Folket på gaden - struktureret hverdagsliv i det offentlige rum

Dorte Caswell and Ida Schultz: People in the Street Bag people are different from other people who live on the street. Pictures of bag people are employed both literally and metaphorically to illustrate homelessness, but there is scant research in Denmark about this group of homeless. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the everyday life of the bag people of Copenhagen. The article is based on a “reflexive field study“ employing the reflexive sociology of Bourdieu and symbolic interactionism of Becker and Goffman. By using these approaches it was possible to dissolve the analytical dichotomy of normality, which seems ever present in research on marginalisation and social exclusion. The results show how resourceful and structured the “marginalised“ and “socially excluded“ bag people also are

Terror leaves adolescents behind: Identifying risk and protective factors for high-school completion among survivors of terrorism

Terror exposure increases the risk of somatic and psychological health problems in survivors. Yet, knowledge of how such exposure affects survivors’ ability to stay in school is lacking. This study examined whether exposure to the 2011 Utøya terrorist attack in Norway impacted survivors’ ability to complete high school. Further, it aimed to identify important peri- and posttraumatic risk and protective factors. Interview data from the Utøya study, collected 4–5 months postterror, were linked to individual educational registry data for 265 survivors. Chi-square tests and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to examine (a) high school completion among younger survivors (n = 185, age range: 13–18 years, 52.4% female) compared to both older survivors (i.e., who had the possibility of completing high school before the terror attacks; n = 80, age range: 19–21 years, 40.0% female) and the national average and (b) associations between high school completion and physical injury, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), somatic symptoms, and social support among younger survivors. Younger survivors were significantly less likely to complete high school on time. Among younger adolescents, physical injury, aOR = 0.36, 95% CI [0.16, 0.81]; higherlevel PTSS, aOR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.33, 0.88]; and somatic symptoms, aOR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.29, 0.91], lowered the likelihood of on-time completion. Terror exposure in adolescence adversely affects long-term educational functioning in young survivors, which can severely hamper their future prospects. These findings reinforce the need for trauma-sensitive teaching and educator-provided support for adolescents exposed to trauma

Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps

A growing number of studies seek to identify global priority areas for conservation and restoration. These studies often produce maps that highlight the benefits of concentrating such activity in the tropics. However, the potential equity implications of using these prioritization exercises to guide global policy are less often explored and articulated. We highlight those equity issues by examining a widely publicized restoration priority map as an illustrative case. This map is based on a prioritization analysis that sought to identify places where restoration of agricultural land might provide the greatest biodiversity and carbon sequestration benefits at the lowest cost. First, we calculate the proportion of agricultural land in countries around the world that the map classifies as a top 15% restoration priority. A regression analysis shows that this map prioritizes restoration in countries where displacing agriculture may be most detrimental to livelihoods: countries that are poorer, more populated, more economically unequal, less food secure, and that employ more people in agriculture. Second, we show through another regression analysis that a similar pattern appears sub-nationally within the tropics: 5 km x 5 km parcels of land in the tropics that are less economically developed or more populated are more likely to be top 15% restoration priorities. In other words, equity concerns persist at a subnational scale even after putting aside comparisons between the tropics and the Global North. Restorative activity may be beneficial or harmful to local livelihoods depending on its conceptualization, implementation, and management. Our findings underline a need for prioritization exercises to better attend to the risks of concentrating potentially negative livelihood impacts in vulnerable regions. We join other scholars calling for greater integration of social data into restoration science

Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps

A growing number of studies seek to identify global priority areas for conservation and restoration. These studies often produce maps that highlight the benefits of concentrating such activity in the tropics. However, the potential equity implications of using these prioritization exercises to guide global policy are less often explored and articulated. We highlight those equity issues by examining a widely publicized restoration priority map as an illustrative case. This map is based on a prioritization analysis that sought to identify places where restoration of agricultural land might provide the greatest biodiversity and carbon sequestration benefits at the lowest cost. First, we calculate the proportion of agricultural land in countries around the world that the map classifies as a top 15% restoration priority. A regression analysis shows that this map prioritizes restoration in countries where displacing agriculture may be most detrimental to livelihoods: countries that are poorer, more populated, more economically unequal, less food secure, and that employ more people in agriculture. Second, we show through another regression analysis that a similar pattern appears sub-nationally within the tropics: 5 km × 5 km parcels of land in the tropics that are less economically developed or more populated are more likely to be top 15% restoration priorities. In other words, equity concerns persist at a subnational scale even after putting aside comparisons between the tropics and the Global North. Restorative activity may be beneficial or harmful to local livelihoods depending on its conceptualization, implementation, and management. Our findings underline a need for prioritization exercises to better attend to the risks of concentrating potentially negative livelihood impacts in vulnerable regions. We join other scholars calling for greater integration of social data into restoration science

Health Literacy among Medically Underserved: The Role of Demographic Factors, Social Influence, and Religious Beliefs

The current study examined the sociodemographic and psychosocial variables that predicted being at risk for low health literacy among a population of racially and ethnically diverse patients accessing primary care services at community-based clinics. Participants (N = 416) were aged 50-75 years, currently not up-to-date with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, at average CRC risk, and enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at promoting CRC screening. Participants completed a baseline interview that assessed health literacy as measured by Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Revised, sociodemographic factors, and psychosocial variables (e.g., health beliefs) prior to randomization and receipt of an intervention. Thirty-six percent of the participants were found to be at risk for low health literacy. Sociodemographic and psychosocial variables were assessed as predictors of being at risk for low health literacy using logistic regression. In the final model, predictors were male gender, being from a racial/ethnic minority group, being unable to work, having higher social influence scores, and having higher religious belief scores. These findings suggest several patient characteristics that may be associated with low health literacy, and highlight the importance of supporting all patients through simplified and clear communications and information to improve understanding of CRC screening information