Browsing by Author "Ngowi, Edwin"

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Factors influencing transient poverty among maasai pastoralists households in semi-arid areas of Simanjiro district, Tanzania
(The Sub-Saharan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSJSSH), 2022) Cosmas, Eutropia; Ngowi, Edwin; Ng’winamila, Kasongi; Muhanga, Mikidadi
There are two discourses on the feasibility of pastoralists’ livelihoods. The first maintained that pastoralism is still a feasible approach if suitable development ingenuities link rural households to markets. The second discloses the fact that pastoral livelihoods are depressed and unviable due to political side-lining, drought, and inadequate institutional support (markets and education). Consequently, poverty associated with the seasonal fluctuation of income (transient poverty) remains intense among pastoralists. This study determined factors influencing transient poverty among pastoralists in Simanjiro District, Tanzania. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed to select representative samples. Data collection methods comprised household surveys with 100 Maasai pastoralists, 4 focused group discussions (FGDs), and 20 key informants interviews. The regression model was used to determine the relationship between poverty and hypothesized-explanatory variables. The findings show that household heads who had never been to school have a higher likelihood of being trapped in transient poverty (statistically significant at p<0.05 in logistic regression). The herd size shows a significant effect on transient poverty i.e., the more the herd size the less likelihood of households being trapped in transient poverty holding other factors constant. Geographical proximity (distance to markets, water sources, and pasture fields) has a significant effect on transient poverty. The more the distance to markets, water sources, and pasture fields the higher the likelihood of households being trapped in transient poverty holding other factors constant. The poverty status of the household is highly associated with the level of physical access to markets, water sources, and pasture fields. Theoretically, the study contributes at different levels. First, contributes to the role of educational profile in transient poverty persistence, by showing how returns to education reduce transient poverty likelihood. Second, contributes to the factors for transient poverty, by showing the effect of geographical proximity on transient poverty. Lastly, contributes to the role of livelihoods diversification, by showing having multiple livelihoods strategies reduces transient poverty.
Health information systems utilization: a comparison of extent and magnitude in public and private health facilities in Dar es salaam, Tanzania
(American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR), 2023-03) Haule, Christiana D.; Muhanga, Mikidadi; Ngowi, Edwin
Health information systems (HISs) are critical tools that have been widely adopted and implemented in healthcare settings around the world, intending to improve the quality of healthcare services (OHSs) delivered. However, it is the extent and magnitude of HISs utilization that seem to guarantee improvement in the quality of health care. The study explored the extent to which HISs have been utilized in selected public and private health facilities (PPHFs) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the determinants of its utilization. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed to collect data using the Kobo Collect survey tool from 140 respondents and 12 key informants. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages), Inferential statistics (Pearson chi-square tests), and Linear regression analyses were employed to analyse data. The analysis revealed that private ownership has a higher utilization rate of HIS (61.4%) compared to public ownership (38.6%). Moreover, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were significant predictors of actual use of the system, suggesting that users who found the system easy to use and useful were more likely to use it. In conclusion, the utilization of HIS in Tanzania seems to be influenced by various factors, including ownership type.
Knowledge Gain and Adoption among Farm Women through Interactive Multimedia in Kilosa and Sengerema Districts, Tanzania
(2021) Ngowi, Edwin; Mwakalobo, Adam; Mathew, Coletha
This paper examines knowledge gain and adoption among farm women with access to information and improved communication. This is because access to information and improved communication is a crucial requirement for agricultural development. In rural areas, group approach, “self-help groups (SHGs),” have been initiated among farm women using Interactive Multimedia Compact Disc (IMCD). The IMCD emerged as a potential learning tool to train farmers about a particular agricultural-knowledge. A theoretical and conceptual framework for an adoption pathway is reviewed in which farmers move from knowledge gain to adoption over time. This study was conducted in Sengerema and Kilosa districts with telecentres that train farm women in SHGs using IMCD. A total of 180 farm women were randomly and equally selected. Simple correlation and multiple regressions were used to assess association and influence of socioeconomic characteristics on knowledge gain and adoption. It was established that education status and mass media exposure exhibited a positive and significant relationship. Age and farm statuses showed negative association with knowledge gain. Farm status and innovativeness showed significant and positive relationship with knowledge adoption. Farming experience exhibited negative and significant relationship with knowledge adoption. Thus, while preparing IMCD, one should take care these variables for knowledge gain and adoption. The inferences on knowledge gain and adoption imply that longer periods will be required for majority of farm women to use the technology and to have the decision leading to adoption
