Department of Computing, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

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Youth and Culture in Namibia
(1998) Maree, Maretha
BACKGROUND ON NAMIBIA Namibia is the last colony in Africa to attain Independence. The Republic of Namibia, lying across the Tropic of Capricorn, has a population of about 1.8 million and covers an area of 824.292 sq km. It is bordered by South Africa in the south, by Botswana on the east and Angola on the north, while the narrow Caprivi Strip in north east extends Namibia's borders to the Zambezi river and a short border with Zambia. The name Namibia was officially adopted by the United Nations in 1968. lt replaced the colonial name of ' South West Africa'. The name derives from one of the oldest deserts in the world, the Namib. The desert forms a narrow plain 65-16km wide and extending 1 600km along the coast, separating the rest of the country from the south Atlantic Ocean. The fine sand of Namib forming huge sand dunes cover one fifth of the country. Namibia's major resource, diamond and uranium, is to be found in the fine sand of the Namib desert. However, the area is almost devoid of vegetation and therefore near to uninhabitable. The eastern parts of Namibia is covered by a semi-desert, the Kalahari, were there is some vegetation. In Ovamboland, the northern parts ofthe Kalahari, crop cultivation is possible, due to a network of watercourses known as 'oshanas'. In between the Namib and the Kalahari deserts lie the Central Plateau with an average elevation of 11 OOm above sealeveL It covers one half of the country. "The Plateau stretching the full length of the country, is Namibia's most fertile area and thus most suitable for human settlement. In its northern parts, the Plateau is suitable mostly for cattle-rearing but also for crop cultivation on a limited scale. The southern part is much dryer, covered with shrub steppe and it is unsuitable for anything but cattle, goat and/or sheep-rearing. Average annual rainfall is 270mm and droughts are frequent. Namibia has the driest climate south of Sahara." (Strand: 1991 ). The implication of the above mentioned is that vineyards cannabis coca plant or opium poppies is not cultivated in Namibia, and that all substances of abuse are imported.
Challenges for anthropology in the African Renaissance
(University of Namibia Press, 2000) Zappen-Thomson, Marianne
It ts generally accepted that language aiXI culrure are closely hnkod. It is interesting to note rhat while a definition of language seems self-evidem, the term 'culru.re' -although used extensively - is seldom clearly defined. In order 10 discuss the Teaching European Language and Cullurt agawt the background of 'African RenaiSsance' the conc:ept of 'culrure' needs to be clearly defined. Particularly sinc:e the African Renaissance, as will be discussed later. is based upon a shilt m COn'iCIOusness Seen from tlllS perspecuve teaehmg European languages and culrure is part of development witllin the 'African Renaissance'. For the purposes of this paper Hofstede's (1993) concept of culture will be used. He maintains that everyone, during the course of his or her life acquires certain mental, emotional and behavioural patterns that he also calls "mental software" {ibid.: 18). The ever-changing social environment influences this "mental software" or culture. l11is means that in principle any person could discard certain panerns and replace them with new ones. But, says Hofstede, this is normally a complex and difficult process aiXI thus nor reall)ed very often. Hofstede's concept of culture inregrates the so-<:alled 'high culture' with the 'everyday culture' and pertairu to the past as well as to the comemporary. 'High culru.re' refers tO luerature, mus1c and art whereas 'everyday culru.re' includes eating habits, greeting riruals and hygene. Due to the fact that the individual has the ability and possibility of choosing which panerns he or she wants to make his or her own, culture ts not necessarily synonymous w1th nauon any longer
Electronic commerce in Namibia: Its growth, present status and potential
(University of Namibia, 2004) Magenya, John J.
