Examining the Relationship between Community Participation and Program Outcomes in a Metaevaluation

Background: The salience of stakeholder participation in community development is not disputed. However, there is a paucity of evidence that clearly links participation with program outcomes.   Purpose: We examined the link between participation and program outcomes. Setting: The article discusses data collated from World Vision (WV) program evaluations. WV is a faith based, grass-root community engaging, child focused relief and development organization that works in close to 100 countries to improve and sustain child well-being. Community participation is very central to WV’s program.   Intervention: 92 community development programs evaluated between 2005 and 2010.   Research Design: We used a metaevaluation design (Meta-analysis Summaries [DeCoster, 2004]), which involves identifying the prevalence of certain effects (such as child well-being outcomes) and the strengths of relationships among those effects and certain explanatory variables (such as community participation). Data Collection and Analysis: A document review tool comprising 327 variables was used to review program design documents and evaluation reports. Each review item generated a score whenever a positive response was checked. The maximum possible score for a program was 200. These scores were used to measure correlations among major variables of participation and program outcomes. After the program documents were reviewed, the data was then manually entered into PASW statistics for analysis.   Findings: Programs that mostly used empowering approaches engaging a higher level of stakeholder participation were more than fifteen times more likely to exhibit improvements in child health, community health, education, and protection outcomes than those that which used direct service delivery (give a fish) approaches engaging less stakeholder participation. Also, participation of vulnerable groups like children and women had a stronger relationship with program outcomes than other forms of participation that did not involve vulnerable groups. Keywords: community participation; program outcomes; metaevaluatio

Observation of Bell Inequality violation in B mesons

A pair of $B^0\bar B^0$ mesons from $\Upsilon(4S)$ decay exhibit EPR type non-local particle-antiparticle (flavor) correlation. It is possible to write down Bell Inequality (in the CHSH form: $S\le2$) to test the non-locality assumption of EPR. Using semileptonic $B^0$ decays of $\Upsilon(4S)$ at Belle experiment, a clear violation of Bell Inequality in particle-antiparticle correlation is observed: S=2.725+-0.167(stat)+-0.092(syst)Comment: Conference Proceeding for Garda Lake Workshop 2003 "Mysteries, Puzzles and Paradoxes in Quantum Mechanics

Defining Genetic Fitness Determinants and Creating Genomic Resources for an Oral Pathogen

Periodontitis is a microbial infection that destroys the structures that support the teeth. Although it is typically a chronic condition, rapidly progressing, aggressive forms are associated with the oral pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. One of this bacterium\u27s key virulence traits is its ability to attach to surfaces and form robust biofilms that resist killing by the host and antibiotics. Though much has been learned about A. actinomycetemcomitans since its initial discovery, we lack insight into a fundamental aspect of its basic biology, as we do not know the full set of genes that it requires for viability (the essential genome). Furthermore, research on A. actinomycetemcomitans is hampered by the field\u27s lack of a mutant collection. To address these gaps, we used rapid transposon mutant sequencing (Tn-seq) to define the essential genomes of two strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans, revealing a core set of 319 genes. We then generated an arrayed mutant library comprising \u3e1,500 unique insertions and used a sequencing-based approach to define each mutant\u27s position (well and plate) in the library. To demonstrate its utility, we screened the library for mutants with weakened resistance to subinhibitory erythromycin, revealing the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB as a critical resistance factor. During the screen, we discovered that erythromycin induces A. actinomycetemcomitans to form biofilms. We therefore devised a novel Tn-seq-based screen to identify specific factors that mediate this phenotype and in follow-up experiments confirmed 4 mutants. Together, these studies present new insights and resources for investigating the basic biology and disease mechanisms of a human pathogen

