A Western Australian Survey of Breastfeeding Initiation, Prevalence and Early Cessation Patterns

Objective: This paper reports on current initiation and prevalence rates, in Western Australia, differentiating ‘any’ breastfeeding with ‘exclusive’ breastfeeding whilst exploring patterns and reasons for stopping breastfeeding. The results presented are part of a larger study examining women’s perceptions of care and wellbeing in the early postnatal period. Methods: A cross sectional survey was used to examine infant feeding practices during the hospital stay and at 9 weeks post birth from Western Australian women with a registered live birth between February and June 2006. Results: Data obtained from 2,669 women revealed a 93% (n = 2,472) initiation rate of any breastfeeding. More multiparous women (73.5%) were exclusively breastfeeding in hospital compared to primiparous women (65.2%), which decreased to 57.1 and 49.2%, respectively at 9 weeks. Of those who had ceased by 9 weeks, more multiparous women (71.1%) ceased before 3 weeks. Reasons cited for ceasing in order of frequency were insufficient milk supply, infant related reasons, pain and discomfort and emotional reasons. Younger maternal age, primiparous women, lower maternal education levels, offering a combination of breast milk and formula in hospital and caesarean birth were significant independent predictors of early cessation. Conclusions: Although initiation rates including “any” breast milk are meeting NHMRC dietary guidelines of 90%, the 60% target of exclusive breastfeeding is not being achieved for 3 months or in fact at 9 weeks. Targeted support for at risk groups such as younger, less well-educated, primiparous women must continue. Evidence based policies to protect breastfeeding must address the practice of offering formula to breastfed infants in hospital and the impact of increasing interventions such as caesarean births

A visual network perspective on social interaction and space: using net-map and wennmaker in participatory social-spatial research

Various network paradigm approaches are increasing in significance in the field of social-spatial sciences. In recent times, scholars engaged in research related to spatial features have more frequently grasped and explained social structures and discourses using an analytical network perspective. A relatively young strand of Social Network Analysis (SNA) is Visual Network Research, which uses network maps to gather and analyse social relationships, mostly using participative methods. This article discusses the specific possibilities and challenges that emerge by applying a visual network perspective in social- spatial sciences. Therefore, two different tools for visual data collection are introduced by presenting exemplary case studies that discuss the processes of space constitution. Net-Map is a pen-and-paper tool and is meant to manually draw multiplex networks in cooperation with interview partners or focus groups. By doing so, qualitative and quantitative network data are collected. Additionally, the influence, aims and roles of different actors are evaluated in relation, for example, to spatial scales or resources. The VennMaker tool offers cooperative network reconstruction through computer software. It generates a digital network map, collects quantitative relational and attributive data and provides a simultaneous qualitative triangulation of these data. Finally, the article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the different tools and suggests a conceptual and methodological combination of Visual Network Research and the relational sociology of space for a richer understanding of social action and space.Die verschiedenen Zugänge der Netzwerkforschung gewinnen in den Raumwissenschaften zunehmend an Bedeutung. In jüngster Zeit nutzen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler im Rahmen raumbezogener Forschungsarbeiten immer häufiger eine analytische Netzwerkperspektive um soziale Strukturen und Diskurse zu erfassen und zu erklären. Eine relativ junge Ausprägung der Sozialen Netzwerkanalyse (SNA) ist die Visuelle Netzwerkforschung, die mit Hilfe von sogenannten Netzwerkkarten soziale Beziehungen in meist partizipativen Verfahren erhebt und analysiert. Der Beitrag diskutiert die spezifischen Chancen und Herausforderungen dieser visuellen Netzwerkperspektive in der Raumforschung, indem er die Verwendung von Netzwerkarten in zwei unterschiedlichen Erhebungswerkzeugen vorstellt und raumbezogene Fragestellungen an exemplarischen Fallstudien diskutiert. Net-Map ist ein Pen-and-Paper-Instrument und ermöglicht das manuelle Zeichnen von multiplexen Netzwerken zusammen mit Interviewpartnern oder Fokusgruppen. Dabei werden qualitative und quantitative Netzwerkdaten, eine Bewertung des Einflusses, der Ziele und Rollen beispielsweise in Bezug zu Raumskalen oder Ressourcen der Akteure generiert. Die Software VennMaker ist ebenfalls ein Werkzeug zur partizipatorischen Netzwerkrekonstruktion, hier werden die Netzwerke zusammen mit den Interviewpartnern am Computer gezeichnet. Damit kann eine (digitale) Netzwerkkarte erstellt und zeitgleich quantitative relationale und attributive Daten erhoben und kommunikativ mit qualitativen Daten trianguliert werden. Der Beitrag diskutiert anhand der raumbezogenen Anwendungsbeispiele Vor- und Nachteile der beiden Werkzeuge und schlägt eine konzeptionell-methodische Kombination von Visueller Netzwerkforschung und relationaler Soziologie des Raumes vor, um so zu einem tieferen Verständnis des Zusammenhanges von sozialem Handeln und Raum zu gelangen

