Community engagement and power dynamics in conservation philanthropy grant making

Funding decisions influence where, how, and by whom conservation is pursued globally. In the context of growing calls for more participatory, Indigenous-led, and socially just conservation, we undertook the first empirical investigation of how philanthropic foundations working in marine conservation globally engage communities in grant-making decisions. We paid particular attention to whether and how community engagement practices reinforce or disrupt existing power dynamics. We conducted semistructured remote interviews with 46 individuals from 32 marine conservation foundations to identify how conservation foundations engage communities in setting their priorities and deciding which organizations and projects to fund. We found that community engagement in foundation decision-making was limited in practice. Eleven of the 32 foundations reported some form of community engagement in funding decisions. Two of these foundations empowered communities to shape funding priorities and projects through strong forms of engagement. Many engagement practices were one way, one time, or indirect and confined to certain points in decision-making processes. These weaker practices limited community input and reinforced unequal power relations, which may undermine the legitimacy, equity, and effectiveness of conservation efforts. We suggest that foundations aim for stronger forms of community engagement and reflect on how their grant-making practices affect power relations between foundations and communities.

Identification of Granatane Alkaloids from Duboisia myoporoides (Solanaceae) using Molecular Networking and Semisynthesis

The Solanaceae plant family contains at least 98 genera and over 2700 species. The Duboisia genus stands out for its ability to produce pyridine and tropane alkaloids, which are relatively poorly characterized at the phytochemical level. In this study, we analyzed dried leaves of Duboisia spp. using supercritical CO2 extraction and ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry, followed by feature-based molecular networking. Thirty-one known tropane alkaloids were putatively annotated, and the identity of six (atropine, scopolamine, anisodamine, aposcopolamine, apoatropine, and noratropine) were identified using reference standards. Two new granatane alkaloids connected in the molecular network were highlighted from Duboisia myoporoides, and their α-granatane tropate and α-granatane isovalerate structures were unambiguously established by semisynthesis.

'Whatever we have is what we eat': How marginalised urban populations in the Philippines and Thailand experienced their food environments, food security and diets through COVID-19

This qualitative cross-country comparative study investigated the lived experience of marginalised urban populations (unemployed, daily wage earners/street vendors, and internal/external migrants) in Manila (Philippines) and Bangkok (Thailand) on food environments, food security and diets during COVID-19. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals (n = 59) in April-May 2022. Thematic analysis revealed loss of income and strict mobility restrictions (Philippines) as key drivers of dietary changes and hunger. Common narratives included financial hardship, loss of personal agency, and daily survival. Coping strategies included drawing on social networks, cash and food aid, and 'scheming' around restrictions. Contextualised crisis policy planning should explicitly consider the lived experience of marginalised populations for future shocks.

Proto-Endocrinological Theories of Masculinity/Femininity (1490-1904)

From the mid-seventeenth century, resorption of a testicular "ferment" and resorption of some part of the semen constituted reputable accounts of secondary sexual characteristics. Only in the early twentieth century was the latter, "recrementitious secretion" theory, explicitly considered superseded by one of internal secretion, an advance ushering in the hormone era. A reconstruction of these proto-endocrinological concepts is offered onward from the first, 1490 print edition of Galen's On Semen. Early modern physicians picking up from Galen deliberated widely on the medium and pathway of male and female testicular influences on "the entire body," including the mind, causing "femininity" and "masculinity" in physical, mental-temperamental, and behavioral terms. A switch is discernible from "heat and strength" (Galen) to blood-borne "virility" or testicular vapor (such as proposed in 1564 by Tomás Rodrigues da Veiga), to iatrochemical postulations of a "seminal ferment" (suggested in the late 1650s, perhaps independently, by Thomas Willis at Oxford and Lambert van Velthuysen in Utrecht), finally to a "seminal recrement" or "reabsorbed semen" concept soon after (emergent in the posthumous work of Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, among others). During the late eighteenth century, mounting controversy surrounded both the very idea of that concept and the involved anatomical pathways, informed by multiple experiments.

Can Exclusion of Feral Ecosystem Engineers Improve Coastal Floodplain Resilience to Climate Change? Insight from a Case Study in North East Arnhem Land, Australia

Global climate change can interact with local drivers, such as ecosystem engineers, to exacerbate changes in ecosystem structure and function, with socio-ecological consequences. For regions of Indigenous interest, there may also be cultural consequences if species and areas affected are culturally significant. Here we describe a participatory approach between the Indigenous (Yolngu) Yirralka Rangers and non-Indigenous researchers that explored the interaction between sea level rise and feral ungulate ecosystem engineers on culturally significant floodplains in the Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), northern Australia. A feral ungulate exclusion fence array (12 fenced and 12 unfenced plots) was stratified by elevation/salinity to disentangle the effects of salinity and ungulates on floodplain soil and vegetation. We found that exclusion of feral ungulates improved ground cover vegetation, which, according to our literature-derived ecosystem process model, may enhance soil trapping and reduce evapotranspiration to provide the antecedent conditions needed to improve floodplain resilience to sea level rise. The mid-zone of the supratidal floodplain study site was suggested as the region where the benefits of fencing were most pronounced after two years and ground cover species diversity was highest. Ongoing monitoring is required to investigate whether removal of feral ungulates can increase resilience against sea level rise and recruitment of eco-culturally significant Melaleuca species. An interview with a key Yolngu Traditional Owner of the study site demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of the partnership. Yolngu land owners and rangers were active co-researchers and will decide if, when and how to integrate results into feral ungulate management and climate adaptation responses, highlighting the importance of industry-university partnerships in maximising biocultural conservation outcomes.

Infertility in the Pacific: A crucial component of the sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda

Across Pacific Island countries, women and men are disproportionately affected by several risk factors for infertility, including sexually transmissible infections, complications from unsafe abortions, postpartum sepsis, obesity, diabetes, tobacco smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Despite this, little is known about community awareness of infertility, behavioural risk factors, the lived experiences of infertile couples or the contexts in which they access fertility care. In this opinion piece we discuss the current evidence and gaps in evidence regarding infertility in Pacific Island countries and the importance of locally tailored approaches to preventing infertility and the provision of fertility care.

