The Impact of Voter Exit on Party Survival: Evidence from Zimbabwe\u27s ZANU-PF

This dissertation considers the impact of voter exit on the survival of incumbent regimes. I argue that voters exit the political process as a result of emigration or political violence. Using the example of Zimbabwe, I argue that ZANU-PF benefited from the exit of nearly four million Zimbabweans who emigrated outside the country in response to declining economic conditions and who exited the political system as a result of violence

Hand X-ray absorptiometry for measurement of bone mineral density on a slot-scanning X-ray imaging system

Includes bibliographical references.Bone mineral density (BMD) is an indicator of bone strength. While femoral and spinal BMDs are traditionally used in the management of osteoporosis, BMD at peripheral sites such as the hand has been shown to be useful in evaluating fracture risk for axial sites. These peripheral locations have been suggested as alternatives to the traditional sites for BMD measurement. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold standard for measuring BMD due to low radiation dose, high accuracy and proven ability to evaluate fracture risk. Computed digital absorptiometry (CDA) has also been shown to be very effective at measuring the bone mass in hand bones using an aluminium step wedge as a calibration reference. In this project, the aim was to develop algorithm s for accurate measurement of BMD in hand bones on a slot - scanning digital radiography system. The project assess e d the feasibility of measuring bone mineral mass in hand bones using CDA on the current system. Images for CDA - based measurement were acquired using the default settings on the system for a medium sized patient. A method for automatic processing of the hand images to detect the aluminium step wedge, included in the scan for calibration, was developed and the calibration accuracy of the step wedge was evaluated. The CDA method was used for computation of bone mass with units of equivalent aluminium thickness (mmA1). The precision of the method was determined by taking three measurements in each of 1 6 volunteering subjects and computing the root - mean - square coefficient of variation (CV) of the measurements. The utility of the method was assessed by taking measurements of excised bones and assessing the correlation between the measured bone mass and ash weight obtained by incinerating the bones. The project also assessed the feasibility of implementing a DXA technique using two detectors in a slot-scanning digital radiography system to acquire dual-energy X-ray images for measuring areal and volumetric BMD of the middle phalanx of the middle finger. The dual-energy images were captured in two consecutive scans. The first scan captured the low- energy image using the detector in its normal set-up. The second scan captured the high- energy image with the detector modified to include an additional scintillator to simulate the presence of a second detector that would capture the low-energy image in a two-detector system. Scan parameters for acquisition of the dual-energy images were chosen to optimise spectral separation, entrance dose and image quality. Simulations were carried out to evaluate the spectral separation of the low- and high-energy spectra

The Impact of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment on employment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

The recent surge in Chinese Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the African continent has brought about much debate and speculation around the potential implications both for the continent as a whole, and for individual African countries. There are mixed sentiments regarding the impact of Chinese FDI in Africa and speculation as to whether the continent has been benefiting more from Chinese investments than it has been losing. Shen (2013) points to two opposing views on China's investment in Africa. On one side China is hailed for bridging the technological and capital gap that has been hampering economic growth in Africa, and for coming to Africa's rescue by being more willing to invest in the continent than the West has been, especially after the financial crisis of 2008. However, the other side sees China as a ruthless investor, intent on plundering the African continent's resources and ultimately taking over its economies (Kolstad & Wiig, 2012). The current research focuses on an area of particular interest and importance for the African continent: specific ways in which Chinese FDI has impacted economic growth and employment in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The study employed a panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag model and conducted Granger causality tests on a sample of the top ten SSA recipients of Chinese FDI for the period 2003 to 2017. The results of the analysis revealed that Chinese FDI had a positive effect during this period on both employment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a 1% increase in Chinese FDI resulting in a marginal 0.20% increase in employment, and a 0.17 % increase in economic growth. The findings of the research support the FDI-Led economic growth theory and Robert Solow's neo-classical growth model, which argues that economic growth is achieved through an increase in capital growth, labour force, and technical knowledge (Solow, 1957). Granger causality tests indicated the presence of a bi-directional relationship between Chinese FDI and economic growth. As this was a quantitative study, and significant factors pertaining to Chinese FDI in developing countries in Africa are qualitative in nature, it is recommended that qualitative studies be conducted in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the impact of Chinese FDI in African countries

