Perceptions of climate change, environmental variability and the role of agricultural adaptation strategies by small-scale farmers in Africa: the case of Mwanga district in Northern Tanzania

Abstract The potential impacts of climate change and environmental variability are already evident in most parts of the world, which is witnessing increasing temperature rates and prolonged flood or drought conditions that affect agriculture activities and nature-dependent livelihoods. This study was conducted in Mwanga District in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania to assess the nature and impacts of climate change and environmental variability on agriculture-dependent livelihoods and the adaptation strategies adopted by small-scale rural farmers. To attain its objective, the study employed a mixed methods approach in which both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used. The study shows that farmers are highly aware of their local environment and are conscious of the ways environmental changes affect their livelihoods. Farmers perceived that changes in climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature had occurred in their area over the period of three decades, and associated these changes with climate change and environmental variability. Farmers’ perceptions were confirmed by the evidence from rainfall and temperature data obtained from local and national weather stations, which showed that temperature and rainfall in the study area had become more variable over the past three decades. Farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of climate change vary depending on the location, age and gender of the respondents. The findings show that the farmers have limited understanding of the causes of climatic conditions and environmental variability, as some respondents associated climate change and environmental variability with social, cultural and religious factors. This study suggests that, despite the changing climatic conditions and environmental variability, farmers have developed and implemented a number of agriculture adaptation strategies that enable them to reduce their vulnerability to the changing conditions. The findings show that agriculture adaptation strategies employ both planned and autonomous adaptation strategies. However, the study shows that increasing drought conditions, rainfall variability, declining soil fertility and use of cheap farming technology are among the challenges that limit effective implementation of agriculture adaptation strategies. This study recommends further research on the varieties of drought-resilient crops, the development of small-scale irrigation schemes to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture, and the improvement of crop production in a given plot of land. In respect of the development of adaptation strategies, the study recommends the involvement of the local farmers and consideration of their knowledge and experience in the farming activities as well as the conditions of their local environment. Thus, the findings of this study may be helpful at various levels of decision making with regard to the development of climate change and environmental variability policies and strategies towards reducing farmers’ vulnerability to current and expected future changes.

Sistematics, population genetics, propagation and conservation of Picconia azorica (Tutin) Knobl. (Oleaceae)

Tese de Doutoramento, Biologia (Ecologia Vegetal), 24 de Junho de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Africans in Scotland: heterogeneity and sensitivities to HIV

Aim: To investigate how diversity within the African migrant population in Scotland affects their understandings of HIV and uptake of HIV testing and treatment, in order to improve HIV-related outcomes. Background: In the UK, Africans have the worst outcomes for HIV infection, primarily due to late diagnosis. Improvement requires better understanding of the barriers to healthcare engagement. This PhD study investigates how diversity among first generation African migrants in Scotland could affect engagement with general healthcare and HIV related interventions and services. Methods: I conducted qualitative research, involving participant observation at two sites (an African religious group and an asylum seeker/refugee drop-in centre) and interviews with African migrants attending these and three additional sites (two advocacy charities and a student association). Data were collected in two cities (Glasgow and Edinburgh) and two smaller towns (Paisley and Kirkcaldy). I interviewed 27 Africans, including economic migrants (n=8), students (n=9) and asylum seeker/refugees (n=10) and 14 representatives from organisations with high levels of African attendees (e.g., country associations, community organisations, advocacy groups, commercial establishments and religious based organisations). Thematic data analysis was carried out. Results: Diversity of the population and related issues of identity: Participants were highly diverse and reported considerable heterogeneity in the African diaspora in Scotland. The identity of “African” was bound with various negative stereotypes and appeals to this identity did not necessarily have relevance for participants. Nature of African affiliated organisations in Scotland: There were a wide range of organisations that advertised their remit as catering for the African diaspora. They varied in consistency and sustainability and contributed towards healthcare engagement to different degrees. Engagement with healthcare: There were multiple experiences and understandings of the healthcare system within the sample as a whole, and to an extent by migrant type. Whilst the majority reported successful and satisfactory service use, distinct barriers emerged. These included: understandings of rights and access to care based on African models of healthcare; the interplay of religious based understandings with ideas about access to healthcare; and assumptions and anxiety about the connections between visa status and health status. Knowledge of HIV and engagement with HIV related services: Participants had good knowledge about HIV, with some notable exceptions, but there was no patterning by migrant type. They had diverse views about risk of HIV infection, most of which did not align with the HIV epidemiology that identifies African migrants as an at risk group. Most of the sample did not think targeting African migrants for HIV interventions would be successful and were hostile to the proposal for various reasons, especially because they believed it would perpetuate stigma and prejudice towards the African diaspora. There were mixed experiences of HIV related services, and prompts to test for HIV had elicited a range of reactions, the majority negative. Conclusion: Diversity within the African diaspora in Scotland should be taken into account to improve the salience and relevance of future HIV interventions. Attitudes towards current HIV testing promotion suggest that a more cooperative approach could be taken with African communities to build on existing relationships of trust and understandings of HIV.