Wide varieties of trading methods are rapidly being replaced by the use of computers and communications networks the world over. This new concept of trading is known as Electronic Commerce (e-commerce). Great potentials exist for saving costs and improving services by utilizing this technology. Examples of phenomenal successes and staggering cost savings are just too many. Profits in millions of dollars are mentioned with ease, as a result of applying e-commerce. It is apparent that the industry is trading a few paces ahead of the academics in the area of e-commerce. A research study on e-commerce trends in the Namibian industry was therefore found necessary. This research work is intended to make a contribution on the knowledge of e-commerce status in Namibia and help in the socio/economic development in the country, especially to the small business community. Key technological inhibitors and drivers of business-to-business and business-to-customer e-commerce have been identified and presented in this research. Electronic Commerce offers an opportunity for business development. In Namibia, we are being left behind by the developed world mainly because of lack of awareness of the existence of e-commerce and its potential advantages. Even in cases where we may be aware of its existence, the application software, which is used in this area, is expensive and not easily affordable by small businesses. Another problem is that some small businesses cannot be able to use e-commerce when they are struggling to sustain themselves economically. The specific case presented in this thesis is that of mushroom growers in Namibia. This research develops a trading software package that is used by trading partners in the country to improve their trading practices, and thereby benefit from the advantages that e-commerce offers. Although applied to mushroom growers, however, the concept is applicable to any other group of commodity producers. The hypotheses that there exist poor knowledge and poor use of e-commerce in Namibia; that companies in Namibia can improve their efficiency and cut on costs by using e-commerce; and that the existing infrastructure in the country is good enough to support e-commerce activities have been assessed and analyzed in this work. This was accomplished by administering questionnaires, personal interviews, and developing a computerized software. The computerized system, which consists of a Web site supported by a database management software and other networking technologies, has been created and used by a number of students in a computer laboratory simulating trading among each other. The effect of this method of trading has been observed and recommendations made to extend the technology to other businesses. The research was conducted in Windhoek.
Designing and implementing a scalable, secure network using expert systems
(2007) Lukwesa, Katongo
Sharing open source software application services, challenges and opportunities for the Namibia SME sector
(2007) Lumbasi, Jeremiah N.
Abstract provided by author
Deployment of a sustainable, production-grade VoIP system based on open source software component in an educational institution
(2008) Mwansa, Gardner
Abstract provided by author:Governments and their agencies are often challenged by high cost and flexible telephonic and data services. Emerging technologies, such as those of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that allow convergent systems where voice and data networks can utilise the same network to provide both services, can be used to improve such services
Developing a research instrument for learner-centered classroom observations
(African Minds, 2008) Kapenda, Hileni M.; Torkildsen, Ole E.; Mtetwa, David; Julie, Cyril
Although most researchers prefer to adapt or modify existing instruments that relate to their field of interest, t11e exercise still remains overwhelming and cumbersome. But, occasionally, a need arises for creating a new instrument for a specific purpose. Tllis chapter shows that the process of designing and constructing a research instrument can be challenging and frustrating. The chapter also focuses on some of the significant personal experiences of tile lead author's struggle and long journey in the construction of a research instrument for her thesis on learner-centred education in Namibian schools. The main objective for the chapter is to provide some advice to the reader, and especially to an emerging researcher, about the challenges of designing a new research instrumenL Considerations about how and why certain decisions have to be made at certain stages become important matters for discussion.
Exploring the relationship between HIV and alcohol use in a remote Namibian mining community
(AJAR, 2009) Lightfoot, Elizabeth
In southern Africa, the use of alcohol is increasingly seen as creating a context of risk for HIV transmission. This qualitative study investigates the links between alcohol use and higher-risk sexual behaviours in a remote southern Namibian mining-town community. Using data from six focus groups and 16 in-depth interviews conducted in 2008, the researchers investigated knowledge of the link between alcohol consumption and HIV risk, focusing on the specific mechanisms related to drinking and higher-risk sexual behaviours. Although know!edga regarding HIV and alcohol was high among the mineworkers and other community members, the social structure of a remote mining town appears to lead to high levels of alcohol use and higher-risk sexual behaviours. The heavy use of alcohol acts as an accelerant to these behaviours, including as a source of fortitude for those with an intention to engage in casual sexual partnerships or multiple concurrent partnerships, and as a cause for those behaviours for people who may otherwise intend to avoid them. The findings suggest a need for HIV-prevention programmes that focus more holistically on HIV and AIDS and alcohol use, as well as the need for structural changes to mining-town communities in order to reduce the likelihood of both heavy alcohol use as well as a high prevalence of higher-risk sexual behaviours.
