Modeling recreation demand for British forests: An application of an endogenously stratified and truncated log-normal distribution

Evaluating the value of British forests is important for forest policies' making. Since the number of visitors to British forests is quite large and each visitor's visiting frequency is high, the conventional count data models which focus on small integers may not cope adequately with this big number of visitation. This study utilizes newly developed endogenously stratified and truncated distributions to model the recreation demand for British Forests

Key economic performance indicator

The East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project is a regional industry development program and implemented by a consortium of partners. It is currently being piloted in 18 sites in Kenya, 8 in Rwanda and 27 in Uganda. The overall goal of the project is to transform the lives of 179,000 families, or about 1 million people, by doubling household dairy income in 10 years through integrated interventions in dairy production, market access and knowledge application. This brief highlights key results of a baseline survey of the economic performance analysis of dairy farms in project sites in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The focus is on production and marketing aspects to establish a benchmark against which future economic performances of the project beneficiaries will be assessed during the project monitoring, review and final impact evaluations. Details are available in the baseline survey report No. 5

Learning Analytics and Online Language learning

This chapter addresses the challenges and future potential of learning analytics. It examines some of the key questions raised by the research literature that will influence language education over the next decade, and investigates what kind of data can be used to inform effective decision-making in online language-learning contexts and how it can be visualized. The chapter turns to consider preliminary data arising from the needs analysis phase of the VITAL Project (Visualization Tools and Analytics to Monitor Online Language Learning and Teaching), a two-year EU-funded project that specifically addresses the gap in the research literature on analytics in language learning and teaching. Turning to the first large-scale project on learning analytics and online language learning, Link & Li's theoretical framework provides a useful starting point to consider the role of dashboards for language learners and instructors

Integrating livestock in CAADP framework: Policy analysis using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model for Ethiopia

Researchers and policymakers increasingly recognize that the livestock sector supports the livelihoods of a large proportion of rural households in most African countries and may play an important role in rural poverty reduction strategies. To develop this insight, economy-wide models should capture both the biological, dynamic relationships between the stocks and flows of livestock and economic linkages between this sector and the rest of the economy. This study extends an existing dynamic recursive general equilibrium model for the Ethiopian economy so as to better model the livestock sector. A separate herd dynamics module enables researchers to specify stock-flow relationship, distinguishing between the capital role of livestock and the flow of livestock products. The authors also improved the underlying system of economic accounts to better capture draft power and breeding stocks. They used this model to simulate separate, realistic Total Factor Productivity (TFP) shocks to three agricultural subsectors—cereals, cash crops, and livestock—and compared them to a baseline scenario replicating the 1998–2007 productivity trends, following Dorosh and Thurlow (2009), who examined CAADP productivity scenarios. The results revealed the important role of the livestock sector in increasing various measures of GDP and combating food insecurity. Agricultural GDP and overall GDP growth levels achieved in the livestock TFP shock scenario are very similar to those achieved in the cereal TFP shock scenario, contrary to previous assumptions. Importantly, as factors are dynamically re-allocated between agricultural activities, our analysis highlighted the inefficiency of strategies focusing on cereal sector development alone. Moreover, livestock sector productivity growth led to greater factor income growth, particularly labor income, than in the other simulations. Labor is the predominant asset of poor household; hence, a livestock-led scenario realizes large gains in income and food consumption growth

Common interest

SummaryOne of the West's frontline bases during the Cold War has been turned into an innovative conservation project. Nigel Williams reports

Prospects and Bottlenecks of Reciprocal Partnerships Between the Private and Humanitarian Sectors in Cash Transfer Programming for Humanitarian Response

As an alternative to commodity-based programming (in-kind aid), Cash Transfer Programming is attracting both humanitarian organizations' and institutional donors' attention. Unlike in-kind aid, Cash Transfer Programming transfers purchasing power directly to beneficiaries in the form of currency or vouchers for them to obtain goods and/or services directly from the local market. In distributing currency to beneficiaries, the private sector, especially financial service providers, plays a prominent role, due to the humanitarian sector's limited relevant resources. The present work unveils challenges for the private and humanitarian sectors, which hinder implementing Cash Transfer Programming. Based on primary and secondary qualitative data, the paper presents the main characteristics and the mechanisms of Cash Transfer Programming to explore how the private sector is involved with Cash Transfer Programming. Then, this study presents bottlenecks of reciprocal relationships between financial service providers and humanitarian organizations in Cash Transfer Programming

Electroencephalographic Findings, Antiepileptic Drugs and Risk Factors of 433 Individuals Referred to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Ethiopia

Background: Little is known about the characteristics of electroencephalogram (EEG) findings in epileptic patients in Ethiopia. The objective of this  study was to characterize the EEG patterns, indications, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and epilepsy risk factors.Methods: A retrospective observational review of EEG test records of 433 patients referred to our electrophysiology unit between July 01, 2020 and  December 31, 2021.Results: The age distribution in the study participants was right skewed unipolar age distribution for both sexes and the mean age of 33.8 (SD=15.7) years. Male accounted for 51.7%. Generalized tonic clonic seizure was the most common seizure type. The commonest indication for EEG was  abnormal body movement with loss of consciousness (35.2%). Abnormal EEG findings were observed in 55.2%; more than half of them were Interictal epileptiform discharges, followed by focal/or generalized slowing. Phenobarbitone was the commonest AEDs. A quarter (20.1%) of the  patients were getting a combination of two AEDs and 5.2% were on 3 different AEDs. Individuals taking the older AEDs and those on 2 or more AEDs  tended to have abnormal EEG findings. A cerebrovascular disorder (27.4%) is the prevalent risk factor identified followed by brain tumor, HIV  infection, and traumatic head injury respectively.Conclusion: High burden of abnormal EEG findings among epileptic patients referred to our unit. The proportion of abnormal EEG patterns was  higher in patients taking older generation AEDs and in those on 2 or more AEDs. Stroke, brain tumor, HIV infection and traumatic head injury were  the commonest identified epilepsy risk factors