The role of higher education in social and cultural transformation

This paper forms one of the contributions to CHERI's research report 'Higher education and society'. It reports on one of the centre's ESRC-funded research projects - Higher Education and Regional Transformation

Who owns the land?: Perspectives from rural Ugandans and implications for land acquisitions

Rapid growth of demand for agricultural land is putting pressure on property rights systems, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where customary tenure systems have provided secure land access. Patterns of gradual, endogenous change toward formalization are being challenged by rapid and large-scale demands from outsiders. Little attention has focused on the gender dimensions of this transformation. Based on a study of land tenure in Uganda, this paper analyzes how different ways of defining landownership—based on household reports, existence of ownership documents, and rights over the land—provide very different indications of the gendered patterns of landownership and rights. Although many households report that husbands and wives jointly own the land, women are less likely to be listed on ownership documents, especially titles, and women have fewer land rights. A simplistic focus on title to land misses much of the reality regarding land tenure and could especially have an adverse impact on women's land rights.Gender, land acquisitions, Land tenure, landownership, Property rights,

Camouflage: how the visual arts and sociology make sense of the military

The military is the core institution of state sanctioned violence in Western liberal democracies. In the last decade or so the role of the military has changed and militarism has become an increasingly conspicuous aspect of public life. The idea of camouflage is used and developed to explore how collaboration between the visual arts and sociology can be used to denaturalise the taken-for-granted assumptions and beliefs about the military in Australian society. Camouflage is explained in its military utility, its psychological concept (Gestalt theory) the art camouflage movement and their developed techniques (eg Cubism, Dadaism), and in terms of deconstruction or sociological critique as a tool for making social relations that are culturally camouflaged visible

An analysis of key governance domains affecting environment outcomes and their social and economic consequences in the Great Barrier Reef: core data tables

The intended outcomes of governance for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are made clear in the Reef Long Term Sustainability Plan (LTSP). At its broadest level, the vision for future outcomes in the GBR under the LTSP is "to ensure the Great Barrier Reef continues to improve on its Outstanding Universal Value every decade between now and 2050 to be a natural wonder for each successive generation to come" (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). The Plan goes on to outline a range of quite specific water quality and reef health targets that it intends to achieve by 2050. This vision and associated outcomes are broadly agreed across the Australian and Queensland Governments and among key sectors with GBR interests. These outcomes are also implicitly supported internationally through recent decisions regarding the future status of the GBR taken by the United Nations Educations, Sciences and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2015). This document consists of a number of rapid assessment tables that examine the risk of systemic failure of key governance domains and subdomains that majorly influence outcomes in the GBR. In doing so, we apply the Governance Systems Analysis (GSA) framework tested in Dale et al. (2013). Table 3 provides a description and summary of the results of all the rapid assessments contained in this document. The rapid assessment tables below are organised based on their alignment with the overarching governance themes of Economic Development, Social Development, and Environmental Management. Within all themes, some governance domains are broken down into more distinct subdomains. Most rapid assessment tables in this document describe and assess the governance systems within domains and subdomains in the Environmental Management Theme. Each rapid assessment table consists of a short description of the domain or subdomain, followed by the identification and explanation of the key structural and functional components of each. Based on this, the likelihood and consequences of the each domain's or subdomain's governance system failing are identified. Each table also consequently contains a score for the likelihood of systemic failure and the consequence of systemic failure. Finally, a cumulative risk rating is then derived from the multiplication of each of the aforementioned scores. The rapid assessment tables conclude with the identification of possible or suggested areas for governance reform. The standardised scores described in Table 1 and Table 2 are used throughout this document to indicate the likelihood and consequences of systemic failure of the governance system. The use of standard criteria enables benchmarking of the target governance system over time and repeatability of the assessment/s. The multiplication of the likelihood and consequence scores provides an indication of the risk of failure of the governance system being analysed. Overview References: Commonwealth of Australia. (2015). Reef 2050 long-term sustainability plan. Canberra: Department of the Environment. Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/gbr/long-term-sustainability-plan Dale, A., Vella, K., Pressey, R., Brodie, J., Yorkston, H., & Pott, s. R. (2013). A method for risk analysis across governance systems: a Great Barrier Reef case study. Environmental Research Letters, 8(1), 1-16. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015037 UNESCO (2015). Decision: 39 COM 7B.7. Great Barrier Reef (Australia) (N 154). Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2015/whc15-39com-19-en.pd

