What can promote access to land for agroecological farming in the UK? Findings from participatory research and deliberation as part of the Transitions to Agroecological Food Systems project

This report has been prepared as part of the UK component of the Transitions to Agroecological Food systems project, in partnership between the STEPS Centre at the Institute of Development Studies and the Land Workers’ Alliance. For more information, please contact Elise Wach, [email protected] emerged strongly, from the panel discussions, as a major issue for new entrants to agroecological farming. Access to land has long been a key barrier to new entrants to farming and has become more difficult in the last decade or so. A member of the farmers’ panel commented that, back when she set up her business, it was possible to take out a loan to buy the land and pay that back with the profits from farming, but that route is now completely out of reach for the majority of farmers, especially small- and medium-scale farmers. Land ownership, in the UK, has been heavily skewed towards the very richest for hundreds of years. In 2011, Kevin Cahill, found that over two-thirds of the land was owned by 0.36% of the population, or 189,000 families. High land prices, due to speculation, combine with planning obstacles and typically short tenure agreements to block access to land for would-be farmers. The existing system incentivises land consolidation which further compromises the ability of new entrants to acquire land and presents challenges for small-scale farmers to maintain viability. In addition, to obtaining the land itself, finding somewhere to live is also a major difficulty for many would-be producers. Acquiring planning permits, for both agriculture and housing, is difficult due to regulations that were originally intended to ensure the availability of agricultural land. Meanwhile, new farm businesses often do not generate enough income to support a mortgage on a home nearby. Beyond the costs, the inability to live onsite is also problematic for engaging in agroecological approaches (e.g., in small-scale dairies and horticulture production), as they often require regular contact with the land. In order to address these land access challenges, the panel discussed the potentials of both (a) working within the existing system (i.e. navigating existing policies, regulations and institutions), and (b) working to change the system (i.e. revising or introducing new policies, regulations and institutions). Approaches for working within the system, for example, included trying to match landowners who have unused land with new landless entrants looking to get into farming. This is an initiative, which the LWA has been planning to start and which is also carried out by organisations such as the Fresh Start Land Enterprise Centre. The Ecological Land Co-op is also working from this angle by acquiring larger pieces of land and making them accessible to tenant small-scale ecological producers by gaining the necessary planning permissions and installing utilities and road access. In terms of change at a higher level, some approaches include revising tax and other policies to facilitate more widespread change in access to land, for new entrants and ecological farmers (who often operate at smaller scales). This report explores both of these approaches in further detail based on a review of documents and a series of interviews. It then provides details of the presentations given by two key witnesses and a summary of the outcomes of the farmer panel deliberation.Daniel & Nina Carasso FoundationNew Field Foundatio

A LEGO TM Dynamic Force "Macroscope"

We describe the design, construction, and operation of a LEGO TM model of a dynamic force microscope, using magnetic forces as an analog of interatomic interactions. The "macroscope" provides key insights into the operating principles of frequency modulated non-contact atomic force microscopy-currently the scanning probe technique of choice for maximal (i.e. submolecular) spatial resolution-and is therefore particularly suited as a project or demonstration for nanoscience education at the undergraduate or postgraduate level

Cross-sectional study of ethnic differences in the utility of area deprivation measures to target socioeconomically deprived individuals

Area deprivation measures provide a pragmatic tool for targeting public health interventions at socioeconomically deprived individuals. Ethnic minority groups in the UK experience higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation and certain associated diseases than the White population. The aim of this study was to explore ethnic differences in the utility of area deprivation measures as a tool for targeting socioeconomically deprived individuals. We carried out a cross-sectional study using the Health Survey for England 2004. 7,208 participants aged 16-64 years from the four largest ethnic groups in England (White, Indian, Pakistani and Black Caribbean) were included. The main outcome measures were percentage agreement, sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of area deprivation, measured using Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, in relation to individual socioeconomic position (measured by education, occupation, income, housing tenure and car access). We found that levels of both area and individual deprivation were higher in the Pakistani and Black Caribbean groups compared to the White group. Across all measures, agreement was lower in the Pakistani (50.9-63.4%) and Black Caribbean (61.0-70.1%) groups than the White (67.2-82.4%) group. However, sensitivity was higher in the Pakistani (0.56-0.64) and Black Caribbean (0.59-0.66) groups compared to the White group (0.24-0.38) and PPV was at least as high. The results for the Indian group were intermediate. We conclude that, in spite of lower agreement, area deprivation is better at identifying individual deprivation in ethnic minority groups. There was no evidence that area based targeting of public health interventions will disadvantage ethnic minority groups

