Academic literature on the topic 'Addis Ababa University. Library'

Background. This systematic review aimed at examining the use patterns of Ethiopian anticancer traditional medicinal plants (MPs) in view of recommending further validation studies.Methods. The information was retrieved from PubMed according to the PRISMA guideline. The electronic library of Addis Ababa University and relevant church-based religious books were also inspected for additional data.Results. From 34 studies meeting specific inclusion/exclusion criteria, 119 anticancer MP species distributed in 98 genera and 57 families were recorded. Fabaceae (10.92 %) and Euphorbiaceae (10.08 %) were the most widely used families.Plumbago zeylanica(Plumbaginaceae) was the most frequently used anticancer MP species. Shrubs (42.02 %) and herbs (35.29 %) were dominant growth forms. About 89.08 % of the MPs were collected from wild habitats. Leaves (33.73 %) and roots (27.11 %) were the most frequently harvested parts. The most favored routes were dermal (33.33 %) and oral (29.25 %). About 87.07 % preparations were made from fresh plant materials. Breast cancer and skin cancer were treated with 14 % and 10.76 % of anticancer MPs, respectively.Conclusion. The review showed that anticancer MPs are widely used across the regions of Ethiopia. Most of the MPs are not scientifically experimented and yet are at a higher vulnerability to loss mainly by human activities. Calling for conservation measures, we recommend experimental validation of the frequently used anticancer MPs. This augments global anticancer drug researches.

Background. Uterine rupture is a life-threatening obstetrical emergency, which results in serious undesired maternal and perinatal complications in resource-limited countries, mainly in Ethiopia. The prevalence, determinants, and outcomes of uterine rupture described by different studies were highly inconsistent in Ethiopia. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis is aimed at estimating the pooled prevalence, determinants, and adverse outcomes of uterine rupture in Ethiopia. Methods. Studies were searched from international databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, HINARI, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, and web of science) and Ethiopian universities’ digital libraries (Addis Ababa University, University of Gondar, and Harameya University). All observational studies were included. A total of 15 studies that fulfill the inclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis. Data were extracted by two reviewers and exported to STATA version 11 for analysis. The I 2 statistics were used to assess heterogeneity across the studies. Publication bias was examined by using Egger’s test and funnel plot. The pooled prevalence of uterine rupture and its outcomes were estimated by using a random effects model. The associations between determinants and uterine rupture were evaluated by using both random and fixed-effect models. Results. In this meta-analysis, a total of 15 studies with 92,394 study participants were involved. The pooled prevalence of uterine rupture was 2.37% in Ethiopia. Obstructed labor ( OR = 3.03 ; 95 % CI = 2.52 , 3.63 ), lack of antenatal care follow-up ( OR = 5.79 ; 95 % CI = 2.47 , 13.61 ), duration of labor > 24 hours ( OR = 3.75 ; 95 % CI = 2.24 , 6.29 ), grand multipara ( OR = 10.79 ; 95 % CI = 4.77 , 24.40 ), and being rural residency ( OR = 7.17 ; 95 % CI = 3.90 , 13.16 ) were significantly associated with uterine rupture. Conclusion. The overall prevalence of uterine rupture was high in Ethiopia. Obstructed labor, lack of antenatal care follow-up, duration of labor > 24 hours, grand multipara, and rural residency were determinants of uterine rupture. This study implies the need to develop plans and policies to improve antenatal care follow-up and labor and delivery management at each level of the health system.

As the subtitle indicates, this is not a scholarly article based on research but one almost identical to the oral presentation I gave during the workshop “30 Years of Freedom – Farewell to Communism in Hungary, Local and Global Lessons” in Addis Ababa on October 25, 2019, organized jointly by the Embassy of Hungary in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Civil Service University, the Hungarian National University of Public Service, and the University of Pécs, Hungary. I made every effort to strengthen my arguments with valuable references.