A VOICE OF THEIR OWN: MUSIC AND SOCIAL COHESION IN TURKISH ALEVI LIFE

This dissertation examines the role that music has played in the expression of identity and revitalization of culture of the Alevis in Turkey, since the start of their sociocultural revival movement in the late 1980s. Music is central to Alevi claims of ethnic and religious difference—singing and playing the bağlama (Turkish folk lute) constitutes an expressive practice in worship and everyday life. Based on research conducted from 2012 to 2014, I investigate and present Alevi music through the lens of discourses on the construction of identity as a social and musical process. Alevi musicians perform a revived repertoire of the ritual music and folk songs of Anatolian bards and dervish-lodge poets that developed over several centuries. Contemporary media and performance contexts have blurred former distinctions between sacred and secular, yet have provided new avenues to build community in an urban setting. I compare music performances in the worship services of urban and small-town areas, and other community events such as devotional meetings, concerts, clubs, and broadcast and social media to illustrate the ways that participation—both performing and listening—reinforces identity and solidarity. I also examine the influence of these different contexts on performers’ musical choices, and the power of music to evoke a range of responses and emotional feelings in the participants. Through my investigation I argue that the Alevi music repertoire is not only a cultural practice but also a symbol of power and collective action in their struggle for human rights and self-determination. As Alevis have faced a redefined Turkish nationalism that incorporates Sunni Muslim piety, this music has gained even greater potency in their resistance to misrecognition as a folkloric, rather than a living, tradition.

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF ANIMAL HANDLING AND CULTURAL SLAUGHTER PRACTICES AMONG KENYAN COMMUNITIES: POTENTIAL INFLUENCE ON MEAT QUALITY

Kenya is composed of over 40 ethnic communities who practice varied methods of animal handling and slaughter. Socio-cultural and religious traditions have the potential to influence animal handling and slaughter practices. These influences have, however, not been documented in the literature as far as the author is aware. Also, the literature has documented the connection between the manner of animal treatment and meat quality, but this is rarely discussed in the literature in Kenya; this connection is important as it informs modern meat trade practices by Kenyans as they trade in the global arena. This survey aimed to mainly establish and document the animal slaughter practices among Kenyan communities, and, to also highlight any current provisions related to meeting modern animal welfare requirements, animal handling procedures in the meat trade and discuss their potential influence on meat quality available in commerce in Kenya. This preliminary study surveyed the slaughter practices among 10 different Kenyan communities through a semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and individual interviews. The survey demonstrated that different Kenyan communities practice varied methods of animal slaughter depending on whether the animal being slaughtered is for public feasting, domestic consumption or commercial merchandizing. The Kenyan communities surveyed in this study depend mainly on males to slaughter livestock for females preparing it for domestic use using a number of instruments and methods. For small stock for domestic consumption, females may slaughter the animal except for Muslims whose males have to slaughter the animal with a special knife (a Khalef) according to Muslim rites to render it Halal. Large stock is invariably slaughtered by males irrespective of the community, and the manner of use of the carcass. Gender, age, religion, community and the size of the animal were the major determinants of the method of animal slaughter. The animal welfare issues highlighted in the survey and related to the handling and slaughter of livestock have important implications for meat quality during commercial merchandizing. There is an apparent need to provide education to herders, livestock handlers, employees and management in the livestock industry in Kenya on the relationship between animal welfare requirements, animal handling procedures and meat quality. Such awareness can potentially improve the quality and economic value of the meat available in commerce.

