Professional development among educators pursuing a B.Ed. program in special education in Tanzania : a study of motives and perceived outcomes

Implementation of different policies and plans aiming at providing education for all is a challenge in Tanzania. The need for educators and professionals with relevant knowledge and qualifications in special education is substantial. Teacher education does not equip educators with sufficient knowledge and skills in special education and professional development programs in special education are few in number. Up to 2005 no degree programs in special education at university level were available in Tanzania. The B.Ed. Special Education program offered by the Open University of Tanzania in collaboration with Åbo Akademi University in Finland was one of the efforts aimed at addressing the big national need for teachers and other professionals with degree qualifications in special education. This pilot program offered unique possibilities to study professional development in Tanzania. The research group in this study consisted of the group of students who participated in the degree program 2005-2007. The study is guided by three theoretical perspectives: individual, social and societal. The individual perspective emphasizes psychological factors as motives, motivation, achievement, self-directed behavior and personal growth. Within social perspective, professional development is viewed as situated within the social and cultural context. The third perspective, the societal, focuses on change, reforms, innovations and transformation of school systems and societies. Accordingly, professional development is viewed as an individual, social and societal phenomenon. The overall aim of the study is to explore the participants’ motives for participating in a B.Ed. Special Education program and the perceived outcomes of the program in terms of professional development. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a case study approach was adopted. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were administered in three waves between January 2007 and February 2009 to the 35 educators participating in the B.Ed. Special Education program. The findings of the study reveal that the participants expressed motives which were related to job performance, knowledge, skills, academic degree and career. Also altruistic motives were expressed by the participants in terms of helping and supporting students with special needs and their communities. The perceived outcomes of the program were in line with the expressed motives. However, the results indicate that the participants also learned new skills, as interaction skills and guidance and counseling skills. Increased self-confidence was also mentioned as an outcome. The participants also got deepened understanding of disability issues. In addition, they learned strategies for creating awareness of persons with disability in the communities. Thus the findings of the study indicate positive outcomes of the program in terms of professional development. The conclusion of the study is that individual, social and societal factors interact when it comes to explaining why Tanzanian educators in special education choose to pursue a degree program in special education. The individual motives, as increased knowledge and better prospects of career development interact with the social and societal motives to help and support vulnerable student groups. The study contributes to increased understanding of the complexity of professional development and of the realities educators meet when educational reforms are implemented in a developing country.

Toimittajavalinta ja -arviointi kehittyvissä maissa

Tässä tutkielmassa pyritään tutkimaan yritysten hankintaa kehittyvissä maissa, sekä tuomaan esille siellä esiintyviä haasteita joita yritykset saattavat kohdata. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan ostajayrityksen hankintoja erityisesti toimittajavalinnan ja -arvioinnin näkökulmasta, sekä niihin liittyviä erityispiirteitä joita kehittyvissä maissa esiintyy.

Managing innovation in oil and gas companies: A proposed framework for the management of innovation at Ecopetrol S.A.

