Ethiopian Renaissance Journal of Social Sciences and the Humanities

Status and Determinants of Women’s Participation in Household Decision Making in Ethiopia

2021-04-09T07:16:00+00:00

Women’s participation in household decision making has a pivotal role to the development of countries. At a national level, studying the status of women’s participation in household decision making and its determinants is necessary to devise policies and take immediate measures to empower women. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the status and determinants of women’s
participation in household decision making in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study based on data from
the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) program was employed. The sample
was limited on married women (N=3676) and analyzed through binary logistic regression. The
finding revealed that the majority (63.87%) of women were found relatively in a good position of
participation in household decision making. Education and employment were positively associated
with their participation. Women who never fear their husbands (AOR=1.391;95%CI=1.196,1.618)
and women who did not refuse sexual intercourse (AOR=1.384;95%CI=1.192,1.606) were more
likely participate in household decision making. There were variations of women’s participation in household decision making as to religious affiliation and geographical location. In conclusion, the status of women’s participation in household decision making in Ethiopia is relatively
good albeit taking some proper interventions are still necessary to address the existing gaps.

Effects of Lexical Competence on the Reading and Writing Ability of Grade 11 Science Students at Azezo High School, Gondar

2021-04-09T07:10:47+00:00

The study investigated effects of lexical competence on students’ reading and writing ability through ex post facto research design. From eight sections, two randomly selected classes
of 119 students were involved in the study. Lexical competence was measured through testing
the size, depth and productive dimensions of vocabulary knowledge using VLT, WAT and vocabprofiler instruments respectively. Reading and writing abilities were measured using TOEFL, and above-average and below-average reading /writing ability groups were created based
on sample means. Group difference on vocabulary scores was tested using MANOVA. The findings showed that above-average readers scored significantly higher than below average readers
on the size and depth dimensions, depth accounting for much of the variance. Above-average
writers also scored significantly higher than below average writers, much of the difference being accounted for by the productive dimension. The findings suggest that learners’ reading and
writing performance difference is largely attributed to the variance of their lexical competence.

Assessing Farmers’ Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence and Food Security Status in Southwest Nigeria

2021-04-09T07:48:31+00:00

A household is considered to be food secure when its occupants do not live-in hunger or
fear of starvation. Prevalence of food insecurity is a major concern in Southwest Nigeria,
most farm households live below the international standard. This study, therefore, assessed the household food security status of farmers in Southwest Nigeria. Primary data
were obtained from 800 registered farmers selected through multi-stage sampling process
in Ogun and Oyo States of Southwest Nigeria. Survey data were obtained with the use
of Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) questionnaire. Data were analyzed
using descriptive statistics and Factor analysis. Two main factors were retained with
65.9% of the total variance explained. The mean food insecurity score was 2.03±SD 0.95.
Overall food security of 33.6% and 66.4% of food insecurity was recorded. Conclusively,
the HFIAS measurement portrays assessment of farmers’ household in Southwest Nigeria
as food insecure due to low income from production. Hence, the need to formulate effective
food security programmes, new farming techniques and methods to increase production
to reduce food insecurity are vital remedies.

Survey of Audience’s Media Preferences and Consumption Habits: the Case of Central and North Gondar Residents

2021-04-09T06:52:22+00:00

This study was conducted in seven Districts of North Gondar Zone and Central Gondar Zone with
the main objective of assessing audiences’ media preferences and consumption habits. The study
was conducted using descriptive research design in which both quantitative and qualitative data
were concurrently collected. Multistage and systematic sampling techniques were employed to
collect quantitative data from 704 respondents. Additionally, 42 key informant interviews and 14
focused group discussions were used to collect the qualitative data. The findings of the study indicated that 36.1 % of the respondents indicated that they watch TV to obtain information while only
19.6 %. use radio to seek information. The study also revealed that Amhara radio is the top radio
station used by the majority of respondents. A large number of respondents also stated that they
chose to tune to radio stations from morning 6:00 am – 8:00 am and evening 6:00 pm– 9:00 pm.
Among the chosen program formats, majority of the respondents preferred programs that broadcast dialogue, discussions and interviews. In terms of content, many respondents chose programs
that focus on health, education and agriculture. The study also recommended that radio programs
can be successful if they focus on national peace, reconciliation, unity, entrepreneurship, good
governance, and issues of family life that are produced by professional and ethical journalists

The Impact of Cooperative Learning on Students’ Paragraph Writing Skills: The Case of Third Year Health Informatics Students at University of Gondar

2021-04-09T07:31:21+00:00

This study looked into the impacts of cooperative learning on students’ overall paragraph writing skills and the writing components such as content, organization, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics. To this end, a true experimental study in, which participants were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups, was employed.
The participants of the study, who were selected purposively, were fifty-six third year
Health Informatics students at University of Gondar in 2018/19 academic year. The experimental group accomplished the writing tasks in groups of four, whereas the control
group completed the same tasks independently for six weeks. Paragraph writing tests
were given before and after the intervention and the scores were analyzed through SPSS.
The independent samples t-test result showed that there was no significant difference
between the two groups both in their overall writing and the components of writing. The
paired samples t-test result, on the other hand, indicated that both groups significantly
enhanced their overall writing, content and organization; however, none of the groups
got better in vocabulary and grammar and only the experimental group improved in mechanics. Therefore, it can be concluded that cooperative learning had no better impact in
improving students’ writing skills than the independent learning except for mechanics.
The investigation showed that the two approaches could be employed sparingly in EFL
classes, but cooperative learning may be advisable when the focus is on mechanics.

