scholarly journals Dynamics of Terrace Adoption, Propagation, Benefits & Challenges among Dryland Agro-Pastoralist Communities of West Pokot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Mutio ◽  
Ruth Njoroge ◽  
Syphyline Kebeney ◽  
Wilson Ng'etich ◽  
Harrison Churu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Sediment Volume ◽  
West Pokot ◽  
Pastoral Communities ◽  
Farmer Groups

Conventional approach of establishing soil conservation strategies in degraded drylands has had negligible success. This has been contributed by many constraints, including; lagging of farmers in technology adoption, inadequate resources, and lack of motivation. Thus, a study was conducted among three agro-pastoral community farmer groups in Korellach Parak, Kapkitony, and Kaporowo villages domiciled in Chepareria ward, West Pokot, Kenya, to assess contributory factors and consequences of adopting terracing as a soil conservation measure. Mixed methods comprising; one-on-one interviews, cross-sectional field measurements, and focus group discussions (FGDs), were used for data collection. Results indicate that the agro-pastoral communities are fully aware of soil degradation and its impacts. Besides terracing, farmers practice stone bands, enclosures, agroforestry, and ridges. Terracing is a recently adopted farm-level soil conservation practice achieved through organized farmer groups dubbed “Kemorokorenyo” (meaning let us reclaim our land) merry-go-round. Within the three villages, 60% of the households have their farms terraced with an average terrace volume of 103.8±21.45m3, 105.89±33.126m3, and 129.6±15.966m3 in Parak Kapkitony and Kaporowo, respectively. Rapid sedimentation of terraces dykes, which contributes to the reduced effectiveness of the terrace system was identified as the major challenge. The sediment volume significantly differs along the slope, with the highest sediment build-up experienced on high slopes as shown by the Kruskal Wallis test; H (2) =6.699, p=0.035. Terrace embankments reinforcement practice to counter sedimentation challenge has faced slow adoption. The poor reinforcement is attributable to the lack of knowledge on suitable local context multipurpose materials to meet the community’s needs.

Social stigma in severe mental illness in Tunisia: Clinical and socio-demographic correlates

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S577-S577 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Ouali ◽  
R. Jomli ◽  
R. Nefzi ◽  
H. Ouertani ◽  
F. Nacef
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionMental patients generally internalize some of the negative conceptions about how most people view them: they might be considered incompetent or untrustworthy or believe that people would not want to hire, or marry someone with mental illness. A lot of research on stigma has been conducted in western countries; however, little is still known on the situation in Arab-Muslim societies.ObjectivesTo evaluate social stigma as viewed by patients suffering from severe mental illness (SMI)MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study on clinically stabilized patients with schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder (BD) according to DSM IV, who were interviewed in our out-patients clinic with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire, containing 8 opinions on the social inclusion and stigmatization of psychiatric patients, with special reference to the local cultural context (e.g.: “It is better to hide mental illness in order to preserve the reputation of my family”)ResultsWe included 104 patients, 51% with schizophrenia and 49% with BD. Mean age was 38.4 years (18–74 years); 59.6% were males. Overall social stigma scores were high. Social stigma in patients was correlated with gender, age, place of residence and diagnosis. Patients with BD showed significantly less social stigma than patients with schizophrenia.ConclusionOur results show the need for a better understanding of this phenomenon in patients with SMI, but also within Tunisian society, in order to elaborate anti stigma strategies adapted to the local context.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Farmer Decision-Making on the Concept of Coexistence: A Comparative Analysis between Organic and Biotech Farmers in the Philippines

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 857
Author(s):  
Clarisse Mendoza Gonzalvo ◽  
Wilson Jr. Florendo Aala ◽  
Keshav Lall Maharjan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Organic Farmers ◽  
Farmer Decision Making ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Farmer Groups

Farmer perspectives are relevant for understanding agricultural issues and formulating policies. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey on 70 Filipino farmers (i.e., 35 organic and 35 biotech) to understand farmers’ perspectives regarding coexisting farming methods. Internal response variables were tested to verify the type of decision-making processes being undertaken by biotech and organic farmers. Our results showed that a non-linear decision-making process, similar to the Stimulus–Organism–Response Model, was present for both farmer groups. The study also found that biotech farmers were more influenced by internal factors (e.g., consumer resources) than organic farmers, who rely more on external influences (e.g., culture and social interactions), in connection to their coexistence perspective. The presence of “maverick executives” within the organic farmers gives traction to the notion that coexistence can help empower farmers in choosing what farming method is most suitable to their needs. Our data can also provide insights to policymakers in terms of surveying farmer perspectives to balance farmer needs, primarily in yield and income security, with the national agricultural agenda centered on environmental conservation. Thus, farmer perspectives should be considered alongside ongoing studies and debates on coexistence.

