BIM and People Issues: A Scoping Study Exploring Implications for Curriculum Design

Government sponsored reports have highlighted the need for improvements in people skills for those working in the UK construction industry. The mandatory use of Building Information Modelling on government projects by 2016 (Government Construction Strategy 2011) highlight these issues and bring their own specific challenges. It is in the construction organisation’s interest that they have to innovate and adopt BIM. However evidence suggest that innovation is always met with resistance in organisations. One of the reasons for resistance is the expectation that innovation brings about the need for new skills and that some traditional skills become obsolete. The aim of this study was to get a better understanding of the ‘people’ related challenges when organisations are adopting BIM and particularly focuses on education and training requirements and the extent to which BIM implementation affects the dynamics of people skills

A summary of Special Collection 1

Special Collection 1: Social Interactions and HIV/AIDS in Rural Africa is a set of papers stemming from the conference "Research on Demographic Aspects of HIV/AIDS in Rural Africa", held at the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, October 28, 2002. The aim of the conference was to provide a forum for the presentation of results, to an audience of experts, on a variety of demographic aspects relevant for the study of HIV/AIDS in rural Africa. The aim of the special collection is to make these results available to a wider audience. Thirteen contributions were submitted to the journal Demographic Research and went through peer review. They were published on September 19, 2003 as the journal’s first “special collection†of material on a common topic. This short summary of the collection has been added to Volume 9 in order to include full details of the collection in the current running volume as well. The following pages list the contributions and give direct links where readers may download the material from the Demographic Research website. A full list of all papers is also available at: http://www.demographic-research.org/special/1/.AIDS/HIV, Kenya, Malawi

Tobacco smoking prevalence among in-school adolescents aged 13-15 years: baseline for evaluation of the implementation of the FCTC in Lusaka district, Zambia

Background: Tobacco use is a major public health concern worldwide. Zambia has been controlling tobacco use in terms of legislative interventions, and acceding to the World Health organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The study was aimed to determine the baseline prevalence of current smoking to be used in the evaluation of the implementation of the WHO FCTC. Methods: Survey data from the 2002 and 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Surveys (GYTS) were used to estimate the prevalence of tobacco use. The standard protocol for GYTS was used in the surveys, and only data for students aged 13 to 15 years was used in the analysis. Data were analyzed using SUDAAN (Research Triangle institute), and SPSS (version 11.5) software packages. Weighted analysis was used to produce estimates together with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The current cigarette smokers were 9.2% in 2002 and 6.8% in 2007 (p>0.05), with an overall rate of 7.4% (95%CI [7.1, 7.7]). No significant difference in current cigarette smoking rates was observed between sexes. However, compared to students of age 15 years, those of ages 13 and 14 years were less likely to be current smokers (AOR=0.82, 95%CI [0.77, 0.88]) for 13 years, and AOR=0.90, 95%CI [0.85, 0.96] for 14 years). Conclusion: The results of this study show that Lusaka district is in the first stage of the tobacco epidemic. There is urgent need, guided by the WHO FCTC, for effective interventions to be put in place before the epidemic becomes unmanageable

Is mastectomy an option in treatment of breast abscesses?

Three cases of severe breast infection are presented. The first patient was admitted with a gangrenous left breast and was in septic shock. She died soon after admission. Thc second case had bilateral breast abscesses and was toxic. She also died after treatment with antibiotics and multiple debridments. The third patient with bilateral severe breast infection had right mastectomy. She made a rapid improvement. It is proposed that mastectomy may be a reasonable option for management of advanced or neglected breast infection or necrotising fasciitis of the breast.Key words: hlastectomj; option, treatment and breast absces

Seed management by small-scale farmers in Zambia. A study of cowpea, groundnut and sorghum seed in the Southern and Western Provinces (NRI Bulletin 76)

Field surveys of on-farm cowpea, groundnut and sorghum management in two regions of Zambia are described. The survey included seed saved on-farm and seed sources off-farm. Samples of seeds were collected just prior to planting and assessed for germination potential. Conclusions are given on the general status and potential for improving seed quality and on farmer seed management

Outcomes of a remote, decentralized health center-based HIV/AIDS antiretroviral program in Zambia, 2003 to 2007

