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Purpose: This paper aims to fill gap in the literature and explore policy options for resolving the problems of accountability by framing three research questions. The research questions are (i) whether certain elements of Scott's (2014) institutional pillars attenuate (accentuate) corporate and public accountability; (ii) whether the presence of ruling party-affiliated enterprises (RPAEs) create an increase (decrease) in the degree of corporate (public) accountability; and (iii) whether there is a particular form of ownership change that transforms RPAEs into public investment companies. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative research methodology that involves term frequency and thematic analysis of publicly available textual information, the paper examines Mechkova et al.'s (2019 forms of government accountability. The paper analyzes the gaps between the de jure and de facto accountability using the institutional pillars framework. Findings: The findings of the paper are three. First, there are gaps between de jure and de facto in all three (vertical, horizontal and diagonal) forms of government (public) accountability. Second, the study finds that more than three fourth of the parties that contested the June 2021 election did have regional focus. They did not advocate for accountability. Third, Ethiopia's RPAEs are unique. They have regional focus and are characterized by severe forms of agency and information asymmetry problems. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the paper is its exploratory nature. Extending this research by using cross-country data could provide a more complete picture of the link between corporate (public) accountability and a country's institutional pillars. Practical implications: Academic research documents that instilling modern corporate (public) governance standards in the Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) region has shown mixed results. The analysis made in this paper is likely to inform researchers and policymakers about the type of change that leads to better corporate (and public) accountability outcomes. Social implications: The institutional change proposed in the paper is likely to advance the public interest by mitigating agency and information asymmetry problems and enhancing government accountability. The changes make the enterprises investable, save scarce jobs, enhance diversity and put the assets in RPAEs to better use. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that uses the institutional pillars analytical framework to examine an SSA country's corporate (public) accountability problem. It demonstrates that accountability is a domestic and a (novel) traveling theory. The paper identifies the complexity of resolving the interlock between political institutions and business enterprises. It theorizes that it is impossible to instill modern corporate (public) accountability standards without changing regulatory, normative and cultural cognitive pillars of institutions. The paper contributes to the change management and public interest literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the bureaucratic processes required to establish and manage a single international capacity‐development project that brought together a funding council (AHRC), UK University (SOAS University of London) and universities and other research organisations in Myanmar and Ethiopia. Drawing from ethnographic critiques of the planning and audit practices employed in international development and in the UK University sector, we track the formal certification of partnership as enacted through due diligence and contracts, budgets and timeframes, and reconciliations and reporting. These practices point to pervasive assumptions about capacity transfer and the unequal basis of international research coalitions spanning the Global North and Global South. In this article, we challenge these assumptions by documenting how the allocation of capacity is constrained in hierarchies of time and space. For equitable partnership arrangements to be achieved, we recommend that capacity development be considered a long‐term exchange that flows from mutual reflection and learning from one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007/2008, a triple crisis of food, fuel and finance sparked a global rush for agricultural land; tens of millions of hectares were acquired, primarily by foreign investors, within countries in the Global South. Amidst those transactions, intergovernmental organizations, national governments, investors, and community members envisioned what "success" of such investments entails. Although not explicitly defined, each stakeholder had different conceptualizations and measures of it, based upon the descriptions used and desired outcomes sought. Despite a large amount of literature analyzing the global rush for land, as far as we are aware no one has analyzed the diverse viewpoints about what success entails. This paper compares conceptualizations among four key stakeholder groups, based on ideal types from dominant narratives, and develops a typology of ideal stakeholder framing of success to allow comparisons of uses and thereby provide a foundation for researchers who are assessing the global land rush. This paper provides clarity about widely used, but inconsistently defined, framing providing an important foundation for clarity of meaning and comparative differences between stakeholders. The typology advances the discourse on the land rush by providing nuance to this widely used framing and makes explicit its diverse meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the issues and challenges of the current information and communication process of private sector healthcare institutions in Ethiopia. Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used to collect and analyze data using surveys, interviews, observation and related secondary source documents. The analysis indicated the research gaps in the current information and communication process models and the clear direction toward a solution. This study employed a mixed research design (both exploratory and applied research) and used Google Forms for a survey and interview-based fact-finding and analysis, Microsoft Visio for model designing, and Protopie for prototyping. As a final contribution, the study designed and validated a cloud-based green information and communication process model for the federated healthcare institutions in developing countries in general and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia in particular. This model can be used as an important instrument for inter or intra institutional collaboration and communications. Based on the user acceptance and demonstrated validation, the results indicate improvements in energy, efficiency, unified data repository, intra institutional collaboration, information sharing, trusted and ethical information and unified integration and share-ability. The test validated the model and its prototype as a new knowledge contribution to the domain. The research findings can be used as a basis for next-generation transformation of private sector healthcare institutions in developing countries such as Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an early assessment of India's South-South cooperation for trade and technology (SSTT) with East Africa, focusing on Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It aims to analyse the role of SSTT in providing support to targeted sectors. Design/methodology/approach: The paper examines SSTT, focusing on India and East Africa over a specific period (2000–2016) of its emergence, and extends the public sponsorship literature in international business (IB) to better understand the relationship between SSTT and value addition – applying to a particular case study of SSTT interventions in spices. Findings: The paper highlights SSTT as a pathway to support value addition in global value chains (GVCs). Trade between India and East African countries has grown, with three developments over the period of analysis in particular: shifting trade patterns, growing share of intermediate goods trade and differences in GVC insertion. However, East African exports are largely of lower value. Capacity building to support processing capability and thriving markets can encourage greater value addition. Preliminary findings suggest early gains at the margins, as SSTT interventions have been focusing on capacity boosting with buffering and bridging mechanisms for increased volume of trade. Moving up the value chain however requires that specific value-enhancing activities continue to be targeted, building on regional capacities. Our high-level case study for spices suggests that activities are starting to have a positive effect; however, more focus is needed to specifically target value creation before export and in particular higher levels of processing. Practical implications: While findings are preliminary, policy implications emerge to guide SSTT interventions. There is capacity for building higher value-added supply chains as is evident among East African countries that trade with each other – future SSTT programmes could tap into this and help build capacity in these higher-value value chains. Future SSTT programmes can take a comprehensive approach by aiming at interventions at key points of the value chain, and especially at points that facilitate higher value addition than initial processing. An example is that Ethiopia and Rwanda are likely to benefit from an expanded spice industry, but the next phase should be towards building processing for value-addition components of the value chain, such as through trade policies, incentivising exporters to add value to items before export. From a development perspective, more analysis needs to be done on the value chain itself – for instance, trade facilitation measures to help processers