Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises, and Elusive Politics

In view of the end of the golden years of the Norwegian oil economy, ocean genetic resources are being advertised in policy environments as holding great potential for the future of the country. Microbes have increased in popularity as promising agents of the Norwegian new bioeconomy, as advances in gene sequencing technologies and genomics have made them more accessible. This paper examines the turn toward digital sequence data in bioprospecting to inquire about its political implications. It draws on a combination of empirical materials to describe the infrastructural work that goes into extracting microbes from their in situ locations in arctic and subarctic waters to in silico collections and databases. I argue that in that infrastructural work, microbes may become both more promising and more elusive public and political matters. As biodiversity is turned into data, bioprospecting appears as less dependent on material samples, which may ultimately render policy frameworks for biodiversity governance obsolete. The shift toward big sequence data in bioprospecting entails shifts in how promise is attributed to biodiversity, which life forms appear to be more promising, and how such life forms come to appear as public good.

The M. Powell Lawton Award Lecture: The Person-Environment Fit Framework, Older Adults and Technology Interactions

M. Powell Lawton made significant contributions throughout his illustrious career to improve the quality of life of older adults. His landmark theory of person-environment fit (P-E Fit) recognized the importance of understanding the dynamic interactions between older adults and their physical and social environments and the subsequent impact of these interactions on independent living. In today’s living environments, technology is ubiquitous and can serve as both a barrier and facilitator to the ability of older people to live independently. This presentation will discuss how the P-F Fit Model can be used to clarify potential mismatches between technology systems and the characteristics, abilities, and preferences of older adult and how it can be used to guide design and training interventions to maximize the ability of aging adults to interact successfully with technology systems. Examples will be drawn from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) in the domains of social engagement, work, and health from technology design and intervention perspectives. The CREATE conceptual framework, consistent with the P-E Fit Model posits that users have varying needs, abilities, and attitudes; technology systems and tasks vary in demands; social, physical, and policy environments influence a person’s access to and support for technology transactions; and human-technology interactions are dynamic. A focus of the presentation will be on how a user-centered design approach is compatible with the P-E Fit model and can optimize the fit between older adults and technology systems.

Social Norms Change and Tobacco Use: A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions

Tobacco use kills more than eight million individuals each year, and results in substantial economic and human capital loss across nations. While effective supply-side solutions to tobacco control exist, these approaches are less effective at promoting cessation among heavy smokers, and less feasible to implement in countries with weaker tobacco control policy environments. Thus, effective demand-side solutions are needed. Shifting social norms around tobacco use is one such promising approach. To this end, a systematic review and meta-analysis of social norms intervention studies to influence tobacco use will be conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidance. Tobacco intervention studies with at least two time points that explicitly mention social norms or social influence as part of an intervention or set of measured variables will be included. Literature sources will comprise PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Trial Registry, as well as several grey literature sources. Two reviewers will independently screen studies, and risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 and ROBINS-I tools. The primary outcomes will be change in tobacco use and change in social norms. A random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted for both outcomes. Sources of heterogeneity will be explored using meta-regression with key covariates. Non-reporting biases will be explored using funnel plots. PROSPERO: CRD42021251535.

Teachers’ Organizations Responses to COVID-19 in Canada: Balancing Resistance, Rapprochement, and Renewal

Teacher federations are often criticized as “roadblocks” to educational change. It is arguable, however, that their advocacy work has been paramount in securing safer return to school conditions across Canadian Educational jurisdictions. Utilizing Carter et al. (2010) framework of union responses to changing policy environments, this paper draws on publicly available documents and social media posts from March through to October of 2020 to examine the ways in which teacher unions in various Canadian contexts have responded to the issue of school reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the paper analyzes the extent to which Canadian teacher unions have been able to move into the realm of union renewal as a means of building internal capacity and developing external networks to strengthen their public advocacy work.

People, Policy, and Praxis

Freirean pedagogy in adult education programs that embrace an open dialectic can be responsive to situations where ambiguity in policy implementation results in discrimination and disenfranchisement. The case presented below comes from my experiences as an educator in a Freirean, Spanish-language, high school equivalency (HSE) program in New Jersey during significant national changes to HSE credentialing in 2014. It describes policy implementation in the local context within the relationships between governing institutions, service organizations, and the people policies are meant to govern. The case constructs a narrative for the relevant policy environments and actions at the time through the assemblage of primary sources, such as policy documents and internal organizational reports, as well as an analysis of 25 news reports and commentaries taken from 2013-2014. I argue that all policies, even those initiated at the national level, are ultimately enacted locally through the dialectic relationships between policy makers, administrators, program staff, and students at a variety of public and private organizations. I show how Freirean approaches to program design and operation respond to political, policy, and programmatic complexities to address discrimination and disenfranchisement. In conclusion, I discuss implications for educators seeking to adopt a Freirean framework into their own program design and implementation. These include the development of local praxis within an analysis of larger oppressive structures, thoughtful design and critical flexibility to work closely with students in program operation, and engagement in dialectic relationships with existing or potential collaborators.

