to use materials like place value charts and sticks, especially in the Early Grade levels, to help pupils learn how to solve subtraction problems involving three-digit numbers.

Value Chain Analysis of Cattle Feed Market in Banaskantha District, India

India has vast resources of livestock and poultry, which play a vital role in improving the socio-economic conditions of rural masses. Livestock sector contributed 4.90 per cent of total GVA in 2020-21. Birthal and Jha [1] has found feed scarcity as the main limiting factor to improving livestock productivity. Therefore, to increase the productivity potential of milch animals the use of commercial compound feed is inevitable as supply of feed & fodder is shortening due to shrinking pasture land in the country. The Indian feed industry is about 57 years old. India is deficient in fodder and its availability is shrinking day by day due to decrease in cultivable area and increased share in food crop production so more thrust should be directed towards compound feeds by identifying the constraints and removing them.This study focused on the effectiveness of the feed industry and the performance of the value chain when mapping the cattle feed value chain in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat state. Total of ten feed manufacturing units and 120 farmers were selected for the study. The study was based on primary data and secondary data, the primary data were collected through personal interviews with the help of a structured survey schedule. Secondary data on livestock population were collected through the livestock census, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. A multi stage random sampling method was adopted as an appropriate sampling procedure for the study. Banaskantha district was purposely selected for the study as Banaskantha district has highest livestock population in overall Gujarat State. Four talukas from Banaskantha district were selected randomly and feed manufacturing units were selected by snowball sampling method. From each taluka, five villages were selected randomly. From each village, six farmers were selected randomly. The study focused on buying behavior of farmers regarding cattle feed purchase and to estimate demand for concentrated feed requirements for the future in Banaskantha district. The study found that among the eight explanatory (independent) variables, five variables viz., livestock population, farm size, feed price, income from livestock, total feed fed per day were found to be significantly associated with expenditure of cattle feed price per animal per month and other variables such as average age of the animal, technology adoption and distance from buying location were statistically non-significant. The required feed demand for future livestock populations in Banaskantha district are 3651480 metric tonnes, 4487461 metric tonnes, 5514543 metric tonnes, 6774097 metric tonnes and 8315523 metric tonnes for the year 2024, 2029,2034, 2039 and 2044 respectively.

Marketing of Educational Services and School Image of Private Secondary Schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of marketing of educational services on school image of private secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, five specific objectives, five research questions and five null hypotheses were formed for this study. The study adopted the correlational research design and the population was all 495 principals in the 495 private secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. However, a sample size of 221 principals drawn through multi-stage sampling procedure was used as participants. A self- developed questionnaire named “Marketing of Educational Services and School Image Questionnaire” with reliability of 0.74 was used for data collection. Out of the 221 participants sampled, 213 principals participated in the study. The hypotheses were tested using linear regressions at 0.05 alpha level. The findings indicated that product (people, process and physical evidence, price (fees charged), place (location) and promotion have significant impact on school image of private secondary schools. Based on the findings, conclusion was made that marketing of educational services significantly impact school image of private secondary schools. It was recommended among others that owners of private secondary schools should adopt product (people, process and physical evidence), price, place and promotion in marketing their schools because these marketing elements would make their schools to have good image and make prospective customers to be aware of them.

PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF CATFISH PRODUCTION IN KANO METROPOLIS, KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Fish is an important dietary element and a major source of animal protein in human diet for many Nigerians. The demand for fish has been on the increase because of geometrical increase in human population, this has resulted to a significant gap created between fish demand and supply. It is obvious given the importance of fish production that efforts must be made to encourage entrepreneurs to go into the business. However, many have shown doubts on the productivity and profitability of fish production, particularly on a smallholder level. This study therefore, examines the profitability of catfish production in Kano metropolis, Nigeria. Two stage sampling procedure was employed to select respondents for the study. Primary data were collected with the use of well-structured questionnaire administered to 120 catfish producers. The tools of analysis employed were descriptive statistics, gross margin and net farm income. The study revealed that Majority of the producers (69%) are male. Furthermore, 85percent of the fish producers have attained post primary education. The gross margin (GM) was ₦657,420, while the enterprise profit which is the net farm income was estimated at ₦598,128 and 0.33 return to capital for the farmers. Some of the challenges confronting the respondents in their business includes high cost of feed, lack of government support and lack of training. Thus, there is a need for provision of training for higher level of productivity, subsidizing of inputs such as feed by the government and participation in cooperative societies by the fish farmers for financial and inputs assistance by relevant Non-Governmental Organizations.

