•The impact of FDI inflows on industrialization in Africa is analyzed.•Panel data from 49 countries over the period from 1980 to 2009 are used.•FDI did not have a significant impact on the ...industrialization process.•It is inferred that it is due to the over-reliance on natural resources.•Inadequate government interventions may also explain this result.
This paper examines the relationship between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and the industrialization process in Africa. It uses panel data from 49 countries over the period of 1980–2009. The results indicate that FDI did not have a significant impact on the industrialization of these countries, while other variables, such as the size of the market, the financial sector, and international trade were important. This study concludes that the role of FDI in the transformation agenda, which is currently being discussed in Africa, should be carefully analyzed to maximize the impact of these capital inflows.
Abstract
The development of wind energy in West Africa is essential to meet the rising energy needs due to population growth and societal development. However, only few studies have investigated the ...changes in turbine hub-height wind characteristics over the region under changing climate. This study aims at assessing the impact of climate change on wind power density (WPD) over West Africa using the simulations from the newly developed Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 6 (CMIP6) models. The CMIP6 near-surface wind speed and directions simulations for the historical climate (1985–2014) were compared with ERA5 reanalysis data using multiple descriptive statistics. Relative to ERA5 reanalysis, the CMIP6 models alongside their multimodel ensemble mean (EnsMean) realistically reproduce the near-surface wind characteristics (i.e. wind speed and directions) across most subregions of West Africa, although noticeable biases still exist. Overall, the CMIP6 EnsMean performs better than most individual models at capturing the near-surface wind speed over the region. Under global warming, we find a robust projected increase (about 70%) in WPD over the Guinea coast subregion of West Africa, especially in June–July–August season. The December–January–February and March–April–May seasons show alternating projected WPD increase and decrease, with predominantly robust projected decrease over the Sahel subregion. The projected increase over the Guinea coast has strong temporal qualities, with the end of the century (2070–2099) changes showing stronger magnitude compared to the mid-century (2040–2069) changes, and thus may provide a commercially viable renewable energy source.
Sparse gauge networks in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) limit our ability to identify changing precipitation extremes with in situ observations. Given the potential for satellite and satellite-gauge ...precipitation products to help, we investigate how daily gridded gauge and satellite products compare for seven core climate change precipitation indices. According to a new gauge-only product, the Rainfall Estimates on a Gridded Network (REGEN), there were notable changes in SSA precipitation characteristics between 1950 and 2013 in well-gauged areas. We examine these trends and how these vary for wet, intermediate, and dry areas. For a 31 year period of overlap, we compare REGEN data, other gridded products and three satellite products. Then for 1998-2013, we compare a set of 12 satellite products. Finally, we compare spatial patterns of 1983-2013 trends across all of SSA. Robust 1950-2013 trends indicate that in well-gauged areas extreme events became wetter, particularly in wet areas. Annual totals decreased due to fewer rain days. Between 1983 and 2013 there were positive trends in average precipitation intensity and annual maximum 1 d totals. These trends only represent 15% of SSA, however, and only one tenth of the main wet areas. Unfortunately, gauge and satellite products do not provide consensus for wet area trends. A promising result for identifying regional changes is that numerous satellite products do well at interannual variations in precipitation totals and number of rain days, even as well as some gauge-only products. Products are less accurate for dry spell length and average intensity and least accurate for annual maximum 1 d totals. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (3B42-V7) and Climate Hazards center Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS v2.0) ranked highest for multiple indices. Several products have seemingly unrealistic trends outside of the well-gauged areas that may be due to influence of non-stationary systematic biases. Social media abstract. Sparse data show increasing Africa rainfall extremes and satellite products fill some missing pieces.
Although strategic management has taken root in many African organizations, much of the existing body of African management research offers little insight into the current state of knowledge and ...direction in terms of Africa finding its voice within the mainstream research. We draw on a review of the literature to develop a conceptual framework for classifying the contributions in African management research. The conceptual model captures the indigenous (intra‐Africa) and inter‐Africa dimension of macro‐strategy and organizational behavior/human resource research. The accumulated body of research indicates a sign of growing self‐confidence in African management research that must be maintained and revitalized. This article contributes to the literature by developing a unified conceptual model that captures both the indigenous and comparative dimensions of management research. A number of fruitful avenues for future research have been advanced.
