Tourism and African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Behavior in Zambezi National Park, Zimbabwe

As charismatic megafauna and a flagship species, African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are vital to the African tourist economy. Conversely, high levels of wildlife tourism can induce behavioral shifts that push desired animals into less frequented areas and disrupt natural behaviors. In order to examine this trade-off, tourism levels and African elephant behaviors were studied in Zambezi National Park (ZNP) near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Over the course of 14 weeks, in-person observations and camera traps in ZNP were used to collect geographic, demographic, and behavioral data from elephant sightings. As a proxy for human presence, geo-locational data were collected for each vehicle sighted in ZNP. These data of vehicles and elephants were mapped in ArcGIS to show a visual representation of their spatial relationship and identify high density and hotspot locations. Analyses from physical observations found that elephants were more frequently sighted in the park region with less vehicle traffic, as expected, but surprisingly also expressed more vigilance behaviors in that region. These results imply that elephants in high traffic regions become accustomed to vehicles but still avoid them when possible. Analyses from camera trap data revealed that only two of the six waterholes monitored had inversely related elephant and human presence, as predicted. There was no clear relationship between elephant and human presence. Future studies should account for habitat type differences in behavioral observations and compare elephant waterhole use in more heavily visited parks

Liquid gold: tapping into the power dynamics of maple syrup supply chains

In 2012, the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve in Québec was the site of a major food crime, as thieves siphoned off 9600 barrels (3,000 tonnes) of ‘liquid gold’ for counterfeit sale across provincial and state borders, in what became known as the Great Maple Syrup Heist. The heist has been characterized as a rebellious response to the quota controls established by the Federation of Québec Maple Syrup Producers which has, since 1990, agreed with its members to hand over any surplus to ensure stability of supply and pricing. Although the iconography and imagery of the story of maple syrup production still heavily draws upon a nostalgic era of the small farm producer, these events suggest a powerful group which, in the wake of the heist, was branded by some rogue producers as a maple syrup ’cartel’, even though the reserve was decided by the collective membership. Quebec produces approximately 80% of the world supply, and, to consolidate its position the Federation expanded its global marketing campaign, which in 2017 saw the construction of a revised and rebranded new set of ‘4 Grades’ based on translucence, each with associated flavour profiles, and the creation of a maple flavour wheel, all designed to invoke a unique Québec maple terroir. In this paper I trace the historical evolution of Québec maple syrup production and marketing since the 1930s through to the establishment of the Federation. I consider where power and agency sits - and has shifted - within this supply chain, taking into consideration the implications for small-scale producers and consumers

Temporalities of mental health recovery

Since the 1990s, the concept of ‘recovery in/from serious mental health problems’ has been iterated internationally as the new paradigm in mental health policy and practice. A constitutive element of recovery discourse is a struggle over what defines a ‘good’ life-in-time; yet temporalities of recovery remain under-investigated. This article offers an empirical exploration of recovery enacted in an NHS ‘arts for mental health’ service called Create. I present an analysis of several intersecting temporalities at play within Create through the lens of one service-user’s story. The temporal orderings of the situated aesthetic care practices at Create encapsulate competing articulations of recovery, hope and aspiration. These different temporalities enact different subjectivities, revealing recovery to be a set of socio-political struggles over what lives are deemed liveable in the context of global neo-liberal capitalism

Recovery-as-policy as a form of neoliberal state making

In this paper I provide an analysis of the implementation of “recovery” as a policy object and commitment in the UK. This can be situated as part of the New Labour government’s (1997-2010) reform of the NHS during the 2000s. Through a textual analysis of policy and legislation from this time I draw out a tension between contemporary ideals of choice and autonomy in healthcare and the specificities of a mental healthcare system in which psychiatrists are legislatively empowered to treat patients without their consent. In the UK, evidence continues to show that the most economically and socially disadvantaged members of British society are most likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act 2007. This paper provides an intersectional analysis of the ways in which policy, legislation and psychiatrization enact particular subjects as ‘failed’ citizens. Following Tyler (2010; 2013), I argue that these practices of exclusion and detainment are constituent elements of neoliberal state-making, which are discriminatory and unjust

Conclusions

The aim of this book has been to critically analyse the interface betweenhuman rights and tobacco control. As evidenced by a vast amount of scientificresearch, tobacco has a devastating impact on the lives, health and well-beingof many individuals in society. The production, sale and consumption oftobacco therefore raise important questions from the perspective of humanrights

Social Resilience and Agency. Perspectives on Ageing and Health from Tanzania

In the literature on sustainable development and resilience, “agency” is commonly used as a synonym for “capacity” or “capability”. In our earlier publication we have also used this terminology. But what exactly happens when social actors consider which capacities are important to deal with a threat? How are social actors capable of critically evaluating and possibly even changing their access to capitals and the enabling or constraining conditions of their own lives? We will draw on approaches developed in social theory to sharpen the analysis of the relationship between resilience and agency. To illustrate this refined perspective, we draw on empirical research on ageing, agency and health in Tanzania. We will take the threat of old age frailty and disability as a starting point, explore empirical situations of old age care as an engagement (or disengagement) by actors of the multiple social and cultural configurations that constrain or enable actions, and examine whether, through the interplay of habit, imagination, and judgment, these engagements reproduce or transform those structures and thus build social resilience to the threat of old age frailty and disability. This approach enabled us to identify several constellations which opened up interactive spaces for the public or private deliberations of available options (practical-evaluative agency), the active generation of possible future trajectories (projective agency) and sometimes even for structural modifications (transformative agency) with regard to old age care. Our findings further indicate that individual and collective actors positioned at the intersection of diverse fields of practice can develop more evaluative, projective and even transformative agency

Korruption und Demokratisierung : Rekonstruktion des Forschungsstandes an den Schnittstellen zu Institutionenökonomik und politischer Transformationsforschung

Ziel des Reports ist eine Bestandsaufnahme des Forschungsstandes zum wechselseitigen Zusammenhang zwischen Korruption und Demokratisierung. Während „vertiefte“ Demokratisierung als Korruption reduzierend angesehen werden kann, wirken in frühen Stadien Mechanismen, die Korruption eher noch befördern. Korruption wirkt ihrerseits hemmend auf demokratische Entwicklung insbesondere dort, wo sie den Charakter einer systemprägenden Vereinnahmung des Staates annimmt. Endemische Korruption steht zudem in wechselseitigem Zusammenhang mit übergreifenden sozioökonomischen Problematiken und schwacher Staatlichkeit, welche sich ebenfalls auf die Erfolgschancen der Demokratisierung auswirken

A Trekker’s Guide to the Khumbu Himalaya: Trailside Geology Along the Everest Base Camp Trek

The Himalaya is the youngest and highest mountain range in the world. It thus provides a wonderful field lab for studying the mountain building process in action. The trek in the Khumbu (northeastern Nepal) from Lukla to Everest Base Camp takes you through the Higher Himalaya and some interesting geological features. This project gives an introduction to the larger Himalaya geology and more specifically geology of the Khumbu Region. It then follows the Lukla-Everest Base Camp (EBC) trekking route pointing out interesting geologic features along the way. Some of the concepts explained in this project are somewhat technical. For this reason, a glossary has been provided and more technical terms are defined throughout the chapters