Ageing with Smartphones in Uganda: Togetherness in the dotcom age

Ageing with Smartphones in Uganda is based on a 16-month ethnography about experiences of ageing in a neighbourhood in a diverse neighbourhood in Kampala, Uganda. It examines the impact of smartphones and mobile phones on older people’s health and everyday lives as part of the global 'Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing' project. In taking the lens of the smartphone to understand experiences of ageing in this context, the monograph presents the articulation and practice of ‘togetherness in the dotcom age’. Taking a ‘convivial’ approach, which celebrates multiple ways of knowing about social life, Charlotte Hawkins draws from these expressions about cooperative morality and modernity to consider the everyday mitigation of profound social change. ‘Dotcom’ is understood to encompass everything from the influence of social media to urban migration and lifestyles in the city, to shifts in ways of knowing and relating. At the same time, dotcom tools such as mobile phones and smartphones facilitate elder care through, for example, regular mobile money remittances. This book explores how dotcom relates to older people’s health, in particular their care norms, social standing, values of respect and relatedness, and intergenerational relationships – both political and personal. It also re-frames the youth-centricity of research on the city and work, new media and technology, politics and service provision in Uganda. Through ethnographic consideration of everyday life and self-formation in this context, the monograph seeks to contribute to an ever-incomplete understanding of how we relate to each other and to the world around us

Ageing with Smartphones in Uganda: Togetherness in the Dotcom Age

In taking the lens of the smartphone to understand experiences of ageing in a diverse neighbourhood in central Kampala, Uganda, this ethnography presents the articulation and practice of ‘togetherness in the dotcom age’. Taking a situated and ‘convivial’ approach, which celebrates multiple and partial ways of knowing about sociality, the thesis draws from these vernacular concepts of cooperative morality and modernity to consider the everyday mitigation of wide-reaching social processes. Dotcom is understood to encompass everything from the influence of ICTs to urban migration and lifestyles in the city, to profound shifts in ways of knowing and relating. At the same time, dotcom tools such as mobile phones and smartphones facilitate elder care obligations despite distances, for example through regular mobile money remittances. Whilst phones are a global phenomenon, both the concept of dotcom and the way people creatively adapt and adopt their phones has to be understood in relation to specific contextual conditions. This thesis is concerned with how dotcom manifests in relation to older people’s health, their care norms, their social standing, their values of respect and relatedness, and their intergenerational relationships - both political and personal. It thus re-frames the youth-centricity of research on the city and work, new media and technology, politics and service provision in Uganda. Through ethnographic consideration of everyday life and self-formation in this context, the thesis seeks to contribute to an ever-incomplete understanding of ‘intersubjectivity’, how we relate to each other and to the world around us

Arsenic in the Water, Soil Bedrock, and Plants of the Ester Dome Area of Alaska

Concentrations of arsenic as large as 10 ppm (200 times the safe limit for drinking water) occur in the groundwater of a mineralized residential area near Fairbanks. Bedrock of the area contains 750 ppm As, primarily as arsenopyrite and scorodite. The oxygen-poor groundwater is enriched in As(III) and ferrous iron while the surface waters are iron free and contain less than 50 ppb As(V). Arsenic is removed from the water by coprecipitation with ferric hydroxide. Some iron-rich stream sediments contain as much as 1,400 ppm arsenic. The distribution of arsenic in the groundwater is controlled by the distribution of arsenic in the bedrock. The arsenic content of the B soil horizon over mineralized veins is about 150 ppm, while that over barren rock is 30 ppm. The vegetation over the veins is not significantly enriched in arsenic. Lettuce, radishes and tomatoes grown with arsenic-rich water (5 ppm) contain 16, 8 and 1 ppm As, respectively; these amounts are significantly greater than plants not treated with arsenic. Preliminary studies by state and federal health agencies show no detrimental effects on the health of persons drinking these arsenic-rich waters.The work upon which this publication is based was supported in part by funds provided by the Office of Water Research and Technology (Project B-037-ALAS, Agreement No. 14-34-0001-8056), U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., as authorized by the Water Research and Development Act of 1978

Evaluation of Biodiversity 2020. Evaluation report [Final report]

In the 25 Year Environment Plan, published in 2018, the Government committed to publishing a new strategy for nature to take forward international commitments on biodiversity and build upon the current Strategy, ‘Biodiversity 2020: a Strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem services’. This report provides an evaluation of the outcomes and actions under Biodiversity 2020 to provide an evidence base for ensuring any new strategy is targeted and effective. The evaluation aimed to: 1. assess progress towards the Outcomes set out in Biodiversity 2020 (relating to land and freshwater only); 2. evaluate what worked well and why, and the factors that have influenced progress; 3. identify lessons and opportunities to improve delivery in the future (i.e. under a new strategy). The evaluation was carried out at a Theme level. Evaluation was based on: (i) a synthesis of existing quantitative indicators, (ii) evidence from evaluations and reports of activities undertaken since 2011, and (iii) expert opinions drawn from questionnaires, interviews, and four workshops with stakeholders. The workshops were a key component of the evaluation, and comprised participants from the project team, Defra, other government agencies (usually involved in delivery of activities directly supporting the Strategy), NGOs, businesses (Theme 2) and research and academia. Facilitated discussions amongst workshop participants provided further insight into progress and the factors that have influenced progress, drawing on participants’ experiences and knowledge

Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT)

Recently, Blackburn et al. (2014) developed a simple, objective and transparent method for classifying alien taxa in terms of the magnitude of their detrimental environmental impacts in recipient areas. Here, we present a comprehensive framework and guidelines for implementing this method, which we term the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa, or EICAT. We detail criteria for applying the EICAT scheme in a consistent and comparable fashion, prescribe the supporting information that should be supplied along with classifications, and describe the process for implementing the method. This comment aims to draw the attention of interested parties to the framework and guidelines, and to present them in their entirety in a location where they are freely accessible to any potential users

Physical and functional characterisation of apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles

Damaged, aged or unwanted cells are removed from the body by an active process known as apoptosis. This highly orchestrated programme results in the exposure of 'flags' at the dying cell surface and the release of attractive signals to recruit phagocytes. Together these changes ensure efficient phagocytic removal of dying cells and prevention of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are released from a variety of cells (both viable and apoptotic) and they serve as a novel means of intercellular communication. They range in size: 70-100nm ('exosomes') through 100-1000nm ('microparticles') to large vesicles released from dying cells ('apoptotic bodies'). Release of apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles (acdEV) of less than 1000nm is an important mechanism by which phagocytes are attracted to sites of cell death. Using a variety of approaches we characterize the release, physical characteristics and function of acdEV. Using fluorescence microscopy we demonstrate release of ICAM-3 on acdEV from dying leukocytes and, through the use of resistive pulse technology (qNano, IZON Science), we accurately size and quantitate acdEV release. The function of acdEV is revealed through the use of both horizontal chemotaxis assays (Dunn chambers) and vertical transwell migration assays (Cell-IQ, CM Technologies). These assays reveal potent chemoattractive capacity of acdEV and associated ICAM-3. Additionally we demonstrate an additional novel function of acdEV as anti-inflammatory immune-modulators. These data support an integrated approach to the physical and functional analyses of EV

Evaluating survey methods for bat roost detection in ecological impact assessment

International audienceThe disturbance, damage and destruction of roosts are key drivers of bat population declines worldwide. In countries where bats are protected by law, bat roost surveys are often required to inform ecological impact assessments. Yet, evidence-based information on survey methodology to detect bat roosts is crucially lacking, and failing to detect a roost can lead to serious errors during decision-making processes. Here, we assess the efficacy of bat roost surveys in buildings as implemented in the UK. These consist of a daytime inspection of buildings, followed by a series of acoustic surveys at dusk/dawn if during the daytime inspection evidence of bats is found, or if the absence of bats cannot be verified. We reviewed 155 ecological consultants’ reports to (1) compare survey outcome between daytime inspection and acoustic surveys and (2) determine the minimum sampling effort required during acoustic surveys to be confident that no bats are roosting within a building. We focused on two genera of bats most frequently found in buildings in Europe – Pipistrellus (crevice roosting species with high-intensity echolocation calls that can be easily detected by ultrasound detectors) and Plecotus (species that roost in open spaces and which emit faint echolocation calls that are difficult to detect). Daytime inspections were efficient in detecting open-roosting species such as Plecotus species but were likely to miss the presence of crevice-dwelling ones (here Pipistrellus species) which may lead to erroneous conclusions if no acoustic surveys are subsequently prescribed to confirm their absence. A minimum of three and four acoustic surveys are required to be 95% confident that a building does not host a roost of Pipistrellus species and Plecotus species, respectively, thus exceeding current recommendations. Overall, we demonstrated that reports submitted as part of an ecological impact assessment provide suitable data to test and improve survey methods

The benefits and risks of child-dog attachment and child-dog behaviours for child psychological well-being

The importance of secure human attachments in childhood for healthy psychological development is well-established, yet the well-being implications of child-dog symbiotic relationships are less understood. Children form strong emotional bonds with their pet dogs that meet the prerequisites for an attachment relationship. These bonds can be mutually reinforcing and beneficial and could indicate positive child well-being. However, not all child-dog relationships are positive and here we explore whether harmful and unsafe interactions are associated with poorer emotional and behavioural functioning. The aim of this study was to examine whether the type of child-dog behaviour (positive or negative) mediates the relationship between child-dog attachment and well-being indicators. Data from caregiver reports (N = 117) and child self-reports (N = 77) were collected through an online survey. The results revealed that positive child-dog interactions significantly mediated the relationship between high attachment scores and better child outcomes (higher scores for well-being, positive outlook, happiness, quality of life, higher social satisfaction, and lower loneliness), whereas the reverse was found for negative child-dog interactions, predicting lower attachment scores and worse child outcomes (negative outlook, increased loneliness and social dissatisfaction, lower quality of life). This study has identified important mechanisms through which pet dogs may pose both benefits and risks to children’s psychological well-being. These findings will aid the development and evaluation of interventions that promote positive and safe child-dog interactions and subsequent child and dog psychological health and welfare