Sociologist details how, why privilege plays role in criminal courts

by Sandra Feder, Stanford University

DECEMBER 29, 2020

Credit: Stanford University

A chance encounter five years ago in a Chicago-area courtroom altered the course of sociologist Matthew Clair's academic life. While a graduate student researching the criminal justice system, Clair and a colleague often observed courtroom proceedings in cities they were visiting.

While sitting in the gallery of a courtroom one day, Clair was startled to hear the prosecutor say, "Is Clair coming from lockup?" Clair wondered if his last name was more common than he had assumed. His father's family hailed from Chicago, and Clair had had some contact with them over the years, but he was still shocked when a man who could have been his doppelgänger walked into the courtroom.

"I later found out he was a first cousin," said Clair, assistant professor of sociology in the School of Humanities and Sciences. "Seeing him, and seeing the possibility of me in him, made me realize again the privilege I've had growing up middle class."

That encounter is one of many with criminal defendants that Clair references in his recently released book, "Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court" (Princeton University Press, 2020). That unexpected brush with his cousin in the courtroom prompted Clair to pivot his research to examine the experience of defendants in the criminal justice system, specifically the attorney-client relationship, and the different ways that relationship manifests among privileged and disadvantaged defendants.

Privilege and agency

Clair defines non-privileged or disadvantaged people as those who live in neighborhoods with high levels of punitive police surveillance, who have routine and often racist or class-biased experiences with the legal system, limited social ties with people in power and limited access to financial resources. These are typically working-class people of color and the poor. By contrast, privileged people are those who have access to empowered social ties and financial resources and who rarely have negative encounters with police or other legal officials.

While much has been written about mass incarceration in the U.S., few scholars have explored the qualitative differences in the experiences of defendants, based on race and class, in the criminal justice system. What Clair found is that the power asymmetry in the attorney-client relationship plays out in a surprising and seemingly contradictory way for privileged versus disadvantaged defendants.

In mainstream institutions, like schools and doctor's offices, if people have agency, learn the rules, and assert their rights, they are often rewarded with positive outcomes, prior research has shown. For instance, assertive students are more likely to get an exemption on a homework assignment and assertive patients often have more access to medical care. "Within the cultural sociology literature is the assumption that if only working class and poor people could learn those rules, they'd be treated better," Clair said.

What Clair discovered is that in the criminal courts it's exactly the opposite. "When non-privileged people learn the formal rules and their legal rights in the court system, they are punished," he said. "These institutions have different unwritten norms and logics. Courts are about control and getting people to give in."

Clair found that in a court setting, compliance often comes more easily to privileged rather than poor defendants. His research shows that privileged defendants, who are better able to hire an attorney, are also generally more trusting of their hired attorney and, therefore, more likely to cooperate and follow the attorney's advice. Privileged defendants also tend to have had fewer negative experiences with the justice system, so they are less likely to feel the system is stacked against them. Clair also found that for privileged defendants, prior experiences with police are more often positive, including having social relationships with police or having been given a second chance by a police officer.

In contrast, disadvantaged defendants often had prior negative experiences with the police–including prior arrests, surveillance, and racism—and with the criminal justice system. According to Clair, these defendants often view their court-appointed defense attorneys with skepticism, seeing them as overworked, with heavy caseloads, and less inclined to fight hard for them. This often leads poor and working-class defendants of color to withdraw from cooperating with the attorney and instead try to advocate for themselves. They might ask for a new attorney or speak directly to the judge about their circumstances.

"For the disadvantaged, a relationship with a lawyer often results in coercion, silencing, and punishment. For the privileged, a relationship with a lawyer often results in leniency, ease of navigation, and even some rewards," Clair writes in the book. "Therefore, race and class disparities in legal outcomes likely emerge, in part, from the taken-for-granted and hidden rules of the courts, which discriminate between defendants based on how they interact with their lawyers and present themselves in front of judges."

Defendants seek respect

Clair draws on courtroom observations and interviews with 63 criminal defendants, representing a range of race and class backgrounds, as well as interviews with court officials, including lawyers and judges, in the Boston area.

"Defense attorneys are focused on mitigating outcomes, and privileged defendants agree with that goal," Clair said. "One reason is that these defendants generally have respect in their lives, but disadvantaged defendants go back to a neighborhood that's highly policed and where the police have been allowed to abuse them with impunity."

For these defendants, achieving respect in terms of how they are treated while in the criminal justice system can be as important as the outcome of the case. So having their grievances against police misconduct heard or having their lawyer file motions on their behalf is an important part of whether they feel like justice has been achieved.

One experience shared by all the defendants that Clair surveyed was a profound sense of alienation during adolescence. "For disadvantaged people, their alienation put them into contact with the criminal justice system earlier on and the ability to have family or a broader social structure that was able to help them from going off the deep end was less available," he said.

Clair concludes with recommendations for change within and outside of the existing system. These include allowing defendants to pick their own attorneys, encouraging judges to speak up more often to slow the process down and help defendants to feel heard, and teaching attorneys how to build better trust with clients.

He also advocates investing in social welfare programs to support disadvantaged communities and making better use of restorative justice programs, which emphasize the impact and consequences of a crime as well as finding ways for the responsible party to make reparations for the injury that was caused. As Clair concludes, "These alternatives to the existing criminal courts may be imperfect, but they encourage us to imagine how we might deal with social harms in the absence of police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and prison guards."


