Women's Perception of their Forest Resources in Espiritu Santo (Vanuatu)

<p>Women's perceptions of their environment in two remote communities (Monxhill and Butmas, in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu) were explored, as their perception is though to guide their involvement in environmental education. Qualitative insights from participatory fieldwork, using ranking exercise, community resource mapping and perception activities, showed that women of Monxhill see the forest as a place to live, to know and to learn about, to plan for and to take care of. In turn, women of Butmas see it as a resource, which has to be managed in order to provide the communities with food, materials and medicines; however, they also see it as a problem, which has to be solved. Furthermore, this research showed that these women are a key actors in community environmental education.</p>

Women's Perception of their Forest Resources in Espiritu Santo (Vanuatu)

<p>Women's perceptions of their environment in two remote communities (Monxhill and Butmas, in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu) were explored, as their perception is though to guide their involvement in environmental education. Qualitative insights from participatory fieldwork, using ranking exercise, community resource mapping and perception activities, showed that women of Monxhill see the forest as a place to live, to know and to learn about, to plan for and to take care of. In turn, women of Butmas see it as a resource, which has to be managed in order to provide the communities with food, materials and medicines; however, they also see it as a problem, which has to be solved. Furthermore, this research showed that these women are a key actors in community environmental education.</p>

Swachh Survekshan Needs to Clean up its Methodology: An Assessment of Ranks as Performance Incentives for Indian Cities

The Government of India is increasingly using ranks to incentivise sub-units of government. The largest such exercise, the Swachh Survekshan, has been conducted since 2016 and aims to incentivise cities to compete on and improve waste management and sanitation outcomes. Using publicly available Swachh Survekshan data, this article suggests that the current scoring methodology provides weak signals to urban local bodies (ULBs) and citizens on performance metrics. In particular, it shows that the ranks are not consistent and stable across years, there are severe discrepancies in data between components of the awarded score, and that the current methodology favours larger cities. Caution must be exercised, therefore, in interpreting the current methodology as fostering competition. More crucially, a ranking exercise is unlikely to succeed as a policy tool unless it is implemented as one component of a broader effort to improve ULB capacity on managing administrative data.

Factors Affecting Competitiveness in University Ranking Exercises

In recent years, international and national university ranking exercises have become commonplace, serving a host of stakeholders and beneficiaries including students, institutions, and governments. As such, they have drawn increasing scrutiny from academics and other observers, many of whom have called into question the integrity of the methodologies employed, and thus the outcomes of the process. By contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to largely external factors that can affect a given institution’s ability to compete within a given ranking exercise, such as their corporate status, geographic location, and/or access to resources. Building on previous work examining the impact of such “extraneous” factors, this study undertakes a quantitative analysis of the best-known university ranking exercise in Brazil to better understand the impact of such variables, both within other national contexts and well beyond.

Ethnomedicinal Study of Plants Used against Human Ailments in Aseko District, South East Ethiopia

Background Over exploitation of MPs to treat human ailments in highly populated regions caused by deforestation and agricultural expansion disappearing (MP) species diversity in the areas, MPs Hence, this study was aimed to document and analyze the plant-based ethnomedicinal knowledge of the people in order to preserve the existing indigenous knowledge. Methods Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interview, key informants interview, guided field observations, group discussions & market survey. Quantitative approaches were used to determine Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), pair wise comparison, preference ranking and Fidelity level (FL) values. Results A total of 96 medicinal plant species belonging to 89 genera and 66 botanical families were reported to treat human diseases in the Aseko District. Plant Families with the highest number of species were Lamiaceae and Solanaceae, followed by Fabaceae. About 44% of Medicinal Plants (MPs) preparations were reported to be obtained from leaves. Highest ICF values were recorded for gastrointestinal (0.76) & parasitic and febrile illnesses (0.74) indicating best agreement among informants’ knowledge on MPs used to treat aliments in these categories. The highest fidelity level values (100% FL) were recorded for Ocimum gratissimum L against febrile diseases, Rubus steudneri Schw against Asthma and Podocarpus falcatus against Intestinal Parasite) for each, showing conformity of knowledge on species of the best healing potential. Cordia africana was ranked first in a direct matrix ranking exercise of multipurpose Medicinal Plants. The output of preference ranking exercise indicated that Urtica simensis Steudel was the most preferred species to treat gastritis. Conclusion The study revealed that Aseko district is rich in MP diversity and associated indigenous knowledge. However, anthropogenic factors (over exploitation) coupled with acculturation threaten the sustainability of MPs in the study area. Promoting a complementary in-situ and ex-situ conservation approach in the District is highly recommendable for MP sustainability.

