Exploring definitions of food insecurity and vulnerability: time to refocus assessments

Recent high food prices and changes in the world food situation are exacerbating the conditions of households that are vulnerable to food insecurity, especially those with weak livelihood strategies. To address the impact of these and other stressors it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of concepts such as ‘vulnerability’ and ‘food insecurity’. This is challenging as both concepts are used rather loosely in the food security literature, despite both having at least two dimensions. Vulnerability has an external and internal dimension, and food insecurity has a temporal and intensity dimension. However, assessments are often only concerned with one dimension at a time. An exploration of the two concepts suggests that in both cases the dimensions need to be combined in order to understand the different interactions and the interconnections between different dimensions and the multiple levels of the systems in which they are embedded. This combination of dimensions is important for understanding the significant role that livelihoods play in the accumulation of assets and for accessing food. It makes the understanding of the multiple causes and consequences of vulnerability and food insecurity for different households clearer. Those households and individuals considered chronically poor or food-insecure are likely to experience severe food insecurity in the long-term, as a result of their weak livelihoods and minimal assets. Consequently, future studies on vulnerability to food insecurity should focus on these chronically food insecure households in order to determine the multidimensional nature of the stressors they experience and their ability to cope and adapt to these stressors. This would contribute to our understanding of the contexts in which the data from larger quantitative studies are embedded.high food prices, livelihoods, vulnerability, food insecurity, multidimensional stressors, Consumer/Household Economics,

Should subsistence agriculture be supported as a strategy to address rural food insecurity?

At first glance South Africa’s black farming sector appears to contribute rather minimally to overall agricultural output in South Africa. However, despite the complexity involved in this sector and the often marginal conditions in which agriculture is practised it appears to be important to a large number of black households. Furthermore, the significance they attach to subsistence agriculture as means of supplementing household food supplies seems to heavily outweigh other reasons for engaging in agriculture. Some South African researchers have indicated the contribution subsistence production makes to household food security, despite the prevalent complexities and the low input nature of this production. Statistics South Africa’s Labour Force Survey data from 2001 to 2007 and a case study of subsistence farming in Limpopo Province are used to support the argument that, despite the complexity of this sector, the more than 4 million subsistence farmers, need and merit greater support. Such support should be based on the local context, build on and, where appropriate, improve existing local practices, while addressing various existing threats to this type of production. Recommendations are made as to what policy makers need to consider when considering how best to support subsistence production.subsistence production, Labour Force Survey, traditional crops, local agricultural practices, Consumer/Household Economics,

Household food security status in South Africa

The Human Sciences Research Council has established a policy research initiative to monitor household food security and to identify and evaluate policy options. In this special edition, a selection of articles from this project is assembled. While deep chronic hunger has fallen with the expansion of the social grants, under-nutrition is a very serious and widespread challenge. This special edition draws together the best available evidence on household food security with the aim of stimulating wider debate.food security, social grants, smallholder and subsistence production, poverty, Consumer/Household Economics,

Summary of the NECTOS study of specialist crack services

The Government acknowledges that crack and cocaine use is a significant public health issue. It has attached a high priority to getting more crack users into treatment and retaining them, and commissioning new research into the effectiveness of different treatment methods. Tackling Crack: A National Plan (Home Office, 2002) was implemented in 2003. There has been no independent assessment of existing crack and cocaine treatment services in this country to establish what interventions are delivered, how effective services are, and what lessons can be learned for future service planning. This evaluation aims to directly address this shortcoming. The National Evaluation of Crack Cocaine Treatment and Outcome Study (NECTOS) (NTA, 2007, forthcoming) evaluated a number of well-established specialist crack treatment services. The intention was to describe the interventions they provided, to measure how effective the services were in engaging and retaining crack users, and to assess whether they helped users reduce their consumption

Physical planning and community involvement: An experiment in the use of participation techniques in Mangaung, Bloemfontein

The purpose of city planning is to improve the quality of life of people. Planning therefore focuses on people and it is therefore logical that planning should be based normatively on the active participation of diverse groups in a society. The Urban Foundation, developers of a new extension of the black town of MANGAUNG in Bloemfontein, felt that the community of MANGAUNG should be consulted in the city planning process before planning the township. The National Institute for Personnel Research of the CSIR has been appointed to develop procedures to achieve this goal. Simulations and models were used to determine various planning alternatives. The models are exhibited at various places in MANGAUNG where residents usually contract. Respondents were asked to investigate the models and express their opinion on this. These opinions are based on a structured questionnaire. The results of the study can be summarized as follows: The study has shown that the communities can be successfully involved in the planning process if appropriate participation techniques are used. Various themes containing attitudes and preferences of respondents have emerged in this study. Most of these imply implications for the design and implementation of new layouts.This study should be seen in the context of MANGAUNG and does not normally apply to other communities