An evaluation of browser-based clients for asterisk
(2010) Oyedele, Yemisi
Abstract provided by author
e-Government interoperability
(2011) Van Staden, Stefanus
Abstract provided by author
Soil ingestion, nutrition and the seasonality of anthrax in herbivores of Etosha National Park
(Ecological society of America, 2013) Turner, Wendy C.; Imologhome, Peace; Havarua, Zepee; Kaaya, G.P.; Mfune, John K.; Getz, W.M.
Anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis , is a seasonally occurring infectious disease affecting primarily herbivorous wildlife and livestock. The seasonality of anthrax outbreaks varies among locations, making it difficult to develop a single consistent ecological description of this disease. Over 44 years of mortality surveillance, most anthrax cases in Etosha National Park, Namibia are observed in the wet season, although elephants have an anthrax mortality peak in the dry season. Focusing on three host species (plains zebra, Equus quagga ; African elephant, Loxodonta africana ; and springbok, Antidorcas marsupialis ) occupying the endemic anthrax area of Etosha National Park, Namibia, we tested two commonly posited causes of anthrax seasonality in herbivores: increased pathogen exposure due to greater soil contact, and increased host susceptibility due to seasonal nutritional stress. These hypotheses were assessed using fecal sampling and measurement of the percentage of fecal silicates as an index of soil ingestion and fecal nitrogen, phosphorus and crude fiber as nutritional indices. Nutritional quality for all three species was higher in wet than dry seasons. Comparing among wet seasons, nutritional indices showed either a decline in nutrition with increasing rainfall or no significant pattern. All three species had greater soil ingestion in the wet season than the dry season. Higher soil contact during the anthrax peak suggests that anthrax seasonality may in part be due to heightened exposure to B. anthracis in wet seasons, for zebra and springbok. Elephant anthrax deaths do not correspond with the season of increased soil ingestion or grazing, suggesting that other behavioral mechanisms may overshadow foraging-based risk factors for this species. Nutritional stress is unlikely the primary causative factor in wet season anthrax systems, although nutritional stress sufficient to reduce resistance is difficult to assess non-invasively in wild herbivores. In contrast, increased soil ingestion may be an important predisposing factor for wet season anthrax outbreaks. Ultimately, the amount of soil ingested and its importance in the transmission of soil-borne pathogens will vary based on foraging behaviors, intake rates, grassland structure and on the likelihood that foraging areas intersect with pathogen aggregations in the environment
A statistical analysis of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) data to determine the risk factors for HIV infection in Namibia
(2014) Chamboko, Richard
In an effort to provide information that can guide prevention strategies, this study determined the risk factors for HIV infection in Namibia and estimated the potential for HIV prevention. The study adopted a cross sectional research design with a sample of 14296 VCT clients from Oshana, Khomas and Kavango regions of Namibia for the period of 2009 to 2012. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for HIV infection among VCT clients. For risk factors which are amenable to intervention, the Population Attributable Risk Percent (PAR %) was computed. The magnitudes of PAR% were then used as the basis for selecting risk factors that pose the greatest health threat to the population for prioritisation in HIV programming. From a targeting perspective, sex, condom use, marital status, region of residence, male circumcision status, age and level of education were found to be significant predictors of HIV infection. Alcohol use was not associated with HIV infection in these regions. Among these risk factors, not using condoms and not being circumcised are amenable to intervention and interventions that eliminate exposure to these risk factors can avert up to 22% and 18% of the disease burden respectively assuming all other conditions remain the same.