ASSESSMENT OF FEMALE YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURAL LIVELIHOOD GENERATING ACTIVITIES IN GWAGWALADA AREA COUNCIL, ABUJA, NIGERIA

This study examines female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja. The objectives of the study were to: examine the extent of female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities and the income generated, determine factors influencing female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities, and identify major constraints faced by female youth participating in agricultural livelihood generating activities. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 133 female youths from 13 registered youth associations with 10 from each group in (4) peri-urban communities of the study area. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data while descriptive statistics and Logit regression model were used to analyze the data. The results showed that 30.1% and 14.3% of the respondents were engaged in crop and poultry production and generated an average income of ₦420,093.02 and ₦216,000.00 respectively while 3.0% and 4.5 only were engaged in crop produce processing and poultry meat and egg marketing and generated ₦29,250.74 and ₦14,166.67, respectively. The logit regression results indicated that factors influencing female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities include age, education status, household size, income, occupation, and distance. Also, the major constraints hindering participation were inadequate access to land (43.6%), inadequate access to finance (41.6%) and high cost of production (16%). While the study indicates that a significant portion of female youths is engaged in crop and poultry production, their overall participation in agricultural activities is limited. The study provides critical insights into the potential of agriculture as a viable solution to youth unemployment in Nigeria. The study recommends implementing policies to improve land access for female youths, including land reform initiatives that prioritize youth ownership and leasing options. Additionally, it suggests exploring strategies to reduce production costs through input subsidies, partnerships with agricultural suppliers, and community-based resource-sharing initiatives.

EFFECTS OF HEALTH EXPENDITURE ON FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the effect of health expenditure on the food security status of rural households in Ogun State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 120 rural households in the study area. Data was collected from the respondents with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire complemented with an interview guide. Descriptive statistics, food security index, cost of illness procedure and binary logit regression model were the analytical techniques used for data analysis. Findings from the study revealed that majority (79.2%) of the respondent were male, married (90.8%), with a mean household size of 5 persons. Also, the mean age of the respondents was found to be 54 years with most of them involved in farming as their major occupation. Findings also revealed that majority of the rural households suffered from various illnesses such as malaria, waist/back pain, fever, high blood pressure, rheumatism and other illnesses with an average estimated cost of illness (₦45, 973.68 per month). The results of the food security status of the rural households revealed that a higher percentage (53.3%) of the rural households were food insecure. Factors found to significantly affect the food security status of the rural households were cost of illness (p<0.1) and other socio-economic variables such as education (p<0.1), income (p<0.05) and sex of the household head (p<0.01). Therefore, this study recommends that government should subsidize the cost of drugs and other medical expenses for poor households particularly those in the rural areas in order to reduce their financial burden on health care and increase their economic access to food.

Knowledge Gaps Regarding Allergic Rhinitis among the Patients Visiting Community Pharmacies of Lahore, Pakistan

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis is a varied disorder characterized by symptoms such as sneezing, nasal blockage, nasal itching, and a runny nose. This study assessed the knowledge of patients about Allergic rhinitis and to identify knowledge gaps in patient’s understanding along with the factors that may impact knowledge regarding the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study design was implemented to collect data from patients visiting community pharmacies of Lahore on a structured questionnaire (self-developed) containing 12 items related to knowledge. The questionnaire was distributed to physician diagnosed Allergic rhinitis patients. The questionnaire with closed-ended questions was completed by 240 participants of both genders as sampled through random sampling procedure. The study spanned over a period of eight months. Results: Among 240 respondents, 81.3% were students and majority were female (58.3%). It revealed that only 33.3% of respondents demonstrated adequate knowledge about Allergic rhinitis, while 66.7% demonstrated inadequate knowledge. Among demographic variables, female respondents presented better knowledge compared to the male population. Moreover, education status was positively associated with knowledge of respondents. Low education status of study subjects was observed to be the reason for knowledge gap among respondents. The p-values<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Conclusion: This study highlights a significant gap in respondent’s knowledge, emphasizing the need for targeted education and intervention. Low literacy rate was the major factor negatively associated with respondents’ knowledge of Allergic rhinitis. Improved knowledge is crucial to promoting good practices and achieving desired outcomes. Educational interventions and seminars should be conducted at public health sectors to enhance awareness in the general population.