Actually, the term innovation seems to be one of the most used in any kind of business practices. However, in order to get value from it, companies need to define a systematic and structured way to manage innovation. This process can be difficult and very risky since it is associated with the development of firm´s capabilities which involves human and technical challenges according to the context of a firm. Additionally, it seems not to exist a magic formula to manage innovation and what may work in a company may not work in another, even though in the same type of industry. In this sense, the purpose of this research is to identify how the oil and gas companies can manage innovation and what are the main elements, their interrelations and structure, required for managing innovation effectively in this critical sector for the world economy. The study follows a holistic single case study in a National Oil Company (NOC) of a developing country to explore how innovation performs in the industry, what are the main elements regarding innovation management and their interactions according to the nature of the industry. Contributory literature and qualitative data from the case study company (with the use of non-standardized interviews) is collected and analyzed. The research confirms the relevance and importance of the definition and implementation of an innovation framework in order to ensure the generation of value and organize as well as guide the efforts in innovation done by a firm. In this way based on the theoretical background, research´s findings, and in the company´s innovation environment and conditions, a framework for managing innovation at the case study company is suggested. This study is one of the few, if not only one, that has reviewed the way as oil and gas companies manage innovation and its practical implementation in a company from a developing country. Both researchers and practitioners will get a photograph of understanding innovation management in the oil and gas industry and its growing necessity in the business world. Some issues have been highlighted, so that future study can be focused in those directions. In fact, even though research on innovation management has significantly grown, there are still many issues that need to be addressed to get insight about managing innovation in various contexts and industries. Studies are mostly performed in the context of large firms and in developed countries, so then research in the context of developing countries is still almost an untouched area, especially in the oil and gas industry. Finally, from the research it seems crucial to explore the effect of some innovation-related variables such as: open innovation in third world economies and in state-own companies; the impact of mergers and acquisitions in innovation performance in oil and gas companies; value measurement in the first stages of the innovation process; and, development of innovation capabilities in companies from developing nations.

Analysis of the readiness of Nigerian undergraduates for eLearning courses : understanding undergraduate's perspective

There is much enthusiasm about developing eLearning coures in Nigeria, but majority of the eLearning platforms introduced from developed countries to Nigeria hardly resulted in desired outcome. Proposed reasons are lack of infrastructures such as stable electricity, inadequate rate of internet penetration, low bandwidth and low accessibility of undergraduates to sophisticated devices. These seem valid initially, but findings of this study proved otherwise. This study took a deeper evaluation of the scenarios and made viable discoveries which deviate from early findings. First, the former attempts to introduce eLearning for students in Nigeria were implemented with a rural mindset. Secondly, the undergraduate student`s technical readiness were not properly studied, also their technology user acceptance was also not properly checked and the eLearning platforms were not localized. This study conducted interviews among tertiary students at Yaba College of technology and gathered valuable information towards their readiness for eLearning.

Serodiagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection by Cobas Core ELISA in adults from Minas Gerais, Brazil

We evaluated the accuracy of a 2nd generation ELISA to detect Helicobacter pylori infection in adults from a developing country in view of variations in sensitivity and specificity reported for different populations. We studied 97 non-consecutive patients who underwent endoscopy for evaluation of dispeptic symptoms. The presence of H. pylori was determined in antral biopsy specimens by culture, by the preformed urease test and in carbolfuchsin-stained smears. Patients were considered to be H. pylori positive if at least two of the three tests presented a positive result or if the culture was positive, and negative if the three tests were negative. Sixty-five adults (31 with peptic ulcer) were H. pylori positive and 32 adults were H. pylori negative. Antibodies were detected by Cobas Core anti-H. pylori EIA in 62 of 65 H. pylori-positive adults and in none of the negative adults. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the test were 95.4, 100, 100 and 91.4%, respectively. The Cobas Core anti-H. pylori EIA presented high sensitivity and specificity when employed for a population in Brazil, permitting the use of the test both to confirm the clinical diagnosis and to perform epidemiologic surveys.

Monitoring human cytomegalovirus viral load in peripheral blood leukocytes of renal transplant recipients by a simple limiting dilution-PCR assay

To assess the clinical relevance of a semi-quantitative measurement of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA in renal transplant recipients within the typical clinical context of a developing country where virtually 100% of both receptors and donors are seropositive for this virus, we have undertaken HCMV DNA quantification using a simple, semi-quantitative, limiting dilution polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We evaluated this assay prospectively in 52 renal transplant patients from whom a total of 495 serial blood samples were collected. The samples scored HCMV positive by qualitative PCR had the levels of HCMV DNA determined by end-point dilution-PCR. All patients were HCMV DNA positive during the monitoring period and a diagnosis of symptomatic infection was made for 4 of 52 patients. In symptomatic patients the geometric mean of the highest level of HCMV DNAemia was 152,000 copies per 106 leukocytes, while for the asymptomatic group this value was 12,050. Symptomatic patients showed high, protracted HCMV DNA levels, whereas asymptomatic patients demonstrated intermittent low or moderate levels. Using a cut-off value of 100,000 copies per 106 leukocytes, the limiting dilution assay had sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 92%, a positive predictive value of 43% and a negative predictive value of 100% for HCMV disease. In this patient group, there was universal HCMV infection but relatively infrequent symptomatic HCMV disease. The two patient groups were readily distinguished by monitoring with the limiting dilution assay, an extremely simple technology immediately applicable in any clinical laboratory with PCR capability.

