[The influence of the socio-economic structure of the breeding farms of Franches-Montagnes horses on the conditions of husbandry]

The socio-economic structure of the breeding farms of Franches-Montagnes horses (FM) in Switzerland is evaluated on the basis of an investigation carried out in 2002 by the Swiss FM breeding federation. Questionnaires were sent to 3500 of its members and the results include data from 968 breeding enterprises, housing a total of 3965 FM. The quality of the husbandry of FM varies according to factors such as the altitude and the geographical situation of the farms and studs. Socio-economic parameters, such as the role of FM in the business, their use (breeding, driving, riding) and the age and level of professional education of the owners may also have an effect on standards of husbandry. The results show that the owners for whom FM represent a source of income more frequently keep their horses in standing stalls, but give them more time to exercise at liberty than the horses belonging to amateur breeders. Younger and better educated breeders are more likely to house their animals in groups.

Socio-economic atlas of Kenya: Depicting the national population census by county and sub-location

The Socio-Economic Atlas of Kenya is the first of its kind to offer high-resolution spatial depictions and analyses of data collected in the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census . The combination of geographic and socio-eco - nomic data enables policymakers at all levels, development experts, and other interested readers to gain a spatial understanding of dynamics affecting Kenya. Where is the informal economic sector most prominent? Which areas have adequate water and sanitation? Where is population growth being slowed effectively? How do education levels vary throughout the country? And where are poverty rates lowest? Answers to questions such as these, grouped into seven broad themes, are visually illustrated on high-resolution maps. By supplying precise information at the sub-location level and summarizing it at the county level, the atlas facilitates better planning that accounts for local contexts and needs. It is a valuable decision-support tool for government institutions at different administrative levels, educational institutions, and others. Three organizations – two in Kenya and one in Switzerland – worked together to create the atlas: the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the Nanyuki-based Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development (CETRAD), and the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern. Close cooperation between KNBS, CETRAD, and CDE maximized synergies and knowledge exchange.

How political economies affect immigrants' socio-economic incorporation. A comparative analysis of immigrants’ poverty risks across advanced industrialised countries

Immigration and the resulting increasing ethnic diversity have become an important characteristic of advanced industrialised countries. At the same time, the majority of the countries in question are confronted with structural transformation such as deindustrialisation and changes in family structures as well as economic downturn, which limit the capacities of nation-states in addressing rising inequality and supporting those individuals at the margins of the society. This paper addresses both issues, immigration and inequality, by focusing on immigrants’ socio-economic incorporation into the receiving societies of advanced industrialised countries. The aim of this paper is to explain cross-national variation in immigrants’ poverty risks. Drawing on the political economy as well as the migration literature, the paper develops a theoretical framework that considers how the impact of the national labour market and welfare system on immigrants’ poverty risks is moderated by the integration policies, which regulate immigrants’ access to the labour market and social programs (or immigrants’ economic and social rights). The empirical analysis draws on income surveys as well as a newly collected data set on economic and social rights of immigrants in 19 advanced industrialised countries, including European countries as well as Australia, and North America, for the year 2007. As the results from multilevel analysis show, integration policies concerning immigrants’ access to the labour market and social programs can partly explain cross-national variations in immigrants’ poverty risks. In line with the hypothesis, stricter labour market regulations such as minimum wage setting reduce immigrants’ poverty risks stronger in countries where they are granted easier access to the labour market. However, concerning the impact of more generous social programs the reductive poverty effect is stronger in countries with less inclusive access of immigrants to social programs. The paper concludes by discussing possible explanations for this puzzling finding.

Medical, psychological and socio-economic implications of chronic hand eczema: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND Hand eczema (HE) is a common skin disease with major medical psychological and socio-economic implications. Onset and prognosis of HE are determined by individual as well as environmental factors. So far, most epidemiological data on HE have been reported from Scandinavian and recently German studies. OBJECTIVE To investigate the characteristics and medical care of patients with chronic HE (CHE) in Switzerland, and identify risk factors. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, data from patients with chronic HE were obtained by means of medical history, dermatological examination and patient questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to identify risk factors for high severity and dermatology life quality index (DLQI). RESULTS In seven dermatology departments, 199 patients (mean age 40.4 years, 50.8% female) with CHE (mean duration 6.6 years) were enrolled. Moderate to severe HE was reported by 70.9% of patients, and was associated with age <30 or >50 years, localization of lesions and pruritus. Because of the CHE, 37.3% of patients were on sick leave over the past 12 months, 14.8% had changed or lost their job. Practically all patients applied topical therapy, 21% were treated with alitretinoin, and 21% with psoralen plus UVA light (PUVA). The effects on the health-related quality of life was moderate to large in 33.7% and 39.4% of CHE patients, respectively. Factors associated with a high impact on DLQI (mean 9.7 ± 5.8) were female sex, lesions on back of the hands and pruritus as well as mechanical skin irritation and wearing gloves. CONCLUSION In agreement with recent studies, the Swiss data demonstrate the high impact of CHE on medical well-being, patient quality of life and work ability. As it is associated with an intense use of health care services, high rate of sick leave, job loss and change, CHE may cause a high socio-economic burden.

Immediate Search in the IDE as an Example of Socio-Technical Congruence in Search-Driven Development

Search-driven development is mainly concerned with code reuse but also with code navigation and debugging. In this essay we look at search-driven navigation in the IDE. We consider Smalltalk-80 as an example of a programming system with search-driven navigation capabilities and explore its human factors. We present how immediate search results lead to a user experience of code browsing rather than one of waiting for and clicking through search results. We explore the socio-technical congruence of immediate search, ie unification of tasks and breakpoints with method calls, which leads to simpler and more extensible development tools. Eventually we conclude with remarks on the socio-technical congruence of search-driven development.