engage in value chains and to access investments for increasing value add activities. (iv), Future research should examine more closely the development impacts of SSTT, namely, the connection between increased trade, local job creation and sustained innovation, as it is these tangible benefits that will help countries in the Global South realise the benefits of increased trade. Originality/value: The paper underlines how the SSTT approach can contribute to the critical IB and GVCs literature using a theoretical grounded approach from public sponsorship theory, and with a unique lens of development cooperation between countries in the global south and its emerging impact on development outcomes in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-borne diseases pose a significant challenge to the sustainability of healthcare in developing countries like Ethiopia. While wireless sensor networks (WSN) address many environmental and societal issues through various applications, energy harvesting approaches extend the network's life. The paper describes a water quality monitoring system (WQM) using energy-harvesting wireless sensor networks. The paper identifies the considerations and trade-offs of various energy harvesting methods and WSNs solutions for WQM. In addition to presenting a real-time system for monitoring water quality, the paper examines the system's lifetime with a solar energy harvesting circuit. In addition, the paper discusses the problems encountered during system installation in the field. The field test is currently underway, but the prototype that has been implemented and tested shows that the system produces close to accurate values in various scenarios and can operate continuously without power outages. As a result, the energy harvesting technique ensures an indefinite lifetime for an economically viable water quality monitoring using WSN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether faculties' affective professional commitment mediates the relationship between transformational leadership behaviors of university management, perceived organizational support, and faculties' institutional citizenship behavior. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 220 full-time academicians teaching in Debre Berhan University of Ethiopia. The mediating role of affective professional commitment in promoting faculties' institutional citizenship behaviors has been overlooked in the existing literature and this paper is original. Particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia, this investigation brings a paramount contribution to curtailing the resignation of academic staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting the inception of the 2010s, Ethiopia's relations with Egypt have been experiencing one of the deepest crises in the relationship of the two countries' history. Ethiopia, one of the upper riparian states of the Nile River not only theoretically challenged the exclusive veto power of Egypt over the Nile River but also practically start constructing one of Africa's largest hydropower dams on the Blue Nile since 2011. The challenging behavior of Ethiopia over the Nile River worried the long-standing regional hegemon, Egypt. Against this background, this paper aims to forward a new insight into how and why Ethiopia challenged the long-standing superior-subordinate Egypt-led order over the Nile River. Moreover, in its discussion, the paper tries to address key drives, challenges, and prospects of Ethiopia-Egypt water diplomacy. The paper also illustrates how and why the Ethio-Egypt water diplomacy strain becomes a cross-cut on the two nation's foreign policy matters. The paper has also attempted to understand how the superior-subordinate power duality approach works over the Nile River against the new balancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the Global South, food systems are confronted with complex sustainability challenges including high levels of poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, disempowerment, and degraded environments. Transformation is broadly discussed in research, policy, and planning as the systemic change required to address complex sustainability issues. Transformation of food systems has become a global priority for research and action. However, transformation processes are not neutral, but are associated with losses and gains that are unevenly distributed. Institutions play an important role in relation to how transformation of food systems occur and with what outcomes. Empirical understandings of how institutions can influence transformation processes in a way that avoids risks or the so-called dark side of transformation are needed. This article aims to contribute towards understanding the roles that institutions play in transformation processes in the context of Global South food systems through synthesising insights from transdisciplinary case studies. The three case studies include multi-purpose cooperative institutions in farming areas in southwest Ethiopia, fisherfolk organisations in aquatic food-producing areas in northern Philippines, and Gotong Royong for irrigation canal management for pond aquaculture in Indonesia. The article examines whether and how institutions advance inclusion and participation in food systems, and whether institutions enable or constrain food system actors in mitigating or avoiding transformation risks. The paper reflects on the role of community-level institutions and hybrid governance arrangements, and the interplay of structure and agency in transformation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of implementation of the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) of the non-Annexe I Parties registered in the NAMA Registry of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a worrying situation in the sense that it is limiting the contributions these NAMA projects would have made towards mitigating global climate change. There is however little research on the reasons behind the lack of implementation of these NAMAs projects and this is the knowledge gap that this paper seeks to fill based on a critical overview of the NAMAs of Ethiopia, Indonesia and Georgia. The source of data for this paper is mainly from the focal persons for the NAMAs of the countries under study, which was obtained via telephone and Skype interviews with the respondents. Our findings show that lack of funding, complicated financial mechanisms, lack of technical expertise, fringe conditions to donor support and policy issues according to the findings of this study are the main hindrances to the implementation of NAMAs. International organisations, donor partners, developed countries and local governments alike are therefore encouraged to channel some of the funds meant for fighting global climate change into sponsoring the NAMAs of poorer countries, as this will see to the successful implementations of these NAMAs and their subsequent impacts on mitigating global climate change. The paper is also timely considering the scarcity of literature on NAMAs related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early marriage is defined as the union of one or both partners before reaching the age of 18 for the first time. This practice is widely prevalent in underdeveloped countries, particularly in Ethiopia, and has been observed to have detrimental effects on the educational and personal development of both male and female individuals. Methods: The present study conducted a comprehensive search of the Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and PubMed databases. The data were extracted using Microsoft Excel (version 14) and analyzed using STATA statistical software. To examine publication bias, a forest plot, rank test, and Egger's regression test were utilized. Heterogeneity was assessed by calculating I2 and conducting an overall estimated analysis. Additionally, subgroup analysis was performed based on the study region and sample size. The pooled odds ratio was calculated. Results: Out of a total of 654 articles, 14 papers with 67,040 research participants were included in this analysis. The pooled prevalence of early marriage among women in Ethiopia was 56.34% (95% CI: 51.34–61.34), I2 = 78.3%). The Amhara region exhibited the highest prevalence of early marriage, with a rate of 59.01%, whereas the Oromia region demonstrated the lowest incidence, with a prevalence rate of 53.88%. The prevalence of early marriage was found to be 58.1% for a sample size exceeding 1000, and 50.9% for a sample size below 1000. No formal education (AOR = 5.49; 95%CI: 2.99, 10.07), primary education (AOR = 3.65; 95%CI: 2.11, 6.32), secondary education (AOR = 2.49; 95%CI: 1.60, 3.87), rural residency (AOR = 4.52; 95%CI: 1.90, 10.74) and decision made by parents (AOR = 2.44; 95%CI: 1.36, 4.39) were associated factors. Conclusion and recommendation: In Ethiopia, there was a high rate of early marriage among women. The research findings indicate that early marriage is more prevalent among mothers who possess lower levels of educational attainment, reside in rural areas, and are subject to parental decision-making. Our stance is firmly in favor of expanding the availability of maternal education and promoting urban residency. Furthermore, the promotion of autonomous decision-making by clients regarding their marital affairs is of paramount importance to family leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 2016 is remembered globally for the adoption of the New York Declaration and its Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) as the new global refugee response model. In this regard, Ethiopia has been one of those African countries that have adopted the Declaration, made specific CRRF pledges and has become a CRRF pilot country. Such national policy move heralded the shift of refugee policy in Ethiopia in the post-2016 era. Nonetheless, compared to the focus accorded to refugees and the