THE ASSOCIATION OF DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND DIETARY HABITS ON BODY MASS INDEX OF FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN SOUTH KOREA

The Republic of Korea (Korea) has been composed of a single ethnic group and, until very recently, has had little or no experience with large-volume of immigrants. The country, once known for its large-scale emigration, has emerged as a popular destination. As the foreign-born populations continue to grow, they experience dietary pattern changes. Dietary changes of immigrants are often associated with weight increase and consequently the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. This study examined the association of demographic variables and dietary habits on Body Mass Index (BMI) of foreign nationals living in Korea, based on a cross-sectional sample of 193 foreign-born men (120) and women (73). A web-based survey program, Zoho survey, was used to capture self-reported region of origin, socio-demographic variables, weight, height, frequency of physical activity, and food frequencies. For the entire sample (n=193), the World Health Organization (WHO) classification and the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity cut-off points of BMI were used. The average BMI was 24.6 (SD=3.6) kg/m2. Significant associations were observed between BMI and age (χ² (8, N=193) =26.22, p<.01), gender (χ² (2, N=193) =11.45, p<.01), and religious affiliation (χ² (4, N=191) =9.53, p<.05). On average, participants had meat and carbonated drinks 2.2 times a week; high calorie foods 1.5 times a week; and, dairy products 2.4 times a week. A significant correlation (r=.14, p<.05) between BMI and eating meat was also observed. This study showed that the BMI varied with age, gender and religion. Frequent consumption of meat was associated with a significant increase in BMI. This increase in BMI could be associated with the dietary changes experienced by the newcomers or absence of more familiar products. Consequently, as the volume of immigrants continues to increase in Korea, it is imperative to consider designing and implementing public health policies specifically in relation to a healthy diet that can impact the prevalence of preventable chronic diseases. Thus, health education among foreign-born population in Korea should focus on reducing the intake of meat and high energy foods.

Carbon reduction activism in the UK: lexical creativity and lexical framing in the context of climate change

This article examines discourses associated with a new environmental movement, “Carbon Rationing Action Groups” (CRAGs). This case study is intended to contribute to a wider investigation of the emergence of a new type of language used to debate climate change mitigation. Advice on how to reduce one's “carbon footprint,” for example, is provided almost daily. Much of this advice is framed by the use of metaphors and “carbon compounds”—lexical combinations of at least two roots—such as “carbon finance” or “low carbon diet.” The study uses a combination of tools from frame analysis and lexical pragmatics within the general framework of ecolinguistics to compare and contrast language use on the CRAGs' website with press coverage reporting on them. The analysis shows how the use of such lexical carbon compounds enables and facilitates different types of metaphorical frames such as dieting, finance and tax paying, war time rationing, and religious imperatives in the two corpora.

Burnout syndrome and alcohol consumption in prison employees

Objective: The aims of this study were to estimate the association between an at‑risk drinking pattern and sociodemographic variables, and to compare the mean scores of the factors associated with the Burnout Syndrome, according to the alcohol consumption pattern in staff members from two Brazilian prisons. Methods: A cross‑sectional study was developed with 339 participants (response rate = 63.8%). The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI‑GS). Results: The participants’ average age was 40.2 (SD = 8.8) years, and 81.0% were male. Among 78.5% of participants (95%CI 74.1 – 82.8) reported consuming alcoholic beverages. The prevalence of at‑risk drinking behavior in the sample was 22.4% (95%CI 18.0 – 26.9), and of the Burnout Syndrome was 14.6% (95%CI 10.8 – 18.4). We observed a significant association between at‑risk drinking behavior with gender, higher risk for men (OR = 7.32, p < 0.001), smoking, increased risk for smokers (OR = 2.77, p < 0.001), and religious practice, showing lower risks for religion practitioners (OR = 0.364, p < 0.001). We noticed significantly higher mean scores (p < 0.001) of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and lower scores of professional achievement among individuals who reported consuming alcoholic beverages. Conclusion: Men who smoke were more likely to develop an at‑risk drinking pattern, while religion is presented as a protective factor. Individuals who consume alcohol were more affected by the different factors of the Burnout Syndrome.