ASSESSMENT OF SMALL HOLDERS FARMERS' ADOPTION OF CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE PRACTICES IN BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed smallholder farmers’ adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture practices in Borno State, Nigeria. Identified socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, assessed the respondents’ adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices and investigated the constraint by respondents in adopting climate-smart agriculture practices. Both primary and secondary sources were used. Multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 200 respondents as the sample size. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages, mean, standard deviation and likert type scale were used. The findings indicated that, majority (67.5%) of the respondents were within the prime working age of 20-49 years with a mean age of 43 years. Majority (75.5%) were male, 63.5% married with 43.0% had 7-9 persons per household. However, more than half (56%) of the respondents had no formal education, and 56% earn less than 50,000 Naira annually. The study also found that 58% had more than 10 years of farming experience, but only 30% were members of association. Conservation agriculture practices such as reduced tillage, crop residue management, and crop rotation/intercropping were rated 1st with the highest (x = 4.29) implying strong agreement to adoption of conservation agriculture practices. The climate smart agricultural practices highly adopted by the respondents include; water retention and erosion control technique (89%) and efficient fertilizer application technique (79.5%), moderately adopted practices; home garden (63%) and compost making/green manuring (58%), whereas least adopted practices; early warning system (20.0%) and use of more efficient cooking stove (17%). The most severe constraint identified include lack of awareness and limited information about climate smart agriculture practices (x=1.87), as well as limited access to credit (x=1.80). High cost of labor for climate smart agriculture and policy inconsistencies (x=1.32, 1.44) were identified as not severe constraint compared to others. The study recommended that Extension agents and Research institute should create more awareness on impact of adopting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices and improve easy accessibility to weather and climate information through provision of mobile-based platforms or community radio broadcasts that deliver timely and relevant information.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT (ISFM) PRACTICIES CHOICE AMONG MAIZE FARMERS IN ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

This study was carried out to analyzed socio-economic determinants of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) practices choice among maize farmers in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Using a multi-stage sampling procedure, 206 maize farmers were selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logit regression models were used to analyze the data collected. Findings revealed that majority of the farmers (about 60%) fell within the 20-40 years and they were predominantly male (62.1%), married (82.0%), and had a secondary education (40.3%). Farmers operated on an average farm size of 1.70 hectares. Majority of the maize farmers in the study area used intercropping with legumes (94%), organic manure (87%) and improved maize seed (79%) ISFM practices, the least practiced ISFM among the farmers were minimum tillage, crop residue retention and use of crop rotation. Socio-economic factors that were significant (P < 0.05) and positively influenced ISFM practices used among maize farmers were annual income, education level, and household size. Meanwhile gender (sex) have negative and significant (P < 0.05) influence on minimum tillage practice by the maize farmers. The study concludes on moderate use of ISFM practices among maize farmers in the study area. It was therefore be recommended that organized farmer’s programmes should be targeted toward educating the farmers on ISFM practices benefits and improving their income so as to facilitate adoption of ISFM practices for sustainable farm operation.

Fast and explainable outlier detection in geotechnical database

ABSTRACT Outlier detection is an important task in data-driven geotechnics. It is noted that many existing methods for outlier detection (e.g. Bayesian learning, neural networks) may pose computational challenge for conventional geotechnical practitioners. Towards this aspect, this study proposes a simple, fast, and explainable method for detecting outliers in geotechnical database. The principle of the method is that for a data point to be labelled as a potential outlier, the probability of observing a data point as extreme as that value should be low. To account for outliers in left-tail and right-tail, the skewness of the dataset is incorporated, and an indicator referred to as outlier score ( > 0 ) is assigned to each data point. The method also provides another indicator (referred to as dimensional outlier score) to identify which dimensions/soil properties contribute to the outlierness; hence, it is explainable. The method doesn't require any time-consuming learning or sampling procedures; hence, it is quite fast and practitioner-friendly. Multiple numerical examples are utilised to demonstrate the capability first. Finally, four publicly available geotechnical databases are utilised to demonstrate the outlier detection task. The results suggest that the outliers identified using the proposed method can be meaningful from a geotechnical point of view.

