An assessment of the village tank rehabilitation program of the Freedom From Hunger Campaign Board in Anuradhapura District

Farmer managed irrigation systems / Tank irrigation / Rehabilitation / Farmers' associations / Settlement / Sri Lanka / Anuradhapura / Tanthirimale

Role of nongovernmental organizations in the improvement of minor irrigation systems in Sri Lanka: Proceedings of a Workshop held at Digana Village, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 17-18 March 1989

Non-governmental organizations / Irrigation systems / Rehabilitation / Rural development / Farmer participation / Small scale systems / Sri Lanka

A review of alternative strategies for improving farmer-managed irrigation systems in Sri Lanka

Farmer managed irrigation systems / Tank irrigation / Rehabilitation / Non-governmental organizations / Governmental interrelations / Rural development / Farmer participation / Farmer-agency interactions / Sri Lanka

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (CoTASS): A description of a population based twin study of mental disorders in Sri Lanka

Background: The Sri Lankan twin registry is one of the first to be established in a developing country, and its design has ensured sampling from a wide range of environmental conditions. It thus has great potential to examine environmental and genetic influences on diverse phenotypes, including psychiatric disorders, in the context of a diversity of environmental exposures, which may not have been fully explored in previous twin studies in developed countries. This paper presents the rationale for the study, describes its context, and the methods for twin ascertainment and data collection. Methods: A population-based twin register was established in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka using infrastructure designed to periodically update the electoral register. We invited a subsample from this register to participate in the project on common mental disorders, using random ascertainment. A separate non-twin sample was randomly selected from the geographical areas where twins were found. Home interviewers collected diagnostic information on common mental disorders, as well as environmental exposures including life events, socio-economic conditions, and the impact of the civil war and the Tsunami of 2004. Results: We identified 19,302 individuals in the creation of the population based twin register. We randomly selected a subsample, of whom 4,387 were eligible to participate and 4,024 agreed to be interviewed ( including data on 1,954 complete pairs of twins and 5 sets of triplets). Those who refused consent had a similar mean age and sex ratio to those who were interviewed. We invited 2,485 singletons to participate and 2,019 were interviewed. Conclusion: Initial exploration of the data suggests the samples are very representative of the Colombo district of Sri Lanka, so we have created a unique resource for understanding the influences on mental disorders in developing countries, and to compare to the influences found in developed countries

Performance of FMIS improved under NGO assistance: the case of the National Development Foundation in Sri Lanka

In Manor, S.; Chambouleyron, J. (Eds.). Performance measurement in farmer-managed irrigation systems. Proceedings of an International Workshop of the Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems Network, Mendoza, Argentina, 12-15 November 1991. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI)

An assessment of the village tank rehabilitation program of the Freedom From Hunger Campaign Board in Anuradhapura District

The Village Tank Rehabilitation Program of the National Freedom From Hunger Campaign (FFHC) Board is assessed in this paper as a parallel study to the Anuradhapura Dry-Zone Agriculture Project (ADZAP) which was carried out by the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) in 1988. Following a nongovernmental approach, the FFHC Board has implemented tank rehabilitation programs in several districts in the island. The Thanthirimale cluster in Anuradhapura District is the largest tank rehabilitation project implemented by the Board. In this study, the Board's program in Thanthirimale was assessed through a sample survey, following a similar survey methodology used to assess the Tank Rehabilitation Program of ADZA

A potential collaboration between the future Australian Space Agency and Australian medical schools

Since the recent creation of the Australian Space Agency (ASA), there is an opportunity to create programs focused on aerospace medicine if there is enough interest. Through a nationwide voluntary anonymous online cross-sectional survey, we aim to assess the level of interest amongst medical students in the area of space medicine research and to evaluate strategies on collaboration opportunities between medical schools and the ASA. The survey was distributed to all participating medical schools across Australia. 310 responses were recorded. A significant majority (92.9%) of students registered an interest in aerospace medicine and research and were keen to see future opportunities through the collaboration between medical schools and the ASA. This survey strongly suggests a high level of interest amongst medical students in the area of aerospace medicine and research. A partnership between medical schools and the ASA is likely to benefit to both parties. Further research should be done to assess the optimal strategy to support and grow this interest