Large-scale land deals,global capital and the politics of livelihoods: Experiences of women small-holder farmers in Chisumbanje,Zimbabwe

Abstract

Large scale land acquisitions by foreign conglomerates in Zimbabwe have been a recurrent phenomenon within the last five years. This has led to land deals being negotiated with state, individual and nongovernmental actors, leading to the production of agro fuels. This article investigates how the large scale commercial land deals have affected the livelihoods of women small holder farmers, the role of global capital in entrenching discrimination of women and how the politics of resource use and distribution has become a central force in shaping livelihoods in Zimbabwe's communal areas. The article is based on field work that was conducted in Ndowoyo communal area, in Chisumbanje village, from July 2011 until April 2012. The methods used for collecting data were in-depth interviews with the women, interviews with officials from the Platform for Youth Development, a nongovernmental organisation, Macdom Pvt Ltd and Ratings Investments, focus group discussions and personal observations that involved interactions with the women. In 2011, Macdom Pvt Ltd and Ratings Investments, both bio fuels companies owned by Billy Rautenbach started green fuel production operations in Chisumbanje and this has led to the altering of the livelihoods systems of women smallholder farmers. The argument seeks, first, to demonstrate how the company‘s green fuel production systems have led to the loss of land for women and the redefinition of tenure in a communal area. Secondly it explores how the company has been involved in political issues that have undermined the role of development for the women and, thirdly, the article investigates how the women have created livelihood alternatives in an area which has been transformed from a communal rural area into almost an urban area. It concludes by suggesting the need to give primacy to women centred notions of agency in coping with the negative implications of commercial land deals on women‘s livelihoods.     

Disassembling the Square Kilometre Array: astronomy and development in South Africa

The article poses questions about astronomy and its local, national and global developmental impacts, drawing on ongoing research around the internationally networked Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope in South Africa. The relationship between progress in global science and technology and societal change has traditionally been framed through western-centric notions of progress imbued with universalism; the field of astronomy exemplifies this approach, with its assumptions of an inherently positive correlation between its science and loosely defined notions of ‘development’. We problematise this assumption through an analysis of the multiple notions of development at different scales of analysis in the SKA. We argue that large astronomy projects such as the SKA are best understood as dense assemblages of science, infrastructure, human agency and politics, in which historically rooted local concerns are marginalised in the name of the national or global public interest.     

Importance of electromyography and the electrophysiological severity scale in forensic reports

Forensic reports on traumatic peripheral nerve injuries include dysfunction degrees of extremities, which are arranged according to the Turkish Penalty Code. The aim of this study is to discuss the role and importance of electromyography while preparing forensic reports in the cases of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries and the usefulness of scoring systems. A modified global scale, recommended by Mondelli et al., was used to assess the electrophysiological impairment of each peripheral nerve. Forensic reports of 106 patients, reported between 2002 and 2004, were evaluated. Thirty-four percent of the cases were reported as "total loss of function," 41.5% were reported as "functional disability," and there were no dysfunctions in the other cases in forensic reports that were prepared based on Council of Social Insurance Regulations of Health Processes and Guide prepared by the Council of Forensic Medicine and profession associations of forensic medicine. When we rearranged these forensic reports based on the electrophysiological severity scale (ESS), it was clearly found that all of the score 2 cases and 86.7% of the score 3 cases corresponded to "functional disability" and 91.4% of the score 4 cases correspond to "total loss of function." We found a significant correlation between the ESS and functional evaluation in peripheral nerve injury cases. Evaluation of functional disabilities in peripheral nerve injuries with the ESS represents a standardized and objective method used for forensic reports.     

