Reductions in insecticide use from adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the environment

The study reported presents the findings relating to commercial growing of genetically-modified Bt cotton in South Africa by a large sample of smallholder farmers over three seasons (1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01) following adoption. The analysis presents constructs and compares groupwise differences for key variables in Bt v. non-Bt technology and uses regressions to further analyse the production and profit impacts of Bt adoption. Analysis of the distribution of benefits between farmers due to the technology is also presented. In parallel with these socio-economic measures, the toxic loads being presented to the environment following the introduction of Bt cotton are monitored in terms of insecticide active ingredient (ai) and the Biocide Index. The latter adjusts ai to allow for differing persistence and toxicity of insecticides. Results show substantial and significant financial benefits to smallholder cotton growers of adopting Bt cotton over three seasons in terms of increased yields, lower insecticide spray costs and higher gross margins. This includes one particularly wet, poor growing season. In addition, those with the smaller holdings appeared to benefit proportionately more from the technology (in terms of higher gross margins) than those with larger holdings. Analysis using the Gini-coefficient suggests that the Bt technology has helped to reduce inequality amongst smallholder cotton growers in Makhathini compared to what may have been the position if they had grown conventional cotton. However, while Bt growers applied lower amounts of insecticide and had lower Biocide Indices (per ha) than growers of non-Bt cotton, some of this advantage was due to a reduction in non-bollworm insecticide. Indeed, the Biocide Index for all farmers in the population actually increased with the introduction of Bt cotton. The results indicate the complexity of such studies on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM varieties in the developing world.

Reductions in insecticide use from adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the environment

The study reported presents the findings relating to commercial growing of genetically-modified Bt cotton in South Africa by a large sample of smallholder farmers over three seasons (1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01) following adoption. The analysis presents constructs and compares groupwise differences for key variables in Bt v. non-Bt technology and uses regressions to further analyse the production and profit impacts of Bt adoption. Analysis of the distribution of benefits between farmers due to the technology is also presented. In parallel with these socio-economic measures, the toxic loads being presented to the environment following the introduction of Bt cotton are monitored in terms of insecticide active ingredient (ai) and the Biocide Index. The latter adjusts ai to allow for differing persistence and toxicity of insecticides. Results show substantial and significant financial benefits to smallholder cotton growers of adopting Bt cotton over three seasons in terms of increased yields, lower insecticide spray costs and higher gross margins. This includes one particularly wet, poor growing season. In addition, those with the smaller holdings appeared to benefit proportionately more from the technology (in terms of higher gross margins) than those with larger holdings. Analysis using the Gini-coefficient suggests that the Bt technology has helped to reduce inequality amongst smallholder cotton growers in Makhathini compared to what may have been the position if they had grown conventional cotton. However, while Bt growers applied lower amounts of insecticide and had lower Biocide Indices (per ha) than growers of non-Bt cotton, some of this advantage was due to a reduction in non-bollworm insecticide. Indeed, the Biocide Index for all farmers in the population actually increased with the introduction of Bt cotton. The results indicate the complexity of such studies on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM varieties in the developing world.

Integrating socio-economics and ecology: a taxonomy of quantitative methods and a review of their use in agro-ecology

Answering many of the critical questions in conservation, development and environmental management requires integrating the social and natural sciences. However, understanding the array of available quantitative methods and their associated terminology presents a major barrier to successful collaboration. We provide an overview of quantitative socio-economic methods that distils their complexity into a simple taxonomy. We outline how each has been used in conjunction with ecological models to address questions relating to the management of socio-ecological systems. We review the application of social and ecological quantitative concepts to agro-ecology and classify the approaches used to integrate the two disciplines. Our review included all published integrated models from 2003 to 2008 in 27 journals that publish agricultural modelling research. Although our focus is on agro-ecology, many of the results are broadly applicable to other fields involving an interaction between human activities and ecology. We found 36 papers that integrated social and ecological concepts in a quantitative model. Four different approaches to integration were used, depending on the scale at which human welfare was quantified. Most models viewed humans as pure profit maximizers, both when calculating welfare and predicting behaviour. Synthesis and applications. We reached two main conclusions based on our taxonomy and review. The first is that quantitative methods that extend predictions of behaviour and measurements of welfare beyond a simple market value basis are underutilized by integrated models. The second is that the accuracy of prediction for integrated models remains largely unquantified. Addressing both problems requires researchers to reach a common understanding of modelling goals and data requirements during the early stages of a project.