Development of a conceptual framework to underpin a health-related quality of life outcome measure in paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy (CFS/ME): prioritisation through card ranking

Purpose Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalopathy (ME) is relatively common in children and is disabling at an important time in their development. This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework of paediatric CFS/ME using the patient-perspective to ensure that the content of a new outcome measure includes the outcomes most important to young people. Methods We developed a child-centred interactive card ranking exercise that included health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes identified from a previous review of the literature as well as qualitative work. Adolescents and their parents selected and ranked the outcomes most important to them and discussed each outcome in further detail. Adolescents were purposively sampled from a single specialist paediatric CFS/ME service in England. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and thematic framework analysis was used to develop the final conceptual framework. Results We interviewed 43 participants in which there are 21 adolescents, 12–17 years of age with mild–moderate CFS/ME and their parents (20 mothers and 2 fathers). ‘Symptoms’, ‘tiredness’, ‘payback and crashing’ and ‘activities and hobbies’ were ranked most important to improve by both children and parents. Children ranked ‘school’ higher than parents and parents ranked ‘mood’ higher than children. A youth- specific CFS/ME conceptual framework of HRQoL was produced that included 4 outcome domains and 11 subdomains: sleep, tiredness, problems concentrating, individual symptoms, fluctuation and payback, daily and general activities, participation in school, leisure and social life, mood, anxiety and self-esteem. Conclusions An interactive card ranking exercise worked well for adolescents aged 12–17 to elicit the most important outcomes to them and explore each domain in further detail. We developed a final conceptual framework of HRQoL that forms the basis of a new paediatric patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) in CFS/ME.

Developing acceptable contraceptive methods: Mixed-method findings on preferred method characteristics from Burkina Faso and Uganda

Background: Unmet need remains high in developing regions. New contraceptive technologies may improve uptake and use. This study examines desirable product characteristics. Methods: We added a module to the female questionnaire of the PMA2020 surveys in Burkina Faso and Uganda and conducted 50 focus group discussions (FGDs) with women, 10 FGDs with men, and 37 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with providers across the two countries. FGDs with women and IDIs with providers included a semi-structured ranking exercise on pre-selected product characteristics. Results: Effectiveness, duration, few side effects, cost, and access were the characteristics most commonly reported as important in choosing a method by survey respondents across both countries. Half or more of women surveyed in each country would like a method that lasts at least one year, while 65% in Burkina Faso and 40% in Uganda said they would use a method causing amenorrhea. Qualitative findings show that women want methods with minimal and predictable side effects. Reactions to increased bleeding were negative, especially in Burkina Faso, but perspectives on reduced bleeding were more mixed. Women and providers preferred methods that are discreet and not user-dependent, and associate duration with convenience of use. Some women in Uganda expressed concerns about the invasive nature of long-acting methods, and cost was an important consideration in both countries. In the ranking exercise, discreet use and few side effects often ranked high, while causing amenorrhea and not requiring a pelvic exam often ranked low. Conclusion: Product development should consider user preferences for success in these settings.

Developing acceptable contraceptive methods: Mixed-method findings on preferred method characteristics from Burkina Faso and Uganda

Background: Unmet need remains high in developing regions. New contraceptive technologies may improve uptake and use. This study examines desirable product characteristics. Methods: We added a module to the female questionnaire of the PMA2020 surveys in Burkina Faso and Uganda and conducted 50 focus group discussions (FGDs) with women, 10 FGDs with men, and 37 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with providers across the two countries. FGDs with women and IDIs with providers included a semi-structured ranking exercise on pre-selected product characteristics. Results: Effectiveness, duration, few side effects, cost, and access were the characteristics most commonly reported as important in choosing a method by survey respondents across both countries. Half or more of women surveyed in each country would like a method that lasts at least one year, while 65% in Burkina Faso and 40% in Uganda said they would use a method causing amenorrhea. Qualitative findings show that women want methods with minimal and predictable side effects. Reactions to increased bleeding were negative, especially in Burkina Faso, but perspectives on reduced bleeding were more mixed. Women and providers preferred methods that are discreet and not user-dependent, and associate duration with convenience of use. Some women in Uganda expressed concerns about the invasive nature of long-acting methods, and cost was an important consideration in both countries. In the ranking exercise, discreet use and few side effects often ranked high, while causing amenorrhea and not requiring a pelvic exam often ranked low. Conclusion: Product development should consider user preferences for success in these settings.

Potential Interventions for Preventing Pesticide Self-Poisoning by Restricting Access Through Vendors in Sri Lanka

Background: In South Asia, up to one in five individuals who use pesticides for self-harm purchase them immediately prior to the event. Aims: From reviewing the literature we proposed four interventions: (a) farmer identification cards (ID); (b) prescriptions; (c) cooling-off periods; and (d) training pesticide vendors. We aimed to identify the most promising intervention. Method: The study was conducted in Sri Lanka. We mapped stakeholders' interest and power in relation to each intervention, and followed this by a ranking exercise. Seven focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to assess facilitators and barriers to implementation. Results: Vendor training was the most supported intervention, being ranked first by the stakeholders. The participants in the FGDs strongly supported training of vendors as it was seen to be easy to implement and was considered more convenient. Farmer IDs, prescriptions, and cooling-off periods were thought to have more barriers than facilitators and they were strongly opposed by end users (farmers and vendors), who would potentially block their implementation. Limitations: Cost considerations for implementing the proposed intervention were not considered. Conclusion: Training vendors might be the most appropriate intervention to restrict sales of pesticides to people at risk of suicidal behavior. This requires field testing.

The New National Rankings in India

India started ranking its higher education institutions in 2015. Although a major share of higher education institutions in India are private, public institutions dominate the ranking list. The ranking exercise is not a substitute to improve the overall quality of the system, since a large majority of higher education institutions in India do not participate in the exercise. India needs to adopt more effective strategies to improve the overall quality of higher education, by focusing on research and teaching–learning processes at the institutional level.