A Preliminary investigation of the kinetics of biological sulphate reduction using ethanol as a carbon source and electron donor

Bibliography: leaves 106-113

The Causality between Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Botswana: A Multivariate Analysis

The paper empirically investigates the short and long-run causal relationship between foreign direct investment, credit to the private sector, trade openness, gross national expenditure and economic growth in Botswana. In doing this, the paper employs multivariate Granger-Causality within an ARDL-bounds approach to co-integration and unrestricted error correction model (UECM). The paper finds that FDI inflow does not spur economic growth but rather, it is economic growth which promotes FDI inflow, credit to the private sector, trade and national expenditure. However, the paper finds a bi-directional relationship between FDI inflow and credit to the private sector both in the short and the long runs. Thus, policies should be targeted at improving the investment climate for existing domestic and foreign investors through infrastructure development and that external capital inflow should be complemented by domestic savings and investors on other to boost economic growth in Botswana

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Group A Rotavirus Infection Among Children with Acute Diarrhea in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Rotavirus infections frequently cause acute gastroenteritis in humans and are the most important cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in young children in both developed and developing countries. This was a prospective cross-sectional, hospital-based study on 300 children ≤ 5 years with acute watery diarrhea who attended Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) and Nyamagana District hospital between May and November 2009. Stool specimens were tested for rotavirus infection using latex agglutination test. Data were cleaned and analyzed using SPSS 11.0. Of 300 children with acute watery diarrhea, 136 (45.3%) were female and the mean age was 12.63 months (SD = 10.4). Sixty-two (20.7%) children were found to have rotavirus infection. Of children with severe malnutrition three (37.5%) were infected with rotavirus. Fifty-two (84%) of children with rotavirus infection were below two years of age. Severe dehydration was present in 48 (16%) children of whom 12 (25%) were infected with rotavirus compared to 18 (16.6%) of 109 children with no dehydration. Living next door to a child with diarrhea was highly associated with rotavirus infection (43% versus 19%; p = 0.036). The mean hospital stay among children with rotavirus infection was 3.66 days versus 2.5 days for those without rotavirus (p = 0.005). Rotavirus infection is prevalent in Mwanza region and contributes to prolonged hospital stay. Proper education on hygiene to control diarrheal diseases among children should be emphasized. Extensive studies to determine the serotypes of rotavirus are warranted in the region before rotavirus vaccine is introduced

The Dynamics Of Financial Liberalisation In Ghana

This paper examines the role of financial liberalisation policies in Ghana and it finds that financial liberalisation policies have had positive effects in Ghana. However, the paper also finds that the same financial liberalisation policies have brought with them a number of interrelated problems that should be addressed by the country. These include the large interest rate spread, an increase in foreign currency deposits, constant depreciation of the domestic currency, a drastic increase in imports, and the reduction of credits to the productive sectors of the economy, as well as the problem of high lending rates which has discouraged investment in the productive sectors of the economy. The extent to which the government should intervene in the financial market to “guide” credit is still under discussion. The paper concludes that, on the whole, financial liberalisation policies have had beneficial effects in Ghana

LIBERALIZACIJA KAMATNIH STOPA U DRŽAVAMA ZAPADNE AFRIKE: IZAZOVI I POSLJEDICE

This paper reviews the challenges and implications of the interest rate liberalisation policies implemented in some West African countries. The literature reviewed so far shows that, the outcomes of interest rate liberalisation, as implemented in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, are positive. However, in some instances the implementation of the policy has led to challenges in other sectors of the economy. The paper, therefore, is of the view that, careful consideration should be given to the interest rate liberalisation policy in developing countries, especially primary commodity exporters like Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast. In all three countries, the results of implementing these policies support numerous past studies that have reported positive outcomes regarding the effects of interest rate liberalisation on economic growth. The paper thus concludes that interest rate liberalisation polices, together with other real sector policies, have a positive impact on economic growth in the countries under review. However, policy makers should put in place alternative policies in order to deal with any possible challenges that may occur as a consequence of the implementation of interest rate liberalisation in these countries.U ovom se radu razmatraju izazovi i posljedice liberalizacije kamatnih stopa u nekim zemljama Zapadne Afrike. Pregled dosadašnje literature ukazuje da su ishodi liberalizacije kamatnih stopa pozitivni u slučaju Nigerije, Gane i Obale Bjelokosti. Primjena ove politike pokazala se u nekim slučajevima izazovnom za neke druge sektore gospodarstva. Stoga se u radu upozorava na potrebu opreznog postupanja pri uvođenju politike liberalizacije kamatnih stopa u zemljama u razvoju, a to je posebno važno za zemlje izvoznice roba, kao što su Nigerija, Gana i Obala Bjelokosti. Za sve tri navedene države rezultati provođenja ovih politika potvrđuju brojne ranije studije koje su ustanovile da postoje pozitivni rezultati uvođenja liberalizacije kamatnih stopa na ekonomski rast. U ovom se radu također zaključuje da politike liberalizacije kamatnih stopa zajedno s drugim politikama usmjerenim prema realnom sektoru imaju pozitivan učinak na gospodarski rast navedenih država. Također se upozorava nositelje ekonomske politike na potrebu razmatranja alternativnih politika, kako bi se moglo postupati u slučaju mogućih posljedica pri uvođenju liberalizacije kamatnih stopa u tim zemljama

Decomposition Rates of Organic Material across Herbivore Treatments in a Nutrient-Rich Semi-Arid Sodic Savanna

Decomposition is a major determinant of terrestrial nutrient cycling and therefore an important regulator of ecosystem structure and function. It has been widely documented that large mammalian herbivores (LMH) act as a significant driver of changes to aboveground structure and modifications to edaphic properties. Little is known about the role of herbivory, and particularly the loss thereof, in mediating essential ecological processes in a herbivore-adapted system. The Nkuhlu exclosures, a large-scale, long-term exclusion experiment in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, provided an opportunity to explore the effects of herbivory and/or its long-term exclusion on decomposition and stabilisation of detrital plant material. An extended, site-specific version of the Tea Bag Index approach was used to quantify decomposition rate (k) and stabilisation factor (S) of standardised litter substrate. Two hundred and fifty tea bags (125 green and 125 rooibos tea bags) applied in a paired tea bag design were exposed to three herbivore treatments along the sodic zone of the Nkuhlu exclosures and removed after three months of incubation. Decomposition rates (k) were highest in the presence of LMH and lowest in their absence. Conversely, stabilisation factor (S) was significantly higher in treatments from which herbivores have been excluded for ~18 years. Our study provides evidence that LMH can influence essential ecological processes such as decomposition and stabilisation of detrital plant material. Moreover, results confirmed that ecosystems that evolved with herbivores, are sensitive to herbivore loss as it reduces decomposition rates of plant detritus and hence, decelerates ecosystem nutrient cycling

Walking the last mile on the long road to evidence-informed development: building capacity to use research evidence

The systematic application of rigorous evidence to inform the design and implementation of development policies and programmes has the potential to positively influence development outcomes. To achieve such evidence-informed development, a process of generating, transmitting, and using high-quality, policy-relevant evidence of development effectiveness is required. This article focuses on the final step in this casual chain – the use of evidence by national development policymakers. It proposes a people- and demandfocused approach to capacity building for the use of research evidence by policymakers. This support in building personal as well as team capacity and demand is assumed to encourage a growing institutionalisation of evidence use. The article integrates these capacity-building efforts into the wider theory of change for evidence-informed development, highlighting the importance of effective mechanisms to encourage research use in order to achieve the objective of improving lives through research evidence