Browsing by Author "Maposa, Daniel"

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    A Preliminary Study on Causes of Non Retention of Masendu Ward Girls at Secondary School
    (Zimbabwe Journal of science and technology, 2010) Nkiwane, Londiwe C.; Dube, S.; Maposa, Daniel; Nxumalo, M.
    This case study is a preliminary attempt to identify possible factors that might contribute to poor retention and progression of a girl-child in Secondary School education in Masendu Area. The study was conducted using school leavers from Masendu ward, in the Bulilima district of Zimbabwe. The results presented in this study were collected from a workshop attended by 13 female and 2 male school leavers from Masendu Ward and 10 female students from the National University of Science and Technology. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used as instruments for collecting data. The results serve as a preliminary to the pilot study conducted at the Mangwe district in Plumtree. A paper on the study is to follow. From the data collected in the workshop, twelve major problems were identified which most participants viewed as the key contributors to the poor retention and progression of a girl child in secondary school education. The problems identified included just to mention a few: early pregnancies, lack of finance, lack of moral support and protection from unruly characters on the way , after school sporting activities which cause the children to leave school late, leaving school to seek job in neighbouring countries. Some of the suggestions of improving the retention on a girl –child at secondary school included the need to educate school girls on importance of abstinence, community to seek sponsorships, need for intervention from the community at large to safeguard the education of all children irrespective of gender, provision of cheap accommodation at school or at villages near school, sport activities could be scheduled one morning of a chosen day during the week to enable the students to leave school early and get home before it of dark. Lessons for that day could be covered by extending the other remain 4 days by a lesson or two, career guidance that emphases the need of education for a long lasting career.
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    Relating Glycemia Levels in a Zimbabwean Population to some established Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors using Multiple LinearRegression Analysis
    (Archives of Applied Science Research, 2011) Maposa, Daniel; Mudimu, Edinah; Sigauke, Caston; Mlilo, Peter; Nyamugure, Philimon; Dube, S.
    Chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and asthma are somewhat neglected in the field of medicine in favour of the more ‘classic’ infections such as HIV/AIDS,and tuberculosis. The overall worldwide prevalence of diabetes is gradually increasing and is mainly associated with many chronic vascular complications such as stroke, foot ulceration and coronary artery disease. For this reason a multiple linear regression model is proposed that will provide insights into the major risk factors of Type 2 diabetes. Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between glycemia and some established Type 2 diabetes risk factors; in particular, stress, age, obesity, gender, and hypertension using multiple linear regression in the Zimbabwean population. Methods: The method consists of collecting data using a structured questionnaire from a sample of 300 individuals selected from a population through the “haphazard” sampling technique. In this study we considered Type 2 diabetes because our assessment of glycemia was based on portable glucometer readings. We then develop a statistical model to predict glucose levels. Results: Two predictor variables age and body mass index were found to be significant in the model. Results show an overwhelming evidence of a strong relationship between age, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Conclusion: Our findings are in agreement with results from Sudan in Africa and also observations from affluentsocieties. However, these findings differ significantly from other African experiences such as Kenya. Without loss of generality, it is concluded that obesity and advancing age are major contributors of Type 2 diabetes.