Dementia and cognitive impairment in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa: a comprehensive review on moving out of the shadows of neglect

Dementia is a global public health problem with increasing prevalence and incidence worldwide. The African continent is expected to bear the biggest brunt of the burden of dementia by 2050 because of the rapid demographic changes, including rapid population growth, an increase in life expectancy, and ageing. However, French-speaking Sub-Saharan African (FS-SSA) countries are underrepresented in research on dementia in Africa. While the reasons are diverse and complex, linguistic and cultural barriers to research, disproportionately affect these countries and may be significant factors. Any efforts, therefore, to redress the burden of dementia in Africa must consider the specific demographic, cultural, and linguistic characteristics of FS-SSA countries. This scoping review explores the current state of knowledge in dementia and cognitive impairment in Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting research gaps and specific patterns unique to FS-SSA Africa. We identify pathways for research to bridge the knowledge gaps on dementia in FS-SSA as part of the global endeavor to tackle dementia worldwide

Accessibility and use of Local Government monitoring database in the reform programme: The case of Ludewa District, Tanzania

A Dissertation 2009This study aimed at determining effectiveness of Local Government Monitoring Database (LGMD) in the realisation of Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP) in Ludewa District. The specific objectives were; (i) to examine the type of support provided by the district to villages to facilitate data gathering, management and utilization; (ii) its effects on development planning and monitoring in the district; (iii) to identify problems which hinder performance of LGMD; and (iv) to assess factors that influence effective operation of LGMD and comparison of performance of LGMD operation between semi urban and rural villages. Stratified sampling was used to obtain sample of 20 villages, 10 being semi urban and other 10 were rural villages. From these 20 villages a sample of 120 respondents was drawn. Sampling unit for this study was an- information provider drawn from members of village assembly and extension staff working with the community. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using interview schedule administered to information providers and observation was also used during survey. Data analysis was done using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS). An ordinary least square model was used to determine the influence of independent variables on the level of effective operation of LGMD. The study revealed that there is no significant difference in the performance of LGMD operation between semi urban and rural villages. This is due to the short life span of the project to manifest true characters of effect in LGMD operation. However, preliminary signs show that there is difference in effectiveness of LGMD between semi urban and rural settings- implying the need of having consideration of urban or rural and metropolitan or periphery conditions on programmes which are to operate throughout the country. Since LGMD is owned by Government and extend from national to community level the Government should consider financing data collection and management to ensure its effectiveness

Accessibility and use of Local Government monitoring database in the reform programme: The case of Ludewa District, Tanzania

A Dissertation 2009This study aimed at determining effectiveness of Local Government Monitoring Database (LGMD) in the realisation of Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP) in Ludewa District. The specific objectives were; (i) to examine the type of support provided by the district to villages to facilitate data gathering, management and utilization; (ii) its effects on development planning and monitoring in the district; (iii) to identify problems which hinder performance of LGMD; and (iv) to assess factors that influence effective operation of LGMD and comparison of performance of LGMD operation between semi urban and rural villages. Stratified sampling was used to obtain sample of 20 villages, 10 being semi urban and other 10 were rural villages. From these 20 villages a sample of 120 respondents was drawn. Sampling unit for this study was an- information provider drawn from members of village assembly and extension staff working with the community. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using interview schedule administered to information providers and observation was also used during survey. Data analysis was done using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS). An ordinary least square model was used to determine the influence of independent variables on the level of effective operation of LGMD. The study revealed that there is no significant difference in the performance of LGMD operation between semi urban and rural villages. This is due to the short life span of the project to manifest true characters of effect in LGMD operation. However, preliminary signs show that there is difference in effectiveness of LGMD between semi urban and rural settings- implying the need of having consideration of urban or rural and metropolitan or periphery conditions on programmes which are to operate throughout the country. Since LGMD is owned by Government and extend from national to community level the Government should consider financing data collection and management to ensure its effectiveness

Tectonic control over active volcanism at a range of scales: Case of the Rungwe Volcanic Province, SW Tanzania; and hazard implications.

The volcano tectonic architecture of the Rungwe Volcanic Province inSWTanzania, part of the East African Rift System, was studied with integrated remote sensing imagery. A Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model was draped with geo-referenced geological and topographical maps and air photos. The entire RVP region was inspected systematically for tectonic lineaments and volcanic vents. Tectonic lineaments show two distinct directions, NW SE and NNE SSW, consistent with the idea of a current stress regime of local NE SW compression. We find that there is tectonic control on the regional location for at least two of the three major volcanoes as well as for local distribution of eruptive vents on each of these three volcanoes. Field data show that major volcano instability events occurred in the Holocene for Ngozi caldera and Rungwe. These instability events are possibly associated with the faults controlling the location of both volcanoes. This study highlights the need for monitoring RVP tectonic and volcanic activity

Mainstreaming communication of adaptation to climate change: Some initiatives from Central Africa

Despite its low carbon emission, Africa is one of the regions most impacted by the adverse effects of climate change. Because of its impacts on health, infrastructure, settlements, agriculture and food security, and forest ecosystems, climate change is an additional burden to sustainable development in Central Africa. As such, there is an urgent need to transfer lifesaving information about the environment and especially the effects and adaptation to climate change in the region. However, in a region where there is still a relatively high incidence of illiteracy, very localized languages and dialects and remote settlements, communicating information can be a challenge. In addition, communication schools and journalists are insufficiently equipped to respond to this demand. A survey in Cameroon revealed that journalists are faced with some challenges (such as lack of training and lack of resource persons) in covering environment topics, especially those related to forest and climate change adaptation. In order to address these challenges and contribute to the improvement of the journalistic style of reporting topics on forest and climate change adaptation with more scientific knowledge and to create a stronger scientific base of event coverage, pilot capacity-building initiatives were initiated with the specific objectives as follows: (1) training of journalists during workshops; (2) fellowships award for research activities to communication master students; (3) mentoring of senior and junior journalists and (4) open reflection on how to mainstream forests and adaptation to climate change in curricula of communication schools in Central Africa. This last initiative of mainstreaming forests and adaptation to climate change in the school curricula was seen as a possible sustainable way to promote scientific and environmental communication in Central Africa. These activities initiated by CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) under the framework of CoFCCA project (Congo Basin Forest and Climate Change Adaptation) were pilot initiatives aiming to inspire others on capacity building and research related to scientific and environmental communication in Central Africa

STATISTIC AND STOCHASTIC PROPERTIES ANALYSI OF A STRONGLY CORRELATED AND VOL TILE MARKETS STATISTIC AND STOCHASTIC PROPERTIES ANALYSI OF A STRONGLY CORRELATED AND VOL TILE MARKETS RISE-member

ABSTRACT We analyze a stochastic volatility market model in which volatility is correlated with return and is represented by an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. We obtain a close analytic expression for the characteristic function and study the heavy tail of the probability distributions