This study explores the research productivity of Addis Ababa University (AAU) faculty. AAU was established in 1950 and is the oldest modern higher educational institution in Ethiopia. Recently AAU took steps to transform itself to become a pre-eminent African research university. One of the characteristics of a research university is the focus on the amount of research conducted by the institution's faculty. Academic institutions measure research productivity primarily based on published work. The purpose of this study was to analyze the research productivity of AAU faculty, and to examine the differential predictive effects of individual and environmental variables on faculty research productivity. This quantitative study used a theoretical framework and instrument, Faculty at Work. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to Addis AAU faculty in person and 298 questionnaires were returned resulting in a 74.5% response rate. After exclusion of 12 cases with missing information, 286 cases (71.5% response rate) were analyzed. Most of the respondents were men (M = 92.1%, F = 7.9%). The average age of AAU faculty was 44. A hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the ability of six sets of independent variables (sociodemographic, career, self-knowledge, social knowledge, behavior, and environmental response) to predict research productivity (publication output). Results indicated that there are productive researchers at AAU, and the theoretical framework explained 67.6% of the variance in publication output.

Thesis (Master of Community Planning)--University of Cincinnati, 2009.
Advisor: Xinhao Wang. Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Feb. 22, 2010). Includes abstract. Keywords: Storm Water Runoff; Green Infrastructure; Addis Ababa; Urban Planning; Environmental Planning; GIS. Includes bibliographical references.

This study explores the fate of academic freedom and institutional autonomy in higher education of Ethiopia by taking the case of the Addis Ababa University and seeks to understand how these were influenced by different political process (feudalism, socialism and democracy), which the country experienced over a period of half a century (1950-2005). To explore the degree of expression or erosion of academic freedom and institutional autonomy, the focus is on three critical points: (i) the exploration of state-university relationships and how the state viewed the university vis-a.-vis the university's claim for academic freedom and institutional autonomy; (ii) how political regimes affected the erosion or expression of academic freedom in the university (iii) the examination of the impact of political militancy and engagement of university staff and students on the relationship between the university and the state. The study is grounded in my understanding (from philosophical and theoretical analysis) that academic freedom and institutional autonomy are necessary conditions for the proper functioning of the university's teaching, learning, research and public service. I have used a multi-method research approach, which draws on philosophical analysis, historical and ethnographic methods. The entire historical period (1950- 2005) is divided into three distinct cases of political regimes, i.e., feudalism (1950- 1974), socialism (1974-1991) and democratic federalism (1991-2005). The method of analysis combines both historical narratives (for showing the continuities of the historical process) and inter-case comparisons--to compare and contrast the different cases (discontinuities of the historical process). The research suggests that: (1) the relationship between the university and the state has been tangled with conflicting views of the state and the university regarding academic freedom and the idea of a university. Whereas the state viewed the university as part and parcel of its bureaucracy, fully accountable to national goals and ideology, what Ronald Barnett (1997b) called a university of society, the academic community viewed the university as an independent academic institution with a duty that includes a critical role of the state, albeit with accountability not only for knowledge but also for service to society. The latter includes standing for the poor and national development not withstanding the position of the state. In this way, the academic community believed in the idea of a university for society-as distinct from the state's belief, which stressed the accountability role of the university. These divergent views led to hostile state-university relationships. (2) The tangled nature of state-university relationship was more or less true across all regimes-feudalism, socialism and democratic federalism-albeit with some differences in intensity and type of threat to academic freedom. The embryonic VIll cooperative relationship that appeared in the early life history of the university (when expatriate faculty dominated teaching and administration) fractured towards the crisis years of the feudal system when the academic community, especially students, violently turned against the state. The vestiges of academic freedom and institutional autonomy vanished under the Marxist regime that placed the university under complete silence and mere ideological compliance after 1974, the year of the Ethiopian Socialist Revolution. Red terror was used as an instrument for controlling freethinking and dissent. Professors were forced to teach prescribed courses, use Marxist research methods and serve as laborers in seasonal crop harvesting periods and in construction work of resettlement areas. In 1991, civil liberties (academic freedom in the sense of the 'general theory') were guaranteed by the federal democratic state that replaced the socialist regime. Yet, state university relationship remained the same due to ideological differences (the state ideology of ethnic autonomy versus faculty ideology of nation state), mistrust and lack of tolerance. Class disruptions, closure of the university, dismissal of professors, students and administrators characterized the state-university relationship, during this period. This new relationship generated a very unstable and weak university administration, which was often sandwiched between the state's requirement to account to it and the faculty's expectation of self-accountability. Not even elected presidents were able to play mediatory roles in this conflict. Following the higher education reform of 2002, professors and lecturers claimed they had lost many of their freedoms, mainly: (i) the freedom to select their future colleagues; (ii) the freedom to select their students; (iii) the freedom to participate in university legislative process; (iv) the freedom to decide the norms of student evaluation; (v) the freedom to decide the contents of their curricula. (3) Political militancy of the faculty and students weakened the possibility of a cooperative state-university relationship in all political histories of the university. The militant actions of students and faculty against the state during the feudal regime facilitated state intervention in the affairs of the university, which in tum, brought about collegial disintegration and self-inflicted threat to the academic freedom of the students, faculty and administration. The Marxist ideology had the effect of dividing the academic community into classes of revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, which, in tum, generated an environment where everybody became a threat to the academic freedom of every other. During the reign of the federal democratic state that came to power after 1991, the ideological position of the academic community extended to rejecting the new constitution--which was premised on ethnic autonomy. The dominant faculty (including a section of the students) subscribed to the idea of a nation-state with a centrist unitary government. The latter seriously believed that ethnic autonomy leads to national disintegration contrary to the state's belief of the idea of 'unity in diversity'. This ideological difference divided the academic community itself (which was diverse in ethnic composition) into different camps and generated a campus environment where every person qualified to be a threat to the academic freedom of every other. IX This research has implications about the critical need for cooperative and deliberative state-university relations by adopting a stance of mutual accommodation and tolerance if the university is to contribute to national development by maintaining its cardinal values, academic freedom and its precondition, institutional autonomy. I have noted that during the early periods of Haile Selassie I University (the old name of Addis Ababa University), the idea of a university for society operated productively due to the context of mutual trust and understanding between the state and the university. One learns from the Ethiopian case study that a critical stance of the university could not be tolerated by the state if its criticisms affect the legitimacy of state-power. It is not, however, clear to what extent a university could be critical of the state and still maintain trust and support form it. But, a moral stance of moderation in one's criticisms could be tolerated more than an extremist position of critique, which might deter negotiations and deliberations. In this connection, Mazrui said, "What a university owes to government is neither defiance nor subservience. It is intelligent cooperation, respecting the academic's right to be skeptical without being subversive; sympathetic without being subservient" (Mazrui, 1978:275). A kind of partial autonomy or what Enslin and Kissak (2005) called conditional autonomy in the context of deliberative democracy would help Ethiopia to address the different needs and requirements of change and social transformation. The faculty has the added responsibility of promoting a deliberative culture and abandoning its old culture of engagement in violent political actions. It can contribute immensely if its main commitment is switched to promoting intellectual culture by sustaining a community of philosophers who engage in teaching students; and disseminating knowledge to serve the broader society. This demands a commitment to believe in the values of professional collegiality and self-criticality in addition to its traditional values of critiquing knowledge and society (mainly the state).