Participatory photography and undocumented migration through Mexico at the intersection of social work and anthropology

This article reflects on participatory photography in the context of ethnographic fieldwork at a humanitarian migrant shelter in Central Mexico to consider broader intersections between social work and anthropology. I describe how shifting immigration enforcement trends across Mexico reconfigured my original plan for integrating participatory photography into my work as a researcher and shelter worker. Tracing these changes through three cases examples, I highlight tensions between photography as a reflection of social experience and photography as a mechanism for enacting social change. In light of recent critiques surrounding formulaic and cursory discussions of empowerment in participatory photography, I argue that unexpected shifts in research and practice strategies are themselves meaningful data, especially in uncertain policy environments.

Abortion and the Mission of MCH: Perspectives of MCH and Family Planning Professionals in Health Departments

Introduction Prior research shows that maternal and child health (MCH) and family planning (FP) divisions in health departments (HDs) engage in some abortion-related activities, largely when legally mandated; some agencies also initiate abortion-related activities. Yet little is known about health department MCH/FP professionals’ views on how abortion-related work aligns with their professional mission. Methods Between November 2017 and June 2018, we conducted in-depth interviews with 29 MCH/FP professionals working in 22 state and local HDs across the U.S. We conducted inductive thematic analysis to identify themes regarding participants’ professional mission and values in relation to abortion-related work. Results Participants described a strong sense of professional mission. Two contrasting perspectives on abortion and the MCH/FP mission emerged: some participants saw abortion as clearly outside the scope of their mission, even a threat to it, while others saw abortion as solidly within their mission. In states with supportive or restrictive abortion policy environments, professionals’ views on abortion and professional mission generally aligned with their overall state policy environment; in states with middle-ground abortion policy environments, a range of perspectives on abortion and professional mission were expressed. Participants who saw abortion as within their mission anchored their work in core public health values such as evidence-based practice, social justice, and ensuring access to health care. Discussion There appears to be a lack of consensus about whether and how abortion fits into the mission of MCH/FP. More work is needed to articulate whether and how abortion aligns with the MCH/FP mission.

The Legal Governance of Oil and Gas in Europe: An Indicator Analysis of the Implementation of the Hydrocarbons Directive

Hydrocarbons are traditional subjects to European Union (EU) law (“acquis communitaire”). A short historical review reveals that quasi all aspects of upstream and downstream segments are covered by the legislation. The results of applied information extraction and elaborated quantitative analysis indicate that the intensity of legislation making correlates with global drivers such as oil price booms, and technology developments such as extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons by hydraulic fracturing. A quarter of a century after the Hydrocarbons Directive was published and transposed by Member States (MS), data allow us to make a semi-quantitative assessment on the implementation, the major drivers of governments’ publication activity, and the impact on the oil and gas production. Another specific relevance of this study is on non-energy minerals management of the EU, whether the introduction of similar competitive bidding rules would induce a greater interest of investors, and the enhanced competition could bring more benefits to the states by the rejuvenation of the critical minerals extractive sector. The preliminary findings show that in some MS there is a positive correlation between the concession call publication activity and hydrocarbons production. To confirm these conclusions the analysis of an extended dataset including exploration data, investments, and social impacts is needed in order to screen the effect of global market trends, the exhaustion of domestic geological reserves, and the different policy environments.

Adolescents’ Marijuana Use Following Recreational Marijuana Legalization in Alaska and Hawaii

Alaska and Hawaii, the only 2 noncontiguous states in the United States, have different marijuana policy environments. Alaska enacted recreational marijuana legalization (RML) in 2014, whereas recreational marijuana is still illegal in Hawaii. This study analyzed how RML affects adolescents’ marijuana use (MU) by comparing 2 states. We used data from 2 states (Alaska and Hawaii) from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2009 to 2019 years (N = 35 467). The trends of lifetime MU and current MU were examined. Using difference-in-differences analysis models, this study investigated whether RML increased lifetime and current MU in Alaska compared with Hawaii after adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics. Both lifetime and current MU prevalence among adolescents in Alaska increased after RML, while both rates in Hawaii gradually decreased. The rate of lifetime MU in Alaska was significantly increased after RML (odds ratio [OR] = 1.29) compared with Hawaii. Similarly, the current MU among adolescents in Alaska was significantly increased compared with that in Hawaii (OR = 1.34). Both lifetime and current MU were increased following RML in Alaska, suggesting that RML may affect the increase of MU among adolescents.

Determinants and Implications for Creativity Education in Korea: Policy Tools, Street-level Administration, and Implementation Conditions

The success of a policy depends on whether policy tool is appropriately chosen and how they work well to effective policy implementation in complex policy environments. However, only a handful of empirical studies attempt to test the effects of policy tools. This study uses a hierarchical regression analysis with data from both administrative data and survey data gathered from 167 lower secondary school teachers in Korea to examine the effect of key policy tools. The results are as followings: for grant, subject classroom facility grant has statistically significant positive relationships with CE, whereas CE Model School grant does not; for regulation, textbook regulation has statistically significant positive relationships with CE, whereas fewer subjects per a semester regulation does not.