The cuckoldry conundrum

Concerns about cuckoldry are a dominant theme in evolutionary studies of mating, frequently used to explain sex differences in reproductive strategies. However, studies in nonhuman species have shown that cuckoldry can be associated with important benefits. These insights have not been well integrated with the human literature, which continues to focus on anticuckoldry tactics and negative repercussions for men. I evaluate two key assumptions central to human models of cuckoldry: (1) men are being tricked into investing in nonbiological offspring and (2) investment in nonbiological offspring is wasted. The ethnographic data on fatherhood shows that the concepts of pater and genitor are complex and locally constructed ideas that often include explicit knowledge of extra-pair paternity, countering the idea that nonpaternity results from trickery. Furthermore, rather than being a "waste," paternity loss can be associated with important gains for men, helping to explain why men invest in nonbiological offspring.

An "integration" of professional identity formation among rural physicians experiencing an interplay between their professional and personal identities

The present understanding of professional identity formation is problematic since it underrepresents minority physicians and potentially excludes their professional identity formation experiences. Rural physicians are expected to have similar underrepresented aspects as minority physicians because of their specific sociocultural contexts and consequent private-professional intersection, which lead to ethical complexities. Therefore, to bridge this research gap, we interviewed 12 early- to mid-career Japanese physicians working in rural areas and explored their experiences. Through a narrative analysis guided by Figured Worlds theory, we analysed the data by focusing on the vocabulary, expressions, and metaphors participants used to describe their experiences. A central theme emerged concerning how the rural physicians configurated their personal versus professional participation in their local communities. Further, their identity narratives varied regarding how they constructed their identities, rural communities, and relationships as well as their identity formation ideals and strategies to achieve them. Informed by 'Big Questions' concerning worldview framework, we delineated four identity narratives as prototypes to describe how they participated in their communities. These identity narratives provide a preliminary understanding of how diverse identity formation is for rural physicians. In addition, our findings exposed the current professional identity formation framework as potentially biased towards single forms of participation in monolithic communities, overlooking complicated forms of participation in multiple communities. We argue that applying frameworks and concepts to capture these multiple forms of participation as well as revisiting the 'discourse of integration' are necessary steps to overcome the limitation of the current understanding of professional identity formation.

'They're not as MSM, they're a bufta': using the categories 'men who have sex with men' and 'transgender' as technologies in Vanuatu

In Vanuatu, the use of the terms such as 'men who have sex with men' (MSM) and 'transgender' has increased over the past decade. This paper draws on twenty months ethnographic research in Port Vila, the country's capital, to analyse what happens on the ground when MSM and transgender categories are taken up to identify people or to narrate the self. The focus is on who uses these terms, in what ways they are experienced, and what is rendered visible (or not) by their use. This research departs from approaches framing 'non-heteronormative' categories as related solely to gender and sexuality. It argues that MSM and transgender categories are used in various ways to refer not only to sexual practices and/or gender identity, but also to health risk behaviours, transactional sex and LGBT rights advocacy. The analysis offered suggests we view MSM and transgender categories as technologies that, depending on the interactional context, contribute to bureaucratic tasks or to maintaining or, on the contrary, changing established socio-political relations.

Priority setting in times of crises: an analysis of priority setting for the COVID-19 response in the Western Pacific Region

BACKGROUND

While priority setting is recognized as critical for promoting accountability and transparency in health system planning, its role in supporting rational, equitable and fair pandemic planning and responses is less well understood. This study aims to describe how priority setting was used to support planning in the initial stage of the pandemic response in a subset of countries in the Western Pacific Region (WPR).

METHODS

We purposively sampled a subset of countries from WPR and undertook a critical document review of the initial national COVID-19 pandemic response plans. A pre-specified tool guided data extraction and the analysis examined the use of quality parameters of priority setting, and equity considerations.

RESULTS

Nine plans were included in this analysis, from the following countries: Papua New Guinea, Tonga, The Philippines, Fiji, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Taiwan. Most commonly the plans described strong political will to respond swiftly, resource needs, stakeholder engagement, and defined the roles of institutions that guided COVID-19 response decision-making. The initial plans did not reflect strong evidence of public engagement or considerations of equity informing the early responses to the pandemic.

CONCLUSION

This study advances an understanding of how priority setting and equity considerations were integrated to support the development of the initial COVID-19 responses in nine countries in WPR and contributes to the literature on health system planning during emergencies. This baseline assessment reveals evidence of the common priority setting parameters that were deployed in the initial responses, the prioritized resources and equity considerations and reinforces the importance of strengthening health system capacity for priority setting to support future pandemic preparedness.

The Agential View of Misfortune

In many traditional, small-scale societies, death and other misfortunes are commonly explained as a result of others' malign occult agency. Here, we call this family of epistemic tendencies "the agential view of misfortune." After reviewing several ethnographic case studies that illustrate this view, we argue that its origins and stability are puzzling from an evolutionary perspective. Not only is the agential view of misfortune false; it imposes costs on individuals and social groups that seem to far outweigh whatever benefits the view might provide. We thus doubt that the agential view of misfortune is explainable in terms of adaptive effects. However, neither does it seem readily explainable as a consequence of belief formation strategies that are on the whole adaptive (as is plausibly the case for certain other of our false beliefs, including some that are costly). Accordingly, we contend that the commonness of the agential view of misfortune demands a special evolutionary explanation of some kind. We provide a partial explanation of this phenomenon by highlighting the adaptive benefits that often flow to occult specialists in environments where the agential view of misfortune is entrenched. What this does not explain, however, is the general lack of resistance we observe in response to occultists' exploitative behaviours over (cultural) evolutionary timescales. We conclude by canvassing a few possible explanations for this puzzling lack of resistance, and while we commit ourselves to none, we do find one option more promising than the others.

The economic impact of international travel measures used during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Assessment of the use of travel measures during COVID-19 has focused on their effectiveness in achieving public health objectives. However, the prolonged use of highly varied and frequently changing measures by governments, and their unintended consequences caused, has been controversial. This has led to a call for coordinated decision-making focused on risk-based approaches, which requires better understanding of the broader impacts of international travel measures (ITMs) on individuals and societies.