Resilience in the global food system Seekell, David; Carr, Joel; Dell'Angelo, Jampel ...
Environmental research letters,
02/2017, Letnik:
12, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Ensuring food security requires food production and distribution systems function throughout disruptions. Understanding the factors that contribute to the global food system's ability to respond and ...adapt to such disruptions (i.e. resilience) is critical for understanding the long-term sustainability of human populations. Variable impacts of production shocks on food supply between countries indicate a need for national-scale resilience indicators that can provide global comparisons. However, methods for tracking changes in resilience have had limited application to food systems. We developed an indicator-based analysis of food systems resilience for the years 1992-2011. Our approach is based on three dimensions of resilience: socio-economic access to food in terms of income of the poorest quintile relative to food prices, biophysical capacity to intensify or extensify food production, and the magnitude and diversity of current domestic food production. The socio-economic indicator has a large variability, but with low values concentrated in Africa and Asia. The biophysical capacity indicator is highest in Africa and Eastern Europe, in part because of a high potential for extensification of cropland and for yield gap closure in cultivated areas. However, the biophysical capacity indicator has declined globally in recent years. The production diversity indicator has increased slightly, with a relatively even geographic distribution. Few countries had exclusively high or low values for all indicators. Collectively, these results are the basis for global comparisons of resilience between countries, and provide necessary context for developing generalizations about resilience in the global food system.
Technology is disrupting bringing up a better innovation and strengthening the healthcare services. Telehealth is one of these services. Telehealth can help in times of emergency situations as well ...as reducing morbidity caused by other diseases other than coronavirus and also constraining its spread as well as sustaining the country's economic development. Although, telehealth is a disruptive innovation, this article aimed to point out why Africa and rest of the world need telehealth to structure out the management of the three phases of health crises (pre, during and post-crises) that must be address to help in economic sustainability, increase accessibility to healthcare and increase in quality of life which in turn reduces costs and easy access to healthcare services either incommunicable, non-communicable, or disastrous situations in the African region. In fighting an outbreak such as this, our study finds that the government of African nations should guarantee all health experts get fitting instruction and preparing; present telehealth accreditation for wellbeing experts; give subsidizing which satisfactorily takes care of the expense of giving telehealth; overhaul clinical models of care; bolster all partners with a viable correspondence; and finally, change the board technique while setting up frameworks to oversee telehealth benefits on a standard premise.
Teknolojide yaşanan gelişmelerin getirdiği inovasyon, diğer birçok sektörle birlikte sağlık sektöründe de sağlık hizmetlerinin kalitelendirilmesi konusunda kullanılmaktadır. Sağlık sektöründe uygulanan teknolojik uygulamalardan birisi de telesağlık hizmetleridir. Telesağlık hizmetleri acil durumlar başta olmak üzere diğer birçok hastalıkta ve son dönemde yaşamakta olduğumuz koronavirüs pandemisinin yayılmasını azaltmaya yönelik uygulamalar ile daha fazla gündeme gelmekte ve bu olumlu özellikleri nedeniyle de sürdürülebilir kalkınma süreçlerine önemli katkılar sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı Afrika’dan başlamak üzere tüm dünyada uygulanan telesağlık hizmetlerinin pandemi öncesi, pandemi sürecinde ve pandemi sonrası dönemlerde neden telesağlık hizmetlerine etkin şekilde başvurulması gerektiğinin altını çizmektir. Gerçekten de Afrika’nın ulaşılabilen, ulaşılamayan ya da doğal afetler yaşanan birçok bölgesinde etkin, düşük maliyetli, yaşam kalitesinin yükseltilmesini hedefleyen sağlık hizmetlerine daha yüksek erişim sağlamanın yanında ekonomik sürdürülebilirliği de amaçlayan çok güçlü imkanlar sağlaması dolayısıyla telesağlık hizmetleri oldukça dikkat çekici şekilde uygulanmaktadır. Bu çerçevede bu çalışmamızda halen yaşamakta olduğumuz pandemi gibi salgınların yaşanması durumunda tüm Afrika ülkelerinden başlayarak sağlık çalışanlarının telesağlık hizmeti verme konusunda hazırlıklı olması; telesağlık hizmetlerinin tüm ülkelerde akredite olması; telesağlık hizmetlerinin etkin şekilde verilebilmesi için hükümetlerce sübvansiyonların sağlanması; klinik bakım modellerinin gözden geçirilmesi ve son olarak, standart telesağlık hizmetlerini denetlemek için tedbirler, kurallar ve regülasyonların oluşturulması süreçlerinde yönetim kurulu tekniğinin değiştirilmesi hizmetlerin kalitelenmesi açısından üzerinde durulan konular olmuştur.
