1,720,956 research outputs found
Assessing Impact of Fertilizer Adoption in Boosting Small Scale Crop Farming Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFhe study examined the determinants of fertilizer adoption among small scale crop farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa's regions using a probit regression model and propensity score matching (PSM) technique to assess productivity impacts. Variables analyzed include land tenure, access to credit, access to fertilizer, gender, age, farm size, education, household size, expenditure, and other income sources. Data was obtained from households’ survey data for selected sub-Saharan countries. The countries were also categorized as arid, semi-arid, and non- arid regions. Findings indicated that access to fertilizer increases adoption across all zones, for example by 36.1% in arid areas at 95% confidence level. Access to credit is also significant at 95% confidence level in arid regions, boosting adoption by 6.2%. Land tenure positively affects adoption in semi-arid regions but is insignificant in arid and non-arid areas. Education levels and household expenditure show mixed effects; secondary education negatively affects adoption in arid zones, while higher household expenditure reduces adoption likelihood in semi-arid regions. The PSM analysis conducted showed that fertilizer adoption leads to increased productivity, with adopters experiencing yield increases between 195 kg/acre and 261 kg/acre compared to non- adopters. Policy recommendations to improve fertilizer adoption include enhancing supply chains for timely and affordable access, expanding financial services for smallholder farmers, securing land tenure, and providing targeted education and training programs. These strategies are expected to boost agricultural productivity and smallholder’s farmer livelihoods in arid and semi-arid regions. The study emphasizes on the critical role of fertilizer access in boosting productivity for smallholder farmers and provides actionable insights for policymakers to improve agricultural outcomes in challenging environments
Effects of Carbon Markets Pricing on Competitiveness of Key Industries in Kenya
No full textCarbon markets aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but their effects on industry and the economy are not fully understood in Kenya. This study examines the societal and economic impacts of carbon markets in Kenya, focusing on carbon emissions costs and their effects on industrial competitiveness. The study analyzes 8 key industries which together contribute over 60% of Kenya’s GDP and a large portion of formal sector employment. These sectors are both emission-intensive and trade-exposed, making them sensitive to carbon cost variations. In this study, the benchmark price of US43 per metric ton. However, if carbon costs exceed 5% of sectoral value-added surpassing the global threshold or prices rise above US35–55), most sectors remain below the 5% competitiveness threshold. The study recommends gradually increasing carbon prices while considering industries' capacity to adapt, balancing emission reduction goals with economic sustainability. Integrating the CETS with complementary energy policies such as petroleum levies will help reduce emissions. These findings provide policymakers with evidence for implementing the Kenya’s Climate Change (Amendment) Act 2023, designing the CETS framework, and formulating green fiscal policies that balance decarbonization goals with industrial competitiveness.
Key Terms: Carbon Trading, Industry competitiveness, GDP, carbon emissions, Carbon market price; Carbon emissions cos
Assessing impact of fertilizer adoption in boosting small scale crop farming productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textThe study examined the determinants of fertilizer adoption among small scale crop farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa's regions using a probit regression model and propensity score matching (PSM) technique to assess productivity impacts. Variables analyzed include land tenure, access to credit, access to fertilizer, gender, age, farm size, education, household size, expenditure, and other income sources. Data was obtained from households’ survey data for selected sub-Saharan countries. The countries were also categorized as arid, semi-arid, and non- arid regions. Findings indicated that access to fertilizer increases adoption across all zones, for example by 36.1% in arid areas at 95% confidence level. Access to credit is also significant at 95% confidence level in arid regions, boosting adoption by 6.2%. Land tenure positively affects adoption in semi-arid regions but is insignificant in arid and non-arid areas. Education levels and household expenditure show mixed effects; secondary education negatively affects adoption in arid zones, while higher household expenditure reduces adoption likelihood in semi-arid regions. The PSM analysis conducted showed that fertilizer adoption leads to increased productivity, with adopters experiencing yield increases between 195 kg/acre and 261 kg/acre compared to non- adopters. Policy recommendations to improve fertilizer adoption include enhancing supply chains for timely and affordable access, expanding financial services for smallholder farmers, securing land tenure, and providing targeted education and training programs. These strategies are expected to boost agricultural productivity and smallholder’s farmer livelihoods in arid and semi-arid regions. The study emphasizes on the critical role of fertilizer access in boosting productivity for smallholder farmers and provides actionable insights for policymakers to improve agricultural outcomes in challenging environments
Discussion Paper No. 311 of 2023 on Analyzing Technical Efficiency of Adult and Continuing Education Centres in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya
Get PDFThe study assesses the technical efficiency levels within Kenya's Adult and
Continuing Education Centres (ACEs) and explores the determinants influencing
their efficiencies. Utilizing data from the Directorate of Adult and Continuing
Education (DACE) and based on Theory of Production, this analysis employed
Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology with 4 inputs and 2 outputs and
considered 47 decision making units (counties) in the calculation of efficiency
scores. The analysis established an average technical efficiency of 78.8 percent,
93.1 percent and 91.2 percent at national level, ASAL and Non-ASALs region
respectively, indicating ASAL regions being more efficient than non-Asal regions
in resource utilization. These findings indicate that the existing provision of
educational services through ACEs could be increased by up to 21.2 percent, 6.9
percent, and 8.8 percent at national level, ASAL regions and non-ASAL regions
respectively. To assess the factors that influence the efficiency scores, Tobit
regression results indicated that factors such as internet connectivity, digital
literacy programs, location (urban/rural), enrolment rates and electricity
connection significantly influenced efficiency of ACE centres in ASAL regions.
Policies aimed at enhancing educational provision through ACEs delivery
systems may emphasize improving factors that enhance efficiency, such as a
prioritizing cheaper internet access and electricity connectivity in ASAL counties,
facilitating online education for out-of-school youth and adults especially for
ASAL regions as this will improve performance scores of graduates ultimately
improving efficiency of resources allocated to the DACE without incurring extra
cost. Policies may also encourage the consolidation of smaller schools within the
same locality, where feasible, to achieve economies of scale
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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