Wither participatory banking?: experiences with village banks in South Africa

Microfinance is widely advocated as a powerful tool to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion. How best to achieve these outcomes has been the focus of considerable debate, between supporters of minimalist finance-only and services-plus approaches, and between the merits of client-oriented models and member ownership. Many approaches to microfinance note the importance of participation within peer groups, the potential for empowerment and the support given by civil society organizations. Few studies, however, have analysed the nature and extent of participation, or whether this participation can be understood as democratic. In this paper, we examine four communities in South Africa that belong to a Village Bank, an organization that promotes member ownership and control. The paper examines members' experiences of participation and, specifically, organizational transparency and conflict resolution. We argue that microfinance holds considerable normative and symbolic appeal for members, but that participation in practice has been limited

The influence of angry customer outbursts on service providers’ facial displays and affective states

This article explores the existence and extent of emotional contagion, as measured by facial displays and reported affective states, in a service failure event. Using video vignettes of customers complaining about a service failure as stimulus material, the authors measured the facial displays and affective states of service providers as proxies for emotional contagion. Following a two-step approach, service providers’ facial expressions were first recorded and assessed, revealing that service providers’ facial displays matched those of the angry consumer. Second, a mixed ANOVA revealed service providers reported stronger negative affective states after exposure to an angry complaint than prior to exposure. The results demonstrated that during a complaint situation, angry outbursts by consumers can initiate the emotional contagion process, and service providers are susceptible to “catch” consumer anger through emotional contagion. Implications for complaint management and future research are discussed

Wither participatory banking?: experiences with village banks in South Africa.

Microfinance is widely advocated as a powerful tool to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion. How best to achieve these outcomes has been the focus of considerable debate, between supporters of minimalist finance-only and services-plus approaches, and between the merits of client-oriented models and member ownership. Many approaches to microfinance note the importance of participation within peer groups, the potential for empowerment and the support given by civil society organizations. Few studies, however, have analysed the nature and extent of participation, or whether this participation can be understood as democratic. In this paper, we examine four communities in South Africa that belong to a Village Bank, an organization that promotes member ownership and control. The paper examines members' experiences of participation and, specifically, organizational transparency and conflict resolution. We argue that microfinance holds considerable normative and symbolic appeal for members, but that participation in practice has been limited.

A potential global surveillance tool for effective, low‑cost sampling of invasive Aedes mosquito eggs from tyres using adhesive tape

The international movement of used tyres is a major factor responsible for global introductions of Aedes invasive mosquitoes (AIMs) (Diptera: Culicidae) that are major disease vectors (e.g. dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever). Surveillance methods are restricted by expense, availability and efficiency to detect all life stages. Currently, no tested method exists to screen imported used tyres for eggs in diapause, the life stage most at risk from accidental introduction. Here we test the efficiency of adhesive tape as an affordable and readily available material to screen tyres for eggs, testing its effect on hatch rate, larval development, DNA amplification and structural damage on the egg surface

Architecture and engineering of a supramolecular functional material by manipulating the nano-structure of fiber network

Three-dimensional fiber networks were created from an organogel system consisting mainly of elongated fibrils by using a nonionic surfactant as an additive. The presence of the surfactant molecules manipulates the network structure by enhancing the mismatch nucleation on the growing fiber tips. Both the fiber network structure and the rheological properties of the material can be finely tuned by changing the surfactant concentration, which provides a robust approach to the engineering of supramolecular soft functional materials.<br /

Dietary fish oil preserves cardiac function in the hypertrophied rat heart

Regular fish or fish oil intake is associated with a low incidence of heart failure clinically, and fish oil-induced reduction in cardiac remodelling seen in hypertrophy models may contribute. We investigated whether improved cardiac energy efficiency in non-hypertrophied hearts translates into attenuation of cardiac dysfunction in hypertrophied hearts. Male Wistar rats (n 33) at 8 weeks of age were sham-operated or subjected to abdominal aortic stenosis to produce pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy. Starting 3 weeks post-operatively to follow initiation of hypertrophy, rats were fed a diet containing 10% olive oil (control) or 5% fish oil (ROPUFA® 30 (17% EPA, 10% DHA))+5% olive oil (FO diet). At 15 weeks post-operatively, ventricular haemodynamics and oxygen consumption were evaluated in the blood-perfused, isolated working heart. Resting and maximally stimulated cardiac output and external work were >60% depressed in hypertrophied control hearts but this was prevented by FO feeding, without attenuating hypertrophy. Cardiac energy efficiency was lower in hypertrophy, but greater in FO hearts for any given cardiac mass. Coronary blood flow, restricted in hypertrophied control hearts, increased with increasing work in hypertrophied FO hearts, revealing a significant coronary vasodilator reserve. Pronounced cardiac dysfunction in hypertrophied hearts across low and high workloads, indicative of heart failure, was attenuated by FO feeding in association with membrane incorporation of n-3 PUFA, principally DHA. Dietary fish oil may offer a new approach to balancing the high oxygen demand and haemodynamic requirements of the failing hypertrophied heart independently of attenuating hypertroph

Geophysical features of permafrost in the Canadian Beaufort Sea

第6回極域科学シンポジウム分野横断セッション：[IA] 急変する北極気候システム及びその全球的な影響の総合的解明―GRENE北極気候変動研究事業研究成果報告2015―11月19日（木）　国立極地研究所１階交流アトリウ

Temperature measurements and thermal gradient estimates on the slope and shelf edge region of the Beaufort Sea, Canada

In situ temperature measurements were conducted at 63 gravity-core stations during the 2013 expedition with the CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Outriggers attached to the outside of the gravity core-barrel were used to mount portable miniature temperature loggers (MTL) for down-core in situ temperature measurements. Several sub-regions were investigated during the expedition including two shelf-slope crossings, three mud volcano-type expulsion features, as well as two canyon sites. The last site visited was at the Gary Knolls, just east of the Mackenzie Trough at water depths of less than 100 m. Overall, temperature data obtained from the MTLs were of high quality at most stations and the data acquisition technique was proven to be robust and easy to adapt in the Arctic. However, depth determination for each logger position remains the largest challenge as no additional pressure sensor was used with the MTLs. Instead, depths were estimated based on the apparent core penetration and the geometry of the outriggers. The most significant result from this work is the discovery of the very large apparent geothermal gradients associated with the two expulsion features (EF) Coke Cap and the mud volcano at 420 m water depth. Temperatures measured within the top 2.5 meter below seafloor suggest geothermal gradients of up to 2.94ºC/m (Station 96, 420m EF) and 1.37 ºC/m (Station 58, Coke Cap EF). Away from the centre of the EFs, thermal gradients decrease to values of 0.5ºC/m for Station 99 at the 420 m EF, and 0.92ºC/m at Station 21 at the Coke Cap EF. Temperature data across the slope-shelf transect and the two transects across the canyon heads did not reveal considerable geothermal gradients, but show a water-depth dependent trend in temperature. From deep to shallow water, temperature appear to decrease until the most negative temperature values are found on the shelf itself at water depths of ~100 m (-1.2 to -1.4ºC). Overall, data from the top 1.0 to 1.5 meter below seafloor are likely affected by seasonal variations in the water column temperature and may not be used to define geothermal gradients. With an optimal full penetration of the core barrel, the deepest temperature data are from ~2.3 mbsf, which limits the accuracy of the estimated geothermal gradients as only few data points (2 - 4) can be used in the calculations