Month: June 2024

Abstract

Background

Reproductive health promotion can enable early mitigation of behavioral and environmental risk factors associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, while optimizing health of women + (all genders that can gestate a fetus) and babies. Although the biological and social influences of partners on pregnancy are well established, it is unknown whether online Canadian government reproductive health promotion also targets men and partners throughout the reproductive lifespan.

Methods

Reproductive health promotion, designed for the general public, was assessed in a multi-jurisdictional sample of Canadian government (federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal) and select non-governmental organization (NGO) websites. For each website, information related to environmental and behavioral influences on reproductive health (preconception, pregnancy, postpartum) was evaluated based on comprehensiveness, audience-specificity, and scientific quality.

Results

Government and NGO websites provided sparse reproductive health promotion for partners which was generally limited to preconception behavior topics with little coverage of environmental hazard topics. For women + , environmental and behavioral influences on reproductive health were well promoted for pregnancy, with content gaps for preconception and postpartum stages.

Conclusion

Although it is well established that partners influence pregnancy outcomes and fetal/infant health, Canadian government website promotion of partner-specific environmental and behavioral risks was limited. Most websites across jurisdictions promoted behavioral influences on pregnancy, however gaps were apparent in the provision of health information related to environmental hazards. As all reproductive stages, including preconception and postpartum, may be susceptible to environmental and behavioral influences, online health promotion should use a sex- and gender-lens to address biological contributions to embryo, fetal and infant development, as well as contributions of partners to the physical and social environments of the home.

Abstract

Background

The commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) provides income for rural indigenous households. The integration of NTFPs into formal markets tends to intensify management practices to ensure production and monetary benefits. However, more research is needed to understand the motivations for managing of commercialized species. We examine the influence of social, ecological, and economic factors on traditional management and how they drive the adoption of more or less intensive practices for subsistence and commercially traded NTFPs.

Methods

The study was conducted in the Nahua community of Ixtacxochitla, in the Sierra Negra of central Mexico, where we conducted free lists and semi-structured interviews in 32% of the 88 households to assess socio-ecological variables related to management practices. In addition, we interviewed local traders to assess commercial variables used in a cost–benefit model to calculate the net annual income of commercialized species. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to analyze relationships between socio-ecological variables and management practices. We also explored the relationship between management and commercial factors using principal component analysis.

Results

We recorded 64 plant and mushroom species of NTFPs used for medicinal, ornamental, ceremonial, and edible purposes, 36 of which are commercialized in the municipal market of Coyomeapan. The commercialized species generated an average annual net income of MXN 67,526 (USD 3924) per family, with five species contributing the most. Species both used for both subsistence and commercialization were managed through incipient in situ gathering, tolerance in ex situ anthropogenic areas, and intensive protection and propagation efforts in ex situ environments. Even the five species with the highest commercial returns were managed across this gradient of practices. Key factors influencing the adoption of more intensive species management practices were feasibility of management, type of species use, ecological abundance, frequency of consumption, and cultural importance.

Conclusions

The intensification of NTFPs management is not solely driven by the commercial value of the products or the level of income generated. Instead, the interaction between socio-ecological and economic factors determines the extent of management practices. The main constraint to the implementation of intensive practices has been the inability to manage species outside their natural habitats, despite their cultural significance and frequent consumption. Understanding the factors involved in the harvesting of NTFPs can serve as the basis for future research aimed at analyzing the conditions for successful and sustainable NTFPs commercialization.

Abstract

The sanctioned language around “mathematics teacher knowledge” in the US centers pedagogy, content (mathematical knowledge), and students. Yet, this teacher learning approach often promotes (explicitly or implicitly) teaching and learning of mathematics that operationalizes mathematics as rigid, as a gatekeeper, and only useful for global competition in STEM-related fields. These tacit capitalist goals result in teachers being expected to convey “clear and useful” mathematical information to students, not question why mathematics is being taught, who benefits, and/or how to intervene if the learning environment is harmful for students who are Black, Indigenous, students of Color, multilingual, dis/abled, queer, nonbinary, and/or of immigrant backgrounds. In this article, we build upon a form of relational knowing that intertwines mathematics, pedagogies, students, and politics called Political Conocimiento in Teaching Mathematics. Focusing on political knowledge brings the margins to the center by recognizing political issues cannot be separated from other dimensions or added on, as if politics are not already present in mathematics teaching and learning. As three women of Color, we present empirical results from three teacher education programs in the USA with teacher candidates (n = 55) who range in intersectional identities. Using scenario-based activities that support their development of political knowledge, we apply the lens of “The Mirror Test” to highlight how teacher candidates’ intersectional identities influenced the ethical identities they enacted. Some candidates focused more on “accountability” while others focused on “performativity.” We offer implications for future research on ethical identities in mathematics education with teachers and teacher candidates of various intersectional identities.

