Year

Catholic movements within the centre of Roman Catholic doctrine recently have discussed Trinitarian theology as applied to sciences, arts, economics, health and other social areas. We explore the possibilities Trinitarian theology offers to bioethical debate, concentrating particularly on genetic screening and testing. It is important therefore to analyse the philosophical implications of this approach onto the bioethical world, where much disagreement occurs on fundamental issues. It is Catholic basic teaching to recognize and see God's hand in plurality, not merely as a cliche and then doing what we feel is right, but to recognize how to live in a pluralistic world. We recognize, in agreement with these theologians, that in order for a Trinitarian mode of understanding to be used by those doing bioethical debate, there is a need to depart from fundamentalism.

Students entering tertiary studies possess a diverse range of prior experiences in their academic preparation for tertiary chemistry so academics need tools to enable them to respond to issues in diversity in conceptual models possessed by entering students. Concept inventories can be used to provide formative feedback to help students identify concepts that they need to address to improve construction of subsequent understanding enabling their learning. Modular, formative learning activities that can be administered inside or outside of class in first year chemistry courses have been developed. These activities address key missing and misconceptions possessed by incoming student. Engagement in these learning activities by students and academics will help shift the culture of diagnostic and formative assessment within the tertiary context and address issues around the secondary/tertiary transition. This diagnostic/intervention framework is currently being trialed across five Australian tertiary institutions encompassing a large heterogeneous sample of students.

2.3 Population pressure 2.4 Rural organisations 2.5 Farming systems and technology 2.5.1 Farming systems of Ethiopia 2.5.2 The technology 2.6 Land tenure 2.6.1 Pre-incorporation period (before 1875) 2.6.2 Post-incorporation until the downfall of the Monarchy (1875-1974) 2.6.3 During the Derg Regime 2.6.4 After the Derg 2.7 An overview of agricultural research 2.8 An overview of agricultural extension 2.9 Environmental policies 3 Theoretical and Analytical Frameworks 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Perspectives and approaches to land degradation and intensification 3.2.1 Land degradation: assumption or reality? 3.2.2 The path to agricultural intensification 3.3 Planned change and development intervention 3.4 The farming systems perspective 3.5 Indigenous knowledge 3.5.1 Scientists' vs farmers' knowledge 3.5.2 The nature of soil and water conservation by farmers 3.6 Social learning 3.7 The attitude-behaviour model 3.8 Empirical studies on determinants of soil and water conservation 3.8.1 Household variables 3.8.2 Farming system 3.8.3 Characteristics of technology 3.8.4 External institutional factors 3.9 Analytical framework 4 Research Methodology 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Overall design 4.3 Preparatory activities: exploratory visits, meeting communities and field staff 4.4 Qualitative research 4.4.1 Group interviews and selection of individuals 4.4.2 Methods of data collection 4.4.3 Methods of data analysis 4.4.4 Field assistants 4.5 Survey research 4.5.1 Secondary data 4.5.2 Design of the survey 4.6 Compensation of the community 5 Society and Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation in Konso, Southern Ethiopia

