1,721,102 research outputs found
Moving beyond research to inform policy: barriers and strategies in developing countries
No full textBarriers to family planning services amongst the urban poor in pakistan
No full textThe type of barrier a woman faces in accessing family planning services is a product of not only her own individual characteristics, but is influenced by the characteristics of her household and other household members
Assessing the health of the poor: towards a pro-poor measurement strategy
No full textThe problems of measuring the health of the poor are now becoming a priority area for development agencies. This is not only because of the consensus on equitable health status as a worthy and agreed goal in itself, but also because of the emerging understanding of the crucial role that health plays in the production of poverty. Furthermore, the current impetus for preparing Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) requires an effective monitoring and evaluation process to be planned as part of each country’s strategy. Much data on the health of the world’s poor is already collected on a regular basis in developing countries by the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) programme. More information on the economic status of individuals in developing countries is also collected, less frequently and with less standardised questionnaires, by the World Bank under the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) programme. Other data on both health and income or wealth is also available from a range of uncoordinated sources. So far, the only focused attempt to measure the health of the poor uses DHS data to track health indicators for different ‘wealth’ groups, where wealth is measured by calculating household assets and amenities. Using DHS data as the main strategy for measuring health is the best way forward, given that it is the highest quality and most standardised scheme of data collection. The DHS is very unlikely, however, to include income in its questionnaire schedule, so that general agreement needs to be reached on the asset approach as an appropriate way forward, the alternative being a consistent set of health questions being included in LSMS surveys. Apart from undertaking analyses of data which has already been collected, there should also be supplementary data collection undertaken to cover the shortcomings of the DHS in any given setting. According to the country characteristics in any given setting, the following range of techniques should be considered to supplement DHS and LSMS monitoring: poverty mapping from the most recent census; piggybacking poverty studies on already functioning population ‘laboratories’; and undertaking new cluster surveys innew poor areas. It is also advisable to engage in a dialogue for undertaking new standardised surveys in-country such as DHS and LSMS. The latter is particularly amenable to flexibility of subject matter to be included in the questionnaire
Explaining areal variations in contraceptive use in East Africa
No full textPreliminary research findings are presented for the determinants of the use of modern contraception in three East African countries (Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania) and the importance of these determinants in accounting for the areal variation in contraceptive use. This study analyses Demographic and Health Surveys data for each country using multilevel logistic regression models. The findings show that there are similarities in the factors associated with modern contraceptive use in each country. The individual / household factors do account for some areal variation in contraceptive use, but significant variation remains. There is evidence that this unexplained variation is accounted for by unobserved contextual factors
Impact of estimation techniques on regression analysis: an application to survey data on child nutritional status in five African countries
No full textThis paper illustrates the impact of ignoring survey design and hierarchical structure of survey data when fitting regression models. Data on child nutritional status from Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are analysed using four techniques: ordinary least squares; weighted regression using standard statistical software; regression using specialist software that accounts for the survey design; and multilevel modelling. The impact of ignoring survey design on logistic and linear regression models is examined. The results show bias in estimates averaging between five and 17 per cent in linear models and between five and 22 per cent in logistic regression models. The standard errors are also under-estimated by up to 49 per cent in some countries. Socio-economic variables and service utilisation variables are poorly estimated when the survey design is ignored
Contextual influences on the use of health facilities for childbirth in Africa
No full textStudies of maternal health seeking behaviour have focused on individual and household level factors. This analysis examines community level influences on the decision to deliver a child in a health facility across six African countries. Demographic and Health Survey data are linked with contextual data, and multilevel models are fitted to identify the determinants of childbirth in a health facility in the six countries. There are strong community level influences on a woman’s decision to deliver her child in a health facility. Several pathways of influence between the community and individual were identified. Community economic development, the climate of female autonomy, service provision and fertility preferences all exert an influence on a woman’s decision to seek care during labour, although significant community variation remains unexplained
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
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