Goodbye to Projects? Working paper 1: Annotated bibliography on livelihood approaches and development interventions.

YesThis paper is one in a series of working papers prepared under a research project on Goodbye to Projects? The Institutional Impacts of a Livelihood Approach on Projects and Project Cycle Management. This is a collaborative project between the Bradford Centre for International Centre for Development (BCID) with the Economic and Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Uganda; Khanya ¿ managing rural change, South Africa; and, the Institute for Development Management (IDM), Tanzania. The project is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) under their Economic and Social Research Programme (ESCOR).Department for International Developmen

A study of nozzle and ejector flow problems by the method of integral relations

The application of the method of integral relations to nozzle and ejector flow problems was examined. For nozzle flow problems, the general formulation is that the approaching flow may be rotational. Particular attention was given to the phenomenon of choking under nonuniform flow conditions. Numerical integration of the governing ordinary differential equations was also investigated. This scheme of analysis was also applied to study the interacting flow field within an ejector system

Do Race and Ethnicity Influence Turnover Intention in Newly Licensed Registered Nurses?

Background: Demand for health care services is rising while newly licensed nurses vacate employment positions at alarming rates. Healthcare leadership has called for an increased diversification of the healthcare workforce, but the workplace experience of nonwhite nurses in the first years has not been assessed. Methods: This study utilized a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. The sample was limited to newly licensed nurses with no prior experience as a nurse. Linear regression models were constructed to determine which personal and structural attributes are associated with turnover intention, stratified by race and ethnicity. Hierarchical, backwards stepwise selection was used to build the final model. Results: The majority of respondents were white English-speaking females, never married, holding a BSN and working in an acute care hospital. Nurses who speak a language other than English at home are treated more poorly than primary English speakers. Hispanics are most likely to report a negative work environment, a hostile climate, general incivility and inappropriate jokes. Turnover intention was associated with months at the current job, a negative work environment including experiencing incivility, not having enough time to do the things that must be done, and confidence in the ability to do one’s job list. Blacks are likely to report a high turnover intention but remain in the current job while acknowledging a hostile environment and general incivility. Many nurses employed in non-acute care settings are nonwhite, report higher workload scores and high patient assignments. Conclusions: Nonwhite nurses report negative work environments and high intention to leave but remain in their jobs. Among the full sample of newly licensed nurses, months at the current job, a negative work environment, including experiencing incivility, not having enough time to do the things that must be done, and confidence in the ability to do one’s job were associated with turnover intention. Efforts to diversify the workforce must include education to prepare minority nurses for the environment they may encounter, including uncivil behavior and high workloads. Policy initiatives must address the treatment of new nurses and support new nurses as they transition to the professional role

Goodbye to Projects? - Briefing Paper 3: The changing format of development interventions.

yesThis briefing paper reports on research exploring ten detailed case studies of livelihoods-oriented interventions operating in Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Lesotho. As a proxy for best practice, these interventions were analysed through an audit of sustainable livelihood `principles¿. This revealed general lessons about both the practical opportunities and challenges for employing sustainable livelihoods approaches to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions and also about the changing format of development interventions.Department for International Development

Goodbye to Projects? Briefing Paper 1: An Overview: Projects and Principles.

YesThis briefing paper reports on research exploring ten detailed case studies of livelihoods-oriented interventions operating in Tanzania, Lesotho, South Africa and Uganda. Analysing these interventions through an audit of sustainable livelihood `principles¿ (as a proxy for best practice) revealed general lessons both about the practical opportunities and challenges for employing sustainable livelihoods approaches to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions and also about the changing format of development interventions.Department for International Developmen

Goodbye to Projects? Briefing Paper 2: The Application of the SL Principles.

YesThis briefing paper reports on research exploring ten detailed case studies of livelihoods-oriented interventions operating in Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Lesotho. As a proxy for best practice, these interventions were analysed through an audit of sustainable livelihood `principles¿. This revealed general lessons about both the practical opportunities and challenges for employing sustainable livelihoods approaches to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions and also about the changing format of development interventions.Department for International Development

Age and Ovariectomy Abolish Beneficial Effects of Female Sex on Rat Ventricular Myocytes Exposed to Simulated Ischemia and Reperfusion

Sex differences in responses to myocardial ischemia have been described, but whether cardiomyocyte function is influenced by sex in the setting of ischemia and reperfusion has not been elucidated. This study compared contractions and intracellular Ca2+ in isolated ventricular myocytes exposed to ischemia and reperfusion. Cells were isolated from anesthetized 3-month-old male and female Fischer 344 rats, paced at 4 Hz (37°C), exposed to simulated ischemia (20 mins) and reperfused. Cell shortening (edge detector) and intracellular Ca2+ (fura-2) were measured simultaneously. Cell viability was assessed with Trypan blue. Ischemia reduced peak contractions and increased Ca2+ levels equally in myocytes from both sexes. However, contraction amplitudes were reduced in reperfusion in male myocytes, while contractions recovered to exceed control levels in females (62.6±5.1 vs. 140.1±15.8%; p<0.05). Only 60% of male myocytes excluded trypan blue dye after ischemia and reperfusion, while all female cardiomyocytes excluded the dye (p<0.05). Parallel experiments were conducted in myocytes from ∼24-month-old female rats or 5–6-month-old rats that had an ovariectomy at 3–4 weeks of age. Beneficial effects of female sex on myocyte viability and contractile dysfunction in reperfusion were abolished in cells from 24-month-old females. Aged female myocytes also exhibited elevated intracellular Ca2+ and alternans in ischemia. Cells from ovariectomized rats displayed increased Ca2+ transients and spontaneous activity in ischemia compared to sham-operated controls. None of the myocytes from ovariectomized rats were viable after 15 minutes of ischemia, while 75% of sham cells remained viable at end of reperfusion (p<0.05). These findings demonstrate that cardiomyocytes from young adult females are more resistant to ischemia and reperfusion injury than cells from males. Age and OVX abolish these beneficial effects and induce Ca2+ dysregulation at the level of the cardiomyocyte. Thus, beneficial effects of estrogen in ischemia and reperfusion are mediated, in part, by effects on cardiomyocytes

Goodbye to Projects? - Briefing Paper 4: Lessons for the community-based planning interventions.

YesThis briefing paper compares two approaches to community-based planning in Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. Analysing these interventions through an audit of sustainable livelihood `principles¿ (as a proxy for best practice) reveals general lessons about both the practical opportunities and challenges for employing sustainable livelihoods approaches to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions and also about the changing format of development interventions.Department for International Developmen

COBRA: a new European research project for organic plant breeding

Development of organic plant breeding and seed production will have a valuable impact on organic plant production. Breeding of plant material adapted for organic agriculture is crucial in order to cope with stresses such as climate change, weeds and seed borne diseases. Conventional varieties may not meet the specific needs of organic agriculture. The use of plant material adapted to conditions of organic agriculture will have a positive effect on the productivity and sustainability of organic crop production