Alternative School Principals’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Their School Setting

This session will present principal and teacher survey responses from a Georgia service area to show the level of existence of 40 effective alternative school characteristics and the importance of these same characteristics in their respective alternative schools. Principal and teacher interview data will be presented. Implications of the data will be discussed

Contributions of Selected Sachet Water Enterprises to Poverty Reduction in Yola, Adamawa Sate

Over the years successive governments in Nigeria have recognized the importance of Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in ensuring sustainable growth and developing in the economy. Like many other developing nations, Nigeria government has introduced various programmes such as Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Community Banking Scheme (CBS) and Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) among others to support SMEs growth in order to enhance job creation and further reduce poverty level. The extent to which these programmes have reduced the level of poverty in Nigeria remains a thing of intense debate in the academic discourse. Hence, this study assesses the contributions of selected sachet water enterprises to poverty reduction in Yola metropolis, Adamawa State, north eastern part of Nigeria. Hypothesis was formulated to guide and direct the study. The researchers used a survey design and data were collected using an instrument referred to as SAWAFPOR instrument from 132 sachet water firms that were randomly selected from 200 Sachet water firms in Yola metropolis of Adamawa State. Data was analyzed using regression analysis. The study revealed that sachet water enterprises in Yola metropolis had a small significant impact on poverty reduction level especially in the areas of creating jobs; increase in investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and improving the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants. The study concluded that sachet water enterprises have caused a small reduction in poverty level in Yola metropolis. The study recommended that governments and non-governmental organizations should create an enabling environment for the establishment and sustainability of sachet water MSMEs in view of their potential to aid poverty reduction. Keywords: Sachet Water MSMEs, Poverty Reduction, Yola metropolis, Government Funding Interventions

Is It Formal or Informal? Choice of Market Outlets for Unprocessed Tea in Nandi County, Kenya

The tea industry plays a key role in the agriculture sector and the economy at large with tea output contributing about 11% of the agriculture sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product. Like many other crops in Kenya, tea is produced both on small and large-scale basis. Smallholder farmers in Kenya make a significant contribution to the industry producing 61% of the total national production and with 66% of tea acreage. Formal market outlets are more profitable than informal ones. However, small tea agri enterprises in Nandi County prefer selling their unprocessed tea to informal market outlets. Empirical evidence on what motivates these agri-enterprises to sell most of their tea to these outlets is scanty. The main objective of this study was to compare the profitability of formal and informal market outlets for unprocessed tea in Nandi County. Multistage sampling procedure was employed and 384 respondents interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using gross margin analysis. Formal market outlets are more beneficial because of higher gross margin rate of 12.71% compared to informal market outlets having the gross margin rate of 1.08%.The findings are helpful in guiding smallholder tea farmers in information on the most profitable and efficient market outlets and informing policy makers on how to improve the efficiency of market outlets. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-22-10 Publication date: November 30th 202

Scaling-up sanitation and hygiene promotion through grant-making

Kenya losses USD 324 million per year due to poor sanitation (World Bank, 2012), and 19,500 Kenyans, including 17,100 children under 5 die each year due to diarrhoea. This paper aims to demonstrate how the Kenya Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Programme (K-SHIP) is scaling up Sanitation & Hygiene promotion through grant-making while contributing to the country’s target of being Open Defecation Free (ODF) by the year 2020. KSHIP is funded by Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) through Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) and implemented by Amref Health Africa in Kenya. In 2016, K-SHIP competitively contracted 17 sub-grantees(SGs) who implemented sanitation and hygiene activities in 11 counties reaching over 235,663 people with S&H services. The capacity of the SGs was built and the model can be used as an advocacy tool for resource mobilization. 149 villages have been certified ODF which is associated with reduced sanitation related morbidity

A logical framework for forensic DNA interpretation

The forensic community has devoted much effort over the last decades to the development of a logical framework for forensic interpretation, which is essential for the safe administration of justice. We review the research and guidelines that have been published and provide examples of how to implement them in casework. After a discussion on uncertainty in the criminal trial and the roles that the DNA scientist may take, we present the principles of interpretation for evaluative reporting. We show how their application helps to avoid a common fallacy and present strategies that DNA scientists can apply so that they do not transpose the conditional. We then discuss the hierarchy of propositions and explain why it is considered a fundamental concept for the evaluation of biological results and the differences between assessing results given propositions that are at the source level or the activity level. We show the importance of pre-assessment, especially when the questions relate to the alleged activities, and when transfer and persistence need to be considered by the scientists to guide the court. We conclude with a discussion on statement writing and testimony. This provides guidance on how DNA scientists can report in a balanced, transparent, and logical way

Regional variation in the flexural properties of the equine hoof wall

The equine hoof wall is a hard, keratinous structure that transmits forces generated when the hoof connects the ground to the skeleton of the horse. During locomotion the hoof capsule is known to deform, resulting in an inward curvature of the dorsal wall and expansion of the heels. However, while researchers have studied the tensile and compressive properties, there is a lack of data on the flexural properties of the hoof wall in different locations around the hoof capsule. In this study, the flexural properties and hydration status of the hoof wall were investigated in two orthogonal directions, in different locations around the hoof capsule. The hoof was divided into three regions: the dorsal-most aspect (toe), the medial and lateral regions (quarters) and the heels caudally. Beams were cut both perpendicular (transverse) and parallel (longitudinal) to the orientation of the tubules. Differences in the mechanical properties were then investigated using three-point bending tests. There were considerable differences in the flexural properties around the hoof capsule; transverse beams from the heel were 45% more compliant than those from the toe region. This corresponded with changes in the hydration of the hoof wall; beams from the heel region were more hydrated (28.2 ± 0.60%) than those from the toe (24.2 ± 0.44%; P < 0.01). Regional variation in the water content is thought to help explain differences in the flexural properties. Mechanical data are further discussed in relation to variation in the structure and loading of the hoof wall

Simulation of radio emission from cosmic ray air shower with SELFAS2

We present a microscopic computation of the radio emission from air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the atmosphere. The strategy adopted is to compute each secondary particle contribution of the electromagnetic component and to construct the total signal at any location. SELFAS2 is a code which doesn't rely on air shower generators like AIRES or CORSIKA and it is based on the concept of air shower universality which makes it completely autonomous. Each positron and electron of the air shower is generated randomly following relevant distributions and tracking them along their travel in the atmosphere. We confirm in this paper earlier results that the radio emission is mainly due to the time derivative of the transverse current and the time derivative of the charge excess. The time derivative of the transverse current created by systematic deviations of charges in the geomagnetic field is usually dominant compared to the charge excess contribution except for the case of an air shower parallel to the geomagnetic field.Comment: 17 pages, 21 figure