An event history analysis of socio-economic determinants of adult mortality in Namibia
(2014) Kandjimbi, Alina
Adult mortality remains a neglected public issue in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), with most policy instruments concentrated on child and maternal health. Lack of vital registration system in SSA, further, has made it impossible to accurately estimate adult mortality. However, interest to better understand the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, which has a greater impact on adults, has rejuvenated research in adult mortality. Understanding the hazard of and factors associated with adult mortality is crucial towards designing programmes and interventions aiming at improving the well-being of adults. The main objective of the study was to apply an event history discrete time survival analysis approach to elucidate effects of socio-economic factors on adult mortality in Namibia. Specifically I simultaneously estimated the effects of socio-economic determinants on adult mortality in Namibia; as well as investigated geographical effects of location on adult mortality in Namibia, using spatial frailty models). The study used adult mortality data of 25,854 individuals aged 15 years and above, from the 2006/07 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey. The socio-economic factors used for the study included the type of residence (urban/rural); region; age of household head; sex of household head; marital status; education; nearest health facility; means to the nearest health; time to the nearest health facility and wealth index. The explanatory analysis was carried out using the Kaplan Meier curves, with the log rank test used to assess significance. Further geo-additive survival models were carried out using the Bayesian framework for joint modelling of fixed, non-linear and spatial frailties. The proposed Bayesian model assumed the following prior distributions: for the fixed effects I assigned diffuse priors, while the baseline was fitted using penalized random walks priors. For unstructured random effects and the structured spatial effects, the exchangeable normal prior and conditional autoregressive prior respectively were assumed. Results from the best model, which adjusted for the baseline, unstructured random effects, spatially structured effects as well as the fixed effects at a constituency level, showed that the overall baseline hazard of adult mortality declined constantly from age 15 up to age 40 years. The hazard of mortality subsequently increased from age 60 years. Lack of resources to improve the health, wellbeing and living standards of adult and old age people may be responsible for the increase in hazard of mortality from age 60 years. Further, results show a clear disadvantage for adults in rural areas; for those not married as well as for those of low wealth ranking particularly the poorest, for those in female headed households. Furthermore, in terms of health factor, the result shows that adult seeking health care from hospital, as well as traveling to nearest health facility within minutes and accessing the nearest health facility by means of a car provided an advantage of better survival at old age. In terms of the geographic effects, the hazard map, fitted at a constituency level, shows that that there was high hazard of an adult dying in the North Eastern part of the country while in the North Western and Central East there was a reduced risk in the hazard of an adult mortality. The unstructured random effects, again fitted at a constituency level, indicated that there was spatial variation in the hazard of adult mortality at a constituency level with constituencies for Caprivi and Erongo regions in the lower hazard, while constituencies for Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa region were at the higher hazard of adult mortality. It is hoped that this study particularly the spatial analysis section will help health planners, policy makers to identifying specific areas with high hazard of adult mortality in order to design, evaluate programmes and develop strategies aiming at improving the health and well-being of adults. Moreover, if the country is to achieve national development goals such as Vision 2030, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and National Development Programme 4 (NDP4), then efforts should be made to support adults in areas with high hazard of mortality while at the same time considering the impacts of socio-economic factors, since adults form part of the economic and productive age group for a population.
Shared-component model with application to mapping gender specific pattern in HIV testing and condom use in Namibia
(2014) Mwahi, Etuhole M.
The main objective of the study was to examine gender-specific and shared spatial variation in HIV testing and condom use in Namibia for targeted health promotion interventions. The study used data from the Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) carried out between 2006 and 2007. Bayesian hierarchical spatial mapping techniques were applied to generate specific and shared spatial patterns in HIV testing and condom use. Particularly, a number of Bayesian Structured Additive Regression (STAR) models were fitted and followed by joint spatial models through the shared component latent variables approach. Firstly, we modelled HIV testing and condom use in males and females with fixed effects such as educational level, frequency of reading newspapers and magazines, frequency of listening the radio, frequency of watching television, wealth index, times away from home, smoking, alcohol consumption, employment status, age at first sexual intercourse, type of residence and marital status whereas spatial references to the communities were modelled as structured and unstructured spatial effects. Secondly, diffuse priors were assumed for the fixed effects, while conditional autoregressive priors were assigned to the structured spatial effects and exchangeable priors for the unstructured random effects. Simulation techniques through Markov Chain Monte Carlo were applied for model estimation. Common and divergent patterns of HIV testing and condom use emerged. Common areas among men and women on HIV testing and condom use were observed in Khomas, Erongo, Oshikoto, and Oshana, while divergent patterns were estimated in Caprivi, Kavango and Karas regions. Urban influence was also captured in the model. Exposure to media was one of the covariates that were found to have a positive effect on the use of condoms and HIV testing. The study underscore the usefulness of Bayesian hierarchical mapping model in highlighting areas lagging behind in the uptake of HIV testing and condom use with emphasis on differences between men and women in the same area. We found that compared with gender-specific modeling approach, the shared component model offered useful additional information when modeling HIV testing and condom use in men and women. The information will be valuable for guiding public health actions that are targeted at the overall reduction of risk-sexual behaviours through HIV testing and the use of condoms.