Female Adolescents Risky Sexual and Reproductive Behaviour in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Multilevel Analysis

2021-04-09T06:46:20+00:00

Female adolescents’ sexual and reproductive behaviour has been recently emerged sustainable
development issue in developing countries as exposes teenagers to risky pregnancy and related
problems This study examined determinants of female adolescents’ risky sexual and reproductive
behaviour in Amhara region. The main source of data was the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and
Health Survey. The analysis was based on 1,123 female adolescents selected by a two-stage
stratified technique. Data management and analysis were carried out using STATA 14. A Multilevel-Logit Model was used to analyse the data. The findings illustrated that 58.4% of female
adolescents practiced high-risk sexual and reproductive behaviour with a considerable variation of
premarital sexual initiation (22.9%), teen motherhood (34.1%), and pregnancy termination (17.6%).
The odds of exposure to high-risk sexual and reproductive behaviour are significantly higher for
rural (OR = 3.99, 95% CI = 2.38-5.22) and non-exposure to media (OR = 2.67, 95% CI = 2.15-
3.94). On the other hand, the likelihood of premarital sex is higher for urban (OR = 9.05, 95% CI
= 1.30-18.65); secondary education (OR = 5.54, 95% CI = 2.59-7.91); media access (OR = 2.98,
95% CI = 2.26-3.41); late age (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.71-2.46); and Christian (OR = 1.72, 95% CI
= 1.58-1.90). Similarly, the risks of pregnancy termination are higher for urban (OR = 9.71, 95%
CI = 2.10-14.83); secondary school (OR = 4.63, 95% CI = 2.55-5.99); Christian (OR = 1.89, 95%
CI = 1.46-2.29); exposure to media (OR = 3.47, 95% CI = 2.19-4.53); early age (OR = 2.43, 95% CI
= 1.80-3.57); and poor (OR = 2.36, 95% CI = 1.61-3.15). In addition, the likelihood of childbearing higher for rural (OR = 5.13, 95% CI = 2.96-6.30); Muslim (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.36-1.75);
non-exposure to media (OR = 2.86, 95% CI = 2.71-3.24); late age (OR = 4.29, 95% CI = 2.64-5.77);
and illiterate (OR = 3.41, 95% CI = 2.13-4.67). In conclusion, the typical features of female adolescents’ sexual and reproductive behaviour were universal for early marriage and births within
marital union among rural residents while closely concurrent of premarital sexual activity and
pregnancy termination in urban areas. Therefore, the need for initiatives to improve life-planning
skills, identify the needs and concerns, involve the communities to provide friendly health services.

Social Vulnerability Indices of Seasonal Rural-to-Rural Migrant: A Comparative Study of Migrant-Sending and Non-Migrant Households in Northwest Ethiopia

2021-04-09T07:40:34+00:00

Subsistence agriculture is the base of smallholder farmers’ livelihood in Ethiopia,
though it is challenged by different risks. Seasonal migration is therefore a common
phenomenon for rural poor people in western Ethiopia to reduce risks. As a result,
the increased migration of people is the manifestation of the pervasive risk of the
day in the country. Hence, this study investigated the social vulnerability of seasonal migrant-sending households comparing with non-migrant households. Two-stage
sampling technique was adopted to select 188 households for primary data collection using household interview schedule, key informant interview, and focused group
discussion. Also, relevant published and unpublished documents were reviewed to
collect secondary information’s. Descriptive statistics like mean, percentage, and inferential statistics like Chi-square were employed for data analysis. The Principal
Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to develop the social vulnerability index (SVI).
The result of data analysis showed that migrant-sending households are less vulnerable than non-migrant households (X2=9.0823, p<05). The income from migrant
household members increased migrant sending households’ livelihood diversification,
and reduced the food shortage in the households compared to non-migrant households. This paper concludes that seasonal rural-to-rural migration in the Northwest
Ethiopia is found to be livelihood risk minimization and means of livelihood. Thus,
pay attention by stakeholders is demanded to enhance the positive impact of seasonal rural-to-rural migration to the livelihood of migrant sending households

Ethiopian Renaissance journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

2021-04-09T06:21:54+00:00

Ethiopia is the foremost source of Abay – providing 86% of the Nile water. However, it
is the country that has made the least use of the water of Abay. When European colonel powers embarked on the scramble for resources including water, Ethiopia kept
her eyes on survival fundamentals ---territorial integrity and political independence of
the country. Nonetheless, Ethiopia has always retained the rights, desires and plans
to utilize he Nile water. In fact, Ethiopia has no other option than harnessing its water
resources for consumptive and non-consumptive purposes. Even there is no legal or
intuitional obligation that limits Ethiopian policy makers from fulfilling their national
duties—using the water of Abay - in the best interest of the Ethiopian people