Discussion Sessions Coupled with Microfinancing May Enhance the Roles of Women in Household Decision-Making in Burundi

The empowerment of women within households remains a major issue around the world including in Africa. We have conducted a study in Burundi coupling discussion sessions with microfinancing to determine if they enhance the role of women in decisions regarding household purchases and the reduction of domestic violence. We compare our findings to that from a published study in South Africa that combined discussion sessions on life skills and health on reduction in domestic violence and decisions on economic issues. Both studies used randomized controlled experiments. Both studies show a trend towards increases in household authority, with the Burundi study showing statistical significance. In South Africa there was a large, albeit short lived decrease in domestic violence. In Burundi there was small reduction but trend suggest a longer duration. The effects on overall empowerment are small. These studies suggest that a more sustained use of discussion sessions could be beneficial. Future research could focus on the longer term effects of the use of discussion sessions and investigate how the observed impacts can be sustained in magnitude and duration.domestic violence, microfinance, Burundi

Siblings and human capital: A comparison between Italy and France

This paper investigates how family size affects children’s human capital, comparing Italy and France. We tested the dilution effect in these countries, starting with the assumption that the higher the number of siblings, the fewer parental resources are available for each child, and the lower the probability that each child will successfully pursue his/her educational career. We find a negative correlation between the number of siblings and human capital. However, when the analysis is developed with a causal approach, the strength of the dilution effect weakens in Italy and disappears in France.causal analysis, dilution effect, education, family size, siblings

South Africa at 20: Redressing gender imbalances could bring democracy into South African homes

LSE’s Giulia Ferrari examines ongoing efforts in South Africa to address power imbalances and outlines the challenges that still lie ahead

Economic evaluation of gender empowerment programmes with a violence prevention focus: objective empowerment and subjective wellbeing

Prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) is high the world over, and in sub-Saharan Africa, between 30% and 66% of ever-partnered women aged 15 or over have experienced IPV at least once in their lifetime, and 37% on the African continent. Power imbalance in the household and unequal access to resources are often identified as triggers of violence. Microfinance interventions provide women with access to financial resources as well as soft-skills training (MF-plus). Evidence of microfinance’s impact on IPV is still however contradictory, often confined to observational cross-sectional studies, with narrow definitions of IPV, and no clear link with a process of empowerment. This thesis addresses these limitations by (i) analysing data from the randomised control trials (RCTs) of two microfinance and training interventions in sub-Saharan Africa aimed at reducing IPV; (ii) defining a conceptual framework for the analysis of impact that I term eudaimonic utility (EUD) and linking this with empowerment indicators; and (iii) interpreting this evidence with reference to sociological and economic models of IPV. EUD is the self-actualisation component of psychological measures of wellbeing (WB). I derive EUD from the triangulation of the construct of wellbeing I found in the milieu of sub-Saharan African women targeted by one of the interventions, psychological indices of wellbeing, and properties of plural utility functions. It comprises three psychological dimensions: autonomy (deciding for oneself), meaningful relations with others (maintaining mutually supportive and emotionally meaningful relationships) and environmental mastery (ensuring that the external environment is conducive to one’s flourishing). For the analysis of intervention impact, I group empowerment indicators on the basis of the factor analysis associations with EUD dimensions. Impact estimates suggest that women who access MF-plus services gain more control over their own time, experience improvement in proxies of eudaimonia, and experience reduced IPV exposure. Women who trained in negotiation skills in addition to access to financial services experience limited increase in cooperation with their spouses, but no IPV reduction

Small mammals in a changing world: distributional, demographic and behavioural responses to environmental heterogeneity with implications for host-parasite-pathogen relationships