Modelling stated preference of air travellers with applications towards determining the best airline business in Namibia
(University of Namibia, 2015) Amwaama, Alisa M.
Stated preference (SP) experiments are becoming an increasing popular survey methodology for investigating air travelers’ choices. Analysis of this behavior, which is an element of the demand prediction, helps for a better future planning and development of competing airlines. In this thesis, emphasis is stressed on the stated preferences of passengers in choosing between low cost carriers (LCC) and full service carriers (FSC). Binary logit and probit model and latent class model were employed on primary data collected from departing air passengers at Eros airport and Hosea Kutako International airport inWindhoek - Namibia, to model passengers’ stated preferences and examine the determinants of carrier choice between LCC and FSC in Namibia. Major findings show that: airfare, age, income and purpose of travel are significantly important with respect to passenger choice. Furthermore, we observed that passengers have different preferences for different destination regions be it domestic, regional or international. For domestic and regional flights (short haul) they prefer LCC, while for international flights (long haul) they opted for FSC. In addition, majority of the passengers were travelling for business purpose, hence their tickets were bought by their respective employers. Most passengers indicated that they were willing to fly LCC if it was available in Namibia because of it’s low fares. There was an indication that air tickets were not affordable and these are a big concern to passengers. Presumably, if ticket prices can come come down or introduce a LCC in Namibia then many will consider flying. This study concluded that, based on the interviewed passengers’ profiles, the best and appropriate carrier in Namibia is a low cost carrier. Introducing a LCC in Namibia might be a viable alternative which may ensure sustainability.
Access coverage for remote connectivity framework (ACRCF): Facilitating scholarship awarding in Namibia
(2015) Ndiwakalunga, Immanuel O.
The corporate world was faced with the challenge of community development. As a result, Namibian companies have been offering scholarships to assist students as best as they can. It was however an insurmountable task to assist the populace without clarity of information or background knowledge. Consequently, the selection of students for scholarships was arguably questionable. Some students awarded scholarships were from rural areas and others from urban areas. However, notice had to be taken of those students in remote area schools where connectivity was lacking. In this age of growing technology, solutions to the dilemma of leaving out worthy students for scholarships should be available with the use of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technologies. The LTE powered technologies would provide seamless interlinking of remote students to the scholarship providers. LTE technologies based on the Access Coverage Remote Connectivity Framework (ACRCF) proposed in this study would deal with the high quality content requirements. The technology would provide a feasible service for the provision of improved interview sessions between students and sponsor selection panels. The interview panels would not have to request students to travel long distances to the interview venues, hence saving travel costs and time by ensuring students are interviewed economically. Interviews would be able to take place over Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) and other interfaces under the ACRCF infrastructure. The sponsors would be able to access student information readily at their fingertips through the providence of high quality presented student data on a website maintained under the ACRCF infrastructure. Terminals would be placed at the various remote schools to ensure that student data was updated and ready for use as required. These nodes at the various remote schools would hence be updated with all the student records at the specific remote schools to ensure that there was up-to-date data on the systems at the click of a button. A qualitative research approach was undertaken for the purposes of the study to explore the derivations from case studies. Interviews were held with various sponsors and students to confirm the current state of affairs. They were also held to establish the need for the ACRCF infrastructure to link sponsors to the remote students to improve the scholarship selection process. A quantitative research approach was used in the form of questionnaires handed out to various sponsoring institutions for sampling purposes. The data was analysed with use of the SPSS statistical software program. The findings indicated that selections for scholarships had a need to be improved in the area of equitability. Equitable selection would provide equal opportunities for all students whether in resource rich town centres, rural or remote areas.
