Community Mobilization and Awareness Creation for the Management of Enset Xanthomonas Wilt (EXW): The Case of Gerino Enset Tekil Kebele Administration, Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Enset bacterial wilt (EXW) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum is the major constraint in enset-based farming system. The opportunity to provide integrated EXW management options has opened a new vista and is enhanced by well-informed communities who are aware of the management approach available to them. We hypothesized that differential success in EXW control is mainly due to approach used in the EXW control. It is the responsibility of the research institute to adequately inform these communities via a combination of community mobilization and awareness creation. This paper therefore assessed the importance of stake holders’ mobilization and awareness creation for the promotion of technologies for EXW control in Ethiopia among 2010-2012. Individual interviews and direct on-farm participatory monitoring and observation with 60 farm households, key informant interviews, relevant secondary data, literature and inter-personal data were collected from unpublished progress report from National Enset Research Project, elderly people and senior experts. Results showed that about 25.6% of farmers’ field was infected by the disease in 2007 and the level reached 54.5% in 2010. End line assessment has shown that the disease prevalence declined to 10 percent in 2013. Disease incidence has shown that the intensity was highest in 2010;that is on average more than 17 enset were infected by the disease and shown significant decline in 2013 to about 1 infected enset on the infected fields. The intervention brought about promising step-ups in controlling the devastation by EXW. This intervention demonstrated that the disease impact can be minimized to a significant level if community mobilization and awareness creation with other local formal and informal institutions go hand in hand to out scale the experience to a wider range of enset farming communities.

Continuance intention to use the mobile interest-based community: An integrated theoretical model and empirical study

Purpose： This paper aims at an understanding of factors that influence the continuance intention to use mobile interest-based community applications, with a focus on the impacts of technology acceptance model （TAM） constructs and experiential value. Design/methodology/approach： Taking a hybrid model combining TAM and extended expectation confirmation model （ECM） as foundation, this study integrated experiential value into the research model. A survey method was adopted and the sample was constituted by 347 Chinese undergraduates who were experienced users of mobile interest-based community applications. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research model. Findings： Our findings suggest that 1） key determinants of user satisfaction with mobile interest-based community applications are confirmation, perceived usefulness （PU）, perceived ease of use （PEU） and experiential value. Both satisfaction and PU are directly correlated with continuance intention; 2） PU＇s impact on satisfaction and continuance intention has been confirmed again in this study. Although PEU has no direct impact on satisfaction and continuance intention, it may indirectly affect them via PU; 3） all the perceived experiential values （aesthetics, playfulness, service excellence and return on investment） have a positive influence on satisfaction. Research limitations： We did not examine the effects of individual user differences that may also be important for understanding satisfaction and continuance intention. Practical implications： The study findings can help service providers improve the use of mobile interest-based community applications. Originality/value： Our study contributes to a more systematic understanding of factors that influence continuous use of mobile interest-based community applications.

Human Capital of Family and Social Mobility in Rural Areas-Evidence from China

This research focuses on the impact of family＇s human capital on social mobility in China＇s rural community.Empirical research is conducted based on data from surveying a typical rural community in the past 20 yr.The study indicates that social mobility in rural area is active in the past 20 yr,and the human capital of family,represented by primary labor＇s education level,has played an essential role in mobility of low social class.Meanwhile,socio-economic development and the change of supply and demand in labor market dims the signaling role of degree education,but the impact of occupational training is increasingly remarkable.Therefore,the change from sole degree education to multi-leveled education including occupational education and training is a main way for China＇s rural families in low class to realize social mobility.

The lockdown and vaccination distribution in Thailand's COVID-19 epidemic: A model study

Background:Several countries used varied degrees of social isolation measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.In 2021,the lockdown in Thailand began on July 20 and lasted for the following six weeks.The lockdown has extremely detrimental effects on the economy and society,even though it may reduce the number of COVID-19 instances.Our goals are to assess the impact of the lockdown policy,the commencement time of lockdown,and the vaccination rate on the number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand in 2021.Methods:We modeled the dynamics of COVID-19 in Thailand throughout 2021 using the SEIR model.The Google Mobility Index,vaccine distribution rate,and lockdown were added to the model.The Google Mobility Index represents the movement of individuals during a pandemic and shows how people react to lockdown.The model also examines the effect of vaccination rate on the incidence of COVID-19.Results:The modeling approach demonstrates that a 6-week lockdown decreases the incidence number of COVID-19 by approximately 15.49e18.17%,depending on the timing of the lockdown compared to a non-lockdown scenario.An increasing vaccination rate potentially reduce the incidence number of COVID-19 by 5.12e18.35%without launching a lockdown.Conclusion:Lockdowns can be an effective method to slow down the spread of COVID-19 when the vaccination program is not fully functional.When the vaccines are easily accessible on a large scale,the lockdown may terminated.

Architecture for mobile group communication in campus environment

The demand for group communication using smart devices in campus environment is increasing rapidly. In this paper, we design an architecture for a mobile group communication system （MGCS） on campus by using Wi-Fi networks and smart devices. The architecture is composed of a web-based system and a smart device based mobile system. Through the systems, users on campus create community/mobile group, maintain dynamic group membership, and reliably deliver the message to other users. We use the common features of many smart devices to develop a prototype that works on off-the-shelf hardware. In the experimental section, we demonstrate our system using various real scenarios which can occur in university campuses.

Quantifying compliance with COVID-19 mitigation policies in the US: A mathematical modeling study

The outbreak of COVID-19 disrupts the life of many people in the world.In response to this global pandemic,various institutions across the globe had soon issued their prevention guidelines.Governments in the US had also implemented social distancing policies.However,those policies,which were designed to slow the spread of COVID-19,and its compliance,have varied across the states,which led to spatial and temporal heterogeneity in COVID-19 spread.This paper aims to propose a spatio-temporal model for quantifying compliance with the US COVID-19 mitigation policies at a regional level.To achieve this goal,a specific partial differential equation(PDE)is developed and validated with shortterm predictions.The proposed model describes the combined effects of transboundary spread among state clusters in the US and human mobilities on the transmission of COVID-19.The model can help inform policymakers as they decide how to react to future outbreaks.