Analyzing the Opportunities and Pitfalls of Participation in International Agricultural and Environmental Development

Participation in development by those most affected by programs is increasingly encouraged by donor agencies; however, true participation often remains elusive and misunderstood in practice. This dissertation presents three manuscripts that apply different disciplinary lenses to the concept of participation. The first manuscript analyzes two cases using participation in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems as a means to explain differences in project outcomes that aim to alter social ecological systems. The manuscript introduces a participatory matrix as a simple tool to assess participation in a project's M&E system. The cases relate participation in M&E to improved program outcomes including resource health, sustained livelihoods, and robust social structures. The second manuscript applies new institutional economic theory to the phenomenon of the decline of traditional irrigation systems, karez, as communities adopt pump wells. The study uses records on ecological, institutional, economic, and social factors from Iran and Pakistan spanning the 1950's through 2016, to analyze factors influencing displacement of karez. Evidence suggests that in the areas studied, alterations to institutions governing water and land left small-scale producers worse off, while benefitting large-scale producers. The third manuscript analyzes empirical data from the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Program (AAEP). Program investment in capacity building activities for Farmer Field School (FFS) facilitators was significant yet use of the FFS approach in Afghanistan's extension system remained lower than expected. Quantitative data show a significant and positive effect of capacity building training on Farmer Field School facilitator use of FFS. Qualitative data give voice to extension worker and trained FFS facilitator explanations of FFS use by individuals highlighting both motivators and barriers

I\u27m a Strong Independent Black Woman : The Cost of Strong Black Woman Schema Endorsement

The Strong Black Woman Schema (SBWS) is a cultural expectation placed on black women to unfailingly display signs of strength and caretaker qualities, while suppressing their emotions. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress, suicidal behaviors, and resilience. Researchers expected to find a positive relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress, a positive relationship between the SBWS and resilience, and an undefined relationship between the SBWS and suicidal behaviors. The study also examined the potential moderating effects of the SBWS and resilience on the existing psychological distress-suicidal behaviors relationship. Lastly, the study examined how socioeconomic status moderates the relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress. It was expected that the SBWS and resilience would weaken the relationship between psychological distress and suicidal behaviors; higher socioeconomic status would weaken the relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress. Researchers recruited 177 black women to take a 30-minute survey. A bivariate correlation analysis showed that the SBWS shares a positive relationship with psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and stress, and suicidal behaviors. However, resilience was not associated with the SBWS. Resilience was found to moderate the psychological distress-suicidal behaviors relationship, while the SBWS did not. Socioeconomic status did not moderate the relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress. The findings of this study bear important clinical and community implications. By determining the harmful effects of the SBWS, further research can be conducted on how black woman, mental health professionals, and community advocates can mitigate its effects

Clinician perspectives on current implementation of digitally fabricated complete dentures: A survey of prosthodontists.

Purpose: New technologies in dentistry aim to make clinical practice of higher quality, more predictable, and more efficient, but the cost of this convenience is not always considered. Digitally fabricated dentures are one such technology for which we have little research on the cost and benefits. The purpose of this survey was to explore the current usage of traditional and digitally fabricated dentures among general dentists and prosthodontists in the United States. Methods: A confidential survey was conducted, comprised of 20 questions, using Qualtrics® Research Suite. The survey was distributed via electronic mail (email) to members of the North Carolina Dental Society and the American College of Prosthodontics. Chi-Squared tests and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to analyze the data. Results: Out of 5,199 NCDS participants emailed the survey, 129 (2.5%) responded. Out of 1,820 ACP emails, 305 (16.8%) responded. Univariate and bivariate analyses revealed several statistically significant comparisons when evaluating data from prosthodontists only. Of prosthodontist participants, 31.5% responded that they are currently implementing digital dentures, with 36.6% interested in learning and/or incorporating digital denture techniques. Only 37.7% reported they have not tried the technology and 12.7% that they have tried the technology, but are not interested in using it again. When considering factors that are important when considering the implementation of digital denture technology in practice, 55.8% agree laboratory costs matter, 72.1% agree total chair time spent matters, and 81.9% agree patient satisfaction matters. About 12 respondents added comments specifically about unacceptable esthetics of digitally fabricated dentures compared with conventional dentures as a drawback to the technology. Conclusion: The survey results demonstrated that prosthodontists are implementing digitally fabricated dentures in their clinical practice as well as in educational settings, but not at the rate that might be expected of a technology that has been available for 8 or more years. Prosthodontists who graduated from dental school after about 1991 seem most interested in learning about and incorporating these newer technologies. Considering the factors that matter to implementing this newer technology, time, cost, and patient satisfaction seem to be important.Master of Scienc