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Library (UNECA Library) has a collection of more than 90,000 electronic information resources and half a million-print collection. These resources are available freely to staff members of the UNECA, United Nations agencies, diplomats, researchers, students and others. The study investigated the utilisation of electronic information resources and the challenges faced by the different users of the Library. A quantitative research approach with a survey research method was applied. The population for the study was 600 users,, out of which 500 were internal users (UNECA and United Nations agencies staff members) and 100 were external users (researchers, students, or non-staff members). From the population, 20% from each category, that is, 120 users were taken as a sample. A webbased questionnaire built on SurveyMonkey was distributed through email to collect data from randomly selected users. The total response rate was 74%. The data were analysed using built in survey monkey analysis software and reported with simple frequency and percentages. The results shows that 92% of the respondents were aware of the availability of the electronic information resources in the UNECA Library. TInstitutional Repository (IR) and e-journals were frequently accessed and utilised. Highly accessed and utilised databases were the Economist, African Journal Online, JSTOR, Ebscohost, ScienceDirect, and Financial Times. 94% of the respondents reported that the electronic information resources were useful, with 84% agreeing that the resources were easy to use. High numbers of the respondents positively agreed that the quality of their output was improved by using the electronic information resources provided by the library. The respondents also indicated that using the electronic information resources have improved their research output, and overall, the resources have increased their performances. The challenges were information overload, access restriction with IP address, lack of training and remembering login credentials. 68% of the users reported that the library services met their expectations. The study recommends the development of strategies for enhancing accessibility and discoverability of the resources, providing information literacy trainings for all users, and finding alternative measures for IP restriction access.
Information Science

