The government of Nepal has made efforts to formulate and implement the agricultural sector policies since the 1960s. It has formulated dozens of policies and strategies in agriculture, forestry, ...agro-forestry, climate change, land use, poverty alleviation, irrigation, etc. Some of the policies seem to be targeted to specific groups and communities (poverty alleviation policy), to different sectors and commodities (forest, agriculture, poultry, coffee, etc.), and address international and national concerns and priorities (climate change policy, agrobiodiversity). This study aims to review the implementation of the policy provisions of major agricultural and natural resources policies, explore possible causes for it and suggest measures to effectively implement policy provisions in the future. We have reviewed seven agriculture policies for their provision and implementation and identified some common features and inadequacies. Our recommendations for policy reform include the practice of wider consideration, inter-policy coherence, sufficient institutional framework, periodic policy evaluation, improved accountability, and consideration for national Interest.
Background
Early childhood vaccination is an essential global public health practice that saves two to three million lives each year, but many children do not receive all the recommended vaccines. To ...achieve and maintain appropriate coverage rates, vaccination programmes rely on people having sufficient awareness and acceptance of vaccines.
Face‐to‐face information or educational interventions are widely used to help parents understand why vaccines are important; explain where, how and when to access services; and address hesitancy and concerns about vaccine safety or efficacy. Such interventions are interactive, and can be adapted to target particular populations or identified barriers.
This is an update of a review originally published in 2013.
Objectives
To assess the effects of face‐to‐face interventions for informing or educating parents about early childhood vaccination on vaccination status and parental knowledge, attitudes and intention to vaccinate.
Search methods
We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, five other databases, and two trial registries (July and August 2017). We screened reference lists of relevant articles, and contacted authors of included studies and experts in the field. We had no language or date restrictions.
Selection criteria
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster‐RCTs evaluating the effects of face‐to‐face interventions delivered to parents or expectant parents to inform or educate them about early childhood vaccination, compared with control or with another face‐to‐face intervention. The World Health Organization recommends that children receive all early childhood vaccines, with the exception of human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), which is delivered to adolescents.
Data collection and analysis
We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Two authors independently reviewed all search results, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies.
Main results
In this update, we found four new studies, for a total of ten studies. We included seven RCTs and three cluster‐RCTs involving a total of 4527 participants, although we were unable to pool the data from one cluster‐RCT. Three of the ten studies were conducted in low‐ or middle‐ income countries.
All included studies compared face‐to‐face interventions with control. Most studies evaluated the effectiveness of a single intervention session delivered to individual parents. The interventions were an even mix of short (ten minutes or less) and longer sessions (15 minutes to several hours).
Overall, elements of the study designs put them at moderate to high risk of bias. All studies but one were at low risk of bias for sequence generation (i.e. used a random number sequence). For allocation concealment (i.e. the person randomising participants was unaware of the study group to which participant would be allocated), three were at high risk and one was judged at unclear risk of bias. Due to the educational nature of the intervention, blinding of participants and personnel was not possible in any studies. The risk of bias due to blinding of outcome assessors was judged as low for four studies. Most studies were at unclear risk of bias for incomplete outcome data and selective reporting. Other potential sources of bias included failure to account for clustering in a cluster‐RCT and significant unexplained baseline differences between groups. One cluster‐RCT was at high risk for selective recruitment of participants.
We judged the certainty of the evidence to be low for the outcomes of children's vaccination status, parents' attitudes or beliefs, intention to vaccinate, adverse effects (e.g. anxiety), and immunisation cost, and moderate for parents' knowledge or understanding. All studies had limitations in design. We downgraded the certainty of the evidence where we judged that studies had problems with randomisation or allocation concealment, or when outcomes were self‐reported by participants who knew whether they'd received the intervention or not. We also downgraded the certainty for inconsistency (vaccination status), imprecision (intention to vaccinate and adverse effects), and indirectness (attitudes or beliefs, and cost).
