Agricultural land acquisitions unlikely to address the food security needs of African countries

In recent years, Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLA), direct land tenure changes have been gaining momentum in developing countries. In this study, we evaluate the potential extent to which agricultural land deals in Africa are able to address the host countries' food security needs, a commonly cited motivation for their establishment. First, we develop a framework to evaluate the priority food security needs of 38 African countries in 2000 based on indicators of food availability, accessibility, stability, and utilization. Second, we estimate whether the crops from land deals would be sold on export or local food markets based on the origin of investments (domestic, foreign or mixed), type of investors (eg. agribusiness, finance, or government) and the intended crops (eg. food, cash crop, or biofuel). This enables us to estimate how likely the investment is to improve in-country food security, versus serving other purposes (e.g., speculation, enclosure of natural resources). Third, we account for the characteristics of the locations where the deals happen (population density, land cover and distance to markets) in order to estimate the level of conflict and deforestation that they could exacerbate. We find that LSLA are only likely to address the identified food security needs of 7 countries. LSLA are also at risk of increasing land pressures and conflicts or deforestation on 83% of the acquired area, including in countries where they could meet food security needs. We also find that the more productive lands are most often allocated to flex crops, while food crops are produced on more marginal lands. We thus argue that even when their purpose is agricultural production, most LSLA are not likely to improve food security; rather, they often serve the financial interests of transnational companies and local elites with the support of host governments. Finally, we recommend agricultural investments to be elaborated in consultation with local communities and marginalized groups to sustainably support their socio-ecological systems

Telemedicine

Telemedicine has been advocated as a solution to overcome barriers to access health services faced by rural patients. The almost 60 million Americans living in rural areas are significantly underserved by the nation’s physicians and rural communities have traditionally experienced a shortage of physicians. Compounding this problem of physician shortage is the fact that services must be provided to patients over a wide geographic area. Telemedicine programs are being used to address health services shortages in rural areas by applying telecommunications technology to deliver health services similar to those which would be provided in face-to-face consultations between patients and health care professionals. Adoption of telemedicine as an option for delivery of services has been slow and is largely limited to specialty services. Where adopted, telemedicine has been received positively by both patients and physicians. Telemedicine can improve access to care for rural patients by increasing the number of patients who can access care and by providing services usually unavailable to rural patients. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of telemedicine programs, wider adoption of a telemedicine alternative suffers from a lack of reliable financial data for implementation, ongoing management, and for comparison to traditional delivery systems. Telemedicine is poised to become an important method of rural health care delivery, but as the trend toward the application of technology to the delivery of health services gains greater momentum, health managers require serious quantitative evidence on which to base resource allocation and management decisions.

Billions in Misspent EU Agricultural Subsidies Could Support the Sustainable Development Goals

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the guiding policy for agriculture and the largest single budget item in the European Union (EU). Agriculture is essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the CAP's contribution to do so is uncertain. We analyzed the distribution of (sic)59.4 billion of 2015 CAP payments and show that current CAP spending exacerbates income inequality within agriculture, while little funding supports climate-friendly and biodiverse farming regions. More than (sic)24 billion of 2015 CAP direct payments went to regions where average farm incomes are already above the EU median income. A further (sic)2.5 billion in rural development payments went to primarily urban areas. Effective monitoring indicators are also missing. We recommend redirecting and better monitoring CAP payments toward achieving the environmental, sustainability, and rural development goals stated in the CAP's new objectives, which would support the SDGs, the European Green Deal, and green COVID-19 recovery

Combined Driving: Task-Specific Position Impacts Grip Strength of Equestrian Athletes