Considering the heterogeneous character of depression, it seems likely that many brain regions are involved mediating the diverse symptoms of depression. For example, the mesolimbic DA system has a central function for motivational behaviors and pleasure seeking, and it is possible that malfunctioning of brain reward systems could be an underlying mechanism of the anhedonia experienced in depressive illness. The hippocampal formation is essential for learning and memory and depressed patients often suffer of cognitive disturbances. Image studies have shown that there is shrinkage of the hippocampal formation in depressed patients. In this thesis we have used an animal model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line strain (FSL), to analyze the effects of physical activity, which has antidepressant effect in humans, and the SSRI-type drug escitalopram. Special focus has been on the brain reward pathways and the hippocampus. To monitor depressive-like behavior we have used Porsolt´s swim test, which can discriminate between a norepinephrine-like and serotonin-like mediated antidepressant responses. We also examined how environmental factors can modulate the response to antidepressant treatments. When comparing the antidepressant response of wheel running to the response of escitalopram we found the following: Wheel running had an antidepressant norepinephrine-like effect in the Porsolt swim test in FSL rats. Escitalopram had a serotonergic-like antidepressant response in the Porsolt swim test in single housed FSL rats with a running-wheel as cage enrichment (barely used for running). In contrast, escitalopram did not have an antidepressant-like effect in single housed FSL rats without a running-wheel as cage enrichment. Thus environmental factors can facilitate the antidepressant action of escitalopram. Major depression in humans is associated with shrinkage of hippocampus. In this thesis we noted that the "depressed" FSL strain had lower adult hippocampal cell proliferation than the "non-depressed" FRL strain. Interestingly, wheel running normalized this mismatch. Moreover, wheel running, and escitalopram with or without access to running wheels increased the survival of newly proliferated cells. Thus decreased hippocampal cell proliferation could be one factor that contributes hippocampal shrinkage in depressed patients and antidepressant treatment could have the capacity to normalize this. However, the newly proliferated cells require a diverse cocktail of regulatory molecules to differentiate and migrate into deeper layers and send out axons that integrate into functional neuronal networks. In this thesis we have analyzed the levels of mRNAs encoding the neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY) and one of its receptor Y1 and the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which are factors with a putative role in these processes. We found that escitalopram, running and a combination of these two increased the number of newly proliferated hippocampal BrdU-immunoreactive cells. NPY mRNA was elevated by running and the combined treatment and correlated positively to the number of newly proliferated cells and climbing behavior in the Porsolt swim test (noradrenergic response). Running elevated BDNF mRNA and correlated positively to climbing. Y1 receptor mRNA was elevated by running and the combined treatment and correlated to swimming in the Porsolt swim test (serotonergic response). Escitalopram alone did not regulate any of the molecules analyzed. Thus, different patterns of hippocampal NPY, Y1, BDNF mRNAs correlated to the norepinephrinergic and serotonergic PST response suggesting different mechanisms to achieve an antidepressant-like response by the treatments. Finally we analyzed the effect of the mild stress of social isolation in female FSL rats and SD controls with focus on hippocampus and on the dopamine D2 receptor in brain reward pathways. We demonstrated that socially isolated but not group housed FSL rats had lower dopamine D2 receptor mRNA levels compared to "non-depressed" Sprague Dawley rats. Our 4 findings of decreased dopamine D2 receptor levels in socially isolated FSL rats suggest that low D2 receptor expression may play a role in the pathophysiology of depression. Analysis of the hippocampus in the same model revealed that social isolation increased newly proliferated BrdU-immunoreactive cells in the FSL rats whereas it had no impact on the number of cells in the Sprague Dawley strain. Group housed "depressed" Flinders rats had a lower expression of mRNAs encoding BDNF, NPY and the serotonin 5HT2A receptor than Sprague Dawley, however social isolation down regulated these molecules in Sprague Dawley rats and washed-out the differences between the two strains. To summarize, our finding support that physical activity has a comparable antidepressant effect as a SSRI-type drug and that the drug is dependent on the environmental context. Moreover, we have found a complex regulation of the patterns of hippocampal cell proliferation and regulation of different receptor and neuropeptide mRNAs in hippocampus and brain reward pathways that could have a major impact for depression and antidepressant treatments.

Though there has been increased advocacy for screening for Intimate partner violence (IPV) in healthcare over the past decades, data from developed country context suggest that only one in ten healthcare providers routinely screen for this phenomena suggesting barriers. Knowledge on the screening activity, with regard to IPV, and related barriers among healthcare providers in Sub-Saharan Africa is lacking.

<b>Abstract/Intro:</b>  In what follows, I outline a chronology of the activities of Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah.  Post-exilic life in Judah has a distinctly Sabbatical rhythm, which is aligned with all the known observances of Sabbatical years in Israel’s intertestamental period.  In particular, post-exilic life in Judah is punctuated by a number of important events when the people gather in a public square and God’s word is ministered in a public manner.

