Looking at African Value System through Cultural Dimensions: How Do African Countries Culturally Differ Among Themselves and from the United States?

The study through a variety of cultural dimensions, measures the cultural differences and similarities of four different African countries: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa. The national cultures of the four African countries are analyzed through a methodology for systematically assessing cultural differences. The African countries are compared with that of the United States of America. The output of the study clearly shows that there are cultural differences among the African countries as well as between the African countries and the United States. African respondents demonstrated significantly higher cultural traits in collective & hieratical relations, being/feeling & risk avoidance related activities, in categorization of human nature as good or bad as well in subjugative relations to their environments than respondents of U.S. origin. The study also found that cultural variations exist among certain demographic groups within African countries

Status and determinants of poverty and income inequality in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities: Household-based evidence from Afar Regional State, Ethiopia

This paper analyzes poverty and its determinants and income inequality in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia. 2295 households from zone 1 and zone 2 of the Afar region were surveyed and examined using the FGT index, the Gini coefficient, and logistic regression. 47.6 percent of the households are poor, with poverty gap index of 0.178 and poverty severity index of 0.092. Food poverty accounts for 33.7 percent with an income gap of Birr 33 per month. Food poverty is highest in pastoral (35.6%) than the agro-pastoral communities (29.8%). 35.6 percent of PSNP non-participants and 32 percent of the participant households are poor. Gender of the household head, family size, access to credit, mobility, participating in safety net programs and local institutions, distance to market and remittances are determining poverty in the area. There is an alarmingly high degree of income inequality (0.592) in the study area. The lowest Gini index (0.433) is found in Koneba district, and the highest index (0.616) is observed in widowed heads of households. Strengthening the poverty reduction programs and introducing diversified income schemes; modernizing local institutions, increase provision of microfinance services, introducing packages specific to women and youth are recommended to address the high poverty and inequality in Afar

The impact of micro-irrigation on households’ welfare in the northern part of Ethiopia : an endogenous switching regression approach

The paper uses an endogenous switching regression model to measure the impact of participation in micro-irrigation development on households’ welfare. The model takes into account selection bias associated with programme participation and endogeneity problems often encountered in most programme evaluations. A total of 482 households (195 irrigation users and 287 non-users) were used to generate all the necessary variables. To capture the impact of the irrigation on household welfare, two indicators were considered, namely household farm income (Y) and household fixed asset formation (F) (evaluated at market price during the survey period). The results show a positive and significant impact of irrigation use on the two outcome variables: income by 8.8 per cent and asset formation by 186 per cent as compared to non-users. This shows how important the micro-irrigation schemes are in improving the welfare of poor farmers in the research areas. Furthermore, the empirical results show that the probability of using one of the water sources (irrigation scheme) is associated with farm experience (age as proxy), farmer-to-farmer contact (the existence of an irrigation user neighbour), family size, the state of credit constraint, the number of visits by extension agents and the cost of irrigation development. As a robustness check, different models were applied and results were found consistent, both qualitatively and quantitatively

The impact of micro-irrigation on households’ welfare in the northern part of Ethiopia: an endogenous switching regression approach

The paper uses an endogenous switching regression model to measure the impact of participation in micro-irrigation development on households’ welfare. The model takes into account selection bias associated with programme participation and endogeneity problems often encountered in most programme evaluations. A total of 482 households (195 irrigation users and 287 non-users) were used to generate all the necessary variables. To capture the impact of the irrigation on household welfare, two indicators were consideredv namely household farm income (Y) and household fixed asset formation (F) (evaluated at market Price during the survey period). The results show a positive and significant impact of irrigation use on the two outcome variables: income by 8.8 per cent and asset formation by 186 per cent as compared to non-users. This shows how important the micro-irrigation schemes are in improving the welfare of poor farmers in the research areas. Furthermore, the empirical results show that the probability of using one of the water sources (irrigation scheme) is associated with farm experience (age as proxy), farmer-to-farmer contact (the existence of an irrigation user neighbour), family size, the state of credit constraint, the number of visits by extension agents and the cost of irrigation development. As a robustness check, different models were applied and results were found consistent, both qualitatively and quantitatively

Factors determinant for change of initial antiretroviral treatment regimen among patients on ART follow-up clinic of Mekelle Hospital, Mekelle, Ethiopia