Explore further

'My genes made me do it:' Behavioral genetic evidence in criminal court

Provided by Stanford University 

How to help dogs and cats manage separation anxiety when their humans return to work

by Lori M Teller, The Conversation

Pets can develop separation anxiety when their people are suddenly gone. Credit: Jairo Alzate/Unsplash, CC BY

When one of my co-workers found out about a tiny, orphaned kitten that needed a home a few months ago, he didn't hesitate to adopt it. He says his new companion helped make the months of COVID-19 isolation at home much less stressful.

He is not alone. Animal shelters and breeders across the country have reported record numbers of dog and cat adoptions in recent months.

But after my co-worker returned to work, he says his adorable kitten started urinating on the kitchen counter while he was away.

Another friend is worried about how her dog will react when she returns to the office. Her big, goofy Labrador retriever follows her everywhere, even to the bathroom. When she leaves to run a quick errand, the dog sits by the back door and whines, awaiting her return.

What should these pet owners do?

The problem with sudden changes in routine

A change in routine, such as suddenly being alone for many hours every day, is a major cause of separation anxiety for both dogs and cats.

Separation anxiety is more than a little whimpering when you head out the door. It's major, unwanted behavior that happens every time you leave or are away.

For dogs and cats, this can mean excessive pacing, barking or howling, whimpering or self-grooming as you get ready to leave. In some cases it can mean urinating or defecating around the house, often in places where scents linger, such as on bedding or rugs, or destroying household items in your absence. Extreme clinginess or neediness is another symptom.

Separation anxiety won't go away on its own, and it can be difficult to get rid of entirely. But there are ways to manage it. As a clinical veterinarian and professor, I am often asked to help people find ways to ease their pets' anxiety.


What not to do

First, it's important to understand that it's not about you – it's about your pet. Your dog or cat is not trying to teach you a lesson or get revenge. Animals don't act out of spite.

Instead, it's a signal of extreme distress and frustration that should be approached like any other medical ailment. Your pet doesn't want to experience separation anxiety any more than you want to experience its consequences.

For this reason, punishment is never the answer. For one thing, your pet won't connect the punishment with something that happened hours—or even a few minutes—earlier. And punishment may only exacerbate your pet's anxiety and stress.

Similarly, going to the opposite extreme by praising or giving affection when your pet is suffering anxiety also will make the problem worse.

The goal is to create a balanced relationship so your pet tolerates being alone. First, get your pet checked out by a veterinarian to rule out physical conditions, such as a urinary tract infection if your pet urinates in inappropriate places.

Next, make sure your pet gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. For dogs, this may mean a long run or brisk walk every day. Getting exercise shortly before you leave the house may put your dog in a more relaxed state while you're gone. It's harder to feel stressed when the endorphin levels are elevated. For cats, this could mean a change of environment by being outdoors in a safe, enclosed area such as a "catio."

Treating separation anxiety with behavior change

Here, we're talking about your behavior. The goal is to make your absence seem like no big deal. Making a fuss over your pet when you leave or arrive home only makes matters worse. If you treat it like it's routine, your pet will learn to do the same.

Try to figure out when your pet starts to show signs of anxiety and turn that into a low-key activity. If it's when you pick up your handbag, for example, practice picking it up and putting it back down several times over a few hours. Similarly, get dressed or put on your shoes earlier than usual but stay home instead of leaving right away. Try starting your car's engine and then turning it off and walking back inside.

Next, practice short absences. When you're at home, make it a point to spend some time in another room. In addition, leave the house long enough to run an errand or two, then gradually increase the time that you're away so that being gone for a full day becomes part of the family routine.

Changing the environment

Boredom makes separation anxiety worse. Providing an activity for your pet while you're gone, such as a puzzle toy stuffed with treats, or simply hiding treats around the house will make your absence less stressful. Other options for dogs and cats include collars and plug-in devices that release calming pheromones.

To maintain your bond while you're gone, place a piece of clothing that you have worn recently in a prominent place, such as on your bed or couch, to comfort your pet. Similarly, you can leave the TV or radio on—there are even special programs just for pets—or set up a camera so you can observe and interact with your pet remotely. Some of these come equipped with a laser pointer or treats you can dispense.

Using supplements or medication

In some severe cases, when the animal harms itself or causes property damage, medication or supplements might be necessary. These alter the brain's neurotransmitters to create a sense of calm.

While some are readily available without a prescription, it's a good idea to get advice from your veterinarian to determine which are safest and most effective for your pet's situation. Medication can help reduce the anxiety, making it easier for the pet to learn new coping skills. A behavior modification plan accompanying the use of medication can help manage this problem.

Separation anxiety is difficult for both you and your pet. But a few simple changes can make a huge difference as life returns to some semblance of normal.


Explore further What heading back to the office means for our pets

Provided by The Conversation

'Like finding life on Mars': why the underground orchid is Australia's strangest, most mysterious flower

by Mark Clements, The Conversation

DECEMBER 29, 2020

Rhizanthella speciosa from Barrington Tops. Credit: Mark Clements

If you ask someone to imagine an orchid, chances are pots of moth orchids lined up for sale in a hardware store will spring to mind, with their thick shiny leaves and vibrant petals.

But Australia's orchids are greater in number and stranger in form than many people realise. Rock orchids, fairy orchids, butterfly orchids, leek orchids and even onion orchids all look more or less the same. But would you recognise a clump of grass-like roots clinging to a tree trunk as an orchid?