Low‐certainty evidence from seven studies (3004 participants) suggested that face‐to‐face interventions to inform or educate parents may improve vaccination status (risk ratio (RR) 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04 to 1.37). Moderate‐certainty evidence from four studies (657 participants) found that face‐to‐face interventions probably slightly improved parent knowledge (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.19, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.38), and low‐certainty evidence from two studies (179 participants) suggested they may slightly improve intention to vaccinate (SMD 0.55, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.85). Low‐certainty evidence found the interventions may lead to little or no change in parent attitudes or beliefs about vaccination (SMD 0.03, 95% CI ‐0.20 to 0.27; three studies, 292 participants), or in parents’ anxiety (mean difference (MD) ‐1.93, 95% CI ‐7.27 to 3.41; one study, 90 participants). Only one study (365 participants) measured the intervention cost of a case management strategy, reporting that the estimated additional cost per fully immunised child for the intervention was approximately eight times higher than usual care (low‐certainty evidence). No included studies reported outcomes associated with parents’ experience of the intervention (e.g. satisfaction).
Authors' conclusions
There is low‐ to moderate‐certainty evidence suggesting that face‐to‐face information or education may improve or slightly improve children's vaccination status, parents' knowledge, and parents' intention to vaccinate.
Face‐to‐face interventions may be more effective in populations where lack of awareness or understanding of vaccination is identified as a barrier (e.g. where people are unaware of new or optional vaccines). The effect of the intervention in a population where concerns about vaccines or vaccine hesitancy is the primary barrier is less clear. Reliable and validated scales for measuring more complex outcomes, such as attitudes or beliefs, are necessary in order to improve comparisons of the effects across studies.
Examining risk‐adjusted returns for executed trades over horizons of up to 1 year, we document strong evidence of short‐term trading skill using daily mutual fund transactions from Finland. We find ...that trading performance is highly persistent up to the 1 month horizon, with an annualized Carhart abnormal return of 5.03% observed for both buys and sells. Moreover, the returns observed for the first week account for almost 36% of a fund's 1 year trade return, underscoring the significance of short‐term trading in mutual funds. For the best‐performing funds, this short‐term performance also translates into sustained long‐term outperformance. Investigating possible sources, we find that liquidity provision, rather than price pressure, is a significant contributor. In addition, short‐term trading performance is significantly positively related to trade size, fund size, and expenses, depending on whether buys or sells are considered.
The aim of the research was to identify the financial consequences of introducing IFRS 9 in a leading commercial bank in Poland. The research period was six years and covered the years 2015-2020. It ...was established, inter alia, that IFRS 9, compared to the previously applicable IAS 39, changed the method of measuring financial assets and thus led to changes in the balance sheet and financial results. The introduction of IFRS 9 also increased financial provisions for loans to be repaid in the bank's portfolio,
LEMON TECHNOLOGIES AND ADOPTION Bold, Tessa; Kaizzi, Kayuki C.; Svensson, Jakob ...
The Quarterly journal of economics,
08/2017, Letnik:
132, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
To reduce poverty and food insecurity in Africa requires raising productivity in agriculture. Systematic use of fertilizer and hybrid seed is a pathway to increased productivity, but adoption of ...these technologies remains low. We investigate whether the quality of agricultural inputs can help explain low take-up. Testing modern products purchased in local markets, we find that 30% of nutrient is missing in fertilizer, and hybrid maize seed is estimated to contain less than 50% authentic seeds. We document that such low quality results in low average returns. If authentic technologies replaced these low-quality products, however, average returns are high. To rationalize the findings, we calibrate a learning model using data from our agricultural trials. Because agricultural yields are noisy, farmers’ ability to learn about quality is limited and this can help explain the low quality equilibrium we observe, but also why the market has not fully collapsed.
Despite evidence from multiple randomized evaluations of microcredit, questions about external validity have impeded consensus on the results. I jointly estimate the average effect and the ...heterogeneity in effects across seven studies using Bayesian hierarchical models. I find the impact on household business and consumption variables is unlikely to be transformative and may be negligible. I find reasonable external validity: true heterogeneity in effects is moderate, and approximately 60 percent of observed heterogeneity is sampling variation. Households with previous business experience have larger but more heterogeneous effects. Economic features of microcredit interventions predict variation in effects better than studies’ evaluation protocols.
In the context of rising interest in Alternative Provisions (APs) amongst policymakers and researchers in England, this article examines social capital and accountability in this ‘new’ field of ...enquiry. APs stress the value of supportive relationships for the generation of trust, belonging, reciprocities, and a broadening of these aspects of social capital through close networks, but how are these to be portrayed through emerging accountability measures? We focus on the potential and limitations of social capital for encompassing more than measurable outcomes. The article will revisit social capital by analysing the original sites of the production of this theory and its significance to emerging policy processes and relationship-based practices in APs. We argue that as a metaphor for the positive consequences of relationships, social capital has a place in the knowledge and processes that underpin APs, but its significance rests in its ability to overcome the issues related to social segregation, power, and (school) exclusion.