Representera och bli representerad : Elever med religiös positionering talar om skolans religionskunskapsundervisning

Hur kan lärare på bästa sätt möta elever med religiös positionering i religionskunskapsklassrummet?  Hur kan undervisningen utformas för att ge religiösa traditioner en framställning som elever med religiös positionering kan acceptera, relatera till och kanske också lära nytt av? Den här religionsdidaktiska studien handlar om hur elever som positionerar sig inom muslimsk, kristen, buddhistisk och judisk tradition talar om skolans religionskunskapsundervisning. Studien berör tre teman. För det första undersöks mötet mellan undervisningsinnehåll och elevernas erfarenheter av sin egen religiösa tradition och tro. För det andra riktas uppmärksamheten mot hur eleverna talar om sina erfarenheter av att vara eller att förväntas vara representant för sin egen tradition i undervisningen. Ett tredje tema handlar om hur eleverna beskriver ramar och förutsättningar för religionskunskapsundervisningen. Intervjumaterialet har analyserats med hjälp av kritisk diskursanalys. Resultaten visar bland annat att eleverna har svårt att känna igen och relatera till sin egen tradition i undervisningen. De befarar att undervisningen snarare förstärker än dekonstruerar stereotypa föreställningar om religion och religiöst liv. 

The Hibernicon and Visions of Returning Home: Popular Entertainment in Irish America from the Civil War to World War I

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2012

La estrategia en la perdurabilidad empresarial. Un estudio de la segunda aerolínea más antigua del mundo: Avianca

Una de las principales dificultades que se presenta en Colombia, para el desarrollo económico y social, está dada por la falta de sostenibilidad de la gran mayoría de empresas en el país. Por este motivo, este trabajo se ha concentrado en investigar este problema y brindar herramientas que ayuden a fomentar una cultura de perdurabilidad. Con este fin, se ha realizado un estudio acerca de Avianca, una empresa referente en el país en lo que respecta a la perdurabilidad, posicionamiento y estrategia, pues, a lo largo de sus casi cien años de historia, ha superado retos y circunstancias, que, de haber actuado de otra manera, habrían podido llevarla a su fin.

Young children as rule makers

Young children engage in a constant process of negotiating and constructing rules, utilizing these rules as cultural resources to manage their social interactions. This paper examines how young children make sense of, and also construct, rules within one early childhood classroom. This paper draws on a recent study conducted in Australia, in which video-recorded episodes of young children’s talk-in-interaction were examined. Analysis revealed four interactional practices that the children used, including manipulating materials and places to claim ownership of resources within the play space; developing or using pre-existing rules and social orders to control the interactions of their peers; strategically using language to regulate the actions of those around them; and creating and using membership categories such as ‘car owner’ or ‘team member’ to include or exclude others and also to control and participate in the unfolding interaction. While the classroom setting was framed within adult conceptions and regulations, analysis of the children’s interaction demonstrated their co-constructions of social order and imposition of their own forms of rules. Young children negotiated both adult constructed social order and also their own peer constructed social order, drawing upon various rules within both social orders as cultural resources by which they managed their interaction.

Young children enacting governance : child’s play?

Schools, homes and communities are increasingly perceived as risky spaces for children. This concern is a driving force behind many forms of governance imposed upon Australian children by well-meaning adults. Children are more and more the subjects of both overt and covert regulation by teachers and other adults in school contexts. Are children, though, passive in this process of governance? It is this issue that is the focus of this paper. In order to respond to the question of how young children enact governance in their everyday lives, video-recorded episodes of naturally occurring interactions among children in a preparatory classroom were captured. These data were then transcribed and analysed using the methods of conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis. This paper shows a number of strategies that the children used when enacting governance within their peer cultures in the classroom. It focuses specifically on how adult and child-formulated rules and social orders of the classroom were drawn upon and developed in order to control and govern during the interaction. This paper illustrates that children are not passive in enacting governance, but actively and competently enact governance through their peer cultures. These findings are significant for educators to consider, as they help to develop an understanding of the complex social orders that children are continually constructing in the early childhood classroom.