Expanding Well-Being by Participating in Grassroots Innovations: Using the Capability Approach to Explore the Interest of Alternative Food Networks for Community Social Services

Grassroots social innovations are citizen-led initiatives that develop bottom-up solutions to societal challenges. Alternative food networks (AFNs) are innovations which propose alternative schemes for distribution and consumption of food such as community-based agriculture or food cooperatives which can improve the well-being of participants. Its potential for social work and social services has been recognised, but remains underexplored. This paper proposes a theoretical framework based on the capability approach in order to explore the impacts, drivers and factors at play in the expansion of well-being in participants in AFNs. This framework is applied to address seven cases of different kind of AFNs in Valencia (Spain) and to explore implications and strands of action so community social services can make use of AFNs. The study draws on information from thirteen interviews with participants of AFNs, local experts and policymakers; from secondary sources and from participant observation. It deductively uses the categories in the framework and inductively identifies specific capabilities, drivers and factors. The results show that AFNs expand well-being in several aspects of human experience. They are highly diverse, from more reformist to more radical, so they can mobilise different publics. Social services can benefit from this impact and diversit

Combining remote sensing and field mapping methods to study the vegetation dynamics within a coastal wetland and determine the habitat effects of a threatened bird species (Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi)

[EN] Coastal wetlands are highly dynamic changing ecosystems because of the effects of meteorology, wildlife interactions and human activities. They are one of the world's most threatened ecosystems, and threats to them drive the most specialist species to unfavorable conservation status and population trends. Therefore, it is important to frequently monitor the coverage changes of the different vegetation types to understand these species' population dynamics. However, frequent and detailed cartography entails costly efforts. Here, satellite images with field mapping were combined to create vegetation classification maps for past years from SPOT-5 images in the Pego-Oliva coastal wetland (Spain) and obtained classification accuracies above 85%. Together with habitat selection models, this information was used to understand the changes in the habitat of a threatened bird species, the Eastern Iberian reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi), whose population has sharply declined in recent decades in Spain. A statistically significant reduction in reed-rush patches (positively selected habitat) and an increase in homogeneous reed patches (negatively selected habitat) were observed in those areas where the species disappeared as breeders. This study shows the potential of remote sensing and GIS techniques for the a posteriori monitoring of variation in the habitats available for threatened species to set up management and conservation measures.The authors thank the authorities of the Marjal Pego-Oliva Natural Park for providing the facilities to work in protected areas and for the relevant permits. This study has been funded by projects CGL2005-02041/BOS and CGL2010-21933-C02-02 from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. P. Vera was granted research support by Spanish Ornithological Society/BirdLife in 2008. Nacho Encabo and Marcial Marin helped with the fieldwork in 2006 and 2007.Carrasco, L.; Vera, P.; Belda, E.; Monrós, JS. (2017). Combining remote sensing and field mapping methods to study the vegetation dynamics within a coastal wetland and determine the habitat effects of a threatened bird species (Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi). Journal of Coastal Research. 34(1):42-49. https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-16-00194.1S424934

A First Assessment of the Corrections for the Consistency of the IAU2000 and IAU2006 Precession-Nutation Models

The Earth precession-nutation model endorsed by resolutions of each the International Astronomical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics is composed of two theories developed independently, namely IAU2006 precession and IAU2000A nutation. The IAU2006 precession was adopted to supersede the precession part of the IAU 2000A precession-nutation model and tried to get the new precession theory dynamically consistent with the IAU2000A nutation. However, full consistency was not reached, and slight adjustments of the IAU2000A nutation amplitudes at the micro arcsecond level were required to ensure consistency. The first set of formulae for these corrections derived by Capitaine et al. (Astrophys 432(1):355–367, 2005), which was not included in IAU2006 but provided in some standards and software for computing nutations. Later, Escapa et al. showed that a few additional terms of the same order of magnitude have to be added to the 2005 expressions to get complete dynamical consistency between the official precession and nutation models. In 2018 Escapa and Capitaine made a joint review of the problem and proposed three alternative ways of nutation model and its parameters to achieve consistency to certain different extents, although no estimation of their respective effects could be worked out to illustrate the proposals. Here we present some preliminary results on the assessment of the effects of each of the three sets of corrections suggested by Escapa and Capitaine (Proceedings of the Journées, des Systémes de Référence et de la Rotation Terrestre: Furthering our Knowledge of Earth Rotation, Alicante, 2018) by testing them in conjunction with the conventional celestial pole offsets given in the IERS EOP14C04 time series.The four first authors were partially supported by Spanish Project AYA2016-79775-P (AEI/FEDER, UE)

