??? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????????? ?? ???? ?????/ ????? ????? ???? ??????-??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? 270 ????? ??? ?? ??? (1990)? ??????? ???(1995)? ?? (2010) ?? ?????? (2017)?.? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??????????? ?? ????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??-???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????/???? ?? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? (?????????? ????? ????) ?????? ?????? ??? ?10% ????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? (?????? ???????) ????/?????? ????/???? ?90% ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????-????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??????? ???. ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?????/ ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?????/ ???? ???/ ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ????? (??? ?????) ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????. ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ????/ ????? ????. ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ??????

Climate change is one of the most challenging environmental concerns of the globe in the 21stCentury though its visibility is much less than other environmental problems, like deforestation, land degradation, air pollution, etc. The aim of this paper is to assess perceived relative human health vulnerability to climate change-induced risks by creating empirical indices in Dembia woreda (district) of Northwest Ethiopia. Primary data were collected from 372 household heads using questionnaire. The selection of the participants was made using simple random sampling technique. Thirty-two-years meteorological data (1979 –2010) were gathered from global weather data website. Theory-driven aggregate indices of temperature, rainfall, frequency of extreme weather events and health sensitivity were formed through the equal weighting approach of four composite sub-indices. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) vulnerability assessment framework was used to measure human health components to see differential vulnerability of communities by indicators. The outcome of this relative study puts the rural households of Dembia woreda to the most vulnerable position (0.47 score) to climate change-induced health effects. Component-wise, the households were found to be the most exposed and sensitive social groups by temperature (0.50), rainfall variability (0.44), frequency of extreme weather events (0.51) and levels of access to health-care infrastructure (0.44). It should not imply that the other household groups are entirely resilient. Although the majority of the households have access to health institutions, they reported traveling long distance to reach to health institutions. This, in turn, has likely increased the vulnerability of rural households to health risks in the woreda. This suggests that resources that may have been spent on health sector development might be reallocated to the most vulnerable rural households.

Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with high fertility and fast population growth rate. It is also one of the countries with high maternal and child mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa. Hence, family planning is a crucial strategy to halt this problem. The overall trends of modern contraceptive use dramatically increased in Amhara National Regional State, from 6.6% in 2000 to 15.7% in 2005 and 33.0% in 2011, although still relatively very low. This study, therefore, examined the trends and determinants of current modern contraception among currently married, non-pregnant women of reproductive age in the region using the 2000, 2005 and 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys. The analysis was based on 2587, 2330, and 2776 women of reproductive age, for the 2000, 2005, and 2011 surveys, respectively. Data management and analysis were carried out using STATA 13. Multivariate analysis of binary logistic regression was employed for each survey. The findings indicate that women living in rural areas had less likelihood of modern contraceptive use in 2000 (AOR = 0.260, 95% CI = 0.0843-0.801) and 2005 (AOR = 0.396, 95% CI = 0.203-0.771). The effect of wealth was more pronounced in 2005 (AOR = 1.906, 95% CI = 1.165-3.118) and in 2011 (AOR = 1.653, 95% CI = 1.173-2.329). The likelihood of contraceptive use among employed women was higher in 2005 (AOR = 1.989, 95% CI = 1.298-3.049) and in 2011 (AOR = 1.441, 95% CI = 1.072-1.939). Older women were less likely to use contraception as opposed to younger women in 2000 (AOR = 0.0673, 95% CI = 0.0140-0.322) and in 2011 (AOR = 0.296, 95% CI = 0.125-0.700). In conclusion, residence, wealth quintiles, employment status, women’s current age, and child mortality were significantly associated with the use of modern contraceptives during 2000-2011 in the region. The regional health bureau and concerned stakeholders should focus on empowering women economically, integrating family planning into maternal and child health services, and accessing services to youths’ and in rural areas to accelerate contraception in the region.

