Risk management networks of ethnic minorities in Viet Nam

The utilization of informal social networks is an important risk management strategy of vulnerable households in South-East Asia. To gain insight on this issue, a social network analysis (SNA) was implemented to assess risk management networks of ethnic minority farm households in the northern uplands of Viet Nam. The results from the analysis suggest that kinship relations and the level of wealth play an essential role in enabling basic network services to function. This paper also points out that effective networks require investments to fulfil the requested mutual obligations and that subsequently, social networks among poor farmers are relatively limited. The findings of the analysis show, not surprisingly, that networks cannot completely buffer severe shocks. Consequently, policy measures to reduce the costs of investing in social capital of poor farmers as well as improved access to appropriate social security systems are essential. These findings are applicable to other upland areas of South-East Asia.-

Linkages between poverty and sustainable agricultural and rural development in the uplands of Southeast Asia

Most of the upland areas of Southeast Asia are characterized by insufficient infrastructure, low productivity in smallholder crop and animal production, mounting environmental problems such as soil and forest degradation and loss of biodiversity, increasing population pressure, and widespread poverty, particular in rural areas. While some upland areas in South East Asia have been experiencing considerable progress during the past twenty years, others have stagnated or even declined with respect to economic, social and environmental objectives of development. The purpose of the paper is to describe major trends regarding sustainable development in the upland areas of selected countries in South East Asia, and review explanatory approaches for the observed trends based on case studies from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The conceptual framework for this paper builds on the critical triangle of sustainable rural development. Here, equity or poverty alleviation, economic growth, and the protection of the environment are the three major policy objectives. We further distinguish three explanatory approaches for land use change and agricultural and rural development. Apart from the market approach and the population approach, we suggest that future studies should focus more on governance issues as a major driving force of land use change. The governance approach appears particularly relevant for upland areas which are often politically and institutionally marginalized. The paper begins with a review of definitions of sustainability, and proceeds with a conceptual analysis of the two-way linkages between poverty and the environment, and poverty and economic growth in rural areas. This is followed by empirical findings from research on agriculture and forestry as the major land uses in upland areas of selected South East Asian countries. Based on the results of different case studies from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia, we seek to contrast stories of relative success with those of failure. The paper concludes with implications for rural and agricultural development policies, and suggests future areas of research

Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in West Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Four years after the devastating Ebola outbreak, governments in West Africa were quick to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in response to the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2. The NPIs implemented included physical distancing, closure of schools and businesses, restrictions on public gatherings and mandating the use of face masks among others. In the absence of widely available vaccinations, NPIs were the only known means to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. While numerous studies have assessed the effectiveness of these NPIs in high-income countries, less is known about the processes that lead to the adoption of policies and the factors that influence their implementation and adherence in low-income and middle-income countries. The objective of this scoping review is to understand the extent and type of evidence in relation to the policy formulation, decision-making and implementation stages of NPIs in West Africa. Methods and analysis A scoping review will be undertaken following the guidance developed by Arskey and O’Malley, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and the PRISMA guidelines for Scoping Reviews. Both peer-reviewed and grey literature will be searched using Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, APA PsycInfo, WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing, JSTOR and Google Advanced Search, and by searching the websites of the WHO, and the West African Health Organisation. Screening will be conducted by two reviewers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data will be extracted, coded and narratively synthesised. Ethics and dissemination We started this scoping review in May 2023, and anticipate finishing by April 2024. Ethics approval is not required since we are not collecting primary data. This protocol was registered at Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/gvek2/). We plan to disseminate this research through publications, conference presentations and upcoming West African policy dialogues on pandemic preparedness and response

Rethinking Child Protection in Emergencies

The humanitarian system is struggling to adapt to changes in the global political environment, trends in armed conflict and displacement, and advances in science and technology. In recent years, the international community has undertaken a number of efforts to overcome these challenges, such as the Agenda for Humanity, a plan that outlines the changes needed to alleviate suffering, reduce risk, and lessen vulnerability on a global scale. This article reviews recent evidence from a range of disciplines to inform these efforts, especially as they relate to the protection of children. Early childhood and adolescence constitute two critical periods of child development that lay the foundations for future health and wellbeing. Exposure to adversity in crisis contexts can compromise this development, with potentially life-long consequences. Evidence suggests that relationships with caregivers and peers play a central role in mediating childhood experiences of adversity. Unfortunately, interventions for children affected by crises are usually too fragmented to maximize the protective effects of healthy relationships. This article stresses the importance of developing multisectoral and relational interventions capable of promoting healthy development across the life course. Given the central role of caregivers, the household is an especially powerful level of intervention for combining approaches from different sectors. More concerted efforts are needed to develop household interventions that combine traditional sectoral approaches with innovative, cross-cutting measures, such as cash transfers and parental support. Household interventions should also be an integral part of broader community and society level actions, which together form more comprehensive systems of care

Using Foreign Virtual Patients With Medical Students in Germany: Are Cultural Differences Evident and Do They Impede Learning?