Computerized Arrhythmia Management of Patients in a Coronary Care Unit

Conference PaperBiomedical Informatic

Micro, small and medium enterprise growth and innovation in Kenya: a case study on the Women Enterprise Fund

ICBE-RF Research Report No. 47/13This study sought to examine the growth and innovation in micro, small and medium enterprises in Kenya by assessing the performance of the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) on these dimensions. The WEF, a Government of Kenya initiative, aims to develop and grow women-owned MSMEs. Five years since its inception in 2007, it is imperative to establish whether the Fund is achieving its objectives in reaching the intended beneficiaries with the right kind of funding and support. Using a mixed method approach, comprising qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the study examined the performance of the Fund at the micro, meso and macro levels. Fourteen constituencies in four Counties – Kakamega, Nairobi, Nakuru and Nyeri – were purposively selected. Stratified random sampling (the strata being the borrowing stream) of the entrepreneurs was used to ensure representativeness of the sample. Questionnaires were used in the survey of women owned MSMEs in combination with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with selected respondent groups. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive results show the extent of growth and innovation in the post loan period. Multivariate regression analysis sought to empirically establish the determinants of growth and innovation among women owned enterprises. Logistic regression models for the selected measures of growth and innovation were estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation technique. Qualitative data were content analysed for emerging themes and patterns which formed the basis for discussing study findings. Study findings show that although the general indicators reflect positive growth among women owned businesses in terms of total business worth, turnover, gross profit and number of employees, they obscure incidences of stagnation or decline in growth. Incidences of decline or stagnation were significant at between 15 to 30 percent across the four measures. The most common form of innovation was observed in the change or addition of new products in the post loan period. Innovations in terms of services, markets and sources of raw materials were, however, less common among women owned enterprises. The study finds no evidence of significant differences in growth and innovation among enterprises across geographical regions, borrowing stream and age groups. Overall, entrepreneur characteristics such as age, marital status, level of education and family size were poor determinants of growth. Business characteristics such as location, the person who manages the businesses and the age of the loans, were significant determinants of growth in the number of employees. Growth in number of employees is considered a critical proxy for the other forms of growth in terms of total business worth, turnover and gross profit. From the findings, locating an enterprise in an urban area increased the likelihood that the business would either stagnate on decline in its number of employees and gross profit. Urban decline on these indicators was partly attributed to heightened competition among low-end enterprises which characterise most women owned ventures in urban slums and informal settlements. Similar to the case in growth, entrepreneur characteristics of age, marital status, level of education and family size were poor determinants of business innovation. Only some of the business characteristics, growth factors and innovation factors were found to be significant determinants of innovation. Overall, women owned enterprises in urban areas lack the expected ‘urban advantage’ in terms of growth and innovation. The most widely provided complementary service was training which was accessed by one half of women entrepreneurs in the study. Other common complementary services included general education and awareness on how to run business and business progress monitoring. Although reported in interviews and group discussions, the following complementary services were rarely offered: networking, exhibitions, export promotion and product certification, supplementary loans, mobile banking and overdrafts. From the findings, it can ii be deduced that besides training, few complementary services were available to the majority of women borrowers of the WEF loans at a level that could meaningfully sustain businesses on the growth path and spur innovations. The Fund continued to face numerous challenges at the WEF secretariat, lender and borrower levels. The main challenges at the Fund level included inadequate WEF field personnel, inadequate fieldwork facilitation, low loan amounts, delays in disbursements and an inefficient multi-layered Fund structure. High cost of loan administration, competition with commercial bank products, poor dissemination of information, high demand/limited scope of coverage, lack of distinct product branding, lack of individual choices in group lending, high default rates, bureaucratic processes and limited business monitoring were the main challenges at lender level. For the borrowers, the challenges included limited and shrinking markets/competition, lack of business knowledge, misconception about the purpose of the Fund, diversion of the funds, low literacy among segments of women borrowers, lack of loan securities and domestic interference. To reform the Fund in a way that enhances its quality, service delivery and sustainability, as well as the growth and innovation of the enterprises, the study recommends that there should be: improved field level staffing at WEF, improved business monitoring, allocation of more resources to field teams, provision of individual loans, increase in amounts of loans, enhanced and standardised training, development of legal framework for default recoveries, increased funding to the CWES stream, business incubators for start-ups, enhanced revolving funds, rationalization of administrative