http://hdl.handle.net/1957/13088 2013-05-21T17:52:48Z 2013-05-21T17:52:48Z Closser, Svea Rosenthal, Anat Parris, Thomas Maes, Kenneth Justice, Judith Cox, Kelly Luck, Matthew A Landis, R Matthew Grove, John Tedoff, Pauley Venczel, Linda Nsubuga, Peter Kuzara, Jennifer Neergheen, Vanessa http://hdl.handle.net/1957/37035 2013-02-20T18:13:55Z 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z

Methods for evaluating the impact of vertical programs on health systems: protocol for a study on the impact of the global polio eradication initiative on strengthening routine immunization and primary health care Closser, Svea; Rosenthal, Anat; Parris, Thomas; Maes, Kenneth; Justice, Judith; Cox, Kelly; Luck, Matthew A; Landis, R Matthew; Grove, John; Tedoff, Pauley; Venczel, Linda; Nsubuga, Peter; Kuzara, Jennifer; Neergheen, Vanessa Background: The impact of vertical programs on health systems is a much-debated topic, and more evidence on this complex relationship is needed. This article describes a research protocol developed to assess the relationship between the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, routine immunization, and primary health care in multiple settings. Methods/Design: This protocol was designed as a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, making use of comparative ethnographies. The study evaluates the impact of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on routine immunization and primary health care by: (a) combining quantitative and qualitative work into one coherent study design; (b) using purposively selected qualitative case studies to systematically evaluate the impact of key contextual variables; and (c) making extensive use of the method of participant observation to create comparative ethnographies of the impact of a single vertical program administered in varied contexts. Discussion: The study design has four major benefits: (1) the careful selection of a range of qualitative case studies allowed for systematic comparison; (2) the use of participant observation yielded important insights on how policy is put into practice; (3) results from our quantitative analysis could be explained by results from qualitative work; and (4) this research protocol can inform the creation of actionable recommendations. Here, recommendations for how to overcome potential challenges in carrying out such research are presented. This study illustrates the utility of mixed-methods research designs in which qualitative data are not just used to embellish quantitative results, but are an integral component of the analysis. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by BioMed Central Ltd. and can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/.

2012-09-01T00:00:00Z Ocho, Dechassa Lemessa Struik, Paul C. Price, Lisa L. Kelbessa, Ensermu Kolo, Koshana http://hdl.handle.net/1957/36833 2013-02-13T19:15:43Z 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

Assessing the levels of food shortage using the traffic light metaphor by analyzing the gathering and consumption of wild food plants, crop parts and crop residues in Konso, Ethiopia Ocho, Dechassa Lemessa; Struik, Paul C.; Price, Lisa L.; Kelbessa, Ensermu; Kolo, Koshana Background: Humanitarian relief agencies use scales to assess levels of critical food shortage to efficiently target and allocate food to the neediest. These scales are often labor-intensive. A lesser used approach is assessing gathering and consumption of wild food plants. This gathering per se is not a reliable signal of emerging food stress. However, the gathering and consumption of some specific plant species could be considered markers of food shortage, as it indicates that people are compelled to eat very poor or even health-threatening food. Methods: We used the traffic light metaphor to indicate normal (green), alarmingly low (amber) and fully depleted (red) food supplies and identified these conditions for Konso (Ethiopia) on the basis of wild food plants (WFPs), crop parts (crop parts not used for human consumption under normal conditions; CPs) and crop residues (CRs) being gathered and consumed. Plant specimens were collected for expert identification and deposition in the National Herbarium. Two hundred twenty individual households free-listed WFPs, CPs, and CRs gathered and consumed during times of food stress. Through focus group discussions, the species list from the free-listing that was further enriched through key informants interviews and own field observations was categorized into species used for green, amber and red conditions. Results: The study identified 113 WFPs (120 products/food items) whose gathering and consumption reflect the three traffic light metaphors: red, amber and green. We identified 25 food items for the red, 30 food items for the amber and 65 food items for the green metaphor. We also obtained reliable information on 21 different products/food items (from 17 crops) normally not consumed as food, reflecting the red or amber metaphor and 10 crop residues (from various crops), plus one recycled stuff which are used as emergency foods in the study area clearly indicating the severity of food stress (red metaphor) households are dealing with. Our traffic light metaphor proved useful to identify and closely monitor the types of WFPs, CPs, and CRs collected and consumed and their time of collection by subsistence households in rural settings. Examples of plant material only consumed under severe food stress included WFPs with health-threatening features like Dobera glabra (Forssk.) Juss. ex Poir. and inkutayata, parts of 17 crops with 21 food items conventionally not used as food (for example, maize tassels, husks, empty pods), ten crop residues (for example bran from various crops) and one recycled food item (tata). Conclusions: We have complemented the conventional seasonal food security assessment tool used by humanitarian partners by providing an easy, cheap tool to scale food stress encountered by subsistence farmers. In cognizance of environmental, socio-cultural differences in Ethiopia and other parts of the globe, we recommend analogous studies in other parts of Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world where recurrent food stress also occurs and where communities intensively use WFPs, CPs, and CRs to cope with food stress. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by BioMed Central Ltd. and can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/.

2012-08-07T00:00:00Z Fauvelle, Mikael Smith, Erin M. Brown, Sean H. Des Lauriers, Matthew R. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/36210 2013-01-22T19:55:00Z 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z

Asphaltum hafting and projectile point durability: an experimental comparison of three hafting methods Fauvelle, Mikael; Smith, Erin M.; Brown, Sean H.; Des Lauriers, Matthew R. The design of a projectile delivery system often plays a critical role in the durability and breakage patterns associated with spent projectile points. This paper presents the results of an experimental project designed to examine projectile point durability and breakage patterns between three different hafting methods. Specifically, we compare two asphaltum hafting techniques drawn from archaeological and ethnohistoric accounts from the Central Valley of California with a more stereotypical cross-hatched sinew hafting system. Our results suggest a small yet statistically significant increase in durability among asphaltum hafted points, opening the door to future research on these ethnohistorically documented hafting techniques. This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-archaeological-science/.

2012-08-01T00:00:00Z Larson, Shawn Jameson, Ron Etnier, Michael Jones, Terry Hall, Roberta http://hdl.handle.net/1957/36172 2013-01-16T21:44:14Z 2012-03-05T00:00:00Z

Genetic Diversity and Population Parameters of Sea Otters, Enhydra lutris, before Fur Trade Extirpation from 1741–1911 Larson, Shawn; Jameson, Ron; Etnier, Michael; Jones, Terry; Hall, Roberta All existing sea otter, Enhydra lutris, populations have suffered at least one historic population bottleneck stemming from the fur trade extirpations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We examined genetic variation, gene flow, and population structure at five microsatellite loci in samples from five pre-fur trade populations throughout the sea otter's historical range: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Russia. We then compared those values to genetic diversity and population structure found within five modern sea otter populations throughout their current range: California, Prince William Sound, Amchitka Island, Southeast Alaska and Washington. We found twice the genetic diversity in the pre-fur trade populations when compared to modern sea otters, a level of diversity that was similar to levels that are found in other mammal populations that have not experienced population bottlenecks. Even with the significant loss in genetic diversity modern sea otters have retained historical structure. There was greater gene flow before extirpation than that found among modern sea otter populations but the difference was not statistically significant. The most dramatic effect of pre fur trade population extirpation was the loss of genetic diversity. For long term conservation of these populations increasing gene flow and the maintenance of remnant genetic diversity should be encouraged. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Public Library of Science and can be found at: http://www.plosone.org/home.action.

2012-03-05T00:00:00Z