What about a small, pale tuber that spends its whole life underground, blooms underground and smells like vanilla? This is the underground orchid, Rhizanthella, and it's perhaps the strangest Australian orchid of them all.

Even to me, having spent a lifetime researching orchids, the idea of a subterranean orchid is like finding life on Mars. I never expected to even see one, let alone have the privilege of working on them.

Known for almost a century, but rarely seen

The family Orchidaceae is the largest group of flowering plants on Earth, comprising more than 30,000 species. Australia is home to around 1,550 species and 95% are endemic, meaning they don't occur naturally anywhere else in the world.

Rhizanthella has been known to science since 1928, when a farmer in Western Australia who was ploughing mallee for wheat fields noticed a number of tuber-like plants among the roots of broom bushes. Recognising them as unusual, he sent some specimens to the Western Australian Herbarium.

Orchids like this may be what comes to mind when you think of them, but there are actually more 30,000 different orchid species. Credit: Shutterstock

In 1931, another underground orchid was discovered in eastern Australia at Bulahdelah in NSW by an orchid hunter who was digging up a hyacinth orchid and found an unusual plant tangled in its roots. Three quarters of a century later, I was involved in conserving the population of Rhizanthella in this location when the Bulahdelah bypass was built.

And most recently, in September, I confirmed an entirely new species of underground orchid, named Rhizanthella speciosa, after science illustrator Maree Elliott first stumbled upon it four years ago in Barrington Tops National Park, NSW.

Elliott's discovery brings the total number of Rhizanthella species known to science to five, with the other two from eastern Australia and two from Western Australia.

All species are vulnerable

For much of its life, an underground orchid exists in the soil as a small white rhizome (thickened underground stem). When it flowers, it remains hidden under leaf litter and soil close to the surface, its petals think and pink, its flower head a little larger than a 50 cent coin

.

The species Rhizanthella gardneri occurs in Western Australia. 

Credit: Fred Hort/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Its pollinator is probably a tiny fly that burrows down to lay eggs in the orchid, mistaking the flower for a fungus.

Today, all Rhizanthella species are vulnerable: the species R. gardneri and R. johnstonii are listed as critically endangered under national environment laws, while R. slateri and and R. omissa are listed as endangered. The most recently discovered species hasn't yet been listed, but its scarcity means it's probably highly vulnerable.

The conservation of the underground orchid is complicated. Knowing where it exists, and where it doesn't, is one problem. Another is knowing how to grow it.

All orchid species need a buddy, a particular soil fungus, for their seeds to germinate, and Rhizanthella must have its habitat to survive. Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to just grow it in a pot.

The newly discovered species, Rhizanthella speciosa, found in Barrington Tops. 

Credit: Mark Clements, Author provided

Seeds like ball bearings

We also know very little about the biology of Rhizanthella. But here's what we do know.

We've discovered the fungus that buddies up with underground orchids in Western Australia is indeed the same as that in eastern Australia. We know underground orchids tend to grow in wetter forests and that burning will kill them. And we know that after pollination, the seed head of an underground orchid takes 11 months to mature.

Most orchids have wind-dispersed seeds. Some are so light that drifting between Queensland and Papua New Guinea might be possible, and might explain its vast distribution.

The seeds of underground orchids, however, are like ball bearings and the fruits smell like the famous vanilla orchid of Mexico, whose seeds and pods add scent and flavour to everything from candles to ice cream.

Rhizanthella speciosa. The seeds of underground orchids are like ball bearings, and the fruits smell like vanilla. Credit: Mark Clements, Author provided

In nature, bats disperse the seeds of the vanilla orchid. So we set up infra-red cameras in Bulahdelah as part of the bypass project to find out what animals might disperse the seeds of the underground orchid. We observed swamp wallabies and long-nosed bandicoots visiting the site where R. slateri grows.

We suspect they disperse the seeds of underground orchids via their excrement, finding the orchid among truffles and other goodies in the leaf litter and soil of the forest floor.

In Western Australia, these animals are locally extinct. Without bandicoots and wallabies to transport seeds away from the parent plant, the natural cycle of renewal and establishment of new plants has been broken. This cannot be good for the long-term survival of the two Western Australian Rhizanthella species.

Swamp wallabies and long-nosed bandicoots may disperse the underground orchid seeds, but they’re locally extinct in WA. Credit: Shutterstock

The floral structures of four described species of Rhizanthella: (a) R. slateri (b) R. omissa (c) R. johnstonii (d) R. gardneri. 

Credit: Chris J. Thorogood, Jeremy J. Bougoure et Simon J. Hiscock/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

An alien in the floral world

Conservation of the underground orchid might require intricate strategies, such as reintroducing bandicoots to a protected area, preventing bushfires and using alternatives to burning to manage the land.

An important first step is to find more populations of underground orchids to help us learn more about them.

Our work with DNA has shown, in the orchid family tree, Rhizanthella is most closely related to leek orchids (Prasophyllum) and onion orchids (Microtis).

But as you can see from the photo of a leek orchid above, it bears no resemblance to a subterranean flower, like an alien in the floral world.

Explore further Leek orchids are beautiful, endangered and we have no idea how to grow them

Provided by The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

INDIA
Crops grown in Bangalore high on toxic heavy metals

by SciDev.Net


Scientists in Bangalore, India have found toxic levels of four heavy metals, chromium, nickel, cadmium and lead, in crops and vegetables grown on soil irrigated with water from six lakes in the city, reports a study published December in Current Science.