To upubliserte artikler har blitt fjernet fra den digitale versjonen, og kan leses i den trykte avhandlingen./Two unpublished articles have been removed from this digital version, and can be read in the printed thesis.Arters demografi og funksjonelle roller i miljøet er styrt av samspillet mellom individers iboende tilstand, abiotiske og biotiske forhold, inkludert mellom-artsforhold som vert-parasitt interaksjoner. Slike interaksjoner har generelt blitt undersøkt med langtidsserier og de mange ulike faktorene er lite vurdert. I denne avhandlingen, så har jeg brukt en multi-faktoriell nisje-basert tilnærming for å predikere små pattedyrs proksimate respons på miljø-, klima- og antropogene faktorer, og deres tidsromlige påvirkning på vert-parasitt-sykdom-mønstre. Det ble gjennomført levende fangst av småpattedyrsamfunnet på tvers av breddegrader (Norge og Italia) og over en høydegradient (fra 500 til 2500 moh.). Med et feltdesign som baserte seg på manipulering av mattilgjengelighet, og transekter langs heterogene habitat, vurderte jeg driverne i småpattedyrsamfunnets komposisjon og demografi, og kaskadeeffektene fra antall parasitter og overføring av både vanlige og nye patogener. Jeg fant at småpattedyrs overlevelse var avhengig av en iboende sesongsyklusitet og at den kun ble forsterket av mattilgjengelighet ved krevende værforhold. Likevel så var populasjonsstørrelsen hovedsakelig styrt av klimatiske begrensninger og mattilgjengelighet. Når opportunistiske og dominerende gnagere og ikke-dominer arter var sympatriske, så viste de motsatte demografiske tendenser i forhold til mattilgang der de ikke-dominerende artene fikk redusert overlevelse og populasjonsstørrelse, som indikerer utnyttelses- og interferenskonkurranse (Paper I). Når romlige komponenter i disse mønstrene ble kontrollert for, så fant jeg at mattilgangen for gnagere også reduserte deres romlige utbredelsesområde. Etterhvert som den lokale tettheten av de mest opportunistiske artene økte og jevnheten (evenness) ble redusert, så forsterket høye flått-tettheter gnagernes flåttbelastning, spesielt hos tyngre individer. I sum så vil en ansamling av primær- og sekundærverter på matstasjoner, og mer generelt i antropogene fragmenterte landskap, trolig øke sannsynligheten for å kunne fullføre flåttenes livssyklus. Dette induserer en forsterket flåttbelastningen i enkle vertssamfunn (Paper II). Langs den alpine høydegradienten fant vi støtte for at flått kan trives i et mildere klima som forårsaket av klimaendringer. I tråd med dette kan vertssamfunnets komposisjon og utbredelse over høydegradienten bli påvirket av klimarelaterte forhold. I samsvar med dette, fant jeg at generalister (som klatremus) også var utbredt på høyereliggende områder, de var sympatriske med arter mer tilpasset høyereliggende klima som snømarkmus og markmus. Denne endringen i distribusjonen av generalister og vektorer, var også fulgt av utbredelsen av vanlige gnager- og vektorbærte patogener som syntes å være fordelt på ulike høydenivåer, et aspekt som trenger videre studie (Paper III). Noen protozoer, som Hepatozoon spp. (Paper IV), kan spille en sterk epidemiologisk rolle gjennom næringsnettet. For å konkludere, denne avhandlingen har belyst flere økologiske komplekse forhold omkring små pattedyr i sårbare økosystem. På makro- og mikroskala, brukte vi eksperiment for å demonstrere konsekvenser fra klima og menneskelige forstyrrelser på små pattedyrs samfunn og populasjoner, og deres implikasjoner for menneskers og økosystemers helse.Abstract The demography of species and their functional role in the environment are governed by the interplay between individual internal state, external abiotic and biotic conditions, as well as by interspecific interactions, including host-parasite relationships. Generally, these interactions in wild systems have been investigated by long-term studies, and the different components were so far rarely evaluated ensemble. In this dissertation, I implemented a multi-factorial niche-based approach to predict small mammals’ proximate responses to environmental, climatic and anthropic factors, and their implications for host-parasite-disease spatio-temporal patterns. For this purpose, live-trapping targeting the small mammal community was performed across a wide latitudinal (Norway and Italy) and altitudinal (from 500 to 2500 m a.s.l.) gradient. Through field experimental designs based on manipulation of anthropogenic food availability, and longitudinal transects across heterogeneous habitats, I assessed the drivers of small mammal community composition and demography, and the cascading effects on the parasitic load and the circulation of common and emergent pathogens. I found that small mammal survival depended on intrinsic seasonal cycles and was enhanced by food availability only where harsh climate conditions occurred. Conversely, population size was mainly determined by climate constraints and food availability. When opportunistic, dominant rodent and subordinate vole species were sympatric, they showed opposite demographic trends in presence of anthropogenic food, with the subordinate species decreasing both survival and population size, likely pointing at exploitative and interference competition (Paper I). When the spatial components of these patterns were explicitly accounted for, I found that rodents also decreased their spatial range in presence of anthropogenic food. As the local density of the most opportunistic species increased and evenness decreased, their tick burden was amplified at high tick environmental density, especially in heavier individuals, and diluted at lower tick availability. To sum up, the overlap and aggregation of primary and secondary hosts at feeding sites, and more in general in anthropic, fragmented landscapes, likely enhances the completion of the tick life-cycle, inducing tick-burden amplification in a simplified community of hosts (Paper II). Ticks could also thrive in milder climatic conditions due to climate change, as observed along the Alpine altitudinal gradient. Similarly, the composition and altitudinal distribution of the host community can be affected by climate-related abiotic conditions. In accordance with this expectation, I detected the occurrence of generalist species (e.g. bank vole) also at high altitudes, so resulting sympatric with harsh climate specialists, such as snow and field voles. This upward distributional shift of generalist species, and vectors alongside, were also accompanied by circulation of common rodent- and vector-borne pathogens that seemed to show altitudinal segregation, an aspect that needs further investigation (Paper III). Among these, some protozoans, such as Hepatozoon spp. (Paper IV), that may hold a strong epidemiological role along the food web. In conclusion, this dissertation elucidated some complex ecological relationships that involve small mammals in sensitive ecosystems. At macro- and micro-scale, we experimentally demonstrated the cascading consequences of climate and anthropic disturbances on small mammal communities and populations, and their implications for the health of humans and ecosystems.publishedVersio

