| Arsenic Contamination and Human Health: A Socioeconomic Study in Some Selected Areas of Bangladesh |
| WMH Jaim, Mahabub Hossain |
| Vol - xxx Issue - 2 (2007) April - 2013 |
| Bangladesh J Agric Econs |
| Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a case of mass poisoning in Bangladesh. In order to examine the nature and extent of the problem, household survey was conducted in both arsenic contaminated and non-contaminated areas. The selected arsenic hot spots were Faridpur and Lakshimpur while the arsenic free area was Gazipur. One village from each of the three locations was purposively selected and the number of households considered as samples was 250. The analysis showed that severity of arsenic related diseases was more acute in the poor village of Lakshimpur area (where about 50% of the household members wre suffering from arsenic related skin diseases) compared to Faridpur while in Gazipur there was no case of any patient suffering from arsenic related diseases. Further, the impact of arsenic problem was found to be extended from immediate health effect to extensive social and economic hardship especially for the poor. |
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| Factors Influencing Stillbirth in Bangladesh: A Case Control Study |
| Shamsun Nahar, Atiya Rahman, Hashima E. Nasreen |
| Vol - 27 Issue - 2 March - 2013 |
| Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology |
Background: Studies on a limited scale in urban settings of Bangladesh report stillbirth rates that do not specifically provide information on the situation of underprivileged slum populations. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, stillbirth in a developing population.
Methods: A case control study was conducted on women having a singleton birth between November 2008 and April 2009 in 34 slum areas in Dhaka. Data were collected on 231 women with stillbirth (cases) and 464 women having livebirth (controls). This study utilised the records of the Manoshi programme and supplemented it with data obtained through interview of the women. |
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| Impact of maternal depressive symptoms and infant temperament on early infant growth and motor development: Results from a population based study in Bangladesh |
| Hashima-E Nasreen, Zarina Nahar Kabir, Yvonne Forsell, Maigun Edhborg |
| Vol - 146 Issue - 2 March - 2013 |
| Journal of Affective Disorder |
Impact of maternal depressive symptoms and infant temperament on early infant growth and motor development: Results from a population based study in Bangladesh
Background:
Evidence linking maternal depressive symptoms with infant’s growth and development in low-income countries is inadequate and conflicting. This study investigated the independent effect of maternal perinatal depressive symptoms on infant’s growth and motor development in rural Bangladesh.
Methods:
A cohort of 20 pregnant women was followed from the third trimester of pregnancy to 6–8 months postpartum.For growth and developmental outcomes,652 infants at 2–3 months and 6–8 months were assessed. Explanatory variables comprised maternal depressive symptoms, socioeconomic status, and infant’s health and temperament. Outcome measures included infant’s underweight, stunting and motor development. Multiple linear regression analyses identified predictors of infant growth and development.
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| Impact of postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and infants sex on mother-infant interaction among Bangladeshi women |
| Maigun Edhborg, Beatrice Hogg, Hashima-E-Nasreen, Zarina Nahar Kabir |
| Vol - 5 Issue - 2 March - 2013 |
| Health |
Aim: To investigate the impact of postnatal depressive symptoms and infant sex on perceived and observed mother-infant interaction among rural Bangladeshi women.
Methods: Fifty women with depressive symptoms and their infants at 2-3 months were compared with 50 women without depressed symptoms and their infants, matched on geographic areas, parity and infant sex. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale assessed depressive symptoms, the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire assessed the mother’s perception of bonding with the infant and mother-infant interactions were videotaped and analyzed with the Global Rating Scale.
Results: Mothers with depressive symptoms were poorer, were less educated and rated lower infant bond ing than mothers without depressive symptoms (p = 0.03), yet objective observation revealed no difference between the two groups regarding maternal interactive behavior (p = 0.57). How- ever, infants, particularly boys (p = 0.002), of mothers with depressive symptoms fretted more in mother-infant interaction than infants of mothers without depressive symptoms (p = 0.009).