Consumptive versus non-consumptive use of sea turtles? Stakeholder perceptions about sustainable use in three communities near Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica

The decline in populations of sea turtles has heightened controversy between two contrasting strategies for their sustainable management: consumptive use versus non-consumptive use. This study investigates perceptions held by individuals in three communities bordering a marine protected area in Costa Rica about consumptive and non-consumptive use of sea turtles on nesting beaches to determine how best to achieve sustainable management of the species. Face-to-face interviews (n=48 community members and n=8 key informants) were conducted in three communities (Cahuita Town, Hone Creek, and Playa Negra) during April and May 2009. The research found that in each community, residents' perceptions about consumptive and non-consumptive use were divided into four categories: norm-activated pro- and anti-environmentalism; and rationally self-interested pro- and anti-environmentalism. Given this perceptual diversity, it seems clear that no single management strategy would work successfully across all three communities, but that customised management measures were required to manage sea turtle populations in each area. The wider implication of this study is that there is no simple panacea for dealing with declining populations of sea turtles: each situation is sui generis, requiring measures tailored exclusively to its particular circumstances

Keeping patients with cancer exercising in the age of COVID-19

The novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health emergency. To date, physical distancing and good personal hygiene have been the only effective measures to limit spread. The pandemic has altered routine cancer care, including allied health and supportive care interventions. Clinicians must adapt and find ways to continue to deliver optimal patient care at this time. The prescription of exercise to people with cancer has been demonstrated to have meaningful benefits for both physical and mental health and quality of life, and may even enhance survival. Such exercise interventions provide the largest benefit to patients when delivered in a supervised, group, clinic-based setting. In the age of COVID-19, group-based exercise in communal facilities presents risks for both aerosol and surface transmission of the virus among people exercising, necessitating a pivot from the usual methods of exercise delivery to home-based exercise programs. In this article, we discuss the challenges that need to be overcome in moving to a home-based program for patients with cancer while maintaining the benefits of targeted and high-fidelity exercise medicine. We provide practical recommendations for how home-based exercise can be supported and nurtured by qualified exercise professionals who treat people living with cancer, as well as pointing to resources that are available online to assist practitioners. Despite the challenges faced during this pandemic, we believe that it is important for people to continue to benefit from exercise in a safe environment with the support of exercise specialists

Tungsten isotope composition of the Acasta Gneiss Complex

AbstractHigh-precision tungsten (182W/184W) isotope measurements on well-characterised mafic and felsic samples of the ca. 3960 Ma Acasta Gneiss Complex (AGC; Northwest Territories, Canada) show radiogenic ε182W values between +0.06 to +0.15. Two ca. 3600 Ma felsic samples from this terrane have ε182W ∼ 0 and are the oldest samples so far documented to have a W isotopic composition indistinguishable from that of the modern mantle. The ε182W data are correlated with ε142Nd (Roth et al., 2014) and we attribute this variability to incomplete metamorphic homogenisation of the 3960 Ma protolith with more recent material in a 3370 Ma tectono-thermal event. Notably, the value of the positive ε182W anomalies seen in the 3960 Ma AGC samples that are least affected by metamorphic homogenisation is comparable to that observed in other early Archean rocks (Isua Supracrustal Belt, Greenland; Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt, Canada) and the late Archean Kostomuksha komatiites (Karelia). This demonstrates a globally constant signature. We infer that the presence of a pre-late veneer mantle represents the most straightforward interpretation of a uniform distribution of εW182∼+0.15 value in Archean rocks of different ages. We show that such a notion is compatible with independent constraints from highly siderophile element abundances in mafic and ultra-mafic Archean mantle-derived rocks. The absence of anomalous ε182W and ε142Nd so far measured in samples younger than ca. 2800 Ma suggests progressive convective homogenisation of silicate reservoirs. The downward mixing of an upper mantle rich in late-delivered meteoritic material might account for these combined observations

Evidence Use in Congress: Options for Charting a New Direction; Volume 2

Lawmakers in Congress have expressed a growing interest in the promise of evidence-based policymaking. Bipartisan legislation has been pursued in Congress that would encourage the use of evidence to improve outcomes for key education, health, workforce, and other federal programs. These past legislative initiatives suggest growing potential for the wider use of evidence to better inform congressional decision-making in the future. However, key challenges remain for fostering a stronger culture of evidence in Congress. This stronger culture will be necessary to fully realize the potential benefits of evidence-based policymaking