This article analyses the contingent factors which influence the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and venture profit. While research on entrepreneurial passion is burgeoning, studies that ...analyse contingent factors and boundary conditions surrounding entrepreneurial passion theory are sparse. Moreover, we know very little about how the influence of entrepreneurial passion on venture outcomes might vary in emerging markets, typically characterised by higher levels of bureaucratic involvement and institutional deficiencies. We extend entrepreneurial passion theory by testing a contingent model that evaluates the influence of political connections and environmental dynamism on the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and venture profit. More specifically, we examine the role of passion on venture profit and the moderating impact of political connections and perceived environmental dynamism. Using time-lagged data from 231 small businesses in Ghana, we find that political connections amplify the potency of passion as a driver of venture profit. In addition, we find that this interaction is conditioned by environmental dynamism; specifically, the moderating effect of political connections on the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and venture profit is stronger when dynamism is high. Our fine-grained analysis increases the conceptual scope and generalisability of entrepreneurial passion to non-Western contexts.
The study sought to identify the extent to which Advance Care Planning (ACP) is practised by palliative care health professionals providing care to patients with advanced cancer and their families in ...Uganda.
A mixed methods study design using qualitative and quantitative methods was used for the assessment. In-depth interviews with a group of nine highly experienced health professionals were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Quantitative data were retrieved and analysed from a survey administered to 124 health professionals of whom only 57 (45.9%) responded. The qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and descriptive analysis was used for the quantitative data.
Of the 57 health professionals who participated in the survey, 87% were aware of ACP and 55% reported regular practice. Fifty-five (55%) percent reported regular provision of ACP for their patients and 46% reported engaging in informal ACP practices. However, 58.5% resp. 37.5% reported that they routinely provide ACP to more than 50% resp. 75% of their patients. A group of nine highly experienced palliative care professionals had a pooled ACP prevalence of only 1.2%. There was a generally good attitude towards ACP with 98.2% acknowledging that patients should be able to determine their future care. However, 32% reported being uncomfortable withholding or withdrawing life sustaining treatment. There are a number of socio-cultural beliefs and barriers, for instance that discussing death and dying is a “taboo”, as well as witchcraft, family influence in decision-making, religious beliefs that do not agree with palliative care practices and a preference to use aggressive treatment like chemotherapy for terminally ill, etc. Institutional barriers like lack of a legal framework for ACP, limited time for health professionals to engage in ACP and other patient factors such as denial of diagnosis and collusion to withhold information from patients were reported by 78.2% resp. 84% of the respondents.
Despite the good awareness and attitude to ACP, there is a range of barriers that are affecting the implementation of ACP in Uganda. There is need for development of a legal framework for ACP, more research to understand the contextual barriers and develop appropriate education and public sensitisation programs.
Ziel der Studie war es zu ermitteln, inwieweit Palliativmedizinerinnen und -mediziner, die Patientinnen und Patienten mit fortgeschrittenen Krebserkrankungen und deren Familien in Uganda betreuen, Advance Care Planning (ACP) praktizieren.