SDG localisation and decentralised development aid: exploring opposing discourses and practices in Valencia's aid sector

The approval of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has generated intense debates in the aid sector at the global, national and subnational levels. A key question is whether they can address structural problems in development aid policies and practices, such as the lack of accountability and coherence, unequal power relations, or depoliticisation. It seems that this will depend on how the agenda is adopted in the various territories as well as on the different interests at play. We address this question by studying the case of the Valencian Autonomous region. This is the territory in Spain where institutions have been the most active in establishing the SDGs at the core of the political discourses. We follow a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews with key respondents from the public, civil society and university sectors, participant observation, and the analysis of secondary information. Inspired by critical discourse analysis, we explore the varying and conflicting discourses regarding the potential of SDGs to address the problems of aid, and on the impacts that its adoption are producing. We illustrate that the introduction of SDGs in aid policies is a conflictive process modelled by the power dynamics

Addressing sustainable food management in hotels: proposing a framework and examining hotel groups

Purpose - Sustainable food practices have been recognised as a key issue in efforts to improve and report sustainable tourism practices, given the importance of the social, environmental and economic impacts of the food industry throughout its entire chain of production - from farm to fork. From this standpoint, the aim of the present paper is to propose a comprehensive framework for reporting or making decisions concerning sustainable food management in hotels, taking into account the various facets of the food supply chain. Design/methodology/approach - Several dimensions are proposed for dealing with sustainable food management, involving all aspects of food supply chains that may be relevant for hotel decision-making. Furthermore, some key criteria for creating and using indicators of different types (qualitative and quantitative) to address these various dimensions of sustainable food management are suggested. Subsequently, the proposed framework is validated with the sustainability criteria and indicators provided by the top eight hotel groups, according to the 2019 SAM Annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Findings - Hotels neglect a number of aspects of sustainable food management identified in the framework. The quality and the quantity of the information provided by hotels are limited. Practical implications - There is a need to improve sustainability in food management in the hotels under analysis in several areas. A comprehensive framework such as that proposed in this paper may be of great value in seeking to remedy this situation. It may also assist users of hotel services and communities in making more informed decisions. Originality/value - The proposed framework may be beneficial in advancing academic debate towards a more embracing and relevant understanding of sustainable food management in hotels and on the indicators required in this regard. Keywords Sustainability indicators, Sustainable supply chain, Food chain management, Food waste, Hotels Paper type Research pape

Perspectives for implementing fisheries certification in developing countries

This paper discusses the future of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a market-based certification program, in developing countries and exposes the challenges and opportunities for fish producers. The MSC needs to attract the interest of more fishing enterprises from these regions to increase its global presence. Because most fisheries in developing countries cannot meet the MSC standards, or afford the certification process costs, it is suggested that there is a need for developing different levels within the MSC system and additional third-party assessing organizations. MSC certification may mean adoption of improvements in fisheries management and approving fishing regimes in developing countries. However, post-certification benefits may decrease as more fisheries become certified

Cardiac beriberi and malnutrition: rare complication of paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis is an endemic systemic mycosis that predominates in southern Mexico, parts of Central America, and South America. It is caused by a dimorphic fungus and is generally acquired through the lungs, from where it disseminates. Paracoccidioidomycosis has different clinical manifestations that require differentiation with tuberculosis, Hodgkin disease, several systemic and subcutaneous mycoses, and squamous cell carcinoma. Radiologic abnormalities in the lung fields may be seen. Mucous membrane lesions occasionally occur. The diagnosis is confirmed by finding yeast-like elements of P. brasiliensis in microscopic examinations of wet preparations of specimens submitted for mycologic studies. The occurrence of malnutrition and particularly beri beri conditions concomitant with paracoccidioidomycosis is uncommon. We report a case of a patient of low socio-economic status, without  permanent employment , possibly carrying out work as a bricklayer or working on small farms during the harvest season, with a five-year history of oral cavity lesions, which resulted  in difficulty eating  and  thus weight loss. A diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis was made through direct microscopy examination, culture and multisystem involvement was confirmed through imaging tests, including dilatation and dysfunction of the right ventricle. The hypothesis of Cardiac Beri-Beri related to thiamine deficiency was raised. The treatment was carried out with thiamine supplementation and liposomal amphotericin B, with excellent clinical evolution of the patient. This case highlights the importance of early recognition of paracoccidioidomycosis in its early stages and the adoption of proactive measures in the search for possible organic complications caused by nutritional deficiencies in prolonged cases