Supporting local governance and local economic development – some experiences from Swaziland

In the December 2012 issue of this Journal, Lucy Slack and Susan Rhodes (2012) of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) introduced a new CLGF programme focussing on improving governance and service delivery at local level in selected Commonwealth countries in Southern and West Africa and South Asia (CLGF no date; CLGF 2015). The initiative is in the third year of its four-year lifespan and it is opportune to examine progress made so far towards achieving the development aims sought by the programme funders, CLGF and partners in 2012. This contribution will explore the operationalisation of the programme to date through a snapshot of implementation in one country under the Southern Africa component of the programme, Swaziland. It will briefly describe how the project emerged, what it intends to achieve, examine progress to date and conclude with some observations around what has been learned so far. The paper draws on the author’s work as Regional Adviser for the CLGF Southern Africa Programme based in Pretoria and project documentation (see Acknowledgements).

Sold Downstream: Free Speech, Fair Use, and Anti-Circumvention Law

[Excerpt] “Here’s a hypo. Living in Asia, I purchased a shameful amount of music and movies, all legit purchases through reputable stores, HMV and Tower Records, but little of which will get reissued. I wanted to preserve my collection but software in the discs prevented me from ripping backup copies to my computer. Lacking the technological savvy to get around this software myself, I purchased and used a product to help me circumvent these controls. Discuss. Courts agree that copying the music and movies here is infringement but that fair use may provide a defense. However, courts do not agree as to whether or not fair use provides a defense when determining the liability of selling products that enable me to access and copy my CDs to my computer. This article examines a line of cases in the Ninth Circuit that hold that fair use or lawfulness of copying is irrelevant in calculating liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and another line of cases in the Federal Circuit which hold that fair use should be relevant. In particular, this article argues that calculating fair use into the analysis is crucial in maintaining the balance between the First Amendment’s protection of free speech rights and copyright’s regulation of speech. Part I will outline the relationship between free speech rights and copyrights, noting the important role that fair use plays in keeping this relationship harmonious. Part II will outline the anti-circumvention provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and argue that these broad brush provisions chill speech. Part III will discuss two streams in the current law: first, the Ninth Circuit’s decisions 321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc.1 and Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. v. Divineo; 2 and, second, the Federal Circuit’s decisions in The Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. Skylink Technologies, Inc.3 and Storage Technology Corporation v. Custom Hardware Engineering & Consulting, Inc.4 Part IV will argue that the Federal Circuit’s approach to fair use is favored. However, an alternate analysis toward their conclusion would have more constitutional integrity. Namely, the DMCA, as applied to software, should be seen as a content-based restriction on speech and should not be read to prohibit circumvention of access controls where the circumvention would not constitute a copyright violation.

Evaluation of a new extraction system for rapid measurement of surface lipid content of rice for degree of milling estimation

Few fruit thinners have been certified for organic fruit growers. Previous studies have shown that herbicides or shade are capable of reducing photosynthesis and are effective fruit-thinning techniques, although impractical. This project evaluated use of a model plant system of vegetative apple trees grown under controlled conditions to study photosynthetic inhibitors, which could be used as potential organic thinning agents. Various concentrations of osmotics, salts, and oils (lime-sulfur, potassium bisulfite, potassium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, soybean oil) were applied to actively growing apple trees and showed a reduced trend on the rate of apple tree photosynthetic assimilation (Pn), evapotranspiration (Et), and stomatal conductance (gs). From two studies, it was observed that treatments of 2% lime-sulfur (LS) + 2% soybean oil (SO), 4% SO, 8% LS, 5% potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), and 5% potassium bisulfite (KHSO4) all significantly reduced Pn. The 4% LS + 2% SO, 4% LS + 4% SO, 0.5% sodium chloride (NaCl), and 2% NaCl did not significantly reduce Pn. The response of Et was significantly reduced by 2% LS + 2% SO, 5% KHCO3, and 4% SO. In a second study, trees had reduced Pn, Et, and gs after the application of 4% LS + 4% SO, 2% NaCl, 5% KHCO3, and 5% KHSO4. Stem weight, total plant weight, average leaf weight, and leaf surface area of the treated plants, although reduced, were not significantly so when compared to the control 20 d after treatment

