Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Ghana

Distorted incentives, agricultural and trade policy reforms, national agricultural development, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, Q17, Q18,

Beliefs and Responsibilities of Educational Stakeholders Concerning Student Success and Effective Principal Leadership

As elsewhere in Canada, the provincial educational system has adopted an accountability framework to improve student success by putting the emphasis on the rendering of accounts and production of a success plan. However, the implementation of school success plans is not always self-evident for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This case study highlights the difficulties experienced by a new principal in such a context. It shows the staff’s resistance to change when facing the success plan. For teaching purposes, it opens the discussion about the beliefs and responsibilities of all educational stakeholders concerning student success and about effective principal leadership

Sensitisation to Blattella germanica among adults with asthma in Yaounde, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: German cockroach or Blattella germanica is commonly found in homes across the inter-tropical region. The contribution of sensitisation to Blattella germanica in people with asthma in sub-Saharan Africa has not received attention. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and investigate the predicting factors of sensitisation to Blattella germanica in patients with asthma in Yaounde, Cameroon. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between January 2012 and June 2013. All patients (aged 15years and above) with asthma, receiving care at the Yaounde Jamot Hospital and the CEDIMER medical practice during the study period and who had received a prick skin testing for perennial aeroallergens were included in the study. RESULTS: The final sample comprised 184 patients including 123 (66.8%) women. The median age (25th-75th percentiles) was 38 (24-54) years. Prick skin test for Blattella germanica was positive in 47 (25.5%) patients. Sensitisation to Blattella germanica was associated with a sensitisation to mite in 41 (87.2%) patients, a sensitisation to Alternaria in 18 (38.3%) patients, and a sensitisation to cat or dog dander in 7 (14.9%) patients. Independent predicting factors of a sensitisation to Blattella germanica were the sensitisation to Blomia tropicalis [adjusted odd ratio (95% confidence interval) 4.10 (1.67-10.04), p=0.002] and sensitisation to Alternaria [3.67 (1.53-7.46), p=0.003]. CONCLUSIONS: Sensitisation to Blattella germanica is present in about a quarter of adult patients with asthma in Yaounde. Sensitisation to Alternaria and Blomia tropicalis appears to be a powerful predicting factor of sensitisation to Blattella germanica in this setting

Descriptive literature review of human resource information systems (HRIS) adoption issues in the health sector, South Africa

No organisation is ever static. For several reasons, each organisation reviews its aims and objectives from time to time. These reasons may be internally or externally driven. They could also be politically, economically and or socially motivated. Research has established that most of the attempts at bringing about change are based on the needs of employees and customers. Essentially, for the purposes of better management of employees and customers, human resource information systems (HRIS) are touted as the panacea for effective and efficient health sector service delivery. Focusing on South Africa, this paper used the descriptive literature review method to determine HRIS adoption issues within the health sector of South Africa. As an important sector in any growing economy, the health sector in our view benefits from a constant review of its mission. Within the context of South Africa, substantial emphasis is yet to be placed on health sector effectiveness. Elsewhere, in other regions and continents, research on HRIS adoption within the health sector suggests that its adoption is problematic but useful. The South African health sector is yet to fully embrace this technology and as a result is suffering from employee dissatisfaction, brain drain, and general maladministration. Investment in HRIS research is therefore instructive especially within the context of South Africa. What we have found through this review is that investing in HRIS is crucial; however, it requires thorough consideration for its funding, infrastructural support, and skilled manpower among others

LES CONCEPTIONS ET LES RESPONSABILITÉS DES INTERVENANTS SCOLAIRES PAR RAPPORT À LA RÉUSSITE DES ÉLÈVES ET LE LEADERSHIP DES DIRECTIONS D’ÉTABLISSEMENT

Comme ce fut le cas ailleurs au Canada, le système public d’éducation du Québec s’est vu doté d’un dispositif d’imputabilité visant l’amélioration de la réussite des élèves et comportant, entre autres, la production d’un plan de réussite par les établissements et une reddition de comptes. Or, la mise en œuvre de ce dispositif dans les établissements d’enseignement situés en milieu défavorisé apparait plus ardue que dans d’autres milieux en raison de l’ampleur des problèmes scolaires des élèves. Cette étude de cas illustre les difficultés rencontrées par une nouvelle direction d’établissement intervenant dans un tel contexte. Elle met en relief les résistances du personnel enseignant aux changements préconisés par la direction, notamment en ce qui concerne le plan de réussite proposé. À des fins d’enseignement, elle fournit des éléments de discussion sur les conceptions et les responsabilités des intervenants scolaires ainsi que sur l’exercice du leadership par les directions d’établissement