The Transformative Potential of Agroecological Farmers: An Analysis of Food System Strategies Developed through Participatory Processes in Nicaragua and the UK

Short paper submission for 8th AESOP-Sustainable Food Planning Conference, Coventry (UK) 2017: Re-imagining sustainable food planning, building resourcefulness: Food movements, insurgent planning and heterodox economics. A longer version of this paper can be submitted upon request.In the current social system which tends to marginalise small scale producers, frame the interests of consumers as antithetical to those of producers, and force producers to compete against one another, there are questions about the extent to which strategies and alliances identified by agroecological farmers would be sufficiently transformative (or ‘radical’ according to Holt-Giménez and Shattuck, 2011) to address the problems of our existing food systems. In the context of our globalised and unequal food system, there are also questions about the extent to which strategies of farmers in the so-called global south might complement or contradict those of farmers in the so-called global north. Building on a participatory farmer-led research initiative, this paper analyses the strategies developed by small-scale agroecological producers in the global south (Nicaragua) and north (UK), and the extent to which they might sufficient for transforming food systems to become socially and ecologically regenerative

Watch out for the Aunties! Young British Asians' accounts of identity and substance use

This paper considers how young people able to trace their origins from Pakistan or India (henceforth 'Asians'), discuss their use of, or abstention from, alcohol and tobacco in terms of religious and cultural tradition. The role of religion, ethnicity, gender and generation in the uptake or avoidance of alcohol and tobacco was explored in 19 qualitative group and individual interviews with 47 Asians aged 16–26 years and analysed in terms of pioneering and conservative forms of tradition. Religious proscriptions on alcohol and tobacco were reported to be formally gender blind, but concerns about reputation and future marriage chances, sanctioned by gossip, meant that women's behaviour was consistently more constrained than men's. Muslims' abstinence from alcohol was tightly linked with an Islamic identity in that drinking jeopardised one's claim to being a Muslim, whereas cigarette smoking was tolerated among young men. Sikhs' and Hindus' avoidance of tobacco was strongly sanctioned, but smoking did not strongly jeopardise a religious identity. Sikh men's abstention indicated manly strength central to a devout identity. Some experimentation was possible out of view of the older generation, especially the aunties, but the risk of gossip damaging young women's reputations was keenly felt. While damage to women's reputations was hard to undo, men's reputations tarnished by substance use, could be compensated for by their parents' honourable status. Discussion of tradition as innovation was rare and met with resistance. Tradition was largely experienced as a constraint to be circumvented

In Vivo Microscopy of Targeted Vessel Occlusion Employing Acoustic Droplet Vaporization

Objective:  Embolotherapy is a potential means to treat a variety of cancers. Our approach—gas embolotherapy—introduces the droplets upstream from the tumor and then acoustically activates them to form bubbles for occlusion—a process known as ADV. We wanted to provide the first optical documentation of ADV, lodged bubbles, or vessel occlusion in vivo . Methods:  We used the rat cremaster muscle for in vivo microscopy. Perfluorocarbon droplets were administered into the aortic arch. Ultrasound exposures in the cremaster induced vaporization. The cremaster was examined pre‐ and post‐exposure for ADV‐related effects. Two sets of experiments compared the effect of exposure in the capillaries versus the first order arteriole. Results:  Bubbles that lodge following capillary exposure are significantly larger (76 μm mean length, 36 μm mean diameter) than those following feeder vessel exposure (25 μm mean length, 11 μm mean diameter). Despite the differing sizes in bubbles, the ratio of bubble length to the hydraulic diameter of all lodged bubbles was 2.11 (±0.65; n  = 112), which agrees with theoretical predictions and experimental observations. Conclusions:  Our results provide the first optical evidence of targeted vessel occlusion through ADV. These findings could lay the groundwork for the advancement of gas embolotherapy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92416/1/micc176.pd

Learning from Participatory Research and Action Approaches to Transforming Food Systems

Now more than ever, evidence overwhelmingly concludes that our food systems are not currently working to nourish our populations, ecosystems, economies, or social connectionNow more than ever, evidence overwhelmingly concludes that our food systems are not currently working to nourish our populations, ecosystems, economies, or social connections. Agroecological approaches have been shown as having potential to address many of these problems in the mainstream food system, particularly when combined with concepts of food sovereignty, which localise control, and place producers and consumers at the centre of decision-making (Pretty et al 2006, Chappell and LaValle 2009, Sevilla Guzman and Woodgate 2003). However, knowing the principles and the end goals, while invaluable, is not enough. We need to transition from the food systems we currently have to the food systems we envision for future generations. Where do we begin and who should lead that process? In line with principles of food sovereignty, that transition needs to be led and owned not by outside experts or researchers but by the people most directly affected by and typically excluded from decision making within the current food system (i.e. small- and medium -scale farmers, workers involved in harvesting and food processing, cottage manufacturers and consumers across socioeconomic classes). It must also respond to the current level of globalisation of our food systems. For example, a decision to localise consumption in one country can greatly affect export-focused producers and economies in another

