Concept Store #3: Art, Activism and Recuperation

Concept store is a bi-annual journal, published by Arnolfini, focusing on critical issues of contemporary art and their relationship to wider cultural, social and political contexts. While Concept Store reflects upon ideas explored within Arnolfini's artistic programme as well as future research projects, it is intended to be a critical platform in its own right, operating as a discursive space for commissioned texts, artists' contributions, interviews and other experimental forms. Published under a copyleft licenc

Phase transformations in (111) Si after spherical indentation

Phase transformations in (111) Si after spherical indentation have been investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Even at an indentation load of 20 mN,a phase transformation zone including the high-pressure crystalline Si phases was observed within the residual imprints. The volume of the transformation zone, as well as that of the crystalline phases increased with the indentation load. Below the transformation zone, slip was found to occur on {311} planes rather than on {111}planes, usually observed on indentation of (100) Si. The distribution of defects was asymmetric, and for indentation loads up to 80 mN, their density was significantly lower than that reported for (100) Si. The experimental observations correlated well with modeling of the applied stress through ELASTICA

Rural Non-agriculture Employment and Poverty in Pakistan

There is ample evidence that poverty, which declined rapidly in Pakistan in the 1980s, has returned in the 1990s [Amjad and Kemal (1997); Ali and Tahir (1999); Jafri (1999); Qureshi and Arif (2001)]. Consequently large number of Pakistanis, more than one-third of the total population, live currently far below what can reasonably be regarded as a decent standard of living. Poverty has generally been higher in rural areas than in urban areas. This gap could not be bridged overtime; still the greatest degree of poverty is found in the countryside. To address rural poverty, policy-makers have long been looking to the growth potential of the farm sector of the rural economy. Non-agricultural activities in rural areas have received little attention. This neglect, however, may be socially costly. It has been shown in several recent empirical studies that nonfarm activities occupy an important place in rural economies throughout the developing world [Hazell and Haggblade (1993); Adams and He (1995); Bakht (1996); Sen (1996); Lanjouw (1999)]. They expand quite rapidly in response to agriculture development, and therefore merit special attention in the design of strategies concerning poverty alleviation in rural areas

Gender differences in the association between adiposity and probable major depression: a cross-sectional study of 140,564 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Previous studies on the association between adiposity and mood disorder have produced contradictory results, and few have used measurements other than body mass index (BMI). We examined the association between probable major depression and several measurements of adiposity: BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-hip-ratio (WHR), and body fat percentage (BF%).<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> We conducted a cross-sectional study using baseline data on the sub-group of UK Biobank participants who were assessed for mood disorder. Multivariate logistic regression models were used, adjusting for potential confounders including: demographic and life-style factors, comorbidity and psychotropic medication.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> Of the 140,564 eligible participants, evidence of probable major depression was reported by 30,145 (21.5%). The fully adjusted odds ratios (OR) for obese participants were 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12, 1.20) using BMI, 1.15 (95% CI 1.11, 1.19) using WC, 1.09 (95% CI 1.05, 1.13) using WHR and 1.18 (95% CI 1.12, 1.25) using BF% (all p <0.001). There was a significant interaction between adiposity and gender (p = 0.001). Overweight women were at increased risk of depression with a dose response relationship across the overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m2), obese I (30.0-34.9 kg/m2), II (35.0-39.9 kg/m2) and III (≥40.0 kg/m2) categories; fully adjusted ORs 1.14, 1.20, 1.29 and 1.48, respectively (all p < 0.001). In contrast, only obese III men had significantly increased risk of depression (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.08, 1.54, p = 0.006).<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b><p></p> Adiposity was associated with probable major depression, irrespective of the measurement used. The association was stronger in women than men. Physicians managing overweight and obese women should be alert to this increased risk

Pioneering the human development revolution: Analysing the trajectory of Mahbub ul Haq