While most researches focus on the financing role of crowdfunding, the functions of ex-post production and point provision have not been deeply investigated yet. In this paper, we reveal the three ...roles of crowdfunding from the perspective of operations management, wherein the ex-post production role can ensure the on-demand production, and the point provision mechanism can alleviate the risk of demand uncertainty. We construct mathematical models to derive the maximised performance of crowdfunding with the three roles in a holistic framework. Our results show that the synthetic of three roles can achieve maximisation performance, and crowdfunding also can improve consumer welfare by lowering the price or raising product quality. To prevent moral hazard, we further illustrate the existence of separate equilibrium by introducing partial pre-payment contract in the asymmetrical information situation. However, the separation cost is high when the initial capital is limited. Our research can shed light on crowdfunding operations.
•South and Southeast (S/SE) Asian refugee parents experience significant impacts to emotional and physical wellbeing in the antenatal and postnatal period in resettlement countries.•Parents ...experienced various challenges in maternity healthcare settings including confusion, distress, limited interpreting support, and feeling unable to voice concerns.•Parents highlighted the importance of formal supports including interpreters, and informal supports including family and community in the First 2000 Days.•Culturally responsive care may enhance the wellbeing and support experiences of S/SE Asian refugee families in the First 2000 Days.
There is growing scholarly attention concerning the wellbeing experiences of people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds, particularly in relation to antenatal and postnatal care in countries of resettlement. However, less is known about early childhood support for refugee and asylum-seeking parents during the First 2000 Days of a child's life (conception to age five). There is also little understanding of the needs of refugees and asylum-seekers from South and Southeast (S/SE) Asia for whom there may be unique cultural considerations regarding parenting and support. This systematic review therefore aimed to explore the emotional and physical wellbeing and support experiences of refugee and asylum-seeking families (mothers, fathers, and other family members with caregiving roles) from S/SE Asia during the First 2000 Days. This review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We identified publications through a systematic search of six databases. Eligible papers were peer-reviewed, primary data studies published in English, conducted in middle- to high-income countries of resettlement, and included data that could be disaggregated for S/SE Asian families. Of 5,770 publications, 13 articles met inclusion criteria. While our review aimed to explore the experiences of various family members, included papers focused primarily on the experiences of refugee women. Our review found that S/SE Asian refugee parents reported various challenges to physical and emotional wellbeing during the First 2000 Days ranging from nutrition and diet concerns to feelings of anxiousness, grief, isolation, and feelings of distress in healthcare settings. Parents also expressed a level of trust and satisfaction with maternity care during resettlement, however, these experiences were challenged by a lack of culturally responsive care. Findings speak to the importance of informal social supports for S/SE Asian refugee parents, and culturally safe, formal supports where parents feel comfortable to voice their concerns.
•Stress and trauma may undermine parenting capacity within refugee families, which has implications for service provision.•Service provision can help build on strengths, honoring the family as a ...central source of recovery.•Professionals must have appropriate training and support to effectively serve refugee families, including trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches.•Strong and culturally relevant coordination among programs and providers is essential to effectively serve refugee families.•Service providers navigate all their complex duties within substantial funding and policy constraints.
Refugee service organizations offer critical support as refugee families heal and adapt; yet, little is known about how service providers understand the strengths and needs of refugee parents. Using qualitative research with service providers that included two focus groups and twelve in-depth interviews in a large United States city, this research explores service providers’ perspectives on stressors encountered by refugee parents; the mental health ramifications of parenting under such duress; resources and strategies refugee parents use to support children’s wellbeing; and the terrain of service delivery during the Trump era. Service providers described refugee parents faced considerable trauma in their home country and during flight. Providers described multiple problems their clients face during resettlement, including cultural adaptation; economic precarity; changing family dynamics; and xenophobia and racism – all of which influence parents’ availability, responsibilities, supervision, and disciplinary tactics. At the same time, results of our analysis suggest parents find strength through informal and social support, especially within the context of family, close informal networks, and responsive, strengths-based, and trauma informed service systems. Findings highlight potential foci for training and support to better assist professionals in addressing the needs of refugee families, and point to efforts to the need for advocacy to address the social, political, and economic contexts of refugee families and the service agencies who support them.
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