Knowledge gain and adoption among farm women through interactive multimedia in Kilosa and Sengerema districts, Tanzania
(Tanzania Journal of Development Studies, 2021) Ngowi, Edwin; Mathew, Coletha; Mwakalobo, Adam
This paper examines knowledge gain and adoption among farm women with access to information and improved communication. This is because access to information and improved communication is a crucial requirement for agricultural development. In rural areas, group approach, “self-help groups (SHGs),” have been initiated among farm women using Interactive Multimedia Compact Disc (IMCD). The IMCD emerged as a potential learning tool to train farmers about a particular agricultural-knowledge. A theoretical and conceptual framework for an adoption pathway is reviewed in which farmers move from knowledge gain to adoption over time. This study was conducted in Sengerema and Kilosa districts with telecentres that train farm women in SHGs using IMCD. A total of 180 farm women were randomly and equally selected. Simple correlation and multiple regressions were used to assess association and influence of socioeconomic characteristics on knowledge gain and adoption. It was established that education status and mass media exposure exhibited a positive and significant relationship. Age and farm statuses showed negative association with knowledge gain. Farm status and innovativeness showed significant and positive relationship with knowledge adoption. Farming experience exhibited negative and significant relationship with knowledge adoption. Thus, while preparing IMCD, one should take care these variables for knowledge gain and adoption. The inferences on knowledge gain and adoption imply that longer periods will be required for majority of farm women to use the technology and to have the decision leading to adoption.
Making ICTs work for agro-pastoral livelihood: using the telecentre as learning tool for agro-pastoralists communities in Tanzania
(Journal of Sustainable Development, 2015) Ngowi, Edwin; Mwakalobo, Adam; Mwamfupe, Davis
Traditional agricultural extension services intended to serve agro-pastoralists in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa at large have failed to make significant impacts, due partly to the lack of knowledge-sharing practices to disseminate timely agricultural and livestock-keeping information. A key problem has been inadequate access to information due to weak linkages and interactions between agricultural and livestock research institutions; including, the lack of knowledge and information articulating best practices; and deficiency of relevant research information presented in easy to understand ways and localized to the needs of agro-pastoralists. However, in recent years, there has been growing attention devoted to the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agriculture and livestock-keeping development. The growing ubiquity of mobile phones presents an excellent opportunity to put timely agricultural and livestock-keeping information into the hands of agro-pastoralists through direct linkages with the telecentres services in rural areas. The evidence has linked ICTs to an increase in gross domestic product; it has prompted dedication to the research of the socio-economic benefits and policy implications of ICTs consumption in Africa. Consisting of field case studies and implementation frameworks for telecentres, this paper provides a Tanzanian rural perspective and understanding of the developments in ICTs services for sustainable agro-pastoral livelihood. Therefore, the field results indicates that, the extent of the interaction between the telecentre services and agro-pastoralists in terms of ICTs access as a learning tool shows that more than half, 43.7% (178) and 23.6% (96) out of 407 respondents were interacting; whereby agro-pastoralists access the services provided by the telecentres to improve agro-pastoral livelihood. We conclude that the interaction between the telecentre services and agro-pastoralists has to be transformed; since the potential of ICTs services in rural areas as yet remains untapped and urgent measures are required to derive maximum benefits for sustainable agro-pastoral livelihood.
The origin and disappearance of the wambambali tradition and the succeeding wagogo communities in Dodoma: oral stories from elders
(2021) Kokeli, Peter Ryano; Mwakipesile, Augustino; Temu, Emanuel; Ngw’inamila, Kasongi; Ngowi, Edwin; Kilonzo, Rehema; Sadasivuni, Krishna Rao
The current fast growth of the city of Dodoma in central Tanzania threatens cultural heritage materials scattered on the landscape. However, natural processes such as weathering and erosion also add to this threat. Earlier, we reported on the existence of two cultural traditions on this landscape, the Middle Stone Age artefacts and the much younger Wambambali tradition based on pottery, grinding stones and remains of collapsed buildings. This paper presents qualitative data about the latter tradition from the perception of elders. Although our main focus was on the Wambambali tradition, elders broadened our scope and so we discuss the Wambambali on the wider perspective that includes succeeding communities, the Wagogo. Interview and focus group discussion techniques were used to collect data. The current whereabout of the Wambambali people is not known but there are two suggestions: The majority went south while a small group may have gone to the north. On the other hand, the Wagogo communities are formed by founders from different ethnic groups and regions and elders involved in our research predominantly trace their origins to the Hehe and Bena communities in today’s Iringa/Njombe regions. The collective name for these incoming groups came to be known as Wagogo.
