Excluding exceptions: Housing non-affordability and the oppression of environmental sustainability?

This paper explores the provision of homes for less wealthy households in rural England. By allowing 'exceptions' to UK planning law to provide low-income housing for local residents, the national government seeks to secure dwellings for the less wealthy and so sustain socially mixed rural villages. This paper explores how the production of homes through the exception policy is not conducive to the construction of many new houses. The particular emphasis in the paper is on how responsible agents are discouraged from being more active in erecting new village homes for low-income households. Empirically, the paper draws on documents, interviews and a social survey in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to investigate the process of delivering rural exception homes. It is concluded that, despite Government assertions that a socially mixed countryside is desirable, the decision-making criteria that dominate the worldviews of agents in social housing provision work against this outcome. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Território e territorialidade de pescadores nas localidades Céu e Cajuúna Soure-PA

O estudo apresenta o debate sobre a problemática da pesca nas localidades Céu e Cajuúna no município de Soure, na micro-região do Ararí na mesorregião do Marajó- Estado do Pará. A pesca é desenvolvida no contexto rural do âmbito territorial amazônico, sendo o resultado da interação dos componentes: Sazonalidades ambientais, recursos naturais e capacidade pesqueira da região. É pertinente salientar a dimensão territorial da pesca para entendimento dos territórios e territorialidades dos pescadores. Os pescadores das localidades Céu e Cajuúna têm na atividade pesqueira a centralidade da produção de seus espaços de vivência e reprodução, sendo as vilas rurais dos pescadores expressão do poder local daquelas coletividades. Questiona-se neste trabalho como é entendido, na ciência geográfica, a apropriação, o domínio e o uso do espaço pelos pescadores. Para tanto, buscou-se compreender, por meio de pesquisas, as ações dos diferentes atores sociais envolvidos na problemática abordada, entendendo o sentido da territorialidade dos pescadores locais, suas formas de relação com a natureza e de organização do trabalho para melhor visibilidade dos territórios dos pescadores. Esses territórios são definidos e apropriados no meio aquático, tendo sua configuração imprecisa e por ser vasta sua “posse” é muito fluida, devido a dinâmica sazonal da água e do pescado. Para os pescadores, a pesca é mais que uma atividade, visto que envolve uma complexidade de relações e fenômenos, entre homem e natureza, influenciando nas formas de organizações sociais desses grupos. As técnicas de produção dos pescadores fazem parte de seu complexo cultural de domínio e apropriação da natureza. Essas técnicas são os elementos definidores do gênero de vida nos processos de territorialização e construção da identidade do pescador.

Amazonian malaria: Asymptomatic human reservoirs, diagnostic challenges, environmentally driven changes in mosquito vector populations, and the mandate for sustainable control strategies

Across the Americas and the Caribbean, nearly 561,000 slide-confirmed malaria infections were reported officially in 2008. The nine Amazonian countries accounted for 89% of these infections; Brazil and Peru alone contributed 56% and 7% of them, respectively. Local populations of the relatively neglected parasite Plasmodium vivax, which currently accounts for 77% of the regional malaria burden, are extremely diverse genetically and geographically structured. At a time when malaria elimination is placed on the public health agenda of several endemic countries, it remains unclear why malaria proved so difficult to control in areas of relatively low levels of transmission such as the Amazon Basin. We hypothesize that asymptomatic parasite carriage and massive environmental changes that affect vector abundance and behavior are major contributors to malaria transmission in epidemiologically diverse areas across the Amazon Basin. Here we review available data supporting this hypothesis and discuss their implications for current and future malaria intervention policies in the region. Given that locally generated scientific evidence is urgently required to support malaria control interventions in Amazonia, we briefly describe the aims of our current field-oriented malaria research in rural villages and gold-mining enclaves in Peru and a recently opened agricultural settlement in Brazil. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

De cada labrador un soldado y de cada agricultor un propietario : Economía, sociedad y política en el ejido de la Guardia de Luján (Mercedes), 1810-1870