Improving institutional and service delivery capacity in conflict affected areas: The experience of Honiara City Council, Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a chain of 922 islands in the South Pacific, spread over 1,450kms from Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) in the north to Vanuatu in the south, and covering an area of 27,450 kms. The country is home to some 520,000 people, with 74 different languages and dialects. It is divided into nine provinces, each centred on a main island. Effectively, there are nine different peoples with strong allegiance to family, village and province, but little common national identity upon which to effectively build a state.Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal and surrounded by the province of the same name, is the national capital, seat of government, centre of administration and commerce, and the nation’s window to the world. The city has a population of 79,000, including an estimated 20,000 or so inhabiting informal settlements in the urban and peri-urban areas. Honiara has one of the highest urban growth rates in the Pacific region, estimated at 4% per year . Made up of indigenous peoples from all provinces (Malaitans being particularly numerous), expatriates and a large Chinese community, the city is a melting pot of the diverse ethnic groups that are the Solomon Islands. In practical terms, however, Honiara is a somewhat artificial social construct. There is no genuine local identity or ownership of the place; although people may reside in Honiara, and may have for all their lives, their roots remain in their home village or province

Evaluation of an Evidence-Based Breastfeeding Education Program for Pediatric and Women\u27s Health Care Providers, Family Practice Residents, Medical Students, and Physician Assistant Students

Background.;Every year approximately {dollar}13 billion are spent and an estimated 900 infant lives are lost in the United States as a result of infants not exclusively receiving breast milk for the first six months of life. Many health care providers lack knowledge and supportive skills regarding basic breastfeeding management. However, the results of several research studies indicate that health care providers who provide support and who are knowledgeable in breastfeeding management can improve the breastfeeding rates of the maternal-infant dyads that they serve. An evidence-based breastfeeding educational program can significantly increase the breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of health care providers.;Objectives.;The goal of this project was to significantly increase the breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of family practice residents, medical students and Physician Assistant students and the pediatric and women\u27s health clinical faculty practicing within the outpatient clinics of a rural hospital located in eastern Kentucky.;Design.;This study used a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design. Clinical faculty working in the pediatric and women\u27s health clinics attended a 1-hour evidence-based breastfeeding education program. Family practice residents, medical students, and Physician Assistant students attended 12 1-hour breastfeeding education seminars which occurred twice weekly for six weeks during hospital Grand Rounds. Pre- and post- measurements included knowledge and attitude scores. Clinical faculty completed the modified Physicians Breastfeeding Assessment Survey pre- and post-intervention. Residents, medical students, and Physician Assistance students completed the American Academy of Pediatrics Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum Tests, the modified Physicians Breastfeeding Assessment Survey, and the modified Nursing Support for Breastfeeding Questionnaire pre- and post- intervention.;Subjects.;Thirty clinical faculty members were eligible to attend the program and the program was completed by 27 clinical faculty. All 14 eligible students attended and completed the Grand Rounds program.;Results.;Clinical faculty members had a statistically significant improvement in knowledge scores on the modified Physicians Breastfeeding Assessment Survey after attending the 1-hour program (p \u3c 0.001). Clinical faculty did not display a statistically significant improvement in attitude scores (p = 0.19). Residents and students had statistically significant improvement in knowledge scores on the modified Physicians Breastfeeding Assessment Survey and the American Academy of Pediatrics Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum Tests (p \u3c 0.001; p \u3c 0.001, respectively). Residents and students also experienced statistically significant improvement in breastfeeding attitudes on the modified Physicians Breastfeeding Assessment Survey and the modified Nursing Support for Breastfeeding Questionnaire (p = 0.054; p \u3c 0.001, respectively).;Conclusion.;The implementation of an evidence-based breastfeeding education program for students and faculty improved breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of students and breastfeeding knowledge of faculty. Evidence-based breastfeeding programs are a cost-effective strategy to improve knowledge of heath care providers

Commonwealth Local Government Forum Pacific Project

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) Pacific Project works with local government and other stakeholders in nine Pacific Island countries – Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. It seeks to strengthen local democracy and good governance, and to help local governments deal with the increasing challenges of service delivery and urban management in the unique Pacific environment.Human settlement patterns in the region are changing rapidly. The Pacific has traditionally been a rural agricultural/subsistence society, but this is no longer the case. The accelerated pace of urbanisation has impacted significantly on Pacific nations and in the very near future the majority of Pacific Islanders will be found in urban areas. Already over 50% of Fiji’s population are urban dwellers. Rapid urbanisation brings with it unique challenges and opportunities. Local governments are at the forefront of this phenomenon, with the responsibility to manage urban development and the transition from rural areas to cities and towns. Their success or failure to manage urbanisation and provide the required levels of physical and social infrastructure will affect many lives in a new urban Pacific.The project now has three components – the main Pacific Regional Project and two country-specific programmes: the Honiara City Council Institutional Capacity Building Project and the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme in Papua New Guinea