role of international institutions and donors, the role of African hosting states in the governance of refugees and how they navigate internal and external demands and adopt policies have been paid little scholarly attention. This study, therefore, aims to fill in this scholarly gap and contribute to the existing debate in the academic and policy circle on state response to refugees in the era of CRRF from the Global South perspective by providing an empirical insight into the nature, dynamics and shift of refugee policies in Ethiopia and the factors that contributed to this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an extensive literature that links firms' access to formal financial services and trade credit. This is more relevant for firms operating in financially less developed countries. These firms could potentially face a binding bank loan constraint due to the distortions related to information asymmetry and moral hazard. Against this backcloth, this paper will explore the relationship between trade credit and financial constraints for Ethiopian firms. The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between trade credit practice and financial constraints for Ethiopian manufacturing and service firms. We exploit the repeated cross-sectional data of 2011 and 2015 made available by the World Bank's Ethiopian Enterprise Survey. To address the endogeneity problem between financial constraint and trade credit, the paper employs an instrumental variable (IV) approach. We find a negative relationship between financial constraint and trade credit use. In particular, financially constrained firms have a trade credit use which is about 10 to 18 percentage points lower than unconstrained firms, suggesting that bank credit constrained firms are also trade credit constrained. One policy implication is that addressing constraints in formal financing is more likely to increase the availability of alternative forms of finance such as trade credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sustainable buildings can save 36% of total energy use, 65% of electricity consumption, 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, 30% of raw materials use, 30% of waste output, and 12% of potable water consumption. Several sustainable building assessment tools were used by both developed and developing countries. However, Ethiopia's buildings were not critically assessed and evaluated from a sustainability point of view because there was no such type of study conducted so far. This paper aims to explore the most significant and widely used tools as well as the basis for other sustainable building assessment tools, such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE), Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool), Comprehensive Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme (CEPAS), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB), and Green Mark and Green Star. The methodology employed is the selection of the 10 most commonly and widely utilized sustainable building assessment tools (SBATs) from the 57 SBATs based on desk review and document analysis. The results of the study identified that all 10 SBATs have their own assessment categories and criteria based on many factors, such as climatic conditions and availability of resources, plus methods employing demographic dynamics and legal aspects of the sector for assessing the sustainable/green buildings. It distinguishes the most commonly and repeatedly used assessment categories and criteria and uses a consensus-based approach with experts in the building sectors, a four-quadrant model, and a circular and helical flow model, to develop a new sustainable building assessment tool suitable for Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When foreign policies of states are examined, pride of place often goes to what are called high politics: the politics of diplomacy and war. However, for most developing nations, especially those in the region of sub-Saharan Africa, economic foreign policy, or low politics, may be as, or even more, important. In fact, the foreign policies of African nations are often seen as an extension of strategies to consolidate domestic political power. African leaders routinely place themselves in charge of foreign policy as a means of controlling these resource flows as well as to create some autonomy from competing domestic political forces. This is not to say that external state forces do not impinge on the ability of leaders to stay in power; however, in sub-Saharan Africa, this has been less of a priority, perhaps with the significant exception of Ethiopia. This paper seeks to show that the general foreign policy perspectives of Ethiopia from 1991 to the present have been an extension of the leaders and ruling elites trying to obtain significant sources of financial resources by exploring the general trends of how Ethiopia has engaged in international flows of resources. Examining Ethiopian foreign policy on three levels—international, regional, and domestic—this paper explains how, despite being a potential regional hegemon, Ethiopia has significant problems stemming from domestic issues of poverty and legitimacy. Moreover, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be highlighted as a case to explore how it affects, and is impacted by, all three levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the critical BIM adoption strategies for public construction projects in developing countries to enhance successful BIM implementation schemes in the AEC industry. Initially, an empirical study was conducted using a structured questionnaire survey which is first validated though a pilot test. Then, the study investigated the discrepancy of professional groups on the perception of critical adoption strategies using different statistical tools. Further, factor analysis was conducted to identify potential latent factors associated with public construction projects. The result indicates that the top ranked BIM adoption strategies are strategic & adequate IT infrastructure, availability of standards and guidelines for BIM adoption, and government policy. Similarly, six latent constructs were developed from the factor analysis: organization, application & tools, market, information management, project, and process. The study highlighted critical strategies that are deemed most important to various professionals and business owners, in an effort to improve BIM adoption in the developing countries. The novelty of this study is in relation to BIM implementation strategies towards infrastructure construction projects in developing countries, particularly in the east African region. This paper can also be particularly beneficial to construction firms involved in public construction projects to facilitate the implementation of BIM in their own organizational nature. Moreover, the crosscountry comparative analysis provides a global perspective to improve the gap in the understanding and adoption of BIM in the Sub-Saharan African region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the Ethiopian government established two Science and Technology (S&T) universities with the objective to boost university-industry collaboration. Although both Addis Ababa S&T University and Adama S&T University encourage such collaboration through their offices of technology transfer (OTT), their links with local industry are weak. However, current literature on triple helix in developing countries does not explain how universities can internally stimulate interaction with external actors. This paper addresses this gap by asking how the two universities evaluate the technology development process and how the current approach can be improved to stimulate triple helix interactions. Insights from organizational control theory (OCT) and the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model are integrated into the triple helix framework in a qualitative case study design. Our findings indicate the existing approach combines outcome- and behavior-based evaluation, which constrains engagement with the industry. We recommend that a more comprehensive, people-based evaluation system, built around shared goals and involvement of industry as external stakeholders, is adopted as a pathway to triple helix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), as an example of contemporary bottom-up development practices in the global South, governs nomadic pastoralists in the peripheries. Based on fieldwork in Ethiopia's Somali region, we show that PSNP practices of client targeting, community-based public works and (international) financial resource flows, both for their own sake and because of their entanglement with the sedentary metaphysics of Ethiopian state, have advanced sedentary governmental order into pastoral peripheries more than top-down state sedentarization interventions had ever done. Finally, we argue that bottom-up development practice is an effective tool for state-building in the periphery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agglomeration effects on the workers' and firms' productivity in developed countries are widely confirmed by previous studies, while empirical evidence for developing countries is still limited. This paper sheds light on another urban productivity factor that is particularly important for developing countries: self-employment and wage jobs. The transition from the economy dominated by the former to the one by the latter is a key to economic development. This study examines how urban agglomerations are linked to the mix of self-employment and wage jobs by focusing on one of the least urbanized low-income countries: Ethiopia. Applying an instrumental variable approach to worker-level cross-sectional data, the analysis finds a negative link between town population size and the share of self-employment workers: a log increase in town population size lowers the probability of engaging in