Boran

Background and Aim
The study was conducted at Dida Tuyura Cattle Breeding and Improvement Ranch in Borana zone, southern Ethiopia, with the aims of determining the mortality rate of Ethiopian Boran calves and assessment of the reproductive performance of heifers and cows.
Materials and Methods
The study was based on the retrospective record of calves, heifers, and cows. The data was taken from 1994-2010 on the calf survival rate and 1994-2005 on reproductive performance of the breed in the ranch were used for this study. The retrospective data collected over the years were used to identify factors associated with calf survival or death.
Results
The mortality rate of calves before weaning and after weaning was 13.3% and 11.2%, respectively. Age, sex and birth weight of calf had a significant effect on survival rate. The overall mean values age at first service, age at first calving, calving interval, days open and gestation length were 42.52, 51.67, 20.67, 11.30 and 9.30 months, respectively. Parity had a significant effect on both the calving interval and days open. Gestation length was not significantly affected by parity, sex, and birth weight of calf.
Conclusion
From the present study, it can be concluded that the obtained calf survival rate and reproductive performance are not sufficient to achieve the established objective of the ranch.

Iran is one of the few countries which has ancient statehood traditions of more than two thousand years. This country is a multinational country where only one-half of people are ethnic Persians, while the rest is mainly composed of Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Baluchis and Lors (Bradley, 2007, p. 181). Azerbaijanis, being the biggest ethnic minority group in Iran, have been contributing a lot to the prosperity of Iran. However, in the last hundred years, social, political and economic changes in Iran affected life conditions of Azerbaijanis negatively. During the last century, millions of Azerbaijanis migrated to Tehran, where there was a hope to find better life. Seeing Iranian Azerbaijanis, who face hardships, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh (a famous Azerbaijani satirist and writer) noted: “Where ever you see a miserable person, be sure that person is a Hamshari (an Iranian Azerbaijani)” (Niknam, 2008, para. 1). Because of unjust social and economic conditions, Iranian Azerbaijanis have had four revolutions in the XX century. The last one, Islamic Revolution (1979) ended successfully, and the last shah of Iran was overthrown. However, economic and social life in Azerbaijani provinces got worse because of new government’s highly centralized development strategy (Bradley, 2007, 181). The end of the XX century is known for neorealist movement in Iranian cinema, too. Therefore, films shot by Majid Majidi, a famous Iranian film producer, are focused on life stories of Azerbaijanis, which reflect the reality about Azerbaijanis’ living conditions. Life conditions of Azerbaijanis in the films shot by Majid Majidi are low because Iranian Azerbaijanis are poor and undergo socioeconomic problems. These movies affected Azerbaijanis deeply making them realize that they live in lower life conditions than others. My paper will contain general information about Azerbaijanis’ resistance against unsatisfactory life conditions till the end of Islamic revolution (1979), welfare comparison of Azerbaijanis and Persians, living conditions of Iranian Azerbaijanis in the films shot by Majid Majidi and its effect on Azerbaijanis living in Iran.