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This paper investigates the challenges faced by secondary school teachers and pupils in the teaching and learning of algebraic linear equations. The study involved 80 grade 11 pupils and 15 teachers of mathematics, drawn from 4 selected secondary schools in Mufulira district, Zambia in Central Africa. A descriptive survey method was employed to obtain in-depth and richer information about the central issues under study. To address the three research questions, an assessment test for the pupils was administered followed by separate interviews for teachers and pupils respectively. Some identified challenges include: (i) lack of pre-requisite knowledge by pupils, (ii) lack of conceptual, procedural and strategic knowledge and skills required for solving linear equations and (iii) inappropriate approaches and methods used in the teaching of algebraic linear equations. The study also compared responses on items from teachers' and pupil's interviews and found out that there was a strong relationship between teachers' and pupils' opinions on the challenges that pupils face in solving algebraic linear equations and what needs to be done to improve the situation. It is therefore, proposed that the teaching and learning of secondary school mathematics need to focus on transforming the quality landscape that has been identified especially the transition from arithmetic to algebra. Pupils need to be exposed to formulating equations from situations with which they are familiar and that teachers get regular refresher courses to keep them up-dated with new developments in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

This article is the second and final part of the tirin papers entitled "Social Media Usage Among University Students of Mathematics Education in Zambia" The background of this study is anchored on thefact that the implementation and integration of social media technologies particularly in the learning and teaching of Mathematics has remained one of the huge challenges, facing most colleges and universities in Zambia. This situation has been worsened by a number of factors at play which include the following: lack of digital devices, uncoordinated implementation of the social media policy, high cost of data bundles, difficulties iii accessing the internet, lack of mobile technological skills, and problems thal borders on smdents', lecturers' and policy markers' aftimdes. This final paper therefore argues that an appraisal on the design, implementation and integration of social media platforms particularly in the pedagogy of Mathematics among university stude)its is not only relevant but also an issue that should be treated ii'ith the sense of urgency especially now that the country is battling with the detrimental effects of the pandemic. In light of the challenges above, this study sought to explore the extent to which social media are being integrated and used in the Zambian edilcatiolial system by looking at the case of the Copperbelt University (CBU). In achieving this task, this study employed a narrative research design which adopted an interpretivism paradigni. Coding and thematic analysis 11'ere employed to analyze qualitative data. Qualitative content analysis techniques were peilormed over the data collected from 33 participants by means of a semi-structured qualitative survey questionnaire. The established criteria ensured that respondents had cilready participated in the first survey which rewas quantitatively conducted in thefirst paper. Moreover, content analysis results seem to suggest that niajority of the students advocate for the official usage of social media technologies in the teaching and learning of mathematics both at the university and secondary school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper presents a new agent-based model (ABM) for investigating T. b. rhodesiense human African trypanosomiasis (rHAT) disease dynamics, produced to aid a greater understanding of disease transmission, and essential for development of appropriate mitigation strategies. Methods: The ABM was developed to model rHAT incidence at a fine spatial scale along a 75 km transect in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. The method offers a complementary approach to traditional compartmentalised modelling techniques, permitting incorporation of fine scale demographic data such as ethnicity, age and gender into the simulation. Results: Through identification of possible spatial, demographic and behavioural characteristics which may have differing implications for rHAT risk in the region, the ABM produced output that could not be readily generated by other techniques. On average there were 1.99 (S.E. 0.245) human infections and 1.83 (S.E. 0.183) cattle infections per 6 month period. The model output identified that the approximate incidence rate (per 1000 person-years) was lower amongst cattle owning households (0.079, S.E. 0.017), than those without cattle (0.134, S.E. 0.017). Immigrant tribes (e.g. Bemba I.R. = 0.353, S.E.0.155) and school-age children (e.g. 5–10 year old I.R. = 0.239, S.E. 0.041) were