Rural Women Striding Forward

Global Fund for Women believes the empowerment of rural women, a continued focus on food security, and access to resources are women's rights issues; all three are needed to address critical gaps in human rights and development processes. To this end, Global Fund launched a 2.5 year grant making and learning initiative in June 2011 to support 22 rural women's groups working on sustainable agriculture and the promotion of women's rights in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda. Our research framework addressed critical questions regarding constraints facing women farmers, and their preferred strategies for enhanced agricultural performance and advocacy for their human rights. We expected the learnings would provide strategic direction for grantees' work, Global Fund programs and the funding practices of other donor and development actors. This summary shares key findings from the 2013 evaluation of the initiative

REVIEW: Sherman’s 1864 Trail of Battle to Atlanta

Review of the non-fiction book Sherman’s 1864 Trail of Battle to Atlanta, by Philip L. Secrist

Promoting appreciation of cultural diversity and inclusion with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen garden program

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present emergent findings from an evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden (SAKG) Program showing that the program promoted appreciation of cultural diversity and inclusion of culturally diverse groups. Design/methodology/approach – The findings reported here are from the qualitative component of a mixed-method, nonrandomized, pre- and post-comparison evaluation study. Focus groups and interviews were held with school principals, teachers, program specialist staff, parents, volunteers and children at the program schools. Findings – In a culturally diverse school, the program enhanced the school’s capacity to engage and include children and families from migrant backgrounds. In less diverse settings, the program provided opportunities for schools to teach children about cultural diversity. Research limitations/implications – Assessing the program’s impact on multicultural education was not a specific objective of this study, rather these findings emerged as an unanticipated outcome during interviews and focus groups that explored participants’ views on important changes to schools associated with the program. Thus, the quantitative component of the evaluation did not assess the extent of this program impact and further research is recommended. Practical implications – The program may have particular value in culturally diverse schools, providing benefits in terms of engagement of children and families and potentially, in the longer term, associated improvements in learning outcomes. Social implications – These findings suggest that the program can help to promote social equity and inclusion for culturally diverse groups. Originality/value – This paper highlights critical equity implications associated with school-based programs’ capacity to include culturally and linguistically diverse groups

Children as Bushfire Educators - 'Just be Calm, and Stuff Like That'

The limited evidence about disaster education programs for children indicates that they can increase disaster resilience, family based preparedness activities and reduce child fear and anxiety. However there are still gaps in the literature, including qualitative studies to provide insights into children’s experiences of disaster education programs, and follow up with children who are impacted by actual disasters. This paper reports on a pilot study in Victoria, Australia of a ‘Survive and Thrive’ bushfire education program delivered by the local Fire Brigade and incorporated into the school curricula for upper primary school children in Anglesea, a coastal town with very high bushfire risk. A mix of longitudinal qualitative methods captures the child experience and the program impacts including impact on child agency. The results show the children enjoyed the program and valued the life skills acquired. They demonstrated knowledge and skills gained in monitoring environmental risks and bushfire behaviour, and more nuanced understanding of the differential roles of adults and children in responding to a bushfire in different contexts. Faced with the reality of a nearby bushfire in the summer holidays, children demonstrated their capacity to apply their knowledge and to contribute to family response.

Velocity Analysis of Multi-Receiver Full Waveform Acoustic Logging Data In Open and Cased Holes

Average semblance and maximum-likelihood spectral analyses are applied to synthetic and field full waveform acoustic logging data to determine formation velocities. Of particular interest is the ability of these methods to resolve the P and shear/pseudo Rayleigh arrivals in data from poorly-bonded cased boreholes. In synthetic open-hole data the velocity analyses yield results within 4% of the true velocities. Results from synthetic well-bonded cased hole data are generally as good as those from the open hole data. However, if the formation P-wave velocity is within roughly 10% of the plate velocity of the steel pipe (about 5.3-5.5 km/s), then there may be a resonance effect that appears to slow down the P wave slightly (on the order of 6%). For cased-hole models with no steel/cement bonding (the free-pipe situation), the measured P-wave velocities are typically 6 to 8% less than the actual formation velocities. If the formation S-wave velocity is greater than about 2.5 km/s, the S-wave velocity estimate may also be 6 to 8% low. Furthermore, increasing the thickness of either the cement layer or the fluid layer between the pipe and the cement further decreases the formation velocity estimates. Also, if the P-wave velocity is within roughly 15% of the velocity of the steel arrival, the P wave may not be resolved by the semblance method unless the data is first low-pass filtered. Initial tests show that this filtering process may adversely affect the final P-wave velocity estimate, but the details of this type of approach have not been studied. The P wave is resolved. by spectral analysis of the original, unfiltered data. For cased-hole models with no cement/formation bonding (the unbonded-casing situation), formation S-wave velocities are estimated to within 3% relative error, and the formation P-wave velocity is estimated to within 2% error in a slow formation. However, for P-wave velocities between 3.4 km/s and 5.94 km/a, the P wave cannot be resolved by spectral analysis, and it is resolved by the semblance method only in the model with the low velocity (3.4 km/s).Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Full Waveform Acoustic Logging ConsortiumPhillips Petroleum Fellowshi

Network analysis of 3D complex plasma clusters in a rotating electric field

Network analysis was used to study the structure and time evolution of driven three-dimensional complex plasma clusters. The clusters were created by suspending micron-size particles in a glass box placed on top of the rf electrode in a capacitively coupled discharge. The particles were highly charged and manipulated by an external electric field that had a constant magnitude and uniformly rotated in the horizontal plane. Depending on the frequency of the applied electric field, the clusters rotated in the direction of the electric field or remained stationary. The positions of all particles were measured using stereoscopic digital in-line holography. The network analysis revealed the interplay between two competing symmetries in the cluster. The rotating cluster was shown to be more cylindrical than the nonrotating cluster. The emergence of vertical strings of particles was also confirmed.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures; corrected Fig.4 and typo

Goss’s wilt: Get the facts

Goss’s wilt and leaf blight is caused by the bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskense (Cmn). Historically, this disease has been a concern only to growers in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado on irrigated fields. In 2008, Goss’s wilt was reported in eight counties in Iowa and its prevalence has increased each year. In 2011, the disease was widespread throughout the central and northern two thirds of Iowa. It was also reported in a few counties in the southern third tier of counties. Why the sudden increase in the prevalence of this disease? Has the pathogen changed? Are various production practices to blame? Is seed contaminated with the bacterium? There are many questions concerning this disease

Promoting Social Inclusion through Sport for Refugee-Background Youth in Australia: Analysing Different Participation Models

Sports participation can confer a range of physical and psychosocial benefits and, for refugee and migrant youth, may even act as a critical mediator for achieving positive settlement and engaging meaningfully in Australian society. This group has low participation rates however, with identified barriers including costs; discrimination and a lack of cultural sensitivity in sporting environments; lack of knowledge of mainstream sports services on the part of refugee-background settlers; inadequate access to transport; culturally determined gender norms; and family attitudes. Organisations in various sectors have devised programs and strategies for addressing these participation barriers. In many cases however, these responses appear to be ad hoc and under-theorised. This article reports findings from a qualitative exploratory study conducted in a range of settings to examine the benefits, challenges and shortcomings associated with different participation models. Interview participants were drawn from non-government organisations, local governments, schools, and sports clubs. Three distinct models of participation were identified, including short term programs for refugee-background children; ongoing programs for refugee-background children and youth; and integration into mainstream clubs. These models are discussed in terms of their relative challenges and benefits and their capacity to promote sustainable engagement and social inclusion for this population group

LISA BLOCK DE BEHAR

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