Conditional parametric bootstrap in GLARMA models

Due to situations where asymptotic results are not valid or when we do not know the true distributions of the data set, the bootstrap technique stands out as an effective alternative to make inferences about model parameters. In this context, we introduce the conditional parametric bootstrap, applied to time series data, specifically using the Generalized Linear Autoregressive Moving Average (GLARMA) model. Our interest is to use the procedure to correct possible biases and construct confidence intervals and hypothesis testing for the parameters of the GLARMA model. We conducted simulation studies to evaluate the performance of the procedure in finite samples. The results show that the proposed technique is promising and can be applied in practical situations. An example is the analysis of the monthly number of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases, which illustrates the potential of the proposed approach in a real situation.

Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Household Welfare in Southern Ethiopia: A matching estimator approach

Cash transfers (CTs) are now high on the agenda of most governments in low- and middle-income countries. Chronic food insecurity is one of the problems that has plagued millions of Ethiopians for centuries. This study evaluated the impact of participation in the conditional cash transfer (CCT) component of the PSNP (Public Works or PW) on household welfare in Karat Zuria District, Konso Zone, Southern Ethiopia. The cross-sectional survey data was gathered from 244 sample households, which were taken from beneficiary and control groups by using a multistage sampling procedure. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to evaluate the program's impact on livestock holdings and total income. The result obtained from logit regression indicated that participation in a conditional cash transfer program was negatively influenced by access to credit and cultivated land size, whereas it was positively influenced by shock experience and an iron-roofed house. The econometrics model result shows that, as compared to control households, the program intervention increased the beneficiary households’ livestock holding (measured in TLU) by 24.8 percent (0.53 TLU) and total income by 33 percent (1705.095 ETB), respectively. This study demonstrated how the program had a considerable impact on household livestock holdings and total income.

Lived Experiences of Parents of Children Having Type-I Diabetes Aged 6 to 12 Years

Type I diabetes is chronic illness which change the life styles of parents, children as well as the entire family. Parents faced many challenges such as care, management (insulin administration, diabetic diet, blood glucose monitoring) and treatment cost. Objective of the study is to explore lived experience of parents of children having type I diabetes. A qualitative phenomenological study design was adopted, and total eleven parents (8 mothers and 3 fathers) were selected as participants by using non probability purposive sampling procedure. Data was gathered by using in-depth interview. The huge information was reduced to smaller statements by grouping similar responses to get actual meaning which were coded, categorized and organized to sub themes and themes. Findings revealed that parents had experienced so many ups and downs emotional feelings during the journey of treatment. They experienced nature of type I diabetes like treatment need for the whole of life, hardship during diagnosis process, facing the diabetes complications, financial crisis and need for treatment in emergency situation. The study also revealed that parents felt permanent impact from their child’s previous health condition and disruption of family unit but they were hopeful about their children’s future consequences. They struggled for supporting and caring their children’s lives at all times in the best possible ways. They learnt to live with children having Type-I diabetes. Parents suggested to launch awareness programs to educate school teachers, staffs and health worker for early diagnosis.

Evaluating the Differential Role of Public-Private Credit Sources in Financing Climate Change Adaptation Technologies for Rural Farmers in Delta State, Nigeria

This study analyses the differential role of public and private credit sources in financing climate change adaptation technologies among rural farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. A multiple-stage random sampling procedure was utilized, and data were collected from 338 farmers employing a semi-structured questionnaire. The investigation uncovered that the average income from formal credit sources (N212,553.85) was essentially higher than from informal sources (N137,514.79). Variables impacting the volume of credit from informal sources included farming experience, marital status, cooperative participation, credit access, interest rates, and income. Conversely, education level, cooperative membership, credit access, and income were key determinants of credit volume from formal sources. The Chow test results indicated a significant structural difference between the two groups, with a calculated statistic of 369.48 exceeding the critical value of 1.936 at the 5% significance level. This highlights a significant difference in the sum borrowed and access to credit between formal and informal sources, underscoring the significant role of formal credit in enhancing climate adaptation among rural farmers.