METHODS

Our scoping review investigates the literature on the economic impact of COVID-19 ITMs. We searched health, social science and COVID-19-specific databases for empirical studies preprinted or published between 1 January 2020 and 31 October 2023. Evidence was charted using a narrative approach and included jurisdiction of study, ITMs studied, study design, outcome categories, and main findings.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria and were included for data extraction. Twelve of them focused on the international travel restrictions implemented in early 2020. Limited attention was given to measures such as entry/exit screening and vaccination requirements. Eight studies focused on high-income countries, 6 on low-income and middle-income countries and 10 studies were comparative although did not select countries by income. Economic outcomes assessed included financial markets (n=13), economic growth (n=4), economic activities (n=1), performance of industries central to international travel (n=9), household-level economic status (n=3) and consumer behaviour (n=1). Empirical methods employed included linear regression (n=17), mathematical modelling (n=3) and mixed strategies (n=6).

CONCLUSION

Existing studies have begun to provide evidence of the wide-ranging economic impacts resulting from ITMs. However, the small body of research combined with difficulties in isolating the effects of such measures and limitations in available data mean that it is challenging to draw general and robust conclusions. Future research using rigorous empirical methods and high-quality data is needed on this topic.

The experience of abortion for Cook Islands women: exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of abortion safety

Abortion is significantly restricted by law in most Pacific Island countries, impacting the rights, health and autonomy of people who experience pregnancy. We undertook qualitative research between February and August 2022 on Rarotonga, Cook Islands, where abortion is illegal under most circumstances. We conducted interviews with women who had accessed or tried to access abortion services; people who had supported women to access abortion services; health workers; and advocates to understand their experiences regarding abortion. We conducted focus groups to explore broader social perceptions and experiences of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion. Participants described their abortion decisions and methods, and their negotiation of the personal context of their sexual behaviours, pregnancies, and abortions relative to their socio-cultural context and values. As defined by the World Health Organization, safe abortion relates to the methods and equipment used and the skills of the abortion provider. We argue for an expansion of this definition to consider inclusion of reference to individuals' 'abortion safety nets' as the sum of their access to financial, political, health care and socio-cultural resources. These safety nets are shaped by discourses related to abortion and socio-cultural support and values, impacting physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual health.

Community Resilience and Cultural Responses in Crisis: Lessons Learned from Pacific Islander Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA

Pacific Islander communities in the USA experienced some of the most severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative synthesis examines the literature on Pacific Islander community responses and lessons learned from COVID-19, using a systematic search that identified 28 articles with this focus. Thematic analysis was subsequently used to classify both documented efforts by Pacific Islander communities to respond to the pandemic, as well as lessons learned and best practices from research in this area. Results revealed multiple efforts to address the pandemic, including Pacific Islander grassroots approaches, government responses, inter-sector collaboration, and research. Results further emphasized the importance of culturally and linguistically responsive outreach and messaging; partnership, engagement, and capacity building; and changes in research and policy approaches to promote health equity. Future efforts to address public health crises should make the most of Pacific Islander cultural approaches to disaster response. To achieve this, government and other organizations that work with PI communities need to support the development of the PI leadership, healthcare and research workforces, and work with Pacific Islander communities to build long-term, sustainable, and trustworthy partnerships.

Creating ad hoc graphical representations of number

The ability to communicate about exact number is critical to many modern human practices spanning science, industry, and politics. Although some early numeral systems used 1-to-1 correspondence (e.g., 'IIII' to represent 4), most systems provide compact representations via more arbitrary conventions (e.g., '7' and 'VII'). When people are unable to rely on conventional numerals, however, what strategies do they initially use to communicate number? Across three experiments, participants used pictures to communicate about visual arrays of objects containing 1-16 items, either by producing freehand drawings or combining sets of visual tokens. We analyzed how the pictures they produced varied as a function of communicative need (Experiment 1), spatial regularities in the arrays (Experiment 2), and visual properties of tokens (Experiment 3). In Experiment 1, we found that participants often expressed number in the form of 1-to-1 representations, but sometimes also exploited the configuration of sets. In Experiment 2, this strategy of using configural cues was exaggerated when sets were especially large, and when the cues were predictably correlated with number. Finally, in Experiment 3, participants readily adopted salient numerical features of objects (e.g., four-leaf clover) and generally combined them in a cumulative-additive manner. Taken together, these findings corroborate historical evidence that humans exploit correlates of number in the external environment - such as shape, configural cues, or 1-to-1 correspondence - as the basis for innovating more abstract number representations.

Insecure Attachment Orientation in Adults and Children and Negative Attribution Bias: A Meta-Analysis

This is the first meta-analysis to synthesize the literature on insecure attachment and negative attribution bias (NAB) from both developmental and social/personality attachment traditions. This meta-analysis is important because extant studies report inconsistent associations, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the nature of these associations. Based on 41 samples (N = 8,727) from 32 articles, we specify and compare the effect sizes of these associations across studies. Results confirmed positive associations between NAB and anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions and an insecure composite, with a medium effect size. Correlations were moderated by age group, type of attachment measurement, and cultural background. Our findings advance knowledge and build on attachment and attribution theories, reconcile mixed findings, and inform the development of NAB interventions. Important gaps in the literature are revealed that will inspire future research.