Logit models for identifying the factors that influence the uptake of new 'no-tillage' technologies by farmers in the rice-wheat and the cotton-wheat farming systems of Pakistan's Punjab

In the 'rice-wheat' and the 'cotton-wheat' farming systems of Pakistan's Punjab, late planting of wheat is a perennial problem due to often delayed harvesting of the previously planted and late maturing rice and cotton crops. This leaves very limited time for land preparation for 'on-time' planting of wheat. 'No-tillage' technologies that reduce the turn-round time for wheat cultivation after rice and cotton have been developed, but their uptake has not been as expected.-This paper attempts to determine the farm and farmer characteristics and other socio-economic factors that influence the adoption of 'no-tillage' technologies'. Logit models were developed for the analysis undertaken. In the 'cotton-wheat' system personal characteristics like education, tenancy status, attitude towards risk implied in the use of new technologies and contact with extension agents are the main factors that affect adoption. As regards the 'rice-wheat' system, resource endowments such as farm size, access to a 'no-tillage' drill, clayey soils and the area sown to the rice-wheat sequence along with tenancy and contact with extension agents were dominant in explaining adoption. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family literacy activities in the homes of successful young readers

This paper presents an account of the literacy activities engaged in by the parents of 29 children around the time that the children were about to start school at Key Stage 1. Fifteen of the children were reading fluently before they began school and the remaining fourteen were matched for age, sex, receptive vocabulary scores, preschool group attended and socio-economic family status, but not reading fluently. In order to ascertain that the fluent readers were not simply coming from homes where literacy activities were more in evidence, parents were asked to report on their own literacy activities. The data obtained indicated that there were no systematic differences in the activities of the two sets of parents. They also showed that there was a considerable amount of literacy activity evidence in the homes. It is argues that, whilst the home environment is highly instrumental in nurturing literacy development, it is not enough to account for precocious reading ability.

A tale of two Montreal communities: parental perspectives on their children's multi-lingual and multi-literate development

This comparative inquiry examines the multi-/bilingual nature and cultural diversity of two distinctly different linguistic and ethnic communities in Montreal – English speakers and Chinese speakers – with a focus on the multi/bilingual and multi/biliterate development of children from these two communities who attend French-language schools, by choice in one case and by law in the other. In both of these communities, children traditionally achieve academic success. The authors approach this investigation from the perspective of the parents’ aspirations and expectations for, and their support of and involvement in, their children’s education. These two communities share key similarities and differences that, when considered together, help to clarify a number of issues involving multi/biliteracy development, socio-economic and linguistic capital, minority/majority language status, mother-tongue support, home–school continuities, and linguistic identity.

Cancer patients taking herbal medicines: a review of clinical purposes, associated factors, and perceptions of benefit or harm

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Cancer patients in all cultures are high consumers of herbal medicines (HMs) usually as part of a regime consisting of several complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities, but the type of patient, the reasons for choosing such HM-CAM regimes, and the benefits they perceive from taking them are poorly understood. There are also concerns that local information may be ignored due to language issues. This study investigates aspects of HM-CAM use in cancer patients using two different abstracting sources: Medline, which contains only peer-reviewed studies from SCI journals, and in order to explore whether further data may be available regionally, the Thai national databases of HM and CAM were searched as an example. Materials and methods: the international and Thai language databases were searched separately to identify relevant studies, using key words chosen to include HM use in all traditions. Analysis of these was undertaken to identify socio-demographic and clinical factors, as well as sources of information, which may inform the decision to use HMs. Results: Medline yielded 5,638 records, with 49 papers fitting the criteria for review. The Thai databases yielded 155, with none relevant for review. Factors associated with HM-CAM usage were: a younger age, higher education or economic status, multiple chemotherapy treatment, late stage of disease. The most common purposes for using HM-CAM cited by patients were to improve physical symptoms, support emotional health, stimulate the immune system, improve quality of life, and relieve side-effects of conventional treatment. Conclusions: Several indicators were identified for cancer patients who are most likely to take HM-CAM. However, interpreting the clinical reasons why patients decide to use HM-CAM is hampered by a lack of standard terminology and thematic coding, because patients' own descriptions are too variable and overlapping for meaningful comparison. Nevertheless, fears that the results of local studies published regionally are being missed, at least in the case of Thailand, appeared to be unfounded.