En la siguiente investigación analizamos uno de los aspectos menos conocidos de la historia rural bonaerense: los ejidos de los pueblos de campaña. Estos espacios se conformaron a medida que la colonización avanzaba, primero de manera espontánea y luego por iniciativa estatal, con el objetivo de asentar a los pobladores alrededor de los centros poblados y fomentar el cultivo. Así, a diferencia de otros espacios de colonización española, los ejidos constituyeron las áreas donde se establecieron los solares, las quintas y las chacras. La historiografía tradicional reparó muy poco en ellos y cuando lo hizo, fue desde una óptica que contraponía la primera parte del siglo XIX con la expansión posterior a Pavón. Dentro de esta lógica, los pueblos rurales fueron descriptos como espacios rudimentarios y sus habitantes casi no fueron tenidos en cuenta puesto que la mirada centrada en la "estancia" opacó cualquier interés sobre los labradores y pastores que habitaban en estos espacios. En contrapartida, el período posterior fue caracterizado como de despegue de la economía exportadora y desarrollo de las instituciones. Desde ese momento los poblados habrían cobrado nueva vida convirtiéndose en importantes núcleos de población incentivados por la llegada de la inmigración. Para desandar estos supuestos, estudiamos específicamente la historia del ejido de la Guardia de Luján (Mercedes) desde el momento en que se creó el fuerte hasta 1870. Cada uno de los capítulos se estructuró en torno a núcleos problemáticos generales que fueron abordados desde lo local: la propiedad, los labradores, el mercado de tierras, la estructura productiva y la construcción del estado. El estudio demuestra la imposibilidad de definir la estructura productiva de un partido completamente sin tener en cuenta a los ejidos puesto que se puede incurrir en generalizaciones erróneas. Además, el período abarcado y los temas seleccionados permitieron reconocer los cambios y continuidades que se produjeron en estos espacios durante la transición a la Argentina Moderna.

De cada labrador un soldado y de cada agricultor un propietario : Economía, sociedad y política en el ejido de la Guardia de Luján (Mercedes), 1810-1870

En la siguiente investigación analizamos uno de los aspectos menos conocidos de la historia rural bonaerense: los ejidos de los pueblos de campaña. Estos espacios se conformaron a medida que la colonización avanzaba, primero de manera espontánea y luego por iniciativa estatal, con el objetivo de asentar a los pobladores alrededor de los centros poblados y fomentar el cultivo. Así, a diferencia de otros espacios de colonización española, los ejidos constituyeron las áreas donde se establecieron los solares, las quintas y las chacras. La historiografía tradicional reparó muy poco en ellos y cuando lo hizo, fue desde una óptica que contraponía la primera parte del siglo XIX con la expansión posterior a Pavón. Dentro de esta lógica, los pueblos rurales fueron descriptos como espacios rudimentarios y sus habitantes casi no fueron tenidos en cuenta puesto que la mirada centrada en la "estancia" opacó cualquier interés sobre los labradores y pastores que habitaban en estos espacios. En contrapartida, el período posterior fue caracterizado como de despegue de la economía exportadora y desarrollo de las instituciones. Desde ese momento los poblados habrían cobrado nueva vida convirtiéndose en importantes núcleos de población incentivados por la llegada de la inmigración. Para desandar estos supuestos, estudiamos específicamente la historia del ejido de la Guardia de Luján (Mercedes) desde el momento en que se creó el fuerte hasta 1870. Cada uno de los capítulos se estructuró en torno a núcleos problemáticos generales que fueron abordados desde lo local: la propiedad, los labradores, el mercado de tierras, la estructura productiva y la construcción del estado. El estudio demuestra la imposibilidad de definir la estructura productiva de un partido completamente sin tener en cuenta a los ejidos puesto que se puede incurrir en generalizaciones erróneas. Además, el período abarcado y los temas seleccionados permitieron reconocer los cambios y continuidades que se produjeron en estos espacios durante la transición a la Argentina Moderna.

The Iron Age landscape of Alcoi Valley, eastern Iberia: Agricultural intensification and sociopolitical dynamics

New archaeological survey data are combined with previous evidence to examine the rural landscape during the Iberian Iron Age in the Valencia region of eastern Spain. One goal was to understand the settlement pattern and agricultural intensification through manuring. The second objective was to address the socioeconomic aspects of changes in the landscape. It is possible to trace the emergence of a hierarchical settlement pattern in the Iberian Iron Age in which large fortified settlements carried out the most important functions of control and exploitation of the territory, extending their authority over small rural villages and farmsteads. This pattern is associated with the complex socioeconomic structures and political organization of early Iberian states.