Socio-Spatial Relationships in Dairy Cows

Farm animals may serve as models for evaluating social networks in a controlled environment. We used an automated system to track, at fine temporal and spatial resolution (once per minute, +/- 50 cm) every individual in six herds of dairy cows (Bos taurus). We then analysed the data using social network analyses. Relationships were based on non-random attachment and avoidance relationships in respect to synchronous use and distances observed in three different functional areas (activity, feeding and lying). We found that neither synchrony nor distance between cows was strongly predictable among the three functional areas. The emerging social networks were tightly knit for attachment relationships and less dense for avoidance relationships. These networks loosened up from the feeding and lying area to the activity area, and were less dense for relationships based on synchronicity than on median distance with respect to node degree, relative size of the largest cluster, density and diameter of the network. In addition, synchronicity was higher in dyads of dairy cows that had grown up together and shared their last dry period. This last effect disappeared with increasing herd size. Dairy herds can be characterized by one strongly clustered network including most of the herd members with many non-random attachment and avoidance relationships. Closely synchronous dyads were composed of cows with more intense previous contact. The automatic tracking of a large number of individuals proved promising in acquiring the data necessary for tackling social network analyses.

Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century World

In this groundbreaking book Christian Gerlach traces the social roots of the extraordinary processes of human destruction involved in mass violence throughout the twentieth century. He argues that terms such as 'genocide' and 'ethnic cleansing' are too narrow to explain the diverse motives and interests that cause violence to spread in varying forms and intensities. From killings and expulsions to enforced hunger, collective rape, strategic bombing, forced labour and imprisonment he explores what happened before, during, and after periods of widespread bloodshed in countries such as Armenia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nazi-occupied Greece and in anti-guerilla wars worldwide in order to highlight the crucial role of socio-economic pressures in the generation of group conflicts. By focussing on why so many different people participated in or supported mass violence, and why different groups were victimized, he offers us a new way of understanding one of the most disturbing phenomena of our times.

Livelihoods in Transition: Changing Land Use Strategies and Ecological Implications in a Post Soviet Setting (Kyrgyzstan)

The sudden independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991 led to a total rupture of industrial and agricultural production. Based on empirical data, this study seeks to identify key land use transformation processes since the late 1980s, their impact on people's livelihoods and the implication for natural resources in the communes of Tosh Bulak and Saz, located in the Sokuluk River Basin on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Range. Using the concept of the sustainable livelihood approach as an analytical framework, three different livelihood strategies were identified: (1) An accumulation strategy applied by wealthy households where renting and/or buying of land is a key element; they are the only household category capable of venturing into rain fed agriculture. (2) A preserving strategy involving mainly intermediate households who are not able to buy or rent additional agricultural land; very often they are forced to return their land to the commune or sell it to wealthier households. (3) A coping strategy including mainly poor households consisting of elderly pensioners or headed by single mothers; due to their limited labour and economic power, agricultural production is very low and hardly covers subsistence needs; pensions and social allowances form the backbone of these livelihoods. Ecological assessments have shown that the forage productivity of remote high mountain pastures has increased from 5 to 22 per cent since 1978. At the same time forage productivity on pre-mountain and mountain pastures close to villages has generally decreased from 1 to 34 per cent. It seems that the main avenues for livelihoods to increase their wealth are to be found in the agricultural sector by controlling more and mainly irrigated land as well as by increasing livestock. The losers in this process are thus those households unable to keep or exploit their arable land or to benefit from new agricultural land. Ensuring access to land for the poor is therefore imperative in order to combat rural poverty and socio-economic disparities in rural Kyrgyzstan.

Alveolar echinococcosis: from a deadly disease to a well-controlled infection. Relative survival and economic analysis in Switzerland over the last 35 years

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a serious liver disease. The aim of this study was to explore the long-term prognosis of AE patients, the burden of this disease in Switzerland and the cost-effectiveness of treatment. METHODS: Relative survival analysis was undertaken using a national database with 329 patient records. 155 representative cases had sufficient details regarding treatment costs and patient outcome to estimate the financial implications and treatment costs of AE. RESULTS: For an average 54-year-old patient diagnosed with AE in 1970 the life expectancy was estimated to be reduced by 18.2 and 21.3 years for men and women, respectively. By 2005 this was reduced to approximately 3.5 and 2.6 years, respectively. Patients undergoing radical surgery had a better outcome, whereas the older patients had a poorer prognosis than the younger patients. Costs amount to approximately Euro108,762 per patient. Assuming the improved life expectancy of AE patients is due to modern treatment the cost per disability-adjusted life years (DALY) saved is approximately Euro6,032. CONCLUSIONS: Current treatments have substantially improved the prognosis of AE patients compared to the 1970s. The cost per DALY saved is low compared to the average national annual income. Hence, AE treatment is highly cost-effective in Switzerland.

Domain analysis of lipoprotein LppQ in Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC

The lipoprotein LppQ is the most prominent antigen of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small colony type (SC) during infection of cattle. This pathogen causes contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), a devastating disease of considerable socio-economic importance in many countries worldwide. The dominant antigenicity and high specificity for M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC of lipoprotein LppQ have been exploited for serological diagnosis and for epidemiological investigations of CBPP. Scanning electron microscopy and immunogold labelling were used to provide ultrastructural evidence that LppQ is located to the cell membrane at the outer surface of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC. The selectivity and specificity of this method were demonstrated through discriminating localization of extracellular (i.e., in the zone of contact with host cells) vs. integral membrane domains of LppQ. Thus, our findings support the suggestion that the accessible N-terminal domain of LppQ is surface exposed and such surface localization may be implicated in the pathogenesis of CBPP.