This research is about the challenges of physical planning in newly gazatted town councils in Uganda via case study of Katabi town council in Wakiso district. Through a review of various sources of literature backed up by empirical evidence from the case study. This study results show the reasons as to why newly gazatted town councils in Uganda are facing physical planning challenges and suggests the recommendations on what to be done to overcome them. Physical planning in Uganda became paramount in 2010 with the declaration of the entire nation a planning area as stipulated in section 3 of the Physical planning act 2010 that replaced the town and country planning act of 19…this had begun in 1902 with the inception of modern planning ideas in Kampala as a starting point and later spread to other parts of the country. The introduction of Physical planning in Uganda was a form of colonial imperialism of countries from the North over Africans. Hitherto, Uganda has been grappling with a number of challenges regarding Physical Planning in newly gazetted town councils due to decentralization policy as a political move to extend services nearer to people. However due to inadequate planning for the newly gazatted town Council, a number of challenges ranging from inadequate capacity, staffing position, absence of Physical Development Plans to un coordinated physical developments. Therefore, this research provides answers to; What is the planning status in newly gazatted town councils? What challenges are they facing and What are the solutions to the problems? The research is engulfed in five chapters and each chapter details a specific theme based on the research objectives. The chapters stand on their own though intertwined to give a chronological flow of the research findings, recommendations as well as conclusion.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI), often referred to as "Silent epidemic" remains a growing public health concern and represents the greatest contributor to death and disability globally among all trauma related injuries. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are one of the most common consequences of traffic accidents and patients with mild, moderate or severe brain injuries suffer from physical, cognitive, behavioral, emotional and social problems. The global incidence of all cause and all severity TBI is 939 cases per 100,000-person years of which Road Traffic Injuries contribute the most. Traumatic brain injuries resulting from road traffic collisions to be greatest in Africa and South East Asia both at 56% and lowest in North America at 25%. Traumatic Brain Injury is a major cause of increased Disability Adjusted Life Years, high costs of treatment per case and reduced quality of life. General objective: To determine the physical and social relations Quality of Life and the associated factors among patients six months after Traumatic Brain Injury at Mulago National Referral Hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that recruited 296 participants with TBIs from Mulago Hospital Surgical Out Patients Department (OPD) following approval from School of Medicine Research and ethics Committee (SOMREC). Participants were recruited conveniently and given a 37-item QOLIBRI questionnaire. Data was entered into Epidata 4.2 and imported into STATA 15/MP and R for analysis. Factors associated with low QOL were assessed at both bivariate and multivariate levels using modified Poisson regression method. Results: A total of 274 participants were recruited for the study, the mean age was 34 years (SD =13.8) and 66.4% were men. The mean physical QOL was 53.02 (SD=13.06), there was no statistical difference in the mean physical QOL between men and women (53.91 vs 51.26 P-value = 0.1128). A total of 148 participants had a physical QOL above the mean making a proportion of 54.0% (95%CI 47.9 – 60.0). The mean social relations QOL was 28.05 (SD=11.88), the women had a better mean social QOL than men (30.74 vs 26.69, P value = 0.008). A total of 152 participants had a social relations QOL below the mean making a proportion of 55.5% (95%CI 49.4-61.5). The factors associated with diminished physical QOL were; Age above 55 years, PR = 1.54 (95%CI 1.11-2.14) P-value =0.010, being married PR=0.73(95%CI 0.54-0.99), single PR=0.63 (95%CI 0.41-0.96), severe TBI PR= 1.87 (95%CI 1.50-2.34). And the factors associated with social relations QOL were; No formal education PR = 0.68 (0.52-0.90), severe TBI at admission PR= 0.25 (95%CI 0.15-0.41), presence of a comorbidity 0.15 (95%CI 0.06-0.38). Conclusion: Most of our participants had a mean physical quality of life which was 53.02. The mean social relations quality of life was generally low for every individual and lower among men compared to women. The factors that were associated with the reduced physical quality of life included; advanced age at diagnosis, married couples, being single, severe traumatic brain injury at diagnosis and presence of at least one comorbidity. The factors that were associated with diminished social relations quality of life included; having no formal education, severe traumatic brain injury at diagnosis and presence of at least one comorbidity.

