Agricultural Growth, Poverty Reduction and Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Outcomes of AAAE Conference

This report is a summary of emerging issues affecting African agriculture, recent experiences and policy proposals that can guide interventions in improving the sector’s productivity. Agriculture is at the centre of rural poverty reduction in Africa and urgent measures are needed to increase farm yields and incomes in order to stem collapse of economies and societies.AAAE, African Association of Agricultural Economists, millennium development goals in Africa, agricultural policies, agricultural research systems, poverty reduction, agricultural productivity, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q010, Q130, Q170, Q180, Q560,

Parental Attitudes, Concerns, Health & Knowledge of Nutrition and Their Relationship to Usage of Functional Foods in Parental Feeding

The purchase and consumption of functional foods is one of the fastest growing trends in the food and nutrition industry. Though many studies have suggested reasons why consumers purchase and consume functional foods, there has been limited research to understand what factors, if any, influence the use of functional foods in parental dietary practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether parental awareness of functional foods, self-reported knowledge of nutrition, overall health, and concern for their children\u27s diets play a role in the provision of specific categories of functional foods (digestive health, weight management, bone health, cancer prevention, heart health, and other) to their children. Participants (n=202) were parents/guardians 18 years of age or older with (a) child(ren) 18 years of age or younger currently living in their home. Parents/guardians were recruited from two schools districts in North Mississippi (Tupelo Public School District and Lafayette County School District) to complete an online or paper survey regarding functional foods and factors that influence their usage in the home. Upon analysis, results of the survey demonstrated that of the variables considered, parental knowledge of nutrition was a statistically significant predictor of parental feeding in all categories of functional foods (p\u3c0.01), with the exception of bone health. No other independent variables were found to be significant predictors of provision of functional foods to children by their parents. To date, there has been minimal research on usage of functional foods in parental dietary practices. As the term functional food becomes more widely recognized, some of the factors considered in this study may become a more significant influence of functional food usage in parental dietary practices

In the balance: report of a research study exploring information for weight management

This paper uses findings from a research study called Net.Weight to examine the concepts of interaction, information quality and Internet-based information from the perspective of people engaged in managing their weight. The Net.Weight study was a two-year project funded by the British government 19s Department of Health and located in the city of Brighton and Hove. It examined the potential for increased, innovative and effective uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the self management of weight. The study had several inter-related research strands and the findings discussed in the paper emerged primarily from participatory learning workshops and evaluative interviews. The paper demonstrates that the interaction between people is an important aspect of the information process, which is often neglected in the literature. It suggests that exploring the user-user dimension might add to the understanding of information effectiveness. It also suggests that an approach to information and health literacy which includes a social as well as an individual perspective is necessary. On quality assessment, it supports findings from other studies that organisational authority is a key measure of reliability for lay users and that quality assessment tools have a limited role in the assessment process. The Net.Weight participants embraced the Internet as a medium for weight management information only when it added value to their existing information and weight management practices and when it could be integrated into their everyday lives

Information to fight the flab: findings from the Net.Weight study

The purpose of the paper is to examine information use and information literacy in the context of weight management. It reports on a two-year study funded by the Department of Health known informally as the Net.Weight Study. Net.Weight examined the potential for increased, innovative and effective uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the self management of weight. The research was conducted in the city of Brighton & Hove by an inter-disciplinary team from the University of Brighton. The paper gives a brief overview of the various methods used in the study as a whole but discusses one strand, the user survey, in more detail. The survey gathered data on people’s information and ICT use around weight management. The design of the survey questionnaire required the adaptation of existing literacy assessment instruments and this process is described in this paper. The findings show that people use a wide range of information sources for information and support around weight management. The most useful sources are slimming groups, food packaging, friends and family, magazines, TV and health books, thus representing a variety of media, formal and informal, and including human sources. The internet was reported to be a useful source for around half the survey respondents and is most often used for information about diet and exercise. A majority of respondents described themselves as active information seekers and confident about their information skills. They are less confident about internet information than information generally and even less confident about using the internet to support weight management activities. The concept of literacies, particularly around information and health, provide a framework for examining the Net.Weight findings. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for health information policy and for those interested in applying information literacy theory to health. The role of healthcare practitioners in weight management information is addressed, as is the need for targeted rather than generic health information. It is suggested that the work done in the education sector to increase awareness of information literacy and improve skills could provide a useful model of good practice in a health context. However, the evidence provided by the Net.Weight study suggests that for such an approach to be relevant it needs to reflect the complexity of health information processes in everyday lives

Asymmetric trehalose analogues to probe disaccharide processing pathways in mycobacteria

The uptake and metabolism of the disaccharide trehalose by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is essential for the virulence of this pathogen. Here we describe the chemoenzymatic synthesis of new azido-functionalised asymmetric trehalose probes that resist degradation by mycobacterial enzymes and are used to probe trehalose processing pathways in mycobacteria

Part of the story: 10 years of the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF)

[From the text] Neither union nor NGO, Sanef is a forum. It brings together editors, senior journalists and journalism educators across the divides of race, institution and media platform to participate in the new South African democracy. Over 10 years, its members have worked to deepen media freedom and overcome old injustices still present within the industry. The organisation has led debate and projects about the quality of Journalism and journalism training

Tim Winton: Dark Rubbled Places (Where There Is Only Crucifixion)

I am caught in the dark rubbled places of Tim Winton's writing. Held by the magic of his imagination, lulled by the lyricism of his prose, I read of the ordinary, the inarticulate and the powerless within an Australian landscape. Winton, the author of 13 books, is an enigmatic contemporary writer, who tackles questions of spirituality, God and meaning. For many he is a writer of families, growing up, and fairly nondescript events in domestic life. Winton recreates the Australian idiom for children, gamblers, fishermen, bushmen, pub-crawlers and so on, making his characters and their ordinary familiar lives accessible to the reader. Winton's writing is observational and images the traditionally unrepresented, that is, people who are trapped in the breaking and the destroying of life. For according to Winton, to exist demands creation and destruction. This is the central energy which explodes/implodes readerly assumptions