Nomadic Education in Somalia: Policy and Strategy Assessment

In this paper I will try to argue the need for reassessment of the national education policy and strategies to reflect the importance of the pastoral sector in the national development context. The basic premises of my argument are centered around the following assumptions: a) The development potential of Somalia is largely dependent on the development of the pastoral sector; b) Pastoralism is time-tested and the only viable response to the harsh ecology of many parts Somalia; c) Pastoralists are rational, resourceful, skilled and highly adaptable to the unpredictable conditions, and do not resist change and innovations that they see as beneficial; d) Education and development initiatives should build on the pastoral peoples\u27 knowledge, skills creativity. The paper consists of five sections: i) definition of nomadism and pastoralism in general; ii) description of Somali pastoralism in its geographical, historical, and cultural context of livestock production and the trade system as well as its traditional education; iii) the role of pastoralism in Somalia\u27s development; vi) assessment of educational and development policies, strategies and services towards pastoralists; v) recommendations and conclusion

Refugee Exodus from Somalia: Revisiting the Causes

Cet article se propose d'examiner les causes du conflit Somalien qui a provoqué l'exode de plus de deux millions de réfugiés. Par une approche historique du développement de la tragédie, l'auteur offre une perspective plus complexe et très différente de celle offerte par les médias qui se cantonnent dans des discussions simplistes et superficielles des symptômes actuels. Pour Hassan Mohammed, les causes de la crise Somalienne sont liées à un processus de désintégration de la société civile et de ses valeurs sociales, culturelles et politiques, une désintégration qui résulte de quatre évènements historiques: le découpage de la nation et du territoire Somalien en plusieurs entités; l'impact de la guerre froide; l'imposition de systèmes politique, culturel et éducatif étrangers à la culture Somalienne; et enfin, la manipulation et l'exploitation des divisions claniques par l'élite politique afin de demeurer au pouvoir

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy (transient left ventricular apical ballooning) is a reversible form of cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology. Tako-tsubo Cardiomyopathy (TTC) is typically precipitated by sudden emotional or physical stress, and is associated with excessive sympathetic stimulation and catecholamine release. Its clinical presentation is similar to that of acute coronary syndrome. The diagnosis of TTC must be considered in all patients who develop a transient left ventricular apical (or mid ventricular) ballooning in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Although the prevalence of TTC remains unknown, approximately 2% of all patients presenting with a presumed diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction have been found to have this syndrome. An illustrative case report and literature review is provided

Conformal mapping of unbounded multiply connected regions onto canonical slit regions

We present a boundary integral equation method for conformal mapping of unbounded multiply connected regions onto five types of canonical slit regions. For each canonical region, three linear boundary integral equations are constructed from a boundary relationship satisfied by an analytic function on an unboundedmultiply connected region. The integral equations are uniquely solvable. The kernels involved in these integral equations are the modified Neumann kernels and the adjoint generalized Neumann kernels

<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> virulence gene studies : a comparative microarray based approach

The development and application of a partial composite S. aureus virulence-associated gene micro array is described. Epidemic, pandemic and sporadic lineages of healthcare associated(HA-) and community-associated (CA-) S. aureus were compared. The clonal population structure was supported but further evidence for large-scale recombination events was obtained. Phage structural genes linked with the CA phenotype were identified and in silico analysis revealed these to be correlated with phage serogroup. CA strains generally carried a PVL-associated phage either of the A or Fb serogroup, whilst the HA strains predominantly carried sero group B phage. It is proposed that carriage of PVL associated phage rather than the specific pvl genes is correlated with the CA phenotype.These findings further support the role of the accessory genome in shaping the epidemiology of S. aureus.The microarray was used to study gene expression in isogenic strains differing by a deletion in the agr locus. Microarray analysis revealed significant differences between the levels of expression of several genes of the normal and mutant strains. However, RNAIII levels in the non-mutant strain were found to be cell density independent, indicating that the expected quorum sensing mechanism was not functional.Expression profiles of cells grown under biofilm simulating conditions were compared to their planktonic counterparts. Biofilm cells displayed a typical expression profile that was different from both the actively growing planktonic exponential cells and the planktonic stationary cells. The strongest feature of the biofilm state was high level expression of the haemolysin genes. This model therefore is amenable to exploitation in studies designed to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlining biofilm survival and regulation after long periods of growth

Migration—the choices we face

More than 1 million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in 2015, and nearly 390,000 more in 2016, many fleeing conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. European leaders have often accommodated the migrants with admirable generosity, even while facing stiff political opposition. Yet, if developed countries focus only on immediate domestic impacts of mass migration, they will miss a critical point: When thousands of people, including many researchers, leave their home countries, the exodus perpetuates instability in those countries and damages prospects for future development

