Performance Evaluation of Hashenge Cooperative Union and its Affiliates: Ofla Woreda, Tigray, Ethiopia

Cooperation is a way of living, a philosophy of life, and has been the very basis for human civilization. The roots of formal Cooperation can be traced to ancient times. Cooperatives are believed to enable the rural and urban poor to meet their economic, social, and cultural needs collectively, which is often difficult to achieve individually. So, this paper is concerned with evaluating the performance of Hashenge Cooperative Union and its Affiliates (found in Ofla Woreda of the Southern Zone of Tigray State) in meeting their members’ needs. To this end, primary data, from 200 randomly selected member and non-member respondents, and secondary data, from the Union’s documents, were collected and analyzed using Tables and Percentages, Financial Ratios, ANOVA, t-Test, OLS Regression, Logistic Regression, and Chi-Square Analysis with the help of MINITAB, a statistical package. It was found that membership and financial performance of the Cooperative Union under study showed an improving trend over the study period. Membership to a Cooperative was found to promote awareness and/or income of members. This was manifested in the improvement of livestock and house ownership, quality of clothing and food consumed, and attitude towards modern health services and education. A household, among the urban community, was found to save, on the average, Birr 13 per month provided it purchases sampled items from the Union instead of from traders. The study also came out with a range of perspectives on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the Cooperatives under study. Good customer handling, poor time management, increasing number of qualified professionals in the area of Cooperation, and unhealthy competition from traders were among the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats respectively

Do bottom-up and independent agricultural cooperatives really perform better? : Insights from a technical efficiency analysis in Ethiopia

The cooperative landscape in Ethiopia is very heterogeneous with a mixture of remains of the pre-1991 government-controlled system and new post-1991 bottom-up collective action initiatives. This heterogeneity, coupled with a large growth in the number of cooperatives in the country, offers an interesting perspective to study the determinants of the (in)efficiency of cooperatives. In this paper, we analyse the performance of Ethiopian agricultural cooperatives, focusing on the degree of technical (in)efficiency and its determinants. We use the stochastic frontier approach in which we account for heteroskedasticity and the monotonicity of production functions, presenting a methodological improvement with respect to previous technical efficiency studies. The results show that NGO- and government-initiated cooperatives are less efficient than community-initiated ones, implying that governments and NGOs should not interfere too strongly in cooperative formation. Cooperatives with a high degree of heterogeneity in members' participation are found to be about 98% less efficient, while cooperatives that have paid employees are 33% more efficient. Besides, results show that cooperatives in Ethiopia function more efficiently if they incentivize committee members through monetary compensation

Integrated water resources management as a new approach to water security

Access to safe water is a worldwide problem facing three quarters of a billion people every day. The problem of access to water is not primarily due to an overall scarcity of water, but rather the unequal geographical and seasonal distribution of the water resources. The key issue at stake here is, how to make water available. The new approach presented by international institutions for improving water access is Integrated Water Resource Management. This chapter questions this new approach and highlights the depoliticizing implications

Dendritic Cells Activate and Mature after Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dendritic cells (DCs) can take up an array of different antigens, including microorganisms which they can process and present more effectively than any other antigen presenting cell. However, whether the interaction between the human DC and <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </it>represents a defense mechanism by the invaded host, or helping the invader to evade the defense mechanism of the host is still not clearly understood.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>To analyze the interactions between <it>M. tuberculosis </it>and immune cells, human peripheral blood monocyte-derived immature DCs were infected with <it>M. tuberculosis </it>H37Rv wild type strain and flow cytometry was used to analyse cell surface expression markers. The ability of the <it>M. tuberculosis </it>infected DC to induce T cell proliferation using 5 and 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE) dilution technique was also investigated. DCs were found to internalize the mycobacteria and show dose dependent infection and necrosis with different multiplicity of infection. Flow cytometry analysis of cell surface expression markers CD40, CD54, CD80, CD83, CD86 and HLA DR in infected DC revealed significant (p < 0.05) up regulation following infection with <it>M. tuberculosis </it>in comparison to immature DC with no stimulation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from <it>Salmonella abortus equi</it>, a known DC maturation agent, was used as a positive control and showed a comparable up regulation of cell surface markers as observed with <it>M. tuberculosis </it>infected DC. It was revealed that the <it>M. tuberculosis </it>infected DC induced T cell proliferation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data clearly demonstrate that <it>M. tuberculosis </it>induces activation and maturation of human monocyte-derived immature DC as well as induces T cell proliferation <it>in vitro</it>.</p