精神病人限定刑事责任能力评定量表在强奸案件中的运用

目的探讨《精神病人限定责任能力评定量表》在强奸案件中的运用。方法用《精神病人限定责任能力评定量表》评定为限定刑事责任能力的77例强奸案例,完成了量表评定,同时将限定刑事责任能力进行三级划分。结果小部分组、部分组、大部分组量表评定分逐渐升高,且具有显著性差异,量表共16个条目与评定分相关,相关系数从0.265至0.611不等,因子分析得到7个因子,解释75.784%的变异。结论精神病人限定责任能力量表内部构建合理,在强奸案件中其评定总分能有效反映三级限定刑事责任能力之间差异。     

Bioinformatics Approach to Assess the Biogeographical Patterns of Soil Communities: The Utility for Soil Provenance,

Soil DNA profiling has potential as a forensic tool to establish a link between soil collected at a crime scene and soil recovered from a suspect. However, a quantitative measure is needed to investigate the spatial/temporal variability across multiple scales prior to their application in forensic science. In this study, soil DNA profiles across Miami‐Dade, FL, were generated using length heterogeneity PCR to target four taxa. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the biogeographical patterns of soils to determine whether soil biota is spatially correlated with geographic location and (ii) evaluate five machine learning algorithms for their predictive ability to recognize biotic patterns which could accurately classify soils at different spatial scales regardless of seasonal collection. Results demonstrate that soil communities have unique patterns and are spatially autocorrelated. Bioinformatic algorithms could accurately classify soils across all scales with Random Forest significantly outperforming all other algorithms regardless of spatial level.     

企业家导向的理论基础、测量及相关变量

企业家导向是战略管理和企业家精神两个领域的重要构念,在环境日益不确定的今天越来越受到学者的关注和重视。本文回顾了企业家导向的理论基础和内涵演变,着重分析了企业家导向构念测量的视角、维度构成及测量量表,并对既往研究中企业家导向与组织绩效之间的关系机理及情境影响作了总结。文章最后指出今后有必要对企业家导向的单维度、测量方法和情境变量作进一步的研究。     

行政行为的可诉性标准探析

本文从内部行政行为的可诉性入手,针对行政行为的可诉性标准探讨了行政诉讼受案范围扩大的必然趋势。从司法最终救济和穷尽行政救济原则出发,探讨了合理界定行政权和司法权在行政诉讼中的地位和作用。     

“十四五”时期中国区域经济发展格局展望

面向机遇与挑战并存的“十四五”时期,重构中国区域经济格局对实现更高质量、更具效率、更加公平的发展具有里程碑式的意义。从国家、区域、城市、县域四级空间尺度出发,以“整体分散,优势集中”为行动指南展望新时代区域协调发展新格局。在国家尺度下,在集中力量缓和东西失调、南北分野以促进国内大循环的同时,以“一带一路”为牵引融入国际大循环。在区域尺度下,打造京津冀城市群、长三角城市群、粤港澳城市群、长江中游—中原城市群、成渝城市群五大核心增长极,助力沿海经济带与长江经济带建设、黄河流域生态保护与高质量发展。在城市—县域尺度下,抓好国家中心城市、区域中心城市的培育工作,激发县域经济活力。在此基础上,融通国家、区域、城市、县域四级尺度,共同引领“普遍沸腾”。     

颅脑损伤部位及程度与日常生活活动能力的相关性

目的：研究颅脑损伤部位及程度与日常生活活动能力的相关性,为提高鉴定意见的准确性提供理论依据。方法选取颅脑损伤被鉴定人501例,详细记录其伤前情况、损伤部位及程度、治疗方式、教育程度,应用日常生活活动能力量表（Barthel指数）对被鉴定人进行测验,统计损伤部位及程度与Barthel指数的相关性。结果轻度颅脑损伤组各损伤部位Barthel指数差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）;中度颅脑损伤组蛛网膜下腔出血与其他脑叶损伤,顶、枕叶损伤与额叶损伤,顶、枕叶损伤与颞叶损伤间Barthel指数差异均具有统计学意义（P〈0.05）,额叶损伤与颞叶损伤Barthel指数差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）;重度颅脑损伤不论手术与否,各颅脑损伤部位的Barthel指数两两之间差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论颅脑损伤部位与Barthel指数存在一定相关性,对分析判断颅脑损伤后日常生活活动能力具有重要的参考价值。     

发展新型文化业态,提高文化产业的规模化、集约化、专业化水平

加快文化产业发展,发展新型文化业态对于推动文化大发展大繁荣,实现文化产业的整体跃升,具有重大意义。