The human impacts of flower farm development in the Ethiopian Rift Valley region

The flower industry has a reputation for heavy usage of toxic chemicals and polluting the environment, enormous consumption of water, and poor working condition and low wage level in various parts of the world. It is unfortunate that this industry is adamant to change and repeating the same mistakes in Ethiopia. Because of this, - there is a growing concern among the general public and the international community about sustainability of the Ethiopian flower industry. Consequently, working conditions in the flower industry, impacts of wage income on the livelihoods of employees, coping strategies of low wage flower farm workers, impacts of flower farms on the livelihoods of local people and environmental pollution and conflict, were analysed. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. Four quantitative data sets: labour practice, employees’ income and expenditure, displaced household, and flower grower views survey were collected between 2010 and 2012. Robust regression to identify the determinants of wage levels, and Multinomial logit to identify the determinants of coping strategies of flower farm workers and displaced households were employed. The findings show the working conditions in flower farms are characterized by low wages, job insecurity and frequent violation of employees’ rights, and poor safety measures. To ensure survival of their family, land dispossessed households adopt a wide range of strategies including reduction in food consumption, sharing oxen, renting land, share cropping, and shifting staple food crops. Most experienced scarcity of water resources, lack of grazing areas, death of herds and reduced numbers of livestock due to water source pollution. Despite the Ethiopian government investment in attracting and creating conducive environment for investors, not much was accomplished when it comes to enforcing labour laws and environmental policies. Flower farm expansion in Ethiopia, as it is now, can be viewed as part of the global land and water grab and is not all inclusive and sustainable. Several recommendations are made to improve working conditions, maximize the benefits of flower industry to the society, and to the country at large.

The relationship between rural livelihoods and livestock keeping: the case of Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia

This study examines the relationship between rural livelihoods and livestock keeping in Sidama Zones, southern Ethiopia. The livelihood context, assets and strategies of households are the key features of rural livelihoods considered in the study; while households’ livestock ownership, dependence on livestock and livestock management are the main aspects of livestock keeping examined. The study used the sustainable livelihood approach as a framework for data collection and analysis. Describing the main features of rural livelihoods and livestock keeping, and the general pattern of relationship between them, this study mainly aims at identifying the main livelihood factors that determine livestock keeping in the study area. Descriptive statistics, pair wise correlations, mean comparisons and analysis of variance were used to describe rural livelihoods and livestock keeping as well as the relationship between them. Tobit regressions were used to examine the effect of the various livelihood factors on households’ livestock ownership and dependence; Poisson regressions are used to investigate the factors that influence the intensity of livestock management measured by the use of different technologies and inputs. The findings indicated that a number of livelihood factors - assets, livelihood strategies, livelihood shocks and institutional supports - significantly determine the different aspects of livestock keeping. These include: human assets such as age, education and family size; social assets such as membership to social groups; financial assets such as credit; natural assets such as land, and household physical assets; and livelihood strategies such as diversification into farm and nonfarm activities, and coping mechanisms. In addition the livelihood vulnerability context such as shocks and institutional support are among the main determinants of livestock keeping. The results, by and large, matched the findings of previous studies, and it is concluded that households livestock keeping depends on their livelihoods. Accordingly, it is recommended that policies aiming at livestock asset building and productivity improvement should take the livelihoods of rural households in to consideration. As such the study contribute to scholarly works in the area of rural livelihoods, in general, and livestock keeping, in particular. It also contributes to a better understanding of the problems of livestock keeping within the context of rural livelihoods in the country and to the formulation of appropriate policy for the development of the sector.