The medieval climate anomaly and Byzantium: a review of the evidence on climatic fluctuations, economic performance and societal change

At the beginning of the Medieval Climate Anomaly, in the ninth and tenth century, the medieval eastern Roman empire, more usually known as Byzantium, was recovering from its early medieval crisis and experiencing favourable climatic conditions for the agricultural and demographic growth. Although in the Balkans and Anatolia such favourable climate conditions were prevalent during the eleventh century, parts of the imperial territories were facing significant challenges as a result of external political/military pressure. The apogee of medieval Byzantine socio-economic development, around AD 1150, coincides with a period of adverse climatic conditions for its economy, so it becomes obvious that the winter dryness and high climate variability at this time did not hinder Byzantine society and economy from achieving that level of expansion. Soon after this peak, towards the end of the twelfth century, the populations of the Byzantine world were experiencing unusual climatic conditions with marked dryness and cooler phases. The weakened Byzantine socio-political system must have contributed to the events leading to the fall of Constantinople in AD 1204 and the sack of the city. The final collapse of the Byzantine political control over western Anatolia took place half century later, thus contemporaneous with the strong cooling effect after a tropical volcanic eruption in AD 1257. We suggest that, regardless of a range of other influential factors, climate change was also an important contributing factor to the socio-economic changes that took place in Byzantium during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Crucially, therefore, while the relatively sophisticated and complex Byzantine society was certainly influenced by climatic conditions, and while it nevertheless displayed a significant degree of resilience, external pressures as well as tensions within the Byzantine society more broadly contributed to an increasing vulnerability in respect of climate impacts. Our interdisciplinary analysis is based on all available sources of information on the climate and society of Byzantium, that is textual (documentary), archaeological, environmental, climate and climate model-based evidence about the nature and extent of climate variability in the eastern Mediterranean. The key challenge was, therefore, to assess the relative influence to be ascribed to climate variability and change on the one hand, and on the other to the anthropogenic factors in the evolution of Byzantine state and society (such as invasions, changes in international or regional market demand and patterns of production and consumption, etc.). The focus of this interdisciplinary

Bortom skolframgång : En analys av PISA 2006 ur ett intersektionellt perspektiv

Beyond school performance An analysis of PISA 2006 from an intersectional perspective One of the central questions in recent discussions about Swedish schools is which factors that influence school performance. Socio-economic background, gender, ethnicity, country of birth are some aspects that are mentioned in many international and national studies. Sweden is one of the participants in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the results of PISA since 2000 show deteriorated results for Sweden in reading performance, mathematics and science among 15-year-old students. In order to set school performance in a broader context we analyzed data for the Swedish part of PISA 2006, in which 57 countries participated (of which 30 OECD-countries), with multivariate methods from an intersectional perspective. Our analysis of PISA 2006 shows a complexity of different social, economic and cultural factors behind students’ school performance. This intersectional result is also strengthened by the results from PISA 2009, not analysed here. Further, our results show that students’ school performance vary with immigration status but that this variation increases by the factor of social inequality in the Swedish society.

Obesity and undernutrition in sub-Saharan African immigrant and refugee children in Victoria, Australia

The study assessed the anthropometric status of 337 sub-Saharan African children aged between 3-12 years who migrated to Australia. These children were selected using a snowball sampling method stratified by age, gender and region of origin. The prevalence rates for overweight and obesity were 18.4% (95%CI: 14 - 23%) and 8.6% (95%CI: 6% -12%) respectively. The prevalence rates for the indicators of undernutrition were: wasting 4.3% (95%CI: 1.6%-9.1%), underweight 1.2% (95%CI: 0.3%-3.0%), and stunting 0.3 (95%CI: 0.0%-1.6%). Higher prevalence of overweight/obesity was associated with lower household income level, fewer siblings, lower birth weight, western African background, and single parent households (after controlling for demographic and socio-economic factors). Higher prevalence rates for underweight and wasting were associated with lower household income and shorter lengths of stay in Australia respectively. No effect was found for child's age, gender, parental education and occupation for both obesity and undernutrition indices. In conclusion, obesity and overweight are very prevalent in SSA migrant children and undernutrition, especially wasting, was also not uncommon in this target group.

Economic growth and sustainability - an empirical study of the Thai development experience

Increasing economic growth has long been the dominant position within the public policies of all South East Asian countries. More recently, a new issue, sustainability, has emerged within development economic literature, which has significant implications for the continual pursuit of economic growth. Sustainability is concerned with ensuring the current generation meets their present needs without threatening future generations' ability to do likewise. This ability is dependent on a healthy and functioning socio-economic environmental (SEE) system. Economic growth can damage the SEE-system, though, through resource degradation, over-harvesting and pollution. Therefore, achieving economic growth and sustainability simultaneously may not be possible. This paper discusses these tensions between economic growth and sustainability by undertaking a number of SEE-based adjustments to GDP in order to measure sustainability. Thailand is used as a case study for a 25 year period, 1975-1999. The adjustments include the environmental costs caused by economic growth such as noise pollution, water pollution, the depletion of non-renewable resources, and deforestation. The results show a stark difference in terms of GDP per capita and the SEE-adjusted GDP per capita figure. The paper concludes that with increasing environmental costs of economic growth, pursuing high growth objectives without considerations to the environment threatens sustainability