Für die Bewertung wurde ein Mixed-Methods-Design mit qualitativen und quantitativen Methoden verwendet. Mit einer Gruppe von neun sehr erfahrenen Gesundheitsfachkräften wurden anhand eines semistrukturierten Interviewleitfadens ausführliche Interviews geführt. Aus einer Umfrage unter 124 Gesundheitsfachkräften, auf die jedoch nur 57 (45,9%) antworteten, wurden quantitative Daten gewonnen und ausgewertet. Die qualitativen Daten wurden induktiv mit der Methode der thematischen Analyse und die quantitativen Daten mittels deskriptiver Analyse ausgewertet.
Von den 57 Gesundheitsfachkräften, die an der Umfrage teilnahmen, hatten 87% Kenntnis von ACP, und 55% gaben an, ACP regelmäßig zu praktizieren. 55% gaben an, ihren Patientinnen und Patienten regelmäßig ACP anzubieten, und 46% berichteten von der Durchführung informeller ACP-Praktiken. Allerdings gaben nur 58,5% bzw. 37,5% an, mehr als 50% bzw. 75% ihrer Patientinnen und Patienten routinemäßig ein ACP-Angebot zu machen. In einer Gruppe von neun sehr erfahrenen Palliativmedizinerinnen und -medizinern fand sich jedoch eine gepoolte ACP-Prävalenz von nur 1,2%. Die Einstellung zu ACP war generell positiv, wobei 98,2% der Befragten die Meinung vertraten, dass Patientinnen und Patienten über ihre zukünftige Versorgung selbst entscheiden können sollten. 32% der Befragten gaben jedoch an, dass es ihnen schwerfiele, den Betroffenen lebenserhaltende Maßnahmen vorzuenthalten oder diese abzubrechen. Hindernisse auf soziokultureller Ebene sind zum Beispiel der Glaube, dass Gespräche über Tod und Sterben ein Tabu darstellen, Hexenglauben, der Einfluss der Familie auf die Entscheidungsfindung, religiöse Überzeugungen, die nicht mit palliativmedizinischen Maßnahmen vereinbar sind, sowie die Bevorzugung aggressiver Behandlungen wie Chemotherapie für unheilbar Kranke etc. Weiterhin benannten 78,2% bzw. 84% der Befragten institutionelle Barrieren wie das Fehlen eines gesetzlichen Rahmenwerks für ACP, die begrenzte Zeit, die Gesundheitsfachkräften zur Verfügung steht, um sich mit ACP zu befassen, und sonstige Patientenfaktoren wie die Leugnung der Diagnose und heimliche Absprachen mit dem Ziel, der erkrankten Person Informationen vorzuenthalten.
Ungeachtet der vorhandenen Kenntnisse und der positiven Einstellung gegenüber ACP gibt es eine Reihe von Hindernissen, welche die Implementierung von ACP in Uganda beeinträchtigen. Es muss ein Rechtsrahmen für ACP geschaffen werden, es muss mehr geforscht werden, um die kontextuellen Hindernisse zu verstehen, und es müssen geeignete Aufklärungsangebote und Programme zur Sensibilisierung der Öffentlichkeit entwickelt werden.
The future of electrification of Africa lies within off-grid generation via renewable energy (RE). Although many RE projects have started across the Sub-Sahara, especially public projects are seldom ...successful. This study engages directly (ethnographically) with the local communities benefitting or expected to benefit from the projects, the implementing organizations and government.
Despite the differences in culture and understanding, the reasons for failure of the projects are found to be similar across the different countries: (i) political agenda, (ii) process of awarding projects, (iii) stakeholder co-operation, (iv) planning & implementation, (v) maintenance and (vi) public acceptance & inclusion.
•We investigate causes of failure of renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa based on empirical data.•We analyse 29 projects from ten different Sub-Saharan African countries.•Our approach is ethnographical in the sense that we physically observe (and interview) the stakeholders.
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