Role of Sphingomyelin Synthase in Controlling the Antimicrobial Activity of Neutrophils against Cryptococcus neoformans

The key host cellular pathway(s) necessary to control the infection caused by inhalation of the environmental fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans are still largely unknown. Here we have identified that the sphingolipid pathway in neutrophils is required for them to exert their killing activity on the fungus. In particular, using both pharmacological and genetic approaches, we show that inhibition of sphingomyelin synthase (SMS) activity profoundly impairs the killing ability of neutrophils by preventing the extracellular release of an antifungal factor(s). We next found that inhibition of protein kinase D (PKD), which controls vesicular sorting and secretion and is regulated by diacylglycerol (DAG) produced by SMS, totally blocks the extracellular killing activity of neutrophils against C. neoformans. The expression of SMS genes, SMS activity and the levels of the lipids regulated by SMS (namely sphingomyelin (SM) and DAG) are up-regulated during neutrophil differentiation. Finally, tissue imaging of lungs infected with C. neoformans using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), revealed that specific SM species are associated with neutrophil infiltration at the site of the infection. This study establishes a key role for SMS in the regulation of the killing activity of neutrophils against C. neoformans through a DAG-PKD dependent mechanism, and provides, for the first time, new insights into the protective role of host sphingolipids against a fungal infection

Sphingomyelin Synthases Regulate Protein Trafficking and Secretion

Sphingomyelin synthases (SMS1 and 2) represent a class of enzymes that transfer a phosphocholine moiety from phosphatidylcholine onto ceramide thus producing sphingomyelin and diacylglycerol (DAG). SMS1 localizes at the Golgi while SMS2 localizes both at the Golgi and the plasma membrane. Previous studies from our laboratory showed that modulation of SMS1 and, to a lesser extent, of SMS2 affected the formation of DAG at the Golgi apparatus. As a consequence, down-regulation of SMS1 and SMS2 reduced the localization of the DAG-binding protein, protein kinase D (PKD), to the Golgi. Since PKD recruitment to the Golgi has been implicated in cellular secretion through the trans golgi network (TGN), the effect of down-regulation of SMSs on TGN-to-plasma membrane trafficking was studied. Down regulation of either SMS1 or SMS2 significantly retarded trafficking of the reporter protein vesicular stomatitis virus G protein tagged with GFP (VSVG-GFP) from the TGN to the cell surface. Inhibition of SMSs also induced tubular protrusions from the trans Golgi network reminiscent of inhibited TGN membrane fission. Since a recent study demonstrated the requirement of PKD activity for insulin secretion in beta cells, we tested the function of SMS in this model. Inhibition of SMS significantly reduced insulin secretion in rat INS-1 cells. Taken together these results provide the first direct evidence that both enzymes (SMS1 and 2) are capable of regulating TGN-mediated protein trafficking and secretion, functions that are compatible with PKD being a down-stream target for SMSs in the Golgi

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda

Although social media use is gaining increasing importance as a component of firms’ portfolio of strategies, scant research has systematically consolidated and extended knowledge on social media marketing strategies (SMMSs). To fill this research gap, we first define SMMS, using social media and marketing strategy dimensions. This is followed by a conceptualization of the developmental process of SMMSs, which comprises four major components, namely drivers, inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Next, we propose a taxonomy that classifies SMMSs into four types according to their strategic maturity level: social commerce strategy, social content strategy, social monitoring strategy, and social CRM strategy. We subsequently validate this taxonomy of SMMSs using information derived from prior empirical studies, as well with data collected from in-depth interviews and a quantitive survey among social media marketing managers. Finally, we suggest fruitful directions for future research based on input received from scholars specializing in the field

Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes as vectors of Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum, Horn of Africa, 2019

Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, efficient vectors in parts of Asia and Africa, were found in 75.3% of water sources surveyed and contributed to 80.9% of wild-caught Anopheles mosquitoes in Awash Sebat Kilo, Ethiopia. High susceptibility of these mosquitoes to Plasmodium falciparum and vivax infection presents a challenge for malaria control in the Horn of Africa

Reassessing the effect of colour on attitude and behavioural intentions in promotional activities: The moderating role of mood and involvement

The present research examines the effect of background colour on attitude and behavioural intentions in various promotional activities taking into consideration the moderating role of mood and involvement. Three experiments reflecting different promotional activities (window display, consumer trade show, guerrilla marketing) were conducted for this purpose. Overall, findings indicate that cool background colours, in contrast to warm colours, induce more positive attitudes and behavioural intentions mainly in positive mood, and low involvement conditions. Implications are also discussed