Working Capital Management and Financial Sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises

The study examined the nexus between working capital management and sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bayelsa State. A quantitative design was adopted and the population of the study was 1256 SMEs and a sample of 303 SMEs was selected through a stratified sampling procedure. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire while content validity and Cronbach alpha was applied to determine the internal consistency of the measurement of the instruments. The data was analysed through structural equation modelling using a process-based approach of Smart PLS. The study found that account receivable management had a significant positive effect on financial sustainability of SMEs while cash management and inventory management had a positive but non-significant effect on the financial sustainability of SMEs in Bayelsa State. It was recommended that there should be a robust policy framework to promote effective receivable collection process and minimize bad debts. Further, managers should improve access to financing options for SMEs and facilitate cash inflows and inventory management. There should also be an integrative working capital management process to ensure financial sustainability of SMEs.

Effect of Teachers Attitudes towards Teaching on Students’ Performance in Mathematics Subject in Public Day Secondary Schools in Rwanda: A Case of Huye District

The study investigated how teachers' attitudes toward teaching influenced students' academic progress in mathematics in a public secondary school in Huye District. Specifically, the research identifies the teachers' attitudes toward teaching that could influence the achievement of pupils in Mathematics-related subjects in public day secondary schools in Huye district. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study used a combined method approach to collect both quantitative and qualitative data to examine how teachers' attitudes influence their teaching practices in Mathematics. Purposive and random sampling were applied to select sectors, schools, and participants, allowing for systematic data collection and analysis on teachers' attitudes and their influence on students’ performance. The target population for this study was 200, including 3 sector educational officers, 5 head teachers, 25 mathematics teachers and 167 Mathematics students; and the Yamane method was used to calculate a sample size of 134 respondents including 2 sector educational officers, 3 Head teachers, 15 teachers and 114 students. Primary data sources included surveys, while secondary data came from observation and interview methods. This study used purposive, stratified and simple random sampling procedures to create a sample group of respondents. The research collected and analyzed data using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Content analysis helped with qualitative data analysis, while quantitative data was presented in SPSS Version 21.0 utilizing statistical methods such as descriptive (frequency, percentage, imply and deviation from the mean) and inferential statistics (correlational and regression analysis). For the study objective, the results show that 76.3% strongly agreed that teachers' communication skills, 69.3% strongly agreed that effective goal-setting, 64.9% strongly agreed that lesson preparation, 61.4% strongly agreed that lesson preparation, 78.1% strongly accepted that professional commitment, and 68.0% highly agreed that adaptability and flexibility reflect my teachers' attitudes toward teaching. 64.9% strongly agreed that early arrival in class during the teaching lesson reflects the teachers' attitudes toward teaching. The study found a strong positive correlation between exams, test results, and factors like interpersonal skills, goal-setting, lesson preparation, and professional commitment, which all contributed to improved student performance. The researcher concluded that early attendance and communication skills of teachers were also linked to positive educational outcomes, with tests enhancing performance across subjects. With a p-value below 0.05, the study showed that active class participation boosts effectiveness. Recommendations included improving teacher attitudes towards math, enhancing confidence, making Math enjoyable, investing in teacher training, providing resources and encouraging community involvement in Math careers. Regular follow-ups and ongoing professional development for teachers were also advised.

Testing the Instanton Approach to the Large Amplification Limit of a Diffraction-Amplification Problem

Abstract The validity of the instanton analysis approach is tested numerically in the case of the diffraction-amplification problem ∂zψ−(i/2m)∂2 x2 ψ=g│S│2 for ln U>>1, where U=│ψ(0,L)│2. Here, S(x,z) is a complex Gaussian random field, z and x respectively are the axial and transverse coordinates, with 0≤z≤L, and both m≠0 and g>0 are real parameters. We consider a class of S, called the `one-max class', for which we devise a specific biased sampling procedure. As an application, p(U), the probability distribution of U, is obtained down to values less than 10-2270 in the far right tail. We find that the agreement of our numerical results with the instanton analysis predictions in Mounaix (2023 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 56 305001) is remarkable. Both the predicted algebraic tail of p(U) and concentration of the realizations of S onto the leading instanton are clearly confirmed, which validates the instanton analysis numerically in the large ln U limit for S in the one-max class.