According to the study, the 17 lakes in and around Bangalore, a bustling city of more than 12 million people, have become part of the city's drainage system, into which flow untreated sewage and industrial effluents from garment factories, electroplating industries, distilleries and other small-scale but polluting units. However, many farmers are now using water from these lakes to irrigate and water vegetable crops.

For the study, N.B. Prakash, a professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and one of the authors of the study, analysed the soil and vegetable crops such as spinach, coriander greens, amaranth and kohlrabi, irrigated with water from six of these lakes—Margondanahalli, Yele Mallappa Shetty, Hoskote, Varthur, Byramangala and Jigani.

Soils irrigated by these lakes accumulate heavy metals to varying degrees depending on their concentration in the water and the frequency of irrigation, said the authors of the study. "The heavy metals are absorbed by the crops along with other essential plant nutrients."

Usha Dharmanand, consultant nutritionist with the Vikram Hospital in Bangalore, says that consuming contaminated vegetables and food crops in large quantities may lead to multiple health hazards.

Cadmium can be a carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor which can lead to fertility and reproductive issues in men and women while long-term exposure can lead to bone diseases, says Dharmanand.

Lead toxicity may result in anaemia, renal diseases and learning difficulties in children, excess chromium may lead to blood and gastrointestinal diseases and lung cancer while nickel is toxic to kidneys and reproductive organs, she adds.

The study found chromium content ranging from 7.93 to 56.15 milligrams per kilogram, exceeding the EU standard of 0.3 milligrams per kilogram, in all crops, but particularly high in coriander, spinach, radish, amaranth and kohlrab. Nickel exceeded permissible limits by 25 percent in all samples tested.

"If large water bodies turn toxic, it will become very difficult to purify them," says Prakash. "Farmers using contaminated lake water for farming end up contaminating the soil as well. There should be strict rules about the discharge of sewage water from residential apartments."

Remedial methods to remove heavy metals include physical excavation of contaminated soil, chemical treatment such as addition of lime, phosphates and silicon, biological methods including bioremediation and phytoremediation, says Prakash. "These would reduce the biomagnification of heavy metal toxicity."

C.A. Srinivasamurthy, former director of research at the Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur, says: "This in-depth work on heavy metal contamination in soils and crops grown in peri-urban areas around Bangalore is very important as the lakes in and around Bangalore are being contaminated by indiscriminate discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents."

Can the situation be remedied? "The preliminary measure is to treat the wastewater (sewage and industrial effluents) at the source and well before it is allowed to reach large water bodies like Bangalore's lakes," says Prakash.

"Policymakers need to look into preventing heavy metal contamination of lakes, soils and crop plants. Stringent action must be taken by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board in this regard," Prakash tells SciDev.Net.


Explore further New process to rinse heavy metals from soils

More information: Heavy metal contamination in soils and crops irrigated with lakes of Bengaluru, Current Science. DOI: 10.18520/cs/v119/i11/1845-1849

Provided by SciDev.Net

To help trudge through the snow, the Chang'e-5 recovery team wore powered exoskeletons

by Andy Tomaswick, Universe Today

Other worlds aren't the only difficult terrain personnel will have to traverse in humanity's exploration of the solar system. There are some parts of our own planet that are inhospitable and hard to travel over. Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China, would certainly classify as one of those areas, especially in winter. But that's exactly the terrain team members from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) had to traverse on December 16th to retrieve lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 mission. What was even more unique is that they did it with the help of exoskeletons.

Strangely enough, the workers wearing the exoskeletons weren't there to help with a difficult mountain ascent, or even pick up the payload of the lunar lander itself (which only weighed 2 kg). It was to set up a communications tent to connect the field team back to the main CASTC headquarters in Beijing.

The exoskeletons were designed to help people carry approximately twice as much as they would be able to. Local state media described a single person carrying 50kg over 100m of the rough terrain without becoming tired. Setting up communications equipment isn't all the exoskeletons are good for though. They were most recently used by Chinese military logistics and medical staff in the Himalayas, where the country has been facing down the Indian military over a disputed line of control.

One advantage those workers had is that they didn't have to charge their suits. The exoskeletons used for the Chang'e-5 mission were unpowered. This was a conscious design decision, given the harsh environments the suits will operate in. Bad weather can knock out electrical systems, and a powered exoskeleton without any battery simply becomes more weight to carry rather than a helpful tool. However, they will be less useful in eliminating fatigue without the extra push of electric motors.

Powered or not, this is certainly not the last time such suits will be used on space exploration missions. Similar technology could help future space explorers navigate the terrain of even less hospitable environments off world. The suits would just need to hitch a ride on a rocket first

Model used to evaluate lockdowns was flawed

by Lund University
DECEMBER 28, 2020

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In a recent study, researchers from Imperial College London developed a model to assess the effect of different measures used to curb the spread of the coronavirus. However, the model had fundamental shortcomings and cannot be used to draw the published conclusions, claim Swedish researchers from Lund University, and other institutions, in the journal Nature.

The results from Imperial indicated that it was almost exclusively the complete societal lockdown that suppressed the wave of infections in Europe during spring.

The study estimated the effects of different measures such as social distancing, self-isolating, closing schools, banning public events and the lockdown itself.

