Do malaria preventive interventions reach the poor? Socioeconomic inequities in expenditure on and use of mosquito control tools in Sudan.

OBJECTIVES: To determine levels of socioeconomic inequities in the prevention of malaria, and to examine the implications of the findings for improving the equitable control of malaria in the Sudan. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was administered to 720 randomly selected householders from six localities in Gezira and Khartoum States. A socioeconomic status (SES) index, which was developed using principal components analysis, was used to examine socioeconomic inequity in the prevention of malaria. FINDINGS: Socioeconomic status was positively related to expenditures and use of vector control tools. The poorest households spent the least amounts of money to prevent malaria and were the least likely to own mosquito nets. CONCLUSION: The inequity in the prevention of malaria in the study areas has to be redressed before malaria can be effectively controlled in Sudan. Malaria control managers should continually determine the extent to which malaria preventive tools reach the poorest socioeconomic groups, and fashion strategies that will ensure that equity is always maintained

DEVELOPMENT OFAN E- VOTING SYSTEM

With all the new and improved technologies, Internet can be accessed almost from any where. This includes requesting information, shopping and even working from home. The developed system is a system that utilizes the advantages of Internet to eliminate the obstacles that face people while performing election. Nowadays young people have different interests that are mostly have nothing to do with politics and national issues, having such system will also help to increase the political awareness among young people. Voting is a legal right to every citizen who is 18 years old or above. Many people can not practice that right for the reason of being away while elections take place or otherreasons. The developed E-VotingSystemwould havethe required functionality and security that enable citizens to vote from their home any time they want during election period. The system encompasses some features that are meant to enhance security and increase system's reliability. This system will be a goodtool to insuredemocracy and integrityof elections

9DF: A nine-dimensional framework for community engagement

Participatory planning literature has yet to fully engage with the situatedness of community engagement and diverse experiences of involvement. In this paper, nine dimensions based in core concepts of engagement in decision-making are explored using data co-produced with community researchers. Empowerment, influence and inclusion are distinguished as: connection and legitimacy of voice; enacting change in development or plans; and the representation of minorities or disadvantaged groups. When articulated in terms of process and outcome, and planning context, they offer a nine-dimensional framework (or 9DF) for a more community-oriented evaluation of community engagement

Electronic properties of printed nanoparticulate silicon

Printed silicon is an award-winning technology in the development of a large area of flexible electronics. In an investigation of the fundamental properties of printed nanoparticulate silicon composites, layers were screen printed and successfully characterised to establish their electrical performance using a Hall Measurement System (HMS). To explore properties of the nanoparticulate silicon composite a magnetoconductivity tensor model was developed and applied to extract parameters governing the electrical properties of the material. All the layers showed at least two carrier types. The effect of particle loading and temperature on the electrical properties was also investigated. Although carrier concentrations are generally low, their mobility was found to be comparable to, or even better than, similar classes of semiconductor materials

Terrorism:an analysis of the international legal framework, international and regional responses case study: Syria.

International law, as a discipline, is obsessed with crises, requiring reinterpretation of its basic principles to cope with them. Through this process of reinterpretation, it also creates new rules. Terrorism is one such ‘crisis’ which has impacted the international legal framework on the use of force, making it deviate from its basis established by the United Nations Charter. This thesis conducts a macro analysis of the changes in the legal framework for combating terrorism after 9/11 and the Arab Spring. It focuses on the Syrian conflict as a case study, analyzing the major actors and their different legal justifications. The Syrian conflict is a clear prototype of the changes that started to take place after 9/11. The development in the legal framework governing the use of force happened in three dimensions. The first is the broadening of existing rules (such as favoring a purpose-oriented interpretation of self-defense to include new forms such as anticipatory and pre-emptive self-defense). The second dimension is the creation of new rules through state practice that replaced existing codified ones, in an attempt to avoid the deadlock of the Security Council (SC) veto. For example, the “unwilling and unable†standard is used to justify unilateral interventions without the SC authorization to fight terrorists in other states. A third dimension is the gradual decline of the use of collective security under the UN system, giving way to unilateral action by States

9DF: A nine-dimensional framework for community engagement

Participatory planning literature has yet to fully engage with the situatedness of community engagement and diverse experiences of involvement. In this paper, nine dimensions based in core concepts of engagement in decision-making are explored using data co-produced with community researchers. Empowerment, influence and inclusion are distinguished as: connection and legitimacy of voice; enacting change in development or plans; and the representation of minorities or disadvantaged groups. When articulated in terms of process and outcome, and planning context, they offer a nine-dimensional framework (or 9DF) for a more community-oriented evaluation of community engagement