<b>Key Words:</b>  <i>Sabbatical years, Sabbatical cycle, dates, week, chronology, Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, Nehemiah, post-exilic, Second Temple</i>

Her hakkı saklıdır. Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi yılda iki kez yayımlanan, bilimsel hakem kurulu olan bir yayındır. Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi'nde yayımlanan makalelerdeki görüş ve düşünceler yazarların kişisel görüşleri olup, hiçbir şekilde Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi'nin veya Beykent Üniversitesi'nin görüşlerini ifade etmez. Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi'ne gönderilen makaleler iade edilmez.

The present paper focuses on FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System) and HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) transmission technologies. Particular attention is paid to different specific technical, economic and environmental features of these power electronics-based devices. Final aim of the paper is the investigation of the role that FACTS and HVDC may play towards the development of the future pan-European transmission system.

We construct a compound measurement tool to comprehensively assess the quality of financial reporting in terms of the underlying fundamental qualitative characteristics (i.e. relevance and faithful representation) and the enhancing qualitative characteristics (i.e. understandability, comparability, verifiability and timeliness) as defined in ‘An improved Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting’ of the FASB and the IASB (2008). The operationalization of these qualitative characteristics results in a 21-item index. Using 231 annual reports from companies listed at US, UK, and Dutch stock markets in 2005 and 2007, we test our compound measurement tool on internal validity, inter-rater reliability (Krippendorff’s alpha) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha). Our findings suggest that the measurement tool used in this study is a valid and reliable approach to assess the quality of financial reports. The measurement tool contributes to improving the quality assessment of financ...

Background: Poor detection of depression in primary health care is universal but worse in resource-constrained societies, yet the illness must be recognized first if it is to be appropriately managed. While current debates about life events in Western societies is on their role in the gene-environment interaction to cause depression, research on the interface between life events, family structure and major depression in many developing countries is still rare. Prevention of depression by preventing life events may not be feasible but knowing depressogenic life events is a cue for rapid intervention. Aim: To describe the feasibility of detecting current major depressive episodes (MDEs) in physically ill patients, identify life events associated with the MDEs, describe the interaction between life events, family structure and MDEs, and to explore how patients' caregivers perceive such depression. Methods: Consecutive outpatients at three PHC centres were interviewed in each of the first three studies. A cross-section of 199 physically ill patients (74 with DSM-diagnosis of major depression and 125 without) were the respondents in the study for Paper I. A case control research design was used for Paper II to compare life event experiences of the 74 physically ill and depressed patients with 64 general population controls and for Paper III in which comparison was between 85 depressed and 170 non-depressed physically ill patients. The study for Paper IV used a qualitative approach to interview 29 adult caregivers of physically ill patients that were depressed. Main findings: In Paper I, it is demonstrated that four simple subjective well-being questions could predict successfully the presence of a current major depressive episode. Paper II shows that losses related to interpersonal relationships and work as well as health and bereavement-related life events were predominant among patients with major depressive episodes. In spite of the buffer provided by the family, life events related to work, education, health and courtship/cohabitation significantly had more negative impact ratings among the depressed. Independent life events clustered around work, health, bereavement and marriage were associated with an increased risk of major depressive episodes in patients compared to controls. Similarly, findings in Paper III show that depressed patients from extended families experienced significantly more negative life events related to loss and bereavement. Distressing and bereavement-related life events were predictors of depression among patients from extended families. Given the concealment of depression in physical illness, caregivers could not identify the depressive episodes thereby undermining appropriate care-giving (Paper IV). However, they identified and associated a number of life experiences to what they referred to as 'thinking a lot'. Care-giving was found to be challenging. Conclusions: Four simple questions reflecting subjective well-being appear to have the potential to detect diagnosable patients likely to have a current major depressive episode. While the extended family is often assumed to cushion members from shocks of stressful life events, it appears to be weakening and unable to protect at risk individuals from developing depression. Psychosocial interventions as well as training and deployment of mental health workers in communities to promote coping are needed. Caregivers deserve support since their physical, psychological, economic and social resources are necessary in management of depression yet, such resources are being drained.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health challenge. More than 1.7 million deaths worldwide in 2007 were attributed to TB. Directly Observed Therapy Short course (DOTS) is the globally recommended strategy for TB control. Context: The Sultanate of Oman, a middle-income country that has seen substantial economic development during the last 25 years, has made remarkable progress with regard to the control of infectious diseases including TB. In 1996, TB elimination targets for the years 2005 and 2010, were set at three and one new smear positive cases per 100,000 in the Omani national population, respectively. The 2005 target was not reached, implying the need for additional TB control efforts, including research on the various factors affecting TB incidence. Aim: The main aim of this thesis is to study TB control in Oman and to explore opportunities and challenges in relation to achieving the specified TB elimination targets in Oman. The thesis also aims to give recomme...

