Using Urban Farmer Perceptions of Urban Agricultural Resources to Inform Extension Programming: A Q Methodology Study

Urban farmers face challenges as they work among traditionally underserved populations, are new to farming, and may not recognize the resources available to them. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prioritizes urban food production research and has recognized the unique challenges faced by urban farmers. The purpose of this study was to better understand the perspectives of urban farmers toward urban agricultural resources. Using the USDA Urban Agricultural Toolkit (2016) as a conceptual framework, this study found three perspectives of Oklahoma agricultural producers regarding urban agricultural resource challenges: The Visionary Farmer, The Business-minded Farmer, and The Learning Farmer. Visionary Farmers emphasize the application of urban agriculture toward urban social and community-building needs. Business-minded Farmers recognize the need for economic and financial education and resources for urban farmers. Learning Farmers highlight the need for continued agricultural education in urban agricultural operations. The findings suggest an opportunity for Extension and farmer-serving agencies to provide innovative communication, programming and support designed to address the unique struggles of urban farmers

Patterns of antimicrobial resistance among enteric bacteria found in multi-site group-level cohorts of humans and swine

The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypes and genotypic characteristics (Class 1 integron and AMR gene cassettes) in commensal Escherichia coli (EC) and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (EF) isolated from humans and swine in a semi-closed, integrated farrow-to-fork population were evaluated in a crosssectional study. Our objective was to establish baseline antimicrobial resistance patterns and to evaluate the stability of isolate recovery phenotype within multiple grab samples per collection day and over multiple biweekly samples collected during a period of several months. This data will serve as a baseline for continuing longitudinal studies within the population. These continuing studies should produce the first comprehensive epidemiological data to document the transmission dynamics of antimicrobial resistance in the farrow-to-fork continuum. Outcome variables assessed included: phenotypic resistance in EC, pan-susceptibility, multi-resistance and genotypic resistance. Potential predictor variables included: 1) host species, 2) unit, 3) unit type, 4) housing cohort by species, and 5) time of day. There were significant differences (p<0.05) between host species with swine at higher odds for both single and multiple resistance. There were also differences in resistance based on unit location, unit-type, and housing cohort within both humans and swine. Our study found no significant differences (p>0.05) in resistance between swine workers and non-swine workers with the sole exception of resistance to cephalothin, with non-swine workers at 1.89 higher odds for resistance (p=0.02). A total of 17 VRE were isolated from human wastewater samples, and to the authorÂs knowledge these represent the first environmentally isolated VRE in the U.S. Several unique multi-resistance phenotypes were observed and future evaluation of AMR phenotype in continuing longitudinal studies provides a unique opportunity to study phenotypic patterns and dissemination through the study population

Does (Non-)Localness Affect MPs’ Levels of Responsiveness? Evidence from a UK Field Experiment

Does an MP's localness affect their behaviour towards constituents? Existing research has shown biases in MPs' responsiveness to citizens based on citizens' sociodemographic and political traits and voters’ tendency to prefer ‘local’ MPs. Yet, we know little about whether MPs' localness affects their responsiveness to constituents. MPs' localness may influence their behaviour for strategic reasons and/or because of homophily. To explore this relationship, we conducted a field experiment in the United Kingdom where we asked legislators about their policy priorities regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that local MPs do not differentiate in their responsiveness to constituents. However, non-local MPs are motivated by party affiliation and gender in their responsiveness to constituents, with ethnicity and class playing insignificant roles. Non-local MPs respond more to co-partisans than non-partisans and women non-local MPs are more responsive to women constituents. This experiment underscores the impact of (non-)localness on MPs' interactions with constituents

Balancing measures or a balanced accounting of improvement impact:a qualitative analysis of individual and focus group interviews with improvement experts in Scotland

Background As quality improvement (QI) programmes have become progressively larger scale, the risks of implementation having unintended consequences are increasingly recognised. More routine use of balancing measures to monitor unintended consequences has been proposed to evaluate overall effectiveness, but in practice published improvement interventions hardly ever report identification or measurement of consequences other than intended goals of improvement. Methods We conducted 15 semistructured interviews and two focus groups with 24 improvement experts to explore the current understanding of balancing measures in QI and inform a more balanced accounting of the overall impact of improvement interventions. Data were analysed iteratively using the framework approach. Results Participants described the consequences of improvement in terms of desirability/undesirability and the extent to which they were expected/unexpected when planning improvement. Four types of consequences were defined: expected desirable consequences (goals); expected undesirable consequences (trade-offs); unexpected undesirable consequences (unpleasant surprises); and unexpected desirable consequences (pleasant surprises). Unexpected consequences were considered important but rarely measured in existing programmes, and an improvement pause to take stock after implementation would allow these to be more actively identified and managed. A balanced accounting of all consequences of improvement interventions can facilitate staff engagement and reduce resistance to change, but has to be offset against the cost of additional data collection. Conclusion Improvement measurement is usually focused on measuring intended goals, with minimal use of balancing measures which when used, typically monitor trade-offs expected before implementation. This paper proposes that improvers and leaders should seek a balanced accounting of all consequences of improvement across the life of an improvement programme, including deliberately pausing after implementation to identify and quantitatively or qualitatively evaluate any pleasant or unpleasant surprises