The availability of full match sibling donors and feasibility of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in Brazil

The feasibility of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT) in a developing country has not yet been demonstrated. Many adverse factors including social and economic limitations may reduce the overall results of this complex and expensive procedure. Our objective was to characterize the most important clinical, social and economic features of candidates for transplantation and their potential donors as well as the influence of these factors on overall survival in a retrospective and exploratory analysis at a university hospital. From July 1993 to July 2001, candidates for BMT were referred to the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit by Hematology and Oncology Centers from several regions of Brazil. A total of 1138 patients were referred to us as candidates for alloBMT. Median age was 25 years (range: 2 months-60 years), 684 (60.1%) were males and 454 (39.9%) were females. The clinical indications were severe aplastic anemia and hematological malignancies. From the total of 1138 patients, 923 had HLA-typing; 497/923 (53.8%) candidates had full match donors; 352/1138 (30.8%) were eligible for alloBMT. Only 235 of 352 (66.7%) were transplanted. Schooling was 1st to 8th grade for 123/235 (52.3%); monthly family income ranged from US$60 (7%) to more than US$400 (36%). Overall survival for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, severe aplastic anemia and acute myeloid leukemia was 58, 60 and 30%, respectively. Thus, overall survival rates for the most frequent hematological diseases were similar to those reported in the International Registry, except for acute myeloid leukemia. This descriptive and exploratory analysis suggests the feasibility of alloBMT in a developing country like Brazil.

Th-1 and Th-2 cytokine production in infants with virus-associated wheezing

Wheezing associated with respiratory viral infections in infancy is very common and results in high morbidity worldwide. The Th1/Th2 pattern of immune response in these patients remains unclear and previous studies have shown controversial results. The aim of the present study was to compare the type of Th1/Th2 cytokine response between infants with acute bronchiolitis, recurrent wheezing and upper respiratory infections from a developing country. Infants younger than 2 years of age admitted to Hospital São Lucas, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, between May and November 2001, with an acute episode of wheezing associated with viral respiratory infection were selected. Subjects with upper respiratory infections from the emergency department were selected for the control group. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels from nasal aspirates were determined by ELISA from peripheral mononuclear cell cultures. Twenty-nine subjects with acute bronchiolitis, 18 with recurrent wheezing and 15 with upper respiratory infections were enrolled. There were no differences in family history of atopy or parental smoking between groups. Oxygen requirement was similar for the acute bronchiolitis and recurrent wheezing groups. The percentage of positive tests for the cytokines studied and the IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio was similar for all groups. Comparison of the polarized Th1/Th2 cytokine results for the various groups showed no specific pattern of cytokine production. Infants with wheezing from a developing country do not show any specific predominant pattern of Th1/Th2 cytokine production, suggesting that multiple factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of this illness.