To evaluate the impact of a 12-month multicomponent school-based obesity prevention program, Nutrition and Enjoyable Activity for Teen Girls among adolescent girls. Design: Group randomized controlled trial with 12month follow-up. Setting: Twelve secondary schools in low-income communities in the Hunter and Central Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. Participants: Three hundred fifty-seven adolescent girls aged 12 to 14 years. Intervention: A multicomponent school-based intervention program tailored for adolescent girls. The intervention was based on social cognitive theory and included teacher professional development, enhanced school sport sessions, interactive seminars, nutrition workshops, lunch-time physical activity sessions, handbooks and pedometers for self-monitoring, parent newsletters, and text messaging for social support. Main Outcome Measures: Body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), BMI z score, body fat percentage, physical activity, screen time, dietary intake, and self-esteem. Results: After 12 months, changes in BMI (adjusted mean difference, −0.19; 95% CI, −0.70 to 0.33), BMI z score (mean, −0.08; 95% CI, −0.20 to 0.04), and body fat percentage (mean, −1.09; 95% CI, −2.88 to 0.70) were in favor of the intervention, but they were not statistically different from those in the control group. Changes in screen time were statistically significant (mean, −30.67 min/d; 95% CI, −62.43 to −1.06), but there were no group by time effects for physical activity, dietary behavior, or self-esteem. Conclusions: A school-based intervention tailored for adolescent girls from schools located in low-income communities did not significantly reduce BMI gain. However, changes in body composition were of a magnitude similar to previous studies and may be associated with clinically important health outcomes.

As an area coordinator for online foreign languages courses, I am constantly seeking efficient, innovative strategies for teaching languages and cultures, which in my mind are closely connected to the task of increasing students' multicultural awareness. I was delighted to find that Marie-Noëlle Lamy and Regine Hampel, British scholars and practitioners of distance learning and the authors of Online Communication in Language Learning and Teaching and, especially, Melinda Dooly, the Spanish-based teacher trainer and researcher and the editor of Telecollaborative Language Learning, share this vision. Both books focus on the communication aspects of language learning/teaching from two complementary perspectives and relate the development of communication skills to the fostering of intercultural competence.

Foraging theory says that animal behaviour reflects a trade-off between acquiring resources and avoiding predation. Prey species typically are safe when they rest in their hide-outs and risk predation when they actively forage. A central assumption is that animals change the balance between foraging and sheltering in response to temporal and spatial variation in predation risk, food abundance or both. Nearly all previous studies tested this assumption by manipulating predation risk, and thus, it is unclear whether animals respond in a similar way to variation in food abundance. We studied how temporal and spatial activity patterns varied with resource abundance in the Central American agouti on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We hypothesized that agoutis take more risks with resource scarcity, by 1) extending their total daily activity period, 2) increasing crepuscular / nocturnal activity, and 3) increasing their home range size. Between October 2008 and March 2009, agoutis were captured and radio-collared in areas that widely varied in the abundance of three major food resources, two palm species and a canopy tree species. Temporal activity data was gathered using an Automated Radio Telemetry System consisting of seven receiver towers that automatically scanned radio transmitter frequencies at fixed time intervals (5 min). Activity was quantified based on changes in signal strength between subsequent readings. Spatial patterns were tracked by locating agoutis through manual telemetry. Resulting GPS locations were plotted in ArcGIS, after which home ranges could be calculated. We found that total daily activity of agoutis, as well as agouti home range size, increased significantly with resource scarcity. Nocturnal activity did not significantly increase with resource scarcity, but the pattern found was comparable to that for daily activity, suggesting that prey animals, conform the risk allocation hypothesis, first maximize activity in low-risk periods of the day before increasing activity during high-risk periods such as around dawn, dusk and into the night. These responses, related to variation in food abundance, are similar to animal responses suggested in the optimal foraging theory, which is primarily based on responses to variation in predation risk. With this study we provide ample evidence that animals shift the spatio-temporal balance between foraging and sheltering in response to variation in food abundance in a similar way as they do in response to variation in predation risk.