Developing new genomic integration-free gene and cell therapy strategies for muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations on the Xlinked dystrophin gene and primarily affects skeletal muscles, resulting in disability and premature death. This thesis looks at different strategies to circumvent substantial obstacles in the development of therapies for this incurable disease. Here I hypothesise that the limited availability of large number of cells and the large size of the dystrophin gene (2.4Mb) can be tackled by combining human artificial chromosome (HAC)-based gene correction and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-mediated production of transplantable myogenic cells. However, another significant hurdle is posed by cell delivery, as skeletal muscle is the most abundant human tissue; therefore I also focused on developing a novel strategy to make the aforementioned DMD iPSC-derived myogenic population systemically deliverable. I hypothesised that cell fate modulators of native skeletal myoblasts could enhanced migratory properties also to human iPSCderived myogenic progenitors. I show that exposure to the Notch ligand DLL4 and PDGF-BB can induce the acquisition of some key properties such as a perivascular marker expression profile and an improved migration in vitro. Taken together these results lay the foundation for a small molecule-based strategy to allow systemic delivery of geneticallycorrected, genomic-integration-free, iPSC-derived myogenic cells for the autologous gene and cell therapy of DMD

Immigrants, schooling and background. Cross-country evidence from PISA 2006

Using data from PISA 2006, we examine the performance of immigrant students in different international educational environments. Our results show smaller immigrant gaps – differences in scores with respect to natives - where educational systems are more flexible and students’ mobility between courses and school programs is higher. Unlike previous studies, our analysis reveals no direct relation between these gaps and education models, be they comprehensive or tracking, adopted by countries.international migration; educational systems; PISA

Immigrants, schooling and background. Cross-country evidence from PISA 2006

Using data from PISA 2006, we examine the performance of immigrant students in different international educational environments. Our results show smaller immigrant gaps – differences in scores with respect to natives - where educational systems are more flexible and students’ mobility between courses and school programs is higher. Unlike previous studies, our analysis reveals no direct relation between these gaps and education models, be they comprehensive or tracking, adopted by countriesInternational migration; educational systems; PISA;

Transition to adulthood in France: Do descendants of immigrants differ from natives ?

This study examines whether major changes in patterns of transition to adulthood have taken place among descendants of immigrants in France. We simultaneously analyze the demographic events that make up the transition to adulthood for two main groups of immigrants’ descendants, i.e., North African and Southern European, and compare them to the pathway of native-born French. We identify five groups of similar trajectories using sequence and cluster analysis. In order to analyze how trajectories to adulthood are shaped by ethnic origin, gender, background characteristics and education, we estimate multinomial logistic regression on the likelihood of belonging to each of the five selected clusters. We find fairly similar paths to adulthood for descendants of immigrants and natives. However, specific patterns do emerge for immigrants’ descendants. They stay significantly longer in the parental home, partly because their parents come from societies characterized by strong family ties, and partly because they have greater difficulties becoming self-sufficient. Descendants of immigrants from North Africa, especially women, also have a lower probability of cohabiting. Finally, descendants of immigrants from North Africa behave more traditionally while descendants of immigrants from Southern Europe behave more like native French