Comparison of the effectiveness of initial combined antiretroviral therapy with nelfinavir or efavirenz at a university-based outpatient service in Brazil

Since there are some concerns about the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy in developing countries, we compared the initial combination antiretroviral therapy with zidovudine and lamivudine plus either nelfinavir or efavirenz at a university-based outpatient service in Brazil. This was a retrospective comparative cohort study carried out in a tertiary level hospital. A total of 194 patients receiving either nelfinavir or efavirenz were identified through our electronic database search, but only 126 patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients were included if they were older than 18 years old, naive for antiretroviral therapy, and had at least 1 follow-up visit after starting the antiretroviral regimen. Fifty-one of the included patients were receiving a nelfinavir-based regimen and 75 an efavirenz-based regimen as outpatients. Antiretroviral therapy was prescribed to all patients according to current guidelines. By intention-to-treat (missing/switch = failure), after a 12-month period, 65% of the patients in the efavirenz group reached a viral load <400 copies/mL compared to 41% of the patients in the nelfinavir group (P = 0.01). The mean CD4 cell count increase after a 12-month period was also greater in the efavirenz group (195 x 10(6) cells/L) than in the nelfinavir group (119 x 10(6) cells/L; P = 0.002). The efavirenz-based regimen was superior compared to the nelfinavir-based regimen. The low response rate in the nelfinavir group might be partially explained by the difficulty of using a regimen requiring a higher patient compliance (12 vs 3 pills a day) in a developing country.

Examining life-course influences on chronic disease: the Ribeirão Preto and São Luís birth cohort studies (Brazil)

More than any other low- and middle-income country, Brazil has the longest research tradition of establishing, maintaining and exploiting birth cohort studies. This research pedigree is highlighted in the present issue of the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, which contains a series of twelve papers from the Ribeirão Preto and São Luis birth cohort studies from the Southeast and Northeast of Brazil, respectively. The topics covered in this raft of reports vary and include predictors of perinatal health and maternal risk factors, early life determinants of cardiovascular risk factors in childhood and adolescence, use of health services, and a description of dietary characteristics of young adults, amongst other topics. There is also a guide to the background, objectives, sampling and protocols employed across these studies, which, together with similar pieces published in past issues of the Brazilian Journal, serve as a very useful starting point, particularly for potential collaborators. In the fervent hope that further follow-up of these cohorts will take place - we provide our own justification for cohort maintenance and extension in this issue - future data collection could include: genetic material, atherosclerosis, ascertained, for instance, by intima-media thickness, and IQ testing in children - scores from which are emerging as potentially important predictors of adult health outcomes up to six decades later.

Examining life-course influences on chronic disease: the importance of birth cohort studies from low- and middle- income countries. An overview

The objectives of this overview are to describe the past and potential contributions of birth cohorts to understanding chronic disease aetiology; advance a justification for the maintenance of birth cohorts from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC); provide an audit of birth cohorts from LMIC; and, finally, offer possible future directions for this sphere of research. While the contribution of birth cohorts from affluent societies to understanding disease aetiology has been considerable, we describe several reasons to anticipate why the results from such studies might not be directly applied to LMIC. More than any other developing country, Brazil has a tradition of establishing, maintaining and exploiting birth cohort studies. The clear need for a broader geographical representation may be precipitated by a greater collaboration worldwide in the sharing of ideas, fieldwork experience, and cross-country cohort data comparisons in order to carry out the best science in the most efficient manner. This requires the involvement of a central overseeing body - such as the World Health Organization - that has the respect of all countries and the capacity to develop strategic plans for `global' life-course epidemiology while addressing such issues as data-sharing. For rapid progress to be made, however, there must be minimal bureaucratic entanglements.

The Dutch disease and its neutralization: a Ricardian approach

The Dutch disease is a major market failure originated in the existence of cheap and abundant natural or human resources that keep overvalued the currency of a country for an undetermined period of time, thus turning non profitable the production of tradable goods using technology in the state-of-the-art. It is an obstacle to growth on the demand side, because it limits investment opportunities. The severity of the Dutch disease varies according to the extent of the Ricardian rents involved, i.e., according to the difference between two exchange rate equilibriums: the ‘current’ or market rate and the ‘industrial’ rate - the one that make viable efficient tradable industries. Its main symptoms, besides overvalued currency, are low rates of growth of the manufacturing industry, artificially high real wages, and unemployment. Its neutralization requires managing the exchange rate. The principal instrument for that is a sales or export tax on the commodities that give origin to the Dutch disease. In order to neutralize it policymakers face major political obstacles since it involves taxing exports and reducing wages. Finally, this papers argues that there is an extended concept of Dutch disease: besides having its origin in natural resources, it may arise from cheap labor provided that the ‘wage spread’ in the developing country is considerably larger than in the developed one - a condition that is usually present.

