Local Government Reform Programme and Health Service Delivery in Kasulu District, Tanzania

The study investigates how the local government reforms shaped health service delivery in Kasulu District council. Firstly, the study intended to find out how reforms assisted management of quality and capacity to offer health services in Kasulu. Secondly, the study examined the challenges to offer adequate and quality health services in Kasulu District. The other objective was to assess how health service reform attracted community involvement in planning and implementation of health services in Kasulu.  The expo-facto descriptive design used to explore changes after the health service reforms in Kasulu. Whereby, the interest was to know both challenge and improvement encountered through the reforms undertaken. The study involved ( ) respondents as a sample to represent the whole population in the study area. A structured questionnaire was administered to health service officers and heads of household in order to fill in questions. The questionnaire analyzed through frequencies and mean which were presented in percentages, charts as well as figures. The percentage distribution formed a basis for conclusions. It was revealed that there were inadequate health facilities and staffs; this led into poor service provision. For instance, still there is good number of people trust traditional healers than doctors. This is due to poor services offered such as unsuccessful treatment, long waiting and inadequate expertise.  The Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP) was formulated and implemented by the Tanzania Government with an intention of addressing problems which constrained the performance of the local government authorities such as the human resource capacity and management being weak and this seriously constrained performance by Local Government Authorities, weak leadership and poor management of the councils, shortage of properly qualified, disciplined and committed personnel, shortage of revenue due to narrow tax base, over-employment within the Councils and lack of transparency and accountability in the conduct of Councils' business.  The study concludes that effectiveness of health service delivery is mainly determined by both local government system and the community involvement. That is local government policy reforms, critical resources management and full engaged community. From which the community can play their role to promote a dynamic health delivery environment. Keywords: Service delivery, Local Government Reform Programme, Accountability and Local Government Authoritie

Marketing Strategies, Cultural Dynamism and Psychological Issues in Tanzania

This study attempts to investigate marketing strategies both challenges and opportunities caused on culture and psychology in developing countries.  The following business actions e.g. promotion, pricing, placing and production were examined to and its influence towards customers behaviors. For instance; describing culture the research examined language, belief and life style as well as perception. Meanwhile; on psychology the study focused customers’ action, decision, perception and attitude.  A descriptive survey was carried out to determine, how marketing strategies can change cultural and human psychology in developing world. Either, the study revealed that activities such branding, product design and product distribution are sources of changes on culture and human psychology. Furthermore the study discusses the impact of activities such as pricing and promotion in the market. Whereby, business malpractice and inadequate marketing skills appear to be the major challenges. That means some of cultural and psychological challenges such as drug abuse; organized crime and sex innuendos were related to improper marketing. The study recommended marketing regulatory board to regulate marketing strategies and manage individual welfare. Keywords: culture, psychology, marketing strategies, social and economic

A "hair-raising" history of alopecia areata

YesA 3500‐year‐old papyrus from ancient Egypt provides a list of treatments for many diseases including “bite hair loss,” most likely alopecia areata (AA). The treatment of AA remained largely unchanged for over 1500 years. In 30 CE, Celsus described AA presenting as scalp alopecia in spots or the “windings of a snake” and suggested treatment with caustic compounds and scarification. The first “modern” description of AA came in 1813, though treatment still largely employed caustic agents. From the mid‐19th century onwards, various hypotheses of AA development were put forward including infectious microbes (1843), nerve defects (1858), physical trauma and psychological stress (1881), focal inflammation (1891), diseased teeth (1902), toxins (1912) and endocrine disorders (1913). The 1950s brought new treatment developments with the first use of corticosteroid compounds (1952), and the first suggestion that AA was an autoimmune disease (1958). Research progressively shifted towards identifying hair follicle‐specific autoantibodies (1995). The potential role of lymphocytes in AA was made implicit with immunohistological studies (1980s). However, studies confirming their functional role were not published until the development of rodent models (1990s). Genetic studies, particularly genome‐wide association studies, have now come to the forefront and open up a new era of AA investigation (2000s). Today, AA research is actively focused on genetics, the microbiome, dietary modulators, the role of atopy, immune cell types in AA pathogenesis, primary antigenic targets, mechanisms by which immune cells influence hair growth, and of course the development of new treatments based on these discoveries.Alopecia UK

Lalande's geographical conception of Africa : European exploration and the scientific call of the Continent's 'Inner Regions' on the verge of the Revolutionary Era

This paper discusses the Mémoire sur l'intérieur de l'Afrique, written by the French scholar Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande. It analyses Lalande's aims, arguments and claims regarding his subject of study - the "inner parts" of Africa - against the background of scientific, commercial, political and military tensions between France and Britain. It situates Lalande's discourse within the broader context of the competing "science policies" of both states in the second half of the eighteenth century. It is an investigation of the sudden re-emergence of Africa as an object of knowledge in the relationship between power and science. The paper focuses on the continuous interaction between France and Britain in African affairs, and highlights the shift from a mere "Enlightened" exploration from the 1720s to Lalande's revolutionary time, when Africa became the object of a "Banksian" takeover, enhancing British interest in the "unknown" interior of the African continent by setting up large-scale, interrelated research missions with practical goals. This provoked reactions from the French side, reflected in Lalande's dissertation