From Mukogodo to Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change in Kenya

From Mukogodo to Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change in Kenya . Lee Cronk. Cambridge, MA: Westview Press, 2004. 172 pp.     

Class formation among East African pastoralists: Maasai of Tanzania and Kenya

Peter Rigby is Professor of Anthropology at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.     

Multiple Methods in the Study of Driving Forces of Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Case Study of SE Kajiado District,Kenya

This landscape-scale study combines analysis of multitemporal satellite imagery spanning 30 years and information from field studies extending over 25 years to assess the extent and causes of land use and land cover change in the Loitokitok area, southeast Kajiado District, Kenya. Rain fed and irrigated agriculture, livestock herding, and wildlife and tourism have all experienced rapid change in their structure, extent, and interactions over the past 30 years in response to a variety of economic, cultural, political, institutional, and demographic processes. Land use patterns and processes are explored through a complementary application of interpretation of satellite imagery and case study analysis that explicitly addresses the local–national spatial scale over a time frame appropriate to the identification of fundamental causal processes. The results illustrate that this combination provides an effective basis for describing and explaining patterns of land use and land cover change and their root causes.     

Antiplasmodial and cytotoxicity activities of some selected plants used by the Maasai community, Kenya

Malaria has continued to be a major global public health problem and a health concern in most of African countries. An estimated 350–500 million cases of malaria each year result in about one million deaths, mainly children under five. The rate of malaria infection is increasing rapidly partly due to drug resistance by the Plasmodium falciparum. The cost of the current drugs is prohibitive to the poor. There is therefore urgent need to identify new antimalarial agents that are effective, safe and affordable. In our continuous search for these new antimalarial compounds, extracts from five medicinal plants from the Maasai community in Kenya were tested against P. falciparum (D6; chloroquine sensitive and W2; chloroquine resistant strains). Of the tested total plant extracts, 5 crude extracts showed good antiplasmodial activity against D6 strain of P. falciparum with IC₅₀ values lower or equal to 14.3 μg/ml, 2 were moderately active with IC₅₀ values in between 26.6 and < 50 μg/ml. The petroleum ether extracts of the aerial parts and roots of Fuerstia africana demonstrated high antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine sensitive antiplasmodial strain D6 (IC₅₀ 1.5 and 4.6 μg/ml, respectively with a selectivity index of 44 against vero cells). Manilkara discolor also exhibited promising antiplasmodial activity especially against D6 (IC₅₀ 11.5 and 26.6 μg/ml). In addition, ethyl acetate extract of the roots of Pentas lanceolata and the aerial parts of Sericocomopsis hildebrandtii demonstrated moderate antiplasmodial activity against D6 and W2 (IC₅₀ 14.3 and 16.51 μg/ml) respectively. F. africana therefore has high potential and can be pursued for the development of an antimalarial drug.     

International NGOs and Land Use Change in a Southern Highland Region of Ecuador

Nongovernmental organizations are increasingly influencing resource management and land use in areas of small farm agriculture in Latin America. A field study of NGOs working in upper Canar, a region in the southern highlands of Ecuador, documents the changing human environment relations in an indigenous area and the influence of NGOs in the change process. Case studies of PLAN International and CARE indicate that the NGOs are helping marginalized producers shift land use away from traditional grains and tubers toward dairying and vegetables. Given current needs and resource constraints, the new land uses represent effective adaptive strategies. However, the NGO work is having notable consequences for land use intensity and labor utilization patterns.     

Demography of lions in relation to prey and habitat in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

We studied lion demography in the Maasai Mara National Reserve between September 1990 and April 1992, with a special emphasis on the spatial and seasonal variation in demographic characteristics. Lion density (0.2–0.4 lions km^?2) and pride size (range 8–48) were high because of a high resident prey biomass (10 335 kg km^?2) augmented by migrant prey to 26 092 kg km^?2 in the dry season. Overall, their sex ratio was almost at parity and varied neither spatially nor seasonally. Sex ratio was even among subadults but skewed toward males and females among cubs and adults, respectively. This implies an increasing differential mortality of males with age through subadulthood. The age ratio varied seasonally because of a birth peak in March–June and an influx of subadults into the reserve during July–August, coincident with increases in migrant prey. The birth peak was apparently preceded by another peak in mating activity falling between November and May. Further research should investigate the precise causes of the biased cub sex ratio, low lion density in the Mara Triangle and the higher ratio of subadults in Musiara than in the Mara Triangle or Sekenani.     

