Migrant workers in the developed countries remit part of their earnings to their families, relatives, and friends left behind in their old communities in the less developed countries. Remittances, as financial resources whether delivered in cash or in kind, have been playing great roles in the development of the economies of many developing countries. Remittances are now taking the lead after foreign direct investment in most aid recipient countries. Remittances are believed to remain a stable source of foreign exchange (Ratha 2003:163). They have great impact on the society at large and on the living standards of most remittance recipient households. Remittances can be classified as private development assistance because they are sent from individual migrants. At the same time, they are family welfare systems or safety nets that are delivered directly to the beneficiaries. Why do migrants remit? There are different theories of remittances that attempt to explain the act of remitting. Such theories range from an altruistic behaviour, which according to some studies about 75 percent of remitters claim to be motivated by enlightened-self interest, implicit family loan agreement and implicit co-insurance. The macro-economic determinants and the social networks also play a part in influencing the flow in volumes and frequencies of these moneys. Eritrea, as a country that has come out of protracted and devastating thirty years of war, started its development from meagre resources. In fact according to Randall (1995), in 1991 - the year Eritrea got its independence - 85 percent of its people were living on foreign aid whether in the form of remittances or food aid. During the armed struggle, the role of the Diaspora Eritreans was significant not only as financial support but also because they acted as spokespersons for the little-known struggle for independence. It was therefore imperative for Eritrea to rely heavily on its Diaspora population for their financial, technical and other material resources to rehabilitate its devastated economy. To regain sovereignty means a lot to Eritreans as a whole and to the Diaspora Eritreans in particular. After independence, hundreds of thousands of the Eritrean Diaspora flew to their country, met their families and visited different historical places. According to the ministry of Tourism of the State of Eritrea, more than 70,000 Diaspora Eritreans visit the country annually, which means a sustainable level of tourism development can be achieved. The Diaspora also initiated different projects. The study has come to realise that indeed there are different projects that are sponsored by the Eritrean Diaspora in concern of their immediate families, communities and investments for their potential profits. Although it is difficult to put it in terms of figures or percentiles, some estimates put the annual remittances received by Eritreans to be between 200 - 300 million US dollars. Remittances, whether consumed or invested, are estimated to contribute enormously to the Eritrean economy, which roughly estimated is 19-37 percent of GDP. As in the case of Mexico, remittances' trickling down effect is 3:1 (Adelman and Taylor 1990 as cited in Ratha, 2003). Likewise, the developmental effect of remittances in the Eritrean economy is also estimated no less, if not more. Furthermore, the Government of the State of Eritrea implemented different policy measures to ease the flow of remittances and to guide the individual remitter in the use of these financial resources in the domestic economy. Different investment opportunities such as housing projects, sale of shares and stocks of government owned enterprises and treasury bonds are to mention but a few. Similarly, the government, to augment the Martyrs' Trust Fund and to increase the tax base of the economy, introduced directives plus nominal tax rates to the Diaspora Eritreans. Institutionalising Diaspora Eritreans and securitization of the future-flow of remittances also helped the government to get access to international markets, to avoid credit rationing in the face of deteriorating sovereign risks. The dissertation attempts to capture the role of remittances as development tools in the Eritrean economy. After introducing the geopolitical and economic background history of the country in chapter one, in chapter two attempts are made to cover extensively the definitions, uses and drawbacks of remittances. In chapter the different theories or determinants of remittances and the transfer channels and their associated problems are described. In chapter four endeavours are made to assess the different policy measures applied by labour exporting countries to influence the flow of remittances and their uses. For comparison of these policies, three countries experiences are presented. Finally in chapter five the paper tries to draw conclusions and advance some recommendations. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

<p>This study investigates six Eritrean primary school teacher's perceptions of their pre-service education. Six primary school teachers from three different schools in two different regions of Eritrea were interviewed. The researcher investigated whether primary school teachers found the knowledge and/or skill acquired from their pre-service courses in the Asmara Teachers' Training Institute helpful to make and use effective lesson plans, prepare and use relevant teaching aids, assess their students' performance, prepare lesson content, manage the classroom effectively, and select and use relevant teaching methods.</p>

