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Item Mobiles are leading the way : a review of IDRC projects(2008) Rashid, Ahmed Tareq; Diga, KathleenThe Information Technology for Development (ICT4D) programme of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has played a critical role in identifying the operational effectiveness of mobile phones in developing societies. The impact the mobile telephone has had on livelihoods is a central concern of ICT4D. This journal article reviews aspects pf the IDRC ICT4D programme. Case studies illustrate the active social and economic role played by mobile telephones.Item Water and nitrate exchange between cultivated ecosystems and groundwater in the Rolling Pampas(2009) Portela, Silvina I; Andriulo, Adrián E; Jobbagy, Esteban G; Sasal, Maria CUnderstanding nitrogen (N) exchange between cultivated ecosystems and groundwater becomes crucial in the Rolling Pampas where high and variable water table levels are accompanied by increasing N-fertilization rates. Field monitoring of crops, soils and groundwater was combined with modeling to evaluate bidirectional flows (from terrestrial ecosystems to aquifers and vice versa) of water and N throughout a 10-year period (1998–2007) of highly variable precipitation (760–1506 mm year 1) and water table depths (6.5 to <1 m). Piezometers at three topographic positions (upland: UP, mid slope: MS, and toe slope: TS; 1740 and 510 m apart) were used to monitor water table depth and phreatic (<14 m), intermediate (35 m) and bottom of the aquifer (45 m) water chemistry. Crop production and soil water and nitrate content were monitored in two agricultural plots (wheat/soybean–corn rotation) where MS and TS piezometers were located. Nitrate concentration in phreatic groundwater was relatively stable and low at UP and MS (<10 mg l 1) but increased sharply at TS (>45 mg l 1) during periods of high water table levels (<3 m deep). Groundwater chloride concentrations increased with depth in piezometers at UP and MS, but showed the opposite trend at TS during periods of high water table levels, suggesting evaporative discharge at this position. The lateral hydraulic gradient (moving energy) between MS and TS ranged from 0.1 to 0.4% and was negatively correlated with water table depth at TS (R2 = 0.23, p < 0.001, n = 79) indicating that groundwater flow towards TS increased as the water table level rose. A capillary transportmodel (UPFLOW) suggested that at TS groundwater supplied an important amount of water and solutes to crops with corn obtaining approximately half of its water needs (228–413 mm) and one fourth of its N requirement (38–76 kg ha 1) from groundwater. Water and N supply from groundwater may have explained the higher biomass and grain yield in the lower positions of each plot with regard to the rest of the area. Our results suggest that the Rolling Pampas landscapes can switch from a typical recharge behavior to a recharge–discharge one following extended rainy periods that rise water table levels and hydraulic gradients, favoring water and solute transport towards the lower positions of the landscape and local concentration of solutes by groundwater consumption, simultaneously affecting groundwater quality.Item Global knowledge encounter : a sociological analysis of the introduction of genetically modified seed in Warangal, India(Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, GB, 2009) Kumbamu, AshokThe paper argues that the diffusion of global knowledge systems such as biotechnology is neither neutral nor banal. It traces the route of seed agents and the social construction of genetically modified (GM) crops. In Warangal district, approximately one thousand agricultural input merchants and their social networks cover almost all of the 1,015 Gram panchayats (village councils). The unintended consequences of the adoption of new seed are cruel – narrowing of foodstuffs produced, loss of local knowledge, the further social devaluing of women, and the reinforcement of patriarchy and the market.Item Mobile phones and development : an analysis of IDRC-supported projects(City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, HK, 2009) Rashid, Ahmed Tareq; Elder, LaurentIn the context of the rapid growth of mobile phone penetration in developing countries, mobile telephony is currently considered to be particularly important for development. Yet, until recently, very little systematic evidence was available that shed light on the developmental impacts of mobile telecommunication. The Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, has played a critical role in filling some of the research gaps through its partnerships with several key actors in this area. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the case of mobile phones as a tool in solving development problems drawing from the evidence of IDRC supported projects. IDRC has supported around 20 projects that cut across several themes such as livelihoods, poverty reduction, health, education, the environment and disasters. The projects will be analyzed by theme in order to provide a thematic overview as well as a comparative analysis of the development role of mobile phones. In exploring the evidence from completed projects as well as the foci of new projects, the paper summarizes and critically assesses the key findings and suggests possible avenues for future research.Item Uprising rugby team rising to challenge(2009) Carruthers, DaleItem Awakening of an Andean tiger : can Colombia's recent growth create enough employment?(Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, CO, 2009) Escobar Espinoza, AndrésEconomic growth has been on the rise in Colombia and surpassed 6% in 2006 and 2007. Has growth been enough to absorb Colombian workers? Jobless growth seems to have marked Colombia’s recent economic history. Over time, periods of high growth in Colombia have been associated with increases in employment. During periods of high growth (1974-80 and 1985-1994), one percent increase in Colombian manufacturing GDP translated into an increase of about 0.3 to 0.5 percent in employment. However, during the most recent growth period (2001- 2005), permanent manufacturing employment simply dropped. Growth in small firms, particularly those in light and heavy industries, producing for the domestic market was the one segment of the economy with employment growth over the latter period.Item Biography on Fiji’s founding father released(2009) Carruthers, DaleThis is a webpage from the Fiji Daily Post newsletter with an article that announces the publication of a new biography on Ratu Mara, Fiji’s first post-colonial prime minister, which was launched on the nation’s 39th birthday (2009). Renowned for his advocacy of multi-racial cooperation, Ratu Mara sought a common path that would transcend race and religion.Item Policy recommendations for enhancing science and technology cooperation between the European Union and Southeast Asia(SEA-EU-NET, 2010) Trienes, Rudie; Gruber, FlorianThe recommendations presented are derived from analytical work carried out by the SEA-EUNET project and reflect the current state of research. Science has long since overrun national borders to find global solutions to global issues, which are faced by every national government. The recommendations do not represent the official view of any individual government; they have been compiled by the project SEAEU-NET and developed towards science and technological cooperation between Southeast Asia and the EU through effective international funding programmes. Research and development cannot and will not advance as quickly without collaboration.Item India and China : can two tigers share a mountain?(2010) Mukherjee, Rohan; Malone, David M.This newspaper article discusses the role of Tibet in Sino-Indian relations. It includes the history of rivalries between the two countries and how relations with Tibet might provide stabilization. Understanding the integral role that the region plays in Beijing’s perceptions of its neighborhood in Asia may be vital for India’s future Tibet policy.Item Insights from the cocoa regions in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana : rethinking the migration-conflict nexus(University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, US, 2011) Mitchell, Matthew I.Although many scholars have noted the salience of mobility throughout the African continent, there has been little systematic investigation into the link between migration and conflict. Most scholarship has tended to see migration as primarily a by-product of conflict and not as a security issue in its own right. In analyzing and contrasting the different migration-conflict trajectories across two similar case studies –Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana – this article attempts to develop an empirically informed theoretical framework for understanding the nexus between migration and conflict in Africa and to shed light on key intervening variables linking migration processes with violent outcomes.Item Red Queen and the seed bank : pathogen resistance of ex situ and in situ conserved barley(Blackwell Publishing, 2011) Jensen, Helen R.; Dreiseitl, Antonín; Sadiki, Mohammed; Schoen, Daniel J.The study tests collections of a traditional variety of Moroccan barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) conserved ‘ex situ’ to show differences in qualitative and quantitative resistance to an endemic fungal pathogen. Seeds from agricultural species are typically collected and stored in institutional seed banks, or ‘ex situ’ conservation. Plant geneticists have proposed that the dynamic conservation of crop plants in farm environments (in situ conservation) may help ensure adaptation to changing conditions. Results show some significant differences between in situ and ex situ conserved collections from the same localities. However, the small number of differences for qualitative resistance was unexpected.Item Responsiveness of Ada Sea Defence Project to salt water intrusion associated with sea level rise(Springer, 2012) Mensah, Kenneth O.; FitzGibbon, JohnThe Ada peninsular in Ghana has suffered rapid coastal erosion and inundation for over half a century, accompanied by loss of property and livelihoods, economic stagnation and salt water intrusion. Government intervened to respond to these threats by implementing a sea defence project. A preliminary assessment indicates the project will deal with some urgent needs of property loss reduction and invigorate livelihood and economic opportunities. However, it will have minimal beneficial impacts on groundwater salinization, and may actually intensify salinity of surface water in the Volta River and adjoining water points by shifting salinity intrusion further upstream to affect hitherto salinity-free areas. The spatial reach of the salinity shift is uncertain. The potential for further sea level rise will aggravate and accentuate the region’s water scarcity dilemma if a coherent water management strategy is not sort sooner. The project demonstrates the limitations of employing static, narrow objectively designed sea defence project as a response to coastal erosion and inundation, because it lacks the capacity to deal with dynamism, complexity and multi-dimensional impacts associated with climate change related sea level rise.Item Climate change, livelihoods, and food security in post-Soviet Uzbekistan(Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, CA, 2012) Tursunova, ZulfiyaItem Orphan status and time to first sex among adolescents in Northern Malawi(Springer, 2012) Mkandawire, Paul; Tenkorang, Eric; Luginaah, Isaac N.Findings suggest that to delay sexual initiation and reduce HIV risk among orphans in Malawi, policy efforts should focus on enhancing factual knowledge about HIV/AIDS, household food security, and other measures to strengthen existing social support networks and connectedness of survivors. Early initiation of sexual activity among young people (e.g., at 15 years or less) is generally considered to be associated with high risk of HIV infection. Malawi has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world along with a youth demographic where more than half of the population is below 18 years of age.Item Scoping review of malaria forecasting : past work and future directions(BMJ Publishing, 2012) Zinszer, Kate; Verma, Aman D.; Charland, Katia; Brewer, Timothy F.; Brownstein, John S.; Sun, Zhuoyu; Buckeridge, David L.Objectives: There is a growing body of literature on malaria forecasting methods and the objective of our review is to identify and assess methods, including predictors, used to forecast malaria. Design: Scoping review. Two independent reviewers searched information sources, assessed studies for inclusion and extracted data from each study. Information sources: Search strategies were developed