COVID-19 preparedness and response in rural and remote areas: A scoping review

This scoping review used the Arksey and O'Malley approach to explore COVID-19 preparedness and response in rural and remote areas to identify lessons to inform future health preparedness and response planning. A search of scientific and grey literature for rural COVID-19 preparedness and responses identified 5 668 articles published between 2019 and early 2022. A total of 293 articles were included, of which 160 (54.5%) were from high income countries and 106 (36.2%) from middle income countries. Studies focused mostly on the Maintenance of Essential Health Services (63; 21.5%), Surveillance, epidemiological investigation, contact tracing and adjustment of public health and social measures (60; 20.5%), Coordination and Planning (32; 10.9%); Case Management (30; 10.2%), Social Determinants of Health (29; 10%) and Risk Communication (22; 7.5%). Rural health systems were less prepared and national COVID-19 responses were often not adequately tailored to rural areas. Promising COVID-19 responses involved local leaders and communities, were collaborative and multisectoral, and engaged local cultures. Non-pharmaceutical interventions were applied less, support for access to water and sanitation at scale was weak, and more targeted approaches to the isolation of cases and quarantine of contacts were preferable to blanket lockdowns. Rural pharmacists, community health workers and agricultural extension workers assisted in overcoming shortages of health professionals. Vaccination coverage was hindered by weaker rural health systems. Digital technology enabled better coordination, communication, and access to health services, yet for some was inaccessible. Rural livelihoods and food security were affected through disruptions to local labour markets, farm produce markets and input supply chains. Important lessons include the need for rural proofing national health preparedness and response and optimizing synergies between top-down planning with localised planning and coordination. Equity-oriented rural health systems strengthening and action on rural social determinants is essential to better prepare for and respond to future outbreaks.

Low rates of prescribing alcohol relapse prevention medicines in Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol dependence is a chronic condition impacting millions of individuals worldwide. Safe and effective medicines to reduce relapse can be prescribed by general practitioners but are underutilised in the general Australian population. Prescription rates of these medicines to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) Australians in primary care are unknown. We assess these medicines in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and identify factors associated with prescription.

METHODS

Baseline data (spanning 12 months) were used from a cluster randomised trial involving 22 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. We describe the proportion of First Nations patients aged 15+ who were prescribed a relapse prevention medicine: naltrexone, acamprosate or disulfiram. We explore associations between receiving a prescription, a patient AUDIT-C score and demographics (gender, age, service remoteness) using logistic regression.

RESULTS

During the 12-month period, 52,678 patients attended the 22 services. Prescriptions were issued for 118 (0.2%) patients (acamprosate n = 62; naltrexone n = 58; disulfiram n = 2; combinations n = 4). Of the total patients, 1.6% were 'likely dependent' (AUDIT-C ≥ 9), of whom only 3.4% received prescriptions for these medicines. In contrast, 60.2% of those who received a prescription had no AUDIT-C score. In multivariate analysis, receiving a script (OR = 3.29, 95% CI 2.25-4.77) was predicted by AUDIT-C screening, male gender (OR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.55-3.29), middle age (35-54 years; OR = 14.41, 95% CI 5.99-47.31) and urban service (OR = 2.87, 95% CI 1.61-5.60).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Work is needed to increase the prescription of relapse prevention medicines when dependence is detected. Potential barriers to prescription and appropriate ways to overcome these need to be identified.

Dingoes, companions in life and death: The significance of archaeological canid burial practices in Australia

The dingo, also known as the Australian native dog, was introduced in the late Holocene. Dingoes were primarily wild animals but a number resided in Aboriginal people's camps. Traditionally, these individuals were taken from wild litters before weaning and raised by Aboriginal people. It is generally believed that these dingoes were not directly provided for, and upon sexual maturity, returned to reproduce in the wild. However, some died while in the company of people and, were buried in occupation sites. This Australian practice parallels the burial of domestic dogs in many regions of the Asia-Pacific and beyond but has attracted very little research. We explore the historical and archaeological evidence for dingo burial, examining its different forms, chronological and geographic distribution, and cultural significance. Dingoes were usually buried in the same manner as Aboriginal community members and often in areas used for human burial, sometimes alongside people. This practice probably occurred from the time of their introduction until soon after European colonisation. We present a case study of dingo burials from Curracurrang Rockshelter (NSW) which provides insights into the lives of ancient tame dingoes, and suggests that domestication and genetic continuity between successive camp-dwelling generations may have occurred prior to European contact.

"I've Never Been to a Doctor": Health Care Access for the Marshallese in Washington State

The Ri Majel (Marshallese) migrants of Washington State have endured health inequities and unique laws dictating their access to health care once they arrive to the United States. These health inequities can be seen to be a result of historical trauma and militarization of their islands. The research question was an inquiry regarding access to health care for the Ri Majel in Washington State. We first provide detailed historical data in the background to contextualize our research inquiry. We interviewed 12 people and using manifest content analysis found 2 main themes regarding the health of the Ri Majel: (1) health care access and inequity and (2) historical trauma and embodiment. Health care access was impeded by (1) ongoing effects of radiation, (2) repeated denial of services, (3) lack of health care and insurance, (4) lack of language interpretation during health care visits, and (5) poverty. Historical trauma and embodiment were evidenced by these findings: (1) illness and early mortality; (2) provider lack of knowledge and understanding of the Ri Majel; (3) structural discrimination; (4) feelings of sadness and despair; (5) shyness and humility; and (6) a sense of "cannot/will not" and fatalism. Our findings demonstrate the need to examine structural factors when assessing health inequities and a need to understand and mitigate the effects of historical trauma enacted by structural racism, violence, and colonialism. Strategies to mitigate the embodiment of historical trauma require further investigation.

A Challenging Dialogue in the Gegenwart: The Current Meaning Generation Reflected by Emotional Awareness

From a cultural and psychological perspective, everyday life's meaning generation is a treasure box of highly important and complex mechanisms. The potential use of the cultural thinking stream, inhabiting the individual's perception of their reality, is increasingly connected and connects to a multitude of psychological and scientific streams. By generating a new model, the concepts of irreversible time will be connected with you- (from self and other constructed concepts) and I-positioning generations, allowing us to dive deeper into the complexity of the Gegenwarts-experienced phenomena. Unfortunately, the direct application of such a theoretical elaboration to the individual phenomena is rare, wherefore the redefined model will be discussed using a wide range of daily occurrences. In this paper, the question of "how multi-dimensional visualizations are used to define the concept of now and how they impact the self in form of self-dialogues between inner voices?" is generated. The potential for therapeutical measures and theoretical implications will be derived from the findings and subsequently presented. Meanwhile, the theoretical baseline will be used to link the concepts of how beings perceive their reality and how art and science can function as interactive tools for a more I-centered expression of inner distress.

Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu

Alloparenting, wherein people provide care to children who are not their biological offspring, is a key aspect of human child-rearing. In the Pacific, many children are adopted or fostered by custodial alloparents even when both biological parents are still alive. From a behavioral ecology perspective, such behaviors are puzzling: why parent someone else's child at your expense? Furthermore, little is known about how these arrangements are made in Pacific Islander societies today, who provides care, and what kinds of outcomes fostered children experience. A better understanding of these proximate factors may help reveal the ultimate drivers behind custodial alloparenting. Here, we report findings from a survey carried out with the caregivers of 282 children in rural areas of Vanuatu, an island nation in Melanesia. Most fostered and adopted children lived with relatives such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents (87.5%) rather than unrelated caregivers, with a strong preference for maternal kin. The most common reasons for these arrangements were that the parents had separated (16.7%), were engaging in labor migration (27.1%), or a combination of both (27.1%). Results for investment in children's education and their educational outcomes were mixed, although children removed from crisis situations did more poorly than children removed for aspirational reasons. Our findings suggest that custodial alloparenting helps families adapt to socioeconomic transitions and changing marriage practices. Outcomes may depend on a range of factors, such as the reason children were transferred out of the natal home to begin with.

The interdependence of relational and material wealth inequality in Pemba, Zanzibar

The extent of inequality in material wealth across different types of societies is well established. Less clear, however, is how material wealth is associated with relational wealth, and the implications of such associations for material wealth inequality. Theory and evidence suggest that material wealth both guides, and is patterned by, relational wealth. While existing comparative studies typically assume complementarity between different types of wealth, such associations may differ for distinct kinds of relational wealth. Here, we first review the literature to identify how and why different forms of relational wealth may align. We then turn to an analysis of household-level social networks (food sharing, gender-specific friendship and gender-specific co-working networks) and material wealth data from a rural community in Pemba, Zanzibar. We find that (i) the materially wealthy have most relational ties, (ii) the associations between relational and material wealth-as well as relational wealth more generally-are patterned by gender differences, and (iii) different forms of relational wealth have similar structural properties and are closely aligned. More broadly, we show how examining the patterning of distinct types of relational wealth provides insights into how and why inequality in material wealth remains muted in a community undergoing rapid economic change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.

Why did foraging, horticulture and pastoralism persist after the Neolithic transition? The oasis theory of agricultural intensification

Despite the global spread of intensive agriculture, many populations retained foraging or mixed subsistence strategies until well into the twentieth century. Understanding why has been a longstanding puzzle. One explanation, called the marginal habitat hypothesis, is that foraging persisted because foragers tended to live in marginal habitats generally not suited to agriculture. However, recent empirical studies have not supported this view. The alternative but untested oasis hypothesis of agricultural intensification claims that intensive agriculture developed in areas with low biodiversity and a reliable water source not reliant on local rainfall. We test both the marginal habitat and oasis hypotheses using a cross-cultural sample drawn from the 'Ethnographic atlas' (Murdock 1967 Ethnology 6, 109-236). Our analyses provide support for both hypotheses. We found that intensive agriculture was unlikely in areas with high rainfall. Further, high biodiversity, including pathogens associated with high rainfall, appears to have limited the development of intensive agriculture. Our analyses of African societies show that tsetse flies, elephants and malaria are negatively associated with intensive agriculture, but only the effect of tsetse flies reached significance. Our results suggest that in certain ecologies intensive agriculture may be difficult or impossible to develop but that generally lower rainfall and biodiversity is favourable for its emergence. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.

Threads of memory: Reviving the ornament of a dead child at the Neolithic village of Ba`ja (Jordan)

In 2018, a well-constructed cist-type grave was discovered at Ba`ja, a Neolithic village (7,400-6,800 BCE) in Southern Jordan. Underneath multiple grave layers, an 8-year-old child was buried in a fetal position. Over 2,500 beads were found on the chest and neck, along with a double perforated stone pendant and a delicately engraved mother-of-pearl ring discovered among the concentration of beads. The first was found behind the neck, and the second on the chest. The meticulous documentation of the bead distribution indicated that the assemblage was a composite ornament that had gradually collapsed, partly due to the burying position. Our aim was to challenge time degradation and to reimagine the initial composition in order to best explore the significance of this symbolic category of material culture, not as mere group of beads, but as an ornamental creation with further aesthetic, artisanal and socioeconomic implications. The reconstruction results exceeded our expectations as it revealed an imposing multi-row necklace of complex structure and attractive design. Through multiple lines of evidence, we suggest that the necklace was created at Ba`ja, although significant parts of beads were made from exotic shells and stones, including fossil amber, an unprecedented material never attested before for this period. The retrieval of such an ornament from life and its attribution to a young dead child highlights the significant social status of this individual. Beyond the symbolic functions related to identity, the necklace is believed to have played a key role in performing the inhumation rituals, understood as a public event gathering families, relatives, and people from other villages. In this sense, the necklace is not seen as belonging completely to the realm of death but rather to the world of the living, materializing a collective memory and shared moments of emotions and social cohesion.

The Problem of Purity in Moral Psychology

Academic AbstractThe idea of "purity" transformed moral psychology. Here, we provide the first systematic review of this concept. Although often discussed as one construct, we reveal ~9 understandings of purity, ranging from respecting God to not eating gross things. This striking heterogeneity arises because purity-unlike other moral constructs-is not understood by what it is but what it isn't: obvious interpersonal harm. This poses many problems for moral psychology and explains why purity lacks convergent and divergent validity and why purity is confounded with politics, religion, weirdness, and perceived harm. Because purity is not a coherent construct, it cannot be a distinct basis of moral judgment or specially tied to disgust. Rather than a specific moral domain, purity is best understood as a loose set of themes in moral rhetoric. These themes are scaffolded on cultural understandings of harm-the broad, pluralistic harm outlined by the Theory of Dyadic Morality.