Are marginalized women being left behind? A population-based study of institutional deliveries in Karnataka, India

Background While India has made significant progress in reducing maternal mortality, attaining further declines will require increased skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery among marginalized and difficult to reach populations. Methods A population-based survey was carried out among 16 randomly selected rural villages in rural Mysore District in Karnataka, India between August and September 2008. All households in selected villages were enumerated and women with children 6 years of age or younger underwent an interviewer-administered questionnaire on antenatal care and institutional delivery. Results Institutional deliveries in rural areas of Mysore District increased from 51% to 70% between 2002 and 2008. While increasing numbers of women were accessing antenatal care and delivering in hospitals, large disparities were found in uptake of these services among different castes. Mothers belonging to general castes were almost twice as likely to have an institutional birth as compared to scheduled castes and tribes. Mothers belonging to other backward caste or general castes had 1.8 times higher odds (95% CI: 1.21, 2.89) of having an institutional delivery as compared to scheduled castes and tribes. In multivariable analysis, which adjusted for inter- and intra-village variance, Below Poverty Line status, caste, and receiving antenatal care were all associated with institutional delivery. Conclusion The results of the study suggest that while the Indian Government has made significant progress in increasing antenatal care and institutional deliveries among rural populations, further success in lowering maternal mortality will likely hinge on the success of NRHM programs focused on serving marginalized groups. Health interventions which target SC/ST may also have to address both perceived and actual stigma and discrimination, in addition to providing needed services. Strategies for overcoming these barriers may include sensitization of healthcare workers, targeted health education and outreach, and culturally appropriate community-level interventions. Addressing the needs of these communities will be critical to achieving Millennium Development Goal Five by 2015.

Intervenção numa aldeia numa perspectiva de reconversão

Dissertação de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Arquitectura, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.

Ensuring community and agricultural resiliency to climate change: Ceremonial practices as emic adaptive strategies

This paper is an analysis of emic versus etic approaches to climate change resiliency, taking as a case study the traditional ceremony performed by farmers in eastern Flores, Indonesia to rid their fields of rats. This paper begins by providing a theoretical framework discussion on the dominant etic and emic academic research on monsoons and climate change impacts on agriculture. The rat ceremony performed in villages throughout East Flores is a local custom used to rid agricultural fields of pests—often rats—that come from the surrounding forests to feed on the agricultural crops when the rains become erratic. This paper argues that analyzing the rat ceremony through an emic lens allows for better future resiliency to monsoon shifts due to climate change. It is argued that the rat ceremony demonstrates a way in which community resiliency is strengthened by an adaptive approach that supports an already existing community ceremony that emphasizes two essential tenets: community solidarity and coexistence with nature. Both tenets directly promote community resiliency. An explicit emphasis on emic approaches to climate change challenges could help re-define how resiliency is understood and supported within vulnerable communities such as rural villages.

Maternal health care utilization in rural Jordanian villages: Patterns and predictors

Background. Different individual (demographic) characteristic and health system related characteristics have been identified in the literature to contribute to different rates of maternal health care utilization in developing countries. This study is going to evaluate the individual and quality of health predictors of maternal health care utilization in rural Jordanian villages. ^ Methods. Data from a 2004 survey was used. Individual (predisposing and enabling) variables, quality of health care variables, and maternal care utilization variables were selected for 477 women who had a live birth during the last 5 years. The conceptual framework used in this study will be the Aday-Andersen model for health services utilization. ^ Results. 82.4% of women received at least one antenatal care visit. Individually, village of residence (p=0.036), parity (p=0.048), education (p=0.006), and health insurance (p=0.029) were found to be significant; in addition to respectful treatment (p=0.045) and clean facilities (p=0.001) were the only quality of health care factors found to be significant in predicting antenatal care use. Using logistic regression, living in southern villages (OR=4.7, p=0.01) and availability of transportation (sometimes OR=3.2, p=0.01 and never OR=2.4, p<0.05) were the only two factors to influence maternal care use. ^ Conclusions. Living in the South and transportation are major barriers to maternal care utilization in rural Jordan. Other important cultural factors of interest in some villages should be addressed in future research. Perceptions of women regarding quality of health services should be seriously taken into account. ^

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in a rural community of Angola

