Tropical field stations yield high conservation return on investment

Conservation funding is currently limited; cost‐effective conservation solutions are essential. We suggest that the thousands of field stations worldwide can play key roles at the frontline of biodiversity conservation and have high intrinsic value. We assessed field stations’ conservation return on investment and explored the impact of COVID‐19. We surveyed leaders of field stations across tropical regions that host primate research; 157 field stations in 56 countries responded. Respondents reported improved habitat quality and reduced hunting rates at over 80% of field stations and lower operational costs per km 2 than protected areas, yet half of those surveyed have less funding now than in 2019. Spatial analyses support field station presence as reducing deforestation. These “earth observatories” provide a high return on investment; we advocate for increased support of field station programs and for governments to support their vital conservation efforts by investing accordingly

City of Ivanhoe Comprehensive Plan 2018-2038

the City of Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County, which is in southeastern Texas near the Louisiana border. The land is gently rolling, with an elevation ranging from 100 to 400 feet above sea level. Texas Target Communities developed this document in partnership with the City of Ivanhoe. In the summer of 2016, Tyler County and the City of Ivanhoe collaborated with Texas Target Communities to assess current community conditions and explore future development strategies. The project aimed to enhance community-wide discussion through a public participatory process, resulting in developing a comprehensive plan to help guide the future growth of the County and City. A representative task force of community members engaged in a participatory planning process, including visioning, goal setting, alternative scenario exploration, and strategies for implementation. Using courses on campus, TAMU urban planning students were exposed to the planning process and explored innovative ideas. The result of this collaboration is this document, which provides strategies for the community’s growth utilizing the natural resource and the assets of the City.The Ivanhoe Comprehensive Plan 2017-2037 provides guidance for the future development of the city. In the summer of 2016, Tyler County and the City of Ivanhoe collaborated with Texas Target Communities to assess current community conditions and explore future development strategies., which resulted in this comprehensive plan document.Texas Target Communitie

"I’m spiritual but not religious"

It’s relatively easy these days to hear someone say, “I’m spiritual but not religious” — sometimes abbreviated as SBNR. But in our experience it’s not the sort of thing people just go around saying, unprompted; for, much like declaring your love of chocolate, where you’re originally from, or your college major, it’s usually stated as an answer to a question, asked and answered in a specific situation — such as the time that one of us was shopping for furniture in a new city, having just moved there. Learning that we were new to town, the salesperson asked, “Have you found a church-home yet? ” There’s a variety of answers, to be sure, from “Yes I have” or “No, but can you suggest one? ” to “I don’t believe in God” or maybe even “Why are you asking me that? ” Among the imaginable answers to this query would be, "No; I'm spiritual but not religious." This chapter is curious to find out what might be going on in that moment, during that exchange. And given our experience studying human behavior, our hunch is that the social actors involved don't necessarily know all that might be involved in these seemingly simple questions and answers

Nutritional health attitudes and behaviors and their associations with the risk of overweight/obesity among child care providers in Michigan Migrant and Seasonal Head Start centers

Abstract Background Children enrolled in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs are at high risks of health problems. Although non-family child care providers play important roles on children’s health status as role models, educators, program deliverers, and information mediators, little is known about their nutritional health attitudes and behaviors, and weight status. Therefore, we investigated nutritional health attitudes and behaviors and their associations with overweight/obesity among child care providers in Michigan MSHS centers. Methods A total of 307 child care providers aged ≥ 18 years working in 17 Michigan MSHS centers were included in this cross-sectional study conducted in 2013. An online survey questionnaire was used to collect data on nutritional health attitudes and behaviors of child care providers. Weight status was categorized into normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m2), overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m2), and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) based on child care providers’ self-reported height and weight. Factor analysis was performed to investigate patterns of nutritional health attitudes and behaviors. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of overweight/obesity across tertiles of pattern scores taking the lowest tertile group as the reference group after adjustment for potential confounding variables. Results Three patterns of nutritional health attitudes and behaviors were identified: pattern 1) “weight loss practices with weight dissatisfaction”, pattern 2) “healthy eating behaviors”, and pattern 3) “better knowledge of nutrition and health”. The pattern 1 scores were positively associated with overweight/obesity (Tertile 2 vs. Tertile 1: OR = 5.81, 95 % CI = 2.81–12.05; Tertile 3 vs. Tertile 1: OR = 14.89, 95 % CI = 6.18–35.92). Within the pattern 2, the OR for overweight/obesity in individuals with the highest scores was 0.37 (95 % CI = 0.19–0.75) compared with those with the lowest scores. However, the pattern 3 was not associated with the risk of overweight/obesity. Conclusions Our findings support that nutrition education or health interventions targeting MSHS child care providers are urgently necessary. These efforts might be an efficient and effective approach for improving the nutritional health status of young children enrolled in MSHS programs

Paradoxical gender effects in meat consumption across cultures

Abstract Men tend to eat more meat than women, but it is not clear why. We tested three hypotheses in a cross-cultural design (20,802 individuals in 23 countries across four continents): that gender differences are (a) universal, (b) related to gender roles and thus weaker in countries with higher gender equality and human development, or (c) related to opportunities to express gender roles and thus stronger in countries with higher gender equality and human development. Across all countries, men tended to consume more meat than women. However, this difference increased significantly in countries with greater human development and gender equality. The paradoxical gender gap in meat consumption aligns with previous research that suggests greater differences in behavior across genders in contexts that are more developed and gender equal. We discuss implications for theories of culture and gender as well as practical implications for global meat reduction