Background: Treatment interruption and switch to a new Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) regimen act as competing risks for patient on HAART.Methods: The study was conducted in Mekelle hospital. A case-control study was conducted. Socio-demographic, immunologic and clinical characteristics were components of the checklist. Data was compiled, processed, and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows version 16. Ethical consideration was obtained from Mekelle University.Results: 105 patients’ records were sampled and studied. Twenty one (20%) of the patients had changed their initial ART regimen and about three-fourth 15 (71.4%) of the reasons for change was attributable to toxicity while 3 and 2 were due to treatment failure and pregnancy respectively. The odds of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) who had one initial ART change (cases) were 2.37 times greater than the odds who did not change (controls) Patients, initiated ZDV based ART regimen had 9.93 times greater chance of changing their initial ART regimen compared to those initiated with D4T based ART regimen and patient on ART for treatment duration of 12-36 months were relatively at higher risk compared to patients with lesser duration of treatment. Patients who’s ART had 99.94% lesser chance of changing their baseline ART regimen compared to those who did take other medicationsConclusions: The main factor determining the change of initial ART regimen in our study was the occurrence of adverse drug reactions, with ZDV being the most dominant drug

A comparative analysis of cultural value orientations of Polish and Turkish employees:implications for international human resource management

This study empirically compares and contrasts the cultural value orientations of employees from Poland and Turkey by testing the compatibility of their values in three stages through seven cultural dimensions. The first phase of the study deals with the assessment of inter-country cultural value differences; the second phase investigates the intra-country cultural dynamics between selected demographic groups; and the third phase examines the inter-country cultural differences among the selected demographic groups of employees. The research has been conducted adopting the Maznevski, DiStephano, and Nason's (1995) version of cultural perspectives questionnaire with a sample of 744 (548 Polish and 196 Turkish) respondents. The results show significant cultural differences between Poland and Turkey, a presence of cultural dynamics among certain demographic groups within the country, and a mixture of convergence and divergence in the value systems of certain demographic groups both within and between the two nation(s). The research findings convey important messages to international human resource strategists in order for them to employ an effective and rational employment policy and business negotiation approach(es) to effectively operate in these countries. It also highlights that diversity of cultural values not only requires viewing each of them through cultural dimensions at a macro-level with a cross-country reference, but also requires monitoring their dynamics at the micro-level with reference to controlled demographic groups

Participatory definition of trait preferences for designing village breeding schemes for goats in harsh environments of Ethiopia

There is critical need to improve productivity of indigenous goat breeds in order to sustain supply of food and income to communities living in harsher areas that are coming to relay more and more on the drought tolerant commodity; goats, due to changing climate. To this end, a community-based goat breeding project is being implemented in 5 zones of Ethiopia by ILRI and its partners. Designing of the breeding programs proceeded phenotypic and molecular characterization of the indigenous Ethiopian goat breeds. The characterization studies revealed that ample genetic diversity exists between and within the indigenous goat breeds pointing hug potential to tap for improving productivity amid a changing climate. Participatory definition of trait preferences was undertaken to pave the way for deriving economic weights of traits to develop selection indices

Evaluation of the durability of long‐lasting insecticidal nets in Guatemala

Background Insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) are widely used for the prevention and control of malaria. In Guatemala, since 2006, ITNs have been distributed free of charge in the highest risk malaria-endemic areas and constitute one of the primary vector control measures in the country. Despite relying on ITNs for almost 15 years, there is a lack of data to inform the timely replacement of ITNs whose effectiveness becomes diminished by routine use. Methods The survivorship, physical integrity, insecticide content and bio-efficacy of ITNs were assessed through cross-sectional surveys conducted at 18, 24 and 32 months after a 2012 distribution of PermaNet® 2.0 in a malaria focus in Guatemala. A working definition of ‘LLIN providing adequate protection’ was developed based on the combination of the previous parameters and usage of the net. A total of 988 ITNs were analysed (290 at 18 months, 349 at 24 months and 349 at 32 months). Results The functional survivorship of bed nets decreased over time, from 92% at 18 months, to 81% at 24 months and 69% at 32 months. Independent of the time of the survey, less than 80% of the bed nets that were still present in the household were reported to have been used the night before. The proportion of bed nets categorized as “in good condition” per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of the total hole surface area, diminished from 77% to 18 months to 58% at 32 months. The portion of ITNs with deltamethrin concentration less than 10 mg/m2 increased over time. Among the bed nets for which bioassays were conducted, the percentage that met WHO criteria for efficacy dropped from 90% to 18 months to 52% at 32 months. The proportion of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) providing adequate protection was 38% at 24 months and 21% at 32 months. Conclusions At 32 months, only one in five of the LLINs distributed in the campaign provided adequate protection in terms of survivorship, physical integrity, bio-efficacy and usage. Efforts to encourage the community to retain, use, and properly care for the LLINs may improve their impact. Durability assessments should be included in future campaigns

Absence of association of asporin polymorphisms and osteoarthritis susceptibility in US Caucasians

An association between osteoarthritis (OA) and functional polymorphisms in the aspartic acid (D) repeat of the asporin (ASPN) gene was reported in Japanese and Han Chinese populations. The aim of this study was to assess the association of variants in the ASPN gene with the presence of radiographic hand and/or knee OA in a US Caucasian population