Mahbub ul Haq's work to coordinate, establish and propagate the human development approach offers an example of effective leadership in promoting more ethical socio-economic development. This article reviews Pioneering the Human Development Revolution-An Intellectual Biography of Mahbub ul Haq (edited by Haq and Ponzio), and extends themes from the United Nations Intellectual History Project to examine Haq's contributions in terms of four aspects of leadership: articulating and applying values that combine depth with broad appeal; providing a fruitful and vivid way of seeing, a 'vision', that reflects the values; embodying the values and vision in workable practical proposals; and supporting and communicating the previous aspects through wide and relevant networks. It suggests that the human development approach may need to update its values and vision, including through better integration of human security thinking, if it is to retain the leadership role it acquired thanks to Haq

Anisotropic electrical and thermal magnetotransport in the magnetic semimetal GdPtBi

The half-Heusler rare-earth intermetallic GdPtBi has recently gained attention due to peculiar magnetotransport phenomena that have been associated with the possible existence of Weyl fermions, thought to arise from the crossings of spin-split conduction and valence bands. On the other hand, similar magnetotransport phenomena observed in other rare-earth intermetallics have often been attributed to the interaction of itinerant carriers with localized magnetic moments stemming from the $4f$-shell of the rare-earth element. In order to address the origin of the magnetotransport phenomena in GdPtBi, we performed a comprehensive study of the magnetization, electrical and thermal magnetoresistivity on two single-crystalline GdPtBi samples. In addition, we performed an analysis of the Fermi surface via Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in one of the samples and compared the results to \emph{ab initio} band structure calculations. Our findings indicate that the electrical and thermal magnetotransport in GdPtBi cannot be solely explained by Weyl physics and is strongly influenced by the interaction of both itinerant charge carriers and phonons with localized magnetic Gd-ions and possibly also paramagnetic impurities.Comment: 11 figure

Factors influencing implementation of integrated management of childhood illness in Lindi Region, Southern Tanzania

Background: Save the Children Tanzania has been supporting several projects in Lindi Region including implementation of health facility based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) services in Kilwa, Ruangwa and Lindi rural districts. The objective of this study was to assess the IMCI services in a sample of health facilities and explore factors affecting the service provision and sustainability in Lindi, Tanzania.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 27 health facilities. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to collect the required data. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were also used to evaluate the IMCI services in these facilities.Results: All health facilities visited were found to have adequate supply of IMCI equipment. However, there was inadequate availability and distribution of clinical officers in the districts. None of the 41 clinical officers observed, assessed sick children for all items in the IMCI checklist. Furthermore, health centres and dispensaries were found to have a serious shortage of essential medicines. Oral antibiotics for bacterial infections were available across health facilities. Amoxicillin was found in 4(44%) health centres and 7 (46.7%) dispensaries; Ampicillin was only available at 4(44.4%) health centres and 1 (6.7%) dispensary. Considerable challenges in access to health services were identified and they included long distances to health facilities, inadequate and unaffordable transport systems and continuous limited quality of care due to shortages of trained staff and drug stock outs. In addition, caregivers were found to have limited awareness of danger signs and symptoms of childhood illnesses.Conclusions: The implementation of IMCI services in the three districts of Lindi region experiences multiple challenges despite the availability of adequate infrastructure for program implementation. This calls for strengthened supportive supervision, constant provision of medical supplies and training of IMCI health workers to improve services delivery to sick children. In addition community level promotion of prompt modern health care seeking behaviour is essential to enhance childhood illness care and treatment

The Bengal Water Machine: Quantified freshwater capture in Bangladesh

Global food security depends on the sustainability of irrigated agriculture. Rising groundwater withdrawals from seasonally humid, alluvial plains across tropical Asia have enabled dry-season rice cultivation. This groundwater pumpage increases available subsurface storage that under favorable conditions amplifies groundwater replenishment during the subsequent monsoon. We empirically quantified this nature-based solution to seasonal freshwater storage capture described as the "Bengal Water Machine," revealing its potential and limitations. On the basis of a million piezometric observations from 465 monitoring wells, we show that the collective operation of ~16 million smallholder farmers in the Bengal Basin of Bangladesh from 1988 to 2018 has induced cumulative freshwater capture that volumetrically (75 to 90 cubic kilometers) is equivalent to twice the reservoir capacity of the Three Gorges Dam