Latino Protestants and Their Political and Social Engagement (Chapter Six of Latino Protestants in America: Growing and Diverse)

Excerpt: On a rainy early spring morning in a modest brick Presbyterian church just outside the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, California, sixtyfour worshippers gather. The entire worship is in Spanish. During the sermon, the pastor makes a passing reference to how few of the attenders now live in Oakland proper, that many have to drive farther than ever for church services. The implicit message: the leadership of the church realizes that gentrification of San Francisco has spilled over the Bay Bridge and now threatens the availability of affordable housing throughout Oakland. In response, the congregation has started programs that offer legal advice for responding to rent-hiking landlords and identifying housing options around the city. Though resources and attenders tend to be somewhat scarce, the leadership has creatively organized in an effort to address the structural and policy concerns of housing. Beyond that, the pastor proudly notes that this church readily offers immigration status services, computer classes, and English classes

Why is child malnutrition lower in urban than rural areas?

"While ample evidence documents that urban children generally have better nutritional status than their rural counterparts, recent research suggests that urban malnutrition is on the rise. The environment, choices, and opportunities of urbanites differ greatly from those of rural dwellers' from employment conditions to social and family networks to access to health care and other services. Given these differences, understanding the relative importance of the various determinants of child malnutrition in urban and rural areas and especially whether they differ is key to designing context-relevant, effective program and policy responses for stemming malnutrition. This study uses Demographic and Health Survey data from 36 developing countries to address the question of whether the socioeconomic determinants of child nutritional status differ across urban and rural areas. The purpose is to answer the broader question of why child malnutrition rates are lower in urban areas. The socioeconomic determinants examined are women's education, women's status, access to safe water and sanitation, and household economic status. The analysis finds little evidence of differences in the nature of the socioeconomic determinants or in the strength of their associations with child nutritional status across urban and rural areas. As expected, however, it documents marked differences in the levels of these determinants in favor of urban areas. Large gaps in favor of urban areas are also found in the levels of key proximate determinants of child nutritional status, especially maternal prenatal and birthing care, quality of complementary feeding, and immunization of children. The conclusion is that better nutritional status of urban children is probably due to the cumulative effect of a series of more favorable socioeconomic conditions, which, in turn, seems to lead to better caring practices for children and their mothers. Given that the nature of the determinants of child nutritional status is largely the same across urban and rural areas, the same program and policy framework can be used to stem malnutrition in both. Efforts to alleviate the most critical socioeconomic constraints specific to the different environments should continue to be prioritized." Authors' Abstractmalnutrition ,Demographic and Health Survey ,

Why is child malnutrition lower in urban than rural areas?

"While ample evidence documents that urban children generally have better nutritional status than their rural counterparts, recent research suggests that urban malnutrition is on the rise. The environment, choices, and opportunities of urbanites differ greatly from those of rural dwellers' from employment conditions to social and family networks to access to health care and other services. Given these differences, understanding the relative importance of the various determinants of child malnutrition in urban and rural areas and especially whether they differ is key to designing context-relevant, effective program and policy responses for stemming malnutrition. This study uses Demographic and Health Survey data from 36 developing countries to address the question of whether the socioeconomic determinants of child nutritional status differ across urban and rural areas. The purpose is to answer the broader question of why child malnutrition rates are lower in urban areas. The socioeconomic determinants examined are women's education, women's status, access to safe water and sanitation, and household economic status. The analysis finds little evidence of differences in the nature of the socioeconomic determinants or in the strength of their associations with child nutritional status across urban and rural areas. As expected, however, it documents marked differences in the levels of these determinants in favor of urban areas. Large gaps in favor of urban areas are also found in the levels of key proximate determinants of child nutritional status, especially maternal prenatal and birthing care, quality of complementary feeding, and immunization of children. The conclusion is that better nutritional status of urban children is probably due to the cumulative effect of a series of more favorable socioeconomic conditions, which, in turn, seems to lead to better caring practices for children and their mothers. Given that the nature of the determinants of child nutritional status is largely the same across urban and rural areas, the same program and policy framework can be used to stem malnutrition in both. Efforts to alleviate the most critical socioeconomic constraints specific to the different environments should continue to be prioritized." Authors' Abstractmalnutrition ,Demographic and Health Survey ,