self-employment by 7.9 percentage points. Particularly female, young, and less-educated workers are more likely to work with wage jobs in larger towns. The findings suggest a crucial link between urban agglomerations and employment modes in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Decision making process for Official Development Assistance (ODA) for healthcare sector in low-income and middle-income countries involves multiple agencies, each with their unique power, priorities and funding mechanisms. This process at country level has not been well studied., Methods: This paper developed and applied a new framework to analyze decision-making process for priority setting in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and collected primary data to validate and refine the model. The framework was developed following a scoping review of published literature. Interviews were then conducted using a pre-determined interview guide developed by the research team. Transcripts were reviewed and coded based on the framework to identify what principles, players, processes, and products were considered during priority setting. Those elements were further used to identify where the potential capacity of local decision-makers could be harnessed., Results: A framework was developed based on 40 articles selected from 6860 distinct search records. Twenty-one interviews were conducted in three case countries from 12 institutions. Transcripts or meeting notes were analyzed to identify common practices and specific challenges faced by each country. We found that multiple stakeholders working around one national plan was the preferred approach used for priority setting in the countries studied., Conclusions: Priority setting process can be further strengthened through better use of analytical tools, such as the one described in our study, to enhance local ownership of priority setting for ODA and improve aid effectiveness., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

This paper considers the contribution of North-South partnerships in conducting ethical and policy-relevant research in times of uncertainty. Using collaborative autoethnography, we critically reflect on our experience conducting two related research projects in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss how our research has adapted to take account of changing policy priorities in response to the crisis, how we implemented careful research practices, and which strategies we adopted to ensure providing timely and quality evidence for the governments, schools and parents. Importantly, we reflect on how our North-South partnerships and our close engagement with the Ethiopian government play a pivotal role in overcoming the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and adapting our research to meet the needs of key stakeholders. Grounded in our reflections, we provide a set of guidelines to establish equitable research partnerships in times of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global shift toward agricultural specialization in the 20th century led to unprecedented ecological and socioeconomic changes, both positive and negative, in rural landscapes. Economic theory describes comparative advantage and market participation as two important drivers of such changes. Landscapes in the Global South are still often characterized by subsistence agriculture and direct dependence on natural ecosystem processes. Agricultural specialization is part of the structural transformation process from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture. However, comparative advantage and market participation as major drivers for agricultural specialization remain understudied. In this paper, we assess the potential drivers of ecosystem service specialization in an Ethiopian smallholder landscape at the kebele level, the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia. We measured specialization via the concentration of production for a range of locally important provisioning ecosystem services (beef, cattle, coffee, eucalyptus, honey, maize, sorghum, and teff). We measured comparative advantage based on productivity data, and assessed spatial flows of ecosystem services to local, regional, and global markets (i.e., telecoupling). To unpack the relationships between specialization, comparative advantage, and telecoupling, we used hierarchical clustering, principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and linear regression. More telecoupled kebeles (i.e., kebeles that produced more of ecosystem services that flow to broader spatial scales) were more specialized in their ecosystem service production, and the positive relationship between comparative advantage and specialization grew stronger with altitude. Wealthier kebeles and kebeles with higher population density were less specialized. Biophysical drivers, such as altitude and amount of forest cover, influenced the ecosystem services produced and the relationship between comparative advantage and specialization. Policy makers should therefore try to balance potential positive and negative consequences of specialization, and to account for fine-scale social and biophysical drivers underpinning diverse ecosystem service production profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As previous research in international development has clearly demonstrated (see Banerjee and Prasad, 2008 for an overview), cultural values have an impact on the conceptualization of empowerment. In this paper we explore the implications of Power Distance as a cultural dimension for the use of participatory methodologies toward achieving women empowerment in rural areas in the Global South. Our critical analysis of cultural differences between the intervention facilitator (a Western-based NGO) and a rural community in SNNPR (Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Regions) in Ethiopia reveals how discrepancies in the perception of cultural values impacted the different stages of the intervention. These discrepancies ranged from the principles of facilitation (facilitation from the back and its paradoxical effects in such hierarchical contexts) to the focus on tools (on equality between individuals rather than focus on the family as the smallest unit). Discrepancies also surfaced from the selection criteria of participants (highly vulnerable groups; one spouse per family; number of participants from one community all of which prevented the impact of the intervention to be more powerful in the long run) and from how the participants are organized during trainings (the ratio of mixed vs. segregated groups and the criteria of group segregation – this can play a large role in regard to the potential openness of conversations and the creation of safe spaces to explore new identities which are the key to empowerment). Through all the stages of the intervention, we make suggestions on how to better implement such methodologies in the future, in a context-sensitive manner, by considering the cultural differences in assumptions and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on our participatory multi‐faceted community‐wide intervention to change gender perceptions and encourage support for girls' education to improve their school attendance and performance. The intervention involved community and education stakeholders in implementing a context‐specific multi‐faceted intervention to improve opportunities for girls in 123 primary schools in the rural Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia. We implemented a repeated‐measures quasi‐experimental design in a sample of 30 schools (15 project and 15 control schools) to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness. Over 3 years we assessed gender perceptions of a cohort of 750 Grade 6 girls, their parents and teachers in project and control schools. In addition, participative group discussions were conducted with various stakeholders. In project schools, we recorded significant changes (e.g., provision of sanitary pads, counselling, tutorial classes and community involvement). Teachers and parents reported improved gender attitudes and support for girls' education; while girls' self‐esteem scores and educational aspirations increased. The findings showed a change in community perceptions of the value of girls' education and some evidence of increased equality in gender perceptions. We concluded that these systemic changes marked the start of a long‐term change process. This intervention showed the value of a participatory approach in a systemic community intervention. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving universal electricity access is a challenging goal for the governments of developing countries such as Ethiopia. Extending the national grid to the remotely located, scattered, and island populations demands a huge investment. This paper aims to show the techno-economic feasibility of minigrid renewable energy system to electrify Kibran Gabriel island in Ethiopia, through the execution of simulation, optimization and sensitivity analysis using Hybrid Optimization Models for Energy Resources (HOMER Pro) software. The minigrid systems were compared with both diesel generation (DG) and grid extension systems. The hybrid photovoltaic (PV)/DG/battery system is more economically feasible compared with other minigrid systems, and the best cost-effective option is the one including load flow (LF) strategy with 25 kW of PV, 10 kW of DG, 40 kWh of battery, and 5 kW of bi-directional convertor. The optimal PV/DG/Battery system, having levelized cost of energy (COE) of USD 0.175/kWh, net present cost (NPC) of USD 119,139 and renewable fraction (RF) of 86.4%, reduces the pollutant emissions by 33,102 kg/yr compared with the stand-alone DG system. The optimal minigrid sensitivity to the variations in global horizontal irradiance (GHI), diesel price and load consumption were considered in the sensitivity analysis, and the result shows that the system will operate reasonably well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal: This paper presents a case study, which examined the effect of organizational culture (clan culture, adhocracy culture, market culture, and hierarchy culture) on employees' performance in a developing country context taking the case of Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). Design / Methodology / Approach: Using survey questionnaire and convenience sampling techniques, 302 complete questionnaires were returned after being filled by respondents (employees) and considered for descriptive and inferential analysis. Based on their willingness to participate in the study, four research centers within Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) were included in the study. Results: This study found out that all organizational culture types (clan culture, adhocracy culture, market culture, and hierarchy culture) have statistically significant results and have positive relationship with employees' performance. And, of all, the regression analysis result showed that the clan culture is the most dominant culture type. Limitations of the investigation: The findings of the study depended on a single case study, and this limitation could be taken as an avenue for future researchers to examine other research institutes in similar contexts. Practical implications: The presented result sheds light regarding the effect of organizational culture on employees' performance in agricultural research institutes; the research's outcome provides a useful input for agricultural research institutes and policy makers in the study setting concerning the effect of organizational culture on employees' performance. Originality/value: this study adds to the current body of knowledge in the area of organizational culture and its effect on employees' performance. Besides, not much earlier studies have been done on the subject of the study in the context of agricultural institutes in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the post-Green Revolution era, numerous improved wheat varieties were released and disseminated to enhance tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and increase productivity. Still, in the wheat-based farming systems of the Global South, gender-based and other social inequalities continue to undermine equitable access to improved varieties, especially for women, poor, and marginalized farmers. Here, we present a case for gender-sensitive technology development, dissemination, and evaluation as part of wheat varietal improvement programs. We take stock of the various challenges that persist in the uptake of modern wheat varieties by male and female smallholders. We focus on Ethiopia and India, two geographies with substantive wheat economies, widespread poverty, and gender inequalities. The socio-economic literature on wheat is relatively thin with limited and dated gender-sensitive evaluation studies on varietal technologies in these countries. Varietal technology evaluations could ideally cover gender differences in relation to wheat varietal trait preferences, technology adoption, and associated decision-making and labor-use changes related to new varieties and complementary technologies, as well as nutritional and economic benefits. The paper calls for a need to change the institutional arrangements in wheat research-and-development (R&D) programs to understand and pursue better paths for wheat improvement to proactively contribute toward gender equity and inclusivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resource degradation poses a major challenge to the sustainable livelihoods of farmers in developing countries, hindering progress toward achieving sustainable rural development. Watershed development and management practices (WDMPs) are powerful tools for enhancing sustainable rural development in developing countries. These practices have been shown to significantly improve livelihoods and food security. This research examined how WDM programs help achieve sustainable development in rural areas, focusing on examples from Ethiopia. This study used a systematic literature review (SLR) approach following a PRISMA review protocol. The research question was formulated using the CIMO (context, intervention, mechanisms, and outcomes) approach: "Does the watershed development and management (WDM) initiative lead to sustainable rural livelihoods?" Considering this research question, the findings indicated that WDM contributes to the socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of rural communities. It does this by enhancing households' livelihood in terms of income generation, employment opportunities, agricultural productivity, and improvements in social services and infrastructure, as evidenced by numerous studies, thereby leading to better livelihoods and food security. This research also emphasizes the importance of community participation and supportive policies and legal frameworks for successful WDM. Overall, the systematic literature review highlights the potential of WDMPs in promoting sustainable rural development in developing countries such as Ethiopia while also highlighting the need for a supportive policy and institutional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries are balance‐of‐payments constrained. In this context, high‐value agricultural exports can make a greater contribution to structural change than development economists and developing country governments have typically acknowledged. This is thanks to dramatic recent changes in agricultural production, consumption and trade. These transformations are obscured by a simple classification system that has not adapted to changing patterns of global capitalist production. This article examines some recent efforts to rethink the basis of economic classification; it contributes to this emerging literature by proposing a way to think about the distinctions among economic activities that builds directly from the observation of production rather than a method of ex‐post mapping of trade data. A more accurate classification of economic activities would, the authors suggest, help policy officials design more coherent and growth‐enhancing industrial policies in support of accelerated structural change and productivity growth. The article draws on primary fieldwork in Ethiopia in particular, but also on fieldwork in South Africa and on secondary evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese special economic zones (SEZs) have played a key role in attracting massive foreign investment and in facilitating knowledge and technology transfer to local companies. This explains the mushrooming of Chinese‐led SEZs and industrial parks in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa since the early 2000s, and more recently its prominence in the planning of the economic corridors along the Belt and Road Initiative. Our interest in SEZs derives from the fact that they provide novel grounds to investigate the dynamics of knowledge transfer (KT) in South–South exchanges and the extent to which it diverges from more traditional exchanges. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of KT in the Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ) in Ethiopia, and the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia. The case studies suggest that, although the provision of training by Chinese investors has added value to the labour force, its transformative impact is limited owing to the concentration on explicit KT modalities at lower skills levels and the top–down approach to KT by Chinese companies. These limitations are largely a function of the wide absorptive capacity gap between China and the host countries studied and the absence of more conducive industrial policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration as part of the livelihood of the rural farm household has got a recognition for its developmental effect. Currently, bringing smallholder farmers to the market through better agricultural productivity and market integration is the critical element for agricultural transformation in particular and rural transformation in general. To this effect, improving smallholder farmers' tendency towards commercialization through better technology adoption and input utilization has been seen to play significantly in various studies. However, in developing countries like Ethiopia, where low level of credit facilities and poor institutional arrangements are installed, adoption of productive agricultural technologies and input utilization is very low. Thus, among the various alternative livelihood diversification strategies for poor farmers, migration is the one which helps to bridge the financial gap and input requirements of the rural farmers and 'asset accumulation'. This study focused on intra-rural migration which is still dominant in size as well as a research segment which is buried in migration study. Cognizant to the interplay between migration and agriculture, this study had an attempt to examine the impact of intra-rural labour migration on crop output commercialization using primary first-hand original data with support of stringent econometric models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in emerging nations such as Ethiopia encourages participants in the area to consider the sustainability and balanced growth of metropolitan centers from a variety of angles and to offer suitable solutions. This study aims to comprehend how urban land use influences the efficiency and connection of road networks, which in turn affects how accessible different parts of the city are, to determine the influencing factors and critical indicators that enable a systematic categorization of subcity accessibility from the perspectives of urban land use. Geographic information system (GIS) techniques are used to gather and analyze precise geographical data on road networks, land