The main objective of the study is to find out the effects of cooperative learning on students’ speaking performance and teacher’s view towards the approach using quasi-experimental design. Two different sections of grade 9 out of 26 were selected at Fasiledes General Secondary School, Gondar City via simple random sampling technique. One section was randomly assigned to a control group while the other was allotted to an experimental group, each group consisting of 30 students. Both pre-and-post tests and interview were employed to generate data. The pre-test result indicated that the experimental and control groups were similar in their speaking performanceat the commencement of the intervention, t(58)=-.03, p (.977) > .05. However, their post-test scores revealed that there was a statistical significant difference between the experimental and control group students’ speaking performancet(58)=-2.52, p (.014) <.05. In the same test, the mean value of the experimental group was 32.87 and it was 26.93 for the control group. This indicates that the implementation of cooperative approach enabled the students to perform better in speaking test than that of individualistic approach. During the interview, the experimental group teacher replied that the cooperative learning helped the students develop a better understanding of the materials being learnt. The implications drawn from the findings suggested that teachers need to implement the cooperative learning as an approach in the EFL speaking classrooms.

This study attempted to examine the prevalence and associated factors of internalized stigma among persons with severe mental illness in Amanuel Specialized Mental Hospital. The study employed cross-sectional design in order to select 114 participants from bipolar, schizophrenia and major depression diagnosed patients using convenient sampling technique. Pre-developed standardized instruments were used in order to measure constructs of internalized stigma, experienced stigma and self-esteem. The results of the study indicated that nearly higher proportion of the participants, which is 49 (43%) of them, experienced moderate level of internalized stigma and 37 (32.5%) and 21 (18.4%) of participants exhibited mild and minimal levels of internalized stigma respectively. This study also indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between internalized stigma and experienced discrimination, r=0.743, p<.05. There was also a very mild positive relationship between internalized stigma and duration of time living with the illness, r=0.367, p<.05. However, internalized stigma was negatively correlated with self-esteem, r-.486,p<.05. Similarly, internalized stigma was negatively correlated with general self-efficacy, r= -.671,p<.05. About 68.9% variation of internalized stigma was explained by the variation of self-efficacy, self-esteem, experiencing stigma, age of the participants, and length of time living with the illness. In conclusion, the study revealed that the internalized Stigma of participants can be explained by the associated factors of age, self-esteem, self-efficacy, length of time living with the illness and experienced stigma.

The Ethiopian Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) is the biggest social protection schema in Sub-Saharan Africa as Ethiopia has remained the largest recipient of food aid. This paper examined the attitude of beneficiary households towards PSNP in selected kebeles of Ebinat woreda by using mixed research methods. In-depth interview, focus group discussions and questionnaire survey were used to collect the data while Likert Rating Scale and thematic analysis were employed to analyze and interpret the data. The result shows that the majorities of respondents have a strong feeling of dependency about the program itself and are keenly aware of how PSNP is important to them. However, they have a negative attitude towards the services they are gaining from PSNP and its implementation process. Specifically, the amount of cash, working time, school access to children, livestock accumulation and availability of food were found to be the lowest. Although the beneficiary households are extremely dependent on PSNP’s aid, the majority of them still complain about its services. Therefore, awareness has to be created to break their strong dependency and attachment towards aid by empowering them to search for sustainable and alternative livelihood strategies.

On April 7 and 8, 2017 the research conference on “Cultures of Democracy,” organized and convened by the department of Civics and Ethical Studies, was held at the College of Social Sciences and the Humanities (CSSH) of the University of Gondar (UoG). The department head, Mr. Yared Debebe, welcomed all attendees, especially Mr. Aysheshim Terefe, Vice-Dean of the CSSH, Dr. Yenges Amsalu in his official function as Delegate of the President of UoG, and Mr. Constantin Grund, the Director of the Addis Abeba office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. This German foundation funded the conference as it is its goal to foster social democracy in Germany and the world. All of the four inaugural speeches stressed the importance of communication, open debate and open minds for developing democratic mindsets, institutions and strong universities. On each of the two days, four 90-minute sessions were held and on each day the last session was reserved for discussions only