Terrace grading of SiGe for high-quality virtual substrates

Silicon germanium (SiGe) virtual substrates of final germanium composition x = 0.50 have been fabricated using solid-source molecular beam epitaxy with a thickness of 2 µm. A layer structure that helps limit the size of dislocation pileups associated with the modified Frank–Read dislocation multiplication mechanism has been studied. It is shown that this structure can produce lower threading dislocation densities than conventional linearly graded virtual substrates. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows the superior quality of the dislocation network in the graded regions with a lower rms roughness shown by atomic force microscopy. X-ray diffractometry shows these layers to be highly relaxed. This method of Ge grading suggests that high-quality virtual substrates can be grown considerably thinner than with conventional grading methods

Hall mobility enhancement caused by annealing of Si0.2Ge0.8/Si0.7Ge0.3/Si(001) p-type modulation-doped heterostructures

The effect of post-growth furnace thermal annealing (FTA) on the Hall mobility and sheet carrier density measured at 9–300 K in the Si0.2Ge0.8/Si0.7Ge0.3/Si(001) p-type modulation-doped heterostructures was studied. FTA treatments in the temperature range of 600–900 °C for 30 min were performed on similar heterostructures but with two Si0.2Ge0.8 channel thicknesses. The annealing at 600 °C is seen to have a negligible effect on the Hall mobility as well as on the sheet carrier density. Increases in the annealing temperature resulted in pronounced successive increases of the mobility. For both samples the maximum Hall mobility was observed after FTA at 750 °C. Further increases of the annealing temperature resulted in a decrease in mobility. The sheet carrier density showed the opposite behavior with an increase in annealing temperature. The mechanism causing this behavior is discussed. Structural characterization of as-grown and annealed samples was done by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy

Energy loss rates of two-dimensional hole gases in inverted Si/Si0.8Ge0.2 heterostructures

We have investigated the energy loss rate of hot holes as a function of carrier temperature TC in p-type inverted modulation-doped (MD) Si/SiGe heterostructures over the carrier sheet density range (3.5–13)×1011 cm–2, at lattice temperatures of 0.34 and 1.8 K. It is found that the energy loss rate (ELR) depends significantly upon the carrier sheet density, n2D. Such an n2D dependence of ELR has not been observed previously in p-type SiGe MD structures. The extracted effective mass decreases as n2D increases, which is in agreement with recent measurements on a gated inverted sample. It is shown that the energy relaxation of the two-dimensional hole gases is dominated by unscreened acoustic phonon scattering and a deformation potential of 3.0±0.4 eV is deduced

Patients’ anticipated actions following transient ischaemic attack symptoms: a qualitative vignette-based study

Background: Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) requires urgent investigation and management. Urgent management reduces the risk of subsequent stroke markedly, but non-presentation or delays in patient presentation to health services have been found to compromise timely management. We aimed to explore general practice patients' anticipated responses to TIA symptoms. Methods: This was a qualitative study employing semi-structured telephone interviews. Participants were recruited from respondents in an earlier quantitative study based in Australian general practices. Maximum variation purposive sampling of patients from that study (on the basis of age, rurality, gender and previous experience of stroke/TIA) continued until thematic saturation was achieved. After initial interviews explored knowledge of TIA and potential responses, subsequent interviews further explored anticipated responses via clinical vignettes containing TIA and non-TIA symptoms. Transcribed interviews were coded independently by two researchers. Data collection and analysis were concurrent and cumulative, using a process of iterative thematic analysis and constant comparison. A schema explaining participants' anticipated actions emerged during this process and was iteratively tested in later interviews. Results: Thirty-seven interviews were conducted and a 'spectrum of action', from watchful waiting (only responding if symptoms recurred) to summoning an ambulance immediately, was established. Intermediate actions upon the spectrum were: intending to mention the episode to a general practitioner (GP) at a routine appointment; consulting a GP non-urgently; consulting a general practitioner (GP) urgently; and attending an Emergency Department urgently. The substrate for decision-making relating to this spectrum operated via three constructs: the 'individual set' of the participant (their inherent disposition towards action in response to health matters in general), their 'discriminatory power' (the ability to discriminate TIA symptoms from non-TIA symptoms) and their 'effective access' to health-care services. Conclusions: Policies to improve patients' accessing care (and accessing care urgently) post-TIA should address these three determinants of anticipated action