Can father inclusive practice reduce paternal postnatal anxiety? A repeated measures cohort study using the hospital anxiety and depression scale

Background: Perinatal research on anxiety and depression has primarily focused on mothers. We have limited knowledge of fathers’ anxiety during the perinatal period yet there is evidence that the parenting capacity of a person can be compromised by anxiety and depression. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of a father inclusive intervention on perinatal anxiety and depression. The prime focus of the intervention was to provide education and support to fathers of breastfeeding partners with the aim of increasing both initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Methods: A repeated measures cohort study was conducted during a RCT that was implemented across eight public maternity hospitals in Perth, Western Australia between May 2008 and June 2009. A baseline questionnaire which included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was administered to all participants on the first night of their hospital based antenatal education program and was repeated at six weeks postnatal. SPSS version 17was used for reporting descriptive results.Results: The mean anxiety levels at baseline for the fathers in the intervention group (n=289) and control group (n=244) were 4.58 and 4.22 respectively. At 6 weeks postnatal (only matched pairs), intervention and control group were 3.93 and 3.79. More intervention group fathers self-rated less anxiety compared to the fathers in the control group from baseline to post test (p=0.048). Depression scores for intervention fathers at baseline (mean =1.09) and at six weeks (mean=1.09) were very similar to fathers in the control group at baseline (mean=1.11) and at six weeks (mean =1.07) with no significant changes. Conclusions: Both intervention and control group fathers experienced some anxiety prior to the birth of their baby, but this was rapidly reduced at six weeks. Paternal anxiety is common to new fathers and providing them with information and strategies for problem-solving can increase their knowledge and potentially lower the risk of postnatal anxiety

Analyse des Politikintegrationspotentials der EU-Strategie für grüne Infrastruktur - untersucht am Beispiel der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik der EU

Die Strategie für grüne Infrastruktur (GI) der Europäischen Kommission stellt einen noch jungen, aber zentralen Beitrag der EU zum Biodiversitätsschutz dar, und zielt auf die Förderung von Ökosystemleistungen. GI soll hierzu in verschiedenen Politiksektoren integriert werden. Im Bereich der europäischen Agrarpolitik (GAP) wird ein kombinierter Nutzen zwischen landwirtschaftlicher und ökologischer Entwicklung betont. Problematisch ist jedoch die bisher unscharfe Ausgestaltung der europäischen GI Politik, die eine konkrete Abschätzung von Implementation und Wirksamkeit verhindert. Ziel unserer Untersuchung ist es daher, das Potential der GI-Strategie am Beispiel der GAP zu beurteilen. Hierzu wird eine vergleichende Betrachtung der Maßnahmenausgestaltung des Greenings der GAP und der GI-Strategie durchgeführt. Die Analyse zeigt, wie Elemente der Politiken in Kombination einen Aufbau von grüner Infrastruktur befördern können und wo Hindernisse und Probleme liegen. Unsere Untersuchung macht das Themenfeld der grünen Infrastruktur einer politikfeldanalytischen Betrachtung zugänglich. Hierbei wird das Konzept der Politikintegration zugrunde gelegt und mit einer prozessorientierten und strukturierenden, qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse verbunden

Global socio-economic impacts of changes in natural capital and ecosystem services:State of play and new modeling approaches

The year 2020 is a critical year for sustainable development policy and practice with the review and renewal of various international commitments including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement. The post-2020 agenda needs to be informed by more robust analytical approaches that capture the interactions between the economy, society and the environment. In this paper, we review the state of the art in available models and datasets that lay the groundwork for future analytical work to inform this agenda. Based on this review, we propose an integrated modeling approach for global analysis to underpin international policy discourse and advocacy, and; a sub-global approach focusing on evaluating specific strategies and policy portfolios to make progress toward sustainability commitments considering detailed local country context. Both approaches rely on integrating whole of economy computable general equilibrium models with spatial land use land cover and ecosystem services models. Endogenizing feedbacks between modeling system components ensures that evidence is based on interactions between all system components. Recent advances in methods, data and available tools discussed herein reduce barriers to entry for this type of complex systems analysis and increases the timeliness of policy advice

Market potential of nanoremediation in Europe – Market drivers and interventions identified in a deliberative scenario approach