Knowledge management (KM) is currently an emerging discipline in higher education, and its effective implementation is becoming a precondition for success in an increasingly globalized knowledge economy. Because it is interdisciplinary in nature, carrying out research in KM requires deciding on appropriate research 132 Strengthening the Role of ICT in Development strategies that should be used to enable objectives of a study to be undertaken to be achieved.

Background: Migrant studies offer a unique opportunity to analyze variation in disease occurrence due to background factors. The role of environmental and lifestyle exposures are of particular interest in cancer research, and migrant studies can be considered as "natural experiments" in epidemiological research. Large numbers of immigrants from different regions of the world and the availability of comprehensive demographic and health-related registers in Sweden have prompted us to conduct migrant studies on the epidemiology of cancer. Breast cancer and genital tract cancers were selected for study since the role of environmental and lifestyle risk factors are debated for these disorders. Objectives: To compare the risk and survival of the female breast, cervical, ovarian and endometrial cancers and male prostate and testicular cancers among immigrants to those among Swedish-born individuals to elucidate the importance and the potential timing of environmental and genetic factors in cancer etiology. Methods: We established different cohorts by linkages between Swedish national registers, including Cancer and Cause of Death registers, through personal identity number. The main exposure variable was country of birth with Swedish-born persons with both parents born in Sweden as reference group. Each cohort was followed from start date of follow-up period, date of birth or first immigration date, whichever occurred last, until exit date from the cohort, which was diagnosis of primary outcomes of interest, first emigration, or end of follow-up, whichever came first. We calculated incidence rate ratios and hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals adjusted for age and calendar period of follow-up using Poisson and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: First-generation immigrants in Sweden had an overall lower risk of cancers studied compared with Swedish-born people. However, we found remarkable variations in cancer risks and survival by country of birth. Age at immigration and duration of residence of first-generation immigrants were important factors affecting risk of cervical, breast, prostate, and testis seminomas. An increasing trend in incidence of prostate cancer among first-generation immigrants similar to either Sweden or country of birth was observed. Secondgeneration immigrants showed a risk converging toward the risk in Sweden for testicular and breast cancers. Education, as an indicator of socio-economic position, differentially affected the risk of cervical cancer among first-generation immigrants and Swedish-born women. Among both immigrants and Swedish-born women, breast cancer risk increased, while its mortality decreased with increasing level of education. Conclusions: Country of birth was a major determinant for cancer risk. Variation of risk by age at immigration or duration of residence highlights the effect of environmental and lifestyle factors on cancer risk. The observed patterns of prostate cancer risk imply the importance of both genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of this cancer. Patterns of testicular cancer risk indicate the importance of early environmental risk factors acting even after the intrauterine period.