Creating and Enabling a Sustainable Livelihood for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: A Comparative Case Study of Ghana and Canada.

Abstract Despite the plethora of published studies on rights, including employment rights, for persons with intellectual disabilities (Hatton, 2002; Tarulli, et al., 2004; Ward & Stewart, 2008), relatively few have discussed their applicability to individuals with intellectual disabilities to facilitate their full involvement in socio-economic development. This study explored the mechanisms facilitating and inhibiting the full participation of persons with intellectual disabilities in the area of employment through a comparative case analysis of policies and practices in Ontario, Canada (a developed country) and in Ghana (a developing country) both of which are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The study employed targeted recruitment based on the nature of the research which is a combination of policy and practice investigation.

De la réforme et de l'harmonisation du droit des sûretés dans un contexte de mondialisation de l'économie : vers un retour au paradigme de l'uniformisation du droit?

La réforme et l’harmonisation du droit des sûretés mobilières sont à l’ordre du jour de plusieurs organisations internationales, car il est admis qu’un régime de sûretés efficient favorise l’accès au crédit à de faibles coûts. L’harmonisation de ce droit comporte deux volets. D’une part, dans l’Occident industrialisé, les efforts d’harmonisation vont de la réforme des droits internes à l’établissement de régimes spéciaux relativement à des biens spécifiques (principalement les biens mobiles de grande valeur, tels les aéronefs, le matériel ferroviaire roulant et les satellites, et les biens incorporels, comprenant les créances, valeurs mobilières, actifs financiers et titres intermédiés). Ces efforts d’harmonisation démontrent que d’un point de vue systémique, malgré quelques différences notables, les régimes nord-américains et européens sont fondés sur des principes similaires et atteignent des résultats comparables. En résulte l’émergence d’un ordre juridique transnational en droit des sûretés mobilières, fondé sur les principes de la primauté de l’individu et la reconnaissance du droit de propriété de l’individu dans ses biens, mis en œuvre grâce à l’État de droit. D’autre part, les institutions financières internationales encouragent l’établissement de régimes de sûretés dans les pays en voie de développement qui obéissent aux mêmes critères que ceux de l’Occident, en insistant sur les réformes institutionnelles et juridiques visant l’établissement d’une bonne gouvernance et l’État de droit. Cependant, une transposition des régimes occidentaux ne peut se faire sans heurts dans les pays en voie de développement, notamment pour des raisons socio-culturelles et politiques. Lorsque les principes de la primauté de l’individu, de la propriété individuelle et de l’État de droit ne sont pas reconnus dans un pays donné, la réforme et l’harmonisation du droit des sûretés s’en trouvent compromis. La démonstration de l’état d’avancement de la réforme et de l’harmonisation du droit des sûretés dans les pays occidentaux industrialisés est faite grâce à une comparaison du Uniform Commercial Code, du Code civil du Québec, des Personal Property Security Acts des provinces canadiennes de common law, des principes des droits français et anglais, de l’influence du droit communautaire sur les pays membres de l’Union Européenne. Sont analysés, aussi, dans cette optique, les principaux instruments de l’harmonisation du droit émanant des organisations internationales. Par ailleurs, deux études de cas relatifs à la réforme du crédit foncier en Égypte et à la réforme de l’urbanisme et de l’habitat en République démocratique du Congo, viennent étayer les difficultés que rencontrent les institutions internationales, telles la Banque mondiale et l’ACDI, dans le cadre de projets de réformes visant la bonne gouvernance et l’instauration d’un véritable État de droit, en partie à cause d’un pluralisme des ordres juridiques de ces pays.