Les perceptions des étudiants en médecine canadiens concernant la campagne Choisir avec soin

Background: Medical student investment in resource stewardship (RS) is essential as resource overuse continues among physicians, but it is unclear whether this is influenced by hidden curriculum. This study investigated medical student perceptions of Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC). Methods: Canadian Medical students completed a bilingual questionnaire. Chi-square and student’s T-tests were used to analyze Likert responses capturing student attitudes toward questions grouped by theme, including the importance of the CWC campaign, the amount of CWC represented in undergraduate medical curriculum, the application of CWC recommendations in medicine, and the barriers which exist to student advocacy for CWC in practice. Results: There were 3,239/11,754 (26.9%) respondents. While most students (n = 2,720/3,171; 85.8%) endorsed the importance of CWC, few students felt that their institution had sufficiently integrated CWC into pre-clerkship (47.0%) and clerkship (63.5%) curricula. Overall, 61.4% of students felt that it is reasonable to expect physicians to apply CWC recommendations given the workplace culture in medicine. Only 35.1% of students were comfortable addressing resource misuse with their preceptor. The most common barriers included the assumption that their preceptor was more knowledgeable (86.4%), concern over evaluations (66.0%), and concern for their reputation (31.2%).  Conclusions: Canadian medical students recognize the importance of CWC. However, many trainees feel that the workplace culture in medicine does not support the application of CWC recommendations. A power imbalance exists that prevents students from advocating for RS in practice.Contexte : Alors que les médecins continuent à surutiliser les ressources, l’investissement des étudiants en médecine dans l’intendance des ressources (IR) est essentiel, mais il n’est pas clair s’il s’agit d’un effet du curriculum caché. La présente étude examine les perceptions des étudiants en médecine concernant la campagne Choisir avec soin (CWC). Méthodes : Des étudiants en médecine canadiens ont été invités à remplir un questionnaire bilingue. Le test du chi carré et le test de Student ont été utilisés pour analyser leurs réponses, exprimées sur une échelle de Likert, reflétant leur position sur des questions regroupées par thème, notamment l’importance de la campagne CWC, le degré d’intégration des principes de la CWC dans le programme d’études médicales de premier cycle, l’application des recommandations de la CWC en médecine et les facteurs pratiques qui peuvent freiner la promotion de la CWC par les étudiants. Résultats : Parmi les 3 239/11 754 (26,9 %) répondants, la plupart (n=2 720/3 171 ; 85,8 %) reconnaissaient l’importance de la CWC, mais peu d’étudiants estiment que leur établissement ait suffisamment intégré la CWC au pré-externat (47,0 %) et à l’externat (63,5 %). Dans l’ensemble, 61,4 % des étudiants estiment qu’il est raisonnable d’attendre des médecins qu’ils appliquent les recommandations de la CWC compte tenu de la culture du lieu de travail en médecine. Seuls 35,1 % des étudiants sont à l’aise pour aborder la question de la mauvaise utilisation des ressources avec leur précepteur. Les obstacles les plus courants sont la supposition que leur précepteur est mieux informé qu’eux (86,4 %), la crainte des évaluations (66,0 %) et la crainte pour leur réputation (31,2 %). Conclusions : Les étudiants en médecine canadiens reconnaissent l’importance de la CWC. Cependant, de nombreux stagiaires estiment que la culture du lieu de travail en médecine ne favorise pas l’application des recommandations de la CWC. Le rapport de pouvoir qui y existe empêche les étudiants de défendre l’IR dans la pratique

Pollination effectiveness of specialist and generalist visitors to a North Carolina population of Claytonia virginica

We measured the pollination effectiveness and visitation rates of major insect visitors of Claytonia virginica, an obligately insect-pollinated spring wildflower, in a North Carolina deciduous forest. Seed set in the population was not pollinator-limited except during rainy weather and very early in the flowering season. The solitary bee Andrena erigeniae and the bee fly Bombylius major were responsible for more than 75% of the visits to C. virginica. Andrena erigeniae is a specialist on C. virginica, while B. major is a common visitor to many plant species. We measured the effectiveness of a pollinator by the probability that a visit resulted in fruit (capsule) formation. For those flowers that were successfully pollinated and thus produced a capsule, number of seeds did not vary with visitor identity or the total number of visits received. Although B. major and female A. erigeniae differ greatly in morphology and foraging behavior, a visit by either insect results in equally high seed set. As B. major is about two-thirds as abundant as A. erigeniae females on C. virginica, both insects contribute substantially to seed set in our population. With the visitation frequency and pollination effectiveness we measured, the generalist B. major alone has the potential to pollinate three-quarters of the flowers

Review of the effectiveness of current community ownership mechanisms and of options for supporting the expansion of community ownership in Scotland

This report presents the findings of research commissioned by the Scottish Land Commission to review the effectiveness of community ownership mechanisms and options for simplifying or improving these mechanisms to enable and support the expansion of community ownership in Scotland. This included reviewing processes relating to negotiated sales or transfers of land and/or assets to communities, as well as legislative mechanisms including the Community Right to Buy (CRtB), Crofting Community Right to Buy, the Transfer of Crofting Estates (Scotland) Act 1997 and Asset Transfer measures under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015