Though that [imperial and colonial] history remains marginal and largely unacknowledged, surfacing only in the service of nostalgia and melancholia, it represents a store of unlikely connections and complex interpretative resources. The imperial and colonial past continues to shape political life in the overdeveloped-but-no-longer-imperial countries. (Gilroy, 2004, p. 2) 'Europe' in a sense is a phantom of the past, a name that 'is history' rather than society, political, or economics, since the flow of capitalization, population, communication and political action, cross its territory, invest its cities and workplace, but do not elect it as a permanent of specific site. Europe is not only de-territorialized, but also de-localized, put 'out of itself', and in the end deconstructed. It may be part of an imaginary, but less and

Allergic symptoms such as rhinoconjunctivitis, asthma or gastrointestinal symptoms, triggered by inhaled or ingested allergens cross-linking allergen-specific IgE on mast cells or basophils, are defined as IgE-mediated allergy. The major allergens from birch pollen (Bet v 1) and cat dander (Fel d 1) are two common allergens eliciting allergic disease. Allergenspecific immunotherapy (SIT) is the only curative treatment for IgE-mediated allergy. It is long-lasting and involves repeated injections of crude allergen extracts. Successful SIT modifies a number of allergen-associated immunological responses. SIT has been shown to induce IL-10 producing regulatory T-cells (Treg), allergen-specific T-and B-cell anergy as well as blocking antibodies. Although effective, SIT is associated with a risk for treatment side effects. This has led to the development of novel treatment strategies, such as modified recombinant allergens with reduced allergenicity (hypoallergens) and new means of antigen delivery. The general aim of this thesis is to investigate regulation of allergic immune responses and how novel strategies for SIT affect those responses.

Workplace diversity is definitely a hot issue in current dutch public debate. as a small country by the sea, the netherlands has a long history of trade and immigration. today, about 20 per cent of the population are immigrants, who come from both Western and non-Western countries. Workplace diversity, with regard to ethnical background, is the most pressing issue in the dutch public diversity debate, and reference is often made to the freedom that immigrants should or should not have to act in the workplace according to their own cultural or religious beliefs. the issue of gender is another topic that is also intensively debated. In spite of the international image of the netherlands as having a progressive and tolerant culture, the labour market position of women in the netherlands is rather weak. only a small minority of dutch women are economically independent of their husbands, and there are very few women who fill top positions in for-profit and non-profit organizations in the netherlands. since the dutch population is steadily ageing, dutch organizations are increasingly feeling the need to develop the labour potential of immigrants and women. the ageing of the population has also created another diversity issue in the public debate, namely the public pension age. Many workers already retire from work before the age of 65, but the government has just decided, due to the economic crisis, to raise the retirement age to 67, in order to ensure that the public pension system can be afforded. Furthermore, the issue of sexual preference is discussed in regard to workplace diversity. discrimination on the basis of sexual preference is prohibited, but religious organizations, such as schools, still claim the right to dismiss teachers who are openly homosexual.

Culture as a topic in economics is currently experiencing a comeback. On the wings of the new institutionalism, there has been increasing attention to the role of culture in explaining economic phenomena. However, it is argued that culture lacks a clear definition, and that the theoretical underpinnings of the current attempts to reintroduce culture into economics are weak. This paper will discuss the problems and possibilities of such integration. Starting point is a historical discussion of the reasons why culture does not already play a role in economics. Once we have thus grasped the problem to its fullest, it is argued that there are three main routes for bringing culture into economics. The first route is through preferences, which the paper holds to be possible but not very illuminating theoretically; the second is through constraints, which seems more promising but suffers from several theoretical failings; and the third is as complementary deviation from the economic model. On basis of a conceptual discussion of what culture means in economics, it is argued that the third route, in spite of possible appearances, actually has the most potential. However, this project does require a move towards a more reflexive methodology. This implies a questioning of definitions of economy and culture, instead of deductive reasoning on basis of pre-given definitions, as neoclassical theory is wont to do. A 'new cultural economics', in order to be successful, would end up discussing the field of economics itself, questioning divisions that have set it apart from the other social sciences.