Integrating Social Science into the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: Social Dimensions of Ecological Change and Ecological Dimensions of Social Change

The integration of the social sciences into long-term ecological research is an urgent priority. To address this need, a group of social, earth, and life scientists associated with the National Science Foundations (NSF) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network have articulated a conceptual framework for understanding the human dimensions of ecological change for the LTER Network. This framework explicitly advocates that what is often divided into natural and human systems be considered a single, complex social-ecological system (SES). In this paper, we propose a list of core social science research areas, concepts, and questions; identify the need for multiscale investigatory frameworks crucial for implementing integrated research; and suggest practical approaches for integration. In sum, this paper is a general outline for empirical and cross-site research projects where investigators agree that bringing together social, biological, and earth scientists can lead to synthetic approaches and a unified understanding of the mechanisms regulating SES. Although the motivation for this goal is specific to the LTER Network and similar projects, we believe that the issues and ideas presented here are widely applicable to other interdisciplinary SES studies.     

The Food of Elders, the "Ration" of Women: Brewing, Gender, and Domestic Processes among the Samburu of Northern Kenya

In recent years, many Samburu women have begun to brew beer and liquor for sale to elders—including their own husbands. Drawing on "cooperative conflict" approaches to domestic processes, the essay examines brewing in reference to the economic and cultural position of men and women within Samburu households and society at large. Focusing in particular on the issues posed to each gender by the differential control of key resources by the other—food by women and cash by men—the essay views brewing as a negotiated structure through which men and women address the particular gender-based problems they encounter in daily life. [ gender, family, brewing, Africa ]     

Drought and recovery: Livestock dynamics among the Ngisonyoka Turkana of Kenya

From 1980–1985, the Turkana District of Kenya experienced both drought and above average rainfall. The effects of a 2-year drought on the livestock population of the nomadic pastoral Ngisonyoka are discussed. Detailed data on mortality rates and offtake are presented for the animals of four herd owners, and the recovery process is followed for the 5-year period for one herd owner. It is concluded that during the drought, 63% of the cattle, 45% of the camels, and 55% of the small stock left the sample herds. The livestock population of one herd had recovered to pre-drought levels 3 years after the drought.     

Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America

Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America. Irma McClaurin. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996.218 pp.     

Impact of Intermittent Screening and Treatment for Malaria among School Children in Kenya: A Cluster Randomised Trial

Background

Improving the health of school-aged children can yield substantial benefits for cognitive development and educational achievement. However, there is limited experimental evidence of the benefits of alternative school-based malaria interventions or how the impacts of interventions vary according to intensity of malaria transmission. We investigated the effect of intermittent screening and treatment (IST) for malaria on the health and education of school children in an area of low to moderate malaria transmission.

Methods and Findings

A cluster randomised trial was implemented with 5,233 children in 101 government primary schools on the south coast of Kenya in 2010–2012. The intervention was delivered to children randomly selected from classes 1 and 5 who were followed up for 24 months. Once a school term, children were screened by public health workers using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), and children (with or without malaria symptoms) found to be RDT-positive were treated with a six dose regimen of artemether-lumefantrine (AL). Given the nature of the intervention, the trial was not blinded. The primary outcomes were anaemia and sustained attention. Secondary outcomes were malaria parasitaemia and educational achievement. Data were analysed on an intention-to-treat basis.During the intervention period, an average of 88.3% children in intervention schools were screened at each round, of whom 17.5% were RDT-positive. 80.3% of children in the control and 80.2% in the intervention group were followed-up at 24 months. No impact of the malaria IST intervention was observed for prevalence of anaemia at either 12 or 24 months (adjusted risk ratio [Adj.RR]: 1.03, 95% CI 0.93–1.13, p = 0.621 and Adj.RR: 1.00, 95% CI 0.90–1.11, p = 0.953) respectively, or on prevalence of P. falciparum infection or scores of classroom attention. No effect of IST was observed on educational achievement in the older class, but an apparent negative effect was seen on spelling scores in the younger class at 9 and 24 months and on arithmetic scores at 24 months.

Conclusion

In this setting in Kenya, IST as implemented in this study is not effective in improving the health or education of school children. Possible reasons for the absence of an impact are the marked geographical heterogeneity in transmission, the rapid rate of reinfection following AL treatment, the variable reliability of RDTs, and the relative contribution of malaria to the aetiology of anaemia in this setting.

Trial registration

www.ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00878007","term_id":"NCT00878007"}}NCT00878007 Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

Market Integration, Livelihood Transitions and Environmental Change in Areas of Low Agricultural Productivity: A Case Study from Morocco

Rural areas of the developing world have become increasingly integrated into the world economy through both production and consumption during the last decades. This growing integration shapes the development of communities and influences their relationship to the natural environment. Where livelihoods are constrained by resource limitations and the productivity of labor in farm activities is low, it may result in a shift to nonfarm activities, which may under some conditions improve wellbeing and relieve pressure on natural resources. The possibility of such a “win-win” development pathway has important implications for development and environmental policy. In this article we use original qualitative and quantitative data to examine environmental and social changes during the last half century in a rural area of Morocco, seeking evidence of such a pathway. While our case study supports the hypothesis that nonfarm diversification in a context of resource scarcity allowed people to improve their material living conditions, the effects of economic integration and nonfarm diversification on the environment were mixed.     