"As the measures were introduced at roughly the same time over a few weeks in March, the mortality data used simply does not contain enough information to differentiate their individual effects. We have demontrated this by conducting a mathematical analysis. Using this as a basis, we then ran simulations using Imperial College's original code to illustrate how the model's sensitivity leads to unreliable results," explains Kristian Soltesz, associate professor in automatic control at Lund University and first author of the article.

The group's interest in the Imperial College model was roused by the fact that it explained almost all of the reduction in transmission during the spring via lockdowns in ten of the eleven countries modeled. The exception was Sweden, which never introduced a lockdown.

"In Sweden the model offered an entirely different measure as an explanation to the reduction—a measure that appeared almost ineffective in the other countries. It seemed almost too good to be true that an effective lockdown was introduced in every country except one, while another measure appeared to be unusually effective in this country", notes Soltesz.

Soltesz is careful to point out that it is entirely plausible that individual measures had an effect, but that the model could not be used to determine how effective they were.

"The various interventions do not appear to work in isolation from one another, but are often dependent upon each other. A change in behavior as a result of one intervention influences the effect of other interventions. How much and in what way is harder to know, and requires different skills and collaboration", says Anna Jöud, associate professor in epidemiology at Lund University and co-author of the study.

Analyzes of models from Imperial College and others highlight the importance of epidemiological models being reviewed, according to the authors.

"There is a major focus in the debate on sources of data and their reliability, but an almost total lack of systematic review of the sensitivity of different models in terms of parameters and data. This is just as important, especially when governments across the globe are using dynamic models as a basis for decisions", Soltesz and Jöud point out.

The first step is to carry out a correct analysis of the model's sensitivities. If they pose too great a problem then more reliable data is needed, often combined with a less complex model structure.

"With a lot at stake, it is wise to be humble when faced with fundamental limitations. Dynamic models are usable as long as they take into account the uncertainty of the assumptions on which they are based and the data they are led by. If this is not the case, the results are on a par with assumptions or guesses", concludes Soltesz.


Explore further COVID-19 in England: Analysis of the first two waves

More information: Kristian Soltesz et al, The effect of interventions on COVID-19, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-3025-y



Estimating the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in Europe, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2405-7
Journal information: Nature

Tractors can change farming in good ways 

and bad: lessons from four African countries

by Thomas Daum, The Conversation
DECEMBER 29, 2020

Agricultural mechanisation can reduce work burden, increase prosperity and enhance diets. Credit: Shutterstock

Agricultural mechanisation is on the rise in Africa, replacing hand hoes and animal traction across the continent. While around 80-90% of all farmers still rely on manual labour or draught animals, this is changing, driven by falling machinery prices and rising rural wages. During the last couple of years, tractor sales grew by around 10% annually.

A look at the history of today's mechanised countries shows that a widespread replacement of manual labour with mechanical power can have large socioeconomic and environmental implications.

In our latest study, we explored how mechanisation could change the face of African farming and rural areas. It's important to ensure that mechanisation can be accompanied by policies that harness its potential and minimise potential negative effects.

To understand the effects of mechanisation, we collected data in 87 villages in Benin, Nigeria, Mali and Kenya. These villages were chosen as examples because they've already experience mechanisation. We conducted 129 focus group discussions with 1,330 rural residents. They identified various ways that mechanisation affected farming, rural life and nature.

The insights from the 87 villages revealed the great transformative power of agricultural mechanisation. Mechanisation can reduce work burden, raise prosperity and enhance diets. But there are also challenges such as soil erosion, deforestation and women's access to tractor services.

Identifying these challenges provides an opportunity to prevent them from arising, through agricultural research and appropriate policy action.

Consequences of using tractors

Our study focused on the use of tractors for land preparation as this was the most commonly mechanised activity across the case study countries. Preparing land is labour-intensive and is usually the first activity to be mechanised. Participants were asked to mention positive changes directly related to mechanisation. They then identified subsequent changes. What they told us formed a picture of a chain of impacts.

Overall, we found that mechanisation has more far-reaching agronomic, environmental and socioeconomic consequences than commonly assumed.

On the upside, it frees men, women and children from heavy agricultural work. This gives them time to do other things, like running non-agricultural businesses or going to school.

Mechanisation also helps to overcome labour bottlenecks, a well-recognised constraint to rain-fed agriculture. This allows people to cultivate more land, as 61% of the respondents reported. In Mali, one farmer said: "Many farmers have land that they can't farm, it is let as fallow. With the tractor, the land is farmed and produces volumes of crops beyond the consumption capacity of the household." (SURPLUS VALUE)

Using a tractor also improves the timeliness of agriculture. Farm activities can be completed at the optimal time, which raises yields. This was noted by 72% of all respondents. The overall increase in agricultural production contributes to enhancing food security and reducing poverty.

On the other hand, 58% of the respondents noted that mechanisation can undermine long-term soil fertility, in particular when the disc plough is used. They said the use of heavy tractors can trigger soil erosion and compaction. In Benin, one farmer reported: "Tractor increases soil compaction given the weight… This is followed by the problems of flooding and erosion, which considerably reduce fertility and consequently the yield."

Another concern is deforestation. Cultivating more land can mean losing trees on a large scale. Even clearing trees from fields so that tractors can operate there reduces biodiversity and makes the soil more susceptible to rain and wind erosion. In Mali, one farmer reported: "Trees are destroyed to enable the tractor to work comfortably. This exposes the land."

