Far-western University

Nepal's location in an active seismic zone, along with escalating emphasis on architectural aesthetics and land scarcity, has led to increasing plan-irregular buildings that complicate seismic design and compromise structural safety. This study compares the seismic performance of regular and plan-irregular reinforced concrete (RC) buildings designed per IS 1893:2016 and NBC 105:2020 codes, addressing the gap in cross-code, multi-height analyses. For this purpose, one square regular building (RM) and 6 alternative L-shaped irregular buildings (IRM1-IRM6) with 3, 6, 9, and 12 story configurations designed under both codes were analyzed using response spectrum methods in ETABS to evaluate seismic parameters like base shear, drift ratio, displacement, time period, torsion ratio, story stiffness and shear. The findings revealed that NBC-compliant buildings had shorter time periods (up to 40% shorter) but higher base shear (1.75 – 6 times IS), displacement, drift ratio, torsion ratio, story shear, and stiffness than IS-compliant buildings, reflecting stricter seismic demands under NBC that may result in more robust yet cost-intensive designs. Regular models displayed lower base shear (up to 74% reduction) and stiffness, with higher time periods, displacements, and torsional irregularity (TIR > 1.2), indicating increased seismic vulnerability due to asymmetry and stress concentrations. These findings inform resilient seismic design for Nepal’s urban landscape.

In Eastern philosophy and spirituality, cattle have held a supreme position, which is not incidental but rather rooted in the profound medicinal properties attributed to them by ancient sages. However, in recent times, particularly in Nepal, it has been observed that people, driven by self-interest, exploit cattle for their milk and then abandon them once they become weak or unproductive. This issue has become particularly acute in Western Nepal, emerging as a significant social problem. On one hand, cattle are suffering, and on the other, individuals are losing their lives in road accidents caused by stray cattle. This research paper aims to present an in-depth study of the current status of cattle in Nepal and its impact on religious and agricultural heritage. It also seeks to raise awareness about the mythological and philosophical significance of cattle, discuss their agricultural importance, and highlight the scientific benefits derived from them. While much has been written about cattle and their importance, there is a noticeable lack of research based studies that encompass their mythological, philosophical, agricultural, and scientific significance. This paper fills that gap by providing a comprehensive exploration of these aspects. The study employs historical research methods, library research techniques, and comparative analysis. It identifies the issue of stray cattle as not only a symbol of the decline of indigenous development principles but also a reflection of the erosion of human values. While modern agricultural tools are necessary for development, this should not come at the expense of cultural preservation. Unfortunately, in Nepal, modernization has led to the destruction of cattle, which are traditionally considered protectors of health and wealth. This is a matter of grave concern. The paper is primarily based on secondary data from various books, journals, and other sources, and is qualitative in nature. Additionally, the views of individuals involved in cattle conservation and farmers practicing cattle rearing have been incorporated to provide primary insights. The paper underscores the necessity of preserving cattle, whose by-products, such as ghee, milk, urine, and dung, are vital for human life and the environment, and form the foundation of agriculture.

The involvement of the online learning materials for teaching learning activities has expanded rapidly throughout the world. In context of Nepal as well, the shift is noticed gradually. However, its access and effective use of it remain uneven due to several factors especially in rural areas. This study examines the digital divide that is access to online learning materials among secondary level students at Daneshwar Secondary School at Barakot, Baitadi district. Following the qualitative case study design, the researcher draws on in-depth interviews with students and teachers, focus group discussion and school-level observations to explore lived experiences of digital learning in a resource-constrained schools. The finding of the study shows that poor internet connectivity, lack of digital tools, irregular electricity supply, lack of digital literacy among both students and teachers are some of the hinderances for effective access to online learning materials. Their strong willingness to be connected with the digital learning students and teachers employ several strategies like, offline downloading of materials, peer support, device sharing and blending traditional teaching with the limited digital access having classroom. In order to develop strong digital connectivity in such rural areas there is need for context -specific policies.