Background: To determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in a rural community (Bengo) of Angola. Methods: A random sample of 421 subjects aged 30 to 69 years (30% men and 70% women) was selected from three villages of Bengo province. This cross-sectional home survey was conducted using a sampling design of stage conglomerates. First, clinical and anthropometric data were obtained and fasting capillary glucose level was determined. Subjects who screened positive (fasting capillary glucose >= 100 mg/dl and < 200 mg/dl) and each sixth consecutive subject who screened negative (fasting capillary glucose < 100 mg/dl) were submitted to the second phase of survey, consisting of the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. Data was analyzed by the use of SAS statistical software. Results: The prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus and IGT were 2.8% and 8.1%, respectively. The age group with the highest prevalence of diabetes was 60 to 69 years (42%). Impaired glucose tolerance prevalence was 38% in the 40 to 49 year age group and it increased with age, considering that the 50 to 59 and 60 to 69 year age groups as a whole represent 50% of all subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus did not differ significantly between men (3.2%) and women (2.7%) (p = 0.47). On the other hand, the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance among women showed almost twice that found in men (9.1% vs. 5.6%, respectively). Overweight was present in 66.7% of the individuals with diabetes mellitus and 26.5% of individuals with impaired glucose tolerance showed overweight or obesity. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was low, the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance is considered to be within an intermediary range, suggesting a future increase in the frequency of diabetes in this population.

Economic, social and cultural influences on the status and wellbeing of Indian rural wives

Examines the status and well being of wives in rural India using results from interviews. Surveys were conducted in three villages in the southwest of West Bengal and in three villages in the west of Orissa. The survey in West Bengal contained a large proportion of Santal tribals and the Oriyan survey was dominated by Kondh tribals. The relationships between variables representing economic, social and cultural factors are compared with ‘dependent’ variables representing the status of wives within their family and their wellbeing. Wellbeing is indicated by whether the basic needs of wives for food and medical care are met. Status of wives is indicated by their ‘control’ over family resources, whether or not they are restricted in joining social groups and in working outside their home, and the extent of their involvement in family decision-making. Cultural factors are found to be the dominant influence on the status of wives. Family income and other economic factors are found to be associated cross sectionally with greater restrictions on wives within their family. Nevertheless, the higher in the economic status of the household, the more likely are the basic needs of wives to be met.

Reinfection with Schistosoma haematobium following school-based chemotherapy with praziquantel in four highly endemic villages in Côte d'Ivoire

We present the comparative evaluation of school-based chemotherapy with praziquantel on Schistosoma haematobium reinfection patterns, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after systematic treatment of schoolchildren in four villages of south-central Côte d'Ivoire. At baseline, very high S. haematobium infection prevalences of 88–94% were found in Taabo Village, located adjacent to a large man-made lake, and in Batera and Bodo, where small dams were constructed. In Assinzé, a village with no man-made environmental alterations, the baseline infection prevalence was significantly lower (67%). The parasitological cure rate, assessed 4 weeks after praziquantel administration in the village with the highest prevalence and intensity of infection, was high (82%), and showed a clear association with infection intensity prior to treatment. Six months after chemotherapy, significant reductions in the prevalence and intensity of infection were observed in all villages. However, infection prevalence was again high in Taabo Village (63%) and in Batera (49%). Different patterns of reinfection occurred in the four villages: rapid reinfection in Taabo Village to reach almost baseline infection prevalence 12 months post-treatment; slow but gradual increase in the prevalence and intensity of infection in Bodo; marked increase in prevalence and intensity of infection during the second year of the follow-up in Assinzé; and prevalence and intensity of infection that remained almost constant between 6 and 24 months post-treatment in Batera. Our study confirms that S. haematobium reinfection patterns largely depend on the local epidemiological setting, which is of central importance to tailoring treatment strategies that are well adapted to these different settings.

Parasitological and serological studies on amoebiasis and other intestinal parasitic infections in the rural sector around Recife, Northeast Brazil

Parasitological examinations were carried out during July to December, 1989, on 485 inhabitants of four villages in São Lourenço da Mata, 25 km northwest of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Approximately 99.6% of the inhabitants were infected with at least one species of intestinal parasites. A high prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni (82.1%), hookworm (80.2%) Trichuris trichiura (69.9%), Ascaris lumbricoides (61.9%) and Entamoeba coli (36.7%) infections were demonstrated. Test tube cultivation revealed that the most common species of hookworm in this region was Necator americanus (88.4%), and also that the prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis was 5.8%. Three hundred and thirty-four sera were serologically examined for amoebiasis by the gel diffusion precipitation test (GDP) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). No positive reaction was observed in all sera as examined by GDP, while 24 sera were positive by ELISA.