A cross-sectional study of patients living with HIV/ AIDS treated during 2003 to 2007 in decentralized, rural health centers in Zambia was performed to measure virological outcomes after 12 months of antiretroviral therapy and identify factors associated with virological failure. Data from 228 patients who started antiretroviral therapy >12 months prior were analyzed. In all, 93% received stavudine + lamivudine + nevirapine regimens, and median antiretroviral therapy duration was 23.5 months (interquartile range 20-28). Of the 205 patients tested for viral load, 177 (86%) had viral load <1000 copies/mL. Probability of developing virological failure (viral load >1000 copies/mL) was 8.9% at 24 months and 19.6% at 32 months. Predictors for virological failure were <100% adherence, body mass index <18.5 kg/m(2), and women <40 years old. Of those with virological failure who underwent 3 to 6 months of intensive adherence counseling, 45% obtained virological success. In a remote, resource-limited setting in decentralized health centers, virological and immunological assessments of patients on antiretroviral therapy >12 months showed that positive health outcomes are achievable

The Effect of Planting Date on the Dry Matter Production of Italian and Westerwolds Ryegrass in the Southern Cape of South Africa

Perennial pasture species such as lucerne (Medicago sativa), kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and perennial clovers (Trifolium spp.) make an important contribution to the fodder flow programmes for dairy production in the southern Cape. One of the main challenges when these species make up the primary pasture base within a pasture system is the mutually low growth rates during winter (Van Heerden et al., 1989; Swanepoel et al., 2014). In order to bridge pasture shortages during the critical winter months, producers establish annual Italian (Lolium multiflorum var. italicum) and Westerwolds ryegrass (L. multiflorum var. westerwoldicum) either as pure swards, mixtures or over-sown it into perennial pastures. The production potential and seasonal growth of annual ryegrass varieties are affected by climate and may not follow the same pattern of production as in other regions. The aim of this study was to determine the production potential of Italian and Westerwolds ryegrass planted at different planting dates in the southern Cape of South Africa

Social and gender analysis report: Barotse Floodplain, Western Province,Zambia

There is increasing awareness that integrating gender into development frameworks is critical for effective implementation of development strategies. In working to alleviate rural poverty, the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) recognizes that “business as usual” gender integration approaches will not deliver lasting and widespread improvements in agricultural productivity, poverty reduction and food security. In response, AAS operationalized a gender transformative approach. The approach is informed by conceptual frameworks that explicitly recognize the potent influence of social relations on creating and perpetuating gender inequalities. In this way, AAS aims to address the underlying causes of rural poverty and gender inequality in Zambia’s Barotse Floodplain, where people rely extensively on riverine and wetland ecosystems for food and livelihood security. A central question guiding the research program is “How do social norms and gendered power relations influence agricultural development outcomes?” The findings presented in this report provide insights that help answer this question. The report presents a review of literature relevant to livelihoods, ecosystem services, and gender and social relations in Zambia, with a specific focus on Western Province, where AAS is currently implemented. It also presents a synthesis of findings of a social and gender analysis conducted in 2013 in 10 focal communities situated in and around the Barotse Floodplain

An appraisal of the indigenous chicken market in Tanzania and Zambia. Are the markets ready for improved outputs from village production systems?

Traditional or village poultry, consisting primarily of indigenous chickens, make up over 80% of poultry in Africa. Most are kept as small flocks in free-ranging, scavenging, low input production systems. They provide vital nutritional and financial needs especially for children, women of reproductive age, people with HIV/AIDS and the poor. Poultry meat and eggs provide animal source protein and essential micronutrients which improves growth and cognitive development in children. While productivity of indigenous chickens is low due to uncontrolled disease and an unreliable scavenging resource base, the minimal inputs result in a high benefit-cost ratio. By increasing supplementary feeding through improved crop yields and improving disease control through vaccination, a higher number of chickens of greater bodyweight will be available to market. An appraisal of the indigenous chicken market in Tanzania and Zambia was conducted to identify the key individuals (including gender imbalances), market channels, commercialisation margins, market trends and competition from exotic, commercial chickens (broilers and spent layers). Consumers preferred indigenous chickens and urban consumers paid their significantly higher price, which resulted from the accumulative costs of intermediary traders’ fees, transport costs and market fees. Commercial chickens in urban markets sold at a lower price but were vulnerable to fluctuating costs of high inputs. Indigenous chicken producers’ margins were favourable enough to suggest that some additional costs were sustainable, provided the off take channels and consumer confidence is sustained. Markets for indigenous chickens were informal and consequently, their response to increased production may be unpredictable