Rescue archaeology at open-air sites around the University of Dodoma, central Tanzania
(South African Archaeological Bulletin, 2021) Ryano, Kokeli P.; Augustino, Augustino; Rao, Krishna S.; Ng'winamila, Kasongi; Temu, Emmanuel; Ngowi, Edwin; Kilonzo, Rehema
A team of researchers from the University of Dodoma conducted a rescue study involving systematic and random land walkover surveys, interviews and group discussions with elders, and minimal excavations around the periphery of the institution. Findings indicate the existence of two traditions that are temporally separated by thousands of years. The lithic artefacts, analysed through a technologi- cal-attribute approach, suggest an older tradition that belongs to the Middle Stone Age prepared Levalloisian core technology that we estimate to have occurred between 60 and 50 ka. The cores were knapped in a unidirectional fashion using hard hammer to produce flakes or blades. The younger materials represent a civilisation of peasant farmers and probably pastoralists, the cause of whose disap- pearance is still unknown. According to oral history, these were the Wambambali people whose disappearance may have been a result of recurrent famines. This civilisation is represented by remains of pottery and of deserted settlements and buildings. Most of the pottery is in pieces (c. 86%) identified to be body parts, while others (c. 14%) represent rims, necks, and shoulders. The buildings were constructed using thatch and daub and they were likely burnt before settling in to solidify the structures. This research represents an important opportu- nity and has convinced us to now call on authorities and other stake- holders to ensure the protection of the cultural heritage through emphasising impact assessment studies prior to any destructive project.
Transferring cultural geo-history datasets of artifacts using gis geodatabase for archiving in Dodoma capital city, Tanzania
(2018) Mwakipesile, Augustino; Ngowi, Edwin; Kasongi, Ng’winamila; Temu, Emmanuel; Kilonzo, Rehema
The study aimed to create a historical geographic information system (HGIS), including a geodatabase and simple web application for Dodoma Capital City (DCC) in Tanzania. A web GIS application based is an outcome of the study that can improves research on, and knowledge of, the rare artifacts of cultural and historical heritage in Dodoma Capital City (DCC) for historians and the wider academic community. Likewise, spatial data incorporated allows for visualization of the relationship between people, and their geographic and cultural surroundings. Therefore, the cultural geo-history in this paper describes the specific connection of the cultural artifacts and historical site in a given area to their environment and geographic space. For that purpose, the Dodoma Capital City (DCC) historical artifacts as a case study were cataloged based on GIS techniques, geocoding protocols, and describing the artifacts to create an intuitive and familiar tool for historical researchers and archivists to better understand the cultural geo-history of Dodoma Capital City (DCC). The resulting tool, the Dodoma Capital City Historical Geographical Information System (DCCHGIS), combines a geodatabase and a web application to provide access to a small portion of the geospatial cultural history of Dodoma Capital City (DCC). The DCCHGIS demonstrates that archiving are useful in creating an accurate, informative, and usable Historical Geographic Information System (HGIS) tool that increase the knowledge of and access to cultural geo-history
Transforming employability for social change in east Africa (TESCEA)
(INSAP, 2021) Dooley, Gary; Luswata, Albert; Malagala, Aloysius; Milanzi, Mursali; Ngowi, Edwin; Nzegwu, Femi; Otieno, Arnold Printer
Executive Summary Transforming Employability for Social Change in East Africa (TESCEA) is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded initiative, part of FCDO’s Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) programme. With partners in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, TESCEA is designed to support universities to create a learner-centred experience for students. This improved learning experience has at its core critical thinking, problem-solving and gender-responsiveness pedagogy; and allows for practical learning beyond the classroom to improve a graduate’s employability. TESCEA’s purpose is to: • Facilitate new approaches to learning – strengthening the ability and motivation of academics to deliver learner-focused teaching that helps students learn how to think, not what to think, and which is focused on developing critical thinking, problem solving, and gender-responsive skills. • Strengthen connections between universities, local employers and communities – fostering relationships between universities, employers and local communities to enable the design of relevant curricula and practical internships. • Develop approaches and tools to enable scale up – expansion of the approach within and external to the TESCEA institutions and the institutionalisation /sustainability of these approaches are at the heart of TESCEA. • Embed mechanisms to learn and refine the approach in the short and longer term. The project is delivered though three outcomes and six outputs. TESCEA’s three outcomes are: • Outcome 1: Multi-sectoral engagement in support of graduate employment, entrepreneurship and gender equity enabled; • Outcome 2: A transformative teaching & learning environment which is critical thinking, problem solving and gender responsive created for faculty and students; • Outcome 3: An iterative and adaptive approach to project learning and development embedded. Its six outputs are • Output 1.1 A Joint consultative private, public, community and HE sector forum on graduate employment & entrepreneurship created & operational • Output 1.2 Business and community mechanisms which equitably promote industry-specific learning and social enterprise created • Output 2.1 East Africa-specific gender-equitable pedagogical & CPD model defined and implemented • Output 2.2 Mechanisms to supExecutive Summary Transforming Employability for Social Change in East Africa (TESCEA) is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded initiative, part of FCDO’s Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) programme. With partners in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, TESCEA is designed to support universities to create a learner-centred experience for students. This improved learning experience has at its core critical thinking, problem-solving and gender-responsiveness pedagogy; and allows for practical learning beyond the classroom to improve a graduate’s employability. TESCEA’s purpose is to: • Facilitate new approaches to learning – strengthening the ability and motivation of academics to deliver learner-focused teaching that helps students learn how to think, not what to think, and which is focused on developing critical thinking, problem solving, and gender-responsive skills. • Strengthen connections between universities, local employers and communities – fostering relationships between universities, employers and local communities to enable the design of relevant curricula and practical internships. • Develop approaches and tools to enable scale up – expansion of the approach within and external to the TESCEA institutions and the institutionalisation /sustainability of these approaches are at the heart of TESCEA. • Embed mechanisms to learn and refine the approach in the short and longer term. The project is delivered though three outcomes and six outputs. TESCEA’s three outcomes are: • Outcome 1: Multi-sectoral engagement in support of graduate employment, entrepreneurship and gender equity enabled; • Outcome 2: A transformative teaching & learning environment which is critical thinking, problem solving and gender responsive created for faculty and students; • Outcome 3: An iterative and adaptive approach to project learning and development embedded. Its six outputs are • Output 1.1 A Joint consultative private, public, community and HE sector forum on graduate employment & entrepreneurship created & operational • Output 1.2 Business and community mechanisms which equitably promote industry-specific learning and social enterprise created • Output 2.1 East Africa-specific gender-equitable pedagogical & CPD model defined and implemented • Output 2.2 Mechanisms to support scale up and sustainability established • Output 3.1: A landscape of intra and inter project learning enabled nationally and regionally • Output 3.2: Adaptive MEL systems embedded within & across partner institutions. Between March 2020 and January 2021, an evaluation of TESCEA was conducted. The overall purpose of this evaluation was to assess the state and quality of the outcomes that TESCEA was designed to achieve and the value of the approach. This was explored by reviewing evidence and providing learning about its effectiveness, sustainability, equity, value for money, learning and adaptation. The evaluation was fully participatory, utilisation-focused, co-designed and co-implemented with the primary users (Mzumbe, UDOM, Gulu, UMU, AFELT, Ashoka East Africa, INASP). A core evaluation team comprised of these key stakeholders was engaged from the start in a collaborative process and oversaw the design and implementation of the evaluation. An external evaluation/data analyst oversaw the analysis of theExecutive Summary Transforming Employability for Social Change in East Africa (TESCEA) is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded initiative, part of FCDO’s Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) programme. With partners in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, TESCEA is designed to support universities to create a learner-centred experience for students. This improved learning experience has at its core critical thinking, problem-solving and gender-responsiveness pedagogy; and allows for practical learning beyond the classroom to improve a graduate’s employability. TESCEA’s purpose is to: • Facilitate new approaches to learning – strengthening the ability and motivation of academics to deliver learner-focused teaching that helps students learn how to think, not what to think, and which is focused on developing critical thinking, problem solving, and gender-responsive skills. • Strengthen connections between universities, local employers and communities – fostering relationships between universities, employers and local communities to enable the design of relevant curricula and practical internships. • Develop approaches and tools to enable scale up – expansion of the approach within and external to the TESCEA institutions and the institutionalisation /sustainability of these approaches are at the heart of TESCEA. • Embed mechanisms to learn and refine the approach in the short and longer term. The project is delivered though three outcomes and six outputs. TESCEA’s three outcomes are: • Outcome 1: Multi-sectoral engagement in support of graduate employment, entrepreneurship and gender equity enabled; • Outcome 2: A transformative teaching & learning environment which is critical thinking, problem solving and gender responsive created for faculty and students; • Outcome 3: An iterative and adaptive approach to project learning and development embedded. Its six outputs are • Output 1.1 A Joint consultative private, public, community and HE sector forum on graduate employment & entrepreneurship created & operational • Output 1.2 Business and community mechanisms which equitably promote