Prospective Investigation of Markers of Elevated Delirium Risk (PRIMED Risk) study protocol: a prospective, observational cohort study investigating blood and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for delirium and cognitive dysfunction in older patients [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

BACKGROUND: Delirium is a common post-operative complication, particularly in older adults undergoing major or emergency procedures. It is associated with increased length of intensive care and hospital stay, post-operative mortality and subsequent dementia risk. Current methods of predicting delirium incidence, duration and severity have limitations. Investigation of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers linked to delirium may improve understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, particularly with regard to the extent this is shared or distinct with underlying dementia. Together, these have the potential for development of better risk stratification tools and perioperative interventions. / METHODS: 200 patients over the age of 70 scheduled for surgery with routine spinal anaesthetic will be recruited from UK hospitals. Their cognitive and functional baseline status will be assessed pre-operatively by telephone. Time-matched CSF and blood samples will be taken at the time of surgery and analysed for known biomarkers of neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Patients will be assessed daily for delirium until hospital discharge and will have regular cognitive follow-up for two years. Primary outcomes will be change in modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m) score at 12 months and rate of change of TICS-m score. Delirium severity, duration and biomarker levels will be treated as exposures in a random effects linear regression models. PRIMED Risk has received regulatory approvals from Health Research Authority and London – South East Research Ethics Committee. / DISCUSSION: The main anticipated output from this study will be the quantification of biomarkers of acute and chronic contributors to cognitive impairment after surgery. In addition, we aim to develop better risk prediction models for adverse cognitive outcomes

Hierarchy measure for complex networks

Nature, technology and society are full of complexity arising from the intricate web of the interactions among the units of the related systems (e.g., proteins, computers, people). Consequently, one of the most successful recent approaches to capturing the fundamental features of the structure and dynamics of complex systems has been the investigation of the networks associated with the above units (nodes) together with their relations (edges). Most complex systems have an inherently hierarchical organization and, correspondingly, the networks behind them also exhibit hierarchical features. Indeed, several papers have been devoted to describing this essential aspect of networks, however, without resulting in a widely accepted, converging concept concerning the quantitative characterization of the level of their hierarchy. Here we develop an approach and propose a quantity (measure) which is simple enough to be widely applicable, reveals a number of universal features of the organization of real-world networks and, as we demonstrate, is capable of capturing the essential features of the structure and the degree of hierarchy in a complex network. The measure we introduce is based on a generalization of the m-reach centrality, which we first extend to directed/partially directed graphs. Then, we define the global reaching centrality (GRC), which is the difference between the maximum and the average value of the generalized reach centralities over the network. We investigate the behavior of the GRC considering both a synthetic model with an adjustable level of hierarchy and real networks. Results for real networks show that our hierarchy measure is related to the controllability of the given system. We also propose a visualization procedure for large complex networks that can be used to obtain an overall qualitative picture about the nature of their hierarchical structure.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, 4 table

Differences between immigrant and non-immigrant groups in the use of primary medical care; a systematic review

Background. Studies on differences between immigrant and non-immigrant groups in health care utilization vary with respect to the extent and direction of differences in use. Therefore, our study aimed to provide a systematic overview of the existing research on differences in primary care utilization between immigrant groups and the majority population. Methods. For this review PubMed, PsycInfo, Cinahl, Sociofile, Web of Science and Current Contents were consulted. Study selection and quality assessment was performed using a predefined protocol by 2 reviewers independently of each other. Only original, quantitative, peer-reviewed papers were taken into account. To account for this hierarchical structure, logistic multilevel analyses were performed to examine the extent to which differences are found across countries and immigrant groups. Differences in primary care use were related to study characteristics, strength of the primary care system and methodological quality. Results. A total of 37 studies from 7 countries met all inclusion criteria. Remarkably, studies performed within the US more often reported a significant lower use among immigrant groups as compared to the majority population than the other countries. As studies scored higher on methodological quality, the likelihood of reporting significant differences increased. Adjustment for health status and use of culture-/language-adjusted procedures during the data