Socio-demographic inequalities in the diets of mid-aged Australian women

Objectives: This study reports on the distributions of food and nutrient intakes by socio-demographic factors for a large population sample of mid-aged Australian women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
Design: This cross-sectional population-based study used the Cancer Council of Victoria food frequency questionnaires to derive estimates of food and nutrient intakes.
Setting: Nationwide community-based survey.
Subjects: A total of 10561 women aged 50-55 y, at the time of the survey in 2001.
Results: Analysis showed favourable patterns of food intake, with frequent consumption of many foods that are promoted as components of a healthy diet (eg, fresh fruit, leafy green and other vegetables, bread, cereals, milk and meat). Intakes of both foods and nutrients varied significantly across socio-demographic groups, with unmarried women, and women in 'labouring' occupations (eg, cleaner, factory worker, kitchenhand) having poorer nutrient intake.
Conclusions: Although many mid-aged women in this sample had generally healthful diets, women in certain socio-demographic groups (particularly unmarried women and those in labouring occupations) had nutrient intakes of concern. As well as helping to address the dearth of current data on dietary intakes in the Australian population, the results highlight the need for continued targeted public health strategies aimed at improving diet of women from the various socio-economic backgrounds.

Adolescence and abuse : trauma and the socio-sexual abject in John Duigans lawn dogs

The article analyzes the presentation of youth in the film "Lawn Dogs," directed by John Duigan. In the film, the child as victim is defined by socio-economic contexts. The author explores the discursive moves by which means the film witnesses or occludes the traumatic experiences suffered by the child and adolescent characters, and how far it articulates a satiric revision of social hierarchies that construct generational identities of gender and class.

People, places and policies – trying to account for health inequalities in impoverished neighbourhoods

Objective : We consider associations between individual, household and area-level characteristics and self-reported health.
Method : Data is taken from baseline surveys undertaken in 13 socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Victoria (n=3,944). The neighbourhoods are sites undergoing Neighbourhood Renewal (NR), a State government initiative redressing place-based disadvantage.
Analysis :This focused on the relationship between area and compositional factors and self-reported health. Area was coded into three categories; LGA, NR residents living in public housing (NRPU) and NR residents who lived in private housing (NRPR). Compositional factors included age, gender, marital status, identifying as a person with a disability, level of education, unemployment and receipt of pensions/benefits.
Results : There was a gradient in socio-economic disadvantage on all measures. People living in NR public housing were more disadvantaged than people living in NR private housing who, in turn, were more disadvantaged than people in the same LGA. NR public housing residents reported the worst health status and LGA residents reported the best.
Conclusions : Associations between compositional characteristics of disability, educational achievement and unemployment income and poorer self-reported health were shown. They suggested that area characteristics, with housing policies, may be contributing to differences in self-reported health at the neighbourhood level.
Implications : The clustering of socio-economic disadvantage and health outcomes requires the integration of health and social support interventions that address the circumstances of people and places.

Sources of stress in impoverished neighbourhoods : insights into links between neighbourhood environments and health

Objective : We consider associations between individual, household and area-level characteristics and self-reported health.
Method : Data is taken from baseline surveys undertaken in 13 socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Victoria (n=3,944). The neighbourhoods are sites undergoing Neighbourhood Renewal (NR), a State government initiative redressing place-based disadvantage.
Analysis :This focused on the relationship between area and compositional factors and self-reported health. Area was coded into three categories; LGA, NR residents living in public housing (NRPU) and NR residents who lived in private housing (NRPR). Compositional factors included age, gender, marital status, identifying as a person with a disability, level of education, unemployment and receipt of pensions/benefits.
Results : There was a gradient in socio-economic disadvantage on all measures. People living in NR public housing were more disadvantaged than people living in NR private housing who, in turn, were more disadvantaged than people in the same LGA. NR public housing residents reported the worst health status and LGA residents reported the best.
Conclusions : Associations between compositional characteristics of disability, educational achievement and unemployment income and poorer self-reported health were shown. They suggested that area characteristics, with housing policies, may be contributing to differences in self-reported health at the neighbourhood level.
Implications : The clustering of socio-economic disadvantage and health outcomes requires the integration of health and social support interventions that address the circumstances of people and places.