Prevalence and attitudes of smoking among secondary school teachers in Hadramout coastal districts, Yemen

A descriptive KAP study about smoking was conducted in all the ten secondary schools in Hadramout coastal districts during October 2004 – April 2005 and a total of 317 teachers were enrolled in the study (182 male, 135 female teachers). The findings revealed that about 8% of the teachers were smokers; all smokers were males (prevalence 14%). Only 10% of teachers had received training to limit smoking among students, and 27% had educational materials about harmful effects of smoking. The study concluded that low smoking prevalence, good knowledge and attitudes of teachers, especially female teachers, toward smoking may offer a chance for smoking prevention strategies in secondary schools

Thalassorama - Socio-Economic Structure and Performance of Traditional Fishermen in the Sultanate of Oman

Understanding the basic structure of fishing communities is vital information for a country's economic policy formation. Basic information such as income, educational level, and age of fishing participants can be useful in determining socio-economic changes between different geographical locations and fishing communities. Market supply and demand information is essential for the promotion of fishing industry improvement programs, as well as for food subsidy policies. Social and economic data for traditional fishermen in Oman is very limited in scope. Available information indicates that Omani traditional fishermen may contribute as much as 80% of the country's total catch. Worldwide, this figure is only about 25%. There are currently a number of challenges facing the Omani fishing sector, such as fish quality improvement for markets and to what extent traditional fishermen are participating in government-sponsored programs. The findings of this study have practical policy implications. For example, preliminary data indicates that traditional fishermen are aging, many have very limited educational levels, there are minimal alternative employment opportunities, and there is a need to utilize more modern equipment.Traditional fishermen, fiberglass vessel, socio-economics., Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q22,

Developing quality heathcare software using quality function deployment: A case study based on Sultan Qaboos University Hospital

Development of software is one of the most expensive projects undertaken in practice. Traditionally, the rate of failure in software development projects is higher compared to other kinds of projects. This is partly due to the failure in determining software users’ requirements. By using Quality Function Deployment (QFD), this research focuses on identification and prioritization of users’ requirements in the context of developing quality health-care software system for Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) in Oman. A total of 95 staff working at eight departments of SQUH were contacted and they were requested to provide their requirements in using hospital information systems. Analytic Hierarchy Process has been integrated with QFD for prioritizing those user requirements. Then, in consultation with a number of software engineers, a list consisting of 30 technical requirements was generated. These requirements are divided into seven categories and all of them are purported to satisfy the user needs. At the end of QFD exercise, continuous mirror backup from backup category, multi-level access from the security and confidentiality category, linkage to databases from application category emerge as technical requirements having higher weights. These technical requirements should receive considerable attention when designing the health-care software system for SQUH.Software quality; Quality function deployment; Healthcare software; Analytic Hierarchy Process

The superpowers and the Maghreb: political, economic and strategic relations

The study focuses on superpower relations with the Maghreb from independence until 1985. It contains eight chapters and conclusion together with a bibliography. The introduction defines the scope and objectives of the study, as well as discussing the methodology and techniques employed in the research. Chapter two gives a historical background to European relations with the Maghreb states and explains how the Maghreb became part of European political, economic and strategic objectives in the European multipolar system. Chapter three presents a theoretical basis for superpower relations with the Third World. Chapter four examines the historical relations between the Maghreb and the superpowers until the independence, and the role of the superpowers in Maghreb independence. Chapter five deals with political relations between the Maghreb and the superpowers and chapter six examines the economic relations between the superpowers and the Maghreb states. Chapter seven deals with superpower strategic relations with the Maghreb focusing on Mediterranean security, arms transfers, military bases and intelligence cooperation. Chapter eight examines superpower behaviour toward regional conflict and stability in the Maghreb. The final chapter contains a summary and conclusion and future prospects for superpowers relations with the Maghreb and the role of the EC in future relations