Evolution of diadromy in fish: insights from a tropical genus (Kuhlia species)

Diadromous species undergo regular migration between fresh and marine waters. This behavior is found in many species, including fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, some of which are commercially valuable species. Several attempts to trace the evolution of this behavior have been made in Salmonidae and Galaxiidae, but ambiguous phylogenies and multiple character state changes prevented unequivocal conclusions. The Kuhliidae family consists of 12 fish species that inhabit tropical islands in the Indo-Pacific region. The species have marine, partially catadromous, or fully catadromous life histories (i.e., they migrate from rivers to the sea to reproduce). The evolution of migratory behavior was traced on a well-resolved phylogeny. Catadromous Kuhlia species were basal, and partially catadromous and marine species formed derived monophyletic groups. This is, to our knowledge, the first time that a clear origin and polarity for the diadromous character has been demonstrated. We propose that the relative lack of resources in tropical, inshore, marine habitats and the ephemeral and isolated nature of freshwater environments of tropical islands, combined with phenotypic plasticity of migratory traits, play key roles in driving the evolution of diadromy in the Kuhliidae and probably in other groups. This work is an important starting point to understand the role of diadromy in speciation and adaptation in unstable habitats

What do we know about how the Program Evaluation Standards are used in public health?

Background: Released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health prominently features the program evaluation standards (1999). The program evaluation standards (PES) include 30 statements in five domains: utility, feasibility, propriety, accuracy, and evaluation accountability. Despite decades of attention to the PES among framework users and others, how public health professionals apply these standards in their work is not well understood. Purpose: The study sought to identify notable commonalities in how the PES are used in public health. Setting: Application of the PES in evaluative work in public health and allied fields. Intervention: Not applicable. Research Design:  The study included a search of subscription and nonsubscription sources to identify documents that included explicit content concerning use of standards in evaluative work in public health. Documents identified were screened using predetermined criteria to include or exclude each item in the study. Items included were reviewed and coded using codes developed before examining all documents. For each code, reviewers discussed data from all documents to identify commonalities and variations in application of standards. Findings: The literature search returned 405 documents to be screened (179 from subscription and 226 from nonsubscription sources). Thirty-eight items were included in the study based on initial screening (11 from subscription and 27 from nonsubscription sources). The study revealed that authors discussed standards as a regular component of evaluation work, but precisely how standards were used was not always explained in detail. Also, authors did not always discuss standards statements but sometimes solely focused on general domains (e.g., feasibility or accuracy). When authors discussed specific statements, they were more descriptive in how they applied the PES (i.e., compared with articles that focused on general domains). Overall, authors placed far greater emphasis on Accuracy and Utility standards, compared with Propriety, Evaluation Accountability, or Feasibility. In many cases, authors used the PES in combination with other resources (e.g., checklists, guidelines, or other standards). Although program evaluation is crucial to public health practice, the mechanics of how professionals consider, integrate, or use evaluation standards is not fully understood. Keywords: program evaluation; program evaluation standards; public healt

Оцінка якості життя у вікових першовагітних та вагітних з великим інтергенетичним інтервалом

Проведено изучение показателей качества жизни у 120 возрастных первобеременных и 240 беременных с большим интергенетическим интервалом с использованием опросника SF-36 Health Status Survey, разработанного The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Boston, USA. Исследование показало, что пациентки обеих групп имеют низкие показатели качества жизни. При сравнении большинство изучаемых параметров оценки качества жизни в обследованных группах не отличались, однако у пациенток с большим интергенетическим интервалом – достоверно выше оценка социальной роли и энергетичности. Оценка качества жизни у возрастных первобеременных и беременных с большим интергенетическим интервалом является важным сегментом наблюдения во время беременности, который оценивает перспективы развития беременности в психологическом, физическом и социальном аспектах.A study of the life quality of 120 over-age primigravidas and of 240 women with a large intergenetic interval has been carried out using the questionnaire SF-36 Health Status Survey developed by The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Boston, USA. This research has shown that the patients in the both groups have a low quality of life. The major part of the life quality parameters were the same in the both groups, however, in patients with a large interval between births the values of the social role and the energy level were significantly higher. The life quality of over-age primigravidas and pregnant women with a large interval between successive births is an important sector of observation during pregnancy, which allows assessing the prospects of pregnancy in the psychological, physical, and social aspects

