A pilot socio-economic analysis of QLIF dairy projects

A pilot socio-economic impact assessment was carried out on three dairy projects within QLIF to identify the business, consumer and policy issues likely to influence the adoption of the innovations resulting from QLIF. A socio-economic analysis is pre-sented related to the key outcomes from the three projects which include: manage-ment systems to reduce mastitis and antibiotic use in organic dairy farms and how milk quality can be enhanced through high forage organic feeding systems. Due to a lack financial data costs had to be assumed based on other studies. The socio-economic analysis identified a significant number of potential economic and social implications of implementing strategies developed in the QLIF project that aim at increasing animal health welfare and milk quality

The development and the impact of Organic Farming Policy in the European Regions (1998-2003)

This paper summarises the findings of WP 1.3 and WP 2 of the EU-CEEOFP project. Specifically, it presents the results of the analysis of the development and impact of Organic Farming Policy at the regional level in the EU-15

FACTORS INFLUENCING PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE IN A DEVOLVED SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The general objective of the study was to assess the factors influencing provision of health care in a devolved system of government, with a special focus on Bungoma County. Methodology: The research design was a descriptive survey utilizing both the quantitative and qualitative aspect. The target population will be all the heads of the health facilities in Bungoma County. The sampling technique will be Non Probability Sampling where Purposive Sampling will be used to identify all the heads of government hospitals, Health Centers and dispensaries in the county as they possess the relevant knowledge required for the study. Questionnaires will then be used to obtain primary data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 12) was used to analyze quantitative data and presented using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis and presented in form of narratives and themes. Results: Based on the findings the study concluded that disbursement and adequacy of finances, supplies and equipment affected health care provision in a devolved system of government. The study also concluded that drugs procurement challenges affected health care provision in a devolved system of government. Findings further concluded that disbursement and adequacy of finances, supplies and equipment has a positive and significant effect on health care provision as supported by (r=0.502, p=0.002).However, procurement challenges has a positively and insignificant association on health care provision as supported (r=0.309, p=0.603) The results revealed that healthcare personnel had a positively and a significantly association to health care provision (r=0.406, p=0.013). Policy recommendation: The findings of this study will be of great significance to the ministries of Health and that of Devolution and Planning plus the County Governments in Kenya on the factors that face devolution of health in order to come up with practical solutions. Keywords: Procurement and distribution, health care personnel challenges, devolved system of governmen

Appointment of Vice-Chancellors in Public Universities in Kenya: The Nexus between Ethnicity and University Employment

UNIVERSITIES by their very nature should embrace diversity in their structures and the selection and appointments of its human resources especially at the top echelons. However, Kenya as a country faces a challenge of ethnicity which is persistently in the media houses year in year out. This article interrogates this critical issue with special reference to appointments of Vice Chancellors in universities in Kenya and assess how these has affected negatively the process of development in universities and Kenya as a country. Using desk and content analysis research approach, a survey of empirical and theoretical studies were studied and research findings obtained. The study reveals that nepotism and tribalism practices are taking a centre stage in employment of staff in public universities contrary to laid down employment guidelines by the Government of Kenya. Further, appointment of Vice-Chancellors in public universities is skewed towards six major tribes in Kenya, contrary to equal employment opportunities legislations enacted by parliament relating to gender affirmative action as well as the marginalized groups and persons living with disability. The study concludes that the marginalized and persons living with disability are groups affected and therefore not benefitted appointments even after the promulgation of new Constitution of 2010. The study recommends review of the criteria and procedure of appointment to curb ethnicity and nepotism in order to ensure that inclusivity of the gender, marginalized and persons living with disability is catered for

Snap2Diverse: Coordinating Information Visualizations and Virtual Environments

The field of Information Visualization is concerned with improving with how users perceive, understand, and interact with visual representations of data sets. Immersive Virtual Environments (VEs) excel at providing researchers and designers a greater comprehension of the spatial features and relations of their data, models, and scenes. This project addresses the intersection of these two fields where information is visualized in a virtual environment. Specifically we are interested in visualizing abstract information in relation to spatial information in the context of a virtual environment. We describe a set of design issues for this type of integrated visualization and demonstrate a coordinated, multiple-views system supporting 2D and 3D visualization tasks such as overview, navigation, details-on-demand, and brushing-and-linking selection. Software architecture issues are discussed with details of our implementation applied to the domain of chemical information and visualization. Lastly, we subject our system to an informal usability evaluation and identify usability issues with interaction and navigation that may guide future work in these situations

Influence of organization structure on diversification strategy and performance of an organization Critical literature review

The contentious debate by management scholars and researchers on whether strategy influences structure or if it is structure that influences strategy has been going on for some time now. We endeavored to conduct an extensive desk review aimed at establishing if indeed there is any interrelationship between organizational structure and diversification strategy or if organization structure does influence diversification strategy and performance of an organization. Different subsections of this paper present theoretical and in some instances empirical findings by other scholars and researchers on theories relating to organization structure, diversification strategy and organizational performance. From the discussed theories and research findings, the paper concludes that there exists an interdependent relationship between organization structure and diversification strategy which ultimately impacts on the performance of an organization

Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Increased global warming and environmental degradation, has caused concern for governments, societies and business organizations even in Kenya. Kenya’s, manufacturing industry is one of the main contributors to economic growth. Unfortunately, it has also caused environmental deterioration. Consequently business managers have increasingly begun to realize the need to be environmentally accountable for their activities. Reverse logistics is a green supply chain management practice that enables companies to manage wastes and improve their competitiveness as their environmental efficiency is enhanced. This research aims to examine the relationship between reverse logistics and competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. To fully understand this issue the research investigates the reverse logistics practices adopted by the various companies and then examines whether these practices have any effect on firm competitiveness of food manufacturers in Kenya. A cross- sectional survey was conducted among 130 food manufacturing firms that are listed in the Kenya Association of Manufacturers directory. The response rate was 73.8%. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. Factor analysis was used examine the construct validity while multivariate liner regression was employed to test criterion validity. The results of this research indicated that, the adoption of reverse logistics practices would enhance the competitiveness of Kenya’s food manufacturing firms. Further this study found that due to lack of awareness on the importance of sustainability, there is a low level of adoption of reverse logistics practices in Kenya. This study recommends that organizational managers should appreciate the environmental issues and adopt reverse logistics practices. This is important as it would curb waste, enhance cost savings thus increasing competitiveness. This study further recommends that the government and all stakeholders in the manufacturing sector should carry out public awareness campaigns on the importance of environmental conservation as it would encourage the locals to become active drivers towards the adoption of reverse logistics practices. Keywords: Green Supply Chain, Reverse Logistics, Firm Competitiveness, Food Manufacturing Firms, Keny

A pilot study of change in fracture risk in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

INTRODUCTION: Acute skeletal muscle wasting is a major contributor to post critical illness physical impairment. However, the bone response remains uncharacterized. We prospectively investigated the early changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risk in critical illness. METHODS: Patients were prospectively recruited ≤ 24 hours following intensive care unit (ICU) admission to a University Teaching and a Community Hospital (August 2009 to April 2011).All were aged >18 years and expected to be intubated for >48 hours, spend >7 days in critical care and survive ICU admission. Forty-six patients were studied (55.3% male) with an age of 54.4 years (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 49.1-59.6)years and APACHE II score 23.9 (95%CI 22.4-25.5).Calcaneal Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) assessment of BMD was performed on day 1 and 10. Increase in fracture risk was calculated from the change in T-score. RESULTS: BMD did not change between day 1 and 10 in the cohort overall (0.434 (95%CI 0.405-0.463) vs. 0.425 g/cm(2) (95%CI 0.399-0.450), p = 0.58).Multivariable logistical regression revealed admission corrected calcium (OR 1.980 (95%CI 1.089-3.609), p = 0.026) and admission PaO2 to FiO2 ratio (OR 0.916 (95%CI 0.833-0.998), p = 0.044)to be associated with >2% loss of BMD. Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome had a greater loss in BMD than those without (-2.81 (95%CI -5.73-0.118)%, n = 34 vs. 2.40 (95%CI 0.204-4.586)%,n = 12, p = 0.029). In the 34 patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, fracture risk increased by 19.4% (95%CI 13.9-25.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome demonstrated early and rapid bone demineralisation with associated increase in fracture risk

A systematic review of strategies to recruit and retain primary care doctors

Background There is a workforce crisis in primary care. Previous research has looked at the reasons underlying recruitment and retention problems, but little research has looked at what works to improve recruitment and retention. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate interventions and strategies used to recruit and retain primary care doctors internationally. Methods A systematic review was undertaken. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL and grey literature were searched from inception to January 2015.Articles assessing interventions aimed at recruiting or retaining doctors in high income countries, applicable to primary care doctors were included. No restrictions on language or year of publication. The first author screened all titles and abstracts and a second author screened 20%. Data extraction was carried out by one author and checked by a second. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity. Results 51 studies assessing 42 interventions were retrieved. Interventions were categorised into thirteen groups: financial incentives (n=11), recruiting rural students (n=6), international recruitment (n=4), rural or primary care focused undergraduate placements (n=3), rural or underserved postgraduate training (n=3), well-being or peer support initiatives (n=3), marketing (n=2), mixed interventions (n=5), support for professional development or research (n=5), retainer schemes (n=4), re-entry schemes (n=1), specialised recruiters or case managers (n=2) and delayed partnerships (n=2). Studies were of low methodological quality with no RCTs and only 15 studies with a comparison group. Weak evidence supported the use of postgraduate placements in underserved areas, undergraduate rural placements and recruiting students to medical school from rural areas. There was mixed evidence about financial incentives. A marketing campaign was associated with lower recruitment. Conclusions This is the first systematic review of interventions to improve recruitment and retention of primary care doctors. Although the evidence base for recruiting and care doctors is weak and more high quality research is needed, this review found evidence to support undergraduate and postgraduate placements in underserved areas, and selective recruitment of medical students. Other initiatives covered may have potential to improve recruitment and retention of primary care practitioners, but their effectiveness has not been established

Shigella sonnei genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicate recent global dissemination from Europe

Shigella are human-adapted Escherichia coli that have gained the ability to invade the human gut mucosa and cause dysentery1,2, spreading efficiently via low-dose fecal-oral transmission3,4. Historically, S. sonnei has been predominantly responsible for dysentery in developed countries, but is now emerging as a problem in the developing world, apparently replacing the more diverse S. flexneri in areas undergoing economic development and improvements in water quality4-6. Classical approaches have shown S. sonnei is genetically conserved and clonal7. We report here whole-genome sequencing of 132 globally-distributed isolates. Our phylogenetic analysis shows that the current S. sonnei population descends from a common ancestor that existed less than 500 years ago and has diversified into several distinct lineages with unique characteristics. Our analysis suggests the majority of this diversification occurred in Europe, followed by more recent establishment of local pathogen populations in other continents predominantly due to the pandemic spread of a single, rapidly-evolving, multidrug resistant lineage