Kinder and Less Just: A Critical Analysis of Modern Gleaning Organizations and Their Place in Food Recovery Discourse

The practice of gleaning began as a way for the poor to provide sustenance for themselves and their families. Changes in societal ideas about private property as well as a shift toward a neoliberal style of governance have caused gleaning to become what it is today: a practice primarily undertaken by charitable organizations, nonprofits, and church groups who then donate their bounty to local food banks, providing fresh produce to the food insecure. In modern society, gleaning is often held up as a single solution to the problems of food insecurity, poor nutrition, and food waste. This thesis complicates that discourse by analyzing the websites of five different San Francisco Bay Area gleaning groups to investigate how they present themselves as fitting into the larger conversation surrounding food charity, health, and food waste. This thesis uses qualitative and quantitative textual analysis to show how the language used on each organization’s website illustrates the organization’s relationship with those three values. Each organization presents itself as fitting into contemporary food recovery discourse in a different way: one focuses primarily on community building; one is looking to expand its model as far as possible; one seeks to be a solution to poor nutrition, food insecurity, and food waste in its community; one provides myriad resources to anyone looking; and one actively embraces the food insecure. The differences among these organizations show the one-dimensionality of the current discourse surrounding gleaning as a single solution to food insecurity, poor nutrition, and food waste. While gleaning can, and does, have value, its focus on the individual’s role in solving food insecurity, poor nutrition, and food waste, as well as its inability to provide long-term solutions, complicates its role in contemporary food recovery

Quantitative analysis of methodological and environmental influences on survival of planted mangroves in restoration and afforestation

Mangrove planting has been employed for decades to achieve aims associated with restoration and afforestation. Often, survival of planted mangroves is low. Improving survival might be aided by augmenting the understanding of which planting methods and environmental variables most influence plant survival across a range of contexts. The aim of this study was to provide a global synthesis of the influence of planting methods and background environment on mangrove survival. This was achieved through a global meta-analysis, which compiled published survival rates for the period 1979–2021 and analyzed the influence of decisions about minimum spacing and which life stage to plant, and environmental contexts such as climate, tidal range and coastal setting on the reported survival of planted individuals, classified by species and root morphology. Generalized Additive Mixed Modeling (GAMM) revealed that planting larger mangrove saplings was associated with increased survival for pencil-rooted species such as Avicennia spp. and Sonneratia spp. (17% increase cf. seedlings), while greater plant spacing was associated with higher survival of stilt-rooted species in the family Rhizophoraceae (39% increase when doubling plant spacing from 1.5 to 3.0 m). Tidal range showed a nonlinear positive correlation with survival for pencil-rooted species, and the coastal environmental setting was associated with significant variation in survival for both pencil-and stilt-rooted species. The results suggest that improving decisions about which species to plant in different contexts, and intensive care after planting, is likely to improve the survival of planted mangroves

Queer trans-Tasman mobility, then and now

This article situates queer mobility within wider historical geographies of trans-Tasman flows of goods, people and ideas. Using case studies of women’s and men’s experiences during the early twentieth century and the twenty-first century, it shows that same-sex desire is a constituent part of these flows. Conversely, antipodean mobility has fostered particular forms of desire, sexual identity, queer community and politics. Rural and urban landscapes in both New Zealand and Australia shape queer desire in a range of diverging and converging ways, and political and legal shifts in both countries have fostered changes in trans-Tasman travel over time. Our investigation of the circuits of queer mobility urges a wider examination of the significance of trans-Tasman crossings in queer lives, both historically and in contemporary society

Strong Ground Motion Simulations for Dunedin: First Steps using the SCEC Broadband Simulation Platform

Our poster will present on-going QuakeCoRE-founded work on strong motion seismology for Dunedin-Mosgiel area, focusing on ground motion simulations for Dunedin Central Business District (CBD). Source modelling and ground motion simulations are being carried out using the SCEC (Southern California Earthquakes Center) Broad Band simulation Platform (BBP). The platform computes broadband (0-10 Hz) seismograms for earthquakes and was first implemented at the University of Otago in 2016. As large earthquakes has not been experienced in Dunedin in the time of period of instrumental recording, user-specified scenario simulations are of great value. The Akatore Fault, the most active fault in Otago and closest major fault to Dunedin, is the source focused on in the present study. Simulations for various Akatore Fault source scenarios are run and presented. Path and site effects are key components considered in the simulation process. A 1D shear wave velocity profile is required by SCEC BBP, and this is being generated to represent the Akatore-to-CBD path and site within the BBP. A 3D shear velocity model, with high resolution within Dunedin CBD, is being developed in parallel with this study (see Sangster et al. poster). This model will be the basis for developing a 3D shear wave velocity model for greater Dunedin-Mosgiel area for future ground motion simulations, using Canterbury software (currently under development)

