| 6931. |
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| 6932. |
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| 6933. |
- Porsani, Juliana
(författare)
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Livelihood Implications of Large-Scale Land Concessions in Mozambique : A case of family farmers’ endurance
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis examines the process and the implications of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for local livelihoods, especially the livelihoods of those who make a living from farming. These individuals were historically known as peasants and are now more commonly referred to as smallholders, small-scale farmers or family farmers. What happens to their livelihoods as land under their control is allocated to investors?Promoters of LSLAs stress that when land acquisitions are preceded by community consultations, there may be synergism between investors’ activities and local livelihoods. Accordingly, local farmers are expected to gain from, for example, closer ties to the market and new livelihood alternatives such as formal employment. Differently, critical voices contend that despite sound legislation on the matter, in practice LSLAs constitute drivers of dispossession, being therefore disguised land grabs. This research seeks to fill a knowledge gap on the immediate local livelihood implications of LSLAs. By employing a case study design in Mozambique (one of the countries targeted by recent LSLAs), this thesis adds empirical evidence that is crucial to the above-named theoretical debate involving LSLAs.The analyzed case is pivoted by a Chinese company that in 2012 was granted 20,000 hectares in the lower Limpopo region. Despite legislation that asserts the legality of customary land occupation, in practice, land was seized without adequate consultation and compensation. Consequently, local farmers lost the most fertile areas. Nonetheless, farmers were able to regain or maintain access to farmland that was more peripheral and of worse quality. Concomitantly, the company generated a small number of jobs and created a contract farming scheme that, despite bottlenecks, benefited farmers who were able to handle risk. In general, families who lost land and those who entered the contract farming scheme strive to keep a foothold on farmland – a strategy that is partly explained by the economic rationale of seeking to meet the consumption needs of current and future generations. Additionally, family land is embedded with symbolic value (illustrated, for example, by individuals’ relations with ancestors buried in family land). The existence of symbolic and thus immaterial values that land embodies poses insurmountable challenges to the idea that it is possible to achieve fair compensation for the loss of land and the environment in general.This study shows the renewed pressure (now through the hands of private actors backed by public efforts) placed on family farmers, derived livelihood trends (i.e., the overall precarization of family farming, the widening of economic inequality, and the feminization of poverty), and family farmers’ continuous endurance. Ultimately, this study illustrates local processes and livelihood implications of LSLAs in Mozambique, and likely also in contexts marked by similar democratic deficits and renewed incursions over valuable land that is intensively used.
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| 6934. |
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| 6935. |
- Porseryd, Tove
(författare)
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Endocrine disruption in fish : Effects of 17α-ethinylestradiol exposure on non-reproductive behavior, fertility and brain and testis transcriptome
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aquatic environments are the end recipient for most anthropogenic chemical pollutants. One common chemical pollutant found in the aquatic environment is 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic estrogen used in contraceptive pills. EE2 is found in sewage treatment plant effluents and surface waters in concentrations from non-detectable up to 300 ng/L. EE2 has the ability to bioaccumulate and is more than 10 fold more potent in fish than the natural counterpart estradiol. Exposure has led to skewed sex ratios, decreased egg and sperm production, and altered reproductive behavior. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effects of EE2 exposure on non-reproductive behavior and fertility in fish. We found that zebra fish exposed to low concentrations of EE2 during development showed increased anxiety-like behavior and decreased fertility that were persistent in adulthood, even after a long remediation period in clean water. The altered behavior and lowered fertility were accompanied by alterations in the testis and brain transcriptome of possible significance for the behavior and fertility effects. The zebrafish was also used in adult exposures of EE2 and citalopram, alone and in combination to investigate if behavioral effects can be detected at very low concentrations, and if so, if the two compounds would interact and affect the behavioral outcome. Anxiety-like behavior was altered by EE2 and the two compounds in combination affected the outcome of each other. Further, when developmental exposure of progeny to wild caught three spined stickleback was used as a link between laboratory fish and natural fish populations, EE2 was found to decrease the anxiety-like behavior in the adult stickleback as well as cause ovotestis and intersex, feminization and sex reversal of genetic males. In conclusion, fertility and non-reproductive behaviors in the zebrafish and three spined stickleback are sensitive to EE2 exposure and effects from developmental exposures seem to be persistent. Fertility and behavior are of high ecological significance for fish and alterations due to EE2 exposure might have negative effects on population fitness. The persistent alterations in the transcriptome of the zebrafish testis and brain lead to generation of hypotheses of mechanisms involved in the behavior and reproductive phenotypes caused by developmental exposure to EE2.
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| 6936. |
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| 6937. |
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Post-Soviet Women : New Challenges and Ways to Empowerment
- 2023
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This volume explores how different post-Soviet countries have reinterpreted and diverged from the Soviet gender roles and values. It synthesizes results from multiple empirical studies that attend to increasingly conservative features of political governance in the region, particularly the authoritarian regime in Russia. The authors consider diverse enactments of ideologies, policies and practices of gender equality and women’s rights in crucial areas, such as legislative institutions, media, and social activism. The volume contributes to understanding post-Soviet societal dynamics relevant to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, which emphasizes gender equality as part of fundamental human rights.
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| 6938. |
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| 6939. |
- Power, Anne, et al.
(författare)
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Editorial 23(1) : Education in the 21st century
- 2013
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Ingår i: Issues in educational research. - 0313-7155 .- 1837-6290. ; 23:1, s. ii-iv
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Education in the twenty-first century is about equipping students of all ages "to compete in the global economy on knowledge and innovation ... take advantage of opportunity and ... face challenges of this era with confidence" (Melbourne Declaration, 2008, p. 13). There is a strong commitment in Australia, as well as elsewhere, from Federal and State levels on developing reciprocal partnerships with low socio-economic and Indigenous communities. These commitments emerge in documents such as the Bradley Report and the MCEEDYA four year plan. The challenge is for education systems to respond comprehensively to government plans.
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| 6940. |
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