Women's groups, covariate shocks, and resilience: An evidence synthesis of past shocks to inform a response to COVID-19

Background: Interventions with women's groups are increasingly seen as an important strategy for advancing women's empowerment, health, and economic outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, with the potential to increase the resiliency of members and their communities during widespread covariate shocks, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This evidence synthesis compiles evidence from past shocks on women's group activities and the extent to which women's groups mitigate the effects of shocks on members and communities. We reviewed 90 documents from academic databases, organizational reports, and additional gray literature, and included literature diverse in geography, type of women's group, and shock. Results: The literature suggests that covariate shocks tend to disrupt group activities and reduce group resources, but linkages to formal institutions can mitigate this impact by extending credit beyond the shock-affected resource pool. Evidence was largely supportive of women's groups providing resilience to members and communities, though findings varied according to shock severity, group purpose and structure, and outcome measures. Further, actions to support individual resilience during a shock, such as increased payment flexibility, may run counter to group resilience. The findings of the evidence synthesis are largely consistent with emerging evidence about women's groups and COVID-19 in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusions: We finalize the paper with a discussion on policy implications, including the importance of sustainable access to financial resources for women's group members; equity considerations surrounding the distribution of group benefits and burdens; and the potential for meaningful partnerships between women's groups and local governments and/or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to enhance community response amidst crises.

The Myth of Man the Hunter: Women's contribution to the hunt across ethnographic contexts

The sexual division of labor among human foraging populations has typically been recognized as involving males as hunters and females as gatherers. Recent archeological research has questioned this paradigm with evidence that females hunted (and went to war) throughout the Homo sapiens lineage, though many of these authors assert the pattern of women hunting may only have occurred in the past. The current project gleans data from across the ethnographic literature to investigate the prevalence of women hunting in foraging societies in more recent times. Evidence from the past one hundred years supports archaeological finds from the Holocene that women from a broad range of cultures intentionally hunt for subsistence. These results aim to shift the male-hunter female-gatherer paradigm to account for the significant role females have in hunting, thus dramatically shifting stereotypes of labor, as well as mobility.

The bewitchment of our intelligence: Scepticism about other minds in anthropology

This article aims at characterizing how the problem of scepticism about other minds appears in anthropology. To do so, I offer a close reading of Nils Bubandt's book, The Empty Seashell (2014), a study of witchcraft and doubt on the North Maluku Island of Halmahera. Through its deep engagement with issues revolving around scepticism, I take the book to be an example of the tendency to consider the problem of sceptical doubt about others as a problem of access to the inner thoughts and feelings of other people. By looking closely at its attempts to respond to this problem, I endeavour to shed light on the ways in which, in working the problem of scepticism out, we may be doing exactly the reverse: giving into the sceptical impulse. How does a certain way of asking questions about scepticism nourish the drive to it? I am interested in the drift towards scepticism that precisely takes the form of a claim against it. In showing that such a drift is prompted by a certain use of language, I hope to elucidate some ways in which scepticism is lived and is thus not merely an intellectual conundrum, but an ordinary human condition.

Future perfect: From the pandemic to the Paris climate agreement

Fifteen years ago, Jane Guyer (2007) argued that the near future had largely disappeared from collective imaginaries, replaced by longer-term horizons associated with evangelical Christianity and free market capitalism. While not seeking to repudiate Guyer, this article argues that recent developments have radically altered relationships to the future. It points to a previously unrecognized connection between two of the most significant challenges facing humanity today: the experience of living through a global pandemic and international efforts to limit the harmful consequences of climate change. Responses to both phenomena invoke the grammatical structure of the future perfect tense. During the pandemic, people began to imagine themselves living at a future moment in time when they have already resumed participating in those activities they have been prevented from undertaking, an example of the future perfect. The Paris Climate Agreement, which encourages states and other parties to take action in the present so that in the future they will already have saved the planet, also relies on the future perfect. In reaction to the pandemic and climate change, the near future has reemerged as a focal point of temporal attention. This article examines how the future appears in the present and the contribution of the future perfect tense to the creation of alternative futures.

Racial microaggressions and interculturality in remote Central Australian Aboriginal healthcare

BACKGROUND

An epidemic of type 2 diabetes in remote Aboriginal people in Central Australia, contributes to high rates of morbidity and mortality. Remote non-Aboriginal Health Care Workers (HCW) and the Aboriginal people they serve inhabit a complex cultural interface. This study aimed to recognise racial microaggressions in the everyday discourse of HCWs. It proposes a model of interculturality for remote HCWs that avoids racialisation and essentialising of Aboriginal people's identities and cultures.

METHODS

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were undertaken with HCWs from two Primary Health Care services in very remote Central Australia. Fourteen interviews were analysed from seven Remote Area Nurse, five Remote Medical Practitioners and two Aboriginal Health Practitioners. Discourse analysis was employed to explore racial microaggressions and power relations. NVivo software assisted in the thematic organisation of microaggressions according to a predefined taxonomy.

RESULTS

Seven microaggression themes were identified - racial categorization and sameness, assumptions about intelligence and competence, false colour blindness, criminality and dangerousness, reverse racism and hostility, treatment as second-class citizens and pathologizing culture. A model of interculturality for remote HCWs was based on concepts of the third space, deCentred hybrid identities and small culture formation on-the-go combined with a duty-conscious ethic, cultural safety and humility.

CONCLUSIONS

Racial microaggressions are common in the discourse of remote HCWs. The model of interculturality proposed could improve intercultural communication and relationships between HCWs and Aboriginal people. This improved engagement is required to address the current diabetes epidemic in Central Australia.

Artificial lives, analogies and symbolic thought: an anthropological insight on robots and AI

The aim of this article is to explore the conception of artificial life forms and the interactions we have with them by paying a particular attention to the analogies that characterize them and the mental processes they give rise to. The article adopts a crossed perspective, focusing on the representations conveyed by artificial life but also on the way we deal with the presence of so-called intelligent or social machines. Based on a multi-sited ethnography of design practices and human-machine interaction experiments, this article hypothesizes that robots and AI constitute a symbolic means of addressing problems regarding our understanding of what life could be whether it is biological or social. Starting from the history of automata, this article will first address the modalities by which an "artificial life" is conceived by analogy with vital processes. It will then focus on the way these processes come into play in an experimental interaction situation.