Background: Learning with virtual patients (VPs) is considered useful in medical education for fostering clinical reasoning. As the authoring of VPs is highly demanding, an international exchange of cases might be desirable. However, cultural differences in foreign VPs might hamper learning success. Objective: We investigated the need for support for using VPs from the United States at a German university, with respect to language and cultural differences. Our goal was to better understand potential implementation barriers of a intercultural VP exchange. Methods: Two VPs were presented to 30 German medical students featuring a cultural background different from German standards with respect to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, ethical aspects, role models, and language (as identified by a cultural adaptation framework). Participants were assigned to two groups: 14 students were advised to complete the cases without further instructions (basic group), and 16 students received written explanatory supplemental information specifically with regard to cultural differences (supplement group). Using a 6-point scale (6=strongly agree), we analyzed the results of an integrated assessment of learning success as well as an evaluation of cases by the students on usefulness for learning and potential issues regarding the language and cultural background. Results: The German students found it motivating to work with cases written in English (6-point scale, 4.5 points). The clinical relevance of the VPs was clearly recognized (6 points), and the foreign language was considered a minor problem in this context (3 points). The results of the integrated learning assessment were similar in both groups (basic 53% [SD 4] vs supplement 52% [ SD 4] correct answers, P=.32). However, students using the supplemental material more readily realized culturally different diagnostic and therapeutic strategies (basic 4 vs supplement 5 points, P=.39) and were less affirmative when asked about the transferability of cases to a German context (basic 5 vs supplement 3 points, P=.048). Conclusions: German students found English VPs to be highly clinically relevant, and they rated language problems much lower than they rated motivation to work on cases in English. This should encourage the intercultural exchange of VPs. The provision of supplemental explanatory material facilitates the recognition of cultural differences and might help prevent unexpected learning effects

Using Foreign Virtual Patients With Medical Students in Germany: Are Cultural Differences Evident and Do They Impede Learning?

Learning with virtual patients (VPs) is considered useful in medical education for fostering clinical reasoning. As the authoring of VPs is highly demanding, an international exchange of cases might be desirable. However, cultural differences in foreign VPs might hamper learning success

Progesterone, cervical cerclage or cervical pessary to prevent preterm birth: a decision-making analysis of international guidelines.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate guidelines on preterm birth, analyze decision-criteria, and to identify consensus and discrepancies among these guidelines. DESIGN Objective consensus analysis of guidelines. SAMPLE Ten international guidelines on preterm birth. METHODS Relevant decision criteria were singleton vs. twin pregnancy, history, cervical length, and cervical surgery / trauma or Mullerian anomaly. Eight treatment recommendations were extracted. For each decision-making criteria the most commonly recommended treatment was identified, and the level of consensus was evaluated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Consensus and Discrepancies among recommendations. RESULTS In a case of singleton pregnancies with no history of preterm birth and shortened cervix, most guidelines recommend progesterone. In singleton pregnancies with a positive history and shortened cervix, all guidelines recommend a cerclage as an option, alternative or conjunct to progesterone. The majority of the guidelines advise against treatment in twin pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS A shortened cervix and a history of preterm birth are relevant in singleton pregnancies. In twins, most guidelines recommend no active treatment. Among international guidelines a shortened cervix and a history of preterm birth are relevant in singleton pregnancies. With no history of preterm birth and with a shortened cervix most guidelines recommend progesterone treatment

Mindfulness Training at School: A Way to Engage Adolescents with Sustainable Consumption?

A central challenge in research on education for sustainable consumption (ESC) is to develop new approaches to engage adolescents with sustainable consumption (SC) in a way that addresses not only the cognitive but also the socio-emotional and behavioral levels. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) that foster awareness, (self-)reflection, and ethical values could potentially leverage learning processes in ESC. The present study was the first one to investigate the potential effects of a consumption-specific MBI on sustainable consumption behavior (SCB) in the areas of nutrition and clothing. The eight-week long intervention was carried out with 15-year old adolescents (N = 85) directly at school. A randomized pre-post waitlist control group design with mixed methods was applied. The study revealed the strong effects of the adapted MBI on precursors of SCB and further effects not directly related to but potentially conducive for SCB. Actual behavioral effects were minor. Substantial inter-individual differences and inconsistencies between qualitative and quantitative results imply case-related effects that do not allow generalizable conclusions to be drawn. Nevertheless, the results of this pilot study indicate that combining mindfulness training with ESC formats appears to be a feasible and fruitful approach to engage adolescents with SC. Future practice and research should consider more diverse target groups, other consumption areas, and longer periods for interventions and their evaluation.BMBF, 01UT1416A, Bildung für Nachhaltigen Konsum durch Achtsamkeitstraining - Teilprojekt 1 der TU Berlin: Achtsamkeitsforschung und Nachhaltiger KonsumBMBF, 01UT1416B, Bildung für Nachhaltigen Konsum durch Achtsamkeitstraining - Teilprojekt 2 der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg: Bildung für Nachhaltigen Konsu

Evidence-Based Practice in Teacher Education: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Practical Knowledge

European educational reforms call for the implementation of evidence-based teaching (EBT) in universities. Based on the evidence-based research paradigm in medical education, this study investigates the relationship between teacher educators' research experience, practical knowledge, self-efficacy beliefs, and frequency of EBT implementation. We report on survey data from N = 243 teacher educators from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. A set of mediation analyses were run to identify the mediating role of self-efficacy beliefs and practical knowledge in the interplay among teacher educators' research experience and frequency of research evidence implementation. The results indicate that self-efficacy beliefs are a strong predictor of how frequently teacher educators implement EBT. Implications about the role of self-efficacy beliefs in teacher educators' professional learning and development along with future steps that are necessary to increase the implementation of EBT practices in teacher education will be discussed