Conclusion: Although mothers with depressive symptoms did not show less sensitivity in interactive behavior at 2-3 months than those without depressive symptoms, our results indicate that infants, particularly boys, of mothers with depressive symptoms may be negatively influenced by depressive symptoms.
Keywords: Postpartum Depressive Symptoms; Mother-Infant Interaction; Bonding; Bangladesh
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| An Early Assessment of BRAC Uganda Microfinance Programme: Estimate the Changes of Living Standard |
| Rifat Afroze |
| Vol - 05 Issue - 08 February - 2013 |
| OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development |
| BRAC’s Microfinance Programme of Uganda, introduced in 2006, aims to provide critical services in microfinance for poor community. This study is an early assessment of the programme, and examined the changes of partake group compared with non-partake group in terms of their living standard, earning, loan and savings and welfare indicators. For assessing the impact of microfinance programme in Africa region, baseline and repeat surveys took place in Uganda. The surveys were designed as a randomized experiment, and don’t represent all the clients of BRAC Uganda. Baseline surveys were conducted during January to March, 2008 in four new branch offices (viz. Arua, Mbale, Mbarara and Nebbi) in Uganda. In each of these branches, 20 villages were identified by the credit officers as potential sites for microfinance. Among the 20 villages, 10 were randomly assigned for initiating microcredit and the rest as control. |
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| Criticism of peer review and ways to improve it |
| Hasan Shareef Ahmed and Armen Yuri Gasparyan |
| Vol - 39 Issue - 1 February - 2013 |
| European Science Editing |
This paper reviews some critical aspects of peer review in developed and developing countries. Though the peer review process is criticised for some of its drawbacks, it
is still widely accepted as a tool for preserving the integrity and quality of scholarly communication. Peer review varies widely across journals and countries. |
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| Perspectives of students and parents about mainstreaming education for children with special needs in Bangladesh |
| Utpal Mallicka and Kazi Sameeo Sheesh |
| Vol - 1 Issue - 1 February - 2013 |
| Asian Journal of Inclusive Education |
This paper deals with the issue of mainstreaming children with special needs (CSN) into regular classrooms and discusses the problems from the viewpoint of the students and their parents’ experiences. Following a qualitative method, this paper investigates the phenomenon of mainstream education for CSN. The context of this study was two regular primary schools in Dhaka, Bangladesh and participants were selected purposively from these schools. Semi-structured and
open-ended questions were used for the interviews. The results of the study showed that there is a lack of awareness among mainstream teachers, general students and their parents about CSN. |
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| Practices of Cross Cultural Collaboration in Sustainable Water Management in Bangladesh |
| Jaap M. de Heer, Andrew Jenkins |
| Vol - 3 Issue - 1 February - 2013 |
| International Journal of Business Anthropology |
| Water management is a serious issue concerning the well being of numerous people. Usually people expect their government to take care of water resources management. Governmental organizations however focus on large scale problems and on the main infrastructure of their country. They also suffer from financial constraints and bureaucratic procedures resulting in little attention for local water problems. The last 10 years, initiatives were organized to develop a people oriented approach to local water management. |
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| Factors influencing primary students learning achievements in Bangladesh |
| Samir Ranjan Nath |
| Vol - 88 Issue - 88 February - 2013 |
| Research in Education |
| Using Education Watch database of 2008, this article explores the factors associated with learning achievement of primary school students in Bangladesh. The sample consists of 7,093 fifth graders (final year of compulsory primary education) from 440 primary schools. Based on nationally adopted competencies for primary education, a group of experts collectively developed and validated the test instrument used for assessing students’ learning achievement. The other data were collected through interviewing the parents of the students and the school heads. |
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| Exploring the gap between hand washing knowledge and practices in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional comparative study |
| Sifat E Rabbi, Nepal C Dey |
| Vol - 13 Issue - 89 January - 2013 |
| BMC public health |
| Hand washing is considered as one of the most effective hygiene promotion activities for public health in developing countries. This study compared hand washing knowledge and practices in BRAC’s water; sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme areas over time. |
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