scholarly journals Socio-Economic Factors Assessment Affecting the Adoption of Soil Conservation Technologies on Rwenzori Mountain

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Nabalegwa Wambede Muhamud
Keyword(s):  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Socio Economic Factors ◽  
Conservation Technologies

This study analysed the role of socio-economic factors in influencing farmers’ adoption to soil conservation technologies in Bugoye Sub-county, Rwenzori Mountain. A cross sectional household survey design was used in this study, using systematic sampling to obtain 150 household samples. Qualitative analysis and chi-square tests were used to analyze these data. Results indicated that only 54% of the sampled households have adopted soil conservation, and revealed that eight of the nine factors significantly influenced farmers’ adoption, which are slope, farm size, farm distance from home, education level, family income, training, membership to NGOs, and credit accessibility. Only family size was insignificant. Other constraints are labour demands, cost of conservation work, land fragmentation, crop pests, and the limited agricultural extension services. It is recommended to perform training for farmers on designing soil conservation structures. Policies for empowering farmers with extra income are crucial to increase the adoption of soil conservation efforts.

Inter-professional physician-nurse collaboration in Lebanon

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45
Author(s):  
Hala Ahmadieh ◽  
Ghali H. Majzoub ◽  
Faraj M. Abou Radi ◽  
Areej H. Abou Baraki
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Nurses And Physicians

PurposeA physician–nurse relationship is a complex, professional and shared-decision-making process, which is an important predictor of high-quality patient care. The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitude of the physician–nurse relationship in Southern Lebanon hospitals.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive institutional cross-sectional study was conducted among different departments of three hospitals in Southern Lebanon using a validated Jefferson Scale of Attitude.FindingsIn sum, 89 physicians and 245 nurses accepted to participate. The nurses’ mean age was 32 and the physicians’ was 44. The mean score was found to be 46 for all participants, with significantly higher scores noted among nurses compared to physicians (48 vs 43, respectively) and higher scores among females compared to males (48 vs 46, respectively). However, the study scored no significant difference in relation to the degrees attained by nurses and the participants’ years of experience. The majority had agreed that the shortage in the nurses’ staff affects proper patient care delivery. One fourth of the physicians disagreed that nurses should be considered as a collaborator and colleague. Therefore, more work is required to improve this collaboration.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a complex relationship normally displayed by physicians and nurses, which cannot be easily interpreted and analyzed. Physicians and nurses may have given socially desirable responses while filling the questionnaire. Even more, this study was conducted in Hospitals in Southern Lebanon, and it would be nice to extend this study to include further hospitals in other regions in Lebanon as well.Practical implicationsNurses had higher scores toward collaboration, with females scoring higher than males. However, overall scores are considered to be lower compared to other countries. Thus, more efforts should be done on improving this communication among nurses and physicians, through promoting inter-professional undergraduate and postgraduate education training toward more effective communication.Social implicationsQuality of patient care would be improved if more work is done on improving the collaboration between physicians and nurses, and this was shown to be required as per study results.Originality/valueThere is a gap in literature assessing this important topic which is the collaboration and attitude of nurses and physicians toward their relationship in Lebanon. It is extremely important that efforts should be taken in order to determine the type of nurse–physician relationship in every local context as this relationship affects quality of patients’ care.

scholarly journals Quantification of Extent, Density, and Status of Aquatic Reed Beds Using Point Clouds Derived from UAV–RGB Imagery

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Corti Meneses ◽  
Florian Brunner ◽  
Simon Baier ◽  
Juergen Geist ◽  
Thomas Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Reed Beds ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
Reed Bed