costs, increase in the number of loan holding banks, timely disbursement of the funds and simplification of the application process.This study sought to examine the growth and innovation in micro, small and medium enterprises in Kenya by assessing the performance of the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) on these dimensions. The WEF, a Government of Kenya initiative, aims to develop and grow women-owned MSMEs. Five years since its inception in 2007, it is imperative to establish whether the Fund is achieving its objectives in reaching the intended beneficiaries with the right kind of funding and support. Using a mixed method approach, comprising qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the study examined the performance of the Fund at the micro, meso and macro levels. Fourteen constituencies in four Counties – Kakamega, Nairobi, Nakuru and Nyeri – were purposively selected. Stratified random sampling (the strata being the borrowing stream) of the entrepreneurs was used to ensure representativeness of the sample. Questionnaires were used in the survey of women owned MSMEs in combination with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with selected respondent groups. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive results show the extent of growth and innovation in the post loan period. Multivariate regression analysis sought to empirically establish the determinants of growth and innovation among women owned enterprises. Logistic regression models for the selected measures of growth and innovation were estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation technique. Qualitative data were content analysed for emerging themes and patterns which formed the basis for discussing study findings. Study findings show that although the general indicators reflect positive growth among women owned businesses in terms of total business worth, turnover, gross profit and number of employees, they obscure incidences of stagnation or decline in growth. Incidences of decline or stagnation were significant at between 15 to 30 percent across the four measures. The most common form of innovation was observed in the change or addition of new products in the post loan period. Innovations in terms of services, markets and sources of raw materials were, however, less common among women owned enterprises. The study finds no evidence of significant differences in growth and innovation among enterprises across geographical regions, borrowing stream and age groups. Overall, entrepreneur characteristics such as age, marital status, level of education and family size were poor determinants of growth. Business characteristics such as location, the person who manages the businesses and the age of the loans, were significant determinants of growth in the number of employees. Growth in number of employees is considered a critical proxy for the other forms of growth in terms of total business worth, turnover and gross profit. From the findings, locating an enterprise in an urban area increased the likelihood that the business would either stagnate on decline in its number of employees and gross profit. Urban decline on these indicators was partly attributed to heightened competition among low-end enterprises which characterise most women owned ventures in urban slums and informal settlements. Similar to the case in growth, entrepreneur characteristics of age, marital status, level of education and family size were poor determinants of business innovation. Only some of the business characteristics, growth factors and innovation factors were found to be significant determinants of innovation. Overall, women owned enterprises in urban areas lack the expected ‘urban advantage’ in terms of growth and innovation. The most widely provided complementary service was training which was accessed by one half of women entrepreneurs in the study. Other common complementary services included general education and awareness on how to run business and business progress monitoring. Although reported in interviews and group discussions, the following complementary services were rarely offered: networking, exhibitions, export promotion and product certification, supplementary loans, mobile banking and overdrafts. From the findings, it can ii be deduced that besides training, few complementary services were available to the majority of women borrowers of the WEF loans at a level that could meaningfully sustain businesses on the growth path and spur innovations. The Fund continued to face numerous challenges at the WEF secretariat, lender and borrower levels. The main challenges at the Fund level included inadequate WEF field personnel, inadequate fieldwork facilitation, low loan amounts, delays in disbursements and an inefficient multi-layered Fund structure. High cost of loan administration, competition with commercial bank products, poor dissemination of information, high demand/limited scope of coverage, lack of distinct product branding, lack of individual choices in group lending, high default rates, bureaucratic processes and limited business monitoring were the main challenges at lender level. For the borrowers, the challenges included limited and shrinking markets/competition, lack of business knowledge, misconception about the purpose of the Fund, diversion of the funds, low literacy among segments of women borrowers, lack of loan securities and domestic interference. To reform the Fund in a way that enhances its quality, service delivery and sustainability, as well as the growth and innovation of the enterprises, the study recommends that there should be: improved field level staffing at WEF, improved business monitoring, allocation of more resources to field teams, provision of individual loans, increase in amounts of loans, enhanced and standardised training, development of legal framework for default recoveries, increased funding to the CWES stream, business incubators for start-ups, enhanced revolving funds, rationalization of administrative costs, increase in the number of loan holding banks, timely disbursement of the funds and simplification of the application process