BACKGROUND: Loss of hand strength is a predictor of mortality in aging populations. Despite reliance on the hands to participate in equestrian driving activity, no existing studies focus on associations of hand strength to athletic performance. Therefore, this study 1) established baseline handgrip of equestrian combined drivers in standing and task-specific positions, 2) determined endurance of task-specific handgrip, 3) compared handgrip strength to normative data, and 4) evaluated associations of handgrip and equestrian-specific variables. METHODS: There were 51 combined drivers (9 males, 42 females) ages 21-78 who completed a survey, standing handgrip, and grip strength and endurance in a task-specific position. Sixty-three percent of participants were 50 years or older. The dynamometer grip bar was normalized by hand size for standing tests; to duplicate sport-specific tasks, the bar was set to the closest setting. Significances were determined at p \u3c 0.05. RESULTS: Drivers with more than 30 years of experience demonstrated highest summed standing (73.1 ± 5.2 kg) and summed sitting (59.9 ± 6.3 kg) grip strength. Females 60-years and older had greater handgrip endurance (Χ2 = 8.323, df = 2, p = .0156) in non-dominant (left) hands. Males (60%) reported more cold weather fatigue than females. Glove wearing was associated with bilateral endurance balance; a higher proportion of endurance balance between dominant and non-dominant (49% high-high and 29% low-low; Χ2 = 11.047, df = 1, p = .0009) was realized. There were no associations of handgrip and prior injury. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have implications in understanding task-specific and normative grip strengths in aging equestrian populations. Bilateral balance in handgrip strength and endurance is important particularly in maintaining strength in non-dominant hands over time. Equestrian driving sport promotes greater endurance in older females. Strength can be improved by participating in combined driving, and engagement in this sport over several years\u27 benefits hand strength over time. This cohort of equestrian participants provides evidence that participating in hand-specific activities promotes greater strength, which has been previously shown to improve aging outcomes

New models for alternatives to detention in the US

While there is growing recognition of the value of community-based alternatives to detention in the US, shortfalls in funding and political will are hindering implementation of improved services and best practice

Attention bias and anxiety in young children exposed to family violence

Background—Attention bias towards threat is associated with anxiety in older youth and adults and has been linked with violence exposure. Attention bias may moderate the relationship between violence exposure and anxiety in young children. Capitalizing on measurement advances, the current study examines these relationships at a younger age than previously possible. Methods—Young children (mean age 4.7, ±0.8) from a cross-sectional sample oversampled for violence exposure (N = 218) completed the dot-probe task to assess their attention biases. Observed fear/anxiety was characterized with a novel observational paradigm, the Anxiety Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Mother-reported symptoms were assessed with the Preschool-Age Psychiatric Assessment and Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children. Violence exposure was characterized with dimensional scores reflecting probability of membership in two classes derived via latent class analysis from the Conflict Tactics Scales: Abuse and Harsh Parenting. Results—Family violence predicted greater child anxiety and trauma symptoms. Attention bias moderated the relationship between violence and anxiety

A social work roundtable examining impacts and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

As have other disciplines, social work has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Societal shifts and service provision gaps have emerged or been amplified over the course of the pandemic. An online roundtable was convened with five Canadian social work leaders to explore impacts of the pandemic on social work as well as to reflect on lingering effects of the pandemic and lessons learned for moving forward. Panelists’ varied substantive areas of social work practice and/or research included youth advocacy, healthcare, social work education and field education, and community development and disaster response. This paper offers a verbatim reproduction of the roundtable including panelists’ reflections on client and community experiences, social worker experiences, workforce impacts, shifts in the way service and practice are conceptualized and delivered, and implications for moving forward. Recommendations are offered in considered disciplinary, interdisciplinary and community advancement.Comme d’autres disciplines, le travail social a été touché par la pandémie de COVID-19. Des changements sociétaux et des lacunes dans la prestation de services sont apparus ou se sont amplifiés au cours de la pandémie. Une table ronde en ligne a été organisée avec cinq leaders canadiens du travail social pour explorer les impacts de la pandémie sur le travail social ainsi que pour réfléchir aux effets persistants de la pandémie et aux leçons apprises pour aller de l'avant. Les divers domaines de fond de la pratique et/ou de la recherche en travail social des panélistes comprenaient la défense des droits des jeunes, les soins de santé, la formation en travail social et la formation sur le terrain, ainsi que le développement communautaire et la réponse aux catastrophes. Cet article propose une reproduction textuelle de la table ronde comprenant les réflexions des panélistes sur les expériences des clients et de la communauté, les expériences des travailleurs sociaux, les impacts sur la main-d'oeuvre, les changements dans la façon dont les services et les pratiques sont conceptualisés et fournis, et les implications pour l'avenir. Des recommandations sont proposées en matière d’avancement disciplinaire, interdisciplinaire et communautaire