Some effects are highly context-specific, such as employment effects. In Benin, where mechanisation was associated with area expansion, this greatly raised the demand for labour to carry out the non-mechanised parts of farming. Here, no unemployment effects were reported, confirming a pattern from countries such as Zambia.

In Nigeria, where fewer farmers expanded land sizes, 48% reported job losses. Employment effects can be non-direct as well. Many rural residents reported that the rising prosperity of farmers due to mechanisation leads to positive spill-overs to non-farmers such as blacksmiths, carpenters and hairdressers.

As with most new technologies, mechanisation has benefits for some but not for others. While other studies have found that smallholder farmers have less access to mechanisation, this was only mentioned by 15% of the respondents. But mechanisation is less accessible for women compared to men. This was reported in all countries but it varied: 71% of women in Mali shared this perception but only 5% of women in Benin.

Managing the consequences

Most negative effects are not inherent to farm mechanisation and can be addressed with complementary agronomic practices and adequate policies. Soil erosion can be reduced with conservation agriculture, which protects soils by replacing heavy disc ploughs with less soil-disturbing rippers or direct seeders and continuous soil covers.

Deforestation can be minimised with careful land-use planning, for example, by protecting land that is particularly valuable for climate change mitigation, biodiversity, and wildlife.

Entry points to ensure that women benefit from mechanisation may comprise campaigns showing women role models using tractors, supporting women's mechanisation groups and developing knowledge and skills.

With the right policies, countries can harness the potential of mechanisation and manage challenges. This can ensure that mechanisation contributes to an African agricultural transformation that is sustainable from a social, economic, and environmental perspective.


Explore further Mechanical rice production

Provided by The Conversation

Archaeologists create 3-D model of part of the Tepsei archaeological site

by Kemerovo State University

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Archeologists from Kemerovo State University are exploring the Tepsei site of Minusinsk Basin, located in Krasnoturansky district (Krasnoyarsk region). Their research objective is to describe the culture and history of the site, covering over 27 square kilometers. The territory includes Mount Tepsei (630 m high) and the river valley below. The site has already revealed numerous archeological artifacts, burial grounds, and ancient villages of the Yenisey culture. The local rock art ranges from the Stone Age to ethnographic times and is represented by numerous petroglyphs on rocks, horizontal stone plates, and Tagar burrows.


The Tepsei cave art first attracted the attention of our Department of Archeology in 1980s, when a team of archeologists, led by Dr. B.N Pyatkin, explored the local petroglyphs. In 1995, Tepsei rock art became the subject of an international French and Russian program supervised by Yakov Sher and Henry-Paul Frankfor. The team studied the effect of the artificial lake on the local petroglyphs. Eight years ago, Kemerovo State University returned to Tepsei and resumed the research on a new level: Olga Sovetova, the Director of the Institute of History and International Relations, and her team of archeologists use 3-D modeling and UAV drones to study the local rock art.

In 2018 the team obtained a grant support to catalog the prehistoric rock art of Mount Tepsei using both traditional and innovative methods. They employed a Garmin GPS device to record each surface. By marking each individual site on Google Maps, the archeologists identified the largest clusters of petroglyphs and revealed the areas that needed additional in situ research. The GPS technology made it possible to define the approximate boundaries of the Tepsei archaeological site. A UAV survey of inaccessible mountain areas helped to identify some new rock art clusters. The petroglyphs were cataloged and copied using both contact and non-contact methods, e.g. mica-coated paper, various shooting modes, etc.

The graphic sources database of the Tepsei site is almost complete. The scientists have already copied and cataloged the prehistoric art of the river valley near Mount Tepsei and its upper areas, including two ravines, as well as petroglyphs made on burial stones and slabs at the foot of the mountain. Two expeditions took place in July and September of 2020. The archeologists performed an aerial survey of the terrain, mapped the territory, and explored some hard-to-reach areas using drones. They completed 3-D models of fifteen rock art surfaces.

The scientists worked in cooperation with specialists from the RSSDA laboratory (Moscow). Together, they completed a 3-D virtual model of one of the clusters. This model will show the exact location of each rock art site, burial stone, or stone slab. The map will also show excavation sites. The research will define the precise boundaries of the whole Tepsei cluster and give a more accurate picture of the ancient history of southern Siberia: the gradual change of cultures, migration routes, the time when various settlements were set up, the worldview of the peoples that etched the petroglyphs, etc. In addition, the historians found some new rock paintings, including that of a wild horse (approx. the 3rd BC) and Scythian figures of animals made with delicate engraved lines (the 8th-3rd BC).


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Provided by Kemerovo State University

Study shows children who self-identify as sexual or gender minority more likely to be obese than peers

by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, has found that children who identify themselves as belonging to a sexual or gender minority are more likely to be obese than their peers. In their paper published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the team describes how they analyzed data supplied by 12,000 children filling out online questionnaires sent to them and what they learned from it.

The questionnaire created by the researchers featured blunt questions such as, "Are you gay or bisexual?" I WOULD SEPERATE THOSE QUESTIONS

Or "Are you transgender?" 

I WOULD ASK HOW THEY IDENTIFY F-M/M-F

ARE THEY ASEXUAL? 

Those filling out the survey promised that they were children (they also had to have permission from their parents). Other questions on the survey asked those responding about their gender, race, family income, their BMZ score (a body mass index score the children could calculate by taking measurements of their bodies and comparing them to averages for other children their age.) The researchers also asked the children if they had any eating disorders, and if so, to specify which.