Invertebrate population genetics across Earth's largest habitat: The deep-sea floor

Despite the deep sea being the largest habitat on Earth, there are just 77 population genetic studies of invertebrates (115 species) inhabiting non-chemosynthetic ecosystems on the deep-sea floor (below 200 m depth). We review and synthesize the results of these papers. Studies reveal levels of genetic diversity comparable to shallow-water species. Generally, populations at similar depths were well connected over 100s–1,000s km, but studies that sampled across depth ranges reveal population structure at much smaller scales (100s–1,000s m) consistent with isolation by adaptation across environmental gradients, or the existence of physical barriers to connectivity with depth. Few studies were ocean-wide (under 4%), and 48% were Atlantic-focused. There is strong emphasis on megafauna and commercial species with research into meiofauna, “ecosystem engineers” and other ecologically important species lacking. Only nine papers account for ~50% of the planet's surface (depths below 3,500 m). Just two species were studied below 5,000 m, a quarter of Earth's seafloor. Most studies used single-locus mitochondrial genes revealing a common pattern of non-neutrality, consistent with demographic instability or selective sweeps; similar to deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna. The absence of a clear difference between vent and non-vent could signify that demographic instability is common in the deep sea, or that selective sweeps render single-locus mitochondrial studies demographically uninformative. The number of population genetics studies to date is miniscule in relation to the size of the deep sea. The paucity of studies constrains meta-analyses where broad inferences about deep-sea ecology could be made

Science Priorities for Seamounts: Research Links to Conservation and Management

Seamounts shape the topography of all ocean basins and can be hotspots of biological activity in the deep sea. The Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (CenSeam) was a field program that examined seamounts as part of the global Census of Marine Life (CoML) initiative from 2005 to 2010. CenSeam progressed seamount science by collating historical data, collecting new data, undertaking regional and global analyses of seamount biodiversity, mapping species and habitat distributions, challenging established paradigms of seamount ecology, developing new hypotheses, and documenting the impacts of human activities on seamounts. However, because of the large number of seamounts globally, much about the structure, function and connectivity of seamount ecosystems remains unexplored and unknown. Continual, and potentially increasing, threats to seamount resources from fishing and seabed mining are creating a pressing demand for research to inform conservation and management strategies. To meet this need, intensive science effort in the following areas will be needed: 1) Improved physical and biological data; of particular importance is information on seamount location, physical characteristics (e.g. habitat heterogeneity and complexity), more complete and intensive biodiversity inventories, and increased understanding of seamount connectivity and faunal dispersal; 2) New human impact data; these shall encompass better studies on the effects of human activities on seamount ecosystems, as well as monitoring long-term changes in seamount assemblages following impacts (e.g. recovery); 3) Global data repositories; there is a pressing need for more comprehensive fisheries catch and effort data, especially on the high seas, and compilation or maintenance of geological and biodiversity databases that underpin regional and global analyses; 4) Application of support tools in a data-poor environment; conservation and management will have to increasingly rely on predictive modelling techniques, critical evaluation of environmental surrogates as faunal “proxies”, and ecological risk assessment

Power politics and princely debts: why Germany's common currency failed, 1549-56

Using new sources, this article examines how in the years around 1550 Charles V and the imperial estates came close to creating a common currency for the Holy Roman Empire. The article analyses whose interests prevailed in the negotiations and how, despite the resistance of some important actors, the Imperial diet of 1551 was able to unanimously agree on the currency bill. It also analyses why the common currency still failed: This was the case because of the desire of many princes to ease the repayment of their debts by establishing a bimetallic currency, and even more importantly because of Charles V's attempt to weaken the Elector of Saxony by undervaluing the taler. In this, Charles exploited the diet's implicit ex-ante agreement with him to set the rates at which old money was allowed to continue in circulation. His manipulations provoked resistance, raised the costs of implementing the common currency, and caused its failure