Do malaria preventive interventions reach the poor? Socioeconomic inequities in expenditure on and use of mosquito control tools in Sudan.

OBJECTIVES: To determine levels of socioeconomic inequities in the prevention of malaria, and to examine the implications of the findings for improving the equitable control of malaria in the Sudan. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was administered to 720 randomly selected householders from six localities in Gezira and Khartoum States. A socioeconomic status (SES) index, which was developed using principal components analysis, was used to examine socioeconomic inequity in the prevention of malaria. FINDINGS: Socioeconomic status was positively related to expenditures and use of vector control tools. The poorest households spent the least amounts of money to prevent malaria and were the least likely to own mosquito nets. CONCLUSION: The inequity in the prevention of malaria in the study areas has to be redressed before malaria can be effectively controlled in Sudan. Malaria control managers should continually determine the extent to which malaria preventive tools reach the poorest socioeconomic groups, and fashion strategies that will ensure that equity is always maintained

INCONVERTIBILITY LOSS AND MURABAHA: A RECOVERY OPTION FOR ISLAMIC POLITICAL RISK INSURERS

This paper attempts to illustrate the primacy of the Shari’a-compliant murabaha transaction as a means of inconvertibility loss recovery by Islamic political risk insurers.  In practical terms, the risk most likely to occur in an underdeveloped Muslim country is the risk of the local currency becoming inconvertible because of a certain action or inaction by the authorities of the host country which is the destination of an export trade transaction, or a foreign direct investment covered under a political risk insurance policy. The political risk insurance (PRI) operator most concerned with the subject of this paper is the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group.  Where the PRI operator is established within the auspices of a lending agency which lends in local currency, and provided that the necessary legal arrangements are in place, the PRI’s local currency holdings could be passed on to the lending agency in the host country and the foreign currency equivalent thereof paid over to the PRI operator at its head office. In countries where a lender is not extending local currency financing and a speedy economic recovery is not expected, an attractive alternative for a PRI operator, as the authors argue, is the utilization of the local currency in murabaha transactions. PRI operators’ apprehension about the risk of inconvertibility finds expression in denial of the inconvertibility coverage altogether.  Where this is not the case, a PRI operator may impose recovery ceilings, demand the expiry of extended waiting periods, as well as compliance with a variety of other conditions prior to recovery. This paper argues that such measures are self-defeating. A Shari’a-compliant PRI operator is necessarily established to provide coverage against commercial and non-commercial risks in poor Muslim countries. To deny or restrict inconvertibility risk coverage in such countries is unacceptable. Murabaha is a panacea for currency inconvertibility: it is the most popular form of Islamic financing in the world, it is easy to structure, and its profits are almost certainly rewarding. While the risk of non-payment of the price by overseas buyers of Muslim country exports is minimal, risks associated with murabahacould be further minimized by means of export credit insurance coverage by local export promotion agencies

A Comparative Study on the Socioeconomic and Political Conditions of Indian and Chinese Communities in Malaysia

The present study examined the socioeconomic and political status of the Indian and Chinese populations residing in Malaysia. The focus of this investigation has been limited to specifically analyse three domains: education, employment, and political representation. The variation in criteria employed for analysing the given circumstance might be attributed to the distinct perspectives of each group. According to Darin-Mattsson, Fors, and Kåreholt (2017), various approaches have been utilised to operationalize the concept of socioeconomic position. Education, social class, and income have been identified as the key determinants among these several factors. Hence, this study investigates the conditions of Indian and Chinese communities, taking into consideration the specific criteria outlined earlier. The analysis suggests that the Indian and Chinese groups are engaged in a situation of competition with the Malay majority. The Chinese community exhibits a significant presence and prominence in the realm of commerce and wealth accumulation, surpassing that of the Malay and Indian groups. The Indian community exhibits a higher prevalence of poverty in comparison to the Chinese community. Nevertheless, despite the implementation of the Malay reservation policy, both communities have demonstrated commendable progress in the areas of education, employment, and political engagement. Additionally, the government has shown a proactive approach in addressing the challenges and disadvantages faced by these communities