Socio-ecological challenges and food security in the 'salad bowl' of Fiji, Sigatoka Valley

This article examines food security in the Sigatoka Valley, one of the most productive food regions in Fiji, in the context of recent socio-ecological challenges through a case study of Narewa village. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n = 25), a fixed question food insecurity experience survey (n = 25), and a free listing exercise about preferred and consumed foods (n = 24). Results revealed that while most households had access to sufficient food, the increased frequency and intensity of droughts, tropical cyclones, and flooding caused almost half to worry about meeting their future food needs. To date, a culture of sharing within the village has helped most households access food but this will likely be inadequate to meet future needs as climate change is projected to impact food production. Given that the foundation of food production in Narewa, like other villages in the valley, relies on the long-term viability of agricultural systems, better focus needs to be placed on the natural resources that form the backbone of these systems such as water availability, soil health, and slope stability and their resilience to anthropogenic and natural stressors. Efforts that focus on protecting and enhancing local ecosystems in light of expected future climate change, combined with greater attention on food storage and the use of resilient crops, and enhancing social cohesion and sharing networks are needed to avoid breaching tipping points in the food system.

Rational learners and parochial norms

Parochial norms are narrow in social scope, meaning they apply to certain groups but not to others. Accounts of norm acquisition typically invoke tribal biases: from an early age, people assume a group's behavioral regularities are prescribed and bounded by mere group membership. However, another possibility is rational learning: given the available evidence, people infer the social scope of norms in statistically appropriate ways. With this paper, we introduce a rational learning account of parochial norm acquisition and test a unique prediction that it makes. In one study with adults (N = 480) and one study with children ages 5- to 8-years-old (N = 120), participants viewed violations of a novel rule sampled from one of two unfamiliar social groups. We found that adults judgments of social scope - whether the rule applied only to the sampled group (parochial scope), or other groups (inclusive scope) - were appropriately sensitive to the relevant features of their statistical evidence (Study 1). In children (Study 2) we found an age difference: 7- to 8-year-olds used statistical evidence to infer that norms were parochial or inclusive, whereas 5- to 6-year olds were overall inclusive regardless of statistical evidence. A Bayesian analysis shows a possible inclusivity bias: adults and children inferred inclusive rules more frequently than predicted by a naïve Bayesian model with unbiased priors. This work highlights that tribalist biases in social cognition are not necessary to explain the acquisition of parochial norms.

First Peoples' knowledge leads scientists to reveal 'fairy circles' and termite linyji are linked in Australia

In the past, when scientists encountered and studied 'new' environmental phenomena, they rarely considered the existing knowledge of First Peoples (also known as Indigenous or Aboriginal people). The scientific debate over the regularly spaced bare patches (so-called fairy circles) in arid grasslands of Australian deserts is a case in point. Previous researchers used remote sensing, numerical modelling, aerial images and field observations to propose that fairy circles arise from plant self-organization. Here we present Australian Aboriginal art and narratives, and soil excavation data, that suggest these regularly spaced, bare and hard circles in grasslands are pavement nests occupied by Drepanotermes harvester termites. These circles, called linyji (Manyjilyjarra language) or mingkirri (Warlpiri language), have been used by Aboriginal people in their food economies and for other domestic and sacred purposes across generations. Knowledge of the linyji has been encoded in demonstration and oral transmission, ritual art and ceremony and other media. While the exact origins of the bare circles are unclear, being buried in deep time and Jukurrpa, termites need to be incorporated as key players in a larger system of interactions between soil, water and grass. Ecologically transformative feedbacks across millennia of land use and manipulation by Aboriginal people must be accounted for. We argue that the co-production of knowledge can both improve the care and management of those systems and support intergenerational learning within and across diverse cultures.

Using Fa'afaletui to explore Samoan consumers' experience and interpretation of mental health person-centred care in Aotearoa, New Zealand

This study applied a fa'afaletui cultural lens to an exploratory qualitative study examining Samoan families' experiences and engagement with a person-centred care model employed in specific mental health services in Aotearoa. Six semi-structured talanoa group discussions with families who had been previously or currently engaged with mental health services. In addition, a local stakeholder group was recruited to guide stages of the fa'afaletui. A total of 13 individual participants from six families participated. Participants consisted of four mothers, two fathers, five sisters, one son, and one husband. Five themes were identified: (i) Fa'atuatua ile Atua; Spiritual faith in God; (ii) It is a hush hush topic; stigma of mental illness; (iii) We are in the dark with our communication and dealings with the services; (v) Practice what you preach; clinical service delivery misaligned with the model of care; and (vi) Alofa (love) and fa'aaloalo (respect); enablers of positive experience. The findings overall highlight spirituality and religion as core to a Samoan's faith to foster resilience and healing when facing adverse mental health events with their family members. In addition, the need to build up capacity for Pacific staffed specialist services and Pacific model to achieve equity and holistic care for Samoans and other Pacific populations at risk of adverse mental health outcomes are recommended.

Reimagining conservation practice: Indigenous self-determination and collaboration in Papua New Guinea

Here we describe a 14-year collaboration in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, between an Indigenous NGO, Indigenous scientists and international researchers. New Ireland is a marine province in the Western Pacific region where most residents depend on fishing, marine gleaning and small-scale gardening for their livelihoods. Ailan Awareness is a locally founded and managed NGO that focuses on the strengthening of Indigenous sovereignty regarding biological, cultural and spiritual diversity as well as fostering Indigenous epistemology practices and strengthening biocultural diversity. In partnership with anthropological researchers, Ailan Awareness has designed an approach to marine conservation informed by the growing field of decolonial research practices. By working to empower coastal communities to make decisions about their marine and cultural resources using a mix of Indigenous, anthropological and scientific methods and giving primacy to strengthening Indigenous modes of knowledge production and the role of community Elders, Ailan Awareness addresses a major gap in the efforts of the national government and international NGOs: giving the people most directly affected by declining biodiversity and loss of tradition the support and tools required to design and carry out the strengthening of both biological diversity and traditional social practices. In this paper we describe the methodology used by Ailan Awareness and the history of collaboration that resulted in these methods.

