Browsing by Author "Tesfaye Gashaw"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Measure1'ient of English Language Proficiency of High School Graduates
    (Addis Ababa University, 1982-06) Tesfaye Gashaw; Hailu Araya
    The historical development of the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) - the transition from the General Certificate Education Examination (GCE) to the ESLCE and the creation of a new curriculum suitable for the Ethiopian context has been thoroughly discussed. Several attempts have been made to change the form of the ESLCE English examination from a subjective type to an objeotive one and to simplify the difficult items. Arguments for and against the subjective and the objective tests by various concerned people have been briefed in the review of literature. But the various attempts have not changed the situation any better. As a policy, the purpose of the ESLCE has been stated that the examination, at present , serves as a hi g h school completion as well as college entrance examination. No sUbstantial inquiry has been made regarding the dual nature of the examination. Due to its dual purpose, the writer of this thesis has attempted to make a survey study of the effectiveness of the ESLC English examination as a profic iency test , and if necessary to propose an alternative approach . Discussions are opened on the theories and principles of tests. Out of 758 freshmen students enrolled for the 1981-2 second semester , 350 students have been selected for the study. Data have been coll ec ted for the 1980 ESLCE and the1981 F_'eshmen English results by using a table of random sampling. Using the model of linear correlation coefficient attempts have been made to find out whether the 1980 ESLC English results and the 1981 Freshmen English results of the same students correlate or not. Findings show that the relation between the two examinations is very low. Those students who have obtained good grades in the ESLC English examination do not seem to show good English language performance at the University. Findings, therefore, prove that the ESLC English examination is ineffective in predicting the English language performance of twelve grade leavers when they join the University. Conclusions are arrived, based on the results, that the ESLC English examination is ineffective ,as a proficiency test on the grounds that (a) it cannot serve as a criterion for admission to the University. (b) it cannot be a measure for predicting stUdents ' language performance at the University level. To avoid such ineffectivensss , the wr iter recommends as a possible alternative approach that the Ministry of Education and the University should set two separate examinations - the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) and College Entrance Examination (GCE) respectively, specifying the forms, contents and purposes of the two examinations. The writer makes it clear that the conclusion is not finaland perfect and suggests that further research and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, materials, quality of teachers, methodology etc) are urgently needed before moves are taken.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Measurement of Proficiency of High School Graduates
    (Addis Ababa University, 1982-06) Tesfaye Gashaw; Hailu Araaya
    The historical development of the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) - the transition from the General Certificate Education Examination (GCE) to the ESLCE and the creation of a new curriculum suitable for the Ethiopian context has been thoroughly discussed. Several attempts have been made to change the form of the ESLCE English examination from a subjective type to an objective one and to s implify the difficult items. Arguments for and against the subjective and the objective tests by various concerned people have been briefed in the review of literature . But the various attempts have not changed the situation any better. As a policy , the purpose of the ESLCE has been stated that the examination, at present, serves as ahi gh school completion as well as college entrance examination. No substantial inquiry has been made regarding the dual nature of the examination . Due to its dual purpose, the writer of this thesis has attempted to make a survey study of the effectiveness of the ESLC English examination as a proficiency test, and if necessary to propose an alternative approach. Discussions are opened on the theories and principles of tests. Out of 758 freshmen students enrolled for the 1981-2 second semester, 350 students have been selected for the study. Data have been collected for the 1980 ESLCE and the 1981 F _'eshmen English r esults by using a table of random sampling. Using the model of linear correlation coefficient attempts have been made to find out whether the 1980 ESLC English results and the 1981 Freshmen English results of the Same students correlate or not. Findings show that the relation between the two examinations is very low. Those students who have obtained good gr ades in the ESLC English examination do not seem to show good English l anguage performance at the University. Findings, therefore, prove that the ESLC English examination is ineffective in predicting the English language performance of twelve grade leavers when they join the University. Conclusions are arrived, based on the results, that the ESLC English examination is ineffective as a proficiency test on the grounds that (a) it cannot serve as a criterion for admission to the University. (b) it cannot be a measure for predictin~ students ' language performance at the University level. To avoid such ineffectivensss, the writer recommends as a possible alternative approach that the Ministry of Education and the Univer sity should set two s eparate examinations – the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) and COllege Entrance Examination (GCE) respectively, specifying the forms, contents and purposes of the two examinations. The writer makes it clear that the conclusion is not final and perfect and sugges t s tha t further r esearch and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, materials, quality of teachers , methodology etc) are urgently needed before moves ar e taken .
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Modeling and Assessment of Project Risk Dynamics: A Case of Addis-Djibouti Railway Project
    (Addis Ababa University, 2022-05) Tesfaye Gashaw; Kassu Jilcha (PhD)
    Railway construction projects are characterized by large operations, long construction periods, complex processes, high financial intensity, dynamic environment, multiple stakeholder involvement, and exposure to the external environment. Due to their complexity and dynamic nature as well as the involvement of various stakeholders, the construction projects are exposed to the effects of numerous risk factors leading to delays and cost overruns. Several studies have been conducted on railway construction projects to analyze the impact of project risks. However, few attempts have been made to evaluate the overall dynamics, interrelationships, uncertainty, and feedback effects of risks on project objectives. The purpose of this research is to develop a dynamic risk assessment model that assesses the impact of project risks on delays and cost overruns of the Addis-Djibouti railway construction project. This research has conducted an extensive literature review on construction project risk assessment and the techniques of risk analysis of railway construction projects. From the literature review and experts’ opinion, forty-two construction project risk factors were identified and categorized into design, construction, management, resource, contractual and external risks. A structured questionnaire survey and pairwise comparisons of factors were conducted to obtain the opinions of domain experts on likelihood, impact on delays and cost overruns and interrelationships between risks. The model was developed using fuzzy synthetic evaluation, Bayesian belief network, fuzzy analytic network process, and system dynamics approach. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation and Bayesian belief network were employed to address uncertainty, subjective judgments, data unavailability, and interrelationships between risks and to determine the likelihood of project risks. A fuzzy analytic network process was also adopted to determine the impact of risks on project time and cost taking into account the interdependence and network of project risks. Then, the overall dynamics and feedback effects of the risks were analyzed using system dynamics. The dynamic risk analysis model was implemented on the case project and it was validated using different modeling tests. The findings of the research showed that contractor's lack of experience, right-of-way, incomplete contract details, poor quality of construction, payment delays, design changes, lack of coordination, and client's financial difficulties were identified as the significant risks that have a higher impact on delays and cost overruns. Based on their categories, the results showed that design, construction, and management-related risks have a significant impact on project objectives. The result of dynamic risk analysis showed that design-related risks were the most critical risks that had a greater impact on project cost and time. The proposed model is an effective tool for risk assessment to support project managers, clients, contractors, and stakeholders in decision-making and helps to forecast the impact of risks on delays and cost overruns. The model can be used as a project risk analysis tool for other construction projects to help managers identify significant risks and analyze the interdependence, dynamic, and feedback effects on project objectives. On this basis, it is recommended that design, construction, and management-related risks should be given due attention in managing railway construction projects. Moreover, it is also recommended that project managers should consider the interrelationship, dynamic, and feedback effects of risks to analyze their impact on project cost and time. Further research is needed to analyze the impact of risks on quality and other project objectives. The research made an original contribution to the body of knowledge in project risk assessment in terms of analyzing project risks in a holistic way taking uncertainty, interdependency, and dynamic and feedback effects of risks into account.