Evaluating governance arrangements and decision-making outcomes for natural resource management planning: An empirical application of the governance systems analysis framework

Governance continues to be a challenge in the management and conservation of natural resources. It is difficult to strategically address governance challenges without understanding the dynamics, capacities, and knowledge application of institutions within such governance systems. This paper examines the use of Governance Systems Analysis (GSA) to compare, evaluate and benchmark governance arrangements for regional natural resource management (NRM) planning. It is applied in two Australian regional NRM case studies in Cape York and the Wet Tropics. Our analysis of governance arrangements for NRM planning in the two regions finds that while they are structurally and functionally similar, they have different capacities for decision-making about planning. The paper concludes with a discussion of the usefulness and implications of using the GSA as an evaluative framework to analyse governance in regional NRM planning systems

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Growth and Innovation in Kenya: A Case Study on the Women Enterprise Fund

This study sought to examine the growth and innovation in micro, small and medium enterprises in Kenya by assessing the performance of the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) on these dimensions

Effect of Combination Therapy with a Calcium Channel Blocker and an Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor on Renal Hypertrophy and Urinary Albumin Excretion in Diabetic Rats

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a calcium channel blocker on the development of renal changes in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by an intravenous injection of streptozotocin in normotensive Wistar rats. Treatment was commenced immediately in 1 set of rats with 4 treatment arms: nitrendipine (250 mg/kg fodder), enalapril (35 mg/L drinking water), both treatments in combination, or placebo. Treatment was continued for 9 weeks. Another set of rats was left with untreated diabetes for 3 months followed by 7 weeks treatment as above. When starting treatment right after induction of diabetes, nitrendipine significantly reduced urinary albumin excretion (UAE) to the nondiabetic level (P < .05) without reducing blood pressure (BP), whereas enalapril failed to significantly reduce UAE despite a reduction in BP. Combining the two treatments showed no further reduction in UAE compared to monotherapy with nitrendipine, despite a lower BP. When leaving diabetic rats untreated for 3 months, only the coadministration of nitrendipine and enalapril showed a significant reduction in UAE compared to monotherapy and placebo treatment, but showed no significant effect on BP

Envisioning a McGill University lifelong learning and living (L4) community

Lifelong learning and cognitive resilience are integral to a changing 21st century education paradigm for learners of all ages, as they are for health and well being of the individual student and wider community. Neuroscience in particular is continually making inroads on the impact that learning has on the brain and the interrelationships between body and mind that help to maintain physical and intellectual capacity over a lifetime. There is a long-standing community dedicated to sustainable lifelong learning on campus, the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning (MCLL). There are also worldwide efforts underway to promote lifelong learning in the context of age friendly cities under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Health Organization. Moreover, the international network of Age Friendly Universities, Lifelong Learning Institutes and over 200 University Based Retirement Communities (UBRCs) in the USA offer resources, guidelines, operating principles and research for building unique and innovative local responses to the changing demographics, increased cultural diversity and technological changes in education futures for learners in a given community. The poster will highlight national and international research initiatives and networks to enhance well-being and mental health through lifelong learning.Different L4 community options will be explored, building on MCLL’s peer learning experience over the past 27 years. It will reflect opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with university and wider Montreal community stakeholders, including health care professionals, caregivers, and educators.The poster will demonstrate that a lifelong learning approach to whole person care has the potential to be transformative.