A deliberate expert-based scenario approach is applied to better understand the likely determinants of the evolution of the market for nanoparticles use in remediation in Europe until 2025. An initial set of factors had been obtained from a literature review and was complemented by a workshop and key-informant interviews. In further expert engaging formats – focus groups, workshops, conferences, surveys – this initial set of factors was condensed and engaged experts scored the factors regarding their importance for being likely to influence the market development. An interaction matrix was obtained identifying the factors being most active in shaping the market development in Europe by 2025, namely “Science-Policy-Interface” and “Validated information on nanoparticle application potential”. Based on these, potential future states were determined and development of factors discussed. Conclusions are offered on achievable interventions to enhance nanoremediation deployment

Understanding actor roles in sustainability initiatives: an exploratory study in five European countries

Several strands of literature have developed around the ambition to influence or bring about transitions toward greater sustainability. In this context researchers have come to be interested in the types of actors involved in sustainability transitions and the roles these actors play. However, there is a lack of clear definitions of actors, and their roles. Our research takes an exploratory approach and is designed to describe and analyse the actors concerned and to identify their roles in sustainability initiatives. Our aim in doing so is to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge on transitions and to provide sustainability initiatives themselves with helpful information. Data were collected using the Net-Map tool, a well-established method in actor and stakeholder analysis. In our results we identify and define six actor roles: catalysts, opponents, intermediaries, frontrunners, drivers and visionaries. In the literature, particular roles are connected to common actor categories (civil society, governmental actors, private sector, etc.). Our results imply that sustainability initiatives are neither necessarily hindered by the absence of certain actors, nor are they hindered per se by the presence of an actor - rather, a broad mix seems to be helpful

FPGA-accelerated machine learning inference as a service for particle physics computing

New heterogeneous computing paradigms on dedicated hardware with increased parallelization, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), offer exciting solutions with large potential gains. The growing applications of machine learning algorithms in particle physics for simulation, reconstruction, and analysis are naturally deployed on such platforms. We demonstrate that the acceleration of machine learning inference as a web service represents a heterogeneous computing solution for particle physics experiments that potentially requires minimal modification to the current computing model. As examples, we retrain the ResNet-50 convolutional neural network to demonstrate state-of-the-art performance for top quark jet tagging at the LHC and apply a ResNet-50 model with transfer learning for neutrino event classification. Using Project Brainwave by Microsoft to accelerate the ResNet-50 image classification model, we achieve average inference times of 60 (10) milliseconds with our experimental physics software framework using Brainwave as a cloud (edge or on-premises) service, representing an improvement by a factor of approximately 30 (175) in model inference latency over traditional CPU inference in current experimental hardware. A single FPGA service accessed by many CPUs achieves a throughput of 600--700 inferences per second using an image batch of one, comparable to large batch-size GPU throughput and significantly better than small batch-size GPU throughput. Deployed as an edge or cloud service for the particle physics computing model, coprocessor accelerators can have a higher duty cycle and are potentially much more cost-effective.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, 2 table

Integrating ecosystem services and disservices: insights from plant invasions

There is growing interest in ecosystem disservices, i.e. the negative effects of ecosystems on humans. The focus on disservices has been controversial because of the lack of clarity on how to disentangle ecosystem services and disservices related to human wellbeing. A perspective that considers both services and disservices is needed to inform objective decision-making. We propose a comprehensive typology of ecosystem disservices, and present a framework for integrating ecosystem services and disservices for human wellbeing linked to ecosystem functioning. Our treatment is underpinned by three key assumptions: (1) ecosystem attributes and functions are value-free; (2) the perception of benefits or nuisances are however dependent on societal context, and preferences and actions by societal actors may trigger, enhance or alleviate benefits or nuisances derived from ecosystems; and (3) the notion of disservices must account for the role of human management in assessments of ecosystem values, i.e. the social and technological measures that identify, protect, promote or restore desirable levels of services, and concurrently minimise, mitigate or adapt to disservices. We illustrate our ideas with examples from plant invasions as a complex social-ecological phenomenon

Managing spatial sustainability trade-offs: The case of wind power

The deployment of onshore wind power involves spatial sustainability trade-offs, e.g., between the minimization of energy system costs, the mitigation of impacts on humans and biodiversity, and equity concerns. We analyze challenges arising for decision-making if wind power generation capacity has to be allocated spatially in the presence of such trade-offs. The analysis is based on a game developed for and played by stakeholders in Germany. The results of the game illustrate that there is no unanimously agreed ranking of sustainability criteria among the participating stakeholders. They disagreed not only on the weights of different criteria but also their definition and measurement. Group discussions further revealed that equity concerns mattered for spatial allocation. Yet, stakeholders used quite different concepts of equity. The results support the importance of transparent, multi-level and participatory approaches to take decisions on the spatial allocation of wind power generation capacity