In analyzing their data, the researchers found that 190 of the respondents (1.6 percent) answered either 'yes' or 'maybe' to questions about their sexuality or gender identity, making them part of a Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM). In comparing the number of them that reported having higher than average BMZ scores, the researchers calculated that they were 64 percent more likely to be at risk of being obese than non-SGM children. They also found that SGM children were approximately three and a half times as likely to have an eating disorder (five of the children who responded had at least one eating disorder). In a related finding, a team at the University of California last year reported that bisexual men were more prone to having an eating disorder than either gay or straight men.

The researchers were not able to say why SGM children were more at risk of being obese or of having an eating disorder but noted that SGM identities in most children are not well established until they reach an older age. In a related finding, the researchers also found that responding children of color were twice as likely to be obese as the white children who responded.

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Explore further

One percent of children aged 9-10 self-identify as gay, transgender

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More information: Natasha A. Schvey et al. Obesity and Eating Disorder Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, JAMA Pediatrics (2020). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.5152

Journal information: JAMA Pediatrics 

 

Using economic data to create

predictive models of anticipated antimicrobial resistance levels across countries

by Bob Yirka, Science X Network, Phys.org

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers at the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development has developed a way to model anticipated antimicrobial resistance levels across countries using economic data. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes using the average income for a country, average out-of-pocket health care expenses for those living there and the degree of government corruption to create models that could accurately represent anticipated antimicrobial resistance levels for a given country.

Over the past decade, it has become apparent that the antibiotics that doctors use to treat patients with infections are not working as well as they once did. Prior research has shown that this is because many of the bacteria behind such infections have, through mutations, developed resistance. Prior research has also shown that the development of antibiotic resistance has been aided by the overuse of antibiotics.

 For that reason, medical researchers in developed countries have begun to track bacteria and the therapies that are used to treat the infections that result. These efforts have led to better targeted therapies, less overuse of antibiotics and slowing in mutations in bacteria. Improvements have not been observed in many third-world countries, however, because they lack the funds to implement such systems. In this new effort, the researchers working in the Netherlands have developed an alternative approach—using economic data to predict resistance levels.

The work involved first looking at the relationship between antimicrobial resistance and economic conditions in a given country, through which the researchers detected patterns. They used these patterns to reverse the process—using economic data to predict antimicrobial resistance levels in different countries.

To test their models, the researchers restricted the number of pathogens to just the nine most common and compared what their models reported with health statistical data for a few select countries. They found their models to be 78 to 86% accurate for six of the nine pathogens included in the tests—high enough to track global resistance to the most common types of antibacterial agents.

Low antibiotic concentration in the environment enough to increase antimicrobial resistance in laboratory conditions

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More information: Rik Oldenkamp et al. Filling the gaps in the global prevalence map of clinical antimicrobial resistance, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013515118

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 

Provided by Science X Network

Japanese pairing looking into using wood to build satellites

by Bob Yirka , Tech Xplore

Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry has announced a joint development project with Kyoto University to test the idea of using wood as a component in satellite construction. As part of the announcement, officials with Sumitomo Forestry told reporters that work on the project will begin with experiments designed to test different types of wood in extreme environments.

Some of the major components in most satellites include aluminum, Kevlar and aluminum alloys, which are able to withstand both temperature extremes and constant bombardment by radiation—all in a vacuum. Unfortunately, these characteristics also allow satellites to remain in orbit long after their usefulness has ended, resulting in constant additions to the space junk orbiting the planet. 

According to the World Economic Forum, there are currently approximately 6,000 satellites circling the Earth but only 60% of them are still in use. Some in the field have predicted that nearly 1,000 satellites will be launched into space each year over the coming decade. Considering their lifespan, this suggests there could be thousands more dead satellites orbiting the planet in the coming years. 

This space debris poses a significant threat to other satellites (they all travel thousands of miles per hour) and also to manned space missions. Most in the space community agree that space junk is becoming a serious problem. And there is more bad news—the aluminum used in satellites has been found to break apart when a satellite returns to Earth, creating hundreds or thousands of tiny alumina particles that wind up floating in the upper atmosphere for many years, possibly posing an environmental problem. For all these reasons, the researchers with this new project are looking to replace these materials with wood.

The major benefit of wood-based satellites is they would burn up completely when returning to Earth. But another major bonus of using wood to create the outer shell of a satellite is that electromagnetic waves would pass right through it, which means antennas could be placed inside of satellite structures, making them simpler to design and deploy. The researchers plan to look for appropriate wood candidates and then to conduct experiments to see it they could be treated to stand up to space conditions. They predict they will have a product ready for testing by 2023.

Researchers achieve sustained, high-fidelity quantum teleportation

by University of Chicago

DECEMBER 29, 2020

 In a demonstration of high-fidelity quantum teleportation at the Fermilab Quantum Network, fiber-optic cables connect off-the-shelf devices (shown above), as well as state-of-the-art R&D devices. Credit: Fermilab

A viable quantum internet—a network in which information stored in qubits is shared over long distances through entanglement—would transform the fields of data storage, precision sensing and computing, ushering in a new era of communication.

This month, scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory—a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory affiliated with the University of Chicago—along with partners at five institutions took a significant step in the direction of realizing a quantum internet.

In a paper published in PRX Quantum, the team presents for the first time a demonstration of a sustained, long-distance teleportation of qubits made of photons (particles of light) with fidelity greater than 90%.

