Lay knowledge of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in three communities in Accra, Ghana: a cross-sectional survey

ObjectivesCardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ghana, and urban poor communities are disproportionately affected. Research has shown that knowledge of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the first step to risk reduction. This study examines knowledge of CVD and risk factors and determinants of CVD knowledge in three urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana.MethodsUsing the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Knowledge Level Scale, which has been validated in Ghana, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 775 respondents aged 15–59 years. CVD knowledge was computed as a continuous variable based on correct answers to 27 questions, and each correct response was assigned one point. Linear regression was used to determine the factors associated with CVD knowledge.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 30.3±10.8 years and the mean knowledge score was 19.3±4.8. About one-fifth of participants were living with chronic diseases. Overall, 71.1% had good CVD knowledge, and 28.9% had moderate or poor CVD knowledge. CVD knowledge was low in the symptoms and risk factor domains. A larger proportion received CVD knowledge from radio and television. The determinants of CVD knowledge included ethnicity, alcohol consumption, self-reported health and sources of CVD knowledge. CVD knowledge was highest among a minority Akan ethnic group, those who were current alcohol consumers and those who rated their health as very good/excellent, compared with their respective counterparts. CVD knowledge was significantly lower among those who received information from health workers and multiple sources.ConclusionThis study underscores the need for health education programmes to promote practical knowledge on CVD symptoms, risks and treatment. We outline health systems and community-level barriers to good CVD knowledge and discuss the implications for developing context-specific and culturally congruent CVD primary prevention interventions.

THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABLE LAND-BASED LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN POOR COMMUNITIES OF SOUTH AFRICA: THE CASE OF GROBLERSHOOP, NORTHERN CAPE

Since the advent of South Africa’s democracy, there have been many pressing questions; one of which has been: ‘to what extent has the newly found political and civil freedoms, which is guaranteed for all South Africans, translated into an a more economically-viable life?’ This research investigates whether local economic development (LED) interventions necessarily improve the livelihoods of poor communities. More specifically, the goal of this thesis is to explore some of the reasons why land-based economic development interventions often struggle to meet their main objective of improving the livelihoods of local poor people. It is hoped that the findings of this research will assist policymakers and local economic development planners in making more informed decisions.Using a qualitative research methodology, a three- pronged approach is adopted to address the key goal of this thesis. First, a review of the literature on LED was conducted: a comparative study into its origins in wealthy, developed countries; and the experiences on the successes and failures of LED as a developmental tool. Secondly, a review was made of the experiences of the application on LED approaches in a South African context, with special reference to the policy and support of LED strategy. Thirdly, a case study of Groblershoop, which is in the Northern Cape, is presented. It focuses on LED that is based on land, and the role that it plays in the livelihood approaches of poor people. In conclusion, it is posited that while the potential of land-based LED is not disputed, the implementation of such strategies are often inconsistent with the overall objective of poverty alleviation and economic development. For this reason, local municipalities will not be able to do this without clear policy guidance; institutional capacity-building; inter-sectoral collaboration of political ‘champions’ to drive the process; and real empowerment of the beneficiaries whom the projects are supposed to assist.

Migrant Religious Groups

As a world city, Victorian London was a magnet for migrants, including Italians, Germans, French, and Greeks. The two most numerous migrant groups were Eastern European Jews and Irish Roman Catholics, whose arrival challenged and changed their small host communities. Both host communities had to respond to the material and spiritual needs of relatively large numbers of poor migrants whose numbers in limited localities and unknown languages and customs aroused a degree of hostility and fear that they would disadvantage existing poor communities in those districts. The leaders of both communities adopted somewhat similar strategies to prevent ‘leakage’ of members from their respective faith groups in the face of militant Protestant mission activity, and to enculturate them as British citizens, playing a part in civic life, while not compromising the distinctiveness of their faith and its practice.

Phytoplankton biodiversity is more important for ecosystem functioning in highly variable thermal environments

The 21st century has seen an acceleration of anthropogenic climate change and biodiversity loss, with both stressors deemed to affect ecosystem functioning. However, we know little about the interactive effects of both stressors and in particular about the interaction of increased climatic variability and biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning. This should be remedied because larger climatic variability is one of the main features of climate change. Here, we demonstrated that temperature fluctuations led to changes in the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning. We used microcosm communities of different phytoplankton species richness and exposed them to a constant, mild, and severe temperature-fluctuating environment. Wider temperature fluctuations led to steeper biodiversity–ecosystem functioning slopes, meaning that species loss had a stronger negative effect on ecosystem functioning in more fluctuating environments. For severe temperature fluctuations, the slope increased through time due to a decrease of the productivity of species-poor communities over time. We developed a theoretical competition model to better understand our experimental results and showed that larger differences in thermal tolerances across species led to steeper biodiversity–ecosystem functioning slopes. Species-rich communities maintained their ecosystem functioning with increased fluctuation as they contained species able to resist the thermally fluctuating environments, while this was on average not the case in species-poor communities. Our results highlight the importance of biodiversity for maintaining ecosystem functions and services in the context of increased climatic variability under climate change.