Quantification of reed coverage and vegetation status is fundamental for monitoring and developing lake conservation strategies. The applicability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) three-dimensional data (point clouds) for status evaluation was investigated. This study focused on mapping extent, density, and vegetation status of aquatic reed beds. Point clouds were calculated with Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms in aerial imagery recorded with Rotary Wing (RW) and Fixed Wing (FW) UAV. Extent was quantified by measuring the surface between frontline and shoreline. Density classification was based on point geometry (height and height variance) in point clouds. Spectral information per point was used for calculating a vegetation index and was used as indicator for vegetation vitality. Status was achieved by combining data on density, vitality, and frontline shape outputs. Field observations in areas of interest (AOI) and optical imagery were used for reference and validation purposes. A root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.58 m to 3.62 m for cross sections from field measurements and classification was achieved for extent map. The overall accuracy (OA) acquired for density classification was 88.6% (Kappa = 0.8). The OA for status classification of 83.3% (Kappa = 0.7) was reached by comparison with field measurements complemented by secondary Red, Green, Blue (RGB) data visual assessments. The research shows that complex transitional zones (water–vegetation–land) can be assessed and support the suitability of the applied method providing new strategies for monitoring aquatic reed bed using low-cost UAV imagery.

scholarly journals Integrating behaviour and ecology into global biodiversity conservation strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1781) ◽  
pp. 20190012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Tobias ◽  
Alex L. Pigot
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Latent Extinction ◽  
Conservation Assessments ◽  
And Migration

Insights into animal behaviour play an increasingly central role in species-focused conservation practice. However, progress towards incorporating behaviour into regional or global conservation strategies has been more limited, not least because standardized datasets of behavioural traits are generally lacking at wider taxonomic or spatial scales. Here we make use of the recent expansion of global datasets for birds to assess the prospects for including behavioural traits in systematic conservation priority-setting and monitoring programmes. Using International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List classifications for more than 9500 bird species, we show that the incidence of threat can vary substantially across different behavioural categories, and that some types of behaviour—including particular foraging, mating and migration strategies—are significantly more threatened than others. The link between behavioural traits and extinction risk is partly driven by correlations with well-established geographical and ecological factors (e.g. range size, body mass, human population pressure), but our models also reveal that behaviour modifies the effect of these factors, helping to explain broad-scale patterns of extinction risk. Overall, these results suggest that a multi-species approach at the scale of communities, continents and ecosystems can be used to identify and monitor threatened behaviours, and to flag up cases of latent extinction risk, where threatened status may currently be underestimated. Our findings also highlight the importance of comprehensive standardized descriptive data for ecological and behavioural traits, and point the way towards deeper integration of behaviour into quantitative conservation assessments. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation’.

scholarly journals Self-Medication Practices in Surrounding Communities of Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital of Eastern Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surya Bahadur Parajuli ◽  
Anjali Mishra ◽  
Heera KC ◽  
Prem Bhattarai ◽  
Sharad Karki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Medical College

Background: Self-medication is the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders/symptoms, or the intermittent/continued use of a prescribed drug for chronic/recurrent disease/symptoms (WHO). It is the cause for antibiotic resistance, inappropriate treatment, financial burden and many deaths. WHO listed self-medication as one of the priority research area at the local context. The objective of the study was to find the prevalence and pattern of self-medication in surrounding communities of Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the surrounding communities of Birat Medical College from 1st August 2018 to 15th December 2018. Multistage sampling was used to collect information from 348 household having family members aged 16 years and above. Ethical approval was taken from Institutional Review Committee of Birat Medical College. Pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used. Results: The mean age of the participants was 40.5±15.9 years. Prevalence of self-medication was 44.04%. Majority took self-medication for headache 43.6% followed by common cold 39.1% etc. Majority used allopathic drugs 82.7% followed by traditional healers 9.8%. Common medication were antipyretics 18.8%, antibiotics 16.5%, proton pump inhibitor 7.5%, antihistamines 6.8% etc. The reason behind self-medication were low cost 30.1%, time saving 24.1%, illness too trivial/mild for consultation 18.8%, quick relief 18.1%, high doctor fee 15 %, lack of awareness 13.5 %,  familiar with treatment options 12.8%, long waiting line in hospital 12% etc. Out of them 8.3% noticed side effects of self-medication. Out of all 59.5% felt the need of awareness program on rational use of medicines. Age, sex, marital status, ethnicity, religion, education and occupation of participants, education and occupation of head of household, poverty status, family type, house residence type, type of house has no significant association with self-medication. Participants residing in alani/rent households were 1.93 times more likely to self-medicate than those residing in their own and participants having negative attitude were 1.90 times more likely to self-medicate than those who had positive attitude and both were statistically significant.  Conclusions: The burden of self-medication was present and allopathic drugs including antibiotics were common. Adverse drug reactions were reported but participants were unaware about the place to report. Participants had negative attitude towards self-medication which is harmful for their health. As pharmacy was the common source of self-medication, the prescription based medicine dispensary should be advocated.

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