Structural Change and Productivity Growth in Developing Countries

The dual-economy model predicts that holding productivity constant, labor reallocation from less to more productive sectors, also known as \u27structural change\u27 results in improvement in economy-wide productivity. The objective of this thesis is to test the empirical predictions of this model using sectoral-level data from twenty-eight developing countries. Using the shift-share growth decomposition approach, we find regional growth-enhancing effects of structural change in Asia, Latin America and North Africa from, 1980 to 2000 and growth-reducing effects in Sub-Saharan Africa over the same period. However, as intersectoral productivity gaps disappeared after 2000, technological progress led the growth process in much of Asia and North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America benefited immensely from structural change over the same period. At the country level, however, structural change has been growth-reducing in many countries as labor moved in the wrong direction. We then proceeded to investigate the determinants of the contribution of structural change to the growth process at the country level. Contrary to the literature, we find evidence that rigidity in the labor market enhances the contribution of structural change to growth as it slows the wrong labor reallocation process. Beginning the estimation period with high agricultural employment shares as well as investment are also found to have significant and positive impact on the structural change contribution to growth. This study provides useful insight into the experiences of developing countries. The lesson learnt is simple; productivity-returns to structural change is not a default outcome of just any labor reallocation process. For countries to benefit from labor reallocation, the market must be conditioned to direct labor from less productive to more productive sectors

Intrahousehold Bargaining, Domestic Violence Laws and Child Health Development in Ghana

I explore a unique exogenous instrument to examine how the intra-familial position of women influence health outcomes of their children using micro data from Ghana. Using the 2SLS-IV estimation technique, I build a model of household bargaining and child health development with perceptions of women regarding wife-beating and marital rape in the existence of domestic violence laws in Ghana. Even though the initial OLS estimates suggest that women’s participation in decisions regarding purchases of household consumption goods help to improve child health outcomes, the IV estimates reveal that the presence of endogeneity underestimates the impact of women’s bargaining power on child health outcomes. Our choice of instrument is robust to endogeneity, father characteristics and residency robustness checks

Effect of oilfield brine on groundwater quality in Marmul area, Sultanate of Oman