Interview with Apollo M. O. Smith

An interview in September 1995 with aerodynamicist Apollo M. O. (Amo) Smith. Smith received his BS (1936) and MS in mechanical and aeronautical engineering (1938) from Caltech. In this brief interview, he recalls his early experience building and flying gliders with John R. Pierce; his undergraduate years at Caltech; the testing of various aircraft in the ten-foot wind tunnel at GALCIT [Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology] as a graduate student; working on rocketry with Frank J. Malina, Edward S. Forman, and John W. (Jack) Parsons; his employment at the Douglas Aircraft Company, beginning in 1938 in its El Segundo division; and his two years of work (on leave from Douglas) as chief engineer of the newly formed Aerojet Engineering Corporation (1942-1944), developing the JATO [jet-assisted takeoff] rocket

Crustal deformation across and beyond Central Europe and its impact on the boundaries

Land is a critical and limited natural resource. The Land Administration System (LAS) has been developed to resolve and adjudicate over any disputes that might arise concerning the rights and boundaries of land. Land registration and cadastre are types of land recording that need to be established. To secure the property rights, we must be sure of accuracy of the boundary points determining the size of the property. However, in addition to typical factors considered when determining the boundary point positions, such as accuracy of geodetic networks and measurement errors, the global and local crustal deformation, resulting, e.g., from the movement of tectonic plates, should be considered. In this work, the focus is on the movement of points inside the European plate due to tectonic movement, without taking into account local events caused by erosion, landslides, etc. The study area is Europe, and particular attention was paid to Poland, which is located in the centre of the European continent and does not have significant anomalous sub-areas, making it an authoritative research object. In this study, we analysed the velocity of point displacements and the boundary deformation, using GPS observations. For this reason, we used both global (IGS) and regional (ETRF) reference frames, to show differences in point velocities for the studied areas. Overall, for the needs of the real estate cadastre in Poland, information about parcel boundary points must be obtained with an accuracy better than 0.30 m. Within 25 years, the border mark may be shifted by 0.13 m due to tectonic plate movement, which is within the required accuracy. Pursuant to the current legal regulations, the measurements of the boundary points can be performed with any method, ensuring the required accuracy (0.30 m). The most commonly used are direct measurements (GNSS and tacheometry) and photogrammetric measurements. It is recommended that periodic verifications and update of the cadastre data in Poland be carried out at least once every 15 years. In the case of such relatively frequent verification and possible modernisation of data, the potential impact of tectonic plate movement on the relative boundary point displacement can be ignored, particularly in the short term. However, for a long time period it has an influence. We suggest “relatively frequent” cadastral boundary verification to be able to ignore such influence

Behavioural factors associated with cutaneous anthrax in Musadzi area of Gokwe North, Zimbabwe

A research article on behavioural factors that determine how some residents in Musadzi area,Zimbabwe contract human cutaneous anthrax.Anthrax is a bacterial disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. It is primarily a disease of herbivores, although few, if any, warm-blooded species are entirely immune to it. From earliest historical records until the development of an effective veterinary vaccine midway through the 20th century, anthrax was one of the foremost causes of uncontrolled mortality in domestic animals worldwide. Humans contract anthrax directly from animals or through animal products. The disease is still enzootic in most countries of Africa and Asia, a number of European countries, and countries/areas of the American continent and certain areas of Australia. It still occurs sporadically in many other countries

Treatment outcomes of patients on anti-retrovirals after six months of treatment, Khami Clinic, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

A CAJM review of HIV/AIDS treatment of infected patients on medication after 6 months of administering anti-retrovirals.It was in 1985 that the first case of HIV tested positive in Zimbabwe. The AIDS epidemic has grown since then to become one of the most serious public health challenges to ever face the nation. According to the 2003 HIV estimates, 24,6% of adults aged 15 to 49 years were infected. Whilst they cannot cure HIV/AIDS, treatment of HIV with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) can transform the natural course of HIV infection by reducing morbidity and mortality as has been observed in many industrialized countries. It is recommended for patients with symptomatic AIDS, WHO Adult Stage IV and advanced Stage III irrespective of the CD4 cell count or total lymphocyte count

Unmasking microsatellite deceptiveness and debunking hybridization with SNPs in four marine copepod species of Calanus

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