Correlates of breastfeeding frequency among nomadic pastoralists of Turkana,Kenya: A retrospective study

Recent research has shown that significant variation in breast-feeding behavior exists among natural fertility populations, all of whom have been characterized as practicing “on-demand” breastfeeding. A number of recent prospective studies have contributed to a better understanding of breastfeeding structure and of its consequences for population differences in fertility. Currently, there is a growing interest in quantifying the complex environmental and biocultural interactions which influence that structure; in other words, in establishing an ecology of breastfeeding. In this paper, a carefully structured retrospective study of breastfeeding behavior among nomadic Turkana is used to identify environmental, biobehavioral, and socioeconomic factors associated with variation in breastfeeding frequency among Turkana women. In agreement with the results of a prospective study conducted as part of the same research, the age (growth) and physical development of nurslings show significant correlations with breastfeeding frequency. Maternal physical status, the depth of the maternal social network, and, to a lesser degree, rainfall patterns are also significant. All of these factors appear to influence breastfeeding through their effects on maternal participation in herding activities and related absences from camp. Finally, the study also presents new strategies for collecting and utilizing retrospective data, which are notoriously unreliable and difficult to classify according to operational definitions recently developed for prospective studies. Results of the present study suggest methods by which the quality and reliability of recall data may be enhanced. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Determinants of Sexual Activity and Pregnancy among Unmarried Young Women in Urban Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives

With age of marriage rising in Kenya, the period between onset of puberty and first marriage has increased, resulting in higher rates of premarital sexual activity and pregnancy. We assessed the determinants of sexual activity and pregnancy among young unmarried women in urban Kenya.

Methods

Baseline data from five urban areas in Kenya (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Machakos, and Kakamega) collected in 2010 by the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation project were used. Women aged 15-24 years, who had never been married, and were not living with a male partner at the time of survey (weighted n=2020) were included. Using weighted, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression and logistic regression analyses, we assessed factors associated with three outcome measures: time to first sex, time to first pregnancy, and teenage pregnancy.

Results

One-half of our sample had ever had sex; the mean age at first sex among the sexually-experienced was 17.7 (± 2.6) years. About 15% had ever been pregnant; mean age at first pregnancy was 18.3 (±2.2) years. Approximately 11% had a teenage pregnancy. Three-quarters (76%) of those who had ever been pregnant (weighted n=306) reported the pregnancy was unwanted at the time. Having secondary education was associated with a later time to first sex and first pregnancy. In addition, religion, religiosity, and employment status were associated with time to first sex while city of residence, household size, characteristics of household head, family planning knowledge and misconceptions, and early sexual debut were significantly associated with time to first pregnancy. Education, city of residence, household wealth, early sexual debut, and contraceptive use at sexual debut were associated with teenage pregnancy for those 20-24 years.

Conclusion

Understanding risk and protective factors of youth sexual and reproductive health can inform programs to improve young people’s long-term potential by avoiding early and unintended pregnancies.     

Regression Techniques for Examining Land Use/Cover Change: A Case Study of a Mediterranean Landscape

In many areas of the northern Mediterranean Basin the abundance of forest and scrubland vegetation is increasing, commensurate with decreases in agricultural land use(s). Much of the land use/cover change (LUCC) in this region is associated with the marginalization of traditional agricultural practices due to ongoing socioeconomic shifts and subsequent ecological change. Regression-based models of LUCC have two purposes: (i) to aid explanation of the processes driving change and/or (ii) spatial projection of the changes themselves. The independent variables contained in the single ‘best’ regression model (that is, that which minimizes variation in the dependent variable) cannot be inferred as providing the strongest causal relationship with the dependent variable. Here, we examine the utility of hierarchical partitioning and multinomial regression models for, respectively, explanation and prediction of LUCC in EU Special Protection Area 56, ‘Encinares del río Alberche y Cofio’ (SPA 56) near Madrid, Spain. Hierarchical partitioning estimates the contribution of regression model variables, both independently and in conjunction with other variables in a model, to the total variance explained by that model and is a tool to isolate important causal variables. By using hierarchical partitioning we find that the combined effects of factors driving land cover transitions varies with land cover classification, with a coarser classification reducing explained variance in LUCC. We use multinomial logistic regression models solely for projecting change, finding that accuracies of maps produced vary by land cover classification and are influenced by differing spatial resolutions of socioeconomic and biophysical data. When examining LUCC in human-dominated landscapes such as those of the Mediterranean Basin, the availability and analysis of spatial data at scales that match causal processes is vital to the performance of the statistical modelling techniques used here.