and the following databases were searched: CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Web of Science. Key journals and websites were also manually searched. Eligibility criteria for included studies: We included studies that forecasted incidence, prevalence or epidemics of malaria over time. A description of the forecasting model and an assessment of the forecast accuracy of the model were requirements for inclusion. Studies were restricted to human populations and to autochthonous transmission settings. Results: We identified 29 different studies that met our inclusion criteria for this review. The forecasting approaches included statistical modelling, mathematical modelling and machine learning methods. Climaterelated predictors were used consistently in forecasting models, with the most common predictors being rainfall, relative humidity, temperature and the normalised difference vegetation index. Model evaluation was typically based on a reserved portion of data and accuracy was measured in a variety of ways including mean-squared error and correlation coefficients. We could not compare the forecast accuracy of models from the different studies as the evaluation measures differed across the studies. Conclusions: Applying different forecasting methods to the same data, exploring the predictive ability of non-environmental variables, including transmission reducing interventions and using common forecast accuracy measures will allow malaria researchers to compare and improve models and methods, which should improve the quality of malaria forecasting.Item Back then, you'll eat, you'll drink, and you'll be full. There was enough and there were Leftovers : women's changing experiences of urban food security in Ibadan, Nigeria(Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, CA, 2012) Adeniyi Ogunyankin, Grace; Chinedu Omenka, SamuelItem Tasty water of the good Samaritan : collaborative governance and rural capacity enhancement for adapting water sources to climate change(Routledge, 2012) Mensah, Kenneth; FitzGibbon, JohnAs the management of water resources becomes increasingly complex due to climatic stresses on socio-ecological systems, growing evidence suggests that collaborative governance with meaningful local participation is vital for building institutional adaptive capacity. Using a participatory institutional framework – Adaptive Co-Management – we assessed the nature and role of formal institutional collaboration in facilitating rural capacities to adapt water supply to climate change-related salinization. Findings include local perceptions of climate change occurrence, insufficient local adaptive responses, poor integration of external responses into local practices, and concurrent opportunities and constraints of institutional collaboration in capacity development. We concluded that framing adaptation strictly as a technical problem and restricting broad participation undercut embedded collective decision making processes in informal regimes, which provide accumulated institutional memory of intimate and detailed ecological knowledge relevant for adaptation. Also, collaboration between intermediary and local institutions needs strengthening.Item Prediction of child health by household density and asset-based indices in impoverished indigenous villages in rural Panamá(American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), 2012) Halpenny, Carli M.; Koski, Kristine G.; Valdés, Victoria E.; Scott, Marilyn E.Chronic infection over a 16-month period and stunting of preschool children were compared between more spatially dense versus dispersed households in rural Panama´ . Chronic protozoan infection was associated with higher household density, lower household wealth index, poor household water quality, yard defecation, and the practice of not washing hands with soap before eating. Models for chronic diarrhea confirmed the importance of household wealth, water quality, sanitation, and hygiene practices. Furthermore, chronic protozoan infection was an important predictor for low height-for-age, along with low household wealth index scores, but not household density. Thus, despite better access to health related infrastructure in the more densely populated households, chronic protozoan infection was more common, and was associated with higher rates of child stunting, compared with more dispersed households.Item Climate change as a wicked problem : an evaluation of the institutional context for rural water management in Ghana(SAGE Open, 2012) FitzGibbon, John; Mensah, Kenneth O.Understanding complexity suggests that some problems are more complex than others and defy conventional solutions. These wicked problems will not be solved by the same tools and processes that are complicit in creating them. Neither will they be resolved by approaches short on explicating the complex interconnections of the multiple causes, consequences, and cross-scale actors of the problem. Climate change is one such wicked problem confronting water management in Ghana with a dilemma. The physical consequences of climate change on Ghana’s water resources are progressively worsening. At the same time, existing institutional arrangements demonstrate weak capacities to tackle climate change–related complexities in water management. Therefore, it warrants a dynamic approach imbued with complex and adaptive systems thinking, which also capitalizes on instrumental gains from prior existing institutions. Adaptive Co-Management offers such an opportunity for Ghana to adapt its water management system to climate change.Item Culture and policies for sustainable tourism : a South Asian comparison(2012-08) Schroeder, Kent; Sproule-Jones, MarkInternational tourism has become a core economic growth strategy for many countries of the Global South. While this holds much promise, it also brings heightened potential for environmental degradation, cultural clashes and social problems. Tourism policy that navigates economic growth in a manner that is sustainable for ecological and social systems is therefore critical. This study explores the role of cultural norms in shaping sustainable tourism policy. Through a comparative analysis of tourism policies in Nepal and Bhutan and their impacts on open access commons like trekking lands and cultural sites, it argues that cultural norms can account for differences in tourism policies and their resulting influence on sustainable development.