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In our contemporary globalized world, Eritrean enterprises are challenged with high competition from within and from foreign counterparts. Consequently, only those companies that predict the future and take proactive decisions can win the game. However, none of these organizations have applied formal competitive intelligence practice in a proactive, disciplined, and systematic fashion to defend against threats as well as to exploit opportunities, though informally they do engage in the practice. Some of these informal competitive intelligence practicing companies are relatively 'good performers' and others are 'poor performers'. The level of this competitive intelligence performance is believed to be influenced by organizational culture. This implies that employees who are encouraged and trained to have shared values, beliefs, norms and practices are in a better position to share information and interact with each other with open minds. Here, the free flow of information is the basic ingredient that helps to produce effective competitive intelligence. In an attempt to explore if a statistically significant relationship exists between organizational culture and competitive intelligence performance, a literature study was first carried out to learn from other scholars' work. The literature review was then followed by an empirical study. This empirical part of the study attempted to investigate if Eritrean manufacturers and traders perform informal competitive intelligence practice as well as if there is a positive relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Data was collected through a questionnaire from top level managers. Of the 39 questionnaires distributed, 23 organizations properly completed the questionnaire. Statistical analysis was then computed using the SPSS package to determine the correlations. The relationship between organizational culture and competitive intelligence was determined in two ways: first, it was correlated in terms of the six selected organizational culture dimensions (employee involvement, human resources, organizational focus, communication flow, reward, and trust) and competitive intelligence; and second, in terms of scores of each firm's organizational culture and competitive intelligence. Moreover, the level of the score determined whether these companies performed well or not. In both cases a positive relationship was found between organizational culture and competitive intelligence performance. These results supported the hypothesis that organizational culture does contribute to improved competitive intelligence practice. Furthermore, the finding suggests that Eritrean firms are doing moderately good in their informal competitive intelligence. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In ons huidige globaliseerde wêreld kry Eritrea se ondernemings te doen met sterk kompetisie van binne en van buite die land. Dus floreer net daardie ondermemings wat die toekoms kan voorspel en pro-aktiewe besluite kan neem. Dit is egter waar dat nie een van hierdie organisasies formele, kompeterende intelligensiepraktyke op 'n pro-aktiewe, gedisiplineerde en sistematiese wyse toegepas het om hulself teen dreigemente te beskerm en om geleenthede uit te buit nie; informeel het hulle wel. Sommige van hierdie maatskappye wat informeel kompeterende intelligensie toepas, is betreklike 'goeie presteerders' en ander is 'swak presteerders'. Daar word geglo dat die prestasievlak van hierdie kompeterende intelligensie beïnvloed word deur organisatoriese kultuur. Die implikasie is dat werknemers wat aangemoedig en opgelei is om aan dieselfde dinge te glo en wat dieselfde waardes, norme en praktyke deel, in 'n beter posisie is om inligting te deel en met 'n ope gemoed met mekaar om te gaan. Die vrye vloei van inligting is die basiese bestanddeel wat help om doeltreffende kompeterende intelligensie te produseer. Met die doel om na te vors of daar 'n statisties sinvolle verhouding bestaan tussen organisatoriese kultuur en kompeterende intelligensie, is daar eers 'n literatuurstudie gedoen om uit ander se werk te leer. Na die literatuuroorsig is daar 'n empiriese studie gedoen. Die empiriese deel van die studie poog om na te vors of die vervaardigers en handelaars informele kompeterende intelligensie toepas en ook of daar 'n positiewe verhouding bestaan tussen die onafhanklike en afhanklike veranderlikes. Data is versamel deur middel van 'n vraelys aan hoëvlak bestuurders. Nege-en-dertig vraelyste is uitgestuur waarvan 23 volledig deur die organisasies ingevul is. Statistiese ontleding is toe gedoen om deur middel van die statistiese pakket SPSS die korrelasies te bepaal. Die verhouding tussen organisatoriese kultuur en kompeterende intelligensie is op twee maniere bepaal: dit is eers gekorreleer in terme van die ses geselekteerde organisatoriese kultuurdimensies (werknemer betrokkenheid, menslike hulpbronne, organisatoriese fokus, kommunikasievloei., beloning en vertroue) en kompeterende intelligensie; en tweedens in terme van tellings van elke maatskappy se organisatoriese kultuur en kompeterende intelligensie. Die vlak van die telling het bepaal of die maatskappy goed presteer het of nie. In albei gevalle is daar gevind dat daar 'n positiewe verhouding bestaan tussen organisatoriese kultuur en prestasie in kompeterende intelligensie. Hierdie bevindinge ondersteun die hipotese dat organisatoriese kultuur wel bydra tot verbeterde intelligensiepraktyke. Verder bewys dit dat ondernemings in Eritrea redelik goed vaar in informele kompeterende intelligensie.