Coping, conversation tactics and marital interaction in persons with acquired profound hearing loss (APHL): correlates of distress

This study investigated coping strategies, conversation tactics, and marital interaction in acquired profound hearing loss (APHL) and compared emotionally stable (n = 15) and emotionally distressed (n = 7) participants. Nominated family members were assessed on most measures. Comparisons were also made in the subgroup of married participants. A combined distress criterion was derived from scores on standardized measures of anxiety, depression, hearing handicap, and post-traumatic stress. Groups were compared on the Ways-of-Coping Checklist, a newly devised measure of conversation tactics, and on the Couple Behaviour Report. It was found that distressed APHL participants were more likely to cope through avoidance, self-blame, and wishful thinking, and they used more avoidant tactics in conversation. The coping profile of family members did not differentiate distress groups. However, there was some indication of greater employment of coercive tactics by family members of distressed participants. The results are consistent with the view that the coping style of a person with APHL and the nature of their conversational interactions with family members contribute to their level of distress. Implications for audiological rehabilitation are discussed.

Genotyping an Emiliania huxleyi (Prymnesiophyceae) bloom event in the North Sea reveals evidence of asexual reproduction

Due to the unprecedented rate at which our climate is changing, the ultimate consequence for many species is likely to be either extinction or migration to an alternate habitat. Certain species might, however, evolve at a rate that could make them resilient to the effects of a rapidly changing environment. This scenario is most likely to apply to species that have large population sizes and rapid generation times, such that the genetic variation required for adaptive evolution can be readily supplied. Emiliania huxleyi (Lohm.) Hay and Mohler (Prymnesiophyceae) is likely to be such a species as it is the most conspicuous extant calcareous phytoplankton species in our oceans with generation times of 1 day−1. Here we report on a validated set of microsatellites, in conjunction with the coccolithophore morphology motif genetic marker, to genotype 93 clonal isolates collected from across the world. Of these, 52 came from a single bloom event in the North Sea collected on the D366 UK Ocean Acidification cruise in June-July 2011. There were 26 multilocus genotypes (MLGs) encountered only once in the North Sea bloom and 8 MLGs encountered twice or up to six times. Each of these repeated MLGs exhibited Psex values of less than 0.05 indicating each repeated MLG was the product of asexual reproduction and not separate meiotic events. In addition, we show that the two most polymorphic microsatellite loci, EHMS37 and P01E05, are reporting on regions likely undergoing rapid genetic drift during asexual reproduction. Despite the small sample size, there were many more repeated genotypes than previously reported for other bloom-forming phytoplankton species, including a previously genotyped E. huxleyi bloom event. This study challenges our current assumption that sex is the predominant mode of reproduction during bloom events. Whilst genetic diversity is high amongst extant populations of E. huxleyi, the root cause for this diversity and ultimate fate of these populations still requires further examination. Nonetheless, we show that certain CMM genotypes are found everywhere; while others appear to have a regional bias.

From 'Good as Gold' to 'Gold Diggers': Farming Women and the Survival of British Family Farming

The survival of family farming in British agriculture has long been a topic of interest for rural researchers and is undergoing something of a current renewal of interest. However, insights from feminist approaches remain underutilised despite the crucial role farming women continue to play in family farming. This paper addresses the unity of farm, family and business by interpreting it as a patriarchal â??way of lifeâ??. An ethnographic-informed repeated life history methodology is employed to study in detail the family members of seven farms in rural mid-Wales. Findings show that the recent survival of the family farms investigated has been heavily dependent upon compliance with a patriarchal ideology that demands women be â??as good as goldâ??. However, it is discovered that a new view of women is emerging in the world of British family farming, that of â??gold diggerâ??. Women entering relationships with farming men are increasingly being considered a threat to farm survival by virtue of their entitlements if the relationship breaks down. The necessity to study the intricacies of personal relationships in family farming has important implications for most future research into this form of agricultural business arrangement.

Cultural policy models and cultural facilities models: from national to local models. Analysis of Barcelona’s case

The development of cultural policy analysis by social science has been produced a theorization about cultural policy models from sociology and political science. This analysis shows the influence of the national model of cultural policy on the forms of governance and management of cultural facilities. However, in this paper we will defend that currently the local model of cultural policy decisively influences the model of cultural institutions. This is explained by the growing importance of culture in local development strategies. In order to demonstrate this we will analyze the case of the Barcelona Model of local development and cultural policy, that is characterized for the level of local government leadership, multilevel governance, the use of culture in urban planning processes and a tendency to use public-private partnership in public management. This Model influences the genesis and development of the cultural facilities and it produces a singular and relatively successful model.