Policy challenges and food security in Alqadarif State, Sudan

Food security is under focused issue in Sudan as a whole and AlQadarif State is not apart from that. According to the integrated food security phases classification (IPC) report April (2015), about 60% of the population suffering from food insecurity in the State. This problem needs to be solved by clear and sound policies and strategies.  The main objective of this study is to investigate and evaluate the Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) policies and strategies in the State. To achieve this objective secondary data such as annual reports, policy documents were collected from all key line institutions and primary data were collected by the mean of a questionnaire the main results of this research are that: there were no clear food security and nutrition policy documents for the key line institutions in the State.  Also, there was a gap between the policymakers at the State level and the locality level. 42% of the policymakers at the locality level did not aware of the existence of the FSN body in the State. About 94% of the policymakers in the localities believed that the Chamber of Zakat plays a very important role in helping at FSN situations. About 92% of policymakers in the state said that finance is not sufficient. The majority of the localities policymakers, 94%, do not have any (FSN) database in their localities. Finally, the main recommendation of this study is to build a food security and nutrition policy/strategy putting the conservation of the natural resources in consideration

Effect of Low Seed Rate on Seed and Forage Yield of Alfalfa in the River Nile State, Sudan

An on-farm survey of plant population of one year old, yet highly productive alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) swards in Khartoum North area, revealed that the plant population after one year from establishment, was equal to that resulting from a seed rate of I .5 kg/ha (i.e. 2.8% of the sown seeds). This suggested that the optimum seed rate for the production of each of the forage and seed of alfalfa in Sudan should be reconsidered. In this context, an experiment was conducted at Hudeiba Research Station for three years during the period of Dec. 1995 - January 1998 to study the time course forage and seed yield patterns of alfalfa sown with five low seed rates (i.e., 2.4, 4.8, 7.2, 9.6 and 12 kg/ha). The results indicated that the highest seed rate (12 kg/ha) produced the highest forage yield in a few cuts only. The variations among the time course forage yields of the various seed rates over the two years were either nonsignificant or enatic. The cumulative annual forage yield of the two higher seed rates, (9.6 &nbsp;and 12 kg/ha) was invariably higher than those of the other seed rates. For seed yield, the lowest seed rate (i.e., 2.4 kg/ha) resulted in the highest seed yield in the first two seed production cycles (SPC) in 1996 as well as in the annual total of the first year. Differences among the seed rates in other SPCs as well as the annual total of 1997 were either lacking or erratic. It is therefore, concluded that for dual purpose (forage and seed) alfalfa, the seed rate should not exceed 9.6 kg/ha, and for seed production the seed rate of 2.4 kg/ha is the optimum

MAT-711: UTILIZATION OF RECYCLED CRUMB RUBBER IN STRUCTURAL SELF-CONSOLIDATING CONCRETE

The present work evaluates the impact of using recycled crumb rubber (CR) as a partial replacement of fine aggregate on the fresh and mechanical properties of concrete composite, especially when self-consolidating concrete is used. In this study, seven mixtures containing various amounts of fine CR (0-30% by volume of sand) were tested. The fresh properties tests included flowability, passing ability, and segregation resistance. On the other hand, the mechanical properties tests included compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength. The results indicated that although increasing the CR replacement decreased the fresh and mechanical properties of concrete, all the developed mixtures achieved adequate fresh and mechanical properties required for structural applications. The rigidity of concrete composite was also decreased effectively, exhibiting more ductile failure behaviour at ultimate loadings. In addition, using recycled rubber as a partial replacement for fine aggregate promotes the development of eco-friendly concrete with a reduced self-weight, which is receiving greater attention nowadays

Effect of Tire Lug Height, Forward Speed and Cast Iron Ballast on Tractor Performance

The study was conducted at El Rahad Agricultural Scheme (Block 8( Sudan, during the period Feb.-May 1996 where the soil is a heavy cracking clay. The objective of the study was to improve the performance of the tractor when worn tires were used. The performance of the tractor, wheel slippage, fuel consumption and field capacity of the tractor were measured. Three levels of tire lug height were used, namely, 35 mm (new tire), 20 mm (medium worm tire) and zero mm (fully worn tire). Four levels of cast iron ballast were used, namely, zero, 63, 126 and 252 kg were distributed between rear tires. Moreover, three levels of tractor forward speed (5.6, 6.9 and 10.6 km/hr) were employed. The results indicated that there was a significant improvement in tractor performance when using worn tires through the use of cast iron ballast on the rear wheels. It was found that tires with zero mm lug height and 252 kg cast iron ballast decreased tractor wheel slippage and fuel consumption by34% and 18%, respectively, and increased tractor field capacity by 16.2 % Moreover, when tires with 20 mm lug height and 252 kg cast iron ballast were used, the slippage and fuel consumption were decreased by 41.7 % and 18.2%, respectively, and tractor field capacity was increased by 14.5%. The tractor with tires lug height of 35 mm and 252 kg cast iron ballast, decreased slippage and fuel consumption by 22% and 11.5%, respectively, and increased tractor field capacity by 13.5%