The qubits were teleported over a fiber-optic network 27 miles (44 kilometers) long using state-of-the-art single-photon detectors, as well as off-the-shelf equipment.

"We're thrilled by these results," said Fermilab scientist Panagiotis Spentzouris, head of the Fermilab quantum science program and one of the paper's co-authors. "This is a key achievement on the way to building a technology that will redefine how we conduct global communication."

The achievement comes just a few months after the U.S. Department of Energy unveiled its blueprint for a national quantum internet at a press conference at the University of Chicago.

Linking particles

Quantum teleportation is a "disembodied" transfer of quantum states from one location to another. The quantum teleportation of a qubit is achieved using quantum entanglement, in which two or more particles are inextricably linked to each other. If an entangled pair of particles is shared between two separate locations, no matter the distance between them, the encoded information is teleported.

SIMPLY PUT THIS MEANS THAT THE PARTICLES ARE SHARING THE SAME TIME WHILE BEING AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN SPACE, THAT MOMENT OF QUANTUM TIME MEANS THEY SHARE THE SAME CONTENT

The joint team—researchers at Fermilab, AT&T, Caltech, Harvard University, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and University of Calgary—successfully teleported qubits on two systems: the Caltech Quantum Network and the Fermilab Quantum Network. The systems were designed, built, commissioned and deployed by Caltech's public-private research program on Intelligent Quantum Networks and Technologies, or IN-Q-NET.

"We are very proud to have achieved this milestone on sustainable, high-performing and scalable quantum teleportation systems," said Maria Spiropulu, the Shang-Yi Ch'en professor of physics at Caltech and director of the IN-Q-NET research program. "The results will be further improved with system upgrades we are expecting to complete by the second quarter of 2021."

Both the Caltech and Fermilab networks, which feature near-autonomous data processing, are compatible both with existing telecommunication infrastructure and with emerging quantum processing and storage devices. Researchers are using them to improve the fidelity and rate of entanglement distribution, with an emphasis on complex quantum communication protocols and fundamental science.

"With this demonstration we're beginning to lay the foundation for the construction of a Chicago-area metropolitan quantum network," Spentzouris said.

The Chicagoland network, called the Illinois Express Quantum Network, is being designed by Fermilab in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, Caltech, Northwestern University and industry partners.

"The feat is a testament to success of collaboration across disciplines and institutions, which drives so much of what we accomplish in science," said Fermilab Deputy Director of Research Joe Lykken. "I commend the IN-Q-NET team and our partners in academia and industry on this first-of-its-kind achievement in quantum teleportation.

Explore further Quantum network to test unhackable communications

More information: Raju Valivarthi et al. Teleportation Systems Toward a Quantum Internet, PRX Quantum (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PRXQuantum.1.020317

Provided by University of Chicago 

Those Space Force Uniforms Orbiting Social Media Are Bogus, US Military Says

A mock-up drawing of Space Force uniforms that began orbiting social media on Tuesday has been debunked.

A U.S. military spokesperson informed military.com that the uniform designs did not come from the actual U.S. Space Force, a new branch of the military founded during the Trump administration in 2019.

"The uniform graphic being shared on social media is not an official U.S. Space Force uniform design concept," Maj. Nick Mercurio said Tuesday. "The Space Force service dress uniform is still in development."

Also read: Space Force Mocked by Everyone for Calling Members 'Guardians': 'How Is This NOT a Joke'

The news comes as something of a relief for the countless Twitter users who criticized the fake uniforms, likening them to a bad imitation of Star Trek uniforms mixed with cross-walk guards.

"They stole the emblem logo from Star Trek. Then they stole the name from Guardians of the Galaxy. They then stole the uniform from Starship Troopers," wrote one user. "No original thought and no clear reason for the existence of this 5th branch of the military! It's a FARCE!"

Others commented that the pretend uniforms are more reminiscent of Nazi Germany.

"Welp. No, crossing guards is not who they remind me of…" one user wrote.

Also read: Steve Carell's 'Space Force' Renewed by Netflix for Season 2

"Can't say I did nazi that coming," wrote another.

But to those saying the uniforms resemble Hugo Boss designs, another user made a correction about the history between the fashion designer and the Nazi party.

"Hugo Boss did not design Nazi uniforms, he did manufacture them, was a war profiteering Nazi scumbag who used forced labour, but he did not design the uniforms," the Fake History Hunter account tweeted.

Others criticized the existence of the Space Force altogether.

Also read: Trump Breaks Social Media Silence With All-Caps Tweetstorm

"People are starving and dying, but not to worry-we have Starship Trooper uniforms we'll never use!" one user wrote.

At least when the Space Force releases their real uniform designs, the bar will have been set very low.

For more information on the Space Force, click here. 

See more tweets below.

They stole the emblem logo from Star Trek. Then they stole the name from Guardians of the Galaxy. They then stole the uniform from Starship Troopers.
No original thought and no clear reason for the existence of this 5th branch of the military! It's a FARCE! pic.twitter.com/3GzAQhx2yE
- A Blue Dot in Oklahoma December 29, 2020

Bruh these straight up look like n*zi uniforms https://t.co/vCdRIQFMJ4
- December 29, 2020

The Space Force Guardians look like they work for the Empire. https://t.co/CtBU4K4Df0

- Leslie – 22 to 46.December 29, 2020