Barriers of evidence based policy making in iran's health system

La formation des sociétés fondées sur la connaissance, le progrès de la technologie de communications et un meilleur échange d'informations au niveau mondial permet une meilleure utilisation des connaissances produites lors des décisions prises dans le système de santé. Dans des pays en voie de développement, quelques études sont menées sur des obstacles qui empêchent la prise des décisions fondées sur des preuves (PDFDP) alors que des études similaires dans le monde développé sont vraiment rares. L'Iran est le pays qui a connu la plus forte croissance dans les publications scientifiques au cours de ces dernières années, mais la question qui se pose est la suivante : quels sont les obstacles qui empêchent l'utilisation de ces connaissances de même que celle des données mondiales? Cette étude embrasse trois articles consécutifs. Le but du premier article a été de trouver un modèle pour évaluer l'état de l'utilisation des connaissances dans ces circonstances en Iran à l’aide d'un examen vaste et systématique des sources suivie par une étude qualitative basée sur la méthode de la Grounded Theory. Ensuite au cours du deuxième et troisième article, les obstacles aux décisions fondées sur des preuves en Iran, sont étudiés en interrogeant les directeurs, les décideurs du secteur de la santé et les chercheurs qui travaillent à produire des preuves scientifiques pour la PDFDP en Iran. Après avoir examiné les modèles disponibles existants et la réalisation d'une étude qualitative, le premier article est sorti sous le titre de «Conception d'un modèle d'application des connaissances». Ce premier article sert de cadre pour les deux autres articles qui évaluent les obstacles à «pull» et «push» pour des PDFDP dans le pays. En Iran, en tant que pays en développement, les problèmes se situent dans toutes les étapes du processus de production, de partage et d’utilisation de la preuve dans la prise de décision du système de santé. Les obstacles qui existent à la prise de décision fondée sur des preuves sont divers et cela aux différents niveaux; les solutions multi-dimensionnelles sont nécessaires pour renforcer l'impact de preuves scientifiques sur les prises de décision. Ces solutions devraient entraîner des changements dans la culture et le milieu de la prise de décision afin de valoriser la prise de décisions fondées sur des preuves. Les critères de sélection des gestionnaires et leur nomination inappropriée ainsi que leurs remplaçants rapides et les différences de paiement dans les secteurs public et privé peuvent affaiblir la PDFDP de deux façons : d’une part en influant sur la motivation des décideurs et d'autre part en détruisant la continuité du programme. De même, tandis que la sélection et le remplacement des chercheurs n'est pas comme ceux des gestionnaires, il n'y a aucun critère pour encourager ces deux groupes à soutenir le processus décisionnel fondés sur des preuves dans le secteur de la santé et les changements ultérieurs. La sélection et la promotion des décideurs politiques devraient être basées sur leur performance en matière de la PDFDP et les efforts des universitaires doivent être comptés lors de leurs promotions personnelles et celles du rang de leur institution. Les attitudes et les capacités des décideurs et des chercheurs devraient être encouragés en leur donnant assez de pouvoir et d’habiliter dans les différentes étapes du cycle de décision. Cette étude a révélé que les gestionnaires n'ont pas suffisamment accès à la fois aux preuves nationales et internationales. Réduire l’écart qui sépare les chercheurs des décideurs est une étape cruciale qui doit être réalisée en favorisant la communication réciproque. Cette question est très importante étant donné que l'utilisation des connaissances ne peut être renforcée que par l'étroite collaboration entre les décideurs politiques et le secteur de la recherche. Dans ce but des programmes à long terme doivent être conçus ; la création des réseaux de chercheurs et de décideurs pour le choix du sujet de recherche, le classement des priorités, et le fait de renforcer la confiance réciproque entre les chercheurs et les décideurs politiques semblent être efficace.