The (in)visible scar. Representation of the body in blogs by women with breast cancer

In this paper we analyze the representation of the body in blogs by women with breast cancer. Taking into account both texts and images, we study the representation of the body on the basis of the body problems proposed by Frank (1995): control, body-relatedness, other-relatedness and desire. In the blogs studied we find a desiring and dyadic body, which is understood as part of a network of affection and care. The diagnosis of cancer can generate both dissociation, when the body is experienced as a threat, and association, a wish to be connected to it. In relation to control, a clear will of predictability is observed but traces of assumption of contingency also appear.

Welfare Regimes and “progressive” governments in Latin America: The cases of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia

Several authors have applied the concept of Welfare Regimens for studying social policy in Latin America (Esping-Andersen, 1993 and 2000). Among others, Martínez Franzoni (2007) develops a typology, with fi eld work is at the turn of the millennium, and establishes three categories: State-productivist regime, state-protectionist and family orientated. Most countries in the region are placed in the latter category. The hypothesis of this article argues that with the emergence of governments considered “left” or “progressive” in several countries of the region from the late ‘90s and, more decisively, in 2000’, the map of welfare regimes models could have mutated substantively. The nationally transformative experiences are different (various socio-economic realities and political action in which they are located exists) but they have several contact points that can be summarized in a greater state intervention in different areas previously closed to their operating and recovery of important functions of welfare and care of the population by the government. The paper discusses with an exploratory and descriptive approach the welfare schemes that would shape in three countries that have constitutionalized the change from the neoliberal paradigm: Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador.

The energy costs of sexual dimorphism in mole-rats are morphological not behavioural.

Different reproductive strategies of males and females may lead to the evolution of differences in their energetic costs of reproduction, overall energetic requirements and physiological performances. Sexual dimorphism is often associated with costly behaviours (e.g. large males might have a competitive advantage in fighting, which is energetically expensive). However, few studies of mammals have directly compared the energy costs of reproductive activities between sexes. We compared the daily energy expenditure (DEE) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) of males and females of two species of mole-rat, Bathyergus janetta and Georychus capensis (the former is sexually dimorphic in body size and the latter is not) during a period of intense digging when males seek females. We hypothesized that large body size might be indicative of greater digging or fighting capabilities, and hence greater mass-independent DEE values in males of the sexually dimorphic species. In contrast to this prediction, although absolute values of DEE were greater in B. janetta males, mass-independent values were not. No differences were apparent between sexes in G. capensis. By comparison, although RMR values were greater in B. janetta than G. capensis, no differences were apparent between the sexes for either species. The energy cost of dimorphism is most likely to be the cost of maintenance of a large body size, and not the cost of behaviours performed when an individual is large.

The pathobiology of the septin gene family.

Septins are an evolutionarily conserved group of GTP-binding and filament-forming proteins that belong to the large superclass of P-loop GTPases. While originally discovered in yeast as cell division cycle mutants with cytokinesis defects, they are now known to have diverse cellular roles which include polarity determination, cytoskeletal reorganization, membrane dynamics, vesicle trafficking, and exocytosis. Septin proteins form homo- and hetero-oligomeric polymers which can assemble into higher-order filaments. They are also known to interact with components of the cytoskeleton, ie actin and tubulin. The precise role of GTP binding is not clear but a current model suggests that it is associated with conformational changes which alter binding to other proteins. There are at least 12 human septin genes, and although information on expression patterns is limited, most undergo complex alternative splicing with some degree of tissue specificity. Nevertheless, an increasing body of data implicates the septin family in the pathogenesis of diverse disease states including neoplasia, neurodegenerative conditions, and infections. Here the known biochemical properties of mammalian septins are reviewed in the light of the data from yeast and other model organisms. The data implicating septins in human disease are considered and a model linking these data is proposed. It is posited that septins can act as regulatable scaffolds where the stoichiometry of septin associations, modifications, GTP status, and the interactions with other proteins allow the regulation of key cellular processes including polarity determination. Derangements of such septin scaffolds thus explain the role of septins in disease states. Copyright © 2004 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Resonances of the cusp family