Tweeting to Democracy: A new anti-authoritarian liberation struggle in Zimbabwe

What does it take for a citizen movement to topple a deep-rooted authoritarian regime? This paper analyses the successes and failures of citizen-led social media campaigns in Zimbabwe. Using data drawn from an extensive ethnographic study of 50 WhatsApp and Facebook communities, this paper studies the conditions under which citizen activism, particularly those movements that originate on social media, become street protests that can effectively unseat an illegitimate regime. I find that the success of recent movements – evidenced by policy changes and increased citizen participation – is in part because of the rise of a youth citizenry that does not feel indebted to the liberation struggle. Zimbabwean born frees are more willing to take political risks by speaking candidly about politics online and mobilizing their peers.O que é preciso para um movimento cidadão derrubar um regime autoritário profundamente enraizado? Este artigo analisa os sucessos e fracassos das campanhas nas redes sociais conduzidas por cidadãos no Zimbábue. Utilizando dados extraídos de um extenso estudo etnográfico de 50 comunidades WhatsApp e Facebook, este artigo estuda as condições sob as quais o ativismo cidadão, particularmente os movimentos originados nas redes sociais, se tornam protestos de rua que podem efetivamente destituir um regime ilegítimo. Considero que o sucesso de movimentos recentes – evidenciado por mudanças de política e aumento da participação cidadã – é devido em parte à emergência de jovens cidadãos que não se sentem em dívida com a luta de libertação. Os zimbabuanos nascidos livres estão mais dispostos a assumir riscos políticos falando abertamente sobre política online e mobilizando os seus pares

Segmentation of candidate bacillus objects in images of Ziehl-Neelsen-stained sputum smears using deformable models

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-88).Automated microscopy for the detection of tuberculosis (TB) in sputum smears seeks to address the strain on technicians and to achieve faster diagnosis in order to cope with the rising number of TB cases. Image processing techniques provide a useful alternative to the conventional, manual analysis of sputum smears for diagnosis. In the project described here, the use of parametric and geometric deformable models was explored for segmentation of TB bacilli in images of Ziehl-Neelsen-stained sputum smears for automated TB diagnosis. The goal of segmentation is to produce candidate bacillus objects for input into a classifier

Measurement of Skin Induration Size Using Smartphone Images and Photogrammetric Reconstruction: Pilot Study

Background: The tuberculin skin test (TST) is the most common method for detecting latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The test requires that a patient return to the health facility or be visited by a health care worker 48 to 72 hours after the intradermal placement of tuberculin so that the size of the resulting skin induration, if any, can be measured. Objective: This study aimed to propose and evaluate an image-based method for measuring induration size from images captured using a smartphone camera. Methods: We imaged simulated skin indurations, ranging from 4.0 to 19 mm, in 10 subjects using a handheld smartphone, and performed three-dimensional reconstruction of the induration sites using photogrammetry software. An experienced TST reader measured the size of each induration using the standard clinical method. The experienced reader and an inexperienced observer both measured the size of each induration using the software. The agreement between measurements generated by the standard clinical and image-based methods was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Inter- and intraobserver agreement for the image-based method was similarly evaluated. Results: Results showed excellent agreement between the standard and image-based measurements performed by the experienced reader with an ICC value of .965. Inter- and intraobserver agreements were also excellent, indicating that experience in reading TSTs is not required with our proposed method. Conclusions: We conclude that the proposed smartphone image-based method is a potential alternative to standard induration size measurement and would enable remote data collection for LTBI screening

Introduction

Some thirty years ago, Benin’s Conférence des Forces Vives de la Nation paved the way for the end of Mathieu Kérékou rule and inaugurated a new democratic order in country (Banégas, 1995; Bratton & van de Walle, 1997). The successful transition in Benin pioneered the wave of democratisation in Africa and the demise of formal one-party rule in most countries. In the backcloth of domestic and international pressures, incumbent authoritarian parties embarked in significant liberalisation reforms..

Application of goal programming on a marketing decision for a promotional strategy

A Monthly Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International e-Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories.,Promotions have become an essential tool to financial performance of retail organisations. The actuation of this study was to map a way to survive in a stiff competition market environment by focusing efforts on products that are best financial performers in a grocery retail shop. In doing so, Pareto analysis was used to classify the products according to their sales frequency contribution. The products that exhibit the largest frequency were chosen as the vital few products and 14 out of 46 were identified. In addition to the sales frequency goal were 3 more priority goals that had to be considered because high sales do not necessarily mean high profits. That is where goal programming approach came in to strike a balance amongst the prioritised goals. Finally the number of products reduced to 10 for the optimal promotional product mix and they constituted approximately 20% of the total number of products under study. This complies with 80:20 PARETO principle. A survey in the consumer market confirmed the products and thus, validating the goal programming outcome. The study, therefore, concludes that a mathematical programming approach is effectively applicable to a marketing decision problem where a promotional marketing strategy is needed

Introduction

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