use patterns, and other pertinent properties. In addition, a regression model is created to measure the effect of land use features on the accessibility of the road network. The primary questionnaire data are used to estimate the current situation of road accessibility and are used in the study validation process. This research has incorporated qualitative and quantitative approaches to sustainability. The findings imply that residential areas are 90% significant in making transport along the city, and 98% of the accessibility of the road network is dependent on land use features, including road density and subcity areas. Among the subcities, Bole, Kirkos, and Arada have 87% road network accessibility and better access to public transportation. Overall, these techniques emphasize the value of spatial analytic tools in planning procedures to better comprehend and control the intricate relationships between transportation and land use dynamics and to assist in the sustainable design and growth of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, the authors investigate how institutions influence the adoption and implementation of a quality management practice (QMP) that was originally developed for Western developed countries but is being used in sub-Saharan African firms. The authors' aim is to contribute to the literature on how local and broader institutions in sub-Saharan African firms impact the adoption of QMP (specifically ISO 9001:2015) and how the firm's situated rationalities shape the associated change in management accounting practices. Design/methodology/approach: The authors applied the extended Burns and Scapens framework and employed a case study research approach. The authors collected empirical data through semi-structured interviews and secondary sources and used direct content analysis to analyse the data. Findings: The authors' findings suggest that although personal values and commitments to modernising the business are the main drivers of change, the continued dominance of traditional accounting logic restricts the necessary change in management accounting to support effective QMP implementation. Practical implications: This study emphasises the importance of aligning institutional logics to fully realise the benefits of new strategies and identifies technical competencies, access to information and communication technology, and clarity about the role of management accounting in modernising management practices as critical success factors. Originality/value: This study is original in that it provides insights into the impact of contextual factors in less developed countries on institutionalising QMP and management accounting change, demonstrating the importance of aligning management accounting change with proposed organisational strategies to fully realise their benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations instantiate multiple institutional logics, which operate in a nested fashion across levels of analysis. A demand on organizations in the Global South from aid donors is to adopt new management systems. Management systems like kaizen, a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement, have an inherent logic. Kaizen's adoption in Ethiopia, a postsocialist state, can be rendered ceremonial if its logic is not fully instantiated along with prevailing logics within recipient organizations. Our examination of the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation is an application of Besharov and Smith's 2014 framework. We assume there is a high degree of centrality in this state-owned enterprise, because any managerial logic absorbed would have to adhere to the state logic. We conducted interviews, supplemented by archival data review, to illustrate what actors do to improve compatibility with state logic. Our findings suggest three institutional logics were instantiated, in order: the macro logic of developmental authoritarianism; micro logics of production order and social control; and the meso logic of knowledge brokerage. We propose the concept of layered logic, or ordering of institutional logics, each serving a distinct purpose yet fitted with the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While China's experience of using special economic zones (SEZs) for advancing economic development is a model increasingly adopted in other developing countries, the processes involved in replicating this model elsewhere and the outcomes of such replication remain little understood. This review article's nested examination of three relevant strands of literature and two case studies of India and Ethiopia indicates that successful replication of China's SEZ-led development would involve deliberate processes of adaptation from the original model. Replication must be "smart," by taking into account the temporal, systemic, and other discrepancies between the Chinese model and the replicating country; replicating the benefits of China's approach whilst avoiding the drawbacks; and maximising the positive effects of direct Chinese involvement and investments while reducing negative repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adama is the second most populous city in Ethiopia and experiences frequent flash floods that have a detrimental impact on the community's livelihood. To this effect, this study emphasizes the significance of conducting a comprehensive investigation to identify flood-resilient neighborhoods in Adama City. By considering the existing spatial pattern and morphology that are resilient to urban flooding, the city can enhance its flood management strategies in the future. The findings of this study demonstrate varying levels of spatial connectivity within Adama City. Detailed examination of two neighborhoods identified through space syntax analysis with high and low spatial connectivity revealed important insights into flood resilience. The high-connective neighborhoods exhibited well-interconnected street systems with manageable street spacing, facilitating efficient runoff flow and effective flood management during flooding events. These neighborhoods also had shorter block sizes with frequent intersections, promoting better water drainage and reducing the risk of flooding during heavy rain events. The grid pattern observed in these areas allowed for efficient water runoff through multiple drainage paths, including the street surfaces. On the contrary, neighborhoods with low spatial connectivity exacerbated urban flooding. The lack of connectivity and abundance of dead-end streets posed challenges for flood evacuation during emergencies. Irregular block arrangements disrupted the natural drainage system, aggravating the potential for urban flooding. These findings have implications for other flood-prone areas of neighborhoods in Adama City and similar urban areas in the global south on how human settlements are arranged spatially to mitigate urban flood vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethiopia's primary export, coffee, has been instrumental in its economic growth. A blockchain multinational company named Cardano advocated for the adoption of their technology in Ethiopia. However, instead of fostering development, the push for blockchain by developed nations perpetuates structural imperialism. This stems from disparities in economic distribution and ICT knowledge. This study examines Cardano's influence on Ethiopia's coffee sector in 2018, revealing a dynamic where developed countries exert influence over developing ones. Cardano's technological prowess positions it at the center, impacting Ethiopia as a peripheral player in blockchain adoption for coffee trade enhancement. Despite Ethiopia's coffee exports tripling in value, the collaboration also benefits Cardano, leading to unequal labor division and economic gains. Furthermore, Cardano's initiatives spawn additional blockchain applications, extending its influence across various sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child mortality is a crucial indicator reflecting a country's health and socioeconomic status. Despite significant global improvements in reducing early childhood deaths, Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa still bear the highest burden of newborn mortality. Ethiopia is one of five countries that account for half of new-born deaths worldwide. Methods: This study examined the relationship between specific reproductive factors and under-five mortality in Ethiopia. A discrete-time survival model was applied to analyze data collected from four Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS) conducted between 2000 and 2016. The study focused on investigating the individual and combined effects of three factors: preceding birth interval, maternal age at childbirth, and birth order, on child mortality. Results: The study found that lengthening the preceding birth interval to 18–23, 24–35, 36–47, or 48+ months reduced the risk of under-five deaths by 30%, 46%, 56%, and 60% respectively, compared to very short birth intervals (less than 18 months). Giving birth between the ages 20–34 and 35+ reduced the risk by 34% and 8% respectively, compared to giving birth below the age of 20. The risk of under-five death was higher for a 7th-born child by 17% compared to a 2nd or 3rd-born child. The combined effect analysis showed that higher birth order at a young maternal age increased the risk. In comparison, lower birth order in older maternal age groups was associated with higher risk. Lastly, very short birth intervals posed a greater risk for children with higher birth orders. Conclusion: Not only does one reproductive health variable negatively affect child survival, but their combination has the strongest effect. It is therefore recommended that policies in Ethiopia should address short birth intervals, young age of childbearing, and order of birth through an integrated strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid waste segregation plays a critical role in effective waste management; however, the practice remains at a low level in developing countries like Ethiopia. Despite the persistent nature of the problem, there are limited studies to date that can provide sufficient empirical evidence to support appropriate efforts by policy makers and practitioners, particularly in the context of the developing world. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to analyze household practices and determinants of solid waste segregation in the urban areas of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. To achieve this objective, data were generated through a household survey, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. The collected quantitative data were cleaned, encoded, and statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS, while thematic analysis was undertaken to evaluate and describe the qualitative data. The data analysis revealed that only 21.3% of respondents reported frequent solid waste segregation, while about half (45.5%) segregated solid waste rarely. Conversely, a considerable proportion (28.7%) of the respondents reported not segregating solid waste, and the remaining 4.5% of respondents were unsure about the practice. This implies that only one-fifth of the total sampled respondents actually implement solid waste segregation practices at the household level. The chi-square test showed that respondents' awareness/training (P = 0.000) and use of social organizations to discuss waste management (P = 0.001) are significantly associated with the practice of solid waste segregation. This highlights the need to focus on awareness-raising efforts among the general public in order to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of individual households and residents toward solid waste segregation practices. Additionally, enabling policies, sufficient infrastructure, and incentive mechanisms can also help enhance wider adoption of the practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are a basic source of income and employment opportunities for the least developed countries, more emphasis has recently been given to those enterprises, and a number of research studies have been conducted. Ethiopia, as one of the Least Developed countries, could also benefit from those MSMEs if the sector is supported enough. Accordingly, this research is conducted to identify the basic determinants of the performance of MSMEs in Ethiopia and to try to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem mapping to connect those enterprises with the concerned stakeholders, which can contribute to the improvement of the performance of MSMEs. Primary data from randomly selected 400 sampled enterprises is analyzed using ordered logistic regression, and data collected from stakeholder interviews is analyzed using descriptive analysis to develop the ecosystem mapping. Accordingly, academic institutions, such as universities, financial institutions, such as banks and credit associations, non-governmental organizations, such as GIZ and Reach for Change, and government organizations are important actors in entrepreneurship in Ethiopia. Finally, the result of the ordered logit model indicates that access to finance, training, and raw materials, experience, level of education, and sectoral dummy are statistically significant factors that affect the performance of MSMEs. Based on the results, we recommend the government of Ethiopia give more emphasis to MSMEs in different forms, such as providing support in the form of financial, training, market, and raw material linkages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pre-existing, profit-driven theories of international development gave rise to the movement for humancentered development. In this review, an extensive analysis of Ethiopian perspectives on the theory of human development and its implementation there was carried out for the first time. There has not previously been a review of the theories, techniques, and practices related to Ethiopian human development. The goal of this review was to examine Ethiopian human development concepts, theories, techniques, and practices in order to make recommendations on how to enhance both the current situation of human development and its potential applications in Ethiopia. Ethiopia therefore had a lower human development index (HDI) than sub-Saharan African nations and those with low HDI. When compared to other emerging nations, it also has lower averages for predicted school years, mean school years, and birth weight. Also, on average, its gross national product per person is lower. Except for pension programs for government and military employees, there is no comprehensive, publicly funded welfare system. Most people run the risk of going hungry because they do not have access to enough food to survive. The government will therefore be urged to adopt policies that will increase society's output and productivity, as well as to implement human-centered development projects, a capability-based approach to development, a strategy for improving sustainable livelihoods, and stable environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Smallholder poultry farming plays a major socio-economic role in Ethiopia and other African developing nations by securing food and income for local households. One way of trying to optimize smallholder poultry production is testing introduced commercial dual-purpose strains into new African environments. Different strains may be best suited for different environments of Ethiopia, which is a country with a wide range of agro-ecologies. A traditional way of investigating performance differences between strains and their new environments is statistical testing for genotype by environment interaction (G*E). Our G*E results suggest that body weight performance varies between chicken strains, and these differ depending on the Ethiopian region targeted for introduction. Decisions regarding which strain to keep in which respective environment can be aided by outcomes of statistical models used in this study. However, the final advice regarding which strain is preferable in which Ethiopian region needs to consider local farmer preferences and other performance traits. Ethiopia is a developing nation that could highly benefit from securing food via improved smallholder poultry farming. To support farmer and breeding decisions regarding which chicken strain to use in which Ethiopian environment, G*E analyses for body weight (BW) of growing male and female chickens were conducted. Research questions were (1) if a G*E is present for BW and (2) which strain performs best in which environment in terms of predicted BW. Analyses were performed using predicted BW at four different ages (90, 120, 150, and 180 days) of five strains (Horro, Koekoek, Kuroiler, Sasso-Rhode Island Red (S-RIR), and Sasso) tested in five Ethiopian regions (Addis Ababa, Amhara, Oromia, South Region, and Tigray) that are part of three Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ) (cool humid, cool sub-humid, and warm semi-arid). The indigenous Horro strain was used as a control group to compare four other introduced tropically adapted strains. The dataset consisted of 999 female and 989 male farm-average BW measurements. G*E was strongly present (p < 0.001) for all combinations of strain and region analyzed. In line with previous research, Sasso was shown to have the highest predicted BW, especially at an early age, followed by Kuroiler. Horro had the lowest predicted BW at most ages and in most regions, potentially due to its young breeding program. The highest predicted BW were observed in Tigray, Oromia, and Amhara regions, which are in the main part of the cool sub-humid AEZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute Coronary Syndrome is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing nations including Ethiopia. As frontline healthcare providers, nurses need to be prudent in handling cases of acute coronary syndrome. However, nurses' knowledge and practice of acute coronary syndrome are not well-known across Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess knowledge, practice, and associated factors regarding the care of acute coronary syndrome among acute care nurses working at selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Methods: Institution-based descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted from February to March among 252 purposively selected nurses working in tertiary hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered into Epi-Data 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe and test the association between selected variables. P-values < 0.05 were declared as significant factors for the outcome variable.Results: Out of 252 nurses, (52%) had good knowledge, and (44.4%) had good practice towards care of Acute Coronary Syndrome. Being a master's degree [AOR=3.801, (95% CI:1.314– 10.996), P =0.014] and having guidelines [AOR= 10.998, (95% CI:2.478– 48.805), P =0.002] were significantly associated with nurse's good knowledge of ACS. While having a master's degree [AOR=4.258, (95% CI:1.676– 10.820), P=0.002] and getting in-service training [AOR= 1.902, (95% CI:1.022– 3.539), P = 0.042] were significantly associated with nurse's good level of practice.Conclusion: In this study, nurses had inadequate knowledge and practice regarding the care of Acute Coronary Syndrome. Nurses' educational level, presence of clinical practice guidelines, and getting training were determinant factors associated with good knowledge and practice. Therefore, organizational and nursing educational support are needed to improve this gap by providing short- and long-term training, and updated evidence-based clinical practice guidelines should be available for all acute care nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods is a major challenge for sustainable management of protected areas (PAs) in