Micro-strip ferromagnetic resonance study of strain-induced anisotropy in amorphous FeCuNbSiB film on flexible substrate

The magnetic anisotropy of a FeCuNbSiB (Finemet) film deposited on Kapton has been studied by micro-strip ferromagnetic resonance technique. We have shown that the flexibility of the substrate allows a good transmission of elastic strains generated by a piezoelectric actuator. Following the resonance field angular dependence, we also demonstrate the possibility of controlling the magnetic anisotropy of the film by applying relatively small voltages to the actuator. Moreover, a suitable model taking into account the effective elastic strains measured by digital image correlation and the effective elastic coefficients measured by Brillouin light scattering, allowed to deduce the magnetostrictive coefficient. This latter was found to be positive $(\lambda=16\times10^{-6}$) and consistent with the usually reported values for bulk amorphous FeCuNbSiB.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Glossary of political science terms: Islamic and western

This book provides a clear and lively introduction to selected Islamic and Western political science terms. It is the first of its kind, combining Political Science terms from the two streams and presents succinct definitions and explanations of around 2,000 key concepts in an engaging style

Perhitungan Stabilitas Dan Tegangan Bendung Dengan Dan Tanpa Kolam Olak Pada Daerah Irigasi Ladang Laweh

Bendung merupakan bangunan air melintang sungai, yang digunakan untuk meninggikan muka air. Bendung dibagi menjadi dua, yaitu bendung tetap dan bendung gerak. Pada perencanaan konstruksi bendung diperlukan perhitungan stabilitas dari bendung. Terdapat beberapa persyaratan untuk menyatakan bendung stabil, yaitu bendung harus aman terhadap guling (overturning), geser (sliding), erosi bawah tanah (piping), dan daya dukung tanah. Pada bendung terdapat beberapa gaya yang mempengaruhi kestabilannya, yaitu gaya berat, gaya angkat (uplift), gaya hidrostatis, gaya tekanan lumpur, dan gaya gempa. Bendung Daerah Irigasi Ladang Laweh merupakan bendung tetap yang terletak di nagari Sicincin Kabupaten Padang Pariaman. Bendung ini dibangun pada sungai Batang Ulakan sehingga dapat digunakan untuk mengairi sawah-sawah setempat. Akan tetapi, seiring meningkatnya intensitas curah hujan yang mengakibatkan debit sungai batang ulakan semakin tinggi sehingga dapat mengganggu kestabilan dari bendung. Dengan demikian diperlu-kannya analisa stabilitas bendung Daerah Irigasi Ladang Laweh. Data curah hujan yang digunakan pada penelitian ini berasal dari stasiun hujan Kandang IV, Paraman Talang, dan Lubuk Napar sebanyak 20 tahun (2002-2021). Debit banjir dengan periode ulang 25 tahun yang didapatkan sebesar 378 m3/s. Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan stabilitas bendung dengan kolam olak bendung hanya mampu menahan guling (overturning) dan erosi bawah tanah (piping). Selanjutnya, untuk perhitungan stabilitas bendung tanpa kolam olak bendung tidak mampu menahan semuanya, sehingga dapat dinyatakan Bendung Daerah Irigasi Ladang Laweh tidak memenuhi persyaratan untuk dikategorikan sebagai bendung yang stabil. Lalu, berdasarkan hasil pemodelan SAP2000 pada kondisi air normal menghasilkan tegangan maksimum positif sebesar 10,82 ton/m2, dan tegangan negatif sebesar -40,12 ton/m2, pada kondisi air banjir didapatkan nilai tegangan maksimum positif sebesar 23,86 ton/m2, dan nilai tegangan positif sebesar -77,55 ton/m2. Dari pemodelan tersebut kondisi kritis bendung berada pada puncak mercu bendung, bagian ujung kolam olak dan tekuk sebelum mercu bendung. Bagian bendung yang mempunyai nilai tegangan maksimum merupakan bagian bendung yang rentan terhadap kerusakan