This study focused on investigating the significance of peace education to manage institutional conflict at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. As conflict is inevitable in all settings, the need for looking at diversified ways of mitigating conflict is paramount and mandatory. Higher education should serve communities and nations in generating solutions on one hand and as well generating educated human power equipped with basic knowledge, skills and required attitude, on the other hand. The situation observed in the study area of AAU and other universities is a concern because the level and magnitude of conflict being experienced in university campuses is increasing. Taking this into consideration, the study employed a qualitative inquiry and collected data from students, academic staff from a variety of departments, the student administration wing student, the Institute of Peace and Security Studies and support staff. The findings of the study tried to identify the nature and cause of conflict. Moreover, it collected data regarding the measures currently taken by the university and as well investigated to what extent peace education can serve as an instrument to manage institutional conflict in AAU. Most of the conflict types were found to be dysfunctional, which involves the affective domain based on the feelings and emotions of the conflicting parties, mainly students to each other. It was injected by ethnic conflict and almost no dialogue is held to resolve the conflicts among them. On the other hand, turbulent situations in the society are enacted at the university, with students entering into conflict demanding their ethnic groups’ democratic and human rights. When conflicts arise, conflict resolving mechanisms are traditional with the university resorting to the use of the external police force with dire consequences such as imprisonment, detainment and even death. The study thus investigated and revealed the potential of peace education as an innovative solution to resolve conflict collaboratively thus satisfying all parties.
Educational Management and Leadership
Ph. D. (Education Leadership and Management)

The inclusion of students with impairment in higher education needs enabling legal frameworks to lay the foundation for equal opportunities for those learners in all aspects of university life (Shepherd, 2001:17). To this effect, in the past two decades several countries have revised their legal documents in order to promote inclusive education at all levels of schooling. Accordingly, in 2006 the Ethiopian government also developed a new legislative document, namely Special Needs Education Program Strategy, in order to apply inclusive education in regular schools and in higher education institutions. Following the introduction of this policy document, all regular schools and higher education institutions in Ethiopia have been required to implement inclusive education as a mandatory approach when educating students with impairment, including those who are visually impaired. However, the actual implementation of an inclusive approach is being challenged by the social, political and physical circumstances of higher education institutions. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the existing challenges and prospects towards the inclusion of students with Visual Impairment (VI) in the particular context of Addis Ababa University (AAU). The study adopted an interpretive paradigm for better understanding and in-depth interpretation of the inclusion of students with VI at AAU. An interpretive paradigm also informs the detailed judgements made by experts of a suggested action plan for progressively providing support for students with VI at AAU. The study also applied the critical disability paradigm as a complementary philosophical base in order to examine critically the challenges that students with VI face and to suggest ways to transform the inclusive policies and practices of AAU in favour of the students. The researcher undertook a Delphi investigation to address the main aim of this research (i.e. to determine how best to implement an action plan that progressively increases support for students with VI at AAU over a period of time). The action plan that comprises various support measures and the necessary resources was developed using the empirical results of this study as well as the existing findings and best practices found in the literature study. It was scrutinized and approved by a number of experts. The researcher recommends that the plan should be implemented over the next five years at AAU in order to improve the support provided to students with VI.
Inclusive Education
D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Background: Accidental exposure to patients’ body fluids (BFs) is an occupational hazard among health care workers (HCWs). The study aimed at describing the patterns of exposure to patients’ BFs among HCWs at a university hospital in Ethiopia. Methods: A contextual descriptive cross-sectional design was used for this study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Results: The one year and professional life prevalence of occupational exposure to patients’ BFs among HCWs was 33.5% and 66.5% respectively. Circumstances that led to participants’ exposures to patients’ BFs include needle stick injuries to fingers and splashes to the eyes (82.4%); conducting procedures included blood withdrawal (10.8%) and inserting intravenous infusions (8.1%) and recapping of used needles (12.2%). Conclusion: Findings of this study generally indicated that occupational exposures to patients’ BF of different types and circumstances were common among all categories of HCWs in the study site. This high finding of BF exposure should not be over looked. HCWs should follow the universal precaution protocol and PEP need to be strengthened
Health Studies
M.A. (Public Health)