During a period of 28 years, more than 96 million m3 of oilfield produced water was re-injected in the shallow aquifer at Marmul oilfield area, and changed groundwater characteristics. The 10 wells of Shallow Water Disposal (SWD) have been used to inject water in shallow groundwater aquifers of Dammam and Rus formations. The disposal of oilfield produced water to shallow aquifer has been continuing since 1980, with approximately 96 Mm3 of produced water having been disposed and an estimation of approximately 9600 m3 oil has been disposed of in this case until the beginning of 2008. The present thesis aim is to quantify and assess the organic and inorganic pollutants in the study area. In this study, the hydro geochemical data from 19 Monitoring Wells (MWs) and from Marmul Main Production Station (MMPS) were used to assess the lateral effect in the shallow groundwater. The Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations ranged from 0.170 ppm and 1.582 ppm with average of 0.435 ppm. The concentrations and distribution of total Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Marmul study area were measured in MWs ranged between zero ppm and 0.806 ppm. There are 7 individual PAHs observed in the monitoring wells of the studying area. Naphthalene has the highest concentration among other individual PAHs with 0.616 ppm and the lowest concentration is Fluorine with concentration of 0.004 ppm. The distribution of TPH and PAHs in the area trend is to increase toward the area of disposal of brines in the shallow aquifer. Also, water sample collected from well no. MW-10 which is located north of the SWD has shown high concentrations in both TPH and PAHs over the study area. The Gas Chromatography (GC) device fingerprints of the sampling indicated that the type of petroleum hydrocarbons is same and it is similar to the one from MMPS. In this case, the source of organic pollution in the area is attributed to the activity of oilfield brines disposal of in shallow aquifer. All fingerprints contain around 19 of hydrocarbon compounds from C21 to C39 and did not include prestane or phytene isprenoids. The Carbon Preference Index (CPI) in samples of the study area was ranging from 0.6 to 1.7 with average of 1.18, reflecting in almost similar anthropogenic sources of pollution rather than biogenic. All water samples is close together marginally except well no. MW-15. So, the result of major ions in MWs without well no. MW-15 range between 0.1 to 36 meq/l for Ca, 1 to 27.75 meq/l for Mg, 7.5 to 65.5 meq/l for Na, 8.89 to 67.7 meq/l for Cl, 1 to 52.9 meq/l for SO2, and 0.5 to 10.58 meq/l for HCO3. The dominant water type is Ca and Mg-chloride and sulfate and a few water samples belong to the Na and K-carbonate and bicarbonate types. Because the Cl and Ca are dominant, the groundwater may result from reverse ion exchange of Na+ - Cl- waters and in generally the water type is Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4. The distributions of major ions in the study area are roughly similar to each other and brightly showing the effect of re-injected in the groundwater and they predict that the point source of the groundwater is the same source. The majority of the collected samples have Ca/Mg ratio of more than 1.0 (average 1.95), indicating exposures of carbonate rocks in the area. Similarly Na/Cl ratio are below 1.0 (mean 0.95) indicating fresh water existence. In consideration, the results of MMPS produced water samples have average Na/Cl ratio of 1.1 and average Ca/Mg of 0.1, suggesting no influence of this water in the groundwater in side of Na and Cl. There are 11 trace metals in results of concentration. The highest concentration detected was for the dissolved SiO2 with an average amount of 24.79 ppm, which may attribute to chemical weathering of siliceous minerals in the groundwater. The lowest concentration average is for Co of 0.0002 ppm and it’s detected in only one monitoring well. The average concentrations of the rest of 9 trace metals are ranged between 0 to 1.2 ppm (Sr 11.56 ppm, B 1.18ppm, Mn 0.08 ppm, Ba 0.03 ppm, Mo, Zn, and P at 0.02 ppm, V 0.004 ppm and Cr 0.002 ppm). No concentration of Cd, Pb, Al, Fe, Cu and Ni were found in the study area. In addition, trace metals’ results may regard to anthropogenic and/or natural sources and its level not indicated as trace metal pollution case. Groundwater salinity zones display an increase in salinity towards the north west of the study area. This increase may correspond to the groundwater flow direction and probably reflects increasing residence time and dissolution of salt into the groundwater or polluted by poorer quality. The reason it may reflect the type of bedrock in the formation as dolomite, limestone, gypsum or another type that cause increasing of groundwater salinity. There is difference in salt concentration in north to north east of the SWD area and this adjustment with the groundwater movement from Dhofar Mountains to the Nejd plateau. There is fluctuation in the water table in the study area and it correlates well with variations in high disposal volumes over the disposal period. While water level in the SWD area is in high level which tends to the response of disposal volumes of produced water. Patterns in groundwater pollution are consistent with produced water contamination that affirms the pollution is originating from one source (point source) of a produced water re-injection disposal wells in the study area. The pollution plume appears to be migrating northeast along the direction of groundwater flow. When PDO handled the option which serve with the least environment impact and phase out of the SWD in 2008, it should be do the several measurements to mitigate of the GWP in Marmul SWD area

On The Empirics of User-Fees, Maternal Health-Seeking Behavior and Child Survival in Ghana

This paper seeks to answer a simple question; what happens to maternal health seeking-behavior when user-fees are eliminated? We analyze this question empirically by investigating the effects of the free maternal health care (Health Insurance) policy instituted by the government of Ghana, on a variety of health utilization measures and child survival outcomes. Using robust linear and binomial logistic estimation techniques, we find evidence from over 4,000 households, that eliminating user-fees significantly increases the utilization of skilled delivery assistance whilst simultaneously reducing the number of deliveries assisted by unskilled birth attendants. Utilization of antenatal and postnatal care experience similar effects with user-fee elimination. Even though intention to use contraceptives increases with enrollment in the programme, education is found to be more important than health insurance in influencing the number of children a woman desires to have. This paper provides empirical support for the growing calls for removal of user-fees, in order to expand healthcare access and promote inclusion