industry-specific learning and social enterprise created • Output 2.1 East Africa-specific gender-equitable pedagogical & CPD model defined and implemented • Output 2.2 Mechanisms to support scale up and sustainability established • Output 3.1: A landscape of intra and inter project learning enabled nationally and regionally • Output 3.2: Adaptive MEL systems embedded within & across partner institutions. Between March 2020 and January 2021, an evaluation of TESCEA was conducted. The overall purpose of this evaluation was to assess the state and quality of the outcomes that TESCEA was designed to achieve and the value of the approach. This was explored by reviewing evidence and providing learning about its effectiveness, sustainability, equity, value for money, learning and adaptation. The evaluation was fully participatory, utilisation-focused, co-designed and co-implemented with the primary users (Mzumbe, UDOM, Gulu, UMU, AFELT, Ashoka East Africa, INASP). A core evaluation team comprised of these key stakeholders was engaged from the start in a collaborative process and oversaw the design and implementation of the evaluation. An external evaluation/data analyst oversaw the analysis of the data and the interpretation of the findings. The evaluation used a multi-method approach, drawing on a variety of sources for its data, including: • Document review • Qualitative feedback from teachers, students, senior management and Joint Advisory Group (JAG) members • Baseline and follow-up surveys of teachers and students The evaluation findings suggest that overall TESCEA has been successful in achieving its outcomes and outputs and has delivered its activities economically and efficiently and has thereby contributed to transforming the way universities teach and learn through a focus on critical thinking, problem-solving and gender-responsive pedagogy. data and the interpretation of the findings. The evaluation used a multi-method approach, drawing on a variety of sources for its data, including: • Document review • Qualitative feedback from teachers, students, senior management and Joint Advisory Group (JAG) members • Baseline and follow-up surveys of teachers and students The evaluation findings suggest that overall TESCEA has been successful in achieving its outcomes and outputs and has delivered its activities economically and efficiently and has thereby contributed to transforming the way universities teach and learn through a focus on critical thinking, problem-solving and gender-responsive pedagogy. port scale up and sustainability established • Output 3.1: A landscape of intra and inter project learning enabled nationally and regionally • Output 3.2: Adaptive MEL systems embedded within & across partner institutions. Between March 2020 and January 2021, an evaluation of TESCEA was conducted. The overall purpose of this evaluation was to assess the state and quality of the outcomes that TESCEA was designed to achieve and the value of the approach. This was explored by reviewing evidence and providing learning about its effectiveness, sustainability, equity, value for money, learning and adaptation. The evaluation was fully participatory, utilisation-focused, co-designed and co-implemented with the primary users (Mzumbe, UDOM, Gulu, UMU, AFELT, Ashoka East Africa, INASP). A core evaluation team comprised of these key stakeholders was engaged from the start in a collaborative process and oversaw the design and implementation of the evaluation. An external evaluation/data analyst oversaw the analysis of the data and the interpretation of the findings. The evaluation used a multi-method approach, drawing on a variety of sources for its data, including: • Document review • Qualitative feedback from teachers, students, senior management and Joint Advisory Group (JAG) members • Baseline and follow-up surveys of teachers and students The evaluation findings suggest that overall TESCEA has been successful in achieving its outcomes and outputs and has delivered its activities economically and efficiently and has thereby contributed to transforming the way universities teach and learn through a focus on critical thinking, problem-solving and gender-responsive pedagogy.
The what, why, and how of health information systems: a systematic review
(The Sub-Saharan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSJSSH), 2022) Haule, Christiana D.; Muhanga, Mikidadi; Ngowi, Edwin
The literature on the topic of health information systems (HISs) is reviewed in this paper. Specifically, the paper reviews the literature on (i) the theoretical concept of HISs (The What), (ii) the rationale, purposes, and importance (The Why), and (iii) the operationalization of the HISs (The How). For this systematic review, we searched Research Gate, Science Direct, Google Scholar, JSTOR, ProQuest, Scopus, PMC, BMJ, PubMed, and published documents by World Health Organization (WHO). Only 35 articles out of 1,400 articles identified were included in the study depending on the 3 contextualised questions i.e., the what, why, and how of the HISs. Literature published between 1960 and 2021 were considered in the review as the concept of HIS was introduced in the 1960s, excluding literature published before the 1960s and non-English publications. Generally, the HISs is one of the six pillars that make up a strong health system, designed to collect, process, store and manage health information. The main goal of the HISs is to deliver quality services. The importance of these systems includes quick access to medical records, sharing of patient information, reducing paperwork, reducing medical errors, improve the quality of care. Therefore, there is a great need to promote this concept, taking into account its rationale, purposes, and importance of it in the health care system.