We study a family of chaotic maps with limit cases-the tent map and the cusp map (the cusp family). We discuss the spectral properties of the corresponding Frobenius-Perron operator in different function spaces including spaces of analytical functions and study numerically the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions.

From stress to distress: Conceptualizing the British family farming patriarchal way of life

‘Rural stress’ and ‘farming stress’ are terms that have become commonly appropriated by British health-based academic disciplines, the medical profession and social support networks, especially since the agricultural ‘crises’ of B.S.E. and Foot and Mouth Disease. Looking beyond the media headlines, it is apparent that the terms in fact are colloquial catch-alls for visible psychological and physiological outcomes shown by individuals. Seldom have the underlying causes and origins of presentable medical outcomes been probed, particularly within the context of the patriarchal and traditionally patrilineal way of life which family forms of farming business activity in Britain encapsulate. Thus, this paper argues that insufficient attention has been paid to the conceptualization of the terms. They have become both over-used and ill-defined in their application to British family farm individuals and their life situations. A conceptual framework is outlined that attempts to shift the stress research agenda into the unilluminated spaces of the family farming ‘way of life’ and focus instead on ‘distress’. Drawing upon theorization from agricultural and feminist geography together with cultural approaches from rural geography, four distinct clusters of distress originate from the thoughts of individuals and the social practices now required to enact patriarchal family farming gender identities. These are explored using case study evidence from ethnographic repeated life history interviews with members of seven farming families in Powys, Mid Wales, an area dominated by family forms of farming business. Future research agendas need to be based firmly on the distressing reality of patriarchal family farming and also be inclusive of those who, having rejected the associated way of life, now lie beyond the farm gate.

Tails of animal attraction: Incorporating the feline into the family

Increased urbanization and female employment have led to the cat overtaking the dog as the companion animal of preference. However, thisarticle looks beyond lifestyle changes as reasons for the popularity of the cat. The article explores the emotional consumer-socialization processinvolving the incorporation of the cat into the family. Subjective personal introspection (SPI) and supporting vignettes of female humans in theirfamilies (all of which were high-involvement owners) explore the hows and whys of feline incorporation. The study identifies several categories ofincorporation. The findings suggest that this complex process involves many factors — namely, consumer socialization, intergenerationalinfluence, brand loyalty, commitment, near-instant loyalty, immediacy, distress, anthropomorphism, and nostalgia. These factors underpin theintimacy and care the human–feline relationship expresses. The ability for humans and cats to bond in a way that fosters emotional intimacy canbe considered one of the purest forms of relationships.© 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Open Adoption: Adoptive Parents' Experiences of Birth Family Contact and Talking to Their Child about Adoption

The trend towards more open adoption presents adopters with unique parenting challenges associated with satisfying the child’s curiosity about their origins, and maintaining relationships with birth family through contact. This paper focuses on the experiences of 20 sets of adoptive parents who were interviewed as part of the Northern Ireland Care Pathways and Outcomes Study. Interviews were analysed following the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). It explores adoptive parents’ experience of talking to their child about adoption, and of post-adoption contact with members of the birth family. Adopters discussed adoption sensitively with their child, but were concerned that difficult and complex family histories would present a risk to the child’s self-esteem and emotional well-being. All forms of contact proved emotionally and practically burdensome, however adopters were committed to making it work for the child’s benefit, and were open to increased contact should the child wish it in the future. There was little relationship with birth family outside of formal contact. The study reveals a need for a mechanism to facilitate communication with birth family if adopters are to be able to respond to the child’s changing need for contact and information.