developing countries. Researchers and practitioners are looking at ways to resolve this challenge by connecting the livelihoods of people living near protected areas with conservation efforts. This study aims to assess community-based tourism development as a tool to link local livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in protected areas in developing county context. The study employs a mixed research approach with a descriptive research design. Structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and key informant interviews are used to collect data from local communities residing inside and adjacent areas of Nech Sar National Park in Ethiopia. The results reveal that the local communities around the national park are exposed to various shocks and vulnerability contexts such as poverty, food insecurity, and resource use conflict. Consumptive resource usage, recurring fire catastrophes, agricultural encroachment, and illegal fishing are all threatening the park's biodiversity conservation efforts. Despite the impact of tourism on their livelihoods is marginal, local grassroots have a positive attitude towards the development of community-based tourism. Community-based tourism development which provides alternative livelihood options to local grassroots around protected areas can play significant role in the conservation of biodiversity and alleviating poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular maintenance keeps roads in a good working condition for users. Road maintenance can be conducted using labor and machine based methods. In this study, applicability and costs of labor-based, namely employment intensive (EI), labor intensive (LI), and labor-based equipment-supported (LBES) road maintenance methods were investigated with a case study in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were therefore to (a) identify road defects and outline the corresponding labor-based maintenance methods, (b) compare relative costs of the three labor-based road maintenance methods, and (c) explore indicators of sustainable road maintenance (SRM) practices for developing countries. The results of this study showed that the labor-based methods are suitable for maintaining a wide range of road defects such as pavement cracks, bleeding, potholes, and rutting. Results of the cost analysis revealed that the LI and EI were 6% and 36% cheaper than the LBES method for repairing shoulder damage in asphalt roads. Roadside bush clearing using LBES resulted in 40% and 147% cost saving compared to EI and LI methods, respectively. Average share of labor cost compared to combined cost of labor and equipment in EI, LI, and LBES was 97%, 79%, and 37%, respectively. Unit rates of maintenance activities for different labor-based methods were also developed for Tigray region. The developed road maintenance unit rates will be useful for estimating cost of labor-based methods in Tigray and other similar regions in Ethiopia. In this study, 45 suitability indicators under 10 categories and three themes (social, economic, and environmental) were developed to improve future road maintenance practices in developing countries. Finally, it is recommended to use SRM practices to increase sustainability of road infrastructure in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in low-income countries. Improving health workers' competencies in obstetric emergencies in low-income settings, has been recognized as an important factor in preventing maternal mortality and morbidity. mHealth interventions in maternal and newborn health care has shown the potential to improve health service delivery. Strong study designs such as randomized controlled trials are missing to estimate the effectiveness of the mHealth interventions. Methods: Between August 2013 and August 2014, 70 health facilities in West Wollega Region, Ethiopia were included and randomized to intervention or control in a cluster randomized controlled trial. At intervention facilities birth attendants were provided with a smartphone with the SDA installed. Of 176 midwives and "health extension workers," 130 completed at 12 months follow-up. At baseline and after 6- and 12-months participants were assessed. Knowledge was tested by a Key Feature Questionnaire, skills by an Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills in a structured role-play scenario. Results: Baseline skills scores were low and comparable with a median of 12/100 in the intervention and the control group. After 6 months skills had doubled in the intervention group (adjusted mean difference 29.6; 95% CI 24.2–35.1 compared to 1·8; 95% CI – 2.7 to 6.3 in the control group). At 12 months skills had further improved in the intervention group (adjusted mean difference 13.3; 95% CI 8.3–18.3 compared to 3.1; 95% CI – 1.0 to 7.3 in the control group). Knowledge scores also significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the control (adjusted mean difference after 12 months 8.5; 95% CI 2.0–15.0). Conclusion: The Safe Delivery App more than doubled clinical skills for managing postpartum haemorrhage among birth attendants making it an attractive tool to reduce maternal mortality. Trial registration: Clinicaltrial.gov Identifier NCT01945931. September 5, 2013. Plain Language summary: Maternal mortality caused by postpartum haemorrhage is a major public health concern in many low-income countries. Having access to skilled health care professionals during pregnancy and childbirth can prevent maternal deaths related to postpartum haemorrhage. mHealth interventions like the Safe Delivery App (SDA), a smartphone application, has shown the potential to improve the quality of care in emergency situations related to childbirth in low-income health system settings. This study examines the SDA as a training/education tool for improving health workers' competencies and performances in managing postpartum haemorrhage. The SDA contained animated instruction videos on how to prevent and treat postpartum haemorrhage and a list of essential drugs and basic equipment. In Ethiopia, 70 health facilities and 176 birth attendants were included in a randomized controlled trial. The intervention group received a smartphone with the SDA installed and half a day of introduction to the use of the app. Birth attendants' skills and knowledge in managing postpartum haemorrhage in the control and the intervention group were tested at baseline, 6 and 12 months after intervention. Our study found that the SDA is an effective tool to improve and sustain birth attendants' knowledge and skills in the management of postpartum haemorrhage in a rural, low-resource health system setting in Ethiopia, which confirms findings in other non-randomized studies examining the SDA on the management of postpartum haemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use and land cover (LULC) is a major concern of global environmental change, particularly the case, in developing countries. In the Central Ethiopian Rift Valley (CRV), unprecedented changes in LULC have been observed over the last decades. This study aims to scrutinize the dynamics of the CRV over a timespan of three decades (1984–2013). Satellite imageries were acquired from Multispectral Scanner System, Thematic Mapper, and Enhanced Thematic mapper for the years 1984, 1995, and 2013 respectively. The data were obtained from the United States Geological Survey and Ethiopian Geospatial Information Institute. In addition, Focus Group Discussions and Key Informants Interviews were undertaken to support analysis and interpretation of LULC anomalies, identify drivers, and associated impacts. Geospatial technologies were used to analyze the extent of LULC change across the study period. An object-oriented supervised classification and a change detection technique were applied to compartmentalize the change into six LULC classes. Results revealed that farmlands and built-up areas have shown continuous progressive expansion at the expense of bareland and forestland. Farmland and built-up area in 1984 were expanded from 33.3% and 2.6% to 40.6% and 8.2% in 2013, respectively. In contrast, forestland and bareland coverages in 1984 were dwindled from 11.7% and 17.7% to 4.2% and 10.1% in 2013, respectively. Comparatively, shrubland and waterbody were also slightly augmented by 1.9% and 0.2% from 1984 to 2013. Therefore, the result suggested that policymakers and development actors must take appropriate actions to minimize the progressive decline of forest cover in the milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prioritising the growth of particular sectors or regions is often part of a low-income country's growth strategy. We study a prototypical example of such policies in Ethiopia, exploiting geographic and sectoral variation in the form and scale of the policy for identification. Using product-level data on Ethiopian manufacturing firms, we show that the policy was unsuccessful: in the best case scenario its benefits were around one-tenth of its cost. Subsidised loans did not improve productivity, leading only to an increase in fungible assets not machinery. Tax-breaks improved productivity but reduced firms' capital levels. Further results suggest that these were both the consequence of volatility and the lack of effective bankruptcy protection. There are two key policy implications of our findings. Firstly, we highlight that ineffective industrial policies can be extremely expensive and thus may impede rather than promote countries' pursuit of their development objectives, given that 'blunt' industrial policies like the one we study are common. Second, our results suggest that policies that rely on improving access to capital will be more successful in a stable economic environment with effective bankruptcy protection and that access to capital is not necessarily the key constraint to improving productivity in many of the firms we study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]