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of co-curricular activities on students` academic achievement in Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools in Iganga Municipality in Iganga District. Using a mixed methods approach and across sectional survey research design, the study participants included; 79 students, 4 education officers, 7 headteachers,7 members of Board of governors, 7 former students and 16 teachers. The study examined three research questions; what is the effect of students’ active participation in games and sports on their academic achievement in USE schools in Iganga Municipality?; what is the effect of students’ active participation in games and sports on their academic achievement in science subjects in USE schools in Iganga Municipality?; What is the effect of students’ active participation in games and sports on their academic achievement in arts subjects in USE schools in Iganga Municipality?, and found out that there is a significant positive relationship between active participation in games and sports and students’ academic achievement although over involvement in co- curricular activities negatively impacts on the academic achievement of students. The findings further revealed that there exists a significant positive relationship between active participation in games and sports and students’ academic achievement in science subjects although over involvement in co- curricular activities negatively impacts on their academic achievement. The study findings also revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between active participation in games and sports and students’ academic achievement in arts subjects although over involvement in co- curricular activities negatively impacts on their academic achievement. However it slightly differs from the past study findings which revealed that participation in co-curricular activities is directly proportional to the academic achievement of students (Asaba, 2015), the current research revealed that students who are very active in games and sports do not necessarily perform well in academics yet co-curricular activities are supposed to compliment academics. Most active students in games and sports do not perform well in academics because they give more time to co-curricular activities than academics. The study findings led to the conclusion that implementation of co-curricular activities in secondary schools enhances academic achievement of students, however those who are very active in co-curricular activities especially games and sports tend to have low academic achievement. Consequently it is recommended that; there is need to develop awareness of students, parents and other stakeholders of the positive benefits of co-curricular activities to students` academic achievement in science and arts subjects so as to develop a positive attitude towards games and sports; and encourage students to balance their time between cocurricular activities and academic work to enhance their academic achievement.

MFI sector plays an important role in poverty reduction in the economy especially of the less developed countries. This research focused on the contribution of the microfinance sector on poverty reduction efforts among women in Kabale Municipality. Poverty reduction was looked at using four major variables namely; household income, access to start-up capital/employability, domestic savings and assets ownership by female entrepreneurs. Thestudy employed three objectives which were; to examine the impact of MFI loan schemes towards women’s household incomes, to assess the impact of MFI loan schemes towards women’s saving initiatives and to establish the extent to which MFI loans affect women’s assets creation. In order to analyse the contribution of the microfinance institutions on the above-mentioned parameters, primary data were collected through questionnaire from 90 respondents. The study employed the use of a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from the respondents. The study considered microfinance loans as the independent variable. Empowerment was measured through factor analysis of four variables; being able to save profits from businesses, increased household income, and ownership of assets obtained through profits, and reported creation of jobs among women. The findings revealed that 92% of the clients accepted that they have been making savings from the income they are earning from their business which are greatly financed by the loans. Findings also revealed that 77.7% of the respondents noted that loans have significantly helped them to improve their household incomes largely from their business activities while over 90% of the sampled clients self-reported that loans from FINCA have made it possible for them to own their personal assets. It is recommended that the microfinance sector should invest in advertising its services so that more poor people are recruited by them. Again, there is a need for them to expand their services to rural areas where the rate of poverty is higher rather than concentrating in urban areas.