Middle East link of terrorist threats from the perspective of pesantren in Indonesia: case study in the area of Malang

Purpose of the study: This article elaborates on the perspective of pesantren towards the Middle East link of the terrorist threat in Indonesia and their notion on the policies conducted by the Indonesian government, especially in the area of Malang. Methodology: This research is qualitative research by in-depth interviews, literature reviews, and focus group discussion (FGD) collecting data methods. The objects of this research were several pesantren leaders from different backgrounds such as Al Irsyad, Hidayatullah, Muhammadiyah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Nahdatul Ulama (NU), and Salafi. The data were analyzed using Nvivo 12 Plus and discussed with various literature reviews to perform the finding. Main Findings: The pesantren considers that increasing cooperation between state agencies and groups that are judged as having a link to sources for radical ideology in the Middle East would help minimize the problem of radicalism and the threat of terrorism in Indonesia, especially in the Malang area. Therefore, in assessing and deciding various policies on Islamic terrorism, the government needs to consider the Islamic discourse as not to be misled by public opinion. Applications of this study: This study is helpful for the government to evaluate its policies to face the issues of terrorism by understanding the Middle East link of terrorism in Indonesia based on the perspective of pesantren. Moreover, in a terrorism study, this article can be a reference source to analyze the issues. Novelty/Originality of this study: The growing terrorism in Indonesia is often associated with pesantren as these institutions are assumed to have the potency of supporting radicalism. Moreover, they have an ideological and network connection with the Islamic movements in the Middle East. On the other hand, pesantren is claimed to be a means of spreading peaceful Islam and is ready to cooperate with the government in handling the issue of terrorism in Indonesia

South-South cooperation: a case study of contemporary Sudanese-Malaysian relations

South-South cooperation is an approach to international economic and political relations among developing countries to enhance development prospects; it has been increasing in significance. Such a strategy was adopted bilaterally at the outset between Malaysia and Sudan but eventually evolved to include a broader network of Asian and African Countries. This paper is focused on Malaysia-Sudan relations as a case study. It adopts a qualitative approach comprising reliance on primary and secondary sources of data to study the relations of exchange between the two countries. Findings lend support to claims of potential rewards in South-South Cooperation. Through it Sudan managed to exploit its idle oil reserves and achieve high rates of economic growth. Similarly, Malaysia achieved very good results in areas of trade and investment and managed to open up business opportunities in other African countries. Sudan was also able to build productive cooperation with a number of Asian countries. All countries involved benefited from the cooperation

Socio-economic inequity in demand for insecticide-treated nets, in-door residual house spraying, larviciding and fogging in Sudan

BACKGROUND: In order to optimally prioritize and use public and private budgets for equitable malaria vector control, there is a need to determine the level and determinants of consumer demand for different vector control tools. OBJECTIVES: To determine the demand from people of different socio-economic groups for indoor residual house-spraying (IRHS), insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), larviciding with chemicals (LWC), and space spraying/fogging (SS) and the disease control implications of the result. METHODS: Ratings and levels of willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the vector control tools were determined using a random cross-sectional sample of 720 householdes drawn from two states. WTP was elicited using the bidding game. An asset-based socio-economic status (SES) index was used to explore whether WTP was related to SES of the respondents. RESULTS: IRHS received the highest proportion of highest preferred rating (41.0%) followed by ITNs (23.1%). However, ITNs had the highest mean WTP followed by IRHS, while LWC had the least. The regression analysis showed that SES was positively and statistically significantly related to WTP across the four vector control tools and that the respondents' rating of IRHS and ITNs significantly explained their levels of WTP for the two tools. CONCLUSION: People were willing to pay for all the vector-control tools, but the demand for the vector control tools was related to the SES of the respondents. Hence, it is vital that there are public policies and financing mechanisms to ensure equitable provision and utilisation of vector control tools, as well as protecting the poor from cost-sharing arrangements