Multivariate statistical modelling of family formation processes among women in Namibia
(University of Namibia, 2015) Pazvakawambwa, Lillian
Family formation is a significant event in life-course of individuals. Many studies have revealed shifts in demographic processes including child-bearing patterns, age at sexual debut and first marriage, and marital status over the years. While there have been numerous studies in demographic processes in specific populations, very few studies have focused on family formation processes, and little or no quantitative research has been conducted on the distribution and dynamics and determinants of family formation in Namibia. This study employed a cross-sectional retrospective mixed methods design to achieve various objectives namely: to examine emerging marital patterns and trends in Namibia since attaining its independence in 1990; to analyze the hazards of first marriage and sexual debut and determinants of age at first marriage and sexual debut ; to establish factors associated with non-marital fertility; to examine perceptions of women regarding key union principles and values on matters of divorce, cohabiting, widowhood, polygamy, sex before and outside marriage based on a qualitative study; and to come up with family formation recommendations to guide policy and also pave way for further research. The study used data from the Namibia 1992 to 2006/7 DHS and from focus group discussions, which gave in-depth understanding on perceptions on family formation processes. Trend analysis, binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to model the patterns and determinants of marital status. Discrete time hazard models through Bayesian Structured Additive Regression (STAR) approach were used to estimate the hazards of a woman’s sexual debut and first marriage. The Hurdle Logit Negative Binomial (HLNB) regression model was used to model non-marital fertility. Findings indicated a general change away from marriage, with a shift in mean age at marriage which rose from 21 years in 1992 to almost 23 years in 2006. Cohabitation was prevalent among those less than 30 years of age; the odds were higher in urban areas and increased since the year 1992. Be as it may marriage remained a persistent nuptiality pattern, and common among the less educated and employed, but had lower odds in urban areas. Multinomial regression results suggested that marital status was associated with age-at-first-marriage, total children born, region, place of residence, education level and religion. Marital patterns have undergone significant transformation over the past two decades in Namibia, with a coexistence of traditional marriage framework with co-habitation, and sizeable proportion of women remaining unmarried to the late 30s. An upward shift in the mean age is becoming distinctive in the Namibian society. Period and cohort effects in the timing of first sex were evident among women in Namibia. Efforts to discourage early sexual debut should be stepped up especially in North-Eastern Namibia. Results did not suggest a significant nonlinear pattern of age at first marriage with age, cohort and period. First marriage timing in Namibia was influenced by the woman’s age, birth cohort, period, place of residence, highest educational level, socio-economic status and region. Intervention strategies should not only target schools and the wider community in isolation, but should involve the individual family units as they have a bigger role to play in this regard. Non-marital fertility was associated with the age, educational level, urbanity, and socio-economic status. Rural women had higher fertility propensity compared to their urban counterparts even though there was no significant difference in fertility intensity. Fertility intensity decreased as the women got richer. Intervention efforts should focus on promoting education among girls and women especially in rural areas to improve their socio-economic status, reduce teenage pregnancy and non-marital fertility. Qualitative findings supported the quantitative findings and gave an in-depth understanding of women’s perceptions on family formation processes.
Analysis of causes and risk factors associated with maternal deaths in Namibia
(2015) Mulama, Lihongeni N.
Maternal mortality is a major health concern in Namibia as it is the case in most countries. The rate at which women are dying due to pregnancy related causes is high and the cause as well as risk factors are not well explored. The main objective of this research was to identify the causes and risk factors associated with maternal mortality in Namibia and thus the study described the socio-demographic characteristics and three delays that lead to maternal deaths in Namibia. The paper also aims to propose strategies for midwifery practice, in order to prevent maternal deaths in future. Data on health facility based review of maternal records from 13 regions in the country during the period of 2008-2012 was used. This was then complemented by the 2011 Namibia Population and Housing census data. For the health facility data, a case control study design was applied, with a total number of 154 maternal deaths included in the study as cases and 770 women of reproductive ages who fell pregnant during the study period and survived as controls. A logistic regression model was used to assess the risk factors associated with maternal deaths. For the Census data, measures of maternal mortality, such as maternal mortality ratio, maternal mortality rate, lifetime risk of maternal death, and proportion of maternal deaths among women of reproductive age were estimated. Based on the health facility data, of the 154 maternal deaths reviewed, 58.4% were from direct maternal deaths and 41.6% were from indirect maternal deaths. Haemorrhage (37.8%), eclampsia (24.4%) and puerperal sepsis (23.3%) were the leading causes for direct maternal deaths. About 65% of the haemorrhage cases; 64% of the eclampsia cases and 53% of the puerperal sepsis occurred to women who lived in rural areas. The predominant recognizable indirect causes were HIV (45.3%); pneumonia (23.4%) and tuberculosis (17.2%). Maternal deaths are less likely to occur to women living together with their partner than those who are not living together (OR = 0.53). Most women experienced first (51.3%) and third delays (51.9%). Only few women experienced a second delay (12.9%). However it is important to note that some women experienced more than one delay and in some cases all delays were experienced. Using the 2011 Census data, maternal mortality ratio was 547 deaths per 100 000 live births. The highest ratio of 1954 deaths per 100,000 live births is recorded for women in the age group of 45-49 years. Maternal Mortality Ratio is also observed to be high among the teenage mothers between the age group of 15-19 years with an estimate of 421 deaths per 100,000 live births as compared to 318 deaths per 100,000 live births estimated for women aged 20-24 This analysis reinforced previous findings pointing to the fact that haemorrhage and eclampsia are the leading causes of maternal mortality in Namibia and other developing countries. This indicates the need for better obstetric care, particularly for women over thirty years of age.