Purpose: This study investigates the perceptions of ordinary level students and mathematics teachers toward inclusive education at GS Muramba, a public secondary school in Macuba Sector, Nyamasheke District, Rwanda. Methodology: A concurrent mixed-methods design was adopted. Using Alain Bouchard's sampling formula, 88 students and 19 teachers were selected from a total population of 1,138. Data were collected simultaneously through structured questionnaires (teachers) and semi-structured interviews (students and school leaders), then analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Findings: The results reveal that both teachers and students exhibit largely indifferent or negative attitudes toward inclusive education, driven principally by limited awareness, inadequate training, and financial constraints. A significant proportion of parents (37 of 44) and students (26 of 44) preferred special schools over inclusive settings. All respondents confirmed that financial barriers substantially shape perceptions of inclusion's feasibility. Parental involvement was universally recognised as a determinant of inclusive outcomes, with all respondents agreeing that family engagement improves academic motivation and social acceptance among learners with disabilities. Conclusion: Genuine inclusive education in Rwandan secondary schools requires systemic investment in teacher training, adaptive learning resources, and sustained community sensitisation campaigns. The paper presents tiered recommendations for policymakers, school leaders, teachers, and communities.

Religious tourism is a part of overall tourism industry and is a significant driver of Nepalese economy, spurring substantially to the creation of employment, foreign exchange reserve, and promoting cultural exchange. Despites its immense contribution, the systematic study and analysis in this regard is still sparse, scant and even neglected in the Nepalese context. The aim of this paper is to examine the trend and pattern of the tourist arrival and specially focusing on the religious tourist arrivals in Nepal, and discuss its association with business growth of local economy. This study uses the time series data spanning between 1993 to 2023 on the total tourist and religious tourist arrival to examine the trend of religious tourist arrival. The evidence suggests that during the period 1993–1997, the share of religious remained quite low, ranging mostly between one percent to three percent, whereas the late 1997 to early 2000s saw a gradual increase, but the most notable change is observed between the period 2002 and 2004. However, religious tourist arrival between the period 2011 and 2016 showed considerable volatility, with multiple sharp drops, possibly due to disruptive events such as natural disasters or socio-political upheavals seen during the period of constitution of Nepal Promulgation. The period between 2016 to 2020, strong recovery could be observed, ranging religious tourist arrival 14-16 percent, showing optimistic scenario after full-fledged declaration Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. But, a sharp dip occurred in 2021 due to COVID-19 lockdown and global travel restrictions, but a recovery followed in 2022–2023, with percentages climbing back above 14 percent. The trend of religious tourist shows a steady upward indicating, potentiality for Nepalese economy. It also suggests policy implications for boosting pilgrimage and cultural tourism. The findings highlight that several religious sacred sites including Pashupatinath’s, accounting for a significant proportion of international arrivals.

The management accounting is deliberative to decision-making, long-term planning and long-term sustainability of co-operatives run on the values of supportive and democratic governance. Despite the growing importance of financial management, the adoption of management accounting within Nepalese cooperatives remains under-researched, particularly regarding the interplay between organizational, technological, and environmental factors. This study adopts quantitative framework by using descriptive research design and causal-comparative research design to question the identified determinants. Ten cooperatives - savings and credit, multipurpose and dairy cooperatives - located in Prashuram Municipality were the target of the investigation. The data was collected by using structured questionnaire that was sent to a sample of 112 respondents, including the board members, the management employees, and the general members. The SPSS was used to analyze the data that incorporated the use of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results show that technological aspects (r = 0.65), organizational aspects (r = 0.62), rivalry (r = 0.60) and environmental aspects (r = 0.58) are positively and significantly related to management accounting adoption. The results of multiple regressions suggest that these predictors reveal 61 percent of variance in management accounting adoption (R2 = 0.61), and there are no problems with multicollinearity or autocorrelation. The study notes that technology and organizational support are the main drivers for competitive and environmental pressures. The practical implications of this paper propose that to enhance the leadership, increase capacity, to refine decision-making processes and enhance the financial performance, the management accounting must be used by the cooperative boards, policymakers and training institutions to promote the sustainable development of the cooperatives in Nepal.