Emotional contagion behavior in a group of young girls in a secondary school in Maputo, Mozambique

BACKGROUND

Emotional Contagion Behavior (ECB), the synchronized expression of emotional symptoms among members of a group, has been observed globally. In Mozambique, there have been numerous reports of ECB in recent years. Since 2010 several girls from a secondary school in Maputo City, Mozambique exhibited ECB which involved repeated fainting spells, sometimes including verbal aggression and threats to colleagues and teachers. We conducted a study to analyze sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with ECB.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 154 females aged from 16 to 24 years old. We considered emotional contagion behavior as repeated fainting spells, sometimes including verbal aggression and threats to others (colleagues and teachers). Participants responded to a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Scale, and the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models analyzed sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with EBC.

RESULTS

Among study participants, 57 presented ECB and 97 did not. The likelihood of ECB was higher among those with previous history of ECB (OR = 8.28, 95% CI [2.51, 27.30]; p ⩽ .001) and extroverted personality profile (OR = 1.15, 95% CI [1.01, 1.30]; p = .038). Having a romantic relationship was related to lower likelihood of having ECB (OR = 0.04, 95% CI [0.01, 0.19]; p = .001).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that ECB may repeat over time and be related to challenges pertaining to personality development, the presence of sexual life, and close relationships with peers faced by adolescent girls.

Linking gender, climate change and security in the Pacific Islands Region: A systematic review

This systematic review aims to address gaps in understanding how concepts of gender, climate change and security are given meaning and linked in empirical scholarship within the Pacific Islands Region. The review assesses the 53 articles returned through Web of Science, SCOPUS and ProQuest databases that are derived from empirical research and refer to gender, climate change and security. The findings indicate that this is an emerging topic in a region that is one of the most vulnerable to climate change across the globe. Most frequently gender analysis is given superficial treatment; there is limited literature that connects gendered vulnerabilities to historical legacies and structural inequalities; and women's critical roles that create security are often overlooked and devalued. The review indicates that greater work is needed to question perceived threats to security and to reveal how climate change, gendered institutions, systems and spaces, historical legacies and politics interact to construct security in the Pacific Islands Region.

Compassion or Corruption? Temporalities of Care and Nationhood in Papua New Guinean Nursing Education

Nurse educators in Papua New Guinea (PNG) must prepare students for often demoralizing working conditions. This article analyzes classroom and practical lessons in a PNG Highlands nursing college. A variety of pedagogical practices, including role plays and other simulation technologies, were used to socialize students to imagine patients' relatives while making clinical decisions, and to contemplate their own relatives and ancestors in reflecting on their moral commitments to health care. Such practices generate a mode of medical citizenship shaped by a regime of biocommunicability in which Christianity and education are thought to transform one's capacity to detach from the emotional appeals of kin. These pedagogies link the individual subjectivities of health workers to a persistent, though fragile, vision of the nation in which transgenerational, urban-rural kinship is a synecdoche for nationhood (and its deferral), despite professional counternarratives that cast these kinship ties as a slippery slope toward "corruption." [medical citizenship, temporalities of care, nursing simulation, nationhood, Papua New Guinea].

Ethical publishing in 'Indigenous' contexts

Ethical publishing practices are vital to tobacco control research practice, particularly research involving Indigenous (Indigenous peoples: For the purposes of this Special Communication, we use the term Indigenous people(s) to include self-identified individuals and communities who frequently have historical continuity with precolonial/presettler societies; are strongly linked to the land on which they or their societies reside; and often maintain their own distinct language(s), belief and social-political systems, economies and sciences. The authors humbly acknowledge, respect and value that Indigenous peoples are diverse and constitute many nations, cultures and language groups. Many Indigenous peoples also exist as governments in treaty relations with settler-colonial societies, and all Indigenous peoples have inherent rights under international law. The language and terminology used should reflect the local context(s) and could include, but are not limited to, terms such as Aboriginal, Bagumani, Cherokee, First Peoples, First Nations, Inuit, Iwaidja, Kungarakan, Lakota, Māori, Mѐtis, American Indian, Navajo, Wagadagam, Wiradjuri, Yurok, etc) people. These practices can minimise, correct and address biases that tend to privilege Euro-Western perspectives. Ethical publishing practices can minimise and address harms, such as appropriation and misuse of knowledges; strengthen mechanisms of accountability to Indigenous peoples and communities; ensure that tobacco control research is beneficial and meaningful to Indigenous peoples and communities; and support Indigenous agency, sovereignty and self-determination. To ensure ethical practice in tobacco control, the research methodology and methods must incorporate tangible mechanisms to include and engage those Indigenous peoples that the research concerns, affects and impacts.Tobacco Control is currently missing an ethical research and evaluation publishing protocol to help uphold ethical practice. The supporters of this Special Communication call on Tobacco Control to adopt publication practice that explicitly upholds ethical research and evaluation practices, particularly in Indigenous contexts. We encourage researchers, editors, peer reviewers, funding bodies and those publishing in Tobacco Control to reflect on their conduct and decision-making when working, developing and undertaking research and evaluation of relevance to Indigenous peoples.Tobacco Control and other publishers, funding bodies, institutions and research teams have a fundamental role in ensuring that the right peoples are doing the right work in the right way. We call for Tobacco Control to recognise, value and support ethical principles, processes and practices that underpin high-quality, culturally safe and priority-driven research, evaluation and science that will move us to a future that is commercial tobacco and nicotine free.

The prevelance of psychosis in indigenous populations in Australia: A review of the literature using systematic methods

OBJECTIVES

To understand the prevalence of psychosis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed, Embase and Cochrane.

RESULTS

Eight studies were reviewed. The prevalence of psychosis appeared higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, compared with non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

CONCLUSION

Although the literature suggests the prevalence of psychosis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations is substantial, there are few studies and limited scope. Cultural competency is essential to understanding psychosis in this context.