Foreign direct investment in sub-Saharan Africa

The authors of this paper examine trends in private foreign direct investment in sub - Saharan Africa, assess how this has affected the host economies, and discuss the prospects for increased investment in the 1990s. They examine new or nontraditional forms of investment as well as more traditional stock and flow trends. They also focus on the relationship between structural adjustment programs and foreign private investment. Foreign investment in the 1990s (as in the 1980s) is likely to flow to a few key sectors: energy, selected export manufacturing sectors, and possibly the tourist industry. The least attractive area for the foreign investor is exclusively import-substituting industrialization. Interested investors are more likely to commit technology and management than equity capital. As a result, development finance institutions are likely to play an increasingly important role in meeting the need for capital. Thus, activity in sub - Saharan Africa may be more effective at raising the total volume of investment than any change in the climate of fiscal and other incentives. There is no prospect whatsoever for foreign investment to meet sub - Saharan Africa's rising foreign exchange and savings gaps. For one thing, prospects in other parts of the rapidly changing world look brighter and less risky and are closer to home. For another (Catch 22), sub - Saharan Africa is unlikely to attract capital until the prospects for growth improve.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Trade and Regional Integration,ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies

The development of direct payments in the UK: implications for social justice

Direct payments have been heralded by the disability movement as an important means to achieving independent living and hence greater social justice for disabled people through enhanced recognition as well as financial redistribution. Drawing on data from the ESRC funded project Disabled People and Direct Payments: A UK Comparative Perspective, this paper presents an analysis of policy and official statistics on use of direct payments across the UK. It is argued that the potential of direct payments has only partly been realised as a result of very low and uneven uptake within and between different parts of the UK. This is accounted for in part by resistance from some Labour-controlled local authorities, which regard direct payments as a threat to public sector jobs. In addition, access to direct payments has been uneven across impairment groups. However, from a very low base there has been a rapid expansion in the use of direct payments over the past three years. The extent to which direct payments are able to facilitate the ultimate goal of independent living for disabled people requires careful monitoring

A retrospective study on the effects of illness severity and atrial fibrillation on outcomes in the intensive care unit

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and has been associated with worse outcomes. However, it is unclear whether AF itself adds to the risk of death or is merely a marker of illness severity. We aimed to record the incidence and outcomes of all patients with different categories of AF and determine whether AF was an independent predictor of death.<p></p> Methods: This retrospective cohort study was undertaken in the ICU of a tertiary-referral university hospital. Category of AF, sex, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, APACHE II score, predicted hospital mortality and survival outcomes were analysed from 1084 records. Percentages, medians and interquartile ranges were used to describe the sample. Chi-square test and the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test were used, as appropriate, for statistical analysis. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of AF with death in the ICU adjusting for age, sex, CRP level and APACHE II score.<p></p> Results: Overall, 13.6% of patients developed new-onset AF during their critical illness, while 4.3% had a pre-existing history. The hospital mortality rate was higher in those with AF compared with those without (47.9% vs. 30.9%, p<0.001) and higher in those with newly diagnosed AF compared with those with a prior history (53.1% vs. 31.9%, p=0.012). CRP levels were higher in those with AF (p<0.001) compared with those without and higher in those with newly diagnosed AF compared with those with a prior history (p=0.012). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, only the APACHE II score was found to be an independent predictor of death.<p></p> Conclusion: Despite the higher mortality rate in patients with AF, the APACHE II score was the only independent predictor of death within the ICU. Prospective studies are required to explore the apparently reduced risk of dying among those with a prior history of AF.<p></p&gt

Alternative Development Strategies for Zimbabwe

A seminar paper on development strategies suggested for the then emerging state of Zimbabwe. Paper originally presented to the "Issues in Development" Seminar Series; Centre for Inter-Racial Studies, University of Rhodesia, Feb. 18, 1980