the most at-risk for acquiring infection. These findings have the potential to aid the targeting of future mitigation strategies. Conclusion: ABMs provide an alternative way of thinking about HAT and NTDs more generally, offering a solution to the investigation of local-scale questions, and which generate results that can be easily disseminated to those affected. The ABM can be used as a tool for scenario testing at an appropriate spatial scale to allow the design of logistically feasible mitigation strategies suggested by model output. This is of particular importance where resources are limited and management strategies are often pushed to the local scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Zambia, as well as many other African and non-Western cultures, the extent and kind of children's chores may contribute to their learning, yet often also conflict with their schooling. In the moderation analysis we present in this manuscript, we aimed to explore the interactive effects of schooling and chores on children's mathematics performance at different levels of math knowledge and computational skill, taking into account how the assessment questions were presented. The sample consisted of 1,535 children (719 girls) living in rural and peri-urban communities in Zambia who were administered the Zambia Achievement Test (ZAT). We categorized the 60 items of the ZAT by their targeted content knowledge, sizes of the numbers involved, and forms of representation. Our results showed that chores supported the development of very basic mathematics skills and knowledge in children who had less schooling, but also significantly lowered the performance of students who were in school once their school attendance rose above certain levels. Moreover, this interaction between chores and school attendance was observed predominantly in girls, with a lesser effect of chores on boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Survival represents the single most important indicator of successful HIV treatment. Routine monitoring fails to capture most deaths. As a result, both regional assessments of the impact of HIV services and identification of hotspots for improvement efforts are limited. We sought to assess true mortality on treatment, characterize the extent under-reporting of mortality in routine health information systems in Zambia, and identify drivers of mortality across sites and over time using a multistage, regionally representative sampling approach.Methods and Findings: We enumerated all HIV infected adults on antiretroviral therapy (ART) who visited any one of 64 facilities across 4 provinces in Zambia during the 24-month period from 1 August 2013 to 31 July 2015. We identified a probability sample of patients who were lost to follow-up through selecting facilities probability proportional to size and then a simple random sample of lost patients. Outcomes among patients lost to follow-up were incorporated into survival analysis and multivariate regression through probability weights. Of 165,464 individuals (64% female, median age 39 years (IQR 33-46), median CD4 201 cells/mm3 (IQR 111-312), the 2-year cumulative incidence of mortality increased from 1.9% (95% CI 1.7%-2.0%) to a corrected rate of 7.0% (95% CI 5.7%-8.4%) (all ART users) and from 2.1% (95% CI 1.8%-2.4%) to 8.3% (95% CI 6.1%-10.7%) (new ART users). Revised provincial mortality rates ranged from 3-9 times higher than naïve rates for new ART users and were lowest in Lusaka Province (4.6 per 100 person-years) and highest in Western Province (8.7 per 100 person-years) after correction. Corrected mortality rates varied markedly by clinic, with an IQR of 3.5 to 7.5 deaths per 100 person-years and a high of 13.4 deaths per 100 person-years among new ART users, even after adjustment for clinical (e.g., pretherapy CD4) and contextual (e.g., province and clinic size) factors. Mortality rates (all ART users) were highest year 1 after treatment at 4.6/100 person-years (95% CI 3.9-5.5), 2.9/100 person-years (95% CI 2.1-3.9) in year 2, and approximately 1.6% per year through 8 years on treatment. In multivariate analysis, patient-level factors including male sex and pretherapy CD4 levels and WHO stage were associated with higher mortality among new ART users, while male sex and HIV disclosure were associated with mortality among all ART users. In both cases, being late (>14 days late for appointment) or lost (>90 days late for an appointment) was associated with deaths. We were unable to ascertain the vital status of about one-quarter of those lost and selected for tracing and did not adjudicate causes of death.Conclusions: HIV treatment in Zambia is not optimally effective. The high and sustained mortality rates and marked under-reporting of mortality at the provincial-level and unexplained heterogeneity between regions and sites suggest opportunities for the use of corrected mortality rates for quality improvement. A regionally representative sampling-based approach can bring gaps and opportunities for programs into clear epidemiological focus for local and global decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]