Cyber security risk management and threat contol model (CSRM-TCM) a study carried out to enhance the protection of information in the Namibian public service
(University of Namibia, 2016) Uudhila, Jambeko M.
The persistent threats of the cyber environment drives organizations to adopt risk management as a crucial practice of minimizing dangers to their information assets. However, focusing on technology alone to address these risks is no longer sufficient. IT governance which enables senior managers to align and integrate technology with business strategies through clear policy development and good practice of IT control is essential. The Namibian Public Service (NPS) currently lacks policy guidance on cyber security risk management. Consequently Offices/Ministries/Agencies (O/M/As) depend on technology to manage security risks facing them. However, this effort is not coordinated between various O/M/A. Therefore it presents security challenges to the government network as various systems continues to be interconnected. To address these risks, the study investigated behaviors of different O/M/As in the NPS. The focus was predominantly on the management of information assets in the absence of standardized cyber security best practices. The study concluded that although there may be an abundance of technologies in the (NPS), the absence cyber security policies, standards and guidelines has led to a huge disparity regarding the way in which Information Systems (IS) are managed in various O/M/As. Hence, this poses security challenges. The study further identified threats, vulnerabilities facing the NPS and developed the Cyber Security Management and Threat Control (CSRM-TC) model. The model is believed to assist IT officials and policy makers in the NPS to understand challenges facing their information assets. This would further assist them to make appropriate decisions when developing cyber security policies, standards, guidelines and procedures according to best practices.
Assessing the effects of social safety nets on poverty in Namibia: Analysis of food expenditure of elderly persons
(University of Namibia, 2016) Shimpanda, Frieda
The purpose of this study was to evaluate in-patients and out-patients satisfaction of service delivery: A case study of Katutura Hospital, Windhoek. The main objectives of this research were to: identify the factors that contribute to poor service delivery at the Katutura Hospital, explore the factors affecting provision of service delivery in the public health sector, identify the service quality dimensions used by the Patients to evaluate service delivery and evaluate customer satisfaction levels for services being delivered at the Katutura Hospital. The study used quantitative and qualitative approaches using a survey technique. Questionnaires were administered to 120 employees and 30 patients at Katutura Hospital. Participants were approached to partake in the survey after work. Quantitative data from questionnaires were analyzed using the descriptive statistics with the help of data analysis software - Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Qualitative analysis was performed to assess the views and perceptions of the respondents on service delivery by the hospital. The study made use of frequency tables, charts, graphs and pie charts obtained from the analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS. The researcher adopted the stratified random sampling technique to select respondents as the study population was not homogeneous as it consisted of doctors, nurses, management and patients. The respondents were divided into two (2) strata in order to ensure that each was appropriately represented in the survey sample. Stratum 1, comprised the healthcare service providers; and Stratum 2, comprised the service healthcare receivers. Data was collected using questionnaires and the responses were collected and analysed. Data analysis included identifying and comparing existence or absence of factors using the SSPS package. The target population included all professional nurses, doctors, management (overall for Departmental and Unit level) and patients (outpatients and inpatients).Baseline results revealed various factors which affect service delivery at public health sector in Namibia.

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