Serum biochemistry panels in African buffalo: Defining reference intervals and assessing variability across season, age and sex

Serum biochemical parameters can be utilized to evaluate the physiological status of an animal, and relate it to the animal’s health. In order to accurately interpret individual animal biochemical results, species-specific reference intervals (RI) must be established. Reference intervals for biochemical parameters differ between species, and physiological differences including reproductive status, nutritional resource availability, disease status, and age affect parameters within the same species. The objectives of this study were to (1) establish RI for biochemical parameters in managed African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), (2) assess the effects of age, sex, pregnancy, and season on serum biochemistry values, and (3) compare serum biochemistry values from a managed herd to a free-ranging buffalo herd and to values previously published for captive (zoo) buffalo. Season profoundly affected all biochemistry parameters, possibly due to changes in nutrition and disease exposure. Age also affected all biochemical parameters except gamma glutamyl transferase and magnesium, consistent with patterns seen in cattle. Sex and reproductive status had no detectable effects on the parameters that were measured. The biochemical profiles of managed buffalo were distinct from those observed in the free-ranging herd and captive buffalo. Biochemical differences between buffalo from captive, managed, and free-ranging populations may be related to nutritional restriction or lack of predation in the context of management or captivity. The reference intervals provided in this study, in addition to the seasonal and age-related patterns observed, provide a foundation for health investigations that may inform management strategies in this ecologically and economically important species

Multi-Scale Imaging and Informatics Pipeline for In Situ Pluripotent Stem Cell Analysis

Human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells are a potential source of cells for medical therapy and an ideal system to study fate decisions in early development. However, hPS cells cultured in vitro exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity, presenting an obstacle to clinical translation. hPS cells grow in spatially patterned colony structures, necessitating quantitative single-cell image analysis. We offer a tool for analyzing the spatial population context of hPS cells that integrates automated fluorescent microscopy with an analysis pipeline. It enables high-throughput detection of colonies at low resolution, with single-cellular and sub-cellular analysis at high resolutions, generating seamless in situ maps of single-cellular data organized by colony. We demonstrate the tool's utility by analyzing inter- and intra-colony heterogeneity of hPS cell cycle regulation and pluripotency marker expression. We measured the heterogeneity within individual colonies by analyzing cell cycle as a function of distance. Cells loosely associated with the outside of the colony are more likely to be in G1, reflecting a less pluripotent state, while cells within the first pluripotent layer are more likely to be in G2, possibly reflecting a G2/M block. Our multi-scale analysis tool groups colony regions into density classes, and cells belonging to those classes have distinct distributions of pluripotency markers and respond differently to DNA damage induction. Lastly, we demonstrate that our pipeline can robustly handle high-content, high-resolution single molecular mRNA FISH data by using novel image processing techniques. Overall, the imaging informatics pipeline presented offers a novel approach to the analysis of hPS cells that includes not only single cell features but also colony wide, and more generally, multi-scale spatial configuration

Doing gender locally: The importance of ‘place’ in understanding marginalised masculinities and young men’s transitions to ‘safe’ and successful futures

Observable anxieties have been developing about the position of boys and young men in contemporary society in recent years. This is expressed as a crisis of masculinity, in which place is often implicitly implicated, but is rarely considered for its role in the shaping of young men’s practices, trajectories and aspirations. Drawing on research conducted with young people who accessed a range of social care support services, this article argues that transition means different things for young men in different locales and that local definitions of masculinity are required to better understand young men’s lives and the opportunities available to them. The authors argue that home life, street life, individual neighbourhoods, regions and nations all shaped the young men’s identities and the practices they (and the staff working with them) drew on in order to create successful futures and ‘safe’ forms of masculinity. It is suggested that this place-based approach has the potential to re-shape the ‘crisis’ discourse surrounding masculinity and the anxieties associated with young men

The effects of entrepreneurship education

Entrepreneurship education ranks high on policy agendas in Europe and the US, but little research is available to assess its impact. To help close this gap we investigate whether entrepreneurship education a?ects intentions to be entrepreneurial uniformly or whether it leads to greater sorting of students. The latter can reduce the average intention to be entrepreneurial and yet be socially beneficial. This paper provides a model of learning in which entrepreneurship education generates signals to students. Drawing on the signals, students evaluate their aptitude for entrepreneurial tasks. The model is tested using data from a compulsory entrepreneurship course. Using ex ante and ex post survey responses from students, we find that intentions to found decline somewhat although the course has significant positive e?ects on students’ self-assessed entrepreneurial skills. The empirical analysis supports the hypothesis that students receive informative signals and learn about their entrepreneurial aptitude. We outline implications for educators and public policy