Abstract

The sanctioned language around “mathematics teacher knowledge” in the US centers pedagogy, content (mathematical knowledge), and students. Yet, this teacher learning approach often promotes (explicitly or implicitly) teaching and learning of mathematics that operationalizes mathematics as rigid, as a gatekeeper, and only useful for global competition in STEM-related fields. These tacit capitalist goals result in teachers being expected to convey “clear and useful” mathematical information to students, not question why mathematics is being taught, who benefits, and/or how to intervene if the learning environment is harmful for students who are Black, Indigenous, students of Color, multilingual, dis/abled, queer, nonbinary, and/or of immigrant backgrounds. In this article, we build upon a form of relational knowing that intertwines mathematics, pedagogies, students, and politics called Political Conocimiento in Teaching Mathematics. Focusing on political knowledge brings the margins to the center by recognizing political issues cannot be separated from other dimensions or added on, as if politics are not already present in mathematics teaching and learning. As three women of Color, we present empirical results from three teacher education programs in the USA with teacher candidates (n = 55) who range in intersectional identities. Using scenario-based activities that support their development of political knowledge, we apply the lens of “The Mirror Test” to highlight how teacher candidates’ intersectional identities influenced the ethical identities they enacted. Some candidates focused more on “accountability” while others focused on “performativity.” We offer implications for future research on ethical identities in mathematics education with teachers and teacher candidates of various intersectional identities.

Abstract

How did the European industrialists influence the nature and form of the course in sugar chemistry and technology, as well as its standard and form of training at Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur? This course led to the Imperial Institute of Sugar Technology's establishment (renamed National Sugar Institute after independence) in 1937 at Kanpur. The overwhelming presence of Europeans in the sugar industry until the 1920s gave European industrialists an influential role in deciding policy for technical education in colonial India. Although the sugar industry became a prominent political arena for Indian industrialists after the tariff protection of 1932, technical education for industrialization was not a serious concern for industrialists. The paper examines the process of initiating advanced courses for sugar chemists and technologists at HBTI by the second decade of the twentieth century. Proceedings of the Department of Industries of the Government of India and the United Provinces and official reports are analyzed to understand the political and social underpinning of the process of setting up a sugar technology course at HBTI, which subsequently emerged as an independent institute for sugar technology named as Imperial Institute of Sugar Technology Kanpur.

Abstract

Background

The traditional knowledge in southern Yemen is rich in wild medicinal and food plants, which has been documented in our previous studies. In addition, other significant and general traditional usage for the daily livelihood requirements of local people (beyond medicinal and food plant uses) has not been studied before and needs urgent documentation.

Methods

Ethnobotanical data on of wild plants used by local people in southern Yemen were collected by oral questionnaire interviews. Most informants (n = 1020) were local elderly from 15 different localities in southern Yemen. The local names and non-medicinal and non-food uses of plants were identified and analyzed.

Results

The ethnobotanical data resulted various traditional uses of 73 plant species distributed in 28 families. The most represented families were Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Malvaceae. The most growth forms were trees and shrubs. Seven main and common categories of traditional uses were determined and classified as handicraft, health aids, livestock husbandry and beekeeping, economic and commercial plant products, agriculture tools, construction timber and fuel. The most cited species were identified for Ziziphus spina-christi, Vachellia tortilis, Vachellia nilotica, Anisotes trisulcus, Dracaena hanningtonii (Sansevieria ehrenbergii) and Aerva javanica, which have multi-purpose values of traditional usage. Nine major traditional uses of local wild plants were recorded: handicraft, agriculture tools, products aid general health, economic products, construction timber, livestock husbandry, bee keeping, fuel and ornamental.

Conclusions

Despite the challenges on local traditional knowledge of wild plants, it still requested vital to many usages of traditional life and still have an economic value and heritage required of develop the daily livelihood level of the local people especially in rural areas. This includes the traditional uses of wild plants in handicraft skills, tools of agriculture, constructions. The importance of the continuity of traditional industries and their transmission to generations lies in the local population’s reliance on local natural resources without relying on external resources in situations such as wars. This is the first study that contributes to documenting and analyzing the indigenous knowledge on traditional general usage of wild plants in southern Yemen.