Coffee is one of the most tradable commodities globally in most of the developing countries with high foreign exchange earnings. In Africa, Uganda was the second largest coffee exporter after Ethiopia in the year 2017 with 4.19 million bags of 60 kg, of which 3.19 million bags were Robusta. Primary coffee processing plays an important role in quality and price determination of coffee beans. In Uganda, coffee is dry and wet processed with Arabica being the wet processed variety. The wet processing method involves a series of unit operations such as sorting, pulping, washing and hulling, each handled at different stages. Although this process yields coffee of high quality and has higher market price, it’s very laborious noting that most of these unit operations are done manually. Pulping is done using hand cranked or motorized coffee pulpers of different pulping chamber designs such as disc pulpers and rotating drum pulpers. Such machines are imported and require high initial running costs for those which are motorized. The research focused on design of a pedal operated coffee pulping machine (drum type) that can reduce drudgery, time wastage due to use of hand-cranked coffee pulper, taking consideration of anthropometric study with 30 participants. Other design considerations include cost of construction, availability of materials, and gender groups that carry out this process. The coffee pulping machine designed has a capacity of 315kg per hour but can pulp 175kg/hr when hand-cranked. The fabricated coffee pulper has a pulping efficiency of 93% and a percentage mechanical damage of 0.49%. The machine was tested to evaluate its performance against a hand cranked coffee pulping mechanism to determine the significance in time saving using a 2×3 factorial experiment with three replications. A subjective assessment to users was conducted and their responses to the use of the machine obtained. Based on the feedback from users, the overall machine preference was over 90% especially for women, this indicated that the machine can be adopted. The machine was designed to enable replacement of the pedaling mechanism with a hand wheel depending on operator’s convenience. There was a significant difference in machine performance when powered by pedal power and hand-cranking power. The difference was more pronounced as the quantity of coffee was increased. The machine constructed was economically justified. It is recommended that a manual gear box maybe used in the power transfer mechanism to further reduce the energy requirement from the operator. Keywords: ergonomics, gender, human-machine interaction, coffee pulper, anthropometric, pedal.

Chicken production is becoming important in Uganda, especially in Kasese district. Various government programs and development agencies have prioritized chicken production as one of the enterprises that can lead to an increase in farm income for smallholder farmers. Therefore, an increasing number of farmers in Kasese district are adopting layer chicken production. However, the productivity of layer farmers is still low. In order to optimize returns from the increased uptake of chicken production, focus should be on increasing the efficiency of these farmers. This requires investigating the factors that influence technical efficiency of these farmers. The study therefore assessed technical efficiency (TE) of layer chicken production and the inherent factors influencing technical efficiency. While adopting a cross-sectional approach, the study used a random sample of 140 chicken farmers selected across the entire district. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. Technical efficiency was assessed using the parametric stochastic frontier approach, while the factors that influence technical efficiency were assessed using the Tobit regression model. Results showed that flock size (p<0.01) and quantity of drugs used (p<0.1) were the major productivity determinants. The mean technical efficiency was 81%with over 90% of the farmers operating above 50%technical efficiency. A number of socio-economic factors were found to influence technical efficiency. These include; number of females in the household (p<0.01), farmers experience (p<0.1), assistance from organizations (p<0.01), and number of household members with primary education (p<0.05). The study recommends support to female farmers to increase labor productivity, regulating local markets to ensure steady supply inputs, establishing livestock diagnostic laboratories to enable proper disease diagnosis for effective treatment and promoting at least primary education to enable farmers grasp new technologies and innovations. There is also need to train farmers on disease prevention so as to reduce on the quantity of drugs used that was associated with the low productivity.

