Improving the Effectiveness of Evaluation in Rural Development Projects

SUMMARY Built?in project evaluation units can do much to improve the design and implementation of rural development projects if types of information required are unambiguously specified by aid agencies, governments and project managements and if adequate resources are provided in support of evaluation efforts. Experience suggests that the evaluation role has not in the past been carefully examined and that the true costs have been underestimated. Possible roles for evaluation units are spelled out in relation to projects operational structure, and two types of monitoring capability—one for conventional and one for innovative projects—are identified and discussed. RESUME Comment améliorer l'Efficacité de l'Evaluation dans les Projets de Développement Rural Des unités d'évaluation intégrées au Projet lui?même peuvent améliorer de façon substantielle le plan et l'exécution des projets de développement rural si toutefois les informations recueillies sont précisées sans aucune ambiguité par les bureaux d'aide, les gouvernements et les directions de projet et si on pourvoit à des ressources adéquates capables de supporter les efforts apportés à cette évaluation. L'expérience semble suggérer que, par le passé, son rôle n'a pas été examiné à sa juste mesure, et que les coûts réels ont été sousestimés. Le rôle possible de ces unités d'évaluation est explicité en relation avec la structure opérationnelle des projets, et on identifie et discute deux systèmes possibles de contrôle—l'un pour les projets conventionnels et l'autre pour ceux qui innovent. RESUMEN Mejorando la Efectividad de la Evaluación en Proyectos de Desarrollo Rural La inclusión de unidades de evaluación en proyectos de desarrollo rural puede hacer mucho por mejorar el diseño y la ejecución de los mismos si los organismos de ayuda, los gobiernos y la dirección de los proyectos especifican de manera inequívoca los tipos de información que se requieren, y si se proveen recursos adecuados para apoyar los esfuerzos de evaluación. La experiencia indica que el papel de la evaluación no ha sido examinado con cuidado en el pasado y que los verdaderos costos han sido subestimados. El artículo especifica las funciones posibles de las unidades de evaluación en relación con la estructura operativa de los proyectos, e identifica y discute dos tipos de capacidad de observación, una para proyectos ‘convencionales’ y otra para proyectos innovadores

You and Your Neighbor

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Microflanging of CuZn30 Specimens Using Electromagnetic Forming

In this research, electro-magnetic (EM) forming was investigated as an alternative process to form microscale components. Both EM and quasi-static flanging experiments were conducted with CuZn30 specimens of 0.127, 0.508 and 1.588 mm thicknesses that were heat treated to achieve 2 and 10 grains through the thickness to assess this parameter. Results from the quasi-static tests showed that as the sample size decreased with a constant grain size through thickness ratio, the springback angle increased. For the 0.127mm and 0.508mm thickness specimens, the EM results showed that the flanging angle increased as the power input increased from 1.7 to 3.7 kJ. For 3.7 kJ energies and above, complete 90 degree flanging with no springback was achieved for the 0.508mm specimens. However, EM flanging could not be achieved for the 1.588mm case. Microhardness testing conducted on specimens of similar flanging angles yielded no observable change in deformation between the EM and quasi-static processes for the 0.508mm specimens

An ultra-fast method of DNA extraction from Neurospora

We have found that the DNA extraction procedure of Metzenberg and Baitch (Neurospora Newsl. 28:20)/Stevens and Metzenberg (Neurospora Newsl. 29:27) while giving excellent yield and size of DNA, is somewhat cumbersome and also results in the occasional sample that proves to be uncuttable

Osteonecrosis in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a national questionnaire study

Objectives: To establish prevalence, management and long-term outcomes of osteonecrosis (ON) in young people diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) between 2003 and 2011. Design, setting, participants: This study assessed ON in 3113 patients aged 1–24 years who participated in the UK national leukaemia study UKALL 2003. UKALL 2003 recruited patients in 40 UK hospitals between 2003 and 2011 and included patients between ages 1 and 25 diagnosed with ALL. Results: 170 patients were diagnosed with ON, giving a prevalence of 5.5%. The multivariable analysis showed that the risk of ON was highest for children aged between 10 and 20 years (ages 10–15 years, OR 23.7, 95% CI 14.8 to 38.0; ages 16–20 years, OR 22.5, 95% CI 12.7 to 39.8, compared with age <10 years). Among ethnic groups, Asian patients had the highest risk of ON (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.6, compared with White patients). Eighty-five per cent of patients with ON had multifocal ON. Thirty-eight per cent of patients with ON required surgery and 19% of patients with ON required a hip replacement. Fifteen per cent of patients who had surgery still describe significant disability or use of a wheelchair. Conclusions: ON has considerable morbidity for patients being treated for ALL, with a high burden of surgery. Age and ethnicity were found to be the most significant risk factors for development of ON, with Asian patients and patients aged 10–20 years at diagnosis of ALL at greatest risk. These results will help risk stratify patients at diagnosis of ALL, and help tailor future prospective studies in this area

Coping with Zimbabwe's economic crisis: small-scale farmers and livelihoods under stress

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Use of a bacterial hygromycin B resistance gene as a dominant selectable marker in Neurospora crassa transformation

Dominant transformation markers allow maximum flexibility in the choice of transformation recipients

Fast and slow nonlinearities in Epsilon‐Near‐Zero materials

Novel materials, with enhanced light–matter interaction capabilities, play an essential role in achieving the lofty goals of nonlinear optics. Recently, epsilon‐near‐zero (ENZ) media have emerged as a promising candidate to enable the enhancement of several nonlinear processes including refractive index modulation and harmonic generation. Here, the optical nonlinearity of ENZ media is analyzed to clarify the commonalities with other nonlinear media and its unique properties. Transparent conducting oxides as the family of ENZ media with near‐zero permittivity in the near‐infrared (telecom) band are focused on. The instantaneous and delayed nonlinearities are investigated. By identifying their common origin from the band nonparabolicity, it is shown that their relative strength is entirely determined by a ratio of the energy and momentum relaxation (or dephasing) times. Using this framework, ENZ materials are compared against the many promising nonlinear media that are investigated in literature and show that while ENZ materials do not radically outpace the strength of traditional materials in either the fast or slow nonlinearity, they pack key advantages such as an ideal response time, intrinsic slow light enhancement, and broadband nature in a compact platform making them a valuable tool for ultrafast photonics applications for decades to come