This study was carried out to assess the impact of animal healthcare services on poor donkey owners in Ethiopia. The services provided by the Donkey Sanctuary were used as a case study. A questionnaire survey was designed and carried out in the areas around Debre Zeit in the Highlands of Ethiopia. The staff carried out a survey at 10 sites. Six of these were in Donkey Sanctuary project areas and four were in control areas. The results showed that in project areas donkeys were significantly healthier and more productive than in non-project areas. Donkey owners in project sites felt better off for having access to animal healthcare services; donkey owners in non-project sites were less confident about their incomes and the health of their animals.

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This survey was conducted at three sites in Ethiopia. The purpose of the survey was to provide detailed information on donkey use in rural and peri-urban areas. The study revealed that donkeys are indeed of immense value to farmers and merchants, being used almost daily for income-generating activities. Unfortunately, they are rarely given any veterinary attention, they receive no feed supplements and their owners are often unaware of improved saddling techniques that would reduce the back sores their animals suffer from. An extension programme providing donkey owners with information on saddling, feeding and basic health care would improve the animals' productivity and improve the livelihoods of the owners.

This study integrates quantitative social network analysis (SNA) and qualitative interviews for understanding tourism business links in isolated communities through analysing spatial characteristics. Two case studies are used, the Surselva-Gotthard region in the Swiss Alps and Longyearbyen in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, to test the spatial characteristics of physical proximity, isolation, and smallness for understanding tourism business links. In the larger Surselva-Gotthard region, we found a strong relationship between geographic separation of the three communities on compartmentalization of the collaboration network. A small set of businesses played a central role in steering collaborative decisions for this community, while a group of structurally ‘peripheral’ actors were less influential. By contrast, the business community in Svalbard showed compartmentalization that was independent of geographic distance between actors. Within towns of similar size and governance scale, Svalbard is more compartmentalized, and those compartments are not driven by geographic separation of the collaboration clusters. This compartmentalization in Svalbard was reflected in a lower density of formal business collaboration ties compared to the communities of the Alps. We infer that the difference is due to Svalbard having higher cultural diversity and population turnover than the Alps communities. We propose that integrating quantitative network analysis from simple surveys with qualitative interviews targeted from the network results is an efficient general approach to identify regionally specific constraints and opportunities for effective governance.

A survey was conducted in central Ethiopia to elicit information on existing and potential dissemination pathways for technical information on donkey husbandry. A detailed socio-economic survey was also conducted to provide background information on the people and the region, and livelihood indicators were drawn out at the same time. The results showed that there are many opportunities for group dissemination by making use of existing social networks. There are also opportunities for dissemination through extension agents, farmer groups and radio broadcasting.

Co(CH3CO2)2⋅4H2O reacts with benzene-1,2-dioxyacetic acid (bdoaH2) to give the Co2+ complexes [Co(bdoa)(H2O)3]⋅H2O (1a) and [Co(bdoa)(H2O)3] ⋅3.5H2O (1b). Subsequent reaction of 1a with 1,10- phenanthroline produces [CO(phen)3] bdoa⋅10H2O (2a) and {[CO(phen)3](bdoa)}2⋅24H2O (2b). Molecular structures of 1b and 2b were determined crystallographically. In 1b the bdoa2-- ligates the metal by two carboxylate oxygens and two ethereal oxygens, whereas in 2b the bdoa2- is uncoordinated. The Mn2+ and Cu2+ complexes [Mn(bdoa)(phen)2]⋅H2O (3) and [Cu(pdoa)(imid)2] (4) were also synthesised, 1a-4 and other metal complexes of bdoa H2 (metal = Mn2+, Co2+ ,Cu2+, Cu+ ) were screened for their ability to inhibit the growth ofhe yeast Candida albicans. Complexes incorporating the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand were the most active.

This paper is based on an impact assessment of a donkey provision programme in Ethiopia. The work was carried out in 2001 as part of a DFID Livestock Production Programme project 'Use and management of donkeys by poor societies in peri-urban areas in Ethiopia'. In order to establish whether donkey ownership was a cause or an effect of improved livelihoods, an investigation was carried out that compared non-donkey-owning households with households that had owned no donkey until they were given one by a local NGO. Indicators that poor people use to express their well-being, wealth and health status (components of their livelihoods) were identified and used to compare communities. Guidelines were prepared for project managers for carrying out livelihood indicator identification and impact assessment. The results showed that the informants used a range of indicators to assess their livelihoods. A selection of these were investigated in depth, including number of children per household attending school, number of people per household earning an income, type and quantity of staple foods bought, and ability to save. A trend was identified that demonstrated that donkey owners' livelihoods were improved compared to non-donkey owners.

Community animal health services for improving household wealth and health status of low income farmers.