First of all I would like to thank the Almighty God for giving me the aptitude, endurance, determination and guidance throughout the ups and downs of life. With your light, I saw my way! Several people have assisted me during my research work. Although it is not possible to mention all in a few sentences I would like to thank those who have been particularly important to my work. I feel great pleasure to express my special thanks to my supervisor Dr. Justus Wesseler for his critical and valuable comments in the course of this study. His insightful comments for the betterment of the whole work were appreciable. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my external supervisor Dr. Huib Hengsdijk from Plant Research International for his invaluable insightful comments, guidance and assistance in finding funding for my research. With out unlimited support and guidance of my supervisors throughout the research work, this thesis would not be in this format. My particular gratitude goes to the Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Network and Centre for its financial support. I would like to thank Dr. Satishkumar Belliethathan and Mr. Bart Jan van Beuzekom from Horn of African Regional Environmental Network and Centre for their generous cooperation and facilitations of financial issues. My special thank go to Werer Agricultural Research Centre manager, Mr. Taddele Amde, for arranging transport facilities for my research. Transaction costs, i.e. time for negotiating contracts, motivating the members and costs for coordination and monitoring of scheme activities were higher in Dodicha due to poor scheme management. Environmental problems associated with the small-scale irrigation schemes were assessed only qualitatively. Farmers argue that water is used efficiently since pumping bears fuel costs. Further research should investigate this claim also in relation to the relatively low crop yields obtained in both schemes. To improve the economic and environmental performance of small scale-irrigation schemes institutional support (input supply, output marketing and credit services), training of farmers on improved crop and water management issues, regular supervision and monitoring of scheme activities are crucial.

Catholic movements within the centre of Roman Catholic doctrine recently have discussed Trinitarian theology as applied to sciences, arts, economics, health and other social areas. We explore the possibilities Trinitarian theology offers to bioethical debate, concentrating particularly on genetic screening and testing. It is important therefore to analyse the philosophical implications of this approach onto the bioethical world, where much disagreement occurs on fundamental issues. It is Catholic basic teaching to recognize and see God&#39;s hand in plurality, not merely as a cliche and then doing what we feel is right, but to recognize how to live in a pluralistic world. We recognize, in agreement with these theologians, that in order for a Trinitarian mode of understanding to be used by those doing bioethical debate, there is a need to depart from fundamentalism.

Dit tussenrapport geeft een overzicht van het onderzoek aan laagveenwateren uitgevoerd in het kader van het Kennisnetwerk Ontwikkeling + Beheer Natuurkwaliteit (OBN), in het tweede jaar van de tweede fase. Dit onderzoek, in opdracht van de Directie Kennis van het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit wordt uitgevoerd door een consortium van onderzoekers van de Universiteit Utrecht (UU, Landschapsecologie), het Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie (NIOO-KNAW, Centrum voor Limnologie, Voedselwebonderzoek), de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (RU, Aquatische Ecologie en Milieubiologie), Onderzoekcentrum B-Ware, adviesbureau Witteveen + Bos en Stichting Bargerveen. Het onderzoek wordt begeleid door het (nieuwe) OBN-Deskundigenteam Laagveen-en Zeekleilandschap onder leiding van dr.ir. Jos Schouwenaars (voorzitter), dr. Leon Lamers (vice-voorzitter) en ir. Vincent van der Meij (secretaris). Doordat er gedurende het tweede jaar een vacature was voor het onderzoek aan fauna, die nog steeds niet ingevuld is, ontbreekt dit deel helaas in deze tussenrapportage.