Language in education policy is a contested issue in multilingual nations like Nepal. Policy makers in these contexts face the dual challenge of incorporating the demands of ethnic and linguistic identity through multilingual education, with the desire for global language learning through English Medium Instruction (EMI). Against this backdrop, this paper aims to identify the language ideologies of local level authorities and teachers in the process of local level policy formation in Nepal to understand how these actors navigate the inherent tensions between multilingual education (MLE) and EMI policy demands. Using a phenomenological research design, I draw on the first-hand experience of local-level officers and teachers through interviews and FGDs. Local level authorities lack knowledge of the need for medium of instruction polices and have not yet approved medium of instruction policies for their region. However, during the interviews and discussions, local authorities appear to be guided by a neoliberal ideology that supports standard and global language above local indigenous and minoritized languages for education. However, school teachers are against the imposition of a language policy that prioritizes a single language over others. Teachers wish to be given agency to decide on the language to be used in the classroom based on the learning needs of their students. The study therefore offers implications for TESOL professionals and policy makers on the need for policies that balance the global role of English with support for linguistic diversity and teacher agency.

Background: Heart diseases continue to be among the primary causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, highlighting the need for novel diagnostic methods to accurately, early, and economically predict and diagnose heart diseases. Current physical explores upon expert knowledge, possibly missing intricate and non-linear associations between heart disease risk factors. This is where machine learning (ML)methods emerge as promising alternatives for prediction and diagnosis of heart diseases by emphasizing data availability. Methods: This paper attempts to find out how six popular machine learning algorithms namely, Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) perform on a publicly available heart disease dataset collected from Kaggle. For better performance and to make them comparable to each other, basic preprocessing techniques have also been implemented. The performance of all these algorithms will be measured by their respective definitions of accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score. Result: With an F1-score of 98.52%, Random Forest and XGBoost surpassed other models, yielding a superior accuracy in predictions, measuring 98.53%. The models recorded a perfect level of precision, 100%, coupled with high values of recall, exceeding 97%. Gradient Boosting recorded impressive results, receiving an accuracy score of 93.17%. Conclusion: The research findings revealed that the Random Forest and XGBoost models are very effective in the prediction and diagnosis of heart disease. These two models have the capacity to support a clinical decision. Novelty: That is to say, the novelty of this research is that it evaluates multiple machine learning models with comparison to each other. The role of machine learning in enhancing cardiovascular disease diagnosis as well as decision support systems in healthcare and educating and aware the people about heart care and health.

Decision-making, performance monitoring, and strategic planning management accounting controls (MACs) are crucial tools for decision-making, performance monitoring, and strategic planning in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in resource-constrained contexts such as Nepal. Although vital, little has been conducted on the adoption of MACs and their impact on developing Circular Economy (CE) innovation in Nepalese SMEs. The paper employs a descriptive-correlational research design with a quantitative nature in Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city, surveying 116 respondents across 22 SMEs, which include manufacturing, services, cooperatives, agriculture, and trade. The data gathered was analysed with the help of SPSS and SmartPLS, using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modelling. Results indicate that there are positive and significant relationships between MACs and CE innovation (r = 0.56) and business performance (r = 0.62), and that CE innovation also relates positively with performance (r = 0.58). According to multiple regression, the combination of MACs and CE innovation is the strongest predictor of business performance (R2 = 0.536), without any multicollinearity or autocorrelation problems. The findings indicate that MACs are an important factor in the adoption of CE and improved performance, where CE innovation partially mediates the connection between accounting controls and business performance. These lessons offer theoretical and practical advice on what SMEs must do to strengthen internal accounting regimes and incorporate sustainability-oriented practices in order to attain both financial and environmental benefits.