There has been an increase in death as a result of drought worldwide. A good drought early warning system cannot actually stop the drought, but can help in reducing the adverse impacts of drought on human life, livestock, and nature. Most of the consequences that are faced due to drought particularly for Kyankwanzi district are as a result of food shortage and water. However, a good drought early warning system could guide farmers and policy makers in preparation for this hazard for example by changing the types of crops grown particularly throughout the drought period to enable them sustain themselves throughout the drought. The main objective of this study was therefore to assess the performance of using the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) in forecasting drought with Kyankwanzi district being the case study. In this study, Landsat images (Landsat8 OLI) from 2015 to 2018 were used in carrying out the analysis. The time period was divided into four equal quarters each year and used to generate actual VHI (Vegetation Health Index) values which were classified according to drought classes for all quarters. This actual data was used in a time series model to generate predicted VHI values using the seasonal and trend components for all quarters but in addition the first quarter of 2018 (January to March). The predicted VHI values were critically analysed using graphs to generate a correlation that was the basis of conclusions and recommendations. Results show that the first quarter of 2018 had a VHI value of 38.04% which according to drought classes developed by (Kogan, 2002) indicate a mild drought for Kyankwanzi district. The true value computed from the satellite images was 37.81%. A correlation factor was however generated to make the relationship between predicted values over the years and actual values more understandable generating a value of +0.763. This correlation factor showed a strong positive correlation between predicted and actual VHI values which implied that the method was a very accurate and reliable one.

The study presents an investigation into the effect of human settlement activities on the wetlands and took a case study of Kinawataka wetland in Kampala. The study concentrated on identifying the human settlement activities on kinawataka wetland; effects of human settlement activities on kinawataka wetland; and to propose the sustainable management practices to improve on kinawataka wetland. The study adopted a descriptive study design and used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather the information and achieve the goals. It consisted of 40 respondents who were cell leaders, NEMA environment officers, KCCA physical planners and the community members. These were selected with the use of both purposive and simple random sampling through the help of lottery method. The data was obtained through the use of secondary and primary sources for instance observation, interview and questionnaire while analysis included the tabulation and coding of the statistics. The study results obtained revealed and found out that the main activities carried out include cattle keeping, crop farming, human settlement and Urbanisation, firewood gathering and cutting, brick making, construction, herbal medicine making and forestry. To this the study concluded that wetlands support human water demands for agriculture. The study further revealed that these activities have affected the environment and human beings through leading to flooding, prolonged drought, scarcity of wetland resources The study recommended conducting physical planning of the wetland areas involving of Planning preparation of structural and detailed plans indicating various land uses; Planning and demarcate boundaries for the wetlands; formulation of land use plans with eco-zoning of wetlands and adjoining areas and develop strategy for implementation of land use plan and guidelines for environmental impact assessment of wetlands; monitoring of all water abstraction permits and ensure obedience to the water abstraction regulations; sensitization about the need to preserve wetlands.

The purpose of this study was to assess the economic contribution of video Jockeying to the film sector in Kampala basing on the following objectives; to find out the businesses affiliated to video jockeying in Kampala; to investigate the challenges faced by consuming content produced by video jockeys and to assess the possible solutions to the challenges faced by consuming content produced by video jockeys in Kampala. The study was descriptive in nature involving quantitative methods of data collection which were administered through questionnaires to guide the collection of data. The total sample comprised of 40 respondents of which 20 were film distributors and 20 were final film consumers. Simple random sampling was used whereby the researcher went to Kampala district and administered questionnaires to selected film distributors and final film consumers of content produced by video jockeys. Primary data was obtained from class notes, library materials, News Papers, textbooks, film brochures, internet and journals. Data analysis was carried out through concentration on content and narrative analysis of the data that was obtained from the field. Findings revealed that the preference of translated film materials is on the rise in Kampala and capital is a big challenge affecting the distribution and expansion of the film businesses. It was concluded that improvement in business skills, acquisition of low interest loans and enactment of a law governing the distribution of film content would increase the performance of the film business and economically contribute to the film sector in Kampala.

The study was on organizational culture, work stress and employee performance at Arua Public Schools. The main purpose of the study was to examine whether organizational culture, work stress and employee performance are inter-related. The study adopted a correlation research design and collected data from a sample of 79 respondents. the result of the study revealed that there is a significance relationship between organizational culture and work stress, there is a negative relationship between work stress and employee performance and lastly there is a significant relationship between organizational culture and employee performance.