Introduction: Maternal mortality remains one of the most daunting public health problems in resource limited settings. Maternal health services play a critical role in the improvement of sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially for adolescent mothers. Adolescence is a time of rapid change and transition that can be stressful and difficult; pregnancy can further complicate this period. In Uganda, morbidity and mortality among adolescent mothers and their children are high. In order to better understand this situation, studies (I-IV) were conducted with the following objectives: to describe experiences and problems of pregnant adolescents (I); to describe health seeking behaviour (II) and analyze coping responses (III) of adolescents during pregnancy, delivery and early motherhood; and to compare health seeking practices of adolescents and adult mothers during pregnancy and early motherhood (IV). Methods: Qualitative (I-III) and quantitative (IV) studies were carried out in Wakiso district, Uganda. In study I, six focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with adolescent mothers and pregnant adolescents, and six key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with community leaders, persons in-charge of health units, and traditional birth attendants. In study II, 13 FGDs were conducted with married pregnant adolescents (5), unmarried pregnant adolescents (3) and married or unmarried adolescents with children (5). Semi-structured interviews were held with six KIs who were in-charge of maternity units. In study III we prospectively followed 24 pregnant adolescents (married and unmarried). Qualitative interviews about their experiences and coping responses were conducted at six months of pregnancy, one week post partum and at six months after delivery. All qualitative interviews and FGDs were tape-recorded. Content analysis (I-II) and narrative analysis (III) were done. In study IV, we conducted a cross sectional study in which 762 women (442 adolescents and 320 adults) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. We assessed odds ratios (with 95% CI) for health care seeking during antenatal and postnatal periods, comparing adolescents to adult first-time mothers. Results: In study I, results revealed that pregnant adolescents faced domestic physical violence. Furthermore, they were psychologically violated by parents and partners as well as the community. Pregnant adolescents were treated inhumanely, overworked with household chores and had inadequate food to eat. Adolescents experienced stigma and, as a result, some carried out unsafe abortions. Both KIs and FGDs revealed that health workers were rude and unsympathetic to pregnant adolescents, which contributed to delays in seeking healthcare. Two main themes emerged in study II; ‗feeling exposed and powerless', and ‗seeking safety and empathy'. The categories identified in the first theme were-the dilemma of becoming an adolescent mother‖ and-lack of decision making power‖. In the second theme the following categories were identified:-cultural practices and beliefs about birth‖,-expectations and experiences‖,-transport, a key determinant to health seeking‖, and-dealing with constraints‖. Adolescents felt exposed and powerless due to the dilemma of early motherhood and lack of decision-making power. The adolescent mothers seemed to be in continuous quest for safety and empathy. In study III, two narrative types and one narrative case emerged from the data: ‗dealing with problems' (DWP), ‗avoidance and shame' (AS) and ‗violence and grief' (VG). The DWP type was characterized by wanting to solve her problems e.g. seeking healthcare, social support or initiating innovative ways to earn a living. Married adolescents seemed to cope better. The AS type was more resigned and helpless, avoiding realities, while the VG case was in crisis reaction and grief, and did not see any future. The first narrative type can be classified as ‗problem-focused coping' and the last two narrative types as ‗emotion-focused coping'. Lastly, study IV revealed that adolescent mothers were significantly more disadvantaged in terms of healthcare seeking for reproductive health services and faced more challenges during pregnancy and early motherhood compared to adult mothers. Adolescent mothers were more likely to have dropped out of school due to pregnancy (OR=3.61, 95% CI: 2.40-5.44), less likely to earn a salary (OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.24-0.76), and less likely to attend antenatal care (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.12-2.07) compared to adult mothers. Adolescents were also more likely to experience violence from parents (OR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.39-3.08) and to be stigmatized by the community (CI=1.58, 95% CI: 1.09-2.59). In early motherhood, adolescent mothers were less likely to seek second and third vaccine doses for their infants [Polio2 (OR=0.

Culture as a topic in economics is currently experiencing a comeback. On the wings of the new institutionalism, there has been increasing attention to the role of culture in explaining economic phenomena. However, it is argued that culture lacks a clear definition, and that the theoretical underpinnings of the current attempts to reintroduce culture into economics are weak. This paper will discuss the problems and possibilities of such integration. Starting point is a historical discussion of the reasons why culture does not already play a role in economics. Once we have thus grasped the problem to its fullest, it is argued that there are three main routes for bringing culture into economics. The first route is through preferences, which the paper holds to be possible but not very illuminating theoretically; the second is through constraints, which seems more promising but suffers from several theoretical failings; and the third is as complementary deviation from the economic model. On basis of a conceptual discussion of what culture means in economics, it is argued that the third route, in spite of possible appearances, actually has the most potential. However, this project does require a move towards a more reflexive methodology. This implies a questioning of definitions of economy and culture, instead of deductive reasoning on basis of pre-given definitions, as neoclassical theory is wont to do. A 'new cultural economics', in order to be successful, would end up discussing the field of economics itself, questioning divisions that have set it apart from the other social sciences.