Monthly Archives: October 2012

why avon and not tupperware? among other questions on micro-franchises for health (& beauty) commodities in low-income settings

sometimes there are things that you say about work-related topics that you think you should only say with friends at the bar and then it turns out other people are thinking about it. like, ‘why can’t haiti be part of africa?’ and then this happens. my growing feeling is that there shouldn’t be such aContinue reading “why avon and not tupperware? among other questions on micro-franchises for health (& beauty) commodities in low-income settings”

kenyan courts can start trying somali (and other) pirates caught in international waters

full story here. follow[ing] a 2010 Kenyan High Court judgement [that] courts could only deal with offenses carried out within the country’s territory… Kenya’s Court of Appeal rules the country’s courts have jurisdiction to try pirates caught in international waters.    

magic bullets are bad and silver bullets are hard to come by (agenda for approaching resistance to malaria treatments)

i have previously discussed the bizarre origin of ‘magic bullets’ as a phrase used positively and aspirationally in public health – as well as the folly it represents: relying on a single approach to a public health problem rather than doing multiple, hopefully coordinated, activities.* my feeling is that something silver-bullety is going on right now in discussionsContinue reading “magic bullets are bad and silver bullets are hard to come by (agenda for approaching resistance to malaria treatments)”

presentation tricks & tips from the US presidential & VP debates

presidential 1: “no, i wouldn’t have gone over the time limit if you hadn’t interrupted me to point out the limit. VP: “no, i can’t give you more specifics but i can repeat the same thing, slower and with hand gestures. (or try link here.) presidential 2: don’t do this while other people are talking. the slower, non-defensiveContinue reading “presentation tricks & tips from the US presidential & VP debates”

coastal communities recording pirates, informing countries

“in the 18 months since the London-based Environment Justice Foundation (EJF) raised the £50,000 needed to buy and equip a small seven-metre community surveillance boat for villages in the Sherbro river area of Sierra Leone, local fishers have filmed and identified 10 international trawlers working illegally in their protected waters and have made 252 separateContinue reading “coastal communities recording pirates, informing countries”

i am not sure that means what you think it means (II): there’s a good chance the question has not been begged because no one begged it

begging the question ≠ raising the question the folks at this site discuss the dangers and prevalence of ‘BTQ abuse.’ they note: Beg the question does not mean “to raise the question.” (e.g. “It begs the question, why is he so dumb?”) This is a common error of usage made by those who mistake the word “question” inContinue reading “i am not sure that means what you think it means (II): there’s a good chance the question has not been begged because no one begged it”

p4p, habits, context, process

Mark Nichter and Prascilla Magrath (hereafter, M&N) have a nice new paper on pay-for-performance (P4P), stating that “understanding the processes by which P4P targets are reached demands a reorientation… towards an understanding of motivation as a component within a complex adaptive social system.” (Complex systems are so hot right now!) the paper is worth reading inContinue reading “p4p, habits, context, process”