Kajian Koreografi Tari Cangklak di Sanggar Rampoe Kota Banda Aceh

Penelitian ini mengangkat masalah bagaimana Koreografi Tari Cangklak di Sanggar Rampoe Kota Banda Aceh. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mendeskripsikan Koreografi Tari Cangklak di Sanggar Rampoe Kota Banda Aceh. Pendekatan penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dan jenis penelitian deskriptif. Subjek penelitian ini adalah koreografer sanggar Rampoe, ketua sanggar Rampoe, penari dan pemusik sanggar Rampoe. Objek dalam penelitian ini adalah tari Cangklak. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah teknik wawancara, observasi dan dokumentasi. Analisis data dilakukan dengan reduksi data, penyajian data dan verifikasi data. Dari hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa koreografi tari Cangklak termasuk ke dalam tari kreasi yang berpola tradisi. Indikator dari koreografi tari Cangklak ini adalah menentukan tema, eksplorasi dan improvisasi gerak, komposisi dan evaluasi gerak, menentukan musik pengiring tari dan merancang tata busana dan tata rias tari. Tema tari Cangklak ini diambil dari bahasa Aceh yang artinya centil. Eksplorasi atau penjelajahan gerak dilakukan dengan melihat kebiasaan sehari-hari wanita Aceh yang dikaitkan dengan beberapa properti yang sering digunakan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari oleh seorang wanita, seperti payung, kipas, gelang kaki dan sapu tangan serta improvisasi gerak dilakukan secara spontan dan gerak yang belum biasa dilakukan oleh wanita dalam penggunaan properti tersebut. Setelah eksplorasi dan improvisasi gerak dilakukan, maka gerak yang telah didapatkan akan dievaluasi jika ada gerak yang dirasa tidak nyaman akan diganti atau dibuang jika dirasa gerakan tersebut tidak cocok. Tata busana yang dikenakan telah disesuaikan dengan tema tarian oleh koreografer tari yaitu memakai pakaian Aceh serta dilengkapi dengan berbagai accesoris yang menunjang tari agar sesuai dengan tema. Tata rias yang digunakan adala tata rias cantik sesuai dengan tema penggambaran pesona wanita Aceh

Conjugation of the Eurasian economic union and the belt road initiative: the role and place of Kazakhstan

Relevance. In mass media, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Eurasian economic integration are considered as the driving forces behind Eurasia’s development. Nevertheless, the processes of Eurasian integration have been impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, 2020-22 have been marked by political turmoil in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states. Modelled on the European Union, the Eurasian Union increasingly resembles the former Soviet Union, which is a matter of concern for the member states. On the other hand, the growing democratic sentiments in the post-Soviet countries and the competition between Russia and China for influence in Eurasia make the cooperation of the EAEU and the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) more problematic. Research objective. The study examines the opportunities and challenges associated with the possible integration of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belt Road Initiative.Methods and Data.  In this paper, we used an exploratory research design relying on collecting secondary and primary qualitative data. Methodologically, the study is based on the approaches of positive and nominative economics. The qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews helped us gain insight into the economic problems of the EAEU member states. We also analyzed the dynamics of each member country’s GDP and compared it with that of China for the period from 2012 to present.Results. The compatibility of national and transnational interests in the EAEU programs is one of the main issues that have to be addressed. There have been specified areas of the EAEU’s development, many of which reveal the Russian Federation’s dominating role in managing the Union. According to the experts we have interviewed, to implement its programs, the EAEU needs significant centralization of power. On the other hand, the unresolved social, economic, and political issues can become a significant obstacle to the integration.Conclusion.  Despite the widespread belief that the BRI would bring significant welfare and trade benefits to its participants, the EAEU member countries and China first need to focus on implementing political reforms, which the social and economic agenda hinges upon

Scaling Behavior of Ricci Curvature at Short Distance near Two Dimensions

We study the renormalization of the Ricci curvature as an example of generally covariant operators in quantum gravity near two dimensions. We find that it scales with a definite scaling dimension at short distance. The Ricci curvature singularity at the big bang can be viewed as such a scaling phenomenon. The problem of the spacetime singularity may be resolved by the scale invariance of the spacetime at short distance.Comment: 9pages, LaTe

Iranian Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Fresh Fish

This paper explores attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for Norwegian salmon, Iranian rainbow trout, and Iranian narrow-barred Spanish mackerel among Iranian consumers. An interval regression model found that consumption frequency and product attributes affected WTP. Salmon was ranked highest on taste, nutrition, and convenience but lowest on price. The average estimated WTP for salmon was US $14.82, which is higher than for the other species but below the market price. The main challenges for salmon exporters will be to reduce the current high price and to differentiate salmon further in the market