Magister Educationis - MEd / This study investigates six Eritrean primary school teacher's perceptions of their pre-service education. Six primary school teachers from three different schools in two different regions of Eritrea were interviewed. The researcher investigated whether primary school teachers found the knowledge and/or skill acquired from their pre-service courses in the Asmara Teachers' Training Institute helpful to make and use effective lesson plans, prepare and use relevant teaching aids, assess their students' performance, prepare lesson content, manage the classroom effectively, and select and use relevant teaching methods. / South Africa

Land use planning is a new practice in Eritrea. It was introduced with the promulgation of the new land law and the establishment of the Department of Land after the Eritrean independence. The detailed policies, rules, regulations and guidelines for implementation of the land proclamation are not yet worked out. Similarly, the institutions responsible for the implementation are not well developed in their material and manpower. To this end, indigenous knowledge and practices on land use in rural areas have not properly been studied and integrated into the new process. Ethnopedology has proven to be of great help in development activities, especially in rural areas where farmers have an in depth knowledge of their land and where scientific investigation of land resources became difficult or impossible. As over time communities in the Eritrean highlands have managed their land, they have developed methods and institutions of land management. These are valuable resources, which have to be exploited properly. The study describes the local land classification in two Eritrean highland villages and explores methods of using it as a tool for participatory land use planning in natural resource management. It pays particular attention to investigating local soil knowledge, the logic behind the farmers' soil categorization and their traditional institutions using participatory methods. The main finding of this investigation is that farmers have strong local institutions at village level and they classify their land based on the problems and potentials of their environment. The study has also shown that local soil knowledge in the study area can be used as a gateway to participation, as a means for data collection and as a means of communication between local communities and the planning experts during land use planning. The study concludes that ethnopedology in the study area is well adapted to the given environment and has a practical use as a tool for village-level participatory land use planning. It recommends that development agents in the area use this knowledge for planning and implementation of different activities, especially in natural resource management. The study proposes a rough structural outline of basic stages in the planning process based on the outcome of the investigation. / Dissertation (Magister Institutionis Agrariae)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to assess the present land resource surveying methods and techniques used in Eritrea, to evaluate different methods and techniques of land resource surveying which are currently in use in various parts of the world, to design improved methods and techniques of land resource surveying for Eritrea and to indicate the importance of cost-effective ways of land resource surveying in achieving optimal land use. A literature survey of methods and techniques of soil, rangeland, and agro-climatic survey was done in-depth. An analysis was conducted on the present resource surveying methodologies and techniques used in Eritrea. International publications on land resource surveying methods and techniques were studies and evaluation of their appropriateness for Eritrea was conducted. Finally an appropriate and affordable set of land resource surveying methodologies and techniques are proposed for Eritrea. The main conclusion of the study is to adapt international methods and techniques of resource surveying which are appropriate under the country’s socio-economic and technical conditions. Developing local methods and techniques under present condition is not possible due to various reasons. / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Land-use Planning))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

This study was designed to investigate the current policies and practices of secondary school governance in Eritrea. There is a basic need to investigate the nature of parental involvement in school governance, particularly in relation to policies enshrined in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) guidelines. The study examined the parents' commitment to execute their school governance role properly and to determine their capacity to fulfil their responsibilities with respect to the powers and functions vested in them. Education was merely the domain of the school and parents were discouraged from interfering in matters of school governance, therefore parental participation has been very limited. Thus, the focus of the study was to investigate the prevailing problems that curtail parental involvement and identify appropriate strategies for improving and strengthening school governance.

This study was designed to investigate the current policies and practices of secondary school governance in Eritrea. There is a basic need to investigate the nature of parental involvement in school governance, particularly in relation to policies enshrined in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) guidelines. The study examined the parents' commitment to execute their school governance role properly and to determine their capacity to fulfil their responsibilities with respect to the powers and functions vested in them. Education was merely the domain of the school and parents were discouraged from interfering in matters of school governance, therefore parental participation has been very limited. Thus, the focus of the study was to investigate the prevailing problems that curtail parental involvement and identify appropriate strategies for improving and strengthening school governance.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Teachers, during various seminars, workshops and departmental meetings, continuously complained about the inadequacy of the grade 9 biology textbook used in the Eritrean secondary schools. Among others, the teachers concerns has provided a necessary stimulus for embarking on this research which sought to determine the role, quality readability and relevance of the Eritrean grade 9 biology textbook, based on the teachers' and students' perceptions. Interviews, questionnaires, Cloze test and Word Difficulty Index were used to collect the data. The interview and questionnaires provided information on how the textbook was being used by both teachers and students. In addition they provided information about quality of the textbook and its relevance to the daily life experiences of the students. Moreover, Cloze test and Word Difficulty Index provided information on the readability of the textbook. The finding of this study reveals that both teachers and students use the textbook as the major source of information. Also, the factors that determine quality of the textbook were found to be poor except the physical features and organisation. With respect to relevance, very limited attempts were made to link biology to the daily life experiences of the students. The Cloze test and Word Difficulty Index show that the students clearly experience difficulty in understanding what they have read. In conclusion, this study makes some recommendation to writers on how to improve the quality of the textbook. The results obtained in this study are by no means exhaustive. Finally, areas warranting further investigation are suggested.