The concept of the Poverty Datum Line

A book chapter discussing the history of the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) both in the then Rhodesia and elsewhere. The book's preface and introduction are also included.The purpose of this study has been to outline and to cost the minimum consumption needs of urban African families. Research was conducted in Salisbury and Bulawayo, these being the main urban work areas, and Fort Victoria which represents a small Rhodesian town with no one major industry. After the preliminary research and discussion of the concept of the PDL, costing exercises were carried out in Salisbury in January and in Bulawayo and Fort Victoria in February this year. Chapter I discusses in some detail the history of the PDL both in this country and elsewhere and explains the assumptions and implications of the concept for the rest of the report. In Chapter II the method of costing is explained and the Salisbury PDL is calculated. Chapters III and IV discuss the PDL for Bulawayo and Fort Victoria respectively. The chapter on the Salisbury PDL is considerably longer than the chapters on Bulawayo and Fort Victoria. This is because much of the methodology used for the Salisbury analysis applies to the studies carried out in the other two towns. Only where significant differences appear is a detailed discussion of method given. Chapter VI summarizes data from chapters II, III and IV, and chapter V makes some final reflections on the project. As will become clear in the report, this is a need orientated study which attempts to calculate the minimum income required to satisfy the minimum consumption needs of various families. Because of this orientation we have not surveyed the actual living conditions of people. An investigation into actual income and expenditure patterns would be the subject of further research

Preparedness for use of the rapid result HIV self-test by gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM): a mixed methods exploratory study among MSM and those involved in HIV prevention and care

Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore preparedness for the HIV self-test among men who have sex with men (MSM) and those involved in HIV prevention and care. Methods: A mixed methods exploratory research design was employed, detailing awareness and willingness to use the self-test and the perceived barriers and facilitators to implementation. Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis were completed in parallel. Descriptive and inferential analysis of cross-sectional bar-based survey data collected from MSM through a self-completed questionnaire and oral fluid specimen collection (n = 999) was combined with qualitative, thematic, analysis of data collected through 12 expert focus groups (n = 55) consisting of gay men, National Health Service (NHS) staff, community organizations, entrepreneurs and activists. Findings were subsequently combined and assessed for synergies. Results: Among MSM, self-test awareness was moderate (55%). Greater awareness was associated with increased educational attainment [adjusted odds ratio 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–2.30; P = 0.05] and previous history of sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing (adjusted odds ratio 1.63; 95% CI 1.11–2.39; P = 0.01). Willingness to use the test was high (89%) and associated with meeting sexual partners online (unadjusted odds ratio 1.96; 95% CI 1.31–2.94; P < 0.001). Experts highlighted the overall acceptability of self-testing; it was understood as convenient, discreet, accessible, and with a low burden to services. However, some ambivalence towards self-testing was reported; it could reduce opportunities to engage with wider services, wider health issues and the determinants of risk. Conclusions: Self-testing represents an opportunity to reduce barriers to HIV testing and enhance prevention and access to care. Levels of awareness are moderate but willingness to use is high. Self-testing may amplify health inequalities

The hydrological characterisation and water budget of a South African rehabilitated headwater wetland system

This paper presents a synopsis of the findings of a valley bottom wetland monitoring study in which dominant hydrological processes maintaining the system are quantitatively defined. The Craigieburn-Manalana is a wetland subjected to technical rehabilitation, at the headwaters of the Sand River in the lowveld savanna region of South Africa.Findings include the identification of a rapid water delivery mechanism from the surrounding hillslopes to the wetland following a threshold-exceeding precipitation event, when hillslope-toe soil matric potential is close to 0, leading to a raising of the wetland water table by >0.7 m within 3 h. A summary of quantified fluxes and associated water budget of the wetland and its contributing catchment is developed. It is revealed that this wetland does not necessarily conform to the typical assumptions that wetlands augment low flows. Surface layer scintillometry shows actual wetland evapotranspiration to dominate the water budget during the dry season (2.3–3.5 mm/d) compared to its contributing catchment (0.9–2.2 mm/d), whilst stream discharge had ceased. Hydrograph separation, based on stable isotopes (18O), revealed that the wetland does not attenuate peak flows during the summer rains when the wetlands soil moisture deficit is close to 0, since more than 66% of stream discharge comprised event water. These results are discussed within the context of current hydrological understanding of southern African headwater wetlands, such as dambos.Keywords: hillslope processes, hydro-geomorphology, water budget, dambos, rehabilitation, wetland

Intermittent exotropia: are we underminusing by not overminusing?

In this invited commentary, the authors discuss whether the use of minus lenses to aid control of intermittent exotropia has an alternative method of action. Conventional theory suggests that the lenses induce accommodation and therefore accommodative convergence to reduce the angle of deviation. We discuss evidence which suggests that convergence is induced to control the primary deviation and that the minus lenses allow this control by correcting refractive blur caused by additional vergence accommodation

Attitudes of General Practitioner Registrars and Their Trainers Toward Obesity Prevention in Adults

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