IDENTIFYING POLICY RELEVANT VARIABLES FOR REDUCING CHILDHOOD MALNUTRITION IN RURAL MALI

The paper uses OLS and Logit analyses of household survey data to identify and compare determinants of the health and nutritional status of Malian children living in three distinct agricultural production zones (cotton, millet/sorghum, and irrigated rice). These preliminary results suggest that improvements in health center coverage (e.g., reducing the average distance to a health center from 20 to 10 kilometers) and more diversity in complementary foods after six months of age (two or more different foods during a 24 hour period) have the potential to significantly improve standardized height for age scores. Other factors of importance are mother's incomes, prenatal visits, and parents' standardized heights (reflecting either genetic traits or generations of poor nutrition). Recommendations for reducing Mali's high prevalence of malnutrition include the need to raise awareness of the problem among rural populations. Because rural health workers, local administrators, and parents do not recognize malnutrition as a problem, newly empowered decentralized governments will need some external assistance to get the issue on local agendas and identify potential solutions.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Transformation of a Corporate Culture in a Mature Organization

Much recent attention has been focused on organizational culture as a useful vehicle for understanding organizations. There have been many studies of the cultures of organizations and some on efforts by leaders to change them or implant new ones. Most of these have dealt with founders, their successors or other early generations of leadership or management. Many of them are anecdotal and most, if not all, have been conducted by researchers external to the organization. The limited time and access typically available to the researchers have generally impeded efforts to penetrate to the core culture or to identify significant subcultures. Moreover, there is a paucity of research efforts which examine the transformation of an existing culture in an already-mature business enterprise. This descriptive research employs the historical case study, ethnographic and phenomenological methodologies to determine how a culture evolved at Great American First Savings Bank and how it was transformed by leaders to facilitate attainment of a shared vision and goals for the organization. A history of the 104-year-old financial institution has been developed to serve as necessary background for understanding the culture which evolved. The study describes the current corporate culture as well as the several subcultures which have developed and the persons, events and circumstances which influenced them. The interaction of the main culture and subcultures was also analyzed. Examined also was the effect of mergers and acquisitions upon the parent culture and the culture of the acquired companies. Attempts to preserve the main culture during periods of dramatic change, dynamic growth, deregulation and transformation to a sales and service culture were analyzed. Data were gathered from records, minutes, artifacts, newspaper accounts, periodicals, meetings, conversations and direct observations extending over a period of five years. Additionally, 23 interviews were conducted with current and former members of the organization at various levels and in various locations throughout the company. Results indicate that the culture evolved into a strong, coherent culture over a period of 85 years and that two leaders effected a major transformation of it in order to better position the company and its stakeholders for the growth and competitive environment they knew lay ahead. The findings further suggest that the concept of culture modification is a powerful tool for effecting transformational change or for leading organizations through periods of turbulent change while preserving the basic values and spirit of the organization

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Child Feeding and Care: Preliminary Insights from the Project on Linkages between Child Nutrition and Agricultural Growth

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Downloads May 2008-June 2009: 46,

AGRICULTURE AND RELATED SECTORS IN THE CILSS COUNTRIES: PAST PERFORMANCE AND STRATEGIC CHOICES FOR THE FUTURE

The document identified five priority areas on which to focus future development plans and projects: 1) human resource development; 2)institutional capacity building; 3) rapid and sustainable development of agricultural production; 4) economic growth and diversification; 5) greater regional integration and ties to the world economy. Recognizing that several of these priorities reached beyond its mandate, CILSS recommended that other more qualified regional organizations (ECOWAS, UEMOA) assume their responsibilities in pursuing these objectives. This paper analyzes the past performance, potential for and challenges facing the agricultural sector in the Sahel, focusing on the factors critical to increasing household income and improving food security in the Sahel. It is divided in four parts.Industrial Organization,