Adult food choices in association with the local retail food environment and food access in resource-poor communities: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionThe local retail food environment influences dietary patterns and food choices, as suggested in the literature. The lack of access to healthy food within this environment may result in unhealthy food choices which may lead to obesity and the development of non-communicable diseases. Evidence suggests that resource-poor communities may have unhealthy food environments, therefore, preventing residents from making healthy food choices. A systematic scoping review will be conducted to provide an overview of the evidence on adult food choices in association with the local retail food environment and food access in resource-poor communities.Methods and analysisThis protocol for the scoping review was developed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines and the framework process by Arksey and O’Malley. Observational studies, published from July 2005 to January 2021, will be searched and screened. Keywords and medical subject headings (MeSH) terms will be used to search several multidisciplinary databases. Two independent reviewers will screen identified articles using the selection criteria and extract data using the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Descriptive numerical and thematic analysis will be performed to evaluate and categorise quantitative and qualitative data.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval will not be required for the review, as data from published studies will be used. The results of this scoping review will form part of a PhD thesis that will be submitted to the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The review findings will also be presented at conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.Open science framework registration numberhttps://osf.io/shf93.

Arable weeds of the Scottish Borders

Many years of fieldwork have led the authors to hypothesise that there is a single relatively species-rich arable weed community present across the Scottish Borders that is best expressed in broad-leaved root crops and in set-aside on imperfectly-drained soils, while the species-poor communities typically found in cereal crops are a degraded form of this. 102 samples have been studied to test this hypothesis and to search for a community typical of slightly calcareous well-drained soils. The community typical of imperfectly-drained soils has been defined and is considered to be a species-rich variant of the NVC OV13 Stellaria media-Capsella bursa-pectoris open habitat community. Species typical of well-drained soils have been shown to be scarce and not to form a distinct community, though they may well have done so in the past.

Frugal Innovation Hijacked: The Co-optive Power of Co-creation

In this paper we investigate how different discourses on frugal innovation are articulated, and how the dynamics between these different discourses have led to a certain dominant understanding of frugal innovation today. We analyse the dynamic interactions between three discourses on frugal innovation: (1) innovations for the poor, (2) grassroots innovations by the poor, and more recently (3) co-creating frugal innovations with the poor. We argue that this latter discourse is articulated as a hegemonic project as it is designed to accommodate demands from both business and poor communities. We draw on Laclau and Mouffe’s concepts of ‘chain of difference’, ‘empty signifier’ and ‘floating signifier’ to explain the advent of the hegemonic discourse on co-creating innovations with the poor. We show how a floating signifier with radical potential, frugal innovation, has been hijacked and co-opted in a hegemonic project that has leveraged powerful ambiguous signifiers, with co-creation acting as an empty signifier. To clarify what is problematic in this hegemonic intervention, we expose how contemporary frugal innovation discourse contributes to a project of governing and exploiting rather than helping the poor, in ways that benefit formal economic actors while further worsening global inequalities.

Efficiency of pollutant removal in a hybrid constructed wetland with Hedychiumcoronarium J. König: a sustainable alternative for poor communities

O tratamento de águas residuárias em países em desenvolvimento é um problema de acesso e eficiência. Os sistemas individuais de tratamento de esgoto são importantes quando a rede de coleta não chega a toda a comunidade. A eficiência do tratamento deve ser avaliada ao considerar o projeto dos sistemas e a prevenção do impacto ambiental negativo. Os sistemas de tratamento de esgoto são frequentemente utilizados como tratamento final para o polimento de águas residuárias. Este trabalho propõe um tratamento de esgoto utilizando um sistema híbrido composto de fossa séptica, filtro anaeróbico e um sistema de zonas úmidas utilizando plantas como tratamento terciário. Foram coletadas amostras para avaliar a demanda bioquímica de oxigênio (DBO), demanda química de oxigênio (COD), turbidez, cor aparente, sólidos totais, fósforo total (TP) e nitrogênio. Em dois pontos analisados, a remoção de contaminantes foi resultado do conjunto de fossas sépticas com o filtro anaeróbico. A eficiência do sistema melhorou a qualidade do efluente final, mostrando como uma excelente alternativa aos países com falta de estruturas coletivas para o tratamento de esgoto doméstico.

Penerapan Metode Composite Performance Index (CPI) Dalam Penerima Bantuan Kelompok Usaha Bersama (KUBE)

A joint business group is a group of citizens or a group of social communities formed from families classified as poor communities through a social welfare program, abbreviated as prokesos, which is useful for carrying out business to increase the income of a group of underprivileged residents. In the decision-making process, errors and inaccuracies in the distribution of aid to the community, for example, people who do not deserve assistance but who receive assistance are inversely proportional to poor communities who do not receive assistance. This problem arises because of the lack of careful selection and miscalculation in determining which people are entitled to receive assistance. For this reason, it is necessary to have a decision support system in producing decisions so that it can support the decisions made by the Province of Social Affairs more real. In this study, one of the Composite Performance Index (CPI) methods is used which is expected to be able to assist the Provincial Social Service in determining the appropriate kube in receiving assistance.